Final Blog post

After several days of travel we are in Casper WY.  This will be our final post on this blog.  We are still a week from home and due to the anticipated higher temperatures, we will be taking longer to drive the usual miles each day.

The reason is the freezer on the back of the Jeep loaded with salmon and halibut.  We can't keep the freezer plugged in while driving so we will be making multiple stops during the day, starting the generator, and plugging in the freezer.  This way we will maintain a good stable temperature in the freezer.  We have no idea where we will be staying each night for the next week.  Just winging it!

We seem to have good wifi today so I will post some pictures we would have liked to have posted earlier.  A couple are from Hyder AK and Camp Run-A-Muck.  Several of you have questioned the actual name of the camp ground and thought I was letting my political leanings override the reporting.  See for yourself.

The "trash can" bear at the Camp-Run-A-Muck trash enclosure.  Debbie asked if it was "safe".  Ken told her she could "pet the bear" if she wanted.  How's your life insurance Debbie?

Since leaving Alaska and driving through Montana and Wyoming, we have seen hundreds of Antelope in the fields along the highways.

I'm going to step up on my "soap box" for a bit and discuss what we discovered during our long journey of discovery.

Most of you who follow this blog know that Abby and I are staunch conservatives and believe in individualism and self reliance and not expecting the government to "take care" of us.

The scenery north of the border is spectacular!  At the northern end of British Columbia/Alberta, the fragility of the environment is clearly evident.

The top soil is at best 2" thick and the underlying ground is pure rocks and a mixture of clay.

We saw the results of the Klondike Gold rush.  This was over a hundred years ago and the damage looks as if it was done today.  To their credit, the gold,silver and copper miners didn't use chemicals to leach out the minerals like other operations in the U.S.  They used only water to separate the minerals from the soil.  The rivers have recovered and migrating Salmon and Dolly Varden Trout are evident in increasing numbers.

On many sites in the United States we can clean up and mitigate the environmental damage over a couple of generations.  In the northern provinces of Canada and Alaska this clearly is NOT the case!  It will take several hundred years at best.  I know this is hard to believe but after spending 3 months observing and enjoying nature at its' best, I truly believe this to be true.

I am a firm believer in utilizing our natural resources (especially oil and gas) and not relying on foreign sources.  Our elected politicians say we need to exploit our natural resources.  This"exploit" bothers me after this trip.  I agree we need to explore and utilize these resources. 

What we need to understand is the impact of this policy.  If the Artic Wildlife Refuge is to be drilled, we need to be sure we have procedures defined ahead of time in anticipation of the very definite possibly of  accidents, leaks and spills. 

I admittedly have not been to the Artic Wildlife Refuge.  It was too far north and too difficult for our trip.  After seeing the impact of other operations from over a hundred years ago in an area that is a 1000 miles south of this area I am convinced this needs to be done right as the damage will last for hundreds of years!

Ok, off my soapbox.

Now for the review of our journey.

Some of the things we have observed.

REASONS WHY LIVING IN ALASKA IS DIFFICULT.

1. From May to August you cannot tell your daughter to be home by dark.  If You do, you won't see her until September.

2. Don't buy fireworks for the 4th of July, you won't see them.

3. Mosquitoes are big enough to put saddles on them.

4. Your pets need "eye patches" so they (and you) can sleep at day.  There is no "at night".

5. WalMarts are 200-300 miles apart and they are no better than a "Dollar General".

6. Always check for bears before "peeing" behind a rock. (don't ask)

HARDEST THINGS TO FIND IN ALASKA.

1. Road signs that don't have holes shot in them.  72% of Alaskans are packing heat.

2. Cars or trucks that don't have cracked windshields.

3. A decent WalMart.

4. Someone (other than a Fish and Wildlife Officer) who knows what are the fishing regulations in your area.

5. The sun.  We had 10 days of rainless days.

I've had fun writing the blog and sincerely hoped you have enjoyed the chronicle of our journey.  We have had a wonderful time and were truly surprised by what we have observed. 

Thanks for following us.

