Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Never had the bus packed so tight. The interior "looks" normal but behind every door and drawer is packed to the hilt. Bottom compartments are packed as tight as possible. Underbelly is carrying maybe a couple hundred lbs. with a loss of 2-1/2" of ground clearance. There are 4 separate units laced onto the roof at maybe 900 lbs. total & no higher than the roof A/C. The lightest our bus weighed was 22,500 + the heaviest was 28,500 (w/o toad). Don't really know what it weighs now so we'll scale it at the start of the trip. Alaska & North Western Canada have been breaking every record in the book for unseasonable warmth. If we could have known that we'd already be up there. Hope to leave in the next few weeks.
Don't be scaling where there's witnesses, and don't be sharing extremes on here until you've successfully arrived...
Looking forward to living vicariously through your reports!
Happy coaching!
Buswarrior
You do get weighed going into Canada. At least here in general it is 12,000lbs on steers, 20,000lbs on drives. It would be better if you would have just rented a truck. Good Luck, TomC
Which crossing has scales?
None at the 3 Niagara crossings?
Border function is federal, DOT function is provincial.
There may be scales shortly down the road, but the busnut will be bypassing them.
happy coaching!
buswarrior
Does anyone on the board know the GVWR of the GM PD4104. The original Calif. registration shows the unladen weight of 26,400. Wondering what would be added to that unladen weight when you add 45 passengers and all the bottom compartment storage (luggage, mail, etc.). Our heaviest weigh ticket was 39,680 - gross - bus, auto hauler trailer with full size PU inside all loaded to the hilt. No steer-drive-trailer breakdown). Just wondering, comments? Don't think we'll be near that heaviest weight...
Not concerned about boarder crossing, we have nothing to hide, no scales for private coaches, BTDT
Of course a private vehicle such as your bus doesn't have to stop at the scales. But Department Of Transport/Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance officers will pull you over and weigh you if you look suspicious. They can also do a full mechanical inspection if they feel so inclined. If anything fails, you will be out of service on the side of the road. Been There Done That. Not in my bus, but in a pick up... They will generally leave RVs alone, but don't count on it. Especially in BC. Best is to be compliant.
JC
"Best is to be compliant" thus the reason for searching the accurate GVWR of a GM PD 4104...
MAde that trip more than once.
Early breakup can make the roads pure hell.
Never got weighed.
You can get there without going thru most of BC.
I actually like crossing at Pembina - Winnipeg.
John Holod productions has great videos on travelling to Alaska. Great information on what to expect, routes, services, road conditions, when to leave and when to return, camping, fuel, etc. He has done several trips in a motor home and has included many scenery videos along with the info. We've sat in on many of his seminars over the years at the Hershey, PA rv show.
As long as your gvw isn't over 32,000, you should be good to go. Same front and rear axles as a 4905. Actually, rear is heavier made. As long as your tires are higher capacity than gvw.
Quick tip:
Fill up to the brim before crossing into CANADA. fuel is rather pricey these days.
That should also include California!!.>>>Dan
Quote from: buswarrior on March 31, 2019, 11:07:04 AM
Which crossing has scales?
Border function is federal, DOT function is provincial.
There may be scales shortly down the road, but the busnut will be bypassing them.
I've never seen a scale at a crossing either, probably for exactly the reasons cited. In short its none of their damn business. JC is correct - British California can get a little overblown but even there the worst that's ever happened to me is getting pinched for a heavy right foot.
The fuel price is definitely going to get your attention though. Figure roughly double what you're accustomed to. But hey, we're saving the environment so who could be opposed to that?
Quote from: Utahclaimjumper on April 04, 2019, 12:04:54 PM
That should also include California!!.>>>Dan
Not sure how much of an increase on diesel but in the last week, gasoline here has jumped about .25 per liter or roughly .97 per US gallon. Aaaand, on the west coast (BC), gasoline has been setting records for high price. 1.58 per liter (roughly 5.98 per US gallon). Again, not sure on the diesel prices but you know it's gotta be high.
Chessie thanks for that GVW info. We'll try to offset high fuel prices using gas buddy and a smokeless light foot on the pedal...
