Day 30 (6-30-12 - Homer Spit)

Homer Spit from Skyline Drive

We had a beautiful day today.  It was sunny and in the mid 50's.  But unfortunately, the wind started  howling which was quite cold. 

We took a ride across the Skyline Drive.  It has realy pretty views of the spit, the reservoir, the Kachemak Bay, and the Beluga Lake.  We saw 3 moose in town and a bunch of bald eagles on the bay.

We picked up our fish that we had vaccuum packed and frozen.  We took everything out of our camper freezer to make room for the halibut.  The freezer is full.

We watched the videos that Captain Lane did for us yesterday.  Now we know why we are so tired and sore today.  No one should complain if they pay $20 a pound for halibut.  I know from experience this is hard work, but it was fun and I would do it all over again. It is one, (if not) the best fishing trip that I have ever been on. 

Pictures:  https://goo.gl/photos/CKmwna2wZ6bE828i6

Day 29 (6-29-12 - Halibut Fishing Trip at Homer Spit)

We have been on the road for 4 weeks now.  We are more exhausted from our fishing trip today than we were from packing up the camper before we left.

We left camp at 7 a.m. and returned at 5:15pm to go halibut fishing on a boat named, Intodeep .  We went about 15 miles in the boat to Cook Inlet. We saw a lot of snow topped mountains and a puffing volcano. 

The weather was nice.  The waves were around 4 feet.  It was a great day to be on the water. Lane and Doug were great Halibut Fishing teachers.  Tux (Lane's dog), was so happy to see us today.    He is a sweet,energetic dog.  We kept 7 fish and threw back about 10 waiting to get the big fish.

The poles that we used had a 3 pound weight.  It is hard to fish with a pole that has a 3 pound weight that is 200 feet deep.   When I got a fish, it was all that I could do to hang on, use every muscle in my body, and reel the fish into the boat.. 

The first halibut that I caught got off when we were trying to land him.  He would have been a throw back, so I was not upset about losing the fish.

I was able to land the 2nd fish (with a lot of help from Lane and Doug).  This fish weighed about 35 pounds. I don't know if I could get a bigger fish in the boat. The fish flopped around and covered  my legs and feet in blood and fish slime, I hope I can get that smell out of the boots before I go hiking again in bear country. 

I caught 4 fish before Lauren caught one.  I thought that Lauren was going to be skunked.  He finally caught a cod and then several halibut. 

When the fish is really big, he can hurt you when you put it in the boat, so they shoot the fish before pulling the big fish in the boat.  Lauren was disappointed that he didn't get yell, "Choot Em."  I am going to start yelling,"get the gun," instead of "get the net," when we catch next years big crappies.

I stopped fishing around 2 p.m.  After you pull in 6 halibut, every muscle in your body hurts.

I made it until 3 p.m. until I got sea sick.  My Scopolamine patch did not prevent me from getting sea sick.  Doug and Lane gave me sea bands to put on my wrist and then I was fine.  In the past, I have been so sea sick that Lauren had to pack me off the boat.  I am glad this only lasted a few minutes.

We could never have found better teachers than Doug and Lane.  They were really patient with us.  We appreciate Lane, Doug, and Tux for allowing us to fish with them.  It is nice when locals give  you the opportunity to fish with them and do everything that they can to help you catch big fish.

We saw several sea otters and a bunch of eagles today.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/iGd4KTXV2FUgAkpC8

Day 28 (6-28-12 - We are in Homer Spit)

We had our first Halibut tonight.  We cooked it ourselves, (or rather Lauren was talking while I cooked).  It is really good. 

When we got to Homer Spit at the Fishing Hole Campground, Lauren made a bee line to talk to people that were cleaning their fish.  The first couple of men that he talked to had taken a charter boat and was not real talkative.  The next couple of men that he talked to were probably locals.  Lauren asked him all kind of questions.  They were not impressed with their catch, we were.  One of the men went to his vehicle and got a plastic bag and gave us 2 filets of halibut. Thank goodness for Lauren’s gift of gab.  It really does pay off.

We have seen a lot of eagles here today, they are everywhere.

It is has been a rainy, windy, cold day.  We have not seen the sun shine all day.  From what I hear, this is normal for this time of year.   

We took a stroll at the Alaska Wildlife Visitor Center and then took another stroll down the road from the campground to shop and check out charter boats for halibut fishing.  We strolled 5.5 miles.  We were constantly pulling our rain suit hoods over our heads to keep dry.  We stopped at the Salty Dog Salon and had a Homer Brew.  It is a very unusual place.  I wished I had all those dollar bills that are plastered all over the ceiling and the walls in my bank account.

Ferny is not really happy here.  She couldn’t wait to go outside.  As soon as she heard all the eagles and sea gulls she cowered down and went back inside.  She is happier sitting at the door looking out, than she is going outside.  I don’t think we will stay here very long.

