The next day we headed southeast on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. Once again there was lots of road construction with frequent delays – quite slow. The road that was not under construction was generally OK. We got gas in Dease Lake. WOW – regular gas was $6.08/gallon – OUCH!! That is definitely our HIGH for the trip.
That night we stayed at another ‘nowhere’ RV park called Mountain View south of Dease Lake. It was a lovely spot with expanses of grass and a large pond. There had been moose in the pond earlier in the day, but we didn’t see any. The backdrop for the park was the Cassiar Mountains – something else.! And it had the fastest WiFi of the trip!!!
The next day we continued down the Cassiar and encountered more construction and more slowdowns. But before the day was done, we had seen 7 black bears along the road – that was a high for the trip. We drove the 40 miles off the Cassiar into the Stewart and Hyder area. On that road we were greeted with Hanging glaciers; and Bear Glacier that was calving into Bear Lake. We stayed at Bear River Campground in Stewart– really nice with lots of trees and all the amenities. The weather had cleared and was very nice while we were there – Yea!!!
The next day we took the drive through Stewart BC, into Hyder AK. These are both VERY SMALL communities with only a few businesses each. Many of the businesses have long ago closed. There is shipping of logs, so the port had quite a lot of floating logs waiting for the barges to come into the 90-mile long Portland Canal.
Hyder, AK is even smaller and dare I say ‘dumpier’ than Stewart. It has gravel streets and only a couple of operating businesses. The port is a pretty setting. Actually Hyder and Stewart are on the Portland Canal.
From Hyder we drove up to Fish Creek and on up the road 22 miles to Salmon Glacier. It was a wonderful trip with lots of steep cliffs, waterfalls, the Salmon River and the amazing Salmon Glacier. Some of the scenery just can’t be adequately explained – you have to be there. We enjoyed the one stop on the road where the actual boundary is between the US and Canada. On a 10-year cycle a crew cuts down a swath of trees and brush along the border. And at that point on the road is a permanent cone that shows Canada on one side and United States on the other.
We went to Fish Creek twice – this is where the Brown and Black bear come to eat salmon that are returning to Spawn. But this year the fish have been very slow to start their journey – we might have seen 20 fish total. And the bears just weren’t around. The rangers said that they have only had 5 bear sightings so far this year (as of July 24). And they questioned whether they would even have many returning salmon. Apparently every 4-5 years there is a very slow year. There were LOTS of disappointed people. Many come in caravans from the east coast and all across the country to see this sight. They were very disappointed. At our park the manager said they had reservations for the next 30 nights for caravans at the park.
There is no US port of entry at Hyder, AK, but there is a port of entry station when you return to Stewart BC. Basically they ask about firearms, where you are from, how long you will be in Canada – that’s about it.
And on July 25 we left Alaska for the last time this trip. We continued down the remaining 97 miles of the Cassiar Hiway and headed east on the Yellowhead Highway in British Columbia. We passed through the Hazelton area where there are several towns with authentic totem pole displays. We were finally back on good roads and we made much better time than we had the previous several days. And now it is on to Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff, Yellowstone, and Tetons.
This is definitely THE LIFE !!!! Ellen & Gordon
Monday, July 28, 2008
Haines, AK and ferrying to Skagway
We left Valdez, AK in the rain and had cloudy cool weather as we drove to Tok, AK. We stayed again at Sourdough RV Park, gassed up, and continued on knowing we would have very poor road – lots of frost heaves and slow construction areas. We went to Destruction Bay and that was quite a treat, out there in the middle of nowhere. We arrived late in the afternoon and the park owner invited us to join them for a barbeque beef dinner – he always prepares dinner on nights a caravan stays at the park. We happened to be lucky to be there at the same time and had a wonderful dinner for $12.99 – delicious baron of beef, elegant tossed salad, ‘smoked’ potato salad, and 8-hour cole slaw; plus a berry crunch for desert. And that wasn’t all – Loren (the owner) and another musician from the Yukon entertained us with guitar music and singing after dinner. Very special.
The road between Tok and the cutoff for the Cassiar Highway (next blog) was the worst of the trip so far. There were lots of frost heaves (not all were marked) and construction that stopped traffic for 20-30 minutes each. On one construction stretch our companions’ tow car got a flat tire from a sharp rock. Fortuntely he had a full-size spare and the fellows changed it quickly and we were on our way. He was able to get it repaired that night in Destruction Bay.
We drove through Haines Junction and then took the highway to Haines. It’s a beautiful drive, but unfortunately there were lots of clouds and most of the mountain views were obscured. Haines is on the water and is a cute little town. We explored and visited some of the gift shops and enjoyed watching some eagles at the harbor – they are so striking. We had great pizza in the Fireweed Restaurant before we boarded the 10PM ferry to Skagway. The trip took us just over an hour. By the time we got off the ferry with our RVs and got set up in Garden City RV Park in Skagway (along with several other rigs from the ferry), it was 12:15AM. We were glad we had made reservations.
Skagway is a very nice little town with lots of very nice shops. There are lovely flowers everywhere and easy walking anywhere you want to go. This is the origination of the White Pass Railroad (White Pass was the major pass people going to the Yukon gold rush had to cross after taking the boat to Skagway). Skagway is also a cruise ship port and there were two ships docked the day we were there. We were there on a Saturday – we were told that during the week there can be as many as 5 cruise ships in the harbor. We were glad we didn’t have to fight those crowds.
The next day we drove up the Skagway Highway and were disappointed that the entire length to White Pass was shrouded in clouds and/or very heavy fog and we weren’t able to see a thing. At the top of the pass is an area called Tormented Valley with beautiful little bodies of water and stunted trees as if in a fairyland, but there was so much fog, we could barely see it. Of course, once we were inland, the fog lifted and we were left with high clouds for the rest of the day’s drive. I guess that leaves us something to look forward to if we head to Alaska again!!
We spent the night at a small RV park out in the middle of nowhere on the Alaska Highway and left the next morning to begin our trip down the Stewart Cassiar Highway..That’s next time.
Happy Travels, Ellen & Gordon
The road between Tok and the cutoff for the Cassiar Highway (next blog) was the worst of the trip so far. There were lots of frost heaves (not all were marked) and construction that stopped traffic for 20-30 minutes each. On one construction stretch our companions’ tow car got a flat tire from a sharp rock. Fortuntely he had a full-size spare and the fellows changed it quickly and we were on our way. He was able to get it repaired that night in Destruction Bay.
We drove through Haines Junction and then took the highway to Haines. It’s a beautiful drive, but unfortunately there were lots of clouds and most of the mountain views were obscured. Haines is on the water and is a cute little town. We explored and visited some of the gift shops and enjoyed watching some eagles at the harbor – they are so striking. We had great pizza in the Fireweed Restaurant before we boarded the 10PM ferry to Skagway. The trip took us just over an hour. By the time we got off the ferry with our RVs and got set up in Garden City RV Park in Skagway (along with several other rigs from the ferry), it was 12:15AM. We were glad we had made reservations.
Skagway is a very nice little town with lots of very nice shops. There are lovely flowers everywhere and easy walking anywhere you want to go. This is the origination of the White Pass Railroad (White Pass was the major pass people going to the Yukon gold rush had to cross after taking the boat to Skagway). Skagway is also a cruise ship port and there were two ships docked the day we were there. We were there on a Saturday – we were told that during the week there can be as many as 5 cruise ships in the harbor. We were glad we didn’t have to fight those crowds.
The next day we drove up the Skagway Highway and were disappointed that the entire length to White Pass was shrouded in clouds and/or very heavy fog and we weren’t able to see a thing. At the top of the pass is an area called Tormented Valley with beautiful little bodies of water and stunted trees as if in a fairyland, but there was so much fog, we could barely see it. Of course, once we were inland, the fog lifted and we were left with high clouds for the rest of the day’s drive. I guess that leaves us something to look forward to if we head to Alaska again!!
