Oh Canada, Oh Canada, and back to Alaska

September 6

The drive today was beautiful. The sky was the usual gray, low, drizzly stuff we have come to expect. The Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge was very cool to drive along, thousands of small lakes and marsh areas. Did see a Great Gray Owl fly across the road but that was the extent of the animals for the day. Crossed the border into Yukon Territory and the road went to crap. It was about 50-75 miles of serious frost heaved chip and seal. It was kind of like riding a roller coaster without the big drops. The scenery in this part of the Yukon was much prettier than the drive up the Campbell Highway. Big mountains and a mix of open tundra and spruce forests. Swans were a common sight along here, along with Wigeons, Loons and Red Necked Grebes. Arrived in Haines Junction just in time to find a campground, cook some dinner and have a nice fire. The Yukon Campgrounds have all been pretty nice, $12 a night and free firewood!

September 7

Woke up to a thick ground fog. The plan was to head to the bakery for coffee and danish. The place was closed so we filled up with gas and headed south toward Haines. The fog shrouding the mountains was awesome and hopefully I was able to capture some of that with the camera. The fog lifted by 10AM and we had mostly sunny skies to enjoy for the rest of the day. Lots of Bald Eagles down toward Haines. Haines a is a cool little town with lots of cruise ship traffic. We headed NE of town to Chilcoot Lake Campground. The Chilcoot River was covered with eagles and gulls as the salmon were moving up stream. The river had a fish weir across it. A weir is kind of like a picket fence with removable pickets. The water runs through but the fish can not get through except where the fish counter person opens up a space. This person sits all day long and counts the fish as they move through the opening. Looked really boring to me other than the fact that the grizzly bears figured out that salmon against a fence made for some really EASY fishing. There was a sow with three cubs feeding about 50' from the fish counter. There were lots of people hanging around watching the bears and a ranger lady watching the people. The campground was less than a half mile from the bears. We found a lakeside campsite and pitched the tent then headed back into town for groceries. Back to camp for dinner and more bear watching before bed.

September 8

Lazy day hanging around Haines. Took a short hike, went to the library to get on line and pay some bills (yes, those pesky things are STILL following us!) and drove around a bit. Made our ferry reservations for tomorrow night, ferry does not leave until 10PM so we will have all day tomorrow to mess around too. Back up to camp. There are a bunch of Harbor Seals hanging out at the mouth of the river, snacking on the salmon I suspect. Must be 40 eagles out there too.

September 9

Breakfast and break camp. Head into town and find a shower at the local laundromat. Showers are good once in a while. Drive down to Chilkat State Park, about 10 miles SW of town. Nice quiet campground and not a sole is there. Nice views across the bay to some hanging glaciers. Back into town and a short hike. Had dinner at the local Mexican restaurant, Mosey's Cantina. Good food. Check in for the ferry at 8:45 PM, Loading at 9:30, en-route at 10PM. A very dark trip to Skagway until we get with in site of town. Unload and drive through the silent streets of town at 11 PM to our camground at Dyea, 10 miles west of town. A twisty windy road into the darkness. We get the tent pitched and crash out about 12:15 AM.

September 10

Up and out to the “ghost town” of Dyea. This was the original start of the Klondike gold rush over the Chilcoot trail. We got a ranger led tour of the townsite from a ranger, we were the only ones there so it was pretty nice. To say this is a ghost town is a stretch, there is nothing more than some rotten lumber laying on the ground. The story and history were very cool though. After that we headed into Skagway. Had some lunch at a bar and grill then wandered the streets. It is a BUSY town during cruise ship season. The streets were packed with people as there were two ships in port. There were a ton of cools shops in town and we shopped a lot! Sheri got a couple rings. I got another backpack. We sampled beers at the Skagway Brewery then went to the Red Onion Bar. This was right next to the starting line of the Klondike Road Race. This is a team relay running event that goes to Whitehorse, 112 miles to the north. It was fun to watch all the teams, reminded me of RAGBRAI. We shared a small pizza then headed back to camp in the drizzle and fog.


September 11

Into Skagway to bakery for coffee and danish, luckily this one is open and we enjoy some really tasty cinnamon rolls with our coffee. We go wonder town for a bit and then decide we need to get out of here before we spend anymore money so we head back to camp and pack up. On the road at 1:00 PM. Up and over White Pass. A SPECTACULAR drive, ranks up at the top of all scenery of the trip. Stop at Canadian Customs, very nice young lady working there, first time ANY customs people were pleasant. Drove up to Carcross, across the Tagish highway and back onto the Alaska Highway. This is a stretch of road we have not traveled. We stop at Teslin Lake campground, another Yukon camp. Build a fire and get ready to whip dinner. Not putting up the tarp tonight, it is mostly clear.......Starts to rain, fine, we put up the tarp.

September 12

A long day driving, at least recently it is. Put in 8 hours on the road. Stop for fuel. Credit card denied, second card denied, crap, there goes the cash I had. Not sure what is up with that and of course it is Sunday so no one at the card center to fix it. Turn south off the Alaskan Highway and onto the Cassiar Highway. A very remote feeling road, not quite like the Campbell hwy but close. Drive to Kinaskan Lake campground, a British Columbia Provincial park. Very nice place. Hooded Mergansers kept swimming past our campsite on the water, very enjoyable

September 13

Heading south still, down to Stewart BC/Hyder Alaska. Set up camp in the Stewart City campground. Suppose to bears all over. We have not seen any yet...........Glad they can't open a tent zipper. Nice little town. On the end of a 90 mile long natural inlet/canal. About a 100 miles as the crow flies dew east of Ketchican Alaska. Stayed in a nice city campground. Big trees and pretty quiet.

