June 2025

PNW to Yukon Territory

The majority of June (21 days, to be exact) were spent upgrading the van while we stayed with Hailey's parents in Tulalip, WA. Here's a list of most of the upgrades we did:

Installed a high output alternator
Installed a rooftop storage box
Modified our solar panel cabinet into shoe storage
Josh built and installed wooden cubbies for behind the driver and passenger seats
Josh built and installed a wooden cubby to store Lucky's leash and harness at the slide door
Josh pulled out the wooden framing at the rear of the van (our garage) and widened it so we had more storage space
Installed non-vibrating latches to flip-up driver desk
Installed stick-on tile to our magnet board on the slider door (our magnetic bug nets constantly were getting caught on the magnet board; we added the stick-on tile for decoration and to make the board not magnetic)
Josh built and installed a footstep for additional storage and comfort behind the driver seat

While it was nice to be stationary for a bit and catch up with family and friends, the road kept calling to us. Hailey outlined a rough itinerary for the journey up to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories and then on to Alaska. We knew we wanted to drive on the Alcan and Dempster Highways. On Saturday, June 21st we headed into Canada.

There are a lot of primitive campgrounds in Canada that are free. We stayed at several of them, including Alexander Mackenzie's Landing, Inga Recreation Area, and Morley Lake Recreation Area. On the way to Dawson Creek we stopped in the town of Chetwynd, which is famous for its wood carvings. We were impressed with the quality and quantity of sculptures - there was a wide variety of skill and subject matter. While in Dawson Creek, BC, we stayed at Mile 0 Campground which was very comfortable. There were very few mosquitoes which was a relief. Before getting to Whitehorse in Yukon Territory we made a stop at Liard River Hot Springs. This was a nice area and neat that you can soak in nature. When we made it to Whitehorse, the first brewery we tried was Winterlong, which had a surprisingly tasty beverage called Decade. It's a tequila barrel-aged sour. While in Whitehorse we stayed at Hi Country RV Park where we did laundry, filled up water, and did other van maintenance chores. We want to stay on top of everything since we'll be headed to a remote area. The Dempster Highway to get to Tuktoyaktuk is 458 miles of gravel road.