• Russ Travel Adventures
  • Dave C
  • Russ Travel Adventures
  • Dave C

North to Alaska 2019

June - August 2019 Meer informatie
  • Salmon Fishing with Cody & Wyatt, Homer

    17 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    Had a great day catching salmon with Cody and Wyatt on the boat Bear Force of the O' Fish'ial Charter fleet.

    We caught our limits by noon. Our bounty included 3 Kings, 2 Silvers, 6 Pinks and 1 rockfish. Russ caught the trophy fish of the day. Dave caught a big King as well.

    Be ready family, Dad is shipping a bunch of fish home! We will ship 45 lbs of Halibut and King Salmon and retain 30 lbs of Pinks and Rockfish in the trailer freezer.

    The weather was gorgeous.
    Meer informatie

  • "Where There's Life, There's Hope, AK"

    18 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F

    We return back to Hope, Alaska, and Porcupine Campground. We hope to wade the mighty Resurrection Creek and hope to catch more Pinks. We know more this time around. We have more appropriate lures and have talked to many locals about the process.

    The results were unbelieveable. Nice salmon were on the line with every cast. Best fishing ever! We caught over 30 fish. It was exhausting 😁. We kept 5 "bright" ones.

    Check out "Dave's Fishing Clinic", instructional video. We filmed this in one take. Turn up the volume on your phone.

    The next morning we were on the creek 90 minutes before high tide and had another repeat performance. 🐟😁🐟😁🐟😁
    Meer informatie

  • Bird Creek, Alaska

    19 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    We are now leaving the Kenai Peninsula and heading up north to Denali National Park. We grabbed a campsite at Bird Creek Campground early since it's Friday night and everyone is bugging out of Anchorage.

    We are going to play tourist today. Portage Glacier, Whittier, and Alyeska.

    Planned on fishing Bird Creek tonight but got stuck at Girdwood Brewery on our side trip to Alyeska Resort. Got back to camp and made Salmon fish and chips for dinner and lost track of time. Will try the combat fishing in the morning.
    Meer informatie

  • Whittier, Alaska

    19 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Whittier, AK was created by the US Army during WWII as a no-ice port and petroleum delivery center. To get to Whittier by car you must drive thru a one lane tunnel, carved through a mountain. The tunnel is about 3 miles long.

    Once in Whittier, not much to see. However there is a alot of fishing charters who harvest fish from the Prince William Sound. Might be a future trip 😊
    Meer informatie

  • Tanaina Canoe Trail

    20 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Took our kayaks on a portion of the Tanaina Canoe Trail in the Nancy Lake Recreation Area this afternoon. Got to 4 different lakes before we got tired of doing the portages.

    Camping at a view point above Rolly lake. Making our famous rock fish stew for dinner. Living like Kings!

    The Alaska campfire ban has finally been lifted. It has been 12 days since our last campfire.
    Meer informatie

  • Russ Becomes A Grandpa

    20 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    At 6:43 pm (PST) Russ became a Grandpa! Hollie and Kevin gave birth to Zoie Madison Small. She was born 7 lbs 1 oz, 19 1/2" in length, and has lots of hair. Zoie is the cutest baby in the hospital.

    Baby, Hollie, and Kevin are doing well.
    Meer informatie

  • Denali National Park

    21 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    We are staying at an RV park near Denali National Park for the next two nights.

    We went to the Denali NP for some late night sightseeing. Saw a moose and a bunny. The weather was nice and clear today.

    ....and Dave gets to add another sticker to his National Park map!

    Motorcycle riding and maybe golf tomorrow.
    Meer informatie

  • Play Day in the Denali Area

    22 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Went on a 92 mile motorcycle ride on the Denali Highway, which is dirt, like many of the "highways" in Alaska. Found some cool side trails and fishing opportunities along the way.

    Went on 2nd ride after the camp host shared his secret Arctic Grayling fishing hole. The ride was over river rocks and stream beds. We got lost, but evenually found the fishing hole. Caught 2 Graylings. Mission accomplished.

