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Alaska roadmeet ever?

Started by Alps, June 10, 2015, 11:33:15 PM

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Alps

I was thinking it over and there's a lot to see roadswise in Anchorage. Possibly even Fairbanks. Who would be able and willing to travel to Alaska in 2016 or 2017 (or?) for such an event? If there seems to be some interest, I'll go through more effort to put something together.


oscar

#1
I'm one logical suspect, and my interest is deeply borderline. I've been there on six seven trips already (drove there in 1994. 2012, and 2016; flew out in 2001, 2007, and 2009, and 2017).

The other logical suspect on this board lives in Juneau. Juneau and nearby communities also have some stuff of roadgeek interest (such as the fast ferries carrying autos to Juneau and some other places). That also is the most likely part of Alaska for me to visit in the next few years, including Tenakee Springs (for the hot spring), Petersburg, and Ketchikan (might be able to view the remnants of the failed "Bridge to Nowhere" project). EDIT: Went to those places in 2016, though I have some unfinished business in SE Alaska (much of which I covered on my 2017 visit), so I'm still a little more interested in going back there on trip #7 #8 than to the rest of Alaska.

But for people allergic to ferries, I think Fairbanks might be more interesting than Anchorage. Wait long enough, and you'll catch the planned relocation of the southernmost ~7 miles of the Dalton Highway.  EDIT: Construction could begin as soon as 2018 (subject to environmental review and funding), with two years needed to complete the project. Also, a possible trip to the Arctic Circle; the heat pipe system keeping the permafrost frozen under part of Chena Hot Springs Road east of town; the only numbered exits anywhere in Alaska; the Trans-Alaska Pipeline passing through the area; and the chance to go south to the (Fairbanks suburb) North Pole with its candy-cane streetlights.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Duke87

*slowly raises hand in the air*
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

corco

#3
I would need considerable advance notice, and at least in my current situation I'm unavailable between January and May of an odd numbered year, but if this were announced 5-6 months in advance I could probably make it happen. Getting up to Alaska is a priority while I still live in Montana, since I'm relatively close, and this would be as good an excuse as any.

Molandfreak

Quote from: corco on June 11, 2015, 12:52:37 AM
I would need considerable advance notice, and at least in my current situation I'm unavailable between January and May of an odd numbered year,
That's a really specific schedule. :bigass:
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.

TheHighwayMan3561

I would certainly be interested. I'll personally say summer 2016 may not work that well for me depending on when it falls because of my own meet I'm hoping to host, but I would definitely make an effort to attend an Alaska meet.
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Duke87

I had been making noise about driving to Alaska from New York but as I look at it it's... really pushing it to make it there and back in two weeks, even via the most direct routes. So it's looking like going to Alaska is going to be a fly and rent operation.

Which honestly makes my schedule a lot more flexible since it then doesn't need to happen in a year when I own a young car. It can happen pretty much anytime, just not in winter. :P


Also, driving around Nevada has really dampened my enthusiasm for long drives through desolate nothingness. So while on an emotional level I want to drive the Alaska highway to say I did, on a conscious level I'm now thinking "do I really want to?"
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

SSOWorld

making Alaska by car is a long-shot for me right now.  I could probably fly there.  Regardless I have to stock up on the $$$ to fund such a trip otherwise it's no dice and its going to be tougher after my financial situation change that took place last month.
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

dgolub

I definitely want to go to Alaska, but I'd have to see about the logistics.

Brandon

I like the concept, but the problem would be getting there.  I'd also love to see a Hawai'i roadmeet.  But, there, the question would be 1) getting there, and 2) which island do you choose.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

A.J. Bertin

Am I interested? Absolutely! Is it likely that I'd be able to attend an Alaska road meet within the next year or two? Not really. 2016 is a definite no. 2017 or 2018 might be a possibility though. I'd love to drive all the way there from Michigan if money and time off from work would allow that.
-A.J. from Michigan

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Brandon on June 11, 2015, 10:05:40 AM
...I'd also love to see a Hawai'i roadmeet.  But, there, the question would be 1) getting there, and 2) which island do you choose.

Just choose Maui County.  :-D

SSOWorld

Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 11, 2015, 01:40:38 PM
Quote from: Brandon on June 11, 2015, 10:05:40 AM
...I'd also love to see a Hawai'i roadmeet.  But, there, the question would be 1) getting there, and 2) which island do you choose.

Just choose Maui County.  :-D
But I want Hawaii County - imagine a leg of the tour being the summit of Mauna Kea :awesomeface:
EDIT: IN WINTER! ;)
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

corco

Quote from: SSOWorld on June 11, 2015, 01:55:07 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 11, 2015, 01:40:38 PM
Quote from: Brandon on June 11, 2015, 10:05:40 AM
...I'd also love to see a Hawai'i roadmeet.  But, there, the question would be 1) getting there, and 2) which island do you choose.

Just choose Maui County.  :-D
But I want Hawaii County - imagine a leg of the tour being the summit of Mauna Kea :awesomeface:
EDIT: IN WINTER! ;)

I'm down

jeffandnicole

Quote from: SSOWorld on June 11, 2015, 01:55:07 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 11, 2015, 01:40:38 PM
Quote from: Brandon on June 11, 2015, 10:05:40 AM
...I'd also love to see a Hawai'i roadmeet.  But, there, the question would be 1) getting there, and 2) which island do you choose.

