kb58
UltraDork
10/18/22 6:11 p.m.
Having never been there, I'm inferring the following:
Back when I was a kid, we went on a family vacation up into Canada. After seeing road construction day after day with endless delays did I realize why: summers that far north are very short, but that's the only time that road repairs can happen. So, yeah, don't assume 500-600 mile days.
On a related note, if you get off Main roads, many secondary roads are "gravel." That's in quotes because their idea of gravel up there is more like small rocks. I know this because in between the construction zones are dump trucks heading the other way at about 80mph, so we had many chances to watch "gravel" fly up into our windshield. Indeed, when we got to our destination, every car there had a broken windshield.
All that aside, I would like to drive to Alaska (anyway) to see the northern lights at least once.
I spent 3 weeks in Alaska and got several years worth of stories. One of the ways that happened was by hitchhiking around. It really is a weird and wonderful place. I don't think that I'm man enough to make it through those winters without becoming an alcoholic though.
If you fly up, you'll be flying into Anchorage, or possibly Fairbanks. You won't be anywhere near Dawson Creek. Anchorage is a better choice because it's a much bigger place (1/2 of Alaska's population lives around Anchorage) and has better infrastructure and choices of everything. If you fly through Seattle (which is also a nice place to spend an extra few days, as it is also beautiful) Alaska Airlines has flights to Anchorage nearly every hour, so you'll have lots of options. Get window seats and make sure you sit on the right side of the plane on the way up, and the left side on the way back. There are lots of impressive mountain ranges to see.
You probably aren't going to see the Northern Lights if you drive up. The time of year that you can drive up is during late spring/summer/early fall, and the days are too long and nights too light to see the Aurora Borealis.
kb58
UltraDork
10/19/22 1:38 p.m.
RacerBoy75 said:
...You probably aren't going to see the Northern Lights if you drive up. The time of year that you can drive up is during during late spring/summer/early fall, and the days are too long and nights too light to see the Aurora Borealis.
Oh yeah, very good point. I imagine the nights in summer that far north are crazy short. I'm not the OP and was just sayin' what I might do someday, so thanks for the info!
Rons
HalfDork
10/19/22 3:01 p.m.
In reply to kb58 :
Fairbanks Alaska, June 30 2023:
sunrise 3:08am
sunset 12:40am
length of day 21:30 and there is no night just twilight
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
home is the mudwhale? nice!
Thread update.
We arrived last night around 1230 local time. We ended up renting a truck with a topper since we will be camping a couple nights. Today will be a lot of recovery from minor jet lag as we both only slept about 4 hours after being awake for 24. Let the hijinx begin!
You may not see the sun while you are there. We went last July and it rained and the wind blew all the time.
On the good side it kept most of the Mozzies away!
On the bad side a case of beer was $55.
What a great adventure - best of luck!
Before you leave Anchorage to go to Alaska (as my sister used to say) stop in at the White Spot for the fish sandwich. Yum. If fish isn't your deal, fried chicken and a malted at Lucky Wishbone. Also yum.
NOHOME
MegaDork
6/27/23 6:52 p.m.
Current price of fuel in Alaska is under $5/gallon so about the same as Canada.
Parents used to surf the heat wave from Florida to Alaska every year. After a few trips the consensus was that the Yukon was everything that Alaska was, minus the crowds and high prices.
Edit: Alaskans have a short harvest season. So when tourist arrive they pluck them for all they can while they can.
In reply to paddygarcia :
Gonna give it a shot!
In reply to NOHOME :
Luckily our rental has a 5.7 Hemi so we will be blessed with many opportunities to support the local gas station economy 
In reply to logdog (Forum Supporter) :
See? It's cloudy.
Dang. I'd eat there.
In reply to Shadeux :
Its like we never left Michigan!
Is it supposed to get any nicer weather-wise? If not, welcome to Alaska.
If it does get clearer, that's good so you can see some of the scenery off in the distance.
