Alaska 2017

The provincial campgrounds all through the Yukon Territories are especially great. They were positioned near streams and lakes of exceptional beauty. They were stocked with free firewood, the campsites were roomy, clean, privacy separated and well-maintained, and most even had paperback book "exchange" boxes at the firewood / water stations. The CG personnel are always really nice and were always careful to accurately adjust US currency to Canadian, due to the approx. 83 cents CDN value of US dollars back then. Campground fees could often be as low as $12 per night. One site had berry picking galore right alongside our R-pod. We loved this boondocking period of the YT stretches the best, tho the BC campgrounds were also great.

You will have a blast on this trip (to borrow Leo's great expression). Don't have high expectations for mile distances on a daily basis. You will get further down the road then expected some days, and not be as productive on other days. Although largely the distances are paved, there are many pavement breaks and frost heaves that are most often flagged. Mountain passes and switchbacks also affect the speed of your progress, as you would guess. Always always slow down to protect your suspension for perceived bumps, and use all of the road when available, to pick the best line through rough patches. It's easy to get relaxed and expect L48 road conditions, and then be surprised that a dip and a bump wants to rearrange all your groceries and possessions in one kaboom. We always popped into our R-Pod at breaks to observe how things stayed in place (or not) en route. One thing that we brought that was really handy was a bottle of Goo-Gone, so that I could clean off tar splatters on the lower R-Pod cladding from a construction stretch. That way, we didn't have to live with sun-hardened tar spots for most of a month. (Or is this just an indication of my being an R-Pod helicopter parent??? !!!)

Thank you for these tips definitely Seward and Denali are in our plans and we will start making reservations soon. I will be carrying extra gas to give me a little more than 300 miles range and I have already had to use cable ties on the brake lines. Many, many miles of dirt roads through rural Colorado and Wyoming so most loose items have been reinforced.