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View Full Version : Just Booked My Flight To Alaska



Carl C
04-17-2008, 12:03 PM
Yippeeee.....I'll be going in late July. $630 round trip non-stop, not too bad. Return trip is the red-eye though. The secret is to book 3 months in advance. Jack Frost, pm an addy, I'll look you up.:wink:

zelatore
04-17-2008, 12:10 PM
One of these days I'll get up there....

Hopefully it will be via trawler aong the inside passage.

If not that, I'll settle for a BMW GS. But I suspect the girlfriend would prefer the trawler. Less Monkey Butt. :eek!:

Where are you heading?

Carl C
04-17-2008, 01:08 PM
One of these days I'll get up there....

Hopefully it will be via trawler aong the inside passage.

If not that, I'll settle for a BMW GS. But I suspect the girlfriend would prefer the trawler. Less Monkey Butt. :eek!:

Where are you heading?Forget the cruise. That's not really seeing Alaska, especially the ones that only go to the pan handle. I have family in Eagle River which is about 30 miles out of Anchorage. My bro-in-law is big on hiking so there is always lots of that and we always do one special adventure each year. I don't know what they have planned for this year yet. I took the pic in my "signature" last year on the way to Valdez.

zelatore
04-17-2008, 02:00 PM
Well, OK, if you insist. I guess it is easier to buy a $20,000 bike than a $400,000 boat anyway...

Although I still would like to cruise at least part of the inside passage. My current 32' Carver just isn't the right tool for the job though.

Keep us posted on your trip. Even if I can't get up there at least I can pretend.

Carl C
04-17-2008, 03:03 PM
Well, OK, if you insist. I guess it is easier to buy a $20,000 bike than a $400,000 boat anyway...

Although I still would like to cruise at least part of the inside passage. My current 32' Carver just isn't the right tool for the job though.

Keep us posted on your trip. Even if I can't get up there at least I can pretend. That part of the state is breathtakingly beautiful, especially if you go up into the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound. We did a day cruise one year in the sound but to really experience the state you need to get into the interior a bit. You would fit right in on a Harley. There are lots of 'em up there in the summer and a sweet chopper shop in Anchorage. What isn't big there is recreational boating:doh:.

zelatore
04-17-2008, 04:56 PM
Harley??? No, no, no...if you're going to ride Alaska I think you'd want to tour more than just the local bars :)

I was thinking something more like this. Comfortable enough for long hauls, enough off-road prowess for exploring off the beaten path, and enough power and cornering clearance that you can enjoy the nice curvy parts of the road too:

goatee
04-17-2008, 11:48 PM
bestest vacation yet!!!!
...the bush co. bar was nice too...:eek!:

goatee
04-17-2008, 11:50 PM
took my avatar pic in prince william sound

Carl C
04-18-2008, 08:06 AM
took my avatar pic in prince william sound That's cool. Don, that's for sure a sweet bike but you would fit in better on a hog. Not all are party bikers, there are plenty of normal folks with full dressed Harleys and it would be easy to find a group to ride with. Some day I want to go to the north slope where the polar bears are. Either the drive to Prudhoe Bay where the oil fields are or fly to the most northern city, Barrow(there are no roads to Barrow) hell, there are no roads to two thirds of the state.....lots of small aircraft. The western and north parts of the state have no road system other than the James Dalton Hwy that follows the pipeline to Prudhoe Bay. There are many isolated towns and clusters of towns accessable only by aircraft. Lots of elbow room and freedom to do pretty much what you want. They also have a lot of alcohol, drug and crime problems partly related to the isolation. The Anchorage area, where most of the people live, is very much up with the times and they have all the modern conveniences you'll find anywhere else, maybe more! Real estate is quite expensive in this part of the state too. Also, Alaska has no state income tax or sales tax and every resident gets an annual oil profit sharing check just for living there! That's one reason most Alaskans are in favor of more oil exploration.

zelatore
04-18-2008, 09:52 AM
I poke fun at the Harley's, but I'll admit they have their place. I've rented them several times on vacations and generally come back home afterward and start looking at prices. But I get over it quickly enough. Heck, last weekend my brother and I did a little under 800 miles of serious twisties over the weekend in NorCal. Enough that my legs and arms were getting tired from constangly moving around on the bike for the non-stop series of corners. If I'd been on a Hog, I'd still be out there trying to find all the parts I'd ground off!

I think you nailed it with the comment about the Dalton Highway. I have some fantasy that I'll ride to Purdoh Bay one day. Chance are I'll never do it, but everybody's got to have a dream, right? For that ride, a lot of people actually consider the big GS to be too much bike and prefer something closer to a 650 since it's much more managable off the pavement.

http://www.akrider.com/tours.html

Carl C
04-18-2008, 10:28 AM
I think you nailed it with the comment about the Dalton Highway. I have some fantasy that I'll ride to Purdoh Bay one day. Chance are I'll never do it, but everybody's got to have a dream, right? For that ride, a lot of people actually consider the big GS to be too much bike and prefer something closer to a 650 since it's much more managable off the pavement.

http://www.akrider.com/tours.html I will make that trip before too long but I plan to fly to Fairbanks and rent a car for the drive to the North Slope. It's too much for a bike ride especially at 54 years old!:eek!:

Lenny
04-18-2008, 03:50 PM
Carl, remember to wave again when you fly over my house :D