Don and Abby

Butte Montana

We are in Butte Montana tonight.  We have driven 1000 miles in 3 days.  Driving a RV is not the same as driving a car.  Tomorrow we have reservations in Sheridan WY. which is 355 miles from Butte.  We are trying to get home asap so Abby can fly home to Michigan as soon as we arrive in the Woodlands.  Still at least a week from home.

Montana is a beautiful state.  Despite our urgency to get home, we are enjoying the scenery but are not stopping to fish as we had planned.

Scare today with Abby's mom

We are back in the USA!  We crossed the border around noon from B.C.  It's a wonder there are not more DUI's at the border.  We were totally surprised with the number and size of wineries just north of the border.  It is a major industry.

As we were entering Spokane today Abby got a phone call (first time we have had a cell signal in over a week) from a sister saying they were taking Janet (Abby's mom) to the hospital in an ambulance as she was basically non-responsive to verbal stimulation.  After a couple of hours it was determined Janet was stable and we have decided to push on for Houston tomorrow instead of trying to get Abby to Michigan.  We have changed our route to include cities that have air service so I can get Abby on a flight if necessary.

We are still 2100 miles from home so it will take at least a week because driving a RV is much more demanding than a car.  Hang in there Janet!

Sad day

We parted company today with Ken and Debbie in Prince George B.C.  We had a great "last supper" last night followed by a rousing round of "Catch Phrase" over several glasses of wine.  For some reason Debbie insists I report the results of the contest.  Ken and Don 2, Debbie and Abby ZER0!  BOYS RULE!

Just prior to entering the city of Prince George we met in a parking lot to say our goodbyes.  They were heading towards Jasper NP and we went to the KAL tire store to get our tires rotated and balanced.  They pulled all 6 tires off the rims and inspected and remounted them and rotated all in about 3 hours.  RV drives like a dream once again.

We are camped at a campground that has 2 large creeks running through the property in a very pretty setting.  The campground is very nice with wifi (very slow) and they recommended we try the restaurant across the street.  Bad recommendation.  Fish and chips were horrible and the local Canadian Beer was warm and flat.  Can't always be good.

Tomorrow we head due south and hope to make Kamloops which is about 200 miles north of the border.  We need to stop in Quesnel B.C. at another KAL tire store to check the torque on the wheel nuts to comply with the warranty.  Should not take long.  We have no idea where we will stay as we will figure it out on the fly.

Still no cell phone coverage and we haven't heard from any family in Michigan for days.  Abby is NOT a happy camper.

In Houston! Temp is 54 and raining.

At the end of yesterdays blog I stated we would be in Houston soon.  We're here!  Houston, British Columbia.  Nice little RV park with really good wifi so there WILL be some bear pictures tonight.

While in Alaska Abby spent hours on the phone with ATT working on a cell phone plan for Canada.  Had to pay extra but that was ok because we got a really good plan with texting, data and call minutes.  We are just 3 days from crossing back into the U.S. and we have YET to have any cell phone service.  I don't want to be the ATT service rep that gets to talk to Abby!

Tomorrow we will be splitting off from Ken and Debbie.  They will continue on to Jasper NP for a few extra days and we will be turning due south at Prince George heading for the border with the crossing planned for Thursday. 

So tonight will be the "last supper" with Ken and Debbie.  It's been a fun 3 months and we have had a lot of great times and will have memories that will last forever.

We may stop in Prince George and get our tire rotated and the front tires spin balanced as the vibration is getting really bad at 55mph.

Not much to add at this point except the bear pictures.  While driving from Hyder Alaska this morning we saw this young grizzly just loping along the highway.  He didn't want to leave the road and there was a large rest stop to the left so we pulled over and just drove along with him until he finally decided to depart.  It is amazing despite their size just how graceful and QUICK these bears can be.  Enjoy.

This guy was a traditional colored grizzly.  At Fish Creek where the bears are feasting on salmon they have grizzly's that are black. 

We also saw a young Black Bear along the road today.  They are much smaller than a grizzly.

We spotted this little one after the grizzly.

Ansel Abby was at it again this afternoon.

In Hyder Alaska watching the bears

 Wifi is very very slow so no pictures.  Day 6 of no cell phone coverage.

We had a peaceful night at the campground in Iskut BC.  One of the items on our checklist of “to see” things is the Northern Lights.  Now that the daylight hours are getting shorter we have been hoping to see them.  

