Closing Summary

We arrived home on 8/1/13 at 6:30 pm (EDT). We were away for 90 days and drove 14,570 miles. We stayed in 48 different camping spots. I don’t know how much we spent yet but I do know that gas was our most expensive item. We ate well, slept well, and stayed in good health. Our truck and travel trailer had no issues. Percy is lively as a pup. What else can I say? We have been so blessed.  

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. As soon as we check off a few more places on our Bucket List, we will go back. I have learned so much this trip about how to live in 170 sq. ft., what is truly essential, and what really matters.

I am filled with recommendations, suggestions, and advice. Don’t hesitate to ask me if there is anything you want to know. it will only take a few days of your time for me to expound on The Trip.

We also have 1000’s of photos and would love to share (yawn). I can’t resist one parting shot: Go for It! You have one life… live it to the fullest. Don’t put anything off.

(photo taken at Cabella's, sorry we didn't see anything like this is Alaska)

Homeward Bound

My FB friends saw my photo of the cute little yurt-cabin we stayed in at Heber City UT. The campground section of RiversEdge Camp was filled for Saturday night so the manager suggested we put the TT in their storage area and sleep in a yurt. It was great fun but at bedtime I was ready for “my” bed in the camper.

The good part was the yurt had a table and seating for four. Wayne and Gay came over and we had dinner guests for the first time in months. They had just moved out of their Park City house and into their new place on Wed. We celebrated by going to our mutual favorite restaurant in Kamas Friday night so on Saturday night we “entertained”.

Saturday morning I was sitting outside with my feet propped on the picnic table drinking coffee when a teenager from the next site came over with a huge bottle of ketchup. They were a family of six from Germany traveling in a rented RV and they were going to Salt Lake City to turn it in. She offered me the ketchup and I lacked sufficient German to refuse, so I accepted it with many thanks. I sat it on the table and returned to my musings. Suddenly the flutter of tiny wings cooled my toes. A hummingbird, very interested in the ketchup bottle was buzzing my feet! What if I had turned down the ketchup? I would have missed a Happening.

Sunday morning found us totally without firm plans. The weather had turned cool and we wondered about going back to the Four Corners area for a few days. Then we debated about the Grand Tetons or Yellowstone but we lacked enthusiasm for more hordes of vacationers. So we got on I-80 and headed east.

Sunday we crossed Wyoming and stayed at an “ok for overnight” CG right on I-80 near Cheyenne. Yesterday we crossed most of Nebraska and camped at Pawnee State Recreational Area near Lincoln. We got off the interstate this morning and took secondary roads through eastern NB, crossing the Big Mo for the first time near Browning. Back on the four-lane on I-29 to north of Kansas City and I-70 across Missouri.  We are at Graham Cave State Park west of St. Louis tonight. The weather is still cool enough but the humidity hit us hard this afternoon.

I think it is official: we are going home.

(photo is of 1988 Land Rover Defender being driven around the world by the Young Rovers, Shayne and Sandra Young of Ft. Lauderdale. We met them three times in Alaska.)

One day I walk in flowers, One day I walk on stones

"One day I walk in flowers, One day I walk on stones.   (Bruce Cockburn)

The Canadian Rockies were just as spectacular as we remembered them to be but we are so happy that we had such a wonderful early season visit three years ago. The number of people and vehicles was overwhelming. Parking lots, scenic attractions, wildlife spotting, everything was mobbed. I suppose that we are spoiled by the vastness of British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon.  It is best to visit here during the “shoulder seasons” (May-June, Mid-August to Sept.)

We did drive over the Icefields Parkway to Banff. Both Jasper NP and Lake Louise have paved overflow parking areas for RV’s but this did not appeal to us. We left Canada Highway 1, which was bumper-to-bumper, and took AB 22 south along the eastern face of the Rockies, called “Kananaski Country”. We avoided Calgary this way and saw some fantastic country. We camped at a lovely provincial park, Chain Lakes, out in the middle of nowhere. It was set in rolling meadows covered with wildflowers overlooking a series of lakes with the Kananaski Mountains like a row of sentinels in the background.  Early Sunday morning Percy and I went for a walk.  I could stand in one place and count a dozen different varieties of flowers. Percy was literally up to her ears in flowers! We walked in flowers.

By noon Sunday we had arrived at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, set up camp and quickly drove up to Red Rock Canyon to hike. We found the loop trail along the canyon edge but we also learned that in mid-summer, folks are allowed to wade in the river up to the canyon’s end. Back to the truck for Teva’s and shorts and we were on our way. This is one of those situations where there are dozens of people for the first ¼ mile, and then only the hardy continue.  It is like a slot canyon but only has one spot that requires crawling on hands and knees (due to a huge log jam). The walls are brilliant shades of red streaked with white and bands of deep brown all in wild and crazy swirls and patterns.  We gladly walked on stones.

In the evening we took the boat tour up Waterton Lake to Ghost Haunt, which is in Glacier National Park. There is a border station there but you have to hike into it from the Glacier side and it was closed. Several people on the boat had never been in the US before and were very excited to be allowed to get out and walk around on US soil. It made me realize again how very special it is to possess a US passport.  We come and go as we please.

On Monday we made our fifth border crossing (not counting the boat ride), at a seasonal crossing on a spur road in the NP’s.  We have managed to stay on secondary roads most of the time as we travel south. We were on I-15 for a short time Monday afternoon and on I-80 for only a few miles today. We have had some good camping spots as well. A welcome relief from the many gravel parking lots we have occupied in the past weeks.

Tonight we are at Rivers Edge on the Provo River near Heber City UT. It is a private place but looks like a state park. We have to take the truck to Salt Lake City tomorrow to have the brakes checked and plan to visit with friends over the weekend.