We met another couple of men this evening that had some nice halibut that they were cleaning at the campground.  He has a smaller boat than the charter businesses.  The charter boats take about 20 people.  The captain of this boat is taking us out tomorrow.  We are paying his gas bill.  There will be 4 of us and his dog on board.  I have my Scopolamine patch on.  We will leave around 7 am in the morning.

When we arrived today the tide was way out.  It has finally come in and is lapping at our back door of the toy hauler. 

Ferny Kat is snoring. She is lying on my jacket on the floor. We are joining Ferny, (except we are going to bed).   I bet it won’t be long until she joins us.  We are calling it a night.

Even though it is not the weather that we wanted, it is still a beautiful place.

We saw plenty of eagles today and 1 pheasant. 

 Pics : https://goo.gl/photos/cBWmH1ES1CpMvKMZ7

Day 27 (6-27-12 - Houston to Soldotna)

Wait until you see our pictures from today.  Awesome!!!!!!  We left Houston and traveled to Soldotna and are staying at a city campground called Centennial Campground. It is on the Kenai River.

We traveled the Parks Highway and the Glenn Highway to Anchorage.  We then traveled on the Seward Highway and the Sterling Highway to Soldotna.  

The Kenai River is another big river in Alaska.  We opened the back door of the toy hauler and pulled down the screen, (to keep out them nasty, mean, obnoxious mosquitoes).  It is really nice doing my blog and seeing the river and hearing the river as I type.

At 9 a.m. this morning, we were at Miller’s Market.  Lauren bought a fishing license.  I will wait and see if the fish bite before I buy mine. 

It was all I could do not to get an ice cream cone for desert after breakfast.   I even justified eating ice cream at 9 a.m. by telling myself that it is 12 p.m. at home.  I kept reminding myself that I will weigh again in about a week at Weight Watchers.  I had to leave the campground at Houston before I ate more ice cream. 

Lauren was unsuccessful in his fishing expedition, (which lasted about 30 minutes).  If the fish catching doesn’t improve I will probably be investing my fish license money on more bear spray and bear bells.  It looks we will have a lot more time for hiking.

The ride here was amazing.  All the sudden, we left Anchorage and we saw Turnagain Arm, (a finger off the Cook Inlet), on one side of the road and snow topped mountains on the other side.  We also saw a lot of snow that melted into waterfalls coming off the mountain.  Breathtaking views!!

The song Free, by the Zac Brown Band is our retirement song.  This song played on the radio as we were traveling through Anchorage.  It was perfect timing.  And the part at the end where they sing “We don’t have a lot of money,” we can really relate to.  I love this song.

It was another day that is gorgeous one minute and light rain the next.  We actually made it from Houston to Soldotna without getting a lot of road grime on the vehicles.  This is the first time we washed the vehicles and rode this long without road grime.

The girl that checked us into the campground is from Tyler, Texas.  Her daddy got her a job here when she came to visit.  Very sweet girl.

We saw a couple of Dall sheep on the ride here.  We traveled 201 miles today.

It is cooling off really quick.  It is time to close the back door and light the campfire. 

Todays Pictures :  https://goo.gl/photos/tN6gQezgrWfHbCJp7

Day 26 (6-26-12 - Houston to Wasilla)

Great Ice Cream

                                    
We woke up to light rain peppering the camper. We decided to stay another night at Riverview Campground.  We love this campground.  It is right on the river,  it is quiet, and the people that work here are really nice.  We were ready to relax for the day.

We decided to go to Wasilla and do a little shopping.  We were very impressed with Wasilla.  It was a nice city that is bigger than what we expected. 

We came back and washed the camper and the truck.  It is rare that a campground will allow you to wash your vehicle at your campsite.  It sure beats paying $28.00 at a car wash.  Washing your vehicle here pays for your camping.

There is no wildlife to  report for today.  It has rained on and off all day and the highest temp we saw was 62 degrees.  And, we found gas for $3.99 per gallon, WHO HOO!!

Day 25 (6-25-12 - Denali NP to Houston, Ak.)

We had another great journey today.  It was cloudy, cool, but not windy.  After cooking breakfast on the Coleman stove, we had a nice ride out of Teklanika Campground to Houston, Alaska, (205 miles).  With the clouds, we knew that there was no chance of seeing Mt. McKinley along Parks Highway.

Ferny Kat was not a happy camper when we left.  She loved Denali National Park and cried for at least 15 miles.  She did not want to leave

We are staying at Riverview Campground.  It is a very nice campground on the Little Susitna River.  We are on camping at the end of the campground on the river.  The river is above the banks and is right outside our site. We can hear the rumbling of the river.

