Alaska 2008

Trip Map

Trip Calender

 

 Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday
J
U
N
E
17
18
19
20
21
Home
to
Streetsboro, OH
(Cleveland)
Streetsboro, OH
to
DeForest, WI
(Madison)
DeForest, WI
to
Sioux Falls, SD
Sioux Falls, SD
to
Rapid City, SD
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Rapid City, SD
Rapid City, SD
to
Billings, MT
Billings, MT
to
Lethbridge, AB
Lethbridge, AB
to
Jasper, AB		 Jasper, AB Jasper, AB
to
Vanderhoof, BC 		Vanderhoof, BC
to
Prince Rupert, BC

J
U
L
Y
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
Prince Rupert, BC
to
Queen Charlotte
Island, BC 		Queen Charlotte
Island, BC		 Queen Charlotte
Island, BC 		Queen Charlotte
Island, BC
to
Prince Rupert, BC		 Prince Rupert, BC Prince Rupert, BC
to
Kitwanga, BC		 Kitwanga, BC
to
Dease Lake, BC
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Dease Lake, BC
to
Teslin, YT 		Teslin, YT
to
Haines Junction, YT 		Haines Junction, YT
to
Tok, AK 		Tok, AK
to
Healy, AK 		Healy, AK
(Denali National
Park) 		Healy, AK
(Denali National
Park) 		Healy, AK
to
Anchorage, AK
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Anchorage, AK Anchorage, AK
to
Homer, AK 		Homer, AK Homer, AK Homer, AK Flight to Katmai

Homer to
Kenai, AK 		Kenai, AK
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Kenai, AK Kenai, AK
to
Seward, AK
Seward, AK
to
Mendeltna Lodge,
AK		 Mendeltna Lodge,
AK
to
Valdez, AK 		Valdez, AK Valdez, AK
to
Tok, AK 		Tok, AK
to
Haines Junction, YT
A
U
G
U
S
T
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
Haines Junction, YT
to
Watson Lake, YT 		Watson Lake, YT
to
Ft Nelson, BC 		Ft Nelson, BC
to
Dawson Creek, BC 		Dawson Creek, BC
to
Edmonton, AB 		Edmonton, AB Edmonton, AB
to
Saskatoon, SK 		Saskatoon, SK
to
Portage La
Prairie, MB
3
4
5
6
7
8
Portage La
Prairie, MB
to
St Cloud, MN 		St Cloud, MN
to
Union, IL 		Union, IL
to
Middlebury, IN 		Middlebury, IN Middlebury, IN
to
Bellefonte, PA		 Bellefonte, PA
to
Home		  

Commentary

This trip to Alaska is not going to be a repeat of our 2005 trip. Due to the limited roads available for us to travel through northern British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska, we have to cover some of the same territory we been in previously. Time limitations and other factors did not permit us to visit some spots we wanted to see. This time, we are planning to visit some of the sights missed on our previous trip.

When we started planning this trip in October 2007, we decided that there were certain must see places and must do activities. Most of these places and activities were missed in 2005. The rest of the trip and timelines, were planned around the "must" list. Had we wanted to extend the trip by several more weeks, we would have added additional locations and activities to that list.

So we are off and hope to complete the above itinerary. Those of you who followed our 2007 trip to the Canadian Maritimes remember the problems we had at the start and end of the trip that caused us to make significant changes to our original trip plans. The problems were all equipment related and we completed a more thorough check of the trailer and its various systems. We also purchased a new tow vehicle that will enable us to better climb some of the mountains and get better fuel economy. One thing we had not planned on was the dramatic increase in fuel costs. Our new tow vehicle is diesel powered. When we did the math last year, it made a lot of sense to go with a diesel because it had better pulling power and would give us better mileage. In addition, diesel prices were well below gas prices last summer. As everyone knows, fuel prices are well above last summer's and diesel is now more costly that gasoline. Better fuel economy will offset some of the price differences, but not as much as we had hoped.

So come along with us on this journey. It should be a great one.