We spent the night at a small RV park out in the middle of nowhere on the Alaska Highway and left the next morning to begin our trip down the Stewart Cassiar Highway..That’s next time.
Happy Travels, Ellen & Gordon
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Seward, Palmer, and Valdez, AK
The Kenai area, Seward, and Valdez are wonderful places – you can’t beat them for scenery and animals. The weather is another issue, but….there’s nothing we can do about that!
In Seward we stayed about 6 miles from town at the Stony Creek RV Park – and what a neat place it was. Our first evening we spent much of our time just outside the RVs watching a pair of adult eagles and their two young ones flying along the river and perching on the trees. The second night Gordie and I took a walk at 10PM (still very light here) and saw a number of folks along the river bank – to our amazement there was a mother grizzly and her 2-year old cub crossing the river and walking along the road on the other side. WOW. It doesn’t get better than that.
While in Seward we went to the Sealife Center – partially funded after the Exxon Valdez accident. There is lots of information on the spill, its affect on the sea life in the area, and the efforts at recovery.
We went on a 6-hour cruise that was wonderful - We saw and ‘heard’ the Holgate Glacier calving; saw puffins and lots of other seabirds, porpoises, and a couple of humpback whales.
We left Seward and drove through Anchorage (lots of fun, as they are doing lots of road construction on the highway through town) and on to Palmer just for the night. We walked around town a bit, but were glad we hadn’t planned to spend extra time there.
Then it was on to Valdez. We hadn’t planned to go to Valdez, but several folks we met along way said they really enjoyed their time here, so we did some rearranging and made time to spend 3 days. And we are very glad we did. The Glenn Highway from Palmer to Glenallen is often narrow and winding. They are doing construction along a 5-mile section and we had to wait half an hour. As we stood outside the RVs visiting, across the road trotted two moose. The flagger told Gordie that this stretch of highway is a heavily used moose crossing and many of them get killed each year (they are dumb and don’t know to avoid cars).
The scenery as we dropped from the mountains into Valdez was beautiful, even though there was a heavy cloud layer across the mountain tops. There are glaciers on all the mountains. We stopped at two huge and magnificent waterfalls (Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls) – interesting that they have the same names as those along the Columbia River near Portland.
Valdez is a cute fishing village that happens to also be the terminus for the 800 mile long Prudhoe Bay to Valdez oil pipeline. Because of the pipeline ending there, there are 18 enormous tanks to store the oil until the tankers haul it to the states. Our information was that 52 tankers a month come into Valdez on Prince William Sound to load oil on board.
We went on a cruise here as well (thanks to our Alaska 2-for-1 tour saver books, we went for half price) on a Stan Stephens cruise. We had a very different experience here and were very glad we decided to do another cruise. As we headed into Prince William Sound we were told about the oil storage facility and the tankers, as well as the new procedures and equipment put into play since the Exxon Valdez spill. We also watched fishermen setting their nets to collect the silver salmon that are now running. The fishing trawlers fill their holds and then save time and gas by unloading into larger vessels rather than going into the harbor to unload each time. Then when they are done for the day, the fish processing facility has their checks ready for them.
On this cruise we saw wonderful displays by Orcas and Humpbacks. We saw Seal Lions on a ‘haul out’ – a beach where they go to hang out, but not used for breeding or calving. We saw more puffins and otters. And eagles – as the captain would slowly cruise by the islands and mainland, you could look up in the trees and see the white heads of the eagles in the trees.
And we saw Columbia Glacier – different from most glaciers. You can’t see the glacier because as it moves toward the sound, it pushes off large ice bergs which get stuck on the bottom. So there are miles of icebergs in front of the glacier. Eventually they melt enough to float and melt into the sea while other humongous ice bergs take their places.
The next day we awoke to blue sky and sunshine – a chance to see the mountains that surround Valdez. We traveled a bit into the hills, walked along the small boat harbor, and in the evening we went to Solomon Fish Hatchery where we witnessed a brown bear stroll to the river, catch and eat 4-5 salmon, then stroll off. There were so many salmon that he had NO problem grabbing the fish. His bigger problem was with the seagulls that would yak at him and fly in close while he was trying to eat. So he would bat them away with his paw as if they were annoying children. It was wonderful to watch.
The next day it was back to weather as usual – drizzling and gloomy. But we had to do laundry and shop and do other domestic stuff, so we didn’t really mind.
And now it is on to Tok, then to Skagway. We’ll get back to you next time.
Ellen & Gordon Meade
In Seward we stayed about 6 miles from town at the Stony Creek RV Park – and what a neat place it was. Our first evening we spent much of our time just outside the RVs watching a pair of adult eagles and their two young ones flying along the river and perching on the trees. The second night Gordie and I took a walk at 10PM (still very light here) and saw a number of folks along the river bank – to our amazement there was a mother grizzly and her 2-year old cub crossing the river and walking along the road on the other side. WOW. It doesn’t get better than that.
While in Seward we went to the Sealife Center – partially funded after the Exxon Valdez accident. There is lots of information on the spill, its affect on the sea life in the area, and the efforts at recovery.
We went on a 6-hour cruise that was wonderful - We saw and ‘heard’ the Holgate Glacier calving; saw puffins and lots of other seabirds, porpoises, and a couple of humpback whales.
We left Seward and drove through Anchorage (lots of fun, as they are doing lots of road construction on the highway through town) and on to Palmer just for the night. We walked around town a bit, but were glad we hadn’t planned to spend extra time there.
Then it was on to Valdez. We hadn’t planned to go to Valdez, but several folks we met along way said they really enjoyed their time here, so we did some rearranging and made time to spend 3 days. And we are very glad we did. The Glenn Highway from Palmer to Glenallen is often narrow and winding. They are doing construction along a 5-mile section and we had to wait half an hour. As we stood outside the RVs visiting, across the road trotted two moose. The flagger told Gordie that this stretch of highway is a heavily used moose crossing and many of them get killed each year (they are dumb and don’t know to avoid cars).
The scenery as we dropped from the mountains into Valdez was beautiful, even though there was a heavy cloud layer across the mountain tops. There are glaciers on all the mountains. We stopped at two huge and magnificent waterfalls (Bridal Veil Falls and Horsetail Falls) – interesting that they have the same names as those along the Columbia River near Portland.
Valdez is a cute fishing village that happens to also be the terminus for the 800 mile long Prudhoe Bay to Valdez oil pipeline. Because of the pipeline ending there, there are 18 enormous tanks to store the oil until the tankers haul it to the states. Our information was that 52 tankers a month come into Valdez on Prince William Sound to load oil on board.
We went on a cruise here as well (thanks to our Alaska 2-for-1 tour saver books, we went for half price) on a Stan Stephens cruise. We had a very different experience here and were very glad we decided to do another cruise. As we headed into Prince William Sound we were told about the oil storage facility and the tankers, as well as the new procedures and equipment put into play since the Exxon Valdez spill. We also watched fishermen setting their nets to collect the silver salmon that are now running. The fishing trawlers fill their holds and then save time and gas by unloading into larger vessels rather than going into the harbor to unload each time. Then when they are done for the day, the fish processing facility has their checks ready for them.
On this cruise we saw wonderful displays by Orcas and Humpbacks. We saw Seal Lions on a ‘haul out’ – a beach where they go to hang out, but not used for breeding or calving. We saw more puffins and otters. And eagles – as the captain would slowly cruise by the islands and mainland, you could look up in the trees and see the white heads of the eagles in the trees.
And we saw Columbia Glacier – different from most glaciers. You can’t see the glacier because as it moves toward the sound, it pushes off large ice bergs which get stuck on the bottom. So there are miles of icebergs in front of the glacier. Eventually they melt enough to float and melt into the sea while other humongous ice bergs take their places.
The next day we awoke to blue sky and sunshine – a chance to see the mountains that surround Valdez. We traveled a bit into the hills, walked along the small boat harbor, and in the evening we went to Solomon Fish Hatchery where we witnessed a brown bear stroll to the river, catch and eat 4-5 salmon, then stroll off. There were so many salmon that he had NO problem grabbing the fish. His bigger problem was with the seagulls that would yak at him and fly in close while he was trying to eat. So he would bat them away with his paw as if they were annoying children. It was wonderful to watch.
The next day it was back to weather as usual – drizzling and gloomy. But we had to do laundry and shop and do other domestic stuff, so we didn’t really mind.
And now it is on to Tok, then to Skagway. We’ll get back to you next time.
Ellen & Gordon Meade
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Soldotna, Kenai, and Homer
We visited them all – Soldotna, Kenai, and Homer. It’s been wet a lot and cloudy the most of the time. Fortunately it hasn’t been cold – generally high 50s or low 60s.
We stayed in Soldotna at Edgewater RV Park – a good location right next to the Kenai River and within walking distance of the downtown area. And we could go to the fish walks and watch people fish along the bank. The fish walks have been installed to allow people to fish without damaging the river banks where the small fish need to hide and find food on their way to the ocean. We understand the big fish run starts next week. So though we did see some folks fishing, we didn’t see many fish being caught.
We spent a day driving 85 miles south of Soldotna to Homer, AK. At about the halfway point is Ninilchuk where Gordie and Rich signed up to go on a halibut fishing charter a couple of days later. We drove to the beach in Ninilchuk where there was a -5.3 tide and the beach was alive with people clamming. They were camped everywhere. There the licenses allowed folks to dig 62 clams a day – that’s a lot of clams.
Homer is a very neat town. There is a 4-mile long spit that is just wide enough for the road and businesses on each side. There were lots of cute shops, restaurants, lots of charter companies, and several campgrounds. The campgrounds were full, as there is a 3 month long halibut tournament there. Here right next to the road we saw an eagle on a post platform eating a salmon. We enjoyed watching several eagles during our time in the area.
We also drove to the town of Kenai and then up to the small town of Nikinski – the town is mostly there to support a storage facility for oil for the14 oil platforms that operate off the coast there in Cook Inlet. We also found a small brewery (a hobby gone wild) run by Frank Kissik and his wife. We tasted several beers and Frank gave us a tour of his very small facility. He doesn’t even bottle his beer yet, but he does sell kegs to local restaurants. We bought a ‘growler’ of beer to have with our dinner the next night. Have you ever heard of a ‘growler’??
The guys went on their charter at 4:30AM in the rain. It rained most of the day. They each caught their 2-halibut fish limit which the crew of the boat filleted. They brought the fish back to the RVs and we spent about an hour cutting and packaging it. We are very lucky that Diann and Rich borrowed an extra freezer for their RV to put it in. We had the halibut cheeks and some fillets that night for dinner – WOW; just delicious.
Then there was the day we went to Kenai Landing – an old cannery and fish processing warehouse where there are some shops (very few). We happened into the processing area and chatted with the Processing manager who kindly gave us a brief tour of the place. Diann asked him if there was any way we could buy some of the lovely salmon they had there. Well, amazingly enough he sold us two Coho and two Sockeye salmon (about 26 lbs total) for under $5 a pound. We felt like we’d won the lottery. So once again we took fish back to the RVs. These we cut into steaks and topped off that freezer. We are going to enjoy all this beautiful fish for quite a while.
Next we head to Seward and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
That’s it for now! Ellen & Gordon Meade
We stayed in Soldotna at Edgewater RV Park – a good location right next to the Kenai River and within walking distance of the downtown area. And we could go to the fish walks and watch people fish along the bank. The fish walks have been installed to allow people to fish without damaging the river banks where the small fish need to hide and find food on their way to the ocean. We understand the big fish run starts next week. So though we did see some folks fishing, we didn’t see many fish being caught.
We spent a day driving 85 miles south of Soldotna to Homer, AK. At about the halfway point is Ninilchuk where Gordie and Rich signed up to go on a halibut fishing charter a couple of days later. We drove to the beach in Ninilchuk where there was a -5.3 tide and the beach was alive with people clamming. They were camped everywhere. There the licenses allowed folks to dig 62 clams a day – that’s a lot of clams.
Homer is a very neat town. There is a 4-mile long spit that is just wide enough for the road and businesses on each side. There were lots of cute shops, restaurants, lots of charter companies, and several campgrounds. The campgrounds were full, as there is a 3 month long halibut tournament there. Here right next to the road we saw an eagle on a post platform eating a salmon. We enjoyed watching several eagles during our time in the area.
We also drove to the town of Kenai and then up to the small town of Nikinski – the town is mostly there to support a storage facility for oil for the14 oil platforms that operate off the coast there in Cook Inlet. We also found a small brewery (a hobby gone wild) run by Frank Kissik and his wife. We tasted several beers and Frank gave us a tour of his very small facility. He doesn’t even bottle his beer yet, but he does sell kegs to local restaurants. We bought a ‘growler’ of beer to have with our dinner the next night. Have you ever heard of a ‘growler’??
The guys went on their charter at 4:30AM in the rain. It rained most of the day. They each caught their 2-halibut fish limit which the crew of the boat filleted. They brought the fish back to the RVs and we spent about an hour cutting and packaging it. We are very lucky that Diann and Rich borrowed an extra freezer for their RV to put it in. We had the halibut cheeks and some fillets that night for dinner – WOW; just delicious.
Then there was the day we went to Kenai Landing – an old cannery and fish processing warehouse where there are some shops (very few). We happened into the processing area and chatted with the Processing manager who kindly gave us a brief tour of the place. Diann asked him if there was any way we could buy some of the lovely salmon they had there. Well, amazingly enough he sold us two Coho and two Sockeye salmon (about 26 lbs total) for under $5 a pound. We felt like we’d won the lottery. So once again we took fish back to the RVs. These we cut into steaks and topped off that freezer. We are going to enjoy all this beautiful fish for quite a while.
Next we head to Seward and the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
That’s it for now! Ellen & Gordon Meade
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Anchorage and Girdwood, AK
We left Talkeetna and headed to Anchorage. It was overcast, but not raining during the trip. We stayed in Anchorage at Ship Creek RV Park. The park is long and skinny with rigs just as close together as possible. And once again we were right next to the railroad tracks. Fortunately there were only night trains at 11:05PM and about 6AM, because they blew their whistles and rocked our coaches as they went by.
We had relatively good weather there. In fact some friends of the Coys that live there said we were there during the warmest weather so far this year, and I’m not sure we got above 70 degrees. Within walking distance of the park was the Kluane River (flowing into Turnagain Arm) fishing bridge. People couldn’t fish from the bridge, but we could walk along the bridge and watch many folks standing in the river fishing. And we could watch the fish swim under the bridge as they started their trips upstream. There was also an Ulu factory very close by.
We went to the Anchorage Zoo – what a neat little zoo. The zoo takes in injured and abandoned animals from the area, so we saw Bald Eagles, Yaks, Dall Sheep, Musk Ox, Red Fox, a young pack of wolves, Moose, Polar Bears, Black and Brown bears, and even tigers. All the animals were cooperative about showing themselves. We also went to the Native American Cultural Center where there were examples of housing, habits, and crafts of each of the five Alaskan Indian Nations. Here they are called Nations instead of Tribes or Reservations.