I think that we are headed home. (Photo is a stone in Red Rock Canyon)

Going with the Flow

This has been a peaceful easy week as we call ourselves “going home”. There is no point in even thinking about how many miles we plan to drive in a day or where we plan to spend the night. The mindboggling amount of road construction makes those plans for us. It is not unusual to wait 15 or 20 minutes at a road block or to drive 35 mph for ages. We get up when we are ready, drive until we are tired, and stop wherever we can. I can’t image the amount of stress that could be generated if we were on a schedule.

On Monday (7/15) we left the CG at Nisutin Bay (Teslin) and continued east on the Alaska Highway toward Watson Lake and Ft. Nelson. We stopped at the Teslin Tlingil Heritage Center and saw the most beautiful masks and textiles of our trip. We have tried to take advantage of the opportunities to talk with the First Nation citizens when we can. The young people have a difficult time. They call their parents the “gap generation”, the group that did not learn the native languages because they were sent to government schools. As a result, there are now few native speakers and some languages are almost extinct.

We were fortunate to find a spot at Laird Hot Springs Provincial Park (BC) that night. The springs are really something! A very nice break after a day of driving. Tuesday we drove to Ft. Nelson, Wednesday to Dawson Creek. We were then at Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway, 1,422 miles from Delta Junction. Every day we would see a few special things; maybe a bear or a moose or a hike to a waterfall, but mostly highway.

Yesterday we drove Alberta Highway 40, the Bighorn Road, to Hinton. We passed through Grande Prairie and Grande Cache. From Dawson Creek to Grande Prairie we saw rolling hills covered with the yellow blooms of the Canola plant. We had hoped to camp in a PP last night but we tried three and all the sites were either reserved or taken. Fortunately we found a very nice spot in Hinton and plan to stay here until Sunday. We are just 25 miles from Jasper National Park, in the middle of July, with no advance reservations. Need I say more!

I love the small town Visitor Centers. Not only do they have maps and brochures, they often have very savvy locals to help you find things to do. A young lady in Hinton suggested we drive out  the Forestry Trunk Rd. It is only paved for about 25 miles but runs south along the eastern side of the Canadian Rockies all the way to Canmore (near Banff). We drove about 40 miles and had a great day. Saw lots of wildlife, gorgeous views, and almost no people. It would be an adventure to drive the entire distance. 

We plan to go to Jasper tomorrow and have pizza at our favorite pizza place. I think we had pizza there three nights in a row in 2010. Yes, it is GOOD.

 (Butch in the Alpha Spring at Laird Hot Springs)

You Don't Always Get What You Want

Sunday, July 14: We have come full circle and are at the Yukon Motel and Lakeside RV Park again in Teslin, YK. We were here on June 10^th and it was almost deserted, not so now. We passed the 10,000 mile mark today. Tomorrow we will retrace our path for 17 miles on the ALCAN and then will be in new territory as we continue east toward BC.  We are going home but we have big plans for the next few weeks.

You don’t get everything you want and it looked as if we were going to have to miss driving the Taylor Highway to “Beautiful Downtown Chicken” and on to Dawson City. We stayed over in Tok trying to outwait the rain but were getting shacky wacky. There had been wildfires in that part of Alaska for over a month and no rain since the first of May. We could see the fires from the highway coming down from Delta Junction and the smoke made driving very difficult. The rain was such a blessing that I was ashamed to wish that it would go away. The few vehicles that came in from Chicken-Dawson were not just dirty they were literally coated with an oily mud. The advice in the campground was “don’t even think about it”. We were dejected.

Then, a happening! The SMART Caravan pulled in and I remembered that one of my internet friends was on it. We found Sherry and Jim in their View and got a whole different story. They said the big rigs were having problems but we would be fine. We were elated.

Wednesday we drove 180 miles on the Taylor Highway through Chicken to Dawson over the Top of the World and it was outstanding. The day started out overcast but we rolled into Dawson in full sun. We stopped several times to rock hound and found some nice specimens of Dendrites and beautiful banded rhyolite but we didn’t really know what a labradorite looked like so just picked up some pretty stones. The views from the highway are amazing. It was hard to realize that there was nothing to the north of us but mountain ranges and tundra all the way to the Artic Ocean.

At Dawson, there is a government ferry to get travelers across the Yukon River in the summer. In the winter they make an ice road. The ferry runs 24 hours a day “on demand” and holds four cars/trucks and two RV’s. We crossed with just us and an ATV.

We had fun in Dawson. They make the most of their short summer and there is a lot of activity going on.  Folks never stopped gold mining in this area and with the price of gold escalating interest has revived. We have seen everything from panning to huge dredges. We took a trip on the paddle wheeler on the Yukon River, watched the show at Gertie’s, went out to the goldfields and pretended to pan. 

What we didn’t get is an opportunity to drive the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Circle. It was closed due to a landslide.  Like the famous Dalton Highway in Alaska (the “haul road” to Prudo Bay), it is unpaved for over 400 miles to the village of Inuvit and is the only road in Canada that goes to the Arctic Circle. There weren’t any flights either, all taken up by people who really need to go to Inuvit and points north.

We also did not get a chance to paddle on the Yukon River. We spent last night in Carmacks after arranging for a shuttle for today. The forest fires are so bad that the valley was filled with smoke and this morning the visibility was nil.  The smoke did contribute to a beautiful "sunset" last night about 9 p.m. Of course the sun didn't really set for hours.

What we did get? Just about everything on our Bucket List, visits with good friends, meeting lots of new people, fabulous scenery, and constant overwhelming amazement at the wonder of God’s creation.  And it ain’t over.