The farthest north and heading south

September 4

Headed over to the farmers market, it was cool with lots of produce and arts/crafts. There are a lot of cool weather veggies grown up here, huge cabbage and root crops. We bought a few things and Sheri found some jewelry she needed. Then we went to Creamer's Field to look at the Sandhill cranes, there were lots of them but nothing like the spring migration in central Nebraska. Found a fabric/quilt shop and Sheri got lost in there for at least an hour! We stopped at a little yarn shop and got some cool merino wool so Sheri can knit me a winter stocking cap, it is starting to get cold up this way. Stopped at the grocery store and stocked up on supplies. Bought a couple really nice ribeye steaks for the grill
had a nice dinner of steak, salad and butter/garlic potatoes. Neighbors came over and visited for a while, they were from Nevada MO. They moved to Alaska about 8 years ago and really liked it.

September 5

Pack it up and move 'em out, heading south today, oh so slowly. Kind of a sad thing, I have REALLY enjoyed Alaska. Gray and drizzly, no views of the Alaska range again, just like last time through here. Down through Delta to Tok and found an RV park that had showers and laundry facilities. Nice fire and Hormel Chili on hot dogs for dinner, look out toilets. Heading into Canada tomorrow, then back out to Haines Alaska, ferry to Skagway then back to Canada again.

Denali, The GREAT one

August 30

We left Anchorage for the final time on this trip. It was REALLY tough, we have WONDERFUL friends there. The hospitality was fantastic, we will be back! Heading north to Denali in the normal rain and gray that is what I expect of Alaska summers now. We drive past many Denali view points but still no mystical mountain for us. The Parks highway is one we had driven most of back in the first of July but this time heading back north, fall was in the air. The further north we went more golden aspen and birch trees we saw. We checked in at the park office for our campsites. The campsite we had reserved was at the the 29 mile mark on the Denali park road. Taklanika Camp ground had a minimum of three nights stay and you could not drive your car once you were into the park. The only transportation was the park shuttle system. As we entered the park the colors got more and more impressive. The golds, reds and greens were the coolest fall colors I have ever seen. We saw a single bull caribou and then a small group of younger bulls on our way into the campground. We found a site and pitched the tent and got the Noah's tarp up before the rain started again. Dinner and bed early as we had an 8:45 bus in the AM.

August 31

A quick breakfast and coffee to go, we catch the bus out in front of the campground. The bus is pretty full with folks from all over the the world speaking languages I did not know. The driver told us interesting things along the route about history and eco-systems. The bus would stop and shut off the engine for most wildlife sightings so there were plenty of photo ops. The day was gray and rainy again but the animals were out everywhere. We saw grizzly bear, wolves, moose, dall sheep, caribou, porcupine, golden eagle, merlin, ptarmigan. The only thing missing is a view of Denali itself. We traveled all the to Kantishna which is the end of the road at mile 83. It was a spectacular day. It was a long day, almost 9 hours.

September 1

Slept in then went for a hike along the river near the campground. Did not see anything animal wise but it was a great education on the way a glacial rivers changes course. I now understand why a lot of glacial river beds are big and wide and open, very cool indeed. The sun popped out late in the day and was beautiful. Then the clouds and rain again, come on, make up your mind! Had a nice fire and then bed.

September 2

Woke up to clear sky's and a heavy frost, temps around 33 degrees. Rain drops from the night before froze on the tarp. The high mountains have a new dusting of snow. It really feels of fall this morning. After breakfast we headed or the bus again. This time we were only going as far as the Eielson Center. Today the animals did not seem quite so active but we still saw some good stuff. We had a wolf with a bad leg hobble right past the bus on the road so I got some decent photos of him. We saw other wolf, sheep, caribou and bear, just not as many. We watched a movie at the Eielson Center and looked at the displays. Of course the clouds had moved in by now and there was STILL no views of the mountain. I was able to snap a picture of a partial Denali shot through the clouds from Stony Hilly, guess that is the best I will get.

September 3

Leaving Denali this morning. Breakfast and break camp, no rain and a dry tent packed. We saw some caribou on the way out and enjoyed the fall colors. At the Denali visitor center we ate a couple cheeseburgers and then went to see the parks working sled dogs demonstration. It was interesting, the dogs do a lot of work in the winter. Heading north now to Alaska's second largest city, Fairbanks. We found a nice campsite in the middle of town on the Chena river. Nice wooded sites with all the sounds of the city around us. The Sandhill cranes were all over the place flying back and fourth making there funny cackle.

Back to Chateau MacHuber

August 27

Awoke to rain, how strange. Pack up the tent and head back to Anchorage. Besides almost getting run over by a couple of semi's it was an uneventful and gray drive back. Arrived at Ken and Heather's about three o'clock and got settled in. Started some laundry and took showers, Damn nice to have a wonderful “base camp”. Pizza and “burn you a new sphincter hot wings”. For some reson Huber decided Extra hot would be good, we both paid for it the next day, poor choice Ken......

August 28

Time to cook. I brought some KC style BBQ up to alaska that I had smoked back in Misery and thrown in the freezer. Ken and I decide that baked beans, slaw and Mac-n-cheese were the perfect compliments for the “Q”. Ken and I went to to the farmers market (they are awesome up here) to pick up some fixin's. I worked on the beans while Ken did the mac and coleslaw. Tim, Julie and Brian joined us for dinner and we pigged out. Julie made a peach/nectarine pie and I had made a peach cobbler in the dutch oven. We all ate way to much. The Monkee ended up napping on the couch, does pulled pork have the same stuff as turkey (triptefin?) in it?

August 29

packing and organizing gear, prepping to leave in the AM. In the evening we go over to Joe and Emily's house for pizza from the Moose's tooth, some of the best pizza I have ever had. Looked at pictures they had taken from Katmai. They had some GREAT pictures of the bears from there trip. Someday we may have to make that trip.

Off to Seward and here Fishy Fishy

August 22

Sunday morning and we are up in the drizzle, get the tent packed away and head for the bakery/coffee shop. Had some FANTASTIC blueberry cream cheese danish and couple of latte's to go. The drive back north up Kenai looked just like the drive down, still no views across Cook Inlet toward Mt Redoubt. Took a side trip through the town of Kenai, nice little town. A stop at Tern Lake to make some
sandwiches and to look at the salmon in the creek. Lots of bright red salmon, not sure what kind they were. On to Seward, it also looked about the same as last time we were here on the 5th of July, rainy and low overcast. We found a site in the city campground right next to the hike/bike trail and the water. Not a bad spot with LOTS of people watching opportunities.

August 23

Woke up to partly cloudy and windy. The mountains around us were mostly visible and spectacular. We could see Mt Marathon, the one Julie ran on the fourth of July, thats just CRAZY girl, GREAT JOB! Turned into a great day weather wise. Made reservations to go out on a Halibut trip on Wednesday, should be fun. We just kind of hung out all day, wandering the streets of Seward.

August 24

The sky is clear, We watch a huge cruise ship back out of port and turn around in the bay, a very nice pirouette by a 1200' long ship. We headed up to Kenai Fiords NP's Exit Glacier and took a couple mile hike up to the snout of the glacier, pretty hike. That afternoon we sat and had fish and chips on a restaurant deck overlooking the small boat harbor, soaking up the wonderful sunshine.

August 25

Excited and up early (5:00 AM) to go fishing. I have always dreamed of going out on an Alaskan halibut fishing trip and today it is happening. I made coffee and scarfed a bowl of cereal then hopped on my bike with my pack full of gear and rode down to the docks. Went out with Pro-Fish-N-Sea on the boat named the pursuit. There were ten “fish People”, the Captain (Kevin) and deck hand (Willy). Heading out of the bay was spectacular, clear sky's, light winds and a great moon set over Mt Marathon. Saw mountain goats and huge bird colonies on the rocks near the mouth of the bay. Lots of Murre's, gulls and Puffin's. The ocean was calmer than anytime I had ever been out at sea, no wind and swells of maybe 2', unbelievable. The captain took us out about 15 miles off shore into the gulf of Alaska. We dropped anchor in about 280 feet of water and Willy went over the equipment and how we would fish. They started dropping baits over the side and handed me a rod with a 2.5 oz lead jig head w/a 10” twin tail grub. Drop it to the bottom (a long wait) then start jigging. One of the guys had a bite on the bait in about ten minutes and pulled up a nice 40 # halibut, it looked like a lot of work! Things were kind of slow for the first half hour but started to pick up. Fish started coming into the boat pretty regularly, but still no bites for me. My arms were getting tired of yanking that giant lead head up. I finally hooked a fish and brought it up, about a 20 pounder so I let it go. I caught three more fish before I decided I better keep one so I would have something to show for my money. There were some Lingcod and Yelloweye Rockfish caught by others along with lots of halibut. One of the guys hooked a Salmon Shark that he fought for about an hour before breaking him off. We had a couple of looks at him as he got him near the surface just for the fish to head back down to the bottom. The captain guessed it was about 7' long and 400 pounds or so. It was a hell of a battle and the fish WON! I cuaght another halibut that was about 60 pounds and then a couple of nice lingcod. Everyone on board caught there limit of two halibut and two lingcod. It was FUN. We got back in and they filleted the fish for us. I had 54 pounds of fillets that I had packaged, frozen and shipped to my Dad's house for future consumption, YUMMY! Sheri met me at the docks for photos then we went and ate a hamburger. Is there something wrong with having all that fresh fish and going out for a burger? Probably so.....

August 26

Another beautiful day in Seward. We whipped up some breakfast then headed for the Sea Life Center. It is a pretty cool aquarium that has lots of information on the Alaskan sea life. I think one of my favorite things was the giant fish tank that had the aviary above it. Watching the Murres and puffins swim into the depths was really cool, it was like they were flying under water, very cool indeed. For dinner we decided some salmon on the grill would be good. After all the money I spent yesterday, I am at the fish market buying salmon, that's messed up. The salmon was fantastic, I need to catch some.

Ahhh, back in the land of the Mid Night sun

August 10th

Mr Woody picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the Chateau MacHuber (Ken and Heather's). As per the norm it was rainy and cool but still nice to be in the chilled Alaskan air. It has been a long day.....

August 11-14

A few days of rest and relaxation. We ran around Anchorage a bit. Went to the Anchorage Museum, a VERY cool place and really recomend it to anyone in the area to check it out. We tried to do the museum and the Native Cultural center all in the same day and ran out of time to get through all the museum after the Cultural Center. Check them out. Went for a nice bike ride with Tim and friends one evening on the Powerline Trail, it was spectacular scenery. Sheri and I spent a day driving dow to Girdwood (North side of the Turnagain arm)just to check things out. There are some really cool houses there! Made another trip to REI and picked me up a newsleeping pad and a couple new rain hats. We may need them as Friday set a new all time record for the most consecutive days of measureable rainfall, 27 in a row. I love being involved in record setting :)

August 15th

Up and out and down the road. Headed down to Hope to checkout the scene on the way to Homer. Hope is well off the beaten path on the south side of the Turnagin Arm, almost in sight of Anchorage but a 85 miles by road. We pitched the tent at Porcupine Campground then took a couple hour hike.

