# Alaska



## RWRiley (Oct 21, 2009)

Retirement coming up in a couple of years, and we would really like to head to Alaska. I looked into some of the caravans, and they want about $7,000 !!









The one I have been looking at is about 35 days, but still seems like a lot of money.

Not sure if I want to go it alone so maybe I will have to grin and bear it.

Anyone been there and done that ? Is it worth it to pay the $$ and do the caravan ? Are there better ways ?

Thanks,

Rich


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

A guy I work with did the Alaskan Marine Highway and loved it. It's a car ferry that takes you and your car out of Washington State up to some point in Alaska. You then drive back to the states on the Alcan Highway.


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

We did Alaska and would do it again in a heartbeat. First it is expensive, but worth every dollar spent. We did a week cruise from Vancouver BC. through the inter passage to Seward. From Seward we rented a car and drove for 2 weeks. We had all stays booked and routes planned. I think I would do it the same way again. We had most outings planned, but, If we saw something else to do or if we wanted to stay longer we could do it. We had most things ( lodging and tours) paid for in advance. We weren't rushed and could stop anywhere any time. I think a 3 week vacation is the minimum after being there. As I said it is expensive and you might not ever make it back, there is so much to see and do. It's AWESOME.

kevin


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## GO WEST (May 25, 2009)

We have been dreaming too, but because I teach school (long way from retirement). I have 9 or 10 weeks off in the summer. Are the insects bad June/July? We want to tow our camper the whole way up and back, enjoying the western U.S. and Canada along the way. It's about 4,000 miles from here to Fairbanks. I can't see putting 5 of us in my supercab Ford 1/2 ton and going that far though...looking for a crew cab 3/4 ton or one ton.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

WE have several Alaskan members who hopefully will chime in.









I pesonally was on an Alaskan cruise a few years back and seeing the campgrounds along the water really made me want to jump ship and go buy a RV.









Personally, I'm not the caravan type..... sortof want to go my own way... so I'd get good roadside assitance a cell phone, pack plenty of supplies and hit the road..... That is IF I had enough time off. Oh well, good things come to those who wait (or so they say....).


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## ORvagabond (Apr 17, 2009)

I think you would be fine going it alone. I think the thing to remember is that Alaska and Northern Canada are very rural overall and that means services. Depending on the mpg and the TV you would need to always be safe and define at least 100 miles between gas. One other critical point is that unless you have a 'world phone' or one capable with teh international sim card you will not have cell phone coverage from around 400 miles north of the US border until around Tok AK on the AlCan, about 1000-1300 miles. Campgrounds are reasonale, generally under $30 and fairly frequest. We paid for our Good Sam membership in one trip. Another interesting point is several do not take credit cards but will take checks. I would recommend getting a copy of the Alaska Milepost and start planning your trip. It not only has a fairly comprehensive list of services but alos sightseeing destinations. I think the Marine Hwy would be an excellent addition as one way is sufficient. Generally you will need to book the Marine Hwy as soon as they open in the fall for the next summer. This summer the cost for two people,a cabin, a Ford Expedition and a 28' trailer was $1900. Gas in Canada this summer was between $4.50 and $5.50 a gallon. If you plan to stay in AK lone during the summer having your own trailer really starts to recapture some of the gas costs as hotels can easily be $150 to $200 a night. You can PM for suggestions or more details.
Rick


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

ORvagabond said:


> .... One other critical point is that unless you have a 'world phone' or one capable with teh international sim card you will not have cell phone coverage from around 400 miles north of the US border until around Tok AK on the AlCan, about 1000-1300 miles....


Our Verizon Wireless phones have always worked in Canada. It's not cheap to use them, but they dial. Same goes for Mexico. I don't dare even turn them on in Europe for fear of what they would charge...









We don't normally have anything fancy either... traditionally, the DW has whatever phone was free and we've never had a problem... Now my current Smartphone needs to be left off or else it will hit the data network non-stop and our bill will begin to resemble the national debt.


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

Gas was mentioned. If we ever do it again i will get some 5 gal. cans. We used the mile post and a gps for reference for gas stations. On a trip to Valdez there was gas listed along the way, most were out of business. Others had no gas. I'm glad the road to Valdez was mostly down hill


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## BritsOnTour (Sep 15, 2006)

We are hoping to drive out to Alaska spring/summer of 2012, depending on a few things lining up between now and then....