We left Anchorage on a beautiful sunny day and headed toward Soldotna and the Kenai Peninsula. The scenery included mountains (the Kenai Range) and Turnagain Arm – This is a large arm of salt water off Cook Inlet.
About 27 miles south of Anchorage we drove into Girdwood (at the suggestion of that nice man at the Nenana Visitor’s Center a few days earlier). This is a small town that is a ski resort in winter, and a tourist attraction because of the tram in the summer. We first went to The Bakery and got the best cinnamon rolls so far!!! Then we took the tram to the top and saw beautiful views of glaciers, Turnagain Arm, Kenai Range, etc. Once again, there were flowers everywhere. There are hanging baskets and blooming gardens in every town, at every business – begonias, Fuchias, petunias, marigolds - just beautiful. And then it was back on the road to Soldotna.
That’s in the next installment.
Happy travels, Ellen & Gordon
We had relatively good weather there. In fact some friends of the Coys that live there said we were there during the warmest weather so far this year, and I’m not sure we got above 70 degrees. Within walking distance of the park was the Kluane River (flowing into Turnagain Arm) fishing bridge. People couldn’t fish from the bridge, but we could walk along the bridge and watch many folks standing in the river fishing. And we could watch the fish swim under the bridge as they started their trips upstream. There was also an Ulu factory very close by.
We went to the Anchorage Zoo – what a neat little zoo. The zoo takes in injured and abandoned animals from the area, so we saw Bald Eagles, Yaks, Dall Sheep, Musk Ox, Red Fox, a young pack of wolves, Moose, Polar Bears, Black and Brown bears, and even tigers. All the animals were cooperative about showing themselves. We also went to the Native American Cultural Center where there were examples of housing, habits, and crafts of each of the five Alaskan Indian Nations. Here they are called Nations instead of Tribes or Reservations.
We left Anchorage on a beautiful sunny day and headed toward Soldotna and the Kenai Peninsula. The scenery included mountains (the Kenai Range) and Turnagain Arm – This is a large arm of salt water off Cook Inlet.
About 27 miles south of Anchorage we drove into Girdwood (at the suggestion of that nice man at the Nenana Visitor’s Center a few days earlier). This is a small town that is a ski resort in winter, and a tourist attraction because of the tram in the summer. We first went to The Bakery and got the best cinnamon rolls so far!!! Then we took the tram to the top and saw beautiful views of glaciers, Turnagain Arm, Kenai Range, etc. Once again, there were flowers everywhere. There are hanging baskets and blooming gardens in every town, at every business – begonias, Fuchias, petunias, marigolds - just beautiful. And then it was back on the road to Soldotna.
That’s in the next installment.
Happy travels, Ellen & Gordon
Denali National Park and Talkeetna, AK
From Fairbanks we drove the 131 miles to Denali. On the way we stopped in the small town of Nenana which sits at the point where the Nenana River enters the Chena River. There was a wonderful elderly gentleman at the visitor center who gave us a list of places we HAD to see – most for free (you can’t beat that). We went to the Indian Cultural Museum where we learned of the annual Solstice boat race – an 800 mile race on the Chena River in old Indian style speedboats. We were there as they were expecting the remaining three boats (the race started with 18 boats the day before) to fly by on the second and final day of the race. But with an hour to wait, we decided to continue on toward Denali.
We arrived at Grizzly Bear Campground as the rain began – there was thunder and lightning and rain, rain, rain!! But the next morning we woke to a beautiful clear day (and lots of puddles). We had time to go to the large Denali Visitor Center and to visit the little town of Denali - hotels, gift shops, and eateries which are along the Nenana River. When we returned to the RVs that afternoon, it began raining again and rained until about 10AM the next day.
We were so lucky that two months ago we signed up for a 13-hour tour into Denali Nat’l Park for June 25. We awoke to a beautiful cloudless day and had a truly spectacular trip. Not only did we see Mt. McKinley in all its glory, we saw animals – moose, red fox, snowshoe hare, Grizzly bears (three times), Caribou, Dall sheep, geese with goslings, and even a golden eagle. And the mountain scenery was amazing. We rode in regular school buses and were provided a nice hot lunch at Kantishna before the return trip. Denali is different than most National Parks. It was begun to preserve Dall Sheep. It is now seven million acres and has only the one 91 mile road into the park that is available only to the tour buses and campers/hikers/photographers/etc with permits. There are no trails in the park – it is kept as pristine as possible. We were even told that while we were eating, we were to eat ON the bus, not at the rest areas. The only areas open to the general public are the visitor center area where there are some nature trails, and the first 15 miles of road into the park. After that it is by permit only. It truly was spectacular, and to have a clear sunny day – what more could we ask?
We left Denali National Park in a rain storm and headed south to Talkeetna. Our plan was to take a flight seeing tour by fixed wing plane – we wanted to get close to the mountain and also land on a glacier. But the weather didn’t cooperate and we were grounded. Instead we spent time in the lovely little artsy Talkeetna. What a great little place. One day we had fish sandwiches and local beer in a pub there – every place was highly decorated with flower baskets – so pretty. Our RV park backed up to the small railroad station where folks going between Fairbanks and Anchorage (with stops in Talkeetna and Denali) would come and go. Each time the train came in, there would be a line of tour buses (Princess, Celebrity, etc) waiting to load and unload folks. In Talkeetna the businesses said that they had buses full of people on a daily basis.
And from here it was on to Anchorage – that’s the next installment.
Traveling on, Ellen & Gordon
We arrived at Grizzly Bear Campground as the rain began – there was thunder and lightning and rain, rain, rain!! But the next morning we woke to a beautiful clear day (and lots of puddles). We had time to go to the large Denali Visitor Center and to visit the little town of Denali - hotels, gift shops, and eateries which are along the Nenana River. When we returned to the RVs that afternoon, it began raining again and rained until about 10AM the next day.
We were so lucky that two months ago we signed up for a 13-hour tour into Denali Nat’l Park for June 25. We awoke to a beautiful cloudless day and had a truly spectacular trip. Not only did we see Mt. McKinley in all its glory, we saw animals – moose, red fox, snowshoe hare, Grizzly bears (three times), Caribou, Dall sheep, geese with goslings, and even a golden eagle. And the mountain scenery was amazing. We rode in regular school buses and were provided a nice hot lunch at Kantishna before the return trip. Denali is different than most National Parks. It was begun to preserve Dall Sheep. It is now seven million acres and has only the one 91 mile road into the park that is available only to the tour buses and campers/hikers/photographers/etc with permits. There are no trails in the park – it is kept as pristine as possible. We were even told that while we were eating, we were to eat ON the bus, not at the rest areas. The only areas open to the general public are the visitor center area where there are some nature trails, and the first 15 miles of road into the park. After that it is by permit only. It truly was spectacular, and to have a clear sunny day – what more could we ask?
We left Denali National Park in a rain storm and headed south to Talkeetna. Our plan was to take a flight seeing tour by fixed wing plane – we wanted to get close to the mountain and also land on a glacier. But the weather didn’t cooperate and we were grounded. Instead we spent time in the lovely little artsy Talkeetna. What a great little place. One day we had fish sandwiches and local beer in a pub there – every place was highly decorated with flower baskets – so pretty. Our RV park backed up to the small railroad station where folks going between Fairbanks and Anchorage (with stops in Talkeetna and Denali) would come and go. Each time the train came in, there would be a line of tour buses (Princess, Celebrity, etc) waiting to load and unload folks. In Talkeetna the businesses said that they had buses full of people on a daily basis.
And from here it was on to Anchorage – that’s the next installment.