Almost 1400 miles into the trip. Bus is weighing at 30,420. Total with toad is 35,840. Aside from the refrigerator cooling unit needing replacement since road bound the bus is running really good. Currently averaging 7 mpg with 11 mpg it's best since rebuild. We feel the difference in leaving a month earlier than our 2016 AK trip as we've woke up to sleet & sub freezing temps - no A/C needed on this one!
Dan, I delivered an excavator to Haines Junction last week. I drove up the Cassiar highway, then the Alaska hwy to Whitehorse and Haines Jct. It is early. No tourists yet. The frost heaves are in full bloom, so it is slow going and hard on the vehicle. Nothing touristy like motels, campgrounds, museums or road side attractions are open. The lakes are still frozen. There is still snow in the shady spots. It is not crowded though... I am going again next week. I can report how it is, but I suspect it will be the same. It is still cold in Southern Alberta now.
Good luck. Maybe I'll run into you?
JC
Best wishes for a great trip, Dan!!
Really glad we maintained the OEM OTR heater & defroster - we've constantly needed it with perpetual rain & sometimes sleet. Thanks for the update as we do shy from tourist attractions & crowds anyways. Yes we remember the frost heaves & pot holes. The turtle will just have to go slower...Mechanically everything is good. Engine is bone dry. No oil on back of bus nor toad. Gas Buddy found diesel today at Fargo ND Sam's Club for 2.649! 2133 miles clocked, less than a quart down on the stick. into Canada tomorrow. Keep us posted maybe we'll cross paths...
Ain't those 2 stroke Detroit diesels pure Heaven to listen to? Sure do miss mine. Glad all (except frig) is going well. Wish I was tagging along! Jack
Hi Dan. I'm happy for you guys getting to go back finally. I hope you have a very productive summer with lots of progress made! Sure do wish I was heading up there this summer too!
Well Dan & Sandy made it to Saskatoon 2800 miles into the trip, another 2000 to go.
All is going well bus is running and looking good. :)
3267 miles covered, 1490 left to go. Nites are cold (low 20s) bus is toasty & running great! Mpg ranging from 7 to 10. Our visit with Paul & Sonya was so great & relaxing that it felt like the trip started from Saskatoon SK Canada. 8) to be continued...
Slept at a pull out on Pink Mtn. BC last nite 3300' elev. 1100 miles to destination. Roads are good grades up to 10 percent. Bus is running good. The supplemental brakes work well on the toad. An awesome trip. We plan to stay at Liard Hot Springs tonight. :)
Pulled into a rest area last night at Marsh Lake Dam about 25 miles out of Whitehorse Yukon. We have a little more than 400 miles to Tok AK. It's been some real extreme mountain driving at least for a vintage bus after the Grand Prairie area. That would be the part of Alcan that passes over the extreme Northern Canadian Rockies. Bus is running well. Highways are excellent. Starting the trip a month earlier is awesome. No A/C needed, cooler running, less traffic & people, & more wildlife. Lots of snow + ice but not on the roads, and the life of spring is sometimes barely evident. Great trip with nothing to do but drive. Just the way a vintage bus owner likes it... We'll send some trip photos when we get settled in Tok.
We missed each other by a day. I dropped off the truck in Haines Junction on Thursday the 9th. Got a ride back to Whitehorse and flew out back to Calgary the next day last night. I was looking for you all the way. I would've slammed on the brakes if I had seen you pulled over somewhere. Too bad I didn't have time to wait around for you, the company needed the water tanker asap for the project in Haines Jct. There was more RVs than 2 weeks ago. I also noticed quite a few people moving with UHauls and such, to and from Alaska, both Americans and Canadians. Lots of wildlife: I saw 8 bears, a moose, caribou, bisons, big horn sheep, and I forget what else, all in one day, north of Fort Nelson. I'd like to go back with the bus and take all summer to see all the sights. But don't go until at least the May long weekend when most everything opens. Most of these small attractions like museums, campgrounds, etc, close by mid September. Short season. Really a unique country and people up there. Makes you want to read Jack London and Robert Service again...
Good luck to you in Alaska.
