Totems and Waterfalls

Totems and Waterfalls

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08/29 – 08/30/19 Towards the end of the Cassier Hwy we came across the town of Gitwangak or Kitwanga on the Map. It is the home of some of the oldest Totem Poles in Canada. These amazing carvings represent the different indigenous clans. We also stopped at a place called battle hill where Chief Nekt built a fortified village on top of this hill and would defend it by rolling spiked logs down on his enemies. We climbed the hill and were amazed at how many people were said to have lived in this village a the top of the hill as it did not seem that large. We drove on and finally made it to the end of the Cassier Hwy and found our way to a beautiful free campspot at Twin Falls Recreation Site outside of Smithers BC. This little area had beautiful trails and 4 level campsites with fire rings. We thought of our little caravan and how much Jim, Jackie, & Bob would have loved this site. We hiked up to the overlook of the falls and enjoyed a wonderful Scallop dinner cooked on the coals of the fire.

Skagway to Hyder

Skagway to Hyder

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08/26 – 08/29/2019 We purchased passage on the ferry from Haines to Skagway in order to avoid having to backtrack. You know we couldn’t go on a trip without getting on the water at least once. While waiting in line for the ferry to begin loading the vehicles, I took Sierra for a last walk and ended up having to run to catch up with the Camper as it was pulling onto the ferry. We locked Sierra in the Camper and made our way up on deck. The ferry has cabins, showers, a café, numerous seating areas inside and out. There was a large solarium where many people gathered on lounge chairs and some folks even pitch tents on the deck using duct tape to secure them. The ride took just under an hour but it was nice to be back on the water even for a short ride. As we arrived in Skagway we saw three cruise ships docked and pulling off the ferry we found ourselves in a Disneyland like atmosphere with crowds of people wandering the streets and very little parking. We were finally able to find a parking spot and spent a few minutes among the crowds, gift shops and took a few pics, but feeling a bit overwhelmed we carried on north toward Whitehorse. and retraced our route back through part of the Yukon. We stopped a night at Squanga Lake Govt. Camp that had free firewood for our evening campfire. The next morning we continued on down to the Cassier Hwy 37. We found the Cassier to be in better condition than most of the Alaskan Hwy. As we traveled south we encountered a few black bears and moose enjoying the clover along the road. On the whole, We have seen more wildlife in Canada than in AK. We spent another night at Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park where we enjoyed a beautiful evening walk along the lake. The mushrooms were plentiful and the sunset over the water very pretty. Our Hyder destination is the most southern town in AK accessible by road. It is also known for Bear Viewing and we were still pumped about seeing bears from our time in Haines. As we drove Road 37A into Stewart, we passed quite a few large transport trucks carrying logs. The bay on the sister towns of Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK was full of floating logs waiting for transport. We camped down the road from the Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing area at Camp Runamuck where we caught up on laundry. We then went down and paid the fee to walk the boardwalk along fish creek where the chum and pink salmon were running so heavy you could almost walk across their backs. We enjoyed a wonderful halibut dinner at the Bus. And spent a couple of days visiting the viewing station but never saw a bear until we went to leave and saw one along the creek next to the parking lot and a mother and cub crossing the road down the way from the viewing station. Guess we really didn’t need to pay the fee but it goes to a good cause educating the public about the salmon, bears, and wolves of the area. We hit the bakery in Stewart on our way out of town the next morning and pressed on South.

