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Alaska via Canada
  • Katboz
  • Tom Boswell
  • Katboz
  • Tom Boswell

Alaska via Canada

Une aventure de 84 jours par Katboz & Tom. En savoir plus
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  • Alaska via Canada
    2Moose Creek, with mosquito mascot!
    2Moose Creek, with mosquito mascot!1Antique car at lodge!The moose!1Dawson City1Second Street, Dawson CitySS Keno, Sternwheeler on the YukonHeritage Center, best one we visited!Guess who?1I love how healthy the flowers look!1Did I mention I love the flowers?!

    Dawson City via the Klondike Hwy

    8 juillet 2019, Canada ⛅ 68 °F

    Got a pretty good start on the road today because we could not find a local bakery to slow us down with a decision; and frankly we did have half of the dinner plate size cinnamon roll we had bought yesterday!

    Fortunately about an hour up the road we got to Moose Creek lodge, so "quaint" that two different tour buses stopped by while were were there! You know how we tourists love our "undiscovered" little outposts. Wonderful sausage roll, strawberry-rhubarb tart and of course, coffee!

    Oh, did I mentioned the grizzley we are almost certain we saw. It was brown, and it was large, but we were doing 60 mph and were still looking for a bakery. Pretty dang sure it was one...we ran into a couple of 70 plus, silver hair ladies touring on their three wheel motorcycle that confirmed the sighting! They also asked if we saw the moose. Sadly we seemed to have missed that, I was probably busy reading the current description out of "Milepost" regarding this leg of our trip. It did have a picture of a moose, so I guess that counts? Also the ladies very generously sent me a picture of the grizzley we are pretty sure we saw!

    Drove through the smoke of the ongoing fire that is just south of Dawson. We were close enough we could clearly see the fire line and lots of smoke. There is still discussion that this highway we are on will be closed in the next day or two depending upon wind direction.

    Arrived safe and sound in Dawson and hit the Visitor center, Heritage center for the local First Nation, and just walked some of the old streets. This is a city that once was home to 30,000 during the Klondike gold rush in approx 1896. Currently home to about 1,800. But they have worked with the federal, territorial, and municipal authorities to save and slowly renovate some of the buildings. All the streets are hard pack gravel and dirt, sidewalks are wood...and a lot of buildings are sort of shuttered. Slowly key properties are being renovated and operating with local retail business. Sort of, kind of, like Virginia City. But this place is not that accessible, and has about a 3 month season!

    Got back to our RV park, a gravel parking lot at one end of town that was in full sun and it only had 15 amp service so no AC in the 85 degree end of day....I know 85 degrees does not sound hot but in a box with only fans it does get warm. I went to bed with a cold wash cloth, and my little personal 4" fan pointed at my face. And don't forget we have to cover the windows to get some semblance of dark to sleep with since the sun is still up until 11 p.m. Probably our warmest night out and look how far north we are! Have not worn a long sleeve shirt since Vancouver! But we both actually slept well, probably because I take Benadryl every night to help with my mosquito bite reactions.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    Canada Parks guides
    Canada Parks guidesInterior of the Red Feather SaloonJack London cabin1Robert Service cabin (author of Cremation of Sam McGee)1"Kissing" buildingsUnloading at the George Black ferry1On the ferry crossing the YukonCampsite view, river is in behind the bushes!

    Dawson City, up close

    9 juillet 2019, Canada ⛅ 59 °F

    Had a fun day exploring Dawson! We joined a 2 hour walking tour first thing in the morning and got to see some of the interiors of the older buildings. Our Canada Parks guide was fun, and has lived in Dawson for over 15 years. She like a number of people we met, come to work the summer and then end up staying. They have a hospital here, but mostly for minor injuries, etc.. If you are due to have a baby they have you leave about 3 weeks before your due date and head to Whitehorse.

    Had an early lunch at Klondike Kate's and then hit a couple museums. Dawson City museum was interesting and had some great photos of Dawson before its "almost" demise. And then spent some time at the Jack London museum. Watched an interesting video about finding his cabin on Henderson Creek which feeds into the Yukon. Half of his cabin went to Oakland (where he spent most of his life when not traveling) and the other half to Dawson because of his time there during the gold rush, which was the inspiration for some of his most famous novels, "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".

    Finished our day doing a couple of "drive bys", (no real time to stop), got some gas and an ice cream cone to eat while we waited in line for the George Black ferry. There is no bridge across the Yukon this far north, but thefreere is a free ferry that runs 24/7 when the river is not iced over. Only a short 5-10 minute trip, and it appears any size vehicle can be accommodated. We watched a fairly good size truck ferried over. He was big enough that it was the only vehicle on the ferry. When we went over they had 2 RVs and maybe 5 cars and some pedestrians. Very efficient, you just get in line and wait your turn...

    Found a campsite right on the other side of the river, on the Yukon, and with shade! No power, but this is a great site, and the trees helped! Tomorrow we will actually cross the border into Alaska!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    Leaving Dawson City
    Leaving Dawson CityTypical view at the top of the world, smoke as far as you can see!Poker Creek border crossing1Chicken, AKHaving a little chicken at Chicken!Chicken Poop HouseStove top at end of day!

    Back in the USA via Top of the World Hwy

    10 juillet 2019, États Unis ☁️ 66 °F

    Drive....every day, a little bit at least. And on July 10 we reentered the USA! Its seems so odd to think we drove all the way through Canada to get here. It looked so far on the map and day by day we inched closer. And the exciting part is that now we get time in Alaska, and then drive all the way back!

    So this day was just one long, slow, DUSTY drive. Top of the World highway is all gravel, but pretty well graded. The drive is pretty cool, 80 miles of ridge top driving, but the smoke from the fires really obscured the views. Just a LOT of gray sky....and DUST!

