Home again

8-8-09

We arrived home about 2:00 PM yesterday. It has been a fun trip and I very much enjoyed seeing all the country we covered, it was everything from magnificent snow covered mountains to farmlands. We made friends with our traveling companions and expect to travel again with Bill and Carol.

We traveled 8088 miles spent $3618.00 for gas. The highest price we paid was in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory $1.29 per liter which equals $4.90 a gallon. The price ranged from that to a low of $2.49 a gallon in Oregon. We got 7.4 miles to the gallon average.

The only other major expense we had was campground fees. We didn't keep exact count on those but they ranged from $0 in roadside rests, where we stayed several nights, to as much as $35 a night. We spent a good deal of time at the Elk's clubs along the way. During the trip I learned that you can have a guest with another RV at many of the Elk's clubs. I'm not sure if that apply s to them all, but every place we asked it was allowed. Bill, being retired Air force was able to get us into some very nice military campgrounds as guests, which were very reasonable.

As we arrived home Margaret yelled “yippeee” she is very glad to be home and has been smiling like a kid with a new pup. I know that she also enjoyed the trip as I did, but it was a long ride home, we drove 300 and 400 miles a day after we left Hyder, AK. The trip up didn't seem as long because we stopped along the way and visited relatives and friends and were in no hurry.

So ends our Alaska trip for 2009

Home again

8-5-09

Tonight we are in Redding. CA a little over 200 miles from home. The last few days have been considerable different driving experiences. Going across Alaska and the Yukon and parts of BC one could drive for 10 or 15 minutes and not see another car. That has all changed now we are back to battling for a small piece of the road along with thousands of others. I will do one last post in a few days after I add some things up like gas cost, camping costs etc. Thanks to all of you who read this it has been fun and educational to me

Herb

Pictures

Hyder & south

8-01-09

Last night after watching the bears and salmon we decided to go out for dinner. During the day we had asked several people where the best place to get seafood. Everyone said The Bus. All agreed there were some other very nice restaurants in the area, but The Bus was the best. We found it but unfortunately due to a power outage it was closed. A picture posted.

We left Hyder this morning about 9:00 AM and were surprised to see fog over the water. This is really a special place. There are some very different houses throughout this small town. As we left we took of some of them and more pictures of the glaciers.

As we were leaving we saw a spot in the road that we had traveled yesterday that had washed away by the raging river. It's been unusually hot here and the snow is melting rapidly.

A hundred miles south of the junction of hwy 37a (to Hyder) and hwy 37 the landscape changed to farmland, there seemed to be hay everywhere, large rolls, not bales that I usually see. We also passed through some lumber towns. We also saw huge clouds of smoke in a couple of places, the result of wildfires.

We ended the day at Burns Lake, we drove 300 miles today and only have a little over 1500 miles to home

Hyder bear fishing

Cassiar Hwy and Hyder

7-31-09

I mentioned bike riders in my last post, shortly after leaving the Whitehorse area we talked to a young couple on their bikes which were loaded with all kinds of gear. They were from Austria. There plan was to ride from Fairbanks AK to Argentina. When asked how long they expected the trip to take they answered 1 ½ years. I can't imagine doing a trip like that, I would be done before reaching the top of the first hill. Even if it was downhill all the way I wouldn't want to do it.

We spent the last two nights in roadside rest areas as we came down the Cassiar Highway. There are few services and not many RV Parks on this highway, the one we did check wanted $22 to dry camp.We chose the roadside rest that are free. These are quiet and a lot of people use them. We quickly learned that the mosquitoes like these places as well. Despite all our screens and carefulness they seem to get inside. We both suffered many bites and learned anything that was not covered would get bit.

Today we arrived at Hyder AK and we are staying at the camp Run-a-muck RV park. Hyder looks like a town from 50 yrs ago, there are lots of rundown houses and many closed businesses.

Tonight after dinner we went to what is called the Boardwalk. It's on the edge of Fish River. It's a place where you can see the bears feeding on the spawning salmon. We saw hundreds of salmon and 3 bears. The bears seemed full and lazy, although they walked up and down the river the only thing we saw one of them eat was the carcass of an already dead salmon. It was quite a sight and we have lots of pictures and some video of the bears. Although there were lots of salmon they were in the water and do not show well on the camera.

We also ran into Bob & Pat and talked to them for a short time, you may recall they left our group a few weeks ago.

