Casper, WY Casper KOAwa

    We left Jackson and drove over Toghetee Pass.  Rick and I both remember some perilous drives over this pass in the winter on our way to skiing at Jackson.  I remember a white out so complete that we could only navigate by watching the deep snow posts along the road - looking for the next one as we drove an hoping that we were seeing the one on OUR side of the road.  In the summer the pass did not seem as steep and it was very pretty at the top with high open meadows.  This is a big snowmobiling area and looked like a fun place to try mountain snowmobiling.   After we got over the pass, we rant into road work which really slowed us down.  I am sick of sitting in a line waiting for our turn on one-way roads.  I guess that I am just ready to be home and out of the truck.  At least we got really good leather seats and have been very comfortable during our long drives.
     By afternoon the weather turned windy.  We stopped at a rest stop for lunch and tried to sit outside in a shelter, but the wind was blowing through it so strong that we couldn't hold on to our sandwiches.  Then the sprinklers came out and gave us a shower so we gave up and went back to the trailer.  It is warmer again, but not in the hundreds, so it isn't too bad to sit inside to eat.
    This area of Wyoming is very dry and there is an extreme fire danger warning.   The air is really hazy with smoke from distant forest fires.  The landscape is really dry and brown - not very attractive but it never is in this part of Wyoming.  The towns seem dusty and ugly to me too.  Not my favorite part of the country.  However we saw dozens of antelope and lots of horses running on the huge open range land.

    Our KOA tonight is clean and has nice sites, but it is in an overall pretty ugly area.  I am longing for the green grass and shady trees of Minnesota.

Jackson Wyoming. Grand Teton National Park

     We had a wonderfully cool night and woke up to a beautiful morning.  Since we were not in a hurry today I made a real breakfast of sausage and eggs and we had time for several cups of coffee.  I hate to drink too much coffee when we have a long drive as we never know when we can pull over for a potty break.  I decided to do a little cleaning and tried to vacuum the carpet, but the vacuum quit because it was so full of dust.  I wish that we had less carpet and more hard surface floor space.  The dusty roads in Alaska really brought a lot of dirt into the trailer.

     Today we went to Grand Teton National Park and drove the Teton Park road - stopping at many of the overlooks.  The mountains seem to jump right out of the Snake River valley to 11,000'.  The Coulter Bay campground in the park looked really nice and shade ans had full hookups.  It may be a nice spot to stay some time in the future.  In addition, it is only 20 miles from the south entrance to Yellowstone, so it could be a good place to base camp if we visited this area again.
     Much of the drive today was either along the Snake River of around Jackson Lake.  The lake is huge and a big draw for boating, swimming and fishing.  It was hot by mid-afternoon and we saw lots of folks on the water including a bunch of rafts on the river.  Plenty to do here in the summer as well as the winter.
     As we drove today we talked about Uncle Bud's suggestion that we drive along the coast of Oregon.  He really recommended it as one of his favorite places to travel in his RV.  When we got back to camp we also looked at the map to see that Yosemite is in Northern California so we could probably make a stop there.  I would love to get to see the big trees of California.  We will need to look more at maps and start planning another trip.  There are so many great places to see.  We will have to check off more parks, more states and more scenic wonders.

Jackson, Wy Teton Village KOA

     It was a short drive to Jackson, but most of it was uphill.  Jackson is at 6200 feet - good for lots of snowfall in the winter and good skiing.  The area is beautiful with lots of ranches, farms and rolling hills.  The mountains are purple and the air is very clear.
     This KOA is pretty old and the campsites are close together.    However, there are a lot of big trees and some bushes which make each campsite a little private.  We have shade and a great area to put out our lawn chairs.  We are located very close to the Jackson Hole ski area.

    We ate lunch and then drove over to the ski area to walk around and recall our days of skiing there.  We could see one of the condos where we stayed and stopped by the "Mangy Moose" bar where we often had a beer after a day of skiing.  Rick really was nostalgic about the great days of skiing that we had on this mountain.  We were in our 30's when we skiied here last and had a wonderful group of friends to ski with.
      We really enjoyed the cooler weather and had a nice evening.  We grilled some burgers, had some beers and sat outside reading.  Rick has gone through nearly as many books as I have on this trip.  I brought along quite a few books and have been trading some of them along the way at campground where there are other bookworms and nice book exchanges.  I am so happy that our camper has plenty of storage for the books - I am always in need of something to read.

Idaho Falls, ID Snake RIver Campground

     There were lots of cars parked near the trailer in the motel parking lot, but Rick was able to get out without too much trouble.  It is another hot, sunny day, but about 10 degrees cooler than it has been.  We drove on the freeway all day today so the driving was easy except for how busy it was with trucks.  We had a nice, grassy, spot at a rest stop for lunch.  It was cool and shady as we sat on the really green grass and had our picnic.  The easy on and off at the rest stops is one big advantage to driving on the interstates.  Even though the land here is still dry, the soil is rich and wherever there is irrigation the crops look like they are growing really well.  We saw lots of corn and potatoes along the way.
    The campground is right along the river and has many big trees.  We got a site with lots of shad and spent the late afternoon at the pool.  We kept nice and cool as well as got some swimming exercise after sitting in the truck all day.  We have mostly been driving and the sitting in the RV due to the heat.  I am really wanting to get out and walk and do some sightseeing.
     We spent the evening sitting outside in our lawn chairs enjoying the beautiful evening.  I really am much happier being in a campground where we can sit outside rather than in the motel.  This life really suits me (except when it is too hot to be out!)

Boise, ID Bogus Basin Recreation Area

     It is cooler today, only 101.  There are no appointments available anywhere to get our RV air conditioning looked at.  We will just have to hope that we find cooler weather on the way home.  At least we  have had a break the past few days and have gotten a few nights of cool sleep.
     We had another nice long breakfast and then drove out of town to the top of Bogus Basin where we went skiing on our first ski trip in 1970.  I remember how unhappy my family was when I left after lunch on Christmas Day to drive across country with Rick in his little Volkswagon Bug.  At one point we thought we would drive straight through by changing drivers and sleeping while the other one drove.  Ha!  Even when I was young I was not able to sleep in a cold, noisy, tiny car as we slipped and slid around the mountain roads.  I remember that we ended up staying overnight in West Yellowstone which was amazingly beautiful in the winter with huge piles of snow.  I could use some snow and cold just now.
    The drive up to Bogus is 15 miles of switchbacks and climbs 2500'.  The view of Boise from the top was spoiled by a heavy haze and smog.  There are several forest fires burning nearby which adds to the smog.  Just like the town, the ski area is much larger than it was in 1970, but we could remember the chalet.  I also remember the long drive back down the mountain in wet jeans after a day of wet skiing.  That VW had a heater that only really worked when we were driving fast, not crawling down the mountain behind hundreds of other skiers.  We saw some eagles and hawks soaring in the updrafts from the heat.  I have gotten pretty accustomed to the eagles after seeing so many in Alaska.
    I was really tired today so I took a short nap before heading out to the grocery store to buy fresh food for our trip back home.  We had a picnic lunch back in our room and then worked on scheduling the next few campground stops.  The weather report is for cooler weather as we get to Jackson, WY. I sure hope so.
     We had another cool and relaxing time in the pool.  Beth and I talked a lot about our summers at Fort Snelling and the fun we had together putting on swim shows for the end of the summer party.  Beth wants to have another reunion next summer so I will have some planning to do when I get home.
     We had a good dinner at an Italian restaurant and then went to bed early.  Rick is still coughing and seems to be depressed.  He isn't talking much and doesn't have much interest in doing anything.  We need to get back on the road.  Maybe going back to our skiing days at Jackson Hole will revive his spirits.

Boise, ID. Motel 6

    Today is Rick's birthday, but he forgot about it.  I gave him a card and a promise of gifts to come.  Arik called after we got back from a late breakfast at Denny's.  Rick was really happy to hear from his first son and it started his birthday day just right.  He already used one of his gifts from me and Matt and Amanda when we took the small plane ride over the glaciers in Anchorage.  It was such a highlight for him.

     We took the truck in for maintenance this morning and talked with Uncle Bud and Beth McDonald who both live in Boise.  We had a great swim in the outdoor pool and enjoyed the cool water despite the heat.  Later, Beth met me at the Denny's for some tea. We have been friends since I was 9 and it was so great to see her.
    Rick picked up the truck and found that there is a crack in the transfer case which is what has been leaking.  Thankfully the repair can wait until we get home.
     Uncle Bud and Aunt Margie picked us up at the motel and took us out for supper.  They both looked good, although Margie is suffering from Alzheimer's.  She remembered who we are which was so good.  After dinner, we went back to their house where RIck's cousins Don and Gregg and their families met us for desert.  Don was quite fun, outgoing, and married to a really nice lady.  Gregg is much quieter with a lovely family.  He is the nerd in the family - wearing shorts and dark socks.  Both guys were so fun to talk to and learn more about living in Boise.  I sure hope that it won't be 30 more years before we see them again.  Such a nice family.

Boise, Idaho. Motel 6

    The drive to Boise along the Salmon River looked just as beautiful in the summer of 2006 as it did in 1974 when we drove from Glacier and Banff to visit Uncle Bud and Aunt Margie.  The road runs right along the river with many beautiful view and pretty resort areas.  It was very winding and went over several small summits and each time we went up the terrain changed from woods, to rocks, to desert.  We stopped for lunch at a wayside rest where I got such a kick out of the sign that pointed to a snake area to walk your pets.  I forget that we are in snake country here, although they are probably less of a hazard than the grizzlies at the waysides in Alaska.  Haha.
     As we got into Boise we started looking for a motel to stay for a couple days while we visited Rick's relatives.  We drove to the area near the airport where there were quite a few motels, but found right away that they were very busy and full.  After driving into and navigating three motel parking lots we finally found a room at a Motel 6.  It does not have much to offer - shelves rather than a dresser, no coffee, shampoo, or hair dryer.  But it is clean, has decent beds AND air conditioning.  The office manager was not thrilled to have us parking the RV in the lot, but did work out a place for us to leave the trailer.  Uncle Bud is calling around to find someone to look at our air conditioner.  I am sure that there is something wrong with it since it just doesn't seem to be able to cool the RV down much at all.  Certainly not cool enough to sleep well when the temps are in the 100's.
     After settling into our bare bones room (not nearly as nice as the RV) we went out to a Pub for dinner.  This is the first meal we have eaten out since we were in Skagway.  It was nice to have someone else cook and be waited on!

     Boise has grown a lot since were were here in 1974.  It went from a town of 55,000 to one of 250,000.  The town looks nicer with fewer junky businesses.  Now there are many nice houses on the west end and in the foothills.  Unfortunately, it has been over 100 for six days and will continue to be hot.  The motel parking lot is so hot that the chock under our wheels is stuck into the pavement already.

Clarkston, WA. Hells Gate RV Park

     We opened the windows last night and it was cool and very quiet sleeping.  I had a great nights sleep and feel good this morning.  We will try to get 50 amp service tonight to see if the RV cools down any faster.  It just doesn't seem to be able to get below about 86 which is way too hot for me even with an extra fan blowing.  Yuck.

     The drive south took us over another mountain pass as was really pretty but hard driving.  Once we got down to the valley and joined I359 all we could see were farm and ranch land with some rolling hills.  Spokane had hectic, heavy traffic with businesses lining the road all the way into town.  Once there we were routed on a detour and had to drive through the busiest part of town.  Rick did great even though he had to change lanes in very heavy traffic at the last minute to get to the on-ramp.  We are really long so that is quite a feat.  He has gotten a lot of experience during this trip!
     Once we got out of town we drove into a set of rolling wheat fields that were very dry and barren. We had to pull into a small town to find a shady place to park under and eat our lunch.  It was 110 in the sun - a little better under the big tree along the road.
    Our campsite is at a marina on the Snake River.  It is only 100 here.  The campground is new and quite nice with 50 amp power.  It also has an indoor pool where we spent the early evening waiting for the trailer to cool down.  It was relaxing to sit by the water in the air conditioning and read.  We watched a lot of boats on the river, but this is a brown and barren area and the landscape looks ugly to me as well as unbelievably hot.

Republic, Washington. Miller's RV Park

We started out by driving a secondary road - Highway 3 - between Hwy 1 and Hwy 97.  It was routed along a river in a narrow canyon with many small ranches.  The canyon had high rocky walls and the little river was running fast as the road went downhill.  The road was nice and smooth, but really winding and hard to drive.
    As we connected back up with Hwy 97 we got to a large reservoir,  Lake Okarogon.  The road took us along the lake almost to the border.  It was a busy recreation area with lots of traffic including many fruit stands selling cherries, peaches and raspberries.  We did not know what kinds of fruit we could bring back into the US so we didn't stop, but I was really wishing I could have some of those raspberries.  We missed our crop at the cabin.
    Going through customs to get back into the U.S. took us about 30 minutes.  We certainly look like harmless, retired RVers, but still had a brief search of the RV to be sure that we were not sneaking a person across the border.  I took advantage of the stop to use our handy bathroom after being on the winding road that had no places to pull over.
   After going through customs we turned off the main road again.  We left behind a wine country area that had hundreds of orchards and vineyards.  We climbed over a summit and felt the temperature drop from 109 to 89 (It is really hot when 89 seems cooler!)  We drove past great big trees and lots of flowers.  Unfortunately there were no campgrounds in this area.
    We dropped back down to a lower elevation and found a nicely maintained campground.  However, the parking lanes were blacktop and really held the 101 heat still at 6 PM.  The temperature in the trailer was still 90 - not cooling down to a liveable temp.  Then it rained hard.  The cool breeze was wonderful and we slept with the windows open.  Ahhh!

 

Spense's Bridge, BC. Acacia Grove Campground

     Our drive today went from terrain that looked like the Black Hills with lots of black spruce on rolling hills, to mining towns along the river and finally, the very hot and dry Wyoming type terrain.  The day got hot very quickly after a nice cool night.  We broke camp in our cool, shady campground and then watched the temperatures just soar.  We changed our route a bit so that we got away from some of the busy towns.  They are mostly very ugly and the traffic is bad.  I like to be out in the wilderness so much more.
    I spent a lot of time looking for a campground that was not a parking lot in one of the big towns.  We can do that once in a while, but in this heat it is especially unappealing.  We got lucky and found a great one.  It is in a grove of trees right on the river.  There is also a railroad track just behind us with trains that run every few hours, but we can also hear the sound of the river.  Even this far off the beaten track there are construction workers camped here semi-permanently.  It is a nice spot for a summer of work.

    It was well over 100 when we stopped and then took until after the sun dropped behind the hills to cool down inside the trailer.  I am happy that the days are a little shorter when camping in this heat.  Even Rick was hot today and happy to sit outside in the shade and catch a little breeze.  I sewed and Rick read and we planned our next couple days of driving to Boise. I just hate this heat.

Hixon, British Columbia Canyon Creek Campground

    Today is Arik's birthday.  I really miss my family and friends.  We were lucky today, though, and had cell phone service so I could call Arik and wish him a "Happy Birthday."  It seems like a really long time since we have seen him.  It will be good to go out with him and the rest of the kids when we get back so we can celebrate his and Rick's birthdays.
    Rick had an earlier start today and felt better.  Much less coughing.  I was getting worried that he was getting bronchitis, but thankfully he seems to be getting over this.  It is no fun to be sick on the road.
    We drove the rest of BC29 to 97 and then down to Prince George to Hixon.  The early part of the drive went over the lowest pass through the Rocky Mountains and then along the western Rocky Mountain "trench."  We went from mountains, to industrial area, to farm land.  Prince George is growing quickly like most of the BC communities with coal, gas, and mining business.  It is pretty ugly.  Growing too fast and not well planned.  Most areas look really junky.
     Our campground is in a grove of big pine trees.  It is very well shaded which is good as today it is over 90.  There are two trailers with women and small kids next to us.  Their clothes look Amish or something.  They have long skirts and black scarves - really hot in this weather.  They seem tired and lonely as their husbands work away from the area all day and they are stuck in a small campground with small children.  At least they seem to have each other to talk with and help each other with the kids.  Not my idea of fun.

 

Hudson's Hope, British Columbia. Lynx Creek Campground

     As we drove back past Pink Mountain where we stayed just after joining the Alaska Highway, I realized how comfortable we both are now in taking the RV on difficult roads.  On the way north I clung to the arms of my seat as we went up and down over passes and around tight corners.  I actually look at the scenery now.  Rick is able to back into most spots without any trouble.  It is just great.
     We turned onto a new road - BC29 - just before getting to Fort St. John.  It took us into the "Peace River Valley."  The road was newly repaved and very smooth.  However, there were some pretty steep ups and downs so it is good that we are "experienced" drivers now.  The valley is just beautiful.  The Hudson Bay Company put a large trading post at Hudson's Hope.  It was the third settlement in all of British Columbia.

    We were hopeful that the campground would b empty of construction workers since we were so off the beaten path.  However, we found it to have quite a few seasonal workers.  It was right along the river with beautiful views and very quiet.  There were no trees at the sites, but many along the back and a nice breeze to cool things down.  The heat is coming.  It was 86 today.

Fort Nelson , British Columbia West End RV Park

     The drive today was very pretty - along Lake Muncho and up over the Steamboat mountains.  It was warm and sunny and great for being outdoors.  Rick slept well and felt a little better which is good since the drive was very winding and narrow around the lake.  It took a lot of concentration to keep us in our lane.
    Once again, in this area, we saw lots of animals.  Several large bison were just sitting along the road.  One of them was just sauntering along the shoulder as we drove by.  We also saw several groups of wild horses - there are no fences anywhere here.  Around Steamboat we saw dozens of Stone Sheep on the road - many of them had lambs alongside.  The seemed very comfortable with all the cars.
    As we drove we saw several large caravans of RV's coming north.  One of them was at the rest stop at Llaird Hot Springs when we left today.  We are happy that we are traveling on our own - at our own pace and stopping early to enjoy the many interesting spots along the way.  Since we are able to spend such a long time on the road we are also able to travel slowly and spend more time in each area. I really want to savor this once in a lifetime trip.

     Our campground at Fort Nelson is crowded with "work campers" in the wooded area.  Many messy, noisy sites full of broken down cars and old, old rigs.  The open area was almosty empty when we pulled in.  Then, about 6 PM, over 20 more RV's arrived and filled up the area.  It was pretty hot in the RV when we stopped - over 85.  It is a hint of what is to some as we head south.  Fortunately it was much cooler indoors and out by 8 and we were able to sleep well.

Laird River, British Columbia. Laird Hot Springs

     I like to stop early and watch everyone arriving into the campground at the end of the day.  It is like we are circling the wagons and we are now all safe from the risks on the road.  Everyone takes out their lawn chairs and stroll around the campground walking their dogs and saying, "Hello."
     We are in a beautiful Provincial park with very nice wooded sites - many of them long enough for a trailer our size.  We set up and had lunch and a rest.  We stopped early so that we could be sure to get a site and so that we could try out the hot springs.

     Mid afternoon we put on our bathing suits and walked the 1/2 mile on the boardwalk through the slough and the woods to the hot pools.  the upper pool was pretty hot but as it flowed downstream more cool water flowed in and the lower pool was quite comfortable.  The only problem was a fair number of mosquitoes but they weren't bad if you stayed submerged.  The water felt wonderful and very relaxing.  I really miss my bathtub at home.  It was fun to watch the kids all playing in the water.  This is a very popular spot with the locals as well as us long distance travelers.

    We built a fire and roasted some hot dogs for dinner and some marshmallows for desert.  We did not stay outside too long after that due to another early evening shower.  We spent the rest of our evening sitting inside and reading by the late summer sun.  It was very peaceful and relaxing.  The hot water seems to have helped Rick's cough and he feels better.

Watson Lake, YT. Campground Services RV Park

    We had a shorter drive today - only 165 miles - so we didn't rush.  Our camping neighbor  got me up early by standing under my bedroom window and shouting at his wife to start the truck.  he then carried on a conversation with her over the diesel noise.  Most folks in the campgrounds are really polite and friendly.  When we first say this guy he had pants that sagged well below his butt crack and a dirty shirt.  The next day he had on the same  low slung pants and dirty shirt. There was also a young woman wandering around the campground with a big hunting knife strapped to her waist.  Hmm.


    We got to Watson Lake by lunch time, ate, and then went grocery shopping.  Rick went back for another nap and I took the laptop to the office to send off some emails.  It was one of the nicer spots set up for folks who need to connect with home.  Some places were just a folding chair stuck in the laundry room, but this spot had a nice clean table, some decent office chairs, and magazines.  Not spectacular, but reasonably functional.  While I was working on sending emails and telling every about the huge grizzly that we saw along the road, it started to rain.  In these mountains the wind come up, the temperature drops 10 - 20 degrees, and then the rain comes hard.  After the rain, the sun came out and it was sunny and warm again for an hour.  Then the rain returned.    It is easy to forget that the coastal area along the southwest part of Alaska is a temperate rain forest.  It has been very rainy since we started traveling in the Valdez, Haines and Skagway area.  The upside has been some really beautiful gardens with absolutely huge varieties of familiar flowers.  Wow.
   Rick is coughing and feels crummy. Yuck.  I sure hope that he is better tomorrow.

Teslin, Yukon Territories, Yukon Motel and Campground

   Rick woke up with a sore throat and was very tired.  We had a slow start and he felt pretty crummy.  We lose an hour today as we change time zones on the way home and were driving over unfamiliar roads so I was anxious to get going.  Not a good beginning to our trip back.

    The sun was shining in Skagway as we left.  Our road took us along the old White Pass trail used by the prospectors heading to the gold fields.  It follows the rail line so we stopped several times to take pictures.  The road was very steep and at some points it had an 11% grade that went on for fourteen miles.  The transmission fluid to pretty hot, but cooled quickly when we got to the summit.  We passed quickly through Canadian customs although we heard the story of a man who was really snotty to the agents and had his motorhome seized.  You absolutely can't bring firearms into Canada without a special permit and you can't can't get in if you have a DUI on your driving record unless you have another special permit.
     Since we had been to Whitehorse on the way north we took a side road out of Skagway that skipped Whitehorse.  The MilePost book said that there was ten miles of gravel, but it was all paved.  It was a good driving day after all and we got to our campground fairly early.  Rick took it easy all afternoon so that he felt a little better.

Mountain View RV, Skagway

   We have a very small and short camping space in this park.  I had to get up early to move our truck from in front of the rig so that our next door neighbors could get their RV out of their spot.  It was quite the challenge to get in to last night in the dark.
    I had a cranky morning from getting to bed to late last night and then up again so early today.  To add to that we had laundry to do today and discovered that our antenna is falling off.  Ughh!
   By afternoon things were better.  We drove out to Dyea Klondike Gold Rush
National Historical Park.  It is a ghost town from the gold rush period - and took a Ranger-led tour of the old town which is now mostly made up of wood, glass, and metal pieces.  In the fall of 1897 just a its population shot up to an estimated 8,000 when it became a principal port city for the Klondike

Stampeders.  When the White Pass and Yukon Railroad was completed the Gold Rush pioneers used the railroad and the port and the town died out. The drive out to the town along the rocky edge of the bay was spectacular.
     Later we headed downtown for a little final shopping in Alaska.  It is hard to believe that we have been here so long.  What will be more difficult to adjust to in getting home is that the summer will be mostly over.  I have the feel that time at home should stand still when we are on the road.
    We had dinner in a little bar and grill downtown.  There was a cruise ship in the harbor and lots of people on the street, but almost no cars so it was easy to park.  Rick went to an 100 year old hardware store that was one of fourteen buildings still there from the gold rush era.

Haines to Skagway Ferry Ride

    Today we catch the Ferry to Skagway, but not until 8 pm.  So we paid a little extra to keep our RV parked in the campground until we moved to the Ferry dock.  We spent some time looking around Haines and stopped at a small shop that had lots of flowers outside.  We talked to the owners who told us that they are happy that Haines is not much of a stop for the big Cruise boats.  In Skagway most of the small businesses have been closed and the cruiselines own all of the shops in town.  We also took a tour of Fort Seward which has many homes built using the same blueprints as those at Ft. Snelling.  We toured one of the nicely kept old homes which are now used as a hotel.  It was a real blast from the past.
     The ferry was a great experience.  We arrived to the dock early but there was already quite a long line.  There was an extensive security check and then the boat arrived from Juneau.  It was mostly empty and did not take much time to unload.  The tide was really low and the ferry sat quite a bit below the level of the docks.  The entrance to the boat was on the side (not the back) of the ferry.  Cars and small RVs drove down a very steep, narrow ramp into the bowels of the boat.  Then one large RV, and then US.  We drove slowly down into what looked like a very small door.  If we had been out of control we would have slipped through the boat and out the other side because the door on the other side of the boat was open too.  However, the staff who loaded the boat were experts and gave us perfect instructions to help us maneuver the truck and trailer safely into place.

   We left our truck and went to the upper deck to do some sightseeing.  We could watch cars at the back of the ferry loading and they had much more trouble getting in, so we were lucky where we loaded, I guess.
     Our trip was only an hour, but many folks ride the ferry overnight to get from one coastal town to another.  There are some cabins, but many folks camp out on deck.  The whole back of the ferry is an covered deck with dozens of chaise lounges and heaters in the ceiling.  Folks grab a chair, put out their sleeping bags and settle in for the night.  It is a pretty cheap way to travel.  We really enjoyed it.
    When we arrived at Skagway we had to turn around inside the ferry which involved backing up near the open door on the port side and then driving through the opening on the starboard side and climbing up the steep ramp.  Yikes!  It went well with Rick's skill and good direction from the staff.  It was getting dark as we found our way through the small city to our campground.
   

Haines Hitch-up RV, Haines, AK

    We drove to Haines today on a wonderful, smooth road with beautiful scenery.  When we took our cruise of the Inside Passage and stopped at Haines we heard that the Haines Highway was one of the most scenic drives in Alaska.  Everyone was right.  About halfway along the drive to Haines Rick called my attention to a huge grizzly bear browsing in the ditch along the road.  We sped past and didn't get a picture.  A couple miles further along we stopped at a roadside pullout.  We saw a young grizzly eating wildflowers just across the road from us.  He was unconcerned that we were in our truck.  We got out quietly and hopped in the trailer for a short break.

   As we watched the bear from the RV we saw a small RV pull into the rest stop as well.  The driver got out and let out two dogs.  They did not seem to see the bear across the road.  We carefully got out and stayed behind the truck as we called out to the guy with the dogs.  We pointed out the bear and he rapidly put his dogs back into his RV.  I was so relieved that we did not see a confrontation between the bear and the dogs.
   The RV was a RoadTrek which is a Class B.  Just a bit larger than a cargo van.  They let us look inside.  It was very nicely put together.  If we go with a small unit next, we may look into a similar model.
   The campground in Haines has lots of nice grass, great space between units, and lots of rules.  It took quite a while at the check-in for us to review all the rules and sign off that we understood them.  It is very wet and a bit chilly.  We took a few drives, watched some salmon fishermen and then saw a presentation by the storytelling dancers at the Art Collective.  It was a very colorful and cultural experience.

Haines Junction, Yukon Territory

    We had another very bumpy drive.  It is easier on the way back because we have put latches on all the cabinet doors, rebuilt the broken couch, and learned how to stack everything in the refrigerator and cupboards so that it doesn't fall out the minute the door is open after a day of being jostled around.
    After a few weeks of work while we were in Alaska some of the construction now is mostly done.  There is fresh oil on on some of the stretches which kept down the dust.  The area around Kluane Lake was much nicer on the way back since the road was done.  This is a very dry area, not full of green and trees, but I enjoyed all the wild flowers and grasses that were blooming.  The color of the rocks is beautiful and the lake is a very deep blue. We saw several trailers that were disabled by the drive.  Too much dust and too many bumps.  Fortunately everything held together on our RV today.
    The Kluane RV Park is pretty basic, but lots of folks pulled out their lawn chairs to get some sunshine when they arrived.  We met a couple from Embarrass, Minnesota our were on their way to Alaska.  It was fun to be able to share our experiences.
    Our first stop at the campground was the big car/rv wash so that we could get at least some of the mud, oil and dust off the RV.  I like to be able to see out of the windows - our back picture window was completely covered with mud.  We also like to be able to get into the storage compartments as we set up without getting covered in dust and oil  It is a great deal that so many campgrounds in this area have these huge wash areas.

    I had a frustrating problem with getting onto the Internet and then bang, it worked.  I don't know what was wrong.  I sent off some emails to home and friends.  I miss them all.

Border City, Alaska

    The day started out great - warm and sunny.  This is a good thing since we had miles to make up from our short day yesterday.  We are back on the frost heave roads.  The drive was very bumpy and full of road construction.  Many bridges were being rebuilt along the Tok cut-off which created long delays.  Many other sections were just gravel - although the gravel is usually graded smoother than the bumpy pavement.  However, we traveled with a pack of other RV's almost all day which meant lots and lots of dust.  We can hardly see out the windows.
    As we drove through Tok and traveled back over some of the same highway that we traveled as we headed towards Fairbanks, we realized that we are really on our way home.  There are still many fun things left to do, BUT our long dreamed about Alaska adventure is falling behind us mile by mile.  We have sure been having a great time.

    Our stop tonight is just short of the Canadian border.  I remember how very excited I was to cross into Alaska when we were driving in the other direction.  The Border City RV campground is one of necessity rather than beauty.  It is mostly a large grassy field, with a stream.  Bit it was very quiet with only about 20 campers.  Most of them arrived late and left early.  We are just the opposite - we tend to stop by 3 or 3:30 and we usually don't get going until 9:30.  On such a long trip this gives us more of a rest between challenging drives and also gives us time to enjoy each area where we stop.

    I have started working hard on editing and labeling photos so that I can tell the story of this trip.
 

Glennallen, Alaska

     We got up to still another grey day in Valdez.  We squeezed our trailer out of its tight spot and started our drive back from the coast and over the mountains to the highway.  Much of the road is a 7.5% grade - quite a long uphill climb.  The truck has really done well on this trip and we haven't had trouble pulling our carefully loaded trailer.We stopped for a break after we got past the summit and Rick saw some oil coming out of the hub cap on the tire that went flat.  He felt the tire and it was very hot.

     We had a very stressful drive the rest of the way back to Glennallen.  Since this cross road town is the largest town in about 300 miles, we decided to stay here and take the truck into an auto repair place.   We stopped in the nicest campground in town (which was not nearly as nice as the one in Tolsana which was 13 miles further west) and dropped the trailer.  Rick took the truck to the auto shop which was conveniently located just across the highway.
    As it turns out, the oil was just the wd40 that Rick had sprayed copiously on the lug bolts when he was trying to get the tire off.  The auto repair folks tested the whole brake system and said that it was just fine.  Rick is relieved and we are only about 40 miles behind schedule.  Easy to make it up tomorrow.

Keystone Canyon, Valdez, Alaska

     The sky is still full of low-hanging clouds so we can't see the mountain tops.  We talked to a lady in the camper right next to us.  She is from Fairbanks.  Her family comes to Valdez each year for a couple weeks to fish for salmon.  She says that it is usually sunny this time of year.  We have seen her sons-in-law come back each day with fish.  She says they only keep the Kings and the Reds - the best for eating according to her.

    We spent the morning cleaning the RV and sewing due to the cold and the rain.  Finally this afternoon it let up a little and we decided to get outside and explore for a while.  We drove a few miles back up the Richardson Highway to Keystone Canyon. It is a beautiful area, full of waterfalls.  We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls.  In the early 1900's the military worked to put a road through to Valdez.  They used a native trail and widened it.  It was called the Military Road or the Goat Trail.  Some of that trail is still passable.  We walked it for a bit.  It was very overgrown with lots of wild flowers but led to a nice overlook. During the gold rush days there was an attempt to put a railroad through the canyon.  One of the historic sites along the way was at a tunnel which had been created in the days of working on the rail road.  The tracks were never finished.

     We also drove to Old Valdez where the city stood before the 1964 earthquake and tsunami.  Only a couple signs and foundations are still there.   Our big event for the day was to get a take-out pizza as a change of pace for dinner on this dreary day.

Eagles Rest RV in Valdez, Alaska

     Getting out of the Tolsana campground was tricky.  We had to turn a sharp corner and then get onto a very narrow, single lane bridge with steep edges on both sides.  Rick had walked down and scoped it out before we made the attempt.  He did a great job of pulling wide and then going very straight across the bridge.

     The mosquitoes were thick back in the woods and it was raining.  We found that there was a bicycle event going on as we got to the main road.  All the way down the hill to Valdez we drove slalom with bikes and cars who were trying to avoid the bikes.  Most of the time the shoulder was wide enough for the bike to be on, but on some of the sharp corners and steep grades, it was really a problem with our wide trailer - especially in the rain and fog.  Rick was worn out by the time we got to Valdez.
    Our campground is a crowded gravel lot with some grass for tents.  We had a lot of direction from the campground staff as we backed into our skinny spot.  I actually couldn't believe that it was even possible to get in, but here we are, just a couple feet from our neighbor.   It is lucky that we have gotten so far into this trip before facing the challenge of squeezing into this spot.  We are a pretty good team as we work together to get backed into spots.  However, this one was beyond me.  Good thing that the campground staff is so accustomed to giving direction.  There are few campgrounds in the area so this one is quite full.  Lots of really big Class A rigs all traveling together in a caravan.  The tent spots really filled up with cyclists as they finished their race.  I am happy that I am in a nice, warm, dry camper on this chilly, foggy day and not in a tent.
     We took a short tour of the small town and then  I sewed on the quilt most of the evening.  We keep hoping that the sun will come out because we can see that the town is surrounded by tall mountains.  At the moment we can only see bits of them through the clouds.  It is a really beautiful setting, what a shame that it was the site of one of the largest oil spills ever.

Tolsona Wilderness Campground, Alaska

     It was a beautiful, sunny morning with the nice stream flowing past our campsite.  We packed up the bad tire after a filling pancake breakfast.  Glennallen is a nice small town with lots of services.  It was easy to find a place to repair the tire and it only cost us $10.  However, while working on replacing the tire, Rick noticed that the brakes were really hot on that wheel.  So he took me back to the campground and went back to have the rotor looked at.  He was told that it could take all day to check it out and if it needed to be replaced it could take several days.  During the drive back to the service station, Rick had the idea that the hot brake could be from a locked emergency brake which would be very fixable.

    While Rick conferred with the service station folks I had a nice afternoon of sewing on Jenn and Arik's wedding quilt.  Then, with the quilt spread all over the inside of the trailer, I sat outside and had lunch in the sunshine.  Rick left the truck at the station and walked to a little cafe for lunch.  He got back to discover that the problem WAS the emergency brake which they were able to release.  So Rick was back by late afternoon.   We gave up on the idea of driving anywhere today so I kept sewing and Rick took a nice nap.

