The 4 "F" Words of the Last 3 Weeks

 

Where did we go?!?!

We are currently in the city of Nelson at a café waiting for our van to be fixed and praying it will be covered by warranty.  The last few weeks have can be summarized by four “F” words: Family, Friends, fixing (the van) and saying/yelling a certain expletive.  So, this blog post will be a little different then the last, we are going to go through each “F” word and how it has impacted the last 3 weeks.
  

Family

We did not know if we could handle vanlife or this road trip when we first started.  We were nervous for the undertaking, scared for the future and riddled with self doubt, so we decided to break the trip up into a small part, driving up to Tuktoyaktuk and Alaska and driving South.  We’d separate these two sections by saying goodbye to Kendra’s family in Edmonton and saying goodbye (again) to my family in Quesnel.

After a night in a hotel, we drove relatively quickly to Edmonton where we visited family and shared tales from the road, most of which can be read from previous blog posts. 

One of our most memorable days was meeting up with our nieces and nephews at the Telus World of Science.  Kendra’s sister drove into the parking lot with all her kids but there was something off about her van, it was making a load Tssss sound.  Well, it didn’t take long to tell that there was a significant leak in one of her tires and within a matter of a minute the tire was absolutely flat.  We tried to help as best we could but after some discussion it was decided that we would call CAA (known as AMA in Alberta and BCAA in BC). 

We decided to get BCAA for this trip, but Kendra’s sister recommended we use her son’s AMA card.  They had a family plan and Paul was instructed to call AMA and inform them that he was driving the kids when the flat occurred; unfortunately, Paul did not follow directions…  After dialing the number, the first question that was asked was “What is your name”.  Paul panicked and forgot to be honest, instead he looked at the card bearing the name of a 7 year old boy and said Oliver.  The person from AMA was nice a greeted “Oliver” with a friendly word, then asked for my number, which I read on the card.  After he read the number the man on the other line went silent and after a few moments started to make a lot of hmmm sounds, which were finally broken with, “this card appears to be for a 7 year old boy”.  Well, Paul knew exactly what to do, he then responded, oh right, yes that is my…. Son, my name is Joel.  The AMA man once again greeted “Joel” with a friendly word, found his number then asked him to verify that he was Joel by telling him Joel’s birthday.  Well… that didn’t work…

In haste Paul spoke, probably a little loudly, “Ok, forget everything I’ve been saying, my name is Paul” Thankfully the AMA person found it amusing and within the next bit of time the flat tire was replaced.  Oddly AMA does not torque your tires for you as it is a liability issue, they just tighten it to a point they think is good.  Paul found this incredibly odd and a bit unsafe, so after the AMA person had finished the paper work, Paul grabbed the torque wrench from our vehicle and tightened the lug nuts (with the proper socket end- borrowed from AMA), two of which were surprisingly loose.

The rest of our family time in Edmonton was filled with delicious meals, tasty drinks and time at Driedmeat Lake/Tillicum Beach which was actually quite nice and didn’t have any sort of smell.  For some reason, with a name like Driedmeat Lake my expectation were incredibly low.

Seeing family in Prince George/Quesnel was equally enjoyable with Paul spending most of his time with his Dad fixing the van (more on this later).  The only real oddity of seeing family again was that in our minds and hearts we had already said goodbye to Paul’s family so it felt we were more haunting the area; we had our closure and now we felt like we were destroying the closure we were provided.

Friends

The reason we started making less stops between Fort St John and Quesnel, via Edmonton was that Fall was approaching the North.  When we woke up in Whitehorse and area, we were greeted by the cool crispy fall morning feeling.  The afternoon sun also seemed to hit the trees in a manner that highlighted the changing colours.  Edmonton and Quesnel became a balancing act between not staying too long, as not to freeze at night as we make our way down south, seeing family and seeing friends.

Thankfully enroute to Edmonton we were able to go into Grande Prairie where we were able to see a couple friends at the brewery, show off our van and hear excitement or changes within their lives, as well as get caught up with the political landscape of Alberta.

In Edmonton Paul was able to have a board game night, move a “little bit of mulch” and have a fire all while catching up.

Similarly, Kendra saw a good friend at a park and caused Paul to be the Designated Driver (for once :P).

Quesnel treated us well again; we truly will miss the people we have gotten to know over the last 7 years.  Kendra seemed to live at the Den, a local coffeeshop, for a few days constantly meeting people she had developed a relationship with.  The evenings were filled with drinks and laughter and often a fire. 

Fixing (the van)

Since the incident where “we” dented the rim(s), we have had the van fixed 4 times, with the time in Nelson being the 5^th time!!  Tire shops seem to becoming a new destination for us, but hopefully this trend ends today.

