6/28 Anchorage trip

It had rained during the night, but in the morning it was just cloudy. We made breakfast then headed out to Anchorage to find the Post Office. It was a little over an hour drive and the Post Office that we had sent my pills to was one that does not do General Delivery, it gets forwarded. The lady gave us the address and we figured it wouldn’t be there because of another forwarding. We were wrong, it was there, so my medication had finally caught up with us. After that we went to the parking lot and paid for 4 hours of parking, at $1.00 an hour, good deal. Everything was in walking distance and it wasn’t raining so lets walk. We found, kind of, a visitor center in a stand on the street. The ladies there had lots of advice and brochure's for us to take. I had seen a line of people standing at a vendors cart, on the corner, and asked what was up with that. She said the people were waiting for hot dogs, and I said really? She said the vendor on the other corner had better hot dogs, in her opinion, but the one we were seeing did a lot of gabbing with the people and they all seemed to love it. $7.25 for a hot dog, chips and soda seemed high to me and we were going to Costco later and $1.50 from Costco sounded better.
We left there and caught the free shuttle for the ULU knife Factory/Store. It went down hill and when we got there the shuttle over heated and the guy had to turn it off. He told everyone on the shuttle that they would have to either walk back up to the visitor center or call a cab. There was a couple that was panicking and started talking about getting a cab. It was like “really?” it isn’t that far, but oh well. We did their little tour and walked through the store, Dave really wanted an Ulu so he bought one.
After shopping we walked back up to the visitor center and we were still to early for the city tour so we went and did a Geo Cache. Which I found then we had to rush back for the city trolley tour, the trolley was pulling away but they stopped for us to get on. Very informational and entertaining tour, the girl that was talking and driving the tour was very good.
After the tour we walked around a little then decided to leave and go shopping at Costco. It was getting late so we headed for back to Linda’s. After all it was still an hour drive we had to do. We got back to Linda’s and they had the fire going on, by the lake. We were missing “Happy Hour” but we hurried our butts to join them. Linda and Mike, more friends of Linda and Vaughn’s, had stopped by on their way home to Palmer. So now there was Linda, Vaughn, Lorraine, Jim, Dave, Jeri and Linda and Mike, we had no problem sitting around the fire pit. Linda then BBQ’d hamburgers for dinner it was a really great evening.

6/27 Jet Boat ride then on to Wasilla

Happy 14th Birthday Riley.
We were kind of moving slow this a.m. because our Jet Boat ride wasn’t until 12pm. We walked into town for breakfast at the Roadhouse. It’s family style so you sit where ever there is a chair open. We then walked back to the RV closed it all up and moved it to the front of the RV Park. Check out time is 11am and they said we could leave it parked in the front while we were on our trip. Not a whole lot of parking for a large RV in town so that was pretty nice of them. The boat ride was good, not worth 146.00, thank goodness we didn’t pay that. We had the 2 for 1 so helped. We saw 4 bald eagles, one up pretty close, and lots of mosquitos.
We got back and hooked up the jeep and were on the road by 2:30pm. We arrived in Wasilla, at Linda’s house, at around 4pm. She has parking with full hookup at the side of her house. OMG what a house and what a view. Linda’s house if up for sale and if we could afford to live in Alaska this would be the house. It is actually 2 houses, the downstairs is completely livable on it’s own, kitchen and all. It really is a beautiful house, Vaughn and Linda have done a wonderful job on building this place. Anyway, Linda said to go ahead and back in the RV and we decided to pull forward in instead of backing in because of the view of the lake. We just can’t hook up sewer, which is fine because we dumped before we left the RV park. I’m not even closing the curtains because of the view, too pretty.
After we arrived and got set up friends we joined Linda and her friends Jim and Lorraine by the fire. Jim had started the fire in a pit down by the water so we sat out there and visited until it started to rain a little bit. Linda made a great dinner for all of us and we got a lot of visiting in. We went back to the coach after 9pm and Dave started working on getting the computers working.
Tomorrow we are headed into Anchorage to see if my prescription has shown up yet.

6/25 Talkeetna Camper Park

Dave went over to the Ranger’s lost and found and got his coffee mug back. I drove the RV over to the Post Office, to where he was, and we hooked up there. We were on the road again by 10:35am. It was raining, not real hard but enough to wash the RV and jeep down. When we were almost to the cut off for Talkeetna the rain had stopped. We got to Talkeetna at 2pm and had decided it was enough time driving so we found an RV park and decided to park for the day.  We got all hooked up and I started the laundry then we walked into town. The 1st thing we did was start looking for Geo Caches, while walking into town. I found it, the clue was “Kiss the Moose”. It was hidden by the sign, where you could take a picture of you kissing a moose. This was the smallest cache we have ever seen. It was like 1/4 of a size of a thimble. It was a magnet that unscrewed and was the smallest rolled up log, to write on, inside. Then I posed kissing the moose, which Dave posted the picture on Facebook.

I had grabbed some pamphlets at the RV Park that told of tourist things to do, while in Talkeetna. Because of our 2 for 1 book, we had purchased in Fairbanks, we decided to do the Jet Boat 2 hour tour for 6:30pm and booked it. Then we went on the hunt for another Geo Cache, which was at the Roadhouse Bakery. We hunted and hunted and finally a person, that works there, came out and asked if we had lost something. We told her we were geo caching and she said the clue was a flower box that is there all year round, or something like that, and the boxes we were looking at weren’t there all year round. So, it was the flower boxes attached to the actual building, then we found it. It was velcroed underneath the flower box. Dave asked her where the improv place was, that I had seen on a flyer, and if we could make the show if we did the jet boat thing tonight. She said no we couldn’t do both but suggested that we change the jet boat to tomorrow morning and take the 5 hour boat trip and go to the improv tonight. One of the guys that works at the restaurant is in the improv. We walked back to the jet boat place and the 5 hour one was going to cost us more a lot more so what we did was change our boat trip to tomorrow at noon. At 6pm we went to the Sheldon Community Arts Hangar and the show was “How to Make Love Like an Alaskan….Sleepless in Soldotna.” It was a really fun and hilarious sketch and improv comedy. This was another 2 for 1 out of our coupon book. It was fun, and the guy from the restaurant was really, really good.

Afterward we went by a brewery, had a beer and talked to the other 2 couples that were in there. One couple was from Florida and had flown in and rented a small motor home and travelling around for a few weeks. They said they had never done anything like this, motor homing, and he is seeing a different side of his wife like he has never seen before. The other couple was from Mass. and flew in and driving and hoteling for a couple weeks.

We then came back to the RV, 9pm, and Dave fixed dinner. Scrambled eggs with shrimp, onions and peppers. Our schedule is so off lately, don’t know when we will get back on the correct track for us.

Tomorrow, after the jet boat trip, it’s Wasilla. Linda Nadeau, hope you and Vaugh are ready for us.

6/25 Tour Bus through Denali National Park

We knew we wouldn’t have TV access for a lot of this trip so I had recorded a lot of programs on the DVR and we borrowed movies from Danny (son in law) and from our neighbors in Arizona, Judy and Marty. We have watched some of the stuff I had recorded but last night was the 1st time we watched one of the DVD’s we borrowed. It was from Danny’s collection and it was called “Unbreakable”. Stupid Movie, what the hell was anyone thinking when making that movie.

We left the RV at 7am and went over to the visitor center. The tour bus picked us up at 7:20am. We didn’t get back to the center until 3pm, it was a long day. We did get lucky and see lots of animals. We turned the corner and there was a young bull moose on the road in front of us. After that we saw a herd of male caribou, I thank there were about 5 of them. Then we saw a mother moose and her child. Of course the bus driver stops at everything and you have time to take pictures. I charged up my camera last night and ran out this morning without it, luckily Dave had his with us. Where the bus turned around at was a mother grizzly and 2 cubs running along the mountain. We saw more caribou then lots of sheep. There was a grizzly laying down napping in the sun. We then saw a big grizzly running along the creek bed in hunt for something, way up ahead of him was a hiker, maybe that’s what the bear could smell. I think then we saw another grizzly, more sheep, caribou and moose. Like I said we did get to see a lot today. The weather stayed cool and cloudy so we really didn’t get to see Denali.

