Getting There

I can now say that I've explored every possible way of getting out to Alaska. Seems simple enough, right? Wrong. I need to arrange to have a car while up there and I need to be there through August, then I need to be home to be in a wedding on September 7th. Tight time frame, but I would not miss this wedding for the world.

I've looked at every possible combination of flights, drives, ferries, rentals and shipping. This is my plan:
Drive like crazy to Alaska in late April/early May to hopefully arrive there by May 8th. It will be a horrible, horrible drive. All I have to say is CANADA. I will be driving at least 11 hours a day, but it's supposed to be a really beautiful drive, so I'll be okay. I'm going to try to camp most of the way up because camping is fun and camping is cheap! Plus I'll be in some amazing wilderness which I really shouldn't pass up.
For the way home I'm going to drive to Seattle, leave my car there with a friend while I fly home for the wedding etc for a few weeks, then fly back to Seattle to pick up my car and do some exploring on my way home.
Let me know if you want to join me for any leg of the journey back or have any suggestions as to where I should go.

Now all I have to figure out is how I'm going to get my bridesmaid dress tailored while I'm in a place where dresses are practically forbidden. I'd probably get laughed at if I attempted to bring it to a tailor there. Things aren't so formal there. I requested a visitor/transplant guide from the closest city to get an idea of what the area is like. The most telling part of it was this ad that a mortgage guy had in there. Usually mortgage and real estate brokers have professional pictures taken to go on business cards and ads, as I'm sure you've noticed. Well, this guy had a picture of himself squatting on a riverbed showing off a fish he caught! That is his 'professional' picture?! I'm entering a whole different world.