#1 When we arrived in Edmonton it was top priority to fix the rims (or order new ones).  I went to Fountain tire and showed them the issue and they went to work.   After an hour or so they called me up to the counter, informed me they were able to bang the dents out of the rim and we’d be good to go.  Paul was ecstatic, thanked them and left.

#2 Right before leaving Edmonton Paul was filling up the van with gas (as Kendra was driving that day) and looked down at one of the rims, the rim that had received the largest amount of damage and the tire looked very low.  Paul grabbed the air pressure gauge and realized that the tire only had about 12 psi of air (it is supposed to have 36 psi).
Off to the nearest Fountain tire, unfortunately a different one, and turns out that that the rim was not round and the bead wouldn’t form a seal, so it still leaked air.  Fountain tire did a bit more work on the rim and felt it was good enough for the time being.

After such a big hit in Alaska we were convinced, our alignment would be off.  We’d already started to notice uneven wear patterns on one of the tires so getting an alignment was top of mind.  Kendra had made an appointment at OK tire in Quesnel who informed us that they couldn’t do an alignment as our struts were leaking, one specifically was leaking really badly.  They also informed us that ¾ of our breaks were seized.  To fix everything would be around $3000.  Unfortunately, these are things we had to get fixed.

#3 Paul and his Dad decided to fix the brakes themselves.  Due to supply chain issues getting the right parts was always a day away.  It was a little surprising that the brakes had seized as it was only 2 years ago that we had redone the brakes in the van, but in the time, it looked like I had driven through acid, the corrosion on the brakes was ridiculous.  When we had replaced the brakes last, we learned that the van has “heavy duty brakes” which most Dodge Grand Caravans do not have and those type of brakes require special calipers, rotors and brake pads.  We knew from previous personal experience the wrong calipers or pads would not fit.
We did need a new caliper and after picking it up and taking it home we opened the box and sighed that familiar expletive, they had given us the incorrect caliper. 
Frustratingly I returned to the auto parts store.  The attendant was very confused by the caliper I returned as it wasn’t the caliper that was ordered for me.  The attendant was stumped, but just at that another man talking to a different attendant was heard complaining he was also given the incorrect caliper.  I quickly looked over and started to laugh, he had my caliper and I had his.  We had picked them up at different times but thankfully we’re returning them at the same time.  After a quick swap Paul and his Dad were able to repair the brakes on the van.

#4 We spent the money to get OK tire to fix the struts and do an alignment.  We paid the money and thought we were done with all the repairs…

#5 A few days after leaving Kendra was driving North of Nakusp when all of sudden a horrible clunking noise filled the van.  With every bump or left hand turn we would here CLUNK.  A quick google indicated that it could be a serious concern and was likely related to the work done by OK tire in Quesnel.  The work was on warranty so we decided to quickly drive to Nelson, the location of the nearest OK tire. Every kilometer and ever CLUNK was stressful causing stress headaches for both of us. Thankfully as we sit here, we got a call from OK Tire in Nelson who informed us that the issue was minor, OK tire in Quesnel had improperly installed a sway bar.  OK Tire in Nelson was able to fix it and we are happy to say that after an hour and a half in the shop we have our van back and we are confident to hit the road again.

A certain expletive

Every issue has cost money, time and stress.   Although Paul has a little side gig, we have a budget we have to follow.  When planning this trip, we decided to “Adult” and see a financial advisor on how to do this trip like fiscally responsible people.  By doing so we have various amounts locked into GIC and money in the market.  Lots of this money we can not touch for another 4 months and although we have a rainy day fund, we don’t want to break into it in the first couple months of this journey.  After purchasing health insurance for the next year, vehicle insurance and fixing the van we had spent a month’s budget in 3 days. 

We do feel like we are running out of time, as we sit here in Nelson it is barely above 10 degrees, extremely smoky, and the nights are quite cool.  We want to see more and do more but we feel pressed for time.

Both these issues have been causing a bit of stress causing us to utter, at least once a day a certain expletive, especially when we need to fix the van or go over our daily budget.

 

Our Days on the Road

August 27^th – The Hot Springs in Jasper

While in Edmonton Paul had randomly looked at campsites in Jasper for Saturday and was surprised to see a spot available.  We decided to book it so we could spend a day at Miette Hot Springs.

It was a bit surprising when we arrived at Miette to see a line up out the door.  Looking at the observation area the pools were packed, but we were undeterred. 

Although Paul found the pools nice, Kendra got pretty tired of looking down and seeing pubes float by.  The realization that no one had left the packed pool in the hours we had been there and the heavy chlorine smell was also very concerning as we had learned the smell, we associated with pools is actually the off gas created when urine mixes with Chlorine.  Yum.

After leaving the pool we decided to have a shower and sit by a fire and relax properly for the rest of the night.  We also lucked out with out timing because a week later Jasper had a wildfire destroy some infrastructure and Parks Canada has been encouraging tourists not to visit due to limited power and resources.

