Category Archives: General

Fri 13 Nov 09

Anchorage, AK! Four days, 2570 miles, on a wintery drive to Alaska. Pretty good.

Today we made it from Whitehorse, YT in one long push of about 17 hours. I drove the Alaska stretch starting about twenty miles east of the border in Yukon (about 11 hours). The morning plan while gassing up in ridiculous cold in Whitehorse had been to stop at Tok, AK (about the halfway point), but we rolled into Tok at about 3:30 PST and decided we could make the last 328 mile run. Made Anchorage at 11:15 local time.

Roads again were ice and snow packed in Canada, with frequent frost heaves added in for good measure. Jostled all morning. Much better condition on the US side. Some magnificent views of flanking Alaskan peaks, even under cloudy skies, for much of the day.

We did hit about 150 miles of snow flurries while crossing mountain passes in AK, again after dark which slowed the pace considerably. Roads were very dicey in the blowing snow. On an uphill climb while I was driving, the twelve-foot trailer we were towing inexplicably seemed to lose traction and began spinning us toward the shoulder (car had been fine, but I felt the tail yanked away). I tried to correct, thought I had it for a second (but probably actually had over corrected), felt the car begin to spin the other way, again corrected and suddenly had no control as we spun into the oncoming lane and came to rest facing the opposite direction we’d been going on the far side shoulder. If you’ve ever spun out in a winter you know the feeling, but believe me, spinning out with a massive trailer tethered to your bumper adds another level of excitement.

Smell of burning tire rubber and heart a-pounding, but otherwise everything intact. Good thing it was November in Alaska and traffic was almost nonexistent. Carefully pulled back across the highway and dialed back our already slow pace another 10 mph until quite a ways down the road when the jumpiness had passed and the flurries had died down.

So I’m sure we missed a ton of Alaska scenery in the dark-driving, but hopefully the gained day in Anchorage will bring a little sight seeing. I fly back to WA on Sunday.

Thu 12 Nov 09

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Even colder.

14 hour day through gorgeous stretches of the Canadian Rockies and a not so gorgeous snow storm. Most of the road today was covered in ice and packed snow, which at first (particularly in the darkness this morning) was a little harrowing, but eventually kind of normalized. Lots of bison lounging along the roadway and a dead moose being feasted on by a bald eagle. We pushed the gas tank to E at one point when one of our intermediate podunk stations that was supposed to be open year-round was not. So, that was kind of exciting, especially as we had just entered a snow storm, making the walking down the road with a gas can idea even less appealing.

The snow really picked up just after we refueled as we drove through darkness to make it to Whitehorse. At times I honestly couldn’t see ten feet in front of the car. A few moments of baffling vertigo where I had no concept of left/right, uphill/downhill, or the speed of the car. Just swirling white streaks rushing at me. Saw a truck go off the road and roll a little ways in front of us.

711 miles to go to Anchorage and two days to do it, so hopefully we can adjust the drive duration a little for sanity’s sake and to deal with the snowy weather as needed.

Wed 11 Nov 09

Fort Nelson, BC. It’s snowy and cold here.

Shorter day of driving today (10.5 hours), but only because there is no convenient place to stop for about 300 miles after this as we head up into the Canadian Rockies. Nice partly sunny weather most of the day, so the roads were mostly ice-free. Fort Nelson really was the first time we ran into compact snow. Roads are getting emptier and emptier as we head north. No real wildlife yet, though we have seen a dead moose and a dead black bear on the side of the road. Into the Yukon Territory at some point tomorrow.

Tue 10 Nov 09

After a long day of driving, I’m in Prince George, British Columbia. Google said 12.5 hours, but with a few setbacks and a slow pace due to trailer hauling it turned into 17 hours. I drove the last 12 hours. The border crossing took all of two minutes. Weather has been great so far, but supposed to be less nice later in the week (it started snowing as we pulled into the hotel about a half hour ago). This was also probably the flattest section of road. We had a few passes at 6 or 7% grade, but nothing like the 10% grades to come. Pretty glad it’s not my car doing the towing up that stretch of Canadian Rockies.

Wed 4 Nov 09

So, I bought a 1993 Toyota Corolla wagon. It’s pretty rad. 208,000 miles on the odometer, but still looks reasonably decent (paint job on the hood seems to have vaporized a bit). Interior reminds me a little bit of the Festiva I had in high school. Probably a step or two up. I’ve always liked crank windows (as opposed to power ones) and the rear seats fold almost completely flat, so if I lie on an angle I can sleep in the back. I was told 30+ mpg, though I have yet to verify that. I’d post pictures, but I don’t own a working camera at the moment.

I hadn’t really been planning on buying another car, but the price was right and the incentive not to bike to work in December made it a no-brainer. You appreciate a morning drive in a warm, music-filled car much more after a few freezing 6 am bike rides.

I’m presented with a bit of a dilemma now though. I had been planning on booking a flight back to GR next month (giving away any of my stuff that didn’t fit in my luggage). But having a sweet car now gives me the option of driving back. Mary was a bit baffled about this idea when I mentioned it to her.

“I thought the whole point of driving back in October was to not have to drive cross-country in the winter?”

Nope, the point was not to be dealing with two dogs and a car struggling with a load of stuff in potentially horrendous mountain weather. I had actually considered keeping the dogs and stuff and making the drive back to Michigan at the end of the year via a circuitous route down through California then across and up through AZ, NM, TX, etc, but eventually discarded this idea as too much hassle. There would be no time to enjoy the scenery or swing into a National Park; it would just be a 3500 mile rush to finish the drive.

Now with a nearly empty car though and the ability to stop whenever/wherever, there definitely is a level of enticement. I could surf on the California coast or check out Yosemite in the snow. Stop off at the Grand Canyon and do a rim-to-rim hike. Anyone want to roadtrip? Or just wait for a clear forecast and try the much shorter route across the Rockies without worrying about how to handle a couple of dogs if my car careens into a snowbank. With the cargo space, I also could keep a few of the items that I otherwise would’ve given away. And if the 208k Corolla dies in the middle of some wilderness, I suppose it’s not the biggest loss in the world if I have to walk to the nearest airport.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggested routes (short/safe or roundabout with interesting stops) for a mid-winter drive from WA to MI, I’m open to ideas. Right now I’m considering the out-of-the-way route below, but if anyone has driven I-94 or I-80 in a feather-weight car in winter and thinks it doable that’d be cool to hear too. In the end I suppose it’ll probably just depend on what the weather forecast looks like the day before I leave. Or I could always just sell the car in December and fly back.