My Alaska Road Trip – The Actual Trip!

I had grand plans when I first planned my Alaska Road Trip. See my original plans here, which involved driving to the Arctic twice! Lots of miles on gravel roads. Well, weather and forest fire smoke got in the way of that plan, so here is the actual Alaska Road Trip Itinerary from my two month trip to Alaska, June-August 2019, with links to all the posts I’ve created along the way.

Before we get to the actual itinerary of my trip, please take a few minutes to read some of the general posts and tips I wrote about the trip:

The Cost of my Alaska Trip (you won’t believe how cheaply I did it) and how you can save money when traveling to Alaska

My Favorite Free Camping in Alaska, BC, and Yukon

Alaska Road Trip Packing List – 13 Essentials

19 Tips for Driving to Alaska

My Favorite Alaska Fireweed Photos

Now, as for my route. My Alaska Road trip was 10,761 miles in total, and here’s a rough map of my trip (a few smaller detours are not on this map).

My Alaska Itinerary details:

Friday, June 28

Leave home. Stopped at Bridal Veils Provincial Park in southern BC to have a little hike and see the falls. Bought the Milepost book at a visitor center (wish I had ordered from Amazon, would have been $15 cheaper than I paid). Continued to Williams Lake and went for a short hike at Scout Lake and found a camping spot at the Stampede Campgrounds, $40 CAD for 2 nights, close to all the action and came with a free swag bag!

Saturday, June 29

Hung out in Williams Lake and did all the Williams Lake Stampede activities including the parade, the afternoon rodeo, and the big party at night. Read about my time in Williams Lake here.

Sunday, June 30

Attended cowboy church at the Stampede grounds. Headed over to Quesnel and went for a hike at Pinnacles Provincial park. Traveled with a German woman who I’d been hanging out with at the Stampede to Wells, BC for dinner. We free camped by the graveyard in the ghost town of Stanley. The only thing that bothered us were the invasion of mosquitoes and black flies. The worst on the whole trip!

Monday, July 1

It’s Canada Day! The first Canada Day was called Dominion Day and was celebrated in the historical town of Barkerville. Read about my two-day visit to Barkerville here. I camped at the Government Hill campground at Barkerville for $23 CAD, the second night in a row I was camping near a pioneer cemetary!

Tuesday, July 2

Spent another day at Barkerville and left in the afternoon. It’s well worth spending two days there, so much to see, do and learn. I hit the road with a long drive. I had heard stories of women going missing on the “Trail of Tears” of the Yellowhead highway through British Columbia so I wanted to find a safe place to camp. Luckily, a little after 10pm I found a rest area near Topley with several other campers to pull over for a free night of camping.

Wednesday, July 3

Woke up early and drove into Smithers for some Tim Hortons coffee. Caught up on internet as I viewed the glacier from my table. Met a guy that had just come down the Cassiar highway, he said he had seen so many bears! I saw a couple bears on the Yellowhead highway, but then no wildlife on my drive up the portion of the Cassiar to Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK. I marveled at the valley and Bear Glacier on my drive into Stewart. I stopped at the visitor center and got the driving map for the auto tour to Salmon Glacier, crossed into Alaska for the first time (no immigration) and had a little leg stretch in Hyder, then drove up to the Salmon Glacier. There were cloudy views of the glacier at the base but the summit/top was completely covered in fog. So I drove down to the Granduc mine, and explored some abandoned truck tunnels that went thru the mountain. Another finger of the Salmon Glacier was viewable at Granduc. I camped at the summit of the Salmon Glacier, hoping to wake up to a magnificent glacier view in the morning.

Thursday, July 4

I woke up at 6 am, drew back my curtain, and… FOG! The 4th of July festivities in Hyder weren’t until 4pm so I decided to make some coffee and wait. And at 8am, the fog descended and the crazy beautiful Salmon Glacier showed itself. The morning was so nice, I drove again to Granduc mine to see the glacier there. It was so temping to walk over to the glacier face, but it was on mine property. Back in town, I stopped at the Fish Creek bear observation (no bears) and went to Hyder for the games. It started to downpour so I ended up at the bar, met a few other tourists. The rain cleared so we watched the games and the really small parade. There wasn’t much going on after the parade, so I headed back into Canada and camped for free at the very nice Clement Lake BC Rec Site. Read more about my 4th of July Celebration in Hyder here.