     An afternoon thunderstorm moved in and it rained all evening.  We kept our trailer door open and listed to the rushing stream and more rain.  Very peaceful. I miss the cabin.

Tolsona, Alaska

     We left Anchorage in a heavy mist.  The drive was supposed to be beautiful, but we couldn't see the tops of the mountains along the Glenn Highway for about half of the way.  By the time we got to Matanuska Glacier which comes right down almost to the road, the sun was out and we had a sunny lunch stop. This glacier is the largest glacier in the United States that is accessible by car and is the source of the Matanuska River.  The road at this point was narrow and winding through the river valley and over two mountain summits.  There were no shoulders to the road, but really spectacular views.  Speed limit was only 40 mph through most of the area.

    We got to the campground about 2:30 pm on this relatively short drive.  The commercial campground at Tolsona was spread out along a winding stream, with lots of trees, more like a state park site.  As we set up Rick noticed that we had a nail in one of our truck tires and it was going flat.  We messed with the tire for about an hour.  Getting the hubcap off was a trick and then getting the jack out was even worse.  In the end, the tire would not come off so we called OnStar.  The service said that someone would be along in about an hour.  We had a dinner of hot dogs and smores on a nice campfire, took a walk, and then called again.  Now the service said it would be two more hours.  Finally at 10:45 pm a tow truck showed up.  It was a good thing that we were already at the campsite when we found the bad tire instead of stuck on the narrow, winding road.  It took another hour to get the tire off!  But this is Alaska and it was still mostly light when they were working on the tire.

    We still need to get the tire repaired and changed out for the spare.  But that job is for tomorrow.  We are both tired after a stressful afternoon and evening.

Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage, Alaska

    Well it was a good thing that we didn't postpone our flight.  Today it is even more cloudy and cold.  We decided to do an indoor activity and went to the Alaska Native Heritage Center which was just great.
    The site has a large museum building which houses artifacts and historic exhibits from 11 native cultural groups across Alaska.  There were live demonstrations of dancing, crafts and native games.  The building itself is beautiful and there are views of the Chugach mountains from all around.  The Center is situated on 26 acres of land around Lake Tiulana.  Clustered around the lake are five village sites which have life size dwellings built in the tradition of the native peoples of each area.  The buildings in the Aleut village looked a lot like those we saw last summer in North Dakota which were built by the Mandan Indians.
     There were native people in each village who talked about the houses and how the people lived.  One cedar building - Tlingit home - had vertical planks for walls which could be slid apart to let the smoke out of cool the house in the summer.  In the cold weather the planks swell and close up tight.  Very ingenious.
     I really enjoy experiencing the culture through the music, dance, food, walking into a full size replica of buildings and talking with the people.  It gives me much more of an idea of what life was and still is for the many native cultures.  A very educational and enjoyable morning.

    After lunch we drove around Anchorage some more including a stop at the top of a small ski area outside town.  We could look out over the city.  It would have made for great pictures on a clear day.
When we returned to our very nice campground the signs warning about moose in the campground proved to be true.  There were several large moose wandering down the road.  I was out of battery by then and did not get pictures.  Boo hoo.  However, we have seen more than our share of wildlife on this trip.  Ah well, tomorrow we head towards home.

Over Cooke Inlet, Anchorage, Alaska

     Overnight the weather turned cloudy and our planned flight to Denali was cancelled.  We were told that it was too cloudy there to see anything.  We were offered an alternate trip to the Alaska Range across the Cooke Inlet where there are some active volcanoes.  We got a discount flight for taking the alternative.
     We shared the small plane with two guys from Las Vegas.  Rick got the co-pilot seat since he was the birthday boy.  We took off from the Seaplane airport on Lake Hood just outside downtown Anchorage.  Our flight first took us out over the Turnagain Arm and we saw several pods of Beluga whales.  They are white and fairly small, but easy to spot from our low altitude of 500'.  We continued flying west across the Alaska tundra and rivers to the Alaska range.  Denali - further north - is the highest mountain in this range.  The range is part of the "Pacific Ring of Fire" which includes many volcanoes and which is responsible for many earthquakes. The range creates a barrier to moist air from the Gulf of Alaska which causes heavy snowfall and the development of many large glaciers.
     We flew up several valleys created by glaciers - up to the ice fields on the top of the mountains at about 5000'.  The sun came out and was shining on the blue ice and the rocky peaks - just beautiful.  We flew back to one of the small, very cloudy blue lakes, Beluga Lake, and landed.  We had a chance to get out, stretch our legs and walk around on the gravelly shore which was covered in blooming fire weed.
   On the way back we saw several moose crossing the tundra and some summer "fish camps" where Alaska  Natives live in the summer as they practice "subsistence living" and maintain their cultural heritage.  We saw demonstrations of the use of the fish wheel and smoking salmon when we took our tour in Fairbanks.


    Rick had a really great time (I did too) and was delighted with his birthday gift.   We missed being at the cabin for the usual 4th of July celebration, but had a good day anyway.  With the long long Alaskan days and the cloudy weather we did not stay up to watch fireworks!