Fairbanks to Whitehorse going south

7-28-09

We left Fairbanks on the 26^th and headed south on the way home. We saw a bear sitting by the roadside acting as if he was just watching the traffic go by. Margaret took his picture, we also saw 2 more moose but we were by them before I could stop.

We spent the night at Lake creek Yukon Government Campground. There are lots of very nice government campgrounds that seem to get little use, perhaps it seems that way because of the down economy. This morning we said goodbye to Bill and Carol, they like to travel at a slower pace, not as far each day as we go. They were great traveling companions and we will miss them the rest of the trip.

The road home is just as bumpy as it was when we were going the other direction. Tonight we are Staying at the Pioneer RV Park a short distance south of Whitehorse. This place is full, it is nice but a bit close together for our liking. They do offer a good wi-fi connection and I'm sure that helps draw people in. Many of the places say they have wi-fi, but in order to use it you have to be very close to the antenna.

Thank goodness we have an electric hookup, it was warm enough the we had to use the AC.

Margaret and I are both amazed at the number of bicyclist we see pedaling with their bikes loaded with all kinds of gear far from any town. I complain about driving the distance, those folks are dedicated. I did notice that none of them appear to have a weight problem. We have seen a couple of people walking, making no effort to get a ride. One guy on a bike had his dog running along side of him.

Anchorage Photo

Here is an excellent picture of Anchorage sent to be from my friend Bob Pinheiro. Bob is the one who first got me interested in doing the blog. He has been very helpful and encouraging the whole way. Thanks Bob

Leaving Fairbanks

Tomorrow ( Sunday) we leave Fairbanks and head toward home. As we go through Canada the availability of internet connections is going to be slim so if their are no posts for a while you will know why.

Fairbanks

7-25-09

We are parked at the Elk's club on the Chena River and it is close enough to walk into town. We walked across the bridge and watched a parade, our second in a month. This parade is part of a week long celebration called Golden Days. Lots of unusual cars and floats, many I'm sure you could only see in Alaska. We enjoyed ourselves but left about ½ way through, 1 ½ hours was enough. We checked out the street vendors. Margaret got a picture of a man holding a wolf pelt, we were told it weighed about 200 lbs in life and was captured in Tok AK.

Today at 2:30 PM was the start of the Rubber Ducky Race, a fund raiser for the Chamber Of Commerce. At 2:30PM the ducks were dumped into the water at one of the bridges so as I write I am waiting for my duck to come in. I hope he is in the lead paddling like a real duck to avoid disappointing me and Margaret cause if he won we would share the money, If he does win its worth $10,000, if not I will just have fond memories of my yellow ducky. My phones on the table beside me waiting for the call.

Yesterday we went to the University of Alaska Museum and learned more about the history of Alaska, the animals and people that inhabit the area and how they got here. I have been reading “Alaska” a book by James Michener so I'm getting a healthy dose of Alaskan history.

This afternoon I took a nap while Margaret, Bill and Carol went to North Pole to mail some cards and have them post marked North Pole actually its just a town with that name. The smoke from the wild fires was very evident. Margaret was told that there are over a million acres of forest buring now, ususal cause is lightening strikes

Margaret got a pictures of me crushing aluminum cans, Trying to come up with some gas money to get home.

So far this trip we have traveled 4570 miles and according to Microsoft Streets And Trips we are 2982 miles from home. The motor home averages 7 MPG...........OUCH.

Denali to Fairbanks

After the long bus ride on the 21st, Margaret and I had had enough of riding buses so yesterday we did some repairs on the motorhome and took life easy. We didn't want to ride the bus again so we left the park this morning and went to Fairbanks where we are staying at the Elk's. Bill and Carol decided to stay another day and will catch up with us in Fairbanks.

On the way here we encountered a lot of smoke from wildfires in the area. It got smokey enough that Margaret had to use on of her particle masks.

We are looking forward to the Rubber Ducky races on Saturday. If we win I will be sure to tell you, if not you will never hear of them again.

Denali National Park

7-21-09

We arrived at Denali camp ground and spent the first night. It is as stepping off place to get into Teklanika campground. Teklanika is about 30 Miles down the road. You are not allowed to take your tow car and you reservations must be for at least 3 days. Once you are here and have parked your rig you can only travel by Bus and then only to West. If you go east past the checkpoint , your reservations are canceled and in order to get back into Teklanika you have to get new reservations and pay again. The reason is they do not want traffic in and out of the park

Today we took a tour bus and went for a 91 mile trip into the park all the way to Kantishna where the road ends. They had other tours and if I were to do it over again I would opt for the shorter 66 mile tour. Mileage I speak of is one way. The bus seats are not very comfortable but they made plenty of stops for restrooms and rest breaks, but at the end of the day it felt like a very long bus ride.

