Fl to Alaska planning

If you are still in the planning stages, take some time to review the Roll Call Alaska 2013 and Roll Call Alaska 2014 posts on this forum. Tons of great info. from RVers who have done the trip previously.

In the Sturgis area of SD, you might consider visiting Badlands NP, Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse monument, and in nearby NE Wyoming the Devil's Tower site (made famous in the movie "Close Encounters ...".

Perhaps we will see you along the way as we are planning to be part of the Roll Call Alaska 2015 group next summer.

Bob

We just returned from a trip that took us from North Central Florida to So. Cal. Then up the Redwood Highway and Oregon coast to Seattle where we then took a 12 day Holland America cruise / land tour to Alaska. We were planning on driving to Anchorage but opted to make our first Alaska with someone else driving. The cruise started at the airport then a bus to Vancouver where we boarded the ship. Three days on ship to Juneau and Skagway where we boarded a train to Frasier. Then bus to Dawson city where we then flew to Fairbanks. Then bus to Denali where we toured the NP. Then doomed car train to Anchorage where we then flew back to Seattle. We then drove east to Glacier NP and south to Rapid City before we headed east and south to Florida. We spent 105 days on our trip and enjoyed every minute. From what I saw of Alaska roads, I am glad I did not take my truck and FW over them. If I wanted to experience the driving in Alaska, I will fly to Anchorage and rent an RV there.

If you are serious about visiting Sturgis, SD, next year will be the 75th Rally and they are expecting over 500,000 attendees. Get your reservations in early if you are going to be there during the rally.

Moved from Roads and Routes to RVing in Alaska

There's a great post in the Alaska forum of this site of folks going in 2015. They'll keep that post going all winter/spring and you'll get lots of good help.

Also, check out the 'Sticky' on the top page of that forum for a post with lots of suggestions.

When we went to Alaska 3 years ago, we took the Alaskan Hwy first and returned on the Cassiar, hitting Banff on way back. It took us almost a month to get to Glacier NP from Fl. We wanted to see a few places on the way and I'm not into driving 600 miles a day. I really liked being flexible. The only place we stayed with reservations was Denali NP and we made those on the way there, once we got an idea of when we would be getting to the area.

Check out the Alaska section in this forum. Tons of info. Get a Milepost, 2014 should be substantially the same as 2015 which will not be published till March or so. Check out the WEB for the various Canadian and Alaskan towns you may want to stop at, most have WEB sites with lots of information. Check out the Canada AND US Customs rules on crossing the Border each way. You will NEED a US passport to back into the US. Canada also prohibits GUNS, beware.
Numerous books available to give more hints, even a coupon book, well worth the cost.

Plan on taking your time, roads are not the same as the lower 48, speed can be dangerous and costly in repairs. IF you drive reasonably you will be OK. ONLY drive on the top half of your fuel tank, fuel deliveries in rural Canada and Alaska is not a daily activity, sometimes only once a week and if you get there with a low tank on day 5 or 6 you may be there till the truck arrives.

We found Canada was about 25 percent above lower 48 and Alaska another 25 percent. Learn how to convert to metric.

Most of all, ENJOY

Give some thoughts to what you and your passengers, if any, want to do and see. This will in some ways determine when and where you need to be in Alaska to accomplish your goals. If your main interest is to photograph wildlife, especially new borns, then plan to be there in early summer, at some of the known good locations, such as the Chena Hot Springs road, the Alaska hwy area south of Watson Lake are just two of the many places i think of for this activity.

If you are planning to fish for salmon, then you have to be where the runs are in progress. Check something like the www.alaskaoutdoorjournal.com to see when the historic fish runs have occurred. They don't tend to vary too much from year to year.

Probably the majority of travelers go north on the Alaska hwy and then many of them return south on the Cassiar hwy. Some use the Alaska marine ferry system for part of one leg north or south. About the only way to see SE Alaska and coastal western Canada is by boat, ferry or cruise ship.

From south Florida, i figure about 10 driving days to Fairbanks and the same returning. However, we seldom drive straight through but will stop here and there for a few days and make it a two or three week trip to and from. Most trips we don't stop much on the way up or back in the lower 48 but keep a list of the places we wish to return and visit on a different trip.

Consider your age and health, as it can determine if one trip is all that is in your future or will there be multiple ones. It can be the trip of a lifetime for most, one that you can do over and over again. The far north country is so huge, there is no way to see it all in one lifetime, I have concluded. I tried for 25+ years to see it all and it just wasn't possible for me to do. Did my best to wear out 5 airplanes, a half dozen RVs and several boats but never saw over 3/4 of Alaska I would guess. Much of that was from the air at 3,000 to 10,000 feet. LOL
A new traveler, needs to decide what they want to see and do. This is often influenced by where you live or have lived. I notice people from the Pacific Northwest aren't as impressed with the mountains and water as I am, having grown up is southern Oklahoma. Have several priorities in your plans. If you are mainly going for the scenic photography and you hit a rainy summer like this past one, 2014, then you may have to fall back to doing more fishing, indoor type stuff, hiking in the rain and figure you will return again to do the outdoor photography, when the sun is shinning more. Or check the weather and go to a different part of the state or territory where the weather is more to your liking. Be flexible, I guess, is what I am trying to say.