Roll Call Alaska 2014

[sljohnson1938]

Anyone traveling to Alaska in 2014? We ,my wife and I, are planning a trip and was wondering if anyone is planning on going in 2014 also.
Would go this year, except we have two weddings to go to in MI, one in late June the other in early August.
So next year we are planning to leave home in NC in mid July, we plan a 2 month trip. We were there in 2004, only that time we were with paid RV tour. Loved it, and would take another paid tour in a 'heart beat', but the cost is now too much.
The reason for the mid July date is looking at the 2013 Alaska postings the wx, road conditions and insects are at their worst. Later in the season all three are better. Plus I want to travel back on the Cassiar Hwy in Sept is supposed to be the best time of the year on the Cassiar, plus less travelers.
Finally, money is an issue with us. So we will 'boon dock', stay at
free or low cost CG's, rest areas, etc. when ever possible.


Hope you all have a great trip and hope to see you some where along the way.

[jkindel]

We are planning leaving on or around June 1. Returning around August 1. Very much looking forward to this trip, as it is our 50th wedding anniversary gift to ourselves. Our interests, include bird and wildlife watching, photography, and history of all the areas.

[reelgalnita]

My husband, Jerry and I (Nita) are leaving on our trip on Monday, June 9 - planning to return to our home in Montana on August 2. We are traveling to Fairbanks, spending a few days in Denali before returning home with extended stays in Banff and the Kelowna area. We are traveling in our smaller trailer, an 18 foot r-pod that we purchased several weeks ago. We will be traveling with our 2 golden retrievers, Dylan and Winston. Taking the pod on its inaugural trip this weekend, spending a few days at Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park. We also have a 34 ft Jayco Eagle, very comfortable travel trailer but decided to downsize for this trip. Have been enjoying all of your comments and ideas - we are so excited, have wanted to do this trip for a long time. We have done a couple of cruises to Alaska and have flown there for a 3 week camping trip in a tent but never did the drive... look for us, we'll have our roll call post in the window!

[bgnmky]

You can add me to the total roll call…
bgsnmky - Stacey and Dawn - July 7 - 14

[dahkota]

We were scheduled to cross in Washington on May 15. My mother sold her house so we have to help her move. Our new plan is to cross in Montana by May 31. We'll just add a couple weeks on in September to make up the difference.

[GarySandra]

sljohnson1938 wrote:
Hi Janet -

so far here it is

Alaska 2014

if i have your name or planned depart date incorrect please change it.

as of right now my planned date changes daily

name and planned depart date -

******* not in any particular order *******
**********************************************

sljohnson1938 June (some time) or mid July
donrebyct June 1
imamech2 May - beginning
dahkota May 15
garysandra May - mid
esoxlucius May - mid
Gordonthree April - mid
Lakeside013104 May 15
Seahawk09 May 20
Shootdr July - Aug
Paisleydale June 1
Veebyes
Mclee47 June 1
Traveylin
Jkindel
Alan and Ruth May - late
SS573
Ran July - mid
Ernest July - Aug
Jmckely
55cruisers May - late
Chiefelectrusn May
Fer2005 May - mid

kpole65 June - mid



It appears that most are departing for Alaska in May.

The last list shows 24 as going to Alaska 2014. Wonder how many have said they are going, but are not on the list. If this is all, we shouldn't have much traffic!! With only six weeks left to take off, I am nearly packed up. With 84 degreese today, I am ready to get to some cooler weather. Have a safe & fun summer!!!

[PA12DRVR]

"We will wave at folks allong the way. Caught a 50 lb halibut last time. Looking to catch a salmon this time."

If you stretch your trip and time in Alaska until September, you'll be in Silver Salmon season: fewer bugs, tourists, general fishing pressure, and salmon more fun to catch than the kings. ......just generally a better chance of getting the fish(es) that you want.

[traveylin]

DW and I are to start on our second trip to Homer June 6 after the graduation of our granddaughter in Austin from high school. Its a bit later than originally planned so we will be hot footing it to the Mile one of the alcan hyway, but we have till October for the return. We will wave at folks allong the way. Caught a 50 lb halibut last time. Looking to catch a salmon this time.

pops

[hr0082]

We have not yet finalized the date---early to mid June when we will leave for Alaska, but I now have a tentative route. We need to go to Backus, MN to get a replacement dining table installed in our Scamp 5th wheel. I just map quested all the various routes to Valdez and found that going through Backus is just as good as any and since we have been having trouble finding someone to install the table for us (combined with shipping cost) it makes sense to have the manufacturers do the work.

From Backus, we will make our way to Valdez and the arrive in Seward prior to July 4. After that we will spend an undetermined amount of time in the Soldatna, Kenai, Homer area. We will then go to Portage/Whittier and on up to Talkeetna where I must do the flag train. After that it is on to Denali and then up to Fairbanks. From the Fairbanks area, we will work our way home, probably by way of Western states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado.