JC
You have quite the route JC. We only seen a fraction of RVers & movement in general than we did in 2016 as we did the trip 5 weeks earlier this time and really enjoyed it! Like you said we saw lots of wildlife. Four black bear, a grizzely bear, lots of bison - which in fact are known to sleep on the pavement at night! For warmth among many others. We never drove past dusky. The bus ran great and were overwhelmed to pull into our own property in AK & unload the tonnage of payload in & on the bus & toad into the garage. Currently we're laboring hard to tame the parcel and establish all the utilities for full hook ups. It's been below freezing at night & intermittently running the Genny. Thanks for watching out for us. Would have been great to meet up in the wild somewhere. An awesomely unusual place - the Alcan...
Glad you got there! Alaska should be on everybody's bucket list. Count on a couple month so you have time to see everything and make the cost of fuel worthwhile. It is paved all the way now. The only dirt road would be the Dempster Highway to Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, and THAT would be an adventure! So much Northern country up there that doesn't even compare to Southern Canada.
JC
JC your knowledge & excitement of the area is admired. Our 2016 AK road trip was 70 days in AK, 14 in Canada, & 35 in lower 48 with lots of mech. woes. This current trip was 9 days in the states & 10 in Canada. We are in AK from May 11 thru Sept 15. We have a 1-1/2 A parcel in Tok AK that we're currently establishing utilities for full hook ups.
The Alcan was all paved & excellent IMO. In 2016 we took the Klondike Hwy (2) out of Whitehorse to Dawson City over the Yukon River on the small ferry & over the "Top of the World Hwy" then down the Taylor Hwy to Tok. That little detour was the most exelerating escapade we experienced in our bus in over 38 years! Loose gravel, up to 11 percent grades, and heart pounding thru your chest at the wheel of the bus while crossing the Yukon in very rapid current... On a rather tiny ferry with toad attached. We've had our eyes on the Dalton Hwy (loose gravel) N of the Arctic Circle & the Great Slave Lake area in NWT. Like you said " So much northern country up there"...
Got electrical power to our parcel now, no more genny for awhile :-). Now working on installing a submersible pump to the bottom of the parcel existing well casing. Once that is aheived we'll have full hook ups & will start playing in Alaska! 8)
Yesterday at 6:35 pm Alaska time we energized the submersible pump in the well casing. No detailed plumbing, tank, pressure switch or anything like that yet. Just 100' of 1" HDPE hose from the pump to the yard. It initially flowed clear until the well bottom reached the pump (pump sits 16' off the bottom of the well in a 6" diameter X 20' column of water) then it turned a thick reddish muddy look probably mostly rust from the 6" steel casing sitting for almost 6 years. After about 10 min. The deep red thick stuff starting lightning then after 20 total minutes it was crystal clear with a temperature of 34 degrees F. Tomorrow we will disinfect the well by pouring a cup of bleach into the casing & circulate the flow by returning it into the casing and flushing the recirculated bleached water down the casing walls. Full hook ups here we come. Three years ago today we we pulling the head off the engine in Scott's bus barn in route to Alaska... Dajavu.
Excellent report.
Living vicariously through your posts!
Happy coaching!
Buswarrior
Plumbing was very successful & productive today. Got 2 out of 3 utilities, electric & water. Sewer is next. Got two hoses hooked to the bus, one for fresh cold water & one for running gray water into the woods. Real nice upgrade. Life is good...
Took wifey out for her birthday yesterday. Galavanting around with the Jeep sightseeing wildlife and caught up with a large cow Moose moving across a large lake. Must have covered a mile... She sometimes was walking in the shallows & sometimes swimming intermittently bobbing her head underwater bringing up choice vegetation. A sight to behold. :) Made our day. Life is good. 8)
An old timer local told me that the female & young moose take to the water in early spring to rid their scents because grizzlies are extremely hungry coming out of deep hibernation... A thought to ponder on. Haven't played that much yet. Hard laboring establishing the homestead for the tiny house...
You better take a swim with the moose...