 

 

Riding the Wendy Bus

This blog is mainly about Happenings. It is about roads taken, serendipity, coincidence, and astonishment. At least one of these things occurs on a daily basis for us and on some days, they all do.

We have logged in another wonderful week. Leaving the Kanai we got to Anchorage in time to share Pizza Night with Carol. I love her so much that I endured another night at the Golden Nugget RV Park. I hope she appreciates my sacrifice. Monday we drove up to Eagle River and parked our TT at Lulie and Bud’s place. It is True Alaska! Lulie and I were canoeing buddies in Tallahassee over 30 years ago. We had a lot of catching up to do. Had a good hike with Lulie and three of her eight dogs. This was our first exposure to the true nature of Alaskan mosquitos; big, slow, plentiful, and relentless.

On Tuesday we wandered up toward Talkeetna, a wonderful village located at the junction with the Talkeetna, Susitna, and Chulita Rivers. It also has an active train depot and is the jumping-off point for climbing expeditions to Mt McKinley/Denali. With the holiday weekend coming up it was a “happening place”.

Wednesday we drove on up the Parks Highway to Denali. No camping spaces in the Park of course, so we settled on Denali Rainbow Village RV Park. Mere words cannot explain to the uninitiated how awful an Alaskan commercial RV park can be. Our expectations are very low but this place sank below them. The one positive note was their excellent dog-walker who gave Percy four walks and put out her supper when we were away for $20.

This brings us up to the Wendy Bus and serendipity, coincidence, and astonishment. Denali NP has only one road that leads 95 miles into the interior. Vehicle access is limited to the first 15 miles, as is the pavement. The Park provides a variety of shuttle busses but have only two choices for going the entire route to Kantishna. One is the Kantishna Experience ($162 per seat), an upgraded school bus with shocks and springs that provides a park service naturalist and a box lunch. The other is a green school bus with a driver ($50 per seat)

 Considering our old bones we felt that 190 miles and 12 hours on a school bus might be a bit much so we decided to spring for the expensive ride. Holy Serendipity! They were sold out. It was the Green Bus or nothing. Drivers of the Green busses are just hired to drive the bus. They don’t have to say a word all day, but we got Wendy Hester. No PhD naturalist could have been better. She has been driving a bus in the Park for over 20 years and nothing slips by her. (She has also been driving a public school bus in Anchorage for 20 years and has eyes in the back of her head). We saw all the requisite animals and we saw The Mountain, over and over again. It was an amazing and astonishing day. We are so lucky to have spent it on the Wendy Bus.

When we left the Rainbow RV Park we were so starved for space that we towed over the Denali Highway (nothing to do with the Park), to Paxson on the Richardson Highway. It is 135 miles, 105 of which is unpaved. It is a beautiful road and worth every bump. Last night we dry-camped at a BLM parking area beside Tangle Lake. There was a snow bank right outside our window.

At Delta Junction we turned east on the ALCAN and returned to Tok. Turning east for the first time in over two months and completing the circle back to Tok makes me feel that we are “going out” as the Alaskans say. We have a lot of happenings ahead of us however, and tomorrow we are off to Chicken.

 

Bidding Farewell to the Seashore

You know how those video travelogues always have the cruise ship sailing out of the harbor and the guy with the British accent says, “As we bid farewell to …………….”? Well, I think that tomorrow we will be leaving the fabulous southeastern shores of Alaska and will be headed for the “interior”.

In Valdez we were on Prince William Sound and in Homer we were on Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay, in Seward we are on Resurrection Bay and the Gulf of Alaska in the North Pacific. All are wonderful and have distinct personalities but if I had to choose one it would be Valdez.

We left Homer on Wednesday and drove slowly up the Kanai Peninsula stopping often to check things out. The Milepost (Alaska Travel Planner) makes it possible to anticipate upcoming attractions and alert RV’s to pull-outs big enough for their rigs. Alaska has bad roads but lots of pull-outs. The law requires motorist to pull out when they have five vehicles behind them. This isn’t always possible but it does help. Wildlife sightings are a different ballgame. Everyone just leaves their vehicle in the road and takes pictures.

We missed our turn and took the Kalifornisky Beach Road out to the town of Kenai. This proved to be providential since we passed a great seafood retailer at Snug Harbor. We bought fresh King crab legs, deep sea scallops, smoked halibut, and frozen chowder. We also saw a herd of caribou on this road and we visited the excellent museum in Kenai.

We are in the City of Seward municipal campground right on Resurrection Bay. The City has 10 cg’s spread out along about two miles of shore behind the town. There is a paved walking trail with fire pits every 12 feet or so. It is easy walking to everything and in the evenings is like a promenade with folks and kids and dogs strolling along. We can see the boats coming and going to the port. Last night everyone gathered to watch a huge cruise ship back out of the harbor and get turned around in the bay. It is also Very noisy here. At 3:30 this morning I took Percy out and there were still campfires and conversations going on. It has been a fun experience but I think we are ready to move on.

On Thursday we spent the day on a Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise. We saw three glaciers, (one of them calving), and lots of gorgeous cliffs and islands and waterfalls. Also saw whales and seals and birds. It was a fantastic day. Yesterday we went to the Exit Glacier section of the NP and did a Ranger-led hike up to the Edge of the Glacier. We also visited the Alaska Sealife Center, a marvelous aquarium. My favorite part was watching the Puffins “sail” under water. Today we went back to the NP and walked along the flats of the Resurrection River.

Night before last I steamed the crab legs. We ate them with fresh corn-on-th-cob and drawn butter. Last night I sauteed the scallops in a white-wine, herb, and olive oil marinade served over linguine. We have wonderful bread from Three Sisters Bakery in Homer. Would you believe we have both lost weight?  

