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Old 05-28-2013, 09:53 PM   #21
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Will do X2.

I'm curious, will you be travelling up the Dempster Highway as well?
No, we are not planning to drive up the Dempster Highway. We had to make a lot of "go/no go" decisions on where we are going and how long we are going to stay. We decided to skip two of our favorite places in Alaska on this trip--Sitka, its eagles, and its beautiful harbor and volcano and Kodiak and its bears--for that reason. We only travel 150-200 mi/day so that my wife can take early morning wildlife and scenery photos and I like to stop during the drive each day to take photos of interesting geology. At 500 miles each way on a potentially very slow road, a round-trip on the Dempster might take us a minimum of 7 or 8 days. We are not driving the Dalton Highway for the same reason. Maybe we'll decide to do both on the next trip!
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Old 05-28-2013, 11:12 PM   #22
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We are on our way! Currently camped on the Fraser River in Hope, BC. We used Hwy 9 to get around the collapsed bridge on Hwy 5 north of Seattle - a very pretty and low traffic detour. From here north on Hwy 1 to Prince George, then west on Hwy 16 to Prince Rupert to catch a ferry on June 1 to Haines. Will attach a picture of our Solera here in Hope. Solera is doing great so far!
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Old 06-05-2013, 01:21 PM   #23
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Now in Tok Alaska. Ferry from Prince Rupert with an 18 hour stopover in Petersburg went well. Dog did great in the RV. Longest leg he was alone for was Petersburg to Juneau, about eight and a half hours. Saw whales, orcas, porpoises, sea lions, etc. Joined Alcan at Haines Junction. Last 100 miles in Canada had construction and frost heaves - nothing terrible, just slowed down to 40 mph or so. Saw several grizzlies, two moose. Solera doing great - likes the slower speeds for mpg - getting 14 to 15. Now heading south to Wrangell-St Elias.
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Old 06-25-2013, 02:53 AM   #24
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Just returned from our Alaska trip. After Wrangell-St Elias we went to Kenai, Homer, Seward (Kenai Fjords NP), Denali, and through Fairbanks to rejoin the Alcan at its end point in Delta Junction. We then followed the Alcan to its start in Dawson Creek. GREAT animals in Denali and along the Alacn - bison, brown (Grizzly) bear, black bear, big horn sheep, dall sheep, moose, fox, ... Also had GREAT animal sightings on a cruise into Kenai Fjords NP - orca, humpback, stellar sea lions, etc.

Solera did great. Lost one headlight bulb (filament break - likely vibration - easy replacement; "standard" bulb carried by normal auto parts store). Also, lost some paint on the electric step - maybe gravel chipping - touched up with Rustoleum. I did make a "vent cover" to reduce some of the late night light for sleeping (piece of styrofoam poster board and some velcro). As noted above, got quite good mileage at the lower speeds on the Alcan (15 MPG typical); back down to 12-14 on route 5 at 65 mph + through Oregon and northern Cal on the return trip.

Great trip!
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Old 06-29-2013, 08:59 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by JLeising View Post
Just returned from our Alaska trip. After Wrangell-St Elias we went to Kenai, Homer, Seward (Kenai Fjords NP), Denali, and through Fairbanks to rejoin the Alcan at its end point in Delta Junction. We then followed the Alcan to its start in Dawson Creek. GREAT animals in Denali and along the Alacn - bison, brown (Grizzly) bear, black bear, big horn sheep, dall sheep, moose, fox, ... Also had GREAT animal sightings on a cruise into Kenai Fjords NP - orca, humpback, stellar sea lions, etc.

Solera did great. Lost one headlight bulb (filament break - likely vibration - easy replacement; "standard" bulb carried by normal auto parts store). Also, lost some paint on the electric step - maybe gravel chipping - touched up with Rustoleum. I did make a "vent cover" to reduce some of the late night light for sleeping (piece of styrofoam poster board and some velcro). As noted above, got quite good mileage at the lower speeds on the Alcan (15 MPG typical); back down to 12-14 on route 5 at 65 mph + through Oregon and northern Cal on the return trip.

