Church First (Sunday, August 9, 2009) Despite this being a travel day, we opted to attend church before leaving Anchorage, and were accompanied by 3 other couples and a single, filling up a whole pew in a small Baptist Church. We enjoyed the service, but it made us really miss our church at home, Twin Lakes Baptist Church, especially our pastor, Sam and Annette Bailey, and our friends—absence makes the heart grow fonder. Our drive was along Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage, then through the mountains to Seward—quite a scenic afternoon drive—arriving in the campground about 4 PM. We were pleasantly surprised by the full campground, surrounded on all sides by snow covered mountains. After setting up, we drove into Seward at the end of the road, then back a bit and out to Exit Glacier for a cursory view of our visit tomorrow. Seward was very near the epicenter of the 1964 Alaska earthquake, which registered 9.2 on the Richter scale and lasting 5 minutes, the largest recorded earthquake in North America. The entire waterfront was destroyed, hit by two successive 50-foot tsunamis; this was in our lifetime! These large earthquakes have happened up here about every 20 years, and they are overdue now.

Day 2 in Seward, AK (Monday, August 10, 2009) We awoke to clearing skies and cool temperatures in the low 50s. Today was to be packed with fun-filled activities. We boarded a bus for a brief tour of Seward, and a visit to Exit Glacier. Over half of our caravan hiked the 1.2 miles to the glacier, taking lots of photos when we arrived. We then enjoyed a “conversation” with Whitey and Mickey. They entertained us with coffee, tea, cookies, and stories of their early days in Alaska. About our age, they hitchhiked to Alaska in 1967 from Oakland, California, doing odd jobs, raising two kids, and living off the land. They now own and operate the tour company which took us to Seward and Exit Glacier earlier in the day, and have some properties in Seward, and in British Columbia where they plan to retire. (We guess that Seward is getting too crowded for them.)

After a lunch of leftovers and a brief rest, we boarded another bus for a Kenai Fjords cruise and salmon bake on Fox Island. The early part of the cruise was focused on getting to Fox Island for dinner where we enjoyed grilled salmon, prime rib, salad, rice, corn on the cob, rolls, dessert, and coffee or tea. The food was good, but not hot; we sympathize with them trying to time everything on the arrival of the boat. After the quick dinner, we re-boarded the boat and began our search for sea life, seeing up close and personal many sea birds, including the puffin and northern penguin, stellar sea lions, and a humpback whale which was not so up close and personal. Additionally, we saw bald eagles, and several mountain goats. The 4-hour cruise got us back to shore at 9:30 PM, and back to our RV about 10:15 PM, dog tired.

Day 3 in Seward, AK (Tuesday, August 11, 2009) The days are definitely getting shorter, and we actually have “almost” dark for a few hours. Combined with cool evenings, this makes for great sleeping and getting up a little late, 7:30 AM for us. After coffee, we car pooled to the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward. Built from funds from the Exxon Valdez spill, Federal and state grants, and public donations, this center focuses on research, rescue, and education related to northern sea life. It was very well organized, and the exhibits were excellent, with aquarium views of many native fishes, and both aquarium and outside views of several sea birds and a couple of stellar sea lions. After visiting the sea life center, we opted to walk to the harbor area for lunch—can’t get enough halibut—and back to old Seward for a church and store tour. Seward has a great waterfront parking area for RVs to dry camp. When we drove through Sunday evening, it was packed with no vacancies due to the Silver Salmon Derby. Today, there were several vacancies overlooking the beautiful water surrounded by snowcapped mountains. We arrived back at the RV about 3 PM, read email, uploaded more photos to Picasa album, and updated the journal. Tomorrow, we drive to Homer for a 3-day stay.

Our Recommendations for Seward, AK Seward proved to be a great place to spend a couple of days. We both enjoy walking and hiking, and our two favorite things to do were hiking to Exit Glacier from the Visitor Center and walking the entire downtown area, from old Seward to the harbor and back, 3 to 4 miles roundtrip. Also, the Kenai Fjords cruise is worth doing, preferably if it could be done without the salmon bake. The Alaska Sealife Center is highly recommended. Two days is just about right, and we would definitely add Seward to our itinerary for any future visits to Alaska.

Kay’s Take I can’t believe it! It’s 10 p.m. and I would almost say it’s dark! Unbelieveable! Up until this last week, I’ve been reading this late with the natural light available outside. Donald says we’re losing almost 6 min. of light a day. The Alaskans are referring to this ‘time of year as fall’. Very strange indeed. Our guides for the Glacier had to have been 60’s hippies! It was fun listening to their tales of living off the land and back to nature. Now, I suspect they are entrepreneurs and have transitioned from subsistence living to full capitalism! Go figure! That’s what having kids will do for ya. LOL. Our campground is by a river and we look out at the forest and mountains all around us. We’re in the Kenai Fjords area and it’s beautiful. Love the mountains and the water/bays. We’re heading to Homer tomorrow and I suspect it is going to be the most beautiful yet. Haven’t worn warm weather clothing since Tok. I’m going halibut fishing with the ‘boys’ from the caravan this Friday. I’ll be entering the Halibut Derby too. Wish me luck! Hehehehe!
Haven’t been salmon fishing yet – don’t like ‘line-ups’. You can’t believe it til you see it! We probably messed up by not arranging a fly-out fishing trip earlier; that’s probably the only way to miss the crowds. These folks are serious about their salmon fishing.

Campground Stoney Creek RV Park was a pleasant surprise. The sites were large enough to comfortably accommodate the Saturn as well as the RV. The 30-amp electricity was sufficient, though it could be better. Water and sewer were OK, and we received all major networks via cable. Wi-fi did not work at our site, but the RV park had a large room with tables and chairs with excellent wi-fi, open 24 hours a day. The laundry was small, and a bit expensive; neither of us used the showers or restrooms. We would not hesitate to stay here again.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 13,990.0
Beginning Time: 1:00 PM Alaska DST
Ending Mileage: 14,112.5
Ending Time: 4:00 PM Alaska DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 122.5
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 4,721.0

Best Views of Mount McKinley Yet (Tuesday, August 4, 2009) We awoke to very strong winds. Our schedule called for us to depart the campground by 8 AM, so we had to hustle to get everything ready to travel—put things away inside the motorhome, take the windshield cover off, dump the black and gray tanks, unhook from water, and unplug from electricity. We departed about 7:45 AM, and drove through Nenana Canyon area with wind warnings. About an hour down the road, Mount McKinley came into view, and we were blessed with clear weather once again. We made several stops, including the Alaska Veterans Memorial Park, for still closer views.

