Tonight we’re outside of Flagstaff at the campground where we stopped for lunch the day we left for Alaska. Tomorrow we’ll be home and the Alaska odyssey will be over. That’s not a bad thing, we really miss our family and will be happy to be home and back to normal (if we were ever normal in the first place). Believe it or not (those of you who know Jan will believe it), Jan is supposed to be playing softball in Prescott this weekend and he’s actually going to be able to do it. He’ll miss the morning games but will be able to play in the afternoon and on Sunday. He cracks me up.
The trip was everything we imagined and more. We’ve seen so much beauty that we’re still just in awe. The journey was made more enjoyable by sharing it with old friends (Gerry & Nancy) and with the people we met along the way. We found that as we went along, we ran into some of the same people because we were all doing the same trip. Everyone was so happy and excited about what was to come.
There are places we visited that we’d like to go back to and spend more time. The Kenai Peninsula is one of those places, along with Haines. There are so many towns on the Peninsula and we especially liked Homer, Homer Spit, and Seward – we could spend a lot of time in those cities. There are ferries from Homer Spit that go to some small islands; we didn’t have an opportunity to do that but it’s something we will do when we go back. Haines would be a good place to set up camp and then take the ferries to visit Juneau and Skagway – we would love to spend more time in Haines.
We won’t be taking anymore 2 month trips; we’re such home bodies we just can bear being away that long. It worked out fine for this particular trip because we went so many places and drove so many miles that we needed that much time to do it. We highly recommend Alaska, the Canadian Rockies, & British Columbia – you don’t need to do them all at once unless you want to.
I hope you all enjoyed reading about our adventures!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Day 53
This morning we hit the road at 8:37 and continued on through farms, dairies, & ranches. The landscape was dry & flat; it was a patchwork of dark brown tilled earth and golden fields where crops had already been harvested. There were also some really beautiful homes on some of the farms. After a while, it started looking like Arizona or Nevada – rolling mountains with high desert brush. We did have one more steep climb and got back into a forest but that didn’t last long, the road went back down. At 10:27, we crossed the 45th parallel (half way between the Equator and the North Pole).
We got to Boise and not only were there miles of road construction; there was a lot of traffic. We didn’t expect Boise to be that busy! Heavy traffic is no fun when you’re pulling a trailer. As we drove, we crossed the Snake River multiple times. It is aptly named because it certainly snakes across the countryside.
Tonight we’re in an RV park in Declo ID; it’s right on the Snake River.
We got to Boise and not only were there miles of road construction; there was a lot of traffic. We didn’t expect Boise to be that busy! Heavy traffic is no fun when you’re pulling a trailer. As we drove, we crossed the Snake River multiple times. It is aptly named because it certainly snakes across the countryside.
Tonight we’re in an RV park in Declo ID; it’s right on the Snake River.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day 52
We left Kitsap State Park and were on the road at 8:22. We took a less traveled route so we could bypass Seattle. The traffic is really bad on I-5 in Seattle no matter what time of day it is. It was overcast and misty today – I couldn’t believe we had mist on our squeaky clean truck! I guess we were fortunate to have 2 days of sunshine; we actually got to enjoy how beautiful Washington is.
On one of the motorcycle trips, Jan and his friends rode through the Columbia River Gorge and Jan wanted me to see it. The landscape in and around Portland is very green with thick foliage that continued for a fairly long distance. We stopped at Multnomah Falls, the main highlight along the Gorge. The falls and surrounding area are gorgeous and everything has been nicely set up to accommodate tourists (and there are a lot of them). They have a snack bar with patio seating, coffee kiosks, and a pretty large gift shop. Our “souvenir” purchase was 2 bear claws but they’ll be gone tomorrow morning.
Driving on away from the falls, the scenery along the river changed to smooth rolling mountains on one side and craggy towers of rock on the other side. A totally different kind of pretty.
We found an RV park in Broadman OR and it’s really a good one. It sits right on the Columbia River; it’s very grassy with paved RV parking pads, full hookups, and lots of space between the RVs. And it was only $23.50! We would highly recommend it.
On one of the motorcycle trips, Jan and his friends rode through the Columbia River Gorge and Jan wanted me to see it. The landscape in and around Portland is very green with thick foliage that continued for a fairly long distance. We stopped at Multnomah Falls, the main highlight along the Gorge. The falls and surrounding area are gorgeous and everything has been nicely set up to accommodate tourists (and there are a lot of them). They have a snack bar with patio seating, coffee kiosks, and a pretty large gift shop. Our “souvenir” purchase was 2 bear claws but they’ll be gone tomorrow morning.
Driving on away from the falls, the scenery along the river changed to smooth rolling mountains on one side and craggy towers of rock on the other side. A totally different kind of pretty.
We found an RV park in Broadman OR and it’s really a good one. It sits right on the Columbia River; it’s very grassy with paved RV parking pads, full hookups, and lots of space between the RVs. And it was only $23.50! We would highly recommend it.
Day 51
Since this was a non-travel day, I decided to make pancakes for breakfast. I got out our little fan and pointed it at the smoke alarm in hopes that it wouldn’t go off while I was cooking. I can’t tell you how may time that thing has gone off while I’ve been cooking – Jan laughs and says it’s just like home. He’s soooo funny. My big “fan” experiment was for naught – the danged smoke alarm went off anyway.
Jan had not been on his bike in a while so he went exploring while I got ready to meet the day. Last night Ken directed us to a car wash in Bremerton so we could get the truck washed and we went there after Jan returned from his ride and got cleaned up. The truck was so disgustingly dirty we just couldn’t take it anymore. When we were done with that task, Ken & Shirley took us to lunch at a restaurant on Bainbridge Island. It was a nice warm day and we got to sit outside by the water. We came back to the trailer after lunch, did some chores, and then walked along the beach by the park. It was so beautiful. This is a beach where people can shuck Oysters so there are shells everywhere. I picked up a few of them (although I’m not sure you’re supposed to) to show to my grandchildren. We even got to see the remains of what used to be an octopus – gross.
Ken & Shirley picked us up to go to dinner at the restaurant where our other nephew, Ryan, works. He works a lot (since it’s the “season”) and this was the only way we would get to see him. Scott and his son, Mike, joined us. The restaurant (Anthony’s) was lovely and the food was divine. To top it off, we had the best waiter in the place – Ryan.
Jan had not been on his bike in a while so he went exploring while I got ready to meet the day. Last night Ken directed us to a car wash in Bremerton so we could get the truck washed and we went there after Jan returned from his ride and got cleaned up. The truck was so disgustingly dirty we just couldn’t take it anymore. When we were done with that task, Ken & Shirley took us to lunch at a restaurant on Bainbridge Island. It was a nice warm day and we got to sit outside by the water. We came back to the trailer after lunch, did some chores, and then walked along the beach by the park. It was so beautiful. This is a beach where people can shuck Oysters so there are shells everywhere. I picked up a few of them (although I’m not sure you’re supposed to) to show to my grandchildren. We even got to see the remains of what used to be an octopus – gross.
Ken & Shirley picked us up to go to dinner at the restaurant where our other nephew, Ryan, works. He works a lot (since it’s the “season”) and this was the only way we would get to see him. Scott and his son, Mike, joined us. The restaurant (Anthony’s) was lovely and the food was divine. To top it off, we had the best waiter in the place – Ryan.
Day 50
We left Hope at 8:59 and started our trek to the U.S. border. We drove through a thick forest that was surrounded by huge mountains and peaks sprinkled with snow. As we descended, the landscape flattened out and we were back in farmland (real farmland, not the one on Facebook).
I was the navigator and my first error was that I missed the turnoff for the border crossing. All was not lost, though; there was another one a little farther down the road. Unfortunately, that route was not well marked. Thankfully, Jan and Jerry each have a good sense of direction and we made it to the border crossing at Alderbrook BC. The town wasn’t even on our map! It wasn’t too bad, I only added about 30 minutes and 12 miles to the trip.
We were surprised to find a long line waiting to cross at such an obscure town. The lanes were very narrow and our trailer barely squeezed through. The agent was quite congenial, asked a few questions, and we were on our way. We drove a few miles down the road to pull off and wait for Jerry & Nancy. We waited and waited – we were starting to get worried. It turned out they were asked about fruit and vegetables, an agent checked their refrigerator and they had to give up a tomato and the apricots they bought from the smelly couple. They would not be good smugglers. As far as our fruit goes – they didn’t ask and we didn’t tell. We said our goodbyes to Jerry and Nancy – they’re going to visit his uncle and we’re going to visit Ken, Shirley (former sister-in-law) and our nephews.
My next faux pas as navigator was when I had Jan get off on the wrong exit for the Port Townsend ferry. We ended up on a road that didn’t have any signs that would indicate a name or number so we had no idea where we were. We got out the computer, fired up the Street Atlas and Jan was able to determine where we needed to go. Next big trip we’re getting a GPS. We finally made it to the ferry dock, got in line and ate lunch while we waited. The ferry ride was wonderful – much better than having to drive through the awful traffic. We got to Kitsap State Park without anymore mishaps then went to Ken & Shirley’s for dinner.
I was the navigator and my first error was that I missed the turnoff for the border crossing. All was not lost, though; there was another one a little farther down the road. Unfortunately, that route was not well marked. Thankfully, Jan and Jerry each have a good sense of direction and we made it to the border crossing at Alderbrook BC. The town wasn’t even on our map! It wasn’t too bad, I only added about 30 minutes and 12 miles to the trip.
We were surprised to find a long line waiting to cross at such an obscure town. The lanes were very narrow and our trailer barely squeezed through. The agent was quite congenial, asked a few questions, and we were on our way. We drove a few miles down the road to pull off and wait for Jerry & Nancy. We waited and waited – we were starting to get worried. It turned out they were asked about fruit and vegetables, an agent checked their refrigerator and they had to give up a tomato and the apricots they bought from the smelly couple. They would not be good smugglers. As far as our fruit goes – they didn’t ask and we didn’t tell. We said our goodbyes to Jerry and Nancy – they’re going to visit his uncle and we’re going to visit Ken, Shirley (former sister-in-law) and our nephews.
My next faux pas as navigator was when I had Jan get off on the wrong exit for the Port Townsend ferry. We ended up on a road that didn’t have any signs that would indicate a name or number so we had no idea where we were. We got out the computer, fired up the Street Atlas and Jan was able to determine where we needed to go. Next big trip we’re getting a GPS. We finally made it to the ferry dock, got in line and ate lunch while we waited. The ferry ride was wonderful – much better than having to drive through the awful traffic. We got to Kitsap State Park without anymore mishaps then went to Ken & Shirley’s for dinner.
Day 49
Last night as we were sitting around visiting with Jerry & Nancy, a young buck came strolling through the RV park. He hung around for quite a while munching on the bushes. I forgot to mention that we saw another bear as we were driving; it crossed the road right in front of us. Also, we were visiting with a Canadian woman at Walmart and she mentioned that she and her husband like to ride the 4 wheel trikes out into the bush – we were amused. Jan asked if everyone referred to quads as trikes and she said they didn’t, she calls them that because they used to have a 3 wheeler. Makes perfect sense to me.
We left Quesnel at 9:04 and as we drove through the town I was wishing we had explored it the day before. It’s a very pretty little town. This part of BC is logging country and there are 4 mills in Quesnel. There was more lumber activity and more mills as we drove further. The landscape was about the same as yesterday, farms, forests, rivers, and lakes. There were more lake communities today and they were really busy since it’s a warm summer day (and it’s Sunday). The traffic got really bad and we didn’t like it at all. We’ve been so spoiled by the light traffic in Alaska that this was kind of a shock to the system.
The woman at Walmart also told us we would be driving through the only desert area in BC. She was right – all of a sudden everything turned brown and it looked like the Nevada desert. We went through some really dry, rugged mountains and entered a canyon that took 3 hours to get through. It’s the longest canyon we’ve ever seen, especially when you’re driving through it. At the end of the canyon there were a number of fruit stands with fresh cherries, peaches, and apricots. Jerry really wanted some fresh cherries so we stopped at a stand that would accommodate our RVs. The stand was owned by an old couple who smelled bad and they didn’t have any cherries, only apricots and green plums. We bought some apricots just to be nice – we could probably get better ones in the grocery store. We finally started climbing, went through 7 tunnels, and ended up back in beautiful thick foliage and forests. We stayed in Hope BC and it was really busy here. The town is near the Fraser River and there’s a lot of summertime activity going on, swimming, fishing, boating, etc
We left Quesnel at 9:04 and as we drove through the town I was wishing we had explored it the day before. It’s a very pretty little town. This part of BC is logging country and there are 4 mills in Quesnel. There was more lumber activity and more mills as we drove further. The landscape was about the same as yesterday, farms, forests, rivers, and lakes. There were more lake communities today and they were really busy since it’s a warm summer day (and it’s Sunday). The traffic got really bad and we didn’t like it at all. We’ve been so spoiled by the light traffic in Alaska that this was kind of a shock to the system.
The woman at Walmart also told us we would be driving through the only desert area in BC. She was right – all of a sudden everything turned brown and it looked like the Nevada desert. We went through some really dry, rugged mountains and entered a canyon that took 3 hours to get through. It’s the longest canyon we’ve ever seen, especially when you’re driving through it. At the end of the canyon there were a number of fruit stands with fresh cherries, peaches, and apricots. Jerry really wanted some fresh cherries so we stopped at a stand that would accommodate our RVs. The stand was owned by an old couple who smelled bad and they didn’t have any cherries, only apricots and green plums. We bought some apricots just to be nice – we could probably get better ones in the grocery store. We finally started climbing, went through 7 tunnels, and ended up back in beautiful thick foliage and forests. We stayed in Hope BC and it was really busy here. The town is near the Fraser River and there’s a lot of summertime activity going on, swimming, fishing, boating, etc
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Day 48
9:01 and we were on the road with Van Morrison singing “The Bright Side of the Road” and that’s where we were. It was a beautiful sunny day. As we made our way east and then south, the landscape became less forest and more farmland – large farms that stretch for miles. As we came over a summit, the valley below us went on forever and there were so many shades of green in the different foliage and trees. Green is certainly a dominant color in Canada and Alaska.
We came to the town of Burns Lake and under their “Welcome” and “Thanks for Visiting” signs were 2 Volkswagens covered with flowers. I have no idea how they did that but it sure was pretty. We noticed that there are beautiful flowers growing everywhere – in gardens, hanging in pots on city light poles, flower boxes – you name it and there are flowers growing out of it. It was that way in Alaska, too. The woman who owned the RV park we were in last night had flowers all over the park. Nancy and I are in awe of all these green thumbs.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned how many bicyclists are travelling in Canada and Alaska. We’ve seen a number of people with their bicycles heavily packed and they’re just pedaling down the road. Today we saw a family – dad was riding the bike with the packs and mom was riding the bike with a stroller attached with 2 little kids in it. Yesterday we saw a couple on a packed tandem bike. I told Jan we could do that but he’d have to do all the pedaling. I don’t think we’ll be travelling on a tandem any time soon.
We all stopped in Prince George and ate lunch at the Fatburger. It was right by a Walmart so we went over there and replaced our sewer hose (we figured it would be cheap at Walmart; probably made in Indonesia). We were going to wait until we got to Seattle to replace it but thought we’d better play it safe. I won’t let Jan throw this one in the back of the truck to dry. While we were discussing where we were going to get fuel, Jan said something about being in Prince George before. I sure didn’t remember ever being there (must have been his first wife) but when we got to the Flying J, the light bulb went on. We did stop there on the way in.