Traveling on, Ellen & Gordon
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tok to Fairbanks, AK
Tok, AK is a crossroads. Coming and going, or to and from Fairbanks, Anchorage, Dawson City, and Whitehorse – the roads meet at Tok. Tok has about three gas stations, three gift shops, a visitor center, a grocery store and many RV parks. We stayed at Sourdough campground. The sites were among the trees, and the claim to fame of this park was its daily sourdough pancake breakfast and its sourdough pancake toss most evenings. One full day at Tok was more than enough time to get the rigs washed after that drove on the ‘Top of the World’ highway (blue job) and check out the gift shops (pink job).
Our next week was spent in Fairbanks, but on our way was a stop at Delta Junction – the official end of the Alaska Highway at mile 1422. There are many cleaver signs and such at the visitor center there, so many pictures were taken.
We arrived at Fairbanks in the afternoon about 3pm and stayed at Riverview RV Park which was between Fairbanks and North Pole. The park was beside the Chena River and provided all desired facilities and services. We had a bit of rain a few days while we were there, but fortunately the rain fell when we didn’t need to be in it.
We made a trip one afternoon to North Pole. Now we can say we’ve been there…..it has streets named Santa Claus Lane and St. Nicholas Drive and a large Christmas store called The Santa House and some street lights wrapped like candy canes. And that’s the extent of North Pole – been there, done that!
We got our first view of the Alyeska oil pipeline. It runs from Prudoe Bay to Valdez. There was a location where you could learn all the facts about the pipeline and stand under it to see its actual size.
We liked Fairbanks. It is relatively small (30,000 or so population) and has a cute downtown, the Univ of Alaska, some good tours - all this and a WalMart, a Safeway, and a Fred Meyer , too. What more could you ask for!!!
We visited the U of A Museum of the North – a good museum with lots of artifacts and information about the native Alaskan population of Athabascans, the early gold mining days, and the flora and fauna of the area. We also visited the university’s LARS (Large Animal Research Station) where we got a tour to see Musk Ox and Caribou and learn a lot about their habits and how they fit into the Alaska wildlife setting.
We took two tours and enjoyed both of them a great deal. One day we spent an afternoon doing the El Dorado gold mine tour. It began on a train and we got information about gold mining methods. They have a neat set-up where they gave everyone a bag of dirt with some gold in it and we panned for gold – there are lots of college age kids who helped as needed. Everyone is guaranteed gold. Gordie and I collected about $15 worth. You end up – where else – but in a huge gift shop. There they end your experience by weighing the gold and you can have it placed into a clear pendent (for a price). It really was fun. There were even fresh baked cookies and hot drinks at no charge as you shopped.
The other really good tour was called Riverboat Discovery, run by the same folks as the El Dorado tour. So we weren’t surprised when this was also an excellent afternoon. The Riverboat discovery III was a stern-wheeler and is 3-decks high. And we were treated to donuts and coffee as we set off down the river. We sat on top deck to get a great view of the Chena River. As we followed the river, we were told the history of many of the homes along the way. There was a demonstration of take-off and landing of a small fixed wing airplane from the river and again from a sand bar by an area pilot. We also sat off shore of the sled-dog kennel that was run by Susan Butcher (famous Iditerod champion who died of leukemia in 2002) and is still run by her husband. He told us about raising the teams and exercising them, etc – very interesting. The boat docked at the Chena Indian Village where we disembarked and were given information about the Indians, their fishing, their housing, the animal skins they wore, etc. Then it was back on the boat for the trip back to the dock – this included wonderful salmon dip on crackers. Of course, the salmon was superb and amazingly was for sale by the can or by the case. HA!!
Note: We were told that we should buy Alaska Tour books as soon as we got to Alaska. They are $99.99 and have two-for-one coupons to many tours and trips. If you get the book, be aware that many of the coupons are only available if booked far in advance, or some only allow one or two coupons per day, or some are for specific times only. These books are available on the Internet and you can see all the activities offered. We will definitely more than pay for the book, but it’s a good idea to look on the website and be aware of the restrictions before you buy. Once in Alaska, only Safeway stores have these coupon books.
The BIG thing in Fairbanks while we were there was the June 21 Summer Soltice. My goodness – it is the biggest celebration of the year. There is a 10:30PM baseball game without lights and a huge downtown street faire all day. And yes, it is definitely light ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT.
And then it was off to Denali and Talkeetna……next installment.
Happy travels, Ellen & Gordon
Our next week was spent in Fairbanks, but on our way was a stop at Delta Junction – the official end of the Alaska Highway at mile 1422. There are many cleaver signs and such at the visitor center there, so many pictures were taken.
We arrived at Fairbanks in the afternoon about 3pm and stayed at Riverview RV Park which was between Fairbanks and North Pole. The park was beside the Chena River and provided all desired facilities and services. We had a bit of rain a few days while we were there, but fortunately the rain fell when we didn’t need to be in it.
We made a trip one afternoon to North Pole. Now we can say we’ve been there…..it has streets named Santa Claus Lane and St. Nicholas Drive and a large Christmas store called The Santa House and some street lights wrapped like candy canes. And that’s the extent of North Pole – been there, done that!
We got our first view of the Alyeska oil pipeline. It runs from Prudoe Bay to Valdez. There was a location where you could learn all the facts about the pipeline and stand under it to see its actual size.
We liked Fairbanks. It is relatively small (30,000 or so population) and has a cute downtown, the Univ of Alaska, some good tours - all this and a WalMart, a Safeway, and a Fred Meyer , too. What more could you ask for!!!
We visited the U of A Museum of the North – a good museum with lots of artifacts and information about the native Alaskan population of Athabascans, the early gold mining days, and the flora and fauna of the area. We also visited the university’s LARS (Large Animal Research Station) where we got a tour to see Musk Ox and Caribou and learn a lot about their habits and how they fit into the Alaska wildlife setting.
We took two tours and enjoyed both of them a great deal. One day we spent an afternoon doing the El Dorado gold mine tour. It began on a train and we got information about gold mining methods. They have a neat set-up where they gave everyone a bag of dirt with some gold in it and we panned for gold – there are lots of college age kids who helped as needed. Everyone is guaranteed gold. Gordie and I collected about $15 worth. You end up – where else – but in a huge gift shop. There they end your experience by weighing the gold and you can have it placed into a clear pendent (for a price). It really was fun. There were even fresh baked cookies and hot drinks at no charge as you shopped.
The other really good tour was called Riverboat Discovery, run by the same folks as the El Dorado tour. So we weren’t surprised when this was also an excellent afternoon. The Riverboat discovery III was a stern-wheeler and is 3-decks high. And we were treated to donuts and coffee as we set off down the river. We sat on top deck to get a great view of the Chena River. As we followed the river, we were told the history of many of the homes along the way. There was a demonstration of take-off and landing of a small fixed wing airplane from the river and again from a sand bar by an area pilot. We also sat off shore of the sled-dog kennel that was run by Susan Butcher (famous Iditerod champion who died of leukemia in 2002) and is still run by her husband. He told us about raising the teams and exercising them, etc – very interesting. The boat docked at the Chena Indian Village where we disembarked and were given information about the Indians, their fishing, their housing, the animal skins they wore, etc. Then it was back on the boat for the trip back to the dock – this included wonderful salmon dip on crackers. Of course, the salmon was superb and amazingly was for sale by the can or by the case. HA!!
Note: We were told that we should buy Alaska Tour books as soon as we got to Alaska. They are $99.99 and have two-for-one coupons to many tours and trips. If you get the book, be aware that many of the coupons are only available if booked far in advance, or some only allow one or two coupons per day, or some are for specific times only. These books are available on the Internet and you can see all the activities offered. We will definitely more than pay for the book, but it’s a good idea to look on the website and be aware of the restrictions before you buy. Once in Alaska, only Safeway stores have these coupon books.