After returning to the visitor center we got off the bus and went back to the RV. Then Dave remembers he left his coffee cup on the bus, by the time we tracked down the bus it was too late. So tomorrow, before we head out, we can go back to the visitor center and go to their lost and found and hopefully get the cup back or else will just have to buy a new one. It was the travelling mug and he needs one of those for early morning driving.

It was kind of funny after that long day on the bus, if someone yelled sheep everyone is like just keep driving, seen enough sheep. Most of the people on the tour were from Princess Cruises and I’m sure they needed to get back for some meal they were missing.

Tonight we will go to the Ranger talk again, tonight’s is on Birds of Prey.

After last night eating out it’s home cooking tonight. BBQ Pork Chop, Asparagus, Brown Rice and Salad. Sounds good to me. Dinner ran a little late so ate fast then went to the Ranger talk. What a great talk, this Ranger was so entertaining. After a while he broke the groups into 4 different sections and we had to hold up pictures of the “Birds of Prey” and read something on them and then demonstrate their flying pattern. After everyone was done then we all had to do the “RAPTOR RAP!”

A RAPTOR RAP! A RAPTOR RAP! KEEPIN’ THINGS IN BALANCE – CUS WE LIKE IT LIKE THAT!

I’M A RAPTOR – AND I’M HERE TO SAY  CRUISIN’ IN DENALI – IS THE ONLY WAY! I GOT TALONS, CURVED BEAK – AND VISION TO SPARE … YOU DON’T WANNA MESS – WHEN I’M IN THE AIR!

A RAPTOR RAP! A RAPTOR RAP! KEEPIN’ THINGS IN BALANCE – CUS WE LIKE IT LIKE THAT!

SOARING AND GLIDIN’ FLAPPIN’ AND DIVIN’ I GOT MORE, MOVES THAN KOBE BRYANT!

HAWKS, EAGLES, FALCONS AND OWLS  WE’VE GOT A MESSAGE FOR Y’ALL – DON’T THROW IN THE TOWEL!  KEEP SPEAKIN’ FOR THE CRITTERS – BIG AND SMALL, AND DON’T FORGET THE RAPTORS – THE MOST MAGICAL OF ALL!

A RAPTOR RAP! A RAPTOR RAP! KEEPIN’ THINGS IN BALANCE CUZ WE LIKE IT LIKE THAT!

Decided we are heading out tomorrow, don’t know our stop yet, but probably won’t have any hook ups. Will keep you posted.

6/24 Riley Creek Campground, Denali

After coffee this morning we drove the jeep over to the campground to see if there were any openings that we could fit in. We found one and put our tag on it then drove back to the RV. We closed everything up then drove over to the campsite and parked the RV. After setting everything up we had breakfast, got caught up on emails then headed out to do some Geo Caches. We walked to the 1st one, that was put on by the Park. It was a virtual one, so that means there is nothing really to find but a place for viewing the scenery. It was over a mile away and had some nice hills to climb. After finding it we walked to the Ranger Station and got a ride back to the RV Park by bus.

We then drove into town and went and found another Geo Cache. We then went into a gift shop to kill some time before our White Water Rafting trip. We met up with Matt and Connie for our trip and took the van ride down to the place. We put on dry suits, floating devices, booties and hats. What till Dave gets those posted, we all looked too funny. The four of us sat in the front of the raft, guide in the middle then 3 people in back. What ever you do don’t sit on the left hand side in the front. That’s where Matt sat and just about every rough spot we hit Matt got it in the face. Dave sat on the right hand side and got some. Connie and I were in the middle in front and we both got it too. Let me tell you that water is COLD! You swear you are soaking wet but you aren’t that dry suit does keep you dry but the water is still cold. Once we took off the very 1st tough spot we hit I went flying backwards. My head was at the guides feet and my feet were up in the air. There was nothing to grab onto to lift myself back up, I started yelling for Dave, who by the way didn’t even realize I had fallen over, then he finally helped me up.  He said he was too busy watching the rapids and didn’t notice I wasn’t sitting next to him anymore.(Note to self, don’t go real rafting with Dave he wouldn’t notice if you fell out of the raft)

I was sitting too high up and needed to slide down a little on the raft. The rest of the trip was great and so much fun, would do that again in a heart beat. They had someone on the side shore taking pictures of us, thank goodness they just didn’t get my feet. Dave had to buy the one with me laughing so hard, before I fell over. The girl that took them said she saw me fall over, too funny. He will, I’m sure be posting it soon. We were so cold when we got back you needed to put your jacket on, but we were dry!

After rafting the 4 of us went for pizza and beer, hadn’t had lunch so we were a bit hungry. Pizza not cheap, but it was good. They even have a pizza for $50.99, and we even saw a couple order it, unbelievable. The $50.99 pizza is called “Deadliest Catch” it is 1 1/2 pound Alaskan King Crab, Roma Tomatoes, Red Pepper, White Sauce, Basil, Provolone, and Buffalo Mozzarella. That couple even ordered a salad to go with it and wine, I would have loved to see that bill. As we were leaving there was a table with 8 young kids and 4 adults that were having all kinds of pizza’s dropped off, that bill would have easily topped the Crab pizza.

Back to the RV after that, and for some reason the internet isn’t working so will post this, when I can. At 7:30pm we plan on going to the Ranger Talk here in the campground. The Ranger’s talk was about the Wolf’s not only here but the lower 48 too. Good talk and on the way there, while walking we saw a bunch of people stopped and taking pictures. It was a mother moose and her baby eating at the side of the road. Darn, we didn’t have our camera with us, but then again we have gotten quite a lot of pictures of moose so far. After the talk it was back to the coach time. Tomorrow, at 7am, we are taking the tour bus into Denali. Will decide after that if we want to stay here longer or not.

6/23 Large parking spot outside of Denali

We drove to the campsite in Denali, where we have reservations at Sunday, to see if they had any openings, they didn’t. We drove back out of the park and ended up driving back to the very large parking area right outside of Denali. I believe it use to be a camping place but not no more. We parked sideways so we could view the river below and all the trees. We can even see the Alaska Train go by. We thought, too bad we have reservations at the park because this spot is perfect. We already paid for the RV Park we we have to go. At least there we  will get WiFi, no TV but who cares. After getting parked we took a drive to see where we meet the White Water Rafting people tomorrow plus find out for Mondays Bus Denali trip where we meet them at.  Then we drove into the visitors center to talk to the Rangers. You can drive 15 miles into the park so we did that and the only animals we saw were birds and 1 squirrel. While driving back out you could see the sky getting darker and meaner looking. At the visitor center, when we drove by was a moose just eating away and not caring about all the people around taking pictures. Dave said “I told you” the animals here know there are no hunters and just don’t care. We stopped at a camera store to buy a water proof camera for tomorrow. We then got an ice cream cone and walked around the shops. Went and talked to the Jeep touring place and you can either go with them or take your on jeep by yourself. Not like in Sedona, they kind of try and prevent you from using their trails, I said try but they can’t stop you. Don’t think we will probably do that, not enough time here but we could if we wanted to, no time table we are on. While in town the rain came, but not real heavy. Once we got back to the RV there must have been 20 other rigs, plus, even some people in tents that are camping out here for the night.

Parked in front of us was a van with a young couple in it with the cooking going on behind the vehicle. I thought they were spending the night but once they were done eating their dinner they hit the road. The train came by and Dave went and took pictures, then I started dinner. Very easy one tonight, Hot Dogs and Chili, Dave was happy to hear he didn’t have to cook. We are dry camping so we had to rough it a little bit. Ha Ha.

Then the rain started coming down, oh well, the jeep and RV need to be washed anyway. The people in front of us were sitting outside with their dog in a slide in. That’s a pick up with a camper on top. Behind us is a guy on a bicycle and in a 1 man tent. Then there is us, with a generator, propane, toilet, shower, computers, TV’s and we called this camping. Well we don’t have electric, water, sewer or really internet, just Dave’s phone. It’s a tough life but someone has to live it, right?