Lauren was planning on fishing.  The woman at the campground office told us that the river was high and that she had not heard of very many fish being caught.  So, we did our laundry in the light rain, ate ice cream from Miller’s Market.  Or rather, I had a chocolate/ vanilla swirl ice cream cone and Lauren had a chocolate milkshake.  DELICOUS!!!

As we were cooking our fried white perch, we saw a raft coming down the river with a man, a woman, a dog, and their camping gear.  They posed for a picture.  They looked like they were having a great time.

We saw 5 caribou sitting at Savage River and 2  moose along the Parks Highway. 

Pictures:   https://goo.gl/photos/CdxxE9WKmvsDHhqH6

Day 24 (6-24-12 - Denali National Park - Another ride to Eielson Visitor Center)

Sunrise 3:45 a.m. Sunset 12:26 a.m.

We put on our shorts and short sleeve shirts this morning.  We walked out of the camper and walked right back in and changed to sweat shirts and jeans.  It was cloudy, windy, and cold. 

We had planned on hiking at the Polychrome Overlook.  We decided it was too windy and went to Eielson Visitor Center and hiked the Tundra Loop.  It was a short loop but pretty.  It was 54 degrees and extremely windy.  We had had enough of the wind and took the next bus back to camp.

Mt. McKinley had clouds all day.  At the visitor center we saw the base of the mountain then stopped on the road back and got a view of the North Peak.

We saw 28 Dall sheep, 4 bears, and 4 caribou.  I guess the cold wind had the wildlife laying low. They were like us; they stayed low to keep out of the wind.  Smart animals!

Pictures:   https://goo.gl/photos/DkWhmnLkoFbN2hBX7

Day 23 (6-23-12 - Denali National Park -Teklanika CG)

We had another gorgeous day today.  We had reserved tickets on the bus for 8:55 a.m.  This was the first morning we have slept past 6:30 a.m. in a long time.  We woke up at 7:30 a.m. and had to get up and go.  I hate having schedules.  It is much more fun to wake up and ease into the day.  Retirement spoils you.

We took the bus to Eielson Visitor Center.  We had an unpleasant bus driver who was overbearing.  We felt that we were on a military school bus.   

We hiked the Alpine trail at the visitor center.  It was 0.8 miles, (one way) with an elevation increase of 1,010 feet. My heart had not beat this hard and fast since I took my first picture of a bear in Canada.  According to my fitbit we hiked 5.5 miles today and went up 180 flights of stairs.  According to my wobbly, tired, legs, the fitbit is pretty accurate. 

It was great on top of the mountain.  The views were spectacular.  Mt. McKinley had a few clouds over it and was not the view that we had hoped for.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

We grilled buffalo burgers for supper tonight and are going to bed.

We saw 31 Dall Sheep, 25 Caribou, 6 bears (2 sets of a momma and two cubs), and a fox.

Pics:  https://goo.gl/photos/yfTUrEiPeiDkFnMS7

Day 22 (6-22-12 - Denali National Park - Teklanika CG)

We had another gorgeous day today.  We moved to Teklanika CG this morning and will stay here for 3 nights. It is a pretty campground on the Teklanika River.  On our ride in to the campground we saw the peaks of Mt. McKinley.

We took a round trip ride on the bus from the campground to Eielson Visitor Center.  We had a great bus driver named Elton. The views were spectacular. 

We were thoroughly entertained on the bus watching a grizzly get a bath.  The bear laid flat on his back, stretched his back paw out of the water, and splashed around in the mud.  After his bath he shook off the water like a dog, and then he scratched his butt on the underbrush.  Lauren asked Elton if it this was a bear or a park ranger dressed as a bear to entertain us.  It was fun to watch.

When we arrived at Eielson Visitor Center, the clouds covered the top of Mt. McKinley and we could only see the base.  We are going back tomorrow and hopefully we will get a view with no clouds.

Alaska finally has impressed us with their wildlife.  We saw 9 grizzlies (two of these were cubs), 10 caribou, and 4 Dall sheep.

We enjoyed our first elk steaks that we cooked on the campfire grill. We finally are going to bed around midnight and as usual the sun is still bright.

Pictures from today: https://goo.gl/photos/7G5p1YNYYuG6LEs99

Day 21 (6-21-12 - Denali National Park - Riley Creek CG)

We are at Riley Creek Campground in Denali National Park.  It has been a gorgeous day for the solstice.  The days are already long.  We haven't seen darkness since we left Montana.

We hiked 8 miles today and climbed an elevation that is equivalent to 62 flights of stairs, (according to my Fitbit pedometer).  We are planning to go deeper in the park tomorrow and do a lot of hiking over the next 3 days.

We went to the sled dog kennels and enjoyed looking at the dogs, the puppies, and watching the demonstration.  Lauren has been keeping up with the sled dogs on Denali’s web site and watching the 3 newest additions to the kennels on the Denali puppy cam.  The 3 puppies are so cute. 