However, the best views came at the South Entrance to Denali State Park, where I shot photos from many different angles. We had planned to stop in Wasilla for food and gasoline, but the opportunity didn’t present itself (Note: during the last election, we were led to believe that Wasilla, home of Sarah Palin, was a small suburb of Anchorage. Actually, it is quite large, both in geographic size and in its commercial development. Also, despite her being a very popular governor, a good number of people of Alaska were deeply offended when she resigned, believing she should have served her entire 4 year term.) We drove on to Eagle just north of Anchorage at Fred Meyers, and filled up with gasoline, got food from the deli, and Kay got a haircut. It began raining before we left the parking lot, and we drove the last 30 minutes in the rain, arriving at Golden Nugget Camper Park at 4 PM. Everything we had heard over the internet about the hostess was true; she was not a real “people” person, yelling at several of us to get out of the way (when a caravan of 18 RVs arrives about the same time, in the rain, and there’s only two places to park before getting an assigned slot, it gets kind of crowded). I unhooked the Saturn, found the assigned spot, and set up in the rain. We stayed in the rest of the evening.

Day 2 in Anchorage, AK (Wednesday) As has become the norm for large towns/cities, we started the day in Anchorage with a city tour. Included was a visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. It was still raining, but we saw exhibits inside, and a couple of great demonstrations of native games, and native dancing; Kay saw a couple of the exhibits outside and indicated they were very good. (Note: the natives in Alaska, and Canada as well, seem to be very happy people, and quite comfortable in today’s culture.) Our visit to the Heritage Center was followed by a stop at the Ulu Knife Factory, then the Anchorage Visitor Center, then the RV Park. For the evening, we ate at Sourdough Mining Company, enjoying another family style dinner, followed by Dusty Sourdough singing and telling stories at an adjoining tent theater.

Day 3 in Anchorage, AK (Thursday) This morning saw us visiting the Anchorage Museum at Rasmussen Center. Though still under construction, the Alaska Gallery, an exhibit on the history of Alaska, was great, and the docent who led the tour was the best either of us had ever seen. The art annex was good as well. After returning to the campground for a brief stop, we drove south with the intent of taking the tram to the top of the mountain at Alyeska, Anchorage’s ski resort. Regrettably, an accident on the Seward Highway closed the highway for several hours, forcing us to cancel plans for the day. (The accident involved 4 automobiles, killing two, and injuring several others. Some guy tried passing 4 vehicles, and didn’t quite make it, hitting a small car with 3 teenagers head on, killing two of them; the guy who hit them had only minor injuries.) That put a damper on the rest of the day. The sun did come out, though, and we saw a rainbow late in the evening.

Day 4 in Anchorage, AK (Friday) This was catch up day. We departed the campground at 9 AM, headed to Alyeska, where we caught the tram to the top of the mountain. Shrouded in clouds, we were unable to see what is normally an extraordinary view. We ate a quick lunch, and walked around a short time before heading back down the mountain. Our next stop was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where orphaned or injured wild animals are kept in an open air environment. We drove through the area a couple of times; stopping to take photos each time. We continued driving south to the Portage area and took a 45-minute cruise to the Portage Glacier—glaciers are always amazing to us, and especially interesting are those at water’s edge. The ice blue color is almost hypnotic. While we were adjacent to the glacier, a small chunk of ice about the size of a car broke off, and we got to see it hit the water. On our return to Anchorage, we stopped at Bird Creek to witness combat fishing for salmon. I had intended to fish for salmon, but just couldn’t bring myself to stand side by side and snag fish. We also stopped at Beluga Point in an attempt to spot whales, but the tide was out, and all we saw was a big mud flat. Tomorrow, Kay will take the Saturn in for servicing, and make a mandatory visit to the Saturday Alaska market downtown.

Day 5 in Anchorage, AK (Saturday) Today was work day. Kay took the Saturn into town for servicing while I washed clothes and reorganized the motorhome’s large outside storage compartment. We downloaded photos and videos after lunch, shopped at Sam’s Club, and attended a potluck hamburger/hot dog cookout at the campground. Tomorrow, we visit Anchorage Independent Baptist Church and drive to Seward.

Our Recommendations for Anchorage and Vicinity, AK We’ll make this quick: Alaska Native Heritage Center, Rasmussen Anchorage Museum, Alyeska Resort (if weather permits hiking and photography) in the Portage area, and the Portage Glacier Cruise. We didn’t spend enough time in the Portage area; there are many trails and lots of photo ops, and staying at the Chugach National Forest Williwaw campground would allow one to do these things. We are biased, however, and prefer forested campgrounds. Neither of us has a desire to visit Anchorage again, but it is definitely worth seeing once. However, be aware that there is little available parking in the downtown area.

Kay’s Take Everybody was kind of excited to be in a ‘big’ town again. Not that we really needed to shop, but it’s comforting to know you could if you wanted to! LOL I guess it’s a gal thing. I especially liked the Alaska Native Heritage Center. It was the most well done and planned center we’ve seen. Young people were being taught their native culture by elders with craft skills, etc.; they were also being junior docents – as speakers about their culture in the outside demonstration areas. They seemed proud of what their ancestors had accomplished with what was available to survive and they were carrying on the history by being involved in preserving the stories and passing them on. The docent (an older woman – possibly a retired teacher, don’t know) at the Alaska Museum was the most knowledgeable about Alaskan history and native culture I have ever heard. She would have been wonderful to have a dvd of. The Chugach National Forest is beautiful with huge mountains, glaciers, ice fields, and the Turnigan Arm. The Seward Highway runs right along the shore. I was amazed to see a boat high and dry in the mud flats when the tide was out yesterday on our drive back to Anchorage. I guess they ‘tarried’ too long. We think the high tide will be mid-day on Sunday so I’ll definitely be looking for ‘whales’ as we drive down to Seward. I’m getting ‘geared up’ for a halibut fishing trip in Homer in several days! Oh, yes, one couple in our caravan was involved in a wreck today in their tow vehicle and it may be ‘totaled’. The man is sore and the wife may have cracked a rib.

The accident was their fault; not being familiar with the roads, he was looking at road signs and missed the red light. It could happen to any of us! The Milepost publication has been so helpful in knowing where to pull over; where fuel is, etc. Anyone ever thinking of coming to Alaska must have a Milepost – It’s essential! I’m somewhat hungry for news from friends, etc. E-mail us and let us know what’s going on with you.

Campground Golden Nugget Camper Park is OK as there are no better options in Anchorage. The sites are tight, the 30-amp electricity is marginal, wi-fi did not work at our site, and the manager is a very disagreeable person, just like everyone says on the internet who has stayed here. They do have a soup-type meal each evening with pretty decent entertainment. If we ever make the trip again, we would opt to stay at the Chugach National Forest campground near Portage. It is dry camping, but has paved roads and paved sites, many with breathtaking views.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 13,742.8
Beginning Time: 7:45 AM Alaska DST
Ending Mileage: 13,990.0
Ending Time: 4:00 PM Alaska DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 247.2
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 4,598.5

Getting out of the Smoke (Saturday, August 1, 2009) While we were anxious to visit Denali National Park, we were more looking forward to getting out of the wildfire smoke that had plagued us the last several days. Departing about 7:30 AM, we began driving south for the first time since leaving home June 25, and the further we drove, the worse the smoke.