"The ourside of a mountain is good for the inside of a man." (George Wherry)

When you travel weeks just to get to the border of Alaska and then you still have days to get to Anchorage, it is hard to imagine that you are barely there. Most of Alaska isn’t accessible by road and there are long distances from point A to point B. It is no wonder that airplanes are everywhere.

We drove the 226 miles from Anchorage to Homer Saturday on the Seward and then the Sterling Highways. The Kenai Peninsula, with the Homer Spit at the very end, is south of Anchorage with Cook Inlet to the west and the Aleutian Range to the southwest. From our campground we can look across the inlet to Mt.Iliamma, Mt Redoubt, and Mt. St. Augustine. All are over 10,000 feet and all are active volcanoes. Redoubt blew last in 2009. Across Kachemak Bay, we see the glaciers and endless succession of peaks of the Cugachs.

We are on the shores of Bishops Beach and due to the Solstice have had “minus” low tides. These are  tides that are far below normal and they expose miles of mud flats, tidal pools and rocks and allow access to bluffs and “heads”. Butch and I took advantage of this yesterday and walked four miles (roundtrip) out to Big Bluff to search a coal seam for fossils. We only found one micro amber and he gave it to a little boy. With more time and effort I think this could be a rich load for tiny fossils.

On Sunday I went to St. Augustine Episcopal Church which is within walking distance of our CG. It is a contemporary building with three huge windows behind the altar that look out onto Cook Inlet and the volcanoes. What with the magnificent view and the sea planes swooping by, I don’t see how anyone concentrates on the sermon. There were 12 of us, the Usual Episcopalians, and we recognized each other immediately. I felt right at home.

Last night we joined another couple from the CG and took the Kachemak Ferry (the Danny J) across the Bay to Halibut Cove. This is an amazing village built on stilts along the cliffs of Islamof Island and the surrounding mainland cove. All transportation is by the 12 blocks of boardwalk and by water or sea plane. Dinner was at the Saltry. We sat outdoors on the boardwalk by an open fireplace. Since there were only 10 of us on the boat and several of us were from the CG, it was like a private party.  This was indeed, a Peak Evening.

We “did” museums, galleries, and the wonderful Ocean Visitor’s Center today.  I think we may leave in the morning and plan to spend a day or two at Soldotna and Kenai before going on to Seward for the weekend. Or maybe not! It is unbelievable how little a schedule matters to us. We just sort of wander around, marveling at the magnificence.

 

Not All Who Wander Are Lost (we just look that way)

This past week has been a blur of good times, good friends, and good food.

After leaving Tok last Thursday (6/13), we traveled down the Richardson Highway to Valdez. I had visited Valdez in 1995 and found it to be one of my favorite stops on the Alaska tour. It is a fishing town on a beautiful harbor surrounded by the peaks of the St. Elias-Wrangle NP and by magnificent glaciers and waterfalls. As we approached Thompson Pass, the absolute glory of the Worthington Glacier, the icefield, and the 14,000 foot peaks shown against a clear blue sky. It was heart stopping. One of those moments when you know you have never seen anything like this before.

We stayed in Valdez until Sunday. Our CG was typical Alaska Gravel Parking Lot style, but it faced right on the bay and was within walking distance of everything. We went out to the Columbia Glacier on the Lulu Belle, a beautiful yacht that provides a wonderful tour.  We bought huge prawns and wild sock-eye salmon fresh from the fish market and cooked up some great meals.

We spent Sunday night in Palmer and arrived in Anchorage before noon on Monday. My friend Carol lives here and we were beyond excited to see each other again. We have been friends for over 50 years and she is godmother to my two older sons. So we have spent the week tearing around sightseeing, visiting, and drinking lots of wine! As an added bonus, Carol’s husband knew my old friend, Lulie Williams, from Apalachee Canoe Club days. (Anchorage is not such a big town.) Lulie came out in the summer of 1980 and has never looked back. We got together today.

We are off to the Kenai Peninsula tomorrow as we hope to spend a few days in Homer. We will have over 19 hours of daylight in Anchorage today. Happy Summer Solstice to everyone.

 

Hallelujah.......Tok at last!

We passed through customs back into the US this afternoon and arrived at Tok, “the main street of Alaska” about 4 p.m. (ADT). Everything you have heard about the Alcan Highway is true. We crept along mile after mile with broken to nonexistent pavement, swells, potholes, and frost heaves. Very rarely we would pass, or be passed by, a fellow sufferer.  That is why Tok is such a happy place. Everybody is just so glad to GET here!

In the Yukon and Alaska the roads are so few that they are not referred to by their numbers but by their names. The Cassiar, the road we came up on, is not just a way to get from A to B, it is an experience. Like the Blue Ridge Parkway or Going to the Sun Highway, it is staggeringly beautiful and full of history. The awfulness of the road itself is readily acceptable because it is so scenic. The section of the Alcan that we did had some wonderful views but fewer opportunities to pull off and was more tedious.

We camped at Dease Lake on the Cassiar, mostly a gravel parking lot with RV sites. When we left we filled our extra gas can for the first time. On the Alcan we camped south of Whitehorse on a lake that was so high some of the sites were in the lake.  Last night we were at one of the prettiest campground ever, right on Kluane Lake at Destruction Bay. Our site was about four feet above the water with a fabulous view of Kluane National Park.  Kluane Lake is as beautiful as Tahoe with turquoise water surrounded by mountain peaks.

Tonight we are in a spruce grove in a place much like a state park. We have a very private site and an excellent place to walk Percy. We also have secure internet and cell phone service. The sun will set at 11:43 and will rise at 3 am.

I may sound as if all we do is drive but that isn’t wholly true. We leave whenever we feel like it and stop often. We stop in late afternoon and have long evenings to enjoy our surroundings. We see museums, visitor’s centers and historical markers along the way. The only thing we don’t do is laundry and that is getting to be a problem!  Off to Valdez tomorrow.

