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.

[Kave2u]

Nomads_2 wrote:

Kave2u wrote:
Ok folks, i've followed this thread since it was started. I can't believe all you folks cruising around up there in the "Last Frontier" and NO PICTURES, What's up with that??? My motto is if you ain't got pictures then it didn't happen. So for all of us wannabe's stuck down in the lower 48, post'em if you got'em 😉

And you can see pictures on our blog at Alaska2014.blogspot.com.

THANKS!

[soos]

Smitty77 wrote:
We made a few days out of running from Seward to Valdez. Did a 'restocking' stop over at Anchorage, staying at Cabela's. Then took a slow ride on the scenic drive towards Valdez. Stopped just a bit past Glennallen, at Squirrel Creek (Lake?) Alaska Recreation Campground. A few spots overlook a small lake, and then a few more park you right along the small creek. (Our 40' fit into space 4, with the front windshield parked 7' from the creek. Had to back out the access road away, but not a big deal with a good spotter, and the DW is a good spotter:)!).

Nice slow drive in the rest of the way to Valdez, and now at Bear Paws RV Park II. We have a holdover spot for one night, then move to one of the harbor view spaces for the next few days.

Appreciated the recommendations for Bear Paws, really enjoyed talking with the owner Terry Gregg. Straight shooter, and I always like meeting veterans.
.
Best to all, be safe, have fun,
Smitty

we did the opposite of you, went from Valdez to Cabela's to Seward. In Valdez, we loved Stan Stephens, the museums, and especially the hatchery. even if its closed, drive over there and watch the bald eagles fish and the sea lions come ashore looking for, and catching salmon. awesome. gotta go a high tide though

[notlost]

Hr0082 ,
Thanks for info on the 5k run. Where are you staying ? Depending on the fish count and the weather , we
May do it. We should try toeet. We're renting space at someone's house for the month , so we'll be here a while.

Hooks ,
Thanks for the info
On the processors. I called both when we got out of the river (9pm!) but they were closed. We used echo in the past soya be wll try the other

[Nomads_2]

Kave2u wrote:
Ok folks, i've followed this thread since it was started. I can't believe all you folks cruising around up there in the "Last Frontier" and NO PICTURES, What's up with that??? My motto is if you ain't got pictures then it didn't happen. So for all of us wannabe's stuck down in the lower 48, post'em if you got'em 😉

And you can see pictures on our blog at Alaska2014.blogspot.com.

[EsoxLucius]

Kave2u wrote:
Ok folks, i've followed this thread since it was started. I can't believe all you folks cruising around up there in the "Last Frontier" and NO PICTURES, What's up with that??? My motto is if you ain't got pictures then it didn't happen. So for all of us wannabe's stuck down in the lower 48, post'em if you got'em 😉

See our blog jtappen.wordpress.com

[hr0082]

We spent last night at http://www.countryboycampground.com near Ninilchek ($25 withe full hookups; $15 if Passport America). Just as one of you mentioned, we have found this to be a very nice and inexpensive place to stay. Upon arrival, the owner invited us in to what used to be the restaurant (now closed) and proceeded to give us and another two couples a wide range of information about the area. This morning, we took his advice and stopped at the Norman Lowell gallery just south o Anchor Point. This is a place that you should absolutely *not* miss. Mr Lowell is now about 86 years old and he was there to greet and discuss his artwork. The gallery is amazing and it is free.

We then drove on the Homer and looked around. We do not fish and I feel the Spit is just too "touristy" for me. We are now at the Homer library catching up on email, bills etc. Even though Countryboy is supposed to have WiFi, it is so slow, I did not even attempt to use it.

We will probably spend another two nights at Countryboy and then head back to Soldatna/Kenai for a 5K race on Saturday morning and then spend more time in that area.

We are then thinking of returning to Seward and doing one of the glacier cruises. We have done the Stan Stephens out of Valdez, but everyone keeps saying we need to do the 8-10 hour one out of Seward.

[Smitty77]

We made a few days out of running from Seward to Valdez. Did a 'restocking' stop over at Anchorage, staying at Cabela's. Then took a slow ride on the scenic drive towards Valdez. Stopped just a bit past Glennallen, at Squirrel Creek (Lake?) Alaska Recreation Campground. A few spots overlook a small lake, and then a few more park you right along the small creek. (Our 40' fit into space 4, with the front windshield parked 7' from the creek. Had to back out the access road away, but not a big deal with a good spotter, and the DW is a good spotter:)!).

Nice slow drive in the rest of the way to Valdez, and now at Bear Paws RV Park II. We have a holdover spot for one night, then move to one of the harbor view spaces for the next few days.

Appreciated the recommendations for Bear Paws, really enjoyed talking with the owner Terry Gregg. Straight shooter, and I always like meeting veterans.

Best to all, be safe, have fun,
Smitty

[06ViewH]

Got into Wrangell last night around 3AM via the ferry. It was a 13hr ferry ride with many many breaching whale sightings along the way. Saw one whale come completely out of the water - that was spectacular!!

Will be in Wrangell until Friday morning then I'll take the ferry to Ketchikan for a few days.

[borderbrae]

Finally met up with some of the group on the forum at Williwaw USFS campground on Turnagin Arm.. Max & Ann, from AL and Fred & Joan from VA.

Left Willwaw this morning and am now in Ninilchik View CG for 6 nights. Great place, thanks for mentioning it Veebyes!

