Part I: background
Returned to United States from Mexico at the end of April; visited family and friends in Connecticut for two weeks. Went running with my brother; got new tires for the car; received second COVID booster. Head to Houston in mid-May to renew auto registration.
Part II: driving west
Drive to Houston is 1800-miles, south on Interstate-81 with overnight stops in Waynesboro VA and Chattanooga TN, south on Interstate-59, stopping in Baton Rouge LA, before driving west on Interstate-10 to Houston. In Chattanooga, will stay at The Crash Pad, an eco-friendly hostel, where I’ve stayed before. In Baton Rouge, will stay at a new hostel, The Hostel Baton Rouge. Allows me to explore the city, which I have never done, and allows me to bypass New Orleans, where I usually stay en route to Houston.
Staying one week in Houston; an opportunity to share time with friends. Look forward to also visiting Houston Zen Center for morning meditation. Will pass through Austin TX, to visit my friend, Kris; we usually go to Magnolia Pancake Haus for breakfast. One of its signature dishes is the pfannekuchen, a baked apple pancake. Also enjoy running at Zilker Park. Will depart Austin, and drive west to Fort Davis TX. Fort Davis is high plains, west Texas, 5000 feet elevation, at the foot of the Davis Mountains; sights include the Fort Davis National Historic Site, McDonald Observatory, and the infamous Prada Marfa.
Will pass through El Paso Texas, en route to Alamogordo NM, staying at Cloudcroft Hostel. Will visit southern Arizona, south of Interstate-10, including the old mining town of Bisbee, the border town of Nogales, and re-visiting Coronado National Memorial, and Tumacacori National Historical Park. Stay overnight in Tucson; the city often appears run down, and sometimes appears as a “poor” version of Phoenix; but I enjoy the city. Plan to visit Barrio Bread; the owner, Don Guerra, was a James Beard finalist.
Head north to Las Vegas NV, staying at Sin City Hostel, and then north to Truckee CA, west of Reno NV, but not before visiting the infamous, or creepy, Clown Motel, outside Tonopah.
From Truckee, will drive north to Ashland OR, to re-visit Crater Lake National Park. Ashland is a lovely, small town to visit, and is home to the annual Shakespeare Festival.
After passing through Eugene OR, will drive northeast to Boise ID, re-visiting Craters of the Moon National Monument; visited in the past, but didn’t give the park enough attention. From there, will drive east to Jackson WY, re-visiting Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. Both parks have a short season, due to winter snow removal.
Will drive north, spending time in Montana, a beautiful state, with stops in Bozeman, Missoula, East Glacier, Whitefish, and Kalispell. Will re-visit Glacier National Park, but don’t anticipate that Going to the Sun Road will be open due to snow removal; in some years, the road doesn’t open until July. Visited Glacier in September 2014, and surprised by an early snowstorm; it was a white-knuckle drive in a rental car, without an ice scraper.
Will drive west to Hayden ID, visiting my good friends, Tom and Gwen, and drive on to Cook WA, Portland OR, and Seattle WA. Will re-visit Mt St Helens National Monument, and also the Boeing factory in Everett WA. Will also visit my good friend, Chris, on Bainbridge Island; he was a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot in Desert Storm; we worked together at JetBlue.
Part III: Alaska
In spring 2020, was supposed to visit Alaska, before joining the accounting faculty at University of Connecticut. Trip was impacted by the pandemic, due to the US-Canada border closure. This is my second trip to Alaska; cruised the inner passage from Seward to Vancouver, with my friend, Cathy (September 2009).
In mid-June, will take the Alaska ferry from Bellingham WA to Haines AK along the inner passage. I have my car, which makes the ticket more expensive. Will drive north to Fairbanks, and rent a car to drive the infamous Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay, often seen on the Discovery Channel, Ice Road Truckers. Rented a car from Northern Alaska Tour Company, and will “tour” the Arctic Ocean, before returning to Fairbanks.
Plan to re-visit Denali National Park. Part of the park is closed, due to a road collapse at the Pretty Rocks landslide, limiting access to the interior of the park. This is unfortunate, but these things happen in the parks.
Will visit Wrangell St Elias National Park, in south-eastern Alaska. The park is challenging to access, located along an old railroad line. Elected to take a shuttle; there are reports that railroad spikes come out of the ground, and I didn’t want to risk getting stranded.
Will also visit Unalaska, located on the Aleutian Island chain, 1000-miles southwest of Anchorage. Will leave my car at Anchorage Airport, and fly to Homer, before departing on the Alaska Marine Highway System. Ferry takes four days, stopping at ports along the way, for this once-a-month, west-bound trip. Will fly the local airline, RAVN, back from Dutch Harbor to Anchorage, flying on a de Havilland DHC-8-100 turboprop.
From Anchorage, will drive the Alaska-Canada Highway back to mainland United States; the highway was built during World War II, after concerns that a Japanese attack of Alaska could cut-off access to the state. Will pass through Dawson City YT, Whitehorse YT, Watson Lake YT, Fort Nelson BC, Dawson Creek BC, Edmonton AB, Regina SK, and Winnipeg MB, before driving east along Trans-Canada Highway 1.
Part IV: budget
Trip to Alaska is roughly six weeks; half the duration of Mexico, but twice as expensive. Part of this reflects the short tourist season, but also, pent-up demand from the past two years. The other factor, following some of the challenges of visiting Mexico, is that I was willing to include nicer accommodations, but still, short of luxury; not staying at the Four Seasons.
Part V: looking ahead
Sneak peak to future travels. In fall 2022, anticipate visiting Canada’s eastern provinces, and driving the infamous Trans-Labrador Highway, which loops back into Quebec. In late fall 2022, anticipate visiting Canada’s Hudson Bay, traveling Canada’s viaRail, as there are no roads to the area, to see the annual polar bear migration in Churchill MB.
Not sure how 2023 will unfold, as the world is still plagued by the pandemic. Initial plan was to visit Australia, experiencing some of the classic trains across the country, New Zealand, two-week freighter to Japan, traveling across the country via train; ferry to China, and train to Tibet; visit Nepal, and spend time in India, following the summer monsoon season.
If Australia and China continue to present travel restrictions, considering travel to Central America in winter 2023, traveling north from Panama to Mexico City; followed by summer travel to the Mediterranean: Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa. Likely fly round trip from New York City to London; take train to Italy, and ferry to Greece. Return trip would be ferry across Strait of Gibraltar to Spain, and return train back to London.
garthmonroe 