    Crossing the border went smoothly. After I was mildly chastised for taking pictures instead of being part of "inspection" process; we spent some time chatting with the border agent. He asked if we had seen any caribou and was shocked when he heard we had seen (of course) NONE! Apparently the various parts of the herd have been seen around the border quite a bit. In fact a week or so ago the border was closed for over 3 hours because they were hanging out and grazing at the crossing! The overall herd is sized at approximately 72,000!! And we didnt see even 1! (Although Tom thinks he saw a hoof print at a rest stop)
    Well we found out the road beyond the border was not only DUSTY, but had that awful "washboard" texture that Tom just hates! He kept turning to me and asking "did you know it was going to be like this?" 40 miles later he was happy to find pavement!

    We stopped at Chicken, AK for a chicken sandwich. This little town is all about chickens...and has no water system, sewer system or power source! And the name Chicken came about because they wanted to name the town Ptarmigan (state bird) but couldn't spell it....hmmmm? Finished the day with more driving, this time it was a mixture of patches, gravel heaved pavement, but no "washboard" and finally arrived at Tok, AK.

    We pulled into an RV park for the night a little weary, and a little dusty! Inside and outside....you could write your name on some of the surfaces, check out our stove top picture!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    1Delta Junction
    1Delta Junction2My buddies!1Rikas Roadhouse, Big Delta Historic Park1Love the oldies!Pipeline suspended over the Tanana River

    Smoke, smoke and more smoke, Fairbanks

    11 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 70 °F

    Wow....several days late on this entry! But we have been busy anticipating the arrival of our third traveling companion!

    This day was pretty uneventful and actually kind of took a little joy out of the journey....the closer we get to Fairbanks the worse the smoke is. It is like being in Fresno on a foggy day, just a gray haze everywhere. Our eyes burn a little, its warm and muggy. There are a couple of fires on either side of Fairbanks, and the news is reporting this may be the worst fire season ever for Alaska! Had to try and let this go, and just enjoy the fact that we are on this trip, and the fires cant last for two months! Well maybe they can....arrrgh!

    Oh! We did see today, not just a moose. but a moose and a calf! Just when we thought we would never see wildlife on the busy Alaska highway, Tom spied them. Tried turning the RV around to get a picture, but I just could not get my fingers to push the right buttons on my phone as they sauntered back into the trees.....arrrgh!

    Mid day we arrived at Delta Junction, the official end of the Alaska Highway. I had our picture taken because by the time we get home we will have done most of it, but as of today, technically not that much. I have had Tom "take the road less traveled" so we could see more wildlife....which was a bust, arrrgh!

    Had lunch a Rika's Roadhouse, I had to stop and visit something!? But it was a nice historical stop even with the smoke. Well, I thought it was nice...

    Last picture for this day is of the pipeline, in the smoke. Just one of the hundreds of rivers this pipeline had to cross besides 3 mountain ranges!

    Arrived in Fairbanks, checked out the visitor center, which is really beautiful and very informative! So much so, we left and went to our RV spot so we could come back, take our time and have Cindy with us! Parked on the Chena River for the next three nights!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    Rivers Edge RV Park (actually took photo July 13, so blue sky!)
    Rivers Edge RV Park (actually took photo July 13, so blue sky!)1Dinner out!1You know how I love the flowers here!

    Rivers Edge Rv Park, Fairbanks

    12 juillet 2019, États Unis ☁️ 64 °F

    Hallelujah! We had rain! From late night and intermittently all through the day! Wow, it barely made a dent in the smoke! But hopeful it will begin to make a difference.

    We actually did nothing all morning thinking we're had most of the day to clean up the RV and get laundry done prior to picking up Cindy at the airport! Well we actually needed all day! The dust from the "top of the world" wad every where, even in drawers! And I ended up with 4 loads of laundry, at $3 for wash and $3 for dryer.....using math that means each load cost $6! And I am providing the labor! Have you ever put $24 worth of quarters in your coin purse? Guess what they don't make coin purses that big....I had to use a baggie!

    We managed to finish with just enough time for showers and then headed to the airport to get Cindy. Her plane was on time and we found her and her luggage without incident!

    Pack to our riverside slot, welcome cocktail hour and dinner at the Chena Grill. Crab cakes, calamari, and salmon salad!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    Antler arch @ visitor center! ( I take horrible selfies!)
    Antler arch @ visitor center! ( I take horrible selfies!)Raven babies, sculpture piece1Current fire locations!1Alaska size tractors!1Contemporary wood carved maskTraditional clothes with beading

    Fairbanks, Morris Thompson Cultural and

    13 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 63 °F

    Excellent visitor center. And really the name tells you why, it really is a cultural center as well, with very good exhibits, not just lots of travel brochures and recommendations! We spent about 2 hours here between the exhibits and the video presentations. Parks people here to discuss Denali visit and share latest on the fire situation. Which is improving. We saw blue sky this morning!
    This was stop one of three great stops, so am making each a short separate entry!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    History about the collection!
    History about the collection!2113Who is driving who?1222

    Fountainhead Antique Automobile Museum

    13 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 68 °F

    Wow! This place was fantastic, and I don't really care that much about cars. But our friend Michael McFadden really does, so we wanted to make this a separate footprint (journal entry) so we could post more pictures of cars! (This is way better than the museum we saw in Sacramento on the school field trip!)

    This collection only had cars from the very late 1800s to the 1930s. Every one is beautifully restored and maintained. The owners wife has taken to collecting clothing specific to the years of these various cars and they are juxtaposed with the cars. It keeps every one interested, husbands and wives!

    The detailing, the paint jobs, the brass, engines, leather, and historical pictures made this such a surprising and entertaining visit! All three of us were glad we made the stop. I took over 50 pictures, but can only include a few! PS. Tom specifically asked if the paint colors approximated the original manufacturer's offering and the answer was "yes"! So much great color!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    2Riverboat Discovery
    2Riverboat DiscoverySled dog training yard, Susan Butcher2Fish camp1Fur parka, worth like $25,000Dog trainer with pupsLots of healthy (!) gardens1Begonia blossom! They are that big!