Great trip!
Sounds wonderful! Thanks for posting.
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Old 06-29-2013, 09:26 PM   #26
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Alaska Trip

Cheryl and I have been preparing for this bucket list trip for many years. We have lots of dollars invested in a new Crusader 270RET just to make the trip. The Sunnybrook will remain home for this trip as she has served us well over the years and do not want beat her up. We plan on leaving May 2014 at this time...getting really excited..thanks for the updates, we appreciate all the info you can give us..
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Originally Posted by JLeising View Post
Just returned from our Alaska trip. After Wrangell-St Elias we went to Kenai, Homer, Seward (Kenai Fjords NP), Denali, and through Fairbanks to rejoin the Alcan at its end point in Delta Junction. We then followed the Alcan to its start in Dawson Creek. GREAT animals in Denali and along the Alacn - bison, brown (Grizzly) bear, black bear, big horn sheep, dall sheep, moose, fox, ... Also had GREAT animal sightings on a cruise into Kenai Fjords NP - orca, humpback, stellar sea lions, etc.

Solera did great. Lost one headlight bulb (filament break - likely vibration - easy replacement; "standard" bulb carried by normal auto parts store). Also, lost some paint on the electric step - maybe gravel chipping - touched up with Rustoleum. I did make a "vent cover" to reduce some of the late night light for sleeping (piece of styrofoam poster board and some velcro). As noted above, got quite good mileage at the lower speeds on the Alcan (15 MPG typical); back down to 12-14 on route 5 at 65 mph + through Oregon and northern Cal on the return trip.

Great trip!
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Old 06-29-2013, 09:49 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by JLeising View Post
Just returned from our Alaska trip. After Wrangell-St Elias we went to Kenai, Homer, Seward (Kenai Fjords NP), Denali, and through Fairbanks to rejoin the Alcan at its end point in Delta Junction. We then followed the Alcan to its start in Dawson Creek. GREAT animals in Denali and along the Alacn - bison, brown (Grizzly) bear, black bear, big horn sheep, dall sheep, moose, fox, ... Also had GREAT animal sightings on a cruise into Kenai Fjords NP - orca, humpback, stellar sea lions, etc.

Solera did great. Lost one headlight bulb (filament break - likely vibration - easy replacement; "standard" bulb carried by normal auto parts store). Also, lost some paint on the electric step - maybe gravel chipping - touched up with Rustoleum. I did make a "vent cover" to reduce some of the late night light for sleeping (piece of styrofoam poster board and some velcro). As noted above, got quite good mileage at the lower speeds on the Alcan (15 MPG typical); back down to 12-14 on route 5 at 65 mph + through Oregon and northern Cal on the return trip.

Great trip!
Becky and I are also planning an Alaska trip in 2014. Haven't mapped a route yet, but plan also on stopping off in BC and catching the Canadian Railway east to Canadian Rockies and back.

How long did your trip take (once you crossed into Canada? Sounds as if this is about the right time of the year to be going? Any problem finding places to camp? etc., etc., etc.!
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Old 06-30-2013, 09:25 PM   #28
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Calgary

We plan to enter Canada at Calgary, that way we can make the same stops. Where are you coming from, we are leaving Atlanta Georgia on May 1st, 2014 and plan to head west all the way until we get to where we can cross the border.
Maybe we can plan to meet up somewhere and tag along with one another. It is just me and DW, we have a Crusader 270RET and a 2500HD Tow Truck. We are making our plans currently but would love to have someone that knows more that we. If interested, contact us via some private mail, I can give you all out contact information.
We are heading up to Goshen on Aug. 1st for the Rally...





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Originally Posted by Taylorgso View Post
Becky and I are also planning an Alaska trip in 2014. Haven't mapped a route yet, but plan also on stopping off in BC and catching the Canadian Railway east to Canadian Rockies and back.

How long did your trip take (once you crossed into Canada? Sounds as if this is about the right time of the year to be going? Any problem finding places to camp? etc., etc., etc.!
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Old 06-30-2013, 10:21 PM   #29
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Becky and I are also planning an Alaska trip in 2014. Haven't mapped a route yet, but plan also on stopping off in BC and catching the Canadian Railway east to Canadian Rockies and back.

How long did your trip take (once you crossed into Canada? Sounds as if this is about the right time of the year to be going? Any problem finding places to camp? etc., etc., etc.!
We entered Canada May 28. We camped in Hope BC our first night in Canada. From Hope we drove to Prince Rupert via Prince George to catch the Alaskan State Ferry to Haines with a stopover in Petersburg. Chose this route to minimize the dog's alone time in the camper on the ferry and to give him a break partway. From Haines joined the alcan at Haines Junction. Then Tok, Wrangell-St Elias, Kenai, Homer, Seward and Kenai-Fjords, Denali, Delta Junction, Tok, alcan to Dawson Creek, Prince George, Hope, Bellingham WA, home to the San Fran bay area. We arrived home on the 25th of June.

