Well, since they haven’t had a chance to post new pictures and I had time on my hands while they visited the National Parks, I thought I would take a stab at it.
I managed to get a little computer time




I got to chase some squirrels with my friend Gunner




I got to do a little beach combing




I got to do a little mountain climbing in Alaska




Got the dirty car washed




They called this a haystack but how do in get to it?







These trees are so big it takes a long time to mark it




GOT TO RUN BEFORE THEY GT HOME!

August 12, DAY 93
We are in Moab, Utah and visited Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyon Land NP today. We visited Arches National Park yesterday. It was 101 in the NP yesterday but by the time we got back to our campground it was only 96. We are parked on the edge of Arches NP so we can see some of the arches from the front window of the motorhome. Today the heat wasn’t so bad because we were 2000 feet higher so it only got into the 90s. The NPs and the State Park were quite something to see and near the end of our trip yesterday my camera battery died again. I had just changed batteries so I think I have one bad battery since it had been recently charged. Did get the last picture with the cell phone, however, it would have been nice to zoom in more since it was a bit in the distance. If you haven’t seen these parks they are highly recommended and the views were spectacular.
It has been a few days since the last update and what you missed was our visit to the redwoods, Avenue of the Giants and Virginia City. The redwoods can’t be captured in simple words or pictures but I did take quite a few. We stayed in a campground one mile north of Redcrest, CA which is on the avenue and we had trees in the campground. It was a very nice Good Sam Park, Ancient Redwood RV Park. This is only the third year for this new park and it is set up for big rigs. They have a wonderful gift shop and the gift shop has been open for 27 years. If you haven’t seen the big trees you need to put it on your list.
We then moved to Carson City NV. and originally planed to stay a couple days to visit Virginia City. Well, that plan changed. We had noticed a scrapping noise with the brakes and thought maybe some loose gravel from Alaska had shook loose by the really rough road surface on RT 80 and the way to Reno. Concerned about many more mountains to deal with we decided to have the rig checked and just happened to be a Workhorse service facility in town. They were very nice to work us in to check the breaks and then decide what to do? The short story is that we rolled out 2 days later with a complete brake job and a big dent in the budget and one night stay in a motel while our camping spot remained empty. Seems the break recall got me based upon their inspection.
Virginia City was really neat but a bit of a tourist trap. We drove the road with the 15% grade to get there and all kind of signs to say no trucks or RVs should take this road. We came back on the alt route which was a lot better just a little longer. They do have a campground up there but we decided to stay in Carson City to do some shopping. With the extra time we were able to visit Lake Tahoe
To get to Moab we drove RT 50 in Nevada to Ely and then here. They refer to it as the “Loneliest Highway” and we got gas at the loneliest Chevron station at the NV Utah border. They really named that highway well. The road condition was excellent because no trucks use it. But apparently not many others either. It was easy driving only made difficult by the several high passes that had to be crossed. It was worth the experience but make sure you have a vehicle in good condition and a full tank of fuel since there are only a couple gas stations for 390 miles. I think the section in Utah out did the section in Nevada as being lonely with us being the only thing moving and nothing in sight other than desert and mountains. Tomorrow we move to Monument Valley NP for a couple days.

July 17, DAY 67
I lost track of days for a moment so today is the 17th and we are in Valemont, BC at Irvin’s RV Park. We discover one of the couples from the caravan and ended in the parking spot directly behind them. It was obvious they had awning problems and they had a bad storm with high winds that tore off the awning and bent the arms. They had it all wrapped in duck tape so they could travel. They had no trouble during the entire caravan and then this happens on their way hope. They had been there for a couple days and will move on tomorrow.
July 18, DAY 68
We visited Jasper Park and took Tobey and a picnic lunch. It was a long day but well worth the time. Lots of beautiful things to see. We saw black bear, deer, moose and a gray wolf in the park. Only issue was that I forgot to change batteries in my camera so obviously I ran out of battery power on 3rd picture. I found a tourist stop and purchased a couple one use cameras to capture some of the sights. We returned to the campground to find yet another couple from the caravan had arrived. We had an evening storm that must have been like the one earlier in the week. The wind was really something but I had no fear of loosing my awning.
July 19, DAY 69
Arrived in Cache Creek, BC. The drive had many interesting sights. We drove through mountains with lush vegetation and glaciers on top to the Frazer Canyon with narrow winding roads with step drop-offs that looked like the Bad Lands of South Dakota to arrive at a fertile Frazer Valley and farming communities. There were new fires burning to the east of us but not close enough for concern. Food stock is getting low as we approach time to cross the boarder again but had to do a little shopping so we could eat.
July 20, DAY 70
We made it to Chilliwack, BC which was our last stop before crossing the boarder to the lower 48. Earlier I had discovered my step-down receiver for my tow hitch was bent from all the frost heaves and I was able to locate a replacement while we were here. We went to the Great Blue Heron Preserve but none were there. We seem to be where things should be but never find them for the last couple weeks. It wasn’t a total loss because we did see a turtle and a couple rabbits when we walked around the lake.
July 21-24, DAY 71-74
We drove to Blaine Wa to the home of friends from the caravan and parked in their driveway. They have a very nice house on the bay with Eagles in their trees and Blue Heron flying past. We took a boat ride to their club for lunch and saw harbor seals with their pups. They have a dog that made friends with Tobey and volunteered to keep Tobey while we spent to days in Victoria. We took the passenger ferry and stayed in a nice hotel. We went to the Royal BC Museum, Butchart Gardens, and Butterfly Gardens. It was beautiful but this time my camera ran out of space on the chip for pictures. I had to delete some pictures to make room for more since there was no place to purchase a new chip. After having breakfast with our friends we set off for Mossyrock, Wa.
July 24-27, DAY 74-77
We camped right on the lake at Harmony Lake RV Park. Last night they were having a jazz festival and steak dinner. The steak was excellent and you could cut it with a fork. We picked the spot because it was half way between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helen. We took Tobey to Mt. Rainier since they said dogs on leases were fine. We drove all the way top the top only to find he couldn’t go on the trails or into the picnic area so we turned around and started back down. We stooped at a pull off and eat in the car. The next day we didn’t take Tobey to Mt. St. Helen and it turns out we could have since there were many with the dogs. We went up the eat side which has been closed for two years because of flooding. It opened one month ago so thing were still getting organized but had a real nice presentation from the ranger about what happened. You could see the blast area and the devastation that is still visible 29 years later.
July 27-29, DAY 77-79
We arrived Pacific City, Or. We parked on the beach near Haystack Rock. The rock is half mile out from the beach in 70 feet of water. It stands 32 stories out of the water and covers 9 acres at the water line. We visited the Oregon Coast Museum and it was very interesting but the traffic on highway 101 is terrible so need to get early start to go anywhere. Tobey got to play in the ocean and had a great time.
July 29-31, DAY 79-81
We drove to Coos Bay and the entire trip was in and out of fog. Couldn’t see much of anything except the road and in spots that was hard. We did stop at Sea Lions Cave and saw the sea lions in their natural habitat. We got lost in North Bend trying to follow directions from camping directory but luckily the GPS new were to take us. I never trust the GPS when it tries to take me down narrow side streets or make illegal left turns? We all got hair cuts today, Thursday, and I think Tobey’s came out the best. It only got to the upper 60s today. It is hard to believe that just 10 miles inland is in the 100s. Next stop is Crescent City, Ca.