I paid $44 for Alaska Bear Spray.  The manufacturer recommends that you wait until an aggressive bear is within 30 feet to spray.  The can of spray only last for 7.2 seconds.  I hope it is never needed and will be a souvenir from Alaska.

We saw a mom and yearling moose today.  The wildlife count is pitiful so far in Alaska.

Pics for today: https://goo.gl/photos/DdJbkGWZXb1KiSRq9

Day 20 (6-20-12 - Fairbanks to Nenana Canyon)

We traveled 125 miles from Fairbanks to Nenana Canyon.  We are staying here tonight and will drive a mile to Denali National Park tomorrow.  After traveling about 5,100 miles, we finally met up with Judi and Terry, (our friends from Gulfport)  We passed them (as they are headed back to the lower 48 states.)  We turned around and talked on the side of the road.  It was really great to see them. 

Lauren finally washed most of the mud off the truck before we left this morning.  He had a few quarters left from a 20 dollar bill when he finished.  After seeing the truck look so good, we decided to wash the camper. Needless to say, we went about 5 miles and got into rain and have road grime all over both.

The wildlife was scarce again today, we only saw 1 moose that is worth mentioning.

Pics  https://goo.gl/photos/TjNCZN1ged2DoyJDA

Day 19 (6-19-12 - Fairbanks to Artic Circle)

We went as far north as we have ever been today.  After traveling 190 miles one way we made it to the Artic Circle.  I thought it would be cold at the Artic Circle, but it was in the mid 70's.  When I got out of the truck I was told that I was brave to be in short pants.  Thank goodness we had a breeze to slow down the mosquittos.

We traveled the Dalton Highway today.  We stopped at the Artic Circle Gift Shop where we experienced true outhouses, (not the vaults).   We had a great chocolate chip cookie (it was mostly chocolate chips) and a slice of apple walnut cake from the Yukon River Cafe.

The Alaska pipeline was just what I expected it to be. It follows along another dusty, bumpy road. The Dirt Road Anthem kept playing through my head. The GPS, (or as we call her Idis) stayed lost.  She was constantly recalculating and could not follow this rugged road.

We are heading towards Denali National Park tomorrow.  We have reservations from Friday until Sunday night in the Teklanika River Campground.  Hopefully, we will cross paths with our friends from Gulport tomorrow as they head back to the lower 48.

We were really disappointed in the 380 miles of travel as far as wildlife goes.  We saw an eagle and a fox.  Maybe the wildlife viewing will be better tomorrow.

Today's Pics https://goo.gl/photos/gx2S2izwJneiAVh99

Day 18 (6-18-12 - Fairbanks)

Today I checked in at Weight Watchers, Fairbanks, for the month.  Whew!! I made another month.

We bought gas today for $4.08 a gallon and felt like we had a deal.  Everyone in this area is complaining about the price of gas.  This is the cheapest we have seen in a while.  We are glad to pay less than $5.00 a gallon.

We went to the Harley Shop today and met a girl from Bogalusa, La. named Tiffany..  It is a small word.

We are leaving in the morning to go to the Arctic Circle.  We hear that it is 14 hours round trip.  We are packing a picnic lunch and dinner. We are heading out early in the morning.

The only wildlife worth mentioning today was a bunch of Sand hill Cranes at the Creamery.  The Creamery is a dairy that shut down in the 60’s and now is part of the Alaska Game and Fish.

                                 

 We are ready for a good nights sleep.

Day 17 (6-17-12 - Chicken to Fairbanks)

We traveled 286 miles from Chicken to Fairbanks today.  We woke up to rain. We wished for this rain yesterday to settle all the dust.  The first 3 miles of Taylor Highway was unpaved and muddy, then we alternated paved and muddy roads until we got back to the Alaska Highway.   We followed the Alaska Highway to Delta Junction (Alaska Highway ends here,) then followed the Richardson Highway to Fairbanks..

We got off early this morning and went shopping in Downtown Chicken. We got up with the chickens and had to wait for Downtown Chicken to open at 8 a.m.

We saw a moose about a mile after we left Chicken this morning.  We saw a total of 2 moose and 1 Snowshoe Hare today.

We are camping at Tanana Valley Campground tonight.  We are planning on staying here a few days. 

Pics today https://goo.gl/photos/vXrkTL4tuN7q3ybU7

Day 16 (6-16-12 - Moose Creek CG to Chicken Ak)

After traveling 4,333 miles over the last 16 days, we have made it to Alaska.  We left Moose Creek Campground this morning and went to Dawson City, YT.  We crossed the Yukon River on the George Black Ferry to the Top of the World Highway.  We traveled 65 miles on the Top of the World Highway in Canada, 14 miles on the Boundary Spur Road in the U.S.A., and 30 miles on the Taylor Highway in the U.S.A.  The road was extremely rough.  About 40 miles of it was paved and the rest of it was gravel.  The paved road was rough with frost heaves and pot holes.  The gravel road had loose gravel and washboards.   Most of the time the road had soft shoulders or no shoulders with DEEP drop offs.  The camper had not been opened and was full of dust when we stopped for the day.

