On the Road with "Roll Call Alaska 2013"......

[JANETRUPP]

Okay all my Alaska family...Here it is...
As requested I am starting a new thread for all you "Roll Call Alaska 2013" travelers to blog all your adventures.
This may help others traveling behind us or those going next year. Any news on roads, gas, what to see or miss. Anything.... just blog and tell of your adventures on one of our most memorable trips.

We start out tomorrow (only as far as Vegas..:C) but will be slowly heading up and away on our trip.

So start Bloging and lets keep in touch.

Travel safe and smart!!!!
Janet

[AprilWhine]

We made the right decision, to not take the bus.

Met a couple with a bus like ours in Dawson City. The next day, they headed out over Top of the World highway. Serendipitous, they were in the same campground as us in Tok so we could share stories.

Driving our small class C, we thought it was a pleasant drive. Only minor problem was encountering a wide load on the narrow, steep drop off section but we just pulled over and let him pass. The bus however...

The bus owners told us they got stuck in the mud in the construction area and had to be pulled out by the workers. Looking down from the windows, the passenger could not see the road, just the sheer drops. Every passing encounter pushed them over almost to the soft shoulders. They had to unhook their dinghy so the wife could lead and radio back that it was safe to come ahead. They said it was a stressful trip and not to be repeated in a 45' bus.

[cosninocanines]

mhwarner wrote:
Are you from Prescott? We are from Seligman just to the north of you. Have traveled Yarnell Hill many times and sadly watched all the video we could find (which is not great here in the Yukon although we do have CNN). I have some friends whose daughter went to school with some of the guys. Terrible tragedy.

How did you like Manley? Any recommendations? We will be in Denali August 19 for 4 days and then will go north. Hope to see some Northern Lights by then. I know it's a bit early but maybe ...

We are from Flagstaff. Seligman = Lilos!

The road to Manley is not too bad but take it slow, the potholes and dust pockets come up fast. Crews were working on the road in 2 different areas so some of the worst may be fixed when you go. The pavement out of Fox wasn't much better. Watch for gravel trucks when you get about 15 miles from Manley their hauling to the new airport.

My highlight was meeting Joe and Pam Redington Jr. at their Iditarod kennels it was a chance meeting for us as we went there to purchase fishing licenses and came away with some great memories. Hot Springs are a must do call for appointmnet (numbers in the milepost).

[Hjudge49]

We are at Stoney Creek in Seward, C2 until Friday.

[CA_Traveler]

We're in Seward for a few days. Anyone else here?

[CA_Traveler]

Well we're loving our Alaskan visit. But the Portage Valley Rd to Whitter is fantastic. The glaciers and views are fantastic.

Whatever you do drive down to Whittier. The Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center is well worth several hours and it's in the tour saver book. The Interperter Center is also great, low cost or free for us.

We stayed at the Portage Valley RV Park (pricey at $39) but we got so much information from the manager that we're going back. SIL is arriving next Tues and believe it or not the manager is going to loan us fishing equipment and probably go with us across the road to the river next Tues. The sockeye will be running by then. Plus he'll freeze the catch for my SIL for a week until he can stop by and pick it up on his return trip with the family to fly out of Anchorage.

Where might I ask have you ever heard of a CG offering this? Did I mention that they have a community cook house with a fire and BBQ as part of the service? I'd go there again in a heartbeat. In fact we're going to meet our daughter and family there when they get in to Anchorage.

[AprilWhine]

lizzie wrote:
We have been hanging around in Tok for a few days watching it rain and getting ready to go back to Canada. The folks around here are so happy for the rain that it makes me feel bad to wish it would stop. Vehicles coming in from the Taylor Highway last night were beyond dirty and we heard some horror stories. The dirt doesn't bother us but we don't like the idea of towing on slick roads. Had about decided to skip Chicken-Dawson and head on to Whitehorse. Late this afternoon the SMART caravan came in and we looked for AprilWhine (Sherrie & Jim). What great folks! Their whole group had come from Dawson and they did fine. So we are off to try our luck. lizzie

Yes, it was great to meet you and Butch too! Thanks for the tip about Homer!

