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North to Alaska By RV 2021
  • Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun
  • Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun

North to Alaska By RV 2021

With the US-Canada border closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to ship our RV and toad to Anchorage and fly ourselves there to embark on a 14-week trip ... including the travel time required to get us to/from Tacoma. Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 3, 2021
    North to Alaska By RV 2021
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    North to Alaska

    March 25, 2021 in the United States ☁️ 27 °F

    A last-minute decision for our summer RV trip ... but one that we are very happy to have made!

    In case you missed it in the title of this FindPenguins trip, we will be exploring Alaska with our RV.

    How is this even possible with the US-Canada border still closed? Details coming soon to a footprint near you 😉    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Tote's North Star — a Ro-Ro vessel — will be taking our RV & toad north to Alaska.
    Tote's North Star — a Ro-Ro vessel — will be taking our RV & toad north to Alaska.

    Cruiser & Toad A-Cruisin’

    March 25, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 45 °F

    Mui and I may not be able to cruise out of US ports yet, but our RV and toad [tow vehicle] sure can. And that’s what makes our plan to explore Alaska this summer with our Phoenix Cruiser possible.

    Here’s the backstory ...

    It was a chance comment about Tote Maritime in the “RVing to Alaska 2021” Facebook group that had us once again putting Alaska on our travel map for this year. Can’t drive the RV to Alaska? Ship it instead!

    I’d already checked the Alaska Marine Highway to ship ourselves and our vehicles to the 49th state. But the fare was cost-prohibitive. Would Tote — a shipping company that makes twice-weekly supply runs between Tacoma, Washington and Anchorage, Alaska — similarly be a budget-buster?

    The only way to find out was to shoot off a quote request. I did that yesterday afternoon. A couple of hours later, I had a quote. One that we could live with ... especially after Mui agreed to remove the hitch and spare tire to reduce our vehicle size to fit within the 21-30 foot pricing range. Of course, we’ll need those “accoutrements” for the road trip in Alaska, so we’ll just put them inside the trunk of the toad for the cruise and re-install them in Anchorage.

    So, now we have a plan. I’ll share the details in another footprint.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    There will be some reservations between these dates, but we'll mostly be footloose and fancy-free.
    There will be some reservations between these dates, but we'll mostly be footloose and fancy-free.

    The Plan!

    March 25, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 46 °F

    This is going to be a fluid trip. Meaning that we’ll have a “framework” bounded by a start date and an end date. Reservations where necessary ... but mostly footloose and fancy-free. The idea is to be fluid enough to jiggle things as weather and other considerations warrant.

    So, here’s the “barebones plan” calendar as things stand right now. Everything between these dates ... well, all that will be fleshed out during the planning process.

    (You can click the calendar for the details.)    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Before & After

    March 26, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 36 °F

    Before and after what? Let me 'splain.

    Since Tote Maritime does not take passengers, our RV and toad will be cruising to and from Alaska without us. How long will that take? About five days ... give or take a day ... what with loading, unloading, the transit between the Lower 48 and the 49th state, and whatnot.

    We'll be flying to and from Alaska. That will take us just a couple of hours each way.

    What that means is that we will have time to kill before the vehicles arrive in Alaska and again after we ship them back to Washington State at the end of our road trip.

    What to do with that waiting time?

    Well, we decided to head up to Alaska on the outbound trip in May ... spend a few days in Anchorage ... revisit some old haunts.

    Then, when we reverse course in July, we'll spend time in Washington ... where is TBD ... probably somewhere we didn't get a chance to visit when we lived in Tacoma in the 1980s.

    Let the details unfold as the planning progresses.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Before & After Logistics Part I ✅

    March 26, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 45 °F

    With the "where to spend the waiting time before we are reunited with the RV and toad" question answered, it was time to book flights.

    I had some spare miles languishing in my Delta SkyMiles account ... returned to me due to a pandemic-related trip cancelation earlier this year. So, I used those miles to book roundtrip SEA-ANC-SEA flights ... 19,500 miles each + a few dollars in taxes and fees ... not bad for the Comfort+ cabin. Our seats are already selected.

    Our northbound flight departs around 7:30a and will require an o'dark hundred arrival at the airport. Southbound, we have a decent departure time from Anchorage, but we have a late arrival at SeaTac — around 9:30p — due to losing an hour for a time zone change. So, I booked us into the Crowne Plaza near SeaTac at either end of the trip.

    With these logistics details taken care of, it's time to find accommodations for our "waiting time." But that's for another day.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Before & After Logistics Part II ✅

    March 26, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 45 °F

    With the decision made to spend our time waiting for the vehicles northbound in Alaska and southbound in Washington State, today we focused on finding accommodations for those days.

    If we're going to be in one place for just a day or two, we're OK staying in a hotel. For stays of longer duration, however, our preference is to book a place through AirB&B or VRBO ... or similar. Having our own place is a lot more comfortable and brings with it the advantage of self-catering at least some of our meals.

    For our week-long stay in Anchorage, we booked a property listed as "Charming Historic Cottage." It's located downtown ... walking distance to restaurants and such. Looks cute as a button in the photos.