A number of other Families on the Road have been up there and the highway book was definitely recommended. Another point mentioned was putting a coating on your windshield, apparently many are broken/chipped with stones along that route and changing them out is tough.

This is a great thread for advice, we'll be checking back in....and if you go, please report back on what you did, where you stayed and how everything was!

Thanks, Ali


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## dirtengineer (Jun 6, 2010)

I drove to Alaska with my wife in an old Toyota pickup with bald tires in March on the Cassiar when I was in my early 20's. Luck favors the foolish in my case. A few extra preparations like simple tools and parts are prudent. Extra gas is a good idea too - we opted to gas up at most opportunities. I haven't made the drive in many years, so I don't know about cell coverage. My guess is that it is spotty at best.


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## WACOUGAR (Dec 20, 2006)

My parents did an Alaska trip a couple of summers ago after my mom retired. It was also their dream trip. They did it "on their own" as they are not the tour type. They bought themselves the most recent edition of the Milepost, which was basically their bible for the trip. Before leaving, they had their basic route planned out. I don't believe they had any reservations set up before leaving. They would just drive for a certain distance each day, usually no more than about 4-5 hours to get to their next destination. Find the RV park that they had decided on from the Milepost and pull in. If this was an area that they planned to stay for several days, then they would, otherwise it was an overnighter on the way to the main destination. Their trip was approx. 3 months. They left near the end on May from Southern Oregon and were back in Washington at our house by Labor Day. Although they didn't have set plans, they had planned their trip in advance of the main places they had wanted to see such as Denali and the Kenai Peninsula and many others. That helped them keep on track. For them, it was a trip of a lifetime. It was quite expensive with gas, etc... but sooo worth it. They would love to do it again, but are unsure whether the opportunity will present itself. I know that my husband and I will do the same kind of trip when we retire. I know that we would not be able to go with a tour either, but that's just us. But first things first for your planning, get a copy of the Milepost and start dreaming.

Kelly


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## cwh (Jul 8, 2009)

I'm here in AK. You'll love it. My wife and I have 3 sons from ages of 10 to 3. We are both born and raised here in Alaska. I work Monday to Monday and have every other week off. We camp all week every week that I'm home from April to September. We have lots of favorite camping areas that we try to hit every summer. I'd do the trip to AK without a caravan or maybe a real small group. I prefer the state campgrounds and not the RV campgrounds. Get yourself a milepost. They seem to be accurate and are a lifesaver. We like to camp towards the Kenai peninsula during the first part of summer and head north toward Denali in the latter part of the summer. The bugs aren't as bad up north at the end of summer. We camped just north of Denali this fall (mid to late September) for some rabbit hunting and were surprised to see how Denali was all closed up for the year. We'd never been up that far that late in the season. If anybody has some specific questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Chris


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## joy-rick (Jan 27, 2008)

Back in July of 1988, Joy and I flew our newly acquired Cessna Cardinal (1974 C177B) up to Alaska from Detroit. We took nearly a month off from work to make the trip worthwhile. As I recall Milepost was virtually our bible for the trip. We had approximately 20 lbs of charts and reference books on board. In addition to that we carried approx. 75 lbs of survival gear. All of it was prescribed by the Canadian and Alaskan governments. Amazingly we were required by the state of Alaska, and it was highly recommended by the government of Canada, to carry a firearm aboard the aircraft. Now, I am not a hunter so I was puzzled as to what to carry. Canada wouldn't permit a hand gun. So I decided to carry a 16 gauge Remington automatic shotgun which I happened to own. The toughest thing to find was a gill net. It was required by Alaska, but it is outlawed in the lower 48. I never did find one and just went without. We also were required by Alaska to have food and water for each occupant for two weeks. Canada, as I recall, required 10,000 calories per occupant.

What a great trip! We followed the Alaskan Highway to Fairbanks. Then north beyond the Arctic Circle. An interesting side note is that my aircraft insurance company would not insure the aircraft beyond 67 degrees N latitude. The Arctic Circle is 66 degrees 33 minutes. We found an airport at 66 degreee 55 minutes (Bettles) and flew there. Then down to Denali and on to Anchorage. After that it was down into the Kenai to see Homer and Seward. I forgot to mention that on the way up to Alaska we diverted from Whitehorse across the Chilkoot Pass to Skagway.