Bucket List Checked

Bucket List Checked

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08/22 – 08-25/19 Time to head south and start making our way back down to the lower 48. After our adventure in the Interior of AK we spent the night in Fairbanks and another at Deadman Lake again. We decided to make our way down to Haines, AK and then hop the Ferry to Skagway. We stopped at the Welcome to AK sign to take a photo since it was early in the morning and not so crowded and busy as when we arrived. Better late than never. The scenery on the Haines Highway through the Yukon, BC, and back into AK was spectacular and different that anything we had seen previously. We pulled into Haines and stopped at the grocery store before heading to camp. Weather was a little cloudy and damp but we make our way out to Chilkat State Park where there was plenty of open camping spaces so we settled in and took Sierra out for a walk. I of course took the camera along just in case. Sierra and I walked down to the inlet and as we were walking back another camper told us there was a mother and baby moose making there way through the campground. He said he saw Mike trying to take pictures with his Phone. It was almost dark but I was able to get a couple of shots before my battery died. When I got back to camp, Mike said she and the calf had walked right through our campsite. Mike and I drove into town to check out the local farmers Market and saw the set of Dalton City that was constructed for the Disney movie White Fang. We enjoyed poking around the town of Haines, walking the Docks and driving around Fort William H Seward’s historic buildings. We heard there was another campground on the opposite side of the town beyond the Ferry Terminal where there was a fishing weir and where bears often congregated. After filling up with fuel we made our way out to Chilkoot Campground. We passed the weir on the way there and saw a number of people with long lenses….looks like we were in the right place to see the bears. We found a beautiful campsite right next to the lake and walked back down the road to the fish weir. The fish and game dept. monitors the fish that are passing through the weir and also helps to keep people and bears getting to close together. We were told that there had been a bear at the weir earlier but there were none on our first walk down. Walking back into camp we noticed a strong smell of gas. We looked under the camper a saw that the fuel tank was leaking. We drove the camper back into Haines to find a parts store and spent the next few hours working in their parking lot to seal the leak with some epoxy designed for just such an event. The patch seemed to hold and so we headed back to our camping spot. We met Holly and Terry who were also hoping to get some good photos and had been traveling specifically to destinations where they could view bears. We walked back to camp and were just finishing a game of cribbage when she stopped by our campsite to let us know that there was a couple of bears at the weir. I grabbed the camera and we made our way down and were able to get a few pics of the bears fishing and chowing down on Salmon. What a thrill! Getting a picture of a Grizzly bear in the wild was on my bucket list! Check!!! Over the next few days we enjoyed numerous walks to look for, and photograph the bears, wildlife and scenery. At one point all the fisherman on the river were bunched together on a island. We assumed correctly that there was a large bear close by and were able to get another bunch of great bear photos. We stopped off at the Haines Brewery and toasted our wonderful luck with a pint of Spruce Tip Ale. We also enjoyed one of the tastiest and beautifully presented meals of this entire trip at the Pilot Light Restaurant. I don’t usually take pictures of my food but couldn’t resist snapping a quick photo of my halibut tacos. While conversing with the waitress we learned that her family owns a restaurant near Hearst Castle, she gave us the name and we will definitely stop by when we travel down the California coast with Mom and Dad next month. We fell in love with the town of Haines and would love to return here someday for another visit.