    Before we could book a place in Washington, however, we had to first decide where to base ourselves for about a week. We settled on Leavenworth.

    No, I don't mean the US penitentiary in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Rather, we'll be heading to the Bavarian-styled village in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. Though we lived in Tacoma for a little over a year when we moved to the US in 1982, we never made it up that way. We're looking forward to exploring a new-to-us area.

    AirB&B came through for us once again ... this time with a property listed as "Lily House." The place is in a quiet residential neighborhood in Leavenworth. It may not be within walking distance to restaurants, shops, and such … but that’s OK since it means that we will be away from the hubbub of a busy tourist town.

    We've also booked rental cars to get ourselves around in both Anchorage and Leavenworth. That pretty much takes care of the logistics for "before & after."    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    COS-to-TAC Routing ✅

    March 28, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 54 °F

    We're planning a "fluid road trip." But that doesn't mean that we don't have some parameters to consider ... namely calendar deadlines.

    Leaving home on 3 May ... delivering the RV and toad to Tote Maritime on 11 May. These are the dates that bookend our drive from Colorado Springs to Tacoma. That gives us 9 days to make the ~1,500-mile drive. Technically, we can make it to Tacoma in considerably fewer days.

    At present, we're planning on six easy-driving days on the road and three days at the travel camp at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Olympia, Washington. The three days @ JBLM are essentially a buffer in the event we run into weather or other issues along the way.

    The map posted with this footprint is from RV Trip Wizard, the app I use to plan our road trips. I've added some potential overnight stops — boondocking spots and a couple of campgrounds — to our route. But nothing is carved in stone. We'll drive more miles — or less — each day depending on our mood and any unforeseen circumstances.

    When I added the auto-generated return to Colorado Springs to the map, it created a loop for us (top of the map). That's another area we have not explored before, so we just might add a bit of sightseeing on the way back home.

    Now, to get down to the nitty gritty of planning the "big trip" in Alaska. It will be a fluid framework, but planner that I am, I can't entirely go with the flow 😄    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    With so few roads in Alaska, we'll be focusing our roadtrip on the highlighted area.
    With so few roads in Alaska, we'll be focusing our roadtrip on the highlighted area.

    North First? Or South?

    March 30, 2021 in the United States ☁️ 32 °F

    We'll begin our 10-week Alaska road trip by leaving Anchorage on 19 May. Easy decision ... that's when we have to check out of the "Charming Cottage" we booked in the city while we wait for the RV & toad to catch up to us.

    The question then was which direction to go first. North or south?

    Our instinct was to go south and then make our way north. After a brief discussion, however, we reversed course. Why? We spent time in Seward in 2010, so we figure it will be a good place this time to relax for a bit at the end of our roadtrip.

    The plan now is to head north from Anchorage ... perhaps jiggle west a bit to catch some of the central roads on our way to Denali National Park. From Denali, we'll head as far north as we can before beginning the southbound trek.

    When I say we'll drive as far north as we can, we're excluding the Dalton Highway from that consideration. We traveled the Haul Road all the way to the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and the Arctic Ocean in 2001 ... a two-day trip with one overnight in Coldfoot and another one in Deadhorse .... with someone else doing the driving. We don't intend to punish our vehicles by doing the drive ourselves.

    Is this plan carved in stone? Sort of. Not really. We have a few reservations made to cover us during the two federal holidays that fall within our road trip ... Memorial Day and the 4th of July. But we can change those reservations if, for some reason, we decide to really jiggle our plans.

    Now that we have the barebones of our trip in place, it's time to get serious about researching what we want to see and do. Methinks there is a lot of reading in my immediate future.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Changes are afoot!
    Changes are afoot!

    A Change ... Not of Our Doing

    April 4, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 72 °F

    The culprit behind the change to our trip is not us. Rather, it is Delta Airlines.

    I got an email today advising us that our outbound flight has changed. New flight number. New departure time from SEA. It is still a non-stop flight, however. And we still have Comfort+ seats ... although we're now in aisle and window seats with the middle seat showing blocked. The pop-up message says that the middle seat is not available for selection ... with the caveat that it might be filled by the time the flight departs. 🤞🏻 it does, in fact, remain unoccupied.

    The change means that we'll lose some time in Anchorage on our first day. But it also means that we'll get to sleep in a bit before heading to SEA for our flight to ANC. As well, we won't have to figure out what to do to kill time in Anchorage before the 4:00p check-in at the cottage.

    Bottomline ... all's good!    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Essential vehicle maintenance is part of the prep for getting the vehicles road-ready.
    Essential vehicle maintenance is part of the prep for getting the vehicles road-ready.

    And the Prep Continues

    April 10, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 57 °F

    In the week or so since I last wrote, the prep work for our AK road trip has been ongoing. We've been busy bees ... though in different ways.

    My time has been spent reading — the Milepost, blogs, and more — and taking copious notes on this and that ... things that might be of interest to us. My Todoist app has a whole slew of things to look into or do ... and the list is growing in leaps and bounds.

