7/29 Leaving Haines

Time to get going again, didn’t have anymore plans in Haines so thought we would get a start for Whitehorse. We did another loan of laundry and while it was drying we went and did some geo caching. Found 2 out of 3. The second one we went looking for was where the people are fishing while the bears come strolling through. We looked for a little bit but since it was in the woods Dave’s GPS wasn’t working too well on his phone. I forgot the umbrella so I didn’t want to run into any bears.

The 3rd spot had another travelling bug in it so we took it and will put it in somewhere in Canada. We didn’t get on the road until around 2:30pm then lost an hour once we crossed over into Canada, so now it was an hour later.

We pulled off on the side of the road at Mendenhall River Culvert. No services what so ever so will have to post this when we have internet access again.

We are going to try a board game called Sequence tonight. When Dave took it out it was still wrapped in paper and the card said “To Beth, from Don and Mary”. Let’s see my mom (Beth) died in 2002, and I don’t know when she received it from her friends. As you can see we have had this game for quite awhile. I won the 1st 2 games Dave won the next 2.

7/28 Southeast Fair Day in Haines

When we got up again this morning it was raining, bummer. Had a feeling it would stop and it did before the town’s parade or fair began. We forgot about the parade and was going to drive into town to go to another gift shop, still looking for 1 magnet, then to the bank to get some money. That’s when we saw the roads closed for the parade so we just parked and watched it. Boy, I thought ours in Cottonwood, AZ was small this was really small. They even opened it up for dogs and people walking with their babies in strollers. It was cute for a small town.

After the parade we made our stop at the bank, and then to the fair. I went to the gift shop and got what I wanted while the parade was going on and I didn’t miss a thing. We were told when you go to the fair “think hippie” and if we couldn’t walk through the whole thing in an hour there was something wrong with us. There were a few “tye dye” places and we could have walked the whole thing in an hour but we were walking slow.

The girl the day before where we got ice cream had told us to try the cheer leaders Fried Bread, which we did, no big deal. She also said they have fresh, good sushi and monster burrito stands. We saw all of them but after the fried bread, we shared, that was enough for a little while. As we walked around Dave asked if I wanted to go to the Logging Show and I sure. When we got there it was pretty full but there was another couple there that are staying at the RV Park and invited us to sit with them. The show was fun, it started with women throwing axes at a target, then it was the men’s turn. Then they had small log cutting, women’s and men’s. There was a relay race and saw bucking competitions. It was fun, what the heck, what else did we have to do.

After the show we went to get something to eat. Dave got the burrito and I got nacho’s, they were both good and very filling. After that I got my face painted, so the grand kids could see it on Facebook and laugh at Nana/Grandma. We then sat and listened to a couple bands, one band “The Swing Set” was really good, so many strange look people, “Hippie’s” got up and danced, most of them women and kids. I did watch a little earlier a dance group called “TAFY Stars Dance Team” which was young girls dancing and it reminded me of when Kim, our daughter” was young and in dance. Parents were out there filming away, Kim never did go to a State Fair through. Over all it was a fun day.

Tomorrow finish up the last of the laundry and pack up to get back on the road again.

7/27 Rainy Day Session in Haines

Got up this a.m. and it was raining away. Yesterday it was hot and sunny with no clouds so to wake up to rain was mine blowing. We just kicked back there was nothing we really wanted to do in the rain.

It stopped raining around 12:30pm so Dave went out and wiped down the RV, I did laundry and watched TV. He even vacuumed the jeep this afternoon. We didn’t go anywhere just hung around again.

Hopefully tomorrow it won’t be raining and we can go to the Fair, which opens up at 11:30am.

Looking forward to watching the opening ceremony at the Olympics tonight.

7/26 Relaxing Day in Haines

This was another do nothing day, really. We went to the visitors center and asked what we need to see, while we are here. Every place they mentioned we had already been to, so then they mentioned the Fair. There was the American Bald Eagle Foundation we hadn’t been to yet and they were having the bald eagle feeding at 10:30am. We got there 10 minutes early so had time to look around, very nice collection of the wild animals. Then we went to the eagle feeding, it’s an eagle they have there that has an injured wing and can’t fly anymore. It was given to them from Fairbanks and they do a feeding twice a day and give you information on bald eagles. We were surprised to find out the reason they are called Bald Eagles, since they have feathers. They were named by the Early Americans and it was originally the “Balde Eagle” which “Balde” meant “White”. The “e” got dropped at some point. Bald Eagle means “White Headed Eagle”.

After that we drove around to the only 2 hair cutting places, 1 was booked until next week, the other wanted $30 for a hair cut, so I guess we will wait. Back to the RV to kick back, play on the computer then take naps. The owner of the RV park came by and said they were going to have another crab feed tonight so we said “yes” we would join.

We walked into town to look at the gift shops and do a little grocery shopping. Dave got his Alaska hat, and I guess I waited too long because now I can’t find my Alaska magnet that has the Alaska shape with the names of a bunch of cities. You snooze you lose, should have gotten it when I saw it last. At first didn’t want one that had all the names but since I haven’t gotten a magnet from every town we have stopped at now I wanted one. Oh well.

While walking back to the RV we stopped at a place to get an ice cream waffle cone. Honest to goodness I have eaten more ice cream since being in Alaska then I have eaten in the last 5 years. Believe me I think I have had ice cream maybe, at the most 4 times but that is a lot more then what I eat at home. The girl that worked at the store and sold us the ice cream was going to start college in Fairbanks in the next month and was going to become a nurse, we had a nice chat with her while eating our ice cream.

The crab feed was really good again, not as many people that we had the last time because a lot of them came in late, while we were eating but still had enough food. Crab dinner for $6.00 a piece, can’t beat that.

Bald Eagle finally came back but no bears today. Tomorrow a geo cacheing day and more touring, Saturday is Fair day. Weather great all day, 1st time we haven’t seen 1 cloud in the sky.

7/25 Haines touring

As soon as we were leaving this morning it started raining. We drove out the the Bald Eagle Preserve but once there we read that they have over 3,500 eagles there in Fall and Winter. Guess what, we didn’t see any Bald Eagles, waste of a drive. We see more where we are camping.

We drove back into town then drove out to the cannery. Some guys had told Dave about the place. You can do a self guided tour of the cannery, which we did but the fishing boats were out so the only thing going on was some kids taking the shells off of  shrimp for Big Al’s food trailer in town. The rain had stopped and it turned hot and sunny, was sorry we were wearing long pants and long sleeves shirts now.

We then started driving out to the State Park, going towards some Geo Caches. One we found was at a art store/house and it was in an outdoor Benjou, which is Japanese for bathroom. The cache was hanging from the back of the mirror. We then drove to the State Park and went hiking looking for another cache. Once you got through the woods you came upon Rock Beach, would have never known it was there. We didn’t find the cache but what a beautiful site too see. We kept yelling as we were going through the woods to make sure we didn’t run into any bears.

We then drove back into town to True Value, Dave needed something for the RV then on to Big Al’s for lunch. The kids that were taking the shells off the shrimp said to try it out, it was pretty good. It was “OK” and affordable couldn’t really tell the difference between the salmon or the halibut. It is a cute little trailer and cruise ship passengers were there. Forgot to mention during the night a cruise ship parked out in the harbor.

We drove out again to where the guys were fishing but didn’t see any bears this time but we did find the Bald Eagles nest but didn’t see the babies. When we got back to the RV we saw everyone outside looking up the beach and they told us a Grizzly Bear and cub had just run back up the beach. Darn, we missed it.

Dave then cleaned the lower half of the RV, and I relaxed after putting the laundry away. Later in the afternoon the grizzly showed up again, alone and was on the beach. This isn’t good for us, a grizzle showing up 2x’s in one afternoon. Nice to see but as long as it stays at the beach part we are OK but if it should come up the hill, where we are, that is not good. A small RV near us has young kids and a dog so when they got back I did warn them, so they don’t let the kids run around on their own.

After dinner, of Halibut that we caught, we walked outside and I looked over the edge of the cliff, where we are staying and the grizzly bear was back. I yelled to everyone and they all came out with their camera’s. Was really something to see, the bear ran up the beach, stood up and was smelling the air, poor thing is hungry. Back 3 times in one afternoon is not good. When it left this time the owner of the RV Park said it had broken into the restaurants trash and asked us to please put all of our BBQ’s and trash away tonight. The bear will keep coming back if it finds things to eat.

No fire tonight, just sat and talked to a couple until around 10pm then it was time to go in. The mosquitoes were coming out because it got so warm today, but it was still so light outside. Oh well, close the shades and call it a night in an hour or two.

7/24 Touring around Haines

After breakfast and showers we decided we were going to stay a week here in Haines. At this RV Park if you pay for 6 nights you get the 7th free, sounded good to us. We have been moving so much that we both feel we need some down time. Come this Thursday, 7/26, their Southeast State Fair starts and we wanted to go see that.

We drove out to Chilkoot Lake where the fishermen stand in the water and fish Salmon. We drove around the camp sites, way too small for us. On the way out we stopped to see the fishermen and when we did one guy came out and said the grizzly bear was coming this way. Dave got some great shots of the bear walking along the lake. When the bear came back onto the road I took off running, which what your not suppose to do, and hid behind a truck. Pretty neat to see, just like seeing the grizzly yesterday. But this one was closer.

After driving around town we came back to the RV and relaxed. Read books and just took it easy. Need the down time, I can’t even begin to tell you why, just been moving too fast.

This evening the RV Park had a crab fest for everyone and you had to bring a dish to pass, plus $6.00 per person, cheapest meal we have had. What a great dinner, crab was great and what everyone brought was great, along with dessert. After dinner a lot of us went to the fire pit and made a nice fire and sat and talked, was a really nice night.

4 cruise ships went by and now it is almost 11pm and it is starting to get dark. If it starts getting dark at night time that means it is time to leave Alaska, winter is coming. After talking to some people tonight I think we have decided not to go to Skagway, next Monday, and just drive out of here. If we take the ferry to Skagway then we have to pay for another night of camping, and we have already been to Skagway in 2003 so why go again.

Will be here till Monday, so still have time to decide. Will update later on what we decide to do.

7/23 Haines Bound

The road the rest of the way through Canada was great, even the construction sites were flat. Never saw much while driving. We came upon a camper pulled over on the road and stopped to check to see if they were “OK”. Which they were, but they were sitting there watching a Grizzly bear laying down in the field. As we were driving past them I saw it so we pulled over too. I got out of the RV and wanted to get pictures but Dave had a fit and made me get back into the RV and he took pictures from there. The bear was laying down so didn’t get any good pictures.

When we got back into Alaska the road got a little rougher but over all not a bad ride. We are staying at Oceanside RV Park which is right on the water front, perfect view.

I watched the boats come and go then later that night the owner of the park came and knocked on our door to invite us over for a pit fire. Just about everyone from the camp site came out and we all sat around the fire pit and visited with each other. It was a nice evening.

Tomorrow night the owners are putting on a crab feed, which we are suppose to bring a dish to pass, should be fun.

7/22 Cottonwood RV Park , Yukon Canada

I said yesterdays drive was bad, on the Tok turnoff, forget about it today’s was even harder. Even got stopped at a road construction place for about 15 to 20 minutes. Canada needs to do a lot of work on their roads. Luckily the cabinet, where the washer/dryer is, has a child proof lock on it or it would have opened up the door and we wouldn’t have known it. Washer moved forward. We noticed the other day that we have more cracked tiles in the kitchen. We are stopped now at Cottonwood RV Park and it’s 3:30pm, gained an hour, right in front of us is the most beautiful lake, so blue. Blue sky, warm and sunny.

We got on the road this morning at 7am. After driving for a little over an 1/2 hour a motorcycle was driving at us and he put his arm up a little, with a closed fist. I asked Dave was does that mean and he said he was probably waving to us, I said that was no wave. The road turned and right in front of us was a mama black bear and 2 cubs in the middle of the road. Dave hit the brakes and swerved to the right and luckily all the bears took off for the left and went running up the hill. So let that be a lesson to you, if someone on a motorcycle puts their arm 1/2 way up with a closed fist that means slow up something is up ahead. You would rather look at it then hit it.

After a while a Wolf ran across the road in front of us then stopped and stared at us as we drove by. Once we got on those nice Canada roads (ha, ha) there was another black bear on the side of the road. We couldn’t stop in time but the truck behind us was able too.

The rest of the drive was either chip monks or squirrels. Tomorrow will be back in Alaska, Haines. I think tomorrow I will take some motion sickness pills maybe I’ll feel better when we arrive. This driving is almost worst then the Halibut boat ride.

7/21 Back at Tok, AK again

Loved Valdez, I think it was the best little town we stayed at plus the most beautiful.

Got on the road at 9am and took the Tok turnoff, what a tough drive today. So much gravel road, frost heaves, holes. Our average speed for about 60 miles was 40mph, needless to say a 4 hr. drive ended up being 6 1/2 hours. We got to Tok at 3:30pm. Got full hookup so we could do laundry again, every time I get a chance I’m going to do laundry, don’t want to do Laundromats if I can help it.

Not a lot to report today, only animal I saw was a squirrel and only saw that when we parked at Tok. The reason I said Tok again is because Tok is the 1st town you go through when you enter Alaska and you have to go through Tok again to leave Alaska. So what’s that tell you, we are going to start our slow descent back to the “lower 48”.

With that drive today, Dave got pretty beat up with all the bouncing around so his shoulders are tired. They have a Blue Grass Band here tonight, at the RV Park, so we will go to that later and just relax for the evening.

7/20 Valdez another nice day

Woke up this morning and the sun is shining and looks like it is going to be another nice day. The only wild animals we are seeing are rabbits, lots of them around. Dave has a Habitat Construction meeting this morning at 9:30am, 10:30 their time, after that we will get to touring around and go looking for the bear and babies.

Terrible news about what happened in Colorado, don’t like waking up and hearing stuff like that.

After Dave’s meeting we took off to find Jim and Lorraine’s house and leave them a note. We know they are back in Wasilla at a Good Sam’s Rally and wanted to prove to them even though we didn’t have their address we could still find their house. Fun challenge for us. After that we drove to the Fish Hatchery, hoping to see some fish and also wishing the mama bear would be out with her babies. When we were looking down at the hatchery what we thought were rocks the water was rushing over but it was salmons, thousands of them. To bad you couldn’t fish there because all you really had to do was reach down and grab them, they were that close. We then walked over the other side and saw the fish ladder, how they swim that much and don’t tire out is amazing.

When we left there to drive to where the Alaska Pipeline ends we saw 2 baby eagles, probably a year old, but I don’t know. They were pretty good sized but were still spotted on their wings, haven’t yet finished changing colors to black with a white head.

We then drove out to Bridal Falls and got more pictures of that. We kept going and went to Worthington Glacier, walked around there. Got more pictures of a glacier and water falls.

We headed back and stopped off of where Valdez use to be before the 1964 earthquake. We had great weather, shorts and tank tops again. We have really been pretty lucky these last few days. (knock on wood) When we got back to the RV park the owner said we could use their water and wash off the coach, at least the bottom half, it is pretty dirty.

