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Alaska 2017


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We are planning to take the AK Ferry from Bellingham and stop at every major port(that we can't drive to) until we get to Whittier and then wander around Alaska for several months. I was looking at a map and saw Glacier Bay and started chasing it down. Hence all my confusion. We prefer flying over but looking at the price differential probably not. We will leave our MH and 2 cats for 3 days, hopefully the CG owner will check on them for us. Lots of logistics to cover here. We aren't going in 2017 but for Alaska you need quite a bit of lead time to book the ferries with a MH and toad. Just trying to get all the i's and t's taken care of so we don't have any disappointments.

The other problem is that it is still winter in Alaska and things aren't open yet to ask questions of.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

We left Southern California last week slowly headed North for our Alaska travels this year. We were there in "09" and have wanted to go back ever since. We are looking for any others headed to Alaska this year. We plan on entering BC in mid to late May. Please comment if you are on a similar schedule.

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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We leave Monday from WI headed west to South Dakota for about a week or so then northward as weather permits.  Entering Canada through Montana & planning a slow migration toward Fairbanks arriving there approx. June 1st.  Planning to take our time & enjoy the sights.

Todd & Beth

 

 

“…nothing so liberalizes a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel and contact with many kinds of people.” – Mark Twain

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9 hours ago, redcrzr said:

We leave Monday from WI headed west to South Dakota for about a week or so then northward as weather permits.  Entering Canada through Montana & planning a slow migration toward Fairbanks arriving there approx. June 1st.  Planning to take our time & enjoy the sights.

Todd & Beth

 

 

Don't delay crossing into Canada because you think the weather will be better next week or the week after.  Not saying to start your travels in heavy rain.  However if you think the weather will be much better in late May or mid June than May 1st, you may be in for a surprise.

We crossed into Canada from Washington state April 28th and had good, mostly sunny and mild weather all the way up to Fairbanks.  A few days of rain here and there, but mostly good sunny days. 

Others got stuck in a snow storm about May 28th, and in mid June there was major flooding in and around Dawson Creek at the start of the Alcan Hwy which washed out the highway west of Dawson Creek. 

Details are in our blog entry here.  Scroll down to near the bottom for pictures and details. 

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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  • 2 weeks later...

We are currently in Monroe WA. and move up to Birch Bay WA. tomorrow for about a week. We expect to enter BC around 5/18. We heard about a group of Escapee's  headed towards BC that weren't aware of this blog. We would like to hear from any others going up this year in RV's to see if we are going to cross paths. We did Alaska in "09" and are looking forward to our return visit.

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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Leaving Columbia Falls MT on Fri. 12 May headed to Banff Nat. Park. 3 nights there & on to Jasper for 2 nights.

Todd & Beth

“…nothing so liberalizes a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel and contact with many kinds of people.” – Mark Twain

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I strongly recommend visiting the "Visit Alaska" tourism website and requesting their touring guide. Buy the latest issue of "MIlepost" and Churches guide. All 3 books combined will offer you so many things to do and places to see, you'll wonder where the summer went.

Frost heaves are usually marked, some are not, I hit one unmarked "heave" @50 MPH and cracked the sidewall of our 5er. DRIVE SLOWLY! Frost heaves are actually a depression in the roadbed, when the roadbed freezes it buckles up, then when it thaws it sinks lower than it was originally.

update: Also buy the Alaska coupon book, sure it appears expensive, but using just 3-4 will recoup the cost. The flight around Denali (some go over the mountain summit) saved about half the book cost.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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On ‎5‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 8:16 PM, Ray,IN said:

I strongly recommend visiting the "Visit Alaska" tourism website and requesting their touring guide. Buy the latest issue of "MIlepost" and Churches guide. All 3 books combined will offer you so many things to do and places to see, you'll wonder where the summer went.

 

Also buy the Alaska coupon book,

X2!

LindaH
2014 Winnebago Aspect 27K
2011 Kia Soul

 

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We appreciate the advice. We went to Alaska in 2009 and already purchased the current Mile Post, received the Tour Guide and the coupon book. We also recomment everyone should read James Micheners "Alaska" prior to driving up there.

We enterred BC today at Sumas. We had no problems coming through but 2 things caught us by surprise. The Canadian web site said they would confiscate any raw eggs. My wife boiled a whole new carton that we purchased the day before only to find out that is old information and we could have brought them in un-cooked.

The other surprise was that we have heard numerous times that you can bring in a rifle or shotgun but not a revolver. The Canadian border agent said that is not accurate. If you fill out the appropriate form and pay the fee, you may bring in a hand gun. I'm not sure how accurate that information is so you might want to double check it.

We stopped for the night in Merritt and plan on continuing tomorrow to Kamloops and then East to visit some snow birds we met years ago in So. California who live in Blind Bay. As soon as our forwarded mail shows, up we intend to head west to highway 1 and continue North.