July 8, continued
We arrived in Teslin with hazy skies from the forest fires that were burning to the north. It seems that there are 20 fires currently burning and only two are being fought. After supper we visited the wildlife museum that we missed at the beginning of the trip and it was very nice. That was the first animals that we have seen for awhile even though they were stuffed. The mosquitoes were quite thick here just like Destruction Bay. Guess we have been very lucky since we have not had lots of those critters.
July 9-10, DAY 59 and 60
Arrived Watson Lake again and several folks returned to Sign Post Forest. The mosquitoes were very bad here too. We went out to check the older couple’s tires and put air in them, and got attacked. She came out the Bounce and stuffed them around our necks to help. It also started to train before we finished, just putting a little icing on the cake. In the morning we were about to leave and notice one of the campers was collecting a bunch of on-lookers. Seems there slide would not go in so I went to help and we finally did get it back in so they could join the rest of us going down the road. Forgot to mention that on the way to Watson Lake we saw moose, black bear and grizzlies.
July 11, DAY 61
On the way to Dease Lake we saw an RV burning. About 6 of our caravaners stopped at a rest area and noticed that a camper just pulling out was on fire. After hollering and waving he did stop and folks ran with their fire extinguishers. He did not have one and if it hadn’t been for us he would have lost everything. The refrigerator had caught fire it really damaged the side of the motorhome and roof where the flames were shooting out before it was put out. Members of the road crew just happened by and stopped so we all left figuring he was in good hands with them.
July 11-14, DAY 61-64
Arrived at Stewart/Hyder BC/AK and more mosquitoes. But when we went to Salmon River to see the bears there were no bears and hardly any salmon. We drove the hour and a half to get to the summit overlooking Salmon Glacier and it was a scary drive with narrow dirt roads going up the side of the cliff. The views were spectacular for those that could look or at least that is what I was told. We met the Bear Man that lives in a small tent at the summit. He has many impressive pictures. We got lunch at the “Bus” in Hyder. Hyder has no paved roads and is a flashback in time. They only have 100 residents. They have a popular bar were folks got to get Hyderized. They have a couple stores with interesting stuff so we dropped some coins there. We had a real nice dinner at a quaint little restaurant in Stewart. We didn’t see any bears during out visit so I purchased a video and got it autographed by the person hat took the pictures. Hyder was our last visit to Alaska and now we are headed to Smithers and the end of the caravan.
July 15, DAY 65
We arrived at Smithers for our final day and our farewell dinner. It was a tearful farewell to say the least. Lots of stories about things that happened allow the way and many memories were shared.
July 16, DAY 66
We all went back to the same place for breakfast and more goodbye tears before packing up to go our separate ways. It just happened that 4 of us ended up at the same campground in Vanderhoof so we eat supper together.
July 17, DAY 67
Two of our friends left but the other couple joined us to go to Fort St. James for a nice day and unwind a little more before going our separate ways. They live in Washington and are going to baby sit Tobey when we visit Victoria. We will be going to Jasper Alberta tomorrow. Just in case you had not noticed, I turned of comments because someone is spamming my blog and filling my email with junk adds. I will work on trying to filter out the unwanted so I can open comments again. The wifi options are few in some of these places over the next few days since we are headed back into less populated areas.