The sky then cleared, more RV’s pulled in and we got the chairs out and sat outside watching the river run. Later on, we went walking around and visited with the other people that are camped out here. The guy behind us, on the bike and 1 man tent, is from Japan and is riding the bike from Anchorage to Fairbanks. He is hoping to do San Francisco to Phoenix next on his bike, he is here for 6 months. Some kind of motor vehicle would be fine with me but a bike, no thanks.

6/22 Tatlanika Trading Co. and RV Park

Headed out of Fairbanks around 11:30am. Was hoping my package from home would show up but it didn’t. Having the Post Office forward it to Anchorage for us, hopefully it will show up there. We had a real short drive, not due into Denali until Sunday so we drove for 2/12 hours then stopped for the day. It was a pretty good sized RV Park that we almost had all to ourselves, away from the water. It has the Nenana River running by it but the mosquitoes were ridiculous. They had WiFi so Dave down loaded some Geo Caches. After setting up we went hunting for the Caches. Wouldn’t you know they were either by the water or in wooded areas that had Bear Poop. We found 2 out of 4 and one of them had a travelling bug in it so we took it. The owner of the Cache wants the bug to end up somewhere in Canada. When we leave Alaska and back into Canada we will find another Geo Cache and leave it there. When we got back we set-up our mosquito tent so we could sit outside and relax without getting eaten alive. I’m using my spray stuff like crazy and only got a couple bites. The body isn’t reacting like it was so maybe I’m getting immune to the bites. Dave needs to starting really using the spray because they are biting him.

6/20 and 6/21 Fairbanks Alaska

6/20 Wednesday

Today we went to the University of Alaska Museum of the North, which is on  the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. It is in an 83,000 square-foot building and boy did they do a good job. It took us a couple hours to go through and well worth the visit. After that we went to the large animal research center, but just looked at the Muskox that were walking around. They had a tour at 2pm for $10.00 ea.  but who wants to pay to see caged up Muskox, Reindeer ect. when we can see them out in the wild.

After that it was Walmart shopping, since we are leaving on the 22nd. We heard you had to stock up on things because there’s not really any place in Denali to shop.

When we got back and put everything away, it was like 4pm and Dave had to print out all his reports for the Habitat BOD meeting at 4:30pm, our time. The Family Selection Committee was presenting a family to the BOD for approval. Dave really wanted to be apart of that, since we have all worked real hard on getting this thing going. I stayed and listened to the FSC part of it but then when it was time for the Executive Members part of the meeting, boring, I left to do a load of laundry. The meeting got over close to 6:30pm.

Matt and Connie came over for snacks then dinner around 6:45pm. We sat outside with the sun beating down on us. After dinner we still sat around and talked and as we were there was a big RV that was getting ready to park. We hear the beep beep, as he backs up and then the next thing we hear is him taking out the tree at the back of our RV. Everyone around heard the noise and came running. Everyone is screaming at the guy to quit moving and pull forward. Instead he backs up again. He finally stopped and got out and looked around. Dave, plus others, were telling him what he needed to do to park in that spot. He got back in the RV and drove off, we never saw him again. Of course with everyone out there we all start talking to each other. Two ladies, that were there, are natives of Alaska and one still lived there and the other was visiting. We got to talking, then they came in to look at our rig. We started talking about fishing and the one that still lives here said she would show Matt where a good fishing hole was, so she took off with Matt and Connie. The other one stayed at our place and we just sat and talked for awhile. It was a good evening and we had forgotten all about the 10:30pm baseball game, that was a big deal here. They were even playing a Washington Team. Oh well.

6/21

Chuck and Carol hit the road this a.m. told them we would see them up the road sometime.

I did 2 more loads of laundry this a.m. then Matt came over and we talked about going White Water Rafting together on Sunday. We all got our reservations for 1:30pm on Sunday. Around 11:30 Dave and I got going for a drive to Chena Hot Springs. The Springs were 56 miles away so I had packed a lunch for us. On the drive Dave spotted a moose in the water with it’s head under water. We pulled over and turned around and there was a snow mobile road that you could take that followed the water line. With the jeep being so small we drove on the trail to where the moose was and took pictures. Once back on the road we must had seen 6 more moose. Walking around the Hot Springs the bugs starting biting, but not me, Dave. I had my spray stuff on and not a one landed on me. We had to get out of there before they ate Dave alive. Leaving the Hot Springs we spotted moose on the way back too, of course, some were the ones we saw on the way out. One group of cars were pulled over so we pulled over to see what they were looking at. As soon as we made the u-turn we saw the moose and with the jeep being loud it scared the moose away. I don’t think those people trying to take pictures were very happy with us.

We then stopped at Sam’s Club to pick up a couple more things and fill the jeep up. $3.99 a gallon cheapest we have seen in awhile. Back to the RV to do some playing on the computers.

After dinner I was looking out the window and saw 2 men in a canoe rowing and they were pulling 2 tubes and a raft that had the kids in and on them.

Plan on getting back on the road tomorrow, heading for Denali, will probably stop 1/2 way. We don’t have reservations anywhere until Sunday.

6/19 Day 2 in Fairbanks

I have 1 bite so far and it’s on my left ear lobe, it’s all red and swollen now.

We thought about driving to the Arctic Circle but the more research we did the more we decided against it. Its like 150 miles away and not good reports on the road and the trucks that fly down them. Lots of flat tires, reported, and really no animals to see except rabbits. Someone else said a very boring drive just to get a picture of a sign that says Arctic Circle. If we decide we really want to do it we will do a tour. Tours aren’t cheap so we are picking and choosing the right ones to take so we don’t go completely broke. We know in Denali we are going to go White Water Rafting and probably take the all day bus tour into Denali. Today we will go get the discount book where you can do two for the price of one tours.

At 9am Dave called into the Construction Committee meeting going on at 10am time in Arizona. I took off and went walking around the RV Park to check out the things it has. After his meeting, there was a Geo Cache somewhere in the RV Park so we took off looking for it. It was up near the office and I found it right away. On our walk back we saw Matt and he said they were going to the 1/2 day river boat cruise and wanted to know if we wanted to go with them. We said we had done it 10 years earlier, when we came here on our 25th anniversary, but would let them know later. We then took off for the North Pole, wanted to check it out and post pictures for the Grandkids to see. Nana and G/Pa at the North Pole. We got there and took pictures, saw the Reindeers, then went into the gift shop. Dave got a picture of me sitting on Santa’s knee, it was a fun little shop. For some reason, Dave’s picture of one of the Reindeer was posted on Facebook but the other pictures didn’t. I said if he can’t find the one of me sitting on Santa’s knee then we have to go back and do it again. I really wanted the kids to see the caption under the picture.

In the North Pole there were 2 Geo Caches, didn’t have any luck on either one. For some reason Dave is having problems,every once in awhile, with his phone and Caches. On the drive back we decided to go on the cruise with Matt and Connie because we found out it got back by 5pm. We had already told Chuck and Carol we would come over for dinner and knew dinner wouldn’t be that early. ( I got a little stressed because when we excepted going with Matt and Connie, if something should happen and we didn’t make it back in time for dinner, I would feel so bad. Didn’t have Carol or Chuck’s phone #)

Everything worked out great, on the time table side. Like I said, earlier, we went 10 years ago on the cruise and nothing has changed but the people putting it on. It is a good cruise but not worth going 2x’s. The only thing that was different was 2 girls in a kayak,they had  beached themselves, while the cruise boat was going by and it didn’t help them. The boat caused such a wake that it pulled them back into the water then the kayak tipped over, boy, they sure weren’t happy campers. It was funny though.

We went over to Carol and Chuck’s for dinner, we had appetizers, chili, cornbread and salad, really good dinner. Sat and visited for a few hours then came home about 9pm. Dave got out the hair dryer and defrosted the freezer, it was freezing up. We always have to do this, when full timing, once a month. I normally do it but Dave took it on.

That was todays adventures, not sure, yet, what tomorrow has in store for us. The only thing for sure I know is Thursday is washing day, bedding, towels clothes ect. before we get on the road again.