Friday, July 5

Big driving day, drove all the way to Prince Rupert, BC (a bit of back tracking). I was hoping to meet some friends that I met at the Fountain of Youth Spa at the Salton Sea last winter, but they were busy. I did get to camp out in the driveway of a family member.

Saturday, July 6

I went over to visit my friends in Prince Rupert, got to ride to the town dump to see 50+ Bald Eagles that were scavanging for food. Went out to the North Pacific Cannery National Historical Site, was quite depressing, read about it here. Drove back towards Terrace and camped for free at a boat ramp in a provincial park and chatted with some nice people from Alberta who shared more depressing news about fishing on the Skeena River.

Sunday, July 7

Spent all day exploring the Nass Valley, viewing the lava, wildlife, soaking in a very hot springs, and had fish -n- chips at a coastal First Nations village, the most northwest coastal town in BC. Stayed at an excellent free campground called Dragon Lake BC Rec Site. I met a nice couple from Smithers and we drank wine as we listened to the thunderstorms roll in. Read more about my day of exploring the Nass Valley here.

Monday, July 8

It stormed most of the night, but Dragon Lake was beautiful in the morning clouds. Thunderstorms neared again, so I started out on my drive, driving most of the Nass Forest Road in heavy rain (at least the rain made it possible to see the many potholes!). I saw a young male moose in the road and followed him for a bit. Spent most of the rest of the day driving up the Cassiar Highway, seeing and smelling lots of smoke from the Alaska and Yukon fires. I was finally getting tired south of Dease Lake where I stayed in the Lion’s Club Tanzilla River campground for $10 CAD, which included free firewood. I had a campfire with couple guys from California that had been in Alaska on their motorcycles. Watching their evening and morning routine was exhausting. I’m so glad I’m Van Camping which requires no set up.

Tuesday, July 9

It rained very hard last night – I was even happier I was in the van. I woke up early and decided to make my way to Telegraph Creek, a dead-end gravel road to a historical telegraph station town. This road was incredibly steep and narrow. I barely made it through a path of mud in the road, but I kept driving only to find out mudslides had closed the historical part of Telegraph Creek town, so I headed back thru the canyon and did a short hike for a view of the river. By late afternoon, I found a great free camping spot at Sawmill Point BC Rec Site, where I parked my van right by the lakeside. Read more about my day trip to the Grand Canyon of Canada here.

Wednesday, July 10

I woke up early. The smoke wasn’t too bad this morning so I enjoyed the views and the wildlife seen in the early morning drive which included fox, beaver, moose, and even a porcupine! Continued heading up the Cassiar Highway, and stopped at the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store. The girl working there said there was nothing interesting up the road to the abandoned Cassiar town, but I disagree. Read about my interesting side trip to Cassiar Asbestos Mine here. Back on the Cassiar highway, I crossed into Yukon and eventually finished driving the Cassiar Highway at the junction of the Alaska Highway. By the time I reached Teslin on the Yukon River, the smoke was so thick! I found a highway rest area a little south of Johnson’s crossing that didn’t have “no overnight” signs and several other campers were staying there. I shared travel tips with a couple returning to the USA. After the last couple of days of smoke, I was seriously thinking of going home or going east but decided to drive to Whitehorse in the morning before making any rash decisions.

Thursday, July 11

It was very smoky as I woke early and drove towards Whitehorse. Since I was nearing the largest city in northern Canada, I turned on the radio, finally finding stations other than CBC and religious channels. I heard a commercial for a music festival in Atlin, British Columbia. The woman in the Yukon visitor’s center told me the festival would be sold out, but I headed over to an arts office that was the official vendor of passes and found they had a few tickets left! Paid $145 CAD for a pre-sale ticket for the 3-day festival. I had lunch and filled the car with gas and made the scenic drive to Atlin, arriving in the early evening. Paid $50 CAD for a weekend long camping pass. Not so many people were there yet on Thursday night so I got a prime spot next to a bush with a nice view of the lake and mountain. Overheard some people talking about a film, and turned out there was a pre-festival screening of a Gaida First Nations language movie called “Edge of the Knife” about a native folktale about a guy that turned into a wild man. Was a great way to spend the evening.

