This was originally written in 1997 as a trip journal to share with our friends as we started out on a wonderful vacation. We have now edited some portions, and set it out onto the web. This is intended to have interesting content rather than fancy graphics although we will include some photos to keep it interesting.. Yes, it is our first web site. Our hope is that it will be read by people who are contemplating traveling the ALCAN Highway. We welcome your comments and questions.
As Ellie and Peter Brownstein head out on the road for their third honeymoon, we thought we would attempt to share it with you from the road. We are not sure how long it will take us to find a connection to the internet to send this, but with the help of our friend Linc's acoustic coupler, we will give it our best shot. This is not heavily edited but rather a saga of what we saw and experienced from the road. We do realize how fortunate we are to be able to do this and as Linc said, "it is not intended to make you jealous, but rather to motivate you to do something like this on your own so that we can become the armchair travelers".
If this is more than you have any interest in reading, please send us a return Email, and ask us to drop you from the list. Otherwise, sit down in a comfy chair, and enjoy our trip with us, or give us suggestions on how to make it better. PRINT THIS AND TAKE IT HOME TO READ AT YOUR CONVENIENCE Chapter 1 of our saga is being written sitting in Pic a Piece pizza at the Eastridge mall in Casper Wyoming. Our trailer is on the other side of town at HiTech automotive repair having the springs repaired. Andy, the service manager told us it should be about 3-4 hours so I have some time to start our journal.
The story began a few months ago when we were out for a ride on the tandem bike and stopped in at Maps Unlimited in Denver, and picked up a book about driving the Alaskan Highway. We started to figure that this would be the type of trip that would take a lot of time and we might not have the chance to do this very often. As it became clear that Ellie's job was going to be ending, we figured that this might be the right time to try this trip. Some added background for those who do not know us. Ellie is employed in medicine and was in the process of changing jobs. Just before we left Denver, she had signed a contract to begin working in Salt Lake City, UT at the end of September 1997.
The book spoke about all the different vehicle combinations that we might try, and we figured that since the Suburban was already a reasonable tow vehicle, we would look for a used travel trailer. Based on our last trip in 1995 when we spent 8 consecutive nights in a tent in the rain, we truly believed that the comfort of a travel trailer would be worth the slower travel speed. Our shopping criteria was that we wanted a unit that was as small as possible, that still had a permanent (vs. fold out) bed.
The unit we found from a private party was a 1989 Layton 21'. It had belonged to an older couple who retired from camping. The trailer came fully equipped down to: Linens on the bed, dishes, a stereo w/cd player, a toaster, Microwave, pots, pans, a small vacuum, and a cribbage board. Since we would be "roughing it" we added; Cameras, Notebook Computer w/printer & Modem, GPS Unit, binoculars, food, and enough clothing to keep even Peter warm.
We figured in advance that we would need to do some minor maintenance such as repacking the wheel bearings, and changing the brake magnets. While this took more time than I thought, and finding the correct magnets proved tougher than I thought, it was accomplished without any substantial events. When I realized that the spring shackles should also be changed, I took the trailer to my mechanic and him do this part of the job. A few other tasks such as securing the mounting arms for the awning took some time working in our driveway during the afternoon monsoons in Denver. While Peter was getting greasy, Ellie worked on cleaning up and preparing the inside of the trailer. We were both amazed on how much stuff could be packed into a limited number of storage cabinets.
After several days of saying we were leaving tomorrow, and then not going, the evening of Thursday July 31, we thought we had everything as ready as we could, and pronounced that we would leave at 8:30 the next morning. As we were both dealing with lots of anxiety over the trip and our upcoming move to Utah, we got out of bed at about 8:15 and were hooked up, doors locked, etc, and out the door at Noon. The stops for Propane and a water fill hose were quick and then we got stuck in traffic on our way out of Denver. Our quick stop for food in Fort Collins took an hour and a half before we were back on the road. We stopped for lunch at a rest area in the rain, and then at a truck stop to put some more air in the tires in a hope to increase the gas mileage (ok yardage is a more accurate term). At 4:00pm we felt as if we were truly set and on the road. Ellie took the wheel and drove for the next two hours to the KOA in Douglas Wyoming, her first time driving anything near this big (and we made the best time of the day). We figured that for our first night ever in a trailer, we should pull in early so we could hook up and figure out everything in daylight.
