NORTH TO ALASKA
We left home on June 3, 2006 at about 6:40 AM. Stopped at Cheyenne, Wyoming at 8:15 AM for some breakfast and top off the fuel tank. Diesel was about $2.85/gallon. Not bad!! We then drove on up to Sheridan Wyoming and stayed at Peter D's RV campground. Arrived there at 2:30 PM. Really nice place. Sue, Mac, (our dog) and I walked into town to pick up a gallon of milk and some dog treats. After supper, as we sat outside, we looked up to find 5 deer just across the fence from us (about 20 yards) just grazing away.
Deer at Peter D's Camp site at Peter D's
June 4, 2006
We left the campground and drove into town to fuel up ($2.85/gal.) we left Sheridan at 7:50 AM after we had breakfast at the Silver Spoon restaurant. It was pretty good but not as good as it was supposed to be per the people that recommended it. After breakfast, we headed North again. Drove up to Great Falls, Montana. Arrived at 4:30 PM. After fueling up the truck (2..98/gal.), we found a RV park to spend the night, there was a major thunder storm going on at the time. We got our camp site and made a mad dash from the truck to the trailer. We just sat out the storm. After it let up, we set up the trailer and did all the hook ups. I set up the computer and tried the echolink application (that is a voip application for Amateur Radio Operators), and was able to talk with a friend of mine in Denver.
The truck and trailer are performing great. I am getting about 12 MPG. I only drive about 65 MPH as we are not in any big hurry. Worst mileage was 10.4 and that was the air conditioning on and a head wind part of the time. Traffic so far has been very sparse. Guess there aren't many drivers in Wyoming or Montana. (Ha Ha) Sure is some beautiful country up here!!!!
June 5.2006
Whoooeee! The wind can sure blow up here in northern Montana and southern Canada. Seems like any direction we drove, we were driving into the wind. Sure knocked my mileage down. We left Great Falls at about 7:15 AM heading north on I15. We entered into Canada at Sweetgrass, Montana at about 9:20 AM. Went thru Calgary around 2:30 PM and headed West toward Banff and Lake Louise. Arrived at Lake Louise around 4:30. We have a nice camping ground spot and will stay here tonight and tomorrow night.
Sue & Mac at Sue at Visitor Ctr Camp site at
Canadian Visitor Ctr. Lake Louise
June 6, 2006
Had a nice day at Lake Louise today. Went over to the big Lake Louise Hotel that sits right on the lake. It is sure a scenic spot. We went into the village and bought a few groceries, then back to the campsite to relax. Later in the day, I took one propane bottle in and filled it and also filled the truck. Diesel is running about $3.30/gal. up here.
June 7,2006
Left Lake Louise this morning about 8:00 AM., headed for Jasper. Took the Icefields Parkway up to Jasper. It was a nice drive.
Athabasca Ice field Columbia Ice field Columbia Ice field 2
info sign
The road was bumpy part of the way and the speed limit was 55 mph so it took a while to get to Jasper. Along the way we saw a black bear, coyote, big horn sheep, mountain goat, and a snowshoe rabbit.
Black bear Mnt. Sheep Mnt. Goats Wiley Coyote
Jasper reminds me a lot of Jackson Hole, Wy. A nice clean tourist town in a pretty setting. We came on up to Grande Cache, Al. to spend the night. Highway 40 from Hinton to Grande Cache is in pretty good shape. The RV park is a municipal park owned by the city of Grande Cache and is secluded and quiet. Seems like everywhere we've stayed so far except here there have been trains running close by. Looked for some WIFI around the RV park and didn't find any so we will try again tomorrow. I noticed that people in the RV park with satellite dishes had them pointed pretty low.
June 8,2006
Left Grande Cache at about 8 AM this morning. We had to drive thru some low lying clouds and some rain for a while. Needless to say, the truck and trailer are really dirty now. The area is very thickly forested. A lot of logging and oil exploration is going on in this area. I was surprised when we got to Grande Prairie. It is out of the forest and has a fair amount of farming and ranching in the area. Seems like a nice little town. Arrived at Dawson Creek around 11:30 AM PDT. We are staying at the Mile 0 RV park. Went in to town for lunch, pictures of mile post 0 and just see what is there.
Sue and I at original New Mile 0 photo sign
Mile 0 sign
The RV park has WIFI, so we got caught up on email and now am going to update the web site. Checked the bank on line and we still have a little money left.
Tomorrow we (Sue) will do laundry and just lay around a little. See you later.
June 9,2006
Relaxed and drove around Dawson Creek a little bit. Found the Wal-Mart and shopped for a few things. Went back to the RV Park and just rested.
June 10, 2006
Left Dawson Creek about 8:20 this morning. Saw another bear along the road. At Fort Nelson, we stayed at the Bluebell RV Park. I would not recommend that park to anyone. There were no trees and the spaces were crowded close together. It was time to replenish my beer supply. What a shock. Had to pay $24 (Canadian) for a 12 pack of beer. That was terrible. Many RV'ers in the park were trying to wash their trucks and trailers after going thru the rain between Grande Cache and Ft Nelson. You don't wash that dirt off, you just move it around. I'm not sure what to use to get it off the vehicles. Diesel fuel at Ft. Nelson was $1.14/Liter. ($3.91/GALLON U.S.)
June 11,2006
Left Ft. Nelson headed for Watson Lake. Got an early start as we are not used to the time change yet. Say another bear along the road. Saw some more Stone Mountain Sheep. Also saw our first caribou. Couldn't get a good picture as he was headed across the road and wouldn't stop to pose.
Mtn. sheep and kid
They seem to like to eat or lick something off of the pavement. Salt, I would guess. (Or perhaps they like the taste of old rubber tires and exhaust emissions) Ha! Also saw another moose and saw our first Caribou.
Canada sure has a lot of trees, rivers and lakes. And then there are the trees, rivers, and lakes. The roads have been good so far. Every once in a while you will hit a place with loose gravel that has been put on the road. Will only last for 50 to 100 foot or so. Stopped at a place called Laird Hot Springs. It is a campground and has a couple of hot springs pools back behind it. The pools are open to the public for a small fee.
Laird Hot Springs Sue in Hot Springs Dale at Hot Springs
We sat in the hot springs for a while and really relaxed. We arrived at Watson Lake late afternoon. We stayed at the Downtown RV park. Another stop I would not recommend. I did take the truck over to a car wash area and get some of the Grande Cache mud off of it. They had WIFI so I caught up on the email. It was really hot here. Had to run the air conditioner in the trailer. We visited the "Sign Forrest". Many Many signs.
Vici, Ok Sign Forrest at All those signs Even Hams have
Watson Lake one small bladder been here
June 12, 2006
Left Watson Lake around 8:00 AM. Had a nice drive to White Horse. On the way to Whitehorse, we saw a large red fox along the road. Stopped at a place called Teslin, for fuel. They are on an enormous lake which follows the highway for quite a distance. It is called Teslin Lake. It is sure beautiful. Also went by another lake called Squanga Lake. It is also large and beautiful. We stopped at a small provincial campground about 8 or 9 miles out of Whitehorse. There are only about 3 other campers in the whole place. Nice and quiet. After arriving at the campground, we took a couple of walks, then sat around and relaxed.
Wolf Creek Camp Site Sue and Mac at Wolf Creek
It was pretty warm here. Not as hot as Watson Lake, but almost hot enough to run the air. Didn't want to get the generator out just to run the air for a while. Tomorrow might be a different story.
June 13,2006
Went in to Whitehorse to see a few sights today. Visited the S. S. Klondike and the McBride Museum. The museum was about mining history and the S.S. Klondike was a sternwheeler that was used up and down the Yukon river to move people, freight and ore up until 1955. It was getting hot and we had Mac in the truck with us, so we decided to head on back to the trailer. Here are a few pictures.
First class pass. dinning First class pass. lounge S. S. Klondike Up in the wheel house
Golden Eagle at Stuffed owls at
McBride Museum McBride Museum
I guess I didn't get any pictures of mining history. The museum was interesting though. They also had a lot of info about the role of the RCMP. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)
June 14,2006
Today was the road from hell. We drove from Whitehorse to Tok, Alaska. It was 396 miles and took about 10 hours. The road was the worst we have been on. This road has a lot of frost heave and construction/repair on it. We did see one more big lake though. It is called Kulane Lake. This is a very large lake. From the South end of it to about half way up it, there was major road construction. Traffic was stopped in one direction while the other direction moved on and then vice versa. For much of the trip, we could only go about 30 to 45 miles an hour. Really a rough road.
We arrived in Tok and checked in to the Sourdough RV park. Nice place. We had supper at their kitchen which was reindeer chili in a sourdough bowl. Was really good. After supper, there was a show and a pancake toss competition. Sue nor I won anything, but we had fun. Here are a couple of pictures.
Sourdough Theatre Pancake toss Sue as Vanna White Sue having a good time
I hate so say it, but when Sue was at the pancake toss, I was taking some pictures of her - only problem was, I had not taken the lens cap off. I then handed her the camera and she took pictures of me and did not take the lens cap off either. Guess we were tired.
June 15,2006
Today we didn't do much. We went to the downtown part of Tok and hit a gift shop and a used book store. Later in the evening, we decided to wash the truck and trailer and take it by the dump station. Naturally that caused it to rain big time. I think it rained most of the night.
June 16, 2006
This morning we headed out for Fairbanks. We drove in light rain all the way to Fairbanks. We did stop at a little place called North Pole. The visitor center had a couple of real friendly ladies that were very helpful with directions and things to do in and around the area. After visiting the Santa Clause store, we came on in to Fairbanks. Stopped at a great RV park. We look out our window and can watch the pontoon planes take off and land less than 100 yards away from us. My GPS unit shows a total of 3235 miles since we left home in Littleton, Co. I only recorded miles when we are in route, not just driving around town, so I feel that the mileage is fairly accurate.
Northh Pole Visitor Ctr. North Pole Visitor Ctr. Santa & Mrs Clause Trk and Trailer at N.Pole
June 17,2006
Well, here are some pictures of our site at Fairbanks. So far we really like the RV park. Here are a couple of pictures.
Campsite at Fairbanks Float planes across from us Take off & landing surface
It is fun to watch the float planes come in and take off. They really make a lot of noise when they rev up those motors. Of course it is not like they come and go all day long. Just a few off and on during the day. Here is one taking off.
Almost Airborne Picking Up Speed Starting Off Spot
Today we went up to the El Dorado Gold Mine. We rode the train up to the mine. Our conductor was a man by the name of Earl Hughes. His dad played fiddle for Hank Snow and Kitty Wells on the Grand Old Opera
We saw some examples of early camps and miners shacks, and got an explanation of how placer mining works as opposed to hard rock mining. Saw a demo on how the sluice works and how to pan for gold. Then we got to go in and pan for gold ourselves. Sue and I didn't make enough to pay for the trip, but we had fun. Our grand total was about 9.5 grams of gold which would be about $19. We came back home and relaxed. I tend to fall asleep early so it is still very light when I go to bed.
Sue at gold mine Conductor on train Explaining mining Nuggets from mine
June 18, 2006
Didn't do too much today. Went out for Sunday Buffet at a place called the Pump House. It sits right on the Chena River and they had a really nice buffet. Ran into some folks we had visited with at another campground and visited for a short time with them. They were staying over at North Pole. Later in the afternoon, I talked to one of the pilots of one of the float planes. He had brought his plane up from Conn. and was going to spend the summer there at the RV park we were staying at. He was a very interesting man. I didn't find out if he flew people in and out for hire or just flew around for his own pleasure. At the campground, the owners called him "The Red Barron".
June 19,2006
Went to the grocery store today. Had to stock up on groceries before going over to Denali Park. Sue said everything was about $1 more than at home. Guess I shouldn't have bought that $.25 candy bar. Ha!
Also had to replenish the beer, wine and Wild Turkey supplies. While we were at that location we filled up the truck as well. After buying groceries, alcohol, and diesel fuel at Fred Meyers, they own us. Ha, Ha.
We went back to the trailer and put everything up, relaxed and grilled some supper. We leave tomorrow for Denali.
June 20,2006
Nice drive today from Fairbanks to Denali National Park. The road was pretty good most of the way. We had one 20 minute wait for some road construction at one point. We drove thru the area of the "Parks Fire" that had just been extinguished. I found it amazing that the houses we could see from the road had all survived. Folks up here have learned that a fire abatement plan works. Their houses had cleared areas all around them and the fire had nothing to use for fuel. We did not see a single home that had burnt.
Arrived at Denali and checked in at the wilderness check in point. Got our shuttle bus tickets and then headed up to the Teklanika River campground. It is 29 miles into the park. For those of you that I have talked to about the length restriction previously, let me say that no one ask a single question about the length of the rig nor mentioned anything about not being able to take large rigs up to Teklanika.
After reaching the campground and getting set up, we just took a walk and relaxed for a while. This evening, the parks service was conducting a lecture at the campground about wolves. The presentation was very interesting. Did you know that the average life of wolves in the Denali Park is only 3 to 4 years? They can live up to 12 years, but less than half make it to their 3rd birthday. They can go up to 20 days without eating. When they hunt, the are only successful 10% of the time. When they do kill a large animal, they will gorge themselves and then have to lay around for a while until they have digested most of the food. It is said they become "food drunk". They usually range in about a 200 to 800 square mile area. There are about 110 wolves in 12 to 23 packs. They can run at about 5 miles an hour indefinitely and can reach speeds of up to 40 miles an hour for a short time. Denali's wolves belong to the species known as "gray wolves". They eat mostly meat.
Wolf Hide for Demo Ranger at CG Dale and Mac Campsite at Teklanika
June 21,2006
Sue and I got up early this morning and caught a shuttle bus going up to Toklat. We just wanted something to do for a while and since the new Visitors Center is temporarily at that location, we thought we would just take a ride. We say a few moose, caribou, Dall Sheep, and a bald eagle
Dall Sheep A Moose on the Loose Looking Down Toldat River Caribou Resting
We didn't see any wolves, though. After a visit at the visitors center, we caught another bus back down to the campground. Actually we got off the bus at a scheduled rest stop and walked the rest of the way to the campground. Have to get some exercise!!! Tomorrow we will take the bus all the way up to Wonder Lake. It is a longer bus ride than the one today. Should take about 8 to 9 hours.
It rained a little while this evening.
June 22,2006
We were supposed to take a bus today up to Wonder Lake. I woke up this morning at 4:00 AM and it was raining. It rained for another 2 hours and so we decided to skip the bus ride. We just loafed around for a while and when it finally stopped raining, we went for a hike. We walked down river from the campground and finally cut across country to reach the road going to the campground. We noticed some tracks in the mud along the road. I thought it might be wolf tracks. Sue thought it was a big dog. As we walked along, we caught up with the camp host and his wife. They asked us if we noticed the wolf tracks across the road. I think I was right and Sue was wrong this time. After we got back to the trailer, it rained some more. They sure needed the rain, but it would be nice if it had waited until we were gone.
Sue & Mac in riverbed Bear tracks in riverbed
June 23, 2006.
We left Teklanika this morning headed for Anchorage. We stopped at the main visitors center at Denali as we were headed out. It is a new facility and has some very nice displays and information areas.
Eagle Display at Visitors Ctr.
Of course we had to hit the gift shop there as well.
We drove in the rain most of the way to Anchorage. It wasn't a hard rain, just sort of misty and low cloud coverage. We stopped at several view areas to try and see Mt. McKinley, but never could. If you want rain for the crops you planted, just call us.
After arriving at Anchorage, we checked in at the Anchorage RV Park. This is a big park. They have spaces for 195 RVs. This time of the year, it is usually pretty full. Even with that many spaces, each site has a nice area between them and the next site. Moose come wandering thru the Park all the time. Diesel prices in Anchorage run about $2.90/gal.
June 24, 2006
This morning we went to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. When we arrived, there was a group of natives performing ceremonial dances. They were fun to watch. After the show was over, we toured the rest of the facility. There were many booths set up for the natives to sell their arts and crafts. Boy, some of them do intricate work. Prices are a little steep, but in some cases is easily justified.
