May 31 Hard to believe that it was a week ago today that we arrived in Wasilla. The time has gone so quickly. We FINALLY got our Internet and cable tv hooked up this morning. Cable is handled differently here than the way Cox did it back home. Everything here is Cat 5 cable. We still get HDTV through it and have what appears to be very good through-put on the Internet. I am running software updates and we have around 275 Kilobit download speeds to my MacBook, and Peggy is using her iPad online at the same time, so I'm satisfied. And, thank you to the local anonymous owner of the open NetGear wifi that I've been able to "borrow" from time to time this past week.
Helped a client of the Matanuska Air Service get set up to wash his plane. There has been quite a rush of pilots here to get there planes converted from wheels to floats now that the ice has gone out on most of the lakes in this area. Grant has been busy doing the conversions, and he is now working to get his own Super Cub converted so that he and Debby can fly out to their cabin this Sunday and Monday now that their lake is open. That's when we start earning our keep!
I contacted our daughter, Becky, back in Omaha to have her send us our macerator pump. The "poop" pumper (macerator) will allow us to keep our trailer in its current location and be able to pump our holding tanks into the property's septic system which is now about 30 feet away from the trailer. Without it we would have to relocate the trailer next to the septic drain which would not allow us to look out our picture window at the mountains and Lake Anderson.
Peggy and I took Grant and Debby out to lunch this noon as my thank you to Grant for having taken me flying last weekend to look for bears and see the glaciers up close. A local restaurant has a Friday special on halibut that tasted the best we've had so far. We also went to Sportsman's Warehouse to look around as they have displays of animals similar to Cabela's back home. Supposedly, Cabela's is coming to Alaska sometime in the near future.
We are very excited because on Tuesday, June 4, we have reservations for the Teklanika campground in Denali National Park! We will stay 4 days returning to Wasilla on that Saturday. We are totally pumped for our first adventure into this park. The campground is the furthest in the park that allows RV's. The weather is calling for some rain and sun, so I figure we have a slim chance of seeing Mt. McKinley's summit. However, we could be returning to the park again this summer if we miss out on seeing the entire mountain this trip. Thankfully one of us (who shall remain nameless) has qualified for the NP's Senior Pass which provides free park entry and 1/2 off our camping. Sometimes it pays to get old! :o)
We will document our Denali experiences and then post them to the blog when we return to Wasilla as will be without Internet while there.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
May 28-30, Wasilla and Anchorage
May 28 Nothing really exciting today. We did some running around to the cable/internet company to arrange for our cable tv and Internet hookup. We were a bit bummed to find out that they have to do the installation. I thought they’d give me the option of DIY, but they maybe have found it easiest to have their own installers do the job to alleviate calls for tech support from the DIY clients. Peggy and I also went to get prescriptions filled, etc.
It has been unseasonably hot here. Temps have been into the upper 70’s and lower 80’s. People are complaining about the heat as these are the temps they usually have in July. And with the low humidity, the whole area here in the MatSu Valley is at a Red Flag warning as the fire danger is very high.
Grant and Debby had Peggy and I over for drinks after they had walked us through the operation of their fire and burglar alarms. Nothing too complicated, but something we’d need to know for “just in case”.
May 29 Peggy and I drove to Anchorage to play the roles of tourists. We stopped at the downtown Visitors Center and got really good help from a lady who moved to Alaska from Casper, WY. We had purchased the TourSaver book of coupons which I’d recommend to anyone coming to Alaska. It has many 2 for 1 coupons to a variety of activities. We had 3 “stop in our store, sucka” coupons where you get a free gift. Actually, I think any cheap merchandise that isn't selling goes into a grab box. Refrigerator magnets are big give-aways.
From downtown we drove to the Sourdough Mining Co. restaurant as hear it was really good food- and it was! it was recommended to get their corn fritters, and with the honey butter they are gooooood!
From the Sourdough we then drove to the Alaska Native Heritage Center which is working with high schools and universities to preserve the culture of native Alaskans. It was a TourSaver coupon so was worth more than the price of admission to us. We got to see young adults giving presentations on native games, dances, music, and native homes. All of them did a great job, especially Kyle, who was our tour guide on native housing.
Alaska has 11 distinct cultures that are made up of 21 different languages. It is a goal of the center to maintain the integrity of this diversity by combining all cultures into 5 groups which share similar cultures or geographic proximities.
We drove back to Wasilla in rush hour traffic which is typical of any large metro area- bumper to bumper and almost stop and go until we got about 10 miles north of the Anchorage city limits.
May 30 Today was a relaxing day. Slept in a while, cleaned the camper, and went to the Post Office and grocery shopping. We also started planning our next adventure and we are tentatively looking at going up towards Talkeetna or even to Denali NP. We will be able to find out more tomorrow after our Internet is finally connected.
Not much more to report today other than Grant, maybe feeling I needed something to do, had me help convert an airplane from being wheeled for land-based use to being water-based by removing the landing gear and replacing them with floats.
Peggy and I have been walking every evening around the neighborhood. I think the local dogs must be getting used to us as they bark less each time we go by.
Tomorrow we get Internet and Cable TV! Then I won't have to depend on the local "free" wifi which is available intermittently.
May 27, Wasilla
May 27 Happy Memorial Day! Hope this day allows you to honor the brave men and women who have served this country so ably, and especially to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Peggy and I had another leisurely start to the day. We got up, and Peggy made muffins for breakfast. We discussed what we might want to do today, and we decided to drive up Hatcher Pass in the mountains a very short distance north of Wasilla.
I went out to talk to Jim who is a retired employee of the air service we are staying at. It's a beautiful day- clear blue skies with temps near 70º and a light breeze. He was resurfacing the floats for his seaplane so I "supervised" his work while we talked.
Grant and Debby drove up in their Jeep and they are driving up to Hatcher Pass, also. I told them we'd maybe see them on top. Peggy and I left for the pass and sure enough, we were at an overlook when the Chapmans drove up so we visited with them for quite a while. They were leaving the pass area and Peggy and I were still on our way up. They left heading back to Wasilla and we continued our drive up.
The pass gave us a nice look down into the MatSu (Matanuska and Susitna Rivers) Valley. There was still a lot of snow on the mountains but with the temps we've had since our arrival it is quickly melting. The creeks, streams, and rivers are running full and some areas are having minor flooding due to ice dams forming. We took pictures of the scenes and also of a rodent smaller than a marmot called a whistle pig by the locals. I don't know what the actual name of it is.
When we got back we were watching a float plane being transferred from land onto the lake. Debby yelled and wanted to know if we wanted to join them for lunch. For being spur of the moment, she put on a very nice meal: shrimp, pasta salad, and kabobs, and then angel food cake with huge strawberries and whip cream. I think if I had asked, Debby would have pulled a rabbit out of a hat, too! They are very gracious people, and we still can't believe our good fortune to be here!
I called my dad in Brookings, SD, and he is doing well. Said it was cool, cloudy, and windy there. Last night my iPhone weather alerts kept beeping with all the thunderstorms and possible tornadoes around Omaha. The World Herald website said that many areas in the Omaha area were without power as a result.
Peggy called the girls as she hadn't visited with them recently. Nice to get caught up with all they they have going on in their busy lives.
And then there was a knock on our camper’s door. Peggy answered it, and it was Debby wanting to know if we were doing anything. She and Grant wanted to take us on a boat ride around Anderson Lake on their “Tug Boat”. Grant is really a good fabricator. He took two plane floats and fashioned them under an airplane trailer used to put float planes into the water. He then built a wheel house on this making it look like a tug boat. It was sure fun to tour the lake in such luxury! There will be a picture of the “tug” on Picassa
Tomorrow we hope to get our cable tv and Internet connected, or at least get the wheels started turning on that process. I'm still working off of the "borrowed" wifi. Wish I knew who it was so I could at least thank them and suggest they initiate more security for it so moochers like me can't have access.
My "free" wifi has been off the past couple of days so this and any subsequent posts will be late. But I can't complain 'cause it's free, and I get what I pay for! :o)
Sunday, May 26, 2013
May 26, Wasilla
May 26 I want to start by saying that if you have been following any part of this blog you fast realize I am not writer. I reread my Day 17 post and was embarrassed at the number of errors and typos! I was in a hurry to post it as this pirated wifi I am on comes and goes, and I want to post before it "went". Hopefully I have cleaned up and edited that post so that it makes some sense.
Because Alaska is 3 hours behind Omaha, I started watching the Indy 500 race coverage as soon as I got up this morning. Congrats to Tony Kannan for winning.
The next two days will be at a leisurely pace for Peggy and me. We have no real agenda or itinerary other than to do some shopping and gain more familiarity with the Anderson Lake/Wasilla areas. Anderson Lake is where the Matanuska Air Service is located. Anderson Lake is like a subdivision of Wasilla.
Planes continue to come and go both on Anderson Lake in front of us and the Anderson Lake Airport across the street from us. I'm sure this activity will slow down after the Memorial Day weekend. When we leave in our pickup, we need to stop and look to make sure no airplanes are either landing or taking off from the airport, nor taxing down the street to get to the airport. They always have the right of way!
We will not have our own Internet until Tuesday at the earliest, so I am reliant on the open NetGear wifi. It has a weak enough signal that I can not always find in from my MacBook. Neither my iPhone or Peggy's iPad can see it anytime as a result.
I again want to thank Dennis McIntyre for being the trip's Chief Cartographer. He has updated his previous map to show our reaching our home base destination in Alaska. Dennis' Updated Map
So, that's about it for the time being.
Because Alaska is 3 hours behind Omaha, I started watching the Indy 500 race coverage as soon as I got up this morning. Congrats to Tony Kannan for winning.