If anyone headed for Alaska looks like they will pass us by, please give us a shout.

Larry

 

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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We arrived in Prince George this afternoon along with a pretty serious rain. The campground we are in is almost empty compared to when we stopped here on our way to Alaska in "09". I thought that with such a good money exchange rate with Canada this year, that more rigs would be headed North. 

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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Arrived to our summer "home" outside of North Pole AK.  River View RV Park.  Roads from Delta Junction in to North Pole appeared to be already repaired for the most part. Took 2.5 hours of scrubbing to get most of the road dirt off.  One windshield chip & both rear side marker lamps busted in the Canadian road work area.

Todd & Beth

“…nothing so liberalizes a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel and contact with many kinds of people.” – Mark Twain

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Arrived in Dawson Creek for a 4 day stay while we wait for our forwarded mail to catch up. Numerous US plates in the campground from as far away as Pennsylvania and New York. One person stated they heard the Top of the World highway is closed due to a washed out road. Investigating this before we go much further North. Beautiful weather and we heard we went to sleep to early last night and missed the Northern Lights show. Maybe we can catch it tonight.

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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20 hours ago, Monaco Larry said:

Arrived in Dawson Creek for a 4 day stay while we wait for our forwarded mail to catch up. Numerous US plates in the campground from as far away as Pennsylvania and New York. One person stated they heard the Top of the World highway is closed due to a washed out road. Investigating this before we go much further North. Beautiful weather and we heard we went to sleep to early last night and missed the Northern Lights show. Maybe we can catch it tonight.

Call the visitor centere in Whitehorse, YT at (800) 661-0494.  They will have the latest and most accurate info this side of Dawson City, YT

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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On 5/18/2017 at 8:00 PM, Monaco Larry said:

The other surprise was that we have heard numerous times that you can bring in a rifle or shotgun but not a revolver. The Canadian border agent said that is not accurate. If you fill out the appropriate form and pay the fee, you may bring in a hand gun. I'm not sure how accurate that information is so you might want to double check it.

 

Proceed with caution here.  While there is an official process to enter with a handgun, it is in fact very difficult for a non-resident to cross into Canada with a handgun. You must receive approval from the Province Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) prior to your arrival at the border crossing.  You are required to submit the form "Application for an Authorization to Transport Restricted Firearms and Prohibited Firearms". On that form you must present a valid reason for possessing the handgun while in Canada, and the Canadian Embassy has repeatedly noted that "self defense" and "hunting purposes" will probably not be accepted. It seems that taking part in an organized target shooting competition is the most commonly accepted reason, but they will require details of the competition and the handgun proposed for use at said competition. 

In reality I understand that it is very difficult to get the necessary permissions, which is why virtually every organization recommends shipping your handgun directly to Alaska to be picked up upon arrival. 

No matter what, do not expect to show up at the border with a handgun and think that you'll fill out a form and pay a fee to enter. It doesn't work that way and will cause you a lot of grief. 

Mark & Teri

2021 Grand Designs Imagine 2500RL, 2019 Ford F-350

Mark & Teri's Travels

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handguns are allowed but there are guidelines. It cant be under x inch barrel or have over y capacity magazine(or wheel). And as stated above there has to be a reason that THEY will say okay to. I bring firearms in and out of Canada all the time, and every time its a new adventure.

2016 Road Warrior 420

2001 Volvo VNL 660

Alaska Based.

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Stopped in Sikanni Chief for the night. On to Fort Nelson tomorrow for a couple of evenings. We met a couple from South Carolina last night in Dawson Creek and have joined them here. The campground here just opened for the season 2 days ago and hadn't turned on the breakers yet for electricity. Still looking forward to running into other Escapee's.

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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Arrived at Fort Nelson today. We recognize several rigs from previous campgrounds. We will be here for a couple of days. Still not sure whether the next stop is Muncho Lake or Liard Hot Springs. Our neighbors tonight are Escapee's but are not blogging. The weather is forecast to get warmer. We are enjoying the weather so far.

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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If you are close to the 1/2 mark tank of fuel at Muncho Lake, fuel up. We waited  4 years ago and paid the most per gallon of our entire trip at the Laird Hot Springs fuel stop which was US$7.28 converted liters to gallons. Muncho Lake is beautiful and cold, we stayed at The Muncho Lodge Campground with full hookups. The old lodge had been torn down and since then it appears to have been renamed Strawberry Flats Campground.

 

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'04 R-Vision B+ Model 213, 6.0 Chevrolet.

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Picked up the campground and fuel sheet from the visitor center in Fort Nelson. Thank you Vermile. Stopped in Toad River campground today and will move on to Yukon Territory tomorrow. Should have fueled up in Fort Nelson at $1.26 a liter as here it is $1.35 per liter. I have a feeling it is only going to get worse until we get to Alaska.

Larry, Cheryl and Daisy
2005 Monaco Dynesty

2011 Honda CRV
Fulltiming since 2005

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