Great Alaskan Holidays | Daryl Bennett | President | Tyrie | Anchorage
Rolling Through Alaska
by
Steve Hendrix
"It's just a great way to see Alaska," says Daryl Bennett,
president of Great Alaskan Holidays, a high-end RV rental firm. "It
gives you a chance to get almost anywhere in the state in comfort
and on your own schedule."
RVs didn't exactly play a role in the Great Northern daydreams of
my younger days - I was more likely to picture myself bathing in a
freezing river than shaving in front of a steamy mirror. But I
changed my approach for three reasons. The first two are named
Isabel (age 3) and Tyrie (age 1). Our backpacking had survived the
lifestyle body blow of one kid - we just put Isabel on my wife
Ann's back and everything else on mine. But with daughter number
two, we ran out of backs, which brings me to reason number three
for our temporary enlistment in the RV ranks: a surprising number
of raves about RV travel in
Alaska from friends - some
thoroughgoing outdoorspeople among them - who have done it with
kids.
"Go ahead, you'll love it," said my sister-in-law, who once
motor-homed around southern Alaska with five teenagers. "You're
renting an RV, not buying a minivan. You can reclaim your outdoors
purity when the girls are bigger."
And so here we are, on the Seward Highway leading south from
Anchorage down the Kenai Peninsula.
BEER, WINE, AND A BAG OF CHIPS
Picking up the vehicle had been surprisingly easy - no special
license required and amazingly light preparation for a week's trip.
(We went with a premium company in part because they provide all
linens, towels, cookware, and dishes, and they don't require you to
clean your vehicle or dump the holding tanks before turning it in,
as most companies do.) Great Alaskan Holidays picked us up at our
hotel, sat us down for a 20-minute video on the quirks of operating
the rig, and then introduced us to our home for the week.
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