Driving to Alaska Question?

Wow. 3 days from Colorado to Alaska is a VERY serious pace. Most people would say insane, but I've done trips like that. My best time from Seattle to Anchorage was 48 hours, 51 total from Seattle to Kenai. That was solo, but I just kept moving, sleeping 3-4 hours a night. It was also in a compact car (easier and quicker to drive than something bigger) and it was in April which meant no snow (got lucky) and no motorhomes and no road construction (those can really slow you down). You know that even that shorter trip (Seattle-Anchorage) is 2500 miles?

For that trip, I like late April or very early May the best. Because the road construction and motorhomes haven't started yet. You have lots of light (15-16 hours a day or so) but still have some dark - driving around the clock is a great way to see aurora because if/when they are out, you'll notice. There are also still some freezing nights and that really knocks down the mosquitos.

On the other side of summer, tourism doesn't die down until late September. So you have less than 12-hour long days. But that would be my second choice and I'd prefer it to mid-summer, I think. When you sleep in your car in a rest area (the only way you can make that kind of time), just run the heater a little in winter.

Bring a pillow, an ice chest of picnic supplies and a fully loaded iPod (podcasts are great for long road trips). The main route is paved the whole way and gas stations are at easy intervals. Get "The Milepost" for $28 - it details all the northern highways, mile by mile describing services, sights and attractions along the way. amazon.com has it.

If you're not going in summer, watch you gas options closely. You can drive 24 hours a day, but you may need to fill up when you're still 2/3 full to be sure. I came up one time in January and it was -44F in the Yukon! Not a good time to run out of gas!

The quickest way from CO to AK by road involves a little trick. There's one southern Alaskan town of Hyder that you can access through Canada. Only 1000 miles from Seattle. But it doesn't connect by road to anything else in Alaska.

Do mapquest.com on a couple of routes. Look closely at those miles and those hours! Most people would allow a week for the trip.

Bring your passort for passage through Canada. Have a great time. One of the great road trip in the world, IMO.

The main road through Canada to Tok, Alaska is not all blacktop, about 90 miles of dirt road. My guy rode his Harley there last year leaving Memorial weekend. Be sure to take a good camera & lots of film. He brought home gorgeous photos, & that's saying something for him. He never seen a bear, but he saw moose & buffalo next to the road.