North to Alaska - The Ultimate Road Trip

Driving by car to Alaska had been a personal dream since my childhood. In the summer of 1986, circumstances permitted me to take this trip. Living mostly out of the back of a pickup truck with occasional nights at motels, we spent an incredible 56 days on the road, a tour de force of the American - and Canadian - West.

This series will present my journal of that trip in one week increments as shown on the map at left. Many of the places visited will have their own pages with more information and photos. For example, visit our pages on the Gates of the Arctic and Denali National Park.

Weeks 8: From Haines, Alaska to Home - Grand Finale

August 19, 1986. Our last day in Alaska has clearing weather but it's very cold and blustery. A lady who had her fill of salmon gave us one of her sockeyes. We took it across town to Chilkat Park to make a cookout and observe the glaciers. I poached the fish in wine.

Then it's on to the dock and the Alaska Ferry. The ferry plies the Alaska panhandle before arriving at Prince Rupert, British Columbia. There, we will try to make a connection to the Canadian ferry to reach Vancouver. Schedule-wise, it will be close.

If you don't have a cabin, the choices for sleeping quarters and seats are the solarium on top of the boat or the lounge area which is a closed-in deck with theater-type seating. The ferry is modern and has a nice cafeteria and good bathrooms with showers.

August 20, 1986. We depart at night and are under way the following morning. Naturally, the weather is now clear, calm, and very warm! The ferry cruised all day, and we observed some of the quaint towns and islands of the Alaska Panhandle. A school of whales passes the ship. They are observable when they surface for air in unison.

We're a little out of place on this cruise. The lounge deck is dominated by tour groups, mainly elderly people, while the solarium is full of street-type people. The lack of privacy gets old after a while. I start to get bored. However the crew recruits me to play basketball with them on the car deck in the evening. I liked that quite a bit. Plus, we finally get a nice, warm evening.

August 21, 1986. The ferry docks at Prince Rupert at 6:00 a.m. We have an hour to get on the Vancouver Ferry. Canadian Customs chooses to toy with us (this is unfortunately, an all too common occurrence) for a while before admitting us. The result is that we are put in the "standby" line, and the car ahead of us is the last one allowed on the ferry!

Now, we have an extra 700 miles of driving. This is unfortunate; the route is full of excruciating construction delays. We stay at a nice motel in Prince George and finish the last of our salmon in style.

August 22, 1986. We drive south all day in the valley of the Fraser River. Very spectacular scenery, but also tough driving: winding roads plus a lot of traffic. The river is actually in a very deep canyon, resulting in an exceptionally warm and dry climate.

The valley is fertile and supports vegetable production. There are many roadside stands. I enjoy freshly picked sweet corn for the first time in years. Wonderful! Also, vine ripe beefsteak tomatos and other treats. We stay at the Hope, British Columbia, KOA, an exceptionally wooded private campground. Ate more corn for dinner.

August 23, 1986. We push on to Vancouver and the Expo. Their reservation service messed up, and we're left without accommodations. So this will be a one day stop.

It's for the best. Expo turned out to be a disappointment: extremely overpriced, extremely crowded, and so-so exhibits. The exception was the Ramses II Egyptian exhibit which was fabulous. The ancient Egyptians' extravagant use of gold was amazing.

After five hours, we hit the road again, ending up in Burlington, Washington, an hour north of Seattle.

August 24, 1986. I've had my fill now and am looking forward to being home. A day of straight driving. We reach Eugene, Oregon, and stay at the KOA. The nearby farm stand was full of late summer bounty.

August 25, 1986. Another day of straight driving. Stayed in a new motel just north of Sacramento, more apartment than motel room. We cooked a steak dinner on the occasion of my birthday today. We stay in the room because it's too hot to go outside!

August 26, 1986. After making a couple more produce stops - there are farm stands all over central California - we make the final push and reach Orange County after a full day's drive. I was glad to go, and now I'm glad to be home.