That night I got up around 2 and took a peak out the front window.  What I saw wasn’t the Northern Lights but an intense display of the stars including Alaska’s symbol, the Big Dipper.  The sky was so deep and the stars were so intense that I wanted Abby to see it.  She wasn’t real thrilled that I woke her up until she looked out the window and agreed it was well worth it.  

Living in an area where there is always something lighting the sky makes you forget just how amazing the night time sky can be.

We left the campground at 9:15 headed south towards Hyder AK with Abby calling “here kitty kitty” on the walkie talkie and within a couple of minutes Ken and Debbie were in sight.  They spent the night at a campground a couple miles down the road that could not accommodate our size rig.  Ken caught a few pan size rainbow trout in the lake during their stay but it was “catch and release” only.

Once again the scenery was fantastic and we stopped several times at roadside turnouts to take pictures of the many glaciers and waterfalls along the way.  British Columbia is a very scenic province.  During the 200 mile drive we saw 9 Black Bears either alongside or crossing the road.  We saw one bear that apparently had tried to be safe and hold up traffic before crossing the road by holding up his paw.  It didn’t work.

The town of Hyder is nicknamed the “friendliest ghost town”. It sits just across the border from Stewart.  Stewart is much bigger than Hyder.  For a little perspective on size, Old Town Spring is 10 times the size of Stewart so you can imagine what Hyder looks like.

We checked into the RV campground named “Camp Run-a-Muck”.  This one is not to be confused with the original “Camp Run-a-Muck” in Washington D.C.  The management here is very similar to that of D.C.  They are in charge of everything, responsible for nothing, and haven’t a clue as to what is going on.

We asked the manager if they had full hook-ups (water, sewer and electric) and she said yes would we like a site that had it.  I responded yes.  She said “sorry they are all taken”.  I said no problem and we will just dump the holding tanks before we leave.  She informed me the only place to dump was in Stewart and that we would have to go through Canadian Customs first. 

I asked her which sites had the sewer hookups.  She didn’t know as this was her first day and the owners had left for Phoenix the day before.  She gets up from the desk and says I’ll go check and is out the door with Abby trailing behind her. 

As she was walking with Abby she asked her, “do you know what a sewer looks like”?  A few minutes later she came back and said just go pick out a spot and tell me the number.  I asked if any spots had advanced reservations before I moved into one.  She said she didn’t know but go ahead and park in one and she would let me know if it was ok.  See?  It is just like DC.  I noticed I had stopped at site 10 so I asked her if it was available and it was.  Sold!

 The four of us agreed that this was the first place we have ever seen that had sites with sewer hookups but no dump station.  One would think you would turn one site into a dump station but we figured that made too much sense.

Ken and Debbie were told by friends that the place to eat halibut was at a local restaurant called the “bus”.  We knew it couldn’t be too far so we walked until we found it and just like the name sounds, it is a “bus” that has been converted into a restaurant.  They only problem was they were out of halibut.  Her husband had just left to get some more but wouldn’t be back for a couple of days.  It is 12 hours by boat to the fishing grounds!

We walked a little further to the Glacier Inn where they are locally famous for getting Hyderized. The bartender pours you a shot of pure grain alcohol. After you have gulped down your shot the bartender tips the glass over on the table and lights the excess, which burns a bright blue flame. You have now been Hyderized and they provide you with an authentic certificate.  Brings back memories of my military days.  We didn’t get Hyderized.

The restaurant did have really good halibut fish and chips which were accompanied by some Alaskan beer.  We walked back to the camp and got in our cars for the short 3 mile drive to the viewing platforms that sits alongside and over Fish Creek.

Ken had been told the dirt road had been graded the day before.  You couldn’t prove it by us.  Pot holes were everywhere.

As we were slowly making our way the cooling fan for the engine started racing and the temp gauge was quickly heading north.  Fortunately we got to the viewing area before the engine overheated.  I told Abby we will deal with it later.   

Walking towards the viewing platform we could hear a bear making his way down the creek off to our left behind bushes.  As we entered the platform, a male, black colored grizzly bear strolled out from under the bridge and started catching salmon not 20 feet from us.

