Leaders of the Pack

Looking back at 2009

2010-01-01T07:47:00.001-08:00

We started the year at the Plantation RV Park located near Foley, AL. While there we purchased a small 26 foot trailer to go to Alaska in. We stored our 5th wheel at the Plantation. We traveled 8 months in the small trailer. We had fun but don’t think we will do that again. (Barb says “never, no way!!)

Here are some of the statistics of our travels:

We traveled 36,492 miles through 27 states and 3 provinces. We burned 2740 gallons of diesel fuel which equates to about 13.3 miles per gallon. We stayed in 82 RV parks,some more than once.

Some of the highlights of this year: Our granddaughter Danielle getting married, our trip to Alaska with Diane and Wayne, visiting with Barbs cousin in Palmer, AK, meeting 2 former Marine Corps buddies, visiting my niece in Montana and going to my 55th class reunion. We also found ourselves in or near snow in months that should not have snow. We have had a wonderful year and have seen and done a lot. Here are some pictures from this year, it was very hard to select these. These pictures start in Florida and go to Alaska and back to Florida.

Our summer home Diane and Barb Resting Cattle Drive Fort Worth, TX

Spring Flowers on the desert Mt. Shasta Moodonna The metal cow

Josh and Danielle - Wedding Day Sunset at Barview, OR Barb holding a Burrowing owl

Baniff Gondola Baniff from the Gondola

Wayne and Diane looking cold Glen & Barb braving the cold The whole gang Glen killing mosquito

White Pass & Yukon Railroad Reindeer waiting for Christmas The wolf Denali, AK

Grizzly eating Dandelions Mt McKinley The Fishermen

Halibut Time Bandit Valdez Glacier

Barb in front of the glacier Silver Salmon Black Bear, Hyder, AK

Eating out again Hummingbird Washington Bucking Bronco, Helena, MT

Buffalo calf nursing, North Dakota Grain Harvesting, North Dakota Steam Engine driving a threshing machine

Snow, Blooming Prairie, MN The house I grew up in, Tomah, WI Beautiful

Blue Heron, Florida Christmas Cactus, Bushnell, FL

This is our 42nd Wedding Anniversary picture on 31 December, 2009. Happy New Year everyone!!!!!

Christmas

2009-12-26T19:15:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve found us at the club house for a gift exchange and lots of finger foods. Some of the gifts exchanged hands more than once as we could take from someone else if they had something we wanted. I chased my naked dead chicken around the room before I got him back to the table. We had lots of fun and laughs.

Christmas day found us back at the club house for Christmas dinner ( more food). The park provides turkey and ham, the ladies decorate the tables and the attendees provide all the side dishes. As always lots of food and fellowship. We had about 100 people attending dinner. We had a large variety of food to include dirty rice, rutabaga, dressing, Waldorf salad, and assorted desserts. We all ate to much as usual.

Today we are kicked back. We don’t go shopping the day after Christmas but we will go out to lunch (more eating).

Sumter Oaks RV Park, Bushnell, Florida

2009-12-26T06:40:00.001-08:00

We are at Sumter Oaks RV Park, Bushnell, FL. As we were checking in several ladies that we knew came in to the office. It was like old home week. An old friend Al Peterson was checking us in then Betty, Brenda and Joann came in. Really great to see them. Then as we were parking their husbands, Glenn, Jim and Carl came around. Later Don the banjo player came by. We are going to be here at least thru the end of the year and then we’ll see. It is good to be stopped for a well. We have been here several days and have had some nice and not so nice weather. The day after we arrive it poured down rain all day and night. I thought we would have to get some paddles. We have had rain showers and sunshine, temps from the 40’s to the 70’s.

WE have been taking morning walks around the park and here are some of the local wildlife.

These two sandhill cranes are eating our of a bird feeder. As I was taking their picture they started to leave and then went back as there still was feed in the feeder.

This squirrel was scolding us as we were walking by.

A view of the swamp behind the park, the light color thru the trees is early morning fog. The next are our home sitting amongst the trees. I really enjoy this park with the live oaks and cypress trees with Spanish moss hanging and moving gently with the breeze. Some views from our site.

The burros next door. There are 7, we feed them carrots and other veggies.

I tried to get her to smile.

Traveling Thru The Southern States and Restaurants

2009-12-03T05:03:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we headed south leaving Pennsylvania going into Maryland then just a few miles down the road we entered West Virginia and about the time I got use to seeing West Virginia signs we entered yet another state - Virginia. Wow !!!! 4 states in just over one hour. Then today it was a three state day, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. It is sure different traveling in the east. Sometimes out west it takes 3 days to drive across one state. It seems like we are traveling faster when we cross state lines so quick. We also noted that we are back in the land of trees with leaves. Somewhere near Charlotte, North Carolina we realized that the trees still had leaves on them. Also the temperature is warmer, that sure is appreciated.

As we have traveled and eaten in restaurants across the country we find different items on the menus that are new to us. We understand that in restaurants of different cultures there are names we don’t recognize. But in good old American restaurants we have found some unusual names. In most cases we have to ask what they are. Today we stopped to eat at a truck stop in North Carolina and the new item was a liver mush sandwich. I had to ask the waitress and she was not to clear on what it was as she had not eaten it. I looked it up on the internet, it is ground up pork liver and corn meal or grits mixed together and made into a loaf, cooked and then sliced. I am glad I didn’t order it. Some other different items we have seen: in PA birch beer, it taste like root beer but is red in color. Also one restaurant had a steamer. My first thought this must be mussels, but no, it is a Sloppy Joe. In Alabama we had swamp soup. It looked like swamp water and was made with collard greens, beans and sausage. It is really good.

Today we kicked back, letting a storm pass thru this area. It was raining when we got up this morning and the forecast was for more rain thru out the day. About lunch time we drove into the town of Walterboro, SC looking for a post office. We found the post office and a nice down town area with many shops and two nice restaurants. We had lunch at the Blarney Stone - an Irish Pub, very nice and the food was good.

The Blarney Stone and the main street of Walterboro

The side walk is made with oyster shells in it.

A nativity scene in from of Old Bank Christmas and Gift Shop with the Waterfall Plaza next door. This tree had lots of Spanish moss hanging from it.

We have changed the picture at the top of our blog to a picture of our current rig. We are much more comfortable in this rig.

Tomorrow we are heading south if the weather is good.

Thanksgiving is over

2009-11-30T18:08:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is over and we had lots of good food and I ate to much. So what is new. On black Friday we didn’t go shopping, but we went with our daughter and her family to pick out a Christmas tree. We drove out to a tree farm near Greencastle. They give you a long strip of plastic and you write your name on it and then tie it to the tree that you select. Lots of trees to select from. Our granddaughter made the finale selection.

Heading out to select a Christmas Tree. Notice we all have our hands in our pockets. It was windy and cold.

After looking and looking a tree was selected. Many were looked at and rejected for one thing or another. It really didn’t take to long to pick a tree. If had been warmer it would have taken longer.

In the RV Park where we are staying our neighbor had one flamingo in their yard. My wife, being a flamingo person, had to put out some flamingos to keep company with the lonely one next door.

