Great Alaska Road Trip: Day 1

Traveling from Ontario to Alaska in my minivan!

I’ve been dreaming of venturing to Alaska for a while. The final frontier, off the beaten path, full of rugged landscapes and wildlife I’d never seen before.

After travelling around Canada and living on the west coast for a year, my taste for adventure (and beautiful views) grew — but I wasn’t quite done with my own country yet. Most of Canada’s northern territories aren’t accessible by vehicle, but I knew the Yukon Territories would be great to explore. And, conveniently, the Yukon is right on the way to Alaska.

And so the idea was born — our Great Alaska Road trip, one month of exploring the country and, at the very least, getting to the Alaska border.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been building out the perfect adventure-mobile to take my boyfriend, R, and me all the way from Toronto, Ontario, to what seems like the end of the earth — Alaska.

A 60-something hour drive, I knew our vehicle would have to be:

reliable
good on gas
and just big enough to fit all of my art supplies so I could capture all of the beautiful sights on canvas.

I found our minivan, a 2013 Toyota Sienna with 140,000km on her, and spent a few weeks designing and constructing a tiny bed, kitchen, and space for painting.

I’ve previously built out and lived in a big 2008 Ford Super-Duty shuttle bus for a year, so I was no stranger to constructing a tiny home.

You can read about some of my previous tiny home travels here:

I Drove Across Canada — Here’s Where I Parked Each Night for Free

The ups, downs, and free parking spots of a great road trip

medium.com

But with this van it felt very different, because I was doing it completely on my own. My boyfriend and I had agreed that this would be my project, and so everything from the purchase itself to the construction process was for me to figure out.

I made the build as simple as I possibly could, opting out of running electrical wires and mounting solar panels. Instead, I put in battery banks that charge while the car is running, and a battery-powered water pump and lights.

The view looking in from the back of the van. Photo by the author.

I wanted it to be cozy and practical- something just comfortable enough for our month-long adventure.

The author, testing out the mattress of our little bed. Neither of us are tall, so we can sleep width-wise in the van! Photo by the author.

So here I am, writing this after day 1 of the Great Alaska Road Trip. We started our drive in Toronto and, of course, stopped by Sudbury to see the Big Nickel (which for some reason always feels so exciting, no matter how many times you’ve seen it!).

The author posing in front of te Big Nickel in Sudbury, Ontario. Photo by the author.

We then made it up north to Sault Ste. Marie, where we almost accidentally crossed the U.S border into Michigan looking for a place to park up for the night.

We ended up at a good ol’ Walmart parking lot, surrounded by so many other campervans and RVs that it began looking like a bit too much like a campground. Someone even took out their BBQ and started grilling burgers in the lot, which gave us a good laugh.

We’ve finished our drive for the day, so it’s time to draw up the curtains, have some dinner, and watch Netflix!

I’m hoping to keep writing about this month-long adventure each day, so you can join me in real time as I make the trek all the way from Eastern Ontario to Alaska. Make sure to turn on email notifications so you don’t miss a single day of the trip!

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