Marsha/CA said:
1. Give me the top 3 things your either did or saw that you considered the best part your Alaska trip.
2. Would you do anything differently?
3. Did you take anything special with you (ie. Jeff and Sue took an extra tire for their motor home and carried it on the top of the roof.)
4. Did you do anything special to the car and or toad (ie. wrap wire on the under part of the motor)
Marsha~
1. The animals in Denali, the park on the south side of Anchorage that had moose, (yes, MOOSE!), the boat trips out of Valdez (Stan's) and Whittier--we avoided the big one with all the tourist buses. Our third thrill would be getting to see Mt. McKinley. Schedule enough days there so you can have a chance to see it, and start looking for it from your first day.
2. We would skip Top of the World--the road conditions are too unpredictable, and we hit it at a terrible time. The fine dust got in our GPS system and everything else, it jammed up our steps, and really messed up our coach. When we were there we saw a lot of dead and deformed spruce trees (bark beetle), and it was overcast, then rained at the end. The road beat us to death. For a first time, we would follow the same route. However, next time we go, hopefully in 2012, we will hit Denali earlier because we should see more animals there then. The trade-off is giving up the better weather in Valdez and the Kenai when you get to see the marine animals. I would have loved to go salmon/halibut fishing, but Dean doesn't like it. We would have bought more cedar planks and started eating halibut earlier. I've don't usually like halibut because it is so dry and tasteless; the fresh halibut and salmon is to die for! I think if we lived there, we'd become fishitarians.
3. We took padded reflective material (cut-to-fit) to block out the midnight light, and we didn't use it. The light didn't bother us at all; we slept like babies. If you want us to bring it to Quartzite, we'd be happy to give it to you. I also have some books for you that I enjoyed reading.
4. We got a clear film to protect the paint, but it is very difficult to apply to anything except a flat surface. Be sure to get windshield insurance for your coach. There is a website that tells where the construction is and when they are putting the calcium carbonate on the Top of the World. We found the construction info helpful. Be sure to get an early start each morning because that is when the animals are out. Summer solstice in Anchorage was a big celebration.