When we were in Alaska last summer the fish we caught were shipped to our daughter as we didn’t have a large freezer in our rig. We have since purchased a small chest freezer and put it in our fifth wheel. It sure was a good move. We not only have our expensive fish now, but when we see sales we can take advantage of them. It also holds ice cream better than our other freezer.

As we travel we joke about where RV parks are located. Most are located next to a highway, railroad tracks or airport. If you are lucky you can get all three. The RV park we are staying in is quite close to Interstate 81, west of us is the railroad, south a short ways is an airport, but the best part is the RV park backs up to a truck terminal. It was quiet Thursday thru Sunday. At midnight Sunday the trucks started to roll, by 7:00 AM the parking lot for the cars was full and the trucks were almost all gone. It was not as noisy as I thought it would be.

Here is the only wild life we have seen. This guy posed for me.

Tomorrow we are back on the road pointing the nose south.

November in Pennsylvania

2009-11-27T16:40:00.001-08:00

We are in Greencastle, PA visiting our daughter and her family for Thanksgiving. We arrived on Monday and got our rig parked and hooked up. The weather has been rainy and temps in the low 50’s. We have spent the evenings with Barbee, Wes and granddaughter Becky. It is hard to believe that she is in her last year of high school. It is nice to be able to sit down and catch up on things happening in their lives.

As we have been traveling the last couple of months we have been watching the leaves change color all across the country. We have seen some very beautiful colors. We have not been able to get pictures of all of them. This is a small sampling of autumn in parts of the country not mentioned in tourist magazines.

Greencastle, PA Lots of pretty leaves, but most of them are on the ground. I remember they have to be raked. That’s why I like this life style - no raking. Some of these trees look like the leaves all let go at one time. We would drive by one day and the leaves were on the tree the next day all on the ground.

South Congaree, Sc the leafs on the oak trees turn a reddish brown.

Tomah, WI in October the trees are just starting to change color.

Austin, MN some bushes near a soy bean field October.

Alaska a few years ago birch trees turning yellow in early September

Along the road in the Yukon here the birch are turning in early September. The horses are wild, and are often seen along the road.

On The Road Again

2009-11-22T18:51:00.001-08:00

We arrived at the Rainbow Plantation RV Park in Summerdale, AL and spent about a month not doing too much, seeing old friends and getting moved back into our fifth wheel. It sure was great to get back into the larger rig. It is nice to have more than one place to sit down. We have stored our small trailer in South Carolina at Barbs nephew. We also waited out Ida. The storm didn’t give us much wind but we had a lot of rain. Two days of rain. We also drove down to the gulf and watched some guys fishing with cast nets. One guy was having a lot of luck and the others were not catching anything.

These guys were hanging around for a hand out.

One of the fishermen throwing his cast net, and the results. The fish are mullet and sheepshead

Barb checking out the catch.

We left Alabama and are on our way to Greencastle, PA. We spent a few days in South Congaree, SC where Barbs nephew lives. Barbs nephew Jackie Carter is a bike rider and has built and painted his own bike. I think he did a great job.

We then went on to Hendersonville, NC to visit Stan and June Golowski. Stan was my radar officer in Vietnam. They are such nice people and we try to see them when we are in this part of the world. We had a nice visit with Stan and June.

The next day we went to The Biltmore Estate to see the Christmas decorations. It is America’s largest home with 250 rooms on an 8,000 acre estate.There are 43 bathrooms in this house, a rarity for houses of that era (1895) as very few homes had indoor bathrooms. A little trivia from that time: the servants lived in 21 rooms on the fourth floor. They were allowed two hours off daily but were on call. They received one afternoon and one evening off per week, and a half day every other Sunday. That sounds like a tough job.There sure was a lot of walking up and down four stories. I was disappointed I couldn’t take pictures inside. Sure were a lot of Christmas trees in the house almost every room had some kind of tree or other decoration. The banquet hall had two huge Christmas trees beautifully decorated. We took a walk down to the conservatory where I did take some pictures in the greenhouse.

Some of the orchids and other flowers.

Outside views of the Biltmore house.

This time of the year there wasn’t too much in bloom outside in the gardens but here are some of the bushes and a large tree.

This tree looks like it has three trunks. There wasn’t anything telling what kind of tree it is but it must be old.

Tonight we are in Natural Bridge, VA at a KOA park. The temperature is 46 degrees. We are on our way further north to Greencastle, PA to visit our daughter and her family for Thanksgiving. I hope it doesn’t get too cold while we are there.

Almost to Alabama

2009-10-21T19:53:00.001-07:00

We are in Collins, MS at a small RV park behind a Best Western Motel. There are 5 rigs here and we have all the level sites. Tomorrow on the road to the Plantation RV park in Foley, AL. The Plantation is an Escapee Park and it well be like old home week when we get there. Then we’ll move back in to the 5th wheel.

Here are pictures of the rigs we have lived in since we started full timing on 17 May 2001.

This is our first home 26 feet with one slide. We enjoyed living in it.

Next we bought this 5th wheel 33 feet 2 slides. This was better.

Then we bought this 5th wheel 39 feet and 4 slides. It’s like living in a small apartment. And then we went brain dead and bought this small 26 ft with a very small slide to live in for 8 months. I am ready to go back to the 5th wheel.

In the Land of Corn and Beans

2009-10-20T19:46:00.001-07:00

I am sorry I haven’t post a blog in along time. No excuses I was just lazy. This one covers the last month.

We are at Brookside Campground which is located near Blooming Prairie, MN in the land of corn and beans. They grow corn and beans all through this area. It is starting in to the harvest time and as we drive around the area we are seeing the fields being harvested. A little trivia, there are 2 kinds of corn growing here, the brown tassel is field corn and is used for cattle feed or making gas. If it has a white tassel it is sweet corn and is used for canning or sold in the stores as ear corn.

We are staying in this area until the middle of next month.

We worked at this park a few years ago and had a good time and are coming back next summer. We are looking forward to it.

This is Coco, she runs the lodge. She greets everyone coming in and prefers those who bring food.

This is one of the campground cats. A soy bean field

Drove to Vesper, WI to see my brother Jim and his wife Shirley. Took Bev our sister who lives in Stewartville, MN along. It was a rainy day but not to much traffic. I enjoyed seeing Jim and Shirley. They live outside of Wisconsin Rapids about 10 miles on several acres of land. In the spring they have a green house selling bedding plants.

The leaves are starting to change color. We saw some very pretty trees along the Mississippi River but no pictures - too dark and too much rain.

Thanks to the internet I was able to find and contact Tim Brown who I was stationed with in Vietnam. I had not seen him since 1966. It sure was good to sit and catch up.

One morning we woke up to white stuff on the ground. I am too far north too late!!!!! It has been many years since we had built a snowman.

I had a high school 55th class reunion on 15 and 16 Oct. I can’t believe I been out of school that long. The reunion was in Tomah, Wisconsin where I graduated from Tomah High School. I had a good time, it was nice to see many of those I was in school with. It was interesting to hear what everyone has done with their lives.