Friday, July 12

Slept in a bit as the festival wasn’t starting until the afternoon. Woke up and made some coffee while I enjoyed my view. Did a bit of a walk around Atlin before the rest of the festival goers arrived. In late afternoon, there was a First Nations procession to officially start the festival followed by lots of great music. I discovered some amazing Canadian musicians.

Saturday, July 13

I spent the whole day at the festival. My morning activity was an acrylic painting class, painting a sunset and the Lake Atlin landscape. I spent the rest of the day watching films and listening to music.

Sunday, July 14

The Atlin Arts and music festival ended in the afternoon. I took a short drive to the east of Atlin to visit a waterfall. I returned to town to attend the after-festival party at met some of the friendliest people at the festival. Some of the musicians from the fest had a jam session that anyone could attend. I camped for one more night at the Atlin Arts Festival camping ground. Read more about things to do in Atlin during and after the festival.

Monday, July 15

I drove back to Whitehorse. Since I was in the biggest city for many miles, I decided to get an oil change. The Ford dealer was completely busy so I had the oil changed at Canadian Tire. It was still a bit smoky in Yukon so I checked the regional smoke prediction, finding that my next planned place to visit, the Dempster Highway, was experiencing heavy smoke. So I make an alternative plan to go to Haines, Alaska which was supposedly smoke-free thanks to info found on an Alaska RV group on FB. I stopped briefly in Kluane National Park along the way and was lucky to see a lynx! I found a free camping spot at a picnic area between Haines and the ferry port.

Tuesday, July 16

I spent the whole day in and around Haines. I visited the state park and the cannery. Haines is famous for its bear viewing, although it was a bit early in the season for bear viewing. I drove around unsuccessful for some time but then spotted a Grizzly Bear grazing in the seaweed along the bay. I watched the young bear for half an hour before he disappeared into the woods. I spent another night of free camping at the picnic area between Haines and the ferry port. Read more about driving the Haines Highway and the best things to do in Haines here.

Wednesday, July 17

Excellent drive on the way back to Haines Junction, with viewing of many foxes, including pups, and a bear eating berries. Camped for free at the Deadman’s Lake Campground in Teslin National Wildlife Refuge. Sat on the dock to watch sunset and listen to the wolves howling. Read more about Deadmans Lake Campground.

Thursday, July 18

Started the day with a short, free canoe ride on Deadman’s Lake. Can you believe not only free camping, but free use of canoes! Made my way over to the neighboring Lakeview campground and was thinking of staying the night but got bored after an hour so headed to the visitor center at Tok, got the cheapest gas in the last month, and took the Tok cut-off and part of the Richardson Highway. Viewed the Worthington Glacier, then found a free campsite in a pull-off on the pass to Valdez.

Friday, July 19

Incredible views as I headed into the town of Valdez, arriving very early in the morning. This place was magic – Salmon leaping from the bay, and Sea lions and Sea otters hunting them. I headed over to the base of the Valdez glacier, to get a picture by the iceberg lake. I stopped at the two boat tour companies and decided to take the smaller Lu-Lu Belle boat on Saturday. Visited th town museum, and watched the video of the earthquake. I walked around the port, and camped with someone I met at the city of Valdez Glacier View Campground (yay free shower!)

Saturday, July 20

Had a relaxed morning and then had an 11am departure on the Lu-Lu Belle Boat, one of the highlights of my trip. Saw so many sea otters, Stellar Sea Lions, puffins, and a few Dall’s porpoises on the way to the tidewater Columbia Glacier. Besides Antarctica, I’ve never seen such a sight, with the glacier so long, it was 180 degrees around us. I popped into the Wheelhouse Bar for a cheap beer before camping at the harbor (stealth camping). Read more and see pictures from my day tour on the Lu-Lu Belle.

Sunday, July 21

Had a relaxing day in and around Valdez. I revisited all of my favorite spots, from the iceberg lake to the salmon hatchery. I met a lady camping in an A-frame camper so we chatted into the evening at her campsite near the iceberg lake before I headed back to my much warmer camping spot at the Valdez Harbor. Read more about the best things to do in Valdez.

Monday, July 22

Had a sunny morning in Valdez and had a nice, long shower at the new small boat harbor building. Drove over to the Peter Pan cannery and checked out the shop. Then I returned up the Richardson highway, drove to Chitna to stop at the Wrangell St. Elias National Park visitor center, then drove 3 hours on the terrible McCarthy Road and stealth camped for $5 at the Tour Association overnight lot.

