The Beauty Of Travel
Roughly seventeen months ago I published the full year on the road post and talked about how much fun we had on the road and how much we have learned exploring our nation.
Because we covered 45 out of the lower 48 states the prior year, the second time around we focused our trip mainly around the pacific north west on either side of the US/Canadian border. In total we spent 9 months of our time in the pacific and alaskan timezone.
On that note, to date, we have travelled a total of 943 days, covering 45 states, most of western Canada and good bit of drivable Alaska.
The highlight of our trip was driving to Alaska. For those of you who have traveled through western Canada to Alaska via the Alcan Highway, you know it is the closest thing to heaven on earth. The sheer nature, wildlife and the breath taking views, make it evident why so many travelers from around the world make the annual pilgrimage.
As most seasoned RV travelers, we kept our agenda pretty open that way we could stay in any one place for as long as we needed to. During the first year on the road we set a record of staying in one place for maximum of two weeks. Second time around, we set a new record by staying in one place for almost four months.
By doing so, we really got to enjoy spending more time in nature and immersing ourselves with what matter the most to us. From visiting with family and friends to fishing the frigid waters of Homer, AK to skiing the Rockies and seeing the world renowned balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, NM.
En Route To The Last Frontier
As we left North Bethesda, MD in May of 2022 we started working our way to the pacific north west via the Great Lakes. The most notable stops were northern Michigan and Mackinac Island followed by Lake Superior. While visiting the Mackinac Island, we stayed at Hearthside Grove Motorcoach Resort in Petoskey, MI. Words can’t describe how beautiful this place is so make sure you go and see it in person.
Even though we visited Glacier National Park last year, we decided to make another trip in a search for a moose and turquoise glaciers. The previous trip to Glacier we didn’t have a car in tow, so we didn’t get to drive The Road to the Sun. So this time around, we visited with our car, but it was in May and unfortunately, The Road to the Sun was still closed for snow! So maybe we can make it a third time and get to drive this legendary road!
Knowing that we are heading to Alaska, we knew there was going to be more moose and glaciers along the way for us to see. In the mean time, we ended up staying at Polson Motorcoach Resort in Polson, MT overlooking the Flathead Lake, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful clearwater, ice cold lakes we’ve visited in America.
As we continue our journey west, we had every intention of going back to Coeur d’Alene, ID but could not find a place to stay so we ended up going further up north to Blanchard, ID and stayed at Stoneridge Resort, which is about an one hour away from Priest Lake.
While at Stoneride Resort, we planned out trip to Alaska and waited for our Starlink to arrive. One thing that really left an impression on me about this place was, the serenity. The big blue sky, the evergreen trees were spectacular. Most importantly there were plenty of fun outdoor activities for our kids from a swimming pool to putt putt golf. This was also a great place to ride bikes, which the kids always enjoy!
The Pilgrimage
After two weeks of careful planning, we headed to Canada, our first stop, Fairmont Hot Springs in BC, CA. As the name indicates, this place is known for it’s natural mineral hot springs and it was exactly what we needed after being on the road for over a month.
Few days later, we headed to Calgary, AB, CA to see some of my childhood friends, whom I haven’t seen in over 20 years. From there we traveled through the Canadian Rockies. We headed to Banff and Jasper National Parks and this is where we saw our very first glacier and turquoise Lake Louise.
Our next stop, Dawson Creek, BC, CA, this is where the Alcan Highway starts and it stretches a total of 1,390 miles to Delta Junction, AK and we drove every bit of it.
From Dawson Creek, BC, CA to Fort Nelson, BC, CA and Watson Lake, YT, CA the drive was a breeze, a normal paved highway. Then the road narrows, the curves steepen and the grades increase. Being that this was our first trip to Alaska and given all the warnings we received from other RV travelers, I decided to use extra caution.