We have left Minnesota and are on our way to Alabama and warm weather and our big 5th wheel. It sure will feel good to be back in it. Last night we stayed in St Charles, MO where we met Bill and Sandy Baker. They are old friends and we were able to hook up and have dinner and catch up on what each has been doing.

Central Dakota Steam Threshers Reunion

2009-09-20T22:01:00.001-07:00

Today we drove to New Rockford, North Dakota to see steam engines and a demonstration of threshing grain. It was very impressive. I have never seen this many running steam engines at one time before. There was an operating saw mill and a corn shucking mill. There was a washing machine demonstration including a wash board. Lots of old tractors and old time farm equipment.

We have spent the last few days in Jamestown, ND visiting our granddaughter Brittany. She lives and works here in Jamestown. I was going to take a picture of her but she got away before I could. I’ll get a picture next time. But here is a picture of her holding this buffalo up. Jamestown is known for having the largest buffalo. There are 3 albino buffalo located here tho we have not been lucky enough to see them.

Recap of our Alaska Trip

2009-09-19T19:45:00.001-07:00

Now that we are back in the lower 48, I’ll do a recap of our trip. We left Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, MT on 21 May 2009. We arrived back in Chewelah, WA on 30 August 2009, 102 days. We drove 6,483 miles towing our trailer. We traveled another 3,542 miles sight seeing and doing other things for a total of 10,025 miles over all kinds of roads. We stayed in 31 different campgrounds and RV parks. Some we stayed in more than once. This at a cost of $2,473.67. We purchased 752 gallons of diesel fuel at a cost of $2,649.46. This comes out to $3.52 average per gallon. We paid the most for fuel in Pelly Crossing, Yukon - $5.07 per gallon. In Alaska, $4.73 in Cantwell was the most we paid. We purchased the book “Great Alaskan Tour Saver” which has 2-for-1 offers for $99.95. It paid for it’s self very shortly. I would recommend it to anyone making an extended trip to Alaska.

It was a great trip and it had many days that I thought was the highlight only to have something occur a few days later that was the highlight. So we had many highlights. We had very nice weather the first month of the trip with little rain. The second and third month we had more rain and cooler weather. We meet many nice people along the way, and many who gave us information on things to see and places to fish. We didn’t use all the advice we got. But we were thankful for it. With this all said we are planning our next trip to Alaska.

Enchanted Highway, North Dakota

2009-09-18T19:53:00.001-07:00

We took a drive to see the Enchanted Highway which takes you to Regent, ND. We turned off interstate I 94 at exit 72 and there is this huge sculpture of geese in flight. It is 110 feet high and 156 feet long weighing over 75 tons. It was raised in 2001 and is the largest scrap metal sculpture in the world and is in the Guinness World Book of Records. There are 7 of these sculptures along the 32 miles to Regent, ND.

Geese In Flight 2001

The Deer Family 2002

Grasshoppers in the Field 1999

Fisherman’s Dream 2006

Pheasants on the Prairie 1996

Teddy Rides Again 1993

Tin Family 1991

After seeing all of this metal formed into great sculptures we were headed back to the RV park and came upon a field of grain being harvested. This is a lot different than when I was a kid and had helped a couple of times at harvest time. There were three combines cutting swaths through the fields about thirty feet in width. The machine cut the grain, removed the grain from the stem and stored it in a hopper and blew the chaff and straw back on the field. There was a tractor pulling a large bin on wheels and would travel along side the combines and they would unload into this bin with out stopping. Once the bin was full he would pull up next to a semi waiting to take the grain to a storage bin. We watched for about 15 minutes and in that time they harvested more grain than a whole crew would in a day back in the late 40’s and early 50’s. This was really interesting. I knew it was done this way, but this was the first time in years to see the actual operation. Barb had never seen grain harvested. This is the first stage of your bread.

Chewelah to Elk Country,(Missoula, Montana)

2009-09-17T19:35:00.001-07:00

I forgot to post this entry on time. I guess I went brain dead.

After spending a week at Chewelah and several good meals with our friends Lee and Sharon, we headed down the road for Montana. The drive east is very beautiful. We passed thru northern Idaho where we traveled along some rivers with mountains in the background. We took highway 200 which passes thru Thompson Falls, MT. We went this way because the last time we were in Thompson Falls there was a small ice cream shop called the Three Bears that had great ice cream. As we approached it we saw the for sale sign. It was closed. I had been tasting that ice cream all day. What a disappointment. With out the ice cream there was no reason to stop so we drove on into Missoula and stayed at the Jellystone RV park.

I contacted a Marine Corps friend that I have not seen in 21 years, Elmer and his wife Judy. We had lunch together and replayed old times. It sure was good to see them.

We also contacted my niece Sharon and her husband Bill. We got together and had a nice Mexican dinner. We caught up on the family. Also while in Missoula we went to the Elk Country Visitor Center, it is very interesting with lots of nice displays of animals and a large display of elk heads with huge racks.

These are all trophy elk. This bear looks like he is smiling.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

2009-09-17T19:16:00.001-07:00

Before we drove through the park we toured Roosevelt’s cabin. It was a lot smaller than one would expect. This area was Roosevelt’s ranch but he did not spend a lot of time here. He came here for short periods to hunt and to be here for the yearly round up of the cattle. There are more buffalo here now than when Roosevelt lived here. We had a great drive through the park. We saw lots of buffalo, prairie dogs and one horse. The buffalo and prairie dogs were next to the road, the one horse we saw was a long way from the road and I would not have seen it if it had not been pointed out to me. We could only see it with binoculars.

This first picture of wildlife was watching us when we were getting in the truck after lunch. The next ones are Roosevelt’s cabin, it had 3 rooms and a loft. Shown are the kitchen, dining and office as one room, bedroom had place to wash and take care of necessary things. Not pictured is the storage room and loft. This cabin was located on a busy road and he had lots of visitors and all were welcome to set around the stove in a rocker which was Roosevelt’s favorite place to set. The picture with the stove has a vessel that is not seen in homes today. Also the next picture has a two vessels not seen today.

Some of the wildlife and scenery. This first buffalo was laying in the shade all by himself. The next picture is one of the prairie dogs. We could hear them talking to each other with barks and squeaks. The rest of the pictures were taken through out the park. We were in the park during the middle of the day with temperature near 90 degrees. I think if we had been there in the morning we would have seen more wildlife

This calf was hungry and was going to get lunch no matter how many cars were there.

Medora, North Dakota and Theodore Roosevelt National Park

2009-09-16T19:23:00.001-07:00

Today we arrived at Medora which is where the headquarters for The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is located. We are going to drive thru the park tomorrow. Today we took a drive thru what is called Custer Trail and auto tour of the badland in this area. We saw lots of oil wells and cattle and funny looking hills, a sample of some follow. There is a lot of history in this area and we hope to learn some of it tomorrow.

Today the sky is clear and Barb caught this plane flying over just as we pulled into this rest stop where the grasshoppers kept Barb at bay.

