So about a week ago, I was sitting in my zoology class listening to the professor talk about cold weather animals and it made me miss the cold and snow (if slightly). My thinking is that if it's going to be unbearably cold, it had better snow! This thought process eventually led me to places I could visit that had lots of snow and Alaska being one of the more prominent states, and one known for adventure, was at the top of the list. Sure I could fly there but with being relatively close in Arizona, why not make a road trip out of it with my loving, outdoorsy dog, Dakota? I bounced the idea off my good travel friend and fellow enthusiast, Connor, and he was on board!
We immediately started the planning process of basic places we would want to visit and how much time we had to visit them. We decided to go in December of 2016 so we have more than enough time to save up and neither of us will be in school. Our original plan would have taken about twenty days which wouldn't have us back by our New Year's Eve deadline, so we cut out the Grand Canyon which saved us two days but only four hours of driving time. We are aware of how cold it will be in December and the potential hazards we may face and we plan on being fully prepared for them, using different guides and having all the right equipment. Below is our rough itinerary of the stops we plan on making and some activities we want to do. Please enjoy the little side notes we wrote to each other in parenthesis! Suggestions for restaurants or places we can't miss are always welcome!
Also, if anyone is seriously interested in joining us we are looking for a third person!
Day One
-Phoenix to Redwood National Park (open 9 to 4) 1,054 miles, 15 ½ hours (Shifts)
-stay the night
Day Two
-Portland, OR 173 miles, 2 ½ hours
-lunch, Voodoo Donuts
-Seattle, WA 141 miles, 2 ½ hours
-walk around, get dinner, STARBUCKS (duh- #BasicBitch)
-111 miles to Canadian border (Kota’s Rabies vaccination papers)
-Vancouver 40 miles, 2 ½ hours (from Seattle)
-stay the night
-breakfast, explore, olympics
Day Three
-Vancouver to Whitehorse (31 hours [you’ve got to be kidding])
-Drive in four hour shifts (sleeping while you can, preferably when you aren't driving)
-At least two shifts each before stopping
Day Four
-Arrive in Whitehorse, Canada
-Alpine Bakery
-Emerald Lake
-Locals
-Stay the night
Day Five
-Anchorage, Alaska (FINALLY!!!) 704 miles, 14 ½ hours
-Locals
-Stay the night
Day Six-Seven
-Kenai Fjords National Park 125 miles, 2 ½ hours
-dog sledding to Exit Glacier ($249)
-Back to Anchorage for the night and next day
Day Eight
-Denali National Park 239 miles, 4 ½ hours (actually not bad), $10/person entrance fee
-board Dakota for $26
-visit sled dog kennels
-flight seeing ($210/person)
-Camp out in car (Riley campground) or Bed and Breakfast ( ~$150 for a room)
Day Nine-Ten
-Fairbanks 123 miles, 2 ½ hours
-Northern Lights (you’re gonna love em), hot springs
-Tattoos
-Stay two nights
Day Eleven
-Whitehorse, Canada 588 miles, 12 hours (easily done in a day in 3, 4 hour shifts)
-See above Whitehorse visit
Day Twelve-Thirteen
-Kamloops, Canada 1330 miles, 28 hours (shifts) (picked because it's fun to say)
Day Fourteen
-Vegas (BABY!), 1326 miles, 21 hours
-stay the night, gamble, drink, strippers (well not strippers….okay well maybe 1 stripper… 2 max...can’t forget Chip n Dales!)
Day Fifteen
-Phoenix (aw our trip is over) 297 miles, 4 ½ hours
♡Steph
No comments:
Post a Comment