    Riverboat Discovery

    13 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 75 °F

    We finished our day of sightseeing with the Riverboat Discovery tour. That would be us and maybe 5 tour buses of other sightseers! This paddle wheeler had 4 decks and it was almost full. But what a beautiful day to go.... warm, skies are still blue, even the staff was excited to see blue! This is one of the top things to do in Fairbanks as a tourist.

    We really did enjoy it, actually a second visit for Tom and I since we did this 4 or 5 years ago with the Princess Land and Sea cruise. The trip includes several interesting experiences as you move down river. They have a float plane take off and land on the river near the boat, lots of informational talks about living in Fairbanks, a view of a sled dog training camp, a stop at a reproduction of a Chena Indian village with more talks, and some time with the sled dogs and trainer. Lots of house viewing as the boat travels the river...and they provide FREE (?) blueberry donuts and coffee in the beginning and a salmon spread and crackers on the way back. Both were delicious!

    Back to the RV to enjoy early evening on the river....and then another surprisingly heavy rain storm! Yay, more blue skies tomorrow!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    UAF, Museum of the North
    UAF, Museum of the North1Tom, and his new friend "Otto" (brown bear)Interior of the Art GalleryLove the look of this contemporary seal maskAnother version of the metal "Raven Babies" sculptureLoved this guy, his name is "Oscar"Ivory minature carvings1Tom trying to join the group

    Univ. of Alaska, Museum of the North

    14 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 72 °F

    Loved this museum for both the architecture, very dramatic; but also for the content....a little bit of social science, Alaska history, historical biographies, natural science, animals, geology, and art; both older native American and current contemporary pieces!! And all sort of mixed together in some exhibits. Also has a special exhibit about earthquakes in Alaska. (Side note: they have some sort of earthquake up here about every 15 minutes....in the last five years 84% of the earthquakes over magnitude 4.0 occur in Alaska, 10% in Calif, and the rest in the balance of the states) But I digress, what I loved about this visit was the art gallery that is a part of the museum. I have included pics of some of my favorites. So we spent the morning and through lunch here just enjoying the exhibits. We also watched a 30 minute Nat Geo documentary on "Extreme Weather" that was interesting and Tom stayed awake for the whole film!

    Grabbed a late lunch, halibut sandwich! I love fish, I wish I could get more comfortable cooking with it... and maybe if it was a little less expensive! Finished up with some typical end of the day errands, filled up with gas, picked up a few random groceries and checked in at the next RV site. We all had showers tonight because next couple of nights will be in Denali national park!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    We "all" get to have a little Alaska salmon
    We "all" get to have a little Alaska salmon1Hello from North Pole, Alaska!Christmas in JulyAlaska Railroad depot, Nenana"Ice breaker"

    Denali via the North Pole

    15 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 68 °F

    Spent a little bit more time emptying waste tanks, and adding fresh water in anticipation of spending the next 3 nights"dry camping" in Denali National Park! I am very excited to be camping in the park, my fellow travelers seem less enthusiastic....and national parks are a little more restrictive about our furry traveling companions. Auggie wil be "trailer bound" much of the day part of our visit. But don't be concerned, his favorite, Aunt Cindy, will simply not let him be taken for granted, so he will be fine! In fact the first photo of this entry is him enjoying another new chew toy from his aunt. (Side note: he has yet to get this tough little salmon chewed open, (gutted) and stuffing strewn about the RV.)

    After Auggie had settled down with his chew toy we headed to the North Pole! To be frank, this is just a little town to the southeast of Fairbanks that is home to a store called the Santa Claus House. The town has played up this theme, light poles are tall candy canes, bollards are painted red and white striped, some buildings had wreaths.... but mostly it is about this pretty good size Christmas store! Oh, and they have actual reindeer (domesticated caribou) on site that you can spend 30 minutes petting for only $12.95. So as two women who enjoy Christmas, Cindy and I shopped and skipped the caribou petting session. (Tom looked around and sat in the RV with Auggie!)

    With Christmas shopping taken care of, we headed on to "the park" our home for the next three nights. On the way we stopped to check out the little town of Nenana, a little Alaska Railroad stop on the Nenana River. Interesting how the naming conventions work around here. They have a lottery of sorts every year which consists of picking the date and time the river stays to break up in the spring. It is determined by the moment that the black and white larger triangular device (see photos) which had been set on the frozen river, topples. Think this happens in a couple of towns.... the freeze-up or the break-up of river ice is a pretty significant marker of time when you live in regions as cold as these areas get!!

    Lunch was actually in the RV today, we had smoked salmon spread on wheat thins, with cheddar cheese sticks and apples! Cindy bought the salmon when we were on the river boat tour, and it was delicious!

    Drove in to Denali and headed straight to the bus depot to book our "Tundra" tour. You can really only go in by bus beyond mile marker 15 or so. Completed booking and headed out to our site at Savage River campground. Nice little campground, maybe two dozen sites only, no services, pit toilets; but not quite far enough in to the park to really see much of the mountain range that is home to Denali. Regardless, it is quiet, and out of the main activity on the highway. From here we can catch a shuttle back to the visitor center and leave the RV parked at camp.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    Feeding time with "kongs"
    Feeding time with "kongs"21Hike to visitor center3Overlook!We "LOVE" Denali!2Visitor Center2Afternoon hikeShuttle instead of RV for the day!"But it is my chew toy"

    We LOVE Denali, even with the rain

    16 juillet 2019, États Unis ☁️ 52 °F

    What a fun day, just a little bit of a number of different things to do in Denali! We caught the shuttle from our campground at 7:40 because we're had to get to the visitor center in enough time to catch the 9:15 shuttle to the sled dog kennel tour. (We had enough time to enjoy a little breakfast "snack" at the cafe!)

