Dogsong and woodsong in middleschool

[Gale]

i'm watching this program on the travel channel, er, on alaska obviously. I've always been really interested in going there sometime. i read dogsong and woodsong in middleschool, and we did a lot of research on the iditerod. i think dogsledding seems really cool. they do it some in new hampshire up north. maybe i should check into it and see if i can watch some races this winter actually...

but anyways, i was just sort of curious if anyone here had been to alaska at all, and if so, what'd you think? or if anyone wanted to go sometime... cause i have nothing to do this summer... heh, no but really. i think it seems really cool. anyone else think so?

 

[cronxeh]

id definitely love to go

and not only Alaska but Bahamas too.. if only I had the time- perhaps after graduation

 

[Gale]

yah... alaska... bahamas... we'll hit both in the same trip... i mean, one's practically on the way to the other anyways...

 

[Danger]

I have no interest in Alaska itself, but I'd love to take that Princess Cruises tour up the coastline from Vancouver some day.

 

[BobG]

I spent a year up there. It's incredible in the Summer - one of the greenest and most beautiful places you could ever imagine. Of course, that's because there's so much melted snow - and an incredible amount of mosquitoes. Winters are pretty long though, especially in central Alaska and further North. When the temperature's below 40 below, the air in your car tires contracts overnight and the rubber freezes with little flat spots where they were sitting on the ground - driving on them is obnoxious as hell until the rubber finally thaws out and your tires get round again. Around about 70 below, you have to worry about vinyl car interiors - your vinyl seat covers might shatter when you sit down on them.

Anchorage isn't too bad, even in the Winter. Temperature wise, it feels about equivalent to Omaha. All in all, the Alaskan coast from Anchorage to Seward to Juneau is best bet year round.

Great fishing, too, if you don't mind standing still near water (just incredible amount of mosquitoes). At one of our cookouts, a couple of the guys hadn't brought any food. They had to jump in their truck and drive off to the river. They were back in 15 minutes with their dinner - almost quicker than going to the drive through at McDonald's.

Best bets - salmon fishing on the coast, the cruises along the glaciers near Juneau, Denali Park and Mt McKinley (camping is better on land owned by the Healy coal company just outside the park - you're allowed to have campfires, plus don't have to worry about running into homesteaders, aka welfare pioneers), white water rafting down the Nenana or on the rivers on the Southern coast, Seward! (beautiful place in a bay along the southern coast). Oh, and bring lots of DEET (just an incredible amount of mosquitoes, and big, too - let's see, scrambled eggs and mosquitoes, biscuits and mosquitoes, mosquito chip cookies, ...)

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I have a few net friends that live in Alaska. They absolutely love it there. My Parents also went not that long ago and really enjoyed themselves aswell. I've always wanted to see the Northern Lights.

 

[brewnog]

To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't been!

I like to think that if I lived on a massive landmass, where petrol is cheaper than Coke, I'd just jump in my car and drive to, well, pretty much anywhere I like!

 

[Moonbear]

Hey, BobG, maybe you should warn them about the mosquitoes.

I've never been there either, but like Danger, would love to take one of those Alaskan cruises.

 

[Gale]

I'd LOVE to see the northern lights. we see them every once in a while here, but its usually not so spectacular. i saw them last winter, but they were just sort of reddish streaks in the sky. i'd love to star gaze there too. they're miles and miles from light pollution. i haven't seen any where with clearer skies than my back yard, but i'd be interested to. i could just go to near by Canada I'm sure... or even just northern NH... but alaska seems more charming...

...i'm suddenly very worried about the mosquitos though. hmm...

i'd actually love to see the iditerod now that i think of it too.

not a big fishing fan... but it'd be cool to go with someone who was... cause i like to eat fish. mmm...

 

[BicycleTree]

My dad was once in Alaska in the summer. He said the bugs were so bad that his eyes swelled shut. That's about all the personal information I have about Alaska.