We stopped in a small town, Nenana, named after the river that courses on the eastern border of Denali National Park. Nenana is famous for their ice break-up, and the person with the correct date and time wins over $100,000. Of course, Kay applied all of her science and math knowledge, and forked over $2.50 for a guess. The time and date are determined by tipping of a large tripod-looking device in the water, connected to a date and time clock. What will we do with the extra money? Back to the wildfires, Nenana had fires on two sides, and both were closing in. One had jumped the river, so we high-tailed it out of there heading south, and finally got out of the smoke about 75 miles south of Fairbanks. We arrived at the RV park too early, so drove to Denali National Park for a visit to the Visitor Center, and took a short ranger-led hike. Ranger Robb was very, very talkative, and was great for children; let’s leave it at that. We returned to the RV park, set up, and prepared for Day 2. A temperature check at midnight showed 37 degrees!

Day 2 in Denali National Park, AK (Sunday) We should have gone to church today, but both of us forgot it was Sunday. It’s hard to keep up with the days when traveling like this and we usually travel on Sunday! We got a late start, and opted to drive as far as private vehicles are allowed in the park, and hike a short trail at Savage River. On the way, we got our first glimpse of Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America. It was awesome, and some 75 miles distant. After several photos from along the road, we finally reached the turn-around at Savage River, and began our hike. Immediately, we spotted a ptarmigan along the river bank. A little further, we saw skim ice in a side channel, a sign that fall has come to Denali National Park; it was reportedly 20 degrees at Eielson Visitor Center and we noticed some trees and shrubs taking on fall colors! We crossed the Savage River at the end of the trail, climbed a few feet for a better view, and began the return hike. We saw several ground squirrels, a bunch of ptarmigan, mew gulls, and another somewhat rare bird.

The afternoon saw us doing some T-shirt and sweatshirt shopping, returning to the motor home to get ready for a dinner theater engagement. Our caravan members attended Cabin Nite”, which included all-you-can-eat salad, ribs, potatoes, corn, beans, biscuits, salmon, berry cobbler, and coffee and tea. The meal was served family-style, and when your table ran out of something, everyone waved their checkered napkins and yelled for the waiter—kind of corny, but OK. The food was good. Following the meal, the servers put on a great show of storytelling and singing. It was our favorite of the three we’ve seen thus far.

Day 3 in Denali National Park, AK (Monday) Several titles of this paragraph came to mind, but the one I kept coming back to was “What A Day for A Daydream”. This was the best day of the trip so far, and it will be difficult for any other day to surpass it—it wasn’t a daydream, but a dream come true! We upgraded our bus trip into Denali National Park to add 19 miles, making a total of 85 miles one way, 5 miles short of the end of the road. We arose early, left the RV park at about 6 AM, and caught the bus at 6:45 AM; about half our caravaners upgraded. There’s only one road into the park; the first 15 miles are paved (to Savage River). Just after departing the “bus stop” at the Wilderness Activities Center, our driver spotted a large bull moose on the passenger side of the bus. The driver cut the engine, and bade everyone to be quiet so as not to disturb the animal. We all moved to the passenger side and took photos. This was a sampling of the whole day. Mount McKinley came into view about 6 miles into the trip, and we saw the “big one” intermittently the rest of the day. (The left peak is the south peak and the tallest at 20,320 feet. The north peak is on the right and a few hundred feet shorter at 19,470 feet.)

As we continued the bus ride, we saw our first grizzly of the day. Then, we saw a wolf on the road in front of us. Our driver said that it was extremely rare to see a wolf during a Denali National Park visit. As we round a corner, Mount McKinley again came into view, and almost took our breath away, literally. It is beyond our ability to describe the scene.

Further along the road, we viewed Polychrome Basin, and again were almost breathless at having seen the widest expanse of landscape and openness, either of us had ever seen.

Our stop at Eielson Visitor Center (mile 66) offered the best view of Mount McKinley for the day, and an opportunity to eat a quick lunch. (We thought of our friend, Joey, and the photo he took of Mount McKinley some 30 years ago on his hiking trip here.) The upgrade took us from the Visitor Center to Wonder Lake (mile 85), where most magazine photos of Mount McKinley are taken. Unfortunately for us, smoke from the wildfires completely obliterated the view of the north side of the mountain. We saw several caribou on the way out, and a grizzly up high, and our best view of a wolf, but were so awed by the morning’s views that all we saw in the afternoon was anticlimactic. Statistically, Mount McKinley is visible only about 20% of the time; we had a great view. We saw the Big Three in Denali animals: bear, moose, and wolves. It is doubtful that this day can ever be replicated, but we’ll keep on trying!

Our Recommendations for Denali National Park, AK We didn’t spend enough time in Denali National Park; none of the RV parks could accommodate our caravan schedule for even an additional day. We disagree on how much bus riding to do. We would buy a 3-day pass and ride the bus all three days; for Kay, one day was enough. We would like to dry camp in the park at Teklanika River Campground (mile 29) for several days (it’s dry camping, no tow cars, and you can only make one trip in with your RV and one trip out)—but you’re on foot or shuttle bus! Both of us would have liked to hike more; however, there are only a few marked trails in Denali National Park—most hiking is done in open country. We both enjoyed the Cabin Nite dinner theater, but probably wouldn’t do it again because of the expense, though we would like to have eaten out at least one time.

Kay’s Take Several of our fellow RVers added a river raft trip on the Nenana River. They did wear wet suits and didn’t paddle/row any. It was supposed to be class 4 rapids, but most said it was calmer than that. They did say the water was really cold! I would probably like that but on a warmer river!! One other couple took a flight-seeing tour of Mount McKinley and said it was fabulous. I wish we had had time to do that; I would have liked to see the mountain and park from the air. I loved the views of Mount McKinley that we saw today. I felt like giving a standing ovation with my first clear sight of Mount McKinley. It’s enormous and magnificent. The animals in this park are magnificent too. I really like how we were the ‘strangers/interlopers’ on this park trip; we couldn’t hang out the bus windows to take pictures; we had to whisper or not talk at all in order not to disturb the animals. It was a major push TO DO NO HARM. Maybe that’s why this park is so natural – it hasn’t been tainted much by mankind. Watching a bull moose munch on brush and stop and look you in the eye, is pretty special. It reminded me of my ‘place’ in the grand scheme of things; and it’s not as high as I like to think. A good humbling experience we all need every once in awhile. Today was a glorious day – cold at the start, clear, blue skies, warming into the afternoon. We had a really good bus driver who spotted animals well. It was a blessing to see the mountain on a clear day. Several people in our group have been to Denali before and they all said this was the best and clearest view they had ever seen. How lucky is that? Only 20% of visitors ever see a clear view of Mount McKinley. Thank you, Lord!! What a glorious day.