    There now is no such thing as "Night" - this place is a 24-hour a day playground!
    Meer informatie

  • North to the Artic Circle and Deadhorse

    23 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We are making some changes to our travel plans. Instead of reaching the Arctic Circle and Arctic Ocean via the Dempster Highway (NW Territories, Canada), we will be driving the Dalton Highway in Alaska. This journey may take us off line for a couple days. Not to worry. Our new schedule is listed below.

    7/23 Tues, Five Mile Camp, Dalton Hwy, Mile Mark 60
    7/24 Weds, Wiseman, Marion Creek Campground, Mile Mark 180, Dalton Hwy
    7/24 Thurs, Marion Creek CG, Take the truck and motorcycles to Deadhorse and Arctic Ocean and Back
    7/25 Friday, Return to civilization and stay somewhere around Fairbanks (hopefully with a shower).
    Meer informatie

  • Mid Day Fun in Healy, AK

    23 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Saw a momma moose and her baby on the road to Healy, AK. Very cooperative for the photo shoot.

    Stopped by for callenging round of golf at Black Diamond Golf Resort. The course was carved out of the mountains and tundra.

    After golf we happened to stumble upon a local Brewery. Funny how that keeps happening to us 😊. 49th State Brewing Company.

    Healy is the bedroom community for Denali National Park employees. Where their dreams of a wilderness adventure meet reality by living in stack of shipping containers.

    We had our first trailer tire flat in the Fairbanks Fred Meyer parking lot. We are thankful that this happened close to a tire repair shop instead the middle of nowhere.
    Meer informatie

  • Arctic Circle, AK

    24 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    After a night in a parking lot campground and a hearty breakfast at Yukon River Camp we completed the long rough drive to the Arctic Circle today. Everything made it in good shape. The road is mostly a total disaster with trucks flying by at 60 mph. Not very tourist-friendly!

    The mountain scenery is probably incredible but we can't see it through the smoke. Great views of the Alaska pipeline though, so Dave is very happy. Even better than waterfalls and glaciers! We have driven next to the pipeline which is mostly above ground since we left Fairbanks about 250 miles back. For those who don't know, Dave spent several years working on pipelines for Conoco.

    Stopped by Fish Creek for some really great Grayling action. Best Grayling fishing so far.
    Meer informatie

  • Camping 65 Miles N of the Arctic Circle

    24 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    Staying at Marion Creek Campground for the next two nights. Really nice place.

    There is a nice visitor center in Coldfoot that we visited today. Also picked up some more $5.50/gal fuel for the truck.

    Driving up to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay in the morning and dipping our toes in the Arctic Ocean. It will be nice to drive without towing the trailer.
    Meer informatie

  • Arctic Ocean, Way Up North

    25 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    We drove 480 miles round trip, on a gravel road, to take a dip in the Arctic Ocean. Total drive time is about 13 hours.

    We discovered that you have to buy a ticket to gain access to the Arctic Ocean. This $69 ticket is only available though a tour company. We are now certified members of the Arctic Polar Bear Club!

    On the way up we saw a herd of wild Muskoxen. On our tour we saw Caribou, and Arctic Fox. The only wildlife still on our checklist are grizzly bear, dall sheep, and a polar bear floating on a piece of ice.
    Meer informatie

  • Car Trouble on the Dalton Highway

    26 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F

    At the end of our trek to the Arctic Ocean we discovered a leak in our radiator. We limped our way to Fairbanks (255 miles and 9 hrs), stopping every 20 miles to check/refill the radiator.

    Not cool man! 😕

    We stopped by the Arctic Circle Information Center and met Sheila, the host. She awarded us our Arctic Circle certificate and told us to put pepper in our radiator to stop the leak. So we did. To our surprise, it worked.! The leak stopped, enabling us to travel without stopping every 20 minutes.

    To add to the excitement, we had nearly whiteout conditions for the last 30 miles. It was a combination of smoke, fog, and a drenching rain storm.

    Goodbye Dalton Highway...you almost kicked our ass.