Tonight we’re in a marginal RV park in Quesnel BC but they have a great WiFi connection. We were escorted to our spaces by a man with no teeth and we had a little trouble understanding him but he was so excited to have us staying here. We have also gone from having the heater on this morning to wearing shorts this evening. We’ve been told it will get warmer as we continue south. It’s really hot –85 degrees. We keep telling these people they don’t know hot.
We came to the town of Burns Lake and under their “Welcome” and “Thanks for Visiting” signs were 2 Volkswagens covered with flowers. I have no idea how they did that but it sure was pretty. We noticed that there are beautiful flowers growing everywhere – in gardens, hanging in pots on city light poles, flower boxes – you name it and there are flowers growing out of it. It was that way in Alaska, too. The woman who owned the RV park we were in last night had flowers all over the park. Nancy and I are in awe of all these green thumbs.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned how many bicyclists are travelling in Canada and Alaska. We’ve seen a number of people with their bicycles heavily packed and they’re just pedaling down the road. Today we saw a family – dad was riding the bike with the packs and mom was riding the bike with a stroller attached with 2 little kids in it. Yesterday we saw a couple on a packed tandem bike. I told Jan we could do that but he’d have to do all the pedaling. I don’t think we’ll be travelling on a tandem any time soon.
We all stopped in Prince George and ate lunch at the Fatburger. It was right by a Walmart so we went over there and replaced our sewer hose (we figured it would be cheap at Walmart; probably made in Indonesia). We were going to wait until we got to Seattle to replace it but thought we’d better play it safe. I won’t let Jan throw this one in the back of the truck to dry. While we were discussing where we were going to get fuel, Jan said something about being in Prince George before. I sure didn’t remember ever being there (must have been his first wife) but when we got to the Flying J, the light bulb went on. We did stop there on the way in.
Tonight we’re in a marginal RV park in Quesnel BC but they have a great WiFi connection. We were escorted to our spaces by a man with no teeth and we had a little trouble understanding him but he was so excited to have us staying here. We have also gone from having the heater on this morning to wearing shorts this evening. We’ve been told it will get warmer as we continue south. It’s really hot –85 degrees. We keep telling these people they don’t know hot.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 47
Jerry & Nancy went to Fish Creek last night because we were told the bears come out in the evening. They stayed until 9:00 – no bears. Once again, because the salmon aren’t running right now, the bears have no reason to hang out entertaining the tourists.
It started raining around 10:30 and rained all night. Jan was kind of happy about it since the truck was so dirty from our dirt road adventure yesterday. We loaded the trailer (in the rain) and got on the road at 9:13. We’re pretty much in travel mode now. We’ve done all the things we wanted to do in Canada and Alaska and we’re more than ready to go home. Jerry said he’s tired of travelling – he’d like to stay in one spot for a while.
After all the time we spent at Fish Creek waiting for bears, we saw one just sitting by the road after we left Stewart. Otherwise, the drive today was uneventful. I take that back – we did have an event. Jan put the sewer hose in the back of the truck so it could dry out and the darned thing made a break for it again. This time it got run over by a motorhome so Jan didn’t bother stopping. I guess we’ll have to find an RV store and buy a new one in the very near future.
We ended the day in Houston BC at the Shady Rest RV park. It’s a really nice one, was only $25.00 and the WiFi actually works.
It started raining around 10:30 and rained all night. Jan was kind of happy about it since the truck was so dirty from our dirt road adventure yesterday. We loaded the trailer (in the rain) and got on the road at 9:13. We’re pretty much in travel mode now. We’ve done all the things we wanted to do in Canada and Alaska and we’re more than ready to go home. Jerry said he’s tired of travelling – he’d like to stay in one spot for a while.
After all the time we spent at Fish Creek waiting for bears, we saw one just sitting by the road after we left Stewart. Otherwise, the drive today was uneventful. I take that back – we did have an event. Jan put the sewer hose in the back of the truck so it could dry out and the darned thing made a break for it again. This time it got run over by a motorhome so Jan didn’t bother stopping. I guess we’ll have to find an RV store and buy a new one in the very near future.
We ended the day in Houston BC at the Shady Rest RV park. It’s a really nice one, was only $25.00 and the WiFi actually works.
Day 46
We took our time getting ready to meet the day because the weatherman said the rain would clear up and it would be sunny in the afternoon. We came to Stewart/Hyder for two reasons: 1) Fish Creek where the bears come to feed on salmon; 2) Salmon Glacier, the world’s largest glacier accessible by road. These are both located in Hyder (Alaska) on Salmon Glacier Road. We didn’t check out Hyder yesterday but “Mileposts” said they had 3 restaurants, 3 gift shops, and a post office. We decided we would eat lunch at one of the restaurants – HA – one was a bar where you could order a sandwich and the other was a seafood place on a converted bus. He catches them, she cooks them. We didn’t want a seafood meal and didn’t want to eat in a bar so we went on our way. I had some snacks in the truck so we knew we would starve. The city of Hyder consists of a few ramshackle buildings, a campground, post office and it doesn’t have even one paved road. We expected it to be a little more than that.
Our first stop was Fish Creek to view the bears – there weren’t any. Fish Creek is a National Park and is well designed for bear viewing. There’s a boardwalk above the creek and a viewing platform in the area most visited by the bears. Bears and people are separated from each other. The creek is more or less the end of the line for salmon that have come to spawn and we did get to see a few swimming up the creek. We waited for about 45 minutes and then continued on our way.
Salmon Glacier Road is a pot holed, washboard dirt road that is sometimes right on the edge of the mountains with a long drop off. Thank heaven for 4 wheel drive. I’m afraid of heights but views were well worth the pain and suffering. Jan is sensitive to my phobia so he tries to stay away from the edge of the road. We arrived at Salmon Glacier (22 miles) and it was huge and amazing. We spent a lot of time there taking pictures and just standing in awe. The landscape all around was beautiful as well. There was another glacier 6 more miles down the road – smaller but still awesome. I’ve never seen so many glaciers! The mountains were covered with them!
There were remains of old mining operations all along the way. The last mine shut down in 1996 and now the only activity is mining exploration. These towns are pretty depressed and sure could use a new mine. Right now tourism is their biggest industry and there’s none of that going on in the winter.
We stopped at Fish Creek again and waited about an hour and a half but there still weren’t any bears. The ranger told us they found some dead salmon on the banks of the creek but those had been grabbed by wolves. They know that because wolves just eat the heads off the fish and leave the rest; bears eat the stomach and eggs and leave the rest. These dead salmon didn’t have heads. Gross! We did get to see a mink – we had never seen one of those in the wild. Jan took pictures of pictures of bears that were on display so he could show them to Nancy and tell her they were bears we saw at the creek. He wowed Nancy earlier in the trip with an amazing picture of a duck that was really a picture of a picture. He’s a funny guy.
We didn’t starve while we were out – we each had a piece of jerky and a moon pie. Now that’s some healthy eating!
Our first stop was Fish Creek to view the bears – there weren’t any. Fish Creek is a National Park and is well designed for bear viewing. There’s a boardwalk above the creek and a viewing platform in the area most visited by the bears. Bears and people are separated from each other. The creek is more or less the end of the line for salmon that have come to spawn and we did get to see a few swimming up the creek. We waited for about 45 minutes and then continued on our way.
Salmon Glacier Road is a pot holed, washboard dirt road that is sometimes right on the edge of the mountains with a long drop off. Thank heaven for 4 wheel drive. I’m afraid of heights but views were well worth the pain and suffering. Jan is sensitive to my phobia so he tries to stay away from the edge of the road. We arrived at Salmon Glacier (22 miles) and it was huge and amazing. We spent a lot of time there taking pictures and just standing in awe. The landscape all around was beautiful as well. There was another glacier 6 more miles down the road – smaller but still awesome. I’ve never seen so many glaciers! The mountains were covered with them!
There were remains of old mining operations all along the way. The last mine shut down in 1996 and now the only activity is mining exploration. These towns are pretty depressed and sure could use a new mine. Right now tourism is their biggest industry and there’s none of that going on in the winter.
We stopped at Fish Creek again and waited about an hour and a half but there still weren’t any bears. The ranger told us they found some dead salmon on the banks of the creek but those had been grabbed by wolves. They know that because wolves just eat the heads off the fish and leave the rest; bears eat the stomach and eggs and leave the rest. These dead salmon didn’t have heads. Gross! We did get to see a mink – we had never seen one of those in the wild. Jan took pictures of pictures of bears that were on display so he could show them to Nancy and tell her they were bears we saw at the creek. He wowed Nancy earlier in the trip with an amazing picture of a duck that was really a picture of a picture. He’s a funny guy.
We didn’t starve while we were out – we each had a piece of jerky and a moon pie. Now that’s some healthy eating!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 45
After giving my sunny weather report yesterday, we woke up to clouds and the threat of rain. But that didn’t dampen our spirits – onward to Stewart BC. We started out on a slightly bumpy road and it got a lot worse before it got better. There was a 20 mile construction zone that was gravel; it wouldn’t have been too bad except it was so dusty we could hardly see. We really felt sorry for a couple who was ahead of us on a motorcycle. With all the bumps and dust, it was difficult to feast our eyes on the beauty around us.
Once we were back on pavement we were able to enjoy the scenery. We were surrounded by thick foliage and trees with green mountains behind and even bigger mountains behind the green ones. We ate lunch at a rest stop on Bob Quinn Lake & Airport. An airplane actually landed while we were there. The runway was gravel and so short I didn’t see how a plane could land, but it did. A few miles down the road we came around a curve and there were 4 horses standing in the middle of the road. They weren’t the least bit concerned about us and just looked at us as we slowly made our way around them. Right after that it started raining.
The closer we got to Stewart the more beautiful the landscape became. British Columbia is so incredibly gorgeous. The road we’re on is known as the Glacier Highway and we saw a number of glaciers with tremendous waterfalls. As I’ve said before, there aren’t enough adjectives to describe it.
Stewart is a small mining community that sits on an inlet (Portland Canal) surrounded by tall mountains. I was surprised to learn that a number of movies have been filmed here: Bear Island, The Thing, Iceman, Leaving Normal, Insomnia, & Eight Below. We went for pizza with Jerry and Nancy and the waitress told us that when Insomnia was filmed, Robin Williams was very nice and interacted with the community but Al Pacino was kind of a jerk. He stayed on his yacht and had body guards.
After dinner, Jan & I did a load of laundry. Nothing says “party” like spending the evening in a laundromat. It was located in the King Edward Hotel – that makes doing the laundry sound kind of classy.
Once we were back on pavement we were able to enjoy the scenery. We were surrounded by thick foliage and trees with green mountains behind and even bigger mountains behind the green ones. We ate lunch at a rest stop on Bob Quinn Lake & Airport. An airplane actually landed while we were there. The runway was gravel and so short I didn’t see how a plane could land, but it did. A few miles down the road we came around a curve and there were 4 horses standing in the middle of the road. They weren’t the least bit concerned about us and just looked at us as we slowly made our way around them. Right after that it started raining.
The closer we got to Stewart the more beautiful the landscape became. British Columbia is so incredibly gorgeous. The road we’re on is known as the Glacier Highway and we saw a number of glaciers with tremendous waterfalls. As I’ve said before, there aren’t enough adjectives to describe it.
Stewart is a small mining community that sits on an inlet (Portland Canal) surrounded by tall mountains. I was surprised to learn that a number of movies have been filmed here: Bear Island, The Thing, Iceman, Leaving Normal, Insomnia, & Eight Below. We went for pizza with Jerry and Nancy and the waitress told us that when Insomnia was filmed, Robin Williams was very nice and interacted with the community but Al Pacino was kind of a jerk. He stayed on his yacht and had body guards.
After dinner, Jan & I did a load of laundry. Nothing says “party” like spending the evening in a laundromat. It was located in the King Edward Hotel – that makes doing the laundry sound kind of classy.
Day 44
What a great day to be on the road! The sun was shining, there weren’t any clouds, and it wasn’t cold. I haven’t given a weather report in a while because it’s been mostly sunny since last Friday. It has been a welcome change.
We left the RV park at 9-ish. We’ve driven this part of the Alaska Highway previously but this time we turned off on the Cassiar Highway to make our way to Stewart. The road was narrow in some parts, kind of rough, and it “rolls”. You look ahead and all you see is rolling highway – an E-ticket ride. Yesterday we met a couple from Texas who told us we needed to stop at Boya Lake because it was so beautiful. It is one of the Canadian Provincial Parks. We stopped there for lunch and had it not been so early, we would have camped there. It was beautiful.
We also stopped at the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store (jade is the official Alaska State gem). The family who mines the jade also owns the store. We got to learn how the jade is mined, cut & polished; then they send it out to artists, jewelry makers & sculptors to be designed. They have everything “jade” that you can imagine or you can buy raw stones. We bought some wind chimes and a raw stone for Joshua. Are we the best grandparents or what? We went to Alaska and bought our grandson a rock. Believe it or not, he’ll like it.
Remember the big bus style RV that went off the shoulder on the Chicken Highway (Top of the World)? We heard that another one went off and ended up in the river. After that, there was a rainstorm that washed out part of the road and it is now closed.
We’ve seen a lot of people travelling on motorcycles. A group of Harleys passed us yesterday, all in proper formation. It made Jan smile (and I think he was a little jealous). A few motorcyclists camped by us last night - Jan and his friends stay in hotels. I don’t think their bodies could take sleeping on the ground not to mention the fact there’s no Jacuzzi in an RV park.
We stayed at Dease Lake Campground (it’s not on the lake). It was nice but not nearly as nice as Boya Lake.
We left the RV park at 9-ish. We’ve driven this part of the Alaska Highway previously but this time we turned off on the Cassiar Highway to make our way to Stewart. The road was narrow in some parts, kind of rough, and it “rolls”. You look ahead and all you see is rolling highway – an E-ticket ride. Yesterday we met a couple from Texas who told us we needed to stop at Boya Lake because it was so beautiful. It is one of the Canadian Provincial Parks. We stopped there for lunch and had it not been so early, we would have camped there. It was beautiful.
We also stopped at the Cassiar Mountain Jade Store (jade is the official Alaska State gem). The family who mines the jade also owns the store. We got to learn how the jade is mined, cut & polished; then they send it out to artists, jewelry makers & sculptors to be designed. They have everything “jade” that you can imagine or you can buy raw stones. We bought some wind chimes and a raw stone for Joshua. Are we the best grandparents or what? We went to Alaska and bought our grandson a rock. Believe it or not, he’ll like it.
Remember the big bus style RV that went off the shoulder on the Chicken Highway (Top of the World)? We heard that another one went off and ended up in the river. After that, there was a rainstorm that washed out part of the road and it is now closed.
We’ve seen a lot of people travelling on motorcycles. A group of Harleys passed us yesterday, all in proper formation. It made Jan smile (and I think he was a little jealous). A few motorcyclists camped by us last night - Jan and his friends stay in hotels. I don’t think their bodies could take sleeping on the ground not to mention the fact there’s no Jacuzzi in an RV park.
