Well today I am 60 years old!!! that is hard to believe....I am glad we went on this trip, but I wish I was partying!!! I had really wanted a big bash...for some reason the ones that end in 0 are kind of special...I will save the party for later and do it up right w/ all my other 60 year old friends!!!
Jerry had reserved a pontoon boat for the day and we had planned to spend the day on Banks Lake. You know us and water and boats!!! If it is there we will try to find a way to get on it...! However, the weather had other plans. We awoke to thunder and lightning and rain. Had breakfast in RV and since we have to turn in the RV on Friday decided to use this time to do some packing, cleaning, etc. Jerry decided to use the rain to his advantage to try and get a layer of topsoil off the outside of this vehicle. I went through stuff inside and tried to decide what I could get ready to pack, what I needed for the week of travel when we will be in the truck and just to basically get organized.
Around noon the weather let up and began to clear. We had a quick bite of lunch and then Jerry went over to see if we could still get the pontoon boat for a couple of hours. Of course they were more than happy to take our money so we headed out with the dogs. I confess I was not too excited about this trip just from basing the lake on what we could see from the campground and dam. Boy was I wrong! When we got around the bend from what we could see from the campground it was really pretty. There were lots and lots of islands/rock formations, etc. and the cliffs along the shores of the lake got really steep and high. It was great! We stopped at one island w/ a small sandy beach area and Jerry and the dogs climbed up on the rocks for a look-see and I waded into the water. It was so refreshing as it was not too cold. However it was kind of cool on the lake in the wind - maybe low 80s, high 70s so I did not stay in long. We were protected from the wind where we were. When we left, there were some other boats down the way and the kids on them were jumping off some fairly high rocks. We really enjoyed cruising through the rocks and around the islands.
After a couple hours, we headed back to the campground. We are going out for dinner at a local restaurant....supposed to be the best one around, but I that is all relative. We had to drive across the bridge towards where we had taken the dam tour yesterday afternoon....restaurant name was Melody's and it labeled itself as "fine dining" on the outside, but when we got inside, it was billed as a cafe. There were old worn formica tables, etc. and it definitely had a "diner" atmosphere. We had drinks and ordered our dinner. Jerry ordered prime rib, but she came back and said they were out of it, so he ordered a rib eye. I ordered a grilled chicken pasta w/ marinara sauce. When the food came, Jerry's steak was medium rare as he had ordered it, but it was cold so he sent it back. When he found out that they would just throw it back on the grill and he realized it would not still be medium rare, he ordered liver and onions. The waitress left his baked potato so he would have something to eat while I was eating my pasta and then came and left a saucer w/ his liver and onions on it....my pasta was not good either. Oh well, it was filling and beat a 45 minutes drive to the nearest fine steakhouse. After dinner, in lieu of birthday cake we stopped at an ice cream place and I got a hot fudge sundae. THAT part was delicious. We sat outside and watched the clouds change color and ate our ice cream. We had a view of the town and it was very pleasant. After that it was back to the RV and bed. I did a bit of reading and played a couple of games on the computer as there is no internet here.....sigh...story of this trip.
All in all, it was a very memorable birthday!!! I bet I don't ever have one like that again! Luv you all and thanks for the birthday wishes.....Linda
Friday, July 27, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Left Oroville heading south and took a back road at Tonasket. Stopped there for breakfast at Subway and as we were heading across this back road we saw one of the fires that is raging in the area. We had seen lots of smoke for a long time and we knew there were some fires close by. There were several homes along the way that could have been in the way of the fire, but hopefully they were spared. We did actually see flames at one point. The forest office in town was full of cars of firefighters, etc. and there were firetrucks and firemen around the houses closest to the fire. There were firefighting planes as well - tanker planes that scoop and carry water to drop on the fires.
Got to the town of Republic which is noted for its fossil beds. Went into one store/shop and we were fascinated by all the rocks and fossils on display. You could check out equipment and walk a short way up the hill to the fossil beds and dig your own. We did not take the time to do that, but we did enjoy our stop there. Then we headed down hwy. 21 an stopped briefly at a campground by a stream to let the dogs out. Drove on down hwy. to Keller Ferry to take it across Lake Roosevelt which is the lake created by Grand Coulee Dam. After getting off the ferry, we were definitely in Washington wheat country. There were miles and miles of wheat fields.
Drove on to the dam and found an RV park in Electric City on the shores of Banks Lake.....this is part of the Coulee project and this lake was dammed to be used for irrigation. Got into park about 4 p.m. and headed straight to dam. Got the last tour of the day at 5 p.m. and it was very interesting, but also a bit warm. Headed back to campground for a bite and then back to Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center for the laser light show they have every evening at 10 p.m. It was really neat....we got there about 9 and walked through the visitor center which is very very interesting. The light show is projected onto the face of the dam. Just before the light show, they start letting water come over the dam so the whole face of the dam is white w/ flowing water. The lights are then projected onto the water. It was pretty cool. I took some pix of that but they are a bit dark. Light show over at 10:45 and we headed back to RV park. Have pontoon boat reserved all day tomorrow.....
Got to the town of Republic which is noted for its fossil beds. Went into one store/shop and we were fascinated by all the rocks and fossils on display. You could check out equipment and walk a short way up the hill to the fossil beds and dig your own. We did not take the time to do that, but we did enjoy our stop there. Then we headed down hwy. 21 an stopped briefly at a campground by a stream to let the dogs out. Drove on down hwy. to Keller Ferry to take it across Lake Roosevelt which is the lake created by Grand Coulee Dam. After getting off the ferry, we were definitely in Washington wheat country. There were miles and miles of wheat fields.
Drove on to the dam and found an RV park in Electric City on the shores of Banks Lake.....this is part of the Coulee project and this lake was dammed to be used for irrigation. Got into park about 4 p.m. and headed straight to dam. Got the last tour of the day at 5 p.m. and it was very interesting, but also a bit warm. Headed back to campground for a bite and then back to Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center for the laser light show they have every evening at 10 p.m. It was really neat....we got there about 9 and walked through the visitor center which is very very interesting. The light show is projected onto the face of the dam. Just before the light show, they start letting water come over the dam so the whole face of the dam is white w/ flowing water. The lights are then projected onto the water. It was pretty cool. I took some pix of that but they are a bit dark. Light show over at 10:45 and we headed back to RV park. Have pontoon boat reserved all day tomorrow.....
Monday, July 16, 2007
Left Kamloops about 9:30. Headed into wine country and I wanted to stop at a winery. Stopped at Larch Hills Winery at Salmon Arm. It is a small winery that makes wines from grapes grown in B.C. They have a couple of wines that are made solely from grapes grown on this property, but the other wines they make use a variety of grapes from B.C. We got to taste several varieties of wine and then bought several bottles to bring back. I enjoyed the morning, but Jerry not too wound up about going to wineries.
The road followed several lakes, many of which are MILES long...one was over 60 miles long.
Went thru Kelowna and although it was frustrating b/c of traffic, it is located on Okangan Lake and it was a very pretty drive. We can tell we are getting back to civilization b/c the lakes now have houses and developments along the shores.
We evidently were driving through the fruit basket of Canada as there were orchards and fruit stands everywhere. It is the height of cherry season so we stopped at one of the markets and I got a cantaloupe and some cherries. They were all good!!! Lots of apricots, plums, cherries and blueberries. We were on Hwy 97 South, headed for U.S.
I didn't realize how accustomed we had gotten to no traffic and no people on the roads until we got to this part of the country. Seems like there are people everywhere and cars, cars, cars....
Got to border and stopped at duty free shop. Got one more bottle of wine and a couple of boxes of maple filled cookies that we love! Patti and Gene Snipes acquainted us w/ those a couple of years ago.
Drove 221 miles today and crossed the border about 5:30 p.m. HOORAY!!!! BACK IN THE USA!!! Crossing here was a bit more involved....had to pull over and 2 customs agents came in the RV to get our citrus fruit and check for other stuff.....let us go on some wine stuff - I had gotten too much to bring back legally....oh well...was pretty close so they let us off on that one. It was good to be back.....whipped out the cell phones and started calling folks....
Found RV park right there in Oroville WA which is right at the border. A nice RV park on the river w/ full hook ups for only $18/nite. Jerry walked dogs and went to do a load of laundry while I did some stuff in RV.
The road followed several lakes, many of which are MILES long...one was over 60 miles long.
Went thru Kelowna and although it was frustrating b/c of traffic, it is located on Okangan Lake and it was a very pretty drive. We can tell we are getting back to civilization b/c the lakes now have houses and developments along the shores.
We evidently were driving through the fruit basket of Canada as there were orchards and fruit stands everywhere. It is the height of cherry season so we stopped at one of the markets and I got a cantaloupe and some cherries. They were all good!!! Lots of apricots, plums, cherries and blueberries. We were on Hwy 97 South, headed for U.S.
I didn't realize how accustomed we had gotten to no traffic and no people on the roads until we got to this part of the country. Seems like there are people everywhere and cars, cars, cars....
Got to border and stopped at duty free shop. Got one more bottle of wine and a couple of boxes of maple filled cookies that we love! Patti and Gene Snipes acquainted us w/ those a couple of years ago.
Drove 221 miles today and crossed the border about 5:30 p.m. HOORAY!!!! BACK IN THE USA!!! Crossing here was a bit more involved....had to pull over and 2 customs agents came in the RV to get our citrus fruit and check for other stuff.....let us go on some wine stuff - I had gotten too much to bring back legally....oh well...was pretty close so they let us off on that one. It was good to be back.....whipped out the cell phones and started calling folks....
Found RV park right there in Oroville WA which is right at the border. A nice RV park on the river w/ full hook ups for only $18/nite. Jerry walked dogs and went to do a load of laundry while I did some stuff in RV.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
We were both tired from yesterday's 5 1/2 mile walk so we were kind of lazy this a.m. I think I must have been really tired as I was in a grouchy mood and certainly in no mood to see anything else. I think I must be homesick....at one point the RV was closing in on me and I thought if I saw one more waterfall, glacier, river, mountain, tree, bear or moose it would be too much...However I am glad I got over it, because the sights today were really pretty. We left RV park about 9:30 or 10 and went into Clearwater for breakfast. Clearwater is the site of the Wells-Gray Provincial Park. We drove into the park which is noted for its gorgeous waterfalls. First stopped at Spahats Falls which was pretty....a short walk from the parking lot and the falls are narrow but drop about 250 ft. into this canyon...
The second falls we stopped at was Helmcken Falls and that is probably the prettiest waterfall I have ever seen. The drop is 141 metres which is about 450 ft. Although not a very wide falls, it was really spectacular.....the canyon wall was carved out behind the falls and the splashes of water as they cascaded over the edge was really pretty.....We spent quite a bit of time there and walked along the edge of the cliffs looking a the river below.
We then drove on to Clearwater Lake (since we have a Clearwater Lake in Piedmont) although we did not get a really good view of the lake. I did not get a pix of the lake but I did of the sign. We then stopped at Dawson Falls which is called the Niagara of Canada...it is a very wide falls, but not a huge drop. Each falls had its own personality and characteristics. All in all it was a very enjoyable day.
Continued driving on to Kamloops and it was an interesting drive. By the time we reached Kamloops we were getting more into a desert like environment. We followed the North Thompson River the whole way. It was an interesting drive.