Ended up going to the Elk’s Lodge for dinner, Friday night is steak night and it’s open to the public too. What a steak dinner, 1 inch thick, super large, cooked perfect. It came with a salad, baked potato, roll and a small piece of corn on the cob, which had been sitting in the water too long. Everything else was great. After dinner we went back to the RV then walked into town because we hadn’t search for a geo cache yet. The cache was right where they were cleaning and slicing the fish up from the touring fishing boat. The largest one was 196.4 lbs, caught by a local lady, she leads in the fishing tournament right now. We did find the geo cache while we were there. Tomorrow before we leave we are going to have breakfast out at the place where we posted the picture of Dave and I yesterday. The Fat Mermaid, it was highly recommended to us. This is the 1st place we have been too that we have eaten out of the most, 4 times. We hardly ever eat out but too many good places to miss here.

We will head out tomorrow, I believe to Tok. It’s time to start our drive back to the lower 48, we both have had just about enough. As usual we never stick with our original plans, some new stuff has come up and we need to move on now.

7/19 Valdez Bound

We got on the road around 8am, uneventful night, meaning no animal spotting. We decided to stop in Copper Center Loop for breakfast. The Copper Center Roadhouse is famous for their sourdough pancakes and that sounded good to us. We got into town and couldn’t find the place, we saw yellow tape hung around and I made the comment of a crime scene tape and we laughed. We drove into an RV place and asked where the Copper Roadhouse was and they said it had burned down, so that really was crime scene tape. There was a little building across the way and that’s where the owner had her sewing shop and turned it into a small restaurant until they could rebuild and reopen. She said they believe the fire was caused by electrical. Anyway, the sourdough pancakes were great, expensive but very good. Once we got back on the road again, I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. That never happens to me, I would swear there was something in those pancakes. I didn’t really wake up until we got to Bridal Falls, that was amazing to see, got lots of pictures.

We got to Valdez, we were going to dry camp but the road was so bad to try and get level on that we said forget it, we ended going to Bear Paw RV Park. Much nicer having full hookup and TV. Beautiful weather, shorts and tank top, they have a mother bear here with 4 cubs, very unusual to have so many babies. They have a big flashing sign out saying “Do not approach the bear, stay in your vehicle and take pictures that way. The news paper shows mama walking across the street with 1 baby in her mouth and the others following her, too cute. Would really love to see it but probably won’t get too.

We walked around town and went and shared some fish and chips. Very nice little place, plan on doing more touring around tomorrow. Hope the weather will stay good while we are here.

7/18 stopping on a wide spot on the way to Valdez

Happy 54rd anniversary to Bob and Jackie. Sorry no phone service or computer service from where we are stopped.

We didn’t get really going till after 10:30am from Palmer. We went to Safeway, Dave filled up the RV with diesel and I went to the store and stocked up on stuff. Then I went to the fuel pumps to fill up the jeep. I met Dave up down the road where he filled up with propane. Someone had said there was an RV wash before we got out of town, yea right, if your RV wasn’t taller then 102 inches, that wasn’t us.

We had a nice drive we stopped at Matanuska Glacier, drove down to the RV Park, not a good place to drive the RV through. All I’ll say is next time we see dirt road we unhook the jeep and drive down it 1st before we take the RV down. It was a rough road, I’m sure we loosened some nuts and bolts on that one. Anyway, we got to the bottom and to drive to the glacier and spend the night was going to be over $60. we just  unhooked the jeep and drove to the glacier and walked around on it. Didn’t have the right kind of shoes to really walk on the glacier and didn’t want to risk falling and breaking a hip so we just walked a little and got lots of pictures. Luckily that only cost us $30 but we still had to rehook up the jeep and drive back up that bad road, which I’m sure knocked out some more nuts and bolts.

We drove a little bit farther until we got to a wide spot in the road to call it a day. Mendeltna Creek, what a nice spot. Couldn’t sit outside because of the mosquitoes but across the street a little ways down was a lodge and cabins. We watched a movie, “no roads for men” stupid then walked over to the lodge. What a great lodge, really out of the way, don’t advertise but really neat inside. Decorated great friendly owners, really a neat place. 3 people came in and ordered 2 six packs of beer and a bottle of vodka $75 that tells you how expensive alcohol is here. Canada is even worse.

After leaving the lodge we came back and cooked some salmon, relaxed and watched some programs I had recorded then off to bed. Tomorrow is Valdez.

7/17 Palmer, AK bound

Leaving Seward this a.m. and heading to Palmer for a night. Need to pick up our mail and see friends before we start heading out again.

The drive was uneventful, no animals but caged ones, that I saw. We stopped in Anchorage to do a little shopping at Costco. Need a few supplies not many since the freezer is still pretty much full. After Anchorage we drove to the Palmer Elk’s Lodge to spend the night. I was pretty tired, had a restless night last night. After setting up we headed for the Post Office, yea, our package was there. Stopped at Safeway, and did a little shopping there too. Got back to the coach and Dave started making special topping for garlic bread which were taking over to Linda’s for dinner.

Linda and Vaughn had, a few days ago, invited us over for dinner while we were in Palmer. Then come to find out she planned the dinner, for us, so we could get together with their friends, our new friends that we had met through them. How nice is that! We had great appetizers before dinner and lasagna and the works for dinner. It was a very good. Jim, Lorraine, Mike, Linda, Vaughn, Linda, and a new couple we just met Gene and Sherry, who were visiting with Mike and Linda. Gene and Sherry are from Arizona and left the same time we did, 5/17 but they don’t plan on getting back until December, we will be home by October. Will probably run into them as we are travelling. They are headed to Valdez now just as we are.

After dinner Jim had built a nice big fire by the lake so we all sat down there and talked till almost 9:30pm. Then it was back to the RV time. It was a great evening, Thank you so much Linda and Vaughn, enjoyed very much.

Tomorrow we are headed to Valdez, it’s about a 6 hour drive and it will take us 2 days, doing some site seeing along the way. Having a wonderful trip so far and hope it keeps up.

7/16 Tour Boat Cruise Day Seward

Got up this morning and the sun was out, nice. After breakfast we caught the bus shuttle to the cruise ship. We went on the Spirit of Adventure, and it left at 10a.m. Boat had quite a few people but wasn’t full. No cruise ships in, they all left last night.

Once we got going the 1st thing we saw were otters, it is kind of like driving the Canada/Alaska roads/waters if you see a car/boat stopped you know they are looking at something. There was a boat ahead of us and it was stopped looking at the otters. Then we got moving again and that’s when we saw the Killer Whales, so many and all around. The babies you could see staying with Mama and jumping around.

After awhile were some Humpback Whales, for a little while. Then more Humpbacks, it seemed like there were so many out there. The Ranger we had on board doing all the talking was just amazed to even see so many. There were Puffins, many other birds, besides Sea Gulls, and more humpbacks. Dolphins and so many different kinds of seals.

There were quite a few people that got sick, it was kind of rough. Not like our Halibut fishing but rough. When we started out I told Dave to get me some stuff, just in case, which I ended up being fine. Don’t know if it was from the pills, but I have never gotten sick before but better safe then sorry. There was even one guy at our table that offered to buy 2 pills off of me, really, I’m not a drug dealer, I gave him 2. He was also fine, even napped a couple times.

We left at 10am and got back at 6pm, it was a long day and a lot of fun. People we met said the boat cruise, for even more $, was better in Valdez. You know we did this one and I think just too get a little bit closer to the Glaciers isn’t worth it. For the $ I would rather do something different, not another tour cruise.