    The sled dog kennel tour was great. You get to really see the dogs up close and personal, staff is available to answer questions and talk to you about the dogs. We were there for dogs morning breakfast. They ate all feed with "kongs", those toys that are designed to make the dog work to get his food out. We we're told it is to help stimulate their thinking as much as it is to slow down how they wolf their meal down. Really fun to watch them on the top of their house, nosing, and pawing the "kongs" around to get their kibble out. They let you pet a couple of the dogs and then they go through a demonstration of a sled training exercise! The sled dogs are used through out the winter to support various park projects, getting supplies out to remote staff, or building materials for projects. All part of the effort to maintain the practice that has been a part of the park history.

    Instead of taking the bus from there we did our first Denali "hike" and hoofed it down to the visitor centre, all 1.8 miles! (Yes, down. We need to start easy and work up our endurance before making the final ascent to the "summit" at 20,000 ft. plus!) Felt good in the cool weather, with occasional light rain!

    Caught another shuttle out to the main road and over to the Princess (Cruise) Lodge here to take a peak at the lobby, visit the shops and have lunch. Shuttled back to the Visitor center for a little afternoon hike out to a small river and suspension bridge, again with cool weather and light rain. But just glad we're arent dealing with the smoke they had last week. And final shuttle of the day took us back to our campground for a quiet evening!

    PS. Auggie's new chew toy is history. Stuffing gone and is almost in two parts.    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    Tour bus
    Tour bus1One of many views, cameras just dont do it justice!1Moose on last leg of our tourOur campsite1Bull moose in campground!

    Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour

    17 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 55 °F

    Early morning! We set the alarm for 5 so we could drive out to the Denali Bus depot...for some reason they can not pick up at the campground, which is 15 miles inside the park on the one and only road in the park. Almost missed the bus, we went to the visitor center instead, and after wondering why there was no one around remembered the bus depot was in a different location. RAN to the RV, drove another 5 minutes up the road, and successfully caught our bus! These buses are filled, so we had to catch our tour or else wait for later openings, if any!

    Great drive! (62 miles one way on a gravel road) The views are huge, and the weather was pretty cooperative. Got one or two glimpses of Denali on the tour. You stop several times to "stretch your legs" and they share a lot of info about the park history, life in the park, and wildlife. We didnt get to see many animals, only a handful of caribou, coyote, glimpse of a bear running away, Dall sheep (way up the mountain), ptarmigan, and artic squirrels. The guide thinks it is because this has been a really warm summer and they are a little higher up....Finally on the way back, only about 5 miles from the start of the drive, we got a look at a moose that was pretty close to the road! Even without the animals the drive is beautiful!

    After the tour were headed back into the.park to our campsite. Tom and I decided we needed to stretch our legs a little more so we took Auggie and took a walk through camp. As we drew near one of the sites someone spoke up and told us "dont move". We froze, and as we waited, out of the bushes stepped a big bull moose! We grabbed our phones as quick as we could for photos. He was big, and completely oblivious to us and Auggie! He moved almost soundlessly. I would guess he was maybe 25 yards away from us! Beautiful! Just a thrill to get to see him, as he simply crossed the road and went into the forest. Oddly enough Auggie was disinterested, as if he was so big, that Auggie didnt relate to him as a dog or animal?

    Back to camp with lots of smiles and we enjoyed the end of the day!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    2

    Goodbye Denali

    18 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 77 °F

    Slept in this morning since we had a pretty early start yesterday. Drove out to a small town north of the park for gas and propane. Steady rain all morning. Did a little shopping at the galleries on the highway and then grabbed a shuttle up to the Grand Denali Lodge for early lunch. We wanted to see the view, and it did not disappoint us. Beautiful lodge perched up on the mountain. 9 switchbacks on the road up. They have a number of funny yellow caution signs, like "Entrance Do Not Enter", "This Sign Not in Use", "13 1/4 MPH, Enforced by Radar", silly but fun to read. Lunch was more fish, we just cant help but eat fish here because it is always fresh and good! Shuttled down and headed south to Talkeetna.

    Had a nice drive, and were able to hit a couple of view points that actually gave us a pretty clear view of the whole mountain. I have included pic, but it was hazy so dont know that you can really see it, but we could definitely see. Mountain is in the middle of the picture, south summit clear, north summit has little cloud over it. Hope the pics on my larger camera are better. It is a huge mountain when you see it as part of the Alaska range!

    Pulled into campsite about 5:30, finally took a shower after several days of none! Barbecued pork chops and rice for dinner!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    1Climber MemorialClimbing equipment on grave site1Opened in early 1920s to accommodate Alaska Railroad passengers11Walter Harper Ranger Station1Interior of Ranger stationMosaic fish sculpture at the Salmon Center

    Tourists in Talkeetna!

    19 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 66 °F

    It was nice to wake up and not close up the RV for driving...we could walk to town, and even Auggie joined us today!

    First visit was a walk to the airfield. This is a very busy airport because there is not only a LOT of sightseeing flights leaving from here, but during the climbing season most climbers fly to the base camp and climb from the base. Several of the wounded propeller planes agree set up with wheels and skids because they land up on the glacier! Just interesting to see.

    As we walked back to town we went by the cemetery and looked st gravestones and the memorial they have erected for all the climbers that have died trying to climb the mountain. This year I think they had something like 1600 plus attempt the climb, with only about a 65% rate of success, but no deaths...

    Walked into town and visited some historical bldgs, the Susitna and Talkeetna river confluence, the Ranger Station, the Salmon Center, and one or two shops. (Really, not many more than that!) It was a little challenging in that the town did lose power for most of the morning, but it was up and running by noon. Lunch was outside at a local brewing company, smoked salmon!

    The Walter Harper ranger station was really interesting as well. All about the mountain, and historical information. It is a beautiful building as well.

    All these "visits" took some coordination since we had Auggie with us. So some one had to stay outside with Auggie as the other two visited a stop or shop. However, this part Corgi dog always attracts other Corgi owners, and children, as we have mentioned before. So many people just want to say "hi"; so he loves the attention! Until he sees Cindy who usually has a treat in her pocket!

