The AlCan is the Alaska/Canada highway built during World War II in 1942. It was finished in just 9 months and is 1390 miles long. This highway is the only road into Alaska. Otherwise, you have to fly or go by boat. This past week my daughter and son-in-law moved out of Alaska and back to Utah. I had the opportunity to drive with them, along with my son-in-laws brother.

This time of year there is snow, very little wildlife beyond rabbits and birds, and sometimes very cold temperatures.

We left Alaska on Wednesday. My daughter and I had a few errands to run in Wasilla before we left, including stopping for some fresh things like mandarin oranges and carrots, as well as checking to see if our bank had some Canadian cash we could exchange for just in case.

We were able to exchange about $100, grabbed our groceries, and then we were headed north to Glenallen, Tok, and the border crossing at Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada. We had 2 vehicles, a truck towing a Uhaul trailer and the car we were in, so 2 drivers per car.

The border crossing is always stressful. We never have anything we can’t take, but it just is stressful, we don’t do it enough. It was great though, and the agent was very nice and cracked a few jokes with us even. It was getting later in the day, but we drove to within about 20 miles of Destruction Bay when we decided to call it a night.

The night was clear and beautiful, the stars were out in abundance, and we even got to see some northern lights briefly. But we knew that it was going to get cold overnight. My son-in-law had 2 old military mummy bag sleeping bags which I and his brother slept in in the front seats. My daughter and son-in-law slept in the back wrapped in a lighter weight sleeping bag and lots of blankets.

We did start the car once in the night just to take the chill off, but otherwise just slept through till about 6:30 AM. It was cold in the car and there was a thick frost on the insides of the windows from our breathing. I had not gotten the hood of my sleeping bag up over my head very well, but there was frost around the area where I was breathing.

My son-in-law got out of the car and started heating up some breakfast burritos they had made before we left. I got up and went to the outhouse in the pullout. When I went in, I tried locking the door, but the metal burned my hand in just a few seconds so I knew we were well below zero, my guess was somewhere between -10 and -20 F.

I was hesitant to sit on the seat, but nature was calling so I hustled, it was so very cold! I came back and the burritos were about ready. I climbed into the car to wait. Once they were finished, my son-in-law checked all the tires and the fluids and we decided we could eat in the car while driving. The burritos were delicious and helped get me going and warmed up.

His brother rode with him, my daughter rode with me and slept for another few hours while I drove.

There’s really no way to get lost on this first stretch, and we drove and drove all day. The sunrise was beautiful, the weather was warmer during the day, and we had blue skies all day long. At the end of the day we’d gone about 1200 miles since the beginning. I commented that the Iditarod is about 1000 miles and we all agreed that it was a very long way!

The second night we spent at Toad River, or just north of it as the gas station had lots of lights and running semi trucks through the night, so we went back about a mile to a pullout to sleep.

That night was much warmer, a little bit cloudy, but not snowy. We had condensation on the windows but no ice except just right at the bottom of the windshield. We again woke at about 6:30 and my son-in-law and I got ready to go with more burritos and checking of the cars. This particular morning the other 2 drivers continued sleeping in the car as my son-in-law drove the truck and I drove the car. We stopped and got gas at Toad River, they have a beautiful new station/restaurant/gift shop there. I got some hot chocolate and he got some tea.

We headed out and again had a most beautiful day, other than we were driving East now, and the sun didn’t rise above the horizon very fast that morning so we were constantly driving into the sun. Our goal that day was to complete the AlCan portion of the drive.

We made it to Dawson Creek, mile zero of the Alaska/Canada highway and stopped to snap a quick picture (which is on a different phone). It was a quick stop as this was the only place we found any precipitation. We thought we’d get hailed on, but as we jumped back in the vehicles it stopped and we continued on our way.

We ended our drive that night in a hotel. We all needed a shower and we all wanted to be able to sleep stretched out and laying down fully. I believe we stopped in the little town of Beavercreek, but for the life of me I cannot remember exactly. I know we stayed at a hotel, and I know we had A&W hamburgers that evening.

This however is where my son-in-law decided to change up our route, and I’ll explain that in my next blog post on Sunday, so stay tuned!