Heading out tomorrow to Palmer, to pick up our mail, and visit with Linda and Vaughn, Linda and Mike and friends of theirs from Arizona. Imagine that, meeting more people from AZ. 1st we have to make a stop in Anchorage to shop at Costco and Walmart.

7/15 Moved to Military RV Park in Seward

We moved to the Military RV parking for a couple days, they have 50amp, water and cable. It’s an OK place just don’t have the ocean views anymore. Didn’t see any dolphins or otters before we left. The rain has stopped but it’s still gloomy. It tried to come out earlier but it finally gave up the fight. We had 2 cruise ships come in and the site seeing boats were full when they went out today. Cruise ships will leave tonight so glad we picked tomorrow for a day long cruise.

After getting set up we drove to the Alaska Sea Life Center, used our 2 for 1 coupon. It was a nice center but thank goodness for the 2 for 1 discount. You could walk the whole thing in a hour but we took our time and stretched it out to maybe 1 1/2 hours. They did a good job on it but things aren’t marked that well and it is very small.

After that we checked on our cruise tomorrow and made sure they would pick us up at the RV Park so we didn’t have to pay for parking.  We went shopping a little at Safeway, had lunch at Subway, the only affordable thing, then did some geo caching. Back to the RV.

7/14 Touring Seward

After breakfast we headed for Exit Glacier. Not a bad drive there, the hike to the glacier was a little tough at times because of the mosquitoes. Couldn’t take our jackets off because we would have gotten eaten alive. Luckily I had mosquito lotion in my purse so I covered my face, neck and hands, I think I escaped without any bites. Will probably know for sure tomorrow. Although when I got up this morning I did have a bite on my left wrist. Probably from geo caching yesterday on the 4 wheel drive one.

We drove back into town and kept going until the road ended, which is at Lowell Point. There was a cache there so we went and found it, Dave found this one. We drove back into town and walked around the restaurants and shops, the sun had come out for a bit, but only a bit. Back to the RV for lunch and to relax.

We watched the fishing and tour boats come back then saw dolphins and otters swimming around. It started raining a bit so instead of walking to the Elks we drove. Got there a little after 6pm and we missed “Buck”. The guy we met the day before who took us into the American Legend. We sat and visited with a few people at the lodge, had hamburgers and chips then back to the RV around 7:30pm.

Tomorrow we move to the Military RV Park, there we will have electric, water and cable so will have to dump before we go there.

7/13 On to Seward

The Oysters last night were great, just needed a lot more of them. Halibut was even better, it ended up a really nice dinner. After dinner we went to the hot tub, had it to ourselves, a long with some rain showers. Hot tub water was hot, rain was cold, so it was a nice combo. After the hot tub we went to the Princess Lodge bar for a drink. 3 bar employee’s said “Hi” when we walk in then they turned their backs to us, weird. We sat there saying “what the hell” when a 4th employee walked in and asked if he could get us a drink. We said “yes” and what is up with the other 3? He said he was sorry and would say something to them. Other then that it ended up being a nice stay there. Too bad we couldn’t stay another day but they are all booked up.

We didn’t get on the road until around noon, that is what check out time was. We only had to drive to Seward, 46 miles away I think. Once we got to Seward we parked on the water front, water in front mountains all around. Then we went to the Elks Lodge, no parking there, so we checked out the military parking, Dave can get in since he is retired DOD. We made reservations for Sunday night. 2 nights dry camping then a hook up night for just a little bit more money.  When we went to the military camp and made reservations Dave then saw that we had left his drivers license at Coopers Landing Princess Lodges. We had to give them something we wanted back to have the hot tub key. Needless to say we drove the jeep back to Coopers Landing to get his drivers license back and turn the key back in.

On the way back I said lets do some Geo Caching on the way back, which we did. One was at a small rest stop outside of the Princess RV Park, which I found. Another one was on the road outside of there. It was on a off roading stretch, which I started to drive but when it comes to 4 wheeling that isn’t my cup of tea. I stopped the jeep and let Dave take over. We drove to the top of a hill but didn’t find the cache but want a view we  saw, amazing. You would never think of going on these roads if it wasn’t for these geo caches.

Once we got back to the RV we decided to walk to the Elks Lodge, about 2 blocks from where we are. On the way we saw this sea gull attacking a Bald Eagle on the telephone pole. Everytime the sea gull dived at the eagle the eagle would try and bit the gull, stupid gull. We had to walk by the “American Legion” and they had quite a few people there and it looked like the Elks had no one. As we were walking up to the Elk’s some guy from the American Legions was yelling at us telling us the Elks Lodge wasn’t open tonight. We told him the website said they were but he said they had changed it. He belonged to the Elks and said it was only open on Saturday nights, an Elk’s Lodge open 1 day a week, what is up with that? Anyway the guys nick name was “Buck” and he was also a member of the American Legion so he invited us in, with him, as  his guest. Very nice guy and very friendly. They were serving steak dinner tonight and he said we were more then welcome to eat but we had taken out steak and shrimp for dinner already. We sat and visited with Buck for about an hour and then it was back to the RV. We told Buck we would meet him tomorrow at the Elks and buy him a drink, he said he might show up, will see.

We came back to the RV and cooked the steak and shrimp with baked potato and salad. After cleaning up the dinner dishes we went for a long walk. On the way back to the RV we stopped for ice cream, Alaska is the #1 state of consuming ice cream and we thought we would help them out. FYI they are the number 2 state in eating Spam. Got back to the RV at 10pm and it was kick back and relax time.

Almost forgot to mention, saw a new animal today, Dolphins swimming in the waters right in front of us.

7/12 Kenai Princess Lodges RV Park

We got up, had breakfast then went into town before leaving Homer. Wanted to get a Homer magnet but Safeway didn’t have any and the gift shop was closed until 10am, oh well.

We got on the road a little after 10a.m., a little rain off and on. Didn’t see any animals except horses. We stopped in Soldotna to fill up the RV. We arrived at the Princess RV Park a little after 1p.m. and set up things. We have full hookup here so we did another load of laundry, in the RV.  Had to wash all the rags Dave used while cleaning the RV. Once that was started we took off driving around the area to check things out. We stopped at a rest stop to find a geo cache. After finding the spot Dave read the write up about it. Someone posted before us that the cache was gone but the magnet was still there. Well,  the magnet is gone now too, so Dave posted that. We then drove to the Russian River RV Park to check it out, plus see where Matt and Connie are going to be staying at for the next 3 days. Most spots were really nice to camp at but some would have been a little tricky to get to.

We came back to the RV and decided to walk up to Princess Lodge and check it out. We wanted to find out where the hot tub was so we could go to it later. Good thing we did too because our key didn’t work on the door. Let me tell you it was quite a hike up to that hot tub so it was a good thing we were just checking it out. Dave said he would have really been pissed off  if we had brought our suits with us. We walked back down to the lodge and they said the RV Park’s cards are out dated and need to be reset but they could reset ours for us, which they did.

We came back to the RV and relaxed. It’s 6:30p.m. and Dave is going outside and cooking the Oysters now, for an appetizer then BBQ the halibut while I fix the squash and rice. It’s going to be a good dinner, after dinner it is hot tub time.

Tomorrow we can’t stay another night at Princess so we are headed for Seward, maybe dry camping for a couple days, not sure yet.  Kenai and Soldotna are also in the picture, who knows.

7/11 Last day in Homer

While watching the news,  this a.m., we heard there was a tour plane that crashed at Beluga Lake, which is in Homer, not too far from where we are at. It happened at 10:30pm and 1 person had died.  Bummer!

After breakfast we went into town to do laundry, 3 loads with bedding and clothes. $4.50 a load, ouch! After the laundry was done we stopped on our way back to the RV and picked up our halibut. We came home and Dave did manage to get it all in the freezer, but we won’t be able to get much more in there.