Found a place at Kamloops River View RV Park and had view of river and bluffs across the way. It was a nice place but no internet connection....sigh...the story of this trip!
The second falls we stopped at was Helmcken Falls and that is probably the prettiest waterfall I have ever seen. The drop is 141 metres which is about 450 ft. Although not a very wide falls, it was really spectacular.....the canyon wall was carved out behind the falls and the splashes of water as they cascaded over the edge was really pretty.....We spent quite a bit of time there and walked along the edge of the cliffs looking a the river below.
We then drove on to Clearwater Lake (since we have a Clearwater Lake in Piedmont) although we did not get a really good view of the lake. I did not get a pix of the lake but I did of the sign. We then stopped at Dawson Falls which is called the Niagara of Canada...it is a very wide falls, but not a huge drop. Each falls had its own personality and characteristics. All in all it was a very enjoyable day.
Continued driving on to Kamloops and it was an interesting drive. By the time we reached Kamloops we were getting more into a desert like environment. We followed the North Thompson River the whole way. It was an interesting drive.
Found a place at Kamloops River View RV Park and had view of river and bluffs across the way. It was a nice place but no internet connection....sigh...the story of this trip!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Up early and let dogs run again in the pasture. I got my long pants on and walked out there with them. They both really enjoyed the freedom of it. Gabby had her nose to the ground and kind of went far afield. We tried calling her, but she didn't respond so we started walking back. When she looked up and checked on us and saw us walking away, she came bounding through the weeds....it was funny...Kudzu had already done the same thing altho he did not get quite so far away.....we worry a bit more about him b/c he is getting so hard of hearing. After the run and breakfast we decided to backtrack a bit and headed back up to Robson Provincial Park in B.C.
At the visitor center, the walk to Kinney Lake had been highly recommended so when we got to the park we checked it out and decided to walk it...supposed to be fairly level...150 meter elevation gain which is not bad. Picked up a couple of Snickers and water for the trail....turned out to be 4.5 km walk which is about 2.5 miles (one way). I almost gave up on it....the walk was nice as it followed the river up to the lake. Where the trail was close to the river, it was very cool. Other parts of it were kind of hot. The lake itself was very pretty, but again the water was high and we had to either wade or make our way around rocks, etc. when the trail was submerged. The lake itself was very pretty and at the base of Mt. Robson. A beautiful setting....There were lots of big trees along the trail....cedars, hemlock and spruce....and lots of bit logs in the river. The good thing about Canadian parks is that you can take your dogs with you as long as they are leashed. Gabby and Kudzu enjoyed the walk I think - however they were tired when we were done....
We finally made it back...I was exhausted!!! On the road on the way out we saw a black bear cross the road. I was in the back of the RV so I just saw the bear and did not have a chance to get a pix....Jerry said she had 3 cubs w/ her and I did not get to see them at all...
Continued driving down the highway to Birch Island B.C. and Birch Island RV park....kind of a rundown place, but they had water and electric although I did not trust the water as there was a boil water notice posted there. The camp host said the problem had been corrected but the sign was still there....Got to camp about 7 p.m. and I was so tired I never even got out of the RV.
At the visitor center, the walk to Kinney Lake had been highly recommended so when we got to the park we checked it out and decided to walk it...supposed to be fairly level...150 meter elevation gain which is not bad. Picked up a couple of Snickers and water for the trail....turned out to be 4.5 km walk which is about 2.5 miles (one way). I almost gave up on it....the walk was nice as it followed the river up to the lake. Where the trail was close to the river, it was very cool. Other parts of it were kind of hot. The lake itself was very pretty, but again the water was high and we had to either wade or make our way around rocks, etc. when the trail was submerged. The lake itself was very pretty and at the base of Mt. Robson. A beautiful setting....There were lots of big trees along the trail....cedars, hemlock and spruce....and lots of bit logs in the river. The good thing about Canadian parks is that you can take your dogs with you as long as they are leashed. Gabby and Kudzu enjoyed the walk I think - however they were tired when we were done....
We finally made it back...I was exhausted!!! On the road on the way out we saw a black bear cross the road. I was in the back of the RV so I just saw the bear and did not have a chance to get a pix....Jerry said she had 3 cubs w/ her and I did not get to see them at all...
Continued driving down the highway to Birch Island B.C. and Birch Island RV park....kind of a rundown place, but they had water and electric although I did not trust the water as there was a boil water notice posted there. The camp host said the problem had been corrected but the sign was still there....Got to camp about 7 p.m. and I was so tired I never even got out of the RV.
Friday, July 13, 2007
A sad day today....we say good-bye to our traveling companions Frank and Barb....we have had so much fun together and so many laughs and many great memories....hate to part w/ good company but they need to get back to Olympia, WA to help out w/ some grandkids and we have to get back to Spokane by the 20th to get RV back.
We are headed down Hwy 16 south on the west side of the Canadian Rockies. First part of day not too scenic till we reached the mountains. Then it was GREAT! Went to Rearguard Falls which is as far East as the salmon run....pretty amazing at that....it is pretty far inland. It is a beautiful waterfall. We watched some rafters going down the river and they had portaged around the falls so we got to watch them lower the raft into the river (quite interesting as the raft had to be lowered about 50 or more feet). I bet it was a great trip....Has really warmed up too...about 90 today.
Found RV park at Valemount (Canoe RV Park) and got a site....first site was too sunny so moved...however 2nd site only had 15 amp hookup and running a/c kept blowing it....so we moved back to the first site w/ 30 amp hookup....I had headache and took a nap for a couple of hours and felt better. Had some leftovers for dinner.
Dogs have really slowed down since it has gotten hot....they were full of energy in the cool weather....Jerry took dogs out for a run in the pasture next to the campground. It was also right at the river which was running full and fast....in fact we have seen evidence of lots of flooding and high water in B.C. Some of the highways were closed when we were on our way up.
Walked down to camp showers to check them out but decided against it...I walked into the ladies shower and there was a husband and wife in there ---they were German I think, but I didn't feel like sharing w/ men....will just shower in RV. More later....
We are headed down Hwy 16 south on the west side of the Canadian Rockies. First part of day not too scenic till we reached the mountains. Then it was GREAT! Went to Rearguard Falls which is as far East as the salmon run....pretty amazing at that....it is pretty far inland. It is a beautiful waterfall. We watched some rafters going down the river and they had portaged around the falls so we got to watch them lower the raft into the river (quite interesting as the raft had to be lowered about 50 or more feet). I bet it was a great trip....Has really warmed up too...about 90 today.
Found RV park at Valemount (Canoe RV Park) and got a site....first site was too sunny so moved...however 2nd site only had 15 amp hookup and running a/c kept blowing it....so we moved back to the first site w/ 30 amp hookup....I had headache and took a nap for a couple of hours and felt better. Had some leftovers for dinner.
Dogs have really slowed down since it has gotten hot....they were full of energy in the cool weather....Jerry took dogs out for a run in the pasture next to the campground. It was also right at the river which was running full and fast....in fact we have seen evidence of lots of flooding and high water in B.C. Some of the highways were closed when we were on our way up.
Walked down to camp showers to check them out but decided against it...I walked into the ladies shower and there was a husband and wife in there ---they were German I think, but I didn't feel like sharing w/ men....will just shower in RV. More later....
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Heading to Prince George today.....should be a short driving day. In fact we were in the RV park by 11 a.m. The drive was through farmland and not much fantastic scenery although it was a pretty drive...just not as spectacular as we have become accustomed to...They are in the middle of a horrible pine beetle infestation in B.C. and we have seen at least 100 miles of mountains that are full of dead pine trees. The spruce appeared to be faring better, but it is really sad about the pines. In fact we saw one place that was had been planted in pine trees about 15 years ago and the whole plantation was infested w/ pine beetle....Really a shame...
We stayed at Southpark RV camp and it was OK....a bit further off the hwy. than we thought. We got set up and Frank and Jerry did a bit of work on his RV...something about the steering adjustment....(have pix of the 2 of them under the RV together....how sweet!) Took them 3 times to get it right....Frank had to drive it to see if it was right so they took the RV for a couple of spins around the park...went the wrong way the first time and the campground host (actually the campground nazi as we referred to him) had a fit....did have internet and did a bit of catching up on blog and email....
This is our last nite w/ Graingers - :(((( - we have really had a great time traveling w/ them...We fixed pork tenderloin, sweet potatoes and cauliflower.....
Having the paper bag mask passed to me by Lorna has been "weighing"on me HA...kind of talked around it and decided to pass it on....Lorna had signed it, so I signed it and passed it on to Barb who will be the keeper of the mask until she finds someone worthy of passing it on to...has to be someone a bit crazy and have the right personality. I think I am going to start a blog site that we can post on the mask and hopefully everyone who gets it will go to the site and give the details on when and where it was passed on....I plan to confer w/ John on this when he comes in for the float trip in MO to see the best way to set this up....Barb will hang on to the mask until I get this set up...since they are full time it will be easier for her to pass it on...maybe it will be fun to check on....Not just anybody can be an "RV Bag Lady!"
Jerry went down and did the laundry while I did some major catching up on the blog.....have not been able to load pix or even get on line in a while. Kind of a down and catch up day to get some stuff done, etc....
We stayed at Southpark RV camp and it was OK....a bit further off the hwy. than we thought. We got set up and Frank and Jerry did a bit of work on his RV...something about the steering adjustment....(have pix of the 2 of them under the RV together....how sweet!) Took them 3 times to get it right....Frank had to drive it to see if it was right so they took the RV for a couple of spins around the park...went the wrong way the first time and the campground host (actually the campground nazi as we referred to him) had a fit....did have internet and did a bit of catching up on blog and email....
This is our last nite w/ Graingers - :(((( - we have really had a great time traveling w/ them...We fixed pork tenderloin, sweet potatoes and cauliflower.....
Having the paper bag mask passed to me by Lorna has been "weighing"on me HA...kind of talked around it and decided to pass it on....Lorna had signed it, so I signed it and passed it on to Barb who will be the keeper of the mask until she finds someone worthy of passing it on to...has to be someone a bit crazy and have the right personality. I think I am going to start a blog site that we can post on the mask and hopefully everyone who gets it will go to the site and give the details on when and where it was passed on....I plan to confer w/ John on this when he comes in for the float trip in MO to see the best way to set this up....Barb will hang on to the mask until I get this set up...since they are full time it will be easier for her to pass it on...maybe it will be fun to check on....Not just anybody can be an "RV Bag Lady!"
Jerry went down and did the laundry while I did some major catching up on the blog.....have not been able to load pix or even get on line in a while. Kind of a down and catch up day to get some stuff done, etc....
Monday, July 16, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Usual morning routine. As we were getting ready to leave, we decided we wanted pix of Lorna and the passing of the mask (I will post). She signed it and put email address on it. After we got in RV, we got idea of passing mask on to other RV women. So, the plan is to create another blog site where you can go when the mask is passed and log in as to when and where you got the mask. Hopefully everyone who gets the mask will post the details. Will be interesting to see how far it will go.
As we got started this a.m., we went for gas and ran into the campground owner. He recommended a couple of scenic spots and Jerry and I decided to go see them. Frank and Barb went on as they had spent a couple of nights in Kitwanga waiting for us and had "done" the town. We couldn't find the hilltop scenic spot he told us about, but did drive through the town and saw some neat totem poles and a wonderful little Anglican Church. Took lots of pix of those.
