AlCan Highway w/ Pets (Fairbanks, Haines: motel, houses, living)

[mikenbobbi]

That would be cool. Will def keep offer in mind once we get a little closer. Have our eye on a couple. But, we're still about 3 months out from the move. So don't want to get to locked in on one place just yet.
Any suggested realtors to use (or to avoid)?

[Georgiafrog]

I guess I don't have too much relevant information regarding pets on this trip, but reading this thread made me remember what a fantastic trip that was. I drove the Alcan in a Honda Accord in 1999 at the age of 20. Drove until close to the times the gas station closed, then filled up and drove till out of gas. I would sleep in the car until the stations opened in the morning, then do it all over. Stayed up there for over a month backpacking and exploring. A bit of an "Into the Wild" kind of trip.

Did Atlanta to Anchorage in 5 days. Atl to Knoxville, to Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago. Then through Wisconsin and Minnesota to I29. North to Winnipeg, then 1 all the way across to Calgary. Up to Edmonton, then the Alcan from there. Came down through Great Falls, MT on the way back because I thought that $2.50 a gallon for gas in Canada was too high. Ha.

I'm jealous of your trip. Hope you enjoy yourselves.

[dcbrewmeister]

mikenbobbi - wow central TX in Dec - 50 - 60 degree days moving to 10 - 15 degree days... But you'll love the summer compared to TX heat - I also am tired of the TX heat in the summer months. Good luck with your move. You could also try calling hotels located on your planned route and check for "pet-friendlyness"... and then you would have your stop points planned out.

[mikenbobbi]

And so ready to get up there for the wonderful summer lol Might be a bit of an initial shock shock though with moving in winter.

[mikenbobbi]

oh and yes, have looked at pet friendly hotels up to crossing over into Canada. Doesn't look to be much of a problem that far. Just hadn't found a lot of info for North of there. Planning on a best case/worst case for miles travelled each day. Hoping to make good time for the first half to account for any bad road/weather the latter half.

[Dakster]

Originally Posted by mikenbobbi

@retireinhomer - thanks. Not winterized yet, will be prior to trip. Not sure that we'll push quite 12-13hrs/day. Looking more along lines of 8-10hrs, depending on availability of overnight stopping points.

I just did the drive you are talking about (from I-70 and up thru MT). In the lower 48, the further north you go the more remote it starts to get, but we were able to plan our hotel stays a few hours in advance without any problems. In Canada, not so much. Calgary and Edmonton are your 'major' Cities and Grand Prairie is still quite large as well, after that it goes to small towns. Alberta has your 'cheap' Canadian fuel at $1.09 per liter - after that expect anything from $1.35 to $1.59 or so. Keep fueled up or bring cans - more than one station we stopped at didn't have fuel or were closed for the night and they were it for 100 or so miles. Whitehorse, while the Capital City of Yukon, closes early - even in the summer. One gas station is 24hrs, the others are closed. It ran out of fuel, luckiily I filled up before they did - or else I would have been spending more time in whitehorse then I had planned.

You should be able to plan 8 -12 hour driving days. It will vary, sometimes you make good time and other times you won't. Not sure what your trip vehicle is - but since I was in a passenger vehicle I was able to pass most of the slow moving vehicles on the road. Almost all of the 'towns' I stopped in had places that I saw were pet friendly - even though I didn't have a pet with me. Hopefully, in the off tourist season places will still be open and the ones that are will not be filled up. We ran into some occasions where the entire town was booked and we just kept on driving (16 hr driving day that time). One time, we called ahead and the town was booked so we stayed in the town we stopped to fill up at.

Another bit of advice, you will not have reliable cell phone service after you leave Edmonton, so when you do take advantage of it. Call ahead and reserve a room. I usually do not like to plan each days drive - as some days we made good time and others not so much... But it may be prudent for you to do that with pets.

[mikenbobbi]

Thanks for the helpful info Dakster. Think that it may be prudent to invest in a couple 5 gallon gas cans for just in case.

[mikenbobbi]

Okay folks, getting much closer to anticipated move. Although, still no firm date (gotta love government contracting). Have locked my route down to plan A and plan B. Not quite decided on either just yet.

Will be starting trip sometime around mid-Dec. Driving winterized F150, 2WD with winter tires and good tire chains in reserve; plan on being fully stocked with emergency supplies and such.

I am looking for pro's/con's between Route A and Route B:
Route A: Colorado Springs, north through WY-MT-Calgary-Edmonton-Dawson Creek-AlCan Hwy
Route B: Colorado Springs, westerly route to Seattle WA (I80-I84-I82-I90-I5), BC1/TransCan HWY to BC97/Cariboo Hwy, then onto AlCan Hwy at Dawson Creek.

Original plan is Route A, as it's about 500-600 miles shorter. Was considering possible weather impacts from that more Northerly route. Staying more South on route B may actually make trip shorter, time-wise, by having better road conditions on interstates. Or should I expect the TransCanada highways to be better travelled in snowy weather?

All constructive input greatly appreciated.

[dcbrewmeister]

Originally Posted by mikenbobbi

Okay folks, getting much closer to anticipated move. Although, still no firm date (gotta love government contracting). Have locked my route down to plan A and plan B. Not quite decided on either just yet.

Will be starting trip sometime around mid-Dec. Driving winterized F150, 2WD with winter tires and good tire chains in reserve; plan on being fully stocked with emergency supplies and such.

I am looking for pro's/con's between Route A and Route B:
Route A: Colorado Springs, north through WY-MT-Calgary-Edmonton-Dawson Creek-AlCan Hwy
Route B: Colorado Springs, westerly route to Seattle WA (I80-I84-I82-I90-I5), BC1/TransCan HWY to BC97/Cariboo Hwy, then onto AlCan Hwy at Dawson Creek.

Original plan is Route A, as it's about 500-600 miles shorter. Was considering possible weather impacts from that more Northerly route. Staying more South on route B may actually make trip shorter, time-wise, by having better road conditions on interstates. Or should I expect the TransCanada highways to be better travelled in snowy weather?

All constructive input greatly appreciated.

I think given the time of year it is, the southern route will be the better choice... but ultimately it's all going to come down to weather. Really bad weather patterns in the "mid west" part of the continent coming up...

[warptman]

If you take route B, you'll have to cross the Rockies three times. Why crisscross them three times when you can cross them once? I'd take Route A and get it over with. Canadians take good care of the highways in the winter.

AMA Road Reports

DriveBC

Current Road Conditions - Highways and Public Works - Government of Yukon

How to Drive to Alaska in the Winter - ExploreNorth