We went through customs at Poker Creek, Alaska, (most northerly land border port in the USA.)  The population is 2, (one U.S. customs officer and one Canadian customs officer.)  The border is well isolated and has limited hours of service during the day.

We went 200 miles today and traveled 7 hours.  The only stop we had was in Dawson City for about 30 minutes.  It was a long, hard, traveling day for Lauren.

We are staying at Chicken Creek Campground in Chicken, Alaska.  There are so many chicken things here I think that we may start crowing and laying eggs before we leave.  The clerk in the store at the campground was wearing a chicken hat, flapping her arms, and clucking. It is a cute little place. 

We saw a cinnamon colored young black bear and a porcupine today.

It has been another great day. 

Pics. are here: https://goo.gl/photos/rxv2Thf8vUALsz449

Day 15 (6-15-12 - Whitehorse to Moose Creek CG)

We had business to take care of this morning.  We needed a new battery for our camper, an oil change, and a few groceries. After our chores were done, we traveled 236 miles to Moose Creek CG, YT.  We got off the ALCAN after leaving Whitehorse and traveled the Klondike Highway.  The Klondike is a lot rougher than the ALCAN. 

It has been a gorgeous day.  We almost had to turn on the a/c.  It got up to 62 degrees.

We have been impressed by the Canadians that we have met on this trip.  Everyone has been unbelievably friendly and helpful; the customs officer when we crossed the border, the auto department clerk at Walmart, the guy working at the Harley Shop, and the attendants at the campgrounds.   We asked a guy in a parking lot for directions to the Harley Shop, he stopped what he was doing and walked out and looked down the street to make sure that he gave us the directions that we needed.   I think that this has rubbed off on Lauren.  He did not complain about waiting for me to try on almost every shirt in the Harley shop.

We are camped at a Yukon Government Campground called Moose Creek.  It is a very nice, wooded, campground.  It cost $12 to camp here and the firewood is free. We cooked Fortenberry’s sausage over the fire pit grill and had dill pickle chips.  It was a great supper.

On the way into the campground, we saw 2 other campers.  One was an old 1953 Ford truck with a Mercedes diesel engine towing a tear drop camper. It caught our eye the minute we saw it.

The guy with the unique truck and camper came to our camp. He was from our neck of the woods and currently lives in El Dorado, Arkansas.   He and his wife had planned to travel to Alaska.  She has passed, and he kept his promise to her that he would go on the trip that they had planned.  He is on his way home.

We are about 150 miles to the U.S. border in Alaska.  We might make it to Alaska tomorrow.

Today the wildlife count is 0.  We could not believe in a couple hundred miles that all we saw was a few birds and squirrels.

 Today's Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/14Y4m4rpwB9JQQCw7

Day 14 (6-14-12 - Liard Hot Springs to Whitehorse)

We walked to the hot spring pool for a soak at 7:30 this morning.  The sun was shining and the water was HOT.  We soaked for awhile, and then went forward on our journey.  It was sunny, beautiful, and a balmy 52 degrees when we left this morning from Liard Hot Springs Campground.  We traveled 388 miles today.

We saw many wood bison, 6 bears (including a mom and twin bears), and 1 moose in BC.  After we got in the Yukon we saw an eagle, an osprey, and 2 fox.  One of the fox we saw was when we backed into our campsite. 

We paid $5.11 a gallon for gas, $6.99 for a gallon of milk, and $52.20 for a 30 pack of beer.  We may both have to find jobs to get enough money to get back home.

We saw two things today that we haven’t seen in a while, one was no rain, and the other was dust.  We felt like we were at the Pearl River Swamp with all the dust in the campground.

We are camped at Pioneer RV Park in Whitehorse.  We have a really nice site that has a great fire pit that we have put to good use. Ferny Kat went out and came back in pulling up the rug with every step that she took.  She had sap on her paws.  She is not a happy cat.

We decided to travel the longer route to Alaska from here and go to Dawson City.  It will take us about 6 hours to get to Dawson City.  We will take a ferry across the Yukon River and then get into Alaska in a couple of days.  Can’t wait for tomorrow.