    We've jiggled a few plans ... added a short side trip that will put us on the Alaska Marine Ferry ... looked into a few off-the-beaten-path destinations. I'll leave the details as a surprise. The overall plan is still essentially barebones to keep us as fluid as possible.

    Mui has been giving the RV and toad the once-over. He's changed the battery and air filter on both vehicles and ordered a few things he'd like to have handy for on-the-road handyman work. He also did a bit of spring cleaning to get rid of the winter grime.

    We've removed from both vehicles things we don't want to take with us on this trip ... to make room for things that we do want to take with us. Some of the necessities have been reloaded into the RV. The de-winterizing, however, won't happen until a few days before our scheduled departure. We do live in Colorado after all and hard freezes are still a very real possibility.

    And thus ... the "preparation beat" goes on!    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Ottoman history diorama as a backdrop for this photo op ... Deniz is the one with the camera.
    Ottoman history diorama as a backdrop for this photo op ... Deniz is the one with the camera.

    We Have Company

    April 13, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 37 °F

    More accurately ... we will have company.

    Since we have an extra room at the Charming Cottage in Anchorage, we invited my brother to join us for a few days before we head off on our road trip.

    This will be Deniz's first time in Alaska. He's not too keen on "cold weather" destinations, but hopefully, the state's notoriously fickle weather will cooperate. And maybe he'll fall in love with the state ... just as we did when we visited Alaska for the first time in 2001.

    We're looking forward to showing him some of the sights on the outskirts of the big city ... revisit some old haunts ... check out some places that might be new to us as well.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Reminiscing: AK 2001

    April 14, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 43 °F

    Our upcoming trip to Alaska will be our fourth time in the 49th state ... but our first time doing a road trip in our RV.

    As we’re working on our trip plans, we’re also taking time out to reminisce about our various trips to Alaska. In this footprint, I’m going to go back to 2001 ... our first trip to Alaska ... the one during which we fell in love with the state that some refer to as the “Last Frontier.”

    It was 6 June when we flew up to Anchorage for a cruise tour ... plus a couple of days on our own based out of the state’s most populous city ... all told, 17 days.

    Why a cruise tour? Because we wanted to go all the way up the state to the Arctic shore and Mui did not want to drive. No sirree. He wanted to be able to focus on the beauty that we expected would surround us in every direction.

    We weren’t disappointed. Not only was there spectacular landscape all around us, but we lucked out with spectacular weather as well. It’s been 20 years, and my memory could be faulty, but the only rain I recall was the one that soaked us to the skin as we wandered along the Married Man’s Trail in Ketchikan.

    ON OUR OWN ...

    During the three days we had in Anchorage, we spent very little time in the city, focusing instead on day trips that took us into nearby environs.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Driving down Turnagain Arm and going through the tunnel to Whittier for a glacier tour; making friends with Hugo, an orphaned grizzly bear cub, and other critters at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center; watching black bears in the wild ... tumbling down snow-covered slopes; spying a pair of moose feeding in Potter Marsh; visiting ice-age mammals at the Musk Ox Farm; being charmed by the haunting Spirit Houses in Eklutna; flightseeing over the Kenai Peninsula and the Harding Ice Field aboard a historic plane ... a DC-3.

    Not that we didn’t make fond and everlasting memories galore in Anchorage, too. Dining on fresh halibut and Copper River salmon; viewing documentary movies at the AK Public Lands Information Center to get a visual-taste of what Alaska has to offer; watching float planes landing and taking off at Lake Hood; strolling to Resolution Park at midnight ... in search of a sunset that just wasn’t going to happen this close to the Solstice; saying good morning to people we met on the streets because it was so bright and light at 11:00p; experiencing — virtually — the dancing lights of the Aurora through a slide presentation set to hauntingly beautiful music.

    BY TRAIN ... BY BUS ... BY PLANE ...

    Once we joined the land portion of our Princess cruise tour, we headed north and kept going. First, we were transported to Denali National Park on the Midnight Sun Train.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Chopper-seeing and landing on Yanert Glacier; visiting the kennels of Jeff King, an Iditarod champion; taking a brief drive into Denali National Park and seeing moose on the run, grizzly bears laying about, and Dall sheep scampering in the hills; Denali — then Mt McKinley — throwing off its usual cloak of clouds to share its wondrous beauty with us for an entire day.

    From Denali, we continued by train onto Fairbanks where we had a chance to learn about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, pan for gold and do a boat trip ... on the Riverboat Discovery. All very touristy ... but fun, too.

    Next ... a two-day bus ride up the only road reaching into the far north ... the Haul Road ... aka the Dalton Highway. What could have been a boring drive turned out to be a wonderful experience … with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline a constant companion. Even with the blow-out that shredded one of the tires of the bus, it was an amazing drive. (Luckily, the tire was on a tag axle that could be raised up so we could continue on our way.)

