For those of you planning the trip:
1. Get Milepost as described in an earlier message.
2. If you intend to use the Marine Highway (ferry) on any legs of the
trip, plan early and get your reservations in early. I planned our trip
in May and got the last slot on the boat from Anchorage to Valdez after
I turn my itinery around since nothing was available on the day
originally planned.
3. Travel from Valdez north and climb through the pass. The sights are
exquisit(sp?). Pack your lunch for this leg, as it is 50 miles +
between anything that resembles resturants.
4. We enjoyed Denali, but if you don't like bus tours or hiking, all
you'll see is Mount McKinley maybe. Supposedly only 1 out of 5 tourists
see the entire mountain due to cloud cover.
5. Understand the distances from city to city. I.e. Fairbanks to
Anchorage is something like 350 miles!
6. Watch for patched areas on the highways. Sometimes the highways are
'patched' by putting loose gravel down. Hittin loose gravel at 70+ MPH
is interesting, especial after you've been driving for 10 hours.
My son (who was 7 at the time) and I went about 4 years ago. We rented
a car in Anchorage, ferried over to Valdez, drove up to Fairbanks and
back to Anchorage. Took a day to tour Kenai, a day trip to tour the
northern pipeline terminus and a day to tour Sitka. We spent 11 hectic
days including travel from Boston. It was great! My son wanted to go
back the next week after he had his dose of Mommy.
Before you flalme me, these are my opinion, and if you don't like
them....
The slimmy low life lurker.
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