The next two days will be at a leisurely pace for Peggy and me. We have no real agenda or itinerary other than to do some shopping and gain more familiarity with the Anderson Lake/Wasilla areas. Anderson Lake is where the Matanuska Air Service is located. Anderson Lake is like a subdivision of Wasilla.
Planes continue to come and go both on Anderson Lake in front of us and the Anderson Lake Airport across the street from us. I'm sure this activity will slow down after the Memorial Day weekend. When we leave in our pickup, we need to stop and look to make sure no airplanes are either landing or taking off from the airport, nor taxing down the street to get to the airport. They always have the right of way!
We will not have our own Internet until Tuesday at the earliest, so I am reliant on the open NetGear wifi. It has a weak enough signal that I can not always find in from my MacBook. Neither my iPhone or Peggy's iPad can see it anytime as a result.
I again want to thank Dennis McIntyre for being the trip's Chief Cartographer. He has updated his previous map to show our reaching our home base destination in Alaska. Dennis' Updated Map
So, that's about it for the time being.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
May 25, Wasilla
May 25 Slept really well last night. Temps get down to about 40º so it’s good sleeping weather. I was awakened about 6:30 by (you guessed it) an airplane reving its engine for takeoff. This is one of the best alarm clocks I could imagine. I’m sure I’ll tire of it if it happens everyday at that time.
I turned on the coffee maker and was checking email on my iPhone. Peggy had gotten up and fixed the rest of our leftover cinnamon rolls. I had just finished eating when there was a light knock on our door.
It was Grant, the owner of the air service we are working for. “Hey, Tom, whatcha doing?” as I stood there in my pajamas. “Want to go look for bears?” "Heck, ya’ I do!" I quickly get dressed. That's the fastest I've put cloths on this body in a long time, and also brushed my teeth.
I grab the camera, take a quick swallow of coffee and bound out the door about the time Grant taxies by in his yellow Piper Super Cub airplane! He fuels it up, has me squeeze into the back seat of this two person plane, and off we go.
I don’t know where I picked up my good luck (my life has been full of it- marriage, birth of 2 kids, having 3 grandkids, etc.) but here I go again for an incredible experience! We climb to about 1000 ft and fly southeast of the Wasilla/Palmer area.
We follow a broad, braided stream bed with little ribbons of water flowing. Off to the right I can see the Cook Inlet which is part of the Pacific Ocean. To the left are mountains and towns in the wide MatSu Valley. It’s what up ahead that has me google-eyed.
In the valleys of the mountains ahead of us are glaciers!! OMG, they are huge looking. Fortunately I took my camera with me. Unfortunately, I had not recharged the battery, and I only have 1/4 charge. Uh-oh!
As we enter the mountain pass, Grant, who incidently worked as an investigator for the FAA and has several pilot certifications, banks towards the left to get us close to the mountainside. Oh, ya’, we're looking for bears.
We almost immediately spot about 8 Dall Sheep and Mountain Goats. Grant says he’s never seen them so close together. A short while later I, (yes, the rookie bear spotter) see a sow bear with her cub. She hears the plane and both of them bolt for the trees. We also see a couple of moose but no other bears.
Grants flies several different interconnected mountain valleys all with glaciers in them of varying sizes. I’m giddy taking pictures of these incredible rivers of ice. After about an hour Grant says in the headset that nature is calling him. Nature’s calling? Look out your window- there’s Nature!
He flies to an area where there are natural (geez...everything’s natural up here) deltas and gravel bars left by the glacial runoff. Off to the right at the base of a mountain I see a small runway with a couple of planes there.
However, Grant cuts the engine’s power, puts down the flaps, and banks to the left. Uh, Grant, the runways over there I’m thinking to myself. I’m sitting in the back seat so I strain to look over Grant’s shoulder. Grant, there ain’t NO runway there! All I see is gravel covered with scrub brush. We go lower, and slower.
The grounds moves up to meet us, and we make a remarkably smooth landing on this gravel alluvial fan left by the retreating glacier. Wow!
We climb out, and I go to one side of the plane to take photos of the glacier while Grant goes to the other side to answer the call of nature. He then comes back around the plane and asks if I want to do a small hike to see more of the glacier. Yes! Grant takes the .22 caliber rifle which is carried on a wing strut and loads it. He said you never take for granted that there isn’t wildlife around that want to do harm to you. And off we walk.
We hike about 1/2 mile up a small hill which give us a better view of the valley and you can see the expanse of the glacier. I take photos of it and also of Grant’s plane and the “runway” he used. I’m speechless to think that we landed there! Grant says he is a fairly typical Alaskan pilot- capable of landing most anywhere. He tells me stories of flying into Eskimo camps where a plane has damage or might have been repaired. His job with the FAA was to determine whether or not planes were air worthy. Some of those camps were not only remote, but the runway was nothing more than a sandbar along a river.
We hike back, take off, and this time he flies low along the foot of the glacier where large blocks of ice are in various stages of breaking off (calving) from the ice sheet. The sights are remarkable. I don’t have enough adjectives to describe what I’m seeing and what I’m feeling! I’m again lucky that the camera battery doesn’t crap out on me, and I continue taking photos. I’ll be sure to post these pixs to the picassa site as soon as we get cable Internet.
(And, guess what...I've found another unprotected wireless hub which I'm conveniently "borrowing"!)
Back at our camper I’m babbling to Peggy about this fantastic experience, and then I realize this poor lady sat home while I had another experience of a lifetime.
So, feeling a tad guilty, I went out and wash as much muck and dirt off the camper and it’s windows as I could. What a guilty feeling guy will do to ease the tension. :o)
We found our way to the laundromat and grocery store after lunch. That’s a start on finding our way around the area. Because Wasilla is in foothills and around a few lakes, none, and I mean none, of the streets run straight. And, there was no rhyme nor reason to naming the streets. Few streets have a number and most have a name. Makes for tough navigating. No wonder “Karen” my GPS is sometimes confused. Seems this area may have outgrown its infrastructure.
Grilled steaks for supper! A walk around the neighborhood put the end to another fantastic day.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Day 16, Valdez to Wasilla, AK
May 24 We soon leave Valdez this a.m. for what has been our initial destination in Alaska, Wasilla. Our two day stay in Valdez has been awe inspiring. It's taken our emotions from being- what have we gotten ourselves into with all this snow to- look over there, its a bear; and look up, there are eagles!
The people here are like people everywhere- friendly. Our next door neighbors in the campground had grilled fresh shrimp our first day here and shared with us. They also help identify bears high up on the mountainside adjacent to the campground. The man at Mark's Auto Repair squeezed in a lowly request to get a tire fixed even though his shop was overflowing with business.
So, it is on to Wasilla and the Matanuska Air Service to meet Grant and Debby for the first time. We will then get into our rhythm for our summer part time job, property caretakers for them as described in our March post In the Beginning.
The people here are like people everywhere- friendly. Our next door neighbors in the campground had grilled fresh shrimp our first day here and shared with us. They also help identify bears high up on the mountainside adjacent to the campground. The man at Mark's Auto Repair squeezed in a lowly request to get a tire fixed even though his shop was overflowing with business.
So, it is on to Wasilla and the Matanuska Air Service to meet Grant and Debby for the first time. We will then get into our rhythm for our summer part time job, property caretakers for them as described in our March post In the Beginning.
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We left Valdez around 8:00 taking the Richardson Hwy in a northerly direction to Glennallen, AK. There we picked up the Glenn Hwy taking us in a southwesterly direction.
We again are able to see snowcapped mountain ranges. As we near Palmer, AK, we can identify the Matanuska Glacier, something we were not able to do around Valdez because the snow cover there was still to deep making everything look white. We also go by Gunsight Mt, so named for the square notch at its top, and by The Kings Mt., so named for it pyramid shape.
The Glenn Hwy is in generally good condition, but like all northern highways it has its frost heaves which are not as readily marked as they are in Canada.
We arrived in Wasilla around 3:00 when the GPS on my iPhone decides it needs to do a “rerouting”! It worked fine when there was only 1 highway going to Wasilla! So, my navigator convinces me the best thing to do is to call the Chapmans at Matanuska Air Service for directions. Of course this asking for directions is contrary to my male instincts. However, since all we have is an address and no street map of Wasilla, I agree to call.
Debby Chapman happily and accurately give us the various turns and roads and streets to take. Peggy writes the info down. After our call is complete I go back to the GPS app. Sure enough “Karen” has rerouted accurately and is in agreement with Debby’s directions. Way to go, Karen!! Better late than never.
We pulled onto the Matanuska Air Services premises and Debby is there to lead us to where we will park our trailer. We found that both Debby and Grant are as pleasant and fun in person as they were during our phone conversations with them from Omaha.
We parked our trailer in its spot and set up. After we have supper, Peggy and I take a few photos of the grounds and find Grant and Debby sitting at the lake shore. We shared some good stories and laughs.
We watched airplanes land and take off both from the lake and the runway across the road from us. This is going to be fun just from the standpoint that airplanes are so fascinating to watch.
We then went for a walk around the neighborhood. It is amazing at the number of homes that have aircraft parked in their yards or driveways. The streets provide taxiways for them to get to the airport.
That pretty much wraps up our drive from Omaha to Wasilla! We still have much to do and see in Alaska. There is the Kenai Peninsula, Denali NP, Fairbanks, day boat tours to Glaciers and whale watching, and charter fishing trips.
Because the lake that their cabin up in the mountains is at is still ice covered, Grant and Debby will not be leaving this weekend so we are not on “formal duty” to watch the property. This will give us time to explore and learn to find our way around the Wasilla area.
We can’t contact the cable tv/Internet company until Tuesday, but Wasilla has about 13 over the air channels. This should be enough to get us through the weekend. Years ago we never even brought a tv camping with us. Evenings were spent around a campfire. But now, Peggy and I are nothing but a couple of “camping dudes” (some would call us “camping snobs”).
