The Last Frontier , Driving RV to Alaska

Historical Photo:

 It was said that bar tenders and cooks who owned the cafe, earned more than the average miner during the Goldrush.

The state of Alaska, my dream trip. I mentioned it one winter and to my surprise Dick and Kat (Sister and her hubby) were all for it, that was 1999. Sherry was on board too, but it had not been a dream we shared. (That would change). A trip to Alaska via road takes some planning and research.

Including sightseeing, it is a trip of over 10,000 miles round trip from North Carolina where we would start. I read warnings of terrible roads hundreds of miles between fuel stops, you will break a windshield, etc. NONE of that was the situation, except there are some long runs between fuel stops, but none a hundred miles apart. (Rough roads? I lied, there was one! (smile))

Fortunately Dick and Kat had lived in Canada (Toronto) and had traveled in Western Canada, so they got in on the route planning across Canada. We entered from North Dakota through Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon. Seeing such places as Regina, Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat and Calgary.

Of course we were sightseeing as we traveled. We ‘boondocked’ (pulled off the road in wooded areas or along beautiful lakes and rivers to stay overnight) along the way. Upon reaching Dawson Creek, British Columbia we found mile marker ZERO of the fabled ALCAN (Alaskan Canadian) highway.

Then we headed north. On the way we decided to leave the ALCAN and go on further north to Dawson City and enter Alaska on ‘The Top of The World Highway’ vs the ALCAN. To do that we crossed the Yukon River on a Ferry, one motorhome at a time. Dick and Kat first.
 The Last Frontier , Driving RV to Alaska
Continuing on a nice paved road, still in Canada. Until this point we had driven some great roads, much like the ‘Lower 48’ (As our part of the USA is referred to in Alaska). BUT we were in for a rude awakening. This road was at least 100 feet wide when we entered the USA (Alaska) but, BUT it was a dirt road. It was what I called a ‘Rub or Scrub-board road’, older folk will relate to that. It is a very rough road, not pot holes, just millions of small ridges.
 
Our first town(?) was Chicken, Alaska.

Population in 2010: 7. Population change since 2000: -58.8%

Males: 4	(57.1%)
Females: 3	(42.9%)
Median resident age:		53.5 years
Alaska median age:		35.3 years

Zip code: 99732

Estimated median household income in 2016: $111,774 (it was $66,250 in 2000) 

Yeah, I know, NOW you want to move to Chicken!

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/city/Chicken-Alaska.html#ixzz595TbJfVh

We overnighted in Chicken, free, no hookups.
So, I have finally gotten you to Alaska. Tomorrow back to paved roads!
Nite Shipslog
PS: Nickname…  The Last Frontier .
Became the 49^th state in 1959
Purchased from Russia  in 1867 for $7.2 million by Sec of State William Seward. Congressmen laughed at him and the purchase was called ‘Seward’s Folly’. The price was about 1.9  cents an Acre.
The highest mountain in North America is here, Mt. Mc Kinley or Denali is 20,320 feet high.  We never saw the peak.  The peak is swallowed by clouds most of the time.

***    ***    ***    ***

Alaskan transportation: