Alaska

[AmyJo]

Yes, I do like the idea of a trip tropic. I made the Florida to Alaska trip two summer's ago and would love to talk about some of the highlights. However I am posting this mainly to get my fingers wet. It has been ages since I've been on a bulletin board and wanted to try it out. Some of us Chinookers use Facebook but I am having difficulty getting comfortable with it. Thanks for giving us another alternative.

Amy Jo Smith, Gainesville, FL
1997 Concourse

[jvanwezenb]

I would be interested in reading anything from anyone who has made the trip to Alaska in their Chinook. Suggested routes, things to avoid, best campgrounds, etc. My wife and I have a daughter who has lived in Homer, Alaska for 6 years and we have flown to Anchorage and driven there and around somewhat but now have our Chinook and want to drive next summer. John and Pat

[AmyJo]

Our trip was mostly planned by a former Chinook owner. There were five of us Chinook owners who left together in mid-July. We went separate ways during the day but stayed in the same campgrounds at night. It was fun sharing our days adventures and animals seen at night. On the way up we took the ferry getting off and staying a night or two at each of the major towns. It was fun to walk around the towns when the cruise ships were not in port. We did visit Homer. Then we drove to Fairbanks and back down the AlCan. In total I was gone for nine weeks. There is more information than I want to relate on this BB but would be happy to email you with more details. One campground that stands out in my mind was the provincial park in Canada where we swam in a stream heated by hot springs. It was also the park where I met a bear returning from the outhouse. It was a fun encounter but a little scary at the time. By mid-September many of the campgrounds (and towns) were closing down for the season. However you go, and where ever you stay, it is bound to be a wonderful trip - and don't believe all the horror stories that folks like to tell about the AlCan.

[Blue~Go]

I wonder if you might consider changing the name of this sub-forum from "Completed trips" to something like "Travels and adventures" (or whatever). Reason I say that is it might be nice to have a place where people could talk/ask about upcoming trips, and/or "report in from the road" while traveling. Neither of these fit into "completed trips" though. And I find that if a forum has too many super-specific sub-forums, it tends to squash spontaneous conversation, or people just end up throwing everything into general chat because they give up on figuring it out.

I think the idea of a more all-encompassing trip sub-forum is a good one though (vs. just completed ones).

[Manitou]

opted to just dump directly into "trip talk" with the description of "Travels and adventures". I'll leave the sub forum of "In progress.." for now and see if it gets used.
It's a tough balance between organization or encouraging free thought/discussion. I'm more concerned with good content at the moment and less on where that content goes into. If something seems really out of place, I'll move it. If that happens a few times, future Manitou can deal with that! Or Blue can volunteer to be an moderator

[Blue~Go]

If something seems really out of place, I'll move it. If that happens a few times, future Manitou can deal with that! Or Blue can volunteer to be an moderator

Heh, so true!

Partially my bad, as I did not notice you had made more than one trip category. I agree with the idea of let's just get some content here and make sure people feel comfortable about posting. Search should bring up specific topics people are looking for. One thing I do appreciate, if possible, is subject titles that have subject info in them. Now there are not many threads, but when there are more, it's nice to have an idea. What I mean is the difference between the following two thread titles, the likes of which I regularly see (in various forums):

1) "Question about a problem with my rig"

vs.

2) "Dometic refrigerator shuts down for no apparent reason"

Not too much more effort to go with #2, and it tells everyone so much more! I'd wager it'd be more likely to "suck people in" (who can help ) than #1 as well.

Okay, back to Alaska - sorry for the interruption.

[pdemarest]

Hi all - I've decided at 68 that its time to live my childhood dream of going to Alaska by driving the Alaskan Highway. I'm looking at going the last week in August through the first week in September in order to avoid crowds and bugs. I know that some places (campgrounds, restaurants, hotels, gas stations) close down by mid September but based on the current issue of Milepost - the Alaskan travel bible - it appears that most are still open during that time. We will be traveling up through Seattle and then onto Prince George and then onto the Alaskan Highway to Fairbanks and then down to Anchorage. My wife will be flying back from Anchorage while I return in our Chinook via the Cassiar Highway. Our itinerary includes a float plane trip around Denali, Kenai Fjords boat tour and day trips to Seward and Homer. We will cheat and stay in motels on our way up to Prince George but after that we will be RV'ing until we reach Fairbanks. I've got some preliminary overnights planned for Watson Lake, Destruction Bay and Denali and may spend some nights near Anchorage in a motel as well (trying to stay married ). Any tips from those who have done this trip since the road got paved would be appreciated.

Paul

[chin_k]

We went there before the earthquake and before we got the rig. We camped there at the campground (Denali), and we took the bus tour to see the mountain. The bus ride was like 6 hours, and we enjoyed it very much. We tented there at the campground, and we would enjoy it more if we had a RV.

We ventured on the Matanuska Glacier, and it was fun. Need to have spiked shoes if you want to be safe, since you don't want to fall and break your hips. The mosquitoes were not around, but from some road signs, it looks like some can carry our rig up in the air with only 4 of its legs. The park ranger told us it can be so bad that you want to wear a mesh hat like the bee keepers, but we were there in late August, and I only use the bug spray on the first day. YMMV.

We got on a cruise ship after the camping to go to Vancouver. If I go there again, I will see if I can take the auto-ferry to the state capital, and do more hiking. We rented a car there, and they wanted $10 per day for glass insurance, but we end up did not have any windshield damage.

If you can't sleep in the twilight, you may want to bring an eye patch. It was daytime 20 hours a day there. I told my kids that this was the first time they go to bed before sun down.

[pdemarest]

Hey chin-k - thanks for the tip about Denali. I was on their website last night and am looking at the Savage River campground within the park boundaries. Only 33 spaces and no hookups but looks like a great spot along the river and with my "Codger Pass" its only $12 a night. Glad to hear the mosquitos were fading out towards the end of August but we will be bringing some mesh to wear over our heads just in case. I was raised in Louisiana so I'm very familiar with mosquito swarms that make you have to pull over and scrape off your windshield just to see where you're going.

Tell me more about the Denali bus trip. I've read some reviews that the buses seem to have no suspension at all and there were complaints about people being really sore after the journey. I'm not sure why they're not using traditional tour buses with a bathroom and air suspension but then its the government so you never know what caused them to do this in the first place. On the other hand if you get to see more wildlife and the scenery is good I can deal with the rough ride.

Thanks again.

[chin_k]

The bus is not comfortable, mainly because it is a long trip. Besides, they don't have room to put the bathroom and be able to go around the narrow road. On some sections, if you look down, you will realize if the bus is any longer, it won't be able to make the curve or past each others. There are stops along the way that passengers can get out and take a bathroom breaks. With the price they charge for the ride, I think they are doing very well in term of service.

We took the bus that only has the driver. There are more expensive buses that have an extra person that can do the spotting, and narration. I think we were lucky to have a driver that were knowledgeable, friendly, have eyes of an eagle, and very good in navigating curves and multi-tasking I wish people would tip the drivers, but only a few people did. For some driver, if there is no extra helper, they will just operate the bus as shuttle, but we were lucky that she spotted various wildlife along the way for us, tell us about the geology, and some history. This is above and beyond our expectation. You may want to look into the difference experience between the two different bus options, and see if you may want one with the extra person.

I think the highlight of the ride is the sighting of the Denali peak, the various wild animals, and a tour of the town at the end of the bus ride.