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Day 15, Valdez, AK
May 23 Alas, the trailer does have a flat tire, so got up this morning, ate breakfast, removed the flat and took it to an automotive repair shop. They said I should come back mid-afternoon and pick it up as they are very busy.
Have been researching Valdez and it has quite the history. It was a settlement of Native Americans, and then discovered by Russians, and EuroAmericans. This is the northern-most ice free port in the United States. This fact was important later in the pipeline development.
In 1964 the Good Friday monster earthquake's epicenter was 45 miles from here. Not only was the quake devastating to the town, but the soils upon which the town sat were disturbed to a point it was deemed unsafe to occupy. As a result the town was moved about 2 miles further up the bay to its present location.
Directly across the Port of Valdez (the bay) from the town is the Alyeska Marine Terminal. This is where oil tankers are filled from the TransAlaska Pipeline after the oil has traveled 800 miles from the Prudhoe Bay wells. You do not see the pipeline from about 25 miles north of Valdez on down as it is buried beneath the highway.
The terminal is capable of holding 800 million barrels of oil in large tanks. The tanks are surrounded by huge concrete walls capable of holding 110% of the filled tanks in the event of a leak. The terminal then fills the oceangoing tankers to ship the contents to refineries in the lower US states. I'm hoping a tanker ship comes in so I can get a picture of it.
More later!
Have been researching Valdez and it has quite the history. It was a settlement of Native Americans, and then discovered by Russians, and EuroAmericans. This is the northern-most ice free port in the United States. This fact was important later in the pipeline development.
In 1964 the Good Friday monster earthquake's epicenter was 45 miles from here. Not only was the quake devastating to the town, but the soils upon which the town sat were disturbed to a point it was deemed unsafe to occupy. As a result the town was moved about 2 miles further up the bay to its present location.
Directly across the Port of Valdez (the bay) from the town is the Alyeska Marine Terminal. This is where oil tankers are filled from the TransAlaska Pipeline after the oil has traveled 800 miles from the Prudhoe Bay wells. You do not see the pipeline from about 25 miles north of Valdez on down as it is buried beneath the highway.
The terminal is capable of holding 800 million barrels of oil in large tanks. The tanks are surrounded by huge concrete walls capable of holding 110% of the filled tanks in the event of a leak. The terminal then fills the oceangoing tankers to ship the contents to refineries in the lower US states. I'm hoping a tanker ship comes in so I can get a picture of it.
More later!
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Have returned to the camper for lunch. Drove out and around the Port of Valdez which took us as close as we could get to the Alyeska Marine Terminal. The terminal has a security buffer zone surrounding it both on land and the bay. I believe all boats need to remain a minimum of 1500 feet from the terminal.
We then drove up the highway towards Thompson Pass. There were some waterfalls along the highway and an old, carved out by hand railroad tunnel. I'll get pixs posted later.
For got to say that we have had several Chamber of Commerce days in a row with clear to partly cloud skies and NO wind! The temps have been in the mid-50's with last night only down to about 40º.
For got to say that we have had several Chamber of Commerce days in a row with clear to partly cloud skies and NO wind! The temps have been in the mid-50's with last night only down to about 40º.
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This afternoon we went and parked the pickup on the viewing dock at Valdez. The weather is really nice (60º), and it was relaxing to just sit and watch the few fishing boats coming and going. We then went to the Valdez Community College to the Jesse and Maxine Whitney Museum. The Whitney's came to Alaska in 1947. They became instrumental in collecting many artifacts and relics from the past history of Alaska. Many of their collections are now in the museum. There are many Eskimo and other Native American artifacts along with natural history items. For the price of admission (free) it was an excellent place to grasp the early history of Alaska.
Then it was time to go retrieve our tire. The tire had been punctured by a nail and so was the best scenario as a screw puncture or sidewall damage could have rendered the tire useless. So, if you get a flat or need any mechanical work done on a vehicle here in Valdez, I'd recommend Mark's! The tire is back on the camper, and we'll be ready for an early morning departure.
We may have to go to the next door hamburger stand for our dinner. The smells coming off of the grill's exhaust are to tempting to pass up again!
And, I've tried something new with posting on our Google Picassa photos web site- I put up a couple of short videos. This is a new feature to me on Picassa so thought I'd give it a try. Let me know what you think.
And, I've tried something new with posting on our Google Picassa photos web site- I put up a couple of short videos. This is a new feature to me on Picassa so thought I'd give it a try. Let me know what you think.
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Alaska is truly magical! Peggy and I are waiting for our supper order from the hamburger shack next to our campground when I look out the window. I see birds flying around...wait...those are bald eagles! I have my iPhone with me and try to capture them on video but they look like sparrows flying on it.
We take our burgers and fries back to the camper, and the eagles are still flying around- close to the ground and circling much like vultures. Can't let my burger and fries get cold so I eat. Out of the camper's windows I still see them flying. I quickly finish eating, grab my camera, go out to the camper and switch from my peewee lens to my big boy lens (55-250mm zoom with image stabilization. Same lens I tried to shoot the far away Dall Sheep with.) Don't laugh, you with your big, looks like you're toting a cannon, lenses!
The eagles are now flying around across the street from our campground. I point and shoot, point and shoot, point and shoot...click, click, click, click, click, snap, snap, snap. I aim and shoot repeatedly until I realize I am holding my breath and now am gasping for air. But holy crap, how often does a flatlander from Omaha, NE, get to see 20+ eagles circling around sometimes what seems like an arm's length away.
And then I see him. A man is throwing out herring into a parking lot and the eagles are swooping in for the meal! He says he spends $30 for a bag of herring on the docks and comes out and feeds them. The eagles will come in to eat from him if they aren't catching enough fish on their own, and he says right now it's in between seasons for fish to move into the Valdez bay so the eagles are more hungry.
What a spectacle! I thank him for the show and hustle back to the camper to upload the images to my computer. As I am doing so, I think of a former colleague of mine, Vince Moragues, whose hobby was photographing eagles. He was even an award winner at local fairs back home.
Here is a tease of what I shot:
There are more eagles and today's photos in my Picassa site.
Here's today's photos
Waterfall Video Uploaded to YouTube
Eagles I Video Uploaded to YouTube
Eagles II Video Uploaded to YouTube
Eagles III Video Uploaded to YouTube
Waterfall Video Uploaded to YouTube
Eagles I Video Uploaded to YouTube
Eagles II Video Uploaded to YouTube
Eagles III Video Uploaded to YouTube
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Day 14, Tok, AK, to Valdez, AK
May 22 Starting out as another clear day. We'll take it! Am checking email before our sourdough pancakes arrive, delivered by the campground staff.
I got a neat email from my friend and former colleague, Dennis McIntyre. He has been following the blog, and being a former social studies teacher, he came up with a way to map our progress. I told him I'd appoint him Chief Cartographer. Here it is: Dennis McIntyre tracks the Albertsens
Knock, knock, knock on the camper door. "Good morning! Here's your breakfast." Peggy and I each got 4 sourdough pancakes and 2 slabs of reindeer sausage. Very good, but the pancakes may be a wee bit to vinegary for my taste. I want my S-I-L, Tyler, to know that the sausage reminded me of the wurst his family makes, so you know that this sausage was very good!
We packed up and on down the road to Valdez we go. I haven't given much credit to my mate and CFO/navigator and sometimes photographer. Peggy sits with a variety of maps, books, and camera in her lap or at hand for much of our traveling. She hasn't missed a beat when it comes to knowing ahead where the gas stations, campgrounds, and points of interest are. And we have only gotten lost once which required us to turn around and go the other direction. And I was equal to making the wrong turn. Time out for this commercial message: If any of you ever make this trip, I highly recommend you get The Milepost. It is the ultimate in everything you need to know about going to Alaska by road!
Any pictures you see that have a road in them were taken on the fly by Peggy. She has to wait for just that opportune moment before focusing and snapping the picture. I told her to shoot as many as she wants as digital pixs can as easily be deleted.
We headed south out of Tok on the Tok Cutoff highway. It leads us down to Glenallen, AK where we turn and head towards Valdez on Hwy 4. The farther south we go the deeper the snow is getting in the ditches. We are now west of the Wrangell Mt Range and stop to take some photos. To the south of us we can see the Chugach Mts covered with blazing white snow in the sunlight.
And as we continue south the snow depth increases. We stop at pullouts to read about glaciers on the mountainsides. However, there is so much snow you can't tell snow from glaciers. We make it over Thompson Pass and OMG...everything, I mean everything is buried in snow! The only thing cleared of snow is the road, fortunately. I know we are well south of the Arctic Circle, but this must be what the Arctic looks like.
We get into Valdez which has 3 campgrounds. The first one is still buried in snow! We enter the town and find a church parking lot where we park. Peggy calls the 2nd campground and whew, they have some cleared spaces. While she is on the phone the priest from the church comes out to see if we need anything. Very thoughtful of him! He said that Valdez had over 400 inches of snow this winter. Hmmm? Wonder how many snow days from school that would convert into.
We get to the campground and get set up. The temp is 53º so I know we are not in the Arctic! And the campground has strong, fast wifi so life is good, even with snow around us 3 feet deep! The campground host has recommended several good eateries, museums and other things to take in. We only booked ourselves for 2 days since we will not be able to do any hiking with all the snow.
I do have a concern with a trailer tire which has lost some air. I refilled it and will monitor it to see if I need to find a tire repair shop. Time to get out, get some food and see the sights. I'll probably add more to this post later.