Pics https://goo.gl/photos/RDNu4kfQ1bm8FipK9

Day 13 (6-13-12 - Liard Hot Springs)

It has been another fun day in this Cold, Windy, Rainy weather. It was 46 degrees when we left Muncho Lake.   We drove 41 miles and set up camp at Liard Hot Springs Campground.  It has been 13 days since we left home and we are no where near Alaska.  We thought about skipping the hot spring pools, but reminded ourselves that we are not in a hurry.  It cost $10 for both of us to get in the hot springs pool or we could pay $21 to camp and this fee included the hot springs pool.  We decided to camp.

It is very interesting that in an area of approximately 100 miles there is no electricity. All the businesses, campgrounds, and lodges are powered by their own generator power. 

We have been to the hot springs pool 3 times today.  We went once to check it out and twice to soak.  It was fabulous.  It was the first time we have been warm since we left Shelby, Montana.  The temperature of the water ranges from 108 degrees to 126 degrees.  It is clear and smells of sulfur.  It brings back memories of the artesian well at home.

The fast, little red squirrels have tormented Ferny Kat.  You could hear them chuckle, then they would run by Ferny.  She was as entertained by them as they were by her. 

We pulled out the awning and fried fish on the Coleman stove. The rain would not stop, so we put our rain jackets on and built a campfire after our fish fry.  This will be another night that we won’t have a problem sleeping.

We saw 5 stone sheep and about 10 buffalo (4 were babies) on our drive here. We saw one bull moose on our walk to the pools.

I heard a Brit at the pool proclaim “It’s Quite Ducky, Isn’t It.”  I couldn’t agree more.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/yJc9ti6v49TRDmWq9

Day 12 (6-12-12 - Muncho Lake)

We woke up from a really cold night to sunshine and the sound of semi trucks headed toward Watson Lake.  We hope that this is a sign that we will be able to continue on our journey tomorrow. 

We are putting my hot flashes to good use as they provide us with heat on these cold nights.  Lauren cooked a great breakfast; we walked around the campground, and then went sightseeing.

We rode to Liard Hot Springs Campground.  The weather quickly changed from sunshine to rain.  On the ride there and back we saw about 20 buffalo, 2 bears, and 5 Stone Sheep.  The attendant at Liard Hot Springs confirmed that the road is open but there is a big back up of vehicles waiting to go through.

We went on a couple of hiking trails.  We just got back from a hike to see the hoodoos across the road from the camp.  It took us about an hour to hike there and back.  It was cloudy with a cold wind, but we had the gear to bear the elements.  We have 5 miles of hiking in today.  Lauren blames me for not seeing any wildlife while we are hiking because I am wearing bear bells.  I think that the wildlife is in hibernation because of the weather.

We are planning to go to Liard Hot Springs Campground tomorrow and swim in the hot springs if the weather permits.  We will probably camp there tomorrow night and wait another day before heading to Watson Lake.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/nBHaHEXy6Tar6gSz6

Day 11 (6-11-12 - Dawson Creek to Muncho Lake)

We traveled 423 miles along the Alaska Highway (ALCAN), from Dawson Creek, BC to Muncho Lake, BC.  The road is still closed north of Watson Lake. We are camped at Strawberry Flats Provincial Campground on Muncho Lake.  We are on site #1.  We have no hookups.   There are only a few steps from the back of our camper to the turquoise water (or as the brochure calls it jade green colour water).  We have a great view of the snow topped mountains in our back yard.

We experienced our first frost heaves on the road caused from the ground freezing, thawing, and leaving a sink hole in the road.  We traveled through some road construction, but did not have many delays.  We stopped in Fort Nelson at the visitor’s center.  The staff was great.  We decided to continue to Muncho Lake.  On the drive here, we had sunshine, clouds, and rain. At one point, we got to the top of a mountain and were in such a thick cloud we could barely see the road.  Luckily, we started down hill and drove out of it.

There were signs to be cautious of Stone Mountain Sheep in the Stone Mountain area.  Stone Mountain Sheep are similar to Big Horn Sheep.  They are slighter built and resemble mountain goats in color.  Lauren did not believe that we would actually see them because he has seen very few Big Horn Sheep in the states.  We saw about 20 of them right after he made the statement. 

We also saw moose, bear, and wild horses and one deer that was way too close.  We were driving around a curve and saw a deer running down the side of the mountain toward us.  Lauren tried real hard to miss him; the deer was hit and ran off.  The truck appears to be fine.  I thought he was coming in the window with me.

They are speculating that the road may open tomorrow for truckers to bring in supplies, then the next day for everyone else.  We are happy that we have a gorgeous place to sit and wait this out.  I have no problem staying here for a couple of days. 

After eating spaghetti and corn bread fritters and sitting by the campfire, it is time to call it a day.  It is literally still a day, considering the sun is still shining bright at 10 pm.

The wildlife report for today is 4 moose (1 Bull Moose), 1 deer that we hit with the truck, 2 bears, and at least 20 Stone Sheep.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/5TyKun6YH3XzbNm58

Night!!