We stayed at Dease Lake Campground (it’s not on the lake). It was nice but not nearly as nice as Boya Lake.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Day 43
We left Skagway at 9:09. It was a strange feeling to know Skagway was basically our last stop in Alaska. After all the months of planning and the weeks of travelling, we’re on the downside of the trip. We’re really eager to get home to our family but it will take a while to make our way through Canada and head south for home. Twenty miles out of Skagway and we were in Canada once again.
The terrain north of Skagway was different that any we’ve seen. It was rocky with stunted trees and is referred to as “moonscape”. With the exception of a few green bushes, it did look like the moon. The area is a transition zone between the forests at the lower elevations and the alpine tundra above the tree lines. It was pretty strange looking and not what you’d expect in Alaska. Even in this odd terrain there were huge beautiful lakes.
We stopped in the town of Carcross just because we thought it might be interesting. It was formerly known as Caribou Crossing because of the large numbers of caribou that passed through the area. We didn’t see any. During the gold rush, a sternwheeler (the S.S. Tutshi) in Carcross transported stampeders and goods back and forth between two lakes. The ship had been restored and was prominently displayed in the town. In 1990 it was destroyed in a fire and the only thing remaining is the front of the hull and some engine parts. Jan and Jerry enjoyed reading the history and checking out the remains. Carcross is also the home of the oldest, continually run general store in the Yukon – we had to see that. It turned out the general store was just another touristy gift shop but they did have ice cream. We all had cones and then headed down the road once again.
We stayed at the Continental Divide Lodge & RV Park somewhere between Skagway and Stewart (our next destination).
The terrain north of Skagway was different that any we’ve seen. It was rocky with stunted trees and is referred to as “moonscape”. With the exception of a few green bushes, it did look like the moon. The area is a transition zone between the forests at the lower elevations and the alpine tundra above the tree lines. It was pretty strange looking and not what you’d expect in Alaska. Even in this odd terrain there were huge beautiful lakes.
We stopped in the town of Carcross just because we thought it might be interesting. It was formerly known as Caribou Crossing because of the large numbers of caribou that passed through the area. We didn’t see any. During the gold rush, a sternwheeler (the S.S. Tutshi) in Carcross transported stampeders and goods back and forth between two lakes. The ship had been restored and was prominently displayed in the town. In 1990 it was destroyed in a fire and the only thing remaining is the front of the hull and some engine parts. Jan and Jerry enjoyed reading the history and checking out the remains. Carcross is also the home of the oldest, continually run general store in the Yukon – we had to see that. It turned out the general store was just another touristy gift shop but they did have ice cream. We all had cones and then headed down the road once again.
We stayed at the Continental Divide Lodge & RV Park somewhere between Skagway and Stewart (our next destination).
Monday, July 19, 2010
Day 42
This morning we heard the horn of a cruise ship as it was coming into port. The Yukon Scenic Railway tracks are right behind our RV park so we got to see two trainloads of people from the cruise ship as they went by. I would have waved to them but I didn’t have my makeup on.
Our first stop was the Gold Rush Cemetery and Reid Falls (the falls are right behind the cemetery). The cemetery contains graves and headstones from the 1800s. The falls were beautiful and while trying for a closer picture, Jan slipped and ended up on his rear. We had to stop at the trailer so he could change pants before we ventured on.
We went to downtown Skagway and strolled through the some of the shops. We ran into Jerry & Nancy and arranged to meet for lunch. Jan remembered that when we were here on our cruise, we saw an old rusty locomotive sitting on unused tracks; after lunch we went on a quest to find it. It didn’t take long to locate it (Skagway isn’t that big). There were old box cars attached to the locomotive and a rusty bulldozer and rusty steam shovel were nearby. We spent a lot of time checking them out and taking pictures.
Later in the afternoon, we drove down Dyea (pronounced die-ee) Road to the site of the old Dyea Township. It was a big town during the Gold Rush until the railroad was completed in Skagway and everyone left. All that remains now are a few pieces of wood and one false front from a real estate office. We ran into a ranger who told us the history of the town and showed us pictures of what it looked like in the 1800s; it was pretty interesting. As we drove back along the Taiya River, we stopped at a number of viewpoints to take pictures.
After dinner, we drove back to downtown Skagway to see it when everyone is gone (it’s pretty busy when a cruise ship is in port). There were very few people out and it was really quiet. Skagway is a very pretty town and we were glad to have time to explore it. When we were there before, we hardly saw any of it because our excursions took us out of town.
Our first stop was the Gold Rush Cemetery and Reid Falls (the falls are right behind the cemetery). The cemetery contains graves and headstones from the 1800s. The falls were beautiful and while trying for a closer picture, Jan slipped and ended up on his rear. We had to stop at the trailer so he could change pants before we ventured on.
We went to downtown Skagway and strolled through the some of the shops. We ran into Jerry & Nancy and arranged to meet for lunch. Jan remembered that when we were here on our cruise, we saw an old rusty locomotive sitting on unused tracks; after lunch we went on a quest to find it. It didn’t take long to locate it (Skagway isn’t that big). There were old box cars attached to the locomotive and a rusty bulldozer and rusty steam shovel were nearby. We spent a lot of time checking them out and taking pictures.
Later in the afternoon, we drove down Dyea (pronounced die-ee) Road to the site of the old Dyea Township. It was a big town during the Gold Rush until the railroad was completed in Skagway and everyone left. All that remains now are a few pieces of wood and one false front from a real estate office. We ran into a ranger who told us the history of the town and showed us pictures of what it looked like in the 1800s; it was pretty interesting. As we drove back along the Taiya River, we stopped at a number of viewpoints to take pictures.
After dinner, we drove back to downtown Skagway to see it when everyone is gone (it’s pretty busy when a cruise ship is in port). There were very few people out and it was really quiet. Skagway is a very pretty town and we were glad to have time to explore it. When we were there before, we hardly saw any of it because our excursions took us out of town.
Day 41
The ferry to Skagway was scheduled to leave Haines at 8:30 PM so we arranged with the RV park to checkout at 6:00. They charged us $14.00 but it was well worth it because we didn’t want to haul the trailer around town all day.
We drove out to the Chilkoot River and Chilkoot Lake. Bears go fishing for salmon in this area but, we were two weeks early for the salmon run and only saw one grizzly bear. The lake’s camp host told us that in 2 weeks there will be abundant fish and the bears will be out in large numbers. The bears are pretty used to humans so a lot of people forget they’re wild and get too close trying to take pictures. They haven’t had any incidents but the camp host gets very nervous when he sees it. He also said that when the salmon start running, about 1000 fishermen will show up and the highway to the river and lake will be packed with cars. On the bad side, we were too early to see the bears; on the good side, we missed the crowd. We’ve noticed bear scat on the roads all around Haines. We thought they went in the woods – who knew. We also got to see a Merganser mom & ducklings and an eagle up in a tree watching them. We think he was waiting for the opportunity to grab one of the ducklings but thankfully, that didn’t happen while we were there.
We went back to the trailer and Jan visited with our German neighbor, Martin. Jan invited him to come to Prescott when he’s on his journey through the U.S. He has to go back to Germany for a few weeks but will return and plans to visit some of the warmer states during the winter. It’s pretty interesting hearing his stories about Germany. Microwaves are not as popular as they are here but the younger generation is starting to use them more & more. He has fallen in love with the microwave in his RV. Since he’s travelling alone, he buys – oh what do you call them – yes, frozen meals – and cooks them quickly. He also has an Espresso machine in the RV – I’m thinking that’s a European thing.
Now for the highlight of the day – the ride on the ferry! We left the RV park at 6:00, made our way to the ferry dock, and got in line. We didn’t have to be there until 7:30 so I made dinner and we ate in the trailer while we waited. Getting on the ferry was pretty hairy (I’m a poet) because the turns were very tight. I had to watch to make sure the trailer didn’t hit the back window of the truck. The ride was fun (we’re so easily entertained); what a great way to get from Haines to Skagway. It was much better than having to drive there. We arrived at Mountain View RV Park (a very mediocre place) around 10:00, hooked up the electricity and went to bed.
We drove out to the Chilkoot River and Chilkoot Lake. Bears go fishing for salmon in this area but, we were two weeks early for the salmon run and only saw one grizzly bear. The lake’s camp host told us that in 2 weeks there will be abundant fish and the bears will be out in large numbers. The bears are pretty used to humans so a lot of people forget they’re wild and get too close trying to take pictures. They haven’t had any incidents but the camp host gets very nervous when he sees it. He also said that when the salmon start running, about 1000 fishermen will show up and the highway to the river and lake will be packed with cars. On the bad side, we were too early to see the bears; on the good side, we missed the crowd. We’ve noticed bear scat on the roads all around Haines. We thought they went in the woods – who knew. We also got to see a Merganser mom & ducklings and an eagle up in a tree watching them. We think he was waiting for the opportunity to grab one of the ducklings but thankfully, that didn’t happen while we were there.
We went back to the trailer and Jan visited with our German neighbor, Martin. Jan invited him to come to Prescott when he’s on his journey through the U.S. He has to go back to Germany for a few weeks but will return and plans to visit some of the warmer states during the winter. It’s pretty interesting hearing his stories about Germany. Microwaves are not as popular as they are here but the younger generation is starting to use them more & more. He has fallen in love with the microwave in his RV. Since he’s travelling alone, he buys – oh what do you call them – yes, frozen meals – and cooks them quickly. He also has an Espresso machine in the RV – I’m thinking that’s a European thing.
Now for the highlight of the day – the ride on the ferry! We left the RV park at 6:00, made our way to the ferry dock, and got in line. We didn’t have to be there until 7:30 so I made dinner and we ate in the trailer while we waited. Getting on the ferry was pretty hairy (I’m a poet) because the turns were very tight. I had to watch to make sure the trailer didn’t hit the back window of the truck. The ride was fun (we’re so easily entertained); what a great way to get from Haines to Skagway. It was much better than having to drive there. We arrived at Mountain View RV Park (a very mediocre place) around 10:00, hooked up the electricity and went to bed.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Day 40
I forgot to mention yesterday that we drove to Chilkat State Park at the end of Chilkat peninsula. There’s a campground there but I’m really glad we didn’t try to take the trailers down there; the road was dirt and very rough. The woman at the Visitor’s Center told us the road wash just a little “washboardy” - it was a lot “washboardy”. Two glaciers are visible from a viewpoint in the park. One of them (Davidson) has a lake at the base (or the Toe as the camp hostess called it) and people go on kayaking excursions to it. They get on a bus which is then driven onto a barge to make the trip through the channel. There are no roads to get there. Those are some pretty hardcore kayakers.
Another point of interest is Fort Seward, which was an army base until 1946. The fort’s buildings are now private homes and businesses. The homes on what was Officer’s Row have been restored and are really lovely. They kind of remind me of the homes around the Prescott VA Hospital.
We went to the harbor to see all the boats and to the dock where the cruise excursion boats arrive and depart. There are some old buildings near the fort which are Tlingit activity buildings. There were three old, old totem poles lying on the ground and the buildings had tribal symbols painted on them. They were kind of interesting.
Our next door neighbor is from Germany and Jan helped him fix his water hook-up; he’s going to repay him with a German beer. He’s very nice and it’s quite interesting to hear about his life in Germany. I had 3 years of German in high school so Jan thought maybe I could have a conversation with him – not.
Another point of interest is Fort Seward, which was an army base until 1946. The fort’s buildings are now private homes and businesses. The homes on what was Officer’s Row have been restored and are really lovely. They kind of remind me of the homes around the Prescott VA Hospital.
We went to the harbor to see all the boats and to the dock where the cruise excursion boats arrive and depart. There are some old buildings near the fort which are Tlingit activity buildings. There were three old, old totem poles lying on the ground and the buildings had tribal symbols painted on them. They were kind of interesting.
Our next door neighbor is from Germany and Jan helped him fix his water hook-up; he’s going to repay him with a German beer. He’s very nice and it’s quite interesting to hear about his life in Germany. I had 3 years of German in high school so Jan thought maybe I could have a conversation with him – not.
Day 39
We woke up this morning to sunshine and blue skies. Jan and I walked down to the lake to take pictures and discovered there was a snow covered mountain range behind the mountains across from the RV park. We also got to see how incredibly beautiful the lake was. It’s amazing what a difference a little sunshine makes! But the beauty of Kluane Lake was equaled or maybe even surpassed by the gorgeous scenery along the way to Haines. I was really struck by the colors. Most of the route went through alpine tundra and the varied shades of green just “popped”. It was all accented by pink and purple wild flowers growing along the highway. Amazing! Haines was not part of our original plan; we were just going to Skagway. Jan looked at the map and thought it would be fun to go to Haines and take the ferry to Skagway. That way we could do both towns. We’re so glad we included the Haines Highway – we would have missed out on the awesome sights.
We crossed the border back into Alaska and dropped down into thick forest as we got closer to Haines. The Haines Highway follows along the Chilkat River which is the home of the Chilkat Eagle Preserve. When we took our cruise, the Eagle Preserve was one of our excursions. I think we saw more eagles just driving by than we did when we paid to go through it.
We lucked out again with a great RV park. The Haines Hitch-Up RV Park is grassy with wide spaces – very nice. After we got the trailer set up, we drove around and checked out the town, bought groceries, and made reservations to take the ferry across to Skagway on Saturday. That should be a real hoot.
We crossed the border back into Alaska and dropped down into thick forest as we got closer to Haines. The Haines Highway follows along the Chilkat River which is the home of the Chilkat Eagle Preserve. When we took our cruise, the Eagle Preserve was one of our excursions. I think we saw more eagles just driving by than we did when we paid to go through it.
We lucked out again with a great RV park. The Haines Hitch-Up RV Park is grassy with wide spaces – very nice. After we got the trailer set up, we drove around and checked out the town, bought groceries, and made reservations to take the ferry across to Skagway on Saturday. That should be a real hoot.
Day 38
The RV park we stayed in last night was in the forest with large camping spaces (as were the other RV parks in Tok). They were the kind of parks you’d like to stay in for a week, except, there’s absolutely nothing to do in Tok. No points of interest, no fishing, no hikes – nothing.
We set out on the Alaska Highway at 9:10 winding through forests and mountains; we could actually see lakes and valleys that stretched on forever. We still couldn’t see the mountain tops because of the clouds. A storm passed over us during the night and we quickly caught up with it this morning – more rain.
We crossed into Canada at 11:30 and are now back to kilometers (plus it’s an hour later). We have to adjust our brains to metric – old dogs, new tricks. I commented on the horrible road conditions yesterday but they were mild compared to today. Jan had to maneuver over cracks, bumps, dips, pot holes, and large frost heaves. It was pretty slow going. About a six mile stretch was under construction and was dirt or, in this case, mud. The truck and trailer looked almost as bad as when we went to Chicken.
We ended up in an RV park that’s in a beautiful setting. It sits on Kluane Lake which is huge and has clear, blue water. On the opposite side is snow capped mountains. Awesome!
Many days and miles ago, a couple named Marshall camped next to us at Kasilov RV Park. Not Jerry & Nancy Marshall, they’re always camped with us. It was Ronny & Renee Marshall. As we got settled today, a trailer came in and parked next to us and it was them. How strange is that?