I got a neat email from my friend and former colleague, Dennis McIntyre. He has been following the blog, and being a former social studies teacher, he came up with a way to map our progress. I told him I'd appoint him Chief Cartographer. Here it is: Dennis McIntyre tracks the Albertsens
Knock, knock, knock on the camper door. "Good morning! Here's your breakfast." Peggy and I each got 4 sourdough pancakes and 2 slabs of reindeer sausage. Very good, but the pancakes may be a wee bit to vinegary for my taste. I want my S-I-L, Tyler, to know that the sausage reminded me of the wurst his family makes, so you know that this sausage was very good!
We packed up and on down the road to Valdez we go. I haven't given much credit to my mate and CFO/navigator and sometimes photographer. Peggy sits with a variety of maps, books, and camera in her lap or at hand for much of our traveling. She hasn't missed a beat when it comes to knowing ahead where the gas stations, campgrounds, and points of interest are. And we have only gotten lost once which required us to turn around and go the other direction. And I was equal to making the wrong turn. Time out for this commercial message: If any of you ever make this trip, I highly recommend you get The Milepost. It is the ultimate in everything you need to know about going to Alaska by road!
Any pictures you see that have a road in them were taken on the fly by Peggy. She has to wait for just that opportune moment before focusing and snapping the picture. I told her to shoot as many as she wants as digital pixs can as easily be deleted.
We headed south out of Tok on the Tok Cutoff highway. It leads us down to Glenallen, AK where we turn and head towards Valdez on Hwy 4. The farther south we go the deeper the snow is getting in the ditches. We are now west of the Wrangell Mt Range and stop to take some photos. To the south of us we can see the Chugach Mts covered with blazing white snow in the sunlight.
And as we continue south the snow depth increases. We stop at pullouts to read about glaciers on the mountainsides. However, there is so much snow you can't tell snow from glaciers. We make it over Thompson Pass and OMG...everything, I mean everything is buried in snow! The only thing cleared of snow is the road, fortunately. I know we are well south of the Arctic Circle, but this must be what the Arctic looks like.
We get into Valdez which has 3 campgrounds. The first one is still buried in snow! We enter the town and find a church parking lot where we park. Peggy calls the 2nd campground and whew, they have some cleared spaces. While she is on the phone the priest from the church comes out to see if we need anything. Very thoughtful of him! He said that Valdez had over 400 inches of snow this winter. Hmmm? Wonder how many snow days from school that would convert into.
We get to the campground and get set up. The temp is 53º so I know we are not in the Arctic! And the campground has strong, fast wifi so life is good, even with snow around us 3 feet deep! The campground host has recommended several good eateries, museums and other things to take in. We only booked ourselves for 2 days since we will not be able to do any hiking with all the snow.
I do have a concern with a trailer tire which has lost some air. I refilled it and will monitor it to see if I need to find a tire repair shop. Time to get out, get some food and see the sights. I'll probably add more to this post later.
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We went to the Valdez Visitors Center to get some info on the area. Ended up at the bay called Port of Valdez and took some pixs. Drove around and found the harbor area and walked around. Came back to our campground and yup, got a leaky tire on the trailer so first thing in the morning will take the tire off and to a repair shop.
Our neighbors in the campground have been in Valdez several times before. They pointed out a mountain adjacent to the campground that we were able to see bears on the mountain side using binoculars. Very cool to see them!
Got halibut to eat from a small diner right next door to our campground. Good food!! And this campground gets an A+ rating from us as they had plowed out campsites for use, have the strongest, fastest wifi and even cable TV.
Peggy and I are now off to drive closer to the mountain to see if we can see the bears and also to look for the tire repair shop.
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Just returned from a drive northeast of Valdez about 2 miles to locate a tire repair service. On the way back we happened to find 4 black bears on the mountain side. Two of the sows had a cub each. One of the bears was about 50 yards away so I got some reasonable close ups of it. Another good day in Alaska!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Day 13, Haines Junction, YT, to Tok, Alaska
May 21 The morning broke with a temp of 24ºF but the skies are clear! We have been in cloudy, rainy, snowy weather since last Friday! The Elias mountain range behind our campsite was immersed in sunlight and the snow is glowing. It's really picturesque!
We left Haines Junction, YT, today around 8:15 and continued on our migration towards Alaska on the Alaska Hwy. We again see snow covered mountains and frozen lakes and snow among the trees. That said, the farther west we go the more frost heaves we encounter in the road. In fact today's road condition is the worst we've encountered yet on our trip. Many orange flags and triple triangle signs forewarn to slow down, fool!
Our goal is Tok, Ak., a distance of 290 miles. However, as recommended to us by the docent at the Haines Junction NP Visitors Center, we will make a stop at the Kluane NP Visitors Center as there should be Dall Sheep to be seen.
Kluane Lake is BIG, the largest in the Yukon. The highway follows its southern shoreline. We come to the Visitors Center and as we get out of the truck, you can see these little white dots up on the slope of Sheep Mt. We get out our new Nikon binoculars with zoom feature, and you can clearly see ewes with lamps, and off by themselves are some rams.
I change from my peewee camera lens to my larger zoom lens only to find that the white dots are detectable as Dall Sheep if you use your imagination. I lament this fact to my CFO who gives me little sympathy as there is nothing to be done...until my birthday in June? Maybe a trip to a camera store is in order when we get to Anchorage?? Or, how 'bout this...Hey Peggy, wanna new bigger zoom camera lens for our anniversary?? Brrrrr...I think I would feel the temperature drop!!
But these sheep are fascinating to watch. They have to be very nimble to be able to move about on the steepness of this mountain.
We also visit with a docent at this center. She takes us inside and hands us a partial ram's skull and curved horns. The weight is very impressive!! This particular ram was about 8 years old according to how she showed us to count the annual growth rings on the horns.
We left the Visitors Center and continued the slow down, bounce, bounce, bounce, speed up; orange flags, slow down fool, bounce, bounce, bounce, routine pretty much the rest of the way to the Canada/USA border.
As we stopped at the US Port of Entry, we had to use the commercial buses and semi truck lane because the canopies on the other lanes were labeled as 12' 8". Our trailer is 13' 6" tall so we only had one choice of lanes. There was a Class A motorhome ahead of us in this lane. We waited and waited, and waited some more. We figured border agents must be inside inspecting. There was an officer outside the motorhome talking to the driver. After what seemed a long time, he let the motorhome enter the US.
Our turn. The same agent that was outside the motorhome asked us the typical questions- where you from? where you going? any firearms, any alcohol? what did you purchase in Canada? let me see your passports. After all this, he just started talking to us. And he talked and talked and talked. A very friendly sort, but I found out more about him, buying groceries, caribou meat, freezing milk, home schooling, wife is a former elementary teacher, the weather, shipping goods into Alaska, high cost of living, seeing the northern lights, growing vegetables in the Matsu Valley. Wow. I will say Officer Roper was a really nice, friendly guy who...just seems lonesome with his assignment at a remote Port of Entry outpost.
As we traveled today and would make fuel stops we kept running into people who we met in the campground in Haines Junction. And, sure enough, we see some them again in a liquor store here in Tok. But, when there is only 1 highway into Alaska, I guess the chances of seeing others who are traveling the same direction as you on the Alaska Highway are increased.
And, maybe it is US engineering, or maybe the economy in the Yukon, or maybe both, but the condition of the Alaska Highway is significantly better in Alaska, way better in fact, than the last 100 miles of the highway in the Yukon. I don't know if you watch The Discovery channel, but I had (Peggy watched it, too) seen a program where the Canadians were testing ways to improve highway construction over the permafrost. On the show they showed how they were using vent tubes under the highway to help prevent frost heaves. We saw those road test areas with these vents on the AK Hwy. And, the road was in the worst condition where these vents were!
As we made our way towards Alaska we could see off to the SE the Wrangell Mts. And gee, they are covered with snow, too! When we got to Tok we went to our selected campground, The Sourdough. They advertised wifi, and it seems very fast and reliable. But, they also advertised sourdough pancakes for breakfast! And best of all, they deliver the pancakes to your camper. All you do is tell them what time and Viola' - pancakes arrive!
There is still snow on the ground in the camp. They did have the RV pads cleared off, though it is still a bit muddy. When my CFO/navigator went into the office, the gal there welcomed her and said we were the first campers of the season. And guess what...shortly after we arrived, so did a couple from Florida. They remarked about how hard is was to get used to the cold nights in Alaska. And camped next to us are 2 RVs of people from Germany who were also at Haines Junction. And here is were I break out into, "It's a small world after all".
We are now on Alaska time which is 3 hours ahead of Omaha. But with a sun that barely sets this time of year, I guess it really doesn't matter what the time is. Eat when you're hungry and go to bed when you're tired as it really doesn't get very dark. A person with vim and vigor could be on the go 18 hours a day in the light.
We left Haines Junction, YT, today around 8:15 and continued on our migration towards Alaska on the Alaska Hwy. We again see snow covered mountains and frozen lakes and snow among the trees. That said, the farther west we go the more frost heaves we encounter in the road. In fact today's road condition is the worst we've encountered yet on our trip. Many orange flags and triple triangle signs forewarn to slow down, fool!
Our goal is Tok, Ak., a distance of 290 miles. However, as recommended to us by the docent at the Haines Junction NP Visitors Center, we will make a stop at the Kluane NP Visitors Center as there should be Dall Sheep to be seen.
Kluane Lake is BIG, the largest in the Yukon. The highway follows its southern shoreline. We come to the Visitors Center and as we get out of the truck, you can see these little white dots up on the slope of Sheep Mt. We get out our new Nikon binoculars with zoom feature, and you can clearly see ewes with lamps, and off by themselves are some rams.
