Iowa to Alaska in a Model T
Adventures of the Preacher and the Prof
We got an early start hoping to beat much of the traffic, but that really didn't work out as we hoped. What we did, was hit heavy traffic as all of the oil and gas workers were going to work, and later the log trucks started passing us.
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We found tanker trucks, cargo semis and flatbed semi drivers to be extremely courteous of us, but the log truck drivers were a different issue entirely! These semi-trucks basically pulled three trailers, each 20' long and loaded with logs. Both of us had to literally stop several times to avoid losing the front end of our T's or going in the ditch as these trucks cut back in front of us after passing us. Both of us quickly came to dread seeing one approach us from behind. Fortunately for us, the paper mill that they were headed to was in Ft. St. John so we had no issues with them after that.
We did, however, encounter the worst mountain of the entire trip as well as the longest metal grated bridge deck on the Alaska Highway. Metal grated bridges and Model T's as well as motorcycles are not compatible as the narrow tires can't decide which grove to run in and end up jumping sideways at frequent and random times. Then, immediately after crossing the bridge was 4 miles of a 6 to 10% grade going what seemed like straight up! The rest of the drive into Dawson Creek was uneventful, which was a tremendous relief for us.
Once at the campground, we were besieged by folks in a Winnebago caravan going to Alaska. (Note – forgot to mention that we encountered a Holiday Rambler caravan when we stopped in Ft. Nelson on July 9– with similar level of interest in our rigs).