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If you arrive anytime between now and breakup (breakup is the end of winter, when all the hardpack ice breaks-up) which is around April, have your vehicle winterized before you arrive. You'll need an oil pan heater, a battery heater and an engine block heater or percolator pump. Make sure the cord sticking out from your hood once it's winterized is the kind that is good for super-cold weather. It will be labeled so. They are normally blue cords with yellow plugs and they are better than regular plugs in that they stay flexible until around -50 (whis is <i>not</i> uncommon at all. Hell, the high today was 21m and it's still October. You don't need 4WD, but it's nice. I have a RWD pickup, and its a real PITA to get started moving, but it doesn't matter if you have 2WD 4WD or 10WD, ice is ice is ice, and your gonna slide on it no matter what.
Driving is supposed to be great. You can drive through the Yukon where you can go hundreds of miles without passing anyone in either direction, probably get a flat, definitley chip your windshield, but see some of the most amazing scenery of your life.
Another option is to take a ferry from Bellingham, WA, to Haines, AK. From Haines you still have to go through part of Canada to get to Fairbanks, but not much. I heard you can also take the ferry to Anchorage, which if that is true I will be going that route when I leave here.
Or you can fly and have the AF ship your vehicle. While that may sound the most convenient, I don't recommend it, for alot of reasons. You will want to have a vehicle the day you get here, and even if it arrives ahead of you you will have to get a ride into Fairbanks to pick it up, plus you miss out on all those travel days the AF will give you to drive. I flew here, but that was for reasons beyond my control since I came from Osan and my truck had been in storage. It just would have been to much hassle to get all the paperwork done to drive. Long story.
I reccomend taking the ferry, to Haines at least, and if you have no problems about going through Canada, then get off there, if you do, see if you can take it to Anchorage. Remember, alot of guns are restricted in Canada, and plenty are also prohibited. If it's restricted, that means you may pass through with it, but you have to pay all sorts of fees and fill out all sorts of papers. If it's prohibited, it may not even enter the country. And the Canadian Border Patrol will either search every square inch of your vehicle or ignore it completely. 50/50 chance.
Everything costs more here. There is always ATV's and snowmachines for sale either in the lemon lot here on on Ft. Wainright or on the for sale board on the computers at work, but if you want a specific make or model, it would be a very good idea to bring it from the lower 48, I gaurantee you'll get it cheaper there. Almost everyone here either rides or fishes or hunts or all three.
I hope you don't like eating in restaurants, becuase there aren't any here. Well, theres places to eat out, but things like Hooters or Olive Garden and the like, none. Actually, there are building a Chili's in Fairbanks now, it should be open in a few months. My favorite place to eat is Food Factory. Awseom food. and they have like a million beers from almsot as many different country. If you drink one bear from each country on a "beer passport" you get a free t-shirt. I finally got mine a few weeks ago. Nothing is open 24 hours either.
Oh, one more thing: get the book "The Milepost". Don't even think twice. You will not believe the amount of info in this book. It's about $20-$25 and worth every penny.
I cant think of anything else right now, and I'm sure you'll get a sponsor, but if you have any specific questions, I'm sure Warthog30 or myself or anyone else who's been statoned here can hook you up with soem answers.
They say that the only two things certain in life are death and taxes. I prefer them in that order.
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