Day by Day

Tuesday: One month and one day after leaving NC we are finally in Canada. We crossed at Sumas this morning in about five minutes. We took CA 1 and 97 through the Frasier River Canyon to Clinton BC. This is very rugged, almost desert-looking country that is called “Canada’s Hot Spot” because summer temperatures sometimes exceed 100 (F).  Highway 97 is also called the “Cariboo Waggon Road” as it was the main drag to the gold fields. After passing Cache Creek the hills softened somewhat and everything is green and lush. Truck farming is big in the narrow valley but it is too early in the season for the roadside stands to be open.

Friday: Butch has put in a couple of days of hard driving to get us to Stewart, BC/Hyder, AK. We are staying on the BC side at Bear River. We continued north on CA 97 to Prince George where we turned west on 16 (the Yellowhead Highway). Most travelers continue on 97 to the ALCAN but we wanted to go counter-clockwise and try 37, called the Cassiar. It has only been paved for a couple of years and just last week was closed for three days because of flooding. It is an 80 mile rt spur to Stewart-Hyder, but the road is called the Glacier Highway and is said to be one of the most beautiful in British Columbia. For one who has been to the Canadian Rockies and to Vancouver Island, this was hard to imagine but it is true!

Saturday: Wow and double Wow! We drove three miles into Alaska at Hyder and then out & back on the Salmon Glacier Road (44 miles). This is the most spectacular scenery we have seen on this trip. The road is an active “haul road” used to service the mining industry and is interesting to say the least. We followed the road from Fish Creek (where the bears come in late summer to catch salmon), along the river and then beside the glacier to the summit viewpoint which overlooks the entire range. The glacier was blinding and there are hundreds of waterfalls. It is like Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier NP but a lot more up close and personal.

 By the time we reached the top there was snow piled on both sides of the road and we almost turned around twice. The first time we actually had the truck turned when an old Land Rover piled high with stuff roared by. On the back was painted, “Live Once-Live it All”.  We kept going!  Other than the mining company trucks, we saw only two other cars and were alone at the summit. What an incredible experience.

We will return to the Cassiar Hiway tomorrow as there will be closures on it on Monday. Hope to be in the Yukon Territory by then. Sorry no photos with this post. We are on CG internet connection and it is not allowed.

“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places”. (Psalm 16:6)

We are in Birch Bay WA, which is just about as far as you can go and still be in the contiguous USA.  We plan to cross into British Columbia tomorrow and head to the Yukon Territories. It has been an amazing week. We have truly “happened” upon some marvelous places and experiences. I posted on FB about our accidental meeting with John and Paula that resulted in a canoe trip on the Rogue River. They took a chance on a couple of geezers in an ugly canoe and we had a terrific day. In the manner of paddlers everywhere, they urged us to stay longer and they would take us further upriver. It was very tempting.

After leaving Rogue River we stopped for the night at Sequest State Park near Silver Lake WA. The setting for the park is lovely; the facilities were not so good. They may be experiencing budget problems or just poor management.  We did have time to drive up to Johnstone Ridge to get a good view of Mt. St. Helens. I saw it in August of 1979, just nine months before it blew. It is very humbling to look at what used to be a peak and see a flat place. The drive up there is pretty spectacular too.

Yesterday (6/3) we arrived at Birch Bay which is one of the most beautiful parks ever. We are parked in a grove of sequoias overlooking the bay. To the north is Vancouver BC, along the western horizon is Vancouver Island, and behind us is Mt. Baker. We had an early dinner last night so we could get down to the beach before sunset. After beachcombing for a while, we settled down on two huge driftwood trees to wait. We were seated on one log and leaning back against the other as the sun slowly set. It would have been romantic except that Percy was intrigued by the opportunity to walk along the back log and lick our ears. Since she had just been sniffing dead crabs and wet seaweed it sort of spoiled the mood.

Since this is our last day in the US for a while and we are unsure of future internet connections, we had lots of business to tend to. Best of all, we had dinner tonight in Birch Beach with my wonderful friend, Helen. She drove over from Ferndale. We had years of news to catch up on and lots of photos to share. Magnificent places and fabulous scenery are great but dear friends are the real treasure.

 

North to Alaska.....sort of.

We were in Sparks/Reno for over a week, the past few days awaiting a package. We enjoyed visiting with relatives, shopping, and getting the truck and TT ready for the long haul north. When we left yesterday morning, we weren’t even sure which route we would take after Susanville, CA.  It was a lovely drive up through the Lassen National Forest;  the ponderosas, meadows, lakes, wild flowers and in the background Lassen Peak and later Mt. Shasta. We skirted the east side of Lassen National Park and saw lots of evidence of the 1915 eruption. The road into the park will not open until June 6.

Reports from the Washington DOT re: detours around the Mt. Vernon bridge are positive so we elected to merge with I-5.  We had no camping plans but I found Valley of the Rogue State Park in our waterlogged Woodalls’s.  Ah, finding Joy in unexpected places! This is an Oregon SP that is a three mile greenway between I-5 and the Rogue River. Fortunately the River is louder than the Road and we have a great spot. I am sitting under a mature Cottonwood tree looking at a very lively river. There are nice hiking trails here and the flowers are outstanding. The park itself shows evidence of the spring flooding but everything is clean and convenient. Percy is sleeping under the picnic table on real grass. She hates Astroturf!

This being Oregon Parks Day, we can camp for free so we are staying another night.  At this rate we won’t get to Alaska ‘till August but the weather and road reports from up that way are not good. We have been so blessed with great weather that we hate to leave it behind.

