Dave & Julie's Alaska Adventure

[davebennington]

BC,

We gross out at about 26500 lbs at the last time I crossed the CAT scales. Going up the hills the truck down shifts and motors on up no problem. As far as going down I do not like going to fast so I try to control the speed as much as I can the roads up here are rough in place and some time gravel so I use the Jake and gear down when going down the real steep grades

Dave

 

[davebennington]

We are in Whitehorse, Yukon. We have found a campground with good WIFI, so now I can upload all the pictures that I promised.

First the pictures from Coal River Campground. Let me try to explain them.

Pictures of the generator and the last two are of the telephone transmitter on a pole that they have to have to stay in contact with the outside world.

 

[davebennington]

Hi All,

Here are the photos from Coal River,BC to Watson Lake,YK

 

[davebennington]

7-1-2011 Friday

We have left the boonies and now in semi-boonies. (LOL) We are at Watson Lake it was a short trip from Coal River. This is where the Sign Forest is located. The campground is Downtown RV Park, it is just a place to overnight nothing fancy, but full hookups.
Stone sheep are along the road, pesky little things herds of them, they won’t move until you are right on top of them. See pictures.
For anyone who is planning to come to Alaska one of the things you do is put a screen over your grille or at least over your radiator. Why you may ask? To keep the cotton wood floss from plugging it up.
Now all you have to do is clean the floss off the screen, the floss when it is in the air looks like snow or dandelion fuzz but a bit thicker, and there is so much of it will plug things up. Check you air filter also.

Dave

 

[davebennington]

7-2-2011 Saturday

Well we are up to date on the pictures, and postings.

So back on schedule. We are now in Whitehorse, Yukon. The campground is Hi Country RV Park, really nice but a little expensive Good Sam Park, but for full hookups, cable and a great WIFI system I guess it is worth it.

White horse is a nice town it is a dry climate here so they do not get a whole lot of snow, it is considered the high desert. The town is very RV friendly they have parking in town set aside for RV parking while shopping.

We will be here for 2 days resting and getting supplies, and sightseeing, groceries are expensive here.

That brings to mind another thought I would pass along, it would appear that the US dollar is worth less than the Canadian dollar about 11 cents less. That is not a good sign for the US. It makes things here even more expensive.

Dave

 

[davebennington]

7-3-2011 Sunday

It is bright and sunny here today a great day to see just what Whitehorse has to offer for us to do. I will say what we have seen so far this is a great place to be for outdoor activities. Biking, kayaking, hiking, shopping or just relaxing in the sun.
More when we return from exploring.

Dave

 

[2psnapod2]

Dave, what's the temps like? We are here in southern Wisconsin and it in the low 80s.

 

[TXBobcat]

McKinney Texas
My temperature gauge showed 108*. That was about 4:00 pm. Ready to head north for a bit of cool.

BC

 

[Willym]

Dave\Julie,

We enjoyed tasting beer at the Yukon brewery in Whitehorse last year!

The Canadian dollar is only a little stronger than the US dollar right now. You should only have to pay 2 to 3 cents premium, not 11!

 

[davebennington]

Willym

The rate of exchange now is 10% in their favor, we did not get to the Yukon Brewery this time maybe in 3 days when we return.
Dave

Txbobcat, & 2psnapod,

The temps here are about 75 to 80 but the air in cool. When you are in the sun it is t-shirt weather, but when the sun goes behind a cloud you need a sweater.

Dave

 

[davebennington]

7-3-2011 Sunday - update

We went out and explored Whitehorse today many things to see.

First was the fish ladder at the power generating dam. The fish ladder allows the fish to swim up the river around the dam to go upstream and spawn and it is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world. They are doing a lot of things here that I was not aware of.

Then on to the Miles Canyon Basalts, a narrow gorge that the Yukon river flows thru with a suspension bridge that crosses it.

The next place was the S.S. Klondike the largest flat bottom paddle wheel steam ship to navigate the Yukon river. It hauled mainly freight and a few passengers up and down the Yukon river.

We did spend some time at the Railroad museum, and took a ride on a narrow gauge railroad train that was used in copper mining.

All in all a very busy day.

 

[Willym]

Good photos Dave. They bring back great memories of our trip last year.

