The Alaska Highway (4,066 miles)

On our last morning in Jasper we had breakfast at a restaurant downtown and had the most delicious avocado toast and eggs I think I’ve ever had.

As we traveled north, we left the Rockies behind and the landscape flattened out to green pastures and farmland.

The weather was nice and mostly sunny for the morning drive. Looking to make a mid morning pit stop, we stumbled upon one of the most picturesque spots around.

Grand Cache Lake is crystal clear and the backdrop of evergreens and snow capped mountains was stunning. I was admiring the view just as a man and his daughter were launching their canoe for a morning paddle. They had this gorgeous place all to themselves.

Riley woke up that morning feeling like he might be coming down with a something and by midday he was certain of it. We were prepared for headaches and general aches and pains but didn’t have any cold medicine. A quick stop at a pharmacy in Grand Prairie took care of that.

Traffic was pretty light so we made good time. The mostly two lane highway passed through several small towns and communities but Beaverlodge was one of the most memorable.

From there we continued west to Dawson Creek, BC where we had reservations at the Northern Lights RV Campground hosted by two very friendly but very loud, talkative ladies. We were both relieved to get out of the small office where the two of them were having simultaneous conversations with guests checking in.

The campground is basically a large gravel parking lot with just-big-enough-spaces for an RV. There were water and electricity hook ups and room for a picnic table but little else.

Rather than using the laundry at the campsite, we drove a short distance to town. We popped into a laundromat, started a couple loads of laundry and walked up the street for an early dinner at Post and Row Taphouse. Charlie was looking pretty dirty so we stopped by a car wash before going back to camp.

The weather has been partly cloudy with temps in the upper 50s to low 60s most of the day. By evening it began to rain and a cold wind kept us inside. Riley was feeling pretty tired and a bit feverish so he took some NyQuil and napped while I caught up on the latest season of Bridgerton on Netflix.

In the morning, Riley was still feeling pretty crappy. I drove so he could rest and hopefully start to feel better.

The Alaska Highway begins in Dawson Creek, BC and stretches 1,382 miles across the Yukon and all the way to Delta Junction, Alaska. We’ll drive on this road the rest of the way to Alaska.

Before we left on this trip, we bought several publications recommended by others who have made the trip before. Everyone agrees The Milepost is the one book you must have. It’s 656 pages chronicle every detail of the Alaska Highway with mile-by-mile descriptions of all major highways and roads in Alaska and Western Canada; detailed information on all cities, communities, national parks, attractions, grocery stores, fuel stops, campgrounds, restaurants, services, road conditions, etc.

Of course, we also have our trusty Rand McNally Road Atlas and fold-out paper maps of Alaska and the Yukon. We’ve already seen the you can’t rely on internet or cellular service so it’s best to have paper maps.

As we travel north, we’re seeing snow-capped mountains in the distance again and also seeing more and more wildlife. So far we’ve counted seven black bears, one fox, two mule deer, lots of elk, one having huge antlers, and six buffalo. All while driving down the highway.

Today, I noticed a yellow warning sign along the highway with a picture of a buffalo so I made sure to watch the road carefully. Sure enough, just a few miles down the road these guys were standing in and beside the road! I pulled over so Riley could take some photos from a distance. Fortunately they didn’t seem to mind.

Earlier on the drive, I’d been following a tanker truck for several miles. Another truck and an RV whose driver obviously wasn’t using cruise control was in front of it.The RV kept speeding up and then slowing down at every hill and curve in the road, making it hard to keep a consistent distance behind the tanker. During one of those slow downs, a rock flew up from the tanker and dinged the windshield leaving a small bulls eye crack. Perfect.

I cussed under my breath until all three miraculously stopped for gas at the same time. I breathed a sigh of relief, resumed cruise control and enjoyed the view.

We had one more oh, crap! moment today when we thought we might run out of gas. We’d passed a gas station with a little under a half tank and thought about stopping but we felt certain that we’d pass another station before we really needed fuel. When we were down to a quarter tank, I checked the estimated range and it said we could go another 111 miles. Riley looked at the map in The Milepost and the next one he saw was 132 miles away. Uh oh!

We stopped to reassess the situation and decide if we should turn around. Riley looked closer and realized that all the gas stations aren’t indicated on the map. The mile-by-mile description said fuel is available at the Tetsa River Lodge, about 12 miles ahead. Thank goodness! From now on we’re going to fill up when it’s a half empty.

This is the first night we don’t already have reservations at a campground so we need to find a place to stay the night. As luck would have it, Tetsa River Loge also has an RV park with space available for the night. Riley is still feeling pretty bad so we decided this would be a good place to stop for the night.

Our campsite is nice other than a little muddy. The tree cover blocked the StarLink from tracking satellites so we did without internet or cell service the rest of the day.

We’d anticipated windshield damage and got a repair kit from Amazon before we left on the trip. We dug the repair kit out and read the instructions. The epoxy or whatever it is that fills the crack in the glass needs ultraviolet light to cure and the only ultraviolet light available is the sun. Unfortunately it’s behind a thick layer of clouds. It looks like the repair won’t be complete until the sun shines again.

I’m a little concerned about Riley. The medicine is helping with symptoms but he’s not getting any better. I hope a good nights sleep will help and that feels much better in the morning.

The camp host serves fresh baked, “world famous” cinnamon buns for breakfast every morning. Maybe that and a big glass of cold milk will do the trick. Otherwise, we might need to consider driving on through to the next larger town.