We decided to get some fresh Oysters to BBQ tonight so we drove on to the spit to where someone told us they had good ones. We then drove into Homer to go see the Pratt Museum, very nicely put together. On the way there we drove by the Beluga Lake and you can see the plane still upside down in the Lake. FAA has to come out and investigate before they can remove the plane.

We then went to Don Jose’s for margaritas and nachos. A few people had told us it was a good place to eat at, but we didn’t want lunch just a snack and it really hit the spot.

When we got back Dave started cleaning the RV. He vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom and was on his hands and knees mopping the floors. He even dusted! Me, I sat getting caught up on my blogs, he is a much better cleaner then me.

We drove into town, to the Farmer’s Market, but since it was raining hardly anyone showed up. We wanted to get some fresh Salmon and fresh grown lettuce. Both those guys didn’t show up so back to the RV.

Dave had a Habitat BOD meeting to attend, so that happened at 4:30pm. I played on the computer, watched the otters that are back again and read my book. Headed out for Kenai Prince lodges RV park tomorrow for a night. They have full hook up plus a hot tub we can use. My left arm hurts so much after fishing yesterday, holding the pole and pulling on it all the time while reeling. Right arm isn’t sore at all.

Matt and Connie left this a.m. and so did those other 3 RV’s that had pulled in next to us. Told  everyone we would see them up the road, and to have happy travels.

7/10Halibut fishing day in Homer

Alarm went off at 4:30a.m., got up made coffee and then lunches. Looking forward to a good day. We had to be at the boat at 6:30am. I didn’t eat breakfast, Dave had a fried egg sandwich. I wasn’t sure how I would do on the boat so it was better not to have anything in my stomach.

There were 17 of us, but only 16 fished. The only other lady that came either watched her husband or played games on her ipad. There were 3 guys working the boat, the Captain 23, 1st deck hand 14, (owner of the companies, son) and the newest kid who was 17. We went out almost 2 hours before they stopped and we starting fishing. You know more dropped your line to the bottom, about 250 feet deep, and you had caught something. 1st thing I caught was a cod, which a lot of the others did too. The captain kept those to use as bait. Drop the line again, bam, halibut but small so I said to throw it back. Then 3 of us  got our lines tangled, the 14 year old couldn’t get them untangled the captain finally came over and cut the lines.

Dave and I had our limit by 12:30, boat really started rocking and getting really cold. We went and sat inside with 2 other people in there and sat and watched the others catch and throw back halibuts. This older guy and the gal kept bitching that they wanted to leave, too bad suck it up. I just kept my eyes on the horizon because like I said we were sitting in really large swells. Dave is asking me if I wanted my lunch and I said no, wasn’t hungry. We headed back at 2pm and we were rocking and rolling. That older guy goes running to the ships sink and loses it. I couldn’t look or I might have lost it too.

We stopped at Seldovia, which is across the Bay from us. The only way there is either by boat or plane. Matt and Connie went there the other day  and paid $64.00 and had to stay there all day. We stopped for 1 1/2 hours, so the guys could clean or halibuts and that was long enough for us. While we were waiting for the boat to leave another much smaller boat came in a docked right next to us. There were 2 guys in it and we looked inside their boat and they had caught a shark. They had to cut it in half to even get it in their boat. This thing weighted over 500lbs, will post pictures of it. The guys said it took 1 1/2 hours to reel it in but 2 hours to get it into the boat.

We got back a little after 6pm and were exhausted. When we got back to the RV the three other RV’s that we have run into before came running out and wanted to know how it went. We ended up with almost 18lbs of halibut, not enough to ship home, but we did have it packaged and frozen for us, will pick it up tomorrow. The biggest one that was caught was 28lbs, no 100lbs on this trip. It was fun catching the fish and not having to handle the bait or fish. Just wish it wasn’t so rocky.

The guys from the other RV’s helped Dave chop up the rest of the pallets and we had a monster fire. I fixed chili dogs for Dave and I and by 10pm just couldn’t move anymore, plus it was really cold so we all headed in for the night.

7/9 Happy 4th Birthday to our Grand daughter Madison

We called to wish Madison a Happy Birthday at 8:30am her time but she was still sleeping, she had a late night Kim said. Sorry we aren’t there, Madison, but should be there for many more birthdays to come.

I was up early this a.m. 4:30am those darn magpies were walking across the roof of the RV and I was just listening to the claws walking all around. At 5am I gave up on sleep and thought I would look for ocean animals, no such luck. Matt said the other day they saw a whale kill an otter so I have been watching everyday for a whale but when we went to the visitor center today they said there are no whales out here now. So not sure what Matt and Connie really saw. The guy said it was probably something the otter caught and killed, but no whales or sharks. I just watched the boats go out and read my book. At 7:30 I turned on the generator, to fix coffee, and that’s what woke Dave up.

By 10:30am we were taking the RV over to the dump site, dumping and filling up with water. Staying until Thursday morning, we should be good until then. At the dump site, up in the trees, is a Bald Eagle nest with mama in the nest, couldn’t see the babies, and the papa across the way watching over the nest. Only guessing it was papa because it was really large, I got pictures. Once back and set up again we headed off for town, Needed batteries, for Dave’s camera, and a another chip, so we don’t get stuck again with the chip being left at home. We then stopped at the “Oceans and Islands Visitor’s Center”, very nice center. Talked to a volunteer couple, that work there from Minnesota, and she said she has been trying to get her husband to go fulltime RVing for 4 years. He loves the cold weather so they live in Minnesota in the winter and have been coming to Alaska volunteering for the last 4 years. Alaska summer is about the warmest he likes to get, he loves cold weather.

We stopped at Safeway and got our 1 day fishing licenses for tomorrow. Headed to the spit to check out the prices of a restaurant and pick up some oysters to BBQ. Skip, the guy we met yesterday, said they have the best oysters for BBQing and even asked us to pick a dozen up for him. The place was out of oysters, the guy said come back tomorrow morning and he will have more. He had a pretty good price on mussels so we got 2 lbs for Dave and I tonight. They had to be cleaned so Dave did that when we got back. Tonight steamed mussels, BBQ ribs and beans, sounds good to me.

Very cold afternoon, even when the sun was out, it was really windy and cold. For our fishing trip tomorrow they said to bring rain suits, layered clothing, coats, lunch and fishing licenses. WISH US LUCK!!!

7/8 Sunday in Homer

The rented RV next to us just pulled away, hope they are coming back because the Croc shoes are still sitting outside. 3 pairs. Slept in until 7:30, these late nights are making late mornings, nice. Over cast and cloudy, more touring around today, once we get moving. Bald Eagle sitting on it’s tsunami perch, site seeing planes passing over head, tough life. Must have missed all the boats going out because I don’t see a one out there, no otters either.

Around 10:30 we moved our jeep over to Matt and Connie’s spot so they could go into town and dump and refill up with water. (they didn’t want to lose their spot) While we waited there was a cache in the rocks at the campsite, so we went hunting. I found it, then Matt and Connie got back.

While coming out of the RV an eagle was flying by with a fish in it’s talons, neat to see.  Dave and I took off for the scenic drive. It was up at the top of the hill and it was a wonderful spot to see all of Homer and the Spit. Dave got his camera out and was going to get some pictures then realized he had taken the chip out of the camera and it was back at the RV so we had to take pictures with my camera. Hopefully they will come out OK or it’s back to the top again.

We made our reservations for fishing for Tuesday morning, 2 for 1 with our coupon book. Limit is 2 each so hopefully we will get some nice Halibut. We came back to the RV to get the map from Dave’s email that the girl sent us to know where to meet the boat. Drove out to the spit and found the dock, then just walked around the spit to all the charter places and shops.

