During the 1990's , SO and I enjoyed a number of travelling holidays through the USA , and during a period covering about 15 years , we travelled through at least 35 of their states . The last of these , and certainly not the least , was Alaska , which we " explored " in May-June 2004 .
And , if you will allow me , I will take you along that long trip ( about 9500 kilometres ) by motorcar , and ferry , over a period of around 4 weeks .
Alaska - a trip to remember
Alaska - a trip to remember
Last edited by okie on Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Enough is enough
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nan
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Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
another one Alaska (or great North/South) amator 
come on
come on
Kgalagadi lover… for ever
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https://safrounet.piwigo.com/
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Mel
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Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
Dressed up with mittens, gloves and scarf and ready to go. 
God put me on earth to accomplish a certain amount of things. Right now I'm so far behind that I'll never die.
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H. erectus
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Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
In all fairness,..as a child, the Great American outdoors
had a profound effect on my life!!,.. thank you for that,
little did I realise at the time,....
had a profound effect on my life!!,.. thank you for that,
little did I realise at the time,....
Heh,.. H.e
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SammyA
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Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
Oh wow, Alaska is one of those places I've always dreamed of going too.
Looking forward to this
Looking forward to this
Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
OK all , please be patient with me , I have to go through a lot of pics , copy , paste , etc , and also try to remember where they taken . This is the first time that I will be writing/relating the whole experience , so have a lot of memories to think of , and all of which happened 9 years ago 
To start off , I will give you some idea of what we wanted to do .
Now , Alaska was a place that I always wanted to visit , and in my younger days used to read a lot about . I grew up with stories written by Jack London ( White Fang ) , about that vast white and cold wilderness , tales of gold-fever on the Klondike , and of course , The Alaska Highway .
For those of you who do not know about it , the Alaska Highway was built by the Americans towards the end of World War 2 , in order to have a quick access to protect the Alaskan Oil pipeline from a possible Japanese invasion .
The road was originally ripped through the wilderness during a relatively short period of about 10 months , covering a distance of 1500 miles ( about 2500 kilometres ) from Dawson Creek in the north of British Columbia , to Fairbanks in Alaska .
Now , to drive the Alaska Highway became for me a dream , and was therefore central to our holiday planning .
Another thing I wanted to do , was to travel the Inside Passage . This is the route followed by USA Marine Services , winding is route between the islands on the west coast of British Columbia , servicing a number of towns , including Juneau ( Capital City of Alaska ) , situated on those Islands . Towns such as Ketchican , Sitka , Haines , Skagway .
Oh , BTW , the ferry route I'm referring to must not be confused with the luxury cruiser trips go up and down the main seas passage , and which only visit a couple of the bigger ports ( and costs a lot of money too ) .
OK , enough of a preliminary for now . Will come back later to relate , and show some pics .
To start off , I will give you some idea of what we wanted to do .
Now , Alaska was a place that I always wanted to visit , and in my younger days used to read a lot about . I grew up with stories written by Jack London ( White Fang ) , about that vast white and cold wilderness , tales of gold-fever on the Klondike , and of course , The Alaska Highway .
For those of you who do not know about it , the Alaska Highway was built by the Americans towards the end of World War 2 , in order to have a quick access to protect the Alaskan Oil pipeline from a possible Japanese invasion .
The road was originally ripped through the wilderness during a relatively short period of about 10 months , covering a distance of 1500 miles ( about 2500 kilometres ) from Dawson Creek in the north of British Columbia , to Fairbanks in Alaska .
Now , to drive the Alaska Highway became for me a dream , and was therefore central to our holiday planning .
Another thing I wanted to do , was to travel the Inside Passage . This is the route followed by USA Marine Services , winding is route between the islands on the west coast of British Columbia , servicing a number of towns , including Juneau ( Capital City of Alaska ) , situated on those Islands . Towns such as Ketchican , Sitka , Haines , Skagway .
Oh , BTW , the ferry route I'm referring to must not be confused with the luxury cruiser trips go up and down the main seas passage , and which only visit a couple of the bigger ports ( and costs a lot of money too ) .
OK , enough of a preliminary for now . Will come back later to relate , and show some pics .
Enough is enough
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Lisbeth
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Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
Ready! 
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
On board for this trip
Satara 30 Sept - 7 Oct
Botswana June/July 2018
Botswana June/July 2018
Re: Alaska - a trip to remember
Right , so let's begin .
We started our trip by flying to London , then Frankfurt , from where we flew to Seattle , via Denver , Colorado . Our flight did not go directly to Seattle , and for some reason we had to disembark at Denver in order to go through USA Customs . So , that night , we stayed over in Denver , and having been there a couple of times previously , we hired a car just for overnight in order to get around , go to a nearby motel etc .
Denver has a weird-looking airport building , and which from a distance looks like a lot of Red Indian teepees
. I have apicture of it somewhere , but cannot find at this time .
Next day , we took another flight , on to Seattle , where we rented a Jeep Cherokee 4x4 . Our intention was to drive from Seattle , north to Dawson Creek in northern British Columbia , and from take on the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks Alaska , - a total distance Seattle to Fairbanks of about 2300 miles . And of course back again .
BTW , like all our travels , we did not making any advance reservations at all , except our flights . We therefore fly to some place , get into a car , and drive wherever the road takes us , usually in a somewhat circular route , until we are again back where we started , in time for our flight back home .
In a strange country ( often uncharted territory for us ) , it can sometime become quite hairy , because you never know where exactly you will end up for that day , and/or where you are to spend the night .
Now , when it comes to indications of sunset on the horizon , then us Saffies like to at least start thinking a place to crawl into for the night .
And , when that time of day arrives , without any signs of civilisation ( read town , motel , lodge ) , then you start getting a bit tense , gripping the steering wheel , clenching your teeth , especially if you note out of the corner of your eye , that SO , sitting ( silently ) in the passenger seat , is hyperventilating . Desperate times , I can tell you .
But fun
We started our trip by flying to London , then Frankfurt , from where we flew to Seattle , via Denver , Colorado . Our flight did not go directly to Seattle , and for some reason we had to disembark at Denver in order to go through USA Customs . So , that night , we stayed over in Denver , and having been there a couple of times previously , we hired a car just for overnight in order to get around , go to a nearby motel etc .
Denver has a weird-looking airport building , and which from a distance looks like a lot of Red Indian teepees
. I have apicture of it somewhere , but cannot find at this time . Next day , we took another flight , on to Seattle , where we rented a Jeep Cherokee 4x4 . Our intention was to drive from Seattle , north to Dawson Creek in northern British Columbia , and from take on the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks Alaska , - a total distance Seattle to Fairbanks of about 2300 miles . And of course back again .
BTW , like all our travels , we did not making any advance reservations at all , except our flights . We therefore fly to some place , get into a car , and drive wherever the road takes us , usually in a somewhat circular route , until we are again back where we started , in time for our flight back home .
In a strange country ( often uncharted territory for us ) , it can sometime become quite hairy , because you never know where exactly you will end up for that day , and/or where you are to spend the night .
Now , when it comes to indications of sunset on the horizon , then us Saffies like to at least start thinking a place to crawl into for the night .
And , when that time of day arrives , without any signs of civilisation ( read town , motel , lodge ) , then you start getting a bit tense , gripping the steering wheel , clenching your teeth , especially if you note out of the corner of your eye , that SO , sitting ( silently ) in the passenger seat , is hyperventilating . Desperate times , I can tell you .
But fun
Enough is enough