Into the Wild

Into the Wild

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08/14 – 08/21/19 Our little Caravan made our way up to Fairbanks where we spent the night at Pioneer Park. We enjoyed exploring many of the historical buildings and museums and of course the proverbial gift shops. In the morning we said a heartfelt goodbye to Jim, Jackie and Bob who continued heading south through Canada back to the lower 48 while we spent the next week with our friends the Bouldings. We met up with Charlie, Robin, and Tory Boulding in Fairbanks after not seeing them since they had sailed in and visited us while we were Caretaking GSJ Island in the USVI. We had first met them in 2009 on the Island of Barbuda and again when we sailed together from St. Marten to the BVI in Nov of 2010. (Click on Highlighted Script for previous blog entries and Information) We told them that we would one day visit them in AK and we were determined to keep that promise. On Friday morning, we drove 4.5 hours from Fairbanks to Manley Hot Springs ahead of Charlie, Robin, and Tory while they finished up with Appointments. We met them at a small cabin they keep in Manley before loading up a couple of daypacks and the dog and headed down to the slough to help load up their boat with numerous groceries, supplies and a large Satellite Dish for one of their neighbors. The 5 of us, Sierra and their house dog Nook, boarded their river boat for the 20 mile trip to their homestead on the Tanana River. With Charlie at the helm, dodging sandbars, and floating debris, we relaxed as he navigated us up the rising Tanana River while the Robin and Tory pointed out places of interest and regaled us with stories of life along the river. After dropping off the Satellite Dish we made our way to their little slice of Paradise in the heart of the Alaska Interior. We tied off the boat to a tree next to their fishwheel and helped offload the supplies. They settled us into their one room guest cabin and proceeded to show us around their property consisting of around 35 acres, 2 Cabins, Shop, Smokehouse, Garden & Cache. Sierra was in dog heaven. She feasted on a number of pieces of dried fish that had been buried by one of their 6 sled dogs around the property and would curl up for a nap in the straw just like they did. The homestead is completely off the grid, true AK wilderness living. Their water is caught in rain barrels and is carried into the house for washing and cooking. Light is provided via windows and propane lights. They have a generator to charge the house batteries and a small solar panel that keeps their house batteries topped off. They do have some electric lights that are used when the generator is running. There is no phone but they do have the ability via Hughes Net to access the Internet so they can keep in touch with the outside world and their friends and family. There is no indoor plumbing but an outhouse is provided for comfort. They told us the small window in the front door was installed after a couple of close encounters with bears on their front porch. Their main cabin consists of a living space, a sleeping loft, a back bedroom, and a kitchen complete with an old fashioned but wonderfully functional wood burning oven, propane stovetop and another central wood burning stove for heat. Their refrigerator is a cold hole into the permafrost under the kitchen floor. Their garden provides them fresh vegetables and they hunt and fish for their meat. Part of their summer is spent at their Fish Camp where they catch the King Salmon that is a staple of their diet. We spent the next few days taking excursions on the Tanana and Kantishna Rivers, we fished for Northern Pike, picnicked, scouted for Moose, as hunting season is near, and visited some historical sites including part of the original Iditerod trail used to transport diphtheria serum from Seward to Nome AK. We stopped at the Tolovana Roadhouse that is now used for Sled Dog Excursions in the winter. We were also a witness to history in the making when we traveled up river and watched as the Kantishna river beginning to cut a new channel through a narrow bank that separated a mile long loop in the river. The Bouldings had been watching this spot during floods for the last 30 years knowing that it would happen one day. We helped where we could with summer chores, splitting kindling, harvesting the garden, helping with meal prep and clean up, and a bit of maintenance around their place. We picked green beans, summer and winter squash, carrots, kale, & a lot of peas. Robin canned 16 quarts while we were there. The rising river made it imperative to get as much as we could harvested. Robin fed us like kings and queens, baking bread and Apple Cake in her oven and an amazingly wonderful and huge King salmon filet for dinner. We also had a marvelous Moose stew and Bear and Cranberry sandwiches for lunch. Her Cranberry-banana jam is delicious! We spent our evenings together reminiscing and sharing stories of sled dog rearing and racing, sailing, & travels, past and present, as well as unpacking the large box of homeschooling books for Tory. As the river continued to rise the flooding around the cabins got deeper and eventually was above the level of our rubber boots, graciously provided to us by our hosts. We had to resort to using the canoe to travel between the cabins. I don’t know of too many people who would choose this lifestyle and Robin told us there are not too many people they would even consider inviting out to the homestead, especially during flood season. After the river had crested and started to recede, we decided we had better start our journey home to Colorado or risk being tempted to look for a place to build our own cabin in the AK wilderness. Charlie, Robin and Tory reluctantly carried Mike, Sierra and I back to Manley where we had parked the RV. We were sad to leave them but extremely honored and delighted to be their guests and felt so privileged to be allowed to experience and participate in this grand adventure for this brief but joyful reunion. We hope they will come visit us someday in Pagosa Springs or perhaps we can meet up again during our mutual travels. To our dear friends the Bouldings, Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We will miss you! Fair Winds & stay warm till we meet again.

The Big One!

The Big One!

