Between Heaven and the Bering Sea: Alaska: An RVing Adventure

By Paul W. Burke and Marcelline Burke

Feeding a Hunger for Adventure, a Thirst for Beauty, and a Longing for Discovery: The Alaskan Dream

Between Heaven and the Bering Sea is the highly personal travel experiences of the Burkes over a five-month journey. It begins near the American-Canadian border, takes the

• Language: English
• Publisher: RV Adventures, Etc. and Books By Burke
• Release date: Dec 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535600712

Paul W. Burke

The Burkes, Paul and Marcelline, are retired professionals who claim Sedona, Arizona, as home. However, they have embarked on semi-permanent RVing and have done so for several years. Their numerous adventures have led them to discover the wonders of nearly all the Lower 48 states, as well as Alaska and Canada. Their previous occupations and lifelong interests have resulted in two individuals who value the Earth Mother and the history and cultures of the Southwest. They spend their days hiking, metal detecting, caring for their four dogs, and planning future RV excursions into this vast and breathtaking nation.

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Salient Snippits

The following bits and bites are informational Did you know? items that could be useful to anyone who plans to travel to Alaska by way of Canada. Being familiar with a few of these before the journey may enhance ones experience or at least make it less formidable.

If you ask any Alaskan what the two seasons are in Alaska, he will tell you winter and construction. This has been our experience, and a woeful one at that. With the summer season being as short in duration as it is, the Department of Transportation has an extremely short period of time to re-surface roads and take care of highway issues. Roads are in horrible condition: heaves marked by orange cones/flags, unmarked potholes, soft shoulders, seemingly endless miles of gravel, and flagmen everywhere. Few pull-offs exist, and routes from one place to the next have no secondary alternatives. Generally, there is only one route to a place, and that route is fraught with difficulties. Plan to protect a tow car with a bra, or plan to have the tow car completely re-painted and the grill/headlights re-placed after the trip. Despite these unpleasant difficulties, this fabulous trip of a lifetime is well worth the expended effort!

Know the border regulations upon which customs officials operate. Animals must have proper documentation regarding ownership, health certificates, and shot records. Canada, Alaska, and the Lower 48 all strictly enforce weapons regulations. Fines are heavy for omissions and/or falsifications. It is also against customs rules to transport wild game and certain products across the border.

Fuel stations and towns are few and far between. Get fuel at every opportunity within reason. If driving kilometers is a strange experience for the driver, he should acquire fuel more often at first until fairly at ease with his vehicle’s fuel consumption. As far as speed is concerned, the Canadian government places occasional signs for travelers indicating that 50 km equals 30 mph. Otherwise, Alaska and Canada have very little signage along the highways.

If following our travel plans, which originated from watching the History Channel or Discovery Channel, campers hoping to visit places and people they have grown to love on television should be especially conscious of the fact that not everyone has a come on in and sit down attitude when it comes to visitors. Most of our experiences have been outstanding because we are not overbearing, and try to make meeting someone interesting for them as well as for us. However, we found ourselves traveling hundreds of miles over a gravel and pothole-ridden road to get to Haines Junction for an appointment with our favorite veterinarian. After several calls and emails explaining our desire to have our pup examined and to leave a substantial donation, we felt certain we would be seen. After reaching the small village, we had no luck finding her clinic or reaching her by email or phone. No one in town was helpful—not even city hall—and we ended up irritated for a week of waiting and hoping. Our advice: Don’t expect television personalities, no matter how humble and unassuming they seem to be, to be generous with their time or gregarious by nature, even if soliciting their professional advice.

The best purchase: Milepost. Each year, this periodical is published with revisions and updated information as an Alaskan travel planner.

It is possible to enter Canada via several routes. We chose to enter through Montana.

RV Park Reviews is a helpful website that one should check before attempting to book reservations at campgrounds in Canada and Alaska. The website provides accurate information regarding the services provided by various campgrounds. The campground profiles all follow a similar format, with the most helpful information coming from the blogger comments that are included. Not all campgrounds have chosen to participate in RV Park Reviews, but the website ranks the parks on a ten point scale based upon reviewer comments.

Alaska and Canada both suffer from infestations of the pine bark beetle and Dutch elm disease. Patches of landscape reveal a concerted effort to retard these and other blights which threaten to destroy their most valuable resource–forested areas.

Occasionally, one will have the opportunity to observe what appear to be gaunt, emaciated, spindly black spruce trees rising straight and narrow out of wet bog regions. These trees do not appear to be thriving, and indeed suffer from poorly developed root systems. Actually, these trees begin life as normal, healthy saplings, but the permafrost retards their growth. Much of the year the ground is frozen with bogs of standing water resting atop impenetrable ground. The trees struggle and attain maturity looking unstable. Some pitch forward into the bogs, while others seem to shrivel up and break off. To someone uninitiated to this feature of the landscape, the black spruce present a rather dismal sight. To make matters worse, the amount of territory affected by the permafrost is relatively high. These trees are quite striking in appearance.

