Question about Alaska

[mkcom1]

Hi
    Wife and I are considering a fly and rent RV trip to Alaska.  We would be leaving mid August for a 14 day or so trip from Chicago to Anchorage and then touring with our three kids 8,6,5,.  We are not new to camping at all, but this type of trip we have not done.  I have the usual questions, Has anyone done this, what was your experince, Anything you would recommend or not and what was your overall experiance.  This would be a major trip for us so we are trying to begin planning.  Any RV rental places you would prefer or have any experiance with would be great.  Thanks   Ken

[wavery]

Hi
    Wife and I are considering a fly and rent RV trip to Alaska.  We would be leaving mid August for a 14 day or so trip from Chicago to Anchorage and then touring with our three kids 8,6,5,.  We are not new to camping at all, but this type of trip we have not done.  I have the usual questions, Has anyone done this, what was your experince, Anything you would recommend or not and what was your overall experiance.  This would be a major trip for us so we are trying to begin planning.  Any RV rental places you would prefer or have any experiance with would be great.  Thanks   Ken

I've done this exact trip twice.

Bring lots of mosquito repellent........:p

[my toys]

I lived in Anchorage.  I never had to rent an rv so I cannot advise.  Look around the airport.  There are several large animals (bears, moose...) stuffed and caged.  Check out Walmart for souveniers before you overpay at the tourist traps.  Unless it says "made in Alaska" on the bottom, it was not.  While in Anchorage be sure to eat at the Sourdough Mining Company.  It is designed to look like an old mine.  The food is awesome.  The atmosphere is cool.  Call ahead and ask about show times.  They are unique to Alaska.  Across the street there is a chocolate waterfall.  Also, a small "park" with penned reindeer.  Alyeska is a few hours drive (east?)  There is a tram you can take to the top.  It is very cool.  The Crow Creek Mine is near there.  The have an old mining camp set up for touristst.  You can pan for gold there if you want.  The iditarod headquarters is interesting.  You can take a sled dog ride year round as well as seeing the history.  If you go south, check out Glacier Bay in Portage.  If you go north, skip Fairbanks.  It is a large town but there is nothing worth seeing there.  The drive through Denali is well worth it.  It is beautiful.  North Pole, Alaska has the santa claus house.  Also, the town is decorated for christmas year round.  Do your research ahead of time.  There is always some festival or fair going on somewhere.  Enjoy your trip.

[Hoagie]

I'll second the advice regarding mosquito repellant. Bring lots of it and bring good quality stuff. The "smell good" repellants just seem to attract the bugs in Alaska.
 
Alaska is HUGE. How ever long you think it is going to take you to get somewhere, double it. You might be driving along, making great time, when suddenly you spot something you have to stop and see. Build plenty of extra time into your intinerary for the unexpected. You don't want to feel rushed.
 
The Kenai peninsula is beautiful. We stayed in Seward two years ago (in a lodge, not RVing) and had a great visit. Look into a float trip down the Kenai river. You'll see tons of wildlife and scenery.
 
Don't miss Denali NP.

[CajunCamper]

Ken,

We were in Alaska this past June for 10 days. We flew into Anchorage and spent the first night in a hotel and then drove down to Seward Alaska for a day of whale watching. Seward is about 2.5 hours south of Anchorage and is a beautiful drive. On the drive down to Seward we saw our first Glacier and our first Grizzly Bear and our first Dall Sheep. There were plenty of photo opts. along the way. Once in Seward we caught a large boat that took us out into Kenai Fjords for look for humpback and killer whales. We saw several sea otters, Dall Porpoise (which look like mini-killer whales) sea lions, puffins, glaciers, mountains, lots of big colorful star fish hanging onto the rocks at waters edge, bald eagles, but not the first whale. We later talked to people that had gone the day before and the day after and both saw whales. Even without the whales it was a wonderful adventure.

The next day we drove up to Denali National Park where we had a cabin waiting for us just outside of the park. On the drive up we were about 175 miles from the park when we got our first sighting of Mt. Mckinley aka Denali. It was a surreal experience, all of a sudden we came around a bend in the road and then there it was, dwarfing all the surrounding mountains as it seemed to reach up to Heaven. (One note here while I'm thinking about it. I wish I would have had a polorized filter for the lens on my camera, the photos of Denali would have been so much better. Next time right?) We didn't know it at the time, but we were told that only about 25% of visitors actually get a glimpse of Mt. Mckinley because the mountain creates it's own weather and it's usually hidden in the clouds.