These are from the Custer auto tour and the visitor center

This evening we went out to dinner at a local restaurant where we both had steak. The steak tasted ok but was really tough. I guess that restaurant won’t make my favorite list.

Helena, Montana and Points East

2009-09-13T21:20:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Helena and after getting the trailer parked we took off for Walmart. It seems we always need something.

We took the Last Chance Tour Train, which is a tour of Helena, it was very interesting giving the history of the town and history of some of the old buildings.

This bucking bronco is located by the Historical Society Building. The capital building of Montana

The old Governor mansion. The old fire tower for the city of Helena. Some old signs

We had a very unusual experience. We were taking a walk and stopped to talk to a couple throwing a ball for their dog. During the conversation some one mentioned Upper Michigan. I said that my mother had grown up in Champion, MI The gent I was talking to said that so had he. I said my mother was a Fredrickson, he said he had lived next door to Oscar and Lillian Fredrickson and there two children Gerald and Aleta. They are my cousins. The town of Champion is less than 100 people. It was bigger back in the 40’s when he was growing up there. What a surprise, it’s a small world.

Today we continued our trip east leaving Helena and heading to Miles City, MT. On the drive today I was reminded of the song Home on the range where the deer and the antelope play and the skies are not cloudy all day. We saw many deer and more antelope. We had some clouds but you can’t have everything. We also saw a herd of horses and there were several young colts kicking up their heels and acting like little kids.In driving across Montana I can see were the term Big Sky comes from. We also saw many cattle, horses, several hawks and sand hill cranes today. At a rest stop we saw this sign with some of the brands used here. Also a sign about the rattlesnakes, I guess the snakes don’t use the sidewalks.

Last days in Canada

2009-09-12T21:11:00.001-07:00

Today we left Prince George heading south to Washington. The temp is 60 degrees, sun is shining and no rain. This is pretty country we are driving through. Mostly farm land, lots of horses. Coming through Quesnel, B.C. there are all kinds of flowers, some in hanging baskets some in small flower gardens, along the street. There were so many we could smell the scent from the flowers. We had a small black bear cross the road in front of us. We got several pictures. There was a boat in the yard were the bear crossed and he headed for the boat, I think he could smell the dead fish smell. We are spending the night at Brookside Campground just outside of Cache Creek, B.C.. We picked this campground because of the name. The same name as the campground we worked at in Blooming Prairie, MN.

The other day we were driving and crossed a stream with the name Baking Powder Creek. Now a name like that must have a story behind it. Did someone drop the baking powder in the creek and there were no more biscuits? There have been names of other things that when you hear them you wonder how did they come up with that name.

We left Cache Creek, B.C. for the good old USA, arriving at Osoyoos, B.C. to cross back into the USA, with a few questions a check of our refrigerator and we were home. We drove on to Chewelah. WA to the Chewelah Golf Course and Country Club, RV park. It is a nice park adjacent to the golf course. We don’t golf but my old Marine Corps buddy lives here. We are staying through the Labor day weekend.

Some things we notice that are different here in the USA from Canada. First in the smaller towns in Canada when you ask for ice in your drink you’ll only get a couple of pieces, you have to ask for extra ice and then you get strange looks. In restaurants wait staff rarely come back and check on the customer. You have to ask for the check and it is not added up. They are so close but so far away in day to day things we expect here. The TV in Canada tries to copy ours but poorly. But they do have some great scenery.

Whitehorse and South

2009-08-28T17:32:00.001-07:00

We left Whitehorse and headed to Watson Lake – in the rain. We spent the night in Watson Lake, did some laundry and the next morning headed south on the Cassiar Highway –in the rain. The first half a mile was good and then we hit road construction. Rough and muddy. We slowly made our way to Jade City where we had lunch and the ladies found some things to buy in the jewelry shop. We continued on south and spent the night at Mountain Shadow RV Park. What a beautiful place.

The next morning it was sunny, but by the time we were hooking up the rain was back. Our destination was Stewart, B.C. It rained all day. We stayed at the Bear River RV Park in Stewart, another nice park. That evening Barb and I drove into Hyder, AK, and went to Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing Area. It is a day use recreation area operated by the US Forest Service. Both brown(grizzly) and black bears can be easily observed and photographed here as they fish for chum and pink salmon in the shallow waters of Fish Creek and Marx Creek from mid-July through early September. Viewing is from a boardwalk viewing area. That evening there was one black bear nosing at the dead salmon and just walking around. The next day we all went and there were 2 black bears and one grizzly. When the grizzly came close to the black bears they left. I guess grizzlies rule!!!! Besides seeing the bears the surrounding area is beautiful with waterfalls cascading down the mountain sides. Lush green foliage. High mountain cliffs and some with glaciers hanging off of them. At Stewart, B.C. we cross into Hyder, Alaska, going from pavement in Stewart to dirt and gravel in Hyder. Hyder being a town of 100 people some of the year. Less in the winter.

The next morning - in the rain - we hooked up and headed for Houston, B.C. the home of the largest fly rod. After about an hour the sun came out and we had the best day of driving we have had in a long time. This area around Houston, B.C. is also one of the best fly fish areas in Canada. We stayed at the Shady Rest RV Park. A very clean park with beautiful hanging baskets of flowers and flower beds around the park. The bath rooms in this park were the cleanest I think I have been in. Here again we are seeing the leaves starting to change color. Fall is just around the corner. This area has had only 15 minutes of rain since June. Everything is very brown and dry.

The next day we started out for Prince George, B.C., the sun out, blue skies and good road. We are traveling in more farming country now. Also more small towns. We arrived in Prince George and are staying at the Sintich RV Park on the outskirts of Prince George. The weather is warm, we can leave the windows open and sit outside. Temperature over 70 degrees, we haven't seen that high a temp in a long time.

Here is were we leave our friends Wayne and Diane. They are heading on east and south going back into the states in Montana. We are going south into Washington to visit some friends. Good by Wayne and Diane. It has been fun and we will miss that motor home following us. And the dinners together and all the other good times.

Fall colors near Whitehorse, cutting jade at Jade City, Mountain Shadow RV Park.

The muddy road.

The Bus in Hyde, AK ,very good halibut and seafood chowder, mountains around Hyder and Stewart.

The bears and ducks. The Hyder post office where mail comes Monday and Thursday if the plane cane get in. Last December no mail for 17 days during the Christmas season. Everything is flown in from Ketchikan, AK.

The walkway we viewed the bears from, downtown Hyder.

More mountains, glaciers, waterfalls.

Totem poles at Kitwanga, B.C. a first nation village.

In Kitwanga, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, the bell tower standing beside the church houses the original bell from the 1893 bell tower.

The largest fly rod, 60 feet long with a 21 inch fly is a fluorescent Skykomish Sunrise.