Kitwanga is surrounded by mountains that have snow on them and are just beautiful. It is a really pretty setting. All the rivers are full to overflowing (there were sandbags around some of the houses on the river) and pretty muddy. The drive itself was great.....however there is horrible infestation of mountain pine beetle here and over 75 million hectares have been killed off....you can see brown hillsides for miles and miles and miles. It is really sad.
Did a stop in Smithers and I picked up a few things at Safeway then on to Moricetown at the canyon and falls there. It was nice, then on to Houston where the world's largest fly rod is on display - over 60 ft. tall. That was unique and Graingers were waiting on us there. Went across to A&W and they all had root beer floats while I had a chicken sandwich meal as it was about 1 p.m and I had had nothing to eat yet today.
This highway (called the Yellowhead Highway) is noted for its lakes and rivers. There is lots of fishing here also. We were looking for RV park to stop for the night and they are few and far between....most towns didn't even have RV park that we found. Finally stopped at one on Lake Fraser - Piper's Glen. It was on the lake and had great views.
There were also boats for rent there. We had an early dinner, then Jerry went to see about renting a boat. We did and got in a 14 ft. aluminum boat w/ an 8 hp motor. Took the dogs and headed out....Jerry headed directly across the lake (did I mention that this lake is MILES long??? It is a really big lake). We made it fine, explored the far shore a bit, then went and saw this little town where kids were jumping off the bridge over the river that was the exit from this lake. Spent a couple of hours on the lake and then back to RV park. Barb and Frank declined to join us, which probably was wise as it was a very small boat. No internet tonite, so games on the computer and a bit of reading, then to bed.
As we got started this a.m., we went for gas and ran into the campground owner. He recommended a couple of scenic spots and Jerry and I decided to go see them. Frank and Barb went on as they had spent a couple of nights in Kitwanga waiting for us and had "done" the town. We couldn't find the hilltop scenic spot he told us about, but did drive through the town and saw some neat totem poles and a wonderful little Anglican Church. Took lots of pix of those.
Kitwanga is surrounded by mountains that have snow on them and are just beautiful. It is a really pretty setting. All the rivers are full to overflowing (there were sandbags around some of the houses on the river) and pretty muddy. The drive itself was great.....however there is horrible infestation of mountain pine beetle here and over 75 million hectares have been killed off....you can see brown hillsides for miles and miles and miles. It is really sad.
Did a stop in Smithers and I picked up a few things at Safeway then on to Moricetown at the canyon and falls there. It was nice, then on to Houston where the world's largest fly rod is on display - over 60 ft. tall. That was unique and Graingers were waiting on us there. Went across to A&W and they all had root beer floats while I had a chicken sandwich meal as it was about 1 p.m and I had had nothing to eat yet today.
This highway (called the Yellowhead Highway) is noted for its lakes and rivers. There is lots of fishing here also. We were looking for RV park to stop for the night and they are few and far between....most towns didn't even have RV park that we found. Finally stopped at one on Lake Fraser - Piper's Glen. It was on the lake and had great views.
There were also boats for rent there. We had an early dinner, then Jerry went to see about renting a boat. We did and got in a 14 ft. aluminum boat w/ an 8 hp motor. Took the dogs and headed out....Jerry headed directly across the lake (did I mention that this lake is MILES long??? It is a really big lake). We made it fine, explored the far shore a bit, then went and saw this little town where kids were jumping off the bridge over the river that was the exit from this lake. Spent a couple of hours on the lake and then back to RV park. Barb and Frank declined to join us, which probably was wise as it was a very small boat. No internet tonite, so games on the computer and a bit of reading, then to bed.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Up early this a.m. and sad to leave this place. We loved it here. Since we were dry camping (no water, electric or sewer hook-ups) it was a breeze to leave....I just had to stow all the stuff that would get bounced off counters, etc. and we were ready. I kind of have that down pat now, but sometimes I do forget to put some things in the sink and then have to get up and scramble to collect them from the floor when they get bounced off. It was raining and had rained during the night. That was good news and bad news.
We headed for Kitwanga, B.C. to meet the Graingers who were waiting for us there. It is about 350 miles to Kitwanga so we had some driving to do today. First there was the 15 or so miles of dirt road between the campground and Dease Lake where we stayed Sat. p.m. THEN, after Dease Lake, there were MILES of road construction - dirt, gravel, pitted asphalt - yuck! and ROUGH??? Did I mention good news/bad news????
We stopped to fill up w/ gas at Dease Lake and Jerry cleaned the windows, including the rear window. About halfway through the construction, the back window was so muddy you couldn't see out of it. I took a picture, but it had started raining so it had washed some of it away - at least there were streaks through the mud. The good news part of this is that there was no dust - the dust would have been stifling!!!! The bad news is that the RV is now a mud bug. There is dirt coated on the door handles and Jerry had trouble opening some of the outside compartments b/c it was so caked w/ mud.
We saw 4 black bears along the road - got a pix of one. At one point the road was so rough an RV in front of us and another car lost his hubcap. We were in a follow-the-lead car situation, but we stopped and picked it up. The guy pulled out at a viewpoint and we followed him and reunited him with his hubcap. A good deed for the day....
The Cassiar Highway is noted for being rough and muddy and it was for sure!!! We were certainly glad to see the Cassiar RV park and our friends Frank and Barb! Of course he had already cleaned their RV and car....I don't know how many times he has washed the car and RV already on this trip, but I don't think he is done yet.....
Met RV neighbors from Eureka CA. Lorna and John Petersen. Lorna is a reluctant road queen also. She was scared of riding in their bus - before she left, her friends made her a mask out of a paper bag that she could wear when things got too scary. Of course we all stood around and traded stories....I told her I was also a bit reluctant to sign on for such a long trip. Later on, about 9:30, I was at the computer and she came and knocked on the RV. She wanted me to have the mask. We got a big laugh out of it - it is a paper bag w/ a face drawn on it.
Finally got to bed and more later.....
We headed for Kitwanga, B.C. to meet the Graingers who were waiting for us there. It is about 350 miles to Kitwanga so we had some driving to do today. First there was the 15 or so miles of dirt road between the campground and Dease Lake where we stayed Sat. p.m. THEN, after Dease Lake, there were MILES of road construction - dirt, gravel, pitted asphalt - yuck! and ROUGH??? Did I mention good news/bad news????
We stopped to fill up w/ gas at Dease Lake and Jerry cleaned the windows, including the rear window. About halfway through the construction, the back window was so muddy you couldn't see out of it. I took a picture, but it had started raining so it had washed some of it away - at least there were streaks through the mud. The good news part of this is that there was no dust - the dust would have been stifling!!!! The bad news is that the RV is now a mud bug. There is dirt coated on the door handles and Jerry had trouble opening some of the outside compartments b/c it was so caked w/ mud.
We saw 4 black bears along the road - got a pix of one. At one point the road was so rough an RV in front of us and another car lost his hubcap. We were in a follow-the-lead car situation, but we stopped and picked it up. The guy pulled out at a viewpoint and we followed him and reunited him with his hubcap. A good deed for the day....
The Cassiar Highway is noted for being rough and muddy and it was for sure!!! We were certainly glad to see the Cassiar RV park and our friends Frank and Barb! Of course he had already cleaned their RV and car....I don't know how many times he has washed the car and RV already on this trip, but I don't think he is done yet.....
Met RV neighbors from Eureka CA. Lorna and John Petersen. Lorna is a reluctant road queen also. She was scared of riding in their bus - before she left, her friends made her a mask out of a paper bag that she could wear when things got too scary. Of course we all stood around and traded stories....I told her I was also a bit reluctant to sign on for such a long trip. Later on, about 9:30, I was at the computer and she came and knocked on the RV. She wanted me to have the mask. We got a big laugh out of it - it is a paper bag w/ a face drawn on it.
Finally got to bed and more later.....
Monday, July 9, 2007
So, I said yes to this 7 hour canoe trip today....It was beautiful and the first part of the trip was fabulous! Dennis took us to the put in spot about 10 a.m. The put in was just below Dease Lake and the campground was several miles away by road and lots more by twisty river. I figured this was my best chance to see a grizzly and Bullwinkle! HA!!! They don't exist! They are all figments! Shortly after we got started on the canoe trip we passed a sand bar and there were BIG bear tracks in the sand, but by the time I realized what they were we were past it and I did not get a picture.....of course I was still thinking I would see the real thing along the river.....
At that point the river was running fast but no rapids. I didn't have to paddle at all and all Jerry had to do basically was to steer and keep us out of trouble. The river was gorgeous and it was a great day. Then we got to the wider part of the river.....and that means SLOW water, little current.....I was perfectly content to let Jerry paddle but then I had to paddle as well or we never would have gotten back. Just before camp the river widened into a lake and we had to paddle across that....thank goodness for the wind at our backs...a headwind would have been a killer. We finally made it back to camp about 5 p.m.
Total wildlife sightings on this trip....2 female moose butts as they were running away, 3 eagles feasting on the carcass of a moose, some ducks I will have to ID when we get back to MO and I can look them up (they had babies too!) and 1 loon on the lake we paddled across.
We were exhausted when we got back to camp....the dogs were REALLY glad to see us. We had decided to leave them in RV - we did not want to risk upsetting the canoe should the dogs see a moose or a bear and get excited. Kudzu probably would not have been much of a problem, but Gabby gets pretty excited at anything with 4 legs and she is enough to unbalance a canoe.
Jerry took the canoe and the dogs and paddled down the lake we were on to an old goldminer's cabin and a waterfall. He did not get to the waterfall, but did have a bit of a scare when he landed the canoe - Gabby started barking and just took off. He was worried she wouldn't come back, but fortunately for her little fuzzy gray fanny she did. The wind also cam up while he was out and he had to paddle back against the wind. I was beginning to get a bit worried and was looking for them out of the RV w/ binoculars, but didn't see them as he had to hug the shoreline b/c of the headwind.
Jerry built another campfire tonite and we enjoyed that until it started raining and chased us inside. We LOVE this campground....Dennis and Lana are great and the location is fabulous!!! Even dry camping, we loved it....could stay here a lot longer and both of us feel this could be a destination. We were more than ready for bed tonite!!!
At that point the river was running fast but no rapids. I didn't have to paddle at all and all Jerry had to do basically was to steer and keep us out of trouble. The river was gorgeous and it was a great day. Then we got to the wider part of the river.....and that means SLOW water, little current.....I was perfectly content to let Jerry paddle but then I had to paddle as well or we never would have gotten back. Just before camp the river widened into a lake and we had to paddle across that....thank goodness for the wind at our backs...a headwind would have been a killer. We finally made it back to camp about 5 p.m.
Total wildlife sightings on this trip....2 female moose butts as they were running away, 3 eagles feasting on the carcass of a moose, some ducks I will have to ID when we get back to MO and I can look them up (they had babies too!) and 1 loon on the lake we paddled across.
We were exhausted when we got back to camp....the dogs were REALLY glad to see us. We had decided to leave them in RV - we did not want to risk upsetting the canoe should the dogs see a moose or a bear and get excited. Kudzu probably would not have been much of a problem, but Gabby gets pretty excited at anything with 4 legs and she is enough to unbalance a canoe.
