Archive
Day 69: Dreams realized
Finally arrived
Location: Fairbanks, AK
Miles Driven: 610
Total Miles: 17,068
Well, as you can see in the picture above, I finally made it to Alaska. Over 17,000 miles since leaving Acworth, Georgia…I’m finally here. Feels great, and it’s pretty surreal.
Now that was a picture taken earlier this afternoon, but there was a lot of driving before that photo (and after), so let’s go back to the morning when I was in Whitehorse.
I’ll readily admit I’m not the handy-est of people. My skills with a car are limited to changing tires and jumping batteries. So when I realized I needed to replace two headlight bulbs, I was hopeful I could get someone at the NAPA Auto Parts store to give me a hand. See, my car owner’s manual was not incredibly helpful. In the section entitled “replacing headlight bulbs” it said: Be sure to visit an authorized Mazda technician… Not the biggest of helps there. So I got to the NAPA store shortly after it opened, and checked with the mechanic dude that was working there. He was real kind, but admitted he’s never been under the hood of a Mazda before…and after a quick look inside realized there was more to take apart then your typical bulb change. My experience was limited to changing bulbs on an old Mercury Topaz years ago, and I recall little to disassemble in that operation. Not the same here, it appeared. The mechanic suggested I hit up a Mazda dealership in Fairbanks, and not to worry about the law where you need to keep your lights running during the day. “You’re a tourist, you’re fine…hell half of the tourists don’t even know the law.”
An added bonus I didn’t think about…what better place for your headlights to run out than in these northern latitudes. In Whitehorse, there was still daylight the previous night after 10PM. Daylight will last even longer when I’m up in Alaska.
So I was in the car and got back on the Alaska Highway, heading northwest towards Fairbanks. I had about 600 miles ahead of me, and it seemed a bit daunting, especially after all the driving I had done since the start of the week. But it actually went by quite smoothly. The nice scenery certainly helps there.
It’s difficult to make progress driving when you’re distracted by all this spectacular scenery. I found myself pulling over quite a bit for some nice views.
For some reason I had a good amount of energy, and outside of the occasional gas-up and leg stretch, I was able to keep plugging away along the 600 mile route.
Kluane Lake
Around 3PM I was approaching the Canada/Alaska border. There was a rest area just 20 miles outside where I stopped. Another clear blue Canadian body of water – Pickhandle Lake.
Before I knew it, I was at the border. The “Welcome to Alaska” sign was just before Customs, so I got out to take some pictures. Met a nice couple from Michigan and the man kindly took my photo (the one you see above).
Amazing to see that sign in person
I made it through Customs relatively unscathed this time. The officer asked me a lot of questions, but I think he was more trying to see if I would trip up than he was actually paying attention to my answers. He didn’t like my passport. Apparently I’ve bent and warped it a bit in my travels, so it doesn’t easily scan. As he put it, “Since your passport has been to the Himalayas and back, it can’t be read by the scanner.” He told me I need to get a new one. I think he just doesn’t like typing. Also, I have never been to the Himalayas. I was expecting my car to be searched like the previous border crossings, but he waved me through and I was on my way.
I didn’t have to drive long to see some of the beautiful country for which Alaska is known.
I experienced a bit of rain not long after crossing the border. Can’t complain about that. I could barely remember the last place I saw any sustained rain in my travels. I think I narrowed it down to when I was on the way to Big Bend, in Texas. Almost a month ago. I’ve had some great weather while touring the western US and Canada.
I arrived in Fairbanks not long after 8PM. Still a lot of daylight remaing when I arrived. In fact, as I write this, it’s almost 11PM and there’s still a good amount of daylight out there. I love it.
For the first time since Will’s place in Vancouver, I have a home to stay in. Thanks to couchsurfing.net I linked up with a Fairbanks local, Ericka. She has been extremely generous, having offered me her couch with limited notice, in addition to hosting another couchsurfer. She even plans to take us out for some outdoor activities…maybe go out on a lake or go hiking, even. I’ve only communicated with her using email and text messages, but she sounds like a great person to link up with.
I’ll go to Ericka’s later tonight, get some much-needed rest (and shower), and then tomorrow is my first full day in “The Last Frontier.”