    Walked back to camp, finished a little laundry and had barbecued hot dogs and chili for dinner!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    1Puppy time!The big dogs!1More friends!11Thunderbird Falls1Cabelas version of wildlife!Home sweet home2Our neighbor!

    Hello Anchorage!

    20 juillet 2019, États Unis ☁️ 63 °F

    Woke up and snuck in one last visit to the ranger station in Talkeetna. They had a video about "Mt. McKinley" (Denali) that we wanted to see. You can tell that it was a little older video because of the name change. Was worth the extra stop; just fascinating what people go through to climb that mountain.

    Headed out of town, stopping long enough at Brown Bear Coffee drive thru for our requisite morning drive coffee, and surprisingly enough they had some Krispy Kreme donuts! I am not sure where they buy them, but they were the real deal....

    Next stop of the day was the Iditarod Headquarters! An excellent video about the history, the sled dogs, and mushers. A little time in the gift shop, and then outside for puppy time! Darling litter of 4 fat puppies! And you get to hold them and kiss their little puppy faces.... Cindy and I loved it! Then we met some of the adult dogs, we didn't do the demo ride, but spent some time talking to one of the handlers. 5 or 6 of the dogs we were petting had been in last year's event, and several in the Yukon Quest, a similar race, that runs from Whitehorse to Dawson City, I think. We all enjoyed this visit.

    Continued our drive, stopping in Wasilla. Unfortunately the visitor center and museum were closed. Fortunately they are located right next to a wonderful sub and salad place, Krazy Moose, or something like that. It is house in an old historical building. Great sandwiches! So we will always have fond memories of Wasilla!

    Short afternoon hike to Thunderbird Falls, which was quite a busy little trail. Auggie was thrilled to be a part of this little adventure. His timing needs a little work, I got to complete most of the hike carrying a bag of his "gift" to the mountain! No trash cans at this trail, you carry out what you bring in!

    Back on the road again heading into Anchorage. Actually one of the biggest cities on our trip. We have been so use to all these little towns with one or two traffic lights! Freeways, stoplights, interchanges, oh my!

    We made a conscious decision to try an overnight at a Cabelas parking lot, so went cross town to find our camp spot. What a great experience! No power or water, you really just get to use their parking lot for the night. We got over on an edge of the lot that had a little pond and shrubs, was very nice! The parking lot was very large, and I would guess there were about 3 dozen units sprinkled about! And you get to end your day walking through the store which is always kind of fun because they are big with lots of outdoor stuff and decorated with lots of stuffed wild animals and fish. We always enjoy just walking through them.

    Our dinner? We had a variety of pasties that we found at a bakery, the Roadhouse, in Talkeetna! Reminded us of our family in Michigan! (Wouldn't have known what they were if not for the Cobbs.) Slightly different version, mine was with reindeer meat....no gravy!    En savoir plus

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  • Alaska via Canada
    Anchorage Visitor Center
    Anchorage Visitor CenterLake Spenard with sea planes (a lake airport)49th State Brewery (lunch)Downtown outdoor park, it was perfect weather!Ivory figures, museumPolar bear painting, maybe 72" wide ( he seemed to be smiling!)Mt. McKinley!Ship Creek salmon fishing1Desert! Drove right through the RV park!

    Trolley tour in Anchorage

    21 juillet 2019, États Unis ⛅ 68 °F

    One of our favorite ways to get a feel of a new city is to take their local tour. So we headed into the visitor center to make arrangements. Well after a quick Starbucks drive by and finding a parking lot that would accommodate a 30' RV.... (ALWAYS a challenge in the urban environments) we ended up at the Ulu knife Factory which offered a free shuttle to the visitor center. We finally got on the 10:30 a.m., hour long city tour. Was a pretty good overview, earthquake park, residential districts, seaplane "airport" lake area, downtown landmarks....driver was local so had lots to share.

    Lunch at local brewing company, no fish this time, Tom and I shared a buffalo meatloaf sandwich, excellent! Walked back into town and spent the afternoon at the Anchorage Museum. And that was not enough time. 4 floors with a complicated floor plan due to expansions, and elevators that didnt work so you kind of got lost finding your way around... They had a special exhibit on finding the Northwest Passage, which we simply gave too much time to and missed a lot of other parts of the museum. I simply need to be more strategic in visiting these big places! Give myself 30 minutes per floor or some thing like that to keep me moving through! Loved the bits and pieces I managed to fit in at last minute. Some great older art pieces from the 1900s (lots of Mt. McKinley) and some more contemporary pieces.

    Back to the visitor center to catch the shuttle to the Ulu Factory, which is located on Ship Creek. So as we got back to the creek area we spent some time watching the salmon fishing. I don't know that this was exactly"combat" fishing, but there were a lot of folks fishing this creek!

    Headed to a RV park on the outskirts of Anchorage, I would have been happy to go back to Cabelas, but we are going to be dry camping the next two nights so really wanted to take a shower in anticipation of no facilities!    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    1
    11111

    Drifting up Turnagain Arm

    22 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 64 °F

    Enjoyed a breakfast of bacon, mash potatoe "pancake" (leftover from lunch the day before), and sweet roll, with coffee. We really are the poster family for "roughing it"!

    Today we headed south on the Seward Highway, which runs right along the edge of a large bay, or inlet off of the Cook Inlet... the geography up here is a little complicated! This is normally a stunning drive, and it was still nice, but we are heading towards the Kenai peninsula which has a substantial wildfire that is being "managed", which means they are letting it burn itself out. Meanwhile depending upon the wind direction you can end up in some pretty hazy views. We will be coming back this way so am hoping we have better luck on the return trip!

    First stop was Potters Marsh, just a large marshy area with a long wood boardwalk to allow access. A nice walk, but not many birds or wildlife. Still boardwalks are always comfortable, and the weather was great.