Tuesday, July 23

Did a tour of the fascinating, huge, wooden Kennecott Copper Mill. In the afternoon, I hiked to the Root Glacier and walked out on the glacier in the sprinkling rain – really wonderful! I decided to do part of the drive out of the park, so I drove nearly 2 hours out the McCarthy Road. Camped for free at the old trestle bridge along the McCarthy Road. Read more about my tour at Kennecott and walk on the Root Glacier.

Wednesday, July 24

I stopped at the main Wrangell St. Elias National Park visitor center and watched the park video. Drove onto Palmer for a late lunch and stopped in Anchorage to pick up a new camera (this is the camera I use –  Lumix Superzoom Camera) and stop at REI. There were really nice views between Anchorage and where I camped for free at Turnagin Pass rest area. Met some Alaskans at the rest area coming back from a successful net fishing weekend and they offered me free salmon! Unfortunately, I didn’t have any ice in my cooler so I couldn’t take them up on the offer.

Thursday, July 25

All day on the excellent Kenai Fjords tour to Northwestern Glacier – the weather was beautiful and we saw lots of wildlife. In the evening, went to the infamous Yukon Bar in downtown Seward. Camped at the Seward city campground for $10. Read about and see pictures from my cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours.

Friday, July 26

A rainy day in Seward, AK. I visited the Kenai Fjords National Park visitor center and watched the park video. Hung out in the library the entire afternoon, catching up on my blog. At 2pm, the museum below the library shows two films in the community room, including a 25 minute film on the Iditarod trail (a trail from Seward to Nome in the gold rush days, that later became the basis for delivering emergency medicines and later the sled dog race) and a film on the 1964 earthquake in Seward that caused mass fires and a Tsunami. I stopped in the Yukon bar again but didn’t really like the bands. I continued to stay at the Seward city campground for $10 after I got a great spot next to the water.

Saturday, July 27

Another miserable day where the rain would not let up. Started the morning at the Alaska Sealife center, not a great deal at $32, but you can return multiple times in the day. Then I drove out to the Exit Glacier. The view from the road was nice and the rain had let up a little so I was going to hike to the glacier, but then the rain started again and did not stop all night. Read more about the things to do in Seward. I was getting sick of the rain so I decided to start driving towards the western side of Kenai Peninsula, where the weather was to be nicer tomorrow. I wanted to camp at Kelly Lake, but the campground was closed due to the fires, and the firefighters staying at some of these campgrounds. So I continued to Soldotna where I camped with dozens of other rigs in the Fred Meyer parking lot. It was surprisingly quiet and warm – I got a really nice night of sleep.

Sunday, July 28

I did a little shopping at Fred Meyer and I saw a flyer for a community picnic that day, so I spent the morning by going to church, then checking out the vendors and the Soldotna Progress Days. At noon, I got a free hot dog, chips and drink and just as I was finishing, it started to downpour. It didn’t look like it was going to let up, so I headed to the cinema to see the new Lion King movie. The sun was out as I exited the theater so I headed to the town of Kenai, visited the museum, Russian Church, and beach before heading south on the Sterling highway. I was lucky to spot two male Caribou with huge antlers grazing along the K-beach road and a female moose in a pond nearby. I kept driving south and spent the night on the beach at Whiskey Gulch campground, a free undeveloped campground with amazing views of sunset and the snow-capped volcanoes across the bay.

Monday, July 29

Headed over to Homer, AK in the morning. Stopped in a couple tourism offices to learn about Grizzly Bear tours, but decided against it since they costed $700+ for a day or a few hours. So I did a driving tour around town, stopping at the end of the famous Homer Spit and driving up Skyline Drive to visit the Russian church and have amazing views of the mountains, bay, glaciers, and Homer Spit. I got an invitation to visit a friend of a friend in Anchor Point, so I went there for dinner of fresh caught Sockeye salmon. Had a trip over to the beach for sunset and eagle watching. Slept in the driveway of the friend, overlooking the Anchor river. Read more about the drive from Anchorage to Homer.