JC
Well finally got out yesterday & did some playing after steadily laboring on our AK parcel establishing our new part time homestead. Went to the bank of the Copper River along Nebesna road in Slana about an hour from where we're living. The salmon are running really strong now. The River bank was a 45 minute hike from the road parking. We hung out at a few fish wheels mingling with the owners as they worked the wheels hard. One family filleted 71 Copper River Red salmon that night into the morning. The veteran had slashed a nasty cut needing stitches on his 2Oth fillet. He said he kept filleting because he didn't want his sister to have to do all the work. Another fish wheel had been almost totally destroyed by a tree branch floating down River but they cobbled up a fix to get it going again. Said it cost them about 50 salmon! Golden and Bald eagle constantly winging overhead with gigantic perpetual glacier & snow covered peaks in the backdrop. That family is allowed 500 fish per season. If these families don't deep freeze 500 lbs of fish & meat now in the summer - they'll go hungry this winter. Needless to say we went home with fresh salmon. One of the girls was celebrating a birthday, when wifey dug into our camp bag and gave the birthday girl a bag of peach gummy candy - it was like handing her diamonds... - like we reacted when they handed us the salmon... All 6 of the local owners to these fish wheels are local to Tok & live within a few miles of us... We once again traveled 4x4 to the end of Nebesna road seeing over 20 hares. Words can't describe one of only two access roads into the continent's largest National Park & Preserve - Wrangell-SaintElias @ over 13 million acres. We have now traveled both of only two access roads (42 & 63 miles into the park's interior) we hope to return during this trip.and foot day hike some of the trails. On the hwy home we filmed three moose feeding in muskeg with beaver frolicking about.
Sorry we can't load photos as internet including wifi doesn't support uploading photo or video until we see larger cities..
Well 8 weeks into our presence here in AK & just got on the road from upgrading our new Camp Malemute homestead. Sitting in a wayside rest area 100 miles S of Tok. No mountains on the horizon due to a smokey atmosphere - many many wildfires burning & yes prior to 4th of July... Before locking up for the evening wifey & I took a trail down to the bank of a raging Copper River. Didn't stay long because of the many fresh bear tracks around which tells us the salmon are running. Got 4G out here in nowhere land - go figure - the little 9'x9' shelter is what we built over the sub earth crib that houses all the camp's utilities (water, septic, & electric) we have option for data but didn't subscribe thus the 8 week lag for photos A look thru the hatch in the shelter floor showing the "full basement" - crib under the shelter. The 1-1/2 cords of firewood stored well inside under the roof overhangs will prevent any more water rot to the total of 4 cords of wood that are on the property - mostly rotted over time.TIME TO PLAY NOW.
The sign said, "No stopping on bridge" WTF?! ;D
4G yippee...! Girdwood AK on the Turnagain Arm.
Photos are from Solomon Gulch in Valdez. A large salmon hatchery. These seals (& seagulls) we're consuming 100s of pounds of red sockeye an hour. Right before our eyes. At night the bears come out of the woods to devour salmon. The seals would work towards the gates during incoming tide to the point where you could walk across the salmon... A sight to behold...
These photos were taken the next day returning from the tiny Town of McCarthy & the Kennecott mine in the Copper River Valley. This is the sister road to Nebesna where we talked about the fish wheels earlier in this post. The only two roads into the interior of the Wrangell- Saint Elias NP. We stopped when we saw the moose but to our surprise just outside the passenger side was the Beaver pond - look closely at the pond & the huge Beaver home. The lynx was tearing at & readying to feast on the beaver while the moose was really displaced on the lynx's activity. An awesome way to end a long day of 4x4 and almost back to the bus...
Just wanted to stay on track being a bus related forum which all this should be related because we wouldn't be here if it weren't for our bus. Wanted to reflect on the almost 2 months of laboring in Tok to establish what we refer to as Camp Malemute. When we left Tok 8 days ago we left full hook ups - water, septic, & the power pole. Since then we'd been dry camping or boon docking and are doing really well with it. We went from mostly electric (water heater, & cabin heat & fridge to mostly LP (water heater, cabin heat & fridge). Haven't put any time on the primary Genny (6.5 kw) but have been enjoying the economy of our little 800 watt inverter Genny. It runs a 40 amp battery charger nicely that can be switched to either the house or engine batteries while keeping all our electric goodies (shaver, cell phones, tooth brushes, etc.) charged. At less than 1/2gal of gas in 5 to 8 hour run time. We'll be spending the $$ somewhere else... So much for trying to stay on track... By the way wifey is enjoying picking the wild berries...