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08/11 -08/13 Our Journey took us next to Denali where we had scheduled a Natural History tour into the Park by Bus. As we drove north we were blessed with clear sunny skies and a fantastic view of Denali from the South. It is my understanding that due to it’s extreme height of 20,308 ft. It creates its own weather and is only clearly visible about 30% of the time. We were lucky enough to arrive on one of those days. We made the Cantwell RV Park our home base for our time here found it to be clean and well maintained with good WiFi a nice selection of books to exchange and hot showers. We hiked around the Denali Visitors Center and were amazed at the variety of mushrooms growing. We met our bus and our tour guide Chris who took us into the park for our tour. There are a number of choices for tours but we chose the shorter one. When the bus arrived it was already pretty full and we wondered if there would be space for us all but Chris has roped off some seats for our group as we had made reservations in advance. This tour took us approx. 23 miles into the park and we were able to photograph both Cariboo and Moose. The Park itself was set up specifically to protect the wildlife in this area and is a great place to study the natural behavior of the animals. Everyone is encouraged to keep their voices low when the bus stops for wildlife. We were also treated to a talk by a native Athabaskan about his culture at one of our stops in the park. The rangers here patrol year round and use dog sleds in the winter. Again we were hoping to see some bear or wolves but were not lucky on this tour.

Cooper Landing

Cooper Landing

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8/08 – 08/10/19 Traveling north to Cooper Landing where Jackie has friends she has been in contact with who have given us recommendations on things to do and places to fish. We camped at Quartz Creek Campground next to Kenai Lake. The campground had a very nice boardwalk that looked out over the Creek where we found a large number of Sockeye Salmon spawning. The area also seemed very popular with fly fisherman as well. We rode our bikes through the woods and took Sierra for a number of long walks and swims in the Lake. Jim and Jackie got to do some gold panning in this area and found a little color! We enjoyed a really good meal at the Sunrise Inn where Jackie’s friend works. She was really great and set us up with Lures we could use to do some “Flossing”, a way to catch salmon who do not eat when they are traveling upstream. We followed her suggestions and after a missed turn and a slight detour of about 10 bumpy miles we arrived at the location she suggested only to find new signs posted “No Fishing”. Not to be deterred we pulled off the road on our way back to the campground where we had seen some other people fishing across the river and proceeded to enjoy ourselves as we caught a few Coho salmon. We took a drive another day and hiked up to the Russian River Falls where we found a massive amount of Salmon at the base of the falls trying to make their way upstream. It is amazing to watch them make these really big leaps up the falls through rushing water and even more amazing is that many succeed. On the way back from our hike we stopped again at our same fishing spot. We were told by some other fishermen that showed up that there was a brown bear up the road fishing in the river. We hopped in the truck and headed that way. Mike was able to Snap a couple of pictures but I only caught his backside heading into the woods. (Seeing a Grizzly in the wild is still on my bucket list). We still have a ways to go and places to see. I am not discouraged.

Homer Spit

Homer Spit

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08/05 -08/07/19 We made a brief stop on the way out of Seward at a small Weir where we watched the Sockeye salmon leaping to swim upstream to spawn. We headed across the Kenai Peninsula and on down to Homer. We drove out to the Spit and although very touristy it is a fun place to visit and heck we are tourists. Homer is know for it’s marvelous Halibut fishing but at over $300 per person for a charter we opted to fish from shore. No Luck. We did however purchase some wonderful fresh Halibut and Scallops and spent time bike riding, watching the local fisherman, SUP surfers, and taking walks along the elevated boardwalks through the many shops that line the Spit out to Lands End, the southern most point of the Kenai Peninsula. We all enjoyed and admired the unique and unusual sites around the Spit each in our own way. Of Course our visit was not complete without a required stop at the Salty Dog Saloon where we added our names to the thousands of others who have tacked a dollar bill up on the walls, ceilings, and doors of this infamous bar.

