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Mon May 19, 2008 8:21 pm

this summer, i plan on driving my 67 westy pop-top camper from phoenix to alaska and back, because it's something i've always wanted to do. plus, mr bush suggested that i spend my stimulus money on gas and i'm certainly going to use a lot of it. and wilco will be playing there at the end of july so why not?

this has been a dream of mine for some time and i've done a lot of research and found it's not as hard as some friends of mine first made it out to be. they assumed that the alaskan highway was still a rough dirt road with no towns or gas stations to speak of. fortunately, it's well traveled and a wonderful way to drive up there

my tentative route will have me leaving phoenix at the beginning of july, heading north to idaho where i'll stop to visit with some mt shasta folks. from there, i'll be entering canada via the montana border, traveling through calgary and edmonton then on up to the alaskan highway. once in alaska, i'll probably cruise up to fairbanks before heading south to anchorage, hitting as many sites along the way as i can without breaking the bank. my trip home will include a ferry ride back to the lower 48, then hitting up as many friends as i can on the left coast on my way home. i'm giving myself two months to do all of this but hope it will not take that long. we'll see.

alaskan and canadian VW friends, speak up. i would love to hear from you and possibly visit you along the way if i can. if you have already done this trip, i want to hear from you as well. im looking for advise and suggestions for cool places to visit or camp along the way. i don't really have any plans set in stone except to get up there and back in one piece without any major complications.

i look forward to everyone's replies.

Mon May 19, 2008 8:36 pm

Wow, that is a trip I have alwyas wantd to make too. Good luck on your journey.

Mon May 19, 2008 8:50 pm

Mike, the following post is a blog of a bus trip to Alaska in 2006.

http://noodometerinethyl.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html

Mon May 19, 2008 9:41 pm

If you plan your route for it you could hit the GCVWS '08 on the way back south.

http://www.gcvws.com/

or the running thread about it (details) here:

http://airspeedparts.com/online-community/index.php?topic=13406.0

Either way touch base with some of the Alberta / B.C. forums.

Tue May 20, 2008 12:15 am

While it's lonely doing these things solo -and more expensive- sometimes the best times are had doing these epic journeys by one's self. That being said, I can't help but want to go too. Anyone slated, or are you solo?

Tue May 20, 2008 5:27 am

I am in Calgary.
You are most welcome to stop in for anything- from a coffee or beer, or to stay for a week.
Let me know what your schedule looks like closer to trip date, but plan on stopping in here.

BTW
I have a dry garage, decent compliment of tools and parts, truck and trailer, so if anything goes sideways between the Montana border and Edmonton, you're covered.
-Keith

Tue May 20, 2008 6:23 am

Alaska is awsome to see! Good luck and post lots of pics!

Tue May 20, 2008 7:04 am

kombisutra wrote: While it's lonely doing these things solo -and more expensive- sometimes the best times are had doing these epic journeys by one's self. That being said, I can't help but want to go too. Anyone slated, or are you solo?

right now, it's just me and the dog. i've thought about posting on other sites to see if anyone needs a ride on certain legs of the trip to help with gas but i'm not sure if i'm going to do that yet.

Riff Raff, thanks for chiming in. you can be my official tour guide of Calgary. i've only been in enough of Canada to say that i was there. i look forward to checking it out. i'll pm you to get your number.

Tue May 20, 2008 8:51 pm

truckersmike wrote: kombisutra wrote: While it's lonely doing these things solo -and more expensive- sometimes the best times are had doing these epic journeys by one's self. That being said, I can't help but want to go too. Anyone slated, or are you solo?

right now, it's just me and the dog. i've thought about posting on other sites to see if anyone needs a ride on certain legs of the trip to help with gas but i'm not sure if i'm going to do that yet.

Riff Raff, thanks for chiming in. you can be my official tour guide of Calgary. i've only been in enough of Canada to say that i was there. i look forward to checking it out. i'll pm you to get your number.

Damn You!!!!!!!!

Tue May 20, 2008 9:20 pm

If you need a beer n bbq or anything else your covered in Utah...

Tue May 20, 2008 9:42 pm

If you need anything when you pass through Olympia feel free to give us a call.

Wed May 21, 2008 11:22 pm

not sure if i'll be able to make it to BC, though it's right there. if i take the ferry home, it will skip that part and take me straight to WA.

i know i need my passport now to enter and leave canada but does anyone know if they will give me flack about bringing a dog across the border?

Thu May 22, 2008 1:56 am

It was years ago, 89, but crossing into Canada once they wanted to see the dogs papers... It took me a bit to dig them out so they sent me "over there" and proceeded to ask me where the drugs were....

Long story short... I was "busted" for smuggling T-shirts :roll:

Thu May 22, 2008 7:41 am

I think you need to show that your pooch is current on all his/her shots.

Thu May 22, 2008 8:41 am

Yep, proof of vaccinations is all you need for the hound.

Thu May 22, 2008 10:28 am

crofty wrote: I think you need to show that your pooch is current on all his/her shots.

I have extra space should you need it as well.

Thu May 22, 2008 10:51 am

Sounds epic! That's one of my dream trips to take someday.

Do what you can to protect your ride. Expect to have some rocks thrown into the front of it by other vehicles. Make sure your spare is good -- in fact, it's advisable to carry two. Read more here:

http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/akhwy.html

and get yourself a copy of The Milepost. We had one for our Alaska driving tour and it was indespensible.

We will be expecting trip reports! :D

Thu May 22, 2008 1:21 pm

It is an awesome trip. I did Albquerque to Anchorage and back in 1999 in my 1985 Westie. I made the trip solo and loved every minute of it. My dad rode with me to Idaho where we visited my sister for a few days, dropped him off at the airport and I was on my own the rest of the way.

The road is not that bad...I carried just one spare tire and 10 gallons of gas on the roof and never needed either.

It was on that long solo journey that I decided to get my class A CDL...had it ever since.

Good Luck!!

Thu May 22, 2008 3:34 pm

If I wanna know what Juno,

Alaska.

Thu May 22, 2008 4:33 pm

I have always wanted to drive the AlCan hwy. I get up there every couple of years . I really like , Seward,Soldotna,Homer and Lands end road . Lands End road is as far west as you can drive and a fine road.
Take a Fijords tour , hit Denali, and I must say have the fish at Whitter.
Oh one more thing-THE SALTY DAWG (bar in a lighthouse)in Homer's Spit Alaska is the epicenter of the universe !
Enjoy my Friend , soon you will be hunting a home in Alaska.