What to Buy in US (Everett WA) Before Crossing into Canada

[trnewtown]

I am renting an RV in Everett WA and taking a one way month long trip to Anchorage starting mid April. I have a few questions:

- My starting point (Everett) has a Costco and a Walmart. Are there any things that I should not buy in the US before crossing the border into Canada? For example, eggs, chicken, produce, ...

- I know that mid April is a bit early for this trip. What should I expect in terms of weather, closed campgrounds, and available gas?

- Before I drop off the RV in Anchorage, I will need to get rid of unused food, camping supplies, a marine battery, and other misc stuff. Could you recommend a charity or non-profit in Anchorage that could use these things?

[robatthelake]

You can carry any amount of Cash across borders as long as you declare it! They don’t care how much you have there is no restriction!

[2gypsies1]

Sounds like you had a great trip! Thanks for the reports.

[trnewtown]

Made it to Anchorage today. Thanks for all of the help with this trip! Flying home tomorrow.

Lessons learned:
- Food is available at fairly reasonable prices (in mid sized and above towns) from Washington State through Canada and throughout Alaska. In small towns prices can be high and availability can be lacking.
- Mid April is a bit early to start a trip like this, but on the positive side I did not run into crowds or full RV parks. Water was a bit hard to find at times and a very nice woman at the Fort Nelson information center pulled some strings to find a way for me to fill up with water when I really needed it.
- The border crossings into Canada and into Alaska were non-events.
- This 25' class C was better suited for this trip than the 30' class C I rented last year. Some of the state park campgrounds were set up for smaller RV's.
- Gas is expensive in Canada and Alaska. I am looking to buy a Winnebago View built on a Sprinter diesel chassis with better fuel mileage.
- Fishing in Alaska is awesome!

[trnewtown]

It's definitely spring time in Alaska now. 50 degree F temps today in Soldotna along the Kenai River. On track to be in Anchorage on Monday.

[DrewE]

The Hotel Aleyska complex offers (paid) overnight RV parking, I assume year round since it's primarily a ski area. Particularly if you have a clear day the 7 Glaciers restaurant is highly recommended (but bring plenty of money).

[2gypsies1]

enblethen wrote:
Forest Service campground near Portage Glacier.

Williwaw near Girdwood is an awesome campground but opens May 31.

[trnewtown]

Tinyandthegang wrote:
You can stay at the Turnagain snowmobile park at the top of the pass. It is a large paved park with two restrooms and is free.

I think that I stopped at this place on the way to Seward. Might be my best option.

[enblethen]

Forest Service campground near Portage Glacier.

[Tinyandthegang]

You can stay at the Turnagain snowmobile park at the top of the pass. It is a large paved park with two restrooms and is free.

[trnewtown]

I know I am off topic on this, but I will give it a try.
I am trying to make plans to drop this rental RV in Anchorage in two weeks. I will be coming from Soldotna and heading north to Anchorage. Is there an open RV campground or legal parking spot about an hour south of Anchorage? Most of the public campgrounds were still closed on my way to Seward.

[enblethen]

At Homer, on the Kenai Penn, there is a free campground right at the shore side of the spit. Great view of the big tides. When we were there some Baluga whales right off camp sites.

[trnewtown]

Was it worth it? Heck yes! I am staying tomorrow to do some hiking with snowshoes. I can see where this place may get crowded in season, but in this “shoulder season “ there are relatively few visitors. For example, in the Riley campground there are 100+ campsites and only two campers (me and one other group). No bugs and moose wandering around.
Looking forward to visiting the Kenai Peninsula.

[enblethen]

Are you saying it was worth it?

[trnewtown]

Visiting Denali National Park today was awesome. They opened up an additional 15 mile stretch of road to the public since the busses were not running, but the road was clear. Saw three moose and an eagle!!
Spending the night in a snowy Riley campground without any services, but it’s free. 🙂