And now, back to the Alaska trip. What month did you leave for the trip and about how many miles and or hours did you have to travel on gravel roads? Did you travel in a convoy or by yourself? More questions to follow. Where do you stay in Florida? thanks.
Hello. We left MN May 15. It was a mild spring so we could have left earlier but the timing actually worked out perfectly. One thing I never heard on YouTube or read in the forums is that if you want to see plenty of bear activity along your drive, time it so that you are going up with the spring flowers. The bear come out of the woods and eat the flowers in the ditches. We spent a month traveling from MN to the AK border. As we went north all the way up the wildflowers were blooming and we had a fantastic time capturing pictures. Every time the bears were just munching on the blooms for the high energy nectar. For reference, we saw a total of 29 black bear, 8 grizzly, caribou, elk, bison, long horn sheep, and so much more. The vast majority of bear were seen on the way up through Canada. Valdez (during salmon run) was also fruitful. Otherwise, not many in the rest of AK, until Hyder on our way home.
Regarding gravel roads: That's a tough one. If you like off the beaten path areas, you'll be on gravel. Even on the main routes as you get further north you'll notice road construction is not done like the lower 48. Down here rarely do you have to drive on gravel as road construction is going on. There is usually a bypass around the construction or, they tear up one lane at a time. Up there, long swaths of road may be under construction and it's dirty, muddy, and rough most of the time. So, even if you don't plan to take gravel roads, you'll encounter gravel and dust. Even in the campgrounds, almost exclusively gravel and dust, and usually very little room between neighbors. They aren't like what we're used to down here.
We were not with a convoy. Just my wife and me. Met lots of nice people along the way, but none that we traveled with. I did join two guys on a fishing excursion out of Valdez though. We know friends that started the trip out together, intending to convoy the entire trip, but went their separate ways after getting part way through AK. They realized they had too many differences in where they wanted to stay, what they wanted to do, what time they liked to leave in the morning (or not), etc. If we had really good friends that we have traveled with before and know one another's' travel habits I think it would be great fun. But it's a long journey. We like to plan 3 hour drive days, which means 6+ hours to reach our destination after breaks, stops for pictures/wildlife viewing, etc. If the other couple want to drive 6 hour days, that would be a real problem for us. We're all about taking our time and exploring along the way.
Holy cow, I'm writing a book, sorry. Hope that helps.