Campground Denali RV Park and Motel is a decent park with full hook-ups—30 amp electricity, water, sewer, cable, and wi-fi. We did not use the laundry or the showers. Our site was a back-in site which was OK since we had to unhook the Saturn anyway. As with all the parks recently, dust was a problem, and it seeps in every nook and cranny. The RV park was too far from Denali to be convenient, but there are few good choices. We would dry camp in Denali National Park at either Riley Creek or Teklanika, if given the choice.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 13,602.7
Beginning Time: 7:30 AM Alaska DST
Ending Mileage: 13,742.8
Ending Time: 4:00 PM Alaska

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 140.1
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 4,351.3

Lots to See (Sunday, July 26, 2009) After finishing the breakfast won the evening before in the Pancake Toss, I completed the exterior part of breaking camp, i.e. removing and storing the water hose and removing and storing the electrical cord, allowing us to leave by about 8:15 AM.  Kay drove the first portion of the day, with stops for moose along the road. We saw several cow/calf pairs, and a couple of singles. The snowcapped mountains of the Alaska Range finally came into view shortly after departing Tok. After the first hour and a half, we switched drivers, and stopped at the Delta Meat & Sausage. Kay sampled their wares and bought a small package of reindeer sausage. Another stop followed just up the road at the visitor center at Delta Junction, the official end of the Alaskan Highway. Because of our detour via Top of the World Highway, we have not yet driven all of the Alaskan Highway, but will complete the highway in late August on our return. Rika’s Roadhouse is a must see. We were surprised by the extent of preservation, and quality of displays. I almost bought a $2,000 beaver coat for $150, but Norfork is not cold enough! We stopped again at the Knotty Place, a store featuring carvings and figures made out of burled wood; and free ice cream with a copy of the Milepost. Seeing all the burled wood made us think of our friends and neighbors, Rod and Rita, wood turners who could do magic with the burled wood. Our next stop was to purchase fuel before parking the RV for 6 days in North Pole, a suburb of Fairbanks; we paid $3.059 per gallon.

While waiting for our site assignment at Riverview RV Park, Kay picked up our mail at the office, forwarded by dear friends, Loretta and Wayne. We checked out the park, situated on the banks of the Chena River; it is fishable, but really colored with silt and glacial flour, so maybe we’ll fish somewhere else. A forest fire on 55,000 acres some 25 miles south of Fairbanks resulted in significant smoke in the air, with an almost overcast haze clouding the sun. Caravan members boarded a bus for an evening engagement at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks where we were treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet of grilled salmon, fried halibut, fried ling cod, roasted prime rib, salads, desserts, and drinks at the Alaska Salmon Bake. Seating was both indoors and out, and the food was great! Kay tried all the meats, while I only tried the fish. Excellent! After dinner, we adjourned to the theater for a song and dance comedy telling the story of the founding of Fairbanks. It was quite entertaining, but a little long—definitely worth seeing, though. With full stomachs, we returned to the RV park for some R & R. Oh, by the way, the sun set at 11:22 PM.

Day 2 in Fairbanks, AK (Monday) Another action packed day awaited! The morning began early with Kay making calls to take care of business. The emergency warning system on our auxiliary brake quit working several weeks ago, and Kay returned it to BrakeBuddy while we were in Great Falls. They were to repair it and send it to us here in North Pole, but it wasn’t among the mail she picked up yesterday at the RV park office. A call to them revealed it had been sent via UPS—this will require further action. Our air card wasn’t working, and Kay spent many minutes, if not hours, on the phone with Verizon to troubleshoot the problem; no such luck. Also, my CPAP mask broke during the night, and Kay made some calls to find the number of the supplier in Mountain Home; I called them and they cannot get it to North Pole before we leave—this will require further action, too. So, three calls were made, with no success.

We boarded the bus with the rest of the caravaners at 8:30 AM for a trip to the Ice Palace. This was awesome! Both the video and carvings were incredible. The young Japanese man who ran the place did a small demonstration carving while we were there. If you’re ever in the area, you’ve got to see this. Fairbanks has become the ice carving capital of the world, and has a big show in March every year.

A brief trip was then made to the visitors’ center, fast food lunch on our own, and a visit to the University of Alaska Museum of the North where exhibits focused on the cultures, wildlife, geography, and history of Alaska’s five regions. Included were the largest public display of gold in Alaska, a mummified Ice Age steppe bison mummy, historical artifacts, and historical paintings. The University of Alaska Fairbanks sits on a hill overlooking Fairbanks, and smoke from the immediate area of the forest fire was readily visible.

Upon returning to our site, Kay received a voice mail advising that the emergency warning system had already been sent and was received here at the RV park on July 20th—more to do, but getting closer, and I repaired the CPAP mask with superglue. This limited success called for Kay to do a shopping trip to Walmart!

Day 3 in Fairbanks, AK (Tuesday) No activities were scheduled this morning, so we got to sleep a little later than usual, then I continued trying to obtain another CPAP mask via mail. Dealing with med suppliers and insurance companies while on the road is a laborious process, and they are extremely rigid. I offered to pay to have a mask expressed shipped to us, but United Medical absolutely will not ship other than via ground. Consequently, I may or may not get this much needed mask in Anchorage.

We boarded the bus at 11 AM for lunch at the Pump House, a National Historic Landmark facility in Fairbanks. It was used to pump water from the Chena River over the mountain for hydraulic gold mining of the area. The food was better than average. After lunch, it was off to the Riverboat Discovery II for a cruise on the Chena River to its outlet in the much larger Tanana River. The cruise featured several neat activities. First, a float plane took off and landed adjacent to the boat. Next, we stopped by Susan Bucher’s kennels for a presentation on sled dogs. Susan Bucher was an Iditarod winner 4 times. She died from leukemia a couple of years ago at the young age of 55. Her husband talked to us, and with the help of two assistants, gave a demonstration of sled dog racing using a 4 wheeler, absent the motor. The dogs were eager to run, but very well mannered, and were incredibly fast! We thought of our friends and Quetico guides, Harry and Mary, who race sled dogs in the winter. We were both surprised to learn that the breed of dogs used is Alaskan Husky, which we didn’t know existed, rather than Siberian Husky.

We were also surprised to learn that while river lots are valued at about $100,000, and houses at $150 per square foot, the most expensive house in Fairbanks will cap at $750,000, because the market will only support a maximum of that value, regardless of square footage, etc.