    Back in the car and headed up to Beluga Point to see if there were any beluga, which feed on salmon in the inlet. No beluga. But we did see the Alaska Railroad train run by!

    Stopped at Bird Point to find more salmon fishing happening at Bird Creek. Lots of activity, and you could see the salmon jumping randomly across this wide creek. Lots of fishing going on!

    Then as we drove further down the road we saw some folkes off of the side of the road with cameras. Well we all know what that means... animals! Fortunately there was a wide spot for Tom to pull off. Sure enough a mother Dall sheep and her baby were munching grass up the side of the hill. Very visible. The little guy seemed very aware of us, but mom was busy eating and was not bothered by the cameras at all. Much higher up we could see a few more on top of the mountain.

    For lunch we headed up to Alyeska Ski Resort so we could take the tram to the top of the mountain to get a view of the inlet and the hanging glaciers that are visible in many of the mountains around, approximately seven! Walked around and then took the tram down. You "get" to take the tram down for free if you walk the 2.2 mile, 2,000 ft. ascending trail to the top. We chose to take the tram both ways!

    Last stop, quick peak at Portage Glacier and the visitor center there. We will start there tomorrow and do a little more glacier viewing. Ended day at the campground just down the road from the visitor center, and have a very nice spot in the trees, glaciers above! Thank you God for the gift of this trip!    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    Anton Anderson Tunnel into Whittier
    Anton Anderson Tunnel into Whittier1Portage LakeBoat harbor, WhittierLunch!City sculpture!Heading back thru tunnel1Hanging glacier view from campgroundCreek view on hike

    Tunneling to Whittier

    23 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 57 °F

    We went back to the visitor center at Portage Glacier/Lake this morning to finish going through it since wet got there at closing yesterday. Another really nice visitor center! (This is probably getting redundant, but they are all pretty good, and the rangers all have good info to share!)

    We really wanted to go back to Whittier (we were there before on our first RV trip in Alaska) through the tunnel because it is a pretty unusual solution. One way traffic through the tunnel, shared with the Akaska Railroad. (This is the longest combined railroad/vehicular tunnel in North America) So you have a 15 minute window, each hour, to actually get through the 2.5 mile tunnel, which also collects a toll heading into Whittier. And this vehicular addition (the railroad had put the tunnel in place in the 1940s or so...) was only put in place in June 2000!

    I thought they're might be a little bit more to do in Whittier, but it is what they say it is, a port city, no more. Year round maybe 300 people live here, and two, large, multistory, unattractive buildings left from the 1950s. And not much more. The harbor looked very "Alaskan" to us, which I guess would mean it was kind of rainy, had a harbor, lots of fishing boats and (of course) surrounded in mountains that were capped with clouds.

    Fish and chips for lunch, and back through the tunnel!

    Back at camp we had time to do a little day hike around the creek, with Auggie. Quiet, drizzly, and actually started feeling a little cool. No fish in the creek, we might be a tad early in this location. But Auggie was happy! Drizzle turned into rain, which went pretty much all night... hoping this helps minimize the smoke on the peninsula!

    Best dinner on the road, Cindy made salmon patties from the canned salmon she bought on the Riverboat Discovery (back in Fairbanks) that were terrific! Some store bought aioli, and salad! Happy campers!    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    1112Campsite at Seward KOA, located near Exit Glacier

    AWCC, Moose Pass & Exit Glacier

    24 juillet 2019, États Unis ☁️ 55 °F

    How could this day be any more Alaskan? We got to see wildlife, yes it was behind fences, but they were "up close and personal", we saw more float planes on lakes, we saw a glacier, and now we are camped under a bald eagle nest! AND the weather was great, cloudy, with clear blue skies, but very cool!

    We started the day at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center which has a so many animals to see. Habitats are large, but we were there pretty much around feeding so most animals were visible. We saw porcupines, this cute young black cub, brown bear, caribou, moose, musk ox, bison, foxes, deer, and eagle. Have lots of pics on my other camera, and have stacked just a few from my cell phone. A beautiful day to just stroll around and look at animals. The black bear was just a cub, maybe 6 mos, that had been rescued and was perfectly happy playing with a rock or climbing on his water well.

    Had to keep moving so got back in the cart and headed to Seward. Stopped in Moose Pass fort lunch, big lake, little town, but very picturesque with the float planes.

    Next stop Exit Glacier. The real deal. Even if it is getting smaller every    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    1Aialik Glacier (lots of calving)
    1Aialik Glacier (lots of calving)1Holgate GlacierCindy guiding us to port1Campground from the boatView of bay from campsite!1Cruise ship heading out of bay

    WOW...Kenai Fjiords National Park

    25 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 59 °F

    Wow, what a gorgeous, beautiful day!

    We started a little early this morning because we wanted to move the RV from the campground outside of town to a "first come, first serve" campground right in the town of Seward and on Resurrection Bay, and still catch the shuttle for our boat tour. All accomplished with plenty of time. We aren't right on the bay, but just the second row back with a view of the water! Pretty much a parking lot here, but we can walk or take shuttles to move around and the bay is right in front of us!

    Picked up the shuttle for a 10 a.m. boat tour that included two fjiords, and in route a small time out in the Gulf of Alaska. The weather was perfect, clear beautiful skies, with a smattering of clouds around the mountain tops. The ocean was pretty gentle, and we got to see a lot of wildlife. On the way out of the bay we saw an eagle, and some otters. Out in the ocean we saw a humpback, and then a small group of the Dall porpoises. Further out a pod of orcas went by... and they were celebrating something! I have never seen whales breaching the few times I have been out whale watching, but this trip made up for that. The captain counted 9 breaches, all with in this pod of orcas! And then they came up and swam right beside the boat... it really was amazing! Then a drive by of an island with sea lions, and one with lots of my favorite, the little puffins. No wildlife shots with my cell phone, had my bigger digital camera that has a better lens to shoot long distance with.