I am excited and relieved that we have finally settled on a tentative itinerary. I really like having a plan. Now, I can get out the old Milepost and start coming up with more details.

[sue_t]

In Yukon, there are map guides of the main communities. You can order online, or download the pdfs, at http://www.yukoninfo.com/request-guides/

Much advertising in the guides. Useful for planning your visit and knowing which services/businesses are in the area.

Lots of resources on the website too, worth checking it out and poking around a bit.

[ss573]

Early in this thread I posted our intent to travel to Alaska this year. Well, WE ARE !! :B

DW and I in our coach, along with some friends in their coach, are planning to leave the lower 48 in May as soon as practical after our passports arrive. We hope to see fellow Rollcallers along the way.

Happy camping everyone !!

[hr0082]

We will be leaving Hattiesburg, MS early to mid June and will be pulling a 2011 Scamp 5th wheel. Our tow vehicle is a 2012 Tundra Crew cab work truck. We plan to stay until early to mid September. I'm also interested in hearing from other fiberglass trailer owners. We can always use those contacts in case we have questions or issues where we might need help. As we learned on our two previous trips, many things can go wrong when you are on the road for that long and covering that many miles.

[borderbrae]

I've read Roll Call 2013 and have been following the 2014 thread, making notes and doing research. Got my PenFed visa card and am already using it. Great savings! Planning on heading out late in May. Anyone else traveling with a fiberglass trailer?

[Spitfire8]

We lived in Alaska for 4 years in total, 3 in the interior, (Fairbanks) and one year in the Anchorage area. The dry interior of Alaska (Arctic desert) does not get the mosquitoes that the coastal areas do (or any area near water, including ponds and lakes).
So if you are in a dry interior area, don't worry too much about the mosquitoes, otherwise they are a big drag. You'll need netting in addition to serious repellent.

IF you are a military veteran, there are some bases with RV hook up and some VFWs have hook up sites that will accommodate a 42 ft Class A. I know this b/c my in-laws stayed near us in Eagle River, Alaska (a suburb of Anchorage). They were parked in the VFW lot for a few weeks. Took their truck to go clamming, dip netting with my husband, and we stocked up for the year, in about a week. There are many places to camp, but not that many to hook up (relative to the demand).
The single advantage to Alaska's interior weather, in MY opinion, is that the drier weather makes for better summers. The winters get colder, thought dry, but the summers feel like dry summers. Our youngest child was born in Fairbanks on July 1, and it was 90'F. That winter, the temperatures went as low as -45'F, so that is A BIG range of temperature in the interior.
The weather advantage to the Anchorage area is that it does not get the same range of temperatures, low or high, that the interior gets. But Anchorage & the coastal areas can be overcast a LOT in the summer, which sure feels unfair. My last September in Anchorage, the sun shone 3 days out of the entire month. Then October came, and with it, snow.

Make any reservations you need, ASAP. Many people reserve two years in advance. Good luck!

[hr0082]

I'm not sure if I have posted before. We will be leaving Hattiesburg, MS in early to mid June for our 3rd trip to Alaska. The first time we pulled a 16 foot Scamp travel trailer which we sold in Tok when we were ready to head home. We had a really crazy time with both Canadian and US border stations since we were carrying the $15,000 in cash from the sale. In Haines we were finally able to purchase a CD so that we did not have the carry the cash all the way home.

We then took the ferry from Haines to Prince Rupert and then drove to Backus, MN where we purchased a Scamp 5th wheel that we drove back to Alaska during the summer of 2012.

This trip in 2014, we have no real plans other than that we will be in Seward on July 4 for their celebration. Other than that, we will spend quite a bit of time in the Kenai area and then hit some of the other places that we liked or some that we missed on previous trips. Our plan is to leave for home during September.

We drive 250-400 miles a day and mainly take backroads, trying to stay off interstates. We are both avid runners/bikers and we usually plan our day around when and where we will workout. We frequently stop at YMCAs so that we can avail ourselves of the shower use since our trailer is so small and we don't like to use the shower because of having to then do a cleanup of the area. I also do a lot of boondocking in Walmarts, Fred Myers, parks or just along the road.

I am really enjoying reading all the posts and I certainly do look forward to trying to meet up with some of you along the road.

[Veebyes]

Sue, the pics remind me of our first trip to Colorado back in 1976. On I70 just west of Frisco there was a somewhat weathered sign, "BUMP" was the sign. I asked our Colorado hosts why not fix the road & remove the sign? The CDOT was waiting for the sign to wear out, was the quick whitted answer. It was some time before that bump was repaired.