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Spotting wildlife ... lynx (three of them right next to the road), grizzly bear sow with her cubs, musk oxen, caribou, golden eagle perched on the pipeline ... and more; having picnic lunches in out-of-the-way spots known only to our driver ... where we put our cans of soft drinks in the icy meltwater coming off a glacier; overnighting at an ATCO-unit “motel” in Coldfoot, the northernmost truck stop in the world, and having an amazing salmon dinner with truckers hauling provisions; overnighting at the oilfield camp in Deadhorse. Got to love those names!

    After a tour of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields — with a chance to dip our fingers and toes in the Arctic Ocean — we flew back to Anchorage on an Alaska Airlines plane.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Checking in for our flight while standing on the frozen tundra at the oilfield camp in Deadhorse and watching our luggage being piled into the bucket of a front-end loader for the transfer to the airport; take-off being delayed due to a bear on the tarmac; the pilot flying a wide circle around Mt McKinley ... not once but twice, because the great mountain was once again out in its full glory.

    SEWARD TO VANCOUVER BY SEA ...

    And then it was time for our cruise ... but to get to the Dawn Princess, which was awaiting us in Seward, first we had to take a ride on the train.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Beautiful views along Turnagain Arm ... eagles on the mud flats; a black bear by the train tracks ... for which the train stopped so everyone could take photos; jaw-dropping mountain scenery once the train deviated from the route along Turnagain Arm; Spencer Glacier glistening under the sun a mere 1.2 km from the train tracks; the train pulling right up alongside Dawn Princess in Seward.

    Tearing up to the strains of Andrea Bocelli’s “It’s Time to Say Goodbye” as Dawn Princess set sail from Seward, we knew we had each left a bit of our heart in Alaska.

    Our cruise was an amazing experience in and of itself ... our first real cruise ... all the more exciting.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Having breakfast on our veranda as Bryn Mawr, Harvard, Wellesley, Vassar, Yale — glaciers named for colleges — slid by the ship in aptly named College Fjord; standing in awe of Margerie Glacier from a secluded spot on the ship ... munching on croissants and sipping hot tea; seals rafting by on ice floes; eagles flying overhead; whales fin slapping in greeting; listening to the snap-crackle-and-pop of the ice riddling the channels of Glacier Bay. We were, at that moment, truly bitten by the “ice virus” that would eventually lead to many a polar adventure.

    More adventures awaited us in Southeast Alaska ... Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. A streetcar tour; a train trip into the state’s gold stampede history on the Yukon & Whitehorse Railway; a cruise through Lynn Canal. A whale watching tour that brought us into close proximity with the gentle giants of the oceans; quiet time meditating in front of Mendenhall Glacier. Eagles and salmon runs; totem poles of yesteryear; rain, rain, and more rain on the Married Man’s Trail to the once-infamous Creek Street; boat ride into the swirling mists of Misty Fjord; orcas playing all around the boat; taking a floatplane back to Dawn Princess awaiting us in port.

    Simply put ... just amazing. The whole trip was spectacular. We loved it all. This was no longer a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We would have to return to explore more of Alaska.

    Who knew then that it would take us nine years to do so. But that story is for another time ... another footprint.

    (Yes, we have both photos and videos from this adventure. But this trip being our first foray into the world of digital photography and videography, we have nothing uploaded that is shareable.)    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    An inexpensive homemade cover to protect the toad from road debris when it is being towed.
    An inexpensive homemade cover to protect the toad from road debris when it is being towed.

    A Tarp for the Toad

    April 15, 2021 in the United States ☁️ 39 °F

    Some of the roads we anticipate traveling in Alaska are bound to be rough on our vehicles. Gravel ... dirt, both packed and loose ... stretches of frost heaves and potholes. The toad will be especially vulnerable when it is being towed as it can’t distance itself from any debris the Cruiser might throw up behind it.

    So, we stole an idea from blogger friends Mona Liza and Steve ... a tarp to cover the hood and windshield of the CR-V. For a bit of extra protection for the windshield, we sandwiched bits and pieces of felt we had lying around the house between two tarps. A couple of bungee cords make the installation easy peasy.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Watch out bugs and gravel and dirt chips ... we've got a "bugflector" now!
    Watch out bugs and gravel and dirt chips ... we've got a "bugflector" now!

    Bugflector ✅

    April 16, 2021 in the United States ☁️ 32 °F

    We’ve talked about adding a deflector to the RV’s hood for a while now. Our upcoming trip to Alaska seemed like a good time to stop procrastinating and just do it.

    So, Mui ordered a “Bugflector.” After all, we are going to a state where the mosquito is jokingly referred to as the “Alaska State Bird.” There will be other flying bugs, too. Not to mention gravel chips and other debris, which the device claims to help deflect as well.

    Mui installed the device a few days ago … easy peasy … no drilling involved, just a couple of self-tapping screws ... perfect fit. Reviews of the product are good. I guess we’ll get to see how well it works for ourselves once we get on the road.

    By the way, Mui also picked up a chip repair kit. He used it today to repair a rock chip in the windshield of the toad … so far so good. Hopefully, we won’t need to use it on the road. But at least we’ll have it if we need it.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    3Nice and neat and organized ... with labels, too!
    3Nice and neat and organized ... with labels, too!From This ... to this! Everything has a place ... and everything (well most) is in its place.