    And this was all before were even had gotten to our glacier stops! We entered and viewed glaciers in two fjiords. Both were that spectacular glacier blue, and big! The second glacier was pretty active so we saw (and heard!) a number of calving incidents. Tremendous crack, with big splashes in the water as the ice drops. And finished the viewing with margaritas made with the glacier ice.

    Heading back to port we got to visit with the captain of the boat, who was terrific. She has grown up in Alaska, with boats and does this because she loves going out in the park. She has another job as well. It was really interesting to listen to her chat about her job.

    Got back to the harbor about 5 and then walked back to the RV to enjoy a glass of wine, the water view, and the sun shine! It was a great day, and we all felt blessed!    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    Alaska Sealife Center
    Alaska Sealife Center1Puffin, my favorite!More puffinTouch tank11Jellyfish displays are always gorgeous!Seal feedingCruise ship, before the spin, otter out in the bay

    Alaska Sealife Center

    26 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 61 °F

    Second time we have visited this wonderful center! (Tom and I saw it about 5-6 years ago when we were here for a 10 day Alaska trip.) I love their sea bird aviary, you get so close to the birds, they fly by your head, and squawk so loud! Well the seagulls do anyway!

    We did try to move the RV right up to the bays edge. As RVs on the water were leaving I would check to see if they were leaving for the day, or for good. Everyone that was leaving had already been asked about their departure date and had promised it to other travelers. Decided to be content where we were!

    Walked down to the Sealife Center and spent a couple of hours there. Lots of displays to see and read about. Live seal habitat, live sea lion habitat, some otters, and of course the puffins in the aviary. They also had several touch tanks with all the urchins, anemones, and star fishes. We spent a couple of hours here. Probably at least 30 minutes in the aviary, and watching the seal feeding. Really enjoyed our time!

    Back outside, had a late lunch of halibut, and then walked the downtown a bit. By now it was a regular rain not just misting, so we grabbed a shuttle and headed cross town to get a few groceries. Usually we are replenishing our produce because many dinners are some sort of salad, and we always have fruit for breakfast. Refrig is a little small, so we can't really stock up.

    Shuttled back to campground and got in out of the rain. We kept feeling so thankful that our tour had been the day before in all that beautiful sunshine! Today was all about the low hanging clouds and rain, which is pretty typical for Seward.

    Because we were "home" early were actually made a meatloaf and baked some potatoes. Comfort food on a wet evening! Watched another cruise ship head out of the bay. It is a good size bay, but still interesting to watch these large cruise ships come straight in, bow forward. But as they depart, the ships back out and then do a 180 degree rotation so the bow is pointed back out to sea. This ship "spun" right at about our spot on the bay. Spied a couple of otters out in the bay playing as well!    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    Tern lake
    Tern lakeHike from campground1Hugged!1Partial view of the falls2Look for the fish jumping in the lower part of the pictureTraffic at a standstill1Some of us snoozed!

    Salmon, and more salmon! Soldotna

    27 juillet 2019, États Unis ☁️ 54 °F

    We love eating fish, favorites are halibut and salmon! (Unfortunately they are not any less expensive here than at home!) So today was all about the salmon...we drove north from Seward and west across the peninsula, loosely following the Kenai river. At the junction of the Sterling and Seward hwys is Tern Lake. We got our first swan sighting of the trip. They are common to this area, but like the moose, we don't see them much. They were pretty close and we watched them rolling their ends (butts) into the air to get food from the bottom. These are good size birds!

    So as we followed the river we got a peak at lots of fishing activities; boating, floating, and shore fishing. At the confluence of the Kenai and Russian rivers we stopped to hike to a salmon viewing areas. Just a nice, almost level path that was a little over 2 miles in. Had a break in the rain, just gray, and when it was raining, it was pretty light.

    The platform did not disappoint. I have always wanted to see salmon (live, not pictures) trying to get up stream. You end up at a point on the river that had some challenging falls, so the forest service had installed a fish ladder. But many of the salmon are still trying to "leap" up the falls. At the base you can see a pool of red salmon at the foot of the ladder. We got to spend a lot of time just watching them try to leap the falls, and to get a photo of it! Then the long walk back, with a little more rain. But not to bad.

    Got in the RV and headed to the highway only to find it at a standstill! It turned about to be a 3 hour standstill! When in Alaska there are not a lot of alternative routes, unless you are in an ATV. So we sat for awhile, snacked for awhile, read for awhile, cleaned up our email inboxes for awhile, chatted for awhile, and some if us even managed to snooze for awhile! The standstill was due to a 4 vehicle crash that looked pretty bad. Helicopter came and went, several emergency vehicles.

    After getting by the wreck, alternating one way traffic only being let through, we drove by a line of vehicles headed the opposite direction that was over 6 miles long at least. Got to the RV park a little after 7 p.m. We drove through our hardest rain storm yet, which actually was good for the area. A lot of the smoke we had experienced in Anchorage and north was due to a huge fire here that burned just north of the highway. You could see the burn right up to the highway. I think this rain was the final blow to the fire that started in early July due to multiple lightning strikes.

    Good news, the Saturday night salmon bake was still out when we pulled into the park. So without even getting parked in our site, we had a great salmon dinner. It was delicious, fresh caught, smoked and baked! Excellent! Drove over to our site, so rainy, we just plugged in the power and stayed inside!    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    Mouth of the Kenai, dip net seasonDip netCleaning his salmonWhat's left over...just scads of fish heads! Apparently it's a good season!Russian Orthodox church, NinilchikThe old village of Ninilchik

    Dip nets in Kenai

    28 juillet 2019, États Unis ☁️ 57 °F

    Woke up to a pretty drippy gray morning! But its not that cold, just a little wet, which lends itself to a pretty messy floor in the RV. Thank goodness we have sheet vinyl! We sweep it out usually every morning and again when we pull into a camp spot. Having Auggie on board doesn't help much, so we have a mixture of dirt and dog hair constantly floating around!