Alaska Native Natives Performing Ceremonial Dances
CenterHeritage
After the Heritage Center, we made our way downtown to the Anchorage Visitors Center. The downtown area has hanging baskets of flowers all over the place. They were very pretty. While downtown, we decided to take in the Farmers Market. It goes on every weekend in the summer. It turns out to be more like a flea market than a farmers market. Had a nice lunch at the Chowder House and returned to the RV park to see if Mac had torn the trailer apart during our absence. It was ok, but Mac was ready to get out for a while.
June 25,2006
This morning we went to a Salmon viewing area. They have a bridge across the river off of Cook Inlet. This time of the year, you are supposed to be able to watch the salmon swim up stream. When we arrived, we found that the tide was out and were told by a local fisherman that the salmon wait until the tide is coming in to start their run up stream. We will have to go back this evening. For lunch we went to a place called Sourdough Mining Co. They have a nice brunch there. Took a wheel barrow to get me out to the truck. Across the street from the restaurant is a place called Alaska Wild Berry Products. They are sort of like Knotts Berry Farm. They have all kinds of jam and jelly made from Alaska berries. They also have a 20' tall chocolate fountain. Boy did that look good.
June 26,2006
This morning we left for Ninilchik. This is a small town on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula. We found a small state recreation area campground and found a nice spot to set up camp. There weren't many people in the park so we sort of had the place to ourselves. The camp host is from the Seattle, Wash. area. They were going to leave there in a couple of weeks and go up to Kenai. They have a daughter that lives in Highlands Park, Co. and have visited our area many times. They told us of several things to do and see in Homer and where a couple of nice eagle viewing places were. Sue and I drove into Ninilchik and sort of checked out other campgrounds. We did find one great campground down by Anchor River between Ninilchik. The campground is divided into several areas. The area called Slide Hole is a great place to stay. If you are planning a trip to Alaska and plan to camp keep this one bookmarked.
We did see a few eagles as we drove around, but that was before we were told of some nice eagle viewing areas.
Lake On The Way To Ninilchik Camp Site At Ninilchik
June 27, 2006
The weather is just not cooperating with us. Today, we headed into Homer to see the sights. On the way in, we stopped at the eagle viewing places we were told about yesterday, but it was cloudy, cold, and trying to rain. The eagle viewing spots did not prove to be productive. As we got into Homer, the weather cleared up and we stopped at a viewing area on the hill coming into Homer. It was an awesome view of the mountains and Cook Inlet. We drove on into Homer and out to the "Homer Spit". Most of the people that come to Homer to fish go to this area. There are many charter fishing companies here and a lot of campers/RVs. I am not a fisherman so I didn't sign up for a fishing trip. We went through all the gift shops, walked around and stopped to have a delicious salmon and fish sampler lunch at Patties. By now the fog has started to roll in so we headed back to camp. We stopped at the eagle viewing sites again, but no luck. We did find a WIFI site near the post office in Ninilchik and picked up our e-mail.
June 28,2006
Left Ninilchik this morning headed for Seward. Seward is on the East side of the Kenai Peninsula. Along the way we saw many RV's and other vehicles stopped along the Kenai River so we stopped to see what was happening. Got to see our 1st Grizzly bear off in the distance. Talked with a man who said they (Fish and Wildlife I assume) had to kill 3 bears recently in that area because they kept coming in around humans. What a shame!
We thought it would be neat to stay at a campground right on Resurrection Bay. The campgrounds are operated by the city of Seward. We found a spot that was on the third row back from the water. The rows are elevated as you go back so your view isn't completely blocked. We can look out the rear window of the trailer and see the bay about 60 feet away from us. It was pretty cool temperature-wise all afternoon. We walked to town and looked around at the businesses, shops, etc. Stopped and made reservations for tomorrow for a Kenai Fjords Tour. We are really looking forward to that. We will take a 6 hour cruise out Resurrection Bay up to a glacier.