Many don't realize the benefit of one of the small gennys, when you don't need one for ac or heat. Especially since they sip fuel and are very quiet.
Are you the one that used the nufinish wipe on coating on your coach?
That is really the key, is not needing A/C & switching to LP for heat.
It's coincidental you ask about the nufinish wipe (Wipe New). Just yesterday afternoon I took a series of bus photos of the rain beading up on the anodized Aluminum. Yes we applied it to all the aluminum and it is phenomenal how well it continues to stake all it's claims. It's been put to ultimate road test on our AK journey and continually jumps out at you to say "I'm still here". When we get to an area where I can upload photos, I'm going to rekindle the post with some photos showing it after multiple washes & pressure washing...
Good info. Friend has an 04 that needs some brightening.
I highly recommend it, prep & following instructions will make it painless. The results are overwhelming...
The fish wheels we visited earlier on...
How about Beaver & moose. 66°F at Homer Spit AK today... 8)
Nice! Like the temp. 94 here today. At Clifford's place, it's probably a billizion degrees, but 94 is damn hot here.
Say hi to the folks at the Salty Dawg
Just over 5100 miles since we left home at a running total of just over $2800 for diesel. We'll post all the numbers for those who may be able to use it for trip planning... Our sub heading categories for trip planning are: coach diesel, genny gas, Jeep gas, misc., meals, groceries, camping, house LP, & building materials (for camp Malemute).
rmiddleton - I thought I robbed the cradle with an eight year difference - holy cow man you take the prize!
Look at the run-of-the-mill boat for Whittier Alaska! Most if not all have cabins & multiple engines for staying warm & making it back!!! An awesome place, readily accessible by air, ferry, or single lane road through 3 miles of mountain tunnel...
Saw a couple moose yesterday in Talkeetna. The fireplace is in the Talkeetna Ranger Station. Pretty impressive seeing 100s of flags & banners through the ages mounted on the post & beam structure of teams that have reached the summit of Denali. The curator of the museum is a full time bus nut, she lives in a schoolie
Been to Talkeetna many times,, have laid up at the K2 aviation lodge when weathered in there.. Nice friendly place
Been offline in wilderness for a spell, an interior campsite on old Denali Hwy (gravel) - a BLM/Dept.of Int. facility called Brushkanna. Got a day with some service then off to Denali for a week in wilderness w/o signal. Oh the beauty of nothingness with every natural thing life has to offer... It's easy to understand why some people just disapear. Can't remember ever being in a place so vast with the absence of two legged animals and so much existence of large four legged ones. Doing lots of days hikes & trail blazing. The abundance of wild fruit is overwhelming. Base camping with the coach, galavanting with the Jeep. Denali will be more restricted. Will have to leave the Jeep behind, will base camp with the bus by interior permit (29 miles in) @ Teklanika and ride shuttles all the way in (93 miles) to Kantishna. Denali does something weird to the soul, don't know what exactly it is but it feels so damn good...:-))
Dan - thanks for the update and pictures! We LOVED picking the wild blue berries as we hiked along. We would pick enough and make some blueberry muffins with whatever survived the hike. Even the dog would pick herself blueberries as we hiked. Such great memories. I really want to go back!
Ditto on the update, Dan. The desire to experience the same is growing, would love to do it next year. Keep the updates coming. Thanks
The bear in the sitting position (all the bears are grizzlies) with its paws out was a very rear moment is what we're told by those that seen it. The bear "charged" at a sapling tree & just before it got to it - it spun around and did a real satisfying back scratch in the position the photo caught it in... Sorry for the out of focus but the camera was hand held at 200X zoom while bringing the bus to a sudden stop behind a line of tour busses already stopped to view the bear - good catch Sandy! The others are caribou. The two zoom shots of Denali were on sunny clear days - the day in & the day out almost a week later. All time in between was heavy overcast & rain w/o views. The clear sky this morning had consistent overcast temps in the mid 50s drop to 33F. The photo with Denali in the back drop in front of the bus we call "GMC's version of Denali. Lol. Denali National Park & Preserve has vastness and grandeur w/o compare. We hope to return some day...