Back to the RV later in the afternoon, sun was shining, put on tank top and shorts and laid out for a while in the lounge chairs. Got out our books and relaxed. As they say here, just wait 10 min. and the weather changes, and it does. It got really cold, all of a sudden, I went back in and changed, 10 min. later the sun was out again. Dave started a fire later because it got cold again and after he did the sun came out and didn’t go away. We were pretty warm with that sun out and that fire going.

Some people pulled in next to us and after awhile joined us by the fire. Skip and Lauren. We sat and talked they have lived in Anchorage for the last 35 years and just got this RV and were testing it out. As we sat there the next thing we see is about 6 bald eagles circling the seagulls and one drove for them, it missed and those seagulls were moving.  Skip said those eagles are hungry if they are going after the seagulls. Pretty amazing to see. Matt and Connie came and sat by the fire with us later.

Never did see the otters again but did see the boats coming back in so must have just missed them going out. Tomorrow is the Pratt Museum and the Oceans and Islands Visitor’s Center. Right after we take the RV into town to fill with water and dump.

7/7 Heck of a view here in Homer

Got up this a.m. and watched the otters swimming by and the boats going out. It’s over cast but we do have some blue sky. Planes and helicopters taking the people out touring. Big ship coming in, I thought it was a cruise ship but Dave said it’s the ferry. The cruise ships don’t come into harbor.

Was able, this morning to get on the internet, Dave could yesterday but I couldn’t, no big deal, just enjoying the views here. Bald Eagle just sitting out there in the mud flats, Dave getting pictures. As we were leaving the campsite, on the tsunami warning siren, was another big bald eagle, on the way back there were 2 bald eagles. We drove down the spit to get a look at the ferry and Dave was wrong. It is a Holland American cruise ship that had come in. The school buses were lining up to pick up the passengers, it was time to get away from the town. Lots of people were going to be hanging around. We wanted some firewood, should have gotten it at Linda and Vaughn’s, we saw a place on our drive in a little before Anchor Point. The place had firewood $10, 15, 20, 25 and $30.00 bundles and it was on an honor system. We got the $25 and it filled up the back of the jeep. We came back to the campsite and unloaded the wood. We then drove back into town and went to the Farmers Market that was going on. I got some Jalapeno-Habanero Apple Jam, and Dave got Kettle Corn, much safer as he says.

Then we went cruising around checking out the area. While driving I saw a sign for Wine Tasting so we went and checked it out. Nice little place it was a bed and breakfast too. Most of the wines they had were with fruit in them, I only tried a couple since I was driving. Dave ended up buying a bottle of Port now we need to go get some good chocolate to eat when we drink the Port.

We were getting a little hungry then so we headed back to the RV. But first, I know you are getting sick of reading this but it was geo caching time. There was one hidden at the Mormon Church on the way back so we stopped and found it. Back at the RV we had some cheese, salami and crackers for lunch. Got out our books and relaxed. Plan on staying for a week and it ain’t that big of a town so investigate slowly.

This afternoon there were 5 people on horses running them up and down the beach, while the tide was out. Around 4pm the otters were back out in front of us just playing and having a good time. Matt came over and invited us over for halibut dinner, can’t pass that up. It is what he caught last week.

Before heading out for Matt’s house just watching the otters out there playing 2 very large bald eagles fly right in front of the RV and I couldn’t get the camera out fast enough to get both. 1 came back and landed on the mud and I got pictures of it flying and landing. Darn Dave pulled the chip out and the camera wasn’t focused on the landing so will have to try again later. The one of it soaring in front came out great. It’s Dave’s camera and I’m learning how to use it.

Great dinner at Connie and Matt’s. Halibut, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and salad. After dinner we used the fire wood we bought today and made a fire. Set up chairs, had cake for dessert and just relaxed. It is well after 10pm and you don’t even realize it, it is still light outside and the kids are flying kites, running around and the otters are still out, amazing.

It is now 10:30pm, Connie and Matt went home, and Dave and I are going to still sit by the fire. Had to do a quick update, and bathroom break. Still can’t believe how many people are outside.

7/6 Homer

After leaving the Elks, in Kenai, we stopped at the gas station and dumped then filled up with fuel. We got on the road for Homer around 11:00am. On the road there was a sign for free scrap wood so we turned down that way. It was scrap alright, lots of nails in it, way too big of pieces, just not very good. We turned around and left and on the way out there was a mama moose and her baby chewing on some grass in someone’s front yard. They took off when Dave hit the breaks. We stopped at a fish market to pick up some fresh Salmon and some smoked salmon. Can’t fish for salmon, right now,  so might as well go buy some.

We got to Homer after 1pm and went to where Matt and Connie were parked. We got a spot right on the beach. The view out the front window is the ocean and mountains with the snow on them.

After getting set up we drove into town and found the Elks Lodge there. The RV sites were filled up plus they only have electric anyway, no big deal. We have a much better spot, we wouldn’t have this view if we stayed there. After the Elks we drove out on the spit, that’s what the stretch of land on the water is called. Lots of shops, restaurants and fishing charters. It is the “Halibut Capital of the World”.

We parked and one of the fishing boats had just gotten back and they were getting ready to clean the fish. One of the halibuts weighed 119lb. Watching these guys filet those fish was amazing. They are good with those knifes and fast too. We watched that for awhile and talked to the guys, then saw Matt and Connie. They had been in  Salty Dawgs drinking some beers.  Cute little bar with dollar bills hanging everywhere, if the place ever catches fire they will probably lose a few thousand dollars.

Dave and I went and split an order of fish and chips (halibut) and watched the people and dogs walk on the beach. We then headed back to the jeep and another boat had brought up another group of fish. 80 and 90 pounders. When Matt went last week he said they were only catching 10 and 15 pounders, boy, looks like he went with the wrong outfit. Dave and I got back to the RV, it was almost 6pm, Dave started charging his saw and we both went and gathered wood for a fire. Dave cut some of the wood up and we set our chairs by the fire, the tide was going out and there were lots of people and dogs everywhere. Looking way out in the ocean I kept seeing these black things and went and got the binoculars, I thought they were seals. Then I saw a lady on a standing board paddling along and she knelled down beside them, she was surrounded by these black things. When she got in with her board I went over and asked her what they were, she said Otters. She said they do have seals in the harbor if I want to see them.

After a couple hours it was back in the RV, dinner and relax while watching TV, yes we are getting around 8 channels out in the middle of no where.

7/5 Kenai Touring around the area

Decided to stay another day at the Elks, in Kenai, wanted to do some more touring around the area. Once we got going in the a.m. we drove to Nikiski. A lot of oil docks there, Chevron, Tesoro, Unocal Chemical ect. Found one Geo Cache while we were there.

We went back to the RV so we could pay the Elks for another night. Then we headed out driving again. Saw a moose on the side of the road while driving to Clam Gulch. When we got to Clam Gulch we parked and walked down to where everyone was clamming at. Right down to the ocean, there were tons of people there plus all the 4 wheelers. I guess today the tide was perfect for clamming, at least that’s what the tide charts showed.

We then drove to Ninilchik and looked at the 1 of the campgrounds there, right on the ocean. We drove around town and checked on how the fishing was going. One boat had just gotten back and they had lots of Halibut. We watched the crew cleaning and cutting them up so the people could take them home. A little girl, about 11, had caught a 19 pounder, which they said was the average size.