On to Seward

On to Seward

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08/02 – 08/05 As much as we have enjoyed Williwaw it was time to continue our journey. We headed south to Seward, AK. We had a small delay when one of the tires on J&J’s 5th Wheel blew, but the pit crew jumped into action and we were back on the road in minutes. The town of Seward offers camping right along the bay as the structure of the soils there were found not to be stable enough to support buildings in the event of another earthquake. The 1964 9.2 Earthquake destroyed many towns along Kenai peninsula. The city did not rebuild on the waterfront and has wisely installed fee stations all throughout the area and now charges $20 per night to camp there. We can’t complain as they have a lot of amenities to service the ever increasing number of RV’s that travel here in the summer. Dump Station, Potable water, bathrooms and hot showers and areas for Tent campers as well. We spent a the next few days riding our Bikes around town, fishing, and sampling the local fare. Sierra and I even joined a local 5k run to support the Alaska Sea life Center, an aquarium and sea mammal rehab. I figured it was at Sea Level and a good one to ease back into. I came in 5th in my age group. Of course I did not see how many in my age group ran the race there might have been only 5 but it was for a good cause and I got a T-Shirt and admission to the aquarium on that day. This is a popular stop for Cruise ships as there is a vibrant downtown and lots of little shops and restaurants. I even caught a glimpse of Bigfoot here! We had a great burger at a popular local burger joint named Reds that operates out of busses and a fancy dinner at Ray’s Waterfront. We would heartily recommend both. I spent one day just riding around photographing the murals around town. Although very busy, this colorful town has lots to offer.

Light at the end of the Tunnel….again & again & ….

Light at the end of the Tunnel….again & again & ….

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07/28 –08/02 Bob headed out early to get his Radiator repaired in Anchorage. J&J will be meeting with their friends Greg and Becky at an RV Park in Anchorage and we were headed to what we thought might be a campground on the outskirts of Anchorage called the Kincaid project but when we arrived we only found a large parking lot next to a dog park and a paintball park and no campground. We opted to drive down toward the town of Whittier as there are a couple of USFS campgrounds that offer good bicycling and hiking opportunities. We were delighted to find the wonderfully maintained, clean, paved, and spacious sites at the Williwaw campground. It has a Salmon viewing platform over the Williwaw creek which we checked daily and finally saw some red sockeye salmon swimming upstream to spawn. There were numerous nature trails to hike and bike on. With his new radiator in place, Bob joined us a few hours later. We rode our bikes and made plans to ride the Alaska railroad on a day trip out of Whittier, AK. J&J along with their friends, who came along for a day trip, joined us at the campground along with their 2 king Charles spaniels the next day. We all enjoyed a walk out to the Begich-Boggs visitors center on the Northwest Shore of Portage Lake. From this vantage point we could see 5 different glaciers surrounding us. The visitors center was very interactive and had many hands on exhibits and Audio, visual, cultural, and historical displays. It also had a beautiful and informative film on the natural history and culture of the area. As the filmed ended the screen lifted in the theater and a curtain opened to windows looking out over a stunning view of the lake and glaciers. Very well done! We really liked all this area had to offer and so kept extending our stay. We rode out bikes out to Moose Junction (no moose) and then picked up Sierra and gave her a run on the trail out to Byron Glacier. On our final day there, we loaded up our Camper, aka the party bus, with all 5 of us and 2 dogs and made the drive through the longest train/single lane vehicle tunnel 2.4 miles through the mountain to the deep water port of Whittier where we spent some time exploring the town. We left the dogs in the camper and boarded the train for the round trip scenic ride back through the tunnel and through the mountains past Spencer Glacier. At our turn around stop at Grandview station we paused for a bit to stretch our legs and pick wild blueberries. We did not have much luck seeing wildlife but did enjoy the ride and the scenery. Upon arriving back in Whittier, the Dogs were happy to see us and we made our way back through the long tunnel for the 4th time to the Willwaw campground. We all agreed this was a wonderful place to call home for a few days.