“Cracking our shins on altars”

“Earth is so thick with divine possibilities that it is a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars”. (Barbara Brown Taylor)

The American southwest is such an amazing place. Every manmade wonder in the world seems to be duplicated here through the handiwork of wind and water. We hiked at Natural Bridges National Monument last Sunday and marveled at the delicate arches and souring spans. Then we spent two days exploring Capitol Reef National Park where there is everything: domes, cathedrals, caves, temples, reefs, hanging gardens, natural reservoirs, and it is all available if you are willing to walk a little way.  It is one of the most visitor-friendly NP’s we have ever seen. Far superior to Zion or Grand Canyon.  We will return!

The trip to Delta UT was beautiful and we found a great campground. We made an early start on Wednesday out to the desert to dig fossils. What an adventure! We found lots of trilobites, brachiopods, and worm tracks. We filled up a five gallon bucket before noon, and then had to make hard decisions about what to keep. After lunch we did some serious shale splitting, only keeping the best specimen.

Leaving Delta, we crossed the Great Basin desert on Highway 50, called the “Loneliest Road in the US”.  We stopped briefly at Great Basin National Park. I think that it is a place of subtle beauty that would take a while to appreciate. We arrived in Sparks NV  late Thursday

afternoon, completing our longest day on the road yet.  The desert was lovely. We often saw miles of rolling dunes covered with yellow flowers with snow-capped mountains  in the background. US 50 is a good road with wide shoulders and only a few steep grades. No problem!

We are visiting with family in Sparks/Reno and waiting for some mail to arrive. Had laundry done today and will buy tires tomorrow. The collapse of the Mt. Vernon bridge on I-5 in Washington has changed our route to the Canadian border but we still hope to leave next Thursday.  

Prone to Wander

Sunday, May 10: It is Sunday morning and I am missing my friends at St. Marks. I feel as if I have been in church all week. Chaco Canyon is about as spiritual as it gets and the beautiful Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins makes you want to sit in the Presence all day. It was reconstructed in the 30’s and the Pueblo still use it for ceremonies. It is deep and cool underground and the silted windows and columns are designed to reflect the progress of the sun during the day. There is always a beam of light illuminating the darkness.

If you are my FB friend, you saw the happy, happy photos of Butch on his fishing trip on the San Juan River. I went along but did not fish. The river is beautiful, the day was cool and bright, and the fish were biting. It was so much fun!

We traveled on west and north to Blanding UT. Yesterday we toured Natural Bridges National Monument and did the easiest hike to Katchina Bridge. There is a slot canyon there and the walls were stunning. Believe it or not, we had rain here yesterday! As a result, we could not do some of the other hikes (flash flooding is a danger if there are thunderstorms anywhere in the basin).

The thunderheads were rolling across a brilliant blue sky creating an amazing effect on the lighting in the canyons. Some areas were lit with shafts of sunlight while others where silhouetted against dark cliffs. There is snow on the mountains in the far background which occasionally glints in the sun. Breathtaking!!

In the late afternoon we visited the museum and ruins at Edge of the Cedars State Park. They have an extensive and impressive collection there.  We are leaving today, probably to go west on UT 95 to Capitol Reef National Park.

Desperately seeking superlatives

Desperately seeking superlatives

We are barely into our second week of our trip and I am already running out of superlatives. How many ways can you say gorgeous, stunning, breathtaking, amazing? I’m talking about Chaco Canyon Culture National Historical Park and the surrounding area, including the San Juan River valley where we are right now. We braved the 21 miles (13 of it unpaved) to get to the Canyon on Monday.  It took us an hour and that is considered very good time. Despite being fairly warned, the inside of the TT was in shambles. We didn’t take in much dust though and nothing was broken. It was SO worth it! We spent two nights dry camping nestled beneath a huge canyon wall with our own little pueblo ruin and petroglyphs nearby. Some of the buildings were built in the 800’s and all are amazing.  The NPS has applied for Dark Sky designation (available at only a few places in the world) for this site and they discourage using more light than you need. As a result, it is magical at night.

We drove just over 100 miles today and are now at Navaho Lake State Park on the San Juan River. The river is lovely, very clear and green. I was excited about paddling my little canoe on it but learned that I have to have a NM fishing license and fishing apparatus in the boat! Butch is going fly fishing tomorrow with a guide so I will go along too.

No real plans for the rest of the week. I guess we will wander west toward Utah.

End of Phase I

We are in Albuquerque tonight and this seems like the end of “Phase I” of the trip (Getting Out West). Tomorrow will be the beginning of “Phase II” (Exploring the Four Corners).Until tonight we have camped in state parks and four of the five nights we were on lakes: Pontchartrain (LA), Wright Patmon (TX), Foss Lake (OK), and last night at Santa Rosa in NM. The other night we were on the ridge of a mountain in the Quichita Mountains of AR. What a let-down to be here in a KOA right off I-25! It is a nice clean park but a stark reminder of the difference between RV-ing and Camping. No quiet strolls along a lake shore watching the sunset instead we have a quick trip to the fenced in doggie park.  Percy is not impressed. Walking around a fenced enclosed bored her to death in five minutes and she wanted to know when the real Walk would begin. On the positive side, Butch and I celebrated M Day and our success in achieving a week in the TT with no mayhem by going to the Casino for dinner.  We plan to pull out in the morning to travel toward Farmington NM and all the wonderful ruins and rock art along the way. Don’t know when we will have internet access again.

We are in Atlanta....(Texas that is)

That’s the thing about “happenings”; yesterday I didn’t know Atlanta TX existed; now I are there! The campground is Atlanta State Park on Lake Wright Patman south of Texarkana. It is a huge lake with 170 miles of shoreline. The campground is private and very quiet. Other items of note today were the Frog Level Monument in Rodessa, two huge green frogs on top of a sort of arch. One is named “Alabama” the other “Georgia”. Google it if you are into obscure roadside attractions. We missed the AL-LA-TEX marker as evidently it is pretty low to the ground.

