Alaska

[durangatangs]

Hello Jay, it was good to meet you out Nabesna Road. We stayed that night at the Rock Lake site the one you recommended.

Since then we headed to Tok then south on the AK Highway then the Haines Highway. We took your advice about hiking the Sheep Creek trail in Kluane National Park, you were right it was great. Steep steep steep but at least here (unlike Colorado) they supply oxygen! The view from the top was just amazing.

When you drove to Haines did you discover the Nadahini Resort and Spa at km 108 in Yukon Territory? Talk about a great free find!

The road goes on forever and the party never ends . . .

[durangatangs]

Another tip for all you Alaska boondockers: the onboard showers on the ferries are free with your ticket charge, even if it's just a short hop like we took today from Haines to Juneau. You can rent a towel for a dollar and it comes with a washcloth and bar of soap. At least this is the case on the Inside Passage route, your results may differ.

Showers are definitely one of the challenges of boondocking. We have an onboard exterior shower but so far have used it only to hose off the dog after she swam in a mud puddle. Since we're not always sure where our next potable water fillup is coming from we are reluctant to "waste" our supply on showering, although we've shampooed in the sink several times.

We've been able to get showers at campgrounds without any trouble and have paid anywhere from zero (Waterton Lakes NP, Alberta), to $5 (Cantwell RV Park, Alaska). Where the showers are unisex you can do a twofer if you are so inclined. The longest we've gone between showers was six days, that was pretty ugly.

The nicest showers we found so far were at Trapper Creek on the Parks Highway south of Denali. Just off the laundromat on the lower level of the lodge/gas station are four or five unisex coin-op ($3.50)showers, each in a private room. Clean, nicely tiled, one was wheelchair-accessible, and they give you a few more minutes than advertised.

The worst showers we used were in Anchorage at the Centennial Park municipal campground. Gross conditions, no privacy, dodgy characters hanging around, water just sorta warm and not adjustable.

[Ford_6L_E350]

I had to think about this one for awhile before I answered.

Usually we camp in campgrounds. Maybe 10% of the time we can't find a campground where we want to stay and boondock.

We stay in developed campgrounds for a few reasons:

- Showers. I'm very oily/ greasy and need a daily shower.
- Laundry facilities
- Security
- But, mostly because the campgrounds are in or near places we want to see. We park and wander off sightseeing, not staying at the campsite. So, security for our unattended vehicle is our prime concern.

Mike

[durangatangs]

Mike's comment makes a lot of sense if you are going to be using your parking spot/campsite as a base to visit a general area. We have not yet left our van parked in the same spot for more than one night so all we are looking for is overnight parking, not really a "campsite." If you are going to be setting up for an extended stay, putting out the awning and the bbq and the camp chairs, then you probably want a regular campground. We're more about moving on in the morning and seeing some new territory.

[The two nights in a row we spent in Anchorage don't count. That only happened because a routine oil change morphed into a bust-ass search for four new tires when the routine safety check revealed that the original factory tires on our rig (Continental brand) were toast after only 15,000 miles. Whole 'nother story, although we highly recommend Johnson's Tire Centers, with several Alaska locations, they saved our trip. Bottom line: there is a boondock site within the Anchorage city limits where we were completely undisturbed for two nights in a row. Location revealed by pm only, don't want to spoil it for others.]