Alaska and Canada -Summer 2001
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to spend a summer driving to Alaska in a motor home. This was the year. On November 30, 2000, Gloria and I picked up a brand new 26.5 ft. Lazy Daze motor home from the factory in Montclair, CA. After several practice runs, we left on June 15, 2001 for Alaska. Except for the first two days, we had no specific plans, appointments or reservations. In fact, we did not know enough about Alaska to decide where to go or what to do. We budgeted about two months for the trip, expecting to return at about the 15th of August.
It turned out that the trip took less time than anticipated, and we returned at the end of July. On the other hand, we enjoyed the trip even more than we had expected. There were pleasant surprises and/or exceptional views around almost every corner, and the roads were not nearly as bad as we had expected. Nor did we experience the traffic jams that some people had warned us about. I guess the high gasoline prices took care of that problem.
Our route had a number of legs:
I. Madison WI, to Fort MacLeold, AB (Days 1 - 9)
 | Visit friends in Barnesville, MN |
| Tour North Dakota Badlands |
| Travel on the Into the Sun Highway in Glacier Nation Park |
II. Fort MacLeold, AB to Skagway, AK (Days 10 -17)
| Saw Lake Louise, one of the most impressive lakes I have seen |
| Spectacular ride from Banff to Jasper seeing many animals and glaciers. |
| Generally good roads and great scenery all the way. |
| Start of the Alaskan Highway in Dawson Creek |
| Swim in hot springs in Liard River Provincial Park |
| Watson Lake signpost forest. |
| Camp in Skagway, a gateway fro the 1898 Yukon goldrush. |
III. Skagway to Homer to Tok, (Days 18 - 28)
| Grizzly citing, more Moose |
| Alaska land in Fairbanks was a pleasant surprise |
| Poor weather in Denali, but we did see the mountain on the way out. |
| Camped with 110 other rigs at Wal-Mart in Anchorage |
| In Seward we took an all day wildlife cruise on Recluse bay. |
| Stuck in the sand on the beach on the Hoper Spit. |
IV. Tok AK to Moose Jaw, AB (Days 29 - 36)
| Bumpy road from Tok to Chicken. |
| Dawson City looked like it did during the gold rush |
| Lots of mosquitoes in Carmacs, YK |
| Great scenery all the Way to Fort Nelson, BC |
| Shopped in the West Edmundton Mall. Worlds Largest Mall |
| Enjoyed visit to Fort Edmunton Park, a living history museum. |
V. Moose Jaw, AB to Steele, ND (Days 37 -40).
We have had long discussions about what would be the highlights of the trip,
and we are unable to decide. However, a clear view of Denali and a close view of
a grizzly taking a bath is high up on the list.
I took lots of pictures, and every morning selected the best pictures from
the day before and pasted them into our daily journal.