September 7^th – Leaving Quesnel again

We woke up in 100 Mile House beside Valentine Lake.  We had planned to drive to Nelson right after Quesnel and with it being such as long drive decided to leave the evening of September 6^th.   The Rec site was packed full of people, we were lucky to even get a spot so instead of feeling confined in a small camp spot we hit the road.  It was recommended the we check out Kentucky Alleyne Provincial Park known for its beautiful glacier blue colour.  Once we had arrived, we were happy we decided to only drive that far.  The lakes in the area were beautiful and perfect to swim in.   We also saw a young couple bring their pet in the water, why is that odd you wonder?  Because their pet was a bearded dragon. Rupert was unwilling to get his feet wet, but the bearded dragon was living its best life.

Regardless it was great to sit beside a lake and think about the road a head.

 

September 8^th – Errands in Kelowna

We stayed at the provincial park as long as we could, but within short order it was time to do some errands in Kelowna, we wanted to get some fresh fruit, drink some cider, get some groceries.  Kendra also wanted to get a hair cut, although she was 9/10, she thought she could do better, now she is a 10/10 :P

It’s funny how errand days seem to take up all your time, by the time Kendra was done her hair appointment it was almost 3pm, so after some googling, we found a rec site on top of a mountain, 12 kilometers up a forestry road.  We had the place to ourselves and with the fire bans removed in BC we were able to play music, have a fire and not worry how late (or early) we went to bed.

 

September 9^th – Kendra’s Decision

As we may have mentioned we trade who makes decisions for the day.  Kendra decided that she wanted to relax in nice hot springs and wash away the memories of Miette so we went to Halfway Hot Springs just north of Nakusp and just as we arrived to the campground all of a sudden, the van started to make a CLUNK noise, which we now know was a loose sway bar but at the time it was incredibly frustrating. We set up our camp prayed it was just a rock lodged somewhere and headed down to the water.  Although not as good a Liard River Hot Springs, Halfway Hot Springs is still a must go.  The natural pools and laissez faire attitude will mean that you will always have interesting conversations, perfect people watching opportunities and late night shenanigans.

Surprisingly we even saw someone we went to Undergrad with at Halfway Hot Springs which made the whole experience that must more special.

 

September 10^th – Okay there is something wrong

Paul didn’t sleep well, he kept tossing and turning thinking about the noise the van was making, so decided we need to get it looked at and with a place open in Nakusp we decided to make our move.  We were still hopeful the it was just a rock and were hoping a drive down a washboard road would dislodge it.  We were wrong and it became pretty evident that we needed to get this issue fixed.

Only one place was open in Nakusp but the person there was only able to look at tires, so he would be no help.  Feeling confident it was an issue with Struts we looked for the nearest OK Tire, which was Nelson and slowly drove to Nelson.  This drive was the longest drive of our trip.  It was stressful with us making note of ever sound, but not acknowledging out loud our individual thoughts, concerns or stresses.

When we arrived at Nelson we had hoped to get the van seen to that day, but everywhere was booked solid, so our plan changed to finding a spot to stay for the night.  Since it was a weekend, all the official campgrounds were booked, so it was recommended we head to a little unofficial campground a local told us about.  Well as soon as we arrived to this unofficial location we decided to leave.  There were “No camping” signs everywhere.  We looked on iOverlander and saw that just up a forest service road was another spot.  After a stressful 3 km drive up a mountain, we had our spot and met another Vanlifer.  It was a breath of fresh air not to talk about the van and instead chat with a stranger about everything and nothing.  Well after that we weren’t really strangers anymore.

 

September 11^th – Parking the Van

We were able to get a camping spot at the Nelson Municipal Campground which we thought would be a better spot for us, so we VERY SLOWLY drove down the mountain into town, slightly annoyed at ourselves for driving all the way up with an unknown vehicle issue, (but hey we have BCAA…right?).

We made it down in one piece and got to the campground without incident.  We set up our camp and decided to explore Nelson on foot.  We learned that is definitely the right way to see the city!  This town is what we’d call a “Hallmark City”.  It’s a cute little mountain down that embraces its arts scene, is oozing with culture and contains countless historical buildings.

We met back up with our Vanlife friend for beers at the end of the night and watched the sun go down and her dog play in the water, while Rupert slept.  It was good way to end the day.

 

September 12^th – FIXED!!!!

We woke up early to be at OK tire when it opened and as you’ve read the van was fixed.  It was even free of charge since it was under warranty. So, we get to spend the rest of the day exploring the alleys of Nelson which contain murals, grabbing a beer at one of the breweries and taking a historic electric tramway trip along Kootenay Lake. 

We are so happy to finally feel like everything is fixed, and hopefully we won’t have any more issues.

Our best days in Alaska!!

 Aug 10^th – 24 hours of Sun (our best day in Alaska…so far)!!