[lizzie]

We have been hanging around in Tok for a few days watching it rain and getting ready to go back to Canada. The folks around here are so happy for the rain that it makes me feel bad to wish it would stop. Vehicles coming in from the Taylor Highway last night were beyond dirty and we heard some horror stories. The dirt doesn't bother us but we don't like the idea of towing on slick roads. Had about decided to skip Chicken-Dawson and head on to Whitehorse. Late this afternoon the SMART caravan came in and we looked for AprilWhine (Sherrie & Jim). What great folks! Their whole group had come from Dawson and they did fine. So we are off to try our luck. lizzie

[mhwarner]

cosninocanines wrote:
We are out of Manley and just set up in Denali RV Park for 3 days with full agendas for every day of our visit. Space D-3. Wish we could have attended the memorial for our fallen firefighters in Prescott our hearts and prayers are with them all.

Are you from Prescott? We are from Seligman just to the north of you. Have traveled Yarnell Hill many times and sadly watched all the video we could find (which is not great here in the Yukon although we do have CNN). I have some friends whose daughter went to school with some of the guys. Terrible tragedy.

How did you like Manley? Any recommendations? We will be in Denali August 19 for 4 days and then will go north. Hope to see some Northern Lights by then. I know it's a bit early but maybe ...

[cosninocanines]

We are out of Manley and just set up in Denali RV Park for 3 days with full agendas for every day of our visit. Space D-3. Wish we could have attended the memorial for our fallen firefighters in Prescott our hearts and prayers are with them all.

[fanrgs]

My "Milepost Alaska Highway Geology" blog has changed locations. Due to problems that I can't resolve with Google and Blogger/BlogSpot.com, I have moved it to blog.com (go to Milepost Alaska Highway Geology 2). This part will cover the West Access Route, the Yellowhead Highway (Prince George to Kitwanga), the Cassiar and Stewart-Hyder Highways, the Alaska Highway (Watson Lake to Jake's Corner), South Klondike Highway (Carcross to Skagway) as a start (and a faster WiFi connection than any I have had since leaving Prince George).

We are in Skagway now and heading to Haines on the Wednesday ferry. Haven't seen anyone else from Roll Call yet.

[phxkayaker]

Thanks, Lizzie. That was very helpful! Thanks to Janet for your thoughts and your role in pulling this community together!

John

[lizzie]

phxkayaker requested, The Denali Road Report: We towed our 22' TT w/ GMC truck starting at Cantwell going east. I cannot recall any significant difficulty and actually thought it was better than sections of the Alaska Highway. We drove 30 miles per hour most of the time but stayed vigilant for sudden rough spots and narrow bridges. It was obvious that most of the shoulders were soft and we were careful where we pulled off. Other drivers were courteous. We also have a dog and while she is not injured, she is elderly. I have to keep an eye on her on rough roads. It was a beautiful drive with lots of places to dry-camp. I'm so sorry about your pooch, hope you have a great trip. lizzie

[sue_t]

Lizzie, the road is in decent condition to Chicken. Chicken to the border is a bit more interesting; this was the area that washed out in 2010 and required significant reconstruction & rebuilding. It continues to an interesting drive.

Between the border and Dawson City is our favourite section. It is generally good gravel, with some soft spots. There are numerous spots to boondock along this piece and it gets very quiet at night because the customs offices close for the night.

We like to spend 2-3 days on the Taylor & Top of the World Highways, so obviously we're meandering along. Not in a rush to get anywhere. Thus we thoroughly enjoy the journey.

[lizzie]

Thanks Sue. In NC we live on a gravel road so we know that slow and watchful is the way to go. It is raining right now and we heard thunder (thunder in Alaska, how great is that?)Roll Callers, b2egypt, just stopped by. I almost took our sign out of the window, am so glad I did not. It has been great making connections as we travel. I think we will go for the Chicken route tomorrow. (In whitewater paddling, the "Chicken Route" is the easy way around a rapid, not so true here?) lizzie

[phxkayaker]

Lizzie - can you give us a road report for Denali Highway? With a very sore dog we're thinking we're going to give it a pass, but I really want to do it.