The Plan

Three years after buying our camper, we are headed off to complete our dream of a road trip to Alaska.

We plan on leaving May 15th and be on the road for a month.  We have been to Alaska before on quick trips to ski and sightsee in the Anchorage area (when FedEx used to let one of us fly on freighters for free).  This will be much longer, and we will see many more places.

The plan is to drive from home to Bellingham, Washington.  We hope to stop and visit our son Dan in Eugene, Oregon on the way (a slight detour).

We have reservations for the Alaska Ferry on May 18th.  That will be a 3-day journey.  We won't be able to have access to our camper (safety and ferry regulations), so we have an outside berth booked on the ferry.  We will get off the ferry in Juneau and spend 3-4 days exploring the area.  We hope to spend the time hiking, kayaking, and exploring by tour boat.

Our next (and last) stop on the ferry is the old gold mining town of Skagway.  Then, we will head into the interior, via Whitehorse Canada.

We will be in Fairbanks for a short time.  We plan on seeing the Chena Hot Springs, see the town and get provisions at Costco.   Then we will off for Denali.  We hope to get luck and see the mountain.  Other plans include camping in the national park, going on a bus Tundra tour.

Next stop is Anchorage for a few museums, a little shopping and perhaps a bike ride.

Then we will be off to the Kenai Peninsula.  On the agenda is bear watching, kayaking among the glaciers, camping in remote campground and a few hikes among many other activities.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

We begin the journey home with a ferry from Whittier to Valdez.  One exciting stop will be Wrangell Elias National Park.  Our plans are a bus trip to the old mining town of McCarthy and the Kennikott mine.  After that, we have the long drive home along the famous Alcan Highway.  There should be a few fun and interesting stops on the way.

I plan on posting pictures, videos and my comments along the way.  I would expect my postings (along with the cell service) to be somewhat intermittent.