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Alaska trip 2024

juin - août 2024
Starting out for Alaska with the teardrop camper June 1, 2024. Will drive there and back En savoir plus

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  • Canada
  • États Unis
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Camping-car, Camping, Famille, Nature, Faune
  • 40,7kmiles parcourus
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  • 92jours
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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Dawson Creek AirBNB

    26–28 juil. 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Last night, we stayed at Buckinghorse River Campground. It was nice and only a few other campers. There is a burn ban on, so there was no campfire again. Of course, it rained again, but we had coffee, bananas, yogurt, and poptarts for breakfast.

    The burn ban is for good reason. Remember way back in early June when Phil and I stayed in Jasper a few nights. We had pizza in town and there were elk in our campground. Well, half the town burned down yesterday, and it is right in the middle of a National Park. A wall of flames 100 meters high hit the town after a lightning strike and some high winds! A sobering event. We met people today who were supposed to be camping there today. Wildfires are no joke in the West and in Canada. We don't know if our cute Jasper laundromat/print shop or our pizza place or t-shirt store survived the flames, but many people lost their livelihoods. So far, no loss of life is reported, thank goodness!

    We drove 173 miles to Dawson Creek. We stopped for lunch in Ft Nelson and also made a run to Safeway and fueled up as well. We rolled into Dawson Creek early, so we went to the Visitor's Center and toured the museum there. We also went to the Art Gallery next door. We killed time till out AirBNB was ready about 4:45 pm.

    It's a nice little place called a "coach house," which is basically a garage behind your regular house. This one has a nice living space with living/dining/kitchen and an upstairs bedroom/bathroom. There is laundry in the house, so we'll wash clothes tomorrow, too.

    Tomorrow night, we are meeting some Camino acquaintances for supper at their place. I am looking forward to meeting Janice and Rick in person.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Dawson Creek day 2

    27 juillet 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    We had a bit of a catch-up day. I took everything out of the camper again and cleaned it, and organized it. We also dried out our very wet lawn chairs and mats we use to stand on getting in and out of the camper since it was a nice breezy day with no wind.

    Phil made sure we were caught up on laundry. I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast, although they weren't as good as the ones with the wild blueberries.

    We went put in search of a few groceries and to get ice for the cooler. Phil tried to find some of his allergy medicine (loratadine), but it was expensive here, and he thinks he has enough to get back to the US.

    This evening, we visited our Camino acquaintances Janice and Rick and a couple of their friends for supper. Janice fixed a lovely dinner, and we enjoyed wide ranging conversation about the Camino, US health insurance, fruits that grow in this region, our trip, fishing, and so on. It was nice to meet in person since we'd only known each other online up until now.

    Tomorrow, we'll pack and get back on the road. We hope to make it to Fox Creek, which is about 200 miles.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Pines Campground near Fox Creek, AB

    28 juillet 2024, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    We got out of Dawson Creek about 10 am, and our first stop of the day was at Beaver Lodge, which has a giant beaver statue that has had its 20th birthday this year. Townspeople are pretty proud of it, and it's well cared for with buckets of flowers planted round.

    Another little jaunt down the road, and we were in Alberta, Canada. Our time zone changed, so we are now on Mountain Daylight Time, like at home in Laramie.

    We stopped at the Phillip Currie Dinosaur Museum for 90 minutes and enjoyed the exhibits. Afterward, we ate our tuna sandwiches and continued down the road. We arrived at Fox Creek at about 4:30 pm. Unfortunately, the municipal campground was full. We checked out Smoke Lake Provincial Campground, but it was $30, and our site would be a quarter mile from the one toilet. Two of the three camp loops were under renovation, so we headed back to a campground we'd passed heading into Fox Creek.

    The Pines is a Royal Mounted Legion campground. It's a private campground that used to be a provincial campground. When the nearby highway was widened to 4 lanes, it was abandoned and leased to this veterans group.

    The Veteran who greeted us said it was locally supported. There was no fee, and we could just park in the Day Use area if we were only staying overnight. We set up camp, and Phil gave $30 we would have paid for the provincial site as a donation. We are both veterans, after all. Most of the park's sites are filled by members of the local Legion chapter.

    The Pines is surrounded by a major fire burn from last year. The campground was closed all year last and only reopened this summer. New picnic tables and rented portapottied as a result, but it's nice to be among other Vets.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Rocky Mountain House

    29 juillet 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    It's a day full of ups and downs. We woke up to, you guessed it--RAIN. We packed up and drove to town to eat at Ernies, the diner with the most dirty pickups out front. That's sure to be a sign of good food.

    We got on the road at about 10 am and had a smooth drive to Mayerthorp, where we decided to take a less busy route past Edmonton and Calgary on Highway 22.

    We stopped at a park for lunch and the weather was pleasant and sunny. As we drove into Rocky Mountain House (that is what the town is called), storm clouds were gathering.