6/18 Fairbanks Alaska

We got on the road at 8a.m. Chuck and Carol left before us but we did talk to them and said we would see them up the  road. After an hour I spotted another Moose so Dave slowed down and it ran across the road ahead of us. Along the way there are places that have ads in the Milepost that talk about what they are famous for. One was Delta Meat and Sausage Co, popular place for tours to stop at.  By the time we got there Chuck and Carol were just leaving. Inside they had free samples of Reindeer, Buffalo, Elk, Yak, Beef and Pork. We ended up buying some Buffalo spicy sausages.

Back on the road, oh, by the way, we are driving back on nice highways and doing 55mph instead of 20mph we had averaging the last 2 days. Anyway, Dave this time spots the Moose on the side of the highway, can’t believe it just stood there grazing. It did manage to lift its head when we went by, but I just couldn’t believe that. My brother, Mike, had said they were stupid animals, when he went hunting for one, I guess he was right. (I know Mike, you are always right)

Another ad, in the Milepost, was “The Knotty Shop” their ad showed a picture of a giant mosquito made out of knotty wood, plus, they offered a free ice cream cone if you stopped by and showed them their ad. Free ice cream plus a giant mosquito we had to stop.  Dave will post pictures later but what a nice stop. They had a great Alaskan wildlife display, the hand made wood stuff was really nice. The ice cream was great, it was well worth the stop. Plus, then again, we get a break from driving and stretch the legs.

We got to River’s Edge RV Park, forgot to write down the time, but it was like 1:30pm. After Dave signed us in we had to unhook the jeep before we could park. As unhooking I looked over and a 5th wheel had pulled in and the lady said “Hi”. I said “Hi” back and thought, boy she looks familiar but you end up seeing just about the same crowd either everyday or every couple days because most are all headed in the same direction. As we were parking the RV, who walks over but Carol, there are parked right behind us, too funny. Dave had to go back up to the office and when he did he saw Connie and Matt, who we had met, at the beginning of our trip, and stayed along side with at Dawson Creek. That’s who had said “Hi” to me and when all I did was say “Hi” back and nothing else she thought that I was pissed off or something. Dave comes back to the RV and said “Connie wants to know why you didn’t talk to her” I said Damn, that’s who that was. I knew she looked familiar, I just couldn’t  place who it was, oh well, sorry about that. After we got all set up we went over and visited for awhile.

Then Dave and I hit the road for Sam’s Club, needed a few things plus wanted to put fuel in the jeep. Also driving around town you get to check out all the diesel prices. Sam’s Club for diesel was $4.28 all the others are $4.35. Much better then Canada, we were paying $6. or greater.

We got back to the RV and had dinner. Carol and Chuck invited us over for dinner tomorrow night (Tuesday) and Matt and Connie asked if we would like to do a dinner cruise with them on Wednesday. It was “yes” to Carol and Chuck and a “no” to Matt and Connie. Wednesday night, Dave wants to call into the BOD meeting at Habitat because the 1st family, that the FSC picked, is being presented to the BOD. He really wants to be a part of that. We will have to figure out something else we can do with Matt and Connie.

After dinner I looked up some of the places Guy Fieri, from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, has been too. There just so happens to be 3 here in Fairbanks. One is called “Hot Licks”, which is an ice cream place. After dinner we went and washed the jeep again, got muddy after the geo cache in Tok" then on to the ice cream place. The people were lined up and it’s 9pm, we both got an ice cream cone and believe me its wasn’t cheap, but it was good. May try and hit up the other places for lunch if we get a chance.

After ice cream we visited again with Matt and Connie for awhile, after all it’s only 10pm at night and people are still outside tanning, where I should be. Will see in the morning if I have any bug bites. Before I sign off and then will be completely caught up on the blog there is the visitor guide paper I got, I want to read you something I saw in it.

“FAIRBANKS FUN FACTS” Don’t believe all the horror stories you have heard about Alaska’s mosquitoes. They are not the state bird and are not as bad people say. “THEY ARE WORSE.” Scientists will tell you there are good and bad mosquito years depending on spring weather. THEY ARE WRONG; Mosquitoes are bad every year in Alaska. Needless to say, Maggi, back in AZ. had told me about this recently and I guess this paper has confirmed what she said. At the end of the article it says “The best mosquito repellent is called DEET. Bathe in it. Dave did get the deet lotion for me, I guess I should start bathing in it. Wish me luck, since they seem to love me.

It’s 1:02am I guess I should try and go to bed now. Goodnight!

6/17 Father’ Day Leaving Dawson City

We left the camp ground at 7:30am we didn’t hook up the jeep until we got across the river, which was after the ferry ride. Once across we hooked up and started the Top of the World Highway. We had a lot of road then dirt/gravel, to tell the truth the dirt/gravel was a lot better then the paved highway. With so much dirt/gravel road I told Dave we were off roading in the RV. At 10am be got to the U.S. Border, Dave gave them our passports and said we were from Arizona I said Florida. The guy walks back to look at our license plate then went into the booth to check our passports, I just knew we were going to get search, which really didn’t matter because we had nothing, but he let us go through. The U.S. road was so much worse then the Canada side. I thought by the time we got parked today that every nut and bolt would be loose in the RV and Jeep. Once we got into Alaska we lost an hour, so the time was now 9am. We stopped along the way to Chicken and walk around the RV and stretch our legs and while I was standing by the RV a Grouse (bird)  came right up to me, I ran into the RV and got my camera, it was still there and I starting snapping pictures. The other people that were stopped there too came over and started taking pictures too, it was neat. Later on  while I was on animal spotting patrol I saw a Moose up ahead. Dave stopped so it could cross the road in front of us, I snapped pictures of that too. We stopped in Chicken, AK and had sourdough Waffles and Reindeer sausages, for breakfast. (I had bacon but did taste the sausage)

We got to Tok around 1:15pm and stopped at the Visitor Center to see what they had to offer. Chuck and Carol were there and staying at the Sourdough RV Park, so we decided to stay there too. We stayed longer at the Center and when we left we made a wrong turn. I said earlier in a blog that if you miss a stopping spot you could drive miles and miles before you could turn around. Well, needless to say we had to drive like 12 miles before we could turn around and go back into Tok and turn the right way to go to the RV Park. By the time we got there and saw Chuck and Carol again they said they thought we had changed our minds and decided to stay somewhere else. Anyway, the RV Park had a car wash, so we all washed the RV’s and our cars.

Dave and I tried to do some Geo Caches but believe me these people hide those caches so deep in the woods we were afraid of deer ticks or what ever else was out there so we gave up on them. At 7pm at the RV Park they had the sourdough pancake toss. If you made it into the bucket you got a free breakfast in the morning. Dave and I didn’t make it, I got kind of close. I didn’t see Dave’s tosses because I had gone back to the RV to get my camera. Carol and Chuck made theirs. After the toss a bunch of the campers sat around a fire and were doing smores, or at least trying to, fire wasn’t that great. We all sat around and shared stories, it was fun.

6/16 Dawson City for another Day

Sorry this post isn’t getting posted until 6/17, Sunday Father’s Day, Happy Father’s Day Dave. When I had gotten up on Saturday morning, Dave slept in, we had no internet. Dave walked up to the office a little bit later and found out we had used up all of our time. I guess it is posted somewhere to stop the down loads on your computer or you would use up your time and have to pay for internet. Dave paid for the extra internet time and came back to the coach and shut off the computers updates. He forgot about the Picasso updates and his computer wiped us out again. Didn’t want to pay for more internet so will post this when we get to Chicken Alaska. 6/17

6/15 night time

Last night we did go to the show at the Oldest Casino in Canada “Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall” it was fun to see. We sat down at a table with some people from Kansas who were on a Plane/Bus tour, very nice people. The show was pretty good, we have seen Can Can Girls before at other places, it was fun though. I enjoyed watching the gambling tables too, as soon as no one was at a table the pit bosses came by and covered up the chips ASAP. Not use to seeing that in the U.S., it’s like they have no trust in the employees. Dave said it could be the Canada laws that they have to be so careful, who knows.