July 3, DAY 53
We left Valdez at 7:30 AM and it was cloudy and 57 degrees until we finished the climb to Thompson Pass and the skies cleared. We could look back and see the clounds because we were now driving above the clouds. It was sunny and 75 when we arrived at Tok.
July 4, DAY 54
Happy 4th of July and we are headed back to Canada and Destruction Bay more specifically. We are going to have a big dinner celebration there at the campground. This was another tough day of driving with 4 stretches of dirt and gravel 10 miles each. Where there is dirt and gravel there are frost heaves. My credit card got locked up again and this time they want to issue me a new account with new cards. They just didn’t seem to understand I was traveling and now way to get those new cards. Glad I have more than one credit card. Told them to just leave it frozen. They said they would rush the cards to me but didn’t seem to understand I wouldn’t confirm receipt until September when we returned?
July 5, DAY 55
Today we arrived in Skagway AK with the 12 mile 8% downhill grade. It was quite a trip with low gear too low and second gear not low enough for engine to help the breaks more. No help from the break buddy since it does not activate on gradual changes in breaking. It has hardly activated this entire trip. The breaks did get a little hot but no problem or break fade before reaching the bottom. We did manage to stop for Customs so guess that was good? Skagway was sunny and 82 degrees. There average high is 62. We went to Monte Carlo night and kind of a vaudeville show about Soapy Smith. One of the group bent his hitch on a frost heave today and finished the trip to town driving vehicles separately. He carries a Harley between his Pusher and his jeep and made arrangements to have it shipped home to Georgia so he could still connect his jeep to the hitch receiver. The device that hold the Harley was bent pretty badly. I hit that same heave but a little slower and still bounced. Less than half a mile from that sopt was a truck pulling a trailer that had broken its axle. Too bad that spot wasn’t marked?
July 6, DAY 56
Took the boat to Juneau to shop and visit Mendenhall glacier. It was a great day but a bit warm in the mid 80s. People were swimming at the glacier which was something that doesn’t happen often because it would be too cold. It was a 12 hour trip and the tailgunner stayed behind to dog sit. We got back to Skagway to find they hit a new temperature high of 92. Thankfully half the campground left in the morning so no power outages from everyone try to run AC. The voltage is very low so when they are full I was getting only 105 volts on a 30 amp line.
July 7, DAY 57
We shopped in Skagway today along with the passengers of 4 cruise ships. Need I say more? We also took the evening White Pass Train to the summit. Another scorcher of a day and no AC on the train. We had a reserved car for the caravaners but unfortunately it was the one behind the engines on the way up. We were last on the way back so not so bad. The views were great but the sun in your face most of the time making hard for picture taking.
July 8, DAY 58
We were up early and out of the park to start that long climb back up the mountain. We heard the out group was planning to leave between 730 and 800 so we were all on our way before 730. Also heard there were going to be 6 ships in port today. We all got back to Teslin by noon for a lazy day before moving back to Watson Lake. Some want to go check the Sign Forrest again since they didn’t post signs last time. We are planning a group cook out when we get there.

June 25-27, DAY 45-47
The dog sled ride was great. We had a team of 15 dogs take 6 of us on a 25 minute ride through the woods and along a river. The cart plus the people was about 2500 pounds and the driver was riding the break most of the time to slow the dogs. The place was the home and training center for Seavey the winner of the 2004 Iditarod Race. We are now in Homer and it is about 45 degrees. Summer highs sometimes get into the 60s. We are on the slim piece of land called the Homer Spit the juts out into the water a couple miles but you can stand on one side and spit into the water on the other side it is so narrow. My front bumper is hanging over the beach where high tide comes. People are fishing and right in front of our rigs. There are eagles everywhere. Several of the members of the caravan went on a charter boat fishing for Halibut. They caught so much we had a big fish fry pot-luck.
June 28, DAY 48
We stopped at Sterling for the night and the campground had a crab feast pot luck for us. The king crab was fresh and excellent. The campground was very tight and rigs at all angles. The exit in the morning was very orderly with no incidents.
June 29, DAY 49
We arrived in Palmer for the night and had a small electrical problem. The radio dial and the door courtesy light were flashing in sync and the sun shades for the windshield were not working. Since the door was closed it didn’t seem the light should even be on at all? I took of the door panel and inspected wires only to find the little button that indicates the door is open or closed is not working but after removing the button, the light was still flashing. Finally found a connection under the dash had come loose with all the bouncing and all the things not working correctly were on the same circuit. Thinking we were in good shape we headed to the Musk Ox farm for the thrill of a life time as it turned out. Decided to hook up car before going to bed because we needed to get out early for a long driving day. Discovered the towing base plate on the car had come loose again. So much for getting an early start in the morning, we weren’t going any place.
June 30, DAY 50
Starting calling garages and trying to find a place to get car worked on and most didn’t open until 8AM. Decided to drive to closest one and wait for them to open. They were so busy couldn’t work me in but did find a body shop they trusted would do a good job and could fit me in. I’m glad we were in a populated area with several options for service. They were able to fix the car and welded the base plate so it is not going to loosen up again. We got a late start but at least were on the road to Valdez without loosing a day. This is the land of the mid-night sun so we didn’t have to drive in the dark. The scenery was fantastic but the roads really need work. There also were places without shoulders that I would rather not have looked to see how far down the drop was so Sharon took picture from the window. I’ll look at the pictures later. Gassed up in Valdez for $3.42 a gallon, the most I’ve paid in Alaska so far.
July 1, DAY 51
We tour Valdez and took pictures of the water falls and the Valdez glacier. Visited the original town site destroyed in the 9.1 earthquake of 1964. The town is surrounded by snow capped mountains and very pretty and did get a few pictures. Computer connectivity wasn’t very good so can’t get pictures uploaded. We did see more eagles.

