We have traveled to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho to join a tour of Alaska organized by the Fantasy RV Tours company. We signed up for this tour at the end of our Mississippi River Road tour in October of 2022. We were 10th on the waitlist for the tour when we signed up, but over time we moved up the list and were finally added to the tour roster in December of 2023.

The map at the beginning of this post shows the route the tour takes. Members of the tour began arriving in Coeur D’Alene the last few days in May to meet each other and prepare for the trip. We arrived on May 23, with appointments to get our truck and trailer serviced. The trailer got an axle service and the truck an oil change, tire rotation, and full systems check. With this preventative maintenance, we are hoping to minimize the chance of any mechanical issues during the tour.

Coeur D’Alene is situated on the bank of the Spokane River and the shore of Lake Coeur D’Alene. Our RV park was part of a large marina that provided a tour of the lake as part of our tour’s official first day’s activities.

A couple of informal evenings were held during our stay at our “base camp” in Coeur D’Alene. Chances to meet each other and get acquainted. Silliness was often involved!

A bit about the group that makes up this tour. We have a Wagonmaster couple, Chris and Arlene, and a Tail Gunner couple, Steve and Connie Jo. They work for Fantasy and are responsible for the success of the tour in every way imaginable. On travel days, the Wagonmasters leave each campground first and arrive first at each destination. The Tail Gunners leave last and make sure everyone leaves on time and leaves nothing behind. Between them, both couples also take care of all of the administrative tasks of the trip, cook and serve quite a few meals while we’re on the road, help tour guests with any issues that come up along the way (and there have been plenty of those!), and you name it, they’re responsible for it. It’s a lot to take on, but they are great folks with a lot of experience under their belts and they make the trip easier and fun.

The rest of us, 23 rigs in all, are the guests. We come from all over the country, and have varying amounts of experience with RV touring. Most people have traveled on their own quite a bit or attended rallies, group camping events that meet in one place. Several have traveled with Fantasy before, others are new to the caravan experience. Some live full-time in their rigs. A few knew each other before signing up for the trip; we met our friends Sheila and Michelle on our first trip with Fantasy in 2022. All told, we are a group of 24 couples and one single traveler with different backgrounds and different types of equipment who are all traveling together for two months to a place most of us have never been to before. Somehow this all works out, and everyone ends up having a great time with it! (It’s also a pretty busy schedule, and I have taken a long pause from writing to keep up!)

Our tour officially began with an orientation and welcome dinner at a local restaurant, and the boat tour on our second day. Our first travel day, June 4, took us across the border into Canada and began our trek through the spectacular Canadian Rockies on our way into Alaska. Come along with us and see what we found on our journey!