6/16 Still in Dawson City, day of touring

Woke up with the mosquito bite left eye swollen shut. Put some ice on it and could finally open it. Dave said it was because of my “auto immune problem, that’s why my system over reacts to things, since I have psoriasis. We took the ferry over in the Jeep to see what was on the other side, it’s free so why not. Getting off the ferry is very rough, going to have to drive very slowly. We think we will drive separately then hook up the jeep on the other side, the ferry employees said it would be easier. We drove through the campground, to check it out, we could get in there if we had too. Then we started driving the “Top of the World” Highway, it is one hell of a climb for a long time. The sights are unbelievable. You get paved road then a lot of gravel, but the gravel road seems better then the paved road. We drove and drove and then decided to turn around we had driven a long way and since we have to do it again we got an idea how the road was. Dave was going to wait to get fuel in Chicken because we still had like 55 gallons left, and it was cheaper there,  but with that big of a climb we would probably only get 2 miles to the gallon, I said “NO WAY” we are getting fuel. I would wather be safe like to be safe then sorry, even if we have to pay more. Of course once we got to the top, everything else is down hill but I want to make sure we get to the top. (sorry one of my rules) Chicken, Alaska is I think 108 miles away but I don’t care, once we are going down hill we probably get 10 miles to the gallon, but I don’t know for sure.

Back to what we did today. After the long drive we came back on the ferry, with, which I didn’t like because the river is moving so fast and to me the ferry isn’t that big, was a big dump truck and a skip loader, I guess these guys know what they are doing. We then went to the Cultural Centre to hear about the Tr’ondek Hwech 1st Nations who were here first, very interesting. I know I’m not into the culture stuff, but to hear about what these cultures had to go through is amazing. This one was settled 14 years ago, amazing for this Indian Tribe.

We then finished the Geo Caches, then went to the Parks Canada Visitor Center, to get our prize for having all the answers and they were out of the pins they give out. So the girl ended up giving us a Dredge Pin, at least it was something. Tonight after dinner we went to the Robert Service Cabin and heard all about him, believe it or not he was a great funny poet, or at least the guy that gave the presentation was great reading those poems. Then back to the RV because it was kind of a long drive tomorrow. We are going to stop at either Chicken or Tok Alaska, not sure what yet!

6/15 Dawson City

We got going this morning by 7:15am, no bear spotting's, last night or this morning. Before we got going we did cut up some of the cinnamon roll we had purchased yesterday and it was good. It is big enough to feed 4 or 5 people. The only animals we saw today was a squirrel, rabbit and 1 moose, bull moose at that. We arrived in Dawson City at 9:45am. We got set up, checked the internet stuff and then ran into town. We wanted to check on the ferry that we have to get on to leave here.

 Only way across to go to Chicken Alaska thank goodness it’s a free ferry ride across the river. Then we went to the visitor center to see what things there are to do in Dawson City. Just so happens the Highland Games Opening Ceremony starts tonight. They haven’t had the Highland Games here for 113 years, so it’s a big deal for this little town.
Before I go on let me tell you about the bites I have. Let’s see my left eye is about closed, they right side up my face has welts, 2 on my cheek and 1 on my forehead. My right hand is swollen with about 4 bites, right forearm bit welt. Left armpit welt, welt on right side of stomach and lets not forget about the right ear. The bugs are going to be eating good while I’m here. Dave doesn’t even have 1 bite, not far. He said he guesses I’ll be seeing Alaska from the inside of the RV. Ha ha, not funny.
Anyway, we went and did the tour of Dredge No. 4 a National Historic Site for Parks Canada. 

It was a very interesting tour plus they found out that this is the last summer that any tours will go through it. Parks Canada, because of budget problems, are closing a lot of the parks stuff. Canada realizes that they must cut cost, not like the U.S. and keep printing or borrowing $ like our government. Anyway, Dredge No. 4 is 2/3 the size of a football field and 8 stories high. It was interesting on how they dredged for gold.
When we left there it was back to the RV to have something to eat. It was after all 2:30pm and all we had before leaving the mosquito capital was the cinnamon roll. Then back on the road to visit the Midnight Dome. This was just a drive to the top of the Dome (mountain) and had the most spectacular view of the Klondike also the town of Dawson City. Dave will post pictures later.

Back into town to walk around and visit some shops. Then we stopped at the Sourdough Saloon. We had a beer and heard about the Sourtoe Cocktail that they are famous for. It’s a club you can join between 9pm and 11pm every night where you drink a shot of something with a mummified human toe in it. It’s suppose to be a real human toe and it just used over and over again, I guess. Didn’t really sound like something I wanted to see or join.

After leaving the saloon we headed out for Geo Caching. Dave had down loaded 5 caches and they were all done by Parks Canada. They took you to the historical sites and inside the caches is a question that you have to answer at the visitor center. We did 3 caches and Dave found all 3, Dave not me. On the last one a local saw him pulling it out and she said she had found that one too.
After that we went back into town to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Highland Games. They had speeches from different important town people, and they introduced some of the athletes, in tomorrows games. The Can Can girls from “Diamond Tooth Gerties” Gambling Hall sang the  Anthems, both American and Canada's. The 1st Nation group did some singing then it was bagpipe competition. We listened to a couple then headed back to the RV for dinner. We plan on going to see the Can Can girl show tonight at 10:30pm, that’s in 40 min. so will go ahead and post this blog and let you know tomorrow how the show was.

6/14 Moose Creek Yukon Government Campground

We were suppose to stop in at Pelly Crossing and spend the night but Dave thought the campground was on the other side of the bridge, at least that’s how he remembered Google Maps looking, it wasn’t.  He needs to trust the Milepost book not Google maps. The roads we are driving on are only 2 lanes and todays didn’t even have shoulders to pull over on. So if you miss any turn offs you must keep going the next turnoff/pullover place is miles and miles down the road. We thought about going all the way to Dawson City but that was still another 160 miles away and we had already been driving for 3 1/2 hours, which I know doesn’t sound like much but being in a big motorhome it is long. Todays roads we hit a lot of frost heaves and rough pavement so we had to drive very cautiously, very draining on the body and mind. We did make a couple stops along the way, quick stops to either check out the sites or places that they are famous for. Braeburn Lodge is another world famous cinnamon bun place, we never eat cinnamon buns but we couldn’t resist their ad. The place we stopped at a few days ago was a really good cinnamon bun place now Braeburn’s we haven’t tried yet, not hungry now, but the size of it will feed 4 people easily, too funny.

Dave will get the picture of it posted later. After Braeburn Lodge we pulled over in Carmacks they are “the hub of the Yukon” but didn’t find their visitor centre because of all the road construction going on there. Oh, forgot to mention the airport at Braeburn’s is called the cinnamon bun strip. Then we missed Pelly Crossing, so we stopped at the Moose Creek Yukon Government Campground. We are dry camping and after we got all set up we went for a walk and to pay for our camping. My goodness the insects around here, don’t leave home without the bug repellent. The mosquitoes are huge, and there are lots of them. Even the lodge down the road has a monster mosquito  mounted outside, they said the bugs are really friendly too. This campground even gives free firewood, good for them, who the hell is going to sit outside anyway with all those mosquitos. After visiting the lodge Dave and I decided to sit our butts in the RV.

We did run into rain on the drive today off and on. As a matter of fact it’s raining now which cuts down on the bugs.  I started to tell about walking around the campground, which we did bugs and all, but we are parked next to the only spot that has Bear droppings next to it, just our luck. At 1st we were the only people here but now about 7 more have pulled in, that time of day to get off the road because of all the wild life. I’m keeping the shades open in the front of the coach just in case a bear should come by.

6/13 Whitehorse, Yukon

Before I get going on todays travels, Dave has finished posting our pictures on our blog.
We went into town again but this time to get some touring in. Weather was cool but no rain, so that was good. 1st we went on The Millennium Trail/Fish Ladder/Miles Canyon/Schwatka Lake walk. This was a 5-km trail that took you to the longest fish ladder in the world. Salmon aren’t running right now but they had a film we could see how it works.

Fish Ladder

SS Klondike

It was big, the girl even said this year the Salmon will  be showing up late because of the late spring this year. A lot of Black Bears have been seen around the area because of the late spring too. Mother bears didn’t have enough berries and stuff to eat so they have been kicking the baby bears out early, because they can’t produce enough milk for them, so a lot of babies have been spotted. On the way back to the visitor center we saw the SS Klondike National Historic Site. This was a sternwheeler, that is dry docked now, that use to go to and from Dawson City during the 30’s and 40’s.

