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Greatest Camping Trip

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    Greatest Camping Trip

    It was in 1983, about April. I was working for the US Dept. of Labor in North Carolina, my wife was working in the Business Office of East Carolina University. We had 2 kids, son 5, and daughter 10. I decided to make a career change. We decided that while I was preparing for a new career, we would go to Alaska. My wife took a 2+ month leave of absence and we began preparing. We had a 1982 Buick Regal and we prepared it for the drive to Alaska. We put wire covers over the headlights and padded the gas tank with a rubber mat. I replaced the space saver spare with a full sized spare. I bought an X-cargo cartop carrier for the car and I rigged a rod carrier out of PVC pipe to attach to the side of the carrier.

    We checked the camping equipment and made sure we had a good Coleman stove, Coleman lantern, sleeping bags, pads, and cooking utensils. Our tent was getting a little old so we invested in a new Coleman 6 man cabin tent. We decided to take a few spinning rods and a couple of flyrods, which I stuffed in the PVC pipe attached to the cartop carrier. We put the reels and lures in a separate bag. We also put a .300 Win Mag rifle in the trunk of the car.

    On June 9 we decided it was time to hit the road. The adventure lasted 60 days, 52 nights spent in a tent, and 8 nights in a motel. The people we met and the sights we saw will live forever in my memory.

    #2
    I can only dream of pulling off something like that. You’re a lucky man for making it a reality. Most of us will never have the balls to make it a reality.

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      #3
      Sounds like an awesome trip!

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        #4
        You lived many of our dreams. Amazing trip I am sure!

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          #5
          Why padding on gas tank?

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            #6
            Originally posted by Hawkpuppy 1 View Post
            Why padding on gas tank?
            Great starter story, I know there’s more to come! But I ask the above also.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Hawkpuppy 1 View Post
              Why padding on gas tank?
              To help protect from sharp rocks. We knew that while most of the Alaska Highway was paved there were some places we wanted to go we would be on gravel roads. We wound up driving several hundred miles of rough unpaved roads.

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