    Road Trip Prep Work Continues

    April 18, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 46 °F

    Though the subdivision where we live doesn’t allow us to permanently park the Cruiser at our place, we’re quite lucky to have it stored just a five-minute drive from the house. It certainly makes it easy to bring the RV home as often as we need to.

    When we winterized the RV late last fall, we took pretty much everything out of the Cruiser. What little was in the rig has since been weeded down. So, it was time now to re-provision for our road trip.

    While I continued to work on jiggling our route through Alaska, Mui went to work putting things back where they belong in the cupboards and cabinets ... rearranging some stuff as he went. I consulted as necessary 🤪, but left him to his own devices when it came to his “tool drawers.”

    We’re far from done with our prep work, but we made considerable headway in getting there today. Now to figure out clothes, food items, electronics, reading material, etc, etc, etc. Oh, and there is that pesky de-winterization that we still need to do.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Reminiscing: Alaska 2010

    April 19, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 52 °F

    As fantastic as our first trip to Alaska (2001) was, our second time up to the 49th state was even more so. What an amazing and wonderful time we had.

    This trip — which spanned just over two weeks in August — was a two-parter … each part different from the other. The first part took us to places brand new to us. The second part was a mix of places familiar to us … and some that weren’t. The first part had us romping in a natural setting. The second part had us visiting towns and cities … with plenty of nature thrown in for good measure.

    The trip did not get off to a good start. Mechanical issues with the aircraft not only caused a schedule and route change, but also had us rushing to find our way to a different airport ... in a neighboring state. In the end, not only did we make it where we needed to go, but also, unbeknownst to us, our delayed luggage joined us on the flight to our final destination. All’s well that ends well.

    THE BROWN BEARS OF KATMAI …

    We’re bear aficionados. Well, actually we’re wildlife aficionados, but this trip was all about brown bears.

    There are many ways to go bear watching. We chose to do so by boat … moving from one place to another … taking a skiff to get ashore. It was a week-long trip from Kodiak … one that ended up being a private charter because no one else wanted to book for a week. An unexpected bonus that we greatly appreciated.

    Despite non-stop soaking rain for two days, we had a great time in Kodiak … driving from one end of the island to the other; exploring enchanting woodlands where the trees were draped in lacy green moss.

    What followed after we left Kodiak on the Single Star — pitching and rolling our way across the Shelikof Strait — well, that was what made the trip beyond awesome.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore on the crossing. Kittiwakes and gulls nesting in cliffs with their fluffy chicks carefully balancing to stay in the nests; humpback whales feeding, breaching, and fin slapping; orcas playing near the boat, blowing puffs of air that sunbeams turned into mini rainbows; otters rafting by with young ones nestled on their tummies; mists swirling along the coastline; quiet coves giving the impression that we were the only ones in the whole wide world.

    Once the Shelikof Strait was in the rearview mirror, we hop-scotched from Geographic Harbor to Kukak Bay to Hallo Bay … staying a night here, two nights there … as the mood struck us and the tides allowed. What was especially nice was having these places to ourselves (most of the time) … just the two of us and our guide, Eberhard … Captain Lee and chief bottle-washer-and cook Lindsay joining us ashore occasionally. When there were other groups (seldom did this happen), they were quite distant from us … often out of view.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore … one of them a sad reminder of the circle of life. Sitting quietly with countless numbers of bears lunging across the water as they fished for salmon; hearts thundering in our chest when bears walked by just feet from us … paying us no mind whatsoever; watching mama bears teaching their cubs how to fish and fend for themselves; studying bears resting quietly on sandbars; laughing at gulls following bears in hopes of getting leftover scraps; measuring our own hand- and footprints against those left behind by bears; being amazed when sows led their cubs to us as though to introduce them to the humans who sometimes show up to watch them go about their business.

    One everlasting memory … far from fond. Witnessing a sow killing the cub of another sow … in front of our very own eyes. It was a shocking moment — all the more so because, as we later learned, it’s unusual for sows to kill cubs. But this mama bear was desperate … it had three cubs to feed … and the cub of another sow was easy hunting, though mama put up a good fight. Circle of life. (I won’t reminisce more about this event … if interested, you can read the full story here: http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2010/08/view-to-k….)

    The trip wasn’t all about bears. We allowed ourselves to be distracted by green clad mountains alternately brilliantly lit by the sun and hidden by eerie mists; eagles stealing salmon from gulls who stole their booty from bears; breathtakingly beautiful sunrises reflecting on calm waters; lenticular clouds forming in blue skies; fast-flowing creeks that were no barrier to us … ever grateful for our waders; meditation-inducing peaceful, driftwood-ridden beaches.

    Eventually the time came to cross the Shelikof back to Kodiak. Sad that our time with the bears had come to an end … thrilled by all that we had experienced. Looking forward to the next part of our trip. A mix of emotions.