The riverboat continued to the silt-laden Tanana River, turned around, and began its return journey. We stopped at an Athabascan (First Nation) village, where we were joined by the Riverboat Discovery III, a sister ship, for demonstrations related to their culture, daily life, animals, etc. (As an aside, the Discovery riverboat company uses only Alaska natives, though not necessarily First Nation, and most are in college at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.) The young interpreters were very good. Most of the visitors liked the reindeer best—the difference between a reindeer and caribou is that the reindeer is domesticated—and several were in a pen. Also noteworthy was the fish processing area where fish were filleted, dried, and smoked, and the clothing area where original Athabascan jackets were modeled.

Day 3 in Fairbanks, AK (Wednesday) The last of our planned activities didn’t begin until after lunch—a tour of the Eldorado Gold Mine and a site visit to the Alaska Pipeline. Surprisingly, the air was free of smoke for the first time since arriving in Fairbanks. Richard Raikes, the caravan tail gunner, and I spent a good portion of the morning repairing the potable water inlet for another motorhome in the caravan. Seems like the inlet hose was higher than the tank, and filling was difficult, if not impossible. They took the top of the bed apart to access the area, and straightened the hose as much as possible. Also, the bathroom door would not shut, so they moved the striker plate. One of the neat things about a caravan is people helping people.

Our bus departed at 1:30 PM and almost made it out of the park before the engine stalled. We waited awhile, de-boarded the bus, waited awhile, opted to carpool, were called back to wait on another bus, and finally boarded an operable bus. (As a side note, all of our activities in and around Fairbanks included bus transportation.) Our first stop was at the Eldorado Gold Mine. We caught a hokey open-air train, and listened to an announcer play guitar and sing old country western songs. He was a good enough singer, but pretty annoying when we were trying to have a conversation. The train made several stops to view demonstrations of various gold mining techniques, including a permafrost tunnel. Upon arriving at the actual mine site, we saw a demonstration of a long sluice and trough, and were given a bag of “gold laden” material, led to troughs of water, and allowed to pan for gold. Once you get the hang of it, it’s not that difficult. We both managed to pan a total of $16.50 worth of gold flakes, which Kay promptly had made into a drop for her necklace. Panning for gold was fun! We were then off to view the Alaska Pipeline. Our brother-in-law, Gerald, was one of the workers who helped build the pipeline, and we thought of him as we viewed this engineering wonder. It’s not as big as we thought, being only 4 feet in diameter, but delivers a million barrels a day.

Tomorrow, 10 members of our caravan have opted to fly to Barrow, AK, most northern city in North America, where the sun doesn’t set for 84 days. We will stay behind, and enjoy a day of exploring.

Day 4 in Fairbanks, AK (Thursday) We awoke to heavy smoke from the forest fires south of Fairbanks, and decided to stay close to smoke-free air. We had planned to hike around the Creamery, a sandhill crane sanctuary, but the smoke was prohibitive. We took a couple of photos of cranes, and drove to Walmart to shop for souvenirs, the same place where most of the tourist attractions buy theirs, then we each had a great charcoal-grilled chili cheeseburger at Carl Jr’s, reminiscent of the ones served at Minute Man in Arkansas. We had planned to drive from there to Chena Hot Springs, but the smoke was so bad we opted to wait a few hours. Driving back to the RV park, we saw two moose in a marsh along a back road.

The rest of the afternoon was spent loading photos on Picasa Web Album.

About 6 PM we drove towards Chena Hot Springs. The road follows the Chena River for a good portion of the way; the river in this area is clear and has lots of riffles. We saw several moose along the way to the hot springs and back.

Day 5 in Fairbanks, AK (Friday) We both awoke with some congestion from the smoke, and several members of our caravan were having breathing problems. This was our last full day in Fairbanks. Because of our “slack” time yesterday, I had begun to have second thoughts about the area, but upon reviewing the photos, decided it was indeed a great place to visit, with lots of activities. Of course, smoke from the forest fires decidedly impacted our ability to hike. The smoke today was not as bad as yesterday, but still prohibitive to be outside. Two couples from the caravan traveled to the Arctic Circle yesterday. (300 miles round trip) One returned safely after 12 hrs. One returned at 6 AM (20 hrs.), having had two flats, a huge tow bill, and an unexpected cab ride. Neither couple saw wildlife. The caravan members who went to Barrow returned tired from the long flights—3 hours each way; most said they were glad they did it, but would not do it again. They went in two planes to Barrow on the Arctic Ocean. One of the planes had a fuel pump problem and had to turn back for service. Both turned back to stay together. The six hour trip turned into a 10 hr. trip. We saved $1400 by opting not to go. We prefer to spend our money on fishing or bear viewing. The caravan had a cookout at 6 PM and we both assisted. The rest of the evening was spent preparing for travel tomorrow, and wrapping up this portion of the journal.

Our Recommendations for Fairbanks, AK On the road between Tok and Fairbanks, Rika’s Roadhouse is an absolute must. We both enjoyed it immensely and spent considerable time there. Fairbanks offers many activities for the tourist. One of our favorites was the Alaska Salmon Bake at Pioneer Park. We really liked the Ice Palace—a definite must do. The Riverboat Discovery II cruise and Eldorado Gold Mine tour were great—we would do both again. The Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is also a must do. We both enjoyed viewing the pipeline. If environmental conditions (weather, smoke, etc.) permitted, there are several good walking and hiking trails in the area. A day exploring and fishing in the Chena River Recreation Area would definitely be worthwhile, and we’re sorry we couldn’t do this because of the smoke.

Campground Riverview RV Park is a decent park, and had good 30 amp electricity, water, sewer, cable, and wi-fi. The laundry was OK, but the showers were a little lacking. The pull-thru sites were large. Dust was a problem, but this is a semi-arid area, and smoke was really bad the last two days. This is probably one of the best RV parks in Fairbanks.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 13,401.5
Beginning Time: 7:15 AM Alaska DST
Ending Mileage: 13,602.7
Ending Time: 2:30 PM Alaska DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 201.2
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 4,211.2

Civilization, Finally (Friday, July 24, 2009) Departing Chicken, AK, at 8 AM, we got back on gravel, and finally hit some pavement about 5 miles towards Tok (sounds like Coke). The 80+ mile drive was on pavement interspersed with gravel, but no washboards.

