The Dalton Highway Adventure – Days 5-6: Deadhorse to Coldfoot to Fairbanks

As we were leaving Deadhorse Camp, I took pictures of our room and the outside of the building.  The accommodations were simple, yet sufficient and comfortable for their intended purpose.

The Dalton Highway Adventure Days 3-4: Galbraith Lake to Deadhorse; Prudhoe Bay, Arctic Ocean

Mosquitoes in Alaska are formidable, to say the least, and I would be remiss if I failed to mention them!  You don’t know what it means to have a mosquito problem until you’ve experienced the Alaska swarms.  Although they come in all sizes, most are huge… actually the mosquito is the state bird!  Normally when you venture outdoors, it will take a few minutes for the mosquitoes to pinpoint your location.  Well, these guys are anything but normal – they’re already there waiting for you, poised and ready to strike like an army of smallish but annoying blood-sucking vampires.  They don’t congregate in the woods like you might be used to.  No, this is the arctic tundra, baby!  It’s a permanently wet environment devoid of forest, and believe me, they make efficient use of it as their nursery and feeding grounds, right out in the great wide open.  They are also not as affected by cool temperatures as their southern cousins, enabling them to keep you company just a little longer.  Oh, and forget about sunshine hindering their activity.  They are ever-present, and with 24 hours of daylight in the summer, it’s a giant mosquito festival.  “Just use Deet repellant,” you say?  Don’t worry, even if they don’t get a blood meal, they can still lay eggs – they’ll just lay fewer.

The Dalton Highway Adventure: Days 1-2: Fairbanks to Coldfoot to Galbraith Lake

Starting in Fairbanks, Alaska, the ride up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay is 498 miles one way.  From Livengood, the actual beginning of the Dalton, approximately 25% of the road is paved, and in the summer, the rest is gravel, dirt or mud depending on the weather.  It is strongly recommended to bring two spare tires, and to carry extra gas for the 239 mile stretch between Coldfoot and Deadhorse where there are no gas stations.  Although not recommended, many people travel the road on motorcycles and bicycles.  The feeling of accomplishment after such a feat must be incredible.  I know it felt pretty awesome for us doing it in the Jeep!  The road is challenging and beautiful, and the best way to avoid catastrophe and enjoy the journey is to first do your homework and don’t approach it casually.  Once you’re traveling, just take your time.  For more detailed information about the Dalton Highway, traveling on it and considerations to take before embarking on this journey, take a look at this page on the Bureau of Land Management website, where you will find a very thorough downloadable PDF guide.

Our first day on the Dalton was grey and wet most of the time, but still provided some interesting scenery.  The road parallels the Alaska Pipeline for a good portion of the distance, and there are numerous access points for pipeline maintenance along the way.

Entering Canada, Driving the Alaska Highway

Crossing the border into Canada went very smoothly.  They asked a series of questions, we declared our two rifles and made sure we had them stowed according to their laws.  Since we had filled out our paperwork for the rifles ahead of time, the process was simple and painless, and the officers who dealt with us were very pleasant.

Our first day of travel in Canada was uneventful.  We were still in fairly civilized territory, so the paved roads were in pretty good shape.

Weathering the Storm

We arrived in Great Falls with dampened gear and spirits.  While we holed up in a hotel for three nights, it rained pretty much the entire time.  We were scouring the internet for anything and everything related to RV campers, and second guessing our plans for the remainder of the trip.  If we were experiencing this kind of weather in Montana, what would Canada and Alaska bring us?  Although this weather isn’t normal for this time of year, anything is possible.  We are not properly equipped to deal with snow or persistent freezing wet conditions.  Should we head back south and cut the trip short by a month or two, or should we try to purchase a camper to tow behind the Jeep?  Should we go back to Arizona or Texas where we knew it would be warm and dry for the rest of the time and skip Alaska until we had a camper?  Then it hit us both at the same time:  Don’t wimp out!!!  We will press on and take our chances as planned, and deal with whatever comes our way when it happens.  It’s all part of the adventure.

Glacier National Park - The Evil Temptress

After driving through miles upon endless miles of farm country, fields, and rolling hills, the mountains of Glacier National Park became visible on the horizon, and grew bigger with each mile.  So, too, did our excitement, as this place was one of our must-see, more highly anticipated stops on our journey.  We were teased by patches of blue sky peeking through the thick puffy clouds overhead.

Yellowstone Day 3: Sightseeing, Gale-force Winds, Early Departure

Our third day at Yellowstone started out as beautiful and picturesque, although windy.  Mammoth Hot Springs is a center of activity with lodges, stores, campgrounds and hiking trails.  We decided to visit a spot with several geothermal features, which can be viewed on foot via a boardwalk, or in a vehicle on a paved loop.  We did a little of both, getting the best of both worlds.

Yellowstone Day 2 - Geothermals, Grizzlies & Wolves!

Day two at Yellowstone was a busy one!  The first bit of awesomeness was on our way out of the campground… we got to see a family of magpies!  The others took off before I could get the camera, though.

Yellowstone National Park Day 1

Our first day in Yellowstone did not disappoint!  We got stuck in two or three “buffalo jams” which are a very frequent occurrence, some of which can take an hour or more to get through, depending on how much traffic has been backed up.  It turns out that the buffalo – or bison – like to travel on the roads as much as we do, and a whole herd of them will just take their sweet time walking down the middle of the road, leaving it for the grass only when they’re good and ready!

Driving, Jeep Repairs and More Driving

We continued into Utah, another state with beautiful scenery, and landed in Provo where we spent a few days at a hotel while waiting for Jeep repairs at the dealer.