 If you’ve heard of Homer, Alaska, then you likely know it’s a famous fishing destination. As a matter of fact, Homer is the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World, but people flock there to catch other varieties too, including salmon, rockfish, and lingcod. “The end of the road,” or the Homer Spit, also attracts visitors. A 4.5-mile-long strip of land that extends from the mainland into Kachemak Bay, it serves as a boat harbor for commercial and charter fishing and tour boats and is lined by campgrounds, seafood eateries, art galleries, and beaches.  We had the privilege of spending a week and a half at Mariner Park on the spit, not far from the mainland, parked about 50 yards from Cook Inlet at high tide. Although in close proximity to our neighbors on either side, the setup didn’t feel tight, thanks to the expansive body of water in our backyard. Greeting us with beautiful views out our rear window every morning, the shore beckoned us to it. We took daily walks on the beach to hunt for special rocks and seashells, navigate across streams without getting wet, and survey our surroundings.  One day, we got brave enough to take off our shoes and wade through the streams and into the surf. The water temperature didn’t feel too bad. Before long, though, my ankles ached from the cold. Another day, we spotted a bald eagle on our walk that let us get pretty close to it.  History of Homer Inuit Eskimos and later Tanaina Indians settled in the Homer area, likely drawn to its many resources. In the late 1800s, Homer Pennock convinced others to follow him there for the promise of gold. Within a year, the hope of finding any gold there vanished, as did Pennock, but his name and reputation as a conman remained. Homer officially became a city in 1964, just in time for it to receive federal relief funds after enduring a 9.2-magnitude earthquake five days later. Hitting at low tide, the quake spared the Homer Spit, but the strip dropped nearly 6 feet. The area sustained flooding, toppled chimneys, and broken windows. The town’s most famous building, the Salty Dawg Saloon, was among those flooded. Built in 1897, the former cabin was moved to the spit in the late 1940s, where it’s been a staple ever since. Although it’s fully operational today, we didn’t go inside to see what all the hype is about, but we did hear people rave about the place. Things to Do in Homer, Alaska Despite the city’s small size (25.5 square miles), it offers many activities: fishing charters, ferry rides to Kodiak and other destinations, float plane rides for bear and whale watching, shopping, rock and shell collecting, kite flying and surfing, wildlife tours, and bike rentals. We looked into taking a fishing charter but found it a bit pricey and difficult to fit in around my work schedule. Plus, we didn’t know what we’d do with 70 pounds of fresh fish. Opting for the next best thing, we purchased some locally caught halibut at a seafood shop on the spit. Bob made a delectable meal, and we didn’t feel like we missed out. The adventure bug and the desire to see whales led us to Rainbow Tours, where we booked a trip to Seldovia for a chance to view aquatic birds and wildlife along the way. Although we didn’t spot any whales, we did observe sea otters, puffins (from a distance), bald eagles, and myriad other birds, including cormorants.  After the boat docked in the small town of Seldovia, passengers disembarked for 2.5 hours of fun on their own. We ate lunch and wandered around town before finding our way to the Otterbahn Trail, a hiking path that took us through the woods and over a boardwalk to Outside Beach. From there, we navigated to a road and took that back into town, stopping briefly at a cemetery where numerous Russian settlers are buried. The return boat trip didn’t uncover any whales, but it did reveal more sea otters and a sea lion. The morning fog had cleared, and we relished the ride at the bow of the boat, outside the cabin.  For another excursion, we set out with Gulliver down East End Road after getting a tip from my cousin. The route meandered out of town and toward the bay, offering spectacular views of two glaciers. Pavement gave way to dirt, and the road got sketchy. We followed it down a tree-lined path. Right before a curve to descend further, we got out and snapped some pictures. That was the end of the road for us. We wanted to make sure Gulliver could get back to the spit.  We had planned to spend only one week in Homer, but the peacefulness of the water and waves and the laid-back atmosphere encouraged us to linger, enjoying a fraction of the 6,640 miles of Alaska coastline.