Our time in Alaska was marked with rain, without fail it would rain at least once a day, if not for most of the day.  We have been very strategic with our time, setting alarms to wake up before the rain, eating only when it is raining, driving only when its raining, etc.; however today was going to be 100% sunny and nice so we decided to only go to Girdwood a ski resort community south of Anchorage.  The area was known for beautiful hikes and after comparing and contrasting different hikes the previous day we settled on the North Face hike at the ski resort.  This hike had three big benefits, there was a restaurant/pub at the 80% completion mark of the hike, it went to a summit of a mountain which had views of various glaciers and other mountain peaks and best of all we could take a gondola down from the restaurant for free with Rupert.

We started the hike early as it was supposed to get hot and the hikes got pretty gruelling, one section specifically, known as the stairway to heaven, had some of the steepest gradients we had ever seen, thankfully the ski resort had created a kilometre and a half of stairs, steep uneven steps.

It was only made worthwhile when we sat at the top of the mountain and had a beer, a beer that was somehow cheaper at the top of a mountain than at the brewery it was from.  Throughout our trip, we actually noticed this oddity a few times on our trip.

The most scenic drive we have done in a long time is the drive from Anchorage to Whittier, the drive is comparable to the sea to sky highway north of Vancouver to Whistler, and we were excited to drive it in the sun.  It was a great drive; Paul would love to do it on a motorcycle.

After a quick stop in Anchorage to fill up gas at Costco and get chocolates from a company that was highly recommended (they weren’t that good ☹) we headed to the cute community of Palmer.  This community seems to be where all the hipsters of Alaska live, and yeah, we loved it, hahah, cafes, breweries, hikes, views, and bakeries, so we spent the rest of the time here camping in our van down by the river.

 

Aug 11^th – More scenic drives

We wish we could go back in time and tell our past selves to skip northern Alaska, so we could spend more time on the Kenai Peninsula, in greater Anchorage and in Valdez as these areas and the drives to them were stunning.  Although it rained for most of the day the weather complemented the drive.  The last 200 km into Valdez were especially stunning with glaciers and waterfalls viewable right from the highway and the jaw-dropping Keystone Canyon which combined the best elements of the entire drive into one 10-kilometre section.

Valdez is a cute community right on the ocean with lots to do, but fewer tourists because there is not a lot of infrastructure to get tourists there (there is no train line, we saw very few tourist buses and only small cruise ships can get to their port). 

We started our time in Valdez the same way we start most of our time in new communities, by stopping in visitor information to get some recommendations of what to do and check our emails and send a message or two to our families.  We were immediately intrigued by pictures at the information center of people paddling in ice caves and felt compelled to enquire.  We learned that there were companies that for $150 USD would take you to Valdez Lake, a lake full of icebergs, give you a kayak and then would take you to the best ice caves within the icebergs.

Well, how could we turn that down?  We immediately walked to a tour company a booked for the next day.

 

Aug 12^th – Paddling into Ice Caves

It was an early start, so we set the alarm, had breakfast and made our way to the tour company.  Before we knew it, we were in the water paddling surrounded by icebergs, glaciers and mountains.  Paddling on this lake alone was worth the cost, but then we were taken to an ice cave, then another, then another.  In the end, we saw 5 ice caves, each unique and beautiful. Highly recommend.  Unbelievable, although the forecast was for rain (with a 100% chance) it never rained while we were on the water.  It wasn’t until we had packed up and returned to the town center that the rain returned.

We headed towards a hatchery on the south side of the city as we had heard at high tide, we could see various sea lions feasting on salmon.

The area of the hatchery was quite a thing to see as there were thousands of fish all trying to get back to the hatchery as the salmon run was still occurring and the local birds and sea lions were getting very well fed.

If you haven’t guessed we are big fans of Valdez.

We decided to end our time by going out for dinner at a well-reviewed Seafood place called the Fat Mermaid.  We had gone out for dinner a couple times in Alaska but we were always disappointed, the food wasn’t bad, but not as good as we thought it should be for the price.  Well, this was the worst meal we had had with overcooked fish, fries that tasted like they had gone cold and then were refried and WARM COLESLAW.  Paul had the good sense to not eat the coleslaw, but Kendra feeling that she hadn’t had enough vegetables lately decided to eat hers.  Probably not the smartest choice.

 

Aug 13^th – Alaska’s Revenge

It was time to leave Alaska, the forecast for the next few days was a 100% chance of a lot of rain.  The morning was also feeling a bit colder with the area feeling as if autumn was only a week or two away so we decided to get back to Canada, meaning a long day of driving.  We left early and started heading
north.