August 16

On our away to Homer we stopped in Cooper Landing at a Quilt shop and Sheri did some shopping. The weather is rainy and cool, surprised I know. a quick lunch in Soldotna and then on to Homer. The drive into Homer was very cool, as you come off the top of the bluff, the city and mountains came into view. We headed down through town and out onto the spit. We found a water taxi to take us accross the bay to our yurt we had reserved for the rest of the week. The wind was cranking over the mountains from the south and the rain was blowing sideways. We stopped by the Salty Dog for a beer. The Salty Dog is a famous little hole in the wall that you just have to see. The walls are completely coverd with dollar bills with names and notes written on them. After that it was Halibut chunks and fries for dinner. The weather was so crappy we wimped out on camping and got a hotel room for the night.

August 17th

We woke up to clouds and winds just cranking again, but this time it was coming out of the ocean and whipping up some good waves on Kachemak bay. We had some breakfast and headed to the spit to get our gear down to the boat docks for our water taxi. We unloaded our stuff into a cart in a steady drizzle. The Mulligan (our taxi boat) pulled up to the dock and we loaded our gear on board. Luckily there was a cabin that we could get in out of the rain on board. Of course the rain stopped once we got inside. The ride accross the bay was a pretty good roller coaster trip, lots of air and sea spray. About 45 minutes later we were pulling up to a big rocky point called Quarry Point. We dropped a ladder off the front of the boat and unloaded our gear. After the boat left we shuttles our gear up to the yurt. It was nestled in a grove of alder trees, sheltered from the windy waters. The yurt was a 16 footer with three twin mattresses on platforms, a table and a small barrel stove. After settling in we took our chairs out to "our" private rocky point for an evening of watching.

August 18, 19 and 20th

The time was spent sipping coffee in the mornings and looking through the spotting scope for wildlife and birds. Afternoons involved a bit of hiking, exploring and more scoping for distant life. Yurt life was great, the solitude was cool. It was a strange thing, we could see Homer in the distance and see boats passing by all day yet we were alone on our own little space...........

August 21

Last night we camped on the spit, it was nice sleeping with the wind and the sounds of the waves crashing in. We drove the east end road to the end of Kamachek bay, pretty drive. Starvin Marvin's pizza for dinner, very tasty.

Time to catch up with the world

WOW, things have been happening! Let me back track a bit. When we were in Dawson City Yukon in late June, we had an offer on our house that had been for sale for about a year. I did not want to mention this little detail in my last post as I did not want to jinx it happening. We could not pass the offer so when we got down to Tok Alaska we scrambled to find a place that I could print a copy of the contract so Sheri and I could sign it and email it back. After getting that done it was waiting time. The buyer was a cash buyer so the process was going to be quick. We told the Realtor that we would fly back and start moving out as soon as the mechanical inspection was done. I did not want to fly home to find out there was some issue that would kill the deal. The word came through on Thursday July 8th that all was good so we parked our car at the MacHuber's and caught a flight out of Anchorage at 11:15PM that night. It was the first mostly sunny day we had seen and we spent the day unloading the car and storing stuff in the basement. It was a really long flight and neither of us slept. We arrived back in KC at 11:45AM Friday morning were we were met at the airport by our friend Becky Treichel. Stepping out of the airport doors reminded me why I really did not like Missouri summers. It was miserable hot and just a taste of what was to come.

Sheri turned in her resignation at the school and the wheels were turning. We rented a storage space and started moving our stuff. Sheri focused on the house while I started on the garage. For those of you that had seen my garage know that was going to be a monumental task! I spent four days moving my garage stuff, I have WAY too much CRAP! With temps hovering in the mid 90's and the usual humidity it made it all that much more painful. After getting the garage done it was time to start moving the insides. Sheri had a great start on all the boxing so I moved all the boxes and small stuff that I could. On Monday the 19th Al Miledi took the day off work and came up to help me move all the big stuff. HUGE THANKS AL, that was above and beyond! We closed on the house on Friday the 23rd. The 24th was spent finishing up and then attending a wonderful going away party at the Treichels. It was fantastic to see a bunch of old friends. Thanks Becky and Don, you guys are the greatest! We turned over possession on the 25th and moved into my sister and brother in-laws house. It was great to be done with moving but there was still plenty to do. I sold our old fifth wheel travel trailer and the old Lincoln Town Car. Had a big yard sale and sold most of the other junk we did not want. I was able to squeeze in some bike rides and visits with old friends and Sheri made the rounds with her buddies. The two weeks spent hanging around after closing just flew by. Big thanks to Elette and Bill for letting us stay at their house, it was great.

Tuesday August 10th found us back on a plane bound for Anchorage. This flight was MUCH better as we left KC at 1:00PM (CST) and landed in Anchorage at 6:00PM (AST)

In the beginning......

What started off as a vacation has now turned into an adventure. I began this trip journal and sent it out to some friends. Here is the re posting of the beginning of the journey;

Well we left Misery, oops, Missouri about 7:30 AM on June 12, 2010. We ran into heavy rain about Lawrence KS and spent the next couple hours driving through the deluge. It finally quit about Abilene and was partly sunny till we got to Goodland where the temps started to fall and a drizzle began. It drizzled and rained all the way into Denver where we were heading for a stay in an upscale hotel I picked up off Hotwire. I looked at hotels in Limon and they were $80 and up so I started looking at Denver area instead. I am typing this from the sixth floor of the Hyatt Regency that I got for $66!! Hmm, Hyatt or flea bag hotel of Limon? Of course we had to do the high roller stuff and blow money in the hotel sports bar and have the room service breakfast of eggs Benedict. Oh well, it is still nice. This morning it is still raining and 45 in Denver. We will be heading up to the mountains here in a bit, there is new snow from last night. The weather man just said the divide might see 6” to 7”, gotta love the mountains!