Jerry took the canoe and the dogs and paddled down the lake we were on to an old goldminer's cabin and a waterfall. He did not get to the waterfall, but did have a bit of a scare when he landed the canoe - Gabby started barking and just took off. He was worried she wouldn't come back, but fortunately for her little fuzzy gray fanny she did. The wind also cam up while he was out and he had to paddle back against the wind. I was beginning to get a bit worried and was looking for them out of the RV w/ binoculars, but didn't see them as he had to hug the shoreline b/c of the headwind.
Jerry built another campfire tonite and we enjoyed that until it started raining and chased us inside. We LOVE this campground....Dennis and Lana are great and the location is fabulous!!! Even dry camping, we loved it....could stay here a lot longer and both of us feel this could be a destination. We were more than ready for bed tonite!!!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Jerry and I decided we wanted to go back to the Dease River campground we had seen on the way in. It is about 40 miles backtracking, but we felt it was worth it. Graingers decided to push on and not go back so they were going to take a couple of easy days waiting for us to catch up. Our plan is to spend 2 nites there.
Jerry had called and they had non-denominational church service at 10:30 followed by a pot luck dinner. We didn't make the church service, but did make the dinner. Met some wonderful folks. The owners, Dennis and Lana Bieber are retired dairy farmers from Wisconsin and stay and run the campground until winter. They had bought it about 8 years ago. Really neat people. Then we met Judy and Joe, their friends who they met through the campground and have come back ever since and now help them with things around there. We really enjoyed talking to everyone at the potluck dinner. In spite of the lack of hookups, etc, this is a most impressive place.
After the dinner, Jerry and I decided to take a relatively short canoe trip. We started at the campground and Dennis would leave a truck at the end of the trip. The trip would take about 4 hours and he said we should see a few moose along the way. We left the dogs as we were a bit unsure of their reaction to moose and wild animals and did not want to be dunked in the water if they got too excited. We saw 10 moose (all female) and one calf. No Bullwinkle! One of them was in the middle of the river at least shoulder deep and just diving for the stuff on the bottom. Jerry says no wonder they are so ugly.....look at what they eat!
The take out place was at a guy's cabin (also named Jerry) and he had a wonderful dog named Tinker. He came out and talked to us and showed us his garden and talked about the area. He has been there for 45 years! Dennis had left the key to his truck for us and we drove back to the campground. Very trusting people. When we pulled in, they said just pick a place and we could pay when we left. It is pretty cool here also. We had a campfire tonite and it was great although there are lots of mosquitoes. Thank goodness for Deep Woods OFF!!! I fixed a coffee w/ Kahlua and milk to drink by the fire. We sat out and watched it until it burned down.
We also watched a guy fishing down the way and he caught a nice lake trout and a couple of other fish. Still haven't fished yet. I said yes to the longer canoe trip tomorrow so Jerry made the arrangements w/ Dennis. He is having truck problems and is planning to take it into the town of Dease Lake tomorrow anyway and this is on his way.
Will definitely sleep under blankets tonite...it is cold outside. I had on a tshirt, sweatshirt and fleece and was not overly warm!
Jerry had called and they had non-denominational church service at 10:30 followed by a pot luck dinner. We didn't make the church service, but did make the dinner. Met some wonderful folks. The owners, Dennis and Lana Bieber are retired dairy farmers from Wisconsin and stay and run the campground until winter. They had bought it about 8 years ago. Really neat people. Then we met Judy and Joe, their friends who they met through the campground and have come back ever since and now help them with things around there. We really enjoyed talking to everyone at the potluck dinner. In spite of the lack of hookups, etc, this is a most impressive place.
After the dinner, Jerry and I decided to take a relatively short canoe trip. We started at the campground and Dennis would leave a truck at the end of the trip. The trip would take about 4 hours and he said we should see a few moose along the way. We left the dogs as we were a bit unsure of their reaction to moose and wild animals and did not want to be dunked in the water if they got too excited. We saw 10 moose (all female) and one calf. No Bullwinkle! One of them was in the middle of the river at least shoulder deep and just diving for the stuff on the bottom. Jerry says no wonder they are so ugly.....look at what they eat!
The take out place was at a guy's cabin (also named Jerry) and he had a wonderful dog named Tinker. He came out and talked to us and showed us his garden and talked about the area. He has been there for 45 years! Dennis had left the key to his truck for us and we drove back to the campground. Very trusting people. When we pulled in, they said just pick a place and we could pay when we left. It is pretty cool here also. We had a campfire tonite and it was great although there are lots of mosquitoes. Thank goodness for Deep Woods OFF!!! I fixed a coffee w/ Kahlua and milk to drink by the fire. We sat out and watched it until it burned down.
We also watched a guy fishing down the way and he caught a nice lake trout and a couple of other fish. Still haven't fished yet. I said yes to the longer canoe trip tomorrow so Jerry made the arrangements w/ Dennis. He is having truck problems and is planning to take it into the town of Dease Lake tomorrow anyway and this is on his way.
Will definitely sleep under blankets tonite...it is cold outside. I had on a tshirt, sweatshirt and fleece and was not overly warm!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Up early as Jerry and I were headed into Watson Lake to revisit the Signpost Forest since I lost the pix of us putting up our sign. It is only 22 miles down the road. Barb and Frank not sure if they were going to wait on us or not and if not, we would catch up with them along the road.
We got to Signpost Forest, found our sign and got the pix made. It is still a very fascinating place and I could spend hours there wandering through all the poles and looking at the signs. On the highway side close to the entrance there was a pole that had a Tupelo MS sign on the top and a Gulfport Ms sign on the bottom. I thought that was interesting. I was also fascinated by all the stuff that people have used to make their signs including a toilet seat, hard hat and toaster. We also looked in a couple of shops for Jerry's hat...he found one and got it, but not exactly what he wanted. I looked for some t-shirts as well.
Met a guy who was on his way to go salmon fishing....he was interesting to talk to. Had a pickup truck camper on a flatbed truck and the space underneath he had a freezer to put his fish in. He was planning on staying several weeks to fish in Soldotna. He comes up regularly for the fishing.
Back in RV and headed back down the road. We had heard lots of horror stories about the Cassiar Hwy. and how bad it is. It is pretty bad, but so is the Al-Can in places also. They said the worst part was the part we drove first. It was pretty bad - lots of dirt and gravel parts and LOTS of construction.
One of the major stops along this road is Jade City. Over 75% of the jade in the world is mined close to here. We caught up with the Graingers there and they had gotten some jewelry and other stuff. I picked up a couple of items, but that was it. I really liked the chunks of jade that were outside and I should have gotten one or two for bookends. They were very pretty. Frank and Barb drove on as they had been there a while and again we would catch up w/ them later.
As we drove on down the highway we were beginning to look for an RV place where they might have stopped and came upon Dease River Campground. What a GORGEOUS place! However, no Frank and Barb...they had gone on to Dease Lake campground which did not have the setting or ambience of the other place. However, the other place had no hook-ups at all so it was strictly dry camping.
Went to the store to pick up a couple of items and drove back down the road to check out a campground supposedly on the lake. It had no hook-ups either and only 15 sites and was not especially what it was advertised. Back to the RV park and bed.
We got to Signpost Forest, found our sign and got the pix made. It is still a very fascinating place and I could spend hours there wandering through all the poles and looking at the signs. On the highway side close to the entrance there was a pole that had a Tupelo MS sign on the top and a Gulfport Ms sign on the bottom. I thought that was interesting. I was also fascinated by all the stuff that people have used to make their signs including a toilet seat, hard hat and toaster. We also looked in a couple of shops for Jerry's hat...he found one and got it, but not exactly what he wanted. I looked for some t-shirts as well.
Met a guy who was on his way to go salmon fishing....he was interesting to talk to. Had a pickup truck camper on a flatbed truck and the space underneath he had a freezer to put his fish in. He was planning on staying several weeks to fish in Soldotna. He comes up regularly for the fishing.
Back in RV and headed back down the road. We had heard lots of horror stories about the Cassiar Hwy. and how bad it is. It is pretty bad, but so is the Al-Can in places also. They said the worst part was the part we drove first. It was pretty bad - lots of dirt and gravel parts and LOTS of construction.
One of the major stops along this road is Jade City. Over 75% of the jade in the world is mined close to here. We caught up with the Graingers there and they had gotten some jewelry and other stuff. I picked up a couple of items, but that was it. I really liked the chunks of jade that were outside and I should have gotten one or two for bookends. They were very pretty. Frank and Barb drove on as they had been there a while and again we would catch up w/ them later.
As we drove on down the highway we were beginning to look for an RV place where they might have stopped and came upon Dease River Campground. What a GORGEOUS place! However, no Frank and Barb...they had gone on to Dease Lake campground which did not have the setting or ambience of the other place. However, the other place had no hook-ups at all so it was strictly dry camping.
Went to the store to pick up a couple of items and drove back down the road to check out a campground supposedly on the lake. It had no hook-ups either and only 15 sites and was not especially what it was advertised. Back to the RV park and bed.
Friday, July 6, 2007
After breakfast, Jerry and I hung around Whitehorse as he wanted to look for his Al-Can Highway hat so we kind of took our time this a.m. waiting for the shops to open. I actually passed on the shopping!!!!! But then I did go into an art gallery and was fascinated. I got a couple of pieces of pottery that I thought were very interesting. Also went to Canada Superstore and stocked up on fruit, veggies, and other groceries.
We went down to the S.S. Klondike ship (see earlier post) and had a sandwich at the picnic tables there. Met an interesting couple who were from the area and had bought a ghost town at one time. They were very interesting to talk to. After lunch we hit the road to catch up w/ Frank and Barb who had gone on this a.m. Destination today is the highway junction at Hwy. 37 which is the Cassiar Hwy. It is very close to Watson Lake where the sign post forest is.
We finally arrived and the campground looked like it was on its last legs. Did some laundry, etc. and discussed plans for tomorrow's drive to Dease Lake.
Jerry and Barb got into a discussion about the song "Green Door" which Barb just happened to have on her iPod. Neither could remember the words so when she found the song she played it and the picture is of Jerry singing and jiving to a blast from the past.
We went down to the S.S. Klondike ship (see earlier post) and had a sandwich at the picnic tables there. Met an interesting couple who were from the area and had bought a ghost town at one time. They were very interesting to talk to. After lunch we hit the road to catch up w/ Frank and Barb who had gone on this a.m. Destination today is the highway junction at Hwy. 37 which is the Cassiar Hwy. It is very close to Watson Lake where the sign post forest is.
We finally arrived and the campground looked like it was on its last legs. Did some laundry, etc. and discussed plans for tomorrow's drive to Dease Lake.
Jerry and Barb got into a discussion about the song "Green Door" which Barb just happened to have on her iPod. Neither could remember the words so when she found the song she played it and the picture is of Jerry singing and jiving to a blast from the past.
July 5, 2007
Up early and still fuming about Delta stuff.....had breakfast and left RV park to go back into town...thought of a few more gifts we needed to pick up. Spent the morning strolling the shops and looking at all sorts of stuff....mostly junk. The stuff that is not junk is really expensive! We loaded up on shirts, etc. Left town about 1 p.m. to go back to Whitehorse. Still cloudy and rainy.