One of the most memorable experiences on this expedition was definitely our stop in Fort Nelson. We planned on boondocking for one night, but ended up staying three nights because the road to Watson Lake, YT, CA was washed out by flooding. Talk about experience…this was one to remember.
If you take a closer look at a map, you are going to see that if highway 97 isn’t drivable, your only option is to take highway 37 to Watson Lake, which is a total of 1,300 miles detour. This is why we decided to stay few extra days in Fort Nelson, waiting for the road to be repaired.
From Fort Nelson, BC, CA to Whitehorse, YT, CA the overall drive was beautiful with lots of mountains, rivers and lakes. The section through British Columbia, was green and rainy. This is where we saw a good amount of wildlife. I believe we counted seven bears and many many bison.
Another cool thing we discovered en-route to Whitehorse, was the signpost forest located in Watson Lake. This is where folks from around the world stop and add a sign of any kind from their respective country or state. So of course, we had to leave our mark. We made a Macedonian flag and another for Rollingovis. Look for them if you are ever there!
Up to this point, the roads were great. I’m even going to say hats off to the Canadians for keeping the roads in great shape from Fairmont Hot Springs all the way to Whitehorse. Once we left Whitehorse the road conditions drastically changed.
The portion from Whitehorse all the way to the US/Canada border is poorly managed despite all the ongoing construction. First, you start seeing potholes; then unpaved sections stretching over 100 miles. Even though the Alcan Highway is wide enough, that doesn’t prevent gravel from hitting your windshield or headlights. We saw RVs passing by with bubblewrap on their headlights.
On top of that, the road is very rough and can cause so much damage to your vehicle (e.g car, rv, etc.) from all the vibration. If you have a class A motorhome, you know what I’m talking about! Everything from the house to the chassis is shaking and rattling and nothing good comes out of that when lights start going out, jacks stop working, slide motor coming apart, your closet looks like it went through a spin cycle and the list goes on.
However, mentally it was very exhausting; so much so that we started thinking about selling our RV once we reach Alaska or taking a ferry back just to avoid driving the same road again. Yeah, I seriously thought about it every bit of the 297 miles it took us to reach the Canada/US border.
As we enter Alaska I thought the worst was behind us. My first impression was, great we have paved roads again. Finally a sign of relief! However, shortly after crossing the border I started seeing potholes and these weren’t your regular potholes. These were tire busting potholes. The kind that will make your car or RV parts start flying everywhere.
All in all, we didn’t have a major break down which was my biggest fear because you are hundreds of miles away from civilization and days if not weeks away from finding a qualified technician or replacement parts. That is something to keep in mind, when driving the Alcan Highway, especially the Whitehorse to the Canada/US border.
Despite the road conditions, all the construction, the emotional rollercoaster and the pullover to fix a chip on our RV windshield, we arrived in Tok, AK in one piece. That was a big sigh of relief.
Once you pull into Tok RV Village they had things figured out. Knowing how bad the roads are, they had an RV wash station and a windshield chip/crack repair shop ONSITE. I have never in our 2.5 years on the road stayed at an RV park or resort that offered a windshield repair on the spot.
A day later, we headed to Valdez, AK which is a small fishing town surrounded with the most spectacular fjords and turquoise glaciers. From there, we continued our journey via Palmer, AK and Anchorage, AK to Seward, AK which is located right next to the Kenai Fjords National Park on the Kenai Peninsula. If you ever hear me talking about glacier palooza, this is the place I’m referencing.
A week into our Alaskan adventure we finally made time to go fishing in Soldotna, AK and down the Fishing Hole in Homer, AK. Homer is known as halibut fishing capital of the world and folks come from all over the planet to catch this big fish. On top of that, there is great salmon fishing, especially in July.
In almost a month into our trip we have reached the southern most point of Alaska we could drive our RV to. From here on, we headed north to Denali National Park via Anchorage, AK.