 Then on to Starbucks to use their WiFi to download some Geo Caches. We walked around town and found a few of the Caches, it makes you go to places that you probably wouldn’t see. We did lunch at Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ, what a great lunch.  We shared fish and chips (Halibut) amazingly fresh, best we’ve ever had and the Robert Service’s Seafood Baked Dip. It was Salmon with artichokes, spinach, herbs and cheese smothered in a cream sauce and it was served with their homemade foccacia bread. That was really good too, we didn’t even waste time on the chips. After lunch it was on to see the weathervane, which is at the Transportation Museum. The weathervane is a full-size DC-3 aircraft, mounted so that it turns and faces into the wind. Back to the RV after that and it was nap time. (Dave napped and worked on pictures, I just relaxed)
Tomorrow we are headed out on the Klondike Loop and will make a stop in Pelly Crossing, may not have internet, but we always have phone service now.

6/12 Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Yea, the roads opened up last night around 8pm. We got on the road around 7:30am and at 9:10am we passed the spot where the road was washed out. They made it sound a lot worse then it was. Can’t blame them when the road was underwater because they figured if the water was over the road that must mean the water could be under the road too. It wasn’t and once the water cleared they just had too clear all the dirt, rocks, trees off of the road. Part of the road did get washed away and they did a good job clearing it up. When we ran into town at Whitehorse we saw one of the couples we had met and they had left at 5:30am and they said it was down to one lane when they hit the bad spot. We told them it was 2 lanes when we drove by. Enough of this.

The only animal that Dave saw on the road was a Fox running down the highway. I was looking the other way and missed it. There just wasn’t anything out there while we were driving or that we could see. The drive was OK was surprised we didn’t see a lot of people on the road. They either left before us or after us. We know by the RV Park, now, which is filling up, they were behind us.

At 12:15pm Dave’s phone starting ringing and it was the Republican Party calling looking for Dave and wanting a donation. Dave was driving so I answered and said “We are driving on the Alaska Highway right now and he can talk while driving.” They said Thank you, will call back later.

On our drive today we did see messages made in rocks. These messages were started in 1990 by a Fort Nelson swim team. There were peoples names, saw a couple Kim’s out there, Send Money, Hello ect. You could see a lot of them have been washed away too my nature.

We will stay here in Whitehorse for at least one more day. Ran out of wine and can’t afford the wine here in Canada, the booze either. Pack of cigs are $13.00 thank goodness we don’t smoke anymore. Wine in U.S. $13.00 $36.00 in Canada.

Will update again tomorrow!

6/11 Monday still in Watson Lake, raining now

Heard the trucks early this morning with their engines running, then the rain started. Hours later the trucks are still here and so is the rain. I’m guessing the roads were not opened last night, lets see if they open this afternoon. We are going to go to the sign forest again today and hang our sign that we had made in Georgia. It’s the one that says Dave & Jeri Alton with Valentine (was our dog at the time) and Homeless in the U.S.A., when we were full time RVing. Can’t really put out the sign anymore since we aren’t homeless anymore and Valentine is gone. When we went to the “sign forest” the other day I found a sign from Bakersfield, so took a picture and will have to look up the people the next time we are there.

Late Morning/The truckers are still parked and the rain has stopped. We drove into town to find out what is going on and to hang our sign at the Sign Post Forest. We were told the roads are still going to open this afternoon and the produce and fuel trucks are going 1st. Whitehorse is now having to fly their supplies in. Then they said tour buses are on the way and the hotels are going to have to ask the people in them now to leave, so that means the cars go after the trucks. Last is the RVs, 5th wheels and trailers. They advised us to just stay another day, to make sure the road holds up and the traffic clears. As it looks there will be a trail of vehicles miles and miles long, all the way to Whitehorse. It’s going to take a while till everyone breaks up again, in my opinion.

At 3 we went into town to the Northern Lights Centre. We went and watched the show they put on. There were 3 couples in the whole theatre and when it was over an hour later 2 of the men were sound asleep. Dave would have been too but he took a nap before we left. We then stopped at Hougen’s Department Store and I got my souvenir magnet and new hiking boots. My old hiking boots fell apart as soon as we got to the Hot Springs a few days ago. We then went to the grocery store to get eggs, they were all wiped out. They get another shipment of food in tomorrow night. Hopefully we won’t be here and back on the road.

5pm and everyone is still here. Now they aren’t saying anything about when the road will open. The temporary one they had, when a few trucks went over it, it was a no go, didn’t hold up like it was suppose to. When we put our antenna up we get one channel, this morning we watched these stupid cartoons, then a talk show this afternoon. Then we got Jeopardy and now at 5pm we get to watch the Hockey game. Darn Kings better do it tonight.  It isn’t the best picture, that’s for sure, lots of snow in the picture but who cares. Yesterday we watched the dumbest soap opera, boy these actors are bad here. Now we know why all the good Canadian actors/actresses come to the United States.

I can write the blog all day, off line. Then when we run into the Library and get the WIFI password, which is different for everyone that’s when I can post the blog. Also do a quick update to you all on FB. The Library person asks you how long you want to use the internet 1/2 hour, 1 hour, 3 hours, then you are assigned a password for that length of time, strange.

6:30pm looks like the Kings are going to win the Stanley Cup for the 1st time. 4 to 0, can’t see the puck at all on our TV but can kind of see them skating around and the sound is good. Neighbors next to us, our twin RV’ers Chuck and Carol, made Artesian bread on their BBQ. Chuck makes it and Carol cooks it on the BBQ, they do pizza that way too. Would never have thought to make pizza on the BBQ. OK I’m done for the night on posting things. Going to finish fixing dinner, BBQ Pork Chop, rice and spinach.

6/10 Beautiful Weather here in Watson Lake

Still no word for sure when the road will be fixed. They said they think the waters, at the 1st bridge, have gone down a little. They are worried about trees floating down the river and running into the bridge because that’s what could wipe it out. They also said they are hauling in a bridge from Port Townsend to go over the washed out road. They are hoping by Thursday or Friday the road will be drivable again. Then again we have rain forecasted for the next few days starting on Monday.

We drove into town then out to the airport, they kind of have a Minnie museum there. The road right past the airport was closed down too. After the museum we drove around town to see if Matt and Connie had made it here with the 5th wheel. (1st couple we hung with) We didn’t see them anywhere. Chuck and Carol said they heard from their friends, that are like 200 miles behind us and they said all the RV Parks along the way are filling up fast.  So people are staying put until the roads open up again. It’s weird having this major highway in front of us and not seeing anyone driving on it. Now around town tents are set up all over, people are parked where they say no overnight camping, nothing anyone can do.

This afternoon we took a drive 28 KM to try and find a Geo Cache. When driving into Watson Lake the other day there was a really nice looking wood cabin in a grassy pasture, when we drove by it today it was under water, what a shock. Couldn’t even see the grass, the cabin was kind of on a hill and the water was up past the front door. So we were thinking we could really get trapped in Watson Lake, roads washed out ahead of us and now the roads may wash out behind us. Let’s just say it’s an adventure that’s for sure. The Geo Cache was on a side road, off the highway, we started driving it and then saw another side road but didn’t take it. Well we needed too, so we went back and started driving it and it was getting smaller and really deep in the woods. We thought, you know we have “no communications” this probably isn’t the smart thing to do, since we are in Grizzly Country,  we turned back. Gave up on that Geo Cache will try and catch more later.