Day 10 (6-10-12 - Dawson Creek Again)

The road is still closed from Watson Lake to Teslin, so we stayed another night in Dawson Creek.  There is only one road to Alaska from here and it it closed. 

The people in the campground are really nice, whether it is the people working here or someone camping here.  We had another day of rest.  We plan to leave tomorrow and go to Fort Nelson.  We are not sure when the road will open but we will be 300 miles closer than here when it does. 

We had a real supprise in the grocery store when we realized that steak is cheaper than chicken.  Chicken cost $7.99 per pound.

 I get suprised every day.

I hope the surveryor statue in the picture finds us a road to Alaska.

Day 9 (6-9-12 - Dawson Creek)

We have rested today.  We went downtown Dawson Creek and looked around.  They really push at the visitor center that you check out the walking tour of the city.  It was okay.  When we got back to the campground, we checked out the Pioneer Village that is connected to our campground.  It was great.  A lot of old stuff to look at: some of it is replicas, (schools, churches, salons, etc.) of Dawson Creek before the Alaska Highway and some of it is antique farm equipment (tractors, plows, etc).   Lauren enjoyed looking at all the old farm equipment.  We have never saw sleighs that were actually used by Santa (ha!!) until today.  After all, we are closer to the North Pole than we have ever been.  They were doing Zumba at Relay for Life.  Their songs were in French, but the beat was good.  It looks like they were having a lot of fun.  By the way, we didn’t think there was anything going on at Pioneer Village except the Relay for Life, so we didn’t bring the camera. 

It has looked like rain all day today.  We let our awning out because we thought a storm was a coming.  It was just a light shower.  We cooked white perch from the reservoir and had some of those yam patties from Winn Dixie.  We didn’t let it go to waste.  I never knew those crappie would taste so good in Canada. I now consider them to be an international cuisine.

We have concerns about road closures. The only road to get us to Alaska from here has 3 different sections of road closures, (now we think that there is only one section). The road was closed because the flood washed out two sections of road and there was one mud slide.  The visitor’s centre, (as they spell it in Canada), is advising that no one leave until the road is open.  We had planned to leave tomorrow, but may be here for a day or two.  

Needless to say, the wildlife report is 0 for today.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/tXib4eSVxuqDR7LQ9

Day 8 (6-8-12 - Snaring River to Dawson Creek)

We are at Mile 0 Campground tonight on the Alaska Highway in BC, Canada. We traveled 315 miles today. We saw 1 moose and  10 deer today. We are all in a big need for a rest up day and plan to stay here until Sunday. Today was not as spectacular as the last few, but was still a wonderful day.   I am exhausted.  It is 11 p.m. and it is still daylight.  I don't think I'll will have a problem sleeping tonight.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/RBadfbhoMRAe58PU9

Day 7 (6-7-12 - Canmore, AB to Snaring River CG)

We left Canmore, AB.  After traveling 201 miles of gorgeous scenery, we made it to a really nice, secluded campground in Jasper National Park named Snaring River Campground.

It has been a great day, even though we had a lapse of mind, (or as some would call a senior moment,) and left the 12 volt ice chest plugged in last night. The battery in the truck was dead again this morning.  I know that Lauren would have got extremely mad about this happening 2 days in a row: if the scenery had not been so great.  We just chilled out and enjoyed the scenery and found out that the road we wanted to take had been flooded out earlier, but was cleared by the time we left.

We traveled through Banff and Jasper National Parks.  The views were unbelievable, (the pictures do not do it justice.)  The glaciers are AWESOME!!  We had to keep reminding ourselves that this is a trip to Alaska and we have over 1800 miles to go before we get to Alaska.  Canada is closer trip to home and we can get to this area on a shorter trip than Alaska.    It would be so easy to forget and stay here a lot longer.

We did see Bears today.  The first time we saw cars stopped with their flashers on, we cruised by and saw Elk. That was nice, but we were looking for bears.  We squeezed by the masses taking pictures.  We took ours pictures and kept on trucking.

Then, we ran into another bunch of vehicles in our way.  Lauren told me to go up and take a picture of whatever it was and we would pass by.  Low and Behold, IT WAS A BLACK BEAR!  When I saw it, I looked down the road toward Lauren and he saw the, “It’s a Bear” in my stare.  I didn’t want to miss out on the shot, so I took not one, but 3 pictures.  By the time I got back to the truck, my heart was beating out of my chest.  I had been closer to a bear than I ever imagined and luckily, I was still alive.  Lauren laughed after he asked what I saw and I told hem to feel my heart beating.   I have never seen a BEAR that close.  He said he figured out that it was a bear after seeing me look at him from up the road with that “Bear in the headlights look.”