    SEWARD TO ANCHORAGE …

    Flying back to mainland Alaska from Kodiak, we picked up a rental car and headed to Seward for a three-night stay that was filled with all kinds of fun stuff.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Wandering around town in search of beautifully executed colorful murals; walking along the waterfront, thinking that perhaps someday we too would camp in the RV park; eating the best halibut fish and chips at a shack-like restaurant on the waterfront; picnicking with provisions from a nearby supermarket; hiking to stand just a few feet from the blue river of ice known as Exit Glacier; spending hours with the critters at the Alaska Sealife Center … puffins are so ridiculously cute in a very clownish way; taking a boat trip out to the Kenai Fjords National Park where Aialik Glacier performed by calving over and over and over again.

    Then it was time to move on north to Anchorage for a few nights. But of course, we had to stop and play along Turnagain Arm during our drive.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Hiking to a snowfield at the base of Byron Glacier … hopping over streams to play in the dimpled snow … surrounded by spectacular scenery; watching a moose cross Portage Creek … “I own this area,” his demeanor said; reacquainting ourselves with the not-so-wild critters at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

    In Anchorage, we relaxed a bit; saw the sights a bit; dined at some of our favorite haunts; stayed in a hotel downtown, our fingers crossed that we would not be visited by the ghosts that are rumored to haunt the place.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore. Wandering around the ruins of Independence Mine, peeking into windows and picnicking at a table nearby; revisiting the musk ox farm to see the cute calves and add to our collection of qiviut pieces; wandering amidst the colorful spirit houses of Eklutna; exploring the Alaska Native Heritage Center … culture and photo ops … and beautifully carved totem poles.

    And then it was time to leave Alaska behind once again. Our departure by airplane not nearly as moving as our departure was in 2001 when we sailed out of Seward to the hauntingly beautiful melody and words of “It’s Time to Say Goodbye.” Yet again, we left a few more pieces of our heart behind.

    By the time we deplaned in Virginia, we knew we would have to return someday to explore more of Alaska.

    Who knew then that it would take us eight years to do so.

    (Though, more than 20 years after the fact, I have yet to process my photos from this trip, I wrote about it extensively ... with lots, and lots of photos. Link: http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2010/08/two-to-tr….)    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Planning Central ... even for a "fluid" trip there has to be some logistics worked out.
    Planning Central ... even for a "fluid" trip there has to be some logistics worked out.This spreadsheet will help to jiggle our plans ... purple means reservations have been made.We sure are seeing just a tiny bit of Alaska. Placeholders in RVTW let us "see" our road trip.

    Jiggly Barebones Plan

    April 21, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 34 °F

    We’ve done “fluid” travel planning before … figuring out what is of interest … waiting to put dates to activities until later. But never to this extent. I can see how being flexible on this road trip is important, though. So, although my fingers are itching to make more reservations, I am holding back on doing so.

    I can’t really put a checkmark by our route planning, but at least a basic plan is now “in the can” ... so to speak.

    Since I don’t have a project planning app that will automatically move dates around and track our loosey-goosey plans, I started out by entering the dates of our trip into Numbers — Apple’s answer to Windows Excel. Then I added our few reservations. “Let’s go here” ideas filled the gaps between the reservations. Notes went into another column. This turned out to be a great idea as I can move entire rows around to come up with different iterations of our route and a quick formula copy and paste re-organizes the dates.

    Next step ... using the Numbers list, I put “placeholders” in the RV Trip Wizard (RVTW) web-based tool to get a better “visual” of what our road trip might look like. It’s easy to jiggle the placeholders ... add time here, take time away from there, eliminate stops entirely, add new stops, replace place holders with actual campgrounds (later).

    I’ve got three iterations of our plan so far ... all look pretty much like the one pictured in this footprint ... and all allow for jiggles here and there depending on weather, road conditions, etc.

    The problem with RVTW is that it requires internet for it to work. The good news? I can upload the whole trip into my RV Life app ... the premium features are included in my RVTW subscription. I can then use it for navigation offline. And because the maps are downloaded to my device, I can even make changes. That’s a good thing on this “fluid” trip.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Ooey Gooey S'Mores

    April 22, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 55 °F

    Camping ... campfires ... s'mores. They seem to all go together.

    Would you believe that we've never made s'mores ... or eaten them, for that matter? We didn't grow up with s'mores. And we don't build campfires because our allergies act up.

    But, we think we're going to make an exception on our Alaska road trip. I mean, I can visualize us sitting around a campfire at the campground in Denali National Park — making sure the smoke is blowing away from us — roasting marshmallows, and building ourselves some tasty treats.

    So, Mui ordered a set of s'mores sticks from Amazon — the kind that telescope — and picked up all the ingredients.

    Today, we did a test run to practice making s'mores. And, of course, we ate them afterward. Yummmmm!    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Reminiscing: Alaska 2018

    April 23, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 52 °F

    Our third time up to Alaska came about by happenstance … we had some “play money” from Celebrity Cruises and we were going to be in the Seattle area, the jumping off point for at least some Alaska cruises.

    This trip just took us through the Inside Passage to Alaska’s Panhandle … on Celebrity Solstice … roundtrip out of Seattle … and only one week length. Too short really for our travel-taste, but since we were using a future cruise credit issued by the cruise line for inconveniences we had experienced on a previous cruise, we weren’t about to complain too much.