I change from my peewee camera lens to my larger zoom lens only to find that the white dots are detectable as Dall Sheep if you use your imagination. I lament this fact to my CFO who gives me little sympathy as there is nothing to be done...until my birthday in June? Maybe a trip to a camera store is in order when we get to Anchorage?? Or, how 'bout this...Hey Peggy, wanna new bigger zoom camera lens for our anniversary?? Brrrrr...I think I would feel the temperature drop!!
But these sheep are fascinating to watch. They have to be very nimble to be able to move about on the steepness of this mountain.
We also visit with a docent at this center. She takes us inside and hands us a partial ram's skull and curved horns. The weight is very impressive!! This particular ram was about 8 years old according to how she showed us to count the annual growth rings on the horns.
We left the Visitors Center and continued the slow down, bounce, bounce, bounce, speed up; orange flags, slow down fool, bounce, bounce, bounce, routine pretty much the rest of the way to the Canada/USA border.
As we stopped at the US Port of Entry, we had to use the commercial buses and semi truck lane because the canopies on the other lanes were labeled as 12' 8". Our trailer is 13' 6" tall so we only had one choice of lanes. There was a Class A motorhome ahead of us in this lane. We waited and waited, and waited some more. We figured border agents must be inside inspecting. There was an officer outside the motorhome talking to the driver. After what seemed a long time, he let the motorhome enter the US.
Our turn. The same agent that was outside the motorhome asked us the typical questions- where you from? where you going? any firearms, any alcohol? what did you purchase in Canada? let me see your passports. After all this, he just started talking to us. And he talked and talked and talked. A very friendly sort, but I found out more about him, buying groceries, caribou meat, freezing milk, home schooling, wife is a former elementary teacher, the weather, shipping goods into Alaska, high cost of living, seeing the northern lights, growing vegetables in the Matsu Valley. Wow. I will say Officer Roper was a really nice, friendly guy who...just seems lonesome with his assignment at a remote Port of Entry outpost.
As we traveled today and would make fuel stops we kept running into people who we met in the campground in Haines Junction. And, sure enough, we see some them again in a liquor store here in Tok. But, when there is only 1 highway into Alaska, I guess the chances of seeing others who are traveling the same direction as you on the Alaska Highway are increased.
And, maybe it is US engineering, or maybe the economy in the Yukon, or maybe both, but the condition of the Alaska Highway is significantly better in Alaska, way better in fact, than the last 100 miles of the highway in the Yukon. I don't know if you watch The Discovery channel, but I had (Peggy watched it, too) seen a program where the Canadians were testing ways to improve highway construction over the permafrost. On the show they showed how they were using vent tubes under the highway to help prevent frost heaves. We saw those road test areas with these vents on the AK Hwy. And, the road was in the worst condition where these vents were!
As we made our way towards Alaska we could see off to the SE the Wrangell Mts. And gee, they are covered with snow, too! When we got to Tok we went to our selected campground, The Sourdough. They advertised wifi, and it seems very fast and reliable. But, they also advertised sourdough pancakes for breakfast! And best of all, they deliver the pancakes to your camper. All you do is tell them what time and Viola' - pancakes arrive!
There is still snow on the ground in the camp. They did have the RV pads cleared off, though it is still a bit muddy. When my CFO/navigator went into the office, the gal there welcomed her and said we were the first campers of the season. And guess what...shortly after we arrived, so did a couple from Florida. They remarked about how hard is was to get used to the cold nights in Alaska. And camped next to us are 2 RVs of people from Germany who were also at Haines Junction. And here is were I break out into, "It's a small world after all".
We are now on Alaska time which is 3 hours ahead of Omaha. But with a sun that barely sets this time of year, I guess it really doesn't matter what the time is. Eat when you're hungry and go to bed when you're tired as it really doesn't get very dark. A person with vim and vigor could be on the go 18 hours a day in the light.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Day 12, Skagway, AK, to Haines Junction, YT
May 20 Pulled out of Skagway at 8:30 heading northeast up the White Pass into British
Columbia and on into the Yukon. It was 28ºF when we left. The temps hovered below freezing for much of the drive to the Alaska Hwy. As we rose in elevation, the clouds started building, and it started to snow. It became apparent that it had snowed in the pass overnight as the hwy. was sanded and to a degree icy and slick. We took our time driving on the snow packed, icy parts. Luckily, there was not any traffic on this part of the northbound South Klondike Hwy.
Eventually we came to the Canadian Port of Entry at Frazier, BC. We were the only vehicle there. As luck would have it, we got inspected. As Peggy said later it looked like they were training a rookie Border Guard. They went through the trailer and the pickup. They even asked us to open the safe under the bed in the trailer, so Peggy did the honor. After 15 minutes they thanked us for our time and let us be on our way. The worst thing that happened was they messed up the bed! :o)
We continued on our way to Carcross, YT, where we filled up the pickup. The road was good as we have come to expect. North of there, we turned west onto the Alaska Hwy. It, too, is in good shape despite everything we had been lead to believe. There are places clearly marked with the you-know-what signs and/or orange cones/flags. You simply slow down knowing that there is a rough area in the road.
We did have to detour off of the new Alaska Hwy constructed in 2002 onto what the flag person said was the original Alaska Hwy. Peggy took a picture of this old road. I wonder if Dave Richardson's grandfather worked on it in the Yukon. He had mentioned this on Facebook.
We made it to Haines Junction, YT. If you turned south here onto the Haines Hwy you would go by the gold mine run by a grandson and grandpa whose names I can't remember, but the show is on TV. It was mid-afternoon so we decided to camp at the Kluane RV Park. Park is a loose term as it is more of a gravel parking lot with electricity and wifi. (It's supposed to have cable TV but when I scan for channels, nothing comes up.) However, the best attribute of staying here is the mountains!! They are a glorious sight! We'll take pictures and get them posted.
We drove back into Haines Junction and went to the Kulane NP and Cultural Visitors Center. They have a beautiful new building. We watch a 25 minute video on the national park and its cultural, First Nation heritage. It was spectacular. The same crew that videotaped "The Blue Planet" did the work on the film, and it was done first rate.
Peggy (a.k.a. CFO/Navigator) just said we are 294 miles from Tok, Alaska. We're making good time and distances. Bratwurst on the grill for supper, hopefully get some TV to watch as I'm sure the temps will approach freezing again tonight. Tried hooking up to multiple coaxial connectors in the campground...but, alas...no being a dude camper tonight as the campgrounds cable TV must be out.
According to google maps, we are now 2922 miles from Omaha. This does not include the 260 mile round trip jaunt we took to Skagway. We are now about 600 miles from Wasilla, AK.
Life is sure treating us awfully well. Peggy deserves it...not sure I do, but I'll take it just the same.
Remember you can see more of our photos on our Alaska trip at https://picasaweb.google.com/taviking22/Alaska201302
Columbia and on into the Yukon. It was 28ºF when we left. The temps hovered below freezing for much of the drive to the Alaska Hwy. As we rose in elevation, the clouds started building, and it started to snow. It became apparent that it had snowed in the pass overnight as the hwy. was sanded and to a degree icy and slick. We took our time driving on the snow packed, icy parts. Luckily, there was not any traffic on this part of the northbound South Klondike Hwy.
Eventually we came to the Canadian Port of Entry at Frazier, BC. We were the only vehicle there. As luck would have it, we got inspected. As Peggy said later it looked like they were training a rookie Border Guard. They went through the trailer and the pickup. They even asked us to open the safe under the bed in the trailer, so Peggy did the honor. After 15 minutes they thanked us for our time and let us be on our way. The worst thing that happened was they messed up the bed! :o)
We continued on our way to Carcross, YT, where we filled up the pickup. The road was good as we have come to expect. North of there, we turned west onto the Alaska Hwy. It, too, is in good shape despite everything we had been lead to believe. There are places clearly marked with the you-know-what signs and/or orange cones/flags. You simply slow down knowing that there is a rough area in the road.
We did have to detour off of the new Alaska Hwy constructed in 2002 onto what the flag person said was the original Alaska Hwy. Peggy took a picture of this old road. I wonder if Dave Richardson's grandfather worked on it in the Yukon. He had mentioned this on Facebook.
We made it to Haines Junction, YT. If you turned south here onto the Haines Hwy you would go by the gold mine run by a grandson and grandpa whose names I can't remember, but the show is on TV. It was mid-afternoon so we decided to camp at the Kluane RV Park. Park is a loose term as it is more of a gravel parking lot with electricity and wifi. (It's supposed to have cable TV but when I scan for channels, nothing comes up.) However, the best attribute of staying here is the mountains!! They are a glorious sight! We'll take pictures and get them posted.
We drove back into Haines Junction and went to the Kulane NP and Cultural Visitors Center. They have a beautiful new building. We watch a 25 minute video on the national park and its cultural, First Nation heritage. It was spectacular. The same crew that videotaped "The Blue Planet" did the work on the film, and it was done first rate.
Peggy (a.k.a. CFO/Navigator) just said we are 294 miles from Tok, Alaska. We're making good time and distances. Bratwurst on the grill for supper, hopefully get some TV to watch as I'm sure the temps will approach freezing again tonight. Tried hooking up to multiple coaxial connectors in the campground...but, alas...no being a dude camper tonight as the campgrounds cable TV must be out.
According to google maps, we are now 2922 miles from Omaha. This does not include the 260 mile round trip jaunt we took to Skagway. We are now about 600 miles from Wasilla, AK.
Life is sure treating us awfully well. Peggy deserves it...not sure I do, but I'll take it just the same.
Remember you can see more of our photos on our Alaska trip at https://picasaweb.google.com/taviking22/Alaska201302
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8:50 P.M. We just returned from a from a hike along the Dezadeash River. Twas 5.5 km (3.4 mi) long. We just get started and Peggy says there's bears here according to that sign. So, back we go to get our bear spray. Nary a bear was seen. Better to have bear spray along and not have to use it, than not having the spray with and....!