Tok to Whitehorse,Yukon

2009-08-23T22:36:00.001-07:00

We left Tok, Alaska headed south. Our last stop in Alaska was at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. There is a good view of the mountains and some small lakes from there. We drove to Destruction Bay, Yukon and spent the night. On the way I had a problem with the arms that hold the awning. The bolts came out part way but I managed to make a temporary fix. We had planned to go to Haines, Alaska, but when we got up today it was still raining and the mountains had snow on them. The forecast is for rain in Haines for the next few days so we changed our plans and drove on into Whitehorse. It is raining here but I needed to fix the awning arms which I did. On the way here we stopped at Kluane visitor center. It is at the foot of the mountains were the Dall sheep cross over the mountains. We have seen the sheep before but today the clouds are down too far to see them. The rest of the drive was uneventful except for the black bear that crossed the road on front of us. To quick to take a picture.

This visitor center is about 8 miles from the Canada/USA border. A couple of views from the center. The last one depicts a native hunter bringing home the caribou.

An old church at Burwash Landing, Yukon

Some scenes along the road.

Snow on the mountain tops. It was not there the night before.

You have to enlarge this picture, to see the flock of geese headed south, I think that is our sign to head south too.

This is our third trip to Alaska, and each trip we have seen different things. The other day Wayne said this is not a trip, it is an experience. He is right, there are not many places with so many different things to see and experience.

I hope the people that look at our blog enjoy what we have seen and experienced, but I also hope that this might encourage you to take the time to drive that old dirt road just to see what might be there - if nothing more than the end of the road. Who knows what treasure you may find.

Gold Mining in Chicken, Alaska

2009-08-18T00:42:00.001-07:00

Arriving in Chicken we went to Chicken Creek Outpost to camp and go gold mining. They had only 5 or 6 sites with electric, all the rest were dry camping. Our electric came on at 7:00 AM and went off at 9:30 PM. They have showers available for a small charge. $3.00 for 7 minutes,from 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM. In the store they had lots of souvenirs, and a soup, sandwich and breakfast bar. All very good. We made arrangements to go to the mining claim which is about 2 miles from the camp ground. We were lead by Greg to the claim and given instruction as to where we could dig and pan for gold. The claim is huge and covered with vegetation. A small creek flows down through it. I had brought my metal detector with me and worked with it with no success. They was to much brush and over burden. So we tried our hand at gold panning. We got a few flakes with a lot of work. We didn’t get any gold nuggets but really enjoyed the time. I didn’t mention that we had to walk in on a dirt trail about a quarter of a mile, which meant we had to walk out the same amount. I think at was further on the way out. By lunch time we had worked up a appetite so we walked to the truck and drove back to the campground for lunch at the store. Umm good. In the afternoon we tried our hand at panning at the wooden troughs at the campground. Here we found some gold, not a lot but in each pan full of dirt we would get several flakes of gold. By the end of the evening my hand was so stiff I could hardly move it. I thought about the men who panned for gold back in the gold rush days. They had to have been some tough hombres.

The next day it was raining and I decided that a few flakes of gold wasn’t worth the effort and standing in the rain. I must be becoming a wimp. We took a drive on the road that goes to the US and Canada border. The road that we came in to Alaska on early in the spring. At that time it was rough and dusty, now it was wet and muddy in some places. We drove about 15 miles hoping to see some wild life. Out and back and only one little squirrel. Even through we didn’t see any wild life the scenery was beautiful. It is starting to become fall, the leaves are changing color. Lots of pinks, yellow, purples, red and browns. Many shades of each color. We took lots of pictures but it is hard to show the large expansion of hills and valleys covered with the changing foliage.

While at Chicken we met several folks from around the US, Canada and Germany, all trying to find a little bit of gold. A couple of people found small nuggets. All were really enjoying it.

The hill sides on the way to Chicken.

The campground and our campsite.

Our campsite, very clean out houses, the troughs where we panned for gold.

Around the campground, the picture on the right is Pedro, the gold dredge that was used back in the late 1800’s, and early 1900’s. It was moved here in 1998. It was a major task.

The gold claim and the last one is a moose trail.

The road we walked to get to the mining claim

Equipment from yesteryear along that same road

The road from the campground to the mining claim. To folks who go off road and four wheeling this is not much, but to those that live in the cities and don’t get out in the country this could be a challenge.

Some pictures along the highway to the border.

A long way down.

It looks like that road has got some bends in it.

Mud, we were just over there.

Our campground and the town of Chicken from the hill overlooking it.

Salmon Fishing

2009-08-16T23:08:00.001-07:00

Early Tuesday morning we headed for the Heimdall fishing boat. Arriving at the boat the skipper checked our fishing license and welcomed us aboard. We had 5 people aboard to fish. We headed out of the Valdez Harbor toward the Prince William Sound. We had to go out 35 miles to where the silver salmon were hanging out. By this time of year the salmon should be in the Valdez Harbor, but everything is late this year. After arriving at the fishing grounds the skipper and his helper (his daughter who has 1 more year of college) rigged poles for fishing. There was only room for 3 to fish at a time so we took turns taking a break after catching a fish to let someone else have a turn. We all caught our limits and Wayne caught a rock fish also. I also caught a ling cod, but I could not keep it as it was a little short. It was fun catching it. The weather was a little cool but the water was very smooth. There were a few ice bergs floating within sight of the boat. It was an enjoyable day.

The boat basin, ice berg, Buddy (82 years old) with a fish on.

Buddy’s fish coming in.

Me and my ling cod. our boat the Heimdall.

The great fisher man returning from the sea. Our fish, and the fish being cleaned.

After arriving back in Valdez we had our fish cleaned and took them to be packaged and frozen to be shipped to our daughters. I hope to pick them up this fall (if there is any left).

This morning, Wednesday, we left Valdez headed for Glennallen. The drive today was beautiful. Shortly after leaving Valdez the weather cleared somewhat and we were able to see the mountains. Valdez is in a rainforest and there is moss hanging from some of the trees. As we proceeded further we entered a large canyon with many waterfalls coming down the sides of the canyon. The waterfalls run into a roaring river headed for the Valdez Harbor.

Some of the scenery we saw today.

Stopped at this turn out for lunch. The horse in the last picture is at a pizza parlor. We had seen this horse on the way to Valdez and stopped today to get a picture. Not everyone has a horse on there roof.

In the morning we are headed to Chicken to try our hand at gold mining. Diane and Wayne are staying in Glennallen visiting with friends while we go on.

Glacier and Wild Life Cruise, Valdez, Alaska

2009-08-09T22:12:00.001-07:00

What a trip!!! We have had some wonderful sights on this trip, but I think this is the highlight of our trip. I was also thinking how fortunate we are to have so many exciting days in such a short time. I think of all the people who never get to see a fraction of what we have seen in their whole life.

We headed out on the -Valdez Spirit-a large catamaran, the skipper a young woman who not only handled the boat well, but also gave us outstanding information on the area, glacier and wild life. Leaving the boat basin we could see across the harbor to the facilities that are at the end of the oil pipe line and were the oil is stored waiting to be transported to the lower 48. Shortly after passing the oil storage facilities we saw a raft of sea otters. On the mountains that surround the water are many water falls. We also saw several bald eagles, but all to far to get pictures. There were salmon jumping all over. Hope to catch some soon. We then proceeded to the Columbia Glacier. As we approached it there was a line of small ice bergs floating in the water. The skipper of the boat told us that this was unusual to have this much ice floating. They had not been there the day before, but they were all small and would all thaw within 24 hours.