We stopped a couple of times to take pictures, as the snow-capped mountains finally started appearing. We arrived in Tok about 12 noon, and thought we were in a large city; even our cell phones worked again. The highways were smooth and wide. A free DIY RV wash was included with our fill-up of cheap gasoline ($3.239 per gallon), and we sprayed and brushed the RV and Saturn several times to remove the dust and mud. We were fortunate as we had no significant damage to the Saturn thanks to the Protect-A-Tow; others in the caravan were less fortunate and require new paint jobs and windshields! Upon arriving at the RV park, we toweled both the RV and Saturn with microfiber towels, removing more grime, vacuumed and washed all the compartments in the motorhome, cleaned it on the inside, and vacuumed the Saturn. Famished for lunch, we ate out one of the few times on the trip. Kay washed clothes while I read email and sent out the latest journal entry. We were so glad to be back in civilization. After getting everything clean, including ourselves, we relaxed a bit, went to another restaurant (Fast Eddie’s) for a great dinner with Richard and Virginia Raikes, our tail gunner team. The Raikes are a great, unpretentious couple from West Virginia who have RV’d extensively; this is their 4th trip to Alaska. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on the road just before arriving in Great Falls, MT. They are a Christian couple, and among many other things, add calmness and stability to the caravan; we couldn’t do without them. Upon returning to the RV park, we lined up for the pancake toss. The object is to throw a pancake into a 5-gallon bucket from about 15 feet; one gets two tries and a bucketed pancake gets you a free breakfast. Neither of us was successful! Another game played is for wives to attempt to throw a pancake in a bucket husbands hold on top of their heads. This was pretty hilarious. Our wagon master and his wife competed, but didn’t win.

Day 2 in Tok, AK (Saturday) Despite not winning the pancake toss, breakfast was included in our caravan package and featured, of course, all-you-can-eat pancakes, fruit, juice, coffee, biscuits, gravy, pork sausage, and reindeer sausage. The reindeer sausage was like smoked sausage, but somewhat spicy, and very tasty. After breakfast, we made several phone calls, and did a driving tour of Tok. We were so glad to be in Tok after the Yukon Territory and Chicken, but in reality, there’s just not much in Tok beyond several gas stations, a small grocery store, a few gift shops, and a visitor center, and we were able to stop at them all! In the afternoon, the caravan “visited” Mukluk Land, an amusement park. It is really nothing more than a junk yard. They did include skeeball, and Kay was the big winner of the whole caravan, winning a ballpoint pen. After a brief rest, caravan members went out to dinner at the same great restaurant where we ate the evening before. We rushed back to the campground to try our hand at the pancake toss (we didn’t really rush). Kay came close, and I won a free breakfast on his first toss, winning a miniature pancake as a token for breakfast. Tomorrow, we drive to Fairbanks for a 6-day stay.

Our Recommendations for Tok, AK When in Tok, eat at Fast Eddie’s. It is a great restaurant, a bit expensive, but offers huge proportions. The halibut is great. Arriving in mid-afternoon or before, a night in Tok is sufficient before heading to Fairbanks, some 200 miles down the road. Mukluk Land is not worth the time to visit, let alone any entrance charge!

Kay’s Take Donald forgot to mention that we ordered an appetizer of fried mushrooms after seeing a sample at another table. There were four of us and we could only eat half of the plate. It was a platter and it was filled and piled high with fried mushrooms. They were lightly battered and delicious! We have eaten halibut three times in the past two days and it is wonderful! I’ve decided to go halibut fishing with a gang from our group out of Valdez, I think. I hope to bring back some of my catch! Back to the pancake toss at the RV campground.

The funniest part was after the regular, open toss the leader asked for two volunteer couples. The husbands held the buckets on top of their heads (they could bend over still holding the bucket and also move their heads R or L) while the wives tried to toss a pile of pancakes into the buckets. It was a hoot! The crowd laughed and cheered, hooted and hollered! We go to bed at ‘night’ and it’s as light at 11:00 p.m. as it is at home at 7:00 p.m. I’m gonna take a picture to post of when we go to bed. It’s never really dark; it just gets dim light like dusk for a few hours. I like this park really well – very clean restrooms; reasonable rates for laundry use, and a nice area for group meetings/picnics/pancake toss and/or ice cream and pie. Speaking of pie, for desert tonight I ordered a special fruit pie that had raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, apples, and rhubarb in it. It was wonderful! Yeah, I know – miles to walk that off!!! We haven’t hiked any the past few days; maybe we’ll have some time in Fairbanks.

Campground Sourdough RV Park and Campground was the nicest in which we have stayed for a couple of weeks. It has consistent 30 amp electricity, good water, sewer, and wi-fi at the office. The pull-thru sites are among trees with plenty of space in between. The campground food is expensive, but there are alternatives such as Fast Eddie’s. They do have a small, but good, gift shop. We’d definitely stay here again.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 13,321.1
Beginning Time: 8:00 AM Alaska DST
Ending Mileage: 13,401.5
Ending Time: 12:30 PM Alaska DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 80.4
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 4,010.0

Top of the World Highway (Thursday, July 23, 2009) We have heard war stories about traveling the Top of the World Highway. They are true! We crossed the Yukon River via ferry at Dawson City right after breaking camp at 6:15 AM, traveling on the Top of the World Highway. It began innocent enough, alternately changing from pavement to good gravel to pavement, etc., with sure enough “top of the world” views. Then, it became gravel, followed by washboard gravel. In some places we drove between 5 to10 mph. Kay handled the height, without guard rails, really well, trooper that she is. I was white knuckled every time we hit an unsuspecting wash-boarded stretch. Finally, as we neared the Canada-US border, the road changed to good pavement for several miles, and we reached the pinnacle of the highway about a mile from the border. We crossed without fanfare, with only a few questions and a passport check by the US Border Patrol. Then, the road got really bad. The US/Alaska maintenance doesn’t quite match Canada/Yukon Territory maintenance. In several places, the road was only a single lane, and one didn’t dare get off the shoulder for fear of tipping over. We finally reached Chicken, AK, at 12:30 PM, Alaska time (one hour earlier than Pacific time), traveling 110 miles in 7+ hours, where we set up for the night at Chicken Creek RV Park.
Back in the USA Even though I’m of partial French Canadian ancestry (my mother’s maiden name was Malott); we’re so glad to be back in the US where the language is English only; no French. Of course, we’re moving in the direction of Canada with the inclusion of Spanish on all of our packaging, signage, etc. Will our road signs be next?
Beautiful Downtown Chicken, AK It was a great feeling to be back in the US, despite the friendliness of Canadians. We met with the other caravaners at 2 PM and toured the old town of Chicken, established in the late 1800s, when a major gold discovery was made on Chicken Creek.
Many of the original buildings are still standing, including the schoolhouse made famous by the book, Tisha, about Anne Purdy’s life teaching there in 1927.
Rain, Again After the tour of Chicken, we napped for an hour or so, and woke up to a few rain drops on top of the motorhome. The intensity increased and we had a steady downpour for about an hour and a half. This was a welcome rain as the roads and RV parking sites were dry and dusty; an added benefit was removal of mud and dust from the Saturn. Our caravaners enjoyed a Welcome to Alaska dinner prepared by our wagon master’s wife, Jean Potteiger, featuring chicken tetrazzini, green beans, and strawberries, pound cake, and whipped topping. The meal was excellent! After dinner, we walked to the other RV park in Chicken, Goldpanner Gift Shop and RV Park, watching folks pan for gold, walking past the Pedro Dredge, and perusing the gift shop. Tomorrow, it’s back to real pavement and civilization as we travel to Tok, Alaska, for or a couple of days.
Our Recommendations for Chicken, AK Everyone should visit Chicken at least once; enough said!
I was glad to have traveled the Top of the World Highway, and would “probably” do it again, despite the wear and tear on the motorhome. Kay, on the other hand, said once was enough, and, “Never again.” It is not for the faint of heart, and one should be prepared for very rough roads and driving conditions.
Kay’s Take The Top of the World Highway was much overrated in my humble opinion. You are traveling in wilderness over the tops of a beautiful mountain range, but the condition of the roads is horrible. We may have had decent paved/dirt roads for a total of 10 miles of the 110 miles we traveled. It kind of reminded me of Push Mtn. Road back home but much higher! I think it’s a man-thing: conquer/traverse the Top of the World Highway when you go to Alaska. No sane woman would take a vehicle, much less a motorhome on such a road! I think every bone in our bodies rattled and I’m majorly surprised that every screw holding our motorhome together held up under that beating. One of the big rigs had a flat tire on the trailer that he was towing his car on behind the RV. We think he ruined the tire driving on it as a flat the last few miles before arriving at Chicken. I would never drive this road again! Brutal, would be an understatement!
Campground Chicken Creek RV Park was a gravel lot, with 20 and 30 amp electric only sites. It really didn’t matter as the voltage was too low to safely operate most RV appliances. Wi-fi was advertised, but not working! It’s only half-step above dry camping.
Driving Statistics

