Counseling for the Daring Traveler
It all begins when you decide to break away without the “group of tourists” surrounding you. You may be planning to go it alone, with a companion or with a few friends that share your enthusiasm for adventure; and it’s not that difficult! Perhaps this site will offer some helpful advice to motivate you into action, to decide where to go, when to go and how to plan to get there. There may be even a thought or two on what to do when you arrive at your destination. This advice comes from a well seasoned traveler that rarely uses a travel agent or travel agency to plan for me and my traveling companions.
Just because it is getting cold…
Don’t let the cold keep you indoors.
Get out among the trees and see if you can’t find some peace in the world!
Each season the trees offer a new perspective…
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Trees say it all!
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Reflection…
I think now is a good time to sit back and reflect on your 2023 travels and adventures;
a time to update your adventure “wish list” for 2024 and start planning!
Closing Alaska’s tourist season…
Tourism in Alaska comes to a major slow down in mid to late September…but it can be a wonderful time to visit. Crowds have diminished, snow capped mountain tops are appearing and the weather is not that bad…a bit cold for a motorcycle trip, especially in the 40 degree rain, but I completed my 47th state on a Harley.
But there is so much more to this state than getting out on a motorcycle…lots of biking trails…everywhere we looked in Anchorage, there were paved trails! So we eBiked the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail - spectacular views of Cook Inlet and the distant snow covered mountains abound on this 22 miles round-trip ride.
What’s a trip to Alaska without finding a moose? Theoretically they are everywhere in Anchorage…but it took several days of traveling to multiple parks before we actually came across the critter(s), two actually…a female was on one side of a major fence surrounding the airport, while the big “bull” tried to find his way to her! We were at Kincaid Park, leaving the area when, last moment, we turned on a dirt road to the Little Campbell Lake…where we ran across the two.
Note that the lady is on the far side of the fence while her “pursuer” was on the near side where we were!
So many other places to visit! Katmai National Park is a true Bucket List place! Brooks Falls and the big brown bears fishing for salmon is an incredible journey into the wild…have a look via live-stream at explore.org and just imagine being up close to one of these!
Viewing the bears of Brooks Falls is a wonderful experience…
Another great adventure was to seek out the aurora borealis (northern lights)…even south of Anchorage we caught a magical evening show!
North of Anchorage, high in the Talkeetna Mountains, Hatcher Pass had already closed the road due to snow:
But the town of Talkeetna, once a district Alaskan Railroad headquarters, now boasts many things tourist to do…I personally enjoyed lunch and a cold beer at the Denali Brewpub!
So, if you plan to visit Alaska and stay in Anchorage and want to rent a bike: Downtown Bicycle or a Harley: House of Harley-Davidson are my recommendations. If you want any further advice on Alaska travel from a seasoned traveler…drop me a request at email: larrygc@agentlessadventures.com.
And take the train for sure…this ride was from Seward to Anchorage - spectacular sights!
My 45th in the 33rd...
One of my passions is motorcycling and I am determined to ride all 50 states of the USA, before I get too old to ride…So I find myself blogging today from Oregon, the 33rd state to join the US and now my 45th state to add to my “completed ride” list.
So I set about traveling from Portland to the northwest corner seeking the Coastal Highway. Stopping in the quaint town of Seaside some 90 miles away from my starting point, not only did I discover a wonderful small restaurant for lunch, but this happens to be the area where Lewis and Clark finally ended their expedition to the west coast. Being out of salt, a necessity for their travels back home, the team decided to extract the salt they needed from the sea! 4 bushels (28 gallons) much later (7 weeks) they had enough salt to begin the return trip home. Their round trip took 8000 miles and about a year and a half…I was able to complete about 250 miles in a single day yesterday!
The salt cairn show above is a monument erected to honor the brave crew of the Lewis and Clark expedition…looks to me like a modern day brick oven for cooking pizza…but a part of our history worth my journey west!
I will be adding my 46th state this same trip as I motor on over (or up) to ride in Washington state. Stay tuned for an update soon, because after completing these two, I head on to Alaska where great adventures await!
By the way…you only get too old to do something when you stop doing it because you think you are too old…