July 2, DAY 52
We went on a boat tour of Prince William sound for 9 hours. Saw two different types of tidal glaciers, whales, sea lions, sea otters, puffins, arctic terns and a black bear. Of course we saw eagles too. Even with overcast skies it was a great tour. It was a very nice boat too. Another early start in the morning for a long drive to Tok.

You should be able to see Mt. McKinley on a clear day but of course this is not one.

Even with an overcast day the park was nice. Many pictures are through the bus windows.

These pictures were taken from the campground we stayed at in Seward.
The eagle flies.



The eagle lands.

These are from Denali.



Now this is what it really was.



Denali was quite beautiful even for overcast day.




Can you believe this pair we saw?



We only saw one Dall Sheep other than a few specks too far o tell.



That thin line on the edge of the hill is the road we traveled.



A grizzly and her cub.

June 19 cont.
Turns out the campground got their water repaired in time so we are where we are supposed to be today. It rained most of the way here and was raining when we got onto the bus at 6AM to enter Denali Park. Folks were a little depressed that they probably won’t see the mountain or the animals in the rain? Our bus driver and guide was a 17 year veteran at doing this tour. She was very knowledgeable and explained every thing about the park. She has backpacked a lot of it over the years. Much to everyone’s surprise the animals were out and we saw quite a few. Most of them were at a distance but we did see a couple bull moose close up. We saw a couple bald eagles which see said is rare in the park. Some folks in the front of the bus saw a lynx run across the road into some bushes. I took a picture of a grizzly that was quite close to a small herd of caribou. I also took a picture of what I thought was a young bald eagle nose to nose with a raven. The driver wasn’t sure what the bird was but thought the raven was protecting a nest from the predator. The park is over-run with snowshoe hare and dall sheep but the sheep where not where we were when we were there. It turned out to be a good trip through to park for animals but we only saw where the mountain was suppose to be had it been a little more clear.
June 20, DAY 40
We arrived in Anchorage with rain most of the way. We passed by Sarah’s house but she wasn’t home at the time and we probably won’t have time to get back here to say hi before we leave for Seward on Monday. We arrived at the camp ground and I’m hanging over on both ends as is the guy with th 42 footer. It was quite tight getting into the spot with a tree on one side and a bolder on the other. I had -1 inch of clearance. That was the tail pipe that made contact with the boulder. No damage but close.
June 21, DAY 41
It’s overcast today but no rain. Did sprinkle a couple time but we still enjoyed the Alaska Heritage Center. We than took a tour of the town and hit the big Mall downtown. Four floors with just about every store you could thing of. We went to Wild Berry Theater and restaurant for supper. It was pretty good and a person showed up with an eagle to let us see one close up and ask questions. More technical problems prevented me from posting anything so I’m still trying to catch up.
June 22, DAY 42
It’s raining again and we are leaving for Seward. On the way we stop to visit Portage Glacier National Park and visitor Center. When we arrived it was raining hard and 60 mile an hour winds so the rain was moving sideways. Couldn’t possibly use an umbrella in the wind so we got soaked trying to get to the Visitor Center. We left our National pass in the rig so we had to pay because we certainly were not going to make that trip again to get it. It was quite interesting but unfortunately we had to trudge back out in the weather to get back to the rig. Once we got into the campground we went to the Alaska Sea Life Center which was established post Valdez oil spill to treat sea life and monitor effects over the years. After that we went to dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant. Yes I know it sounds strange that we chose that in the land of the salmon.
June 23, DAY 43
We went to Exit Glacier today and hiked up to the glacier. It was very interesting even with the clouded condition; at least it didn’t rain while we were there. Did I mention that it hit 70 degrees last summer only 4 times here? It is measurably colder that Fairbanks. I guess that is why they still have the glaciers. I did tack a picture of a couple eagles at the campground.
June 24, DAY 44
Well it is hard to believe the sun is up and it is so bright at 5AM. The sun does set a little earlier here but it is still very bright at 1130 PM. We are off to ride the dog sled today but it may be a wet ride based upon the looks of the clouds in the sky?

Have you seen the lastest RV that sleeps 20?

The driver is also the cook and is preparing dinner in the kitchen.

June 19, DAY 39
Before talking about are day in Denali, Tobey wanted you to know he is having a good time. He wants you to see some of his pictures if I can get the internet to connect long enough. Tobey is not a real big eater but he has his way of telling us when he is ready to eat.


Tobey also meet a new friend.


Tobey was busy with his friend gunner chasing little critters.


Always time for a dip after a busy day in the 37 degree water at Destruction /bay.

June 17, DAY 37
Wednesday was our free day and we attempted to get hair cuts and only found the salon in Walmart and they weren’t busy. However, we found some of our group there and they said the person cutting the hair was ill. Didn’t want to chance catching what ever he had so passed on the chop shop. We had planned to go to Chena Hot Springs but the oil & lube service on the motorhome took longer than expected so didn’t get there but we had a very nice time at the garage. Motorhome is in tip top shape for the remainder of the trip according to the check sheet they gave me.