Coming here was just one goal, of many, along this trip, but was definitely the major goal. Thanks to all my friends and family who have been so supportive along the road here.
joe
Days 67 and 68: Driving along the Alaska Highway
Location: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Miles Driven (past two days): 893
Total Miles: 16,458
So I ended the last full post telling you I was off to drive to a dark site to see if I could catch the Northern Lights. I did find a dark spot on the way to Tumbler Ridge, BC (south of Dawson Creek), but unfortunately the sky was hazy, and a bright crescent moon combined to make night seeing pretty poor. Oh well, hopefully I’ll have a chance to catch the Northern Lights later in this journey up hear in the north.
Spent the early part of next morning walking around Dawson Creek for just a bit. Found the famous “Mile 0” marker, which stands in the middle of a 4-way intersection, and indicates the start of the Alaska Highway. I’ve only seen photos of this marker in some roadtrip books, so it was pretty cool to stand right in front of it.
I then went over to the visitor center area where they had a museum about the Alaska Highway.
Some history about the route
Got some good recommendations of things to look out for along the route, and was told to keep my eye out for some wildlife (HINT: Foreshadowing). After touring the museum, I was in the car on the way to Alaska.
The drive was scenic, despite some more haze caused by the forest fires in BC. I also got to see caribou – five of them, in total, all in separate spots. I was able to grab a decent, albeit blurry, photo of one of them.
Those things were big. Hit one of those going 50 mph and that’s the end for the animal and the car, I’m sure. Fortunately, they seemed to stay on the side of the road for the most part. There was one who couldn’t make up his mind which side of the road to go on, but eventually he settled on a route and the queued up cars were able to pass.
I passed by scenic Muncho Lake on the way. Very blue water, and a big lake, but vision was once again limited by the smoky haze in the air. Still nice to look at, though.
Muncho Lake
The drive did not disappoint. Lots of great vistas.
Looking back on the Alaska Highway
It was around the point where I stopped and took the above picture where I realized the driver’s side headlight was out. I wasn’t sure if I could find an auto parts store in the next town, Watson Lake, but I figured at the very least I could get the light replaced further on in Whitehorse. I’ve been avoiding nighttime driving, anyhow, so I figured I’d be in decent shape (though it is the law in Canada to drive with headlights on at all times).
I drove somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 miles that day and wound up near the Liard Hot Springs. It was after 8, and I was pretty beat, and ended up sleeping until close to 7AM. I was tempted to try out the hot springs, but I was easily discouraged knowing I’d have to tolerate the strong smell of sulfur in the air.
The goal for the next bit of driving was to make it to Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory, before the end of the day. Towns that have some size are found about 300 miles apart from each other on the Alaska Highway, and occasionally you can go 100-150 miles without services. So I always make sure to fill up for gas even if I have 2/3 of a tank full. All the pumps up here are pretty old-fashioned, but still have the digital readouts of the price and litres. I’m wondering if I’ll see the style of pump that displays the amounts on those spinning dials.
Soon was on the road after waking up. Passed a unique sign early in my driving:
At Liard Hot Springs, I had seen posting about how they’ve reintroduced bison into the area. Sure enough, not long after seeing the sign above, I found a bison strolling along the shoulder. I had seen bison once before in 2005, in South Dakota, but I think this one was easily the biggest I’ve ever seen.
I slowly drove past him, then when I was a safe distance ahead, I looked back and zoomed in with my camera to take a picture.
the size of the bison is staggering
Not long later in the drive I encountered another bison. This one was well off the shoulder, however, lying in the grass. So I’ve seen a good amount of wildlife (as promised), and there’s a lot left to my time on the Alaska Highway. So far: caribou count – 5, bison – 2
I made good progress that morning, and by early afternoon I had crossed the border into the Yukon Territory.
I hit the town of Watson Lake just after crossing the border, and there I experienced the heaviest amount of smoke I’d seen yet. The attendant at the gas station told me it’s been that way at least for a week now.
Watson Lake is known for the famous “Sign Post Forest”, where travelers from all over the world leave signs from their home areas on their along the Alaska Highway. Pretty cool, and I had no idea how big the thing was. It was just like a maze. I wish I had brought something to hang. Oh well, next time.
For my friend John. Go 'Cats
Gig 'Em
Across the street from the Sign Forest was the “Northern Lights Centre”, a small planetarium/museum I had heard about back in Dawson Creek. I love planetariums and anything space-related, as many of you know. It was good timing, too, as a planetarium show was starting an hour after I arrived.
cool sign outside the planetarium
The planetarium show ($10 admission) was split up into two parts – first part dedicated to the Northern Lights, second part a presentation about space and the Universe. The first part alone about the Northern Lights was well worth the cost of the admission. The show explained the cause of the Northern Lights, some of the mytholigies, and had some great video filmed right from Watson Lake. Unreal. If you never saw a video of the Northern Lights, enjoy this time-lapse video I found on youtube. Amazing.
