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There's giving birth, and there's The Alaskan Highway. They CAN
be compared side-by-side, and I'd choose giving birth.
Having had three children, the process is,
a)... less time consuming than driving
the Alcan Hwy. It takes FIVE, 12-hour days of steady driving to get from the WA/Canada border to Anchorage, AK. Delivering
a child is much faster.
b)... less expensive. Gas was as high
as $3 A LITER!!! Fill an RV three times a day, buy food, propane for heating and cooking, and a campground for each
of the four nights. With good insurance, delivering a child - in a hospital - costs less.
c) ...less painful. Try sitting for
that many hours and days. Both driving the Alcan and childbirth result in hemorrhoids, but child birth lasts only a day
or two. Then, you get to lay down...or stand up!
d)...less harsh on your vehicle. Where childbirth
rarely results in a wrecked car, the Alcan takes fatalities! I lost my car's fog lamps, twice. Got too many rock
chips on the car and the RV's wind shield to even consider counting, and have the pictures to prove why the Alcan Highway
is so brutal.
Because, you see, it isn't really a highway. It's a two lane road which,
most of the time, is either being "resealed" with black tar and rock chips, or is riddled with frost heaves, or just plain
not there at all. And truckers waste little time going from place to place on it - they pass at speeds which seem almost
double the posted limits...throwing rocks and mud behind and beside them.
But, like childbirth, as time passes it seems the rough parts are buried
in an area of the memory that isn't "let out" much, and the beauty and miracle of the whole experience gurgles to the
surface. I suppose this is becuase nobody would have children, or drive to Alaska, ever again - if they remembered.
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| Liard Hot Springs, BC - Aug. 1, 2006 |
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| Typical Canadian Scenery - Aug. 2, 2006 |
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| Cow Moose in Alaska, Aug. 4, 2006 |
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| Denali Ntl. Park, Alaskan Husky sled dogs, Aug. 5, 2006 |
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| Seward, AK - day cruise - Aug.6,'06 |
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| Red Fox - Canada - Aug. 16, 2006 |
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| Caribou - Canada - Aug 17, 2006 |
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| Grizzly - Kluane Lake, Canada - Aug.18, 2006 |
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| Black Bear - Aug. 19, 2006 |
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If visiting Alaska, take a plane then rent a car
to see the sights. If you must take your RV (and are towing a smaller vehicle as well) here are a few tips:
a) Protect your towed vehicle at any
price. It will cost you more if you don't. 1- Attach a full-length mud flap to the rear of the RV. 2-Cover the
front of the towed vehicle with anything from a special-made full-front cover, to a bra, or even heavy-weight "wrap" sold
at RV supply stores just for the purpose.
b) If it's not too cold, and you don't
need electricity for heat, sleep at the rest areas for free. It's NOT against the law in Canada.
c) Fill up with gas whenever
you can. Towns are (REALLY) rare in Canada, and you don't want to get stuck having to pay for the really expensive stuff
because the last "town's" single gas station closed down.
d) Plan to take 10 days to two
weeks to get from Washington to Alaska, not five days. This will mean your driving is cut in half (to about 5-6 hours
a day). There are nice campgrounds throughout Canada, but many are for dry camping - no hookups are provided. However,
there seemed to be plenty of campsites along the way.
It truly is a great experience, and a beautiful trip.
It made me a stronger person, and I had a lot of time and wonderful vistas to provoke thought. You probably would
never see as much wilderness ever in your life as you would on the drive through Canada. It is wild.
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