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Alaska or Bust


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#1 buckland

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 03:11 PM

This is an early start. I've been day dreaming on this though for a long time. Our plan is too make to AK in 2017 June - August. We have a 2011 Eagle now on the new 2.8 Duramax diesel Colorado. All preps for the truck will be done by Spring ... sway bar, add-a-leaf, bigger skid plate, and heavier duty shocks (air bags already on). We have started some time ago pre-planning this trip. It seems a tad daunting and so I thought I'd start in here and be able to come back over the winter adding more thoughts and seeking sage advice. 

 

The general outline of it all: We live in New England. It is a schlep for sure. I am 62 and though taught math/science for 30 years I am now do restoration and conservation furniture work and so have the freedom to save up and get outta town. My wife continues to teach 2nd grade in a rural little school on the Vermont border. 

 

Given that, the general plan is for me to have the camper ready and I leave here for a non-fun drive to Washington state. We have done this before on from here to Idaho on a 91 Beemer, so I know the wide open spaces I will meet. Hope to do this drive in 5 days. My wife would fly to Seattle. If all goes as planned we would take the ferry from Bellingham to Whittier.... a big expense but hey...this is a bucket trip,  and I'll sell something if I have to!

 

Once 'there' we will be visiting my nephew in Homer for awhile .... then off to the wilds.... seeing as much as possible in Alaska and then driving to Dawson and down to Montana over the course of a month. At that point, my wife would fly home to prepare for the school year and I would reverse my long haul drive to New England.

 

The new truck gets great mileage (30+ mpg highway w/o camper and 22-25 mpg with.... being the little 2.8. It has remarkable low end torque and I know the drive won't be like when I had the 4 cyl. 2001 Tacoma.... the long hills were painful.

 

And so starts my first and most boring questions for the trip: I am hoping there have been before me, crazy enough folks to cross the Mississippi into the northern/eastern US. My route in general is to cross NY state on 90 and get to Lake Erie (around Cleveland).

 

*First night:   I am in need of a place to park, pop up and sleep then on the road early. Needless to say there is not a lot of boon docking along this highly traveled interstate....but I am hoping someone has a gem and they are willing to share.

 

* Second night:  Someplace in southern Wisconsin most likely on route 90/94

 

* Third night:  Now this is depending if, when I get more advice,  I go on Rt 94 through North Dakota or stay on Rt 90 and go though South Dakota. But whichever way I'd like to be either into Eastern Montana or Northeast Wyoming. 

 

* Fourth Night:  Somewhere in Idaho as Route 90 and 94 merge around Billings and I'd continue through Missoula

 

* Fifth night I'd like to be in Seattle or real close (west of town?) so I can get to the airport to pick up the Mrs. 

 

Well this is the first installment and I hope over the long winter I can get a good plan on paper. I enjoyed those that have done these long hauls (the 2 Bobs) and a gentleman from Plano TX who mapped his route by finding brew pubs... I copied that one for sure.... and Casa Escarlata Robles Too on the 6 week trip and...... a bunch of others. I love the WTW site. It has been an enormously rich and deep well of knowledge.

 

Ad Astra per Espera!


Edited by buckland, 23 November 2016 - 03:16 PM.

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#2 Foy

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 05:02 PM

Nice-looking rig Buckland. Something tells me we'll be seeing a lot more of the Baby Durmax/lightweight pop-up combos in the next few years.  

 

  • I haven't a lot to offer as to overnight stops but here's what I have:

 

  • It's been decades since I crossed ND on I-94 but when I did, I liked it a shade better than I-90 across SD. In recent years the oil boom made it impossible to find motel rooms, campgrounds, and even a burger, but I suspect that's eased up somewhat since the oil boom is now another oil bust. Still, I'd be inquiring if I were looking for a stopover in west-central ND.

 

  • If you stay on I-90, the US 212 shortcut from Spearfish/Belle Fourche SD to Crow Agency MT (where it gets back on I-90) is a good drive.  Immediately west of Broadus is a nice little commercial campground with power and a nice shower/bathhouse, and there is a Custer NF primitive CG a couple-dozen miles further west on US 212, and it's right off the highway for EZ in and out.

 

  • On the return trip through MT in August, make yourself of the dates for the 2017 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally just east of Rapid City and dead on I-90. It's held in early August annually, but the crowds gather early and linger late.  I have nothing against bikers, but if you don't care to share I-90, fuel plazas, restaurants, and campgrounds for about a 200 mile radius with several hundred thousand of them, that'd be a good time to run up I-94 or even old US 12 on the return trip.

 

Have fun with the planning and the trip!

 

Foy


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#3 buckland

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 05:44 PM

wow ..what a great first hit! I have my map out at lunch time here and "Bing" your message came in. I see the road cut over and I would have missed that.... looks like it would be nice to get off the 'slab' and do a side road cutover. I hope to be coming back around the end of the second week in August so I hopefully will miss the 'wild bunch'... I have crossed the states a few times on a motorcycle. I am not a 'pack person' rather the opposite...heck I can't even go into a mall... I would not like crowds if possible. I crossed MT and ND on route 2...pretty incredible country where the sky tells you how small you really are. Thanks again for your suggestions. I hope to follow in the steps of others and post a trip report...a hard act to follow. I thought I put up a photo that is a bit bigger. I am fairly excited about this camper/truck combo.