The latter half of the presentation I could have done without. Maybe I’m a bit snobby about space education, but there were some things in the video that were either wrong or no longer relevant. To wit:
- Talking about the Galileo spacecraft “currently exploring Jupiter”. The mission ended in 2003, when NASA sent the craft plunging into the Jovian atmosphere
- Explaining that the Voyager I and Voyager II spacecraft, currently the farthest man-made objects in space, are “nowhere near the edge of the solar system.” Both craft, relatively speaking, are fairly close to entering the Heliopause, where the Sun’s influence gives way to the space beyond our solar system
- A graphic of the asteroid belt inside our own Solar System (between Mars and Jupiter) which showed, like the movies do, asteroids just feet away from each other. In reality, these asteroids are very far apart
Not that I got bent out of shape about these things, but I would’ve preferred something a little more up to date. Then again, I can understand that it must be hard to keep up on these kinds of things when advances are made everyday. Presentations about space are probably out-of-date a month after they are made. And it can’t be easy for a planetarium to get funding to update their videos. The people at the Centre are very friendly and I had a great time overall.
I left Watson Lake after that and it wasn’t long before I saw clear skies again. Seems Watson Lake sits in some kind of valley and before I knew it, the skies were blue and I could see the colors of the mountains again.
On the way I passed the scenic town of Teslin. Hung out at the overlook, got some exercise, and enjoyed the nice breeze in the air.
It was somewhere around here that I realized the headlight on the passenger side went out. I suppose that’s a good thing, that they both lasted around the same length of time.
Made it to Whitehorse after 7PM that day. I hung out for a while at some local bars. One had a jam session where people in the town just went up and played guitar/sang, and that was pretty enjoyable. Never heard Bach’s Prelude in C on a Spanish Guitar, but it was pretty cool. Enjoyed talking with the locals. Canadians are some of the kindset, most welcoming people I’ve ever met, and they have a great love for their home. I definitely understand why they do after having driven all this way.
Reminds me of a joke I saw posted above a urinal in a bathroom I used along the route that day:
No doubt Canada could be seen as heaven on Earth. Beautiful country, and great people.
joe
BONUS: I learned very early this morning that Mazda twittered about my roadtrip and website. I was thrilled.
Quick Update
After driving near 900 miles the past two days, I made it to the capital of the Yukon Territory – Whitehorse.
Laptop battery is running low, and my wifi connection is spotty, so I can’t do a full update right now. But once I get plugged in and have a strong connection I’ll be sure to post some photos. This is my last stop before I reach the Alaska/Canada border. Pretty crazy, right?
I discovered today that both my headlights have gone out (the driver’s side one went out the afternoon prior), and in Canada it’s the law to run your headlights during the day (I could especially understand why after driving through smoky haze caused by the forest fires). Good thing Whitehorse is a city of some size, so I don’t think it will be difficult to get those replaced in the morning. After that I am officially, at long last, “Alaska bound.”
You’d think I’d be sick of driving at this point, but the drive has been very scenic. Mix in some wildlife and friendly people at stops along the way, and it’s hard to beat this.
joe
Days 65 and 66: A lot of driving…
Location: Dawson Creek, British Columbia (ahem, not Dawson‘s)
Miles Driven (since Monday): 765
Total Miles: 15,565
Over 700 hundred miles from Vancouver and where does that take you? Not incredibly far, by British Columbia standards. What a huge province. I still have a looooooong way to go just to get outside of BC, and then from there several hundred miles more to Fairbanks.
However, it’s pretty cool to be making progress towards Alaska. British Columbia is beautiful country. For the better part of Monday and Tuesday (today), I’ve been mostly driving. Stops have basically consisted of a) taking naps, b) stretching the legs, or c) filling up the tank. And I thought gas prices on the West Coast were expensive…after you do the metric conversion (gas is sold in liters, here), the cost works out to be about $4/gal (I’m ignoring the conversion from Canadian Dollars to US Dollars…they are near equivalent at this time). I underestimated the gas expense in this country while setting up my trip budget, but oh well.