Tuesday, July 30

Visited the Russian village of Nikolaevsk, AK. I had never heard of this place before but my host from the night before said I must visit. Nikolaevsk is located in the middle of hills covered with blooming purple fireweed with a view of the Mount Iliamna volcano. There were 2 churches, one with the most beautiful interiors of all the Russian Churches I visited in the Kenai peninsula. The other one was under construction – it was cool to peek inside one of the domes that was sitting on the ground – it was large enough to be a tiny home. Read more about the Russian Orthodox Churches on Kenai Peninsula. I stopped at the headquarters of Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and ended up camping at the free at Lower Ohmer Lake campground in Skilak recreation area. It was a decent sunset and a nice warm night for camping.

Wednesday, July 31

Visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage. This place has rescued injured animals and those that were once in captivity. They have all major types of animals that can be found in the wild in Alaska, except for polar bears. I went up to Anchorage and stayed with a friend. We went out for a nice dinner at F Street Restaurant – we had appetizers of steam clams and shrimps and I had a Halibut Salad. A great restaurant.

Thursday, August 1

I decide to have a rest day since I had a nice place to stay and a few nights out of the van. I went into town to look for some cold weather gear for my upcoming Antarctica trip, returned something to REI and had a Fred Meyer shopping spree. Hung out at my friend’s and we spent the evening smoking salmon on a Traeger grill.

Friday, August 2

At my friend’s suggestion, I took a day trip down to Whittier, Alaska. While I had originally resisted going there due to the toll tunnel, it was well worth the drive and $13 toll. There were views of spawning salmon and a couple glaciers, as well as the former military compounds – Whittier is certainly an odd place. I also did the hike to the Byron Glacier before returning to Anchorage. Read more about taking a day trip to Whittier.

Saturday, August 3

We went to an undisclosed location and hung out, grilled, and made moonshine.

Sunday, August 4

I drove my friend back to Anchorage and then I headed up to Talkeetna, a small, touristy town off the main road between Anchorage and Denali. I walked around a bit and then had a few beers at the Fairview Inn, the dive bar of Talkeetna – the ceiling had a disco ball AND a grizzly pelt. I hung out with 3 other solo travelers. After a couple beers, I “camped” at the city park in the center of town.

Monday, August 5

I drove up the Parks Highway and arrived in Fairbanks by mid-afternoon. I stopped at the Large Animal Research Station to see the Musk Ox. Then headed over to North Pole, AK to visit the reindeer and the Christmas Shop. It was a little rainy this evening, so I watched the movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Read more about the best things to do in Fairbanks in the Summer.

Tuesday, August 6

I saw a cultural show at the Fairbanks visitor center, followed by lunch at a Thai restaurant. In the afternoon, I visited Creamer’s Field to see the sandhill cranes and the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, which has both cars from the late 1800’s to 1930’s along with clothing and accessories from the same period. I returned to the visitor center to watch a couple films, including one on Aurora Borealis. (Fairbanks is one of the best places to see it in Fall thru Spring). I had a beer at the Boatel Bar while watching the very late sunset.

Wednesday, August 7

I had an action packed day with two of the top attractions in Fairbanks. In the morning, I did the Riverboat Discovery which includes a boat ride with sled dogs and traditional Athabascan culture. I stopped at the Farmer’s Market for lunch, then visited the Alaska Pipeline. My second tour of the day was Gold Dredge Number 8, which included live music, riding a train, learning about and going inside a dredge, and gold panning – I found $16 in gold! Since I needed to be in Denali the next morning, I drove most of the way to the park, camping at a rest area with a small camping area (some of the rest areas on Parks Highway have free campgrounds with a few spots). Read more about my day on Riverboat Discovery and Gold Dredge 8.

Thursday, August 8

Today was to be my big trip into Denali National Park. On Sunday I had looked at the weather forecast and it was showing rain all week with possible clearing on Thursday so I booked the trip for Thursday. I was supposed to do the longest trip, going 93 miles into the park, and a bus ride of 12-13 hours, which would include the prime afternoon bear viewing hours. At check in, I was disappointed to hear there had been mudslides in the rain from the previous days, and I’d only be able to go 1/3 of the way into the park. So, I took the bus ride 30 miles in. I was lucky – Denali mountain was in view, which happens only about 30% of the time. We were also lucky to watch a grizzly bear walking down a hill and scratching his back on a tree. We saw a couple caribou as well. Read more about preparing for a day on the Denali Shuttle Bus. My tour was over around noon, so I decided with the extra time to drive the Denali Highway (not in the park). What an incredible drive! The weather was perfect and the views were constant. Caribou hunting season was starting in a couple days so lots of people were camped out. I found a great free camp spot on a lake, with reflections of the mountains and glaciers and an amazing sunset. Read more about driving the Denali Highway.