We did see a lot of wild life, several bears, elk, caribou and several birds including bald eagles. unfortunately those we saw were a considerable distance away.

We also got to see Mt. McKinley and took several pictures which I hope to post along with some of the animals we saw. We were lucky to have seen Mt. McKinley on a clear day, we were told that happens about 30% of the time.

Denali

7-19-09

We left Anchorage yesterday morning and headed for Denali National Park. We spent the night in a very nice roadside rest compliments of the state of Alaska. Today we drove into the park and registered. We have reservations here for 4 days. I will probably not post anything for the next 4 or 5 days , it seems doubtful there will be any kind of connection for the computer. Even where we are now it takes what seems forever to post or download anything, especially email with large attachments.

I will post a picture of an unusual restaurant we found.

Porpoise

this was taken during our Kenai Fjords tour. It is a short movie clip of black and white porpoise swimming along the boat.

Dusty Roads

Not all the roads here are frost heaves or mud at times you hit streches that are very dusty like the area in this picture. Fortunately there are few areas like this.

Alaska roads

7-17-09

One of the things we have noticed in both Canada and Alaska is that many of the roads have what appears to us to be bike trails, some are paved as the one in the picture and others are dirt. We were told that they are used in the summer months for walking or biking, but in the winter are used by snowmobiles. Some go on for miles and miles

Herb & 166 pound halibut

Ninilchik Harbor & Boat launch revised

World famous Salty Dog Saloon

Homer & Ninilchik

7-14-09

In my last post I told you about hanging around the fishing docks, after seeing all the fish come in and their size I decided I needed to go fishing. I went out with Steve Morphis, who is orgionally from Oakdale. He has been fishing in Alaska for 30 years. He and his wife Terry operate Alaska Saltwater adventures. There were five of us fishing. We caught limits of halibut and each of us caught a couple of salmon. The biggest halibut weighed 166 lbs, the rest ranged from 15 to 30 lbs. The salmon were all less then 4 pounds. We had a great day and everyone aboard was happy with their fish. Steve is a great Capt. and keeps up a friendly banter with his customers. If you are ever in Homer and want to fish give Steve a call 907 235 0115.

While in Homer we took a drive on a bluff overlooking Kachemak Bay where we saw many large houses with gardens and fields and a good view across the bay of the mountains and several glaciers.

Needless to say with fresh halibut that’s what Margaret fixed for dinner. Halibut is my favorite meal and Margaret can prepare it better than anyone.

This morning we left Homer and started towards Anchorage. We stopped in Ninilchik. It is an interesting place. They have a harbor that no one can get in or out of except high tide. While we were there the tide was out and there were several boats sitting in the mud with no water around. There were also 2 boats stuck in the entrance, so none of the boats in the harbor can get out until they move

On a hill overlooking the harbor is an old Russian Orthodox church that is surrounded by a grave yard, we walked through and found many really old graves and a lot that were more recent. It appears the church is still in use. The graveyard is overgrown with weeds, with wild flowers mixed in so that it looks nice even though

A short distance away are campgrounds and RV parks. They launch boats off the shore with 4 wheel drive tractors. While there, we saw a couple of boats being retrieved. The tractor gets the trailer, backs it into the water and then the boats come in very fast driving the boat onto the trailer. The tractor pulls them onto dry land, unhooks and goes for another, the boat owner is left to get his tow vehicle and leave. Some of these boats were 28 to 30 ft. or longer. It was interesting to watch.

Halibut, Lingcod and mixed fish.

These are some of the fish I saw on the dock. The biggist lingcod weight 58 lbs and the biggest halibut was 158 lbs. The last picture is of halibut and mixed rock fish. Notice the size of the stomachs of the lingcod.

Homer

6-11-09

Yesterday as we were passing thru Soldotna, Margaret saw a sign in front of a medical center that had a large sing displayed that read “Fish hook removal here” The do a lot of combat fishing here, where people are standing shoulder to shoulder, hence the name and the need for fish hook removal.

