Learn all about Alaska State Parks at this website

If you're headed to Alaska (or already there) and like to hole up in state parks, then you should visit this website from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. You'll find information about every state park in the state including rates, campgrounds, other facilities and recent news.

The Alaska Highway Beckons

We are frantically loading the motorhome this morning for what I believe will be our 35th trip on the Alaska Highway. Just down to Fort Nelson, British Columbia and back this time for a little fishing, a little photography and a lot of fun.

Because Wi-fi and other Internet services are few and far between on the Alaska Highway, I will not be able to make many posts to this blog until I return around the 1st of September. But, please keep a lookout then because I will have all kinds of new pictures and tales of adventure to bring you when I return. And, with luck, a big fish tale or two, as well.

Do you have what it takes to fix it?

As I prepare for my annual foray on the Alaska Highway, I got to thinking about the tools I normally carry. Usually they are unneeded, but there have been a few times in 34 Alaska Highway trips when I was more than glad to have everything listed below.

You may not be very handy with tools or at making repairs; some people simply are not. However, you should still carry along a selection of tools appropriate to your vehicle because if something does go wrong you will be able to provide someone stopping to help with the equipment he needs to lend you a hand.

This is my basic list for an Alaska Highway trip. Feel free to add to it. If you don't know what these things are, take the list to a hardware store and a clerk should be able to help you. Be sure you get metric or SAE wrenches as appropriate to your vehicle.

Hammer;
10-inch crescent wrench;
8-inch crescent wrench;
Three-eighths-inch drive socket set with ratchet;
Set of box/open-end wrenches;
No. 1 and No. 2 common screwdrivers;
No. 1 and No. 2 Phillips screwdrivers;
Standard pliers;
Long-nose pliers;
Channel locks (big, adjustable pliers);
Vice-grips;
Wire-splicing tool;
Assorted wire connectors and terminals (often available in kit form with wire-splicing tool);
Roll of electrical tape;
Flat file for metal;
Three-quarter ax;
Folding shovel;
Plastic bucket;
Duct tape; Tube of Super Glue;
Pair of coveralls;
Flashlight and batteries; battery jumper cables;
Roll of baling wire or stout string;
Pocket knife.

Nothing here counts as rocket science and odds are that even without a mechanical problem you'll still find use for many of these items on a trek to Alaska.

Other nice to have items include a cordless drill with a selection of drill bits; a rivet gun with a selection of different size rivets; a tarp or roll of heavy plastic sheeting; and an assortment of nuts, screws and bolts. Concerning the latter, for decades I've tossed the leftover hardware from various projects into first a can and now a plastic tub to the point where it weighs about 15 pounds. On average, I dip into this tub of hardware at least once every couple of weeks on the road for a piece of hardware to make some sort of repair. It is probably the most valuable thing I carry with me in terms of making repairs on the road.

Are we there, yet?

What a lot of people don't realize when they start thinking about a trip to Alaska is that most residents of the Lower 48 will drive farther just getting to the start of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, than they will on the Alaska Highway itself.

The Alaska Highway is about 1,500 miles long if you measure from Dawson Creek all the way to Fairbanks. Only those who live in the Pacific Northwest have fewer miles than that to drive to reach Dawson Creek. Here's some examples of approximate distances to Dawson Creek using the shortest routes possible:

Seattle: 800 miles
San Francisco: 1,650 miles
Denver: 1,800 miles
Chicago: 2,050 miles
New York City: 2,900 miles.

Figure these numbers into your trek north and it quickly becomes evident that driving on the Alaska Highway itself is often a relatively small percentage of the trip.

Some years back, our son got married in Orlando, Florida. We drove down from Alaska. The distance from our driveway to where we parked in Orlando was 5,001 miles. We were in a bit of a hurry and got there in 10 days, including a two-day stop at my sister's house in Wisconsin. I don't really recommend doing it that fast unless some pressing need requires it. There is just too much to see and do between your home and Alaska.