| Six Weeks to Alaska and Back. | |
| Drive from Illinois to Alaska and return. A 38-day Summer trip |
| Short Summary. |
| Day 1 | Drive to Cedar Rapids (260 miles, 4 hours 30 minutes of driving) | Cedar Rapids, IA | |
| Day 2 | Cedar Rapids to St. Paul, MN (280 miles, 4 hours 45 minutes of driving) | St. Paul, MN | |
| Day 3 | St. Paul to Fargo to Jamestown, ND (345 miles, 5 hours 45 minutes of driving) | Jamestown, ND | |
| Day 4 | Jamestown to Minot to Regina, Saskatchewan (415 miles, 7 hours 30 minutes of driving) | Regina, Sask, Canada | |
| Day 5 | Regina to Saskatoon to North Battleford (255 miles, 4 hours 45 minutes of driving) | North Battleford, Sask, Canada | |
| Day 6 | North Battleford, SK to Edmonton, AB (245 miles, 5 hours of driving) | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| Day 7 | Edmonton, AB to Dawson Creek, BC (370 miles, 7 hours of driving) | Dawson Creek, BC, Canada | |
| Day 8 | Dawson Creek, BC to Muncho Lake, BC (435 miles, 9 hours of driving) | Muncho Lake, BC, Canada | |
| Day 9 | Muncho Lake, BC to Whitehorse, YT (445 miles, 9 hours 35 minutes of driving) | Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 10 | Day in Whitehorse | Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 11 | Whitehorse to Skagway, Alaska (110 miles, 3 hours of driving) | Skagway, Alaska | |
| Day 12 | Day in Skagway | Skagway, Alaska | |
| Day 13 | Skagway to Whitehorse (110 miles, 3 hours of driving) | Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 14 | Whitehorse to Dawson City (335 miles, 8 hours of driving) | Dawson City, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 15 | Day in Dawson | Dawson City, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 16 | Second Day in Dawson | Dawson City, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 17 | Dawson City to Tok, Alaska (190 miles, 6 hours 30 minutes of driving). | Tok, Alaska | |
| Day 18 | Tok to Fairbanks (210 miles, 3 hours 45 minutes of driving) | Fairbanks, Alaska | |
| Day 19 | Day in Fairbanks | Fairbanks, Alaska | |
| Day 20 | Fairbanks to Denali National Park (120 miles, 2 hours 15 minutes of driving) | Denali National Park, Alaska | |
| Day 21 | Day in Denali National Park | Denali National Park, Alaska | |
| Day 22 | Day in Denali National Park. | Denali National Park, Alaska | |
| Day 23 | Denali National Park to Anchorage (120 miles, 2 hours 15 minutes of driving) | Anchorage, Alaska | |
| Day 24 | Day in Anchorage | Anchorage, Alaska | |
| Day 25 | Anchorage to Gulkana (200 miles, 3 hours 30 minutes driving) | Gulkana, Alaska | |
| Day 26 | Gulkana to Beaver Creek (240 miles, 4 hours 20 minutes) | Beaver Creek, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 27 | Gulkana to Whitehorse (280 miles, 6 hours driving) | Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada | |
| Day 28 | Whitehorse to Ft Nelson (445 miles, 9 hours 35 minutes of driving) | Muncho Lake, BC, Canada | |
| Day 29 | Muncho Lake to Grande Prairie (515 miles, 10 hours 45 minutes of driving) | Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada | |
| Day 30 | Grand Prairie to Edmonton (290 miles, 6 hours 15 minutes of driving). | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| Day 31 | Edmonton to Drumheller (175 miles, 4 hours of driving) | Drumheller, Alberta, Canada | |
| Day 32 | Drumheller to Medicine Hat (151 miles, 2 hours 45 minutes of driving) | Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada | |
| Day 33 | Medicine Hat to Grasslands National Park, Val Marie, Saskatchewan (235 miles, 5 hours 30 minutes of driving) | Grasslands National Park, Sask, Canada | |
| Day 34 | Grasslands National Park to Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora (370 miles, 7 hours 30 minutes of driving) | Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, North Dakota | |
| Day 35 | Theodore Roosevelt National Park to Bismarck, to Fargo, ND or Moorhead, MN (340 miles, 5 hours 15 minutes of driving) | Fargo, ND or Moorhead, MN | |
| Day 36 | Fargo or Moorhead to St Paul, MN (250 miles, 4 hours 15 minutes of driving) | St. Paul, MN | |
| Day 37 | St. Paul to Wisconsin Dells (215 miles, 4 hours of driving) | Wisconsin Dells, WI | |
| Day 38 | Return home. (320 miles, 5 hours 45 minutes) | home |
| Full Description |
| Day 1 | Saturday | Drive to Cedar Rapids (260 miles, 4 hours 30 minutes of driving). Begin by Driving to Burlington, Iowa. This is about 135 miles away. Depart at 10:30, and arrive at 1:15 p.m., and have lunch there. Then depart Burlington at around 2:30 p.m., and arrive at the Devonian Fossil Gorge just north of Iowa City at 4:05 p.m. (84 miles from Burlington). After an hour or so looking at the fossils, continue north to Cedar Rapids (24 miles), and arrive there around 6:00 p.m. | Cedar Rapids |
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| Day 2 | Sunday | |||
| Day 3 | Monday | |||
| Day 4 | Tuesday | |||
| Day 5 | Wednesday | |||
| Day 6 | Thursday | |||
| Day 7 | Friday | |||
| Day 8 | Saturday | |||
| Day 9 | Sunday | |||
| Day 10 | Monday | |||
| Day 11 | Tuesday | |||
| Day 12 | Wednesday | |||
| Day 13 | Thursday |
| Costs. (Day, expense, Cost in 2010 U.S. Dollars, Cost in percent of median year-round full-time income) (1 Myrfti = 1/10,000th of a median year round full-time income for an American worker. To find the median year-round full-time income used in the calculations, simply divide the dollar cost of something by the Myrfti cost, and multiply the resulting quotient by 10,000. Another way to think of this: if something costs 100 Myrftis, it costs 1% of the median year-round full-time worker's income, at least in America.) |
| Day 1 | Cost Item Description | Cost in 2011 US$ |
Cost in % Myrfti for U.S. |
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| Day 17 | A night at the Burnt Paw & Cabins Outback in Tok, Alaska. | $100.00 |
24.75 |
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| Day 21 | Spend two nights inside Denali National Park. There are only four choices to make. With four persons, the costs at are lowest at Kantishna Air Taxi cabins. A cabin for one or two persons is $251.45 per night (in 2011) while a cabin for four persons is $358.45. At Denali Backcountry Lodge costs (in 2011) were $1,460 per night (four persons) or $1,050 per night (two persons). The Kantishna Roadhouse charged (in 2011) $802 per night for two persons, or $1,519 for four persons. Camp Denali and North Face Lodge charged over $2,000 per night. To save significant costs, stay at a campground instead of in a lodge or cabin. Wonder Lake campground ($16 per night) is deep in the park, at mile marker 85 on the park road. Savage River campground and Riley Creek campground ($22 per night) are within the areas where cars are allowed to drive and park (before mile marker 15 on the park road). |
$358.45 |
88.71 |
|
| Day 22 | Second night at Kantishna Skyline Lodge. | $358.45 |
88.71 |
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| Travel during trip. (Method and route of travel) |
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| Day 13 |