After writing that last paragraph, it’s 4pm now and 1 of our neighbors told us the radio station is saying the road is opening up tomorrow afternoon. Once Dave heard that he jumped in the jeep and went into town. Sure enough, the roads should be open by 1pm tomorrow, they are having a meeting tonight to decide who gets to go 1st. It’s not the town people having the meeting it’s the officials having a meeting. The guess is it will be the truckers 1st because they are loaded with fuel and food and Whitehorse is running out of supplies. Dave decided to take the RV into town and dump, fill with water and we would just kick back until Tuesday morning then get on the road. (how much do you want to bet that we just don’t kick back, Dave’s way, he can’t relax, got to get ahead of everyone. He will be pissed at this but after 34 yrs. I know him)

Chuck and Carol, next door to us, brought back a flyer from the Library. !!TRAPPED TRAVELLERS!! The Citizens of Watson Lake wish to entertain you! Come to the Watson Lake High School at 5 pm tonight. Have a bowl of chili, salad and a bun. There sports in the gym,  movies in the auditorium and local people to inform and amuse you. Of course at the bottom of the flyer is a “we except donations” the grads of 2012, because of the roads being washed out are not going to get their dresses, tuxes and corsages in time for the graduation. So I guess that really means the roads will be opening.

Time to cook dinner and relax, as if we haven’t been doing enough of that. This blog is done, will start up again tomorrow 6/11.

6/9/12 Watson Lake Continued

On today's drive the wild animal count was 14 Bison, 6 Black Bears, 1 Moose, 1 Fox and 4 horses.
We got on the road about 7:50am, sun was shining, beautiful weather. We had heard the road was closed up ahead but should be opened when we got there.

We saw 2 Bison right away after leaving Liard River Hot Springs, they were having breakfast. We would go for awhile and not see anything then boom there they are again. We even saw 4 Bison and a Black Bear munching away, of course the Black Bear kept watching the Bison as it ate.The Silver Fox was really neat to see, it was standing in the green grass just looking at the road. If there is an animal out there I will find it. My head is going back and forth all the time, that’s probably why Dave doesn’t want me to drive, besides the point, I stop for all animals.






Anyway, we got to Watson Lake and all we saw were Truckers, 5th wheels, trailers and RVs pulled over and parked and thought “Oh No” the road isn’t opened up yet.  Sure enough they were advising people to go no further. All the RV Parks, in Watson Lake, were full there were more up the road, BUT, the bridge you had to go over to get to them they were expecting, or though maybe could be wiped out. If that should happen then there was no way emergency medical or food supplies could get to you for quite awhile. We decided to stay in Watson Lake, at an RV park that just so happened to close this season, normally it is always opened, but something about the Father and Son, who owned it, fighting over something that’s why they closed it for this season. Big loss on their part, with all these RVs and campers stuck.
We are parked next to a couple that we have seen in the other RV Parks we have stopped at. Their RV looks almost like ours, same color  and almost the same design. They don’t have the big windows on the side and their RV is 1 year older. Their names are Chuck and Carol and they are from New Hampshire. Just retired and have driven in Alaska before in a rented RV for a month, this is their 1st real big trip, or at least they hope it is. Just like we are hoping it is ours!
After dinner Dave and I went walking for a couple miles. We stopped and talked to a Trucker who said he had heard that Whitehorse was running really low on supplies because of all the people stuck there too. He said if and when they get this road fixed they were going to let the truckers through 1st because they are carrying all the supplies. Will just have to wait and see.

6/9 Stuck in Watson Lake

The road is washed out ahead of us so we are sitting in Watson Lake, dry camping, all RV parks are full. There are so many Truckers and RVs parked everywhere. Heard it might be a week before its fixed. They are now stopping all traffic at Fort Nelson.

6/8 Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park

We got on the road around 7:50am. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm. Another pretty drive, green everywhere you look. The count today was 7 Stone Sheep, 2 moose, 2  Bison, 3 black bears and 1 deer. One of the black bears we saw was on the side of the road so we pulled over and got close up pictures of him, if I stuck my arm out the window I could almost touch him/her. We made a pit stop at Tetsa River for their Famous cinnamon buns, it was warm with melted butter, yum yum.  We got to Liard Hot Springs around 12:45, got set up, as best we could since they have no hook ups, then walked to the Hot Springs. When they say hot they mean hot but it sure did feel good. Dave went into the lower spring, which was cooler and sat under the little waterfall that was running from the hotter springs. It really relaxed his shoulders. After the hot springs we went driving around in the jeep to find wildlife, no such luck. We even went off roading but would end up no where.  So it was back to the RV to write the blog, Dave is reading, relaxing and napping. Tomorrow we should be to Watson Lake where we will have internet again.

6/7 Fort Nelson, B.C.

There weren't a lot of places to stop on our way so we did the thing we said we wouldn't do and drove for 5/6 hours, instead of 3. From now on we are going to slow down, we have 3 months and if we keep going the way we are driving now we will be done in a month. Of course our daughter would be happy if it was done that soon but that wasn't our intention.
We got up this morning and the sun was shining, it was great too see. I must say though it was one heck of a bright sun. As we were getting ready to leave the clouds were rolling in but for the most part we still had a lot of blue sky to see. Matt and Connie got going before us and we said our Good byes and said we would see them on the road later on. After leaving the RV Park we stopped at the Flying J to top off our gas tank and were on the road by 9:15am. We made a little trip, out of our way, to go on the Kiskatinaw River Bridge. This in an 534 foot-long wooden bridge that is sloped and has a 9 degree curve to conform with the bend in the highway. The weight limit is 55,115 lbs. Dave said we were at 33,000 lbs. so we went across it, kind of scary I must say.
On our way to Fort Nelson we saw a deer, a fox ran across the road ahead of us then we saw the 1st Black Bear. We turned a bend and saw a car pulled over ahead, the highway doesn't really have anywhere to pull off so we slowed down. When we got close enough to the car we saw there was a Black Bear next to it. As we approached the car took off but I couldn't get the camera out fast enough to take a picture of the bear. (Forgot to say, right before that bear spotting Dave was starting to fall asleep at the wheel, boy, that sure woke him up.)
A while later I spotted another Black Bear laying in the grass then another one a little bit further up the road. Right after seeing the last 2 bears there was a sign to please stop for the school buses when the lights are flashing. I'm thinking I don't want my kid getting off a school bus while the Black Bears are hanging around, but maybe that's just me.
Another part of the drive, looking way ahead, we see someone in the middle of the road, so we slowed down as we approached. It was City workers throwing asphalt in the holes in the roads and then letting the cars/trucks/RV ect. smash the stuff down. Pretty smart on their part.
We arrived in Fort Nelson at 3:30, then found out we were on the wrong time zone the last 2 days. It was really 2:30, oh well. We set up the RV then took a drive around town, not much to see there that's for sure. We visited the Welcome Center, not much there either. Came back to the RV then walked over to the Heritage Museum, now that was very interesting. They had lots of pioneer artifacts and one of the most impressive collections of antique cars. They even have a 1908 Buick that still runs, the owner even drove it to Whitehorse in 2008, which I think is about 1,200 miles. He said they would drive 200 miles a day. He rents it out for weddings and other special occasions.The museum had lots of displays of wildlife, even an albino moose.
It was then back to the RV, BBQ some steak and asparagus for dinner. Relax for the evening then get back on the road again. Tomorrow's stop should be Liard River Hotsprings.

We got in kind of late yesterday afternoon then after setting up we went  over to Matt and Connie's. Since we didn't get any time to visit Dawson Creek we stayed another day in Dawson Creek.
Dave and I got going around 10 am and headed for the visitor center. We got the maps and the list of things to do, of course most of it was "if it wasn't raining" but it wasn't too bad so we started the walking tour. We went to the Alaska Highway House, great place to visit, lots of information about the Alaska Highway. We walked through looking at all the pictures and write ups about the soldiers who worked on the highway. They were showing a 1 hour video about building the road. Very amazing, the road was built right after the start of the 2nd world war, it was started in March 1942 in finished in 8 months. What all these guys went through, and learned along the way. Sounds boring, but it really wasn't. After that we walked through town a little bit and saw all the murals that are painted on the sides of the buildings, really neat to see.
After lunch, at the RV, we went back into town to visit a place to check out our CB, which doesn't seem to be working. They were not use to working with CBs because everybody up here use VHF radios. The tech put together some stuff and did what checks he could. He said thing seem to be working OK. Once we get going again tomorrow, will have to check with people on the road to see if they can hear us.
Tonight Matt and Connie came over to our place, we sat and talked a couple hours, and they are planning on leaving tomorrow too, so we will probably meet up on the road again. We don't have any exact plan for how far we will get tomorrow. The next major town on the road is Fort Nelson it is about 300 miles and that is a little more than we want to drive in one day so we may break it up into two days.