We set out on the Alaska Highway at 9:10 winding through forests and mountains; we could actually see lakes and valleys that stretched on forever. We still couldn’t see the mountain tops because of the clouds. A storm passed over us during the night and we quickly caught up with it this morning – more rain.
We crossed into Canada at 11:30 and are now back to kilometers (plus it’s an hour later). We have to adjust our brains to metric – old dogs, new tricks. I commented on the horrible road conditions yesterday but they were mild compared to today. Jan had to maneuver over cracks, bumps, dips, pot holes, and large frost heaves. It was pretty slow going. About a six mile stretch was under construction and was dirt or, in this case, mud. The truck and trailer looked almost as bad as when we went to Chicken.
We ended up in an RV park that’s in a beautiful setting. It sits on Kluane Lake which is huge and has clear, blue water. On the opposite side is snow capped mountains. Awesome!
Many days and miles ago, a couple named Marshall camped next to us at Kasilov RV Park. Not Jerry & Nancy Marshall, they’re always camped with us. It was Ronny & Renee Marshall. As we got settled today, a trailer came in and parked next to us and it was them. How strange is that?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Day 37
It was cloudy & drizzly but at least there wasn’t any fog and we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery as we drove. There wasn’t anything really unusual; we started out in the spruce forests, drove past more lakes and streams, through canyons surrounded by rugged mountains and back into forests. The road conditions had not been too bad previously but today the road was so bumpy that the inside of the trailer was rearranged. We have storage shelves above the cabinets that have a ledge so things don’t fall off. The things up there didn’t just fall off, they flew off. Fortunately, we were smart enough not to put anything breakable up there.
We settled in at the Tundra RV Park in Tok and Nancy & I did laundry (Jan helped fold). You’d think being in Alaska would make doing laundry somewhat glamorous but it doesn’t. On the good side - no rain.
We settled in at the Tundra RV Park in Tok and Nancy & I did laundry (Jan helped fold). You’d think being in Alaska would make doing laundry somewhat glamorous but it doesn’t. On the good side - no rain.
Day 36
No rain! Woo Hoo! It was cloudy but at least it wasn’t raining. We didn’t have any activities planned so we did household chores until lunch time. After lunch we drove to the Denali Highway, about 10 miles from where we were camping. The highway is a cutoff that goes over to the Denali Park area but only 20 of the 134 miles are paved. We were only going on the paved part.
As the road climbed, the scenery changed pretty quickly from spruce forest to alpine tundra. There were lots of lakes and streams surrounded by mountains but it wasn’t all that scenic because of the clouds. When the pavement ended, Jan wanted to continue on a little farther so we went about 7 more miles. The funny part was the gravel road was actually better than the paved road. The paved road had a number of frost heaves and pot holes which made it like a bumpy roller coaster.
And then the skies cleared and the sun came out! The views that were so-so earlier were now great and Jan got to take some pictures. On the drive back to the campground, we got to see why “Mileposts” cited this portion of the Richardson Highway as a scenic drive. We didn’t get to see any of this yesterday! The lake we’re camped on is miles long – we didn’t see that yesterday either. When we got back to the trailer, Jan got to go on a nice bike ride – he was happy about that.
We picked up two good size pieces of firewood at one of the Provincial Parks in Canada with the intent of using it somewhere along the way in Alaska. We’ve since learned you’re not allowed to bring firewood from Canada into Alaska and vice versa. We weren’t asked, we didn’t tell. Every time we’ve been in a park where we could have campfires, it’s been raining. Well, today was the day – I was going to get my campfire. The campground was beautiful, it had a fire ring, and the sun was shining. One thing we hadn’t considered about our illegal Canadian wood was it’s been in the bed of the truck all this time and, of course, it’s been raining. It took a lot of newspaper, a couple of douses of gasoline but, after three tries, we had a fire. It was kind of a lame fire but a fire none the less. The wet wood was pretty smoky but at least it kept the mosquitoes at bay. Poor Jan, the things he goes through when I have a bright idea.
As I’m writing this, the skies have opened up once again and it’s pouring rain. We consider ourselves blessed to have had such a nice day.
As the road climbed, the scenery changed pretty quickly from spruce forest to alpine tundra. There were lots of lakes and streams surrounded by mountains but it wasn’t all that scenic because of the clouds. When the pavement ended, Jan wanted to continue on a little farther so we went about 7 more miles. The funny part was the gravel road was actually better than the paved road. The paved road had a number of frost heaves and pot holes which made it like a bumpy roller coaster.
And then the skies cleared and the sun came out! The views that were so-so earlier were now great and Jan got to take some pictures. On the drive back to the campground, we got to see why “Mileposts” cited this portion of the Richardson Highway as a scenic drive. We didn’t get to see any of this yesterday! The lake we’re camped on is miles long – we didn’t see that yesterday either. When we got back to the trailer, Jan got to go on a nice bike ride – he was happy about that.
We picked up two good size pieces of firewood at one of the Provincial Parks in Canada with the intent of using it somewhere along the way in Alaska. We’ve since learned you’re not allowed to bring firewood from Canada into Alaska and vice versa. We weren’t asked, we didn’t tell. Every time we’ve been in a park where we could have campfires, it’s been raining. Well, today was the day – I was going to get my campfire. The campground was beautiful, it had a fire ring, and the sun was shining. One thing we hadn’t considered about our illegal Canadian wood was it’s been in the bed of the truck all this time and, of course, it’s been raining. It took a lot of newspaper, a couple of douses of gasoline but, after three tries, we had a fire. It was kind of a lame fire but a fire none the less. The wet wood was pretty smoky but at least it kept the mosquitoes at bay. Poor Jan, the things he goes through when I have a bright idea.
As I’m writing this, the skies have opened up once again and it’s pouring rain. We consider ourselves blessed to have had such a nice day.
Day 35
Rain, rain, and even more rain. We must be in Alaska! We loaded up the trailer in the rain and took off at 9:52. We assumed (incorrectly) that we would eventually drive out of the rain when we got away from Valdez. It rained all day – everywhere.
On the trip to Valdez, we took pictures of Worthington Glacier but didn’t go on the hiking path that led to the base of the glacier. We figured we would do that on the way out, silly us. We were bound and determined to do it no matter what and we did. It was so cold with the wind coming off the glacier and the rain didn’t help a bit. We laughed at ourselves for being so goofy but, in a sick sort of way, it was fun. Jerry & Nancy had better sense; they stayed in their truck with the heater running. But by golly, they don’t have any pictures of the base of the glacier.
We were so grateful for the sunny day when we got to take lots of pictures. There was so much fog today that you couldn’t see any of the mountain ranges. I said earlier that people really need to drive this road because it’s so beautiful. We found out today you need to drive it when there’s sunshine or you won’t be able to see the beauty.
There was a loop road off the main highway that went to a town called Copper Center; we decided to take that route and eat lunch at the lodge. Copper Center is a very small town with a museum, some shops, and, of course, a salmon fishing charter company. The lodge is very old and quaint and our lunch was great. For being such a small town, we were surprised to find the lodge restaurant was almost full. I guess it’s a popular fishing spot. When we arrived at the lodge, a tour bus was just leaving so we asked our waiter if they get a lot of tours. Three days a week, they get a tour bus each hour. They don’t all eat at the restaurant but they do go to the shops and museum. It was a nice stop for lunch, would be a good place to stay and fish but I don’t get the attraction for tours.
Jan noted the little town of Paxson on the map and thought it might be a good place to spend the night. It was in a pretty area with a number of lakes. There was only one RV “motorpark” near there and the picture of it in “Mileposts” looked really nice. Oh my gosh! It was a dilapidated motel with some gravel parking areas that looked like no one had parked in them for years – there was even trash lying around in the parking spots. It was really a creepy place. Jan went back to “Mileposts” and found there was a BLM campground just 5 miles farther down the road. The park was beautiful, sat right on Paxson Lake and the camping fee was $5.00. You can’t beat that.
It finally stopped raining around 5:00.
On the trip to Valdez, we took pictures of Worthington Glacier but didn’t go on the hiking path that led to the base of the glacier. We figured we would do that on the way out, silly us. We were bound and determined to do it no matter what and we did. It was so cold with the wind coming off the glacier and the rain didn’t help a bit. We laughed at ourselves for being so goofy but, in a sick sort of way, it was fun. Jerry & Nancy had better sense; they stayed in their truck with the heater running. But by golly, they don’t have any pictures of the base of the glacier.
We were so grateful for the sunny day when we got to take lots of pictures. There was so much fog today that you couldn’t see any of the mountain ranges. I said earlier that people really need to drive this road because it’s so beautiful. We found out today you need to drive it when there’s sunshine or you won’t be able to see the beauty.
There was a loop road off the main highway that went to a town called Copper Center; we decided to take that route and eat lunch at the lodge. Copper Center is a very small town with a museum, some shops, and, of course, a salmon fishing charter company. The lodge is very old and quaint and our lunch was great. For being such a small town, we were surprised to find the lodge restaurant was almost full. I guess it’s a popular fishing spot. When we arrived at the lodge, a tour bus was just leaving so we asked our waiter if they get a lot of tours. Three days a week, they get a tour bus each hour. They don’t all eat at the restaurant but they do go to the shops and museum. It was a nice stop for lunch, would be a good place to stay and fish but I don’t get the attraction for tours.
Jan noted the little town of Paxson on the map and thought it might be a good place to spend the night. It was in a pretty area with a number of lakes. There was only one RV “motorpark” near there and the picture of it in “Mileposts” looked really nice. Oh my gosh! It was a dilapidated motel with some gravel parking areas that looked like no one had parked in them for years – there was even trash lying around in the parking spots. It was really a creepy place. Jan went back to “Mileposts” and found there was a BLM campground just 5 miles farther down the road. The park was beautiful, sat right on Paxson Lake and the camping fee was $5.00. You can’t beat that.
It finally stopped raining around 5:00.
Day 34
It started raining during the night and continued all day. The weather girl on the radio said it was supposed to stop raining in the afternoon – she lied. We took our time getting ready to meet the day, I even cooked breakfast. Jan saw sausage and eggs on his plate and had to ask what they were – he hadn’t seen anything like that in a long time. I tell him I don’t cook breakfast because it’s not good for him. I think he believes it and nobody better tell him otherwise. I also tried to tell him a cooked dinner isn’t good for him either but he didn’t fall for that one.
We camped (if you can call staying in an RV camping) near Valdez Glacier so that was our first stop. The “Mileposts” magazine said it wasn’t much of a glacier but we thought it was awesome. The main body of the glacier is up the mountain pretty far away but there’s a lake at the base and chunks of the glacier are floating in it. It was so pretty and we took lots of pictures.
There was an earthquake here in 1964 and the town had to be relocated. They have an area called “Old Valdez” that’s supposed to be a point of interest. It wasn’t all that interesting. The pipeline ends here and we wanted to take a picture of the end of the line monument. There was a picture of it in a tourist brochure but we couldn’t find it. It turns out that after September 11th, they closed the area where they gave the tours and that’s where the photo op is.
We drove to the harbor again and Jan took some pictures; he also took pictures around town. We didn’t get a chance to do that when we were with Jerry & Nancy – we hate to make them suffer through the creative process of taking the perfect picture. We went to a fish market and bought some halibut – it’s a lot cheaper than hiring a charter and catching them yourself.
We camped (if you can call staying in an RV camping) near Valdez Glacier so that was our first stop. The “Mileposts” magazine said it wasn’t much of a glacier but we thought it was awesome. The main body of the glacier is up the mountain pretty far away but there’s a lake at the base and chunks of the glacier are floating in it. It was so pretty and we took lots of pictures.
There was an earthquake here in 1964 and the town had to be relocated. They have an area called “Old Valdez” that’s supposed to be a point of interest. It wasn’t all that interesting. The pipeline ends here and we wanted to take a picture of the end of the line monument. There was a picture of it in a tourist brochure but we couldn’t find it. It turns out that after September 11th, they closed the area where they gave the tours and that’s where the photo op is.
We drove to the harbor again and Jan took some pictures; he also took pictures around town. We didn’t get a chance to do that when we were with Jerry & Nancy – we hate to make them suffer through the creative process of taking the perfect picture. We went to a fish market and bought some halibut – it’s a lot cheaper than hiring a charter and catching them yourself.
Day 33
No rain! No clouds! And I mean NO clouds, not even white ones. It would be a perfect day to get a view of Mt. McKinley but now we’re not in an area where we could see it. Bummer!
We left Palmer and headed to Valdez. This was a drive that should not be missed. If you ever come to Alaska, you need to take this highway. It was some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve seen. We started out with meadows, lakes & rivers then thick forests all surrounded by snow capped peaks. The closer we got to Valdez, the more beautiful it was – just jaw dropping beauty. There were gorgeous glaciers and tall, flowing waterfalls – almost too much to take in. The Alaska Pipeline also appeared and disappeared along the way.
There were 3 RV parks in town near the bay but we stopped a city park just outside of town. It turned out to be the best one of all. It was surrounded by trees and the trailer sites were huge. When we went into town, we saw that the others were more like parking lots – we did good. You just never know what you’re going to get with the parks. As I’ve mentioned before, the pictures and descriptions aren’t exactly the reality. As an additional perk, a lady comes in every morning with all kinds of coffees and breakfast items and she comes back in the evenings with ice cream. We haven’t seen that before.
Once we were set up, we jumped in Jerry’s truck and took a tour of downtown Valdez. It’s not as quaint or as pretty as Seward but has a nice harbor area. It started clouding up – I think we know what’s coming.
We left Palmer and headed to Valdez. This was a drive that should not be missed. If you ever come to Alaska, you need to take this highway. It was some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve seen. We started out with meadows, lakes & rivers then thick forests all surrounded by snow capped peaks. The closer we got to Valdez, the more beautiful it was – just jaw dropping beauty. There were gorgeous glaciers and tall, flowing waterfalls – almost too much to take in. The Alaska Pipeline also appeared and disappeared along the way.
There were 3 RV parks in town near the bay but we stopped a city park just outside of town. It turned out to be the best one of all. It was surrounded by trees and the trailer sites were huge. When we went into town, we saw that the others were more like parking lots – we did good. You just never know what you’re going to get with the parks. As I’ve mentioned before, the pictures and descriptions aren’t exactly the reality. As an additional perk, a lady comes in every morning with all kinds of coffees and breakfast items and she comes back in the evenings with ice cream. We haven’t seen that before.
Once we were set up, we jumped in Jerry’s truck and took a tour of downtown Valdez. It’s not as quaint or as pretty as Seward but has a nice harbor area. It started clouding up – I think we know what’s coming.
Day 32
We woke up to clouds and rain – what a surprise. We packed up the trailer and headed up the Seward Highway toward Anchorage. The truck needs an oil change so Jan is going to take it to a shop in Wasilla. Maybe we’ll have dinner at the Palin’s house. As we were motoring down the road, Jan said “Oh no!” and quickly pulled off to the side. Our sewer hose had been drying (in all this rain) in the back of the truck and decided to make a break for it. It’s a miracle that Jan even saw it! He ran back down the road to retrieve it and, thankfully, it wasn’t damaged. Those things are expensive!
Our plan was to stop at Portage Glacier but it was raining so hard at that point that we decided not to do it. We wouldn’t have been able to see the glacier anyway because of all the clouds. The closer we got to Anchorage, though, the sunnier it got. There wasn’t any rain by the time we got there!
