By Barry Zander, Edited by Monique Zander, the Never-Bored RVers
Comments from readers about their experiences in Alaska.
FROM GEORGETHEFISHERMAN — I wonder if you could elaborate on the comment “you can’t expect Medicare to pick up a share of the costs.” Why not? Don’t the docs and hospitals there accept Medicare (I understand not in BC, but what about Alaska?) I really enjoyed the first two installments, can hardly wait for third. You convinced me that Alaska is definitely somewhere I want to go, and probably will join a caravan to go. Excellent article!
REPLY FROM BARRY – Yes, in Alaska, Medicare is accepted. It’s an interesting sensation after traveling through British Columbia and the Yukon — upon arrival in Alaska, you soon realize that you’re in the United States with the same healthcare system, same money, same phone service, etc. And here is a reader’s response about Medicare in western Canada:
FROM K. P. McCLANAHAN — You might want to recheck your comment about Medicare services in Canada. Page 52, “Medicare and You” 2014: “Medicare may pay for inpatient hospital, doctor, or ambulance services you get in a foreign country in these rare cases:
“You’re traveling through Canada without unreasonable delay by the most direct route between Alaska and another state when a medical emergency occurs, and the Canadian hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat your medical condition, regardless of whether an emergency exists.” Also, some Medicare Advantage plans (such as mine) do cover healthcare expenses while traveling domestically or abroad.
BARRY’S RESPONSE – Thanks for that input. I got most of my information from an Alaskan nurse (who, I hope, is still following these blogs and can add to the discussion). Not to question the source, but that word “rare” sounds kind of arbitrary … and if you’re on your first trip up there, I suggest you don’t take the most “direct route.”
From Top Right, We're parked at the Columbia Ice Fields; Traversing the Top of the World Highway; Sea Otters perform for us; Barry celebrates arriving in the Yukon Territory; The Homer Spit Boneyard; Going through icy waters toward a glacier; and Monique among Alaskan beauty
FROM CHUCK DUNN — We just got back from a 3½-month trip to Alaska in the middle of August. As you said, there is nothing like it. In the month and half we have been back, My Dear Bride has developed a health problem which may prevent us from going again, so that question will not arise. The idea of posting the pictures [to his blog] every night didn’t work out for various reasons and I did want to do it right. If you go again, have phun.
BARRY’S RESPONSE – About posting blogs: It’s difficult to take advantage of all the sights while driving hundreds of miles on many days, while still trying to post journals and photos to the Internet (when it’s available). On our trip, I found myself on the computer at 4 a.m. or 11 p.m., which can be the cause of errors. I suggest that when you go, post when you can, but write down notes about your experiences and make sure your pictures are identified for posting when you get a chance. Also, ask we drove along, Monique kept adding to our list of ideas for the blog; made it easier when I finally turned on the computer.
FROM TONY KING — We just retired but have been RVing over 30 years. We put Alaska at the top if our list and drove from So Cal for a 10-week trip this past summer. We still have our Class A, but downsized to a Class B to sightsee, etc., easier. We traveled alone but met lots of nice people along the way. We had a trip of a lifetime and adapted to the Class B easily. Best trip hands down for us ever!
FROM DAVE & CAROL McINTOSH — We traveled to Alaska and were on the road for 5.5 months in 2012. We plan to do it again in 2015, but with family including grandsons. What an amazing journey. We highly recommend going to anyone seriously considering the journey. Not all roads were paved, but the roads were well marked for bumps and almost all were good roads. We had to wait a few days for Alaskan Highway repairs to be completed. (This was the first time the highway had been closed for multiple days since it had been constructed.) Fortunately, we were able to spend the few extra days at the RV park across the road from Liard Hot Springs in Canada. We left from Litchfield Park AZ (near Phoenix) mid-April and headed to Orlando FL (my husband had an Army Reunion to attend at Disney World). Afterwards, we dug for diamonds in Arkansas, and jig-jagged through many states and Canadian provinces to finally complete our personal (not RV) visits to all 50 states. Canadians were super friendly and helpful, although the weather was not so cooperative in May (so much rain that we couldn’t even see the sides of the road as we drove through Jasper and other supposedly beautiful Canadian national parks).
Our journey was 17,000 miles. We had some maintenance to be done on the RV when we returned home in late September, but nothing serious happened while on our journey and none due to bad roads; just 100,000+ miles on our 2004 Itaska Suncruiser. Our journey included a visit to the Arctic Circle on the Summer Solstice (including our two 90-pound dogs), and a drive on the Top of the World Highway after we attempted to dig for gold. We saw a lot of bears including a mother with 4 babies, quite a few glaciers, many forests, mountains, an ice museum, and lots of waterways. We loved it all except for my unexpected 5-day stay in the hospital in Anchorage after being med-evac’d from Homer; but all turned out well (it’s amazing what trouble a large kidney stone can cause).
My husband kept an almost daily log. We even did the section of our journey from Skagway to Haines by Alaskan ferry, which was another fun aspect of our trip. We had a plan of where and how we wanted to travel, but we changed it frequently depending on what we wanted to do each day. RVing is the way to go. We had previously cruised to Alaska and visited Denali National Park. Every journey is precious and a true delight.
FROM PAUL HARSIN — Hi, Barry & Monique! I read every one of your posts and hope my wife Connie and I can have as much fun as you are having. She’s 65 & I turned 67 last week.