The first night went well. We parked next to a couple with grayer hair than ours who were now on about their fifth trailer. They were able to answer all sorts of questions for us like how to work the awning, the tank drains, pulling in a direction to avoid sun loading, and other considerations which you do not learn in college, grad school, or medical school. Our first night went well and we slept much better than a typical first night out on a trip. We had planned a dry run at a local campground, but it never happened due to a lack of available campsites at Cherry Creek Reservoir.
The next morning, when we pulled in for our morning gas, Peter decided to oil the trailer springs, to see if that would stop a squeak that we were hearing. Three out of four springs were easy, the fourth however was broken. The woman with the black eye at the truckstop told us the nearest town to buy new springs would be Casper. Lucky for us that was where we were heading anyhow. We looked through our campsite directory and found a RV dealer at the first exit. By the time we had been to four different shops, we had found the parts at one shop and a mechanic on the other side of town to install them. As they told us it should be ready in about four hours, we headed for the mall in an attempt to kill some time and begin writing our saga.
We got back to the shop after 2.5 hours and they had finished 1 of 4 springs. As we set down in their waiting room for what we thought would be a long time, they came out after 3.5 hours handed us a bill for five hours and told us they were done. When you break down on the road you seem to have little choice as to how much it will cost to get you going. At least we got back on the road after only a five-hour delay and began to make up some lost time. We headed to Hardin, MT where we would spend the night at the last available spot at a KOA. We spent some time in the hot tub talking to a number of bikers who where on their way to Sturgis for the annual rally
.Upon having breakfast in Hardin, we realized that our free toaster did not work. Luckily we found a Target later that day in Great Falls, MT and were able to replace the offending unit. From Great Falls we headed due north to cross the border at Sweetgrass MT. (After two quick phone calls to our parents.) After a total daily mileage of 450 we arrived at a campground at Fort Macleod, AB at 8:30pm. As we get further north and the sky stays bright later, it starts to confuse the body and cause confusion.
After all the years that both of us have spent camping in tents, we always thought that the folks in the trailers and motor homes were snobby or couldn't really experience the outdoors. What we have decided is that while we may spend a little more time on the road due to the towing, we spend a heck of a lot less time setting up and breaking camp, and sleep much better regardless of whether there are rocks under the trailer. Forget about the stereotypes - it's a great way to travel.
After leaving the campground in Fort Macleod, on our way up to Calgary, Peter decided that it was time form an informal survey of the different types of recreational vehicles. The goal was to get some sort of idea of what most people tended to use. (What do they know that we don't)? As we initially saw many older and less expensive trailers, we thought that it might have been a case of the Canadians having less money to spend on toys. We discovered the truth after an hour as we realized that there was a Classic Rock Weekend that had just come to an end an what we thought may have been a valid sampling was only a sampling of the Rock fans who were attempting to recreate woodstock. Other attempts to sample were equally invalid, as different types of vehicles are more popular in different areas and under different conditions. We did however find a few brands, which kept showing up everywhere. Much to Peter's dismay, Ford trucks tend to outnumber Chevy when it comes to towing fifth wheel trailers.