June 18, DAY 38
We are off to Denali but just down the road found one of our caravaners broke down. He has a 42 foot pusher and was leaking coolant. He has a Harley on the back of his rig in front of the tow car so can’t get engine door open to see what is wrong. He had his rig in the shop at Fairbanks with some type of electrical sensor problem. They had to take up the carpet and the bed frame to get to the engine to fix the problem. It now appears they may not have tightened a hose clamp or something when they put things back together. We reached the tailgunner and he stopped to help so we moved on down the road through rain and over cast skies. We are sitting in the campground at Denali in the rain with temps of 55 degrees and they forecast rain for tomorrow when we have our bus tour. The bus picks us up at 6AM for an 8 hour tour. Not too hopeful to see the mountain but we do have a nice view of the river. My front tires are about 3 feet from the cliff that drops straight down to the river. Our friends got their leak fixed quickly and it was a loose hose related to the repair work they had done. Oh, the original repair didn’t fix their problem, their turbo still isn’t working and they get check engine lights when trying to climb hills. The rain stopped for awhile and we wnt to town and had dinner at the Salmon Bake restaurant. The town is mostly hotels set up by the cruise ship lines and some tourist traps for those brought here by bus.

June 7, DAY 27
Today we are at Laird Hot Springs at the provincial park dry camping. The park is nothing short of exceptional. Large sites nestle in tress such that you can’t see the neighbors. We walked to the hot springs where many decided to take a dip in the 104 degree section. It looked very inviting but bathing suits were mandatory so we passed on the dip. We saw a moose along the path and I managed to get a picture but might have to blow it up to see him? We also saw mama duck and her ducklings. During our travels to get here we saw a moose and her calf, stone sheep and their babies, a caribou and a black bear with two cubs but missed the picture because of traffic that chased them back into the woods. We lost our internet connection today. Something going on with my blackberry so can’t receive or send e-mail. Have to wait for the next wifi connection until I can get problem fixed. Try and get Verizon to solve of problem from here. They want me to call from a landline so we can trouble shoot the blackberry and didn’t seem to understand why I couldn’t do that? May have to wait until Alaska to get it fixed when I can use Sharon’s cell without paying and outrageous fee per minute roaming in another country.
June 8, DAY 28
Tobey got to see a moose in the campground during our first morning walk. I’m glad the moose had the common sense to walk away before Tobey could get to him. We are off to Watson Lake and along the way we saw several black bears and bison before we got to the area of the forest fires. Quite smoky and still smoldering. The smoke was so dense they had the traffic one way at a time with escorts. Upon arrival we went to the Sign Post Forest and placed our sign. We looked for others we knew but among the 66,000 sings we didn’t happen to locate any. Tobey wanted a Bear Bell like his buddy Gunner and we managed to locate one in the General Store for a mere $4.
June 9, DAY 29
We are off to Teslin today and along the way the only animals we saw were ones that were driving. Can’t believe the impatient people that pass just about anywhere. We were in a long stretch of dirt and loose gravel when two eighteen wheelers past at a high rate of speed and I received my first stone chips. I have about six chips in the paint on the front of the motorhome. We got to follow the water truck for a few miles and you can’t imagine the amount of mud collected by many of the rigs on our caravan. I didn’t do too badly other than a lot of dust. I rinsed the car off at the campground since it got the worse of it. We are in a nice campground on the edge of the river. I can toss pebbles into the river from my parking spot. The view is wonderful with the snow capped mountains in the background. We ate steaks on the grill tonight to start reducing our stock of meat for the crossing into Alaska in three more days.
June 10, DAY 30
It has been a month and we are still talking to each other. We are arriving into Whitehorse and can’t get to the campground before 1PM so decided to stop for lunch at this nice little restaurant Wolf’s Den. Once I was committed to enter it looked a little tight? Sharon walked ahead to see if we could even get around the building. The lady came out and said we could park in back but I wasn’t sure I could fit between the two buildings to get out into the back? We made it with inches to spare only to discover there was no parking lot just the driveway. So we pulled off the side and decide to stay since we got this far and worry about getting out after lunch. We had a very nice lunch and were only people in the place. Certainly wasn’t set up for big rigs but no warning signs. The restaurant was next to a campground as most are up here and the lady said to drive through the car wash area to get out and I shouldn’t have any trouble with the turns? As I was paying for lunch a man asked me how big my rig was. Turns out he was going to make a sign that said they could handle big rigs up to my size. I thought that was the last of it but, when we got to the car wash there was a motorhome that just started washing the rig and do you know how long it takes to wash a rig? Do you think he could stop long enough for us to pass through? We certainly didn’t get to the campground too early. The campground put on a very nice dinner for the group with roast beef as main course.
June 11, DAY 31
We went to visit SS Klondike stern paddle wheeler from the gold rush days. It was very interesting but the camera battery died so I couldn’t get pictures. We went to see the fish ladder, the longest wooden fish ladder but again no pictures could be taken. We did go back after lunch to take pictures. Stopped at the grocery store on the way back to camp and the city lost power. We couldn’t get checked out and had to wait for them to get emergency power up and running. At night we went to see the Fantastic Follies and just prior to intermission the power went out again. The power did not come back so they had to cancel the remainder of the show.

