Roll call Alaska 2017

^^^good one lol
I went halibut fishing yesterday. Well, Texas Halibut: southern flounder. Still hot here, up in the 80's. Need a cool front to drop water temps and get the halibut, uhh flounder moving.

TxGearhead wrote:
....back to studying maps. :)

Drive north from "Howdy" up to "Eh" and keep going until the road ends on the Homer spit. There will be fresh halibut and a frosty mug there to reward you on a safe trip!

All great info and it is much appreciated.
Now....back to studying maps. :)

Carrera glider wrote:
Stay in the provincial camp grounds rather than down town gravel parking lots, the one on the North side is close and you can foot traffic on the ferry to town.
Or stay out by the airport quiet after 9 P.M. but you will have to drive back to town, both are good.

The Yukon River campground across the river from Dawson is very nice, and big-rig friendly. The one by the airport is old and neither very nice nor big-rig friendly.

I see one post mentioning a trip to the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Hwy, I would advise against the Dalton. A better choice is the Dempster access just south of Dawson City,
the road is in better shape, less 18 wheeler traffic and you get to go thru Tomestone park, great hiking, fantastic scenery. Stay over night in Tomestone park right behind the visitors center.

Go to Dawson City on the way up or back, our favorite little town in the Yukon.
Stay in the provincial camp grounds rather than down town gravel parking lots, the one on the North side is close and you can foot traffic on the ferry to town.
Or stay out by the airport quiet after 9 P.M. but you will have to drive back to town, both are good.

TxGearhead wrote:
Or just take HWY4 from Watson Lake to Carmacks and on to Dawson.

The Campbell Highway between Watson Lake and Faro can be VERY rough and muddy. Most of it is not paved. It has been under construction for a few years, and those construction zones are ugly.

Fuel is available in Watson Lake, Ross River and Faro. The one gas station in Ross River is sometimes out of fuel and the one gas station in Faro is an unmanned station (credit or debit card only) and if the computer is having a hissy fit, then the pumps don't work. So if you do this route, plan to have enough fuel to get you from Watson Lake to Carmacks (at the Klondike Highway) just in case.

There is only one campground with services, in Faro. There are four government campgrounds along the way, with no services. The gov't campgrounds are nice - three of them are lakeside.

http://yukonsights.ca/CampbellHwy.html

A typical construction zone - Sept 2015

We are interested in going as well, just picked this up, starflyte 21 ft, this king of some combo ferry and road back from CA. Much much more convenient than our 40 footer. Wife has dreams of fishing!

Thanks

Cbig

TxGearhead wrote:
Yeah, I'm wanting to go 2017. I passed on caravanning with a friend this year. I asked the wife if she wanted to go....in the cabover. NO. Well maybe.
I need advice on routes. Is there any reason to get on HWY2 at Whitehorse and go to Dawson and on to Tok and Fairbanks, other than avoiding seeing the same scenary twice on HWY1 from Whitehorse to Tetlin Junction on the way back? Or just take HWY4 from Watson Lake to Carmacks and on to Dawson. Then south on HWY3 to Wasilla and back to Tok. Is the HWY37 loop to Prince George BC, then Kamloops and into Washington good stuff? I wouldn't mind seeing coastal Washington and Oregon.
It'll be a bunch of miles from Houston.

If you are an adventurous sol those are good plans but be prepared to take care of yourself most services are limited at best to fuel and the fuel may not always be available. The road conditions vary even more than the main routes.

thedavidzoo wrote:
We are also heading up to AK the summer of 2017!
We'll be driving all the way from the Washington DC area via all the typical routes - Banff & Alaskan Hwy up, Cassair down...at least this first time.
Leaving 3rd week of June (as soon as kids' school lets out) and returning 3rd week of August. Wish we could make it longer.

