RV ALASKA - Mile 0 - We Made It to the Alaska Highway!

I am officially out of my comfort zone.  Our stay at Whistlers Campground in Jasper National Park marked the last place we had reservations anywhere until we reach Denali State Park in Alaska.  For an overly zealous planner like me, this situation is causing an undue amount of stress.

Alan and I had made a conscious decision to keep our calendar as wide open as possible for the weeks we would be spending in Canada and Alaska.  (Our friend Bernie would be proud of us.)  That would allow plenty of flexibility in our itinerary so that we could stay a bit longer in any town or campground that caught and held our attention.  Despite the angst, I do still think that was the right choice for this kind of trip, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.  And for the record, I don’t.

Aside from the reservations that are pretty much required for the ever-popular Banff and Jasper National Parks, I only booked back-to-back stays at Denali State Park and Denali National Park to cover the July 4^th holiday.  Other than that?  No reservations until we return to the States at the very end of August.  Now that we’re on the road and “livin’ the dream,” I confess that scrambling for sites a day or two ahead of time (or, worse yet, on the same day) is causing me no small amount of discomfort.

First of all, we’ve had periods of more than 24 hours without reliable cell or internet service, making it difficult to research and book a site while on the road.  Second, it’s annoying me to have to spend so much time while Alan’s driving trying to nail down the next step – whatever that may be.  I’m missing scenery and, maybe, wildlife, two of the very reasons we’re on this trip.  When we do have cell and internet service, I’d much rather be sitting back and enjoying our location than working at putting a plan together.  This flying by the seat of our pants stuff is NOT for me!  Rant over.  Let’s move on.

And move on we did.  We actually left Jasper two days earlier than planned since we had successfully checked off everything on our “Jasper List.”  (Thank you, Parks Canada, for refunding the cost of the two nights we didn’t stay!  We appreciate both your generous policy and the cash that’s back in our pockets.)  Alan and I are now working our way "north to Alaska.”  On June 22nd, we traveled from Jasper National Park to Grand Prairie, Alberta.  On the 23rd, we made it to Summit Lake in British Columbia.  (Note: We actually arrived in Alaska, yesterday – June 28^th - and are laying over here in Tok for four nights trying to catch up on personal business, laundry and blog posts.)

Date(s) – June 22nd – June 23rd

Total Miles Traveled to Date – 7,323

Wildlife Sightings to Date – One dead cow moose on the side of the road (hey, I’m counting that one until we see a live one!); one back end of a grizzly bear, 2 more black bears, bringing our total to 4; 4 more deer (2 of them bucks with their racks covered in velvet), bringing our total to 9; 9 mountain goats (including 3 tiny and adorable kids); 5 more bighorn sheep, bringing our total to 23; 13 more elk bringing our total to 62 (including 7 calves that hadn’t yet lost their spots and a number of bull elk with full racks covered in velvet); several small herds of pronghorn antelope (including 2 mamas with 3 newborn fawns between them); 7 eagles (including 2 fledglings); 3 great blue herons; dozens of American white pelicans; at least a half dozen families of adult geese with goslings; and a number of ducks (including 5 adorable ducklings).

Highlight(s) – Documenting our official start at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.  Finding another Montana’s BBQ restaurant in Grand Prairie, enjoying a meal there and a chat with the manager.  Snagging the best seat in the house at Summit Lake.  (Read the details in the Campground section below.)

Lowlight(s) – We missed out on the Tetsa River Lodge’s famous cinnamon rolls.  But be sure to read about the related “Good Deed of the Day,” below. 

Campground(s) – Our first night out from Jasper was spent at the KOA Journey in Grand Prairie, Alberta.  (Grand Prairie is a great place to reprovision, fill up on gas and get a restaurant meal, if you’re so inclined.  We did all three.)  Although we always prefer public campgrounds over private ones, we are fans of KOA for their reliability and for the ease of booking a reservation online.  Because KOA is a franchise, the campgrounds are pretty consistent in what they provide, and I like knowing what we’re getting ahead of time.  The sites are generally too close to each other for our liking but, when it’s all about location or convenience, KOAs are a go-to for us.  The KOA in Grand Prairie was fine for what we needed, and a map to our site was available at the after-hours check-in station.

On our second night, we hit the jackpot!  We camped at Summit Lake, in Stone Mountain Provincial Park, right at the top of Summit Pass in the Northern Rockies.  Provincial Parks won’t appeal to everyone, but they do appeal to us, and I had Summit Lake in mind even prior to the start of our trip.  Provincial Parks and other campgrounds operated by the Canadian government generally have dry sites (meaning no water, electric or sewer hookups), pit or vault toilets, no amenities other than maybe a boat launch and some free firewood, but those campgrounds are nicely maintained and in some fabulous locations!  (They generally only have water via a hand pump and no dump station, and only a few offer reservations so, if you’re interested in camping at government campgrounds in Canada, plan your fill and dump schedule and your arrival time accordingly.)  At Summit Lake, while we were waiting for the RV ahead of us to back into one of the two available sites in the first part of the loop, I took a walk in the rain (and with my bear spray in hand) and found out that the prime lakefront site at the end of the row was open.  As soon as the other RV had backed all the way in, I motioned Alan to come on down.  We backed our trailer up to the water’s edge and enjoyed a fabulous view of Summit Lake with its amazingly hued water out our big back window.  If the day hadn’t been overcast and a bit rainy (I’m sensing a theme here), the evening would have been even more extraordinary than it was.

