Canyonlands, Utah to Eagle River, Alaska

Canyonlands National Park

Our next stop was the Canyonlands National Park, where we camped there for two nights. While we were staying there we went on a 5.5 mile hike with incredible views. We also got to take a cool photo in a slot canyon.

Back at the campsite we went climbing on the rock formations. The rocks here are a reddish color, very different from back home. I also managed to make toast on a stick over our campfire!

The decision and Arches National Park

This is where our trip took a turn for the worse. During our last day of camping my dad got cancelations for the next place we were staying and our bike rentals (due to the Coronavirus). So we created a new plan to stay at a different campground. When we got there though, they said they weren’t taking in any new people. So my parents talked for awhile.

There were a lot of things involved in the decision including how hotels and campgrounds were being closed, the possible closure of the U.S./Canadian border, and an inability to stock up on food since we have a lack of space in our van. We decided to go home.

So we started driving north. On the way, we took a quick stop to see Arches National Park. Really cool place, over 1,900 arches there!!

Driving from Utah to Alaska

It took us 5 days to get home. The drive is just over 3,000 miles.

Day 1: After the seeing the arches we then drove for about four and a half more hours and stayed the night at a place in Brigham City, Utah.

Day 2: The next day we got up very early in order to drive 10 hours and 45 minutes to Cranbrook, British Colombia. We made it across the Canadian border (one day before they closed the border).

Day 3: The following day we got up even earlier (like 4:30) and drove 11 hours and 30 minutes to Dawson Creek, British Colombia.

Day 4: The second to last day we got up early again and drove around the same time as the previous day. (Around 11 hours and 30 minutes.) We stayed at Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, which was our last night in Canada. While we were driving we saw several herds of bison just sitting and walking alongside the road.

Day 5: The last day we got up super early. We drove by the sign post forest, there are over 80,000 tall posts with license plates from various places and signs to. Last time we were there it was early summer with no snow so we were able to walk around it, but unfortunately this time we couldn’t. This was our longest day yet. We drove for over 17 hours!!!! We got back on the 22nd of March.

Keep in mind that the number of hours I have above are the raw driving times it would take to get from the place we were at to our day’s destination, without stops, icy conditions, or traffic. To be more accurate you would have to add 2+ more hours to each day.