The BIG thing in Fairbanks while we were there was the June 21 Summer Soltice. My goodness – it is the biggest celebration of the year. There is a 10:30PM baseball game without lights and a huge downtown street faire all day. And yes, it is definitely light ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT.
And then it was off to Denali and Talkeetna……next installment.
Happy travels, Ellen & Gordon
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to Tok, Alaska
My goodness – can you believe that the morning we left Whitehorse it was raining and snowing and 38 degrees? It was nasty!! But once again our luck held and after an hour on the road the worst was over and the temperature started climbing. We stopped for coffee about an hour down the road. The fellow at the desk was on the phone and said to us, ‘There’s snow on the ground in Whitehorse now’. So we kept rolling north on the Klondike Highway toward Dawson City and the ‘top of the world’ highway. We saw many lakes and several areas that had seen serious fires – 1998, 1995, 1987 – there were markers along the road.
We spent that night (after traveling 211 miles) in Whispering Willows campground in Stewart Crossing – truly a one horse town. The next day we traveled on to Dawson City. While traveling we saw two white swans fly overhead. And we saw the backsides of a mother bear and her cub run into the forest. Road crews were working on the highway and much patching had been done. And there were occasional pot holes – the drivers had to keep their eyes on the road. When we arrived in Dawson City the thermometer registered 84 degrees; quite a change from just two days earlier. We stayed at Bonanza Gold RV Park just a mile plus from downtown.
Dawson City was the center of the Klondike Gold Rush from about 1896-2000. The town is being restored to reflect that era, down to the dirt streets and boardwalks. It has a great Visitor’s Center and lots of interesting activities and sights. We went on a walk-about city tour and learned about the days of the gold rush and were able to visit the old bank and old bar – both restored to original detail and furnishings. We went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's Saloon, an early 1900’s gambling hall, where we watched a fun burlesque show.
We went on a tour of Dredge #4 – a huge piece of equipment that dredges placer gold (flakes or small chunks of gold rather than gold within rock formations) from deep under the river bed, rinses it free of rocks and sand, and allows collection of the gold. All around Dawson were piles and piles of rock tailings left behind by the dredges.
One of our favorite sights was from the top of Midnight Dome Hill where we could see the clear Klondike River join the muddy Yukon River, and see the city of Dawson from high above. It was a beautiful sight.
And then we took that trip over the Top of the World highway. We were delighted to awake to a sunny day, as we were warned that if it’s raining, DON’T DRIVE THAT ROAD. So the first step was taking a small ferry across the Yukon River – just 2-3 RVs and a couple of cars could fit on the ferry. But the trip across the Yukon River only took 5 minutes and we were on our way. We were on one ferry and Diann and Rich were on the next trip which was fun because we could take pictures of each other’s rigs entering and exiting the ferry.
Yes, the road is slow and has some frost heaves and pot holes and gravel breaks. But if you take your time, it is a beautiful drive. The highway is well named – as you drive along you see expansive vistas to the right and left – really beautiful. And it was rather exciting to cross the Canada-US border – had to take a picture at the Welcome to Alaska sign and breathe a sigh that we no longer had to deal with Loonies and Toonies and Centigrade and Kilometers and Liters for a few weeks. And of course, we HAD to visit the town of Chicken (the place that the founders wanted to call Ptarmigan, but couldn’t spell it; so they decided on Chicken). There are three gift shops, a couple of cafes, a bar, an RV park, a gas station, and even a small post office – takes a short time to see the whole place. But it was a fun stop along a stressful road. And about 10 miles out of Chicken we found decent road again that took us to Tok. The trip from Dawson City to Tok, with about an hour stop in Chicken, was 6 hours – driving distance was 180 miles.
Tok was a crossroads – roads from Whitehorse, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Top of the World highway all meet here. It is a small crossroads and more info will be in the next installment of our blog.
Note: How strange it is to have daylight 24 hours a day. Saturday is the Summer Soltice and the sun will only set for about 3 hours - never gets dark!
Happy travels to you all. Ellen & Gordon
We spent that night (after traveling 211 miles) in Whispering Willows campground in Stewart Crossing – truly a one horse town. The next day we traveled on to Dawson City. While traveling we saw two white swans fly overhead. And we saw the backsides of a mother bear and her cub run into the forest. Road crews were working on the highway and much patching had been done. And there were occasional pot holes – the drivers had to keep their eyes on the road. When we arrived in Dawson City the thermometer registered 84 degrees; quite a change from just two days earlier. We stayed at Bonanza Gold RV Park just a mile plus from downtown.
Dawson City was the center of the Klondike Gold Rush from about 1896-2000. The town is being restored to reflect that era, down to the dirt streets and boardwalks. It has a great Visitor’s Center and lots of interesting activities and sights. We went on a walk-about city tour and learned about the days of the gold rush and were able to visit the old bank and old bar – both restored to original detail and furnishings. We went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's Saloon, an early 1900’s gambling hall, where we watched a fun burlesque show.
We went on a tour of Dredge #4 – a huge piece of equipment that dredges placer gold (flakes or small chunks of gold rather than gold within rock formations) from deep under the river bed, rinses it free of rocks and sand, and allows collection of the gold. All around Dawson were piles and piles of rock tailings left behind by the dredges.
One of our favorite sights was from the top of Midnight Dome Hill where we could see the clear Klondike River join the muddy Yukon River, and see the city of Dawson from high above. It was a beautiful sight.
And then we took that trip over the Top of the World highway. We were delighted to awake to a sunny day, as we were warned that if it’s raining, DON’T DRIVE THAT ROAD. So the first step was taking a small ferry across the Yukon River – just 2-3 RVs and a couple of cars could fit on the ferry. But the trip across the Yukon River only took 5 minutes and we were on our way. We were on one ferry and Diann and Rich were on the next trip which was fun because we could take pictures of each other’s rigs entering and exiting the ferry.
Yes, the road is slow and has some frost heaves and pot holes and gravel breaks. But if you take your time, it is a beautiful drive. The highway is well named – as you drive along you see expansive vistas to the right and left – really beautiful. And it was rather exciting to cross the Canada-US border – had to take a picture at the Welcome to Alaska sign and breathe a sigh that we no longer had to deal with Loonies and Toonies and Centigrade and Kilometers and Liters for a few weeks. And of course, we HAD to visit the town of Chicken (the place that the founders wanted to call Ptarmigan, but couldn’t spell it; so they decided on Chicken). There are three gift shops, a couple of cafes, a bar, an RV park, a gas station, and even a small post office – takes a short time to see the whole place. But it was a fun stop along a stressful road. And about 10 miles out of Chicken we found decent road again that took us to Tok. The trip from Dawson City to Tok, with about an hour stop in Chicken, was 6 hours – driving distance was 180 miles.
Tok was a crossroads – roads from Whitehorse, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Top of the World highway all meet here. It is a small crossroads and more info will be in the next installment of our blog.
Note: How strange it is to have daylight 24 hours a day. Saturday is the Summer Soltice and the sun will only set for about 3 hours - never gets dark!
Happy travels to you all. Ellen & Gordon
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Liard Hot Springs to Whitehorse - Yukon, Territory
Our next stop was into the Yukon Territory - Watson Lake. We spent two nights here with a full day to see the sights. We visited the visitor center and the airport – a museum about the creation of the airport during WWII – lots of human interest photos and stories. But the most interesting place was the Sign-post forest – people have left signs here since about 1942. Today there are more than 77,000 signs. People put up name plaques, town signs, tin plates with their names on them, business signs etc. It’s amazing and just when you think you’ve seen them all, there are more. What fun!