A 10% premium on US dollars is a rip off, and if it is our banks and merchants charging you this, then I'm very dissapointed in them. Today 1 $CDN was equal to 1.04$US. It's great for us if we go south right now. We actually use a US dollar Visa when in the US to avoid the 2.5% currency exchange fee that most credit card companies charge.

 

[davebennington]

Willym,

It was at a Canadian bank, and to add insult to injury they charged another $3.00 because we did not have an account there.

Dave

 

[davebennington]

7-4-2011 Monday

We are in Dawson City, Yukon, at a campground Bonanza Gold, a Good Sam park $32.00 per night for full hookups with cable and free WIFI if you can get on. Interesting they charge the same for full hookups as they do for electric and cable.

The drive over from Whitehorse was terrible, raining today very little blue sky. The road was not very good, the frost heaves you can see and for the most part they are marked, the real problem is the potholes, chuckholes, or just plain craters big ones. The kind that will damage the tires and suspension system of a trailer, so you are constantly dodging and weaving to trying miss them.

It is about 6:30 Pacific Time and with the rain and what not, no pictures today, tune in tomorrow.
Dave

 

[Karen/Gary Buxton]

We're spending the summer in Alaska. You can see our blog at Buxtonsbyways.blogspot.com. We left Colorado the 23rd of May and plan to return by Sept. 1. Hope you're having as much fun as we are.

 

[davebennington]

Gary & Karen,

Great blog. Yes we are having fun.

Dave

 

[lcdrdean]

Dave - We were in Dawson City on 7/2. Drove over from Chicken, AK. I assume you will be taking the Top of the World and Taylor Highways from Dawson to Chicken, and then on to Tok. Word of advice - be very careful. On the US side, both roads are in terrible condition. Both are dirt roads until you get about 5 miles on the other side of Chicken. Since it has been raining a lot here lately, both roads are full of potholes and mud. Don't know if you are planning a trip to Eagle, AK. If you are, a really advise not taking the trailer. We drove to and from Eagle from Chicken on 7/1 (without our trailer). I have to say it was the most terrifying trip I have had here in AK since we arrived in May. The road has just about washed out in several places. It was muddy and full of potholes, and there were several places where it was only one lane with a steep dropoff on one side.

 

[davebennington]

7-5-2011 Tuesday

We finally got a good night sleep. Julie put foil over all the light emitting openings in the trailer and it actually was dark in the bedroom last night.

Today we are going to explore Dawson and make a decision as to go back to Whitehorse 8 hours 335 miles, stay there a night and then start to Tok, Ak which 388 miles and 91/2 hours. The other option is to try the top of the world highway which is a gravel road that is 180 miles long. Tough decision I really do not want to put the trailer through that.

We just got back from Dawson City, after talking with folks local and several that have crossed from Tok to Dawson City they all say go for it just go slow so we will being on our way in the morning.

A few pictures from Dawson City, quite a few old buildings here some are amazing. A couple of pictures from a place called the dome, it overlooks the town and surrounding mountains and rivers.

 

[Randy]

Dave, Glad that you and Julie are going the far northern route Santha would have probably said no. It is a once in a lifetime trip for both of you.
Randy, Santha and the poodles.

 

[davebennington]

7-6-2011 Wednesday

We are in TOK, Alaska in a campground called Tundra Lodge & RV. It is a nice place the sites are in the trees so lots of shade, and they are level with full hook ups. No cable and if you want WIFI it is free at the office.

After crossing the Yukon River by ferry (see picture) you climb to an elevation way above the tree line, with snow still lying around high on top of the mountains. It was a long and tiring day we drove along the Top of the World highway and while the sights were great the road was not, when driving I think you miss a lot because you have to pay attention to the road. I have been on logging roads in better shape than that one. It just beats you to death.

I will say the Canadian side of the road was in better shape than the US side; some parts are blacktop and gravel, while the US side was plain dirt with craters so big I was concerned about the undercarriage and tires of the truck and trailer. I was disappointed in the US today and ashamed that the road was not at least as good as the Canadian side.

Border crossings have been great no problems at all, take off sun glasses turn off the engine and just show your passport. If traveling with pets like we do (2 cats & a dog) you need up to date vet papers (rabies & health papers).
Answer a couple of questions like are you carrying and weapons or cash in a sum $10,000 or greater (we wish).
Anyway we are off to Fairbanks tomorrow that is when I will post this message.

Dave