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Hey guys,
my best friend and I will be traveling to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska for the first time from May 23rd to June 9th, 2012 [two weeks] and would like to hear from the locals and those who've been there as to what's to do there. We've seen pics of all these places and the entire region looks stunning.
Any advice you guys would like to share will be greatly appreciated. And if some fellow RJ members would like to meet up for coffee or dinner, that'd be even better. My bud is a native of Argentina and he'll be traveling all the way from Buenos Aires to go explore that beautiful part of the country with me.

This is us [me on the beach in Italy, and my bud in front of that huge truck in Key West, FL]:

I've always wanted to travel up in that region. You two have fun!!!

Too much to do, too little time...

where in Alaska are you heading? I love Wrangell - St Elias National Park, if you're adventurous...I've worked there for a long time and its a truly amazing place. McCarthy is where it's at...

If you're in the mood for beauty with a heavy dose of nasty weather, head to Cordova and/or Valdez in Prince William Sound.

And if you're not going very far from Anchorage, you can still do some awesome stuff in Chugach State Park, Hatcher Pass (near Palmer) and pretty much everywhere else you look.

Have fun!

Two weeks isn't a long time to cover that much territory.
How are you traveling from Seattle to Alaska?

I love the PNW, but why on earth are you skipping British Columbia? I think it shouldnt be missed!

I always thought it would be fun to take the Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) from Bellingham and stop at every little town along the way.
http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/map.shtml

But now my goal is to do it in my own boat. I think it would take all summer though. (And maybe the following summer to come back!)

Thanks for the tips, guys. Greatly appreciated.

Yeah, two weeks probably won't be enough to actually appreciate and absorb all the beauty of such vast area. And in order to avoid running around like maniacs seeing a million things and enjoying none of them, we've decided to concentrate our time on just a few places: Portland, Seattle, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali National Park and the surrounding areas close to the places listed above.

@bischero: Thanks, bud. You too enjoy beautiful Florence, Italy. I lived there both as a child and later did my junior year in college.

@greenhopper: We'll certainly visit British Columbia, Banff national park and other parts of Canada on a future trip. Thanks for the suggestion.

@chinarunner: Thanks for the tips on the national parks. I'll look them up to see if they fit our schedules and expectations. Both of us are huge national parks fans and thus have been all over the place visiting them, including beautiful Tierra del Fuego in the southernmost tip of the Argentinean Patagonia.

@mindgarden: Thanks for the information on the ferry boat along the coastal towns. We're landing in Portland from the East Coast, then will drive to Seattle. Will fly from Seattle to Anchorage and then while in Alaska it'll be a combination of train, car and small plane to move around the state. Will fly back home out of Fairbanks.

Driving up I-5 is not particularly scenic, though it is the fastest way to go PDX to SEA.

Obvious possible day-trips from PDX would be:
A loop to the Oregon coast and drive along US 101. (e.g. via US 30 and OR 6). (You could also go to SEA that way, but it would take an extra day of driving and/or a ferry ride. However, it would take you through Olympic National Park.)
The Columbia River Gorge via US30 (scenic route) and I84. Lots of potential day hikes and bike rides along the way.
Mt. Hood via US26 or combine with Gorge drive to make a loop via OR35.

If you made it that far up the gorge, you could drop by here for coffee or a beer.

I partricularly liked Mt Hood OR and stayed at that Inn there. Great dining room overlooking the Columbia River. Dont forgot to stop off at Mt St Helens Volcano National Monument on the way to Seattle.

@mindgarden & @NJDewd:

Thanks for the tips, guys. In the next few days I gotta start mapping out the entire itinerary for those two weeks and your suggestions are very useful. I'll definitely try to visit Mt. Hood and Olympic national park while there. I promise to let you know if we make it up to where you live (@mindgarden) so that we can grab a bite to eat together.

Big hug to both from the two of us!

chinarunner saidToo much to do, too little time...

where in Alaska are you heading? I love Wrangell - St Elias National Park, if you're adventurous...I've worked there for a long time and its a truly amazing place. McCarthy is where it's at...

If you're in the mood for beauty with a heavy dose of nasty weather, head to Cordova and/or Valdez in Prince William Sound.

And if you're not going very far from Anchorage, you can still do some awesome stuff in Chugach State Park, Hatcher Pass (near Palmer) and pretty much everywhere else you look.

Have fun!

hahahahaa, that's crazy... I'm from Cordova... and friends from McCarthy....