We drove around a little more then went to a site seeing spot because they had a geo cache there. It was somewhere out on the rocks so we went climbing out there. It had been raining on and off and the rocks were wet and we decided it wasn’t a good time to be climbing around. Should have had our hiking boots on. Anyway, starting to get back out my foot slipped off the rock and down I went. Thank goodness I landed on a soft rock, ha ha. Tried to break my leg but didn’t just bruised it good.

After that we headed back Soldotna to fuel up the jeep and top off the groceries. Back to the RV to relax and fix dinner. The Elks was having a dinner but with the smoking in there we just couldn’t stomach going back in there. Tomorrow is Homer.

Driving around

Today we decide to take a drive to Clam Gulch and Ninilchik.
Finally saw the mountains. Then we walked to the beach at Clam Gulch.

7/4 Car races in Kenai plus, Happy 4th of July

Weather cloudy and raining off and on. Connie and Matt got going around 9:30am they were headed for Homer. We had breakfast and didn’t get moving still around 10:30. No hurry, the Elks Lodge is only 15 min. away in Kenai. I started putting stuff away in the RV, Dave was doing the outside stuff. I walked outside because I hadn’t seen Dave for a little while. When I did I saw this trailer laying partly on it’s side. It was a trailer/camper that fits on the back of a pickup. This one was pretty good size because it had a slide. The people had taken it off their truck so they could drive around so it was standing on the legs it has. The front right leg gave way and bent, she was in it at the time. Their pickup truck was in front and it collapsed right on the side of it, and just smashed the side of the truck. I was bad and took pictures, Dave will post later. The people were from Washington, and just travelling around like we are. The police came by and took a report for their insurance but the trip is stopped for a little while. The camper was fine, just the leg, but it will take a while to fix their truck.

We got on the road around 11:30am and wouldn’t you know it Kenai roads were closed, where the Elks are, because of the town parade. We parked for a little while until they opened up again. Once set up at the Elks, they were having a free BBQ so we sat and had Hot Dogs, potato salad and baked beans, pretty nice of them, it was for anyone that wanted to stop by you didn’t have to belong to the Elks.

We then went Geo Caching. We found 3, one at the visitor center, 1 on Marcus St. and 1 on Alex Rd. Then it was on to the race track. Mike was racing there tonight so we went by to visit with Mike and Linda (Vaughn and Linda’s friends). Mike races his Legend car and has tons of trophy's. He has been racing since he was around 10. The races weren’t starting until 6pm so we went back to the RV to relax for awhile. We went back to the race track at 5:30 and were in the pit area so we got to see everything up close and personal. It was cold and raining off and on, thank goodness we had thick jackets. The races were great, Mike kicked butt against the other Legends but they had midgets, late models ect. it was a good night. By 9:30pm we were cold and hungry so we took off, but the last race was still going. I believe they were going to do fireworks but remember it doesn’t get dark here so don’t think it would have been much to see.

We had dinner at 10pm, boy are we really off our time schedule, then bed by 12:30am. I think we will hang in Kenai another day to check more things out before heading for Homer. We want to do fishing in Homer but with them not letting you fish for King Salmon yet it looks like we will be hanging out here for a week or 2.

7/3 Heading to Soldotna

Got on the road at 10:35am. No big rush today, we are only a little over 2 hours from Soldotna. What a beautiful drive along the Turnagain Arm. We stopped at Beluga Point to take pictures, didn’t see any whales but the mountains were amazing to see.
We saw a Bald Eagles on the mud flats, but still no whales. We kept pulling over for cars to go by and to just take more pictures.
We got to Soldotna around 2:30 and parked 2 spaces from Matt and Connie. After setting up we took a drive to Kenai, looking for the race track there since Mike and Linda are going to be there for the races Wednesday, July 4th. We stopped and checked out the visitor center then on to the race track. Wanted to see if we could park the RV there Wednesday night.
After finally finding the track there is no way we can park there so we went to the Elk’s Club in Kenai, They have lots of parking there so we went inside to talk to them. Oh Yuk, they still allow smoking at this Elks. They said it was no problem to park there, plus, they are having a picnic for the 4th too and we were more then welcome to join. I don’t mind staying there but you won’t see me too much in the building.
When we got back to the RV we went over and visited with Matt and Connie for awhile then home to cook dinner. Not a very exciting day to write about.

7/2 Sad leaving Wasilla and heading for Anchorage

It was sad to be leaving, one of the best places we have ever parked at, but it was time to move on. Our mail, from Florida, was being delivered to Anchorage on Tuesday morning and we wanted to be close to it so we could get on the road to Soldotna. We were going to stay at the Army base but while driving to it Dave checked and USPS web site said our mail had been delivered already. We decided to keep driving and just pick up the mail and get back on the road. We parked the RV down by the train station and I walked back up the hill to get the mail.  The line was a  mile long, after waiting for 20 minutes Dave called and was being harassed about being parked where we weren’t suppose to be. He calls me and said he had to leave the spot and would drive back up to where I was, I told him I was still in line. I finally get to the front and they tell me there is no mail there for us and I would need the tracking number. I ran to the RV because the tracking number is in Dave’s email, on his phone. There was no where for us to pull the RV into so we just turned on the emergency lights and Dave ran inside the post office. Once he got someone's attention and gave them the tracking number it turns out it was delivered to the wrong post office and it would show up later today. We decided not drive back to the Army base so we found an RV park in Anchorage to spend the night. We drove into town, walked around and had a great lunch. If you ever get to Anchorage go to Fletchers, at the Captain Cook Hotel, the lunch was great, thanks Linda for the tip. Around 4:30 we went back to the post office and our mail was there. We then did some last minute shopping at Walmart then back to the RV to plan on the next days drive.
We had taken out a pork roast the day before so when we 1st got to the RV park Dave set up the slow cooker for it to cook while we were running around, it came out great. We didn’t eat dinner today until 9:30pm, bed at almost midnight. I think we are starting to get adjusted to not having any night time. It will be tough when we leave this place.

7/1 Another fun drive with Vaughn

While Dave and I were in Talkeetna this waitress had told us about a drive we should make, but not with the RV. I had mentioned it to Linda and she said she thought it would be another great drive to go on. It wasn’t as long a drive as the day before, it was only 3 to 4 hours. So we didn’t leave until noon, so in the a.m. I did our laundry, Dave worked on his computer, Linda did beading and Vaughn was out with the power washer getting the mess off his truck that we had gotten on it the day before.
This drive was Hatcher Pass Road. On the way to the road I saw a moose way off in the distance, then once on the Hatcher Pass road Vaughn hit the breaks and put it into reverse. When he backed up there was another moose a lot closer then mine was. I quit talking my head off to Linda and started watching for animals. Again a pretty nice road to start with and there was a 5th wheel ahead of us. Vaughn said he isn’t a local, which he wasn’t, or at least the license said he wasn’t. Vaughn said another clue is he is carrying his own spare tires, locals don’t do that, they know better. Anyway, the 5th wheel let us go by and a little bit after we passed them we turned a corner and here in a gulley was a small pickup truck with 2 scared kids. The boy had been driving too fast, we are guessing, and lost control. Once the tire went over the side and hit the ditch there was no way he could pull it back. The boy wanted to know if we could pull them out and Vaughn said there was no way. We would have just pulled their bumper off, he needed a real lift out of that ditch. They had phone service so we went on our way.
We came to a place on the river/stream that Vaughn and Linda have camped at before and then went 4 wheeling. Very nice spot, Dave and I got pictures. Back on the road we started hitting the switchbacks and up ahead of us was the 5 wheel. I was hoping that whoever was driving, that 5th wheel, knew that road and knew what they were getting themselves into. The views were of course great again, but I would be killing Dave if he would have driven these roads with our RV.
We made a stop at Summit Lake and it was still partially frozen. Darn it was cold up there, thank goodness the sun wasn’t out when we started the trip. If the sun is out I put on shorts, like I had the day before, which worked out great. If I had shorts on this day there would have been no way I would have gotten out of the truck. That darn 5th wheel was driving away from the lake when we got there, that guy was a good brave driver.
Next stop was Independence Mine State Historical Park. We got lots of pictures but darn it was just too cold to stay outside for too long. We made a couple more stops along the way for pictures, it was another great ride, again things we would have never seen.
When the road ends you are in Palmer again, and we had all been invited over for a salmon dinner at Linda and Mike’s house. Once there another couple joined us, Linda and Bob. Honest to goodness, Linda and Vaughn, Linda and Mike, Linda and Bob, what is with this group, I have never seen so many Linda’s in one place. How Linda and Vaughn’s other friends, that we had met, Jim and Lorraine, fit in I’m not sure.  Had a great dinner, then a great pit fire, Linda and Linda played horseshoes and the rest of us sat around the fire and talked.
Another great day/evening then back home again.

