ROAD TRIP PLANNING IS NO PLACE FOR SISSIES!

ONCE the decision had been made to see Alaska, the planning began.  First off, how will we get there? Thank all the stars and whatever powers may be for the internet!  I cannot imagine how one would go about planning a trip like this with a 90 year-old great-grandmother and a 12-year-old lad in tow before the advent of the internet.  Mom nixed the fly and cruise option ("Flying is such a hassle these days.") as well as the train option ("We'd have to drive somewhere else first and leave a car there.") so I was unsure exactly how we'd pull this thing off.  Mom was set on driving or rather, riding while I did the driving to Alaska.

While investigating routing possibilities, I took a look at the Alaska Highway and realized one important thing - there's NOTHING out there!  If you're young, into wilderness, camping, and the rugged back-country of our northernmost state, you might want to tackle 1,400 miles of it with a tent or RV.  But I'm a 60-something traveling with an untraveled youth and an elderly Mom -- 1,400 miles through wilderness is not for us!

Then,  while searching for general information on Alaska, I stumbled upon a page called "North to Alaska" that had been developed for the State's 70th anniversary this year.  One of the page links took me to the Alaska Marine Highway site and just like that our plan solidified.  The Alaska Marine Highway System is a fleet of large ferries that ply the waters of the Inside Passage between Bellingham, Washington and Dutch Harbor, Alaska (of "Deadliest Catch" fame).  

It took three, 12-hour days to rough out a plan, make the preliminary inquiries, sort out the various schedules and options, and write up an itinerary we could live with.  After several more days of a few hours here and there, I had a mostly final plan covering 6,000+ driving miles and an 1,800 mile ferry trip during which we'll see amazing natural wonders and wildlife across the United States.

The outbound journey to Bellingham is on the map in the gallery on the right.

More on our itinerary next time...