Laugh(s) of the Day – When we were visiting Athabasca Falls on our second Icefields Parkway run, an extremely eye-catching RV painted in a variety of pastel hues did, indeed, catch my eye.  Big black letters emblazoned across the side of the trailer identified its occupants: Two Tired Teachers.  The trailer was impossible to miss, and I smiled when I saw it.  Alan had noticed it too because, well, it was definitely hard to miss.  I looked them up online and found out that they’re sisters, both retired teachers, who travel together.  (They’re on YouTube – feel free to check them out.  I plan to – when we get better cell and internet service.)  Two days later, when we pulled into the Walmart in Grand Prairie, who did we see but the Two Tired Teachers!  One of them was out walking the dog (I guess the other was the more tired of the two), and we chatted for a few minutes.  (As it turns out, they're from your beloved state of Texas, Mike.)  We knew from the iRV2 forum that RVers making this trek frequently end up leapfrogging over each other, so it was kind of fun to run into that situation in person for the first time. 

Good Deed of the Day – Due to our travel schedule, we pulled into the Tetsa River Lodge late in the afternoon, fingers crossed that at least two of their famous cinnamon rolls were left that late in the day.  Someone walked out with two styrofoam containers as Alan was walking in, so he was hopeful.  A woman had just stepped away from the counter with two more in her hand when Alan asked the owner if she had anymore left.  Reluctantly, she told him that she had just sold the last two.  The poor guy must have looked pretty dejected because the woman who had just purchased the last two actually offered one of them to Alan!  Alan begged off, but she was rather insistent, so Alan had to refuse even more insistently.  But he did tell her that was an awfully sweet thing to do and he really, truly appreciated her offer.  If that doesn’t rate the Good Deed of the Day Award, I have absolutely no idea what would! 

Tip(s) of the Day – Remember the Two Tired Teachers?  They were at Walmart buying phones via a Canadian plan because they had no cell service with their own phones.  When I asked if they had AT&T, the answer was yes.  Our cell phone plan is with Verizon, and we’d pick up service on roaming via local communications companies whenever there was a cell signal available.  The hotspot in the truck, however, is through AT&T, and we’ve had practically no internet at all via that hotspot.  From our limited and anecdotal experience, I’d suggest that, if you plan to drive through Canada and you don’t have Verizon, you might want to consider Plan B.

Kinda sorta along those lines, most major auto insurance companies will cover you while driving in Canada.  Most.  Our auto, homeowners and umbrella policies are all with State Farm.  Or they were – until I called to check to see if we were covered while driving in Canada.  Nope.  So, now, our homeowners, umbrella and most of our auto insurance policies are with State Farm.  The new truck is insured through Progressive, which does cover its clients while driving in Canada and through which we carry our boat and RV policies.  Food for thought for anyone planning to make this trip in the future.

Since we’re talking tips . . . I know I’ve previously mentioned using the inexpensive plastic pencil boxes kids take to school as storage containers in the RV.  I’ve been appreciating them a lot on this trip, and I think they deserve another mention.  We have 10 on board, holding everything from charging cords to office supplies to flashlights and reading lights.  We even use one as a first aid kit, and it can easily be tossed into a backpack when we’re away from the trailer for the day.  These pencil boxes are readily available at department and office supply stores, and they can be had for a wee bit of cash during the summer school supplies sales.  Just sayin’ . . .

Pic(s) of the Day

Cheap storage!

We made it!

 

I wish you could see the color of Summit Lake.  This photo does not do it justice.

Special Message(s) – Congratulations to our nephew, Ben, and his fiancée, Leah, as they exchange their wedding vows and celebrate their marriage on Saturday, June 29^th!  Congratulations to our nephew, Raymond, and niece, Catherine, as they celebrate their high school graduations – also on the 29^th!  Belated Happy Birthday wishes to Lisa B. – have a wonderful time and make lots of memories this summer enjoying your sweet little granddaughter!  Love and best wishes to all of you!

Note:  I’ve heard that some of you are having trouble commenting on the posts.  I don’t know what’s causing the problem; since some comments are appearing, I don’t think it’s an issue with Blogger, but I have no idea what could actually be causing the difficulties.  I did eliminate the need for comment moderation to see if the ability to post a comment immediately to the blog would help.  If you’re having trouble commenting, please do let me know by text or email (to either my personal email address or to reflectionsaroundthecampfire@gmail.com).  If worse comes to worst, if you email your comment to me, I think I’d be able to copy and paste it into the blog as an anonymous comment.  We can always try it and see!

Up Next – Much fun at the Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake!  Wait ‘til you hear what we did!