Friday, August 9

It was a bit of a grey day, so I finished the Denali highway drive and took the Taylor highway to the weird and wonderful hamlet of Chicken, AK. The town consists of several campgrounds, gold panning, gift shops, gas stations, restaurants, and a saloon. There’s a gold dredge and some chicken statues. I spent the night at “Chicken Downtown” that has free camping, but then I spent more on beer than I would have paid for camping :). Read more about driving the Top of the World Highway and staying in Chicken, Alaska.

Saturday, August 10

I drove over “Top of the World” Highway with great views to Dawson City, arriving by mid afternoon to visit the NWT visitor center to get info on the Dempster Highway. While I was planning to spend the night in DC, the weather was OK and there was rain forecast for the next 10 days along the Dempster, with Monday looking the clearest, so I decided to make a run to Tuk to hope for drier roads as the Dempster becomes dangerous if there is too much rain. The mountains in Tombstone Territorial Park were gorgeous and it eventually started raining, but I decided to motor on if I were to get to Tuk by Monday. The roads were getting quite slippery and by 11pm I was exhausted so I camped at the Ogilvie – Peel viewpoint, which was simply a view of fog. Read about Driving the Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk.

Sunday, August 11

The roads were a little better today. I stopped at the Arctic Circle marker, crossed the pass to the Yukon/Northwest Territories border, the pass had gotten a dusting of snow – on August 11! I crossed on a couple river ferries, and stopped in Fort McPherson, NWT – cheapest gas on the Dempster Highway and had a cute church. Kept on driving and arrived in Inuvik, where I stayed at the Jak Campground. Check out these cool things to do in Inuvik.

Monday, August 12

It was a windy, rainy night so I had a nice, hot shower at the campground before setting out to Tuktoyaktuk. The weather was a mix of rain, horizontal mist, sun, rainbows, sleet, and snow and the roads had some sloppy bits but I made the 140 km drive to Tuk in about 3 hours. I stopped to see the Pingos and stopped at the town spit to see the famous Arctic Ocean sign. I stopped at Grandma’s Kitchen for a snack of dried fish, Beluga jerky, and raw Beluga – yuck! The drive back to Inuvik also took around 3 hours. I did some shopping and visited the Igloo church. I watched a couple NWT movies in the park before going back to Jak Campground.

Tuesday, August 13

It rained all night, and the roads were super sloppy, so I decided to delay my trip back down the Dempster by a day. There were a couple activities in Inuvik that sounded interesting. I spent a couple hours at the library and took an art class in the afternoon, making a small dream catcher. This was a free cultural program by the Western Arctic visitor center. I also watched a film on the last year of the ice road between Inuvik and Tuk – a road on the Mackenzie river and Ocean to Tuk, only open in the winter. I was hoping to do a tour at 5:30 of the community greenhouse but found a sign on the door that the tour was cancelled, but luckily they let us in to have a look around. At this moment, I decided to hit the road. The rain had stopped by mid-afternoon and the roads were much drier so I wanted to get as far as I could. I made it through most of NWT, making both ferry crossings, being the only vehicle on both ferries – not many people traveling in the evening. I finally decided to camp in the abandoned Midway caribou camp as there was a couple from Switzerland camping there too.

Wednesday, August 14

There was a bit of rain in the morning but it was dry for the rest of the day, so the only really bad part of the road was at Rock River. I made it all the way to Tombstone Territorial Park, where I camped in the gravel pit on the north end of the park. I was awoken by strange noise, and went outside to discover three owls swooping my head. Read about my crazy adventures on the Dempster Highway.

Thursday, August 15

I spent some time at the park as the weather was OK, then drove back to Dawson City. It was such a relief to be back on paved roads. I did a little dance at the Dempster Highway interpretive sign, but no one was there to see it. At Dawson City, I had a free dinner at the community BBQ for Discovery Days. I went to Diamond Tooth Gerties where I watched the 8:30 and 10:00 show and talked with a real gold prospector – he certainly had and interesting life – 73 years old with 4 ex wifes, in the summer he works 12 hours a day 7 days a week. I camped up at the Midnight Dome viewpoint.