Two key things happened on this journey

#1 - That coleslaw Kendra had eaten gave her food poisoning…

#2 - The roads got really bad on the ALCAN highway between the Canadian border and Tok, Alaska, while Paul was trying to see if it was safe to pass a vehicle, he did not notice a giant pothole.  Well, the passenger side tires hit the pothole denting both rims…  The front tire was okay, small dent, but would hold air and didn’t cause a wobble.  The rear rim was losing air relatively fast, so we pulled the full-size spare off the top of the roof and changed the tire.

Thanks, Alaska it’s been an adventure

The best moment of the day was crossing the border into Canada, after a quick chat with the border guard, he said “Welcome Home” and it somehow put quite the smile on our faces after Alaska decided to give us one last less than stellar day.

 

Aug 14^th – Good to be “home”

We had camped just outside of Kluane National Park, and driving into the park, chatting with Parks Canada we decided upon a hike, the most popular hike on the north side of the park known as Sheep Creek.  Not much to say about it other than it is beautiful and totally worth doing!!

The community of Haines Junction is in between the north and south sides of Kluane National Park, a community we had never been to before but was an amazing community.  It reminded me of Jasper but had little to no tourists.  The most happening spot was a bakery called Village Bakery, with fresh food, freshly baked goods, great coffee (or beer) and a patio that looked out to the mountains.  Highly recommend spending some time here. Not to sound like too much of a fanboy, but Canada is an incredible country.

 

Aug 15^th – A nothing day

We spent the night in Kathleen Lake Campground within Kluane and decided to spend two nights so we could put up our feet and have a “nothing day’.  We had a campfire, roasted hot dogs, read our respective books and had a leisurely walk down to Kathleen Lake.  It was a needed rest day.

 

Aug 16^th – Driving across the Yukon

We left Kluane relatively early so we could get to the bakery in Haines Junction before they sold out of sourdough. The next stop was Whitehorse to purchase food and drinks.  We also wanted to get Fountain Tire to look at our tires, unsurprisingly they did not have the rims we needed in stock, but after looking at our set up suggested we continue to drive and get the rims (and tires) looked at in Edmonton so we started our drive towards British Columbia stopping for the night just outside of Watson Lake.

 

Aug 17^th – “The Best Place on Earth”

We stayed the night in Watson Lake as it was the closest campground to our next major stop, Liard River Hot Springs.  The slogan for British Columbia is “The Best Place on Earth” but when I think of that slogan, I only think of one place Liard River Hot Springs (in the winter).  We were slightly concerned it would not have the same magic in the summer but knew we wanted to get a site right at the campground which we had heard fills up by around 3pm. You can reserve campsites but all reservable sites were already reserved.

We couldn’t leave Watson Lake without exploring the famous Sign Post Forest.  We had seen pictures of the signpost forest before but pictures do not do it justice, it is vast with so many unique and interesting signs.  We spent over an hour wandering and reading about people's own adventures in the north.  We left wishing we had prepared something to place in the “forest”.

We made it to the hot springs and got a great spot and spent the rest of the evening in the hot springs.

 

Aug 18^th – A Day at the hot springs

Liard River Hot Springs in the winter is an 11/10.  It is just magic, Liard River Hot Springs in the Summer are still outstanding, but maybe just a 9/10.  One of the great aspects of this hot spring it is so large and so natural that there is a perfect temperature for anyone at any time of year.  If you want to sit in 40 degrees heat you can sit by the source, you want 12 degrees then head down the tunnel/river/creek at the far end of the hot springs.  Want something in-between, just walk around, and you will find it.

We spent the day sitting in hot springs, or hanging around the campsite playing games or snacking.

Great day!

 

Aug 19^th – HOTEL PARTY

When this trip began, we had planned to treat ourselves to a hotel every couple of weeks.  We knew this would happen less in the north, but we still had plans to sleep in a hotel periodically.  Well going north to the Yukon/Alaska during tourist time meant that hotels started around $250 a night, if there was even availability, so we spent 45 nights in the van. 

Well, today we decided to finally get a hotel in Fort St. John so that we can relax, order some pizza, and hook up the computer to the TV and Netflix and Chill.  It also gave us the opportunity to give Rupert a much-needed bath. 

$100 was well spent!!

Gas Prices

 If anyone knows something about Kendra, or the Kerrigan’s, it’s that they can be a bit particular about where they purchase their fuel. If you find yourself on a road trip here is where you can safely (as a Kerrigan-without upsetting those who have passed) purchase gas from ranked in order:

1. Esso/Exxon or anything produced by Imperial Oil
2. Husky or Mohawk- they’re the same quality as Esso
3. Loblaws brand- this may be Mobil in some places which is sort of Exxon Mobil so it may rank higher (this one is really for the Duquette’s -Kendra’s moms side of the family because of the points with your PC Card and you can get some “good deals”).
4. Petro-Canada - but only for the bathrooms (that is why it’s called pe-can)
5. Any other local gas station if you’re getting low. 