Sunday, June 13;
We took the back roads out of Denver up to Evergreen to visit a mountain biking friend, Joe Baack. Joe and Kim have a wonderful house located up on the side of a mountain. We had a great visit before going on our way up 285 toward South Park. We stopped at the Coney Island hot dog stand in Bailey and stood in line for 30 minutes before deciding no hot dog was that good. Then over Kenosha and Trout Creek Pass to Buena Vista. We stopped and made a sandwich before heading up to Twin Lakes (on the road to Independence Pass) to set camp. After getting camp set at Lakeview Campground we headed into Leadville to have dinner with our friends the Puntenney's, Casey was cooking up blackend salmon and chicken Tacos while Richard and Caroline were filling our glasses. It was a great dinner and a wonderful visit with some great folks. After dinner and drinks we headed back to camp to crash for the night.

Monday, June 14;
We whipped up some breakfast and coffee before heading into Leadville to meet Casey for coffee. After going to the Proven Grounds Coffee Shop, it was time to head back down to Denver to pick up Mitchell at Denver International. After a couple laps around the airport Mitchell came out and we loaded his gear in the car. How he was able to carry that much gear onto the plane I don't know. Back up to Leadville and camp we went after a quick stop in Frisco for groceries and Pizza. When we arrived and got settled in we cooked up supper then sat around the fire and visited until dark. We were all tired so it was off to bed.

Tuesday, June 15;
After breakfast we headed up Independence pass to the top and took a little stroll. There was still lot of snow up there and plants that were showing had not been out long. After that we headed down a few miles and Mitchell and I took a hike up to a frozen lake. After that we wandered back over the pass and back to camp where I took a nice nap while Sheri read while Mitchell went for a bike ride on the Colorado trail that passed literally through our campsite. After dinner we sat around the fire and visited till dark when we all crashed out again.

Wednesday, June 16;
Pancakes for breakfast then it was off to BV to jump on the river. Mitchell and I were signed up for an all day float on the upper Arkansas, The Numbers float, a grade IV-V float. While Mitchell and I suited up in wetsuits and splash tops Sheri headed back into BV for a day of relaxing and reading. The Arkansas was very high due to snow melt and recent heavy rains so the river was rocking, just 2500 CFM below cutoff (no commercial raft trips). It was probably the best rafting trip I have ever had as Mitch and I powered the front of the raft for about 6 hours of pretty hardcore whitewater. Big thanks to Wilderness Aware Rafting, it was a GREAT ride and I highly recommend them for anyone in the neighborhood. We got done a bit early and ended up basking in the warm mountain sun for about two hours before Sheri came back with the car. After the raft trip we headed back to BV to the Eddyline Restaurant for a much deserved dinner. Belly's full, we headed back to camp where we built a nice fire for the evening. Casey showed up with a couple nice bottles of wine, one for him and Sheri to drink and one for her to take back to Missouri with her. It is a wine from Moab Utah that Casey helped bottle, good stuff!

Thursday, June 17;
Up early after a BLASTING all night wind gusting to I would guess 50 MPH. No one slept well with tent rattling in the wind. Time to pack it up and head to Leadville for breakfast at the Brass Ass (Golden Burro). After a big breakfast we headed up to the the Outward Bound Base to drop off Mitchell as he prepared for leading a couple courses for the summer. Sheri and I then headed up and over Freemont Pass to I-70 and over to Rifle were we turned north through the oil and gas fields into Wyoming. We found a “shortcut “ gravel road that was about 75 miles long and saw a ton of antelope, including a few spindly legged babies. We arrived in Lander Wyoming about 6 PM pretty worn out and ready for bed. We headed up to Sinks Canyon SP to find a campsite. It was still really windy but found a nice site with a big cedar to block the wind. After dinner it was an early bed.

Friday, June 18;
Up and packed early, time for Yellowstone. We headed NW, between the Absorokas and the Wind River range over the top and down into Moran with fantastic views of the Teton range. Stopped in the northern end of Grand Teton NP for a quick picnic then up to the south entrance of Yellowstone. We had reservations for two nights at Canyon Village so that is where we headed. After driving through a few bison and elk in the Hayden Valley we got to the campground. I spent more than an hour waiting to get a campsite assigned since their computers were down and everything came to a screeching halt. With a site number finally in hand we were off to set up the tent. The site had no space for the tent so we set it up on the parking spot. Not sure why they ask how big your tent is when you make reservations when they don't plan to give you a tent pad! We cooked some dinner and went to bed early so we could get up early.

Saturday, June 19;
Up at 4:30 AM and on the road at 4:45 heading to Hayden Valley to see what we could find. It is AWESOME driving around Yellowstone at that time of day, there was NO TRAFFIC! With the spotting scope, I was able to find two different Grizzly bears, one Black bear and the usual bison and elk. Also found a Sandhill Crane on her nest and a coyote, no wolves and no moose though. We then headed up to Yellowstone falls and Artist's point. It was still early enough that I had the place mostly to myself. Back to camp for breakfast and a nap. The afternoon we drove up to the very NW corner of the park. We spotted a few bighorns, black bear, deer and tons more elk and Bison. Still no wolves or moose. Late dinner then bed.