Purchase bear spray before entering Canada and Alaska. Bears, moose, wolves, wolverines, and most other wild animals stay as far away from humans as possible; nevertheless, most visitors encounter some wild animals during their stay. They are all to be respected and considered dangerous. As cute as baby bear cubs appear, mamma bear does not share the tourist’s enthusiasm for her babes. Moose are notorious for attacking without reason, and wolverines are fierce. We also advise those who hike the trails to wear bells and make noise while walking or biking. The noise alerts the critters in advance and gives them a chance to secrete themselves. Be careful of small pets that are off leash. Eagles often swoop down to snag a tasty meal for their offspring and can carry away (or severely injure) small dogs and cats. Some eagles have a wingspan longer than five feet and sharp talons that are like razors. Although they are few and far between in the Lower 48, the population of eagles in the north country is in the thousands. They fish the rivers, lakes, and streams for salmon, but will not hesitate to swoop down on a pet.

Facts About Alaska

Alaskan Websites:

Official Alaskan state website: www.state.ak.us

Alaska Department of Fish and Game: www.adfg.state.ak.us

Alaska state parks: www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks

State of Alaska DOT: www.dot.state.ak.us (road conditions and ferry schedules)

State Flower: Forget-me-not        State Bird: Willow ptarmigan

State Sport: Dog mushing           State Motto: North to the Future

State Capital: Juneau                  Population: 710,231

State Gem: Jade                          Square Miles: 586,412

State Flag: Dark blue background represents the sky; the North Star represents the future of Alaska as the most northerly state; and yellow stars represent the Great Bear (dipper), which symbolizes strength.

Facts About Canadian Provinces We Visited

Canada has ten provinces and three territories. In order to travel to and from Alaska in an interesting and adventure-filled manner, we chose to drive through and camp in six of the ten, which are briefly profiled below. The most unique north of the border landscape element we observed for the first time was in Canada. Having experienced the paucity of water in the Lower 48 and the seriousness of water conservation efforts, we were surprised to note the enormous numbers of lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, and bogs. It almost overwhelms the tourist from the Lower 48 to realize the amount of precipitation that falls and the abundance of water in the region. True, Canada has recently suffered from lower snowfall levels and the receding of glaciers, but tourists are generally struck by the great waterways that line the highways and result in gorgeous foliage. Moose, caribou, elk, bear, etc., take advantage of the Earth Mother’s generosity and are often visible along these waterways and nearby highways. To a large extent, most tourists are also struck by the appearance of the gaunt, struggling, black spruce trees that erupt straight and narrow from the numerous bogs but cannot thrive in permafrost and often are at the mercy of the pine beetle. Canadians tend to erect fewer highway signs than we find in the Lower 48; however, they are proud of their independence, self-reliance, and ability to endure the relatively harsh climate. They display almost everywhere the beautiful red and white Canadian flag that so radiantly displays the symbol of the maple leaf.

Alberta:

Capital––Edmonton

One of three prairie provinces in Canada.

Its neighbors include Saskatchewan to the east, British Columbia to the west, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south.

Floral—Wild Rose, Tree—Lodgepole Pine, Bird—Great Horned Owl, Mammal—Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

Motto—Strong and Free.

Known as the energy province.

Known for the Calgary Stampede.

British Columbia:

Capital––Victoria

The western-most province.

Its neighbors include Alberta to the east, the Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north, the Pacific to the west, and the US states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana to the south.

Floral—Pacific Dogwood, Bird—Stellar’s Jay, Tree—Western Red Cedar

Motto—Splendour Without Diminshment.

British Columbia has the highest population of Chinese in Canada, many of whom contributed to railroad construction and gold panning.

It was first settled by the Tlingit, Sekani, Haida, Nootka, Chilkotin, and Shuswap peoples. Many of them carved giant totem poles as part of their cultural history.

The highest falls in Canada is Della Falls, which is on Vancouver Island.

Captain James Cook, a British explorer, sailed into Vancouver Island in 1778.

George Vancouver mapped the coastline from 1792-1794.

British Columbia has some of the finest orchards in Canada: apple, cherry, apricot, plum, and peach (to name a few).

Northwest Territories:

Capital—Yellowknife

The second largest of three territories in Canada extending from the 60th parallel to the North Pole.

Its neighbors include the Yukon to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, Ninavut to the east, and British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan to the south.

Floral––Mountain Avens, Tree—Tamarack, Bird—Gryfalcon

Referred to as the Land of the Midnight Sun.

Half the population is aboriginal.

It is often known as the diamond capital of North America.

It is Canada’s first territory (1870) and is known for Inuit