“Alaska RV Adventure” – The Highway – Books to Take

Jodie & John – RV Adventure Videos continued from June 12th The highway is in good shape, the only problem is that Alaska is a long way from almost everywhere! You’ll need a good six weeks to see the highway and Alaska. Of course, three months is always better. It helps if you don’t have that time consuming problem called a job! If you only have a couple of weeks to see Alaska it would be best to fly to Anchorage and rent an RV. ABC Rentals are a good choice. You can see a lot of Alaska in two weeks if you start in Alaska, not in Chicago!. The first thing you should do before you leave for Alaska is pick up a copy of the Alaska Mile Post. It’s a large book that lists every mile of every hightway you will be driving on in British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska. We usualy keep it right on the dashboard. The book will tell you were the next campground is, the next fuel stop, historical info and more. It is so percise it will tell you that a river goes under the highway at Mile 760 and the fish in that river average 18-inches in length! Now that’s covering everything. You never have to worry about running out of fuel on the highway. There is an “oasis” of sorts at least every fifty-miles or so. To be continued next Thursday ………… Please email me any questions you might have about RV travel to Alaska, and anywhere else. You can also see video clips of our three RV Adventure Videos Alaska DVD’s at www.rvadventurevideos.com Jodie... Read more

“Alaska: RV Adventure of a Lifetime” – FAQ

Hi John: A couple of years ago, my wife Penny and I visited your booth and film exhibit at the Seattle RV show. We purchased two Alaska videos and subsequently a third. We really enjoy having them and have shared them with friends who will be traveling with us. Two rigs (both Class A 34 and 35 feet) headed from Seattle to Alaska June, 2009 is the plan. Probably six to eight weeks. First timers to Alaska for all four of us. The question is: would you recommend taking at least one “toad” with us? Mark, Glad you enjoyed the DVD’s It sounds as if you are going to have a great trip! Take the whole eight weeks if you can, you will never run out of things to see! A “toad” is a luxury in Alaska, not a necessity. When I made my first video about Alaska I drove a 34ft Class A with no toad. I spent 3 months in the state filming. There were times I wished I would have had one but most of the time I was happy not to drag it along. It cuts down on your MPG and takes a beating behind the Class A because of all the gravel. If you do decide to take a toad make sure it is well covered and protected. Read more  Read More →

“Alaska: RV Adventure” – The Road, the Bad Old Days!

Jodie & John – RV Adventure Videos All I could do was laugh as I lay in the middle of the mud-covered road. It was 1973 and this was the Alaska Highway! I’d just been thrown over the handel-bars of my Harley-Davidson and made a nice soft landing in the muck. Before I left Detroit that summer, at the tender age of twenty, I had read all about the highway and heard the stories. People said “your vehicle will self-destruct from all the bumps, the bears will eat you and the mosquitoes will carry you off into the wilderness!” (or was that the other way around?) I had more than second thoughts. At one point I decided to listen to all the nay-sayers and take the ferry up the inside passage. I was traveling by myself and heading for the coast when I met two other motorcycle riders from Minniesota. They were on their way to the beginning of the highway in Dawson Creek BC. Both of them had extra gas cans, tires, and tools strapped to the sides of their bikes. They had no idea about what they were getting into. We spent that night around the campfire as I tried to talk them into taking the easy way north on the ferry. I didn’t do a very good job, the next morning all three of us were heading for Dawson Creek. I had to go with them, they didn’t even know there were fuel stations at least every 50-miles along the way, they needed my help. This would be one great adventure! To be continued next Thursday ………… Please email me... Read more

“Alaska: RV Adventure of a Lifetime” – How’s the Road?

The most frequent question we get at our video presentations about Alaska is “How’s the road?” I guess it depends on who you ask. Nothing disappoints us more than having someone come to our show and say “We were going to drive our RV to Alaska last summer but old Uncle Joe talked us out of it. He told us the road was dusty and dirty, that the pot-holes were so big your RV would go in one side and not come out the other for 5-minutes and it was so bumpy that pieces kept falling off his RV. By the time he got to Fairbanks his rig was in such bad shape he put the whole thing in a small UPS box and shipped it back home!” What Uncle Joe forgot to mention in his story was the fact he hasn’t been to Alaska since 1948! Don’t listen to Uncle Joe, listen to us. We drove the highway several times last summer, shooting video and working with a Born Free caravan. The road is just fine. You will find some construction on the highway each summer, just like every place else in the country, but the road is basically all paved. Read more  Read More →

Alaska RV Adventure: DVD’s For Trip Planning

Thinking about Alaska? By Adrienne Kristine I was mildly interested in going to Alaska, especially after hearing from a fellow workamper who worked there one summer. She arrived in May and helped the local businesses open for the season before beginning her workamping job. Then she wrote about “termination dust”: the first sign of snow signaling the end of the season and notice to leave. Recently, I taught at the Life on Wheels in Tucson where I was fortunate to watch an abridged version of John Holod’s trips to Alaska filmed by his company, RV Adventure Videos. After the presentation, I drove home still thinking about what I saw. I was hooked. Read more  Read More →