And also true about the weather. lol

Guys,
any suggestions on hotels in Portland, Seattle, Anchorage and Fairbanks? My bud gets a special discount rate with La Quinta hotels through his job so we'll be staying there. That is, as long as they're located in areas a couple of first-time tourists would actually enjoy, close to amenities, transportation, etc.

Any suggestions on what locations to look for in those areas?
Thanks again guys for any suggestions you may want to share with us.

That's a pretty ambitious trip. Just swinging by Alaska on the way home from Seattle.

Go up Mount Baker in WA and you can wave to Bill and Doug in Whiterock, BC lol

So a really great Portland band, Blitzen Trapper, just realeased their most recent music video today, and it happens to be filmed in Alaska.

@Shawnathan,
that's a very cool song and video. Thanks for sharing, bud. Luv the vast Alaska landscapes, the immensity of the place and the cute doggies in the video. I wonder where in Alaska it was filmed.
Btw, who are Bill & Doug in Whiterock, B.C.?

No problem, they posted it on facebook last night and I thought of his thread. Here's what the video says about filming locations.

"The video for "Stranger in a Strange Land" features landscapes found in Nome Alaska where there are no indigenous trees or mountains within plain sight. Film maker Luke Norby, along with the help of Blitzen Trapper drummer Brian Adrian Koch, compiled a series of Norby's incidental shots including shivery hand held pans in 20 below zero conditions and segments from a sweeping driving shot that Norby shot from the back of a truck in 2010. Nome is known for housing the finish line to the Iditarod or "The Last Great Race", an 1100 mile race across the length of Alaska. The video also includes intermittent overlays of Singer//Songwriter Eric Earley along with a glimpse of the final mile from the 2010 Iditarod final finisher A.K.A "The Red Lantern" and cameo by captain Jack and John Boyles walking out into the frozen Bearing Sea."

Bill and Doug --> http://www.realjock.com/meninlove

Hey, guys!
Alas, our trip to the Pacific northwest and Alaska is pretty much around the corner. Since I'm the biggest procrastinator in the world, I haven't yet made our hotel reservations and was wondering if you guys had any suggestions about the best areas to get a hotel room since neither one of us has ever been to that part of the country.

Are there any gay neighborhoods in Portland, Seattle, Anchorage and Fairbanks? Or any other neighborhoods that are cool although not necessarily gay that you can suggest? Thank you guys for your invaluable help in planning our trip.

Portland
Hm.. you don't mention a budget... obviously there are all kinds of hotels at all kinds of prices. Your previous post mentions being locked into La Quinta motels. Ew. The two listed in portland are at the airport or way out in the NW industrial area. BFE from anywhere. You can get a max train from the airport to downtown. I'm not sure about its schedule. You could hike couple of miles from the NW Yeon location to the Nob Hill neighborhood, which is popular, with lots of little bars and cafes, then a couple more miles to downtown from there.

There used to be a sort of gayborhood centered around Stark and Burnside, but it's become gentrified. Still a couple of gay bars/clubs there. There are little spots all over the city. The Ace hotel is right in there, if you want something closer to the action. And of course, if you're a book person, Powells is right there too.

For "gay stuff" I found this page: links to lists of bars, clubs, baths, etc at the bottom of the page. http://portland.gaycities.com/

@Mindgarden,
Thanks for the tip, man. I actually used the information you gave me including the link to the the gaycities website. We ended up getting a good deal on a hotel in downtown Portland/Lloyd center.

My friend is on a plane from Buenos Aires to Portland (via Dallas) as we speak. I'll be leaving for Portland in just a few more hours, too. Can't wait to start our vacation! Let me know if you want to grab lunch or dinner together.

Any other RealJock brothers want to meet up for lunch or dinner, too?
Hope to meet some cool locals during our travels.

Don't be surprised if your buddy gets all the good looking ones

Stop in Vancouver on the way

OP asked me to take my comment down. He thinks he is the good looking one?? I am allowed to give an opinion, even a fact if I see it. Consensus should follow. Which guy would you hook up with RJ men????

I vote for the guy with the truck
This is us [me on the beach in Italy, and my bud in front of that huge truck in Key West, FL]:




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I'd be down to meet up in Seattle, but unfortunately I don't have a ride to Seattle right now and I'm busy most of that week with finals. Have fun with your travels. Plenty to do in the American PNW.

If you'd like to know some awesome stuff about Alaska feel free to message me. I live here.