We left Watson Lake in a pouring rain, but our luck held and the rain mostly stopped within the hour. And much of the drive was through the Cassiar Mountain range. It was one beautiful vista after another. And the wildlife was something special – moose, stone sheep, black bear, an eagle, buffalo – all in one day. That afternoon we crossed the Nisutlin Bridge – the longest river span bridge on the Alaska Highway. We were in the town of Teslin and stayed at Mukluk Annie’s where they offer free dry camping (with free showers, rest rooms, and a nice laundry). We went for the barbequed salmon dinner and with that came a boat ride across the lake in the evening. We all threw bread for the seagulls. And at 11:50 that night, I took a picture of the sky – still light. Amazing.
In Teslin we visited the Wildlife Museum – one of the best ‘stuffed’ animal displays we’ve ever seen; and it was FREE!! We also went to the George Johnson Museum (the film here was outstanding) and the Tlingit Heritage Center (this was really hyped and not that much, except for the well done totems out front).
From Teslin it was on to Whitehorse – still lovely vistas, but no animals seen on that day. Whitehorse has many, many things to see and do. Our Hi country RV park was full most every night. We spent three days here and had no trouble filling our time. We visited the MacBride Museum (gold rush exhibits). The visitor center had great information and helpful folks. We attended the Frantic Follies – a 20s style review and thoroughly enjoyable. Gordie got picked to participate. It was a very good show.
One day we took a day trip to the town of Atlin – This is a magical spot along Atlin Lake (the largest natural lake in BC). The mountains drop to the edge of the lake. One of the mountains is on an island in the middle of the lake, and there is also a glacier that flows into the lake.
Our final day in Whitehorse we visited an overlook at Miles Canyon – a deep canyon flowing toward the Whitehorse Dam. At this dam is the longest wooden fish ladder ever built.
Tomorrow we take the road again toward Dawson City. We plan to make the trip through Chicken and on to Tok IF the road is dry. It is likely to be the slowest part of the trip.
May you all have happy travels.
Ellen & Gordon
We left Watson Lake in a pouring rain, but our luck held and the rain mostly stopped within the hour. And much of the drive was through the Cassiar Mountain range. It was one beautiful vista after another. And the wildlife was something special – moose, stone sheep, black bear, an eagle, buffalo – all in one day. That afternoon we crossed the Nisutlin Bridge – the longest river span bridge on the Alaska Highway. We were in the town of Teslin and stayed at Mukluk Annie’s where they offer free dry camping (with free showers, rest rooms, and a nice laundry). We went for the barbequed salmon dinner and with that came a boat ride across the lake in the evening. We all threw bread for the seagulls. And at 11:50 that night, I took a picture of the sky – still light. Amazing.
In Teslin we visited the Wildlife Museum – one of the best ‘stuffed’ animal displays we’ve ever seen; and it was FREE!! We also went to the George Johnson Museum (the film here was outstanding) and the Tlingit Heritage Center (this was really hyped and not that much, except for the well done totems out front).
From Teslin it was on to Whitehorse – still lovely vistas, but no animals seen on that day. Whitehorse has many, many things to see and do. Our Hi country RV park was full most every night. We spent three days here and had no trouble filling our time. We visited the MacBride Museum (gold rush exhibits). The visitor center had great information and helpful folks. We attended the Frantic Follies – a 20s style review and thoroughly enjoyable. Gordie got picked to participate. It was a very good show.
One day we took a day trip to the town of Atlin – This is a magical spot along Atlin Lake (the largest natural lake in BC). The mountains drop to the edge of the lake. One of the mountains is on an island in the middle of the lake, and there is also a glacier that flows into the lake.
Our final day in Whitehorse we visited an overlook at Miles Canyon – a deep canyon flowing toward the Whitehorse Dam. At this dam is the longest wooden fish ladder ever built.
Tomorrow we take the road again toward Dawson City. We plan to make the trip through Chicken and on to Tok IF the road is dry. It is likely to be the slowest part of the trip.
May you all have happy travels.
Ellen & Gordon
Dawson Creek to Liard Hot Springs
I keep thinking it just can’t get better, but it does.
On our way to Dawson Creek we passed through the town of Chetwyn, BC. This is the logging capital of BC and its claim to fame is the large collection of amazing chain saw art displayed throughout town. I’ve never seen chain saw sculpture so intricate – animals, people, fairytale folk.
We spent two nights in Dawson Creek. This is Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. And the full day we were there it RAINED, and rained, and rained.In Dawson Creek we went to The Alaska House and watched an hour long video on the making of the Alaska highway. I admit to NOT being an historian, but it was so very interesting to learn the whys and hows of creating this road. We also took the mandatory picture of the four of us (in our raincoats) under THE sign designating the beginning of the Alcan Highway; and we visited the art gallery that was housed in a large old red grain elevator.
Then the next day with the sun shining, we headed toward Fort St. John. We visited the visitors center in St. John and museum, then continued on to Fort Nelson where we stayed at Bluebell RV park – little dirt lot behind the motel. In the morning we visited the Fort Nelson museum – it was the best so far because of Marl Brown, the curator. He’s 75+ and still drives his prized antique cars. He is driving his prized McGlocklin Buick (it’s 100 years old this year) to Whitehorse in July. It will take him 3 days each way. He was nice enough to pose with us for a picture – quite a character.
NOTE: Though we killed a zillion mosquitoes a day on our windshields, we still found that there were a few left to entertain us in the evenings. And it’s true – they are BIG buggers – my goodness. This contributes to their somewhat slow flight and easy smashing. We bought those mosquito paddles that run on batteries – lots of fun zapping the little devils.
On the road again toward Muncho Lake - This is a unique beautiful deep aqua blue lake with mountains in the background. Along this road we stopped at Toad River - a small lodge and restaurant. Its claim to fame is a collection of ball caps – Gordie presented one of his hats and got a card saying his was number 7450. The ceilings were covered with hats.
We drove on to Liard Hot Springs Resort where we were pleased to find a quiet campground off the highway, but close to the hot springs. After dinner we walked on a boardwalk for about a quarter mile to the hot springs. On the way we were delighted to see along our path a young moose grazing in the swamp. The hot springs were wonderfully relaxing – who would expect to find this wonderful quiet tropical spot in northern BC???
That’s it for now.
Ellen & Gordon
On our way to Dawson Creek we passed through the town of Chetwyn, BC. This is the logging capital of BC and its claim to fame is the large collection of amazing chain saw art displayed throughout town. I’ve never seen chain saw sculpture so intricate – animals, people, fairytale folk.
We spent two nights in Dawson Creek. This is Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. And the full day we were there it RAINED, and rained, and rained.In Dawson Creek we went to The Alaska House and watched an hour long video on the making of the Alaska highway. I admit to NOT being an historian, but it was so very interesting to learn the whys and hows of creating this road. We also took the mandatory picture of the four of us (in our raincoats) under THE sign designating the beginning of the Alcan Highway; and we visited the art gallery that was housed in a large old red grain elevator.
Then the next day with the sun shining, we headed toward Fort St. John. We visited the visitors center in St. John and museum, then continued on to Fort Nelson where we stayed at Bluebell RV park – little dirt lot behind the motel. In the morning we visited the Fort Nelson museum – it was the best so far because of Marl Brown, the curator. He’s 75+ and still drives his prized antique cars. He is driving his prized McGlocklin Buick (it’s 100 years old this year) to Whitehorse in July. It will take him 3 days each way. He was nice enough to pose with us for a picture – quite a character.
NOTE: Though we killed a zillion mosquitoes a day on our windshields, we still found that there were a few left to entertain us in the evenings. And it’s true – they are BIG buggers – my goodness. This contributes to their somewhat slow flight and easy smashing. We bought those mosquito paddles that run on batteries – lots of fun zapping the little devils.
