Some years ago a bear ambled along Topsail Beach for quite some time before he got persuaded off the island...
I double-dipped a chip!!!!
Today I purchased a plane ticket (actually two) to Alaska. The Last Frontier will be such in a literal sense as my wife and I cross off #50 in July!
Once we've completed Project 50 by 40 (all 50 states by my 40th birthday), I think the next project is going to be 48 by 48...RVing to all of the lower 48 states by my 48th bday (we're already at 37).
Whatever happened to the Goo Goo Dolls?
I'd might drive to Alaska someday, but right now I just don't have the time. Plus the Canadian border isn't open anyway.
I'm not entirely sure I actually want to do this...I have a lot of road trip miles under my belt, but that is quite a haul, both in terms of distance and of degree of difficulty.
Hawaii may not be a realistic option, but why not add a year and try to RV to Alaska, too? Both the Alaska and Cassiar highways are great trips. Of course, it does take about a week to do the drive, and it requires quite a bit of advance planning, but you can return via the Alaska Marine Highway which is both shorter in time (since they can drive at night) and is a much different experience.
Just a thought. (Edit: But not an original thought, obviously.)
Yeah, I've done the math, and it really wouldn't be worth it until I retire. I have 5 weeks max for my summer trips, and the stress + mechanical wear & tear of making it to Alaska and back just wouldn't be worth the relatively short time we'd be able to stay there. It's 4300 miles from my house to Denali National Park, for example, and although I can crank out a 600-mile day pretty well, a week straight of those days would be extremely difficult and zero fun. If I space out the way there, then I end up with only like 10 days to spend in Alaska before I have to turn around and drive another 4300 miles. That's not really how I like to spend my summer adventures, so instead we're going to fly and spend several weeks up there.