Friday, August 16

There was quite a bit of rain overnight and the morning was completely foggy so I headed back down to the “city”. I saw a show at the Theater, a play about who is the best Yukoner. It was cute and it showed some history. I needed a shower so for $5 I had a shower and did water aerobics and the town’s indoor pool. I parked my van for the night at the Dawson City visitor center parking lot. I hung out with some German people who were also camped there. I headed back to Diamond Tooth Gerties where I chatted with people and saw the 10:00 and 12:00 shows.

Saturday, August 17

I watched the Discovery Day parade in the morning. Afterwards, I did my own walking tour of Dawson City and watched a fast pitch softball game. I decided another night of drinking and hanging out with 20-somethings wasn’t my choice so I started driving south, stopping at the excellent free campground at Pelly’s Crossing. See why Dawson City is one of the 12 best things to do in Yukon.

Sunday, August 18

Drove to Whitehorse to consider alternatives, as the Alaska Highway in Northern BC was getting a freak snow storm today and tomorrow. The lady at the visitor center convinced me to take a day trip down to Skagway, so I started driving south. I visited the the world’s smallest desert in Carcross and ended up camping at a boat launch on Tutshi Lake.

Monday, August 19

I drove into Skagway and did a tour at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Site and had a look around town. It was busy as there were 3 cruise ships in port. I drove out to the historical site of Dyea before doing a long drive back into Yukon and nearly all the way to Watson Lake, where I camped at a rest area about a half hour west of town. See the things to do between Whitehorse and Skagway.

Tuesday, August 20

The whole day was spent driving the Alaska Highway. I stopped at Watson Lake at the sign forest (1,000’s of signs that have been collecting since the Alaska Highway was built) and the visitor center, where a very cute and friendly fox was hanging outside. The visitor center informed that Liard Hot Springs, the main reason I wanted to drive the Alaska Highway was closed due to fallen trees from the snow storm. I saw lots of wildlife after entering northern BC, including bears, deer, reindeer, moose, a whole herd of Wood Bison, and fox. Muncho Lake was beautiful, it would be amazing to visit this jade lake on a sunny day. There was lots of snow and super heavy fog north of Fort Nelson. I kept driving and spent the night at a rest area north of Dawson Creek – lots of oil trucks here so very poor sleep – worst sleep of the trip.

Wednesday, August 21

Since I missed the Liard hot springs due to the storm damage, I did water aerobics and used the hot tub at the excellent aquatic center in Dawson Creek. I visited the art gallery in the grain elevator and the markers that are the start of the Alaska Highway. I did lots of driving in the afternoon and arrived at La Salle BC Rec Site, and amazing free campground to have some excellent sleep on the shores of the lake.

Thursday, August 22

The Yellowhead highway was busy with trucks so I took a road less traveled drove the Dunster Highway and went to Dunster General Store for coffee and fresh garden veggies and then drove the forest road for the next hour to rejoin the yellowhead. Along the way, I picked wild blueberries and saw a couple bears. Back on the highway, I turned a corner and then saw it – the giant Mount Robson in all it’s glory. I did the hike out to Kinney Lake on such a nice day. Mount Robson is a great alternative to the very busy Banff. I drove down to Wells Gray Provincial Park and camped at Silvertip Falls Rec site (of course, free).

Friday, August 23

I visited three of the waterfalls of Wells Gray – Dawson Falls, Helmcken Falls, and Spahats Creek Falls. This was a great thing to do on a rainy morning. From here, I drove to Kelowna for the Kelowna Ribfest. I had BBQ chicken (Costco’s is better) and listened to a couple bands. Coming into town, I was listening to 100.7 new country and they said stop by the booth for a free ticket to a concert in town that night so I ended up at the OK Corral, a honky-tonk in Kelowna to hear 3 more bands, including the Chris Buck Band. I camped out in the OK Corral parking lot.

Saturday, August 24

Woke up pretty early so hit the road after some Tim Horton’s coffee. The fruit and veg stands in the Okanagan valley were awesome, but sadly I couldn’t bring it across the border. Just before the border, I stopped at Spotted Lake, I had wanted to see this for some time, but the water level was a little too high to properly see the spots. After about 6 more hours of driving, I arrived at home!

I hope you enjoyed the summary of my Alaska Road Trip… hope you found some tips for your own Alaska road trip.

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