Saw a sign in a bakery here (bought good sourdough bread!) saying that you should wear bells when hiking to alert the bears of your presence. And you should be knowledgable about recognizing black bear poo and grizzly poo. Black bear poo will contain grasses, berries, and small rodent skins. Grizzly poo will contain chewed bones, digested meat, and bells!
In the RV campground (aka parking lot) we ran into a couple from Georgia that we had seen at dinner last night in Skagway. So I had to ask if it was so...it was. They ate at the Skagway Brewing Co., too. They are driving a small, new, Winnebago motorhome to Anchorage for the Winnebago Co in Iowa. They get to use the RV for free but have to purchase their own gas, food, etc. I met a man from No. Carolina who was doing the same. 150 units from Winnebago are being driven by others to Alaska that way!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Day 11, Skagway, AK
May 19 I now know why they used the native term skagua (windy place) to name this town. The wind howled throughout the night, enough to even give a periodic wiggle to the 5th wheel.
I looked into doing a train ride up to White Pass with a tour bus return, but the trains don't start running until the end of May. I'm sure we will find other things to do today, our last in Skagway. It's a bit disappointing that we are ahead of the tourist season for many places, but I have to remind myself that we will be in Alaska all summer and will have more than enough tourist/visitor opportunities to satisfy ourselves!
And, I apologize to the readers of this blog. I have to admit that I occasionally go back to previous posts and add things. It becomes hard to recall everything that you see and do and put it in the post at the time you write it. Through idle time thinking and conversations with Peggy, I recall things that I didn't include, so go back and add it. And I would not expect Peggy to have to jot down notes because she is entitled to take in the sights and have an enjoyable experience, too. However, Peggy and I want the blog to be a good, accurate way for us to recollect later what took place on our trip as much as we want you to be informed about our happenings.
Staying in Skagway has been welcomed not only from the variety of things to see and do here, but it has been a nice break from being on the road everyday trying to cover distances. Tomorrow we are back on the road in the Yukon and on the Alaska Hwy making our way closer to Alaska.
I know that Internet and cell phone services will be nonexistent en route until perhaps we cross back into Alaska at Tok. And even then there is not a guarantee that wifi will be available, even if advertised as such. We've found that out!
We slept in again this morning. Peggy cooked a large breakfast and off we ventured. We went back to the NP Visitors Center to get info and maps for the old Skagway cemetery, a water fall, and the old Klondike town of Dyea. Off to the cemetery we went.
Buried in this Gold Rush Cemetery are some of Skagway's old citizens. There is Martin Itjen who I mentioned in an earlier post. There is Soapy Smith, and unsavory type, and Frank Reid, a good guy, who were in a gun battle. Reid fatally shot Smith on the spot, but Reid was mortally wounded and died later. These graves all date back to the times of the gold rush and the initial growth of Skagway. We found a plaque in Skagway were the gun fight took place.
Also at the cemetery is a trail that climbs up to the Lower Reid Falls. They were an impressive sight not only because of the height, but also the amount of water tumbling down. It helps that it is spring, and the snows on the mountain are melting to produce more water.
We then drove 9 miles to Dyea which was the companion town to Skagway during the Klondike gold rush. It is located on a separate inlet to the north of Skagway. We were able to drive out on the tidal flats where you can still see old pilings for the docks of Dyea. We hiked a trail around the old town site finding little but for a front to a real estate office, but the town died for a lack of being a deep water port. For that reason, Skagway survived with its deep harbor for oceangoing vessels.
We attempted to go to a couple of museums in town but with it being Sunday, they were closed. We filled up the pickup with fuel for our departure tomorrow. This evening went out to eat dinner.
Just got back from a good meal of halibut and fries. Very good! I also had to sample the Skagway Brewing Company's micro brews. My top choice of the 5 beers (shot glass sized each!) was their Spruce Top Blonde beer. Also found out that this particular beer was written up in "Draft Magazine". If any of you ever get to Skagway, you have to have a glass. I'll vouch for it!
We can now make preps for tomorrow drive- take on some fresh water, tidy up the camper, look over the maps- at least Peggy does, and rest up! Adieu, Skagway! We really enjoyed being here!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Days 10, Skagway, AK
May 19 Awoke to rain this morning. In fact it is predicted to continue all day. However, we have museums to visit, and we can take our own driving tour around Skagway. BTW, Skagway was originally called Moorestown after a man who homesteaded the townsite. But, with the rush of people coming for the gold rush, services were quickly established, and whoever started the post office, named the town Skagway after the native term skagua having something to do with "windy place". That name stuck. And, it is windy here today!
More later if the wifi pirating continues! Some poor soul in the neighborhood of the RV park has an unprotected Apple airport hub running. I've been able to "take liberties" with it. :o)
We were able to get out after lunch. The rain had pretty much stopped but a slight drizzle continued. We parked in the main street area and walked to the harbor. We got quite close to the various boats that were docked there. We saw a pair of ducks swimming. The male had very unique markings and I'm wondering if it wasn't a harlequin duck?? There seems to be less people maybe because there is only 1 cruise ship here.
The local volunteer fire department is having a fundraiser today- a car wash. They have positioned their fire trucks on both sides of a street with the hoses set on a misting spray. Cars are driven in between the trucks. Firemen with buckets of sudsy water brush the cars. The car then get a final rinse. Clean!
We then went to a museum that showed the Klondike Gold Rush. It is fascinating to think that 100,000 men and women came hoping to strike it rich, but for a majority, they ended up with nothing, finding only extreme hardship. Some of the stories are about how others with their entrepreneurism really made out financially. And of course there were those who operated beneath the common decency of the area.
From there we went back to the cabin and house belonging to the Moores. We were there yesterday with the NP tour but didn't spend enough time looking around. William Moore and his son homesteaded the land that later became Skagway. I mentioned this in the first paragraph of this post.
All this acquiring new knowledge gave us a thirst, so we went to the Bonanza Bar and Grill. There was MN Twins memorabilia up on the walls, and I found out that the owner and some of the workers are from Minnesota, don't cha know and ya' betcha!
Satisfying our thirsts, we then went to an area were the Skagway River runs into the inlet and went on a hike to the Yakutania Point. Fortunately the rain and drizzle had stopped, but it was windy and cold. However, we were pretty intrepid and managed to make it out to the point. It allowed you to look a long ways down the inlet from Skagway. This inlet with Skagway is a stop for the Alaska Inside Passage Ferry System.
On the way back to the camper we stopped at the local IGA store for some groceries. Needed milk but their sign says no milk (no eggs, too) until Tuesday. Guess that's what it means to wait until your ship comes in! We...er, Peggy is now doing laundry, and I'm updating our blog while we wait for dinner time. I've also posted more photos to our web site.
Tomorrow is our last day in Skagway as we leave Monday. The only thing on our agenda is to eat out at the Skagway Brewing Company. But there are other things to be seen and explored yet such as an old cemetary, etc. More then!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Day 9, Teslin Lake, YT, to Skagway, AK
May 17 Slept in this morning! Left the RV park about 8:30 heading west on YT Hwy. 1, the Alaska Highway. Today we go west to YT Hwy 8 and then turn SW towards Skagway, Alaska! We decided to take this side trip as have extra days left before we need to be in Wasilla.
The drive was again showing snow covered mountains on both sides of the road with frozen lakes and lots of trees in the valleys we followed. We got to the intersection called Jack’s Corner. There is a gas station so I stop to top off the tank. A lady comes out to pump the gas. I jokingly ask her is she is Jack. She says, “No! Why, do I look like him?” We had a nice conversation about the coming tourist season and being glad the weather is warming, etc.
We make our turn onto Hwy 8. The road took us to Carcross, YT. We turned onto Hwy 2 south and we immediately began to climb. As we went up in elevation the snow became deeper in the ditches and the mountains steeper with their peaks covered in clouds.
We went from the Yukon into British Columbia. There were signs warning of avalanches and falling rock. As we gained altitude the clouds not only got thicker, they got closer. Finally we were in the cloud layer with very dense fog. The fog was thick enough that Peggy was watching the fog line on the edge of the road while I watched the center line and ahead. We were crawling along while I hope we didn’t either get rear ended or that I run into someone stopped in the road ahead.
Finally we cleared the mountain pass and began the descent down towards Skagway. Just as we left the cloud bank we came to the US Port of Entry. We wait in a short line of vehicles and tour buses. Finally our turn. The officer asks the usual questions. But when she asked if we had made any purchases in Canada and what were they, I told her the only thing we had purchased was in the refrigerator. With that she made a grimace, but it was only a gallon of milk! I'm sure she was worried we had bought some meat products. She waved us through.
We found the Garden City RV campground on the outer edge of Skagway. We set up camp, and it began raining. Lunch was eaten, and we started to plan what our day’s activities would be. They advertised a free wifi, but it is not up! I'm currently using an open wifi from who knows where. But is is veerrrryyy ssssllllooooowww! I'll probably need to wait to upload pictures that we've taken while here.
During the afternoon we went to the NP Service's visitor center. We watched a 30 minute movie on the 1897-9 Klondike gold rush. Was very informative. We then found that there was an hour walking tour of Skagway's history lead by a NP ranger. We took the tour and found it to be very good, also.
We then went for drinks and chips and salsa at the Red Onion Saloon. It is decorated like a saloon during the time of the gold rush and the waitresses are dressed like the saloon girls of old! Oo-la-la!!
Peggy also found that at 6:00 there was a special presentation at the NP visitor center's auditorium on Martin Injens, a former citizen of Skagway starting in the 1920's who took the area's tourism to new levels. It gave a good snapshot of the history of Skagway, also.