June 12, DAY 32
One of the 5th wheels had a flat tire because of a damaged wheel and one of the diesel pushers is having intermittent electrical problems but we managed to get the group on their way. However, yet another 5th wheel broke down just out of the campground. We radioed back to the tailgunner so he stopped to assist. Their diesel pickup had no power to get above 30 mph. He got them back to the campground and managed to get them connected with a Chevy dealer for repair. They were unfortunately left behind and this being Friday the dealer is not normally open Sat & Sun. The campground owner applied some leverage and they agreed to try and work on it on Sat. Seems the GM issues are chasing away the mechanics so they are short of help. Another day without much wildlife but we did see a large owl that unfortunately flew in front of the motorhome in front of us and I was eating feathers. We arrived at Destruction Bay and the campground had just gotten water to the campsites two days prior but the septic was still frozen so no dumping. The ground was frozen 7 feet down this year so many folks having septic system problems. The campground did put on a nice hamburger cookout with some wonderful salads. We went for a walk to see Kluane Lake and saw a porcupine that Tobey want to play with.
June 13, DAY 33
We arrived at TOK Alaska after one of the worst drives on the trip. Rigs and car were filthy so we had a rig washing party at the campground wash area. Everyone just lined up as they arrived and we all got out our brushes and washed them as they drove through. We had no problem at the border crossing this time and now all my computers and Blackberry are back in business but with the long hard day didn’t have much energy to get on to do anything. We did see a couple moose on the drive but couldn’t get pictures. Some folks saw a grizzly but we didn’t.
June 14, DAY 34
We got to Fairbanks and drove through rain most of the trip and so much for the wash jobs we did. I paid $3.05 per gallon for gas in Fairbanks. Saw a black bear and some trumpeter swans during the drive. We went to supper at the Salmon Bake at Pioneer Park and saw a vaudeville show after dinner.
June 15, DAY 35
Today we went on a river boat ride and stopped at Susan Butcher’s cabin that continues to be used as a dog training camp. She died of leukemia in 2006 after winning the Iditarod 4 times and successfully climbing Mt McKinley. We stopped at a Chena River fish camp to see how the Indians lived before and after meeting outsiders that brought modern tools and building techniques. Also had a chance to pet Reindeer and feel their velvet covered antlers. We saw the Alaska pipe line and went to Eldorado Gold Mine to pan for gold. We found enough gold to buy coffee and doughnuts. It was a full day and most folks quite tired.
June 16, DAY 36
We went to the ice museum to see the ice sculpture from last winter’s contest. I thought it was quite interesting except for going into the rooms to take pictures at a cool 20 degrees. Guess that was a bit better than the -30 degrees in which they were originally carved. Fairbanks has a high of 99 in the summer to a low of -62 in the winter. They don’t get much snow averaging 2 feet a year. They don’t get much wind in the winter so do not measure wind chill factors. We also went to the University of Alaska to see their museum. Our fried that broke down in Whitehorse caught up with us today. Turns out the garage did fix the truck on Saturday but called their house in Nevada not the campground to tell them. So they lost Sun as a travel day which was too bad. Tobey met a black labradoodle named Lucy and they had a good time. Tonight sundown is at 12:44 AM and sunup is at 3:07 AM. We were told the campground at Denali we were to use has a broken water main and is temporarily closed so re-planning is in process.

June 5, DAY 25 and first official day of the caravan.
We did some last minute shopping in the morning and had our firs official wagonmaster briefing. We had a group picture taken under the Mile 0 arch and went to dinner as a welcome dinner. The salads and veggie were great and I enjoyed the chicken but some others took the mystery meat and were not as happy. We had a wonderful presentation about the building of the Alcan with pictures and were told the highway is now open so we can proceed as planned in the morning. Tobey wants to tell you he meet a new friend that is part black lab and part kangaroo. They had a great time and you should see how high the dog can jump.
June 6, DAY 26
We are at Fort Nelson and the weather is great. We stopped at Shepherds Inn for breakfast and can you imagine 16 rigs attempting to park along with other guests and a few trucks. Guess the place is well known. I had the standard ROMEO breakfast. We saw a llama, two black bears, moose and her calf, two deer, sandhill crane, a big bird that could have been a young bald eagle and of course many black flies as they smacked the windshield. The campground said that for the last three days the town was one big parking lot because the road was closed starting here. She said at was a made house when the opened the road and worse then any traffic jamb on the La freeway system. Talked to a guy coming south from Whitehorse and he said between here ad there we will find a 20 mile stretch of gravel. He had a broken windshield on his tow car to prove it. Another 7AM push off in the morning to go to Laird Hot Springs where we will dry camp for the night. Given the night temps we had frost this morning so it should be interesting? It is 10PM Pacific Time and the sun just went down but is still very light out.

June 4, DAY 24
The hot news of the day is that the Alaska Highway is closed because of fires. There was a fire near Laird Hot Springs which is our stop after Fort Nelson which would be Sunday night. Last word was it was under control so the highway should be open by the time we get there. Hold on though, we now here word of a fire at Watson Lake so nobody is allowed to go beyond Fort Nelson so the suggestion is to stay where you are until further word. Guess we will hear more about that tonight at the camp fire. It was on the news that yesterday, Whitehorse was the hottest place in Canada. It managed to hit 80F something degrees here. Today has not gotten to 60F yet at 4PM. I worked on the rib to increase the screen cover for the radiator and covered the AC unit coils. I adjusted the rock shield for the tow car to lower it a little more by cutting notches in the bottom to straddle the tow bars. I also did some general lubrication of hinges and the TV antenna. My base plate on the tow car is still connected well so maybe they got it fixed correctly this time. We also heard the last section of the original Alaska highway was replaced last year and we should have good roads except for the unavoidable frost heaves. I had to go in search loonies so Sharon could do laundry again. Afterwards we might tour a Pioneer Village and see some of the history of Dawson Creek. Stay tuned, we might be all dressed up with no place to go?

