Going to Alaska: The Plan and the Reason

Kathy and Steve are off to Alaska by boat and car. We are going on a trip where the "getting there" is more important than the "being there."

We've been to Alaska eight times, always by air. So we've dropped in, sampled Alaska and then literally flew home. It was a wonderful way to cover lots of ground on a tight schedule. This trip we plan to ease into the state and savor the "getting there" part of the experience. It takes longer but should be worth the effort.

The good news--there is a road all the way, the Alaska Highway, through British Columbia and the Yukon to our 49th state. In fact, the road's celebrating its 70th birthday this year, having been constructed in a rush during World War II. More on that later. At 2200 miles from Seattle to Fairbanks it's a long stretch of road.

The Mantanuska will be our home for two nights.

The original plan was to drive both ways. Then, looking for variety, we decided to take the Alaska Ferry from Bellingham to Haines, bypassing some of the road heading north but giving us a water view part way up placing us in some new areas once we landed. Then, since there was no room on the Bellingham boat, we cut the boat ride in half, and plan to board a ferry further north in the Canadian town of Prince Rupert. We will get off the boat in Juneau, wait overnight, and grab another boat for the short run on to Haines.

We are sixteen days from departure and are starting to gather all the stuff we think we will need knowing that we will take twice as much as we actually need. But that's part of the adventure. Another part will be getting our travel trailer ready for the trip. That process begins tomorrow as well. More on that later.