A Trip to Alaska 2024 (Part 1)
Our long-awaited trip to Alaska didn’t go quite as we expected—but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from years on the road, it’s that the journey itself can be the best part, even when things go sideways.
We began our trip with a mechanical hiccup that forced us to detour to a small town in Idaho called Burley. A bolt in our van’s brakes needed replacing, which led to a two-day delay while we waited for the part to arrive at the local Ford dealership. While the setback was frustrating, we made the best of it and stumbled upon the most charming coffee shop: Nostalgia Coffee & Cafe. It’s funny how these little unexpected stops can create some of the best memories. If you ever find yourself in Burley, we highly recommend swinging by for a cup of their coffee!
Once our van was back in action, we headed for North Cascades National Park in Washington State to meet up with our travel companions for the Alaska leg of our journey, Matt and Danielle.
A Trip to Alaska: The Adventure That Didn’t Go as Planned (Part 1)
They had just finished building out their van and were embarking on their first major road trip in it. (Check out their story and why they decided to hit the road here.)
Exploring North Cascades was a dream come true, especially since last year a massive wildfire kept us from visiting. There’s something magical about finally checking off a place that’s been on your list for so long. The towering peaks, glacial lakes, and lush forests were worth every moment of waiting. We spent a couple of days hiking and soaking in the beauty before it was time to head north.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Our next stop was Vancouver, Canada, where we spent a few days eating our way through the city.
Vancouver has some of the best food we’ve ever had on the road,
and we can’t wait to share more about the incredible restaurants we discovered (stay tuned for an entire blog post dedicated to that food adventure!). Finding places to park overnight was tricky in the city, but luckily we had Harvest Hosts, which saved us more than once during this part of the trip.
From Vancouver, we made our way to Whistler for a day of mountain biking. But this is where our trip took a challenging turn. Our friend Matt took a nasty fall and broke his arm while biking, forcing his wife, Danielle, to take over driving their van for the next two weeks. It was a tough moment, but their resilience and determination to keep going were inspiring.
We continued on, choosing to take the less-traveled route north, bypassing the typical Alaskan Highway and heading up Highways 16 and 37. This remote part of British Columbia is breathtaking but also isolating. Huge stretches of road go by without a single gas station or town, so if you’re thinking of taking this route, be prepared and make sure you have something like Starlink since there’s no cell service for hours at a time.
It took us a week to travel from Whistler to Whitehorse in the Yukon. And while the journey through British Columbia had its challenges, it was nothing compared to what we faced once we reached the Yukon.
But that’s a story for Part 2 of our Alaska adventure. Stay tuned for the most intense and memorable leg of the trip—you won’t want to miss it!
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