Two Alaska

lostagain · April 30, 2019, 06:34:34 AM

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

Oonrahnjay · May 01, 2019, 05:00:42 AM

Best wishes for a great trip, Dan!!

dtcerrato · May 01, 2019, 07:49:31 PM

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...

oltrunt · May 01, 2019, 08:04:42 PM

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

Brian Diehl · May 02, 2019, 07:21:21 AM

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!

Paso One · May 04, 2019, 07:42:36 AM

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.

dtcerrato · May 05, 2019, 08:19:49 PM

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.

to be continued...

dtcerrato · May 07, 2019, 07:12:29 AM

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.

dtcerrato · May 10, 2019, 07:42:09 AM

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.

lostagain · May 11, 2019, 07:24:09 AM

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

dtcerrato · May 13, 2019, 10:13:54 AM

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...

lostagain · May 13, 2019, 05:45:59 PM

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

dtcerrato · May 15, 2019, 09:41:01 AM

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"...

dtcerrato · May 17, 2019, 11:17:03 PM

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!

dtcerrato · May 22, 2019, 10:11:30 AM

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.