Our boat and the oil facilities. A mountain top sticking out of the clouds and the little sea otters floating around. They grow to about six feet long and 100 pounds. They act like they don’t have a care in the world.

More scenery, seals resting on a buoy and the first sighting of the line of icebergs. The following pictures are as we approached the Columbia Glacier. Our skipper skillfully maneuvered around the icebergs bringing us up very (1/4 mile) close to the glacier. The ice was sculptured into unusual forms. Also some or the icebergs had riders, the sea otters again. If you notice the people on the boat had on coats and hats. It was really cold.

We left the Columbia Glacier and headed on to the Meares Glacier. I was impressed with the Columbia Glacier but as we rounded the corner and could see the Meares Glacier I was awe struck. We could hear the ice popping and cracking. It sounded like a cannon being fired. We saw a few small chunks of ice calve off the glacier. The color of the ice is blue as can be seen in some of the pictures.

We watched the Dall’s Porpoise playing around the bow of the Lu-Lu Belle. Steller Sea Lions are pulled out of the water on the rocks resting and making lots of noise. There were also Horned Puffin swimming and flying around. We came upon a large pod of Dall’s Porpoise thet swam around the bow of the boat. They are very fast. I took many pictures of water and a few with porpoise in them.

The high speed ferry headed for Cordova. More mountains and waterfalls. Islands that caught my attention. The young woman in the boat had caught a ride with us out to where she works at a fish hatchery located on the shore here. They raise pink salmon and release them in the Valdez Arm. The last pictures are us having a good time even if it is cold.

If you are enjoying our blog please leave a comment at the bottom. I hope the next blog is about catching salmon.

Museum in Valdez

2009-08-07T23:05:00.001-07:00

We have made reservations for a wild life cruise on Saturday. Checked the fishing and making plans to go silver salmon fishing. The reports are that the fish are not in close yet. Hope they move in soon.

Today we went to the Valdez Museum, it is small but quite nice. A few pictures, they cover from the 1898 gold rush with the miners cabin, the oil pipe line and some of the early life style and native American clothing and weapons.

Early miners camper, a bar from long ago, notice the spittoons.

I am glad the roads have gotten better than in this picture. The first barrel of oil, and it is full.

Clothing worn by the Alutiiqs in rainy weather, and early weapons.

Early fire fighting equipment. It has been nicely restore.

We drove out to the Valdez glacier and took a few pictures. We could not drive up to the glacier and it was a longer hike than I wanted to do. This water from the glacier forms a lake and then runs into a fair size river that empties into the Prince William Sound.

As we look around the mountains that surround the town and harbor of Valdez we can see water falls cascading down the mountain side. It is hard to show the beauty of this place. No matter if the sun is shining or it is raining, it is beautiful.

Valdez. Alaska

2009-08-05T23:35:00.001-07:00

This morning we left Glennallen headed for Valdez. The air was thick with wood smoke from one of the forest fires. As we traveled toward Valdez it started to sprinkle a little. The rain cleared the smoke out of the air.The drive from Glennallen to Valdez is one of the prettiest in Alaska. I just wish it had not been so smoky and cloudy.

We stopped for a break near this river. It was really rushing down this canyon.

We stopped at the Worthington Glacier and took some pictures. At the visitor center this magpie was making a lot of noise, it almost sounded like some one talking.

Further along we stopped at the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horse Tail Falls for picture taking.

After arriving in Valdez we got our rigs set up and then took a ride looking for wild life and salmon. We found no wild life but lots of salmon. The US Forestry Service runs a viewing point were salmon are spawning. These fish die as soon as they are finished spawning.

At the fish hatchery there is a fish ladder and thousands of salmon trying to get up it. I have never seen so many fish.

In Alaska fireweed grows all over. The story we have heard many times is that when the blooms reach the top of the fireweed there well be snow in six weeks. The fireweed in the pictures below, the blooms are almost to the top. I may have to hurry and leave Alaska.

Palmer to Glennallen

2009-08-04T22:57:00.001-07:00

Sunday afternoon we had lunch with Barb’s cousin Tena and her husband Bob. Had a great lunch and visit. After lunch we drove to their home and continued catching up. We last saw Bob and Tena 3 years ago on our last trip to Alaska.

Monday we had new tires put on the trailer. The old ones were looking a little shabby.

Tuesday morning the sun is up and we are off to Glennallen to meet some friends of Wayne and Diane. What a beautiful drive. We saw rivers, mountains, glaciers and all the combinations.

This river, the Matanuska,is just outside of Palmer . Across the road from the overlook some of the local wildlife. The other pictures were taken along the road to Glennallen. I tried to pick out the more scenic ones.

Road construction along the way. The rock art was taken in this area of road construction, there must have been some long waits.

Matanuska Glacier is 27 miles long and about 2 miles wide. It is 4 miles wide at the end. The water melting from the glacier runs into the Matanuska river. The glacier has remained stable for the last 400 years. I don’t know who is doing the checking, he must be really old.

After arriving at the Northern Night RV park, Wayne and Diane friends, Jim and Jackie Kline, showed up. We went to dinner at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge. A very nice dinner and the food was good. The flowers around the lodge are gorgeous.

These are taken from behind the lodge. The haze in the pictures is smoke from one of the many fires burning here in Alaska. The center picture is the oil pipe line on it’s way to Valdez. The same line that we saw north of Fairbanks.

Tomorrow off to Valdez.

Resting in Palmer

2009-08-02T00:06:00.001-07:00

We are here in Palmer kicked back and resting. Yesterday we went to a farmers market, we found some tomatoes that looked really good and bought a couple. Today went to the used book store and stocked up on books. I read a lot at night while Barb is doing beading or knitting.

I fixed halibut on the grill the other night, and Diane fixed a great mango salsa to go with it. Tonight we had lasagna, Diane’s recipe. We take turns fixing dinner. Lunches and breakfast are on our own. Some times we eat out when we find a good restaurant or we are busy during the day and don’t have time to cook.

I was looking back at pictures I had taken and not used in the blog. Here are some of the musk ox. These were taken at the university in Fairbanks. The lines through the pictures are the fence, it was a double fence about 4 feet apart, I could not get away from it. The hair of the musk ox is gathered and yarn called qiviut is made from it. It is very soft and used to make sweaters, stoles, scarves and other things. I don’t know how they collect the hair, I would not want to be the guy trying to curry comb the hair from one. The musk ox runs wild in northern Alaska on the tundra, I have read that a limited few hunting license are issued each year. License for a bull is $500.00. I don’t think I’ll try for one. I have not figured out which is which.

Tomorrow we are meeting with Barb’s cousin Tina who lives here in Palmer. We finally caught up with her as they have been in Texas visiting her daughter when we first came thru Palmer. We are having lunch together and catching up on each others families.

Fall is approaching up here. I have seen leaves starting to turn yellow. The nights are getting longer. We have 19 hours and 23 minutes of daylight today. Tomorrow there will be 5 minutes and 24 seconds less daylight. I hope to see the northern lights before we leave.