    Despite the shortness of the cruise, we had a wonderful time. I mean, we were visiting Alaska. How could we not enjoy ourselves?

    And the weather cooperated beautifully. Sure it was cool … still, not bad for June. Sure we had to layer-up for fickle weather. But we had a lot of blue skies and sunshine ... and no appreciable rain along the way … not even in Ketchikan, which often gets 140-160 inches of “liquid sunshine” annually … and where we got soaked to the skin in 2001.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore in Ketchikan. Majestic bald eagles flying and resting in large numbers near the cannery; hiking in Tongass Forest … with the entire path to ourselves as we explored the enchanting land that presented us with every shade of green; taking advantage of photo ops with the totems at Fox Lodge before eating a meal of most-tasty halibut fish & chips.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore in Juneau. Cruising up Endicott Arm on Solstice … with Dawes Glacier slowly appearing out of the mist; boarding a small boat from the ship’s gangway to get closer to the amazing blue snout of the river of ice … close enough to hear the snap, crackle, and pop of the pressure release; sighting eagles, whales, and a mama seal with her newborn on an ice floe; checking out Tahku breaching … OK, yeah, that’s a fountain; wrapping up another delicious halibut fish and chips dinner with an unusual spruce-tip ice cream … a local specialty.

    We made fond and everlasting memories galore in Skagway … though we didn’t actually stay in town, but went for a drive up into Canada’s Yukon Territory. Enjoying amazing scenery along the Klondike Highway … stopping and going because not stopping simply was not an option … the overlook at Bove Island an especially favorite one; viewing the breathtaking colors of Emerald Lake … such dramatic beauty; being surprised by the sand dunes at the Carcross Desert ... who knew there was a desert there!

    This cruise also took us to Victoria, BC, Canada. It was merely a service call … no time to explore too far afield due to our late arrival. We missed wandering around the Inner Harbor … a favorite place of ours. But we had something better to do … meet up with friends who hosted us for dinner at their home. Definitely more fond and everlasting memories.

    Though our final port of call was in Canada, as Solstice turned its bow to Seattle, I couldn’t help but think of the words of a poet laureate of Alaska. I paraphrase, “Once you’ve been this far north, you never leave it completely.

    So true. Once again, we had left bits of our heart in Alaska. We knew we would have to return someday to explore more of the 49th state.

    Who knew then that it would take us only three years to do so this time. And that we would get to realize our dream of RV’ing around the state. Fingers crossed, in a couple of weeks we’ll be doing exactly that.

    (I wrote a summary of this cruise ... with a number of photos. Link: http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2018/06/tracy-arm….)    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Galvanized mesh, zip ties, a couple of plastic bumpers ... cheap protection for the headlights.
    Galvanized mesh, zip ties, a couple of plastic bumpers ... cheap protection for the headlights.

    Mask for the Phoenix Cruiser

    April 24, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 55 °F

    Stealing a page out of our friends Sue and Mo’s trip to Alaska in 2011, Mui cobbled together a “mask” for our RV.

    Unlike the 😷s that have become second nature to all of us during the Coronavirus Pandemic, this mask is not made out of at least two layers of fabric. No, it’s made out of galvanized mesh. It’s intent is to protect the RV’s headlights from gravel that might be sprayed up by passing vehicles ... or those speeding ahead of us on dirt and gravel roads.

    Technically, Mui could have just created some mesh boxes to cover just the headlights. But it was easier to secure a mesh grill to the entire front of the vehicle. Plastic bumpers between the mesh and Cruiser should eliminate any unintentional scratches.

    We might be over preparing for this road trip, but an inexpensive solution such as this one doesn’t hurt. Thanks, Sue, for reminding me about the headlight protection.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Another flight change that we don't mind!
    Another flight change that we don't mind!

    Delta’s at It Again!

    April 25, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 68 °F

    Another flight change ... this time to our inbound flight in August from Anchorage to Seattle.

    And once again, we don’t mind the change since it means one less hour to kill at the airport — or in the city with our bags in tow — after we deliver the RV and toad to Tote Maritime for the “cruise back to Tacoma.

    All’s good in our travel world. 🤞🏻it remains that way.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021

    Rentals ... 3rd Time’s the Charm?

    April 26, 2021 in the United States ☀️ 70 °F

    Car rentals are expensive this year! And that’s if you can even get a car. We’ve seen recent news reports of people renting U-Haul’s at their destinations, just so they have some wheels to get around.

    I understand that there are a couple of reasons for cars being worth their weight in gold these days. Of course, there is the “sudden rush to travel” that is causing a degree of scarcity. But also the rental agencies sold off parts of their fleets during the pandemic to stay afloat. Now, they want to build up their fleets, but there is a shortage of cars because there is a shortage of chips and other materials needed to build cars. A vicious circle.