Thanks for the comments guys. :)
To be continued
We'll we've reached the farthest north point this trip will bring us. Working our way back to Tok then eventually into Canada for the return trip. Autumn is definitely in the air, falling below freezing a couple times and leaves turning with finally darker nights! We played with the gold pan without luck so we managed to find the cheapest campsite we have ever paid for lol - $3 per night & what a wondrous area is was - only ones there for three days about 2 hours north of Fairbanks called Cripple Creek in the White Mountains National Recreation Area. When the salmon complete there run & the hoopla settles the blueberries are at their prime. So we cashed in with tastier breakfasts... :-) Did some catch & release arctic Grayland fishing - wish we knew mushrooms better - never been in an area so diverse with the fungi.
The bus hasn't missed a beat and is running great. This trip has offered so much more relaxation with he ability to squat in greatness for longer periods of time. Paying for campsites a day at a time sometimes staying a week at a time.
Of our AK camping experiences the Federal BLM / DOI lands ($3 to$6) daily & the National Parks ($6 - $9) daily next on our list are the best bang for the buck (with discounts for senior passes) & deeper into the wilderness. State Parks are more numerous but much more expensive ($15 - $20) daily with no discounts available - all are dry camping. Private campgrounds with full hookups go to $50+ daily.
Our camp Malemute in Tok with full hook ups averages out to approx. $8 daily (electric bill) 8)
Life is good.
Did you take the drive to Chena Hot springs?
To it - yes & in it over & over & over again.... ;)
Wow! It's been an incredible journey and thanks for sharing so much detail. Wishing you both a safe and wonderful return leg, keeping us posted here, naturally. :)
Brian whenever you get the chance to do it again, we highly recommend a campground called Brushkana. It's on mile 30 (from Caswell) on the old Denali hwy. Not paved but good road. The recommendation comes from the abundance & concentration of blueberries, not to mention the arctic grayland fishing. It's a BLM facility @ $12/day ($6/day w senior pass). Another good one is Cripple Creek on mile 29 of the Steese Hwy less than 2 hrs north of farbanks. Also a BLM facility @ $6/day ($3/day w senior pass) but only a 7 day limit. There the berries are not at the campsite but across the road covering the ground after a past fire took out the overhead canopy. Hope everything is well with you & yours.
I suspect you have had a good amount of fresh Salmon, but have you come across any Salmon Jerky? It has a great taste (in my opinion) and it can carry the memory of Alaska a long time. Great snack for the trip back.
Walter yes - as a matter of fact the very 1st salmon to my taste was from our fine neighbors from a tight Athabascan friend of theirs so it was native Alaskan prepared - I got to say it is potent and stays with you longer than general. Lots of ooosing fish oil on a ribbon of leather tough skin that you can hardly chew the taste out of. They call it salmon candy. A little went a long way...
Hey guys! Great to read of your journey, progress in setting up the homestead, and all the stuff you've seen/done up there. Very glad to hear the bus ran well and hope it does so on your return to the lower 48.
Kirby & Linda
Dan, that style of Salmon Jerky sounds a lot different than what I had. The type I enjoyed was from fillets of Salmon smoked/dried, and was easily eaten with no oily quality. There are probably plenty of varieties of Salmon Jerky, but it definitely is an unusual snack. Thanks for sharing your Great Alaskan Adventure.
Thanks Linda & Kirby
Yes, at least for this trip - less coveralls, more playing & relaxation. We're proud of the ole' girl. It hasn't missed a beat. We're hoping (certain?) You're enjoying your new (er) ride... :)
Walter, overall I enjoy the salmon jerky & the smoked salmon much more than the fresh cooked salmon.