And that rounds out the list because no one actually chooses to buy gas from Shell😂, unless they’re desperate.

We were fortunate to receive some gas gift cards from friends and family (thanks Ashleigh, Evan, Chico, and Colleen) and they were all for Petro-Canada. The staff from Cariboo Pulp also got Paul a Visa card which went towards gas purchases as well. While Petro Canada doesn’t rank well for the Kerrigan list (which will probably be corrected in the comments section because the Kerrigan’s ALWAYS have an opinion and are willing to share) it was greatly and truly appreciated with gas prices being above the $2.00 mark and funded our fuel and travel beyond Dease Lake, BC!

The real purpose of this post though is for those of you wondering “What’s gas prices like up North?”.

Here’s a little table of the location and the price per litre we paid.

Paul and I were expecting to pay closer to $3.00/L at some points but managed to stay below that estimate!

Date	Location	Price $/L
July 5	Quesnel	213.9

Kendra failed to record our early on gas prices, but our fuel economy ranged from 9.9-11.3 L/100kms for those curious folks.

Date	Location	Price $/L
July 9	Prince Rupert, BC	190.9
July 19	Dease Lake, BC	222.9
July 21	Teslin, YT	203.9
July 22	Pelly Crossing,YT	210.0
July 23	Junction with Hwy 2 and Dempster Highway,YT	205.9
July 24	Eagle Plains, YT	250.0
July 25	Inuvik, NWT	256.0
July 27	Inuvik, NWT	256.0 minus 5% off for tourists
July 28	Fort McPherson, NWT	208.0
July 28	Eagle Plains, YT	250.0
July 30	Junction with Hwy 2 and Dempster Highway,YT	192.9

Now is where things get a bit complicated. We ventured to Alaska and have been filling up in gallons. So here’s the prices we’ve paid in USD and those inclined to do the math can!

Date	Location	Price $USD/gallon
Aug. 2	Tok, Alaska	4.99+free “car wash”
Aug. 2	Badger (just North of North Pole)	5.109
Aug. 3	Fairbanks (Costco)	4.359
Aug.5	Denali area (Cantwell)	5.88
Aug. 5	Trappers Creek	4.79
Aug. 6	Anchorage (Costco)	4.599

Into the Wild('s of Alaska)

 July 31^st – Exploring Dawson

Today started at midnight, like most days do, except we were not relaxing in the van or asleep instead we had just finished the 11pm happy hour and the midnight show at Diamond Tooth Gerties.

 A short walk back to the ferry and we were ready to hit the hay, ready for our next day in Dawson City.  So, when we awoke today it was a bit rainy so we had a slow start to the morning.  We headed up to Midnight Dome to get an aerial view of Dawson City and then wandered around downtown and posted our last blog post. The day wasn’t full of anything fun or exciting, but the evening is when Dawson City comes alive.  We started our evening at the Downtown Hotel, the home of the Sour Toe Cocktail. We had actually tried to have our sour toe cocktails last night but “toe time” was completely booked up, so we knew what we would have to do tonight.  We had dinner at the hotel and at 7:30 we were able to get our names on the sign-up sheet.  We selected our alcohol, the traditional Yukon Jack whisky, and we waited until our names were called. With the guidance from the captain “You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch this gnarly toe” we both became members of the Sour Toe Cocktail club and received our official paperwork.  If you are hoping to become a member, make sure you arrive for sign-up around 7:30 so you don’t miss out!

After our inaugural shots, we headed back to Diamond Tooth Gertie’s for some gambling (Paul left a bit ahead, Kendra did not) and for the 10 pm show.  The 10 pm show is more of a can-can style show and we were even able to get pictures with the dancers after! Of course, Paul was first in line and was thrilled to get a photo.  After the show we headed back to our campsite along the Yukon River where we had a campfire (with the free firewood provided by Yukon Parks) and enjoyed the dusky sky.

 

August 1- It’s a long weekend?!?

Since we didn’t realize it was a long weekend until we got off the Dempster, we weren’t sure how busy everything would be.  We visited the Sternwheeler Graveyard where Rupert decided he was too hot and laid down in a mud puddle.  This is surprising for those of you who know Rupert because he HATES getting his paws wet, he jumps over rain puddles to avoid wet paws, so to lay in a puddle shows that it was a warm day out. 

Next, we headed towards Alaska along the Top of the World Highway.  Kendra was going to do all the driving and therefore do all the talking at the border since Paul is usually driving at border crossings.  Nothing eventful happened, and it was a pretty easy crossing.  At this border crossing, there was a stop light, then a stop sign a bit ahead once you got the green light, and then one more stop sign before leaving the screening area. Since Kendra did not do the last border crossing properly, she was prepared to stop at the light plus all stop signs.  Instead, the light never turned green and the border guard waved her ahead to the final stop sign, so maybe the Canadian Border is doing things wrong…just saying.