We made our way through the traffic in Anchorage and stayed at Fox Run RV Park in Palmer. It’s a real pain to drive around in Anchorage when you’re pulling a trailer. Jan read somewhere that the population of Anchorage is 46% of the total population of Alaska. And, I might add, they’re all out on the roads driving somewhere.
Once we got the trailer set up, we went to Wasilla to get the oil changed and fill one of our propane tanks. The young lady at the lube shop has a friend who lives in Prescott and even knew our area code was 928. We’ve really been surprised at how many people know of Prescott and quite a few tell us they’ve been there. We figured people would know Phoenix but no one would be familiar with Prescott.
By the way, the Palins did not invite us over for dinner – my feelings are hurt.
Our plan was to stop at Portage Glacier but it was raining so hard at that point that we decided not to do it. We wouldn’t have been able to see the glacier anyway because of all the clouds. The closer we got to Anchorage, though, the sunnier it got. There wasn’t any rain by the time we got there!
We made our way through the traffic in Anchorage and stayed at Fox Run RV Park in Palmer. It’s a real pain to drive around in Anchorage when you’re pulling a trailer. Jan read somewhere that the population of Anchorage is 46% of the total population of Alaska. And, I might add, they’re all out on the roads driving somewhere.
Once we got the trailer set up, we went to Wasilla to get the oil changed and fill one of our propane tanks. The young lady at the lube shop has a friend who lives in Prescott and even knew our area code was 928. We’ve really been surprised at how many people know of Prescott and quite a few tell us they’ve been there. We figured people would know Phoenix but no one would be familiar with Prescott.
By the way, the Palins did not invite us over for dinner – my feelings are hurt.
Day 31
We got up at 5:00 AM so Jan and Jerry could be at the harbor by 6:00 to embark on the salmon fishing adventure. Nancy and I went along (to the harbor, not fishing) so we could take pictures as they left. The boat left promptly at 7:00 and off went our manly men to catch us some dinner. It was a beautiful morning, still cloudy but no wind or rain; we didn’t even need our heavy jackets. Nancy and I went back to the trailers and, being women, we cleaned. After cleaning the trailer, I went to Safeway and Nancy went for a walk. Once I was done with my household duties, we went downtown and walked through the shops and ate some lunch. By the time we did all that, it was time to pick up the men.
We drove to the harbor and eagerly awaited the mass quantities of salmon the boys would be bringing back. We were even getting a little concerned about how we were going to get it all home because shipping is pretty expensive (as I found out when I shipped the fish to my boss). We didn’t need to worry, Jan caught 1 and Jerry caught 2. I think we can handle getting them home. Although they didn’t catch much, they really enjoyed themselves and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. They said it was absolutely beautiful when they got out of the bay – they got to see whales (putting on a show for them), dolphins, sea lions, & eagles. The only disappointment was they didn’t get to hang their catch in front of the “Caught in Seward” sign and have pictures taken. The boat crew was running late for their afternoon charter so they cleaned and cut up the salmon on board. Jan and Jerry came home with their catch in a plastic bag.
It started to rain when we left the harbor and continued to rain for the rest of the day (and night). Our camp area looked like a lake! We planned to hike to Exit Glacier that afternoon but that didn’t happen. We stayed in the trailer and had fresh salmon for dinner. It was pretty yummy.
All that rain and the trailer didn’t leak!
We drove to the harbor and eagerly awaited the mass quantities of salmon the boys would be bringing back. We were even getting a little concerned about how we were going to get it all home because shipping is pretty expensive (as I found out when I shipped the fish to my boss). We didn’t need to worry, Jan caught 1 and Jerry caught 2. I think we can handle getting them home. Although they didn’t catch much, they really enjoyed themselves and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. They said it was absolutely beautiful when they got out of the bay – they got to see whales (putting on a show for them), dolphins, sea lions, & eagles. The only disappointment was they didn’t get to hang their catch in front of the “Caught in Seward” sign and have pictures taken. The boat crew was running late for their afternoon charter so they cleaned and cut up the salmon on board. Jan and Jerry came home with their catch in a plastic bag.
It started to rain when we left the harbor and continued to rain for the rest of the day (and night). Our camp area looked like a lake! We planned to hike to Exit Glacier that afternoon but that didn’t happen. We stayed in the trailer and had fresh salmon for dinner. It was pretty yummy.
All that rain and the trailer didn’t leak!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Day 30
This morning it was mostly sunny at Kasilov RV Park. We could see a mountain range to the east that we hadn't seen before! The weatherman on the radio told us it was going to be mostly sunny in Soldotna (where we were) and cloudy and rainy in Seward on the other side of the peninsula. Of course, Seward was our destination.
The drive was spectacular even with clouds and rain. It must really be something when the sun is shining. The road follows the Kenai River for quite a distance and the river is beautiful. It's very wide and the water is turquoise.
Seward is only about 100 miles from Soldotna so we arrived there before lunch. The town sits on a bay surrounded by mountains. It is absolutely breathtaking (I'm running out of adjectives). The sun broke through for a while in the afternoon which made the scenery even more awesome. We camped in a municipal RV park on Resurrection Bay. I guess if the rapture happens in the next couple of days, "Resurrection" Bay will be a good place to be.
After lunch we went to the Visitor's Center to pick up information on things to see and do. We walked around the harbor and went through the shops. There was a store that ships fish so it gave me the opportunity to ship some halibut to my boss (he requested that before we left on the trip). Jan and Jerry shopped around for fishing charters - they wanted to do a half day salmon fishing trip. Jan has fished for trout but has never done this kind of fishing.
There was a bike path right by the trailer so Jan went for a ride. Before he left, he came in to tell me there were otters in the bay so I went out and watched them and took pictures. On his ride, he found more otters so he came back and drove me out to see them (plus a great view of Seward). I'm so glad he didn't ask me to ride my bike over to see them, they would have died of old age by the time I got there.
We all went for pizza and then took pictures around the harbor. Our waitress at the pizza parlor was from Phoenix and working in Seward for the summer. She really enjoys it and she loves to fish.
The drive was spectacular even with clouds and rain. It must really be something when the sun is shining. The road follows the Kenai River for quite a distance and the river is beautiful. It's very wide and the water is turquoise.
Seward is only about 100 miles from Soldotna so we arrived there before lunch. The town sits on a bay surrounded by mountains. It is absolutely breathtaking (I'm running out of adjectives). The sun broke through for a while in the afternoon which made the scenery even more awesome. We camped in a municipal RV park on Resurrection Bay. I guess if the rapture happens in the next couple of days, "Resurrection" Bay will be a good place to be.
After lunch we went to the Visitor's Center to pick up information on things to see and do. We walked around the harbor and went through the shops. There was a store that ships fish so it gave me the opportunity to ship some halibut to my boss (he requested that before we left on the trip). Jan and Jerry shopped around for fishing charters - they wanted to do a half day salmon fishing trip. Jan has fished for trout but has never done this kind of fishing.
There was a bike path right by the trailer so Jan went for a ride. Before he left, he came in to tell me there were otters in the bay so I went out and watched them and took pictures. On his ride, he found more otters so he came back and drove me out to see them (plus a great view of Seward). I'm so glad he didn't ask me to ride my bike over to see them, they would have died of old age by the time I got there.
We all went for pizza and then took pictures around the harbor. Our waitress at the pizza parlor was from Phoenix and working in Seward for the summer. She really enjoys it and she loves to fish.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Day 29
This will be surprising news - it rained off and on all night and was cloudy and rainy this morning and most of the day. The difference today is there was also a brisk wind. Remember the screws that came through the ceiling when Jan "fixed" the roof? One of them had rain dripping off of it last night so Jan was back on the roof this morning covering the screw heads with silicone. We may beat that leak problem yet!
Jan was told by a few people that Anchor Point was a good place to go for eagle watching so that's where we went. Just as an aside, Captain Cook lost his anchor there thus the name Anchor Point. I wonder if Smee was with him. Oh wait, that's Captain Hook. I digress. The normal places to see eagles are in a tree or on a rocky cliff but these sit on the beach with the seagulls. I imagine they're there in hopes of stealing fish scraps from the seagulls. We walked along the beach and saw at least 8 of them; they didn't appear to be too concerned with people walking around. Jan got some great pictures, a few of them of the eagles in flight. It was pretty cool. We've seen more eagles in this area than we saw on our cruise excursion to the Eagle Preserve! We also encountered 2 moose walking along the highway. That was pretty cool, too.
Jan was told by a few people that Anchor Point was a good place to go for eagle watching so that's where we went. Just as an aside, Captain Cook lost his anchor there thus the name Anchor Point. I wonder if Smee was with him. Oh wait, that's Captain Hook. I digress. The normal places to see eagles are in a tree or on a rocky cliff but these sit on the beach with the seagulls. I imagine they're there in hopes of stealing fish scraps from the seagulls. We walked along the beach and saw at least 8 of them; they didn't appear to be too concerned with people walking around. Jan got some great pictures, a few of them of the eagles in flight. It was pretty cool. We've seen more eagles in this area than we saw on our cruise excursion to the Eagle Preserve! We also encountered 2 moose walking along the highway. That was pretty cool, too.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Day 28 - July 4th
The weather was bad again today so we stayed in and worked on photos, read our books, and I did some laundry. It's been very quiet - I guess not every day can be action packed.
While I was in the laundry room, a moose ran through the park, right next to our trailer. Jan didn't even try to get a picture of this one, he was running too fast.
While I was in the laundry room, a moose ran through the park, right next to our trailer. Jan didn't even try to get a picture of this one, he was running too fast.
Day 27
We ventured to Homer, about 60 miles south of where we're staying. It was still cloudy and rainy but we figured if we sat around waiting for sunshine, we'd never get to Homer. We stopped at the little town of Ninilchik where the big point of interest is an old Russian Orthodox Church and Jan took pictures (in the rain).
A couple of our books cited a "must see" photo opportunity right before entering Homer and we were anticipating a great view. Once again, no view, too many clouds.
Our first stop was the Visitor's Center to get information on things to see and do. The woman we spoke to gave us a map of the city and pointed out 2 scenic drives with views of the city. But, the first place she sent us was right down the street where there was an eagle's nest in an old dead tree. It was right by the road! We were probably there for 45 minutes watching them and taking pictures. We even saw a little fuzzy head pop up a couple of times.
After a short drive around Homer, we went to Homer Spit (a peninsula that juts out into Kachemak Bay). The entire "spit" was packed with people, tents, RVs & boats - we couldn't even find a parking place because it was so crowded. We were told it's only like that on the 3 summer holiday weekends. We were meeting Jerry & Nancy for lunch and, fortunately, it's not as crowded at Lands End where there was a nice restaurant. We sat by a window that looked out over the Bay and were entertained by the people fishing. One little guy was about 5, had his fishing pole and waders, and actually caught some fish. He was very cute and we got a kick out of watching him. Jerry visited with the boy's dad and they are originally from Window Rock.
After lunch we went back to Homer and went to a gift shop and bakery (we NEEDED brownies & lemon bars). We decided to check out a beach near the bakery and found two more eagles just sitting in a tree by the parking lot. After that, since it wasn't raining and the clouds had let up a bit, we went back to the "must see" viewpoint. There were still clouds but Jan got a few pictures.
We didn't want to head back to the trailer so we drove back to Homer Spit and did some browsing in the shops on the Boardwalk. While we were there, Jan started talking to a man who owns a fishing charter and it turned out that he and his wife went to Moon Valley High School. Small world.
Homer Spit is the end of the only continuous highway in the US (Jan read that in one of our books)- it goes from Key West to Homer. This weekend was the finish of a motorcycle rally that started in Key West and ended here. We understand there were 800 riders and they paid $1000 each to participate in it. Jan visited with one of the riders - he's from Manitoba and is 69 years old. He had to ride from Manitoba to Key West to even start the ride.
Then a miracle happened - the sun came out! We jumped in the truck and re-visited the scenic drives that weren't very scenic earlier in the day and Jan finally got the pictures he wanted.
The last excitement of the day was that we got to see and take good pictures of a moose! It was right by the road! Jan saw one yesterday on his bike ride but didn't have a camera. It dawned on him later that he did have a cell phone - that's the second time he's done that.
A couple of our books cited a "must see" photo opportunity right before entering Homer and we were anticipating a great view. Once again, no view, too many clouds.
Our first stop was the Visitor's Center to get information on things to see and do. The woman we spoke to gave us a map of the city and pointed out 2 scenic drives with views of the city. But, the first place she sent us was right down the street where there was an eagle's nest in an old dead tree. It was right by the road! We were probably there for 45 minutes watching them and taking pictures. We even saw a little fuzzy head pop up a couple of times.
After a short drive around Homer, we went to Homer Spit (a peninsula that juts out into Kachemak Bay). The entire "spit" was packed with people, tents, RVs & boats - we couldn't even find a parking place because it was so crowded. We were told it's only like that on the 3 summer holiday weekends. We were meeting Jerry & Nancy for lunch and, fortunately, it's not as crowded at Lands End where there was a nice restaurant. We sat by a window that looked out over the Bay and were entertained by the people fishing. One little guy was about 5, had his fishing pole and waders, and actually caught some fish. He was very cute and we got a kick out of watching him. Jerry visited with the boy's dad and they are originally from Window Rock.
After lunch we went back to Homer and went to a gift shop and bakery (we NEEDED brownies & lemon bars). We decided to check out a beach near the bakery and found two more eagles just sitting in a tree by the parking lot. After that, since it wasn't raining and the clouds had let up a bit, we went back to the "must see" viewpoint. There were still clouds but Jan got a few pictures.
We didn't want to head back to the trailer so we drove back to Homer Spit and did some browsing in the shops on the Boardwalk. While we were there, Jan started talking to a man who owns a fishing charter and it turned out that he and his wife went to Moon Valley High School. Small world.
Homer Spit is the end of the only continuous highway in the US (Jan read that in one of our books)- it goes from Key West to Homer. This weekend was the finish of a motorcycle rally that started in Key West and ended here. We understand there were 800 riders and they paid $1000 each to participate in it. Jan visited with one of the riders - he's from Manitoba and is 69 years old. He had to ride from Manitoba to Key West to even start the ride.
Then a miracle happened - the sun came out! We jumped in the truck and re-visited the scenic drives that weren't very scenic earlier in the day and Jan finally got the pictures he wanted.
The last excitement of the day was that we got to see and take good pictures of a moose! It was right by the road! Jan saw one yesterday on his bike ride but didn't have a camera. It dawned on him later that he did have a cell phone - that's the second time he's done that.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Day 26
It's been cloudy and rainy today so we pretty much stayed inside. We did take some time to go for a drive - we can't come to Alaska and then sit in the trailer all day. We went down a road near the RV park that leads to the Kasilof River. There were a number of families camping and fishing. It didn't look like anyone was catching anything. We also drove on a loop road that goes along the Cook Inlet. After all the moose warning signs, we finally saw one. Unfortunately she ran across the street and into the forest before we could get a picture. A lot of fishermen were out fishing on this route, too. Jerry inquired about fishing yesterday and was told they're really not biting yet. I was counting on Jerry catching fish and cooking it for our dinner. Oh well, I do have hot dogs.
Jan is on a bike ride right now. There's really nowhere to ride but he's going to try to go down to the lake. He was getting cabin fever being in the trailer most of the day.