Sunday, June 20;
We headed west out of the park through West Yellowstone, then north up through Ennis to I-90 then over to Drummond MT where we jumped off on a little gravel road “shortcut” through the ghost town of Garnet. Very cool drive on a VERY twisty, narrow and steep road. We came out south of Flathead lake and back on the blacktop to Glacier NP. We found the campground at Apgar about half empty so we had no problem finding a nice site. It started to rain on us just as we started to set camp so we hurried through that. Dinner and bed, it had been a long day on the road.


Monday, June 21;
After a casual breakfast in the rain (thank goodness for Kelty's Noahs Tarp!), we headed into Kalispell. We headed to an outdoor equipment store to buy some more cool weather stuff. Not like we did not have plenty at home but trying to pack light kind of bit me in the butt. I kind of blew the mid layer stuff and with all the rain and cool days we thought we better get more prepared. Sheri and I each got some really nice wool undies and she got a light fleece jacket. After that it was off to the Laundromat to get clothes washed. I ran to the grocery store while Sheri did laundry. Back to camp to meet my parents at the campground. They came over from Bellingham WA to camp with us for a couple days. We had dutch oven enchiladas in the rain and then a fire as the rain finally stopped.

Tuesday, June 22;
Blueberry pancakes and coffee then on the road toward Logan Pass. The Going To The Sun road was closed just below the pass but it was still a pretty drive even with the low hanging clouds shrouding the peaks. We had a group of bighorn sheep trot up the road in the other lane on the way down and that was cool. Hopefully some of the pictures turned out. We headed to the west side of the park and took a gravel road toward Canada until we came to a really cool little town that had a “Mercantile” that sold all kinds of fresh baked breads and sandwiches so we had some lunch then headed up to Bowman Lake. It was an uneventful drive with no wildlife. Back at camp Dad cooked up a pork loin that was delicious and they taught us how to play the card game of Golf. We roasted some marshmallows and ate them on chocolate chip cookies, almost like a s'more.

Wednesday, June 23;
Heading north to Canada today. Went to the bank to get some Canadian funds. Cross the border, they made us throw away the one apple we had! Everything else was good and we sailed onto Banff. What a ZOO of a tourist trap! Beautiful setting and cool looking town but way to busy for us. We did a drive through and then headed up to Lake Louise to camp. Went into the local grocery store, talk about pricey, $10.99 for a pound of hamburger. We got two bags of ice and left (2- 5 pound bags, $6.00)...... The Provincial Parks campground was very nice but expensive at $36 for the night. It did have firewood and showers. The coolest part was the electric bear fence that went around the tent campground. Had a nice campfire and some popcorn then bed. Bed time keeps getting later with the longer days. It was light until 10:30 or 11:00 PM.


Thursday, June 24;
Made some breakfast then packed up camp and started toward the shower building. Right across the electric fence there was a beautiful silver tipped grizzly sow with two cubs feeding in the meadow. I snapped a few pictures before hopping in the shower. After the shower and another look at the bears it was time for the Icefields Parkway north. The parkway is a spectacular drive through the northern Rockies. After leaving the park we jumped on a less traveled road heading north to Grand Cache, Alberta. We saw two more grizzly bears along the road but still no moose. Where the hell are all the moose? We drove through Grand Prairie and onto a little town called Hythe, Alberta. We stayed in the city park/RV park. It was not a great place but it was convenient and cheap.

Friday, June 25;
Slept in today, the late daylight makes sleeping a challenge and we sat around and watched the sun set at 11:00 PM. Heading into Dawson Creek, British Columbia and the “official start of the Alaska highway”, milepost 0. The traffic was pretty heavy heading north, much more than I expected. After we went through Ft Nelson traffic dwindled and it became more remote. The drive was nothing spectacular but got better and better the further north we drove. The Rockies were very cool when we crossed them. We got gravel sprayed from a passing semi that chipped the windshield and chipped some paint on the poor Subaru, it is not new anymore....We pushed on with the driving to Liard Hot springs. Many people had told us we had to stop there so we got into the campground just in time to get the second to last campsite. The last one was taken as we were setting our tent. After a quick dinner we headed to the hot springs. It was a 4/10s of a mile walk on a boardwalk through a marsh. The springs were REALLY nice and we sat in the water for a long time. We got to visit with a few people and now have an invite to stop in and see some folks that live just outside Wasilla AK. Also got to visit with a “First Nation” (Indian) who was pretty cool and talked about a lot of cultural traditions. It was 11:30 before we got out and headed back to camp. We slept very well with the sound of a light rain on the tent.

Saturday, June 26;
Up for breakfast then another dip in the hot springs before we hit the road. We continued our journey up to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. Interesting little town where the famous “Sign Post Village” is, there is a BUTTLOAD of signs there. Enjoyed a history of the Yukon movie at the visitor center then over to the Northern Lights Center to watch a presentation on the northern lights in the planetarium. The northern lights show was disappointing but it was followed by a pretty cool space presentation. After the show we went to the local greasy spoon for a cheeseburger. Had not had a burger for a few weeks and tasted pretty darn good. Filled the gas tank and then turned onto the Campbell Highway. The Campbell Highway is a mix of gravel and paved for 362 miles and 225 miles is gravel. We drove to Frances Lake Campground, a government facility with a nice view of the lake. We enjoyed cocktails and conversation around the fire before we turned in for the night.

