RV ALASKA - North to Alaska - Finally!

Five years ago, in celebration of our 40^th wedding anniversary, Alan and I planned a trip to Alaska, just the two of us.  Our airline, car rental and hotel reservations for a week were in place, plus we had booked a sweet little balcony cabin on a cruise ship for a one-week trip down the Inside Passage.  Then, we had to cancel for business-related reasons.  SO disappointing!  COVID followed, and we ended up canceling an extended trip to the Oregon coast, too, leaving our travel calendar in even worse shape.  Here we are, five years later, with the 49th state back on the schedule and our 45th anniversary just ahead.

This expedition of just about five months will be the longest Alan and I have been away from home.  It will also be the longest time we’ve lived together in a space that’s approximately 250 square feet.  At home, our 2,000+ square feet and three acres of land provide numerous options for laying low.  We keep giving each other the side-eye, wondering whether or not both of us will make it out of this adventure alive.  You might want to check in with the kids - it wouldn’t surprise me if they have a pool going.  I’m not sure I want to know my odds.

Speaking of the kids, the last time we were together as a family in Alaska was 20 years ago this year when the kids were young.  Ryan was ten, Kyra was five, and we were referred to as “The Blue Family” by some of our fellow vacationers because of our matching parkas.  There are worse names to be called, and I’m pretty sure this moniker was assigned out of affection and familiarity.

The grandeur of Alaska was so awe-inspiring, so incredibly majestic that the state immediately earned a place in my heart forever.  I knew I’d be back, but I didn’t think that twenty years would pass before Alan and I returned to explore the state more fully on our own.  Having divested ourselves of the last of our business interests two years ago, and finding a summer that would accommodate an extended absence, we decided that we’d travel by RV cross-country, up through Canada and on to Alaska so that we could explore at our own pace, rather than having to work within the parameters of a tour schedule or schlep our luggage in and out of hotels for an entire summer.  Our friends and fellow Outdoors RV owners, Bernie and Carol, made the trip via RV last year, and have proven to be an invaluable resource.

In addition to taking full advantage of our friends' first-hand information, I’ve been reading a number of travel guides, watching videos online, populating a five-month calendar with camping reservations and developing a spreadsheet with travel time and distance between cities along our route.  Then there’s the list of camping reservations by date and my 19-page Trip Notes document.  I didn’t bother with my usual “average temperatures by city” spreadsheet; we knew we’d be packing everything from swimsuits to winter coats anyway.  With the exception of my travel guides, all the documents were relegated to a 3” binder.  Bernie, who makes reservations about as often as I don’t, found my planning project both amazing and amusing, and I’m pretty sure he was more amused than amazed.

I have to admit that it’s the Canadian portion of our trip that is throwing me for a loop.  Alan and I have been back and forth across the United States plenty of times, and to Alaska twice as a family.  We kinda sorta have time and distance down, and we have a number of favorite campgrounds throughout the country that feel like old friends at this point.  But this will be our first foray into Canada, and I’m a little bit on edge.  What didn’t help?  Realizing that the Parks Canada booking window for reservations opened up two months earlier than I thought it did.  That discovery nearly gave me a heart attack, and left me scrambling to get ready to make reservations for Banff and Jasper National Parks in less than a week – before we had even nailed down our timeframe for the trip.  It was a close call but, thanks to the extremely efficient and truly amazing Parks Canada reservation system (about which I cannot say enough good things), we did okay and will not be sleeping behind a bar by the dumpsters.

In actuality, Alan and I will only be spending roughly two months in Alaska, but we will be on the road for a total of five months.  First of all, it takes us a while to work our way west across the country and back again.  And there’s that jaunt back and forth through western Canada which represents another chunk of mileage.  When we were younger, we’d regularly put in ten to twelve-hour days without a second thought.  Even when traveling with the kids when they were young, we could easily pull off long, full days of driving because they were excellent little road trippers.  Now, although I can do 8 or 10-hour drive days, I don’t want to.  Our travel now tends to be a combination of longer and shorter drive days with a general transitioning to shorter.  Old habits are hard to break.

Also adding to the length of the trip are two stays of about ten days each at our family’s favorite lake that will bookend our travels, and various stops to visit friends scattered along our route.  Plus, since we knew we’d be back in the States by Labor Day, we were able to plan on attending the annual East Coast Rally of Outdoors RV owners.  Add a few days here and a few days there and, before you know it, you’re looking at a five-month trip.

As I promised in my previous post, I’ll be attempting to post from the road on this trip with, most likely, a slight time delay.  Let’s be realistic.  I know I’m never going to be disciplined enough to draft posts of regular length while on the go.  (I like a good night’s sleep way too much.)  So, Alan and I have been talking about creating a plug and play sort of format that will make it easier to quickly document this grand expedition.  Hope springs eternal that all will go well with this plan, but let’s keep our fingers crossed for good measure.

Usually, I publish new posts once every two weeks or so.  When we’ve traveled in the past, I’ve written posts ahead of time and scheduled them to publish on predetermined dates.  Since this is the first time I’ll be posting in relatively real time, I’m not sure just what to expect.  My intent is to post as often as I can but, honestly, that’s going to depend on internet access, our day’s activities and my need for sleep.  I do appreciate each and every one of you who follow this blog, but if I don’t get a good night’s sleep and regular meals, Alan will happily feed me to a grizzly bear.  If you’re interested in coming along on our journey to and through Alaska, my suggestion would be to sign up for email notification of new blog posts in the column at the right.  You’ll receive an email every time a new post is published, and I promise that I will not use your email address for any other purpose.  I will not be offended if you want to opt-out of future posts once the Alaska trip is concluded.  (Simply click on the “Unfollow” link to the right of “Reflections Around the Campfire” at the top of every email you’ll receive.)  I’m just trying to make it easier for you to tag along with us on our Alaska journey because – as always – we’re happy to have you along for the ride!