Drive back was uneventful...On this drive you can see the White Pass and Yukon RR trains that bring up the tourists from town. The RR is on the opposite side of this gorge. We have done the train rides and it is great. We enjoyed watching the trains all the way back. They seem to leave about every hour or so. Lots of waterfalls and mountains....of course. That is main part of scenery around here. Will post several pix, but not much more to say about the drive. I think I have said a lot about mountains, waterfalls, canyons, gorges, glaciers, trees, etc. We have seen LOTS and LOTS of all that!!!
We drove along several LONG LONG lakes - I am talking miles long. The drive is gorgeous. Lots of alpine type scenery....lichen covered rocks, LOTS of little lakes, snow, almost dwarf trees - a surreal landscape. Then the closer we got to Carcross, there were lots and lots of LARGE lakes - I am talking MILES long. The main town along this route is Carcross and it is at the beginning of one of these lakes. A very small village with some quaint structures and close ties to the White Pass and Yukon RR. Just out of town we stopped at the Carcross Desert - the world's smallest desert at a mere 644 acres. The desert is what remains of a large glacial lake w/ a sandy bottom. When the glacier retreated, the sand was left and is constantly whipped by the wind so it only supports a minimum of plant life...a few lodgepole pines and kinnickinick (whatever that is).
We finally got back to Whitehorse around 4:30 I think and sweet Barb had dinner for us. We visited and planned the next few days' driving trying to get a feel of where we needed to be and when. It's hard to believe that this is coming to an end in a couple of weeks. All for now....
Frank and Barb waiting on us to get back...had dinner, planned day tomorrow and then bed.
Lousy internet connection.
Drive back was uneventful...On this drive you can see the White Pass and Yukon RR trains that bring up the tourists from town. The RR is on the opposite side of this gorge. We have done the train rides and it is great. We enjoyed watching the trains all the way back. They seem to leave about every hour or so. Lots of waterfalls and mountains....of course. That is main part of scenery around here. Will post several pix, but not much more to say about the drive. I think I have said a lot about mountains, waterfalls, canyons, gorges, glaciers, trees, etc. We have seen LOTS and LOTS of all that!!!
We drove along several LONG LONG lakes - I am talking miles long. The drive is gorgeous. Lots of alpine type scenery....lichen covered rocks, LOTS of little lakes, snow, almost dwarf trees - a surreal landscape. Then the closer we got to Carcross, there were lots and lots of LARGE lakes - I am talking MILES long. The main town along this route is Carcross and it is at the beginning of one of these lakes. A very small village with some quaint structures and close ties to the White Pass and Yukon RR. Just out of town we stopped at the Carcross Desert - the world's smallest desert at a mere 644 acres. The desert is what remains of a large glacial lake w/ a sandy bottom. When the glacier retreated, the sand was left and is constantly whipped by the wind so it only supports a minimum of plant life...a few lodgepole pines and kinnickinick (whatever that is).
We finally got back to Whitehorse around 4:30 I think and sweet Barb had dinner for us. We visited and planned the next few days' driving trying to get a feel of where we needed to be and when. It's hard to believe that this is coming to an end in a couple of weeks. All for now....
Frank and Barb waiting on us to get back...had dinner, planned day tomorrow and then bed.
Lousy internet connection.
July 4, 2007 Independence Day!!!!
Up early this a.m. for drive to Skagway. We heard it was a gorgeous drive and it was!!! Jerry and I have been to Skagway twice before on cruises, but this is first by land. Frank and Barb are making the drive by car and returning to Whitehorse today, but we are going to spend the night. We want to be in USA on 4th of July. We breezed through customs at AK border going into Skagway. In fact the customs agent was kind of surprised that we were Americans. We had been told and he confirmed that lots and lots of Germans rent Cruise America RVs. He kindly told us that we should be in time for the parade which was at 10. In fact, we could watch it twice and it went down the main street and then turned around and came back up.
Parked on the street and walked over to the main street and just happened to be at the parade start. It was a fun, fun parade -they threw candy (some good stuff too - like Snickers!) and there were lots of decorated pickups and trailers, fire engines, saloon girls, etc. I took lots of pictures. There was a Veteran's RV group that marched in the parade and a gal in her 80's on her bicycle advertising her photo shop. There was also a large contingent of dachshunds complete with costumes of buns w/ ketchup and mustard on their backs (see pix). They were led by a St. Bernard (also w/ hot dog bun costume!) It was a good time. Connected w/ Frank and Barb and after the parade we tried to have lunch in town at the saloon, but it was packed. Then walked down to seafood restaurant by the cruise ships and it was closed so walked back to town and found out that the restaurant we wanted was indeed open and just down from the one that was closed. Went there, stood in line about 30 min. and then got our lunch. Either fish and chips (halibut) or fish burgers (halibut or salmon). Jerry and I opted for the burgers - one of each and split them. Good, good.
After lunch we went back to town and shopped the stores a bit. Frank and Barb were ready to head back about 2 p.m. so Jerry and I then went to the head of the Chilkoot trail. This was the pass used during the Gold Rush that they had to bring at least one ton of supplies with them. Most of them made 40 - 50 trips up and down the pass to get all their stuff over. The Canadian police would not let them into the country unless they had that many supplies. These guys were headed to Dawson City 600 miles away! And this was the closest, most direct route to get there. Once over the pass, they were able to follow rivers, use boats, etc. for some of the trip, but we figured they were pretty tough folks!
We drove this very skinny winding road to get to the pass....it was a beautiful drive along this lake. When we got to the end of the lake we turned into a campground and took the dogs for a walk. The ranger told us there was a bear in the campground and she asked us to take the dogs in another direction so we did. Then drove to the head of the trail and got some pictures there. Walked up a bit and even the beginning was STEEP!!! We just walked up to the registration stand which was several hundred yards up the trail from the parking lot. We met a family from New Zealand that has 5 or 6 kids. The Dad and 4 of the kids had hiked back down after spending several days on this trail (they took 4 days hiking up and got to what is called the Golden Staircase - that is a real challenge). Mom and another child were still on the trail - she was a bit slower b/c she had hurt her foot or something. The dad had a blister on his foot so we gave him a ride back to the campground. The youngest kid we saw looked to be about 6 maybe and they all had VERY large backpacks which they had carried up the trail on their backs! Jerry and I were amazed. They are taking 1 year to tour the U.S. in a 35 ft. trailer pulled w/ a van. They are selling the van at the end of the trip b/c steering is on wrong side, but they are shipping the trailer back to New Zealand.
We saw lots of bear scat (poop) on the bit of trail we were on and in the parking lot so we had our eyes peeled. We never saw a bear there. We drove back into Skagway and made another run at the shops. The cruise ships were departing so most of the folks had returned to them. There were 5 BIG cruise ships in port today. The town was deserted so we decided to hit a couple more shops for some souvenirs. Then it started pouring!!! Jerry had to go get the RV and come back and pick me up. We drove to the docks and watched the last 3 cruise ships get ready to depart. It was raining and gray and bleak and it was kind of sad in a way - made me feel a bit melancholy to have all that excitement and then literally nothing! No fireworks tonite as they had them last nite....Since it is light almost all nite, they had fireworks just after midnite so they could say they had them on the 4th!
Back to RV park and then things went downhill fast. We checked our bills online and saw that Delta had charged us first class rates for our trip at Christmas when we thought we had been set up using Sky Miles. What a pain it is to deal w/ Delta....they are really going to get some bad press from us!!!! Jerry went to bed w/ headache - mostly frustation I think. I won't get into this on the blog, but it is a real mess. Finally got to bed - headed back to Whitehorse tomorrow but it is a short drive - 15o miles so should be an easy day. More tomorrow....
Parked on the street and walked over to the main street and just happened to be at the parade start. It was a fun, fun parade -they threw candy (some good stuff too - like Snickers!) and there were lots of decorated pickups and trailers, fire engines, saloon girls, etc. I took lots of pictures. There was a Veteran's RV group that marched in the parade and a gal in her 80's on her bicycle advertising her photo shop. There was also a large contingent of dachshunds complete with costumes of buns w/ ketchup and mustard on their backs (see pix). They were led by a St. Bernard (also w/ hot dog bun costume!) It was a good time. Connected w/ Frank and Barb and after the parade we tried to have lunch in town at the saloon, but it was packed. Then walked down to seafood restaurant by the cruise ships and it was closed so walked back to town and found out that the restaurant we wanted was indeed open and just down from the one that was closed. Went there, stood in line about 30 min. and then got our lunch. Either fish and chips (halibut) or fish burgers (halibut or salmon). Jerry and I opted for the burgers - one of each and split them. Good, good.
After lunch we went back to town and shopped the stores a bit. Frank and Barb were ready to head back about 2 p.m. so Jerry and I then went to the head of the Chilkoot trail. This was the pass used during the Gold Rush that they had to bring at least one ton of supplies with them. Most of them made 40 - 50 trips up and down the pass to get all their stuff over. The Canadian police would not let them into the country unless they had that many supplies. These guys were headed to Dawson City 600 miles away! And this was the closest, most direct route to get there. Once over the pass, they were able to follow rivers, use boats, etc. for some of the trip, but we figured they were pretty tough folks!
We drove this very skinny winding road to get to the pass....it was a beautiful drive along this lake. When we got to the end of the lake we turned into a campground and took the dogs for a walk. The ranger told us there was a bear in the campground and she asked us to take the dogs in another direction so we did. Then drove to the head of the trail and got some pictures there. Walked up a bit and even the beginning was STEEP!!! We just walked up to the registration stand which was several hundred yards up the trail from the parking lot. We met a family from New Zealand that has 5 or 6 kids. The Dad and 4 of the kids had hiked back down after spending several days on this trail (they took 4 days hiking up and got to what is called the Golden Staircase - that is a real challenge). Mom and another child were still on the trail - she was a bit slower b/c she had hurt her foot or something. The dad had a blister on his foot so we gave him a ride back to the campground. The youngest kid we saw looked to be about 6 maybe and they all had VERY large backpacks which they had carried up the trail on their backs! Jerry and I were amazed. They are taking 1 year to tour the U.S. in a 35 ft. trailer pulled w/ a van. They are selling the van at the end of the trip b/c steering is on wrong side, but they are shipping the trailer back to New Zealand.
We saw lots of bear scat (poop) on the bit of trail we were on and in the parking lot so we had our eyes peeled. We never saw a bear there. We drove back into Skagway and made another run at the shops. The cruise ships were departing so most of the folks had returned to them. There were 5 BIG cruise ships in port today. The town was deserted so we decided to hit a couple more shops for some souvenirs. Then it started pouring!!! Jerry had to go get the RV and come back and pick me up. We drove to the docks and watched the last 3 cruise ships get ready to depart. It was raining and gray and bleak and it was kind of sad in a way - made me feel a bit melancholy to have all that excitement and then literally nothing! No fireworks tonite as they had them last nite....Since it is light almost all nite, they had fireworks just after midnite so they could say they had them on the 4th!