Since then, I have been singing, talking about nothing, anything, to make sure that I don’t surprise a bear and be an appetizer.  Lauren told me not to worry when there is a big group of people taking pictures.  He figures that I can out run most of them and all I need to do is run faster than one person.

We saw 3 bears, (one was a cub), 3 elk, and 4 deer today.  It was hard to look for wildlife when the scenery is so gorgeous.

We had a really great campfire tonight I made sure the IPOD was playing the entire time that we were out.  Them there bears are BIG, I don’t want them to be surprised by my appearance. I will definitely be investing in Bear Bells and Pepper Spray.

By the way, we had my homemade chili and Lay’s Potato Chips for supper tonight while we were sitting by a wonderful campfire.  It cost us $8.80 (Canadian) for the permit to build the fire, but the wood was free.  It was a fantastic end to a fabulous day.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/H2tjtc1ZeCr2abSi8

Day 6 (6-6-12 - Shelby, Montana to Canmore, AB)

We left Shelby, Montana this morning and have made it to Canmore, AB. When we left this morning it was 46 degrees.  The highest temp we saw today was 51 degrees.  The wind was HOWLING during the drive here.  It has rained several times today. Our investments in waterproof hiking boots and rain suits have already paid off.

We traveled 361 miles today.  The average price of gas is $1.19 per liter, (or about $4.50 per gallon).

We made it through the border okay.  The immigration officer had a sense of humor, which calmed me just a little bit.  It is 2,131 miles from our house to the Canadian Border.

We encountered a delay on our drive, or as the GPS would say, we needed “recalculating,” (in other words – we were lost), while looking for a bank to convert some cash to Canadian money.

We saw a moose run across the road on Highway 22, (also called the Cowboy Trail).  We have heard that there are more bear sightings than usual in Banff National Park and Jasper National Park (Icefields Parkway).  We are headed that way tomorrow and will be on bear watch.

We are camped at Wapiti Campground looking at the Three Sisters Mountains.  The campground is located in Bow Valley surrounded by mountains. We are really enjoying the views of the snow topped Rockies that look like you can touch them.  We have awesome views every where we look from our campsite.  We didn’t expect this so early in the trip.

Ferny Kat slept all day. Lauren and I had no desire to go out once we set up camp.  However, Ferny Kat insisted that we take her out.  I bet there are not many cats that go out on a lead in Canada.  As they say, “Dogs have masters, Cats have servants.”

The Canadian Rockies are spectacular!!! 

And by the way, have I mentioned, IT IS COLD.


Pics: https://goo.gl/photos/MeYMYvAZdF4HjcXT7

Day 5 (6-5-12 - Last day in the USA for a while)

We are about 30 miles from Canada. We had another great day of traveling today.  We are camping in Shelby, Montana tonight.  We were able to sit outside and eat boiled peanuts before we were hit by a storm.  We will be boon docking a lot, so this maybe the last night for a while that we have the luxury of electricity and running water.  I think we can manage just fine.  Will post to the blog when I can.


Here is the link to our pictures for the first five days. https://goo.gl/photos/EXyDdd5Hq4ADgtwP9

Day 4 (6-4-12 - Ogallala, Ne. to Hardin, Mt.)

We traveled about 11 hours today, (a little over 500 miles).  We took the routes off the interstate as much as we could.  The scenery was nice.  We took a few pictures (will post later).  Another day of travel tomorrow.

                                            Sunset about 9 p.m. Mountain Time

Day 3 (6-3-12 - Traveled to Ogalla, Nebraska)

Just another traveling day.  We were in slow mode today and traveled about 400 miles.  We are in Ogallala, Nebraska.  I almost got concerned about the fact that we were not going fast enough, until Lauren asked, "When do we have to be home?"  I responded, "WHENEVER!!!!!!!!"

Life is good.

Day 2 (Retirement Day 6-2-12)

Nice to wake up and realize that I am officially retired today. We traveled almost 600 miles today between Grenada, Ms. and St. Joseph, Mo.  Great drive. Saw some pretty country.  Got a lot more miles to go. 

Later.

Day 1 (6-1-12 - On The Road)

We are on the road to Alaska, this is home for a few months. We left around 2:30 this afternoon.  We thought about waiting until tomorrow, but decided to leave before I packed everything that we owned.  We stopped for the night at Frog Hollow Campground in Grenada. We are going to rest up for a longer travel day tomorrow.  I asked Lauren as we were leaving home, "reckon how soon we would need our cold weather clothes?"  My question was answered when we got to the campground and needed our sweat shirts to sit outside.  I am not sure if we packed enough clothes, considering we haven't left Mississippi and are wearing sweat shirts.  Ferny Kat is having a bad night.  The refrigerator has closed, not once, but twice, on her tail shortly after we arrived.  You could hear her screaming all over the campground.  Hope she has a better day tomorrow.

Later.