    Our campsite is in a municipal park with only about 15 sites. We did not get the "code" to the bathroom, so we drove over to park headquarters, which is in a complex with 3 ice rinks, a pool, a fitness center, and outside several ball fields. We got the code and then headed off for a loaf of bread and ice.

    After that is when the fun started. We went to get gas, and Phil's credit card would not work. (We both carry different cards since we've been hacked before.) I paid for the gas, and then we went to a restaurant recommended by the lady at the recreation center. It was raining again so it didn't seem good to cook outside.

    Phil got a call from his credit card company. He missed the call, tried to call back, and he's been on the phone on hold ever since. Seems someone (not us) charged approx $181 three different times yesterday at the station where we got gas in Fox Creek. It's a frustrating experience.

    Tomorrow, we'll head a little further south. I am not sure where we will stay yet. Our next firm deadline is to be at a cabin at the entrance to Glacier National Park on Aug 1-3.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Longview

    30 juil.–1 août 2024, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Phil got his credit card thing straightened out with USAA. He'll get a new card when we get back to Laramie. They are sending it to the friend who is receiving our mail this summer. Thank goodness we planned for this and had backup cards to use. From now on, he will go inside to pay!

    He said he tried the touch pad on the gas pump, and it didn't work, so he "swiped" instead. The fraud investigator said this was a common trick. If I have to pay, I go inside and have them authorize a certain amount of money. It was hard at first in Canada to know how much to preauthorize, but now we know more about how many liters for so many miles. Gas is not as expensive in this part of Alberta as it was in the Yukon, and surprisingly, the cheapest gas we've found was in Fairbanks.

    We've been getting about 22 miles per gallon average the whole trip pulling the camper. That is good compared to lots of people we have spoken with. Our pickup is a 4 cylinder engine model and no turbo charger. Other people are carrying extra gas cans, but we have not needed any.

    Interesting morning. Last night, Phil got up at 3 am to use the bathroom
    A guy in black hoodie on a bike tried to get into the bathroom. Phil shut the door, thinking if he did not have a code, he should not be inside the bathroom. The man used the code and went in. This morning, the bathroom was trashed. Phil called a report, and several city employees showed up to clean up the mess and change the bathroom code.

    We drove today over Highway 22 all day. This parallels the route up through Calgary and Edmonton, so we missed most of the traffic. We also drive pretty slow with our top speed at about 60 mph, which also helps our gas efficiency.

    We can finally see the mountains again here in Longview. We are at a community owned RV park again and have showers and electricity at this site.

    We drove to see the Ototoks Erratic this afternoon. It is a very large rock that was carried here by a glacier from the Canadian Rocky Mts many years thousands of years ago. When the glacier melted, the rock was stranded. Those rocks are called Erratics.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Longview Day 2

    31 juillet 2024, Canada ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    Last night, another couple had a teardrop camper right next to us in the campground. We haven't seen a lot of them this trip. The man is in the Canadian military, so we had a nice chat about military stuff.

    Today, we set out for Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, which is a world heritage archeological site. The site was used by aboriginal peoples to hunt bison for about 6,000 years. It was very interesting and the Visitor's Center was excellent. The site had a tall rock face, and bison were stampeded over the edge. It took large numbers of people to make that happen and to process all the animals. Before the plains people started using horses, this was all done on foot.

    We had a little trouble with Google Maps today, so our trip home was only 90 minutes, but it took us about 2 1/2 hours to get there. The GPS wanted us to take some gravel roads for 20 miles, so we had to backtrack.

    It was very windy today. Getting gas, Phil got distracted and tripped over the gas hose. He fell pretty much flat on his face. Fortunately, he was not injured.

    Tomorrow, we'll pack up and head to Babb, MT, where we'll be in a cabin just outside the gate at the Many Glacier entrance to Glacier National Park. We'll spend 2 nights there and then will begin our slow travel towards Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Grey Wolf cabin, Babb, MT

    1–3 août 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    We had a pleasant drive , it was the warmest day yet for our 62nd day on the road. We've driven a total of 8,814.9 miles at 21.9 mpg average.

    We stopped and got gas again at Pincher Creek (where Phil fel yesterday, but a different station). The drive to the border took us closer and closer to the mountains.

    At the border, we were turned around back to Canada. Even though the firewood we purchased in Alaska was "kiln treated" it had some bark and was out if the package so they made us turn around and go back across the Canadian border to put it in a big bin with other confiscated firewood. There's a burn ban almost everywhere, so we couldn't have a fire anyway.

    Our little cabin is small and cozy. Tonight, we're cooking some fresh green beans and some turkey polish sausages on the grill. At 7 p.m., I will try to log onto and get us an entry time to the Many Glacier Valley. If I don't get one, we'll be waiting at the gate at 5:30 am as you don't need an entry pass before 6 am.