 

[hitssquad]

Fuel cost vs. true cost of vehicle ownership

I like to think that if I lived on a massive landmass, where petrol is cheaper than Coke, I'd just jump in my car and drive to, well, pretty much anywhere I like!

Fuel makes up tiny fractions of typical passenger-vehicle per-mile cost and total ownership cost. See:
edmunds.com/new/2005/toyota/camry/100395309/cto.html?vdp=off&setzip=03755

According to Edmunds, owning a 2005 Camry in Hanover, New Hampshire for five years, and putting 75,000 miles on it, costs $27,993. At recent prices, fuel only makes up 21.4% of that cost.

Driving costs about the same in the United States as it does in Britain.

 

[Gale]

Fuel makes up tiny fractions of typical passenger-vehicle per-mile cost and total ownership cost. See:
edmunds.com/new/2005/toyota/camry/100395309/cto.html?vdp=off&setzip=03755

According to Edmunds, owning a 2005 Camry in Hanover, New Hampshire for five years, and putting 75,000 miles on it, costs $27,993. At recent prices, fuel only makes up 21.4% of that cost.

Driving costs about the same in the United States as it does in Britain.

only 75,000? holy wow... i put 40k on mine in one year.

i still want to go to alaska though. its not like you'd drive around much there anyway. i'd want to hike sail and all that.

 

[brewnog]

Fuel makes up tiny fractions of typical passenger-vehicle per-mile cost and total ownership cost. See:
edmunds.com/new/2005/toyota/camry/100395309/cto.html?vdp=off&setzip=03755

According to Edmunds, owning a 2005 Camry in Hanover, New Hampshire for five years, and putting 75,000 miles on it, costs $27,993. At recent prices, fuel only makes up 21.4% of that cost.

Driving costs about the same in the United States as it does in Britain.

Rubbish!

21% isn't a "tiny fraction", and nobody's going to contest that fuel costs a lot more here. Depreciation and financing costs seem similar, which is reasonable. Insurance doesn't look too far off either, although that is very owner-specific. Maintenance costs aren't going to be worlds apart either.

However, annual taxes and fees of $60? That's what, about £25? That's insane! I just paid £30 just to have my car tested, and another £170 for road tax. You could change dollars signs for pounds signs here, and you still wouldn't be close. But the main thing is fuel. Last month, average petrol prices here dropped to 85.1p per litre (and those were the cheapest in the UK). That's $5.83 a gallon! I don't see how you can argue that fuel isn't the single highest mileage-related cost, and I don't see where the extra cost to make US and UK motoring similar costs comes from.

Anyways, I'm off to Coventry and Oxford for the weekend, so won't be here to defend myself! Have a good one, everybody!

 

[hitssquad]

Extended-road-trip expenses - Britain vs. America

Multiplying the fuel cost by a factor of 2.7 brings it to $16159.50, and brings the total 5-year ownership cost to $38167.50. The fuel percentage is raised to 42.3%, which is only a factor of 2. The total ownership cost with the higher fuel price is only 36.3% higher.

If it would be considered expensive to go on long road trips in Britain, it might be considered similarly expensive to go on long road trips in the United States.

 

[BobG]

only 75,000? holy wow... i put 40k on mine in one year.

i still want to go to alaska though. its not like you'd drive around much there anyway. i'd want to hike sail and all that.

Alaska is the biggest state in the country. Even if you just visit the places in the southern half the state (the half with civilization) you'll do a lot of driving. Or, take the train - the Anchorage-Fairbanks train would be a nice trip.

One other thing you might want to see if you were up there at the right time - the Anderson Bluegrass Festival. Of course, you need to camp, though. Anderson is a tiny village and you'd have a hard time finding lodging.

A lot of the folks that visit Alaska take a boat up the coast and rent an RV for their trip. Driving your own car from the US to Alaska is an adventure into itself, although it's a lot more tame now than it was 20,30 years ago - the road's even paved, now.