Lucy is on the road to Alaska

[patnal]

Safe travels! I love following your journeys!

[Nelson428]

I’m running late this year. 2-3 days behind. I’m gonna be looking for ya. Sorry I missed you passing through Mississippi

[Nelson428]

Safe travels that’s I’m 2-3 days behind y’all.

[superChop]

Moosetags - thank you for bringing us all along for the ride, including photos! We are in the large group of folks with AS' that "one day will make that long, long journey to Alaska! We have flown out of and cruised into Alaska, so we know a little bit about the destination, but the driving/camping experience must be better, since it includes portions of Canada which by all accounts are extremely beautiful!

[Gene]

In three trips to Alaska and NW Canada, we had one flat—that's in around 30,000 miles. That flat was on a dirt road in Chicken where I picked up half a broken chain link on our truck. I had a tire repair kit, to me an absolute necessity, along with a compressor. We had Michelin LTX Load Range E tires with lots of tread. My experience is the more tread, the fewer flats. Some info in the Milepost warns about nails or old railroad spikes on certain roads, but when we were on those roads, we saw no evidence and had no problems—sometimes the Milepost is way out of date.

Frost heaves from Destruction Bay to the border were very common when we were there and the highway in Alaska had been freshly rebuilt, so I am not surprised that by now it is in bad shape. The Alaska part was paved with regular pavement instead of chip seal, very strange for there because it is easier to repair chip seal. As warming goes on, the frost/thaw cycle is more pronounced along that section of highway and permafrost is melting underneath, so road problems will be common. The permafrost lines goes through Fairbanks, but is moving north and perhaps buildings there are sinking.

[Lynntalsma]

Oh goody! It is fun to follow your travels. Have a safe and fun trip.

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Nelson428

I’m running late this year. 2-3 days behind. I’m gonna be looking for ya. Sorry I missed you passing through Mississippi

We came right through Collins this morning on US 84. We spent last night in Soso. We stay on US and State Routes when possible.

Brian

[Nelson428]

I’m leaving here Thursday. I did not see your post till after you passed or I would have been out watching for y’all. Hopefully our paths will cross.

[moosetags]

We got Lucy rolling this morning around ten which is really good for us. We continued west on US 84 through the Mississippi countryside over to Natchez. We decided to take a break and take a short tour of the Natchez Downtown Historic District. Natchez has some of the finest examples of Antebellum Architecture. Natchez was largely undamaged during the War Between the States as it was occupied by Union Forces for much of the war.

We continued west from Natchez and crossed the Mississippi River into Louisiana. We drove across Louisiana on US 84, and then north on US 71 to Bossier City, Louisiana. We stopped and got Lucy a campsite at the Red River Marina and Campground. Lucy has a very nice site directly on the Red River.

Tonight's pictures include:

- Antebellum house framed by Crepe Myrtle trees.
- The 1844 Myrtle Terrace.
- The 1857 Stanton Hall.
- The street in front of Stanton Hall.
- The 1833 Phoenix Fire Company Building.
- The 1845 Wilkins Townhouse.
- Lillian and Lucy parked among the Crepe Myrtle trees.
-The Mississippi River Bridges at Natchez.
- Art Deco car dealership building in Downtown Natchez.
- The 1935 Ritz Theatre marquee in Downtown Natchez.

Brian

[A W Warn]

Brian,
You have followers. Reminds me of Forrest Gump's cross country treks.
Maybe you should rename Fred!

edit: Oops, missed a generation. Rename Lillian

[moosetags]

As a reintroduction, Lucy is our 2015 Airstream Flying Cloud 25FB. Lillian is our 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Duramax.

Brian

[BoerneBrogan]

Brian and Suellyn, Have a fabulous trip. It's great to see Lucy on the road again. Can't wait to hear about Alaska. Ed and Sandy

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by moosetags

As a reintroduction, Lucy is our 2015 Airstream Flying Cloud 25FB. Lillian is our 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Duramax.

Brian

Wait a minute, if Lillian is silver, then who's that shameless redhead towing Lucy around?
Oh nevermind, Lilian is the RED Silverado.

[BigHornStream]

Happy Trails! Thanks for sharing your Alaska Adventure. We will enjoy following along so keep the updates coming.

[Arcticfox]

Tagging in to follow along......

[Camper Crazy]

Happy trails! Loved your send off.

[Lenmar]

Originally Posted by Gene

Even though our Tundra has a small gas tank, we never had a problem going to and returning from Alaska. Certainly it is good to plan ahead and the Milepost makes that easy. I always had extra gas cans in the pickup bed, but never used them. While the trip takes you through remote areas, civilization has arrived. There are roads well off the usual tourist travels, but there is so much to see, not many people take those roads unless they have lots and lots of time. I expect Brian and SuEllyn may take those roads and will be prepared.

The worst gas issue were stations with even more outrageous prices than usual. Sometimes the word about them travels along the highways and everyone passes on that information so you can avoid those greed heads, but even then I never needed the extra gas. While distances are so great that I wanted to keep traveling to get miles eaten, a stop to get gas when the needle goes below one half is good for your body and mind (a rule I often broke). It is a vacation, after all.

You will meet people who live in the north who sometimes have to travel very far and they are the ones who drive a thousand miles at a time. You can spot them by their bloodshot eyes, pasty skin and shambling walk. Sometimes two guys drive and sleep and do thousands of miles—distances do affect how people act in the north.

An Alaskan trip cost us about a dollar a mile and the biggest expense was by far gas.

Wow, thanks for all this information. Yes, there were many "greed-heads". The fuel had to be the highest we had ever seen up there in Yukon! $6/liter . We bought $100 worth and was so happy to see a station almost immediately crossing into Alaska,good-ol-USA! One trip to this most beautiful of the States is never enough! Thanks again for your post! Hope to do it again in an Airstream!

[Life is a Highway]

Team Moosetags

Your Pulling Lucy, Were at home, however were pulling for you to have a great adventure. If anyone can enjoy that trip is will be you guys. Keep us posted like the pictures!

Hervey and Ruth

[moosetags]

We got Lucy packed up in Bossier City this morning and got going before ten. A short drive to Shreveport got us an early lunch at the Club (Sam's Club). Lucy continued west from Shreveport On I-20 and entered Texas. This was the first Interstate that we have been on since leaving Santa Rosa Beach. We did about forty miles on I-20 before cutting north on US 69 to westbound US 82 to avoid driving through Dallas with Lucy.

We stopped in several of the small towns along the way and did some exploring. There are often some interesting historic buildings in these little towns that have been bypassed by the Interstate Highway System.

We have decided to make camp for the night at a campground near Whitesboro, Texas. We got Lucy a full hook-up site at Four Aces Highway 82 RV Park. Lucy and Lillian are settled in for the night.

Tonight's pictures include:

- The girls are prepping to depart the Bosier City campground.
- Main Street, Mineola, Texas.
- The 1906 Mineola Train Depot. It is still an active passenger depot.
- The 1926 Beckham Hotel and Ballroom.
- The 1912 First National Bank of Mineola Building.
- The 1938 Select Theatre in Downtown Mineola.
- The 1930 Henry Hotel in Downtown Mineola.
- Lucy and Lillian at their campsite in Whitesboro, Texas.

Brian

[cazual6]

Please use this thread to up date us on your journey.

Your journey to Alaska is in my bucket list.