I've been trying to get pictures on the blog and I have a posting of days 1 thru 4 that should be a selection from those 4 days. I hope it's there!
Jan is on a bike ride right now. There's really nowhere to ride but he's going to try to go down to the lake. He was getting cabin fever being in the trailer most of the day.
I've been trying to get pictures on the blog and I have a posting of days 1 thru 4 that should be a selection from those 4 days. I hope it's there!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Day 25
This morning we drove in to Soldotna (the town closest to the RV park) and visited the Harley shop - Kenai Peninsula Harley Davidson. Jan bought a shirt. After that we stopped at a chainsaw sculpture store to see if there was anything we might NEED, there was also a gift shop - your basic tourist stores. The only thing we bought was a Christmas ornament.
The stores were right on the highway with a gravel parking lot. We drove out of the parking lot and were immediately pulled over by a State Trooper. He looked about 15 but I think that's because I'm old. Jan asked why we were stopped and Trooper Shelley said we pulled out of the parking lot on to the highway without using our turn signal. Jan was stunned to say the least and questioned the trooper about the law. He told Jan it is against the law in Alaska to pull out of any private property without using your turn signal. Jan thinks he was making it up and plans to check on it. He was kind enough not to cite us but we both had to provide identification and then he "ran" us - and we don't even look like illegals. I may have to sue. Haven't the protestors been telling us our civil rights are violated if we have to show identification? A successful civil rights suit and I may be able to pay for this vacation.
We drove to the town of Kenai and took pictures of an old Russian Orthodox church. There was also a whale watching viewpoint in Kenai but, once again, no whales. We journeyed on to Nikiski, a town with a few oil refineries. It was so weird to be driving through beautiful forests and all of a sudden there's an oil refinery. The end of the road was Captain Cook State Park - another beautiful viewpoint. We took a different scenic road to come back to the RV park. No viewpoints, just a really pretty drive.
The stores were right on the highway with a gravel parking lot. We drove out of the parking lot and were immediately pulled over by a State Trooper. He looked about 15 but I think that's because I'm old. Jan asked why we were stopped and Trooper Shelley said we pulled out of the parking lot on to the highway without using our turn signal. Jan was stunned to say the least and questioned the trooper about the law. He told Jan it is against the law in Alaska to pull out of any private property without using your turn signal. Jan thinks he was making it up and plans to check on it. He was kind enough not to cite us but we both had to provide identification and then he "ran" us - and we don't even look like illegals. I may have to sue. Haven't the protestors been telling us our civil rights are violated if we have to show identification? A successful civil rights suit and I may be able to pay for this vacation.
We drove to the town of Kenai and took pictures of an old Russian Orthodox church. There was also a whale watching viewpoint in Kenai but, once again, no whales. We journeyed on to Nikiski, a town with a few oil refineries. It was so weird to be driving through beautiful forests and all of a sudden there's an oil refinery. The end of the road was Captain Cook State Park - another beautiful viewpoint. We took a different scenic road to come back to the RV park. No viewpoints, just a really pretty drive.
Day 24
We left Anchorage via the Seward Highway at 9:51, our destination was about half way down the Kenai Peninsula. Since we plan to spend a few days, the central location will allow us to visit locations north & south without hauling the trailers everywhere.
A section of the road from Anchorage is called the National Forest Scenic Byway and scenic it was. We drove along Turnagain Arm, part of the Cook Inlet. The water is surrounded by forests and snow capped mountains, the view was spectacular. One point of interest on Turnagain Arm is Beluga Bay where whales are often spotted - we didn't spot any. We passed through a popular fishing area and it was packed with RVs, tents, & people. Fishing appears to be very big here. We noticed the Costco in Anchorage carried a lot of fishing equipment (and black out drapes).
Nancy & I had painstakingly gone through our lists of RV parks & campgrounds to find the perfect place for us on Kenai Peninsula and we found it - right on the Kenai River. Unfortunately, no one told them they were the perfect place for us because they didn't have anything available that we would fit in. Out came our RV books once again and, after a few phone calls, we found one that had room for us. We hadn't considered there is a holiday weekend coming up and the parks would be crowded. We ended up at the Kasilof RV Park and it is one of the best ones we've been in. It has lots of trees with wide, secluded trailer sites and it's across the street from a lake. We wish they were all like this one! On the down side, it's a mile off the highway and the road is dirt. The dirt road is no big deal when there's no trailer attached to the truck.
We didn't do any sightseeing other than the sights we saw while we were driving. In fact, Jan & I spent quite a bit of time downloading and organizing our pictures. There are so many, I sure hope we can remember where they were taken.
A section of the road from Anchorage is called the National Forest Scenic Byway and scenic it was. We drove along Turnagain Arm, part of the Cook Inlet. The water is surrounded by forests and snow capped mountains, the view was spectacular. One point of interest on Turnagain Arm is Beluga Bay where whales are often spotted - we didn't spot any. We passed through a popular fishing area and it was packed with RVs, tents, & people. Fishing appears to be very big here. We noticed the Costco in Anchorage carried a lot of fishing equipment (and black out drapes).
Nancy & I had painstakingly gone through our lists of RV parks & campgrounds to find the perfect place for us on Kenai Peninsula and we found it - right on the Kenai River. Unfortunately, no one told them they were the perfect place for us because they didn't have anything available that we would fit in. Out came our RV books once again and, after a few phone calls, we found one that had room for us. We hadn't considered there is a holiday weekend coming up and the parks would be crowded. We ended up at the Kasilof RV Park and it is one of the best ones we've been in. It has lots of trees with wide, secluded trailer sites and it's across the street from a lake. We wish they were all like this one! On the down side, it's a mile off the highway and the road is dirt. The dirt road is no big deal when there's no trailer attached to the truck.
We didn't do any sightseeing other than the sights we saw while we were driving. In fact, Jan & I spent quite a bit of time downloading and organizing our pictures. There are so many, I sure hope we can remember where they were taken.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Day 23
We're still in Anchorage. As Jan was getting dressed this morning, he noticed some of the screws from the roof repair are sticking out on the inside of the trailer. It looks pretty funny but he's not going to worry about it until we get home.
It was another day of sightseeing and was still cloudy & rainy. We went downtown (I only got Jan lost twice) to see salmon trying to swim upstream. There's a fishing site right in downtown Anchorage (Ship Creek) that's pretty popular. We even saw it featured on a travel show a couple of months ago. Those salmon were huge! We also visited an Alaska knife factory and bought a couple of knives (Ulus). Anchorage has a very nice parks and trails and a lot of people are out enjoying them. We went to a marsh area that's supposed to be a good wildlife viewing site but there were 2 buses of children there so I don't think the animals were too interested in making an appearance. We did see some geese & babies and ducks & babies. We went to another park and actually got to see a moose - and got pictures. That was pretty exciting!
We ended the day with a trip to the Safeway gas station and a stop at Costco. Woo Hoo!
It was another day of sightseeing and was still cloudy & rainy. We went downtown (I only got Jan lost twice) to see salmon trying to swim upstream. There's a fishing site right in downtown Anchorage (Ship Creek) that's pretty popular. We even saw it featured on a travel show a couple of months ago. Those salmon were huge! We also visited an Alaska knife factory and bought a couple of knives (Ulus). Anchorage has a very nice parks and trails and a lot of people are out enjoying them. We went to a marsh area that's supposed to be a good wildlife viewing site but there were 2 buses of children there so I don't think the animals were too interested in making an appearance. We did see some geese & babies and ducks & babies. We went to another park and actually got to see a moose - and got pictures. That was pretty exciting!
We ended the day with a trip to the Safeway gas station and a stop at Costco. Woo Hoo!
Day 22
Jan spent the first half of the day working on the roof of the trailer. After a few trips to Home Depot and about 3 hours of work, we think/hope the leak is fixed and now we're not driving around with duct tape on the roof. At one point, Jan backed the truck up to the front of the trailer and I was supposed to be watching & directing. Well, I was looking at the ladder in the back and didn't notice I was letting him back right into the tongue of the trailer. Now there's a big dent in the back of the truck and I wasn't Jan's favorite wife for a while.
We went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant with Jerry & Nancy. Mexican food in Anchorage Alaska - we did not have high expectations. It turned out the restaurant was owned by Mexicans from California and the food was actually pretty good. Even though we are from Arizona, I did not inquire about their immigration status.
We spent the rest of the day sightseeing but didn't really get to SEE the sights we wanted to see because of the heavy cloud cover. Our favorite spot was a viewpoint on Flat Top Mountain. We could see the whole city and, had it been clear, we could have seen Mt. McKinley. It's supposed to be cloudy & rainy the rest of the week so we're not holding on to any hope of seeing the mountain.
We went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant with Jerry & Nancy. Mexican food in Anchorage Alaska - we did not have high expectations. It turned out the restaurant was owned by Mexicans from California and the food was actually pretty good. Even though we are from Arizona, I did not inquire about their immigration status.
We spent the rest of the day sightseeing but didn't really get to SEE the sights we wanted to see because of the heavy cloud cover. Our favorite spot was a viewpoint on Flat Top Mountain. We could see the whole city and, had it been clear, we could have seen Mt. McKinley. It's supposed to be cloudy & rainy the rest of the week so we're not holding on to any hope of seeing the mountain.
Day 21
Jan wanted to go for a ride on the bike trail this morning but it was still raining. We took a quick trip to the Denali Visitor's Center - we realized the building we had gone to before wasn't the official Visitor's Center. This one was more like a history museum and was pretty interesting. We went back to the campsite, hooked up the trailer and headed to a nearby RV park where we had made reservations. We arrived there and found the place was a real dive (again, not like the advertisement). The four of us discussed the situation and decided we had seen what we wanted to see in Denali so we canceled out on the RV park and took off for Anchorage. We arrived around 4:30 and pretty much just hung out for the rest of the day. It rained off and on all night last night and all day today. We entertained a fantasy that we would get to see Mt. McKinley - we didn't. There's a lot to see around Anchorage so we plan to stay for a couple of days.
The duct tape job didn't work, the trailer is still leaking.
The duct tape job didn't work, the trailer is still leaking.
Day 20
I noticed something a few days ago - Nancy is usually wearing a button up, freshly ironed shirt. There's something a little sick about ironing when you're in an RV on vacation. I much prefer a wrinkled tee shirt with a lovely sweatshirt over it.
We left Fairbanks at 9:24 and headed for Denali Park. We made reservations in a campground at the park and arrived there around lunch time. It's a good thing we called ahead because all the park campgrounds were full by the time we arrived. Unfortunately, we only reserved one night and they didn't have anything available for a second night. We will have to move to an RV park outside Denali - kind of a pain.
Yesterday evening it rained and hailed really hard. Later that night I pulled out my sweatpants only to find that they, along with a number of other items, were soaked. Yipes! We have a leak! Jan's plan was to take care of it when we get to Anchorage. On the road today, we had about a 20 minute wait at a construction zone and Jan & Jerry were looking at the trailer, discussing the leak. Jan noticed a piece of the roof was loose and the wind was lifting it up as we drove. He grabbed the duct tape and taped the roof back together while we waited for the pilot car that was to take us through the construction. We now look like the Beverly Hillbillies! But that's okay, we've seen a number of homes in the back woods that could pass for junk yards - a duct taped trailer fits right in. Now if only I could get Jan to start wearing Dickie's overalls (they seem to be the rage here).
We took a 6 hour bus tour of Denali Park. We got to see a momma grizzly with 2 cubs, a herd of caribou, & a herd of Dall sheep. The park is absolutely beautiful (of course) and it was pretty exciting to see the wildlife. It was cloudy and rainy so Jan wasn't able to get any awesome pictures. He got some okay pictures but not the ones he had hoped for.
We left Fairbanks at 9:24 and headed for Denali Park. We made reservations in a campground at the park and arrived there around lunch time. It's a good thing we called ahead because all the park campgrounds were full by the time we arrived. Unfortunately, we only reserved one night and they didn't have anything available for a second night. We will have to move to an RV park outside Denali - kind of a pain.
Yesterday evening it rained and hailed really hard. Later that night I pulled out my sweatpants only to find that they, along with a number of other items, were soaked. Yipes! We have a leak! Jan's plan was to take care of it when we get to Anchorage. On the road today, we had about a 20 minute wait at a construction zone and Jan & Jerry were looking at the trailer, discussing the leak. Jan noticed a piece of the roof was loose and the wind was lifting it up as we drove. He grabbed the duct tape and taped the roof back together while we waited for the pilot car that was to take us through the construction. We now look like the Beverly Hillbillies! But that's okay, we've seen a number of homes in the back woods that could pass for junk yards - a duct taped trailer fits right in. Now if only I could get Jan to start wearing Dickie's overalls (they seem to be the rage here).
We took a 6 hour bus tour of Denali Park. We got to see a momma grizzly with 2 cubs, a herd of caribou, & a herd of Dall sheep. The park is absolutely beautiful (of course) and it was pretty exciting to see the wildlife. It was cloudy and rainy so Jan wasn't able to get any awesome pictures. He got some okay pictures but not the ones he had hoped for.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Day 19
We stayed over in Fairbanks so we could do some sightseeing and take care of mundane household things. Jan went for a long bike ride this morning while I went to Safeway to stock up. I would have gone on the bike ride but I handle a grocery cart much better than I do a bicycle.
Around 11:30, we went with Jerry & Nancy to see the Alaska Pipeline. It was pretty interesting and the structure is amazing in it's architecture. We left there and planned to visit an historic gold mining dredge but found out admission was $15.00 and that included lunch. We didn't want lunch and thought $15.00 was a little steep for touring a mining dredge. We parted ways with Jerry & Nancy so we could go to a viewpoint about 20 miles away and take some pictures. No pictures again - the trees and bushes are so thick & tall that you can't see the view.
We stopped at an old mining camp (which is now a lodge) and ate lunch. It was a really neat old building. On the way back to the RV park, we stopped at a Federal Parks Visitor's Center and got our golden park pass. It's one of the perks for being old. I'm writing this in the laundromat - my last task for the day
FYI - sunset will be at 12:48 am & sunrise will be 3:02 am. That's so strange to us.
Tomorrow we head for Denali Park.
Around 11:30, we went with Jerry & Nancy to see the Alaska Pipeline. It was pretty interesting and the structure is amazing in it's architecture. We left there and planned to visit an historic gold mining dredge but found out admission was $15.00 and that included lunch. We didn't want lunch and thought $15.00 was a little steep for touring a mining dredge. We parted ways with Jerry & Nancy so we could go to a viewpoint about 20 miles away and take some pictures. No pictures again - the trees and bushes are so thick & tall that you can't see the view.
We stopped at an old mining camp (which is now a lodge) and ate lunch. It was a really neat old building. On the way back to the RV park, we stopped at a Federal Parks Visitor's Center and got our golden park pass. It's one of the perks for being old. I'm writing this in the laundromat - my last task for the day
FYI - sunset will be at 12:48 am & sunrise will be 3:02 am. That's so strange to us.
Tomorrow we head for Denali Park.