June 29, 2006
Today we took our tour of the Kenai Fjords. We really had a nice time in spite of the weather. As you can see from the pictures, it was cloudy, cold and threatening rain. What is it with this rain? The tour was excellent. We did see a couple of whales, but I wasn't able to get a decent picture of them. We left the pier at 11:30 and returned at 5:30 PM. They served lunch and the captain was real good about stopping the boat when we saw a whale and waiting to see if it would resurface or if it was going to dive. The tour actually is a tour of the Kenai Fjords operated by National Park Service. We went out of Resurrection Bay into the Gulf of Alaska and back into Aialik Bay and up to Aialik Glacier. We did get to see some calving of the glacier. We saw sea otters, Steller sea lions, Eagles, and of course many types of birds and the whales ( two fin whales and one humpback whale). It was cold up on the top deck, but I wanted to try to get some decent pictures, so I sacrificed my body for the memories of the trip. We met a couple from Westminster, Co. that was up here on tour and visited with them during the boat ride.
Alalik Glacier Alalik Glacier Again Clouds Around Mt. Marathon Seals on a Rock
June 30,2006
Today we visited the Alaska Sealife Center at Seward, AK. They do research on sealife and try to determine the reason for the rise or fall of populations of different sea animals. They had a lot of interesting exhibits to see and information boards to read. They actually had a preserved octopus to view. They do a lot of good work and we really enjoyed our time there. After the visit to the Sealife Center, we did a little shopping downtown and then just sat around and relaxed, and enjoyed the scenery.
This is a seal Playing A Small Octopus This is a Kelp Forest
July 1, 2006
Today we drove over to Glennallen on our way to Valdez. We stopped in a small RV park that was really just a parking lot with water and electric hookups. It was all on the honor system. There was no attendant around. Just find a spot, put your money in the box and enjoy. After we got there, there were about 4 or 5 other RVs that showed up. On the way to Glennallen, we stopped at a wildlife conservation center. They have moose, muskoxen, bison, bears, sitka black-tailed deer, elk, an eagle, some owls and a few other small animals. They are all in pens and cages for the birds. We were able to get right up next to the moose, which was neat. The poor eagle looked like he would really like to get out of there.
Black Bear Moose
July 2, 2006
Arrived in Valdez this afternoon. It is a beautiful drive into here. We stopped at Worthington Glacier on the way in. You can walk right up to the ice. Next, we crossed over Thompson Pass and down into Valdez. We checked in at Eagles Rest RV park and I washed the truck and relaxed the rest of the day. We can look up from the RV park and watch waterfalls. There are a few Eagles flying around but they are far enough away that I really can't get a very good picture. (INSERT PICTURES)
Bridal Vail Falls Between Living Room In The Trailer Dining Area In The Trailer
Glennallen and Valdez
July 3, 2006 Today, I took the truck over to a shop for an oil change. Later, we went out on a cruise of Prince William Sound. It was a 6 hour cruise, saw eagles, steller sea lions, whales, Dall's porpoise, sea otters, harbor seals, various birds, and went up to about eight miles form the Columbia Glacier. That seems like a long way off, but because of the ice dams in front of the glacier, that is as close as they get.
Columbia Glacier Dall Porpoise Eagle Over Water Eagle Taking Off
July 4, 2006
We decided to spend the fourth of July here in Valdez. They had a parade downtown, canoe jousting in a local pond, a free barbecue in the park that evening and fireworks that night for the first time in the history of Valdez. We visited a small museum this morning and then watched the parade. They parade was short, but I think all the locals enjoyed it. We got a little shower today during the parade. We didn't go to the canoe jousting, but heard that it was fun to watch. Our RV park had a fresh salmon fish fry that evening so we ate there rather than attending the free BBQ in the park. We watched the fireworks and then called it a day.
Boat Dock At Valdez Sue and I At Valdez
July 5, 2006
Today Sue and I both got haircuts, walked around the town a little and went over to a fish processing plant and bought some fresh salmon to bring home with us. We just goofed off the the rest of the day.
July 6, 2006
Today we left Valdez headed for Skagway. As we went over Thompson Pass, the clouds were setting right on the ground. As soon as we were over the pass, the sun was out. We stopped at a viewing spot and looked at the Wrangler-St. Elias mountain range off in the distance. One mountain is actually a volcano and you could see a steam plume coming from the top of it. (INSERT PICTURES) It was a gorgeous view. Visited with a couple from South Carolina for a while. It is interesting when you talk to all these people, how many have been the same places and done the same things that you have just done. We went on over to Tok, Alaska and spent the night in a provincial park just outside of Tok.