Sunday, June 27;
When we got up in the morning the neighbor stopped in and ask if the grizzly bear bothered us during the night. I told him I did not hear or see a thing. He told us that an old grizz came through the campground every night to see if anyone left him anything to eat. We have been very “bear aware” since the beginning of this trip (we watched a lot of Yogi Bear Cartoons before the trip to learn about bears). After packing up we headed toward Carmacks. We stopped in at Ross River to check out the town, not a place I would want to spend anytime but I did find a really nice Vaughn framing hammer laying in the middle of the road on the way out of town and that made the stop worthwhile. We drove to Little Salmon Lake Campground and found another nice site on the lake. After dinner it started to sprinkle so we hit the tent to read. I was asleep by 10:30. We had noisy neighbors who came back from fishing at about 11:00 and banged around until 1:00 AM. It was still light outside, twilight at least and it never really got darker than that. The neighbors were up and making noise at 7:00 AM so all in all it was a crappy nights sleep.

Monday, June 28;
Up and packed and on the road, heading to Dawson City Yukon today. This will be the farthest north we get on this trip. The road is paved but not much traffic so it was a nice drive. Scenery has not been that great for the last couple days. It is hundreds of miles of forests. It is interesting but getting old. Really not much in the way of spectacular mountains. Did see a black bear today, still no moose, DAMN MOOSE'S! What is the deal almost 5000 miles and not a single moose. Got into Dawson about 3:30 PM and decided it was time to stay inside for a change. We rented a nice little cabin at Klondike Kate's. Kate was born in Junction City KS in 1876 and came up here to make her fortune. It has taken us over two weeks to get here, can't imagine how long it took her to get up here at the turn of the century! Had a nice shower then went to the Drunken Goat restaurant that specialized in Greek food. The food and service were EXCELLENT so if you are in the neighborhood I recommend you stopping in. Early to bed (10PM).


Tuesday, June 29;
Slept till 8:30 this morning, soft beds are such a luxury after sleeping on the ground for two weeks. Had breakfast at Klondike Kate's cafe. Not bad and I am full. The Dawson City Museum is pretty cool and talks a lot about the Klondike gold rush and the development of Dawson. The streets of Dawson are all dirt (mud since it has been raining) with wood boardwalks instead of sidewalks. Kind of touristy but still a cool town. We boarded the ferry to cross the Yukon river on the north side of town. The ferry is state run and no charge. It holds about ten cars or most of the time four RV's and a few cars. The Yukon is about 300 yards wide with a pretty strong current so the ferry captain plays the currents carefully. It takes all of about 3 minutes to get across the river. The ramps on both sides are just gravel that looks like they move around with a bulldozer everyday. From here it was the Top Of the World Highway. Pretty cool drive that gets above treeline for about 20 miles. US customs is above treeline in a pretty cool spot. The customs agent was friendly unlike the Canadian one coming into BC. The gravel roads on the Alaska side are not maintained near as well as the gravel “highways” in Yukon. Pretty rough and slow going. Well it FINALLY HAPPENED, I saw a MOOSE TODAY, the odometer showed 4998 miles when I found it, 'bout damn time!South through Chicken Alaska (nothing cool here) and back to reconnect with the Alaskan Highway at Tok. Had a big pizza for dinner (still have half left for breakfast) at Fast Eddy's. Then we headed on up the highway to a state campground for the night. Two other campers up here, both in RV's. It is like people are afraid to camp in a tent in grizzly country!

Wednesday, June 30;
On the road to Delta Junction this morning. Saw our first cows since leaving Dawson Creek, strange to drive that far and not see cattle. That may explain why meat prices are so high! Got to Delta about 11:00 AM and made an appointment to get the oil changed but not until 3:00 PM. We went to the local laundromat and did our washing then to grocery store to pick up a few things. Then back over to the visitor center to look around and use there bathrooms. There was a little quilt shop in town so Sheri went and checked it out. It was about time for the oil change so we went back up there and got that done. While they were working on that I got to talking to an American Indian that had moved up from Oklahoma in 1972 and lived in Delta ever since. He was a really nice guy and it was interesting visiting with him. After all our chores were done we stopped at the local burger joint and I got a chocolate malt and Sheri had a Blueberry shake. We headed south toward Paxson. It was a beautiful drive. Along the highway I spooked one moose that was drinking from a puddle just off the road, did not even see it till I was almost next to it. Luckily it spooked into the woods and not into the road in front of me. The drive was beautiful toward Paxson. Just a bit before Paxson we had a cow and calf moose in the road just looking at us. By the time I got the camera they were into the woods. Turning onto the old Denali Highway we headed west. The road was paved for the first 20 or so miles then it turned to gravel. For the next 110 miles it was a beautiful drive from above timberline tundra, back into trees. The vistas were impressive in all directions and the idea that there was not another road for 200 miles north or south was pretty cool too. We did not see any big game but did see a few trumpeter swans, snowshoe hares and a porcupine. We found a GREAT place to camp just off the road that tested the Subaru's off road ability. It was a spot on the slope high above Susitna River with spectacular views. We got camp set and enjoyed glassing the meadows and lakes below us. I found a pair of moose feeding far below us. Cooked up some dinner and and hit the bed about 10:30. Woke up at 1:00 AM and it was still plenty light to see, weird.....

Thursday, July 1 (Happy Canada Day, even though we are not there anymore);
Up and out with an egg, ham and cheese sandwich with coffee. Finished the drive out of the Denali Highway, another pair of moose WAY down in the valley but no other game. Headed south on the Parks Highway toward Anchorage. It was a partly cloudy day but the clouds hung tough over Denali all day so no looks at THE mountain. We will head back that way later and maybe see the great mountain. Went up the Talkeetna Spur to check out the big city of Talkeetna. Pretty much a tourist trap. Headed on south and found a place to camp at Susitna River, okay campground. We will head into the big city tomorrow (Anchorage) and try to hook up with the wonderful folks I have met in the last year!