Just choose Maui County.  :-D
But I want Hawaii County - imagine a leg of the tour being the summit of Mauna Kea :awesomeface:
EDIT: IN WINTER! ;)

I did drive to the top of Mauna Kea (In Summer).  Very, very awesome.  Got lightheaded really quick, and then I had to drive back down.

When I returned to the visitors center, I mentioned my trip up.  The guide there then mentioned the unpaved road is usually graded every week.  Unfortunately, the grader had been broken for the previous month!!!

Fun ride. Don't know if I'll ever do it again, but I'm glad I did it once!

jpi

This is something that has been on my bucket list for some time, I would LOVE to drive to Alaska but it would be several years out if Steph and I would and it would definetly be this time of the year when I would do it. If we do this it probably would not be until after 2020. If it would involve a road meet, all the more incentive for us to go. :-)
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

oscar

Quote from: Brandon on June 11, 2015, 10:05:40 AM
I like the concept, but the problem would be getting there.  I'd also love to see a Hawai'i roadmeet.  But, there, the question would be 1) getting there, and 2) which island do you choose.

The state is thin on new projects to view, and they're scattered among three islands. .For historic roads with dozens of one-lane bridges and hundreds of hairpin curves, Maui is the place. Oahu has the Interstates, including the mostly gorgeous Interstate H-3, but I hate that island for much the same reason as many Alaskans diss Anchorage (for example, "the best thing about Los Anchorage is that it's not too far away from Alaska").
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

vdeane

I'd LOVE to go to Alaska some day, and a roadmeet there sounds awesome, but with the drive from Albany being ten days long each way even on a pretty direct route, I'm not sure when I'd actually be available for it.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

hbelkins

Not a chance.

1.) No money.
2.) No passport (yet).
3.) I don't fly.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

getemngo

I'd love to, and it's an encouraging sign to see a couple possible carpool buddies... but 2016 is out. Any year after that depends on so many variables, I obviously can't make any guarantees. If I can, I will.
~ Sam from Michigan

SSOWorld

Quote from: Duke87 on June 11, 2015, 01:36:32 AMAlso, driving around Nevada has really dampened my enthusiasm for long drives through desolate nothingness. So while on an emotional level I want to drive the Alaska highway to say I did, on a conscious level I'm now thinking "do I really want to?"
Seeing this quote just reminded me of how I had lost my enthusiasm for driving last year on the way back home from NYC - having done 2 long road trips (one 6-months long in 2013 and then constant work trips in 2014).  It also felt like because I had achieved my two dream trips (California and Arizona via car and NYC) I had ran out of drive (no pun intended)
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

Alps

Quote from: Duke87 on June 11, 2015, 12:03:49 AM
*slowly raises hand in the air*
Yes, you were part of the inspiration behind this idea. Based on what I've been reading, I'll punt this to at least 2017, but since I do want to get to Fairbanks (and drive the Dalton Highway with you - it's more fun with companions), it seems like I should hold onto this as viable.
Quote from: Brandon on June 11, 2015, 10:05:40 AM
I like the concept, but the problem would be getting there.  I'd also love to see a Hawai'i roadmeet.  But, there, the question would be 1) getting there, and 2) which island do you choose.
I would also like to see a Hawaii roadmeet. If Alaska is 2017, Hawaii should be 2018 at the earliest, to give people some time to recharge their funds. Oahu or Maui are the most likely candidates, but the reconstructed Saddle Road makes the Big Island a distant option.

cpzilliacus

#22
Quote from: Alps on June 10, 2015, 11:33:15 PM
I was thinking it over and there's a lot to see roadswise in Anchorage. Possibly even Fairbanks. Who would be able and willing to travel to Alaska in 2016 or 2017 (or?) for such an event? If there seems to be some interest, I'll go through more effort to put something together.

2017 sounds better for me, and would love to attend such a meet - never been in Alaska - would consider flying, but would enjoy the drive from Maryland to Alaska via the Alaska Highway much more, and would be open to some car-pooling to spread-out the fuel costs (could any of the East Coast roadgeek friends tolerate being with me for that long of a trip?).

Edgewater, Maryland to Ted Stevens Airport in Anchorage, Alaska is about 4,300 miles one-way. Google Maps claims it would take 73 hours.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

Brandon

Yeah, there are some very long travel times to get to Alaska from the Lower 48.  I would even go so far as to suggest that those of us further east could pick up other roadgeeks along the way northwestward, and have a typical number of four per vehicle.  That would divide room costs by two, and gas costs by four.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Brandon on June 12, 2015, 04:26:18 PM
Yeah, there are some very long travel times to get to Alaska from the Lower 48.  I would even go so far as to suggest that those of us further east could pick up other roadgeeks along the way northwestward, and have a typical number of four per vehicle.  That would divide room costs by two, and gas costs by four.

I have picked-up a roadgeek friend and car-pooled to destinations a lot closer than Alaska recently.  That works fine.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.