Back to RV park and then things went downhill fast. We checked our bills online and saw that Delta had charged us first class rates for our trip at Christmas when we thought we had been set up using Sky Miles. What a pain it is to deal w/ Delta....they are really going to get some bad press from us!!!! Jerry went to bed w/ headache - mostly frustation I think. I won't get into this on the blog, but it is a real mess. Finally got to bed - headed back to Whitehorse tomorrow but it is a short drive - 15o miles so should be an easy day. More tomorrow....
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Again, an early start - on the road by 6:30, but long way to go today. Frank and Barb have already done this section of highway once and not looking forward to return, but decided to do this one again rather than the Top of the World Highway. Jerry & I had not done this section as we took an alternate highway to go to Pelly Crossing on the way up. A large section of the road had frost heaves (where the ground under the pavement freezes and causes the pavement to buckle) in addition to potholes. The gravel parts were mostly washboard, but actually preferable to the paved sections. Filled up w/ gas in Tok as we will be entering the land of $5 + /gal for gas shortly. Tok is only 90 miles from Canada border. Also stopped off near border and topped off tanks...good thing, b/c Jerry did not get our tank completely full this a.m.
We stopped at the Tetlin National Wildlife Preserve and got a stamp for our NP passports. It was an interesting Visitor Center....lots of pelts of different animals hanging and we were amazed at how soft some of them were - especially some foxes and a weasel. Frank decided he was in the mood for pancakes and sausage, so we cooked breakfast right there in the parking lot. It was a challenge b/c their coach was not level and the griddle kept trying to slide off the cooktop. We almost landed pancakes on the floor a couple of times!! It turned out well and we thoroughly enjoyed them. We then continued on our way.
Crossed into Canada back into the Yukon where we have no cell phone coverage at all anywhere! No problems going through and we were on our way! The road certainly lived up to its name. There was some gorgeous scenery as usual....we were mostly traveling between mountain ranges in a large valley with lots and lots of lakes and streams and rivers. We stopped
at one lake and there was a female moose in the lake eating the grass off the bottom! Got a pix of her with her head completely under water and then coming up dripping! Still no Bullwinkle with big horns, but it was interesting to watch her eat. She was a pretty big moose too.
Later on I saw another moose in the water, but it was too far away to tell if it was male or female and to get a good pix of it. Besides, by the time I saw it, we had already passed by....BUT Jerry then said, "That's a bear!" and sure enough on the side of the road was a black bear turning over rocks and nudging at plants looking for something to eat. But that was only the beginning...we truly had an adventure today!
We stopped the RV and Jerry got out w/ the video camera and I got out on my side and walked along the RV to the back so I could photograph him. He was a good distance away and not paying any attention to us. I snapped several shots and Jerry had the video running. He started working his way in our direction which we thought was great! However, when he got fairly close (still about 30 yards away) we got back in the RV. Jerry rolled the window down and continued filming.....my camera battery chose that moment to die, so I fished out another one as the bear crossed the road and came right up the the RV. By the time I got the battery in the camera, Jerry had rolled up the window and was still filming. I couldn't see the bear b/c he was so close to the RV - the pix I took of him that close only shows his hind quarters, but he was licking the tire to the RV! After that, he looked up at us and then turned and ambled back across the road. He was pretty much a ham and I did get some good pix of him, but I was not able to get one of him licking the tires. However, it is on the video!!! At any rate, it was Yogi, up close and personal!!! (although is still is not a grizzly - we will certainly take it!).
After that, everything else was pretty anticlimactic! The drive was truly horrible! In places it was like a roller coaster with potholes and there was over 100 miles of it!!!! We were behind Frank and Barb and they were really rocking and rolling...not only was it up and down with potholes, some were back and forth at the same time! At one point we were in about 10 km of road construction with very heavy equipment. Had it not rained last nite, it would have been unbearable dusty! At least the rain settled the dust altho it was mud in places too. We quickly learned that when you could see water standing in places on the road...avoid if at all possible...that marked the deepest ruts, washboards and potholes.
We are back on Pacific Coast time when we crossed into Canada, but will be back on whatever time zone AK is on tomorrow when we go to Skagway. We arrived at the RV park about 4:30 and got our spots. We are up on the hill in the trees as there is a place for the dogs to run out behind the RV. Barb and Frank are down on the flats as they wanted the sewer hookups - they will be here 3 days.
Fixed some cream cheese and olives and a drink and went down to their coach for a while. Decided on our departure time in the morning, then we went back to our RV for dinner. Jerry had leftovers and I am not hungry (that is one for the record books!) so I decided to work on the blog and catch up. I don't think I will be able to post pictures again as I think this is a slow connection, but I will try. I am way behind on the pictures and as soon as I can, I will post them.
Getting close to bedtime now....leaving at 8 in morning. Only 100 miles to Skagway. Jerry and I have been there 2 times before on cruises, but never driving. Everyone says the drive is spectacular. We liked Skagway and we are looking forward to being able to spend a night there.
All for now.....More from Skagway I hope.....Linda
We stopped at the Tetlin National Wildlife Preserve and got a stamp for our NP passports. It was an interesting Visitor Center....lots of pelts of different animals hanging and we were amazed at how soft some of them were - especially some foxes and a weasel. Frank decided he was in the mood for pancakes and sausage, so we cooked breakfast right there in the parking lot. It was a challenge b/c their coach was not level and the griddle kept trying to slide off the cooktop. We almost landed pancakes on the floor a couple of times!! It turned out well and we thoroughly enjoyed them. We then continued on our way.
Crossed into Canada back into the Yukon where we have no cell phone coverage at all anywhere! No problems going through and we were on our way! The road certainly lived up to its name. There was some gorgeous scenery as usual....we were mostly traveling between mountain ranges in a large valley with lots and lots of lakes and streams and rivers. We stopped
at one lake and there was a female moose in the lake eating the grass off the bottom! Got a pix of her with her head completely under water and then coming up dripping! Still no Bullwinkle with big horns, but it was interesting to watch her eat. She was a pretty big moose too.
Later on I saw another moose in the water, but it was too far away to tell if it was male or female and to get a good pix of it. Besides, by the time I saw it, we had already passed by....BUT Jerry then said, "That's a bear!" and sure enough on the side of the road was a black bear turning over rocks and nudging at plants looking for something to eat. But that was only the beginning...we truly had an adventure today!
We stopped the RV and Jerry got out w/ the video camera and I got out on my side and walked along the RV to the back so I could photograph him. He was a good distance away and not paying any attention to us. I snapped several shots and Jerry had the video running. He started working his way in our direction which we thought was great! However, when he got fairly close (still about 30 yards away) we got back in the RV. Jerry rolled the window down and continued filming.....my camera battery chose that moment to die, so I fished out another one as the bear crossed the road and came right up the the RV. By the time I got the battery in the camera, Jerry had rolled up the window and was still filming. I couldn't see the bear b/c he was so close to the RV - the pix I took of him that close only shows his hind quarters, but he was licking the tire to the RV! After that, he looked up at us and then turned and ambled back across the road. He was pretty much a ham and I did get some good pix of him, but I was not able to get one of him licking the tires. However, it is on the video!!! At any rate, it was Yogi, up close and personal!!! (although is still is not a grizzly - we will certainly take it!).
After that, everything else was pretty anticlimactic! The drive was truly horrible! In places it was like a roller coaster with potholes and there was over 100 miles of it!!!! We were behind Frank and Barb and they were really rocking and rolling...not only was it up and down with potholes, some were back and forth at the same time! At one point we were in about 10 km of road construction with very heavy equipment. Had it not rained last nite, it would have been unbearable dusty! At least the rain settled the dust altho it was mud in places too. We quickly learned that when you could see water standing in places on the road...avoid if at all possible...that marked the deepest ruts, washboards and potholes.
We are back on Pacific Coast time when we crossed into Canada, but will be back on whatever time zone AK is on tomorrow when we go to Skagway. We arrived at the RV park about 4:30 and got our spots. We are up on the hill in the trees as there is a place for the dogs to run out behind the RV. Barb and Frank are down on the flats as they wanted the sewer hookups - they will be here 3 days.
Fixed some cream cheese and olives and a drink and went down to their coach for a while. Decided on our departure time in the morning, then we went back to our RV for dinner. Jerry had leftovers and I am not hungry (that is one for the record books!) so I decided to work on the blog and catch up. I don't think I will be able to post pictures again as I think this is a slow connection, but I will try. I am way behind on the pictures and as soon as I can, I will post them.
Getting close to bedtime now....leaving at 8 in morning. Only 100 miles to Skagway. Jerry and I have been there 2 times before on cruises, but never driving. Everyone says the drive is spectacular. We liked Skagway and we are looking forward to being able to spend a night there.
All for now.....More from Skagway I hope.....Linda
Monday, July 2, 2007
We had decided to get off to an early start this a.m. so AIS (Ass in Seat) at 6:30 ready to depart. Got a few gallons of gas to get us up the hill as gas kind of expensive in Valdez - only 1 station. We really enjoyed our stay at this RV park, they went out of their way to make us welcome and it seemed effortless. It was a big park too....over 400 spaces I think. The drive to Tok is about 215 miles through canyons and over a mountain pass by some glaciers.
The first spot is Keystone Canyon and it is just gorgeous! Very steep walls with a river at the bottom and waterfalls everywhere! Then we went up through Thompson Pass and on to Worthington Glacier. Cloudy and rainy of course...whenever we want to go to a glacier it seems to be cloudy and rainy. Of course at one point at Worthington, it was pouring. Jerry and I had our rainsuits on and we all walked to the viewpoint. Barb and Frank then went on and Jerry and I walked down some of the glacial moraine and the river up really close to the glacier. When we returned to the camper we decided to have breakfast with the glacier as our backdrop so we had a bowl of cereal. The beauty of the RV is that we can eat whenever we decide to. Sometimes I even get the stuff out while we are driving and make us a sandwich. I have gotten really good at making sandwiches while we are stopped for road construction waiting on the lead cars to come pick up our direction of traffic. We have had lots of lunches that way!
After Worthington, we stopped again at Klutina/Copper River area. There is a loop road and the salmon were running. We talked about getting a license and fishing in the river, but decided against it. They were catching some and we watched them at the cleaning tables for a while. Actually, salmon don't feed on their way to spawn. I think I already covered this in another blog entry. What they are essentially doing is snagging the salmon. The seagulls were having a feast as well b/c the fishermen would throw the carcasses and guts in the river and the seagulls were right there to snatch them up.
Met up with Frank and Barb at Glennallen. Too cloudy to see Wrangell peaks today so I am glad we saw them on the way down...they were pretty impressive. As we continued on towards Tok, we stopped at one point to watch a female moose standing in the middle of a shallow lake eating water plants from the bottom of the lake. I got pix of her w/ her head totally under water. That was interesting....still no Bullwinkle tho!
Finally arrived at Sourdough RV park in Tok - got the last 2 spots when we called. Jerry and I went into town...he is looking for a hat and/or t shirts w/ Al-Can highway on it. We went to a couple of tourist shops and did get some shirts and stuff, but still not what he was looking for. Back to RV park for the evening.