    Headed over to the mouth of the Kenai river. I just wanted to see if they were fishing much, and if they were shore fishing or using boats. Goes to show you how little we know about fishing in Alaska, it is dip net season! So we had a real show at the mouth of the river! Lots of people with big nets, standing in the water, in waders, just waiting for all those fish (that are trying to come up steam) to simply swim into their net. Tons of families, lots of fish carcasses! They cut their heads off and gut the fish right on the beach. So you walk past piles of dead fish heads (eyes missing, I guess the birds eat them) and fish guts. However I was specifically given a doggie poop bag so I could clean up after Auggie! Hmmm. Auggie managed to eat some fish guts, so he was gifting the beach from both ends! Apparently it did not agree with his stomach....it really was fascinating to see, the dip netting...not Auggie!!

    Got back into the RV and headed down the west side of the peninsula, stopping to check out the views of the Cook Inlet, and various small fishing villages. It was a beautiful day, but not quite clear enough to see the mountains on the other side of the inlet. Maybe in the next day or two, it's supposed to stay warm! The towns pretty much occur where you find the mouth of a river. Clam Gulch, Kasilof, Ninilichik, Anchor Point. Also checked out the Russian Orthodox Church and cemetery that dates back to the early 1900s!

    Pushed on to our camp spot for the next three nights, on the outskirts of Homer. Plan to shuttle and trolley our way through the sites tomorrow! We were greeted by a bald eagle in a pine tree right in the middle of the campground. Salad with salmon for dinner!    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    I could pay $5, or I could take a photo of the certificate!
    I could pay $5, or I could take a photo of the certificate!Just a photo of the museum, filled with lots to see!1A favorite paintingPerfect day for patio dining at Don Jose`You don't visit Homer without a visit to the Salty Dawg, out on the spit!1Tom brought home some fish for a salad...1Homer HarborSome one has to gut and clean all the fish caught here...Cindy brought home some halibut for our salad...no, not really...

    Hello Homer!

    29 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 61 °F

    Campground is just up on the bluffs out of Homer, so today was our first real glimpse of the town. Woke up to a beautiful morning, could see across Kachemak bay in one direction, and in another direction really almost across Cook Inlet to see the mountains there!

    Got a campground shuttle down to the visitor center, and then walked up to the Pratt Museum, which is a small but very well done collection of history (including some Kilcher stories), natural science, and art. I love how museums are intermingling these collections. (Maybe I needed to go more often!)

    Enjoyed a Mexican lunch, the first Mexican food since we left California! Not bad, but not the same as Velascos! Still it was fun to have a taco, enchilada combo again. (... and if you didn't want Mexican you could order Italian!) To be totally honest, we often have taco salads for dinner. Just one of the many types of salads we make for dinner. Taco salad, chicken salad, salmon salad, Italian salad (that's a salad with salami and cooked pasta) or cabbage and apple salad.... you name it, we have turned it into a salad!

    Strolled some galleries and then grabbed the Homer trolley and headed out to the spit, which is a very long sliver of land/ sand out into the bday. Like 4 or 5 miles looking and, maybe 1 mile wide, except at the harbor area, I guess? Best to fire up your Google map app and take a look! The "spit" is a VERY popular place for vacationers, many RVs, many fishermen, many shoppers, and views of the bay every where! Got a little local history from the driver, saw another eagle nest, and viewed the harbor. More walking, talking, and shopping! It didn't matter what we did, it was just a gorgeous day to be outside!

    Trolley back to shuttle, shuttle back to campground, and barbecue chili dogs for dinner! (No salad!)    En savoir plus

  • Alaska via Canada
    You can see our boat beyond the sign, the Rainbow Connection! (Seriously!)
    You can see our boat beyond the sign, the Rainbow Connection! (Seriously!)Upper middle of map Homer, lower left shows where Seldovia is1Eldred Passage, otter pics on big camera!Seldovia Harbor (they all look alike, except size of boats)1Contemplating the menuWalking gardensResisences on Seldovia SloughLocal otter, fast asleep!Local color!Back in Homer, beautiful day!

    Spending the day in Seldovia

    30 juillet 2019, États Unis ☀️ 63 °F

    Okay, i am so sorry for all my family in Fresno, but we had another beautiful day in Alaska! Gosh darn I wish I had worn my short sleeve t shirt instead of my long sleeve t shirt because it was almost 76 degrees in Seldovia, and that can be warm, except for the ocean breeze! (I have to tease a little) Seriously, we have been absolutely blessed with the weather and sunshine we have had the last several days! I know we will be driving back into some very warm days coming home through BC and in the states, but right now I get to luxuriate in awesome cool weather!

    Today we booked another boat trip because why wouldn't we want to be on the water on a gorgeous day? Boat tour took us by Gull Island, thru Eldred Passage, landing on the south side of Kachemak bay in Seldovia. No whales or sea lions, but we did get to motor by 3 different "rafts" of otters! A raft is a large group of these guys all floating together, like two dozen or more...i have seen one or two single otters, maybe half a dozen together, but I can't remember ever seeing a raft of otters! And we went by three of them!

    Seldovia is a little town that is only accessible via boat or plane. But it is fairly well built up, post office, restaurants, shops, grocery store, businesses...with cars, and trucks, just like you would see in a remote village. Many are probably closed in the winter. Enjoyed lunch on the harbor (more fish) and then walked the historic district, where a number of the homes are built on pilings over the slough... very picturesque! But not sure I want to live this remote!

    Got back to Homer about 5 p.m. and took the taxi back to the campground. Spent some time trying to get some pictures of the local eagle pair that will come pick up herring left out by the camp host. (He knows he is not supposed to and Cindy did chastise me...) very cool to see the speed they gain as they snatch the food! Meanwhile back to end of the day tasks, showers and laundry! Left over meatloaf and mash potatoes for dinner!

    Thank you Lord for a gorgeous day!    En savoir plus

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