July 7, 2006
Arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon, today. We had to drive one of the worst pieces of road in the whole trip. The road from Tok to Whitehorse is full of frost heaves and there is a lot of construction going on around Destruction Bay/Kluane Lake. The going is very slow and rough. We stayed at the same Provincial Park that we had stayed at before, called Wolf Creek.
July 8, 2006
Today we went over to Skagway. I wanted to ride the White Pass and Yukon Train. The drive into Skagway is great. The town is geared up to serve the cruise ship passengers. Every other store on the main street is a jewelry store. Prices are a little high. We had lunch and then it was time for the train ride. Sue didn't feel like riding the train so I went by myself. The ride was interesting. It was only 3 hours. It went up to White Pass Summit and then came back to town. Didn't see any major wildlife, but saw some historical sights.
July 9,2006
This morning we headed down to Dease Lake on the way to Hyder, AK. We drove through a lot of mud all day. There was a lot of construction going on. The road is narrow, winding, and muddy. When we got to Dease Lake, the RV park had a high pressure car wash and I could have washed the truck and trailer. The park owner said it would be a waste of time as there was more of the same for us the next day. He was right. I did get to access the internet long enough to catch up on email.
July 10,2006
We left Dease Lake, B.C. this morning headed for Hyder, AK. After driving thru all the mud and rain yesterday, I had hoped that we would at least have a dry road to drive on. No such luck. We had more rain and lots more road construction, mud and broken up pavement. The Cassiar mountains are pretty, when you can see them. (I'LL POST PICTURES LATER) I can't figure out the Canadian method of road mtc. and building. They will have a section of a few miles of new pavement followed by a few miles of dirt and then some old pavement with dug up sections every tenth of a mile or so. It is my humble opinion that if they started at one end of the highway and worked their way to the other way, they would eventually end up with a completely finished highway. Everyone I have talked to about this highway seems to have the same opinion about this highway. It is rough, narrow, winding and not in good repair.
Hyder, AK. is some town. It is not much to look at and if the streets were in good enough shape to drive very fast, you could go thru here and not even notice. Seriously, it is one of those towns that almost isn't here, but once you have been here to see it, you will probably want to come back.
After getting settled at the "Run-A-Muck" RV campground, we went out the "Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing Area". It is one of the attractions that make Hyder famous. The National Forrest Service has built a bear viewing area. When the Salmon are running, the bears come to this spot to "fish" and "feed". Unfortunately, the salmon are late starting their run this year. We watched the creek for quite a while and finially decided to go back to the trailer and have some supper and relax.
July 11, 2006
This morning, we went back out to the "Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing Area". We meet two photographers, Ed and Lorna Chauvaud. They are really nice folks. They come up here every year and spend most of the summer taking pictures of the wildlife and the scenery. They have produced a DVD titled Grizzlies and Other Critters of Fish Creek. We purchased one and liked it so much, that we went back and bought additional ones for gifts. They really know the area, the wildlife, and their photo skills.
We waited around for quite a while and watched for bears to come in and check to see if the salmon run had started or not. There was no action at all, so about mid morning we drove up to Salmon Glacier. What a view. It was really pretty up there. We drove on over the pass and down the road about 5 miles. The road ends there so we turned around and headed back down the way we had come. About a mile and a half from the glacier, Sue spotted some grizzlies down below the road.
There was a sow and two cubs. They just wandered around in a clearing. After a while, the sow flopped over on the back and nursed the two cubs. We watched them for about 1/2 an hour or so. Other cars came up and asked if we had seen any bears and we pointed the bears out to them and after a while the parking along the road was getting quite crowded so Sue and I headed for the Fish Creek Viewing Area again. We were rewarded for our time this time. A black bear came out of the woods, crossed the stream and into the bushed on our side of the stream.
Since there were no salmon in the stream, we didn't get to watch him catch fish, but it was still enjoyable to watch him.