Beginning Mileage: 13,211.5
Beginning Time: 6:15 AM PDST
Ending Mileage: 13,321.1
Ending Time: 12:30 PM Alaska DST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 109.6
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 3,929.6

Much Ado About the Roads (Sunday, July 19, 2009) There were two caravans staying at Pioneer RV Park at the same time, both were traveling the same route today, and the other caravan was departing this morning at 7 AM. Consequently, we departed early to buy gasoline and get ahead of the crowd—it was a mistake. First, no gasoline stations were open before 7 AM, and second, most of the other RVers were in a much bigger hurry than us, and most passed us on this leg. This was a long leg, some 334 miles, and much to our surprise, several miles of washboard gravel. Of course, there were frost heaves, but they were insignificant compared to the gravel roads. This was also one of the worst Sundays in which to travel north to Dawson City as Dawson City was wrapping up their very popular music fest, and the traffic heading south were full of folks in a hurry to get back to Whitehorse. Consequently, much gravel was thrown by oncoming traffic. Two windshields in our caravan were damaged by the same oncoming pickup truck. Fortunately for us, we suffered only a tiny scratch in our windshield where that same pickup threw a piece of gravel, bouncing it off our windshield. Quite distressing was being passed ny another RVer—a Fleetwood Southwind, towing a Chevrolet, with Florida handicap license plates—traveling about 60 mph on gravel. He missed our mirrors about 12 inches and threw gravel everywhere. He’s an idiot, and hopefully, we’ll not have to deal with him again; he threatened several other RVs and their passengers by his reckless actions. The Yukon has been a bit of a disappointment for us in terms of animal sitings—we only saw one fox today on the whole way up to Dawson City. We did stop and take a picture at Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River.

As we approached Dawson City, we were amazed by the gold dredging tailings; there were miles and miles of them as high as could be piled. We arrived in Dawson City about 4:30 PM, filled up with expensive gasoline, found our parking spot for the next 4 days, cleaned the inside of the motorhome, rinsed the dust off the Saturn, and had dinner. Kay played cards with some other caravaners, and I went to bed early after a stressful day of driving.

PS: The Frantic Follies last night in Whitehorse were a hoot. We really enjoyed the singing, dancing, story-telling, and funny jokes. We’d definitely do it again.

Dawson City, YT, Day 2 (Monday, July 20, 2009) Dawson City is a unique Klondike town, located at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon Rivers, and retains much of its character with gravel streets and many restored buildings. It has been designated a Parks Canada National Historic Site. Because of the music festival, it was still teeming with young folks, and made more crowded by two RV caravans. Our first stop was at the Dawson City Museum in the old, restored government building. It features artifacts from the post-ice age through the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. After lunch, we visited the Robert Service cabin and heard a great one-hour biographical interpretive program with sketches of Service’s life and recitations of several of his poems; another well-done Parks Canada program!

Next was a visit to Jack London’s cabin which was a bit of a disappointment after the great interpretive program regarding Robert Service. We walked several of the streets of Dawson City, admiring the old buildings, both restored and near dilapidated, returning to the RV Park for a restful evening.

Dawson City, YT, Day 3 (Tuesday, July 21, 2009) Happy birthday, Carma. This morning saw us off to the Danoja Zho Cultural Centre, providing insight into the Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation People. This was an OK trip, and we learned about the customs and culture of this First Nation people, and their integration into European Society brought on by the Klondike Gold Rush. The tour leader, Tish, was the great granddaughter of Chief Isaac, the most respected chief of the Tr’ondek Hwech’in Trof; Tish made bannock bread for sampling, the highlight of this program. After lunch we drove to the Midnight Dome, a high mountain, perfect for viewing Dawson City, the Yukon River, and the surrounding area.

Last evening, we saw people parasailing off this mountain. Bonanza Creek, where most of the gold panning was and still is occurring, was obvious by all the tailings. After descending the Dome, we drove along Bonanza Creek, seeing all the claims, old and new machinery, Dredge No. 4, and current panning operations. Neither of us panned for gold. In the evening, we visited Diamond Tooth Gertie’s saloon, dance hall, and gambling casino, primarily to see the cancan girls. As it turned out, the 30-minute program featured singing by a female playing the role of Gertie and a male counterpart, with the 4 cancan dancers dancing between songs. All were very good; the female singer had a great voice, and the cancan dancers were excellent. Diamond Tooth Gertie’s is owned by the city of Dawson, and leased by the Klondike Visitor’s Association. All proceeds are used to promote the Klondike. It is the oldest casino in the Yukon.

Dawson City, YT, Day 4 (Wednesday, July 22, 2009) Happy birthday, Dick. The men in our group cooked breakfast this morning, with a menu of scrambled eggs, monkey bread, bacon, sausage, and pancakes; I was elected to make and flip blueberry pancakes. It was a fun event, followed by a speaker from the RCMP—a lady officer! She was very informative, telling us of her career, the multitude of responsibilities assigned to the “Mounties”, and stories of their activities in the remote north.