The Top of the World Highway on the Yukon/Canadian side had some amazing views but was significantly less paved than we had anticipated.  After crossing into Alaska, the road quality deteriorated and the views disappeared.  We stopped in Chicken Alaska, a must-see according to some tourist books but alas it was merely a tourist trap so we continued down the road to Tok (pronounced Toke) for the night.  The campground we stayed in had some friendly Californian van lifers and free showers!!

It’s amazing the things you take for granted, like access to your own bed and a shower whenever you please, but we had an amazing night's sleep after a good (unlimited time) shower.

 

August 2^nd – “Hello this is the North Pole Vet calling”

We woke up and headed to tourist information.  Tok was known as the first major center in Alaska and was supposed to have a good visitors information area.  Well after going I’m not sure they knew much about their state.  Their knowledge was limited to about 30 miles around Tok and if you wanted a pamphlet or information for other area of Alaska, well that would be $1 or so each.  Crazy!  So instead, we took some pictures of information on our phones and drove to Delta Junction, the official end of the Alaskan Highway.

The beginning of the Alaskan Highway is indicated by a monument in Dawson Creek, one we had been to before, it was neat to be able to see its complementary monument here.  You could also get a certificate celebrating your accomplishment of driving the entire Alaskan highway, for $3 a certificate.  While we do love ourselves an official certificate, we passed on this one.

We had been wrestling with where to go from Delta Junction, we had two choices, South to Highway 8 (the Denali Highway) or head North to Fairbanks.  Due to cloudy weather and a highly rated hot springs outside of Fairbanks Kendra made the executive decision to go North.

The community just south of Fairbanks is the North Pole, a bit of a tourist city with, you guessed it a giant Santa Claus with “Santa’s House” and Reindeer Academy (aka stables).  We entered the “house”, took some pictures and bought a Christmas ornament.  On the way towards the Hot Springs, we came across a Vet. 

As some of you may know Rupert takes special food due to a health issue he has, a food that in Canada you can only buy from a Vet office.  Well, we learned in the United States you need a prescription to buy special dog food from the vet (which just like in Canada can only be purchased from a vet) so after explaining the situation the vet said that they could phone our vet back home and get a prescription then they would sell it to us, we thought why not and crossed our fingers that it would work.

5 minutes before closing our Local vet received a phone call with call display stating it was from The North Pole Vet.  Probably out of curiosity they picked up the phone just to hear “Hello this is the North Pole Vent calling, we have a patient of yours here.  This thought of what must have been going through our vet’s mind and wondering if this is a joke call still puts a smile on my face.  Long story short Rupert can still eat his proper food (we will need to get an official prescription from our vet to make sure we are covered for future purchases).

We drove to the Hot Springs and spent the evening relaxing in the hot pools.  It was definitely a highlight!

 August 3^rd – Into the Wild

We have very little to say about Fairbanks.  We had hoped to find a café to relax in and found none.  We looked for things to do and most tours started at a cost above $200 USD/person and had you leaving Fairbanks.  We walked around their cool area “downtown” and checked out Pioneer Park, both of which were a disappointment.  

The only thing we really enjoyed was going to the University of Alaska Fairbanks where the real bus from the book Into the Wild is currently being restored by the Engineering Department. It was moved a short time ago as its location was 20 miles down a hiking path where people with little to no wilderness experience would try to go to causing many people to require rescue or have their body recovered.

We left Fairbanks and thankfully came across a really cool bar that caused Paul to burst into laughter.  He turned the van around and Kendra and Paul spent a couple hours chatting to the bartender, having a pint and looking at the gift shop of Skinny Dick’s Halfway Inn.

Just before Denali National Park, home to the tallest mountain in North America, we came to Healy where Kendra read that the exact replica of the bus used in the movie Into the Wild was stored and available to anyone to take pictures at.  Well, who can turn down beers and pictures of such a famous bus?

 

August 4^th – The mixed bag of Denali

Most people we had spoken to told us to skip Denali National Park.  Due to a landslide, you can no longer get close to Mt Denali.  For most people not willing to spend hundreds of dollars to fly and get specialized tours you can only go to Mile 12, Savage River, which for those who have not gone to Denali before is nothing.  Thankfully it was a beautiful clear day so we were lucky to actually see Mt Denali from 80 miles away.  We were told that this is the first day in weeks that Denali was visible so we were pretty excited. 

We did a few hikes but they were nothing to write home about, again we were told the jaw-dropping hikes were beyond the landslide.

We ended our time in Denali by seeing a sled dog demonstration that ended in a puppy race.  The demonstration was fine, the puppy race was as cute as you imagine it to be.