“Alaska:RV Adventure of a Lifetime.” – Inside Passage 5

continued from May 1st……. You are not allowed to live in your RV while on board the ferry. While staying in your RV home would seem like a good idea we all know that old Uncle Joe would get up in the middle of the night, turn on his propane to cook some eggs, and blow everybody up! Once you drive your RV on board you lock it up and head upstairs to the deck. You can rent a state room but that will cost extra. You can also sleep out on the deck in a tent or deck chair, but most of us are too old for that. Again I get back to the idea of taking the trip in short hops. Most runs between ports are only four to eight hours. Get off the ferry and spend the night on dry land, sleep in your own bed, eat your own food and then head out again when you are ready. The ferry system does make allowances for pets. If you travel with a dog there will be announcements every few hours letting you know you can go downstairs to walk Fido. I suggest they also rent you a small piece of Astroturf. PLESE EMAIL ME IF  YOU HAVE A QUESTION To be continued next Thursday …. John Holod – RV Adventure Videos John & Jodie will be leading a Born Free Caravan to Alaska this summer. For more information check out his website below. John’s personal appearance schedule and videos can be found on his website, where he can be reached via email at www.rvadventurevideos.com  Read More →

“Alaska:RV Adventure of a Lifetime” – Inside Passage 4

 continued from April 4th ……. On their website, the Alaska Marine Highway System suggests that you make reservations on the ferry six months in advance. We found that wasn’t necessary, unless you were leaving from Bellingham WA. We rode the ferries for over four months while shooting our “Alaska Inside Passage” video and we were never on a ferry that was more than half-full. If you did start your trip in Bellingham (which we don’t suggest for cost reasons) you might need one, but starting in Prince Rupert BC we never did. Making reservations makes your trip too structured. You never know how long you want to spend in a town until you get there and check it out. Read more  Read More →

“Alaska:RV Adventure of a Lifetime” – Tire/Ferry Q&A

Email any questions about travel to Alaska to www.rvadventurevideos.com You recommend carrying two spare tires when traveling in Alaska. Do you carry just the tire or do you carry tire & wheel. Do you carry them in the storage area of your RV or do you carry them in your tow vehicle. Unless you plan on traveling on a lot of gravel back-roads I don’t think you need two spares. A good rule of thumb is to take one spare for each vehicle you have, one for the RV and one for the tow vehicle for example. I really doubt that you will be unlucky enough have two flat tires before you can get the first one fixed. There are tire stores about every 50-miles or so on the route. Carrying the spare tire will be enough back-up but feel free to include the wheel if you have space. I don’t know about you, but space is always at a premium when we travel. We had Born Free make us a rack on top of our RV for a spare tire. Read more  Read More →

“Alaska: RV Adventure of a Lifetime” – Newsletter

Every month we write a newsletter to friends and family about our life on the road. We’ll be including it in the blog and get back to travel in Alaska next week. Please email me any questions you have about RV travel in Alaska. TALES FROM THE OPEN ROAD – MARCH 2008 RV Adventure Videos Schedule: April: 2nd Glendora CA – 19th Fairfield Glade TN (Jodie) – 19th Huntsville AL (Jodie ) – 19th Burlington NC (Jodie) – 19th North Bay ONT(John) – 2nd Dun das ONT – 23rd Rockville ONT – 19th Missisuga ONT – 19th Chatham ONT Check out John’s new Blog on RV.Net Don’t forget there is still time to sign you for John & Jodie’s Born Free Caravan to Alaska this summer! Check it out on our home page. Hall of Fame The Churches Hall of Shame Downtown Denver Ramada Inn March 1st & 2nd found us doing presentations at the Phoenix RV Show. Right after the show ended Jodie headed to the airport for a flight to Kansas City. She then had to rent a car and drive 160 miles south to Miami OK to do a Travelogue dinner show the next night. It was a long way to go for just one show but that’s how the schedule worked out. It’s hard to plan shows a year in advance! Read more  Read More →

“Alaska: RV Adventure of a Lifetime!” Inside Passage 3

Please feel free to email me with any questions about RV travel to Alaska or anywhere else www.rvadventurevideos.com Setfan writes: Can I buy a ticket from Ketchikan to Haines and get off at different ports and just get back on to continue my trip? Stefan, Yes, this is the way we suggest you travel the inside passage. Let’s say you are traveling North from Prince Ruppert BC (much cheaper than leaving from Bellingham WA). Buy your ticket from Prince Rupert to Katchikan, that’s all. It’s about a 6-hour run. When you arrive in Ketchikan drive your RV into town and find a camground. Stay in Ketchikan 2 days or 2 weeks, make your own schedule. Make syre you do a flight-seeing trip with Taquan Air http://www.taquanair.com/ over Misty Fjords National Monument.  When you have seen everything you want to see in Ketchikan head over to the ferry ticket office and get a ticket to the next ferry stop in Wrangell.  You should have no trouble getting on the next ferry out. Read more  Read More →

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