Turned out to be pretty fun place. They have entertainment every nite along with a dinner. About 6:30 we heard bluegrass music coming from the pavillion. I had felt a bit nauseated earlier, but laid down for a bit and was fine. Couldn't find Jerry as he had gone to dump trash so I walked over and figured he would find me. The band tonite was Foxfire and they are a group of 3 young brothers who are really into bluegrass. They are originally from NM and were traveling to someplace in AK to teach at a music camp. We enjoyed their music and had reindeer chili for dinner with key lime cheesecake for dessert - all homemade and very good. The chili was served in sourdough bread bowls. They have some CD's out if anyone is interested, you can find them at foxfire.com. Frank and Barb had elected to just relax and stay in for the evening and we had already decided we needed to leave EARLY in the a.m. b/c tomorrow is a long driving day...about 370 miles to Whitehorse and really bad roads in places.
We had some heavy thunderstorms and rain as we got into town, but they kind of came and went...had gone by evening entertainment so that was nice. More tomorrow, Linda
The first spot is Keystone Canyon and it is just gorgeous! Very steep walls with a river at the bottom and waterfalls everywhere! Then we went up through Thompson Pass and on to Worthington Glacier. Cloudy and rainy of course...whenever we want to go to a glacier it seems to be cloudy and rainy. Of course at one point at Worthington, it was pouring. Jerry and I had our rainsuits on and we all walked to the viewpoint. Barb and Frank then went on and Jerry and I walked down some of the glacial moraine and the river up really close to the glacier. When we returned to the camper we decided to have breakfast with the glacier as our backdrop so we had a bowl of cereal. The beauty of the RV is that we can eat whenever we decide to. Sometimes I even get the stuff out while we are driving and make us a sandwich. I have gotten really good at making sandwiches while we are stopped for road construction waiting on the lead cars to come pick up our direction of traffic. We have had lots of lunches that way!
After Worthington, we stopped again at Klutina/Copper River area. There is a loop road and the salmon were running. We talked about getting a license and fishing in the river, but decided against it. They were catching some and we watched them at the cleaning tables for a while. Actually, salmon don't feed on their way to spawn. I think I already covered this in another blog entry. What they are essentially doing is snagging the salmon. The seagulls were having a feast as well b/c the fishermen would throw the carcasses and guts in the river and the seagulls were right there to snatch them up.
Met up with Frank and Barb at Glennallen. Too cloudy to see Wrangell peaks today so I am glad we saw them on the way down...they were pretty impressive. As we continued on towards Tok, we stopped at one point to watch a female moose standing in the middle of a shallow lake eating water plants from the bottom of the lake. I got pix of her w/ her head totally under water. That was interesting....still no Bullwinkle tho!
Finally arrived at Sourdough RV park in Tok - got the last 2 spots when we called. Jerry and I went into town...he is looking for a hat and/or t shirts w/ Al-Can highway on it. We went to a couple of tourist shops and did get some shirts and stuff, but still not what he was looking for. Back to RV park for the evening.
Turned out to be pretty fun place. They have entertainment every nite along with a dinner. About 6:30 we heard bluegrass music coming from the pavillion. I had felt a bit nauseated earlier, but laid down for a bit and was fine. Couldn't find Jerry as he had gone to dump trash so I walked over and figured he would find me. The band tonite was Foxfire and they are a group of 3 young brothers who are really into bluegrass. They are originally from NM and were traveling to someplace in AK to teach at a music camp. We enjoyed their music and had reindeer chili for dinner with key lime cheesecake for dessert - all homemade and very good. The chili was served in sourdough bread bowls. They have some CD's out if anyone is interested, you can find them at foxfire.com. Frank and Barb had elected to just relax and stay in for the evening and we had already decided we needed to leave EARLY in the a.m. b/c tomorrow is a long driving day...about 370 miles to Whitehorse and really bad roads in places.
We had some heavy thunderstorms and rain as we got into town, but they kind of came and went...had gone by evening entertainment so that was nice. More tomorrow, Linda
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Today dawned cloudy and rainy. We had no specific plans today - just to kick back and relax. Had a late breakfast then Jerry and Frank went to drive out to the terminus of the Ak Pipeline since we had been at the very beginning a couple of weeks ago. Since 9/11 you can't go past the gate, but they wanted to drive out there and then they just turned around and came back. They did drive past the old town of Valdez that kind of subsided in the big earthquake and they saw at least 25 eagles at one point on the drive.
Jerry wanted to hike a trail that left from the other end of town so he came home and got the dogs and Frank took him to the trailhead. He went for a ways and got down to the beach at one point, then headed back as he had told Frank he would return by 5. He encountered a bear along the way and said the bear stood up at one point on his hind legs and looked at him and he was fumbling for the camera and the bear just put his head back down and resumed eating. Jerry said he was making lots of noise and shouting to run him off. I think he should have fumbled for the bear spray! No pictures and all is safe....so no problems.
I spent most of the day on the computer making DVDs of all my pix. So far I have filled up (2) 4.7 gig DVD's and still don't have quite all of them on DVD. Have had lousy WIFI connections and have been unable to upload pictures. Most of these RV parks have WiFi, but is only for email and checking stuff on internet, not for loading pix and large files. One pix was trying to load for about 20 min. and I finally just cancelled it.
Have been 32 days in RV so far....and we are still speaking - sometimes a bit testy, but mostly having a good time. Having to constantly load and unload stuff in the RV for travel gets a bit old, but not too bad yet. Jerry takes care of outside stuff...hooking and unhooking water, electric and sewer and I batten down hatches inside - getting everything that can roll, fall or otherwise become a missile stowed away or in a sink. That part is getting a bit old, but not as bad as having to load and unload suitcases every night and eating out every night - that gets old as well.
I don't think I have told you how you have to take a shower in the RV. It is a bit of a multitasking job. We only have 6 gallons of hot water and believe me, you DON'T want to be in the shower when the hot water runs out. The water out of the taps here is really COLD! That has not happened to me yet and I am certainly not planning on that. Once you get the water to the temp you want it and get in, you wet your hair while you are washing your face and neck. Then you click the shut off valve to turn off the water and grab the shampoo and shampoo your hair. Click on the shut off valve to start the water running again, rinse the hair. Turn off the water, soap your body and turn on again to rinse. You are doing all this in a very small shower enclosure - maybe 2 ft wide by 3 ft. long. It does have a skylight - whoopee!
We have a double sink, but it is only about a foot square - maybe 15" and a miniature dish drainer especially for RV's. To wash dishes I mostly heat a pan of water on the stove so I don't have to heat the whole 6 gallons and rinse in cold water. We use lots of paper plates - but occasionally we do use the dishes. It is definitely a one person job. I have a cutting board I bought especially to put on top of the cooktop so I have some counterspace. I learned the hard way not to put anything on top of it. I also learned that you need to put some of that rubberized mesh shelf liner underneath it so it does not become a missile while you are driving down the road. I have learned all kinds of trivial stuff like that....and most of it the hard way! I pad all the metal pans, etc with paper towels or dish towels when we are driving so they don't rattle so much! Ah, the tricks of the trade!
Well, not much else going on today....it did quit raining and by evening the sun was shining. We went for a drive up to a waterfall and that was a really pretty trip - we went in Frank and Barb's car. Valdez is absolutely gorgeous and we would come back here again if we ever get back this way. They get over 300" of snow in winter. There is still some on the peaks and glaciers in a few places and there was even a pile of snow still left in town where they had plowed it and it was slowly melting. After the drive, Jerry and I walked down to the harbor and took some more pictures b/c the sun on the mountains was really pretty. Each peak kind of made it's own clouds and they were hanging over each mountain top in some really unusual formations that we found fascinating. Leaving tomorrow for Tok. All for now....Linda
Jerry wanted to hike a trail that left from the other end of town so he came home and got the dogs and Frank took him to the trailhead. He went for a ways and got down to the beach at one point, then headed back as he had told Frank he would return by 5. He encountered a bear along the way and said the bear stood up at one point on his hind legs and looked at him and he was fumbling for the camera and the bear just put his head back down and resumed eating. Jerry said he was making lots of noise and shouting to run him off. I think he should have fumbled for the bear spray! No pictures and all is safe....so no problems.
I spent most of the day on the computer making DVDs of all my pix. So far I have filled up (2) 4.7 gig DVD's and still don't have quite all of them on DVD. Have had lousy WIFI connections and have been unable to upload pictures. Most of these RV parks have WiFi, but is only for email and checking stuff on internet, not for loading pix and large files. One pix was trying to load for about 20 min. and I finally just cancelled it.
Have been 32 days in RV so far....and we are still speaking - sometimes a bit testy, but mostly having a good time. Having to constantly load and unload stuff in the RV for travel gets a bit old, but not too bad yet. Jerry takes care of outside stuff...hooking and unhooking water, electric and sewer and I batten down hatches inside - getting everything that can roll, fall or otherwise become a missile stowed away or in a sink. That part is getting a bit old, but not as bad as having to load and unload suitcases every night and eating out every night - that gets old as well.
I don't think I have told you how you have to take a shower in the RV. It is a bit of a multitasking job. We only have 6 gallons of hot water and believe me, you DON'T want to be in the shower when the hot water runs out. The water out of the taps here is really COLD! That has not happened to me yet and I am certainly not planning on that. Once you get the water to the temp you want it and get in, you wet your hair while you are washing your face and neck. Then you click the shut off valve to turn off the water and grab the shampoo and shampoo your hair. Click on the shut off valve to start the water running again, rinse the hair. Turn off the water, soap your body and turn on again to rinse. You are doing all this in a very small shower enclosure - maybe 2 ft wide by 3 ft. long. It does have a skylight - whoopee!
We have a double sink, but it is only about a foot square - maybe 15" and a miniature dish drainer especially for RV's. To wash dishes I mostly heat a pan of water on the stove so I don't have to heat the whole 6 gallons and rinse in cold water. We use lots of paper plates - but occasionally we do use the dishes. It is definitely a one person job. I have a cutting board I bought especially to put on top of the cooktop so I have some counterspace. I learned the hard way not to put anything on top of it. I also learned that you need to put some of that rubberized mesh shelf liner underneath it so it does not become a missile while you are driving down the road. I have learned all kinds of trivial stuff like that....and most of it the hard way! I pad all the metal pans, etc with paper towels or dish towels when we are driving so they don't rattle so much! Ah, the tricks of the trade!
Well, not much else going on today....it did quit raining and by evening the sun was shining. We went for a drive up to a waterfall and that was a really pretty trip - we went in Frank and Barb's car. Valdez is absolutely gorgeous and we would come back here again if we ever get back this way. They get over 300" of snow in winter. There is still some on the peaks and glaciers in a few places and there was even a pile of snow still left in town where they had plowed it and it was slowly melting. After the drive, Jerry and I walked down to the harbor and took some more pictures b/c the sun on the mountains was really pretty. Each peak kind of made it's own clouds and they were hanging over each mountain top in some really unusual formations that we found fascinating. Leaving tomorrow for Tok. All for now....Linda
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Had to get up and get breakfast, then get stuff ready for cruise. Expecting rain again...Of course! we are going on a cruise! But not quite as socked in as it was in Seward. Caught the bus for the short ride over to marina. Boat pulled out about 10 a.m. It was some kind of open fishing day for seining for salmon and we stopped close to several boats at different stages of the procedure. It was really interesting. These kinds of nets are called purse seines. They have about 1200 ft. of net with floats on top and they are about 60 ft. deep with a rope through the bottom of the net. A small boat takes the net out in a horseshoe shape and then closes the circle as it returns to the big boat where they pass off the ends of then net. As they start hauling the net in, they draw up the rope on the bottom of the net and they bring it in in sections. They haul the net up to the side, open the hold, then pull a section of the net up and dump the fish in the hold. There is a guy at the stern of the boat that takes the net and floats and kind of folds them onto the deck at the stern. The other crew are the ones who haul the fish. It was very very fascinating to watch and I got some really good pictures, but then I screwed up the card again...so I lost those....oh well, I will get some copies from Barb. She takes lots of pictures also.
