Travel Update … What’s On; What’s Off

Change is constant. Change is good. Change is inevitable. Especially when traveling full time in an RV!

You may have read my blog, “Alaska – On, Off, Back on Again,” that I posted a few weeks ago. Before covid, we had planned to go to Alaska this coming summer. Then, because of the pandemic and the Canadian border closing, we were forced to change our plans. With the recent approval of a third vaccine by Johnson & Johnson, I was re-energized about the possibility that the Canadian border might be open by the end of May, which would be the perfect time to head to Alaska for the summer. Carl was a little wary of the idea, but got caught up in my excitement. Within a couple of days, we realigned and rescheduled our travel plans through California and Oregon to be near the border above Bellingham, Washington by May 16.

As I started to plan our driving route and itinerary so we could make camping reservations at Denali National Park, signs of a slow re-awakening from the pandemic were evident on various websites. I began to realize that maybe this summer was not the best time to go. On the one hand, there would be less traffic and easier accessibility to various locations and activities. On the other hand, many things would still be at reduced capacity or not entirely open, and our trip through Canada might be restricted. Carl voiced the doubts I was starting to have, expressing a desire to go to Canada and Alaska when everything was more open and back to some semblance of normalcy. I reluctantly agreed. Not even a week after I posted my Alaska blog, the trip was OFF … AGAIN!

We are fortunate to have the flexibility to change our plans on a whim, but sometimes it leaves an impression that our decision-making capabilities have deteriorated. Alaska has not been the only decision we’ve toyed with recently. Carl has waffled a few times on upgrading our 2003 Ford F250 pickup to a newer model. And, just in the past day or two, we have been negotiating a realignment of our upcoming travel plans to Rancho Oso RV & Camping Resort near Santa Barbara because others have reported there is no cell phone or TV signal there, and Carl doesn’t want to miss the Masters golf tournament! Priorities, priorities.

This is what we know today: We are postponing our trip to Alaska for next summer after Rachel graduates, assuming the world is past the pandemic. We are tabling the truck decision until we get back to North Carolina in November. And we are still jumping through the hoops to change our location so we can watch the Masters April 8-12. We are adding in Sequoia National Park for a day or so before going to Yosemite, and we plan to camp on the Oregon Coast at the beginning of May. We might make it to Glacier National Park in June—and maybe even the Tetons—but we have yet to decide our route back to North Carolina, where we plan to be in November.

The good news is we are beginning to make new friends, and some of them might be traveling to Alaska next summer as well. Meeting up with them in different locations will be an added bonus to this trip of a lifetime.

Stay tuned for future RIVETING travel decisions. It definitely keeps US on the edge of our seats.

Karen Newton

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