July 12,2006
This morning we went back up to the viewing area again. Still no salmon running. We hung around for a while and then came back to the trailer for a while. Sue ran a load of laundry and then we went over to a place that we could get WIFI and picked up our email. After downloading the email and a few other items, we went back up to the Viewing Area. We watched for quite a while and finally came back to the trailer when it started raining pretty good.
Tomorrow we will head out for Vancouver. I think it will take us about 2and 1/2 days to get there.
July 13, 2006
This morning we headed out for Vancouver . It had rained last night so everything was wet as we prepared the trailer for travel. We took our time and enjoyed the view as we left Hyder. The ranger at the viewing area had told us that white bears had been spotted about 40 miles down the road so we stopped there and watched for them for a while. The photographers that we had met previously were there also as well as a couple from Pueblo. We weren't lucky enough to see the white bears so we headed on down the road. We stopped at a town called Smithers for Diesel and groceries. I really liked what we saw of Smithers. Nice clean town and not too big, not too small. We found prices much better than what we had been experiencing. Diesel was only $.99/liter. We stopped for the night at a provincial park campground at Ft. Fraser. It is just a little West of Prince George.
July 14, 2006
Guess what it rained last night. We had not even unhooked the truck and trailer so all we had to do was slide the slide ins in and off we went. We went thru Prince George. It is a large town. The country out here is sort of what I call ranching and farming country. Very pretty country. We went thru a little town called Quesnel. It set down in a valley along the river. Nice place. They were having a big town celebration all weekend so it was a busy place. We stopped for the night at a little town called Clinton. Stayed at the Gold Trail RV park. The park itself had nice grassy spots and level parking spots, but the "free showers" and bathroom facilities were not very good. They had a buffet in the evening, but we did not partake. We did get to wash the trailer right where we parked so that helped.
July 15, 2006
Got up this morning and drove on into Vancouver. The country south of Clinton took on a real dry look. That is the first place I think I have noticed the area to be dry. The road took us thru Williams Lake, thru canyons along the Thompson and Fraser rivers. The country side gradually greened up. We dropped down into Vancouver and made our way to the RV park. What is all this traffic??? We haven't seen anything like this in weeks. We realized that we haven't taken many pictures since we left Hyder. Guess we are ready to go home, huh.
July 16,2006
Went site seeing in Vancouver today. Went to Stanley Park. Flowers everywhere. Stopped to get a slow leak in one tire fixed. Went back to the trailer and decided not to go over to Vancouver Island. With the dog with us, we didn't think he would do good riding the ferry over to the island and then having to stay in the truck most of the day and leaving him in the trailer all day at Vancouver wasn't a good option either. We will go back up some day and see more of the Vancouver area without a dog.
July 17, 2006
Left Vancouver this morning headed for home. Drove thru some great country and stopped at Pendleton, Or. to spend the night. Met some nice folks at the RV park and visited with them.
July 18, 2006
Left Pendleton and drove down to Declo, Utah. Stayed in a nice RV park there. We just set back and relaxed this evening.
July 19, 2006
Left Declo this morning and drove to Rawlins, Wy. Stayed at an RV park there that, we later found out, was right across the freeway from TWO sets of train tracks. Never did get any sleep that night. The trains ran all night long. First East to West, and then West to East. As they entered the far side of town, they blew their whistle and didn't let up until they left the other side of town. What a night.
July 20, 2006
From Rawlins we drove on hone today. It was good to get home. We had a great time, saw some beautiful country, met some great people, and spent a lot of money. It was worth it. I think our favorite place was probably Hyder, Alaska. We probably won't go up to the northern part of Alaska again for a long time, but we will sure go back up to Hyder in the next few years.
I hope that anyone that has read this log has enjoyed it. As you have noticed, we found a few places that we would not stay at again, and a few places that we definitely would plan on staying at in the future. Everyone speaks of how rough the roads are. They are, in places. One must just take their time, enjoy the scenery, and your vacation. We probably didn't spend enough time in some places so the next time we go back there, there will be plenty of things for us to see and do that we didn't see and do this time.
Now there are other places in this good old USA that I would like to go see. Nest Year. Hope to see some of you on the road in the future.
Dale and Sue.