Meandering in the Northwest to Tuk and AK

[marret]

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

Like you Chris, we really enjoy just heading a direction and letting 'chance' dictate the agenda. Glad to see your co-pilot looks just as fit & healthy as 4yrs ago.

Yep, that is my preference for sure. One bad thing about Harvest Hosts and Boondocks Welcome is the need for a reservation and no cancellation within 24 hours of arrival. Some do take same day requests, but more don't. In some areas it makes sense to me and others not. Like you said, I'd rather head in a direction and let chance dictate.

Veeta is still the same active dog although starting to slow down some as she is 10 now.

Almost had a racoon encounter in Chicago of all places at my friend's house. We were walking when it showed up at my friends. When we got back Veeta sure knew it had been there though and was trying to go find it.

[marret]

You know you haven't really traveled if you haven't seen the geographical center of the US in Rugby ND.

[marret]

I am in the middle of this heat wave so I am hunkering down for a few days in Minot starting tomorrow.

With all the fires in BC and of course smoke, we are going to have to consider whether we will go north right now.

[86Scotty]

Man, I hadn't thought about the wildfire smoke with our upcoming trip towards Glacier.

Ugh.

[arctictraveller]

I have a current (yesterday) boots on the ground report from the Cassier highway, and he says that smoke has not been an issue. But, we all know that can change quickly. I’m hoping to head that way in a couple weeks, assuming I finish the repairs I’m in the middle of.

[SierraHawk]

My brother moved to Kenai 10 years ago. To make sure he was doing ok we drove through BC & the Yukon. Took the Corsair route up and Alaska Hwy coming back. Best part of the trip was in BC and the Yukon. If you continue from Whitehorse to AK the Top of the World road is worth it. You can actually see true wilderness both North and South of the road. There are lots of subsidence hazards along the way so go slow. Most of the roads are paved so flat tires are less of a problem. If I were to do it again I would not go to AK. BC and the Yukon are spectacular especially around Hanes Junction. If you want to see AK fly in and rent a car or take the train. We ventured as far as we could into the wilderness but AK is so commercialized that we did not need to shift the front end into gear. Unless you are a local, fishing the Kenai is shoulder to shoulder. Denali is worth the train ride to the Park and bus ride into the Park. Make sure you get off the bus and walk. You don't need trails but take two cans of bear spray. We took 5 months to tour the region. >80% of the trip was spent in drizzle. We experienced only 10 days of blue skies - fortunately one of them was the day we went out of Seward on a commercial tour boat. Coming back through Tuk was the most enjoyable part of the trip. At the time, the season fishing licenses were dirt cheap even for non-residents. The one thing that caught us off guard was the fact that Canada salts its dirt roads so if you drive to Tombstone Park make sure you use one of the wash stations in Dawson to clean your rig.

Corsair

[marret]

Thanks for the intel Arctictraveller.

Good points on AK and Yukon/BC SierraHawk and thanks for the info. 5 months, sounds like a great trip other than all the drizzle.

After visiting AK by motorcycle a few years ago there are a few places I want to go back and spend time including Denali Hwy and Park. I do get flying and renting a car. Long often boring trip to AK, I can only look at trees for so long before getting bored.

I want to spend some time exploring BC and Yukon again. Enjoyed my time during the Roaming Rally in Alberta and BC and during the motorcycle trip.

[marret]

So I hunkered down a couple nights in Minot and in Bismarck now. 98 degrees, I am in a hotel.

My van developed a misfire and coil DTC Sat at the end of the day with dash light. My reader only provides codes and I didn't know what cylinder. After resting 15 minutes, it was fine. I mistakenly cleared the codes, but did note them.

The next day I bought an Autel code reader.

Drove to Minot Mon morning with no problem. That afternoon in high heat at a stop light I got a bad misfire and flashing lights. New code reader picked up the misfire and coil problem on cylinder 5. All 8 coils are new with 3000 miles.

I carry an extra coil that I used to replace the problem one yesterday morning in the hotel parking lot. Test drives were good. Today in high heat with same circumstances all seems good.

I now have a couple new coils.

[marret]

I was walking Veeta yesterday near the hotel. I passed this house with a Chevy sign on the wall by the garage and four Japanese and Korean make cars. Had to take a photo.

[86Scotty]

Bummer that you're having misfire issues Chris. I have had an old Scangauge II now for many years and moved it between every van I've had. It's a small, simple display but reads and diagnoses codes via an OBDII cable and also gives you other live info I personally like to have LIVE in my van at all times.

I have mine set usually on Transmission fluid temp, intake air temp (which is approximately outdoor temp) and coolant temp. The 4th option I change frequently but these things measure everything.

Anyway, sounds like you already spent some money on a good code reader but these old Scangauges are hard to beat for simplicity and live info.

https://www.amazon.com/ScanGauge-Aut.../scangauge-ii/