Preparations

It would be impossible to photograph the unseen support crew that allows us to drive away from home with confidence that everything will be fine for two months.  We give our most hearty thanks to those home-based helpers who are tending to business while we have our adventure!

We have been camping for over 35 years in many different environments and our accumulated gear varies from "vintage" to "high-tech."  This has been an opportunity to sift through it and pass along treasures like the 50-pound wooden box that accompanied us to the mountains of California and Colorado to Sam and his family (who can still lift it) and downsize into accomodations sized for the two of us.  Some of our old things had a lot of sentiment attached and I love knowing they'll still be used and will continue to be included in more adventures.


We've heard there will be mosquitos.  Token Liberal doesn't like cooking outside while swatting bugs...so we bought a cook tent.

She also doesn't like sleeping in a tent with no floor -- imagine the bugs!  Therefore, there is a sleeping tent.

...and LISTS!  We have lists of what to bring, what to do before leaving, who to assign as contacts, backups for the contacts, boxes and their contents...on and on!  Being away for two months is a complex exercise in logistics.  Diva dog has begun to realize that something's up so she is usually sitting on our feet to insure we remember to bring her!

The Plan

We depart MA on July 16, taking the Trans-Canadian Highway (TCH) from Montreal to Banff.  Next, up to Edmonton, then Dawson Creek, where we get on the Alaskan Highway to TOK Alaska, and down into Anchorage to see Diana and John.  This will be about 4900 miles.  We are estimating 10 driving days and 8 goof-off days along the way.    We will be camping about half the time and moteling the other half.

This is the route going to Alaska

The return trip will take a different path: down thru BC to Victoria , Seattle, Vancouver, WA to see Dave and Verlee, then across WA, ID and Montana to see David and Mila; then on across northern US thru Minneapolis, Chicago, Elmira, Albany and back into MA. The return trip is about 5700 miles and will involve 11 driving days and 19 goof-off days.

     This is the route coming back:

Travel time and distances are approximate.The concept is to follow our interests and maintain some semblance of a schedule. If something unexpected occurs or we decide we cannot support driving 500 miles each driving day, we will adjust our schedule to maintain our approximate return date.  SRD is taking all his fly rods and expects to use them along the way. Token Liberal is bringing crochet projects, her camera and books on her tablet for entertainment while the rods are in use.