Country Summaries
Canada
We have spent 1 month in Canada during which we have driven 5,725 miles (9,160 Km’s) right across the country from Halifax to Dawson City. This has given us a real appreciation of just how big this country is.
The price of Diesel has varied from CAD1.09 up to the 1.54 at the most expensive. The price has not always been logical with the price sometimes plummeting substantially within only 100km’s. The cheapest place though was Spruce Grove (but overall Manitoba was the cheapest) and the most expensive Dawson City.
The weather has been a mixed bag – The East side was predominantly wet, the centre hot, and the West a mix between rain and sun.
The landscape really changes as you cross Canada. The East is wooded with lakes everywhere you look, as you move West you get to the Prairies which are flatish and stretch for days. They are covered in big fields of Rape so look amazing. Then as you reach the edge of the prairies the land begins to lift as you hit mountain ranges and the trees come back – less lakes however. The West is much more rugged than the East. The one constant across the country has been the Mosquitos !
North America
Top 5 Walks
- Harding Icefield, Seward Alaska
- Druid Arch Trail, Canyonlands – Needles District, Utah
- Paradise, Mt Rainier National Park, Washington
- Emerald Pools, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
- Navajo Loop + Queen Victoria’s Gardens Loop, Bryce Canyon, Utah
USA National Parks Visited
- Denali, Alaska
- Wrangell-St Elias, Alaska
- Katmai, Alaska
- Olympic, Washington
- Mt. Rainier, Washington
- Rocky Mountain, Colorado
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado
- Mesa Verde, Colorado
- Canyonlands, Utah
- Arches, Utah
- Capitol Reef, Utah
- Bryce Canyon, Utah
- Zion, Utah
- Joshua Tree, California
Miles Travelled
- Halifax – Alaska: 5,658
- Alaska – 4,175
- Alaska – Lower 48: 2,419
- Seattle – Mexico: 5,648
Camping Stats (USA & Canada):
Nights Camped For Free: 73Nights in National Parks: 16 Nights in State Parks: 29 Nights in Commercial Campgrounds: 10 Nights In Hotels: 8 Nights under Canvas: 2
Max Temperature: 40c, Arches, Utah
Min Temperature: -6c, Nr. Conifer, Colorado
Mechanical Issues:
1) Fuel Lines: Air leaking into lines – replacement of all lines
2) Fuel Pump: Diesel leaking into Oil caused by loose fuel pump – seal replaced and tightened
3) Cab Controls: Leaking air – where required the connectors were replaced.
4) Fuel Pump: Diesel leaking through nut at bottom that needed tightening.
FromAtoB 
Hi,
Is 5,700 miles per month a reasonable target / guideline? Could you indicate how many non driving days you had? and how many hours per day driving is “comfortable” before getting cabin fever?
As I said before, Loving your blog!
Merv.
Hi Merv,
definitely too much. This involved driving almost every day with the occasional day off and doing up to 10 hours of driving a day. We won’t do this again but we wanted to get to Alaska. We’ve just done the Dalton which was heavy driving but in a different way. Now we are slowing way down and will only do 1000 miles or so in the next 4 weeks as we explore the south of Alaska. Then we speed up again for a bit. Its all about changing it up. But slow is better definitely.
I reckon if you could drive no more than 4 hours a day on a continuing basis then that would be ok.
Mark