May 31-June 1, DAY 20 -21
We are still in Whitecourt and got the laundry done and got some groceries and relaxed. Headed to Valley View in the morning, last stop before Dawson Creek. They had a wash area so washed the car a rig before dinner and that was about all the excitement for this place. Oh, we did meet a nice couple from our caravan that had two attack dogs with them. Looking forward to spending 45 days with them.
June 2, DAY 22
We arrived in Dawson Creek and immediately got lost and couldn’t find the campground. We did find another and so we stopped in and asked for directions. Turns out we went right past it and didn’t see it. We got registered and Tobey found a playmate. The Wagonmaster has a miniature husky that s a little smaller than Tobey and they had a ball. They seem to have the same temperament. There are 16 rigs in our caravan and nine dogs also one cat. We hit the Safeway for more groceries.
June 3, DAY 23
We had our meeting with the Wagonmaster but showed up an hour early since there was confusion over daylight savings time. Milepost said they don’t observe it but turns out they do? The tail gunner inspected our rig and I have a couple things to take care of. I didn’t put screen on the basement AC unit and I didn’t wrap the screen for the radiator for enough under the motor to protect the back side of the radiator. He also found a potential gas leak on the fuel tank. Collectively we decided the gas attendant over-filled the tank when I refueled just prior to town. We went to Wal-mart and found every roll of RV TP in Canada was shipped here. Even found it in the hardware store and the tire store. We had to go to the tire store to get the screen material needed to finish my screening job because the hardware store didn’t have the screen material. This tire store does everything but groceries. We leave here Saturday the 6th headed to Fort Nelson a simple 281 miles with an expected arrival time of 3:30 to 4PM. There is a stop for breakfast on route so my math says we are on the road by at least 7AM.

We are in Whitecourt and all clean since we managed to get luandry done. We took a ride downtown and saw the two sites and went to Wal-mart but still no TP. We got back to camp before the rain started but since I'm shut in, thought I would post a couple old pictures I intended to post earlier.
This was just one view of the Bad Lands other than the stop light.

Look close and you can see 3 kids. The steepness of the slope is not seen in this fragment of the picture.

These views were spectacular but the photographer got a little nervous trying to get out on the ledge to get photos.

The Mud pots were very interesting and the photo didn't capture the true color.

Do I need to title this one?


Did you notice all the Elk just hanging around? The town was full of them.

May 26-27, DAY 15-16
After talking to folks we decided to go to Shelby after all and just do a day trip to Glacier. Many Glaciers Park was open and we were able to go all the way to the visitor center and campground. Dry camping and kind of tight for the big rigs but there were a couple big 5th wheels in there. After that we went to the larger section of Glacier Park which most is still closed because of snow. Reports were that they are cutting through 20-30 feet of snow to open the roads. We were able to go 12 miles into the park and the scenery was worth the trip. We didn’t get to where all the snow is because there are no pull off or parking to get turned around. We saw waterfalls and snow capped peaks close up but no animals other than a couple dogs in the picnic area.
May 28, DAY 17
This is the big day to cross the Canadian boarder. We eat all the fruits and veggies and got the meats down to just some fish. We were ready to make a quick crossing. Seems the Alberta welcoming committee knew we were coming and they all came out to meet us. They were having a party in one of the big barns and asked us to join them and said we could drive right in. Tobey got to pee on the grass between the two countries while we waited. Better than standing with a foot in each country? Seems they were positive I had guns and or ammo. We were back on the road in only an hour. I guess I will get a pack of cigarettes and a six pack so next crossing I have something to claim and see if that works better than answering no to all the questions? We stopped at a campground in Strathmore next to a lake a little east of Calgary. A lot of permanent rigs but clean and neat. The only issue was we needed a loonie to do laundry and we didn’t know any. This was the first day with heavy black flies and a few mosquitoes. We went past Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump during our travels but didn’t stop and probably should have based upon comments from folks in the campground. They have a nice dinosaur museum in Strathmore.
May 29, DAY 18
We arrived at Rocky Mountain House, today and checked in with the campground. They led us to our site where we were the only rig in view. We drove past a sign indicating recent bear visits so what do you think that means. This is a Friday night and for the section to be empty is new to us. Tobey saw a couple foxes on our walk but was wondering where the other dogs were? It is 10:30 PM and it is still light out. Guess we will have to get use to this? Today was nice and a guy at the store told us it was a surprising 28 and folks were in shorts but I still have long pants on. Gas was 93.8 and I’m getting 3.86 kpl.
May 30, DAY 19
We are in Whitecourt and it is quite windy as usual for a travel day. Everyone here is talking about the winds so guess it is not normal. A few people have larger satellite dishes so guess they get something but we certainly can’t. Still don’t know any loonies to help with laundry so asked the lady at the desk if she could help us because we need to do laundry. We have hit several Wal-marts in search of TP but they are out. So much for not needing to stock up? They had it at the last campground in their little store but I thought the price was a little high and I knew we would be another Wal-mart today on the main drag to Dawson Creek and for sure they would be stocked? We may have to buy two ply and separate the sheets? The credit card got rejected when I signed in at the desk so now what? I called and they thought it had been stolen since there was an unusual spending pattern for me? That we nice they were looking out for me but why did it take so long since we have been on the road for almost three weeks? It only got up to 16 today and there is a freeze warning for tonight with temps going down to zero.