Day 18
We took our time getting on the road because Fairbanks was only about 90 miles. It was a beautiful, clear morning and we were able to see 3 peaks in the Alaska Range: Mt. Hayes, Hess Mountain, & Mt. Deborah. They were pure white and absolutely breathtaking. I understand there are usually clouds hiding the tops so it was a real treat to get to see them so clearly. Jan and I stopped in the North Pole Visitor's Center (right before Fairbanks) and took some goofy pictures. I was hoping to go to Santa Claus House but we would have had to back track to do that. When you're hauling a trailer, it's not too convenient to back track.
We're in an RV park that's pretty good but doesn't look anything like the picture in "Mileposts". That picture shows RVs parked along the river with lots of space in between them. The reality is that we're squeezed in between other RVs and have to walk to the river if we want to see it. So much for truth in advertising.
We were all set up by lunch time so we took the opportunity to run some errands. We bought tee shirts at Fairbanks Harley Davidson (the farthest north Harley dealership so the shirts are special). We also went to an auto parts store so Jan could buy some electrical connections for some kind of repair to the trailer lights.
We ended the day by going out for dinner. Jerry & I noticed a restaurant menu sitting on the desk when we checked in and the food sounded so good. We were determined to have some grilled halibut or salmon for dinner - and we did.
We're in an RV park that's pretty good but doesn't look anything like the picture in "Mileposts". That picture shows RVs parked along the river with lots of space in between them. The reality is that we're squeezed in between other RVs and have to walk to the river if we want to see it. So much for truth in advertising.
We were all set up by lunch time so we took the opportunity to run some errands. We bought tee shirts at Fairbanks Harley Davidson (the farthest north Harley dealership so the shirts are special). We also went to an auto parts store so Jan could buy some electrical connections for some kind of repair to the trailer lights.
We ended the day by going out for dinner. Jerry & I noticed a restaurant menu sitting on the desk when we checked in and the food sounded so good. We were determined to have some grilled halibut or salmon for dinner - and we did.
Day 17
I need to back up to Tuesday in Dawson City. A ride across the Yukon on a small ferry is the only way to get to the road to Chicken (The Top of the World Highway). Jan inquired about the ferry when we went to the Visitor's Center and was told there were 21 RVs scheduled to go across on Wednesday morning - 2 tours. The man next to us at the RV park told Jan he was planning to get in line at 4:00 in the morning because last year he had to wait in line for over 2 hours. We hadn't considered that we might have to wait in line for the ferry!
It rained all night, Jan woke me up at 6:00 and told me to throw some clothes on because we were going to go get in line; we could eat breakfast while we waited. We quickly hooked up the trailer (record time) and made our way to the ferry dock. WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THERE! No line, no breakfast, no makeup (scary)! We stopped on the other side of the river and ate breakfast and I put on some makeup (didn't want to scare any wildlife).
The Top of the World Highway (highway is a very questionable term) is dirt and gravel for about 90 miles. It was still raining, the road was very muddy, and, to top it off, it was foggy. The reason we decided to take this route was so Jan could get some awesome pictures, especially a panoramic photo of Dawson City. So, we ended up driving 90 miles on a narrow, muddy, mountainous road in fog that was so thick we could hardly see the road in front of us and we didn't get any pictures. We were very happy when we finally got to Chicken - the road after that was paved. We bought tee shirts to commemorate our feat.
Remember the man from the RV park who was leading a tour? One of the RVs in his group slid off the road and ended up in a ditch sitting at a 45 degree angle. It was one of the big bus style motorhomes and he was towing a car. About an hour later, we encountered a tow truck headed in that direction. I have no idea how they were going to get him out but I'm sure it wasn't easy.
The border between Canada & Alaska is a few miles before Chicken - we were finally in Alaska! No more kilometers, no more strange money! We met up with Jerry and Nancy in Tok and we're very glad they didn't go with us - they would have ended up hating us for dragging them over that road. Not to mention the fact that our truck and trailer were caked with inches of mud. We stayed in Delta Junction which is the end of the Alaska Highway - now we will be on the Richardson Highway. I don't think any of you will be surprised that Jan popped for an additional $8.00 at the RV park so we could wash the truck and trailer.
It rained all night, Jan woke me up at 6:00 and told me to throw some clothes on because we were going to go get in line; we could eat breakfast while we waited. We quickly hooked up the trailer (record time) and made our way to the ferry dock. WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THERE! No line, no breakfast, no makeup (scary)! We stopped on the other side of the river and ate breakfast and I put on some makeup (didn't want to scare any wildlife).
The Top of the World Highway (highway is a very questionable term) is dirt and gravel for about 90 miles. It was still raining, the road was very muddy, and, to top it off, it was foggy. The reason we decided to take this route was so Jan could get some awesome pictures, especially a panoramic photo of Dawson City. So, we ended up driving 90 miles on a narrow, muddy, mountainous road in fog that was so thick we could hardly see the road in front of us and we didn't get any pictures. We were very happy when we finally got to Chicken - the road after that was paved. We bought tee shirts to commemorate our feat.
Remember the man from the RV park who was leading a tour? One of the RVs in his group slid off the road and ended up in a ditch sitting at a 45 degree angle. It was one of the big bus style motorhomes and he was towing a car. About an hour later, we encountered a tow truck headed in that direction. I have no idea how they were going to get him out but I'm sure it wasn't easy.
The border between Canada & Alaska is a few miles before Chicken - we were finally in Alaska! No more kilometers, no more strange money! We met up with Jerry and Nancy in Tok and we're very glad they didn't go with us - they would have ended up hating us for dragging them over that road. Not to mention the fact that our truck and trailer were caked with inches of mud. We stayed in Delta Junction which is the end of the Alaska Highway - now we will be on the Richardson Highway. I don't think any of you will be surprised that Jan popped for an additional $8.00 at the RV park so we could wash the truck and trailer.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Day 16
First thing this morning we went to Yukon Harley Davidson to buy shirts. They didn't have any good looking shirts in Jan's size, only camo shirts with skulls & crossbones and others equally as attractive. Needless to say, we didn't buy any shirts - it was disappointing.
We parted ways with Jerry & Nancy for today. We wanted to go to Dawson City which was about a 5 hours drive. They didn't want to spend the whole day in the truck so they went to Destruction Bay. We'll all meet up again tomorrow in Tok.
As I said, we drove for 5 hours to get to Dawson City but it was well worth it. We had rain off and on all day but that was okay - it washed off some of the mud from the last rain. The terrain went from farms and meadows to forests that were mostly Aspen trees with a few pines sprinkled in. Part of the trip looked kind of like the White Mountains with a lot of Aspens.
There are a lot of people on motorcycles and Jan is very jealous. He keeps talking about what a great motorcycle trip this would be and he's going to have to talk to the boys to see if they're up for it. There was a couple at the RV park on a Goldwing pulling a tent trailer. I was amazed at how big that tent was. Maybe the Harley guys could have the Goldwing guys pull tent trailers for all of them to camp in. I'm sure the Goldwing guys wouldn't mind at all.
Dawson City is an old gold rush town and they've done well in maintaining that history. A number of historic homes and buildings have been restored and are part of a visitor's tour of the city. Most of the streets are still dirt. As we drove in, we noticed strange piles of rock and sandy dirt that just did not fit in with the landscape. It turns out those piles are the tailings from the gold mining. Dawson City is also where the Klondike & Yukon Rivers come together - beautiful.
We drove past 3 RV parks on the way in to town but rejected them because the RVs were all parked so close together. Well, we ended up in the last one in town and it looks more like a parking lot than an RV park. Our trailer is 28 ft. and we're parked in the middle of huge trailers and bus style motorhomes. We look so tiny. We are totally amazed at the number of RVs traveling through Canada and Alaska. We don't encounter a lot of them on the road (so far) but the parks sure are full. We also noticed we run into the same people from park to park.
Tomorrow we're heading for Chicken, Alaska - it should be interesting.
We parted ways with Jerry & Nancy for today. We wanted to go to Dawson City which was about a 5 hours drive. They didn't want to spend the whole day in the truck so they went to Destruction Bay. We'll all meet up again tomorrow in Tok.
As I said, we drove for 5 hours to get to Dawson City but it was well worth it. We had rain off and on all day but that was okay - it washed off some of the mud from the last rain. The terrain went from farms and meadows to forests that were mostly Aspen trees with a few pines sprinkled in. Part of the trip looked kind of like the White Mountains with a lot of Aspens.
There are a lot of people on motorcycles and Jan is very jealous. He keeps talking about what a great motorcycle trip this would be and he's going to have to talk to the boys to see if they're up for it. There was a couple at the RV park on a Goldwing pulling a tent trailer. I was amazed at how big that tent was. Maybe the Harley guys could have the Goldwing guys pull tent trailers for all of them to camp in. I'm sure the Goldwing guys wouldn't mind at all.
Dawson City is an old gold rush town and they've done well in maintaining that history. A number of historic homes and buildings have been restored and are part of a visitor's tour of the city. Most of the streets are still dirt. As we drove in, we noticed strange piles of rock and sandy dirt that just did not fit in with the landscape. It turns out those piles are the tailings from the gold mining. Dawson City is also where the Klondike & Yukon Rivers come together - beautiful.
We drove past 3 RV parks on the way in to town but rejected them because the RVs were all parked so close together. Well, we ended up in the last one in town and it looks more like a parking lot than an RV park. Our trailer is 28 ft. and we're parked in the middle of huge trailers and bus style motorhomes. We look so tiny. We are totally amazed at the number of RVs traveling through Canada and Alaska. We don't encounter a lot of them on the road (so far) but the parks sure are full. We also noticed we run into the same people from park to park.
Tomorrow we're heading for Chicken, Alaska - it should be interesting.
Day 15
I need to make a correction - the pine trees are Lodgepoles, I have no idea why I called them Logpoles. Forgive me, I'm old.
We heard a number of stories about the condition of the Alaska Highway but have found that it's really a pretty good road. The road crews appear to be on top of the frost heaves and repairs have been done or are underway. The rough spots are also well marked with signs. We've been pretty impressed.
Another thing I've neglected to mention is the number of hours of daylight - there are a lot of them. We go to sleep in the light and we wake up in the light. Fortunately, I don't have any issues with going to sleep so it's not a problem. It's just so weird. Today is the longest day of the year - I think Jan said there were supposed to be 21 hours of daylight - I don't know, I was asleep.
We got on the road at 8:32 and drove past lakes that looked like mirrors, meadows with streams running through them, and snow capped mountains in the distance. Along the way we met a couple traveling on motorcycles. They're from Vancouver and plan to ride as far north in Alaska as they can, head to the East Coast of Canada & the US, down to the South, across to the Southwest, down through Mexico, and end up at the bottom of South America. They plan to take 2 years to do it. Boy, do we ever feel like wimps - a mere 2 months and only to Canada & Alaska.
We stopped for the day in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon. We stayed in a nice RV park but pretty crowded. We went out for dinner and there were no empty tables so a man invited us to share his. He was from British Columbia and was in town on business. He and Jan must have visited for an hour and a half solving all the world's issues. We stopped at Walmart to buy ice - they don't sell ice. Who ever heard of a Walmart that doesn't sell ice?
We heard a number of stories about the condition of the Alaska Highway but have found that it's really a pretty good road. The road crews appear to be on top of the frost heaves and repairs have been done or are underway. The rough spots are also well marked with signs. We've been pretty impressed.
Another thing I've neglected to mention is the number of hours of daylight - there are a lot of them. We go to sleep in the light and we wake up in the light. Fortunately, I don't have any issues with going to sleep so it's not a problem. It's just so weird. Today is the longest day of the year - I think Jan said there were supposed to be 21 hours of daylight - I don't know, I was asleep.
We got on the road at 8:32 and drove past lakes that looked like mirrors, meadows with streams running through them, and snow capped mountains in the distance. Along the way we met a couple traveling on motorcycles. They're from Vancouver and plan to ride as far north in Alaska as they can, head to the East Coast of Canada & the US, down to the South, across to the Southwest, down through Mexico, and end up at the bottom of South America. They plan to take 2 years to do it. Boy, do we ever feel like wimps - a mere 2 months and only to Canada & Alaska.
We stopped for the day in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon. We stayed in a nice RV park but pretty crowded. We went out for dinner and there were no empty tables so a man invited us to share his. He was from British Columbia and was in town on business. He and Jan must have visited for an hour and a half solving all the world's issues. We stopped at Walmart to buy ice - they don't sell ice. Who ever heard of a Walmart that doesn't sell ice?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Day 14
We left the Tetsa River RV park at 8:42 and continued our journey with the goal to end our day in the Yukon Territory. We began the day with the rolling mountains & thick forests, made our way through the end of the Northern Rockies, and ended with rolling mountains once again. The Northern Rockies portion had really rugged mountains and peaks. In that area we got to see Stone Sheep mamas and their babies. The scenery changed back to rolling mountains and forests and that's where we got to see a herd of bison pretty much up close & personal, but not as close as Mr. Picture Taker Jan, he wanted a nice close up (and he got it).
As we were driving through Northern BC, it dawned on me the logpole pine trees were really healthy looking - no pine beetles. As I was admiring the green trees, we came around a curve face to face with the remains of a forest fire that happened last year. It went on for miles and even destroyed an entire mountain.
Tonight we are at the Baby Nugget RV Park in Nugget City (the RV park is Nugget City) in the Yukon Territory. It's pretty expensive as far as RV parks go plus they charge for everything - a shower is $1.00 (or 1 Loonie in Canada) for 2.5 minutes. I'm glad I have my own! Jan also had to pay $5.00 for WiFi but it's worth it (it's been free in most of the parks that offer it).
Believe it or not, it was actually hot here today. I was of course wearing jeans and long sleeves because we ARE in the Yukon and had to change into shorts & a short sleeve shirt. Jerry & Nancy even turned on their AC.
I reported earlier that the speed limit signs just had a number - well - I have noticed that in British Columbia the speed limit signs have a km/h under the number. I didn't want to mis-speak (like a politician).
As we were driving through Northern BC, it dawned on me the logpole pine trees were really healthy looking - no pine beetles. As I was admiring the green trees, we came around a curve face to face with the remains of a forest fire that happened last year. It went on for miles and even destroyed an entire mountain.
Tonight we are at the Baby Nugget RV Park in Nugget City (the RV park is Nugget City) in the Yukon Territory. It's pretty expensive as far as RV parks go plus they charge for everything - a shower is $1.00 (or 1 Loonie in Canada) for 2.5 minutes. I'm glad I have my own! Jan also had to pay $5.00 for WiFi but it's worth it (it's been free in most of the parks that offer it).
Believe it or not, it was actually hot here today. I was of course wearing jeans and long sleeves because we ARE in the Yukon and had to change into shorts & a short sleeve shirt. Jerry & Nancy even turned on their AC.
I reported earlier that the speed limit signs just had a number - well - I have noticed that in British Columbia the speed limit signs have a km/h under the number. I didn't want to mis-speak (like a politician).
Day 13
I forgot to mention the best part of our bike ride in Dawson Creek. We saw a beaver swimming down the creek with a good sized tree branch in his mouth. We followed it for a little while but the creek took a turn and we decided not to keep going. I was just really eager to get back on the bike.