    Luckily, we’re in good shape. We acted early in our planning process and managed to snag a couple of rentals while we await the RV & toad to join us ... one for the week in Anchorage and one for the week in Washington State. That doesn’t mean that I liked the prices, however. Nope ... way too high! But with no money exchanging hands, I figured we’d keep trying.

    I’m happy to report that the third go around yielded rates that we can live with. In fact, I don’t think we can beat the rate for Anchorage since the most recent search yielded NO available cars for our dates either at the airport or the downtown office.

    The rental for our Seattle-Leavenworth getaway is still pricey, but I did manage to drop the price by some $200+. I’ll keep trying, but it is slim-pickings at the moment.

    The last price drop for the Seattle rental was thanks to a web-based tool called AutoSlash. Request a quote online ... receive an email with offers ... pick the offer you like ... click the button to book directly with the company providing the quote (in this case Priceline). Easy peasy. I’ll be using this website for sure when looking to book a vehicle rental in the future.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Masked up to spray our trekking clothes with Permethrin!
    Masked up to spray our trekking clothes with Permethrin!

    Bugs Away

    April 27, 2021 in the United States ⛅ 55 °F

    I mentioned previously that Alaska has a “state bird” called the mosquito 🤪.

    We had no problems with these pesky critters when we visited mainland Alaska in August 2010. But it was a whole different ballgame when we were there in June 2001. Mui still “un-fondly” remembers being bitten on the head — wearing a hat no less — while we were hiking to Thunderbird Falls on the outskirts of Anchorage.

    Sure, we have bug jackets and Deet if the mosquitoes are really bad, But we also sprayed our trekking clothes with Permethrin so that we don’t have to use Deet every time we go outdoors. The spray lasts through a number of washings, so we should be good with this protection.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    Recommended is better than "required". Especially since we are fully vaccinated.
    Recommended is better than "required". Especially since we are fully vaccinated.

    COVID-19 Entry Requirements for AK

    April 28, 2021 in the United States ☁️ 43 °F

    Since making the decision in late March to travel to Alaska, we’ve been monitoring the entry requirements for the state. We found good, up-to-date info on the ANC website. Basically …complete a form on the Alaska Travel Portal; take a PCR test within 72 hours of arrival; social distance; mask up. The usual stuff.

    “Ugh” on the testing. But we did our research and figured out where and how to fulfill the requirement. The good news … if the test results were delayed, we could still fly, but with a quarantine in Anchorage until we upload the results when we get them. That was a relief.

    A further relief came when Alaska began offering free testing on arrival. The caveat was to quarantine until we got our results. Not ideal … but we could do that as an alternative, too.

    Then the “must do” tone was softened to “should” and “strongly encouraged,” and quarantine requirements changed to social distancing. Alrighty then. I read about the softening rules on Points Guy first. Then, I found the “should” recommendations on the Delta website, and confirmed it on the ANC website.

    Even the requirement to complete a form on the Alaska travel portal was no longer “a thing.” Nonetheless, we created our accounts on the portal, completed the form, and uploaded our vaccination records. The result? A form showing us as being compliant. There was a QR code on the website, but the link went nowhere.

    I’m thinking the code might become active on 12 May since that is our arrival date in Anchorage. I made a note to login and check when we get to the airport. I also made a pdf copy of the travel forms and printed hard copies in case we need them.

    We will, of course, check the requirements again closer to our flight departure. After all, you never know with this pandemic.

    That said, Alaska is doing OK with its COVID numbers. They are currently #46 in the US … as compared to Colorado, which is #22. That could all change quickly as the tourism season in Alaska picks up. But I think we will be OK with our current plan to go without testing. 🤞🏻

    We will, of course, mask up around other people and will continue to social distance.    Read more

  • North to Alaska By RV 2021
    One of the best ways to save money in Alaska.
    One of the best ways to save money in Alaska.

    AK TourSaver

    April 30, 2021 in the United States ☁️ 43 °F

    I first learned about the AK TourSaver coupon booklet when we went to Alaska in 2001. On that trip, we saved “beaucoup bucks” on tours with two-for-one coupons ... flight-seeing, glacier cruising, admissions, and more. The cost — which I don’t recall — was recouped after just one tour booking. That’s a good thing!

    So, I looked into purchasing the booklet this time as well. I reviewed the list of coupons on the website. Not nearly as many as there were in 2001, but still enough of interest to make buying the booklet worthwhile. Even better, there was an app that could be downloaded ... no internet needed to access the coupons once the app was on the iPhone. And now, regional coupons were available for a discounted rate, too.

    I downloaded the app a few days ago — SouthCentral & Interior ... for $69.99. Pricey? Yes. But. That afternoon, I booked a Wrangell-St Elias flight-seeing tour. Not only has using the coupon recouped the cost of the app, we’re ahead of the game some $80! That’s a good thing.

    P.S. By the way, remember how we were going to keep our road trip fluid? Turns out that if you have your heart set on doing something, you’d better book it pronto. We almost didn’t get our flight-seeing of choice ... and even then, had to settle for a morning flight instead of our afternoon preference.

    Methinks Alaska is going to be more crowded with tourists this year than we thought it was going to be.    Read more