6/30 Uncle Toads Wild Ride or Sightseeing with Vaughn

Saturday morning and at 9am the 4 of us Vaughn, Linda, Dave and I are on the road. We had packed lunches so it was going to be a full day of touring. Vaughn has a Ford Super Duty 4X4 Truck and we were going into the back country. We were going to see places in Alaska that unless you lived there you wouldn’t even know about the roads to take you there. Vaughn took us to Petersville and beyond. We bounced, we swayed, we drove through creeks, some really deep. We laughed so hard, Dave almost broke his neck a few times bouncing off the roof of the truck. Vaughn even darned Dave to fall asleep on this drive. We drove a total of probably 100 miles, round trip, and it took us 10 hours. And you know the only wild animal we saw was a darn squirrel. We saw a sign that said, RV’s and campers not recommend beyond this point, we did more climbing and bouncing and I’ll be dammed if there weren’t RV’s and campers back there. There is no way in hell our RV would ever get near something this . Those people were nuts, they had their 4 wheelers and were quite happy being back there. You know they were from Alaska because that’s the only way you would know about these roads.
After hours of climbing around this road we run into a truck that is broke down, 2 guys in it, and wouldn’t you know Vaughn knew one of the guys. He talked to him about how his mining for gold was going and if he knew if the person we were going to visit was out mining. The guy said he was out there and had a crew out in the streams dredging for gold. Vaughn was taking us to meet this guy with a dredger so we could see a real operation in the process.
We kept driving but didn’t find the guy. We crossed this one stream and there was a whole bunch of families out there with the kids and dogs. No phone service, no ipads, just 4 wheelers and the kids were in 7th heaven. Healthy and happy and not missing a TV at all, great to see.
We came across one stream that was a little too deep for all of us, so we turned around, or I should say backed up, no place to turn around. We ended up knocking off Vaughn’s mud flap and running it over. Shocked the hell out of me but there was a runway with planes on it, in these back woods. Forgot to mention there were a couple spots where we saw the people out in the streams dredging for gold, they would have someone in a dry suit diving in the water with a hose sucking up gravel then running it through a sluice looking for gold. Anyway, we drove  to the airfield where some guys were working on some equipment they use for mining. If you have ever seen the show “Gold Rush” what they show is true. These guys are very closed lipped and don’t like when strangers come around. If you even thought about panning for gold on their turf they were shoot 1st and maybe asked questions later. A person could disappear very easily in these back  woods. We stopped and Vaughn got out and ended up knowing one of the guys. Jeez, we are in the middle of nowhere and Vaughn knows these people. Vaughn use to own a gas station, many years ago, and would deliver fuel to these guys.
We were kind of bummed we never did find the guy Vaughn was looking for. We found his place but the road was chained off. I don’t believe it would have been very smart to walk the road, like I said they shoot 1st. So we headed back. On our way back we stopped at Cache Creek Cabins. There is an older couple there that have cabins for rent in their house they do cooking for you, if you don’t have anything. Linda and Vaughn know the people so we stopped to have a cup of coffee with them. We sat and talked, they showed Dave and I the history of the place. Come on this is in the middle of nowhere, like I said before, and the cabins are being rented. Too funny.  In the winter they even leave the cabins open to anyone who wants to use them at no cost. Who is going to find those cabins in the winter anyway. The owners leave the water on, ha ha, and the heat on, just in case someone should get lost out there, if they have somewhere to stay then maybe they won’t break into the main house.
After coffee, we headed home. We somehow bounced our way out and did so much laughing, Dave was a comedian, which isn’t like him, he was quicker then me. Thank goodness for an ice cream and bathroom stop on the way home.
We got home and had some appetizers for dinner, ate a late lunch today, then to bed. This is one day we won’t be forgetting for a long time, if ever. Honestly there are places in Alaska that we would never have seen if we didn't have friends who live here. Vaughn and Linda have really opened up our eyes, we need to get off the beaten path and get on those back roads and really see things.

6/29 Touring around Wasilla with Linda

We had breakfast at 7am at Linda and Vaughn’s. Lorraine and Linda were making bacon and pancakes for breakfast, and had fruit too. I had cooked up  and brought over some buffalo sausage and over blue berries. We sat on the patio deck and and the sun was shining. What a great morning, on the lake, perfect views. After breakfast Vaughn had to leave for work, and Jim and Lorraine headed back home to Valdez. Dave and I made a run to Walmart for some supplies.

Dave had taken the water proof camera with us, the one we took White Water Rafting. He wanted to get them developed. It was an hour wait and I was done shopping, so we decided to do some Geo Caching while we had to wait. Oh, forgot, we 1st tried to find Sarah Palin’s house but no luck, so then we went geo caching. Luckily the cache was at the same turnoff that Walmart was at, we just needed to turn, left, not right. It was in a bus waiting area, under cover, up high. I found it and Dave logged it in. We then went and picked up our pictures at Walmart.

We then went back and then Linda was going to drive us around to see the sites. We picked up Abby, there dog from the groomers, then it was on to where Vaughn works, or I should say the place he runs. The company here makes Roof Trusses, had no idea how much work and skills go into something like this. He had such a small amount of employees, in my opinion, but they manage. He works 6 months here in Alaska and 6 months from Maine, via cameras. Must say one hell of an operation, and sorry Vaughn, such a tough life.

Once we left Vaughn’s work Linda took us to Palmer. 1st we stopped at a great viewing spot, then it was on to the Musk Oz farm, we just drove through that and got some pictures of the Musk, didn’t need to pay to see them up close. We then went into the visitor center in Palmer. Luckily we found a parking spot, they have there the farmer’s market going on and parking was hard to be found. Out front was a dog sled team, with trainers giving talks. They had samples of the equipment they have to use and talked about everything. We then went into the visitor center, where they were playing a video of the farmers that the government paid to move there and farm, very interesting. After that we went to the farmer’s market and walked around.

We then drove back to Wasilla, to where the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race headquarters is. They show a great video there, and of course, a great gift shop. They have dog sled rides too, if you want to do it.

After that Linda took us to the park, where you can look at Sarah Palin’s house. If you drove by the front on her place you couldn’t see it from the road, her driveway is way too long. The best way to see it is from across the lake, of course unless you are invited over. The bugs were eating Dave alive, I used spray, so we headed back home.

We got together later, had some snacks, on their deck then headed out for dinner. After a great dinner Vaughn took us to Eklutna Lake Campground to look around.  I think he was trying to give us a hint, just kidding Dave napped a little on that drive. After a day of touring around, big dinner, drinks, it was hard to keep the eyes open.

Have to get caught up

Give me a couple more days and I’ll get caught up on the blog. Been too busy, having fun.