Sounds like a good plan and you will have time to see most of the major scenic attractions in that length of time, especially if you have 3 drivers for your truck. With your solar panels, you should be able to dry camp along the highway, especially in northwest Canada and Alaska where it is legal except where posted. In some states, like Idaho, nearly every town has a free or low-cost RV dump, so you won't need a campground even when you are dry camping.

Not having to find campgrounds or RV parks along your route and spend time hooking up for just an 8-hour rest stop should save considerable time as well. And once you get west, many Indian casinos have RV hookups for a very reasonable price. These are normally near major highways, so you can get in and out in a short time.

HAve a great trip!

TxGearhead wrote:
Yeah, I'm wanting to go 2017. I passed on caravanning with a friend this year. I asked the wife if she wanted to go....in the cabover. NO. Well maybe.
I need advice on routes. Is there any reason to get on HWY2 at Whitehorse and go to Dawson and on to Tok and Fairbanks, other than avoiding seeing the same scenary twice on HWY1 from Whitehorse to Tetlin Junction on the way back? Or just take HWY4 from Watson Lake to Carmacks and on to Dawson. Then south on HWY3 to Wasilla and back to Tok. Is the HWY37 loop to Prince George BC, then Kamloops and into Washington good stuff? I wouldn't mind seeing coastal Washington and Oregon.
It'll be a bunch of miles from Houston.

On the way up, I would recommend highway 97 through Fort Nelson, some very nice views on this road and you should see many wildlife. A stop at Liard River hot spring is a delight.

I never been on highway 4 from Watson to Carmacks because the recommendations where not the best. Highway 2 from Whitehorse to Dawson is better I think, it is not the most impressive but it has some nice lookout of the Yukon River.

Dawson is a nice little place to see and it has a lot of history, you can spend a few days there. Then you can go to Chicken by the "Top of the world road", it has some very nice scenery. Chicken is a place to see once, go to the bar for a beer or two, you might meet some interesting folks. Then to Tok and to Faibanks. Fairbanks is a good place to refill with Food and stuff and it has some nice tourist attractions. If you want to go to the Artic cirlce and to the Artic Ocean, this is where the road starts, asphalte for the first strech then gravel, it is a long drive, around 500 miles. I have been twice and do not regret. The Tundra is something to see.

If you prefer not to go to the Artic, you might want to head down to Anchorage through Denali Park, this is The place to see the highest Peak in North America and the park is a wonder.

I would not miss Valdez. If you go around the 18 of July, you should see some bears and Sea lions feeding on Salmon, and the boat tours to the Glacier is spectacular.

On you way back you can take the other route from Tok to Haines Junction then to Haines. It has some spectacular scenery. You will not miss much between Haines junction and Whitehorse. Haines is a nice little town by the bay and it has some good Rockfish. Depending on when you go, you will see many Eagles on the way down. From there you can take the boat to Skagway with your RV, it is a very nice boat ride and not very exensive, spend a few days then go to Carcross then you probably want to go back to Whitehorse for grocery before you head back, there is not many big stores between Whitehorse and BC.

On the way down to Prince George by the Cassiar highway, you do not want to miss Hyder AK/ Stewart BC, the Glacier Highway to get there is very nice, you will see big water fall from glaciers and once you get to Hyder, you could see some black bears and Grysley in town and at the bear lookout platform where they feed just below your feet, best time is around end of July / August I beleive. Then you can go on top of the Salmon Glacier, the drive to get up there is again, spectacular and unique, you have the Glacier below your feet.

Then you want to drive, and stop, on the Icefield parkway in BC, from Jasper to banff, again, Spectacular.

In other words, take the most of what you can in the days you have. I see that you have a Bigfoot, my two trips where with a Bigfoot. You could sleep right there on top of the Salmon Glacier, not at the lookout but further up the road a little, be aware that the road is riding along a cliff. There are so many nice places to explore with a TC. Another scenic road, if you are not afraid of hights and gravel scenic roads, would be to go from Willow to Wasilla.