I do have to say that Skagway was definitely a good decision to come and visit. It is the most impressive village we've seen since our trip started. The main street is made up of small shops that sell all sorts of products. The stores reflect the look of Skagway during its heyday following the gold rush. It reminds me of Estes Park, CO, with its hubbub of goings on. There are lots of people roaming around as there are 2 cruise ships docked here. I can always people watch! :o) There is a constant movement of tour buses bring people to town and I'm sure taking them to inland places. And there is a RR that goes up to the top of the White Pass. I wish the Dyea site was open as it is at the beginning of the Chilkoot Pass route to the Yukon gold fields, but it is to early in the season.
It has been sprinkling lightly all day. So we are eating our dinner meal indoors. We have a snowy TV picture using the antenna, but it's better than nothing on a cool, rainy night.
In planning for tomorrow we know there is a museum we only peeked at so can go to that. There also is a hike to a point of land on the inland waterway on the other side of the Skagway River. So seems there will be lots to do. Peggy says we need to do laundry also.
We only drove about 130 miles today, but according to one source we are only 20 hours away from Anchorage, including getting meals, eating pie, and having good conversation. In other words only about 800 miles from Wasilla where we need to be at by next Saturday.
During the afternoon we went to the NP Service's visitor center. We watched a 30 minute movie on the 1897-9 Klondike gold rush. Was very informative. We then found that there was an hour walking tour of Skagway's history lead by a NP ranger. We took the tour and found it to be very good, also.
We then went for drinks and chips and salsa at the Red Onion Saloon. It is decorated like a saloon during the time of the gold rush and the waitresses are dressed like the saloon girls of old! Oo-la-la!!
Peggy also found that at 6:00 there was a special presentation at the NP visitor center's auditorium on Martin Injens, a former citizen of Skagway starting in the 1920's who took the area's tourism to new levels. It gave a good snapshot of the history of Skagway, also.
I do have to say that Skagway was definitely a good decision to come and visit. It is the most impressive village we've seen since our trip started. The main street is made up of small shops that sell all sorts of products. The stores reflect the look of Skagway during its heyday following the gold rush. It reminds me of Estes Park, CO, with its hubbub of goings on. There are lots of people roaming around as there are 2 cruise ships docked here. I can always people watch! :o) There is a constant movement of tour buses bring people to town and I'm sure taking them to inland places. And there is a RR that goes up to the top of the White Pass. I wish the Dyea site was open as it is at the beginning of the Chilkoot Pass route to the Yukon gold fields, but it is to early in the season.
It has been sprinkling lightly all day. So we are eating our dinner meal indoors. We have a snowy TV picture using the antenna, but it's better than nothing on a cool, rainy night.
In planning for tomorrow we know there is a museum we only peeked at so can go to that. There also is a hike to a point of land on the inland waterway on the other side of the Skagway River. So seems there will be lots to do. Peggy says we need to do laundry also.
We only drove about 130 miles today, but according to one source we are only 20 hours away from Anchorage, including getting meals, eating pie, and having good conversation. In other words only about 800 miles from Wasilla where we need to be at by next Saturday.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Day 8, Liard Hot Springs, AB, to Teslin Lake, YT
May 16 I’m up again before the alarm. I think Peggy was already awake but didn’t want to get out until the heat was turned up. We have breakfast, break camp, and are on the road at 7:30.
Today will be somewhat monumental to us as we will end up in the Yukon Territory (Province) for the first time. And, as we drive about 10 miles north of Liard Hot Springs we see our first bear, a black bear! In fact during the morning drive we see 3 black bears. We also see herds of bison which use the ditches as their pastures. There appear to be a lot of calves. We also see more caribou in herds rather than singletons previously seen. Of course we take some photos of the bears and bison.
We also see what is a lynx (bobcat) as it ran across the road in front of us. And, this cat did not have a tail. I don’t know if bobcats are this far north. So, for now we are leaning on it being a lynx. It was too fast for a photo. :o(
The Alaskan Highway is in unbelievably good shape. Yes, there are the occasional pothole, but mostly it drives much like blacktop roads in the States. Rough places are for the most part clearly marked. In the Yukon they don’t always put markers out. We do see road crews out making fixes.
We cross the border into the Yukon and stop at Lake Watson, home of the Signpost Forest. This is a fascinating place where poles are put in the ground and visitors from far, wide, and near can put up a sign. We walked among the signs until Peggy finds a Nebraska license plate. Photo op! There are also old machines used on the original building of the Alaska Hwy. and a museum which we do not go into.
We stop for fuel at a remote station. A little old lady comes out about the time I start to fill up. I ask her if she is offended that I started without her. She smiles and says,”Heck no!” She tells me that they suffered through a long, cold, snowy winter and that she is glad to have spring temps. The daily temps have been in the 50’s since Liard.
Last night Peggy and I remembered asking the Laird Hot Springs gate attendant about what we could expect this coming 3 day weekend for camping accommodations. She said to beware because all the “crazies” come out to camp as Victoria Day is like our Memorial Day and everyone goes camping.
With that in mind and looking at the map and the number of days until we’d like to be in Wasilla, AK, I suggest a side trip...to Skagway, AK! We look at a map and realize it is only 138 miles off the Alaska Hwy. We can stop and camp at Teslin Lake today, then tomorrow (Fri.) drive down to Skagway for the weekend. Monday we would then resume our trip on the AK Hwy towards our destination. Five days should give us plenty of time and being in the USA over the Canadian Victoria Day holiday would work.
So we are camped at the Yukon RV Park by the Teslin Lake. They have a very good restaurant and...they have homemade strawberry rhubarb pie! We originally were going to Mukluk Annie’s for their advertised grilled salmon, but they are closed for the season yet.
Today we drove about 286 miles. We did hit a 12 km stretch of road repair. The asphalt had been stripped and we followed a pilot car through at best wet mud. The front of our camper got a very good spattering of it. But we still remain amazed at how good the condition of the Alaska Highway is overall.
We are 130 miles from Skagway. Skagway is about 760 miles from Wasilla. That means we are approximately 2900 miles from Omaha today. We are making progress and having a good time doing it!
We are 130 miles from Skagway. Skagway is about 760 miles from Wasilla. That means we are approximately 2900 miles from Omaha today. We are making progress and having a good time doing it!
We have been without phone or Internet services for the past two days. Hopefully the Yukon RV Park Restaurant’s wifi is working! Ah, good, the restaurant has wifi! I can get these updates and photos posted. Remember our photos are at http://picasaweb.google.com/taviking22
Day 7, Tetsa River RV Park, BC, to Liard River Hots Springs, BC
May 15 No Internet available up in these British Columbia mountains that we have found, so I don’t know when we will be able to get this posted. The Tetsa River RV Park had its generator running so it was nice to get the furnace going as it was 31º outside at 6:00 when I got up. Time to get dressed, get a cinnamon roll and hit the road!
The cinnamon rolls were awesome. These had melted chocolate frosting! They were a hit with Peggy, the chocolate connoisseur.
We left our campsite around 8:00. It was nice to sleep in a little longer. We headed west and up the grades to The Summit. This is the highest point on the Alaska Highway at 4,250 feet. We stop to snap a few pics of the area and begin the descent down.
We make several stops along the way for photos of the mountains. You’ll need to go to our Picassa photo web site to see them. The highway is in astonishingly good condition. It is right up there with any U.S. mountain, 2 lane highway. Yes, we come upon frost heave areas, but they are clearly marked with the now infamous to us sawtooth sign. And the traffic is very light. There are occasional semi trucks hauling goods back and forth and a few cars and campers. Less traffic allows us to drive like grandma and grandpa and really take in the sights.
We stop at the Toad River Lodge for fuel. My favorite CFO goes in to pay as I fill the tank. When done I go into the lodge and the ceiling is covered, yes covered, with baseball caps- 8242 of them! This is one of things I like about traveling- getting into some of the local color! It was definitely worth a photo.
Today we finally see other wildlife besides caribou. Around Muncho Lake we see many Stone Sheep. They are licking the road. We’re assuming they are after the road salts used to clear ice during the winter. They are not very skittish as you can tell by the closeup photos of them. And, Peggy has made a confirmed sighting of a moose just beyond the Muncho Lake area! It did not wait for any photo ops and kept running across the road in front of us. I was able to get a “clean” shot of it, which when cropped made it look like it was in the ditch next to us. Good thing I have the camera recording RAW images!
We have had several river bridges to cross. However, the Lower Liard River Bridge is the only remaining, original 1942 suspension bridge left on the Alaska Highway. Peggy was able to get a good snapshot of it.
A short distance after crossing the bridge we came to the Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park. We had read much about the hot springs and so we camped here for the night. Of course after setting up camp and eating lunch we had to test the spring water.
Wow! The springs themselves would be impressive, but last year they built new bathhouse facilities with a very nice deck going along the edge of the springs. And the water was perfect! It only had a slight smell of sulfur unlike other hot springs we have been to in Wyoming (Saratoga and Yellowstone). Peggy dipped her big toe into it, but I did the full body emersion. Actually Peggy found the water felt good on her knee, so she used it therapeutically by simmering her leg in it. I used it recreationally. How fun to be swimming in 100º water when the air temperature is in the 50’s. I can only guess how fun it would be here in the midst of winter.
After supper we had a campfire, the first on this trip. We almost had one back in Whitecourt, AB, but it was very windy so ventured on the side of caution. The fire was so relaxing I could have fallen asleep in my outdoor recliner.
We go to bed with the sky still light although the sun had set. We need to get used to this land of the midnight sun. We’ve talked about different ways to block the light coming in through our shower skylight so our bedroom is dark. We will have to use the privacy door to room off the shower if need be.
