Alaska Highway

[David and Nancy]

My wife Nancy reorganized our digital photos on our computer and all of a sudden I am able to post some of them. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the Alaska Highway. We lived in Alaska from 97-05. We bought an old Scamp in 04. It was great, but we soon decided that we would be happier with a bathroom. Lots of mosquitos when you open the door. So we bought a new Casita in 04 and I went all the way to Texas to get it. In 05, Nancy took a transfer to Arkansas (I retired in 02). So we pulled the Casita back to within a few hundred miles of the factory. So we had two great spring trips on the Alaska Highway. Dave

[David and Nancy]

They weren't kidding about this. The caribou were in spring migration.

[David and Nancy]

caribou moving toward summer pastures

[David and Nancy]

Scenery shot in Alberta - heading over the divide

[David and Nancy]

Good looking cinnamon black bear. This was in British Columbia east Watson Lake. The bears were coming out to the highway to graze the new grass coming in along the shoulders.

[David and Nancy]

Black bear in the same area. We saw 18 black bears and one grizzly in 50 mile stretch between Liard Hot Springs and Watson Lake.

[David and Nancy]

This was a beautiful mountain grizzly right along the highway. The black bears had better stay clear of him!

[David and Nancy]

This is the mandatory tourist photo op.

[David and Nancy]

These are Stone sheep in Alberta. They may have been licking highway salt.

[David and Nancy]

Wood Buffalo in BC. These are a different species of buffalo than those found on the Great Plains of the US. The Canadians are protecting a re-established herd in this area.

[David and Nancy]

Campground at Watson Lake. In mid May a lot of places had not yet opened for the season. There were only a handful of people using this camp this early in the year. I assume these places get busy in the summer.

[David and Nancy]

Another mandatory photo. Pretty fancy state line sign.

[David and Nancy]

This is Mt Sanford in the Wrangell Mountains, Alaska. It is over 16000 feet high. This view is along the Tok Cutoff which connects the Alaska Highway to Glennallen. This area is part of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in America. (As a retired ranger I had to get this plug in for the Park Service.)

[David and Nancy]

Wrangell Mountains. This is better airplane country than RV country.

[Deb in MN]

I WANT to do that trip!!!!!!!! I wonder how long would it take us to get to Alaska from MN?

That trip is for sure on my list of things I want to do before I grow too old!!

Are there enough spots to pull over and camp all along the way?

You know what scares the bejeebers out of me? MOUNTAIN roads! I'm scared in a car alone, I'd be a basket case pulling the Scamp!!

[pjanits]

This is my retirement dream trip!

[Craig Nold]

Dave,
I feel so stupid! I got my Golden Age Passport at Fort Smith the day before Easter. We spent three nights in our Casita at the Overland RV Park and I didn’t remember that you had moved to Van Buren. I could have seen all of your Alaska photos.

[David and Nancy]

Deb in MN -

It is a little over 3000 miles from Minneapolis to Anchorage. We took 10 days to go 4000 miles, but we would have liked to be able to spend more time in many places. The mountain passes on the Alaska highway aren't really all that bad, but I guess it is a matter of what you are used to. The majority of the trip is flat easy driving on a decent paved highway. Boondock campsites can be hard to find for lack of secondary roads off the main highway but there are some old gravel pits here and there and rest stops where overnighting is common. There are plenty of campgrounds with hookups if you plan ahead. Buy a copy of the "Milepost" magazine for a mile-by-mile description of the roads and facilities.

Craig - Loved your pictures. Nice silver salmon you got there. I used to float and fish Willow Creek frequently. Also loved the salt-water fishing out of Valdez. I hope we can make it back up there soon.

Dave

[Rick F. D.]

This is my retirement dream trip!

Ditto. Buy this book and have some fun. "Traveler's Guide To Alaskan Camping" by Mike and Terry Church. About $20 for the 2005 version from Amazon. I bought it just for the heck of it and am having a great time reading and dreaming about the trip. If I drop before I ever make it at least I have enjoyed it a bit.
Rick

[Lizbeth]

Thank you for sharing your pictures. We too would like to make that trip!