1.  Superhighways in upper Canada and Alaska are 2 lane paved roads (usually)

2.  Most regular “highways” are barely two lanes, alternating between gravel, ashphalt, dirt and non-existent.

3. There are long stretches of roads without center or outside lines. You have to guess where your lane ends and starts.

4. There is always construction.

5. Buffalo herds walk across the highway, moose may be in the road, bears lope across – you never know where wildlife will appear.  As anywhere, animals come out around more around dusk.

6. Sometimes you are not sure where the road is at all, its kind of a big dirt mess.

7.  If you follow too close, especially behind a truck, when you hit gravel or dirt, you may be hit with a cloud of dust and won’t be able to see.

8.  Keep seat belts on to avoid hitting your head on the ceiling of the car when you go airborne from the bumps in the road.

9.  Get gas whenever you can, especially in late afternoon and evening.  Even if your map says that there is a gas station in 50 miles, it may have gone out of business (many have) and even if you call them and get their hours, they may decide to close early, or run out of gas.

10.  A town indicated on a map could consist of a deserted building and a log cabin.

11. There are many very risky roads - high up in mountains, no guard rails, straight drop.

12. Whitehorse is the only real town on the Alaskan Highway till you get to Anchorage or Fairbanks. 

It is a few miles of stores, small businesses and little hotel/motels. It actually has signal lights.

13. Upper Canada does not believe in any road signs. You have to guess where you are. Since most GPS systems don’t work in Canada, it’s a constant challenge.  You can drive 100 miles without a single sign. You can drive through a town and never know what town it was.

14. Food is a challenge.   There are many long stretches without any restaurant.  The ones you find have little kitchens and a few tables and that’s the restaurant.   The food leaves a lot to be desired on the Highway, however, when you find it, you are hungry enough to be glad.

15. Don’t joke with border guards.

16.  Motels are few and far between on the Alaskan Highway.  They close early or whenever they feel like it and many are boarded up and have gone out of business.

17. Motels are very expensive for very little. Expect to pay triple the money ($159-$200) for a small motel that you would find for $40 -$50 anywhere in America.  There are no Quality Inns or Hampton Inns. They are mom and pop establishments with 5-20 rooms.

18. Bring enough clothes if you can.  It is not easy to do a wash. The few motels that have a washer, have only one and you may wait awhile and may cost $6.

19. Daylight is LONG.  It may be confusing at first because it is light out when you go to sleep and light when you awake.  Daylight hours vary, but the farther north (Fairbanks and above) the longer the day in the summer. We had a few 20 hour days.

20. Don’t get upset about fires, there are always fires in Alaska.

21. Don’t get upset about earthquakes, there are always earthquakes in Alaska.

22. There are only two places in the real Alaska you find people – Anchorage (with over half the population) and Fairbanks  On the Interior passage where the cruise ships go, you find tourists.

23. Denali is the best part of the trip.  Stay at the lodge at the end of the Denali National Forest road so that you can drive down it. Otherwise you will have to take a bus and its not the same.

24. Try spending the night at Denali State Park Cabin #1 at Byers Lake.  Beautiful spot. Very primitive. Makes you feel like pioneers but if you do, bring bedding, a good axe and a good flashlight. 

25. Learn what kilometers, liters, etc. are.

26. The entire Carias Highway (an all day trip you can take off the Alaskan Highway) saves 117 miles and had two motels and two gas stations. The last 20 miles is VERY VERY rough. If you take this “shortcut” be prepared for total desolation. Not one house on the entire all day trip.  Beautiful scenery, but risky.  Have a full tank of gas before you start.

27. Most of the Alaskan Highway is in upper Canada.

28. Do NOT believe any magazine articles, books, internet sites or maps about the Alaskan Highway.  Things have drastically changed in the last year, primarily due to the gas spike a year ago. Many gas stations and motels shut down and there are more closing all the time. After the spike a year ago, a lot of small motels and stations closed because they were run on generators and since there were few travelers in 2008 who wanted to pay double for gas, they couldn’t make it anymore.  It was a cause and effect situation. The more stations and motels that closed, the less travelers want to try it and the lack of business then leads to more closures etc. etc. etc.  When you find an open station, they can’t even tell you where the next motel or gas station is, because they tell you it might have closed since they were there last.