Weather here is wonderful, clear and sunny, am looking forward to exploring this area a bit. Hoping to see the salmon boats go out tomorrow, they are packed bow to stern in a tiny inlet below the campground, waiting for the salmon and high tide.

[06ViewH]

Stayed in Sitka last night and today headed to Wrangell. Beautiful cruising area on the way into Sitka via the ferry. Certainly will be on my to-do list with our boat. Rained most of the time but stayed in the Forest Service campground which really had the rain forest feel - which I loved. Only problem was that I was not able to get my run done today because there were reports of grizzly in the campground.

Off to the ferry terminal for a 13hr ferry ride to Wrangell.

[hr0082]

Here is the link for the Soldatna 5K and 10 miler:

http://www.tsalteshi.org/events/?ee=131

If you do the race, we need to meet up there. My husband and I will be doing the 5K. We have twice done the 5K and it is basically downhill. Also, they serve a nice meal (hot dogs and hamburgers) post race.

[joe_b_]

Stoney Creek Campground was originally put in by a highway contractor, for his road crew to have a place to live, while they rebuilt the main highway. When the highway was finished, in a couple of years, he chose to keep it open as a commercial business. He hired a manager to run it and the last I heard, he still owned it. Somewhat explains the gravel pad design and the location of the campground. We have enjoyed staying here several times in the past.

[notlost]

He0082
Hi,
We're in Soldotna now also. I just saw you posted that is a 5K race on Saturday. Can you tell me about it? It might be fun for us to do that too. Thank you
Sue Ambrosino

[Smitty77]

hr0082 wrote:
After spending 4 nights at the Stoney Creek RV Park, last night we were at Quartz Creek Campround on the way to Soldatna. Campground was quite nice, with many spots on the lake. We had a pull thru and did not unhook. There are also some flush toilets which is always nice. We liked the price of $9.

My comments about Stoney Creek RV Park:

1. Probably the best available in Seward

2. Laundry was good, but small. I was able to use 3 washers and 2 dryers (all of which were large capacity) for a total of $12.50 which is good when compared to other Alaska locations.

3. Restrooms left much to be desired. One toilet was hooked up to hot water! There was not much privacy as the "doors" to the toilet were slatted panels with hook and eye between doors. Also, there were only two toilets and two showers (women's restroom) which was not adequate for the number of users. Lastly, the facility was not cleaned often enough considering the amount of usage.

4. The place was advertised as having wi-fi, but that rarely worked and when it did, it was quite slow.

5. Personally, I liked the location being about 7 miles out of the center of Seward. Since we were there for the 4th, Seward was a very busy place.

We are now in Soldatna and The Holiday station, next to Fred Meyer has good price on propane. We filled our tank for about $17.

We're not sure if we will stay here tonight. We do want to run a 5K race here on Saturday, but may go on down to Homer prior to returning up here for that event.

Sorry we missed you!! As I suspect we overlapped for one night. We first hit Stoney Creek the Sunday before 4th of July weekend. Hoping to extend our stay thru the 4th of July. We felt pretty much the same as you about the park, and location. They also do not seem to keep the laundry area very clean, can't speak to how clean the showers were, as we never went into look them over.

We left 7/3 and went to the parking lot of Seward Elementary, which was open to handle the crowds for the 4th of July, and Mt Marathon. $45 for three nights, as we had out toad. Sure beat the Over Flow parking lot for Stoney Creek, down 'behind the red house'... and they wanted $30 for what looked like a rock storage area, and the space we were to have down their (old chalk lines) had debri and trash in it, and we would have had a hard time getting in and around to back into it. Glad we hit the school:)!

We went back into Stoney Creek fro Sunday, 7/6, to dump and fill with water, and get caught up on laundry.

We had a 'front pull in creek side' space, 30amp, and we liked it. Heck, we even had a fire pit.

We would stay here again, and we would recommend Seward for a very fun 4th of July, and the Mt Marathon was a hoot!

Please all, if you see a dirty CC with 'THEJRNY" and an even dirtier white CRV with 'ONDROAD", both South Dakota plates - give us a shout out!

Best to all,
Smitty

[hr0082]

After spending 4 nights at the Stoney Creek RV Park, last night we were at Quartz Creek Campround on the way to Soldatna. Campground was quite nice, with many spots on the lake. We had a pull thru and did not unhook. There are also some flush toilets which is always nice. We liked the price of $9.

My comments about Stoney Creek RV Park:

1. Probably the best available in Seward

2. Laundry was good, but small. I was able to use 3 washers and 2 dryers (all of which were large capacity) for a total of $12.50 which is good when compared to other Alaska locations.

3. Restrooms left much to be desired. One toilet was hooked up to hot water! There was not much privacy as the "doors" to the toilet were slatted panels with hook and eye between doors. Also, there were only two toilets and two showers (women's restroom) which was not adequate for the number of users. Lastly, the facility was not cleaned often enough considering the amount of usage.

4. The place was advertised as having wi-fi, but that rarely worked and when it did, it was quite slow.

5. Personally, I liked the location being about 7 miles out of the center of Seward. Since we were there for the 4th, Seward was a very busy place.

We are now in Soldatna and The Holiday station, next to Fred Meyer has good price on propane. We filled our tank for about $17.

We're not sure if we will stay here tonight. We do want to run a 5K race here on Saturday, but may go on down to Homer prior to returning up here for that event.