Alaska 2015 Getting/Being There and Return

[PrairieSpyder]

[This thread is to discuss who all is going. It goes with this thread: http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...o-Alaska-2015]

This thread concerns the travel to Alaska, what we do while we're there, and getting back to the lower 48.

GETTING THERE​

MurphyBrown has been putting together an itinerary from Chelan Washington starting June 29, 2015. I'll go with whatever route the group decides.

There is an option for an experienced guide for the trip. The company Motoquest leads motorcycle tours all over the world. I talked with their sales guy and also had a long conversation with one of the guides for their Alaska tour. They could do a custom tour for us, with whatever resources we want to purchase. A guide would cost $700 per day. I know that's a lot, but if we have 20 participants, that comes to $35/day each. They said they'd have a tiered pricing so the more people we have, the less the guide may cost. What does the guide buy us? By using their guide service, they'd also do all the lodging arrangements ahead of time. They know where to find lodging, fuel, food, etc. If one of our group decides to stop to get a pic, the guide can let them know if that's the best place of if there's something better down the road, so as not to have us waste a lot of time. They seem to be pretty laid back; they make sure the ones who like to get there sooner know the way and stay with the stranglers, making sure they get there at all. Apparently there's no requirement for the group to stay in a bunch; everyone rides their own ride. (Even if we don't get a guide, I like this way of operating.)

Something I learned from Motoquest that we should be aware of is that we can plan on rooms averaging $225 per night. This will be a limiting factor for where we go and how "by-ear" we can play our travel. Having certain overnight points decided ahead will give us a better chance of getting lodging for everyone if we book ahead.

I found it interesting that along the AlCan, some towns have only 1 gas station and it could take a long time for the entire group to refuel. Something Motoquest recommends is having a "fuel kitty" so everyone can refuel without stopping the pump and paying it all at once. That may be something we'd want to consider.

BEING THERE

I think everyone has a wish-list of things they want to do while in Alaska. I do. For at least part of the time we'll have AKSpyderman to show us around. (Thanks, Dwayne.) But in addition to that people may want to go off and do their thing. Start socializing with each other about what you want to do. We will probably break into sub-groups for many activities. I don't know if a time limit has been set for "being there" so go blue-sky with it.

Here's Motoquest's array of adventures if you want to do some motorcycling: http://motoquest.com/guided-motorcycle-tours-alaska/

I'm interested in a day-cruise to see a glacier and, if it's not TOO expensive, a flight to the north slope so I can say I dipped a toe into the Arctic Ocean!

GETTING HOME

I think some have expressed an interest in returning on the ferry. I've looked into that, and it may be out of my price range. So I'll probably be riding my Spyder back. Do we want to come back together? The same route? A different route? More things to be decided.