Protection and Provision at the Alaska Border

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 15)

Last week’s RabbiTRAILS included a photo of the sign that welcomed us to Alaska.  There is a nearby stone marker that is on the actual border with Canada.  We found it interesting that there is a wide cleared area that extends to the north and south from the marker showing where the border is.  We wondered if the clearing extends for the thousands of miles of border between the US and Canada. 

^{Ed is in Canada, Pat is in the US; the border clearing extends to the horizon (and beyond!)}

A few miles further, we stopped at the border checkpoint for entry into the US.   The checkpoint is remote – 20 miles from Beaver Creek in the Yukon and 100 miles from Tok, Alaska.    

We pulled up to the checkpoint and handed the border control agent our passports.  She asked the standard questions:  where are you from (Florida), why are you traveling to Alaska (vacation), do you have any firearms (no) or illegal substances (no).   We’ve heard they sometimes ask about and confiscate food (eggs and produce mainly) and some travelers have even been detained while their vehicles were searched.   I guess we look like we are honest or we don’t pose a threat.  We were cleared to proceed with no issues.

Well almost. 

As we pulled away Pat pointed out a message on Percy’s dashboard.  A TPMS alert indicated the front passenger tire was at 41 lbs PSI, not the normal 65 lbs.   We pulled into a parking spot just past the checkpoint, presumably where vehicles are searched.   I inspected the tire, verified the PSI, and used our tire inflator to add air.

We continued on, keeping an eye on the TPMS.  Almost immediately the pressure started dropping – it was clear we had a leak.  At the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 20 miles from the border, the pressure had fallen by nearly 10 psi.  We decided to put on the spare.

Calling for roadside assistance wasn’t an option – we were outside the cell service area (not uncommon on the Alaska Highway) and even if we were able to reach someone, it could have been hours before they arrived to swap the tire.  So we let a ranger at the visitor center know we would be swapping our tire in their parking lot. 

Such an endeavor is a challenge with a truck camper.  We raised the camper a few inches off the bed of the truck to lessen the weight on the jack. Then we lowered the spare from under the back of the truck, loosened the lug nuts, jacked up the right front, removed the tire, put on the spare and finally stowed the bad tire back under the truck.   In case you are wondering, an 18-in truck tire is heavy!

Spare tire installed, we lowered the camper back onto the truck.  It was at this point we made a BIG MISTAKE.  We did not notice we lowered the camper on the wire that connects the camper to the truck.

We arrived in Tok and as we were setting up for the evening, we noticed there was no power in the camper.  I started troubleshooting.  After unplugging the camper from the truck, I verified the camper battery.  It was OK, so I thought perhaps there was a blown fuse or flipped breaker. 

It was late afternoon, so we decided to connect the camper to shore power, hoping it would work, and to troubleshoot the power problem later.

Shore power worked – everything powered on as normal.  So, I disconnected shore power and everything still worked!  Hmmm, perhaps there was some sort of power transfer/relay issue.

The next morning, we were preparing to leave and to have our tire checked out at a nearby garage.  When I plugged camper into the truck I heard an arcing noise and noticed a cloud of smoke at the rear of the camper. 

THAT WAS NOT GOOD!  I quickly disconnected the camper plug. 

Pat and I discussed what might be going on. We realized that when we lowered the camper after swapping the tire, we didn’t check the location of the connection wire.  We raised the camper and it was obvious we had lowered the camper on top of the wire. Several of the wires were rubbed bare and there was a silver dollar-sized hole melted into the rubber mat under the camper.

^{Frayed wires (and nerves); repaired wires, almost as good as new}

Although Tok is a very small, remote town, they have a NAPA auto parts store.  We purchased some wire connectors and sleeves, and after removing the frayed portions, we repaired and tested the wires.

Later that morning our leaky tire (caused by a small piece of metal) was repaired and reinstalled, and we were on our way to Fairbanks.

Pat and I praise God for His protection and provision.

• Protection from a remote roadside breakdown or even an accident.   

• Provision for a safe place to swap the tire on a paved, level parking lot and a tire that only needed to be repaired and not replaced. 

• Protection from shorted, frayed wires that could have damaged our camper or truck (or even caused a fire).

• Provision for a relatively simple repair and for the needed parts that were locally available.

One final provision: it was lunchtime as we swapped our tire.  One of the rangers was grilling something on the deck behind the visitor center.  He stopped by the truck to check our tire-swap progress and handed us a plate with grilled halibut and vegetables. 

We thanked the ranger and praised God.  Lunch never tasted so good!   

Next week:

We arrive in Fairbanks, battle mosquitoes on the way to Chena Hot Springs and see The Great One. Critter counts and cinnamon bun reviews will also resume.