The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
| BUMPS AND GUNK |
| The two RV Gypsies say "DON'T DO IT - DON'T DRIVE THE ALASKA HIGHWAY UNTIL ROADS ARE FIXED." Their car windshield got cracked and pitted in several places and the front of the car looked like it was sand blasted. The car was totally pitted and needed a whole paint job after this trip. The decals were completely ruined. It is probably un-sellable now. The motorhome has also taken a physical beating, not to mention the stress on both vehicles and the two RV Gypsies. Another RVer they met asked, "Why are we all doing this?" Good Question! |
For about the last 350 miles on the Alaska Highway in the Yukon Territory, much of the roads were dirt/gravel, mud or just full of bumps and dips called frost heaves. The two RV Gypsies found this to be extremely stressful. The worst frost heaves were marked with red flags, but many frost heaves were not marked. The motorhome shook, bounced and rattled like you would not believe. Clothes fell off the closet rack and sweaters fell from their shelves making it almost impossible to open the closet doors. Covers to ceiling lights fell off. And if a car was in front of the two RV Gypsies or passing them on the dirt/gravel roads, the dust was so heavy that the two RV Gypsies could not see where they were going. These roads were watered at times and that kept the dust down, but then the road became muddy. Have you ever written "wash me" on a dirty car? Of course you have! But guess what? When the mud dries on the cars and RVs you can not write on it because it cakes and becomes thick like clay. Scroll down below for photos of this event. |
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The car's headlights do not have a cover - that is caked-on dirt. A regular car wash did not help. It had to be pressured cleaned off with a
very powerful pressure cleaner. |
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| In The Milepost book (which is a must for anyone driving in Alaska) - it says "Tok is known as the Sled Dog Capital of Alaska" and "Judging by the number of Alaska Highway travelers cleaning their cars and RVs in Tok each summer, it may also qualify as the Vehicle Washing Capital of Alaska as well." - an Understatement!!!!! | |
- Below: The two RV Gypsies
DRIVING THE ALASKA HIGHWAY in 2009 - "WE ARE DOING THIS BECAUSE......................??????" |
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| Below: Tiny pieces of gravel got thrown onto the vehicle of the two RV Gypsies and all other vehicles. This is how the windshield got cracked in several places and the paint job got pitted. | |
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Below: An RV Passing the
water truck on a HILL |
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Karen Duquette could not really photograph the frost heaves because they just do not really show up in photographs. Actually some of them are hard to see until just before you hit them, and some you do not even see in time. The dirty, muddy roads above caused many cars to be filthy with cracked windshields, but the frost heaves were really stressful on the vehicles. |
| Permafrost 101: Permafrost is ground that is frozen year-round. The roads ripple like waves on an ocean. Local residents notice it every time they drop an orange and it rolls all the way across the room. Permafrost causes the most trouble when it melts under the road and the road sags - thus called frost heaves. | |
| Unless the two RV Gypsies can get the ferry back (it was booked on the way here) at a cost of about $8,000, they have to drive through this area on the way back too. Hopefully, some of these roads will be fixed by then, but since the work on these roads started in 2008, it is almost certain to be another stressful trip back. | |
 Continue
on in order of travel to Stewart, British Columbia
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