We Finally Enter Alaska – Better Roads & a Chance to Relax
The last fifty miles or so in Canada were more of the same – potholes, bumps, frost heaves and gravel with some nice mountain scenery. We started the day only about 50 miles from the border, but with the road conditions it took about two hours to get there with a stop for fuel. At the border there’s a small rest area with exhibits on the history of the US – Canadian border. We did have one more casualty of the highway – a roller shade bracket failed as we went over a bump/dip near the end of our travels in Canada. Not good when heading to a places with 20+ hours of light.
Neither the US nor Canadian customs facilities are located right on the border, both are several miles inside their respective countries. The area is thinly settled to say the least with no towns nearby. After crossing the border we noticed an improvement in the road conditions almost immediately. After a short stop at US Customs we were on our way into Alaska.
Some Notes on The Milepost – The Guide to the Alaska Highway
Now that we’ve driven about a thousand miles of the Alaska Highway using The Milepost as our guide we’ve got some insights to share. In general it’s been accurate. We did find a couple of campgrounds that it said had water available but didn’t and a few other inaccuracies, but by and large the information is good. We’ve driven in other sparsely populated areas like eastern Montana or southwest Texas where having a book with information on where gas stations or campgrounds could be found would have been a godsend.
The entries in The Milepost for the Alaska Highway are in order from Dawson Creek and each lists the mileage from Dawson Creek as well as the mileage from Delta Junction (the end of the highway) which should be useful on the return journey. We reset our trip odometer when we left Dawson Creek which was helpful as we tried to determine where we were in the guide. The trip back down the highway will be a little more challenging since we’ll be going backwards from Alaska to Dawson Creek. As I mentioned in an earlier post I wouldn’t head up the highway without The Milepost.
Taking a Break in Tok
Tok (rhymes with smoke) is the first real town you come to in Alaska and it has a variety of lodging options including several RV parks and cabins. We chose to stay at Tok RV Village and Cabins, a meticulously maintained park right on the Alaska Highway. We decided to stay two nights to give us a chance to repair the broken roller shade and do some laundry. Tok RV Village has a car/RV wash station where you can wash the highway off your vehicle(s) and it’s free with a 2-night stay. We headed over to that first as both the motorhome and our car were filthy. It took about a half hour to pressure-wash the two vehicles.
Right across the highway from the RV park was a hardware store where I was able to get some screws to repair the roller shade. Both brackets that held the shade were broken. I had one spare bracket with me and was able to cobble together a working one from the parts of the two broken ones. With the new screws I was able to make the fix better than new, I think. The RV park has two laundry rooms which are among the cleanest we’ve come across, and we were able to check laundry off our to-do list as well.
Tok has a couple of gas stations as well as a grocery store and visitor’s center. We took advantage of the grocery store, a Three Bears store which had a little bit of everything – produce, meat, groceries, washing machines… to re-stock for the road ahead. A short walk from the RV park is Fast Eddy’s restaurant, an Alaska Highway icon with dinner choices ranging from steak to pizza, pasta, halibut and much more. We went to dinner there and it felt good to just relax before heading out again.
Check out the rest of our story here.
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