On the way to Denali N.P. you really should plan on visiting the town of Talkeetna, it's about 15 miles off the road to Denali, but well worth the trip. We stopped there and had lunch on the way to Denali and ate at a really cool pub call West Rib Cafe and Pub. Good food and good beer. The Caribou Chili was especilly good. (Side Note here, while in Anchorage you must visit the Mooses Tooth Brew Pub, excellent pizza and once again good beer. Don't worry, it's a family joint, we saw lots of families with kids. Not only do they brew their own beer there, but they also brew their own root beer there.)
On our trip back from Denali we made the detour to Talkeetna once again and had lunch again, this time at the Roadhouse. Excellent food, the deserts, pastries and breads are to die for. Talkeetna is sort of a base camp for teams that are planning to climb Mt. Mckinley and the Roadhouse is a favorite place for them to stay when in Talkeetna. They have cabins out back and they also renty out private rooms as well as a beds in the bunkhouse. Its like eating in someones home. Also a quick stroll down to the river gives you another opportunity to get a glimpse of Denali. (By the way, I was told that Talkeetna was the town that inspired the TV show Northern Exposure) Talkeetna was one of those little jewels along the way for us.

Anyway back on the road to Denali; It was about 50 miles north of Talkeetna that we spotted our first moose crossing the road, later we would see more. Once we made it to our cabin we we rested up after our 4.5 to 5 hour drive from Anchorage before driving the extra 12 miles to the National Park. In June when we were there the sun never went down, at about 2:00 a.m. till 3:00 a.m. it hung a little low in the sky, but ut was always daylight. The upside was that you never had to worry about it getting dark before you finished your hike. My son and I were actually hiking along Savage River in the National Park at 12:00 a.m. one night and you would have thought it was 5:00 p.m. It was about 36 degrees though on that particular hike, so be preparred for a wide range of weather and temps. The sun being up does something to your body and you just have all this energy and you want to just keep going and doing and exploring. After that hike we drove through one of the premitive campgrounds in the park and were surprised to see families outside sitting around their campfires cooking and eating and carrying on as if it were 6:00 in the evening. I'm telling you you just have all of this energy to just keep going. Maybe it's also because you realize you're in Alaska and you don't want to miss anything.

Anyway I'm getting carried away here, but, there is so much to see there at Denali. They encourage people to pick a starting point and just go and explore. Most of the hiking we did was off trail but I wouldn't advise that without a GPS, compass and a good topographical map you can get turned around there on the tundra. There are marked trails there as well to enjoy if you prefer. The only thing I was disappointed in was that we didn't see nearly the numbers of wildlife that I had expected to see. We saw a large variety of wildlife just not the large numbers like we've seen in other national parks such as Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Rocky Mountain NP. We did see Grizzlys though, we even had a close encounter with a mama and here two cubs. We never felt as though we were in danger, because they were moving away from us and mama didn't seem to be threatened by us. But we were probaly 40 to 50 yards away from them at one point. That was actually a bit too close for us.

Anyway, I'm going to try and post some pictures for you and give you a few more details as I think of them. Good luck putting this trip together, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[mkcom1]

Thanks to all who posted and I will be waiting for the pics Cajon.  Ken

[wavery]

We made this trip in '81 then again in '83.

The 1st time we arranged a 21' class C motorhome before we went. I don't remember the cost and it's probably irrelevant anyway because it was a long time ago. What I do remember is that the coach that we first rented was horrible. It stunk like mold so bad we couldn't stay in it for more than 5 minutes. Also the furnace didn't work. They did refund our deposit and we looked around Anchorage and found a really nice class C motorhome for half the price of the other one. If I remember correctly, that one was privately owned and we found an add on a grocery store bulletin board. On our second trip, we waited to get up there to rent a motorhome. In fact we rented 2. We had 11 family members and it was fine..

I also hung around the airport and talked to private plane owners (of which there are MANY. I found a guy that was happy to fly my father and I down to Homer Alaska to do some Halibut fishing. He charged us the cost of the fuel and a nights stay at the lodge. He wouldn't take a penny more. I tried to tip him an extra $100 and he refused it. He said that he was happy to get the hours on his log. The guy few us down through the many glaciers and bays. We saw hundreds of whales. The view from a small plane, flying at 500' most of the way was incredible.

We took the same trip up the Mount McKinley and all I can say is, "DO NOT MISS IT". The view of that mountain form 20 miles away at Sea level, looking up 21,000' is an experience that can be found nowhere else on earth (that I'm aware of). I still get chills just thinking about it and I have been to 56 different countries and every continent on Earth. My favorite two spots are Denali Nat Park and Yosemite Nat Park.

