Driving the Alaska Highway

Our journey north in words and pictures

It seems natural for anyone with an adventurous spirit to want to visit Alaska.  It's the final frontier, a wild place, full of beautiful landscapes but not of people.  Chelsea and I have been talking about going to Alaska for years, and we finally decided that 2015 was the time to make it happen.  Of course, we decided we should drive.  That way we could see how far north we could find a Tim Horton's in Canada.  We had many resources to help us plan the journey- books, magazines, pamphlets, the Milepost Highway Log, but somehow failed to do any research or planning (typical).  We crossed the border with surprising ease, only forfeiting one apple in the process, and then said, "now what?"  I sheepishly asked Chelsea, "sooo, uh, which road is actually the Alaska highway?"  A quick look in one of our books told us that the Alaska highway doesn't officially start until Dawson Creek, BC, some 700 miles away.  With that piece of useful information, we pointed north and set off on our adventure.

Day 1: Bellingham, WA to somewhere between Quesnel and Prince George, BC
410 miles

Highlights: The first day of our drive was extremely hot.  Silas doesn't have A/C.  We were a little sad and realized that we were driving through the desert section of BC that everyone suggested we go around.  Oops.  We enjoyed jumping in a lake on the side of the road and finishing the drive in our bikinis.  

Too hot.

Day 2: to 125 miles past Dawson Creek, BC
440 miles

Highlights: The temperature was much better on our second day!  We picked up a French couple who is hitchhiking their way through North and South America.  We enjoyed spending the day driving with them, eating their fresh picked blueberries, and camping together on the side of the road.  It rained a bit and we were treated to a lovely sunset!

Day 3: to Smith Falls, BC
365 miles
Highlights: We passed Julien and Lisa several times in their new ride and ended up having lunch with them and their driver of the day on the side of the road.  We stopped at a small outpost for the "best cinnamon bun in the galactic universe" and got two buns.  Then we went on a breathtaking (both because of the scenery and the extremely steep terrain) hike above Summit Lake.  We saw a bald eagle, a herd of bison, and two black bears.  We slept at a lovely waterfall.

Day 4: to Atlin Lake, BC 

365 miles

Highlights: We crossed back and forth into Yukon territory and got to visit the Signpost Forest.  There was a good forecast for the Northern Lights, so we headed south off the highway to find a campsite along Atlin Lake.  We found a gorgeous spot and back our tires up right to the lakeshore.  We woke up at 2:00 AM to try to see the lights, but it had clouded over and we were out of luck.

Day 5: to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory 

350 miles
Highlights: We started the day with an invigorating dip into the lake.  Brrrrr!  We had a really nice leisurely stop in Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon.  We walked around the Yukon River, had a snack, and continued on our way to just outside of Beaver Creek.  It stayed light out until about 11 PM for our last night in the Yukon.

Day 6: to Delta Junction, Alaska
230 miles
Highlights: A very quick drive got us to the border!  Alaska!  We had the easiest border crossing in our history and motored along into the GIANT state of Alaska.  We went all the way to Delta Junction to officially complete the Alaska Highway.  We did it!