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 After three weeks on our annual tour with two WWII bombers, we returned to Alaska to continue our adventures, pleased to find dry conditions and fewer mosquitos than when we left. We had planned to stay in the same spot a couple of hours north of Anchorage for three nights before moving on. Some people have no trouble driving their RV in rainy conditions. We’re not among them. We’ve driven through rain a few times out of necessity, but anytime we can avoid it, we do. The weather forecast called for rain on our scheduled day of departure, as well as the day before. Having experienced our fair share of water problems earlier in the year, we decided to head out sooner than planned and drive most of the way to Homer on a Friday. Not wanting to fight weekend crowds, we opted to stop about 80 miles shy of our destination and hunker down at a grocery store that allows overnight RV parking. One night turned into two as precipitation socked us in. We didn’t mind, though. The downtime proved beneficial after a very busy three weeks on tour. We relaxed, read, watched movies, and recuperated. Sunday’s weather forecast showed a possible break in the rain. We ate breakfast, hustled into the store for a few essentials, and refilled our propane. Then, we secured everything in the rig and readied it for the 1.5-hour journey to Homer. Only the rain didn’t stop completely. What’s the Big Deal About Driving in the Rain? We have no issue driving Gulliver in the rain. He handles well and is watertight. Towing in wet weather, however, is not ideal as poor visibility and slick road conditions can worsen Gulliver’s ability to stop a 17,000-pound trailer. In addition, Tagalong doesn’t tend to fare well in rain. He’s not built watertight. In fact, small openings around his wheel wells under the kitchen and living room slideouts allow for water to get inside the trailer while it’s moving. Wet roads can be enough to kick up water and spew it inside.  This makes for messy circumstances when we open our rig upon reaching our destination. Water streams across the main living area floor, from the dining table to the kitchen island and from there to the corner between the refrigerator and office. Sopping up the rivers and pools is no big deal. The bigger issue is longer-term damage from water getting into the wood. But water isn’t the only concern. The tires kick up silt and sand from the road, which attaches itself to the wood wall between the refrigerator and office.  Preparing for the Onslaught Because we left the grocery store parking lot in the rain, I stashed a towel in each of the faulty corners inside the trailer. The rain lightened up but didn’t completely subside. A moose crossing the road in front of us tested our stopping ability on the slick highway. The brakes held, and we didn’t hit it. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter the moose while driving through fog.  We reached Homer and parked Tagalong in the mud, setting up in continued rain. We opened his door to find both towels soaked to the point that I could wring them out — and a braided river still greeted us. Silt clung to the wall, and a patch of waterlogged carpet threatened to soak our socks if we removed our shoes. I cleaned up the mess, and we finished establishing home for the week. Despite the mud and rough start, we can’t complain about our amazing views. Oftentimes in life, we have to go through hardships to reach our goals. I’d say we did that in this case. We’ll continue to monitor the weather and do our best to avoid driving Tagalong in the rain. And for those times we can’t, maybe we’ll come up with some better solutions to absorb the water and silt.