The drive to Denali was breathtaking with abundance of wildlife and snow cover peaks in July. The southern part of Mt. McKinely peak was everything we anticipated it to be and the best view was sixty miles away on highway 3 en-route to the park entrance. In our opinion the second best view was from a tour bus we took within the park.
Next stop, Fairbanks, AK. We spent 3 days here and went to the Great Alaskan Bowl Company for some fine handmade wooden bowls and then spent an afternoon at Chena Hot Springs. What made Chena Hot Springs a memorable experience was seeing a male moose walking by while soaking in a 106 F outdoor spring pool.
Even though not part of the original plan, I made a personal goal to drive to the Arctic Circle before we started working our way down to the lower 48. It was without exaggeration the longest round trip drive we’ve been on. It was up there with the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. Every bit of endurance, not so much of a race. In stead of a podium and medal, our reward a certificate acknowledging we’ve crossed the arctic circle.
A month an a half into exploring Alaska, it was time to head back home. Emotionally prepared for what was ahead of us, I decided to approach the drive back with a different mind set and set our speed limit to 20 mph for the initial 400 miles ahead. This resulted in very long drive days and ZERO issues with the RV and the car. Exactly what I wanted on our second leg of the trip.
As we left Fairbanks, AK and headed southeast through Tok, AK to Whitehorse, YT, CA we wanted to see something different second time around since we already spend few days in Whitehorse on the way to Alaska. As a result, we took highway 2 down to Skagway, AK and in my book, the landscape was out of this world. A picture doesn’t do justice and words can describe the beauty in this part of the world.
From Skagway, AK we drove up to Whitehorse, YT, CA and headed east to Watson Lake, YT CA. Right before we got to Watson Lake we took highway 37, this is a very scenic road that takes your through some of the British Columbia world renowned natural hidden treasures, including Port Edward and Mt. Robson (e.g. tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies) located off Yellowhead highway 16. As we drove south to Prince George, BC, CA once again we got on highway 97, which took us Clinton, BC, CA. We spent one night at Clinton Pines RV park and had the best fish and chips by big H.
As we were approaching our 234 miles home stretch to the US border we hopped on highway 99 also known as Sea to Sky highway which took us to western Vancouver, BC, CA via Whistler, BC, CA. The drive again didn’t disappoint and we enjoyed the beautiful mountains and lakes along the way. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever used the words spectacular, beautiful, breathtaking, and out of this world in one post so many times.
US Bound
After two epic months of driving and exploring western Canada and Alaska, it was time to head to Albuquerque, NM for the 50th annual balloon fiesta and meet with our very good friends Ron and Robin. En route we made a pit stop at Lake Chelan in Chelan, WA then worked our way south via Jackson Hole, WY and Telluride, CO to Albuquerque, NM.
From there we headed north to Breckenridge, CO and Park City, UT for the most epic three months of ski experience. I was glad to spend time on the mountains and expose our kids one of the best ski places on the planet.
The Numbers
The four main categories we used to rack travel expenses were gas, food, accommodation and maintenance. This year, as compared to last year, we had additional expenses such as the three months ski trip.
Here is the break down of each expanse type:
- Total days on the road: 562
- States visited: 46
- Total miles driven: ~39,637
- Total amount paid for gas: $10,746.44
- Total amount paid for accommodation $13,398.65
- Total amount paid for food: $15,227.94
Closing Remarks
Here is to another year on the road. We covered serious territory, set a new driving record, seen things we haven’t seen before, brushed up on our geography, and made more life long friendships.
A road trip to Alaska can be a fun and exciting experience, for us it was definitely a rollercoaster experience. The challenges of the long drives and the adventures that await at the end are well worth the effort. On that note, find time, make time, and definitely plan a trip to Alaska.
Overall though, despite all the traveling and racking up 943 days on the road since the start of the rollingovi’s oddessy, we have not missed a beat, stayed busy with work, roadschoolled our kids, started a business, became landlords and enjoyed the power of auto investing.