We covered about 125 miles today. But we are very glad we stopped at the hot springs. The campground is very nice and much like a national park campground in the US, and I’ve already bragged enough on the springs. Just having an afternoon without having to drive was a welcomed break.
Day 6, Dawson Creek, BC to Tetsa River, BC
May 14 Up again before the alarm...an alarming habit! We ate breakfast, packed up and were on the road at 6:40. Before us lay the Alaska Highway (BC Hwy 97)!
The start on this epic highway was pretty nondescript. There was considerable traffic- rush hour for Dawson Creek! The scenery was some forestation and agriculture intermixed. The road is winding and slowly increasing in elevation. Eventually the farms become fewer and the forest with birch and pine take over. Peggy has the camera at the ready as signs appear indicating moose. But there are no moose in the meadows!
We came to a blue colored bridge, the Peace River Bridge. It is the longest water span on the Peace River. We stop to take some photos of it and the river valley before crossing it.
At Fort St. Johns, BC, we fuel up as it has been hammered into us from various sources to not take for granted that filling stations up the road will always be open. About two hours up the road since leaving Dawson City, we come upon The Shepard’s Inn, supposedly renowned for its cinnamon rolls.
Well, hard to turn down something renowned. Wow! The cinnamon roll was 6” X 6” and 2” thick, hot, with frosting and melted butter! Yum! These were well worth the stop. Our waitress asked where we were headed. She said in a couple of weeks she was making her first trip to Alaska for a wedding. We are stuffed and each of us box up at least half of our remaining roll. Peggy says breakfast will be waiting for us tomorrow! We are full and are able to let lunch pass us by.
We continue up the Alaska in a northerly direction. We can see snowcapped peaks to our west. At Fort Nelson we again take on fuel. Peggy, who is also the CFO, asked if I want to know how much we’ve spent on fuel. I won’t tell you so you can’t get shocked! :o) Fuel in Canada is very expensive but something we knew when we were planning this trip.
The highway now turns to a more westerly direction towards the mountains. We come upon an animal in the ditch on the passenger side. Peggy aims the camera but I can’t slow down fast enough for a good shot. She says moose, but I say caribou. But it is behind us now and no way to settle what it may have been.
However, down the road something is ambling away in the ditch on my side of the truck. This time I am able to slow in time for several shots. Peggy, isn’t that the same kind of animal you saw? Hmmm...caribou!!!
We stop at a scenic overview of the mountains and take some pixs. We decide that the Tetsa River valley with a regional public campground would be a good stop. But we’ve noticed that in among the trees are snow banks. And, of course, that campground is closed. The next one is the Tetsa River RV Park. Not bad as for $15 we get electricity until they turn off the campground’s generator. They are not on the grid out here.
The proprietor says that if we go out at 9:00 and drive a bit further up the highway that we have a very good chance of seeing wildlife. We’ll see if these two early risers find the energy to do so. (We did drive about 20 west around 8:30 p.m. but didn’t seen any animals. Bummer!)
And, this establishment, tho’ looking like it could have been built about the time of the original Alaska Hwy, also advertises fresh, hot cinnamon rolls. Let’s see...yup, room in the freezer for the leftovers, so we’ll sample some Tetsa River rolls in the morning.
The Tetsa River RV Park is fairly run down. A middle aged man owns and runs the place. He tells us that this place used to be a main camp laundry when the original Alaska Hwy was built. The only remaining structure from that time is a large boiler used to make hot water. The main building and a few other cabins are made of logs. He complained that the government came in and built the public campground just down the road from here and that it siphons off business from him. He is a disgruntled BC taxpayer. Sounds like home!
We did fill up our pickup with diesel at his place. Had to laugh as on the pump was a sign, “No Sniveling!”. Am I now a disgruntled diesel purchaser??
So far the provincial campgrounds have been closed. This weekend is the Canadian equivalent to Memorial Day, Victoria Day. Supposedly it is a three day weekend most Canadians get out after the long winter and camp. We’ll see what we find available for camping then. We’d think that they would have to open them up to accommodate everyone wanting to camp.
We traveled about 350 miles today. Our pace is slackened over previous days as there is more mountainous driving and scenery. Tomorrow we will cross The Summit, the highest point on the Alaskan Highway. From there we go by Muncho Lake and possibly the Liard Hot Springs. We’ll see what the day brings! We are getting close to the Yukon Province, also.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Day 5, Whitecourt, AB to Dawson Creek, BC
May 13 Woke up before the alarm, started the coffee, climbed back into bed, laid there for a few minutes and realized I might as well get up, and of course my roaming awakened Peggy. Ate breakfast, loaded up, and we are on the road at 7:15.
Forgot to mention yesterday that when we were eating our ice cream that 2 fire fighting vehicles went through town sirens blaring. Later in the afternoon we heard a helicopter. When it came into view it had a water bucket beneath. On the news we heard that a forest fire had broken out near the golf course. This morning it was announced that the fire was under control. This part of Canada is very dry and has had some strong wind gusts. Forest fires must be a way of life here.
Driving north out of Whitecourt the view was nothing but trees. Pines and birches as far as you could see. Signs appeared warning of lumber trucks hauling, but we never did see one. You could see areas where trees had been cut.
However, as we moved north and northwest on Hwy 43 the forests began to become fewer and more cattle and crop land appeared. Around Valleyview, AB, there were large numbers of oil and gas wells in addition to what appeared to be petroleum pipeline pumping stations. This has continued all the way to the Alberta and British Columbia border. BTW, Hwy 43 is all 4 lane except when we got west of Grande Prairie, AB. There they are twinning. Yes, twinning. Take the current two lane road and create 2 two lane roads. Get it? Twins? A four lane road. Ah! I can see your light bulb of knowledge glowing!
I need to let you know again that signage in Canada is somewhat limiting. But, there is one road sign to heed: the 3 sawtooth sign (3 triangles aligned to look like 3 mountain peaks)! The first time I didn't know what it meant. But after hitting the first unexpected rough dips in the road and looking in the mirror and seeing a nearly 7 ton trailer airborne strikes a cord with you. (Part of the previous sentence is a fabrication!) Wow! I now slow down when I see these signs. To be honest, if Omaha were to post similar signs, there would be one every 10 feet! OK...enough of my editorializing!
We passed into British Columbia and had to stop at the border sign for a photo op. This is the first time we have been in this Province. It also marks the change from the Mountain to Pacific time zone.
We cruise into Dawson Creek, BC, around 11:30. This town is the southern point for the start of the Alaska Hwy. I was expecting some little, quaint, town. But it is a busy city with all the amenities. We are camped at the Rotary Club's Mile 0 campground. Very nice here as another service organization runs it. We will spend the day being tourists. There are 2 visitor centers we want to go to. And we need to restock provisions before leaving town.
Dawson Creek is at mile marker 0 for the Alaska Highway. So, in my mind our real adventure begins here, for beyond is the highway that made legends telling of broken windshields, quagmires that cars were gobbled up in, and the constant dirt, dust, and gravel that made driving to Alaska an expedition. But, we know that the Alaska Hwy is all paved yet crosses through some of the more remote areas of North America.
Forgot to mention yesterday that when we were eating our ice cream that 2 fire fighting vehicles went through town sirens blaring. Later in the afternoon we heard a helicopter. When it came into view it had a water bucket beneath. On the news we heard that a forest fire had broken out near the golf course. This morning it was announced that the fire was under control. This part of Canada is very dry and has had some strong wind gusts. Forest fires must be a way of life here.
Driving north out of Whitecourt the view was nothing but trees. Pines and birches as far as you could see. Signs appeared warning of lumber trucks hauling, but we never did see one. You could see areas where trees had been cut.
Hwy 43, AB
I need to let you know again that signage in Canada is somewhat limiting. But, there is one road sign to heed: the 3 sawtooth sign (3 triangles aligned to look like 3 mountain peaks)! The first time I didn't know what it meant. But after hitting the first unexpected rough dips in the road and looking in the mirror and seeing a nearly 7 ton trailer airborne strikes a cord with you. (Part of the previous sentence is a fabrication!) Wow! I now slow down when I see these signs. To be honest, if Omaha were to post similar signs, there would be one every 10 feet! OK...enough of my editorializing!
We passed into British Columbia and had to stop at the border sign for a photo op. This is the first time we have been in this Province. It also marks the change from the Mountain to Pacific time zone.
Think the wind is blowing?
We cruise into Dawson Creek, BC, around 11:30. This town is the southern point for the start of the Alaska Hwy. I was expecting some little, quaint, town. But it is a busy city with all the amenities. We are camped at the Rotary Club's Mile 0 campground. Very nice here as another service organization runs it. We will spend the day being tourists. There are 2 visitor centers we want to go to. And we need to restock provisions before leaving town.
- - - - -
Peggy and I made the rounds in Dawson Creek. It has plenty of history, but it's no longer the town depicted by the stories of the building of the Alaska Highway. It has the size, hustle, and bustle of 7500 citizens who are all driving their vehicles simultaneously on streets with no turn lanes, and everyone is wanting to turn left. However, they do have an excellent museum on the Alaska Hwy. That alone was worth the stop here. The docents were exceptional and while we watched a movie on the building of the highway, they were compiling information to answer questions we had about camping, fuel, and supplies, etc., along the highway.Dawson Creek is at mile marker 0 for the Alaska Highway. So, in my mind our real adventure begins here, for beyond is the highway that made legends telling of broken windshields, quagmires that cars were gobbled up in, and the constant dirt, dust, and gravel that made driving to Alaska an expedition. But, we know that the Alaska Hwy is all paved yet crosses through some of the more remote areas of North America.
We have come about 1975 miles to reach the start of the infamous Alaska Highway. We have just over 1500 miles left to go to get to Wasilla. And, Peggy and I are still smiling! As often is said, it is not the destination, it is the journey!
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