May 21, DAY 10
The air is very dry here in Garryowen, MT (like in the song). I guess Tobey had dry lips because he got into the Chap Stick. He didn’t use much after he got it open so guess he didn’t like that flavor and couldn’t reach the others. We are in a very nice Good Sam park 7th Ranch RV Park in the middle of the battle field and the Crow Reservation. We toured the Little Big Horn Battle Field and Museum and it was very nice. I had Indian Taco for lunch and it was good. We met another camper here from Richmod that is headed to Alaska on their own. Seems they have been there several times. Got to find that Wal-mart tomorrow to stock up on bread, milk and toilet paper. I haven’t been reporting the gas mileage since it isn’t something to write home about. We have that fortune of hitting head winds on driving days. Tomorrow should be a short travel day only going as far as Livingston,MT which is near the north entrance to Yellowstone.
May 22-24, DAY 11-13
We only had a head wind for part of the trip and then we finally made some better gas mileage at about 8.5 mpg. We are at a small KOA in Emigrant, MT about 35 miles north of Yellowstone north entrance. Being a holiday weekend the campground is full and spaces packed close together but we are in a clump of trees near a raging river with all the snow melt still going on. Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to touring Yellowstone and didn’t expect to find little towns complete with gas stations in the park? Obviously, more time is needed to really see the entire park but we did cover all the major roads through the park. Old Faithful blew on time to keep us on schedule. Mammoth Hot Springs were very interesting as was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. We saw quite a variety of animals with their babies and Tobey got to mark many places in the park. He wanted to play with the bison, black bear and elk but not sure they felt quite the same? We saw a sand hill crane about 4 feet tall. We saw the side of a grizzly in the trees. Can’t believe all the snow they still have? There are many places the snow banks towered over the car and several smaller side roads still closed because of snow. At the upper elevations the temperatures were in the 40’s mid day. Late afternoon today Sunday the rain coming from the north got to us along with the flood warnings due to the heavy rain and snow melt. The weather band on the radio is suggesting we seek higher ground but since we are in a valley with steep mountains on both sides not sure the motorhome could make the climb? Maybe we will float out of here in the morning since the river was already at flood stage when we arrived on Friday. And about that brake recall on Workhorse chassis, I did receive a notice and what timing to mention potential break failure?
May 25, DAY 14
We had an easy drive today with no headwinds. Drove in and out of the rain and at one point the trip computer said I was getting 10 mpg. But more frequently it was 9.3 mpg. Gas was $2.55, the most I have paid and up from $2.19 before the holiday and of course we were next to Yellowstone. Can’t believe these side roads in Montana are 70 mph. We are in Helena, MT tonight headed to St. Mary near entrance and visitor center for Glacier Park in the morning. Not sure how much is open so we may not be there long or stay a couple days. When we leave St. Mary we will enter Canada so not sure how well my world phone will work so we will see.

MAY 2009

May 11, DAY 1

We left home promptly at 11AM on Monday the 11^th.

We made it all the way to Bedford, Pa before stopping for the night.  We discovered that we forgot the music CDs and almost had to go back.  That wasn’t enough, upon having good company and dinner with a local couple, we couldn’t get the satellite TV working and that was grounds for cancelling the trip.  However, we made the tuff decision to trudge on even if it meant roughing it a little.

May 12, DAY 2

Did I forget to mention rain yesterday?  Well, those new windshield wipers have certainly had a workout.  Today we made it to a nice little Ohio State Park of 4760 acres at Delaware, OH. It cost us $12. for 50AMP service.  They had 211 RV sites and at most you could see 8 at a time since they were well spaced and in the woods on cul-de-sacs.  We had some serious dark at night since no auxiliary lights in the campground.  Did I mention quiet?  Did manage to finally get the satellite TV working.  Also, took care of music problem by subscribing to Sirius radio.

May 13, DAY 3

We finally saw a change in the weather today.  We got some strong winds to go with the rain.  I was going to attach some picture of our travels but I think you all know what rain looks like.  We did managed to get to Peoria, IL bucking strong head winds at 6.5 miles to the gallon.  The winds were helped a little by a faulty Brake Buddy that just kept cycling on and off apply the brakes in the car and finally got an alarm on the monitor so had to remove it.  The rain as stopped, for the moment, but the winds are still wiping things up. We are in a nice little campground, $13.00 full hookups, out in the country nestled between the super hi-way and the railroad tracks.  Can’t wait for that train tonight? Did I mention that the Sirius radio is picking up that high pitched engine noise so bad I turned it off?

May 14, DAY 4

The severe thunder shower last night drowned out the truck noises but didn’t do much for the 3AM train.  Tobey had a restless night with all the distractions. We had a mostly sunny day for traveling but still had the headwind keeping the gas mileage down to 7.4.  The discussion I had with the Brake Buddy must have worked since he behaved himself today.  We arrived to the State Park in Clear Lake, Iowa and had a very nice evening with gently breezes.  Tobey met a cat nose to nose for the first time and didn’t know what to do since the ones at home run before he gets near them.  Did solve the Sirius radio noise by switching it to run off the house battery rather than engine battery so all is well.

May 15, DAY 5

The day started out to be a nice day with sun and partly cloudy.  The gentle breezes were still there but in 30 minutes we stopped to get gas and the cold winds had returned and the sun was gone behind the heavy clouds.  We were on I-35 almost to I-90 in Minnesota when we heard a loud noise and a bunch of banging.  We had just launched the first awning roller tube into outer space and never to be seen again.  The awning fabric remained attached to the roof so of course it was flapping and beating up the roof.  I had to climb up there in the 70 mph gusts and cut it off without being blown off or having the awning take me with it at flapped better than any sail I’ve seen.  We head out after repairs to meet the head winds again.  At time I was getting only 5.3 mpg at 50 mph.  We burned over half a tank of gas in no time at all.  Because of the weather we just did a fly-by of the Corn Palace.  Finally, had to get off the road early of planned stop.  Really nice campground in Mitchell, SD  It cost us $17.00 for full hookup and 50 AMPs as a Passport America.  Can’t put up the antenna because of the wind so guess we ruff it again.

It all begins here in the driveway on May 11th