Last night we were at Fontainbleau State Park near Mandeville LA on Lake Pontchartrain. It is the site of an old plantation and the oak trees were magnificent. Again, a super-nice campground with absolutely palatial restrooms.

As expected, we are off schedule and off-track.

Standing on the Verge

 

It appears that tomorrow will be the long anticipated Big Day, the day we actually head west on our Alaska journey.  We arrived in Dothan on Saturday and have been finishing up the last of our business. Camping World went over the travel trailer today and pronounced us good to go.  We are exhausted, exhilarated, and a little scared. We have already made some changes to our plans due to the Sequester and the flooding so we are not sure where we will be tomorrow night. We have had our first (minor) disaster also. Since the TT was already in south Alabama, we had to bring all our gear south in our uncovered utility trailer. In anticipation of a 90% chance of up to two inches of rain, we bagged and doubled bagged everything and wrapped it in a tarp. The only real casualty was the bag that contained our 2006 Rand McNally Road Atlas, our Woodalls Camping Guide, and my notebook full of itineraries and places of interest. The Atlas is toast, the Camping Guide is a soggy mess, and I am trying to dry out the notebook.  I hope this is the worst thing that happens

Saccus-Mania (Latin for bag obsession)

Saccus-mania   (Latin for “bag obsession”)

For the past six weeks I have haunted thrift stores looking for bags. Not plastic bags, purses, or suitcases, but those canvas carry-all’s from L.L. Bean or Land’s End and the ones with the logo that you get when you go to a convention or meeting. I am also partial to the see-through bags with the little zippers and the plastic freebies from expensive cosmetic companies. I seem to feel that I can get control of all the Stuff needed for our trip if I can just find the right bag to put it in!

Experience has taught me that in order to stay sane, there must be a bag for everything and every bag has a place. Bags are best because they can be crammed into spaces better than boxes and because they don’t cause as much damage when they fly around in the TT. Our bag collection also reminds us of what needs to be packed. Butch and I have small bags designated for specific items. When they are packed they go into a big bag, and so on. Yes, it is a form of mental illness but it is better than Saccusphopia (fear of bags). Can’t imagine how we would manage that!

I wish we were singing “Our bags are packed, we are ready to go”, but that is not the case (no pun intended). We still have Things To Do.

 

 

 

Getting ready to sing

“I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument while the song I came to sing remains unsung”. (Rabindranth Tagore”

About six weeks ago Butch and I sat down and made lists of what had to be done before we could leave for Alaska. We included the kinds of things that had to be scheduled, appointed, and/or might require some time to accomplish. We didn’t start a minute to soon. It is amazing how slowly the wheels of some governmental agencies, medical providers, financial institutions, and public utilities turn

All three of us had had physical checkups, new prescriptions, and dental cleaning. Butch and I already had passports but Percy had to have her paperwork updated. We have put everything possible on-line and made advance arrangements for everything else. We have set up house sitting and mail pick-up.  We have purchased some needed items repaired others.  And the lists go on…….!

Trip planning can be great fun, especially in the winter or on rainy days. In April in the mountains, not so much.  We are very ready to stop stringing and unstringing these particular instruments and to get on with the singing.

 

Getting REALLY Specific

Monday I blogged about the steps I take to get started on planning a long trip. This specific trip, to Alaska, is not only longer than usual, but has some unique characteristics. First, we probably won’t do it again and we want to get the most “bang for our buck”. Second, we want to include some visits to friends and relatives and we want to visit some places we have missed in the past. Finally, we want to be prepared to avoid or skirt bad weather on the way out.

Our travel trailer (here after referred to as the “TT”) is in Dothan, AL, about 30 miles from I-10. The northern interstates (I-70, 80, and 90) are said to be shorter routes to Alaska but all are iffy in the spring. I-40 is a favorite of ours but has a bad stretch from Memphis to Little Rock. Hence we will start out on I-10, watch the weather closely, and turn north to access I-40 somewhere around Ft. Smith, AR.

Butch and I have been discussing places and activities that we really, really enjoyed on our various trips and also talking about the “been there – done that” kinds of experiences. We love the Four Corners area of the southwest and have covered most of the better known attractions. I have ordered two new books, The Roadside Guide to Indian Ruins & Rock Art in the Southwest, and An Archeological Guide to Ancient Ruins of the Southwest. Both are excellent! We also like rock hounding and the Great Basin area west of Delta UT is a must-do. Exploring slot canyons is another favorite that we hope to “fit in”.

Can we do all of the above and still spend Memorial Day Weekend in Reno NV with our family? Stay tuned.

Getting more specific

Guess what? A few people are actually reading my blogs. How amazing! One friend did point out that my comments about trip planning were not very specific. She noted that everyone looks at maps and makes lists, what else do I do when confronted with the challenge of three months and more than 10,000 miles?

Step 1: Consult my battered 2006 Rand McNally Road Atlas and Travel Guide, pages 4 & 5, with the layout of the whole USA with all the interstates and “red roads” on it. (Canada is on page 129). Look at where we are and where we are going.  I repeat this step hundreds of times during the planning process to remind myself of what we are getting in to.

Step 2: Go on-line to Rand McNally Mileage Calculator and get point-to-point mileage, a sketch of the route, and shortest distance driving directions.

Step 3: Divide 300 miles per day into the mileage and get the minimum number of driving days needed just to get from point A to point B. From Dothan, AL to Anchorage, AK is 4,445 miles, that’s 15 days one way or at least one month just to cover the distance out and back.

