We retire at the end of 2017 and are looking forward to "Mostly" timing. The DW is not so sure about full-time yet (although I would do it in a NY minute LOL).
Still, we are planning our first post-retirement trip! We call it our "2018 retirement present AlCan Escape" (a 6-ish month trip from Alabama to Alaska & back)!
DW is excited and I am hoping by about month 4 she will mention to me that "this lifestyle is not to bad after all, maybe I should reconsider not wanting to go full-time..."
Soooo folk how about setting me up for success?! Any advice would be appreciated! If you have made this run your experiences, tips,and suggestions will be deeply appreciated.
Finally do any of you know of group caravans up the AlCan? We know about Fantasy RV Tours and the others, I am thinking more of a informal group of RVers coming together for "safety in numbers" for the trip through AB, YK and into AK rather than a lock-step tour schedule.
-- Edited by HSVBamaBob on Friday 12th of June 2015 08:04:11 AM
dianneandsteve said
08:45 AM Jun 12, 2015
Check out our Alaska trip blog start date June 11, 2013. We spent 3 months and could have easily spent 4 months. Recommended books are
Don't forget the Canadian Rockies. Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise.
I'm sure there would be a few RV Dreamers that wouldn't mind joining you on this adventure. Enjoy planning your adventure!
Bill and Linda said
08:18 AM Jun 14, 2015
Funny you should ask.We’re headed for Alaska and the Alcan - again.This will be our 2nd Alaska trip and our third up the Alcan.
We highly recommend this private company if you want to go on a caravan.It’s a smaller group of rigs – much smaller – David takes care of all the details and you can come and go as you like.Not regimented.(And you don’t have to wear marketing garb from the commercial companies.)It is very non-commercial and the materials provided for the trip are tops.Much more than just the “Milepost” book. In our view much nicer than some of the companies and we have “experience.”
Not to worry about the trip.It is an adventure, not an ordeal.
Many say to go it alone.Others enjoy the caravan and not having to worry about having a problem 250 miles from literally nowhere but having freedom to come and go as you might like.A choice.But go, you’ll love it.
Neil and Connie (on this forum) will be joining us on the 60 day trip this time.We meet up in about a week in Saskatchewan.
Plan ahead and book or plan a trip. Your choice
Bill
bjoyce said
09:17 AM Jun 14, 2015
We really liked being on our own schedule and had no problem. At the time my sister was living in Kenai area and we spent two weeks visiting, something we could not do on a caravan. But, we would still go on our own if we went again. We have friends who swear by caravans and others who swear at them.
I do recommend getting the books closer to your trip, new editions come out and the older ones get out of date. Some friends bought the books one year, then had some issues that had them cancel their trip and they ended up going 3 years later. They did not get a new Milepost or Church's camping book and had problems with the information being out of date. (On a similar note I recently read about someone saying the Church's Mexico book was out of date and it turned out they were using an older edition, that they bought new. Turns out some old inventory is out there, so be careful and make sure the "deal" is for the latest edition.)
Terry and Jo said
07:12 PM Jun 15, 2015
dianneandsteve wrote:
Check out our Alaska trip blog start date June 11, 2013. We spent 3 months and could have easily spent 4 months. Recommended books are
Thanks Terry. That's exactly what I tried to do several times...even had my computer savvy wife try but gave up in frustration. Must of been doing something wrong...I'll have to give it another try.
bjoyce said
09:03 AM Jun 17, 2015
On the Canadian Rockies, I recommend visiting them on the way south or just visit them some other year. Lots of places in those parks are not open until late June or early July, so you will miss some of the fun.
We retire at the end of 2017 and are looking forward to "Mostly" timing. The DW is not so sure about full-time yet (although I would do it in a NY minute LOL).
Still, we are planning our first post-retirement trip! We call it our "2018 retirement present AlCan Escape" (a 6-ish month trip from Alabama to Alaska & back)!
DW is excited and I am hoping by about month 4 she will mention to me that "this lifestyle is not to bad after all, maybe I should reconsider not wanting to go full-time..."
Soooo folk how about setting me up for success?! Any advice would be appreciated! If you have made this run your experiences, tips,and suggestions will be deeply appreciated.
Finally do any of you know of group caravans up the AlCan? We know about Fantasy RV Tours and the others, I am thinking more of a informal group of RVers coming together for "safety in numbers" for the trip through AB, YK and into AK rather than a lock-step tour schedule.
-- Edited by HSVBamaBob on Friday 12th of June 2015 08:04:11 AM
Check out our Alaska trip blog start date June 11, 2013. We spent 3 months and could have easily spent 4 months. Recommended books are
http://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Guide-Alaskan-Camping-Alaska/dp/0982310110
http://www.amazon.com/Milepost-2014-Kris-Valencia/dp/1892154315/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1434119519&sr=1-2&keywords=the+milepost+alaska+2015
http://www.toursaver.com/
Sorry I can't figure out the shorter links
Don't forget the Canadian Rockies. Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise.
I'm sure there would be a few RV Dreamers that wouldn't mind joining you on this adventure. Enjoy planning your adventure!
Funny you should ask. We’re headed for Alaska and the Alcan - again. This will be our 2nd Alaska trip and our third up the Alcan.
We highly recommend this private company if you want to go on a caravan. It’s a smaller group of rigs – much smaller – David takes care of all the details and you can come and go as you like. Not regimented. (And you don’t have to wear marketing garb from the commercial companies.) It is very non-commercial and the materials provided for the trip are tops. Much more than just the “Milepost” book. In our view much nicer than some of the companies and we have “experience.”
http://rvadventuretreks.com/
Not to worry about the trip. It is an adventure, not an ordeal.
Many say to go it alone. Others enjoy the caravan and not having to worry about having a problem 250 miles from literally nowhere but having freedom to come and go as you might like. A choice. But go, you’ll love it.
Neil and Connie (on this forum) will be joining us on the 60 day trip this time. We meet up in about a week in Saskatchewan.
Plan ahead and book or plan a trip. Your choice
Bill
I do recommend getting the books closer to your trip, new editions come out and the older ones get out of date. Some friends bought the books one year, then had some issues that had them cancel their trip and they ended up going 3 years later. They did not get a new Milepost or Church's camping book and had problems with the information being out of date. (On a similar note I recently read about someone saying the Church's Mexico book was out of date and it turned out they were using an older edition, that they bought new. Turns out some old inventory is out there, so be careful and make sure the "deal" is for the latest edition.)
Steve and Dianne,
Instructions for posting links are in "Forum Tips." Here is a link to that thread.
Inserting Links into Forum Posts
Terry