Back to Palmer

2009-07-31T15:12:00.001-07:00

It rained all night in Seward, some times very hard. This morning we hooked up and headed north as the weather report is for rain all week. It rained most of the way to Anchorage. We had some very good views of the mountains and clouds.

Rain in Seward

Along the road to Palmer

The mountains from our park.

Our guard chicken. He guards our rig and so far has never lost it.

More later.

A Rainy Day

2009-07-29T22:32:00.001-07:00

We got up this morning to rain and fog. After breakfast we decided to take a ride to find the writer of the blog Adventures With Dharma’s Family , (http://adventureswithdharma.blogspot.com). They are working at the Spruce Moose Chalets near Moose Pass. We drove up there as it is only a few miles. When we arrived we found Bob and Judy at home and introduced ourselves. It was great to meet the person that has been writing the blog. We had a nice visit, they have a great place to work with lots of scenery. I forgot to take any pictures.

We drove into Seward for lunch. Went to Terry’s Fish and Chips. The food was good but more expensive than other places we have been. Most things cost more in Alaska and is expected as most has to be shipped in and the tourist season is very short. Two fish and chips with a cup of chowder and a cup of coffee served in a paper cup and plastic ware, $40.00 plus.

Some pics from downtown Seward.

Some pictures from our travels that I haven't used before.

I saw this eagle on the way to Homer and took his picture. Several hours later I drove by again and he was still setting in the same place. After downloading the picture I found out that he is a wooden eagle. I wonder how many folks have taken a pictures of that eagle. The next eagle is the real thing setting on the beach behind our campground at Homer.

Two ladies on a mission!!!! I think I see shops in front of them.

A big rabbit seen along the road at Denali.

That’s all Folks. Until next time.

Seward

2009-07-28T20:28:00.001-07:00

We have moved to Seward, AK. It was a short day only a 90 mile drive. The clouds are down low on the mountains it is quite beautiful. But wet. The first picture was taken on the way to Seward. The next 2 are at the lake where we had lunch. Two small airplanes were taking off. It is very nice.

After we got set up at the RV park we drove into Seward to the Alaska Sealife Center (www.alaskasealife.org ). The displays are well done and very interesting. You can see my reflection in some of the pictures.

We want to take a wild life tour on the bay, but the weather is rainy and foggy. Hard to see much. We may have to just relax for a couple of days until the weather gets better. As I am typing this I can hear the rain on the roof.

Some pictures taken before we left Soldotna. The cow and calf moose crossed the highway in front of us. They had been walking the bike trail that you can see in the back ground. The others are pictures of the fishing boats returning to the harbor. The boats are passing people along the shore of the Kenai river who are dip netting. There is no love lost between the commercial fishermen and the dip netters. The state just shut down the commercial fishing but let the dip netters continue. Lots of bickering in the paper and TV .

I have rambled on here but now I am up to date.

Back in Soldotna, AK

2009-07-26T23:51:00.001-07:00

Some trivia of our trip. We have towed 3289 miles from Great Falls, MT. We have towed 5814 miles since we left the Plantation RV Park in Alabama. We have driven over 14000 miles since we left Livingston, TX. Fuel price lowest $1.89 at Weatherford, TX and the highest $5.07 at Pelly Crossing, Yukon. The highest cost for camping $38.20 at Banff, AB, lowest $16.00 at Rogue River State Park, OR. Cheapest in Alaska is here in Soldotna at the Best Western King Salmon RV $20.00, full hook ups with wi-fi.

Best meals Fresh Catch Cafe, Homer, AK, we ate there several times. The halibut was the best fried fish I have ever had. I also had scallops that were great. Also in Homer Captain Patties Fish House. There I had salmon with a dill sauce that was excellent. We have also found some ice cream places - all good.

We went halibut fishing and here is a break down of the cost. Charter $102.00 for 4 1/2 hours. Hour and half cruising to the fishing grounds, hour and half fishing and hour and half back to the dock. $20.00 for license. $22.00 for processing and freezing. Total of $144.00 or $9.60 per pound of fish. That does not include the shipping charges still to come, to the lower 48 as the freezer in the RV can not hold all that fish. But I had a great time!!!!!

Well we were still in Homer we took a wild life cruise. We saw lots of birds including puffins. Otters floating along not a care in the world, also one harbor seal.

The scenery was beautiful including the spray from the boat.

The Salty Dog Bar the only building that survived the earthquake of ‘64.

Views from Homer Spit

For anyone that watches the show the Deadliest Catch here are pictures of one of the stars Capt Andy Hillstrand and Barb. The Time Bandit sails out of Homer.

With all of this done it brings us back to Soldotna. Here Wayne and I have been salmon fishing. We each have caught 2. We had hoped to catch more but the fish have not been cooperating. This is a different type of fishing, it is more snagging, but you have to snag them in the mouth. You can catch 3 fish a day and we see many people spending the whole day to catch their 3 fish. It becomes work at that point. We are still fishing, maybe tomorrow if it stops raining we’ll try again.

While the guys are fishing the ladies are busy beading. I think they are getting more done than we are. I have seen several new ear rings and bracelets.

PALMER, SOLDOTNA, AND HOMER

2009-07-25T00:24:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Palmer and stayed at the Town and Country RV Park. From there we took a drive up to Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine. It was quite a view across the valley from the mine. We saw lots of wild flowers along the mountain stream. It is amazing how they got material up the mountain to build some of the buildings.

This little house is way up on the side of the mountain. I wonder how they got all the material up there?

The flowers in the last 2 pictures are around the visitors center in Anchorage.

From Palmer we moved on down the road to Soldotna, AK. Here we stayed at the Best Western Motel and RV Park. Found a couple of Farmers Markets, not as much choice of veggies here. Took a drive to Capt Cook State Park, it is located at the end of the road. Here we walked on the beach and picked up pretty rocks. The tide was out and the beach was rocky for hundreds of feet. We are still seeing wild life. A moose cow and calf ran across the road in front of us and the next day 2 caribou ran across in front of us. Wayne had good brakes or we would of had caribou steaks.

The Kenai museum was a interesting place to spend a few hours.

It is the time of year that dip netting is allowed for Alaska residents only. They can use a net that is 5 feet in diameter with a 10 foot handle. They then stand in the water where the salmon are going up stream. The head of the household can catch 25 fish and 10 for each other member of the family. It is a party like atmosphere. Lots of people were lined up along the river hoping to catch their salmon.

We took a drive down to Homer, AK to check on halibut charters. After checking out the charters we decided to move down to the Homer Spit. We are parked in a small park right on the beach. I can throw a rock and hit the water. The views are great from here. The water is crystal clear, across the water the mountains rise up with huge glaciers on them. It is really hard to describe. I have walked on many beaches around the world but I don’t believed there is one that is as awe inspiring as here.

These pictures taken from our campground and the beach in front of it. The mountains are across the Kachemak Bay.