 

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2016 Duramax 2.8 Diesel long bed Colorado 4WD with 2011 Eagle

Lordwoodcraft  instagram        Rob
The only people who ever get anyplace interesting are the people who get lost.
Henry David Thoreau
"Work to achieve not to acquire"

 


#4 longhorn1

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 06:43 PM

Buckland, not sure exactly where you live in NE, but if you are North, you might think about the Queens 401, passing by Toronto, but you will come out at Windsor Canada and have to drive around Chicago. If you took the 401 you could pick up Hwy. 17 through Ottawa and then to Salt Ste. Marie, across the UP through Duluth on Hwy. 2, to Grand Forks and drop down on I-29 to I-94. You will have to check out the mileage, but you would miss a mess through the US. jd

ps. We drove from Indianpolis to Windsor and then the 401 to NY, crossed over into NY and stayed at a state park on Lake Champlain, took the ferry across to Grand Isle SP, Stowe, and other places in VT. Missing Cleveland and other traffic messes.


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Edited by longhorn1, 23 November 2016 - 06:55 PM.

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#5 Cayuse

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 06:51 PM

North Idaho has some places right off 90 at the border where you cross Lookout Pass.  Not too hard to get far enough from the freeway to get a good nights sleep.  If you want to drive a bit further then up along the Coeur d'Alene river there are some great camping spots and both the Pritchard Tavern and the Snake Pit in Enaville have pretty good food.

 

About two hours or so east of Seattle there is an area that you can boondock near  Frenchman's Coulee.  The normal camping area requires a state park Discover Pass but there is an area a bit north and across the road that doesn't require the pass.


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#6 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 06:54 PM

Rob nice to see you start planning your trip.

A lot of forethought goes a long way. Just knowing what is ahead is a big help.

You can still play it by ear and make changes along the way,but having the info

ahead helps. I94 through ND is just flat concrete but the only time we drove it 2012 there was light traffic.

I think that some of the rest stops allow some extended parking not sure we haven't done that.

Our neighbors seem to use  only them with their motor home but they are only traveling from point A to point B.

If you need a place to stay around Spearfish SD the city has a nice campground,cheap and showers plus wi fi.

 

Have you looked into the ferry yet? If you want a cabin with facilities you will have to spring for a 4 person one.

The other options are the 2 person roomettes,no facilities but the showers/restrooms are in the same area.

If you want to "ruff" it for 5 nights there are the two aft "sun rooms" they are enclosed and have a restroom next to them.They are where the back backers sleep. IMO a nice cabin was the right choice for us.We have used the ferry system for over 35 years and always enjoy it.

 

As always if you want more info please PM me.

Have fun planning.

Frank


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#7 buckland

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 07:50 PM

JD I do indeed dread the thought of going through Ohio and Indiana to get through Chicago. Without a doubt that would be the worse part of the whole trip. When I rode the bike west I crossed into Canada from Buffalo NY and went thru London Ontario to Huron USA (on the Lake)....then west to Lake Michigan where we took a ferry across to Manitowoc, Wisconsin...real nice... but then a bike was cheap.... but I will check in on current prices as it is a big time saver and puts you in a good spot to either go 90 or 94 west. If not the ferry I am now thinking I like your idea but with the twist, I might go north to the Mackinac bridge into northern Michigan and getting on Route 2 west to Duluth... then 210 to 10 to catch Route 94. I just wish I could start at the Mississippi!!! Actually this planning stuff is fun as it gets you on the road in your head! The camper is tucked away in the garage for the winter and this is as close as I'll get to "wander" until Spring. Thanks everybody and keep on thinking!


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2016 Duramax 2.8 Diesel long bed Colorado 4WD with 2011 Eagle

Lordwoodcraft  instagram        Rob
The only people who ever get anyplace interesting are the people who get lost.
Henry David Thoreau
"Work to achieve not to acquire"

 


#8 longhorn1

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 08:11 PM

JD I do indeed dread the thought of going through Ohio and Indiana to get through Chicago. Without a doubt that would be the worse part of the whole trip. When I rode the bike west I crossed into Canada from Buffalo NY and went thru London Ontario to Huron USA (on the Lake)....then west to Lake Michigan where we took a ferry across to Manitowoc, Wisconsin...real nice... but then a bike was cheap.... but I will check in on current prices as it is a big time saver and puts you in a good spot to either go 90 or 94 west. If not the ferry I am now thinking I like your idea but with the twist, I might go north to the Mackinac bridge into northern Michigan and getting on Route 2 west to Duluth... then 210 to 10 to catch Route 94. I just wish I could start at the Mississippi!!! Actually this planning stuff is fun as it gets you on the road in your head! The camper is tucked away in the garage for the winter and this is as close as I'll get to "wander" until Spring. Thanks everybody and keep on thinking!

You bet, the planning stuff is a lot of fun.  I have our 3 trips laid out for 2017, March a return to Galveston Island SP, June - Shenandoah NP, and late Sept - early October (18 days) to Colorado.  Most of my planning is on Colorado.  At some point I will start loading the trips onto my InReach maps.  jd


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#9 Edgewood

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 08:13 PM

I have a flat driveway you can stay at just a mile from the Alaska ferry terminal in Bellingham.


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#10 kmcintyre

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Posted 23 November 2016 - 08:22 PM

It's been on my list too and we'll probably try to do it in 2018.

 

A few suggestions and some are similar to other suggestions.  Since it seems like you trying to make it quickly, these may not pertain to your trip out. 

 

If you can make it, Custer SP is awesome. 

 

If you come through Idaho, anywhere along the Lochsa River is awesome.  If you wanted a break, Lochsa Lodge is awesome but that may slow you down.  If you had the time, the Lolo Motorway is great (Lewis and Clark path along the Bitterroots).


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