Driving up the AlCan

Before making this trip through Canada I heard all these stories of the AlCan (Alaska-Canadian Highway) and just how rough and tough it is. It was the subject of many worried discussions between Kerri and me. We talked about mud flaps, bubble wrap, and foam to protect the Airstream during the 1300 miles of rough and tumble gravel roads we were going to have to deal with during our blitz into Alaska.

It didn’t take long for us to realize the concerns were unfounded, and the stories were either from past decades or outright lies. While amazing beautiful (Canada is in no shortage of trees) the road itself was pretty uneventful, for 1100 miles anyway. The final 100 miles in the Yukon Territory, just before reaching the USA border, they let the roads go to gravel more than asphalt. Still, it wasn’t too bad’ taking three hours to travel those last 100 miles instead of two. Yes, the Airstream got dirty but no damage even though we never did install any mudflaps, bubble wrap, or any other protect. However, the windshield of the truck took a stone within the first half-hour. It will have to be replaced when we get back into the Bay Area later in the year.

About half way up the highway was the one and only “must stop”. I knew nothing of it, but Kerri had it stashed away book of magic places to see. Liard Hotsprings was a welcome stop on our second night of the drive. We arrived and dove straight into the natural springs before settling into our first night of no sunset. We met back up with @UpInTheAirstream here where we camped on a pullout right outside the park.

Watson Lake was our next place to grab some fuel and Internet and see another historic place along the route; Sign Post Forest which started in the 40’s and now has more than 70,000 signs.

Even though the AlCan was not as daunting as we were told the drive was an unforgettable one. Over the 3 long days of driving, thanks in part to the sun never setting, the long distance was not much of an issue. Fuel was easy enough to come by, and so were places to piggyback off some Wifi and of course the scenery was always stunning…

…and so was the wildlife