    The Visitor's Center today at the St Mary's entrance was slammed. We've never seen it this way. It's kind of like Estes Park for Cheryl and Brad Woodford. Makes us glad people are seeing it but a little sad for ourselves.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Grey Wolf Cabin part 2

    2 août 2024, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    We managed to get a 6 am entry time to get on the park today. I was bemoaning the $2 online fee, but I'm glad we had enough phone service to facilitate a transaction. We left the cabin at 5:45 am and drove to the gate a few miles away. We enjoyed the Many Glacier Hotel breakfast buffet and arrived early enough to get a window table overlooking the lake.

    After a hearty breakfast, we started our hike. We decided to play it by ear and walk the trails around Swift Current Lake, continuing on in a loop around Lake Josephine and then back to the hotel. This would have been about 7 miles or so.

    At about 300 yards on the trail around the second lake, there was movement ahead of me, and a first year black bear cub darted across the path and scampered up a tree. I knew Mama was probably on one side of me on the path and the cub on the other so I shouted back to Phil about 15 or 20 steps behind that we should go back and take a different route. We both had our bear spray out and backed down the path. The cub scampered back down. We were close enough to hear his little claws gripping the tree bark.

    We met other hikers, and all decided to turn around and give the mother bear her space. This is an important time for bears to eat berries and put on winter fat stored.

    We diverted on another path around Swiftcurrent Lake that ends at a busy and popular picnic area. Several people told us there was a mother bear with 2 cubs eating in the berries away from the trail, but when we got to that place, they had crossed the trail in front if us and the mother bear was only a few steps off the path. We waited a bit, and she moved on. The difference was that we did not startle her, and she had time to move her cubs along.

    We did a little more hiking looked at the gift shop wares, and then had lunch at the Hotel Lounge. My phone says we walked 7.6 miles. Phil's says he walked 6.85 miles. I'm not sure which is right.

    After lunch, we were sitting in the hotel lobby, watching for wildlife with one set of our binoculars. The hotel has a huge veranda overlooking the lake. It also has a huge lobby with 2 huge fireplaces. You can see all around the lake. I spotted a mama grizzly and her cub on one hillside a couple of times, and eventually, they came down to the lakeshore to get a drink.

    Many Glacier Valley is really our favorite place in the world, and the Many Glacier Hotel is our favorite place in that valley. Today two of the more popular trails in the valley that we've walked before we're closed due to bear traffic. Limiting the number of people who can access this part of the park did seem to result in fewer people. We need to come back again in September some year after the kids have returned to school to have a fair shot at a campsite or hotel room.

    It was a warm day. It's 87 F here right now. We came back to the cabin and took a nap after the hike. I think I got my $2 worth out of the reservation fee. We'll head out tomorrow for Chotoux, MT, where we have a reservation and begin making our way towards Yellowstone, where we have 3 nights of camping.

    Sorry, no bear pics. I was reaching for the bear spray and not my camera today.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Choteau, MT

    3 août 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 97 °F

    We made the drive to Choteau in good time. It's very smokey and hazy today, and we could not see the mountains on our way. Normally, you can see part of the front range that is the Bob Marshall Wilderness on this stretch.

    Choteau is a delightful town. The RV park is very nice. The laundromat is air conditioned, so we're hiding out in there until the shade of the tree covers our camper. It may rain later, or at least it smells like rain.

    We had lunch at a diner in town, then ran the pickup through the car wash. The liquor store here is also the florist and gift shop. We also got a few groceries before coming back to work on the laundry.

    Tomorrow, we will drive about 220 miles and camp near Bozeman in the national forest. We have a spot reserved, but it will be a site without power or showers. We hope to go into Bozeman or maybe stop in Helena to get a haircut.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska trip 2024

    Moose Creek Flats Campground, MT

    5 août 2024, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    Sorry I didn't get this up yesterday, but we had no service and probably won't for a while. I will post as I am able.

    We left Choteau after our camp breakfast of yogurt, bananas, and poptarts. It was a warm day, and the drive was really gorgeous. Montana is really pretty, especially in the plains north of Helena.

    We stopped in Helena for gas and a few groceries. Then we had a picnic lunch by the Missouri River at York Island. York was a member of the Lewis and Clark voyage of discovery. He was a slave and a black man whose skills made him invaluable. After the mission, he was finally granted his freedom, but it took 5 long years.

    We headed south from I-90 to our campground on the Gallatin River. It's in a deep, narrow canyon, and the Gallatin is rushing steps away. We arrived at about 2:30 pm and it was hot and sunny. Our campsite is in the full sun, so I rigged up a makeshift shade with a tarp, poles, and some zip ties.

    Then a cloud appeared, the skies opened up, and it rained for 2 hours. Finally about 6 pm the sun reappeared and I cooked us a steak and potatoes for supper.

    This morning, we were up at 6 am to return to Bozeman for a haircut. The traffic heading south on a Monday morning was very heavy as people returned to work in the resort towns of Big Sky and West Yellowstone. We saw a moose standing in the river on the trip.

    After breakfast and a haircut, we'll head back and move to Baker's Hole Campground for 2 days near West Yellowstone.    En savoir plus

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