Anyway, I'm not sure the value that your young children will derive from the experience. My kids were 11 & 13 at the time and they barely remember the trip and never talk about it.......go figure.

I was VERY serious about the mosquito repellent. They are huge, plentiful and vicious that time of year.

[CajunCamper]

Okay Ken,

I posted a few photos of our trip to Alaska on my website at //www.cajuncamper.weebly.com

Go check it out, the pictures of Alaska are on the Trips and Photos page along with a few other photos of other trips. I'll try to add more later as well as including some details about the photos I posted.

[cjpoppin]

I am so enjoying reading this thread on Alaska my husband and I are taking a 14 day cruise this summer wish it was going to be a RV trip but it's not so this will have to do....We'll be seeing the inside passage,Ketchikan,Sitka,Skagway,Glacier Bay,Anchorage,Homer,Kodiak,Hubbard Glacier,Juneau,and last stop Victoria BC then a three day stay in Seattle.
Any info on what to see while at any of these ports sure would help us do some of the planning......My mind is spinning trying to make sure we get the biggest bang for our $$.....Is it August yet?

[wavery]

I wish that I had pics that I could share but back in those days all I took were slides and my X-wife has all those.......

I have 2 pics from both trips. One is a very good shot of Mt McKinley and the other was a Lynx playing in a wood pile.

The amazing thing about the Mt McKinley photo is that the cloud line on the mountain is at about the 10,000' level.

[mkcom1]

Hello to all that responded.  I wish to thank all of you for the info and sadly wish to tell you that after further thought we have decided to postpone are Alaska trip until our kids are bigger and perhaps can get more out of it.  There is much to see in the lower U.S. and as my kids have not seen a real Mountain yet I believe we will start out west.  Thanks for the info and I'm sure we will use it in the future.   Ken

[Tiffany]

I'm so JEALOUS!!!  We've done 2 Alaska cruises and they were both wonderful.  You'll see more wildlife than you can shake a stick at, especially bald eagles.  We saw eagles, moose, bears, whales (humpback, orca), Dall sheep, seals, walrus, even a narwhal!

Juneau:  on one trip we did an excursion that went to Chapel By the Lake (in front of Mendenhall Glacier, where my parents got married) and a salmon hatchery.  Another trip we did a whale watching trip which was awesome.  Also, you must have a beer at the historic Red Dog saloon.

Ketchikan:  Saxman village has the largest concentration of totem poles in the world.  Totem Bight is also a very cool village.  They even have master totem carvers doing demonstrations.  Very cool.

Skagway:  the train ride is a must; the scenery is breathtaking.

Hubbard Glacier:  awe inspiring.  Seals and black porpoise swam right alongside the ship since you approach the glacier slowly.  Grab a seat on deck near the rails (they go fast, so get one early and take a blanket) and make sure your camera is fully charged.  Watching/hearing the glacier calve is amazing.
*Note:  our first cruise, we didn't go to Hubbard.  There was a bad storm and the water was too rough; the captain steered us up another channel to another glacier.  The channel was EXTREMELY narrow; you could just about reach out and touch the trees!  But it was every bit as amazing, so don't be disappointed if this happens to you (it probably won't; the captain said that was only the 2nd time in his history with the cruise line)

Like others have said, take mosquito repellent since the 'skeeters there are roughly the size of pigeons.  Also take a windbreaker, even in August the evenings are a bit chilly.

On clear nights, spend some time after dark on the top deck of the ship stargazing.  The northern lights are very wonderful!

One day (I think it was the day we went to Hubbard Glacier) several residents from a nearby village rode a tender out to the ship and boarded.  They were dressed in native attire and put on a wonderful show of native dance, folklore and history.

The second cruise we did, we did a sled dog excursion; I don't remember which port it was, but it was a really fun excursion.

In Seattle, do the boat ride out to the Tlingit Village with dinner and show; it's wonderful!

Sorry I've rambled on so much, but I really treasure my memories of our Alaska cruises!  You will too

[wavery]

Hello to all that responded.  I wish to thank all of you for the info and sadly wish to tell you that after further thought we have decided to postpone are Alaska trip until our kids are bigger and perhaps can get more out of it.  There is much to see in the lower U.S. and as my kids have not seen a real Mountain yet I believe we will start out west.  Thanks for the info and I'm sure we will use it in the future.   Ken

Wise decision IMO.... Alaska is a very big place and there is a lot of travel time from anywhere to anywhere. My experience has been that all this time sitting tends to spoil it for the young ones. When you get out of the car and say, "LOOK AT THAT MOUNTAIN!!!!" it tends to get a little lost in the boredom and one place looks pretty much like another to most young ones.