Alaska in Review

Well, I think we got the AC and furnace fixed.  It was a simple matter of a new thermostat.  However, it took the better portion of the day waiting to see if the AC would cycle on and off automatically.  This turned out to be the hottest day we’ve had, maybe even the hottest day of the summer in Edmonton, and it just kept getting warmer and warmer outside.  The AC was struggling to keep it cool and it took forever to finally cycle off.

While we were waiting for the AC to do its thing, we discovered our car battery wasn’t holding a charge.  After we got back to the RV park and set up again, Gene went to get a new battery for the Honda.  Can hardly get one thing fixed before something else needs to be repaired.

As is our custom, while our motor home was being worked on, we toured the RVs on the lot.  We didn’t find anything we liked better than what we have, but we did find a couple that deserve honorable mention.  One was a toy hauler with a beer tap.  I think that rig was built for a different age group from us.  The other was a heavy duty truck equipped with a conference room and a wall for a computer bank.  This rig was not made for travel or for living.  We learned from the service manager that it is destined to be the employment office at one of the First Nation casinos.

Because of the heat today and having to babysit the Peanut, we decided not to go to the Mall.  We’ll do that tomorrow.  So, with nothing else to report, I thought this might be a good time to throw out a few statistics on our Alaska trip.  Of course, this trip isn’t really over yet, so there’ll be more later.  But for now......

Miles traveled since we left Nashville 8,460.
Miles traveled since we crossed the Canadian border in May 5,778.
Miles traveled from Dawson Creek to Dawson Creek 4,183.

These are miles on the motor home.  We’ve put an additional 3817 miles on the Honda for sightseeing, 540 of which were on the Dempster Highway.

Average price for gasoline 4.95.  The lowest price was 3.35 in Joelton, TN and the highest price was 6.93 at Liard River, BC.
Average miles per gallon 7.59.  This number is somewhat skewed because of generator use.
Average miles driven in one day 126.  Lowest 6  Highest 308

Average campground fee $25.80.  Lowest was $7 at Gallitin National Forest, Canyon Campground in Montana. Highest was at Ocean View RV Park in Homer, AK at $47.
Total number of free nights 32.  The free nights are not included in the average campground fee.

Total number of days on this trip 140, beginning March 23rd.
Total number of days from Canadian border to Dawson Creek 10
Total number of days from Dawson Creek to Dawson Creek 74.
Total number of days in Alaska 46.
Remember, we were early and consequently spent a lot of days waiting for ice to melt out before we could go to the Arctic Circle.  We could have avoided those waits if we did that portion at the end of the trip.

This is just the facts.  I’ll offer up some opinions and reflections in a few days.  We’ll continue to keep data on milage, gasoline prices, and campground fees.  When we get back to Nashville, we’ll have a more complete statistical report.


That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.