I’m getting used to reading destination markers in kilometers and speed limit signs in km/h. It’s unusual you see a speed limit sign that says “100”, but then you think twice and realize “ohhh, kilometers per hour.” NOT that I was coasting through the country at 100 mph.
I don’t have many pictures from these past two days, but I occasionally tried to grab some shots of the nice scenery I passed through.
There were some areas I passed through that were not that far removed from some forest fires. BC has been unseasonably dry this summer, I learned, and so the conditions were ripe. Drove through some smoke for a little bit.
I spent Monday night in scenic Williams Lake, and then got on the road early in the morning to head towards Prince George.
A few hours later I was in Prince George, and I took some time to relax. Spent time at a cafe, got a haircut, and grabbed some lunch. Then it was time to get back on the road as I wanted to get to Dawson Creek before it got dark.
I arrived in Dawson Creek in the early evening and decided I’d stop here for the night. Earlier in the day I had read on CNN.com that a recent coronal ejection from the Sun could result in a good display of the Northern Lights in northern latitudes. Lucky for me, I’m the furthest north I’ve ever been in my life. A side goal of this trip was to try and see the Northern Lights, but typically the best viewing is in early spring and September, so I would be a little early…but who knows, maybe I will have a chance tonight. Take a look here, even those in northern parts of the U.S. might be able to view it: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/03/northern.lights/index.html
So far the skies are clear near Dawson Creek…I might be in luck. In a few hours, I’ll try to find a dark location outside of the city and have my camera set up and ready.
On a separate note, Dawson Creek is a pretty famous city amongst those who’ve spent some time on the road. Dawson marks “Mile 0” of the Alaskan Highway, a road about 1300 miles in length that goes from Dawson Creek to Delta Junction, AK. If not all the way, I’ll be taking the Alaskan Highway most of the way to AK.
I told a couple of friends today that a feeling of calmness, peace, and general happiness came over me today. Not like I have been stressed or in a sour mood, but to realize that I’m on the way to something I’ve thought about for years…that was a pretty powerful feeling. Still a long way to go until I make it to the 49th State, but the journey there is what it’s all about, right?
So I’m off to get a little exercise, and then I’ll do some location scouting for the aurora tonight. Here’s hoping the skies stay clear and I’ll get a glimpse.
joe
Day 64
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Travis came over in the morning and along with Rose and Peter, we headed out to get some traditional Chinese Dim Sum. Vancouver has a big Asian community, so I learned it’s not difficult to find authentic foods from the East. We arrived at the restaurant long before the crowds and were seated right away. Over the course of about 2 hours or so, we enjoyed a variety of dishes:
sticky rice wrapped in leaves
Chinese porridge
eggplant and tofu
chow mein
Our dessert - little doughy things with jellied sesame seeds in the middle. delicious
Peter and Rose were so incredibly generous treating Travis and I to this great meal. I enjoyed talking with my temporary landlords, as they both have a passion for traveling and have seen many places. I also got some great tips on routes north. Thank you, Rose and Peter.
Great hosts in Vancouver - Rose, Peter, and Travis
We arrived back home around noon and it was then I decided one more day in Vancouver wouldn’t hurt. I’d have Sunday and Monday morning to get prepped to go, and also have some time for the big brunch to settle. Grabbed a long nap, did a little planning, and then Travis and I headed out to grab something before it got too late. We headed to Jericho Beach (recall I visited this beach on my first day in Vancouver), and this time I remembered my camera.
BC flag on the right
great nachos
See the light in the distance? That's on top of Grouse Mountain, where we hiked the day prior
We eventually walked back to Will’s, and then Travis had to head back to his place. Big thanks to Travis for showing me around his beautiful city. Not only was it good to have a guide, but just having another dude to hang out with was a blast. Thanks buddy. And a big thanks to his brother, Will, for letting me use his apartment these past few days.
With a little trepidation, I gear up for the drive to Alaska. I know it’s not like I’ll be driving through gravel pits on the way there, but I guess there’s still just a slight bit of unease in the idea. Wish me luck.
I’ll post more from the road as WiFi connections come available. The route is out of British Columbia (which will take at least 2 days), then to the Yukon Territory, and then west into Alaska. In the words of Calvin from my favorite comic strip Calvin & Hobbes – “Yukon Ho!”
joe
Trip route – Summer 2010
Joe's Roadtrip 
Recent Comments