Wayne and I took a afternoon halibut charter. We were successful. We each caught our 2 fish. None were large, in the 20-30 pound range. I was glad I didn’t catch anything larger. It was work cranking them up 160 feet from the bottom. We each caught several but could only keep 2.

The following are pictures of our fishing trip and our little campground and beach. The little dog turned his back to me after I took his picture. I guess he is camera shy.

To be continued.

DENALI

2009-07-23T10:56:00.001-07:00

After staying in North Pole we drove to Denali, AK. We stayed at the Denali RV Park just out side of the park.

The afternoon that we arrived we made arrangements to take an 8 hour bus trip into Denali National Park the next day. You can drive in the first 15 miles of the park at anytime. We drove in hoping to see a view of Mt. McKinley the tallest mountain in the US. The people up here call the mountain “Denali” (the big one). We were not successful in seeing the mountain, but did see a large moose feeding in the willows. All we could see was his head and rack.

The next day we got on the bus for our tour. We saw grizzlies with cubs, moose, caribou, wolf, sheep, fox, golden eagle, lots of snow shoe hares and ground squirrels. The wolf was the star of the day. Standing in the road and then walking to the bus and on past not paying any attention to us. The wolf was wearing a collar so they can be tracked. Only the Alpha male and female wear a collar. The grizzlies are blond in color with the cubs being darker. The moose, sheep and caribou were quite a ways from the road so the pictures are not to good.

The moose are a long way off as are the dall sheep. The bears were closer.

Here is the star of the day. This was worth the whole trip. Such a beautiful animal. The caribou were high on the side of the mountain. It is hard to explain this site, the driver had just said she could not stop in the next 5 miles as it was the denning area for the wolfs and there was the wolf standing in the road. That was my birthday present. The caribou are on the side of the mountain in this picture.

Here are the bears enjoying the day. One lone caribou.

The golden eagle flying low over the landscape. Looking for lunch.

It was a long day and we were glad to be back in town. That evening we went to the Great Alaska Fish and Chip restaurant for dinner. The food was good but there could have been a couple more pieces of fish. The next morning it was raining and I didn’t want to hook up in the rain so we stayed another day. Later in the day we drove back into the park and had a close encounter with a female moose. She was feeding along the road in the willows.

She posed for some pictures here. The ladies notice the long eye lashes she has. Down the road a ways we saw a car pulled over looking at something we stopped and saw this coyote hunting along the edge of the road for dinner. On the way out of the park this rabbit was sitting. It is a good thing for the rabbit he was here and not several miles back down the highway or he would have been dinner for the coyote. Actually this is a snow shoe hare.

Besides all the animals, we saw beautiful scenery and flowers. We had rain but the mountain tops had a fresh coat of snow. Very beautiful. It is awe inspiring coming around a corner or over a hill and see these mountain scapes unfold in front of you.

The next day we were off to Talkeetna. Talkeetna is a small town that was started because of the railroad. Lots of little shops and restaurants. We kicked back while Wayne and Diane took the flag train ride. Barb and I rode this train the last time we were in Alaska . We saw these flowers as we were driving around. On the morning we were leaving this area we still had not seen the mountain. On the way out of town we stopped at a overlook for one more try to see it. There she stood in all her glory. What a sight.

NORTH POLE, ALASKA

2009-06-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

From Tok. AK we went to the North Pole, AK with a lunch stop in Delta Junction, AK.

This is Delta Junction, the end of the 1390 mile Alcan Highway along with a thermometer showing some of the low temperatures there.The last picture is your first view of the 800 mile pipe line crossing Tanana River.

We stayed at Santa Land RV Park, North Pole for 12 days. While there we visited Chena Hot Springs, Riverboat Discovery III, El Dorado Gold Mine, drove to Joy and on to the Arctic Circle, the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and many other places to numerous to mention.

The first group of pictures were taken from the Riverboat Discovery III. The bush pilot taking off, young sled dogs and older dogs hooked up to a summer sled. This is Susan Butcher’s place now run by her husband and family. The caribou is behind a fence and was run out for the tourist to see. The young lady is modeling a coat that is traditionally worn by the Eskimos. This coat uses many different kinds of fur and is very elaborately beaded.

At the El Dorado Gold Mine we rode the old train and were shown some of the things done to mine gold. Then they dumped a load of gold bearing dirt and washed it down the sluice with a lot of water down across riffles that catch the gold. After that we got to pan some gold. You can see the gold in the pan. The next picture shows Wayne and Diana with no gold in their pans, but look very close and in Diana’s hand is a small container that has the gold.

I guess Wayne is out of luck. Diana is holding the gold.

This picture is of the 800 mile pipe line near Fairbanks, AK.

Here are some pictures of Chena Hot Springs and the Arctic Circle. Chena Hot Springs is 50 miles from Fairbanks and on a good road. We went on a Saturday which was a mistake as all the locals were on the road. We did see a few moose. On the 200 mile trip to the Arctic Circle the only wild life was 2 snowshoe hares, but lots of great scenery. The road to the Arctic Circle is mostly gravel and dirt with some stretches of pavement. For those of you that are watching the latest TV show of the Ice Roads this is the road that it is filmed on. We didn’t have any snow or ice on the road, I had to look for some.

The first picture is the moose we saw on the way to Chena Hot Springs. The next 2 are Joy, AK, a small settlement on the way to the Arctic Circle. There were several of these one holers. On one there was a sign “out of order”. Don’t know what goes wrong with an outhouse!!! A family from Minnesota moved here back in the late 60’s and raised 5 of their own children and 18 adopted children in the house shown. The addition on the right was added on 4 years ago. There was no electric or running water. Once a month they drove 60 miles to Fairbanks to do laundry and take showers. The kids were all home schooled.

This is at the Yukon River crossing this is about 140 miles north of Fairbanks, The pipeline runs along the road and crosses the river here. We had lunch at this information center at this crossing.

This next picture is taken from a overlook along the highway and pipe line where we also found some snow. I couldn’t resist driving in it so I could say I had driven thru ice and snow to get to the Arctic Circle. We arrived at the Arctic Circle and were greeted by the local wild life - a snowshoe hare. Notice the white feet. In winter they are all white and summer they turn brown. The feet are the last to turn.

We also spent one afternoon at the Museum of the North. This is the best museum I have been in. The displays were laid out so you could see and read the information about them. Also pictures could be taken with out flash. This big guy greets you as you enter the display area. The next 4 pictures are of the gold display, I couldn’t get any samples. Several pictures of Eskimo artifacts.

A moose and her calf, The Knotty Shop just south of North Pole, the figures are made from natural burls in the fir trees that grow here. The Knotty Shop also sells ice cream and we had to try it. The flowers are beautiful here in Alaska. The last pictures are the ladies looking at jewelry made by Judie Gumm. Her shop is located in Ester, AK

In Fairbanks there is a farm that was made into Creamers Field Wildlife Refuge. It is on the edge of town and has easy access. These are some of the birds we saw there in June. In the fall this field has hundreds of Canada geese, Sand Hill cranes, and many other birds feeding before heading south. We know we have missed our sign to go south if the birds are gone before we are.