Soren's post is one of the best I have ever read on travel. To really enjoy travel, you MUST be in tune with the reality of where you are.
Alaska to my wife and me was just another ho hum day in paradise, we didn't go there or any other place we've been in the world in order to find someplace just like home. We have gone to see another wonder of the world.
As far as our rigs, it's like life, the object is not to buy an RV use it and then sell it in showroom condition, don't abuse it but wear it out. Our rigs have been and are nothing more than a means to see as much of our part of the world as possible.
To us, the TOW was hour after hour of wonders and in order to see them you have to slow down. We bought a window sticker that said, "The Alaska Highway, 1400 miles of untamed wilderness". It beats the devil out of 1400 miles of interstate highway.