"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.