Friday, July 2;
Stopped in at Big Lake to see the folks house that we met at Liard Hot springs last week. Jerome and Karen invited us in and gave us a tour of their home. It was a great place that sat on the shore of a small lake. The lake had a pair of Sandhill Cranes walking the shore and an Arctic Loon swimming around. After the tour Jerome took us for a drive around the “hood” and showed us some houses that were for sale. After the visit we headed on into Anchorage. We found Tim's house and then went driving around town a bit to get our bearings. Headed back over to Tim and Jacque's and got moved into our temporary quarters in the family room. The Mac-Huber's came over and we had pizza and beers and visited, fun evening with GREAT people.

Saturday, July 3;
Iron Chef Tim whipped up some omelets for breakfast then it was off to a trip up the “hill” to get some vistas of the city. Typical Anchorage low, drizzly clouds kept us from seeing very much. After that it was over to the farmers market to look around. Lots of good stuff there. We headed back to Woody's so Tim and I could go for a ride while Sheri and Jacque went touring some more. Tim and I met Ken up the “hill” and went for a ride on some big hills. This flat lander is not used to climbing, even if I was in shape. Fun trails and no bear sightings. Back to Tim's for a shower and a nap before heading over to Ken and Heather's pad. They have a COOL house that sits up on a hill with a great view (so I am told, it was still cloudy). Julie and Brian came over and we visited for a bit and made plans for the next couple days. Dinner was fabulous and it was just another GREAT evening.

Sunday, July 4 (HAPPY B-day America);
The Mac-Huber's met us at Tim's and we headed south down the Kenai after another Iron Chef omelet. We drove down to Crescent Lake trail head. Sheri stayed at the car and read her book while Tim, Ken, H and I rode up to the lake. It was a beautiful ride with LOTS of fresh bear scat on the trail. There were quite a few tracks that looked like from early in the day. Alaskan Brown Bear tracks are HUGE, probably close to 10” wide. The ride back down from the lake was a blast, I roll down hill very well! Stopped at a local roadhouse and ate a late lunch (3:30 PM?) then headed for Seward where Julie and Brian were. Julie ran the Mount Marathon and kicked some butt, knocking about ten minutes off her previous best. This is not a normal race, it is a race to the top of a mountain by what ever route you choose, we are talking pulling yourself up by the brush and such. We were supposed to stay in a yurt in Seward that night but there was some confusion on the reservations. We got VERY lucky and were able to find a rental cabin that could house seven people. We sat around the fireside outside and drank our “40's” that Brian bought everyone. After that Ken and I got into the scotch and I do not remember much after that............They said I had fun.

Monday, July 5;
Woke to rain, hhmmm, imagine that. I was supposed to go ride Johnson pass with the AK crew but my legs were feeling dead after two days of riding (a lot of riding for someone that had not ridden two days in a row since Moab last fall). Sheri and I decided to go into Seward and hang out for the day and check it out. We went to Alaska Nellie's Restaurant, It sucked and was WAY over priced with crappy service. First bad food experience since we left home. We walked the streets in the drizzle and checked out the town. Then we headed back up the highway to Ptarmigan Lake campground. We stopped and bought some scallops from a roadside stand tossed them in our pasta for supper, YUMMY!
Tuesday, July 6;
After some scrambled eggs and coffee we headed over to Whittier. It was a very cool drive. There is a tunnel that goes through a mountain. It is a shred use tunnel that allows traffic to flow one way each half hour and the Alaska Railroad to go through whenever they are there. It is about two miles long and pretty narrow and tall since it was a train tunnel to start with. It cost $12 to go through to Whittier but free to return. We ate at Swift Water Seafood and it was very good. The folks in there were great people. I have found that most Alaskans are GREAT folks, very friendly. We found a place to camp back on the other side of the tunnel neat place right below a glacier. The neighbor just told us a black bear tried to rip open the door of his RV today, glad they cannot open zippers on tents...................Man I love this place! Then we hear a horn honking like crazy up the campground a bit. A few minutes later the camp host pulls up and ask us if it was us honking. We told him no and he tells us that there is a young black bear boar that has been hanging around tormenting campers. We keep a clean camp so I am not real worried but I think Sheri is a bit nervous about it. A nice fire and then bed, no bears.

Wednesday, July 7;
Up in the rain again, just a drizzle but it did it all night so things outside are really wet. We got up and got the coffee going then getting breakfast. Sheri is standing at the back of the car while I am over at the table when she yells “BEAR”! At first I thought she was joking till I saw the look on her face. The black bear was coming around the corner of the car and thinking about climbing in the back to the food box. Sheri started to run then turned and started yelling at the bear then closed the trunk lid down (glad Sheri remembered the training, with black bears act big and bad, with grizzly bears ask them how the would like there food prepared!). I jumped up and chased the bear around the car yelling at him. He ran around the tent with me chasing him. Then I grabbed the camera. He had no plan of leaving and started back for the car again. I snapped a couple blurry pictures before running him off by hitting him in the butt with a chunk of wood. That sent him trucking for the woods. Just a minute later I heard the dogs down at the next campsite going nuts, the bear was making his rounds. After that excitement we ate our breakfast then headed for Anchorage. We went to REI and wandered around a bit then to Mac-Huber House for a shower and bed. Ken whipped up some awesome supper and we sat around and visited. It was a great day to be in Alaska!