There Is No Longer A Camp Inn In Alaska (correction: In Fairbanks!)

We purchased our 560 (name: Muriel) two summers ago while living in Alaska and rolled it down some pretty great adventures during two (short) camping seasons there. We only messed things up once (well, twice if you count the bear that got into the rooftop tent and tore up some of the screens) and we managed to get it to "the end of the road" multiple times. Despite our wish to stay in the Last Frontier, the Army had other ideas and we received orders to report to a new duty station in "The Lower."

Driving through Canada wasn't fun, but it was gorgeous. COVID restrictions meant that we basically had to take all our own food with us across the border, pay at the pump, stay out of any shops/stores/restaurants, and keep to ourselves. "Your quarantine location is your vehicle, exit Canada in 5 days or there will be a warrant for your arrest." Figuring out how to take a telehealth-supervised COVID test on the road through an area with little to no cell phone coverage...well, we got it figured out. Barely.

Our trip started by going the wrong way - we had reservations at the Teklanika Campground in Denali National Park. For those who don't know Denali - there's only one spot into the park where RVs can camp, and only if the reservation is for 3+ nights. Otherwise, it's all tent camping or RV camping back at the park entrance. The day we relinquished control of our house, we drove down to Teklanika and set camp for 3 nights. Then it was back to Fairbanks for a quick re-fit and COVID tests the next morning. Later that day we pre positioned at a campsite only 25miles shy of the border at Deadman Lake.

The next day we crossed the border fairly uneventfully and made a hard push to get through as much of the Yukon Territory as possible. Yukon officials told us we only had 24 hours to transit the Territory - that's a lot of road to cover! Our first Canadian camp night was in Teslin at an RV park. The next day we were up and on the road in enough time to just barely cross into BC ... without a single law enforcement official anywhere in site to make sure we transited in our allotted time. Oh well.

Almost as soon as we hit BC, we dropped onto the Cassiar Highway to expedite our route towards Seattle. The road was not forgiving, but the views made up for it. Canadian camp night 2 was in Kitwanga. The next day was just more incredible views through BC -- stunningly gorgeous driving. Canadian night 3 was in Clinton, and was intentionally close enough to the border that we would end up at our friend's house in the Seattle area well before dinner time.

After a somewhat eventful border crossing back to the US (Canadian border official: sir, we have no record of you entering Canada 3 days ago (!!)), we grabbed our first family Chipotle dinner in 2.5 years at the same spot we had our final Chipotle dinner in January 2019 before boarding the northbound ferry en route to Alaska. After Chipotle (a family favorite), a short ferry ride got us to Silverdale, WA for two nights at a friend's house, followed by 2 more nights in Seattle proper with other friends.

When our time in Washington ran out, we set off for Glacier National Park. Upon arriving that evening, we found out that our very carefully planned and selected campground would not be open for the entire summer despite the fact it had previously been announced as opening on time. Terrific. The park was full and it didn't matter that we had secured Entry Tickets for the Going to the Sun Road, the GTSR wasn't open yet and there was no where to park the camper. It wasn't a happy day and I doubt I'll ever be back. We lucked into a campsite at a KOA for the night (but just one night - we are full tomorrow!) and bailed on Glacier the next day. After Glacier we debated wandering down into the Tetons and Yellowstone but had a bad National Park taste in the mouth so we kept to the highway.

As an aside - I tell you what - after trailering for 2 years in Alaska this interstate thing is NICE.

We continued just past Billings, MT, then returned the next day to Billings to address a brake issue on the trailer. Turns out we got some rocks in the brake drum that were causing havoc. I guess Muriel was just trying to hang onto the last little bit of Alaska we had pelted her with. That riddle solved, we stayed the next night in Billings and continued to Rapid City by way of the Crazy Horse Monument. After Rapids City we selected a city campground in Mitchel, SD with a 60 mile detour loop through the Badlands and a somewhat inside-joke must-see family-name monument. After Mitchel, we dropped down for a week at my parent's house in KC. With COVID and Army deployments and such, it was the first I had seen my folks in 1.5 years and the reunion was quite warm.

After a week in KC, we dropped down to Branson and camped at Table Rock State Park while spending time with my brother-in-law for a few days before facing the music and wandering a few more hours up the road to our new duty station in southeastern Missouri. And here we sit, "camping" in our new house while waiting for the moving company to deliver our household goods.

Muriel won't be garaged here because our house has no garage. But, we did secure a covered storage site today and that should keep most of the weather off of her. I just wish I didn't have to remove and replace the battery constantly to keep it healthy ... but oh well, we will only be here two years. Maybe the *next* place will have a garage!

All told we took about 29 days to cover 5218 miles through 9 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

 

Loved your story and your pictures. Thanks for the wild-ride. Been over the same hi ways in Alaska, but without a camper. Gratitude for your family's service! Enjoy the lower 48....so much to see without the hassle of crossing the border. Aren't the Badlands beautiful in a haunting way? We also loved Crazy Horse.....

 

Jeremie, is that you? If so, I met you in the Rapid City KOA. If not, then I guess I didn't.

 

Thank you for your service. Outstanding trip report with the route from Alaska. All the best in your new assignment.

 

yes sir, that was us! Sorry to have been stalking your camper - yours is the first Camp Inn we ever saw “in the wild.”

 

Agree - the Badlands are gorgeous in a mysterious way. We have done many of the stops on this route before, but my kids had not seen Crazy Horse. I hadn’t been in 20 years and it was interesting to see the progress that has been made over that time.

 

Not a problem. I was about 2 or 3 days into my ownership and still in the overwhelmed stage. I went looking for you (I think it was the next day) but couldn't find you. Sorry we didn't have time to chat.

 

Yes, we were up and gone the next morning fairly early. No worries! I was getting chastised by my kids pretty good for hovering around and waiting to say hello!

 

Tell your kids it was my fault.

 

Welcome back to the Lower 48! Maybe we'll see you out and about sometime. FYI, there's a new TearJerkers Chapter called the Heartland Chapter (Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri) that camps about every-other month - the Director lives near St. Louis.

 

Tell me about that double big wheel on the tongue jack.

 

Thank you for your service. I enjoy reading about your trip thanks for sharing.

 

ahhh there’s a whole very long winded thread around here somewhere about my process for getting it installed. But the summary is: I like it. A lot.

 

far more reading than perhaps is necessary ….

Tongue Jack Upgrade - Maybe

 

Hey, send me and/or Cary a note about taking a CI to the Arctic Circle - we took ours north of Fairbanks once. We went most of the way to the AC and camped on the north side of the Yukon River. The road surface they use on the Dalton Highway has some stuff in it that caused a reaction on the skin of our trailer and we got the beginnings of some aluminum pitting on the skin. Cary had some ideas about how to avoid the issue - my method was “welp, not taking the camper up that road again.”

 

Thank you Bear, that is a very kind and gracious compliment. Although I have to admit, my children have a different opinion of my long stories!

 

Edited the title of the thread to reflect my error - I thought ours was the only CI in Alaska when we lived there. But today I learned there’s a couple more in the Last Frontier, and I’m now very jealous of two more people I haven’t met.