No problems with campsite availability - we did have a reservation in Denali, but there appeared to be open campsites available (Riley campground near the entrance). We did notice higher campsite occupancy on the return from Dawson Creek - believe people on their way to Alaska. Weather was quite good - of note Lake Kluane was frozen over on our way to Alaska, completely free of ice on our return. Rained in Oregon and Washington, some in BC and while on the ferry - but not in Alaska after Haines. Had great weather in the Kenai area, and several days of clear views of Denali.

As mentioned above, a great trip!
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Old 07-11-2013, 03:51 PM   #30
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We are currently in Haines via ferry from Skagway. Took 3 weeks to get here from Denver through Jackson, WY; Boise and Coeur d'Alene, ID; Spokane and Oroville, WA; Kamloops, Prince George, and Dease Lakes, BC and on the Alcan at Watson Lake, Yukon. From here to Tok, Valdez, Anchorage, Seward-Homer, Denali, Fairbanks. Still have 2 months left on our trip, so it is far from over.

Our Mini-Lite 2109S has been great! Enough room for two of us when we are parked and light enough to tow easily, except against a headwind, with our Nissan Frontier. Our few minor problems along the way have been easily repaired by me, so Good Sam hasn't been needed yet (my fingers are tightly crossed!).

Have had some surprisingly good campgrounds at unexpected places, some cheap and some expensive. Right now, we are at Haines Hitch-Up RV Park--much nicer than any of the waterfront RV parks in town and no more expensive (every RV park in Skagway and Haines are "expensive"). Had a beautiful campground at Boya Lake Provincial Park on the Cassiar Highway, although mosquitoes were bad. Riverside RV Park in Oroville, WA, was very nice and cheaper than not so nice ones in Vernon and Kamloops, BC. The Coeur d'Alene Casino had free camping until July 1 with 30A electric, but no water or dump. However, Coeur d'Alene sheriff's office near fairgrounds has a new, very nice (3 paved lanes) free dump and potable water. And Cow Hollow Park in Nyssa, OR, was a $10/night "donation" for full hookups with 50/30/20A electricity!

My "Milepost Alaska Highway Geology" blog on Google's Blogger/BlogSpot ended with technical problems that Google never responded to. I have continued it on Blog.com at http://fanrgs.blog.com/ as "Milepost Alaska Highway Geology 2." When I have a lot more time and better WiFi, I may be able to move the whole thing over from Blogger to Blog.com. If you are interested in the geology along your route for 2014, take a look.
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Old 07-11-2013, 04:00 PM   #31
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We are currently in Haines via ferry from Skagway. Took 3 weeks to get here from Denver through Jackson, WY; Boise and Coeur d'Alene, ID; Spokane and Oroville, WA; Kamloops, Prince George, and Dease Lakes, BC and on the Alcan at Watson Lake, Yukon. From here to Tok, Valdez, Anchorage, Seward-Homer, Denali, Fairbanks. Still have 2 months left on our trip, so it is far from over.

Our Mini-Lite 2109S has been great! Enough room for two of us when we are parked and light enough to tow easily, except against a headwind, with our Nissan Frontier. Our few minor problems along the way have been easily repaired by me, so Good Sam hasn't been needed yet (my fingers are tightly crossed!).

Have had some surprisingly good campgrounds at unexpected places, some cheap and some expensive. Right now, we are at Haines Hitch-Up RV Park--much nicer than any of the waterfront RV parks in town and no more expensive (every RV park in Skagway and Haines is "expensive"). Had a beautiful campground at Boya Lake Provincial Park on the Cassiar Highway, although mosquitoes were bad. Riverside RV Park in Oroville, WA, was very nice and cheaper than not so nice ones in Vernon and Kamloops, BC. The Coeur d'Alene Casino had free camping until July 1 with 30A electric, but no water or dump. However, Coeur d'Alene sheriff's office near fairgrounds has a new, very nice (3 paved lanes) free dump and potable water. And Cow Hollow Park in Nyssa, OR, was a $10/night "donation" for full hookups with 50/30/20A electricity!

My "Milepost Alaska Highway Geology" blog on Google's Blogger/BlogSpot ended with technical problems that Google never responded to. I have continued it on Blog.com at http://fanrgs.blog.com/ as "Milepost Alaska Highway Geology 2." When I have a lot more time and better WiFi, I may be able to move the whole thing over from Blogger to Blog.com. If you are interested in the geology along your route for 2014, take a look.
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Sold in 2021: 2016 Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8244WS 5th Wheel
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