Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Northbound Summation

We've had a wonderful trip thus far and I thought I would take a moment to sum it up, especially for friends who will be leaving shortly, headed the same direction.

We've traveled 5,348 miles on an intentionally circuitous routing from Mesa, AZ to Eagle River, AK. We've averaging 13.58 miles to the US Gallon - would have done better but the canoe costs us nearly 1 mpg. Our average cost of fuel has been $4.45 US per US gallon (converting the liters and Canadian dollars). The lowest cost was $3.57 in Parker, AZ and the most expensive was $7.19 (converted) at Muncho Lake, BC. Gas in Eagle River today was $3.96. A tug with 350+ mile range could reduce the fuel costs by bypassing the roadhouses.

We boondocked 5 nights, stayed in business parking lots 10 nights, leveraged friends and families driveways 12 nights so far, and stayed in public or commercial parks 15 nights including the five nights at Champoeg State Park for the Northern Oregon Gathering of fiberglass trailer aficionados.

Our route north was different than initially planned - we shifted east to pick up Lake Louise and the Icefields Parkway, and we deleted the northern route through Dawson & Top of the World since the customs station wasn't open yet due to the late spring.

It's nice to have all the family in one place for a couple days. We have a few day trips planned from our base here and then I think we'll be moving to the Kenai for a while.



This Google map uses different symbols depending on the type of overnight accommodations. The pink paw print is for boondocking locations, the "P" is for business parking lots, the picnic table signifies public or commercial parks, and the yellow house signifies driveway surfing. The solitary yellow heart is for a museum stop that rated its own post. Each of the locations links to a blog post.

Still enjoying blue skies! Our outside thermometer is reading 82 degrees although I suspect it's a little optimistic.

6 comments:

  1. John, thank you, thank you for all the great information. The gas price caused me to awaken extra early this AM. Did not expect it to be quite that high!
    Our prices at home are fluctuating from $3.12 to $3.20.
    Great map!
    Just added your blog to my blog roll...I was oblivious, not realizing that it was not on there!

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    1. It's the Canadian fuel costs that drive it up with BC running about 30 cents a gallon more than the big towns in Alberta.

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  2. Looking good. I find your average price of the gasoline to be a little less than what I imagined. Looking forward to the rest of your journey. Enjoy the family:-)

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    1. Bigger fuel tanks would have helped manage fuel costs but it's a small price to pay for the beautiful country. We're on a day trip to Seward with daughter and fiancé today. Beautiful!

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  3. Hey there...
    Just wanted to chime in to let you know that while scoping out info on an AK Highway trip I have coming up hopefully later this year, I came across your blog, and have enjoyed everything you've posted. Thanks for sharing it. :-)

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