Step 4: Go on-line to the Good Same Trip Planning site (you must register to use it) and start playing with Itineraries. This site will give you a Personal Itinerary from the origination point to the destination point of your choosing with directions/route information, accumulated miles and time, remaining miles in times, location of rest stops, and other options of your choice. You can also indicate the kind of route you want (e.g. shortest, only interstates, scenic, certain road numbers, etc.) I love this site because of the way it formats the itinerary and it is fast. I use the road atlas to “try out” different possibilities on the GS site, changing my origination and destination points to reflect places we might want to visit and I usually print out a bunch of different itineraries to cover Plans A through Z.( I have kept the itineraries from previous trips and have notes scribbled all over them.)

Step 5: The format of the GS itinerary allows me to see where our overnight stops should be. I look at the accumulated miles column on the left and see about where we will be when we have traveled 250 to 350 miles. Back to the Atlas to see what towns are in that area? At this stage I also use National Geographic Road Atlas: Adventure Edition, because it shows all the National Parks and lots of other scenic attractions.

Step 6: Back on-line to RVpark reviews. Armed with the names of the towns in my targeted area (250 to 350 miles out), I check to see if there are reviewed campgrounds in the area. I might also do a search on the RVNet Open Road Forum. If all else fails, I will resort to using Woodall’s North American Campground Directory. I also use Don Wrights’ Guide to Free and low cost Campgrounds. I make brief notes on my GG Itinerary regarding the location, ratings, etc. of potential overnight stops. I rarely make reservations ahead of time unless it is a holiday weekend.

Step 7: I continue to check on our projected routes (I usually have at least three), adding 300 miles to the distance from our last stop to get an idea of how we will progress.  I am also beginning to explore the attractions and activities that we might enjoy along the route and thinking about places where we will want to stay over for a day or two. More about that later.

The Devil is in the Details

“The love of order can make life all banks and no stream” (unknown)

Being a certified world class Over-Thinker, planning a three month trip can throw me into a frenzy of list making, internet searches, and hours of pouring over maps. I order books, make files, and do endless organizing both mentally and physically. I am moved to ecstasy by compartmentalized containers and zip up bags. I have a staging area in the garage to start stacking our plastic storage bins and I love making check marks on the lists.

Thankfully I know from previous experience, that once we hook up the trailer and pull out onto the road I will be fine. The passion of preparation settles into the flow of travel. Having done all I can to cover the bases I am mostly willing to let them uncover as they will. And that is when the “happenings” occur.

It's about Space

It's about Space

Having determined where we are going and how much time we have for the trip, I am thinking about space; physical and personal. Our physical space in the travel trailer is about 175 sq. ft. and is jam-packed with everything needed for self-contained living plus two adults and a 25 pound dog. It is extremely well designed however, and we deal with it very well having spent 88 nights in it last year. The trick is to stay out-of-doors as much as possible and to establish a routine for indoor living. In our Roadtrek we had what we called the “B-shuffle”, a strategy for passing each other in the two foot wide hallway.  Often, being that close together anyway, we would go ahead and dance!

It doesn’t really take more “stuff” for a three month trip than for a week or two. We are not headed into the wilderness (much) and groceries and sundry can be bought most everywhere. We do have to plan a three season wardrobe but layering is the trick and we bag up different sets of clothes for different temperatures and activities. Most of the toys (canoe, paddles, PFD’s, bikes, etc.)go in the back of the truck.

Personal space is another issue. Neither of us is the joined-at-the-hip type and we are both fond of retreating to our own caves. Three months in a travel trailer is a lot of togetherness! Fortunately Butch and I have lots of experience. Since we started out years ago in VW vans and graduated to a truck camper and then a Class B (van), we consider our TT almost palatial. Most of the time we can anticipate the fraying of the last nerve and find a way to get some space.

"Most of the time" is the operational term here. We are not successful "all of the time" but knowing that up-front is part of the planning for a trip like this. I am thinking about ways to build in opportunities for personal space in the same way that I am looking for containers to enhance our physical space.

 

It's about Time

When we tell our friends about our plans for Alaska they always ask, "How much time do you have?" That is the first question isnt it? All other planning revolves around it. In the old days, my travel plans were dictated by time (summer break) and money (whatever I had saved that year). The kids and I traveled until either of them were half-way gone, them turned around and went home. Believe it or not, we usually ran out of time first. Limited time results in tight scheduling which can be a blessing in some ways. Lots of time opens up an almost overwhelming variety of options.

We have set aside three months for our Alaska trip but four is a possibility. On traveling days we usually drive for about six hours. Our elderly dog requires stops about every two hours and we need a good break for lunch. Divide that into 12,000 miles and it is a lot of days!

Travel time is a small part of the planning process. The real stumper is how long to spend when we get somewhere wonderful? Since we are leaving in early May. we hope to get to the Four Corners area before it gets too hot to enjoy it. I have two new books, Indian Ruins & Rock Art of the Southwest and An Archaelogical Guide to Ancient Ruins of the Southwest. Obviously we can't see everything so how do we choose?

Starting a journey

"Canoe and I
And river bend
God powers a world
With no known end.

He finds the river
Sees us, smiles
As we happen on
His chosen miles." (Larry Everson)

For 30 years this poem has been on my 'fridge where I can see it every day. It reminds me of the gut level anticipation inherent in any journey, by canoe or otherwise, and the amazing experiences that we "happen on". That's the point isn't it? Not what we plan or where we go but what we encounter along the way.

Butch and I are planning to start for Alaska one month from today. We have lots of plans and a few fixed destinations but, as of now, no reservations. One of my plans is to post a blog whenever WIFI is avaliable. I invite you to join us. liz