He was a massive specimen.  He would chase the salmon around in the creek as the salmon were in panic mode.  When he caught a salmon and would walk to dry ground and proceed to rip it apart, eat the flesh, drop the carcass and head back into the creek and repeat the process.   

You could hear the bones crack as he would bite down on the fish.  Visions of “play dead” danced in my mind as I watched and listened.

Abby spotted a young Black Bear making his way towards the creek but he changed his mind when he saw the grizzly.

After a couple of hours taking pictures and enjoying the up close and personal show, we walked back to the car to deal with the coolant problem.

Ken said we were really low on water so he got a gallon jug out of his camper filled it with water and poured it in the radiator.  It took almost 2 gallons to fill up.   

He left the radiator cap loose for the ride back to camp and as we pulled into camp we looked like the old “Stanley Steamer”.  We had steam pouring out from under hood. 

It has rained all night long and as I write this, it is still raining.  We plan on leaving tomorrow for the long drive home but we will be in Houston soon.  3,000 miles to go.

As I was publishing this, a young Black Bear is raiding the trash can about 30 feet away.  It grabs something to eat and crawls under a RV next to it finishes it and goes back and gets some more.

In Iskut B.C. (say that fast 3 times)

We made it to Watson Lake yesterday and spent the night next to Ken and Debbie.  They had arrived the day before.  A couple miles before entering the town we saw them parked next to the Liard River attempting to fish, but with all the rain, water was too high

Abby spent the afternoon sanitizing the RV and washing everything in sight.  I was staying out of her way as were the cats.  They don't like the spin dry cycle.

Speaking of cats.  We have finally deciphered Stella's problem with getting underway in the morning.  For the last 2 years she would "puke" within minutes of the start of driving.  Late last week for some reason (can't remember why) I had brought the slide outs in early and we didn't start the engine for 20 minutes.  Guess what? No puking once we started driving.  Ever since then we have been bringing the slide outs in early and no more episodes.  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!  In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm the old dog.

We departed Watson Lake headed for Dease Lake B.C. with Ken and Debbie leading the way.  We were traveling the Cassiar Highway which is touted as the most scenic road in B.C..  Before we left I checked with "Archie" the Scottish owner of the RV park.  He said he would not drive the Cassiar as it was too dangerous.  I asked how it could be more dangerous than the "Top of the World" which in my opinion is not a safe route for RV's.  Even the tour buses (same size as us) us "pilot cars" in front and rear to clear the way.  Us poor folks don't have that luxury.  He stuck to his statement.  Then I asked the "pertinent" question...."Archie, have you ever driven the Cassiar"?  NOPE!  Case closed.

The scenery is beautiful.  The road conditions were good.  We had to drive less than 40 mph in some stretches but with a few exceptions, the road was paved.  Very very narrow in some spots.  When approaching on coming traffic, "size matters".  You are smaller than us, we rule.  You bigger, we stop and let you have the road.  We didn't stop very often.

The one time we did stop cost a lot of money.  About 80 miles from Watson Lake there is a Jade shop along the side of the road.  How many of you think that Jade comes from Asian countries such as Thailand?  92% of the worlds Jade comes from British Columbia.  They ship it to Asia.  This place makes jewelery from the Jade.  They take the big boulders of Jade and turn them into very nice pieces of art.

We have pictures of the operation but once again the wifi nazi's restrict usage and uploading pictures are not allowed.

As we approached Dease Lake, we noticed a sign for a RV park 50 miles further down the road that looked promising.  Abby looked it up in one of our travel guides so we pulled over and discussed it with Ken and Debbie.  He needed to refuel anyway and agreed to keep on "truckin".  As we passed the RV park in Dease Lake we realized we made the right decision and when we got to the Mountain Shadow RV Park, it confirmed our wisdom.

This place is gorgeous.  It sits in a valley, near a lake on property where the owner built his home (modern log cabin) himself.  The trees are starting to turn to their fall colors.  A very peaceful setting.

Ken and Debbie went further down the road to a Provincial park that would be too small for us.  We will turn on our walkie talkies tomorrow morning and starting calling for the "rubber duck" as we head south towards Hyder, AK.  This will be our last stop in Alaska (picture a tear).