Unexpectedly Racing Up the Alaska Highway

This week, everything went sideways and completely changed our plans.

It started out simple enough, leaving Dawson Creek and starting up the Alaska Highway. Our dash camera went out, so even though we saw lots of wildlife, we caught none of it on camera.

For our first night, we found Buckinghorse River Provincial Park. It had a large overflow area so we could drop the trailer and scout out parking and turnaround for us. We found a great spot and enjoyed the night. The provincial parks are first come first serve, offer no amenities, and have a cash drop for payment. But we loved the wild feel of it and at $20 CAD (about $14 USD), it was a great option. The roads weren’t as bad to travel as we thought, but we couldn’t believe the dirt we had after one day–we couldn’t even see through the back window or camera!

Day 2, we continued up the road, enjoying the views and animals–I lost track of the wow’s and photo ops we stopped for, so we made it to the Tetsa Lodge just as they closed, just missing their cinnamon buns. But we found Summit Lake Provincial Park, where we planned to stop for a rest and decided to spend 2 nights there since it was so beautiful. They had an extra non-resident fee, but it was worth it. We spent the extra day watching the rain (and snow on the peaks we could see) fall on the amazing lake and mountains, went back for a cinnamon bun at the lodge and were treated to more bears along the roadside, and were relaxed for the next day…that started at 7AM when the ranger knocked, not realizing we had paid for 2 nights, even though it was written on our tag and payment envelope.

Our 3rd travel day treated us to views of canyons, rivers and mountains, as well as more bear and stone sheep–the babies are the cutest thing ever! That night we stopped at Liard River Hot Springs area, We stayed at the Lodge RV Park across the street since we didn’t fit at the springs. For $48CAD/night, we got 30A, dump station and water, as well as a local bison that wanders the property. We drove to hot springs since it was quite a hike over, paid the $10 CAD family pass, and enjoyed soaking and exploring for an hour–the water was so hot, even for me! I didn’t take any pictures, but BJ got some footage, so you’ll have to check out the YouTube video for that in a few weeks! After a good night’s sleep, we went to hook up the RV, we started having an issue with landing gear–something we have had happen before, and knew we were going to have a problem soon.

We got hooked up with a bit of effort and set off for Watson Lake with plans to stop for the weekend and reset. Along the way, we saw bison and several more bear, finally getting a photo this time. We crossed out of British Columbia and into the Yukon Territory (for the first of 6 back and forth crossings on the journey) and snagged our photo. We also saw a mountain face that looked like grumpy cat on approach–at least to us.

We got a spot for the weekend at Downtown RV park with full hook ups so we could get reset. They took both Canadian and American cash, which helped since we had spent all our Canadian currency. When we went to set up, the landing gear decided to completely give out and was unfixable. We knew we needed to get a replacement part, but where and how, especially at 4PM on a Friday that was a US holiday (Juneteenth) and Sunday was a Canadian holiday (Indigenous People Day) which meant no finding parts until after the weekend. We made the call to get parts sent to Anchorage general delivery and we would head there quicker than expected.

And then we had another issue. I had felt off all day, with random pains, and found the culprit. A call to the VA triage line and I was told I needed to get seen within the next few days to rule out anything severe. Now we really needed to get to Anchorage since that was the nearest military facility I could be seen in without delay or awaiting referrals. The owners were very understanding, even refunding us the extra nights.

We spent Saturday meal prepping, doing laundry, replenishing Canadian cash, getting parts ordered, and talking to the VA to ensure I could get care when I arrived. With everything in place, we did what we had intended to do at this stop– we visited the signpost forest!

In 1942, a homesick soldier helping to construct the Alaska Highway made a sign showing where home was and how far he was, and encouraged others to do the same. We’d heard about it and seen photos, but nothing prepares you for seeing 80+ years of visitors mementos in person. We wandered the trees, posts and vehicles holding more than 100,000 signs, including the originals still on display, and it is growing daily! We added our own mark on the green tractor, spotted several from our home, and finding some that belong to friends and content creators we had seen share about it. It was such a neat part of American history to see, and become a part of!

On Sunday, we set out towards Anchorage–1200 miles away– and a goal to arrive by Tuesday/Wednesday, even with some of the worst roads ahead of us. So far, we had seen only some gravel and frost heaves, but knew the worst was ahead of us. We made about 400 miles that day, to Haines Junction. It was a beautiful drive, and we saw several bear. While the roads were mostly good, we had a lot more frost heaves to slow down for. We had aimed for a first come, first serve provincial park that ended up being full, and the local RV park looked closed. After a quick search on our iOverlander app, we ended up at a perfect wild camping spot with views of the St. Elias Mountains–free and stunning.

While we would love to have stayed longer, we will have to add it to our list of places to revisit since we needed to get on down the road.

We’ll see you next week as we find the really bad roads and forgotten places, cross the Alaska border and continue the race to Anchorage to fix the RV and find out what is wrong with me.

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