Today was a day to put on some miles so it was spent driving. But that's not a bad thing, driving here is really amazing. We left Dawson Creek at 8:34 and our goal was to get at least as far as Fort Nelson. We made it to Fort Nelson at 2:30 and decided to keep going since it was so early. The drive today was a different kind of beautiful - rolling mountains covered with thick forests. Everything was so lush & green except for the logpole pine trees that have been ravaged by pine beetles (I'm assuming they're like bark beetles). The forests in Montana, Alberta, & British Columbia have really been hit hard - it's pretty sad. We also saw a couple of bears just strolling down the road today.
We stayed at the Tetsa River Services & Campground and it was pretty hilarious. The park is nothing like the description in our "Mileposts" book. We were parked side by side on a large cement slab next to an old (really old) tack building with construction supplies piled on one side. The price included water & electricity but we couldn't locate the hookups. It turned out the electrical plug was under one of the eaves on the tack shed and the water was around the back of the shed - we would have needed a 50 ft. hose to reach it. There were also piles of old horse manure all over our parking slab. On the good side, the surrounding forest was very pretty, the price was only $25.00, the people who ran it were very nice, and, most importantly, the woman made huge homemade cinnamon rolls that were absolutley divine. I do have my priorities.
Today was a day to put on some miles so it was spent driving. But that's not a bad thing, driving here is really amazing. We left Dawson Creek at 8:34 and our goal was to get at least as far as Fort Nelson. We made it to Fort Nelson at 2:30 and decided to keep going since it was so early. The drive today was a different kind of beautiful - rolling mountains covered with thick forests. Everything was so lush & green except for the logpole pine trees that have been ravaged by pine beetles (I'm assuming they're like bark beetles). The forests in Montana, Alberta, & British Columbia have really been hit hard - it's pretty sad. We also saw a couple of bears just strolling down the road today.
We stayed at the Tetsa River Services & Campground and it was pretty hilarious. The park is nothing like the description in our "Mileposts" book. We were parked side by side on a large cement slab next to an old (really old) tack building with construction supplies piled on one side. The price included water & electricity but we couldn't locate the hookups. It turned out the electrical plug was under one of the eaves on the tack shed and the water was around the back of the shed - we would have needed a 50 ft. hose to reach it. There were also piles of old horse manure all over our parking slab. On the good side, the surrounding forest was very pretty, the price was only $25.00, the people who ran it were very nice, and, most importantly, the woman made huge homemade cinnamon rolls that were absolutley divine. I do have my priorities.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Day 12
We spent the day hanging out in Dawson Creek. We went to the Museum and learned all about the building of the Alcan Highway and the history of Dawson Creek. Jerry & Nancy went exploring around town and Jan & I went for a bicycle ride on the Dawson Creek Trail - the trail started near our RV park. Now, mind you, I haven't even ridden my bike in a number of years so I'm pretty bad. I rode it a little at Utah Lake but I wasn't riding WITH Jan - he RIDES, I mosey. I felt kind of bad for him because he kept having to stop and wait for me. I told him that at least his eyeballs got a lot of exercise because he rolled them a lot. I actually lived through the experience (thus I'm able to write this blog entry) and if nothing else, I'm a good sport.
Our grandson video called us tonight so we got to talk to and see Joshua, Delaney & Lisa. Video calling is so cool!
We plan to head out early tomorrow morning and start making our way to Fairbanks.
Our grandson video called us tonight so we got to talk to and see Joshua, Delaney & Lisa. Video calling is so cool!
We plan to head out early tomorrow morning and start making our way to Fairbanks.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Days 4 thru 11
We are finally in a park with WiFi! Those parks are few and far between, in fact, we've been without phone service a number of times as well.
On Thursday, June 10th, we drove out of Idaho into Montana. We were so excited when a park ranger directed us to a scenic drive to take us to Helena (we love the scenic drives) but the scenic drive turned out to be no fun at all. What the ranger didn't know was that about 6 miles of the road was under construction, which wouldn't have been too bad except we ended up in a really bad rain & hail storm. Our clean truck & trailer are now grossed out.
Friday, June 11th - We followed the Missouri River through beautiful mountains and canyons. We stopped in Great Falls to buy some groceries and to see the Great Falls. Unfortunately, the exit we chose to find a store took us right into downtown - crowded, narrow streets - not good when you're pulling a trailer. It was freezing cold, too. Today we crossed into Canada and stayed at a park in Milk River.
We've been kind of amused at the road signs in Canada, eh. The speed limit signs are white with a black number, that's it, just a number (not to mention that the numbers are metric). Jan was disappointed that 110 did not mean miles per hour. They also have a lot of signs that have pictures - no words. Like some stick people with binoculars means a scenic viewpoint, a picture of a traffic lane with what looks like a garbage truck means watch for trucks entering the highway. I'm a little disturbed at the one that has a black man holding a shovel in a pile of dirt -could it be some sort of racist jab at our president? Someone should call the ACLU (or would that be CCLU)! Or maybe it just means "men working".
Saturday June 12th - On to Banff via Calgary. The traffic in Calgary was awful but the scenery was awesome. We also made the mistake of driving into Banff trying to locate the Visitors Center - it too was jam packed with people & cars and the streets are very narrow. We went to a Provincial Park to camp but our trailers wouldn't fit so we wound up at Lake Louise RV Park. Our camp site was great - the Bow River went right behind us. Jan got to take a long bike ride, which he really enjoyed. We saw some bears along the road while we were driving. The only negative at this RV park was that it was also across the street from a very active railroad track. That train was lovely to listen to at 4:00 AM.
Sunday, June 13th - We stayed an extra night at Lake Louise so we could visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake as well. Both lakes are crystal clear, surrounded by snow capped peaks. We ate lunch at the trailer and then ventured on to Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. We were told there was a nice stroll around the lake that would take us about 2 hours - we decided to do it. Well, only half was a nice stroll and it took longer than 2 hours. We were pooped! A stop at the Natural Bridge (the Kicking Horse River eroded the rocks to form a bridge) and then back home.
Monday, June 14th - On to Jasper via the Icefields Parkway. We saw a big horn sheep just sitting by the road, Jan took pictures of a grizzly bear by the road, too. Beautiful, awesome, breathtaking - none of these words is adequate to describe this area. Majestic snow & glacier topped mountains, beautiful lakes and rivers, rugged peaks - amazing. We stopped at Athabasca Falls - they are so forceful you can feel the ground shake - beautiful as well. A mother elk and her baby came right through our camp today.
Tuesday, June 15th - We stayed over an extra night so we could go exploring around Jasper. We went up to the tram but didn't ride it - it was cloudy & freezing, there's no way I was going to the top of the mountain. Jasper is a quaint and cute little town - nothing like Banff. We drove to Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake where we ate lunch at the Lodge. Along the way we got to see 2 black bears (crossed the road in front of us), 3 deer, & an elk with thick velvet on his antlers. A female came through camp again tonight but she didn't have a baby with her. Jan got to take another long bike ride and saw a huge male elk.
Wednesday, June 16th - We drove Scenic Route 16 from Jasper to Prince George then on to Whiskers Point Provincial Park for the night. We were camped on McLeod Lake - very pretty. The Provincial Parks are great places to stay, they are well maintained and very inexpensive.
Thursday, June 17th - We arrived today in Dawson Creek British Columbia - mile 0 for the Alcan Highway. It's been an exciting day - I did laundry (lots of it) and went to Walmart for groceries. Strange Walmart - no produce or meat. We did go out for pizza - that was good. Jerry & Nancy want to stay here tomorrow which means we will head for the Yukon on Saturday.
On Thursday, June 10th, we drove out of Idaho into Montana. We were so excited when a park ranger directed us to a scenic drive to take us to Helena (we love the scenic drives) but the scenic drive turned out to be no fun at all. What the ranger didn't know was that about 6 miles of the road was under construction, which wouldn't have been too bad except we ended up in a really bad rain & hail storm. Our clean truck & trailer are now grossed out.
Friday, June 11th - We followed the Missouri River through beautiful mountains and canyons. We stopped in Great Falls to buy some groceries and to see the Great Falls. Unfortunately, the exit we chose to find a store took us right into downtown - crowded, narrow streets - not good when you're pulling a trailer. It was freezing cold, too. Today we crossed into Canada and stayed at a park in Milk River.
We've been kind of amused at the road signs in Canada, eh. The speed limit signs are white with a black number, that's it, just a number (not to mention that the numbers are metric). Jan was disappointed that 110 did not mean miles per hour. They also have a lot of signs that have pictures - no words. Like some stick people with binoculars means a scenic viewpoint, a picture of a traffic lane with what looks like a garbage truck means watch for trucks entering the highway. I'm a little disturbed at the one that has a black man holding a shovel in a pile of dirt -could it be some sort of racist jab at our president? Someone should call the ACLU (or would that be CCLU)! Or maybe it just means "men working".
Saturday June 12th - On to Banff via Calgary. The traffic in Calgary was awful but the scenery was awesome. We also made the mistake of driving into Banff trying to locate the Visitors Center - it too was jam packed with people & cars and the streets are very narrow. We went to a Provincial Park to camp but our trailers wouldn't fit so we wound up at Lake Louise RV Park. Our camp site was great - the Bow River went right behind us. Jan got to take a long bike ride, which he really enjoyed. We saw some bears along the road while we were driving. The only negative at this RV park was that it was also across the street from a very active railroad track. That train was lovely to listen to at 4:00 AM.
Sunday, June 13th - We stayed an extra night at Lake Louise so we could visit Lake Louise and Moraine Lake as well. Both lakes are crystal clear, surrounded by snow capped peaks. We ate lunch at the trailer and then ventured on to Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. We were told there was a nice stroll around the lake that would take us about 2 hours - we decided to do it. Well, only half was a nice stroll and it took longer than 2 hours. We were pooped! A stop at the Natural Bridge (the Kicking Horse River eroded the rocks to form a bridge) and then back home.
Monday, June 14th - On to Jasper via the Icefields Parkway. We saw a big horn sheep just sitting by the road, Jan took pictures of a grizzly bear by the road, too. Beautiful, awesome, breathtaking - none of these words is adequate to describe this area. Majestic snow & glacier topped mountains, beautiful lakes and rivers, rugged peaks - amazing. We stopped at Athabasca Falls - they are so forceful you can feel the ground shake - beautiful as well. A mother elk and her baby came right through our camp today.
Tuesday, June 15th - We stayed over an extra night so we could go exploring around Jasper. We went up to the tram but didn't ride it - it was cloudy & freezing, there's no way I was going to the top of the mountain. Jasper is a quaint and cute little town - nothing like Banff. We drove to Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake where we ate lunch at the Lodge. Along the way we got to see 2 black bears (crossed the road in front of us), 3 deer, & an elk with thick velvet on his antlers. A female came through camp again tonight but she didn't have a baby with her. Jan got to take another long bike ride and saw a huge male elk.
Wednesday, June 16th - We drove Scenic Route 16 from Jasper to Prince George then on to Whiskers Point Provincial Park for the night. We were camped on McLeod Lake - very pretty. The Provincial Parks are great places to stay, they are well maintained and very inexpensive.
Thursday, June 17th - We arrived today in Dawson Creek British Columbia - mile 0 for the Alcan Highway. It's been an exciting day - I did laundry (lots of it) and went to Walmart for groceries. Strange Walmart - no produce or meat. We did go out for pizza - that was good. Jerry & Nancy want to stay here tomorrow which means we will head for the Yukon on Saturday.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Days 2 & 3
Tuesday morning and I already failed at writing down the time we got on the road! We left Priest Gulch at 9:30-ish. We started out on Highway 145 to Telluride (another beautiful drive), made our way to Moab, with our goal to make it to Provo Utah. Along the way, outside a town named Norwood, a deer walked right out into our lane. I was yelling "Deer! Deer!", Jan was hitting the breaks (a truck pulling a trailer does not stop on a dime) and that crazy deer just stopped and stared at us. Jan honked the horn and luckily the deer ran off. As I was sitting there near heart failure, Jan looked at me and said "You should have taken a picture". I told him I was much more concerned with not killing it, grabbing the camera never occurred to me. He's a man with a new camera - he wants pictures of everything. We rolled into Provo around 4:30 and stayed at Utah Lake State Park. The park is right on the lake and we were surrounded by all kinds of birds - pretty but very noisy birds. We were awakened during the night to the sounds of what we thought was rain but we were wrong, it was the automatic sprinklers watering our truck & trailer. It actually did rain later but we had a good laugh over our "sprinkler bath."
This morning we left Provo at 8:48. Our goal today was to meet Jerry & Nancy in Idaho Falls. As Jerry & Nancy were making their way to meet us, one of their trailer tires clipped the end of a ladder that had fallen in the freeway. It caused a blowout which, in turn, damaged the plumbing for their stove and some of the electrical wiring. They spent Monday in Reno waiting for their trailer to be repaired. Our drive today was uneventful, just more beautiful scenery. We arrived at the Snake River RV Park around 4:00 - Jerry & Nancy arrived about an hour later. We're all excited for what's to come and will head for Montana tomorrow.
This morning we left Provo at 8:48. Our goal today was to meet Jerry & Nancy in Idaho Falls. As Jerry & Nancy were making their way to meet us, one of their trailer tires clipped the end of a ladder that had fallen in the freeway. It caused a blowout which, in turn, damaged the plumbing for their stove and some of the electrical wiring. They spent Monday in Reno waiting for their trailer to be repaired. Our drive today was uneventful, just more beautiful scenery. We arrived at the Snake River RV Park around 4:00 - Jerry & Nancy arrived about an hour later. We're all excited for what's to come and will head for Montana tomorrow.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The day finally arrived! We thought we were pretty much ready to go on Saturday but there was so much that had to be done at the last minute that we really worked our tails off. It took me 3 1/2 hours just to load the food! I have a lot more food than space.
We left the house this morning at 9:42. For those of you who have followed Jan's annual motorcyle trips, you know that Al Contreras reports exact times and mileage - I'm not doing mileage. We had to stop in Chino Valley for ice so we really didn't get on the road until 10:12.
We stopped for lunch at the turnoff for Sunset Crater - we figured lunch in Flagstaff would be much cooler than lunch somewhere on the reservation. I know some of you will groan but I think the ride across the reservation is fascinating - not the houses - the landscape. The scenery is constantly changing and most of it is really beautful. As for the houses, the residents have certainly come up with a lot of uses for old tires!
We ended the day at Priest Gulch, an RV park between Dolores and Telluride, right on the Dolores River. It's really a nice park. By the way, I'm wearing a sweatshirt!
I'll write again the next time we have WiFi!
We left the house this morning at 9:42. For those of you who have followed Jan's annual motorcyle trips, you know that Al Contreras reports exact times and mileage - I'm not doing mileage. We had to stop in Chino Valley for ice so we really didn't get on the road until 10:12.
We stopped for lunch at the turnoff for Sunset Crater - we figured lunch in Flagstaff would be much cooler than lunch somewhere on the reservation. I know some of you will groan but I think the ride across the reservation is fascinating - not the houses - the landscape. The scenery is constantly changing and most of it is really beautful. As for the houses, the residents have certainly come up with a lot of uses for old tires!
We ended the day at Priest Gulch, an RV park between Dolores and Telluride, right on the Dolores River. It's really a nice park. By the way, I'm wearing a sweatshirt!
I'll write again the next time we have WiFi!
Friday, May 21, 2010
North to Alaska
After a number of years discussing a trip to Alaska, we're finally going to do it. The plans are in the works and we're in the process of purchasing what we think we'll need and preparing the trailer.
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