Right across from the city of Valdez is the terminus of the Alaska Pipeline - there are huge storage tanks and huge docks where they load the tankers. That would be interesting to see, but there are no tours there b/c of security reasons. We cruised through some beautiful shoreline then stopped for a while to watch a pod of 6 orca whales cruising the waters. Then on to Columbia Glacier. Turns out we could not see the glacier. The terminus of this glacier is closed off by huge ice bergs. We had to break our way through "brash ice" which is large areas of small chunks of ice floating on top of the water and got as close as we could to the glacier. All the ice we saw was just ice bergs. The glacier was behind them and as it was cloudy and raining a bit, we could not see it. However, the icebergs were very impressive. Seems the Columbia Glacier is melting at a very rapid rate and no one seem to know why...melting faster than others. Getting there, we went through several miles of ice berg filled water....small, medium and large. Very small icebergs (up to 15 ft) are called "Bergie Bits" and larger than 15 ft. are icebergs. There were seals and otters on some of the ice bergs.
After we left there, we headed on to Meares Glacier. Stopped to watch a couple of humpback whales (none breached) and had lunch. Going into Meares Glacier, we saw lots of sea otters (see pix) and got some good pictures of them - also harbor seals and a few pups. On the way back we again watched orcas and humpbacks....While we were watching the orcas, off in the distance I saw a humpback breach about 3 times, but it was way too far to get a picture. We were kind of on overload with marine mammals to watch at that time. There were also some humpbacks in this area too. Then he took us by a haul out place for stellar sea lions whose numbers are dropping rather drastically and they are frantically trying to find out why. Lots of those guys were up on the beach. There were also some Dall's porpoise on the way back....we saw a couple on our other cruise, but they were too fast to get a picture of...this time there were about 6 of them I think...they love to come up to the boats and surf in the wake or catch the water as it is pushed off the prow. They swim at about 35 mph and look like miniature orcas b/c they have black and white markings as well. In one pix you can see one just under the water and the splash made by the wake they leave behind as they surface. They were really fun to watch.
We finally got back to the boat dock around 7:30 and we opted to walk back to the RV park. We walked along the harbor and saw lots of fish still being cleaned and just enjoyed looking at the boats. Had a snack when we got back and then I got on computer, but no luck loading pictures so I finally gave up and went to bed about 11:30. Planning on sleeping in tomorrow a.m. Good night all....
Right across from the city of Valdez is the terminus of the Alaska Pipeline - there are huge storage tanks and huge docks where they load the tankers. That would be interesting to see, but there are no tours there b/c of security reasons. We cruised through some beautiful shoreline then stopped for a while to watch a pod of 6 orca whales cruising the waters. Then on to Columbia Glacier. Turns out we could not see the glacier. The terminus of this glacier is closed off by huge ice bergs. We had to break our way through "brash ice" which is large areas of small chunks of ice floating on top of the water and got as close as we could to the glacier. All the ice we saw was just ice bergs. The glacier was behind them and as it was cloudy and raining a bit, we could not see it. However, the icebergs were very impressive. Seems the Columbia Glacier is melting at a very rapid rate and no one seem to know why...melting faster than others. Getting there, we went through several miles of ice berg filled water....small, medium and large. Very small icebergs (up to 15 ft) are called "Bergie Bits" and larger than 15 ft. are icebergs. There were seals and otters on some of the ice bergs.
After we left there, we headed on to Meares Glacier. Stopped to watch a couple of humpback whales (none breached) and had lunch. Going into Meares Glacier, we saw lots of sea otters (see pix) and got some good pictures of them - also harbor seals and a few pups. On the way back we again watched orcas and humpbacks....While we were watching the orcas, off in the distance I saw a humpback breach about 3 times, but it was way too far to get a picture. We were kind of on overload with marine mammals to watch at that time. There were also some humpbacks in this area too. Then he took us by a haul out place for stellar sea lions whose numbers are dropping rather drastically and they are frantically trying to find out why. Lots of those guys were up on the beach. There were also some Dall's porpoise on the way back....we saw a couple on our other cruise, but they were too fast to get a picture of...this time there were about 6 of them I think...they love to come up to the boats and surf in the wake or catch the water as it is pushed off the prow. They swim at about 35 mph and look like miniature orcas b/c they have black and white markings as well. In one pix you can see one just under the water and the splash made by the wake they leave behind as they surface. They were really fun to watch.
We finally got back to the boat dock around 7:30 and we opted to walk back to the RV park. We walked along the harbor and saw lots of fish still being cleaned and just enjoyed looking at the boats. Had a snack when we got back and then I got on computer, but no luck loading pictures so I finally gave up and went to bed about 11:30. Planning on sleeping in tomorrow a.m. Good night all....
Friday, June 29, 2007
Up early for this early start...Jerry walked dogs and came back and said there was a moose that walked across the road about 3 campsites down from us. I walked over to laundry to look for lost sock and saw the moose lying down in the trees between campsites. Went back and got Barb and we took car to go take pix while guys drove over to gas station on base. Turns out it was a mama and baby and when we got over there, she was up and grazing along with baby. We pulled up and stopped and took lots of pictures. It was really interesting. At one point baby wanted some of mama's milk and I couldn't believe how hard he had to pull on mama to get milk! They were between campers and at one point it looked like she was looking into the camper's rear view mirror! After our pix we met the guys at the gas station. STILL no Bullwinkle or Yogi! We want to see a big bull moose and a grizzly (we are not particular about sex of bear as none of us want to get that close!)
We are facing a 300 mile drive today as we head to Valdez. The drive itself was really pretty. We drove by the Matanuska Glacier which Jerry, his brother Jim and I had walked on when we were here back in 91. Boy has it changed! It has really retreated a lot! Our drive took us along a lot of open land through the town of Glenallen. We were seeing these very high snow covered peaks in the distance and they turned out to be the peaks in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We stopped at the park headquarters to get pictures of those mountains and a stamp for our NP passports. There is not much access to this park and it is very rough. We wanted to go to Kennecott in the park, but it was about a 4 1/2 hour drive over very rough roads just to get there and then we had to come back - so we said no to that!
The really pretty part of the drive was down Hwy. 4 to Valdez. We stopped at Copper Cente which is a historical village to scope out RV parks for the return. Jerry and I would love to do some fishing, but it seems that fishing here is not what we pictured. There are very very complicated rules about fishing...only between mile x and mile y on such and such river between such and such dates, etc.....really hard to figure out. We kind of got the picture about where these places to fish are b/c that is where all the fishermen are lined up elbow to elbow tryhing to snag salmon. Salmon do not eat when they are returning to spawn - b/c Alaska says you have to fish with some type of lure or bait, they put colored yarn on hooks and kind of drag them through the water hoping to snag a salmon. This area was the first white settlement in this part of Alaska. It is located on the Klutina River which is supposed to be excellent fishing. Still undecided about trying to fish here.
We saw gorgeous waterfalls, streams and lakes as well as the Worthington Glacier which we will try to walk up to on our return trip as there is a trail up there. We crossed the mountains at Thompson Pass, not particularly high (2,678 ft), but very beautiful. Still lots of snow in mountains. Frank and Barb had gone on into Valdez and checked in...we had reservations for 2 nites here at Eagle Rest RV Park. We arrived about 3:30 and got hooked up. The campground was having a fish fry for all the RV'ers - compliments of the campground. Everyone was supposed to bring something to share and they cooked blackened salmon. It was a good time and our first experience with something like this. We were most impressed with this campground...everyone is very very friendly and they seem to be really well organized (which is not really the case at most of the campgrounds we have chosen). This is a BIG RV park!!! I think they have over 400 spaces so that was a lot of fish and it was all you could eat.
We booked another glacier cruise for tomorrow- going to Columbia and Meares Glaciers. It is a 9 1/2 hour cruise so we made arrangements for a dog sitter to come and walk the dogs at least once while we were gone. After dinner, back to RV and I worked on blog while Jerry went for a walk about town. I had trouble loading pictures so I guess I should have gone for a walk with Jerry...oh well....that is why I am a bit behind on the picture bit.
Off to bed as cruise picks us up here at RV park at 9 a.m. More tomorrow....Linda
We are facing a 300 mile drive today as we head to Valdez. The drive itself was really pretty. We drove by the Matanuska Glacier which Jerry, his brother Jim and I had walked on when we were here back in 91. Boy has it changed! It has really retreated a lot! Our drive took us along a lot of open land through the town of Glenallen. We were seeing these very high snow covered peaks in the distance and they turned out to be the peaks in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We stopped at the park headquarters to get pictures of those mountains and a stamp for our NP passports. There is not much access to this park and it is very rough. We wanted to go to Kennecott in the park, but it was about a 4 1/2 hour drive over very rough roads just to get there and then we had to come back - so we said no to that!
The really pretty part of the drive was down Hwy. 4 to Valdez. We stopped at Copper Cente which is a historical village to scope out RV parks for the return. Jerry and I would love to do some fishing, but it seems that fishing here is not what we pictured. There are very very complicated rules about fishing...only between mile x and mile y on such and such river between such and such dates, etc.....really hard to figure out. We kind of got the picture about where these places to fish are b/c that is where all the fishermen are lined up elbow to elbow tryhing to snag salmon. Salmon do not eat when they are returning to spawn - b/c Alaska says you have to fish with some type of lure or bait, they put colored yarn on hooks and kind of drag them through the water hoping to snag a salmon. This area was the first white settlement in this part of Alaska. It is located on the Klutina River which is supposed to be excellent fishing. Still undecided about trying to fish here.
We saw gorgeous waterfalls, streams and lakes as well as the Worthington Glacier which we will try to walk up to on our return trip as there is a trail up there. We crossed the mountains at Thompson Pass, not particularly high (2,678 ft), but very beautiful. Still lots of snow in mountains. Frank and Barb had gone on into Valdez and checked in...we had reservations for 2 nites here at Eagle Rest RV Park. We arrived about 3:30 and got hooked up. The campground was having a fish fry for all the RV'ers - compliments of the campground. Everyone was supposed to bring something to share and they cooked blackened salmon. It was a good time and our first experience with something like this. We were most impressed with this campground...everyone is very very friendly and they seem to be really well organized (which is not really the case at most of the campgrounds we have chosen). This is a BIG RV park!!! I think they have over 400 spaces so that was a lot of fish and it was all you could eat.
We booked another glacier cruise for tomorrow- going to Columbia and Meares Glaciers. It is a 9 1/2 hour cruise so we made arrangements for a dog sitter to come and walk the dogs at least once while we were gone. After dinner, back to RV and I worked on blog while Jerry went for a walk about town. I had trouble loading pictures so I guess I should have gone for a walk with Jerry...oh well....that is why I am a bit behind on the picture bit.
Off to bed as cruise picks us up here at RV park at 9 a.m. More tomorrow....Linda
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