We bought a 35-foot Class A last January, expecting to take about 3 trips a year. We have been planning a trip thru the Rockies to Fairbanks, Homer, Valdez and Haines. Then, down the inside passage to Prince Rupert and Vancouver, Yellowstone, then back home to Indiana. We plan to tow a Honda CR-V for side trips, to save on gas and be able to hold onto our campground spots while we see the sights. We figure something over 10,000 miles and 90 days on the road. As a teaser and to take advantage of some very low cruise fares, we visited Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway last May/June. It was especially impressive when we visited the Glacier Bay glaciers. The Yukon and White Pass Railway trip to Carcross was the highlight.
Now, to my questions: What pitfalls do we need to plan around? Do you have any suggestions regarding driving conditions (snow) early or late? I’m looking forward to your posts regarding any and all of your Alaska trip. Thanks for spreading the word about The Great Land.
BARRY’S RESPONSE: On our first trip (and so far only) to Alaska, we left at the beginning of June and returned to the Lower 48 at the end of August. The weather during that time was excellent, but, of course, it’s unpredictable. Road conditions seem to improve every year – learning to watch out for frost heaves and large critters crossing the road is on-the-job training. My #1 recommendation: enjoy the adventure. After that, #2, appreciate the unexpected. #3, meet the people, whether they be souvenir shop clerks, fishermen or even fellow tourists, all of whom can give you suggestions on what not to miss and what to avoid. And #4, take a look at my Alaskan blogs at ontopoftheworld.bz, which will give you lots of insight into experiences, good and bad, on your journey to the north. And to others going up there via RV or cruise ship, I always suggest that you do as Paul did. Take The Yukon and White Pass Railway from Skagway to Carcross. Some of the most beautiful views anywhere.
FROM BUTTERBEAN CARPENTER — Howdy Monique & Barry,
I don’t think I told y’all this story about ALASKA… Our main pharmacy in Coleman, TX, THE OWL PHARMACY, is owned by the Caldwell family (my mother is a Caldwell), whose oldest son went to Alaska to homestead & prospect. He was up there 7 years and had built his cabin, plowed his ground, planted crops and was having a BALL. His family got a phone call one day that he had been found in his cabin, DEAD. His dad & sister went up there to investigate the situation and here’s what had happened. Evidently he had been having appendix problems, letting it go, until it ruptured and being BACK IN THE BOONIES was unable to get any medical attention. He left a documentary of how he felt and he knew that he was dying. It took him a week to die. The doctors said it was a horrible death, unable to call for help.
FROM ROBERT GARDNER — Hi Guys, Have been following your exploits now for a couple of years and thought it was time to respond to one of your posts.
We did the BC, Yukon, Alaska trip in 2012 solo and had an absolute ball! We were in a class A gas motorhome puling a Ranger pick-up. We left Fort Worth the first week of May and returned the last week of October. We were only north of the Border from the beginning of the third week in May until the last week in September. We based out of Wasilla and did 5 to 7 day excursions to all the places you read about and some you don’t. Basically we played tourist all summer and tried to experience all the beautiful scenery we could find. Our experience with the roads was a lot better than we expected. Lots of frost heaves, but that is to be expected. The only gravel we had going in was in construction zones and there weren’t a lot of those. Coming out we took Top of the World, which is 100% gravel, but maintained very well. It is narrow enough that you don’t have to worry about windshield chips, as the speeds are quite slow when meeting another vehicle. We were very fortunate when we traveled Top of the World. It was late in September and a week after their first killing freeze. The reds, yellows, golds, purples, and greens were indescribable! We did not meet one person during the entire trip that wasn’t friendly and helpful. The most we paid for gasoline was $6.00 a gallon in the Yukon. The rest of the time we averaged around $4.00 per gallon. We did not feel intimidated at any time being a solo rig. We would drive until we found something we wanted to see and stop for the night. I would HIGHLY recommend anyone making this trip invest in The Milepost. The amount of up-to-date info in that publication is amazing. Our Garmin worked like a champ the entire trip with Streets and Trips as a backup navigation tool. We didn’t buy any special phone plan so our phones were used only for receiving text messages in Canada. Verizon was hooked up 90% of the time if we needed to communicate with the outside world. My advice to anyone planning this trip solo is to plan your trip and then double the allotted time! You will find so many things to do along the way that you will need the extra time. We probably didn’t see as many shows as caravaners and didn’t have the luxury of a tailgunner, but we did have the advantage of stopping where we wanted for as long as we wanted during our trip. We didn’t know if we would travel that road again so we tried to see everything we could. Bottom line, we enjoyed ourselves so much we are going back in 2014! Please excuse my disjointed post I could write volumes about this trip of a lifetime!
FROM MARY (in response to my “Autumn Journal” article) — Lovely musings, Barry. (Great editing, Monique!) Super pictures, both of you.
ONE MORE RESPONSE FROM BARRY: Thanks on behalf of all the readers for the personal comments. This is a perfect forum for letting others know of your experiences and a great place to ask specific questions. We all learn from each other.
From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.
© All photos by Barry Zander. All rights reserved
Because of the numerous Spam comments on this site, the comments section has been deactivated. Please email us at neverboredrvers@gmail.com and I will pass along your comments. Learn about Alaska and see travel photos at ontopoftheworld.bz (and much more to come when time allows).