The RV life

We tried something different in Alaska this year, and it took me a bit to decide how I felt about it. But I think I've got it figured out.

As you likely know, my wife's sister's family lives up in Alaska, near Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. We visit near annually for about a week and it's always an adventure. I've written in the past about Homer specifically, as well as our ordeals in traveling there (see posts tagged Alaska). We've always flown through Anchorage, gotten to Homer one way or another and frequently rented both a car and a place to stay. As both families have grown we do really need our own space, at least if its more than a day or two. One problem with this plan is the simple fact it's a struggle to hang out at night, because the Alaskans stay up late, if any of the kids need to go to bed. That's part of the reason we tried something new.

My wife has toyed with the idea of renting an RV, or some sort of rooftop camper, as an alternative to getting an AirBnB for a while now. After booking our flights later than ever before, due largely to our chaotic summer in Arizona, the lodging options were slim and rental options costly. So she convinced me to combine them. We've have one vehicle that would also work for our beds. And we could park it right outside the in-laws house.

Admittedly I was nervous going in. I'd never driven anything near that large yet know the sometimes narrow, circuitous roads we'd be taking up on the frontier. Last year was the first time we'd driven down and up again from Anchorage and that was in a minivan. Now I'd be taking up much more of the road.

We got in late, like 11pm, and stayed in a hotel. We shuttled back and forth, returning to the airport in the morning for another shuttle to Great Alaskan Holidays. This place is an operation. They have a long electronic board of all the rentals going out that day and are shuttling people to/fro the airport and setting people up with vehicles all day long. I'd noticed their RVs out in the wild in the past but I couldn't help but be a little impressed with how many I spotted this time, and how many they had lined up on the lot itself. After a short wait, we were early (believe it or not), we got set up. It was a medium sized one, a 26 foot 'Minnie Winnie' (Winnebago) and I was glad we didn't go bigger from the start. It took us some time to get (some of) our bearings, our stuff stowed and somewhat organized. We had to go through a laundry list of items they provide, bedding and towels and more, to make sure it was all there. Eventually I turned the key and off we went.

The Great Alaskan Holidays stock photo of what we rented

I planned all along to take it slow, take wide turns and overall be extra careful. But it was still a shock driving that thing down the road. I had zero interest, if I could help it, having to throw it in reverse. You certainly can't see behind you and the video you're required to watch beforehand strongly advises you have a spotter. Our first stop was the Anchorage Costco and I was excited to find a spot I could pull into and out of going forward only. After that it was onto the Seward Highway and into the Kenai.

Now, in retrospect, we probably could've tightened up that vehicle. Top vents might've been open, dishes were touching each other in the cabinet, I'm sure there's more. But as we accelerated on the highway it was comical how much everything rattled. Driving a large vehicle with all that stuff is loud. It's also challenging to go fast. I tried to keep it about 55 mph on that first trip but was often around 50. And this is a two lane highway most of the way and people, well, they have a long way to drive and want to go fast. At least there are passing lanes periodically, for RVs and semi trucks, which I made sure to use if there was anyone close to my rear. In addition I found it difficult to pull over because there's a lot of inertia and I felt I couldn't slam on my brakes while struggling to see the various pullover spots (scenic sites or otherwise) with enough time to make the maneuver. Whenever we could pull off it was nice to have access to a bathroom right there in the vehicle, but we only ever needed to stop for our own sanity.

I found driving an RV stressful, not surprising with what I've already said. People constantly want to get around you. You can't see well. You take up more of the driving lane and can't stray. The roads on this drive are not in the best condition and can be windy or narrow, or both. It's also a 4+ hour drive without stopping and if you go the speed limit or faster. We did neither of these things and it took basically all day. Though we did reach our destination in time for dinner.

When I pulled into their driveway we called my brother-in-law and he parked us, no problem at all, quickly, right next to their house, without anyone helping him. He has a bit more practice with large vehicles and it was painfully obvious from the start. Then he hooked us up with power and water, the whole VIP treatment.

We had some ups and downs with this setup. The shower is not ideal and we used it minimally. We tried to fill up the gray water (waste water down the sink/shower) and black water (toilet) tanks as little as possible so we didn't need to dump them. We, somehow, at one point turned on the propane stove (without lighting it) and the inside reeked. I'm thankful that smell is added. Moving the kids temporarily, turning this off, venting the inside and removing the burner knobs was the solution. I'm glad that wasn't worse. As for it's intended function the RV was mostly ideal. We had beds for ourselves and the kids. We could put down the younger, more exhausted ones when we needed to without leaving the premises. This resulted in more time with the family than we'd had in years. But we still had at least a bit of separation, another plus.

The week flew by, as always. When we wanted to go out there was a different vehicle for us to use, an old pickup. We were able to get to the Spit, the beach, get some food and coffee, bum around town a little as desired, before heading back. The kids played games almost nonstop. Our eight year old now loves Catan. He did a fair amount of fishing too, and caught his first halibut. There was time on the trampoline and with the various animals. It was good.

Having an RV also allowed us to do an excursion my wife has been seeking for years, a wildlife boat tour out of Seward. This is a bit of a drive, even if it took us back closer to Anchorage. We got an RV campsite right next to the water and were able to walk to the harbor the day of the trip. Our in-laws rented an RV themselves, which was dropped off at the site for them right next to our space. This certainly isn't roughing it, there were power and water hookups, and a bathroom with sinks and flushing toilets and showers. But we no longer had the house. We cooked over a campfire, etc. And I didn't suck it up and take a shower in the community bathroom building, which I needed pretty badly by the end.

As for the wildlife tour, we did a 6 hour trip with Kenai Fjords Tours. We got taken out into Resurrection Bay and into another one of the fjords to see Alalik Glacier. On the way we saw a bunch of birds, including puffins. We saw sea lions. We saw two kinds of whales, humpbacks and fins, a real treat. One of the humpbacks even fully breached, the highlight of the day. It was a great adventure. Unfortunately I don't handle the motion well and spent most of the trip across open ocean outside, at the back of the boat. But I didn't hurl, unlike numerous others. Overall the day was a success because our group had a good time. And I survived.

On the whole the RV life is probably the way we need to do Alaska going forward, at least occasionally. It allows so much flexibility to where we can go and what we can do. There's already talk of 'camping' on the Homer Spit next year, at least for part of our time there. It's hard on me driving, but only got easier with practice and now that we've done it the other aspects we haven't figured out (dumping waste for example) won't be as intimidating. We've broken the seal. I still don't want to go any bigger though.