Erin Kirkland/AKontheGO
A very merry Boxing Day, AKontheGO readers! We hear it’s snowing back home in Alaska, even as AK Fam enjoys a bit of green in beautiful-but-extremely-rainy Portland, Oregon. Rainy, but brighter than Alaska, with the sun rising around 8 a.m. and going down around 5:30 p.m. What a concept, this light, and we’re enjoying the extra few hours very much.
There’s no rest for a travel writer, however, especially as 2015 begins its final trajectory toward finality and 2016 appears on the horizon. January 1 marks an important day for anyone looking to make plans to explore the United States, as campgrounds, hotels, and transportation entities open up reservations, and this year, that includes us.
As you may remember, AKontheGO has partnered with Great Alaskan Holidays to embark upon an epic road trip between the Winnebago factory in Forest City, Iowa and our hometown of Anchorage. A few months ago, all we had was a date. Today, we have a few more details, and a proposed route that will enable us to visit with AKontheGO readers from Minneapolis to Watson Lake, and as many places as we can in the middle.
Here’s the route, as it stands (in pencil) on the calendar:
LOWER 48-UNITED STATES
Forest City, Iowa (May 14, 2016)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Fargo, North Dakota
Bismark, North Dakota
Miles City, Montana
Bozeman, Montana
Helena, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Glacier National Park
CANADA
Waterton Lakes National Park
Calgary, Alberta
Banff, Alberta
Jasper, Alberta
Prince George, British Columbia
Dawson Creek, British Columbia
Watson Lake, Yukon Territory
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
Haines Junction, Yukon Territory
Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory
ALASKA-UNITED STATES
Tok, Alaska
Sheep Mountain Lodge, Alaska
Anchorage (early June)
AKontheGO is grateful for assistance in planning this highly-ambitious itinerary and the activities in each region.
- KOA will provide campground assistance between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Jasper National Park, Alberta.
- John Hall’s Alaska has invited our family to visit their home offices in Minnesota, and to experience some of the amazing outdoor recreation opportunities in the greater Banff/Jasper area.
- And, of course, Great Alaskan Holidays will provide the brand-new RV for our road-tripping adventure of a lifetime.
- North Dakota Tourism has been a wealth of knowledge and information in planning a journey to such a foreign landscape.
- Miles City, Montana has invited us to the annual Bucking Horse Sale (AK Grandma was born in this cowboy community, so we’re looking forward to inspecting her homeland).
Interested in meeting AKontheGO? Let us know and we’ll do our best to rendezvous at one of our planned stops.
Perhaps a new book manuscript is on the horizon?
#IowaToAlaska2016
Just wanted to say good luck with Planning I made a similar trip from Boca Raton, Florida to Edmonton to Jasper and Banff and back south to Calgary and Glacier National Park. The West Edmonton Mall was an incedible stop they had a beach inside the mall as well as one of the largest water parks in the US. The kids loved the visit on the way. Whistler National park in Jasper was breath taking wake up in early spring to find out that you parked in the middle of a herd of elk or at least it feels that way. Animals just roam around the rv park unaffected by the campers. A must stop if possible but without resevations , hard to get in. Much luck in planning and have fun
Rob