Chicago to Healy, Alaska

A Long Way From Home...

     Since January, I had been eagerly waiting to leave for Healy, Alaska to work a summer job. The day finally came for me to leave-- June 2nd. The map above shows the route we took to Healy, except that we drove through Calgary, Banff, and Jasper (the map won't embed exactly as-is). This is the link to the exact route we took.

Summing it up

     This trip took a week. I will briefly summarize the road trip...

     Day 1

          We left Romeoville, IL at about 6:30am. Minot, North Dakota was where we slept the first night. It was about a 900 mile drive that day. 

     Day 2

          On the second day, we left Minot and headed to Stoney Nakoda Resort and Casino in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. It took us about an hour to get past customs at the border, being first time visitors to Canada. This leg of the trip was about 750 miles.

     Day 3

          Banff and Jasper National Parks made the third day particularly special due to the beautiful sights. We drove through both parks to Grande Cache, AB. It was a 350 mile drive with frequent stops to sight see. There was a free campground along the highway that we stayed at for the night.

     Day 4

          We drove 680 miles from Grande Cache to Liard River Hot Springs in British Columbia. This began our trip on the Alaska Highway, starting at Dawson Creek. We slept in the overflow camping lot of the hot springs. Luckily, we were able to soak in the springs in the evening as well as the following morning.

     Day 5

          The next part of the journey involved us driving to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. This was a 400 mile trek. We slept in the Walmart parking lot, which allows RVs to stay overnight in their lot.

     Day 6

          Crossing back into the U.S., we drove 500 miles to Delta Junction, Alaska. The Alaska Highway officially ends there. The Alaska 7 Motel was where we slept that night.

     Day 7

          We drove the last 200 miles on the seventh day, stopping in Fairbanks on the way. Finally, we made it to our destination in Healy, Alaska!