We pulled into Lake Louise, Banff that afternoon to sunny skies, and a chance to view the lake (two years ago we saw it twice in the fog). While walking around Lake Louise, the fancy zoom lens fell off Peter's camera and hit the asphalt. We picked it up to look at the pieces of broken glass. We both breathed a sigh of relief when we realized that the broken glass was on the UV filter that could be unscrewed and the rest of the lens seemed fine. We did head to the local photo shop where we did buy a new UV filter. (Cheap insurance)
A strange trend in Canada is to have highway signs posted after the fact. IE; the sign that says next gas 125km is always just after the station where it can be difficult to turn around if you are piloting the queen Mary (or a suburban with a trailer)
As tonight was our first anniversary, we spent it having dinner at the Victoria room at the Chateau Lake Louise. It was a wonderful meal with true million dollar views. The amusing part was getting out of the trailer at the campground in a dress and sport shirt, not our normal outfits. As this is a family oriented journal we'll skip details from the rest of the night
We hiked from Moraine Lake up to the top of Sentinal Pass. A gorgeous hike, despite the heat and bug infestation. At the top we met a young medical resident and her husband. They had just spent a month in AK and we spoke about what to see and do. It becomes clearer that we will learn to fish before the end of this trip. After the hike we drove down to Banff to look at the Banff springs hotel, which will be the site for this year's National Jewish Singles Ski Week. It is a truly classical hotel that is easy to get lost in if you are not careful.
We pulled out of the Lake Louise Campsite and after two thirds of a tank of gas for $75.00, we started up the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. We stopped at the new visitor education center, which has a lot of good information about glaciers and how they form, change, evolve, etc. We got to Jasper at 3:00pm, and after unhooking, we went into town for ice cream, groceries, hardware, and information. Jasper is always a neat place as there are almost always a herd of Elk on the edge of town. While in the grocery store we met an older (than us) couple from Oregon who were heading south. We traded thoughts on trailer brake controllers, and tires and how to set up Chevy trucks for towing. Our quick trip into town had us back at camp (1 mile away) at 7:00pm. We did sneak in a quick bike ride around the campground, which has over 700 sites.
One issue that we are trying to figure out is Bear Spray (pepper spray, mace etc.) We have been told that we cannot carry it across a national border, even thought it is legal to buy on either side. This would mean we would buy it three times and keep surrendering it at the borders. At a cost of $40.00 this is significant. We finally spoke to a mountie (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in Jasper who said that it is legal to possess as long as it is not carried as a concealed weapon. Our current thought is that we will buy it and figure out how to carry it across the border. While setting up the BBQ, we saw an animal which was either a large dog that should have been on a leash, or a member of the Wolf family. The rangers suggested that it was not a dog. He came by the camp to check out the new neighbors and I guess we passed the test because he did not stay for dinner.
The night in Jasper was our first without electricity; we learned how to conserve electricity as well as possible. We did not realize we were low until the morning when we were cold and our heat was not working. Lesson learned - if you do not have electricity, have warmer blankets on the bed (amazing just how fast you get spoiled in a trailer). As the lightening, thunder, and rain came down that night we were again pleased we had a roof not nylon overhead
.In the morning we left Jasper and stopped in Hinton for gas before heading north. Peter thought this would be the last civilization we would see for a while as the sign at McD's said last drive through for 500km. At one point we approached what we both thought was a tree stump at the side of the road. When we passed it we realized that is was actually Caribou that rolled over and decided to play dead. I would have thought that the weight of the legs would have them on the ground before rigamortis set in. While we did drive through some very desolate areas, the towns we came to continued to have Safeways & Walmarts. Maybe Alaska is no longer the last frontier. We'll keep you posted.
The first attempt at typing while Ellie was driving lasted a few moments until the battery life indicator came on. We'll charge them better for tomorrow.
As Ellie decided to do our laundry this evening at the campsite, we decided that our next research project would be to determine the cost breakeven point between doing our laundry and buying new clothes to replace the dirty ones. The point might not be too far away
.At the end of 7 days I finally tried to print out some of what I have been writing. So far, the cartridge in the HP DeskJet printer has very little interest in passing ink through. I wonder how much a printer cartridge can cost in Dawson Creek? We have decided that since Dawson is the starting pointof the ALCAN, this should be the end of Chapter one and Chapter two will begin our travel up the ALCAN.
©Peter Brownstein, 1998