This photo isn't directly trip related but thought I'd share it anyway.. lol. We're tempted to beeline it home (FL) with a possible cat. 4 hurricane headed for the FL ponderosa but wouldn't be able to beat it there anyway so we'll just have to see how this one pans out. Wish we were talkin' bout gold panning here! :-\
We'll be sharing our trip expenses with all who may be interested. A trivial piece of info we discovered that overwhelmingly pleased us is at this point in time on our current trip @ 118 days into it - our overall expenditures are over $4800 less than our 2016 AK road trip at just 79 days into it. No coveralls yet (except for tightening slack adjusters) & one gallon of crankcase oil added with a relatively dry rear of bus & toad. It's been running great... We'll be on the road back through Canada this time next week.
Forgot to mention that the total days for full round trip on our first (2016) road trip was 119 days. We like this current trip schedule better because it actually encompasses the three seasons of the north and puts us into & out of the northern 1/2 of the Continent w/o the tourists, tourist attractions & all the hoopla that goes with it... Different strokes for different folks...
Last round of AK galivanting behind us, chilled with full hook ups in Tok for a spell now on our way home, eventually... It's been an amazing summer, no need for A/C - intermittent freezing mornings with fall colors in full swing. Enjoyed an Aurora Borealis display over top of Camp Malemute during Labor Day holiday. The days are getting shorter with total darkness at night now. Nice to see the constellations again... We're currently in Yukon Territory of Canada (really in our back yard from Tok AK. Tripped into Skagway with the Jeep. Impressive place with three cruise ships sitting in port & lots of train & tour bus activity. Aside from that hoopla Skagway still retains it's quaintness & history. Nights & mornings sometimes in the low 30s. Fall colors among the dark conifer Boreal forests are awesome (although none of Skagway shows any signs of fall). Alaska Hwy is rather quiet with very few vehicles most are road work crews. The last two days I saw a large wolf & wifey saw a black bear. Bus is running like a champ. Life is good.
four more
Beautiful! We plan to go to Alaska in 2021. Been following closely.
We're over 7000 miles into the trip & the only preventive maintenance items have been adding a gallon of oil to the engine & adjusting the slack adjusters... that's it! (so far...)The in-frame engine rebuild has the bus running much stronger - w/o using propane injection. Still keeping an eye on the fan (hub)
The return trip has been awesome. Going North early in the spring and returning South late in the fall really puts a spin on the attachment to all three seasons. There is some risk - Liard Hot Springs for example had a freak snow storm in August and the campground had to be evacuated for two days for bent & had to be cut down trees - thus we do carry chains & tow a four wheeler... but the rewards are many - much more wildlife much less traffic (only from a standpoint of us being alone in the wilderness for long periods of time). Careful on everything you read in the Milepost - only a small percentage of all the services listed are actually still open for business - take our word on that... Another great thing on this trip is the multiple destination points on the return home - currently headed for Paso's to caravan to Blytheville which we hope will be as uneventful in the mechanical arena as the last 7000 miles. Some great stop overs on the way back (besides Skagway) have been Wolf Creek Prov. CG a stone's throw out of Whitehorse Yukon - that is where the bus securely sat before during & after Skagway. Liard Hot Springs - definitely the most natural of all the hot springs we've been to with "sulfur water" as the main perk - great for the aches & pains but hell on jewelry! Summit Lake In Stone Mtn. Prov. Park - its 4200' elev. Stayed there last night with the ranger knocking on the bus this morning to tell us to make the 11 am checkout time as they're shutting the park down for the season - it was hard frost at 31F no block heat, no ether, quick start up with 40wt - thanks again Scott! Tonight we're at Pink Mtn. BC in a pull over @ 3800' elev. It will freeze tonight. There's a reason for the high elev. cold temp madness - its called looking ahead and still seeing triple digits temps in our travels home.
four more photos
For those who are bored with these Alaska posts - good news this is the last one! lol
Got all the numbers together for those who are interested. The icing on the cake is we can compare the two road trips to Alaska (2016 + 2019). On Oct. 5th Camp Malemute got it's first substantial dose (4") of Termination Dust while basking in the mid 80s 4500 miles back at the Florida ponderosa...
Dan those look like a Bob Ross painting awesome. :)
Thanks Dave. Didn't know of Bob Ross until your mention of him.
Cool!