On the road again toward Muncho Lake - This is a unique beautiful deep aqua blue lake with mountains in the background. Along this road we stopped at Toad River - a small lodge and restaurant. Its claim to fame is a collection of ball caps – Gordie presented one of his hats and got a card saying his was number 7450. The ceilings were covered with hats.
We drove on to Liard Hot Springs Resort where we were pleased to find a quiet campground off the highway, but close to the hot springs. After dinner we walked on a boardwalk for about a quarter mile to the hot springs. On the way we were delighted to see along our path a young moose grazing in the swamp. The hot springs were wonderfully relaxing – who would expect to find this wonderful quiet tropical spot in northern BC???
That’s it for now.
Ellen & Gordon
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Alaska Adventure - The first nine days......
And the adventure begins……………………
We are now 9 days into our travels north. I can’t begin to describe all the beautiful scenery we have seen, but I can tell you that we certainly have not been disappointed.
We left home May 21 and met our friends in Kettle Falls, WA (north of Spokane). We stayed at a decent RV park along the edge of a lake…….we thought……euuuuuuuuuuu – it was a rather smelly sewage treatment pond. Check that RV park off our list!!
The day we crossed into Canada we traveled in the rain and observed rivers near flood stage. (South in Spokane there was some flooding.) On the road we had no problems. We crossed into Canada at Laurier – piece of cake - We were asked about fruits and veggies, and weapons – maybe 3-4 questions and we were then on our way to Kelowna.
At Kelowna we stayed at Holiday RV Park north of town. This WAS a nice RV park with lots of shrubbery – perfect for the many mosquitoes present in the evenings – just a taste of things to come, I’m sure.
We spent the next day exploring Kelowna – it is a fast growing and very attractive city along Lake Okanogan. We enjoyed the sun as we walked along the beach walk, visited a local Thunderbird car rally, spent time in a small Japanese Garden, and enjoyed generous tastes of beer at the Tree Microbrewery. We also walked around the grounds of Geert Mass – a modern sculptor. It was a bit over the top, but fun anyway. We finished our day with visits to two wineries….a good start to our adventure.
June 25 we left Kelowna and headed toward the town of Williams Lake. We passed through Cache Creek where they advertized the largest jade rock on display. We passed through the town of 100 Mile House where they display 39 foot high skies. (The Milepost is a MUST HAVE if you are going on this trip to Alaska.)
We ended the day in Williams Lake at the Information Center – a large and amazing log structure. The gals at the desk were so very nice and told us we could stay in the parking lot at the center. We did!
Then it was on to Prince George. We stopped at the Caribou Gift Shop along the road (a suggestion in The Milepost) and succumbed to the sweet aroma of the home-made fudge. In Quesnell we parked the RVs in the Walmart parking lot and drove 50 miles to Barkersville – a renovated gold mining town. There were all the standard businesses, a Chinese section, a church, a waterwheel, several stores, etc. It was early in the season so the main street was very muddy and several locations were not yet open. Many folks were dressed in period garb and talked as if they actually lived in the old days. This is Mr PG - he welcomes visitors to Prince George.
Then it was back to the RVs and on to Prince George. There we stayed at Southpark RV. This was a pleasant park with full facilities. We spent two nights here and spent our day touring Prince George – the Train Museum, a local park and a driving tour of town. The day we arrived the town’s large lumber mill burned down – actually resulting in a state of emergency, as the timber industry is the main industry in the area – it was stated that up to 300 people would be out of work. Ashes from the fire started fires in three additional businesses which also burned to the ground. Here you see the beautiful yellow flowers that decorate the landscape all along the roadside and in the yards and fields - yup, dandelions.
It is also interesting, but depressing, to see the devastation caused through the province by the pine bark beetle. There are miles of dead trees – some areas look like they’ve been burned; but the beetle is the culprit. We learned that the trees killed by the beetles can be harvested soon and used to make furniture – they call the wood Bug Wood or Blue Pine – it’s beautiful. The wood has areas of a blue hue. Unfortunately, with the downturn of the housing market in the United States, much less bug wood and regular housing wood is purchased, causing a huge depression in the logging industry in Canada – entire small communities are dying because of the decline in logging.
And to add to the gorgeous scenery, we have been thrilled to see several deer, 5 black bear, and two moose – What a thrill!!! And so far the roads have been just great – no problems at all. We are now (May 29)in Dawson Creek, but I’ll tell you about that next time.
Good-bye for now!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
THE ALASKA ADVENTURE BEGINS
Hello all –
We have been home for just over 6 weeks (from our southwest winter) and we are once again ready for another adventure. This time Alaska beckons. Gordie has been researching this trip for almost two years and we will be on our way tomorrow – Wednesday, May 21. We are thrilled that our good friends, Diann and Rich, from Albuquerque are joining us.
We are not thrilled with the gas prices going through the roof. But……we are getting older by the year and gas may be even higher in the future. So we will grit our teeth, pay the price, and enjoy the heck out of the scenery, animals, and all experiences we are fortunate enough to encounter.
Since you received this note, that means you are on our blog list. If you prefer NOT to get notices of new postings, don’t hesitate to let us know. I’ll be happy to take your name off the list.
Our scheduled ‘back home’ landing is August 17. We hope you all have a wonderful summer.
Ellen & Gordon Meade
Sunday, January 20, 2008
January 2008 in Kauai, Hawaii
Being retired is difficult work. So we felt it was necessary for us to take a break and fly to Kauai for a week. We occupied a condo in Princeville. This is a lovely spot that is mostly condos, hotels, and fancy golf courses – many golf courses. The ‘town’ of Princeville consists of a shopping center with a couple of restaurants, real estate offices, a hardware store, and a grocery store – a very busy and very expensive grocery store.
Princeville is on the north side of the island – it is a long drive (maximum 2 hours) to almost everywhere we wanted to go. Fortunately, the weather was PERFECT, so we generally drove with the top down on our Mustang convertible – and by the way……it was red – very cute. We visited Kauai 10 years ago and noticed a significant increase in traffic.
The island is edged by beautiful beaches, lovely flowers, lots of green – hence the nickname “The Garden Isle”. Waimea Canyon (The Grand Canyon of the Pacific) was in full splendor the day we were there – no low clouds to hide the beautiful canyons and waterfalls. We enjoyed the Napali Cliffs from a boat – it was a Sunset dinner cruise. We also went on a kayak trip on a lovely river where after 45 minutes we beached the kayaks, waded across the river, climbed a muddy bank, and hiked a very wet trail to Hidden Falls. Hiking a muddy trail wasn’t our favorite activity, but the kayaking was enjoyable.
We spend a couple of afternoons on the beach of the Princeville Hotel (we checked – cheapest price is $625/night!!!!). It is across from Hanalei Bay (where South Pacific was filmed). One day we witnessed a small private wedding on the beach.
We also visited Poipu, touted as having the warmest temperatures on the island; the Avenue of Trees (Eucalyptus); Lihue which has the island’s airport, Costco, Walmart, and a big shopping center – we didn’t spend time there……. Except at Duke’s Canoe Club which is on a beach and we enjoyed a drink in the open air bar while watching sail boats and boarders as we relaxed.
Finally the week came to an end and it was back to the tough life of being retired . We are now in Casa Grande in Arizona where we will spend the rest of January.– it was in the upper 20’s this morning. UGH!! We are in a real cold snap --- still better than being up north. We chuckle at the park visitors who insist in wearing their shorts, no matter what the temps.
PICTURES: Red mustang convertible; Waimea Canyon; Taro field (poi); Red crested cardinal; Poipu Beach; Spouting Horn; West coast sunset.
And so it goes. Until next time……………
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