    To add more excitement, we had to drive uphill on the Elliott Hwy, in construction zone, in a downpour, in three inches of mud that stuck very well to truck and trailer. Dave was driving in four wheel drive, both hands on the wheel, and wondering if we were going to make it. We over came.

    Arrived safety in Fairbanks and staying in the Rivers Edge RV "Resort". We need a beer!
    Meer informatie

  • Back On The Road to Chicken, AK

    27 juli 2019, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    After considering all our options regarding the radiator, we decided to buy an insurance policy. The policy included a bottle of Stop Leak, a new radiator that we are keeping in the box, and the tools needed to change it out on the road. If the radiator behaves, Russ will return the parts for a refund. So far, we are looking like two wise men.

    Got to our campsite at Westford Camp Ground, outside of Chicken, AK, overlooking a small lake.

    Chicken, AK is an old gold mining town. The original founders wanted to name the town Ptarmigan, but nobody knew how to spell it. They didn't have Google back then, and the nearest dictionary was in Fairbanks.
    Alaskans are very adaptable people.

    This is our last night in Alaska 🙁.
    Meer informatie

  • Back in Canada

    28 juli 2019, Canada ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We are back in Canada after a long afternoon driving the muddy Top of the World Highway. Truck and trailer are a mess but the scenery was worth it. We also have phone service again which makes it possible to do our posts!

    We decided it would be good to do some exercise so we did a hike down to an old dredge that has been stuck in the river since the 1920's.

    Our first stop after the border crossing was Dawson City which was only reachable by riding a very small, sketchy ferry across the Yukon River.

    Spent the night at Moose Creek Campground south of Dawson City. It was a typical Yukon public campground.
    Meer informatie

  • Off the Klondike Highway

    29 juli 2019, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    We completed our journey on the Klondike Highway this evening. Staying at Takhini Hot Springs and going for another soak.

    Our major activity for today was hiking down to Five Fingers Rapids on the Yukon River. The hike consisted of 219 stairs down to the river. Coming back up was a good workout.

    Heading into Whitehorse to find Winterlong Brewing for a tasty treat.
    Meer informatie

  • Watson Lake. Yukon

    30 juli 2019, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F

    We literally grabbed the last campsite in the campgroud. We arrived past the RV Shuffle window. If we arrived 3 minutes later we would have been staying in an RV "Resort".

    Beautiful scenery between here and Whitehorse. Stopped for lunch and fishing at Smart Creek. Dave caught a sizable Arctic Grayling.

    The town of Watson Lake has dedicated a entire city block to the Sign Post Forest. The forest consists of 1,000s of stolen street and handmade signs. To memorialize our trip we put our sign on a Nampa, ID street sign.
    Meer informatie

  • Play Day At Liard River Hot Springs, BC

    31 juli 2019, Canada ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    We are now in BC, Canada. On our way, we saw a herd of Wood Bison and several Black Bears.

    We hiked to two waterfalls. We hiked to Teeter Creek Falls and Smith River Falls. We fished for Arctic Graylings in both places. Dave is happy.

    Russ flew his drone over Smith River Falls. It was all fun and games until Russ nearly lost control of the drone due to loss of GPS in the canyon and swirling wind gusts. After several landing attempts, Russ finally landed her hard on the rocky beach. No need to worry, the drone is fine.

    After our falls hikes, we rode our motorcycles to Smith River Airstrip (62 miles round trip). This airport was established in WWII as a military airport to connect Canada and Russia.

    After our ride, we enjoyed a relaxing soak in the natural Liard Hot Springs. Life is good!
    Meer informatie

  • Tumbler Ridge, Waterfall Capital of BC

    2 augustus 2019, Canada ⋅ 🌧 52 °F

    It is raining hard right now. We are sitting under our awning, at the Monkman RV Park, hoping the rain will stop so we can go exploring and see some more waterfalls.

    We just discovered that this weekend is a long weekend for Canadians. It is "Civic Day", which must mean 'everyone goes camping'. All campgrounds are full.

    With a break in the weather, we drove 60 miles round trip to Kinuseo Falls which is considered to be an icon of Northern British Columbia. The 225 ft waterfall was breathtaking.
    Meer informatie