 

August 5^th – South on the Park Highway

The Park Highway is the main highway that travels from Anchorage to Fairbanks.  It is a busy route with countless tour buses most of which are owned by cruise ship companies, specifically Princess and Holland America.  These cruise ships even have their own hotels only for cruise ship passengers.  There is also a rail line from two ports south of Anchorage that travel through Anchorage all the way to Fairbanks with stops in all the key spots.  Because of this, there are some incredible communities we were told to check out, one being Talkeetna, so after doing some laundry (and having a shower) we headed there.  It was an interesting tourist “city” with live music and market and religious students asking us questions about what we believe happens when we die.   Unfortunately, torrential downpours caused us to leave Telkeetna for a movie night in the van as we listened to the rain.

 

August 6^th – Okay, we are getting excited now!

We drove into Wasilla into the headquarters for the Iditarod and learned about its past.  We also saw two very creepy taxidermized dogs.  NEAT! 

After the past few days, Kendra had noticed and been making comments that the rear passenger tire had been looking a little low.  Paul had been checking it and filling it up with air every couple of days but today it had lost 10 psi in just a few hours.  Paul was now very motivated to get it repaired, especially since it was Saturday (and everywhere was closed on Sunday) and we were in the major city of Anchorage. 

Thankfully it was a cheap and quick fix to repair the tire, so $30 and 30 minutes later we were back on the road exploring downtown Anchorage, then watching a fishing derby, and ending our time having a beer and seeing the largest chocolate waterfall PROBABLY in the world (according to the plaque near the display).

Our time in Alaska thus far has been disappointing.  In our opinion, Alaska has the same environment and views as Northern BC and the Yukon but it was more expensive with more tourists.  As we left Anchorage heading south down the Seward highway our spirits were lifted.  The highway south of Anchorage is drop-dead beautiful and it made us very excited for checking out port cities on the Kenai Peninsula.

August 7^th – Prettier in Whittier

We decided to drive to Whittier, a city known for over 90% (1400 people) of the population living in the same building.  It is also a cruise ship port and terminus location of the Alaska Railroad.  This city is also known for its Glaciers.  We entered the city (through a 2.3-mile one-lane tunnel that alternates between vehicle traffic, and rail traffic both travelling north and south occupying the same space).   Of course, everything is controlled by lights and people (to take your money for the toll).

Our first stop was the trailhead for Portage Pass which is a 6 km roundtrip hike up to the Portage Pass down to Portage Lake with constant views of the Portage Glacier.  It was a beautiful day and the views were worth every step. This was one of the most recent hikes Rupert was able to do with us.  National Parks in the USA do not allow pets on most trails.

After the hike, we headed towards the commercial area of Whittier and watched cruise ship passengers line up and take photos.  We entered a few shops and were told that the Salmon run was currently on and that if we wanted to see salmon and bears that there is a good spot up a dirt road.  After hearing this we jumped in the van, once were arrived at the spot saw 4 black bears snagging fish right from the creek.  It was so cool. (Paul saw 4 bears, Kendra only saw 2).

After watching the last bear waddle into the woods, we decided to go out for dinner to a place known for good seafood (it was okay) and spend the rest of the evening watching a storm roll in, then listening to the rain hitting the van.

 

August 8^th – Barefoot on a Glacier

After such an excellent day yesterday, we decided to spend the morning in a coffee shop people-watching and having a cup of coffee.  There was only a small coffee shop in town and due to cruise ship passengers, the coffee shop was packed so although we were able to get a spot to sit down it was hard to feel comfortable.

After looking at the weather and seeing that it was supposed to rain all week, we left Whittier with the hope of doing one more glacier hike before heading further south, we chose the easy Byron Glacier hike a 3 km round trip “hike” on a flat accessible trail.  Because of the easy hike, Paul decided to wear sandals which was not a wise decision once we got to the glacier and learned that the trail can continue onto it.  His sandals had no grip at all, but he knew his bare feet would have better grip so braving frostbite and with little extra thought he removed his sandals and hiked up the glacier.

Lucky for Paul there were no negative repressions for his foolishness. *He learned from Kendra’s mistake last year when she wore sandals on a glacier, tripped, fell and tore a hole in her pants and scraped her knee, so no sandals appears to be the better option if you are ever in a similar predicament.

We drove to Seward, Alaska to be met with more rain, there were actually weather advisories for the next couple of days for extreme rain that could result in rivers bursting their banks so we grabbed a pint, downloaded some movies and found a quiet place in the woods to watch some movies and sleep.

 

August 9^th – The Exit

The most famous hike in the area is to the Exit Glacier so after waking up and seeing that it wasn’t actively raining, we jumped in the van and did the hikes to the viewpoint of the Glacier.  It was nice but as mentioned before Whittier is Prettier. 

As we headed back to the parking lot the skies opened up and the rain started to come; however, today was the first day that due to rain and consistent internet connection in a local coffee shop we had the time to upload this blog post before we plan our exit out of Seward towards Palmer and then to Valdez.