6/5 Dawson Creek

We got on the road, after fueling up, at 8:30 a.m. Matt and Connie, 5th Wheel, were headed to Dawson Creek too so we decided to travel together. The drive was beautiful or at least most of it was. We saw lots of snow and creeks, lakes and rivers. We had the MilePost book out so it could tell us all the things we drove by and what was up ahead to either watch out for or slow down for. What a great book to have with you. We got to a long patch of trees that were dead, must have been some bug or something. It was a shame to see all these black trees. We arrived in Dawson Creek, B.C. at 2:50pm, we got the last 2 50amp spots in the Northern Lights RV Park. Then come to find out we had a time change so now it's an hour later. We got together at Matt and Connie's, talked had appetizers, then back home to relax. Will go, in the rain, to check out Dawson Creek today.

6/4 Prince George, BC

We got on the road around 8:15am. It was a beautiful drive, green everywhere. I saw 1 dead deer on the left side of the road and 2 live deer on the right hand side while we were driving. One thing we noticed was the roads are very clean, no trash around anywhere. Nothing exciting on the drive just nice views. Once we got to Prince George we went to Costco to shop a little. The food court is different, they have chicken strips with fries, or fries and gravy, meat sandwich, hot dogs are the same price but pizza is more expensive. They had people handing out samples all over the place. After Costco we drove all around town, just another big city, did find Habitat for Humanity, just by driving around wasn't really looking for it. Don't really see anything to stick around for so will get back on the road and head to Dawson Creek, where it is raining. My tan is slowly fading away, not seeing much of the sun lately, bummer.
Computer down yesterday, once we got back from running around so posting this in the morning of 6/5.

June 3, "The Adventure has begun"

We got to the Canada Border, at Sumas, around 10:30am.

We were prepared for being pulled over and getting inspected. The alcohol was stashed away in our hollow wall, a stash place that was put in years ago. Dave wouldn't let me buy any fresh fruits or vegetables before we left because that isn't allowed across the border. We pulled up to the check point, gave them our passports, the guy talked to Dave about where we were going, how long we would be gone, did we have any friends or relatives we were meeting. Then asked Dave about his job, Dave said retired. They talked a little about Dave working for the DOD, then he asked if we really could live in Florida and not own a gun. Dave said yes, but we mostly hung around AZ and it was really hard not to live there and not own a gun. The guy gave us the passports back and said have a safe and enjoyable trip. Never asked anything about booze, fruits, vegetables or anything else, just dam GUNS!
Anyway, lets move on. We had an amazing drive, the sites were beautiful. We ran into rain, saw snow, lots of trees then there were none.

We saw waterfalls, that were amazing. We were following the Fraser River the whole time. Bridal Falls was really neat too see. We stopped at Hells Gates Airtram, a nice little touring place. If you wanted to take the tram it was $20 each, a little steep for taking the tram down to their restaurant and gift shop, since that's really all the time we had. We took pictures of the waterfalls and walked around, I went to the gift shop and got a magnet, since that is what I am collecting now, to hang on the AZ refrig. when we get back home.

We stopped in Clinton, BC for the night, we did a 5/6 hour drive that was enough for one day. As we pulled into the RV park about 5 more rigs pulled in right after us. We have talked to one, so far, and they are full time RVer's, in a 5th wheel and on their way to Alaska too. The RV park we stopped at has an "all you can eat" BBQ, but I had taken chicken out for dinner, so we aren't joining the others. (got to save $ somewhere) We walked around the small town of Clinton, cooked dinner and relaxed after the drive we had. Tomorrow on to Prince George where we plan on staying a couple nights.

June 2, 2012 Last Day in the U.S.

This morning we went shopping at Walmart then back to the RV Park to do laundry. This afternoon we went over to Kelli and Rob's.

Standing on Rob and Kelli's back porch
They have a great view of Mt Baker.

 (Kelli, I won't tell anyone that you vacuumed the house, or at least the up stairs) Rosie and Bob came over and we all sat and talked a couple hours. Alex, Kelli's daughter and her best friend, Loren, showed up in time for us to leave for dinner. We went to Bob's Burger and Brew. What a great restaurant, and thank you Kelli and Rob for buying dinner, it was really good. We had such a good time visiting with all of you, it's been a long time since we have been here. Maybe, next time, we will take Kelli up on her invitation and park up at their house, it's just those narrow roads, hanging trees, and pot holes that kind of makes you think twice. :)
Very excited and nervous about the adventure that is ahead of us tomorrow. If we don't have internet connection, I will be doing the blog on word so I can keep up on our daily adventures or un-adventures.

The cost of owning a Motor Home

Boy are these things expensive! As I said earlier we wanted to get all the maintenance done before we traveled to Alaska. On the way from Bakersfield to Sacramento we stopped at SpeedCo to have the engine oil change and chassis lube done, cost $191.99. At Monaco in Coburg, OR we had new shocks installed, previously bought 8 new Bilstines from eshock.com for $629.00, had new gasket installed around slide and looked for air leak cost $700.00. Then it was on to Cummings Northwest for 1000 hour generator maintenance and 75,000 mile transmission service cost $1,700. Ouch but this is nothing compared to the $3,000 we are going to have to spend on new tires before next summer. Oh well we love the traveling and seeing the country and this is the cost of having fun and you can't take it with you.  Now on to Alaska!!!

June 1, 2012, Ferndale, Washington

Ok, OK, let's get the blog caught up, sorry it's taken me so long. When your away from your RV and computer all day it's tough to get back into the swing of things.
May 29 & 30, 2012
I got lost on my way to Curves, even after we did it the day before. It was 194A not 195A to get off on. Anyway, once I got my notes out of my fanny pack I realized the mistake I made. Anyway, made it there, the employee sat behind the desk, with earphones on and didn't say a word. I was the only one there until I was almost done. In the mean time Dave met up with the Monaco repair people and talked about all the stuff we needed done. Wrong! They don't do transmission and generator stuff so we were going to have to make arraignments with Cummins Northwest down the street. After I got back and showered we drove over to Cummins and they could get us in 8am Thursday morning. So now it's shocks, slide and air leak at Monaco and Generator and Transmission at Cummings (share the wealth). We then went and picked up a rent a car so we could drive to Bend, Oregon, long drive in the jeep are not fun.
We got to our friends Lee and Vicki Kessler house in Bend at around 2:30pm, what a great house they have. The remodeled kitchen is great, they have an RV cement slab, at the side, which we will have to park on the next time. We had such a good time visiting, eating, drinking wine and the next day being shown around Bend. They were really smart and retired in a great community. If it wasn't so far away from the kids I wouldn't have any problem moving there. We are making up a new list of the things we want in any new community we will move to in the future.

May 31, 2012
I went to Curves in the morning, didn't get lost this time, and while I was there the employee still sat behind the computer. I ended up at the end of my time training other Curves clients on how to use the stretching machine. Can't believe the employee still just sat at the computer, oh well, none of my business. When I got back we drove the RV over to Cummins for the rest of the maintenance that needed to be done. We went shopping at Walmart, took the rent a car back then on to Costco. Needed to load up on food before we head into Canada. Cummins finished up around 4pm then we headed back to the Monaco parking space for the night.
June 1, 2012
Did the Curves again, and sure enough, the same employee sat behind the computer. She does say "Hi" when you walk in, sometimes, and "bye" when you leave. One lady walked in and starting talking to her and she didn't even pay attention to her, she was so engrossed in the computer. The lady looks at her and says "HELLO" then the employee looks up and says "sorry".
Anyway, we got on the road about 9:30am headed to Tacoma, Wa. It ends up that none of the Walmarts in Tacoma allow overnight parking. We had planned on seeing, Danielle, my girlfriends daughter from Simi Valley, but by the time we got there and drove to her place she would have had to leave for school in Seattle. We decided to just keep going and stop at Ferndale Washington.We weren't suppose to get there until Saturday, oh well, a day early. We plan on doing some visiting tomorrow, laundry and then heading into Canada on Sunday. When we cross over into Canada is when the adventure begins!
I think!