One thing I should mention: the distances in Alaska are vast. It seems like everything is 200 or 300 miles away from everything else! So, don't underestimate the amount of time you will need.

Another interesting side note...that summer there were record breaking rains in the Canadian Rockies. On our way home we saw that the Alaskan Highway was washed out in several places. At one spot it looked, from the air, like approx. a quarter mile of the road was washed down the side of the mountain. We could see from our vantage point dozens and dozens and dozens of RVs, of all types, lined up on both sides of the washout, waiting for the road workers to build some sort of alternate. The tour bus companies had hired helicopters to ferry bus passengers from one side of the wash to the other where they had a waiting bus to continue their trip. So, the moral is, even in the wilderness of northern Canada, there can be traffic jams!

My only regrets are that we didn't have two months and that I didn't ignore the insurance prohibition and fly on up to the North Slope!

Well, time marches on. We sold the airplane two years ago, shortly after I turned 65. This was after 35 years of flying and 3 airplanes. That's when we bought our Outback. We are looking forward to making that Alaskan journey again after we retire, albeit this time on the surface instead of aloft.

I should also mention that we sold our Outback this fall and bought a 2007 Flagstaff 831BHSS. So, I guess Joy and I are now SOBs. Alas.

So go and have a GREAT trip! I guarantee that it will be the adventure of your lifetime!

Rick


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## AK or Bust (Nov 22, 2010)

RWRiley said:


> Retirement coming up in a couple of years, and we would really like to head to Alaska. I looked into some of the caravans, and they want about $7,000 !!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Even though I haven't made the trip through Canada to Alaska, I have to say to save the $7k and just head out. We spent three and a half weeks camping in Alaska with a rented Class "C" RV and only had one harrowing experience. But as they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Our harrowing experience involved a good size log cabin being illegally towed on a flatbed truck coupled with a very narrow bridge. If our RV had another coat of paint on it, then it would have been a head on collision. In retrospect, I should have hit the brakes and just stopped on that bridge when I saw the cabin coming at me. But instead I kept moving to the right as much as I could and once just barely winged the bridge cement. If the cabin would have hit us then our vacation would have been completely ruined and or we could have been seriously injured or killed. Other than that one minor incident, the vacation made such an impression on my wife and I that we've been obsessed with getting our own rig and returning as soon as we can.

Loved Seward, Quartz Lake in the Kenai, and Coopers Landing. At Quartz Lake the couple in the trailer next to us had their seaplane parked in the lake behind us and I got to go on a couple rides through some of the most beautiful remote areas. At Coopers Landing, we were sitting behind our RV on the river when we spotted a mother moose and 2 baby moose on the other side of the river. Then a Grizzly came out and the drama started. Mama shooed the little ones off into the woods and then dealt with the grizzly until the little ones were safe. After Mama Moose hightailed it out of there, the bear was stomping around on the beach looking very mad.

I posted a link to pictures we took on that incredible trip if anyone's interested.

http://www.asthmastory.com/alaskamenu.php


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## RWRiley (Oct 21, 2009)

Based on all the replies I'm feeling better about skipping the $7,000 caravan and just going.

Still a few years out, but maybe I will Post here to see if anyone is interested in forming an impromptu caravan when the time comes.

Rich


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## GO WEST (May 25, 2009)

Rich, put me on your list for a caravan. [email protected] 
Jonathan
Kerrville, Texas
Just do it!


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## akjason (Jan 2, 2011)

Evening,

I too am born/raised/living in Alaska.

CWH is absolutely right about skipping the caravan or sticking to a small group. There are so many different sights to see, and one thing to note that the Kenai Peninsula get's very busy when the salmon start coming in. Heading down towards Homer (220 Miles south of Anchorage) you can do fishing charters and has some beautiful scenery. Or you can head north from Anchorage and go towards Denali National Park (200 miles north puts you in Cantwell). The state run parks typically have more room, and have better maintained facilities, getting a mile post guide really helps with planning the trip. These are available at any Walmart. There's also a spot up north called Chena Hot springs that is pretty neat. They even have an Ice Museum up there. There are a lot of places to see and it all depends on what your looking to do.


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