Jynxd

Jynxd

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07/26/19 – Well, It looks like we have pushed all of our vehicles just a bit too hard on this trip and they are all finally complaining. I noticed water leaking out of Bob’s truck in Valdez. Jimmy also noticed he had a possible fan clutch issue on his Truck as well as having to purchase a couple of tires for his trailer due to irregular wear. We joked that the only vehicle that hadn’t had any problems was the oldest, our little Toyota RV. We should have known better than say anything! We had just left our beautiful little campground next to the Nelchina River and were headed to Eagle River outside of Anchorage, where Bob has arranged to have a new Radiator put in, when Jack, our Toyota RV, began coughing and sputtering and then quit completely. So much for our bragging rights. Fortunately Michael had the forethought to purchase towing insurance from Good Sam. We contacted them and they arrange a tow truck to come all the way from Wasilla, AK to take us to a mechanic. We waited approx 2 hours and Stan from Towz R Us showed up and put or Toy up on his Flatbed Wrecker and strapped her down. It was pretty spooky watching our little RV rocking and rolling over the frost heaved hwy on its way to the Repair Shop. We were taken to E.G.M. Auto Repair in Wasilla, home of Tiny the Tow Dog, where just getting the Toy off of the wrecker onto the lift was a challenge but the folks and E.G.M. were professionals. After placing the Toy on the lift, the mechanic reached down and turned the key and it fired right up! WTF!? He began by putting in a new fuel filter and took Jack out for a test drive. He had not gotten far when it quit again. So while we waited for another wrecker to bring it back to the garage, they ordered a new fuel pump that they will install tomorrow that will hopefully, solve the problem. Watching these folks work together was like watching a TV Reality show, what a bunch of characters. They told us we would not be charged extra for the entertainment.

07/27/19 – Bob Dropped us off at a motel and after spending $140 for $60 quality room we hung around until approx 1:00pm when J&J came to pick us up and we went back to the Repair shop only to find out that the parts store had sent the wrong fuel pump and they had sent someone to Anchorage to pick up another and were not expected back until 4:30pm. We hung out at the Lake Lucile Park where Bob and J&J were camped, toured the Headquarters of the Iditerod Dogsled Race, took some walks, and played some games. We went back to the repair shop at 5:00pm to find the Camper still on the Rack and only one person at the shop washing the tow trucks. We grabbed some sheets and blankets out of the RV and spent the night in Bob’s little 2 man tent as we could not see overspending on another hotel room. I think Sierra is wondering what is up with these crazy hoomans who keep downsizing her accommodations. House to RV to Hotel Room and now a 2 man (+1 dog) tent. The rain was steady last night but the temperature was not too cold, and the tent kept us fairly dry until morning when it began to seep in around the base. Not bad for a 20 year old tent.

07/28/2019 – I woke up early and took Sierra for a walk and then crawled back into the tent and slept for another couple of hours. Bob and J&J have been very accommodating and offered us their couches but we are already relying on them for rides and meals and so opted to at least try the tent gig. If the RV is not repaired and it continues to rain we may need to take them up their offers. We are blessed with good friends and their morning coffee was hot and welcome after a damp night. Mike and Jim drove over to the Repair shop but as expected for a Sunday, no one was around and things were locked up tight. We decided to take a drive over to Palmer to explore the town. They are known for their enormous vegetables in this farming community. We walked through the garden next to the visitor center and museum. This area was settled when the US government offered land in the newly acquired territory of Alaska to anyone who was willing to build a farming community there. While at the visitors center, Mike’s phone rang and he almost didn’t pick it up as he did not recognize the number. Our RV was repaired and ready to be picked up. Thank goodness for this unexpected but very welcome news. We cut our tour of Palmer short and drove back to Wasilla to pick up the RV. With a new fuel pump, filter and seal on the inside of the fuel tank, we gratefully climbed back into our little home and drove her over to the Lake Lucille campground to rejoin our Caravan. Just a couple of days ago I was feeling like she was a bit small for this trip but after that night in the tent she felt spacious and warm. Thanks to the folks at EGM Automotive for their excellent service and going above and beyond to work through the weekend to get her back up and running.