Our 6 week Alaskan adventure,WOW

Thank you all for your kind comments. I am glad everyone enjoyed viewing as much as I did at posting,(and taking the trip).
Hope someone gets inspired from this trip and others. There is so much to see out there and what better way than in rigs like FWC/ATC.
Frank
 
allanb said:
Appreciate your great words and pictures Frank. Amazing variety of critters you saw in Denali.
That's it,! we're going to take the summer of '18, to drive up and back.
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Great. Lucky for you ,you are 1000 miles closer than we are but I still like making the trip.
Thanks for the kind words.
Frank
 
Just finished reading this and your blog.... incredible trip. One I hope to try next year. I learned a lot from the descriptions. How was the trip on the ferry going up? I have heard one can have a dog but they have to stay in the truck (!)...I imagine there are stops for them to walk and get to do their business.... seems it would be 'ruff".

Certainly a trip to last a lifetime. Planning is the key...or at least reduces the probability for unexpected events.

Thanks for sharing.
 
buckland said:
Just finished reading this and your blog.... incredible trip. One I hope to try next year. I learned a lot from the descriptions. How was the trip on the ferry going up? I have heard one can have a dog but they have to stay in the truck (!)...I imagine there are stops for them to walk and get to do their business.... seems it would be 'ruff".

Certainly a trip to last a lifetime. Planning is the key...or at least reduces the probability for unexpected events.

Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...
Thanks for viewing.
Dogs, yes they need to stay in the vehicle, but there is usually a car deck call every 6 hours,where you go down and take care of your animals. When the ferry gets to a port they are usually in for 2-4 hours so you can get off and get a better walk.Lots of people take dogs.

Planing really helps. Get a "Milepost",even a used one and use it to plan.
The ferry trip up was 5 nights,Bellingham/Whittier. Or you can take the Columbia ,Bellingham/Haines 3 nights. Then from Haines north into Canada to the Alcan at Haines Junction.

The ferry with 2 passengers/cabin/vehicle,Bellingham to Whittier was about $3800. We opted for a cabin with bath,but the Kennicott has "roomettes" for about $600 less. The Columbia Bellingham to Haines/Skagway is about $2000.
We find the ferry a nice way to go,yes it's more than the gas it would cost,but it saves time.

If you need more info PM me.
Frank
 
Just ordered the Milepost 2016. I will go through it and then I am sure to have some questions. I sincerely hope to save enough for the ferry. We would drive back on the AlCan to Montana The Mrs flies home and I bring home the camper. At least that is the start of the plan. Thanks
 
buckland said:
Just ordered the Milepost 2016. I will go through it and then I am sure to have some questions. I sincerely hope to save enough for the ferry. We would drive back on the AlCan to Montana The Mrs flies home and I bring home the camper. At least that is the start of the plan. Thanks
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Great start Rob. On our 09 trip,the first that we had a milepost,Sharon went through and tagged the different routes we would take.
Makes it a lot easier when you need to search.
Have fun planing.
Frank
 
Have been scouring the Milepost as well as the book "Alaska Highway - an insiders guide" old but a nice read. It seems pretty obvious as it is a LONG drive from here... We will ferry up from Bellingham to Whittier. Thereafter visit my nephews homestead on the mountain NE of Homer...think they call it the "plate"... After that is easy as he will have a ton of suggestions as well as from your and others trip-tics in Alaska. My major thoughts are for the way back down to Montana/Idaho. We have time...so the big question is:
(as we may not get a second chance at this) should we, when leaving AK
*go on the Klondike Highway or Rt 1 Alaska Highway
*.... if the AK 1... Should we go the Haine's loop to Whitehorse or cut that off?
*and regardless... when we get to Watson Lake area... should we go down route 37
* or stay on 1 to 97? .............both these end up in Prince George....
*At this point we will want to head probably to Jasper Alberta and from there south-ish
*eventually ...when I find the airport that will get the Mrs back east (our western Massachusetts-Vermont area is served by Bradley Airport in Connecticut!)

I guess that is the whole list of question/advise requests I have other than ..... how soon must one book the ferry for June to be sure to get a room (we would not need the top of the line but a closed door is nice)...
Again thanks for all and any advice.
I am a a long range planner...my Mrs is "on the fly" ... I guess it balances!
 
Good you are reading up on the trip.Planing sure helps and gives you at least an idea of places to visit or avoid.

1. Yes to the Klondike Hwy. you should get to there via the Top of the World through Dawson City.
Nice camp on the west side of the river then a "free" ferry across to Dawson.
From Dawson the route to White Horse has some nice spots to stay at ,small lakes.
2. The road from Haines Junction to Haines IMO one of the most scenic,but it means a lit of backtracking or a ferry ride from Haines to
Skagway,which is also a nice route back to Whitehorse.
then on to Watson Lake and down the Cassiar(37) then at it's end 450 miles east to Prince George.

On the ferry trip ,Bellingham/Whittier, It's 5 nights and if you don't want to sleep on deck or in the "backpackers" solarium, you should consider a cabin.
We opted for one with full facilities ,toilet/shower/sink. Only one issue that type are only 4 person,which isn't a problem it just costs a bit more.
Other sleeping arrangements are "roometts",2 choices there ,one with bunks other with fold out bed. Check on line with the ferry there is info about sleeping quarters there.
Please PM me or call if you still have my number and I can give you more info.
Have fun planning. We made our plans late Jan early Feb and there wasn't any problem getting what we wanted.
Frank
 
Great TR!
We are planning a family trip in '18 and will be leaving from VA so we will be driving some serious miles...
The ferry is on our itinerary as well and we'll be coming back through Dawson.

One question I have, in reading your blog it sounds like you stayed mostly at campgrounds and had reservations for many of those. Is it hard to find boondocking sites? I was under the impression it was fairly easy to find these places. Of course in Denali and other high traffic places I would assume that reservations are advisable.
Thanks.
 
smlobx said:
Great TR!
We are planning a family trip in '18 and will be leaving from VA so we will be driving some serious miles...
The ferry is on our itinerary as well and we'll be coming back through Dawson.

One question I have, in reading your blog it sounds like you stayed mostly at campgrounds and had reservations for many of those. Is it hard to find boondocking sites? I was under the impression it was fairly easy to find these places. Of course in Denali and other high traffic places I would assume that reservations are advisable.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Actually most of our camp sites were not reservation ones.
Some had to be like Denali of course or ones where we thought there might be high usage.
As it turned out we had no problem getting spots as we traveled. Even in Seward we got a great spot.
It does help to at least check/plan ahead so you don't get a surprise.
One place in particular was Juneau,the NF campground which we have stayed at many times since 1992 is now reservation only,
but you can make a same day one when you get to the site,by phone. This was the surprise, we had 3 nights in Juneau 2 at the NF Mendenhal Lake campground,no problem. But when we checked out the camp near the ferry for our last night found out about the reservation only. Made a quick call and had a spot.
Try the campground locator Camp Scout. I used it to get a lot of info ahead of time and it was very helpful.
Alaska has lots of camping places both state and national forest. Also cities like Seward/Homer/Whittier have city camping parks.
Although the one in Whittier leaves a lot to be desired,but there are 2 NF campgrounds just through the tunnel from town.
Frank
 
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