Today was very interesting, it started off when we discovered a bold eagle purchased above our motor home. At first I was real quiet and moved slowly for fear of scaring him. After a while I walked in and out and he paid no attention.

We all visited the Salty Dog Bar but it was so crowed we left without having a drink. Inside there are dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceiling. People sign them and then staple them where ever they find room. It is probably the best known bar in the region because of it’s unique appearance. It is very popular with both the locals and the tourists. The building was originally built in 1898, a large tower was added later giving it the look of a firehouse. I found no mention of the purpose of the tower. During it’s life it has been a grocery store, a post office and a school.

This afternoon I hung out around the fishing docks and saw a lot of very nice fish being brought in. It got me to thinking I may want to go. I will try to post pictures of all there things, but my internet connection is a bit iffy.

Seward 12:30 AM

Harding Ice Fields

Coal Converyer

whales

seward Fjords 7-9-09

7-9-09

Today we took the Kenai Fjords Wildlife tour on a boat which took us around Resurrection Bay We had an enjoyable day. We left the dock at noon and started off with a lunch buffet of salmon and prime rib that was delicious, perhaps our best meal eating out yet. It was all you can eat and we all went back for seconds.

As we left the harbor we saw a huge conveyor belt and loader. We learned that coal is brought in from Northern AK by train and about once a month it is loaded on ships bound for Korea. I will attach a photo. There was a lot of smoke in the area today from fires in the area.

Our boat, the Star of the Northwest was only ½ full or less, making it very comfortable for those on board. Our tour took 5 hours and we saw sea otters, porpoise, whales and all kinds of birds. We also saw the Harding Ice Fields that covers 300 square miles. The average annual mountain snowfall is 35-65 feet .........pretty impressive. The harbor in Seward is one of the few in the area that doesn't freeze over in the winter, which made it very important during WW 2.

We had a wonderful day, the seas were calm, the sun was out and it was good being on the water again after all this time away. Carol had especially wanted to see whales and we got a chance to see several close up.

Bike Cab

Seward drive thru coffee

Capt Morgan and me

Seward 7-8-09

7-8-09

For the past two days we have been in Seward riding around and seeing the sights. Margaret and Carol have visited a lot of the shops. I have spent more time around the harbor admiring the boats and watching the catch come in, although today there wasn't a lot to see.

We did manage to get a couple of interesting pictures. one of a bicycle taxi. I was surprised at the number of regular taxi's here, I counted 5 different companies. Margaret took a picture of me talking to Capt. Morgan. She also took a picture of our campground taken at 12:30 AM that will give you an idea of how light it is here. We got another of a unique drive thru coffee shop.

During the afternoon we watched a movie about the 1964 earthquake and the resulting damage.

Apparently there is a fire in the area because it is very hazy and you can smell the smoke

Seward

Moose with calf and fish

Soldotna and Kenai

7-7-09

We went to Kenai on Saturday morning and saw the parade. It was interesting and also the first parade either of us has seen in a lot of years. Again we stayed at the Elk's.

We saw some Russian buildings ( a church and some houses) in Kenai. While Margaret was out driving she saw a moose and her calf.

All of the cities we have visited in Alaska seem to have an unusually large number of churches. We can only conclude that there must be a lot of sinners in these parts.

We went to the visitors center in Saldotna. They have a fish walk that is visible from the building. It amounts to a large boardwalk where people can fish or just set and read a book. Unfortunately no one seemed to be catching any fish. However the lady in the center told us that the week before a few miles away on another river they were so many fish that the limit was raised from the normal 3 to 6. We were told that the fish management people count the fish with some type of sonar as they enter the river and apparently can somehow tell the difference in the various types of salmon. That's kind of hard for me to believe.

It has now been determined that Pat has an aneurysm in her brain that measures 1 ½ center meters, not good news. She and her husband are determined to continue the trip and seek medical help when they return home. Sounds very dangerous to me, but they didn't ask for my advice

Today we moved to Seward,where their are lots of docks and fishing boats. We watched them clean some very big lingcod, the biggest probably 30 pounds. I will attach picture of the fish that one group brought in, however I will point out the the halibut in the picture are small and were not considered keepers in 1992

Anchorage tto Soldotan

7-3-09

We spent the last 3 days in Anchorage at Elmendorf Air Force Base in a military camp ground. Bill is retired Air Force and took us in as guests. We didn't do a lot other than take a break from driving. I visited about 12 RV dealers, truck shops and parts houses trying to find a lug nut that I am missing, it only holds the wheel cover on. On one had it and it appears the only way to get it is to order it from Fleetwood. Who would have thought a lug nut could be so hard to find.

