Alaska

August 30, 2017 to October

Preparation for our trip

Rachel began preparing for this trip several weeks before the date of departure.  Our plans are to leave Mt Pleasant around August 30, 2017 after our daughter, Cherie, returns to UAE.  We plan to be gone for around five weeks, returning the first part of October.

We do not have specific plans as to where we will be on a specific date but we do have some specific things we want to do while in Alaska.  We are planning on using the Acadia as a backup for a hotel in case we find ourselves in locations that do not have accommodations.  For this reason, we found a foam mattress that fit in the back of the SUV, after a few moderations.  Secondly, since we are planning to drive the Dempster Highway in the Yukon Territory of Canada north to Inuvik, we have decided that we will follow suggested recommendations, taking two spare tires.  The spare tire on the Acadia is just a little doughnut tire, not something for roads in Alaska.  Cal checked several sources and finally located a place on the internet that had two wheels for our newer 2017 model of Acadia.  Next was finding two tires for the wheels, and a cargo carrier that will carry the wheels.  Cal located each of these items and now we have two spares in case we need them on the Dempster or any other location while we are in Alaska. 

When we were in Alaska in 1999, we had not followed the spare tire recommendations for traveling on their gravel roads.  We found out first-hand what it is like to have two flat tires at the same time!! We were fortunate that time, but why try our luck a second time! Of course, now that we are prepared, we will be not need them!

Loaded ready to go