You might also like How We Determine Our RV Stops.  When considering and researching driving to Alaska, we didn’t find much about taking a fifth wheel RV or a big rig on the Alaska Highway. Plenty of sources referenced class C motorhomes, camper vans, and truck campers, but could we take a fifth wheel? The answer is yes, you can drive a fifth wheel on the Alaska Highway, and that’s exactly what we did after many months of preparation. Our truck and rig needed a good wash after the trek (but not as badly as it needed it after our trip on the Dalton Highway).  Road Conditions We found the first half of the road to be fantastic, in much better shape than many of the highways we’ve traveled in the Lower 48. The second half, however, left a bit to be desired. We had heard that the road worsened near Destruction Bay in the Yukon Territory. Indeed it did. The highway became littered with large patches of bumpiness. Being early in the season (toward the end of May), we also encountered numerous construction zones, most of which consisted of gravel. In a number of places, we had to wait for a pilot car to lead us through the areas under repair. Once we crossed into Alaska, the road became even worse, with lots of waviness from frost heaves, wide-open potholes, and more construction. The road continued to be challenging until about 40 miles outside of Tok.  8 Tips for Success Adverse road conditions can be harder on fifth wheels and big rigs than they are on camper vans, truck campers, and class C motorhomes. Additionally, smaller vehicles allow for more spontaneity and easier parking. With a 42-foot fifth wheel in tow, we have to be more calculated and plan our stops. Fortunately, most of the gas stations along the Alaska Highway are uncovered, unlike in the contiguous U.S., so we had no trouble pulling in to get fuel. Here are our top tips for success on the Alaska Highway. 1. Set your odometer to 0 in Dawson Creek. This will enable you to follow along with The Milepost book and/or the Alaska Highway book you can pick up in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, at the visitor information center that details the many turnouts along the way where you can stop for lunch or camp overnight. The visitor center also offers a list of gas stations along the Alaska Highway that are noted by mileposts. 2. Know your metric measurements. You likely know the height and width of your rig in feet and inches. In Canada, you need to know those measurements in meters, as that’s how overpasses and bridges are marked. Our rig is 13 feet, 3 inches tall, which converts to 4 meters and 4 centimeters.  3. Be prepared for fueling differences. Fuel prices look inexpensive in Canada, but that’s because they’re per liter rather than per gallon. One liter is equal to 0.26 gallon, so you can roughly determine the price per gallon by multiplying the cost times four. Keep in mind the price is Canadian, which, at the time of this writing, is $1.32 (CAD) to $1 (USD). If you’re used to topping your diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) at the pump in the U.S., be aware this option is a rarity in Canada. We carried a container of DEF with us to ensure we didn’t run out. 4. Watch your speed. It’s best not to be in a hurry on this remote highway. You’ll get better gas mileage going at a slower pace, and it will be easier to stop if you come across something of interest — or happen upon wildlife. Enjoy the journey and make the most of it. The posted speed limits are in kilometers per hour, not miles per hour. It didn’t take us long to learn that 50 kph is 30 mph, 70 kph is 45 mph, 90 kph is 55 mph, and 100 kph is 60 mph. 5. Regularly scan the horizon for wildlife. Spotting wildlife is one of the highlights of driving the Alaska Highway. Keeping your eyes peeled gives you more opportunities to see black bears, bison, moose, porcupines, bighorn sheep, deer, and more. We quickly realized that black blobs from a distance tended to be bears (although some black blobs were culvert openings) and brown blobs were bison.  6. Don’t be afraid to use the other lane. Because the highway is remote, you can use the entire road to avoid taking your rig over bumps unnecessarily. Just be sure you check both behind and in front of you before moving into the oncoming lane. 7. Download playlists and/or podcasts. Knowing that our SiriusXM radio is satellite-based, we expected it to work on the Alaska Highway and even into the 49th state. Because Canada and Alaska are much farther north than the SiriusXM satellites, our radio wasn’t able to see them and left us in silence. We had heard that might happen, so we went prepared and downloaded some Mike Rowe podcasts ahead of time. 8. Keep snacks handy. The Alaska Highway is not like most highways in the contiguous United States, with gas stations and restaurants every few miles. It’s quite remote, leading through very small towns and villages that may or may not have food available. Be prepared: Have snacks on hand and easy-to-make meals at the ready. They’ll come in handy when your tummy’s rumbling and no restaurant is in sight. It’s also wise to have some Canadian cash on hand in case you stop at a small establishment that doesn’t take credit or that’s experiencing internet issues. The Alaska Highway is a great adventure for vehicles of all shapes and sizes, offering beautiful scenery and plentiful opportunities to meet amazing people. You might also like Crossing the Border into Canada in an RV.  |
AuthorThis is the travel blog of full-time RVers Bob and Lana Gates and our truck, Gulliver, and fifth wheel, Tagalong. Categories
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