This morning Margaret and I drove to Soldotna, where we are staying at the Elk's. We drove around the town and went to the Visitors Center, They were very helpful and gave us all kinds of information. I was last here 18 years ago and my how it has grown. Lots of people in town getting ready for the 4th.

Tomorrow in Kenai, a nearby town, they are having a parade and various events. We will go and join the festivities.

Last night Margaret cooked Halibut cheeks, another outstanding meal.

If you would like to see a larger version of the pictures double click them. I will post a couple of pictures I think are interesting. One is an old abandoned boat some distance from water and the other is a unique camp trailer.

View of Lake from Palmer Elk's

Palmer Elk's

6-29-09

We have been at the Palmer Elks for 3 days. It is a beautiful place with a lake out front where the plane was pulling the water skier. Yesterday was very busy here, there were over 100 cars and vehicles in the parking lot. It was so tight that a car had to be very careful to drive through. The club had 3 events going at the same time. About 3:00 PM with things filled from end to end, a 40 motor home pulls in as far as he can go.. He effectively blocked access to the parking lot and the boat ramp. Eventually several people moved their cars so he could get out. I hate to think he was an Elk. Not a smart move.

Carol and Bill caught up to us today, we decided to have dinner at the Elks “cook your own”. It was a fantastic meal. We ate on the patio and watched the boaters. Pictures of the view will be attached.

Each afternoon we have been here, there is a thunderstorm and rain. It lasts for an hour or less and then clears.

If you notice some spots on any of the pictures we have posted it is probably bugs that hit the windshield or rain since many of our pictures are taken through it as we are driving.

Kids in strollers

Water Skier behind airplane

Valdez to Palmer

6-27-09

We spent 3 days in Valdez, it is the prettiest place yet. We should have spent more time there but we decided to move on. I will post a couple of pictures of the drive as we came out.

While in Valdez we were across the bay from tanks that receive the oil from the Alaskan pipeline. The oil is then loaded onto the tankers which take it south to the refineries. We were told at least one tanker a day leaves Valdez heading south.

We started our day at 40 degrees and drove through wind and rain and finished with 70 degrees. Once again we had stretches of bad road mixed with the good.

We saw an unusual sight that must have been a day care group. There were two strollers for lack of a better word that each carried 6 little kids. They were accompanied by 4 adults, one of whom was carrying a small baby.

Our traveling companions all went in different directs for a while. Bob and Pat (she’s the lady who was taken to the hospital) left us to go to Anchorage to get a cat scan. It was done and they found nothing. When we left Valdez this morning Bill and Carol decided to visit a cooper mine and we drove to the Palmer Elks Club. They will catch up in a few days.

The Elk’s club here sits on Finger Lake, we would have a nice view if not for the other motor homes in the way. Late this afternoon we heard what sounded like an airplane taking off, except you would hear the engine rev and then shut down. Two guys went running by the front of our MH with cameras heading toward the lake. Being curious I grabbed a camera and followed, where to our surprise we saw a float plane pulling a water skier. The plane never left the water. This went on for some time. Other boats were on the lake and quite near the plane at times. Never before have I seen a plane pulling a water skier and I bet you haven’t either.

The road to Valdez

6-25-09

We are in Valdez, we are in an RV park that looks out over the bay. It is a very pretty sight, the whole area seems to be surrounded by high very jagged mountains with snow on the top. The drive into Valdez is breath taking, no wildlife but we did see a couple of glaciers.

We plan to drive the car and go back to visit and look over the glaciers, but it rained most of today and if it rains again tomorrow we will probably pass.

You have read my descriptions of the roads, but tonight Margaret pulled out her notes from our 1992 trip. One day during that trip we spent one whole 12 hour day driving in mud then dust and the motor home was filthy. I recall spending hours cleaning it. I did wash the MH and car today, they were dirty but no comparison to the 1992 trip. Another thing that has changed drastically is the price of gas. In 1992 gas in Willows, CA was $1.19 a gallon now it is $3.00 or more. Canadian 55.9 a liter then and as much as 114.00 now. There are 3.8 liters in a gallon My how the times have changed.

I will post some pictures of the drive into Valdez