Fort Nelson to Liard River, BC

I departed Fort Nelson around noon. After Fort Nelson the road became much more narrow and curvy. The pavement quality diminished greatly with rough segments, muddy, unpaved segments, and a light peppering of wild animals.

Caribou on the side of the road. This is a common sight on the Alaska Highway.

Winding, twisty, wet mountain road. Another common sight along the Alaska Highway.

Mileage Log: 192.6 Miles, 21.78 M/gal

Liard River Hot Springs

I arrived at Liard River around 3:30pm. I checked into the campground, paid my $12 Canadian for a campsite, and fully intended to setup my tent, take a nice soak in the hot spring, take a nap until a little after dark, and resume my journey during the prime nighttime hours when there is very little traffic and most construction sites have closed down. So much for plans. It was raining as I setup my tent, but that didn't stop the voracious mosquitos from swarming around me. The water of the hot spring soothed the many bites I received on my legs and arms.

This boardwalk leads you a quarter to half a mile back into the wilderness, through hot-spring fed swampland, to the Alpha and Beta pools. The boardwalk protects the delicate environment from trampling by human feet.

Alpha Pool. These photos show where the hot spring flows into the Alpha Pool area.

The waterfall at Alpha Pool. There is a submerged bench at the base of the falls. It's my favorite place to sit at Alpha Pool. A hot waterfall flowing over one's shoulders can be quite soothing.

Alpha Pool just above the falls. Note the submerged bench and crystal clear water.

Beta Pool. This pool differs from Alpha in that it is actually a still pond instead of a flowing river. The water is cloudy and a fairly uniform temperature throughout. Bubbles periodically well up from the bottom of the pool.

Liard River, BC to Whitehorse, Yukon

I left the hot springs at 6:30am on Friday. Much, much later than I had intended. When I got up from my nap I found that the gate to the highway was locked and wouldn't open until 6am unless there was some kind of "medical emergency." Though very annoyed at being held captive, I got much more sleep and enjoyed an early-morning dip in the Alpha Pool. This also gave me the opportunity to snap the photos above before anyone else disturbed the calm of the pools.

A bison? Yup. A bison was wandering across the road just a few miles outside of Liard River. This is the only wild bison I have ever seen up north.

Look! Dirt! Plenty of it. And plenty more to come! I drove slowly, enjoying the pretty scenery. The radar detector kept going off in this section. A blue GMC pickup truck using a radar jammer approached quickly from behind and passed me. When the road surface was pavement again, I was sure to stick to him like a fly on...flypaper.

The bridge across Teslin Lake at Teslin, Yukon. A nice place to eat lunch. I put a few gallons of gas in the car but didn't want to fill up at 78 cents per liter for low-octane gas. Note that much of the dirt from the previous photo has somehow accumulated on the sides and rear of the XR.

Mileage Log: 410 Miles, 20.66 M/gal (Put in about 5 extra gallons at Teslin)

Whitehorse to Haines Junction, Yukon

Whitehorse is a little pocket of civilization in the middle of the sparsely populated Yukon. The first open grocery store I encountered on my trip was in Whitehorse. I bought a portable dinner of deli sandwiches for later and made sure to stock up on Coffee Crisp candy bars. Coffee Crisp is one of my all-time favorites and can't be bought in the USA. I departed Whitehorse around 2:30pm. I spotted at least 2 revenue officers on the way out of town, one of them unmarked. The poor mileage I experienced on this segment can be attributed to hilly terrain, low-quality gas, lots of passing maneuvers (tons of motorhomes going 10mph below the speed limit) and rapid changing of speed.

Mileage Log: 95.5 Miles, 19.05 M/gal

Haines Junction, Yukon to Tok, Alaska

Haines Junction is basically just a couple of gas stations at the junction of the Alaska Highway and the Haines Highway. I left HJ around 4pm, after taking a few minutes to top off the gas tank and eat one of my sandwiches.

Kluane (Clue-ah-nee) Lake. One of the bluest, most beautiful lakes in North America. Poor lighting and choppy water spoiled these pictures somewhat. The roads around this lake are very curvy and fun to drive! Polite campers pulled over to the side to let me pass and take full advantage of the XR's wonderfully tight suspension and confidence-inspiring steering response.

I'm home! (Sorta) Note the happy though somewhat dirty XR4Ti in the background.

Alaska-Yukon International Border (facing south). You know that line on the map between Alaska and Canada? Well this is it! It's hard to make out in the photo, but the line cut between the trees extends perfectly straight and as far as the eye can see.

Alaska-Yukon Border (facing north). I heard somewhere that the line cut through the trees is the longest straight line in the world. I don't know if it's true.

Mileage Log: 292.5 Miles, 22.71 M/gal

Tok to Fairbanks, Alaska

I arrived at Tok at about 10pm. I was finally able to put some "premium" 90-octane gas in the tank. Oh well, at least the quality of the Texaco gas is good, and a bargain at $1.74 per gallon. Compared to Yukon prices, that is. :-/ Camera battery died, so no more pictures. There was some breathtaking mountain scenery at sunset and a very odd atmosperic effect I'd never seen before which made it appear there were two suns shining through the clouds. On this, the last leg of my trip, I decided to see what would be the best mileage I could get out of my "new" car, so I kept the speed control set on 62 MPH. Almost 30mpg. Not bad!

Mileage Log: 208.8 Miles, 29.74 M/gal

Arrival: Fairbanks, Alaska

I arrived in Fairbanks at about 1am Alaska time, sun still visible over the horizon. This was a fantastic drive, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity. The XR4Ti performed flawlessly and instilled complete confidence at any speed and over every road condition. The stock Recaro seats were comfortable and supportive enough that I never experienced any back pain during the long days of driving. Though it's designed more for speed and handling, even loaded to the gills as it was the car was able to give decent fuel economy. All of my goals were met. I made it home safely. The car arrived none the worse for wear with no damage aside from one small rock-inflicted pockmark in the windshield. There were no mechanical breakdowns, no accidents, no mishaps, and no speeding tickets. After much washing and polishing, the car cleaned up nicely and looks as good as ever.

Mileage Summary: 2297.8 Miles, 105.2 Gallons, 21.84 M/gal overall average

Special thanks go to Ken Tidwell, Rich Maljian, Aaron and Dawn Morse, and Kristen Greene, who each played a very large part in making my trip the great experience that it was.

I hope you found this account of my travels up the Alaska Highway enlightening or at least entertaining. Thanks for bearing with me. I encourage you to send me feedback via email at fxstm@uaf.edu.

Steve 7/24/97

Related link:

• About Steve's 1989 Merkur XR4Ti