I hope you guys remember me! UPDATE.

[warptman]

More notes on the Alcan.

Don't drive too much at night, lots of critters on the road.
Drive from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake in daylight hours only, there is moose, elk, caribou, and huge bison on the roads and this is the Northern Rockies, don't want to miss the the possible photos there.
Stop in Sasquatch Crossing, that is where the plywood bigfoot is, great food there.
Have fun!

[NorthWord]

I'm deathly afraid of Bigfoot (long story), and that plywood Bigfoot sign ahead of Sasquatch Crossing (spoiler alert) nearly sent me into a ditch.

I ended up stopping there for lunch and a chat with the locals (I was driving a fairly unique vehicle -Isuzu VehiCross, on that particular trip). During the visit, the caretakers' cat had managed to climb up into my fenderwell and take a nap on my tire.
I just happened to catch a glimpse of a swishing tail in the rearview mirror before firing her up and taking off.
So, look out for cats too!

[rotorhead]

I'll second that advice on driving during daylight only, particularly once you get up into the Yukon. The bison on the road are INVISIBLE in your headlights until you're right on them, and they're 800-1000 lb. animals. You do NOT want to hit one of these in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. You might could pick a caribou out of your grill if you get unucky, but with bison, it's the other way 'round.

Besides, as Warpt says, the scenery is worth seeing. If you like hotsprings, there's one a bit outside of Whitehorse that's completely sulphur and iron free, it doesn's stink at all.

Takhini Hot Springs Yukon Canada

They've got an RV park adjacent and a modest restaurant. Not too many pull-through spots at their hookups, though they said they'd be trimming the roads a bit wider in the campground this summer.

[warptman]

Bison on the highway at night, bad idea!


YouTube - Yukon Territory Buffalo..

[SaucySophia]

Thanks guys, I had noted the milepost being quite a bit cheaper through Amazon. I'd love to visit some hot springs, especially when it's chilly out, it'd be another first for me.

I will try to update while on the road and keep a record of costs. We'll see how I do.

As far as where I'll be living, near but hopefully not in Anchorage. Many hospitals there and I have my sights on the medflight eventually. The highest level trauma ER is there and the only one in Alaska, that narrows down my options as far as employment and residence. Keep your fingers crossed and prayers would be appreciated.

Thanks for all the tips, I plan to print out all the info I've received on here and compare to our route. I think that will help ensure we see lots of good stuff.

Anyways, I'm to bed. Hope to see some of you eventually.

Saucy

[warptman]

Here's a video of a trucker going south...


YouTube - Alaska Highway Trucking ~ Part 1

[Captain Crunch]

Laird Hot Springs....


YouTube - Liard Hot Springs


YouTube - Liard hot springs


YouTube - Liard Hotsprings

[nddomer]

Hey Saucy & Everyone Who’s Posted,

Looks like I might be making the move from Indy to Alaska as well! I should be getting a job offer from University of Alaska Fairbanks next week sometime. Assuming that we negotiate the terms to a satisfactory level for both parties, I'll be making the trip sometime around the end of March too.

I graduated from Notre Dame with my MBA last may and have only lived in Indy for about a year. I was affected by a reduction in force back in July and am ready to get back to work! (I and a couple other managers were asked to cut 300k from our annual budgets. I knew I would be better suited somewhere else and put myself on the list to be cut. Saved a couple people from being affected so it all worked out) I’m looking forward to the change and all of the fun opportunities and challenges that this will bring.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone's posts on Saucy's trip. It all has been really useful information. Now I just have to figure what to do with all my stuff. I'm hoping that part of my offer is relo assistance, but I'd be surprised to see it fully funded due to how expensive it is. Right now 90% of my things are in a storage unit in Indy with a few things at my parent’s house. (I had a three bedroom house in South Bend, so quite a bit of crap has accumulated and a lot of the furniture is just a year old) Makes it hard to e-bay/craigslist it since I can't really get in to take pictures, or pull specific items out one at a time. Decisions...decisions.

That and I am single. Making that drive with a box truck by myself is a little intimidating, especially during March. If it were summer time it would be a little easier to bite off, but not sure I want to try it this time of year by myself.

Saucy, if you want to talk on the phone or chat via e-mail or IM sometime let me know. Having someone else local to help bounce ideas off of or lend a hand might help at some point. I’m at my parents in Fort Wayne for the time being, but make it down to Indy every once and a while.

-Wes
Go IRISH!!!

p.s. Do you nurse over at Wishard? The company I used to work for maintained the card access and cctv systems over there. I could see why you would want to leave if you had to work there every day. They do a lot for the community, but I could see how it could be a pretty disheartening place to work. Being known as the hospital to go to with gunshot and stab wounds probably shouldn’t be in the brochure…

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by SaucySophia

Anyways, I'm to bed. Hope to see some of you eventually.

Saucy

Well, there you go, talkin' romance!!!