This is our last full day in Dawson City; tomorrow we enter Alaska via the Top of the World Highway, gaining yet another hour since Alaska is on Alaska Daylight Savings Time. Consequently, there is much trepidation because of crossing the Yukon via the ferry, and horror stories about road conditions. Much of the Top of the World Highway is gravel, very high and sinuous, absent guard rails, and has soft shoulders that cause some RVs to tip over. Several of the other RVers are having panic attacks, but we’re pretty much taking things in stride. After seeing RVs disembarking from the ferry, all without towed vehicles attached, we did remove the tow bar from the motorhome to prevent it from dragging and being bent or torn up. Several of the big rigs are leaving tonight to avoid an early morning crossing (they are crossing tonight to get it over with, more than likely). I drive so slow that everyone passes us anyway, so we’ll be among the last to leave.

After readying the motorhome for the expected worst leg yet, most over gravel, we headed downtown to see a short play in the Grand Palace, followed by a film which chronicled the last paddlewheel boat’s (SS Keno) journey down the Yukon from Whitehorse to Dawson. Parks Canada has done a great job in providing interpretive programs in Dawson City, and the city as a whole can be considered a Canadian national historic site.

Our Recommendations for Dawson City, YT Dawson City is one of the neatest towns we’ve ever visited, and is definitely a town for walking. We definitely recommend visiting the Dawson City Museum, and just walking the streets of town. While we didn’t know about it, we would have purchased a 3-event Parks Canada ticket which would have allowed us to do 3 activities for the price of 2. Our 3 would have included a walking tour of the town, a visit to Dredge No. 4, a visit to the old restored Commissioner’s residence, or the short play. As it was, we did not do the walking tour, the dredge visit, or the Commissioner’s residence visit. Also, the Robert Service program was great, and well worth the time. A trip to Midnight Dome is also a must do. We’re glad we came to Dawson City, but having said that, we probably wouldn’t do it again because of the wear and tear on the motorhome and car, but who knows?

Kay’s Take This is a really interesting area and it’s admirable that the community is restoring so many buildings preserving the spirit of the Klondike gold rush and the stories of that era. These folks were definitely independent pioneers to survive winters of 40+ below and summers of high 80’s. One fun event was Tuesday night at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s. This is the only ‘gambling’ hall in the Yukon Territory. The show was excellent—the main madame had a wonderful mezzo soprano voice and the dancers were fantastic. They were better than the dancers with the Rockettes we saw in Branson at Christmas. The young man who played the ‘feller’ had a good voice also. The place was packed during the show – downstairs and upstairs in the balcony. I hit the slot machines as usual and in 30 minutes or less had won $36. We did carry two of our RV ‘neighbors’ from the caravan to the show also. They are traveling without a ‘toad’. Another funny incident: I was waiting on a certain slot machine and began talking to two ladies, one of whom was on the machine I wanted – she was losing pretty quickly. They were fun and asked where I was from after visiting for awhile. Turns out they were from Flippin, AR!! (about 30 min. from us) They were on a land excursion with Holland America after doing the inside passage via cruise ship. What a small world is really is! Go figure! Oh, yes, today is Dick Todd’s birthday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DICK!!

Campground Bonanza Gold RV Park, Dawson Creek, YT, is pretty typical of RV parks in the Yukon—gravel parking pads, with decent electric, water, sewer, cable, and wi-fi, though the wi-fi is sporadic. We opted not to use the showers or bathrooms. I would stay here again, but would first check out Downtown RV Park where everything is within walking distance.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 12,877.6

Beginning Time: 7:00 AM PDST

Ending Mileage: 13,211.5

Ending Time: 4:30 PM PDST

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 333.9

CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 3,820.0

Well On Our Way (Wednesday, July 15, 2009) After a couple of good days in Watson Lake, we departed early Wednesday morning, 7:00 AM, driving towards Whitehorse, YT. Animal sightings were far and few between, with only a black bear being seen. With about an hour left to go before our arrival in Whitehorse, it began raining once again, but quit just before our pulling in to Pioneer RV Park. With decent wi-fi, we immediately read and sent email messages, and I sent updates to the journal. We also had decent cable TV, so caught up on U.S. and world news.

Whitehorse, YT, Day 2 (Thursday, July 16, 2009) A good night’s sleep was had by all, at least us, despite near daylight 24 hours a day. The caravan had a planned activity this morning–a bus tour of the Whitehorse area. We saw Miles Canyon, took a tour of the Klondike II, and drove all of the downtown area. The Klondike II is a retired paddle wheel boat that plied the Yukon River in the 1930s, 1940s, and part of the 1950s. It’s about the length of a football field, and was very interesting.

We also enjoyed the driving tours of Miles Canyon and downtown Whitehorse. Upon returning to the RV park, we had a lunch of leftovers, and headed back into town to take care of some business regarding my late dad’s estate. Despite what we thought was going to be an impossible task, a graphics company printed our MSWord file, the Coldwell-Banker real estate office staff notarized the document, and Kay was able to post it, via airmail, back to the US; we were only charged for the posting!

We were then off to do some walking/hiking on the many trails along the Yukon River, but first finding an interesting open market in one of the many parking lots (their open market was similar to our farmers’ market). The 7+ mile trek along the river just about did us in, with recovery coming only after a mediocre meal at Boston Pizza and an 8-minute hot shower (you have to pay $1.50 for the second and subsequent 8 minutes). Reading and journal writing filled out the rest of the evening.

P.S. It’s almost 10 PM and the sun is shining very brightly! We have to darken the motorhome to assist our sleep systems.

Whitehorse, YT, Day 3 (Friday, July 17, 2009) Our morning started with a boat trip up Schwatka Lake through Miles Canyon. Schwatka Lake was formed when the Yukon River wad dammed at Whitehorse in 1958, for hydropower. The portion of the trip through the very narrow part of the canyon was fascinating because of the rapids, but otherwise, it was just a boat trip on a lake! On our return to the RV park, we stopped by the Beringia Centre, a museum representing part of Russia, Alaska, and Yukon Territory that was not covered with ice in the last Ice Age. Several replicas of mammoth and other large animal skeletons were displayed. Their feature display was a Yukon Horse, actually a preserved Yukon horse skin, leg, etc. that had been recently discovered by a gold miner. This horse supposedly lived some 28,000 years ago. The museum was good, and at least served to educate about the Beringia, but not something we’d readily do again. And, to preserve her youthful appearance, Kay got a color and cut at a local beauty shop, wrapping up the day.

Whitehorse, YT, Day 4 (Saturday, July 18, 2009) Are we ever glad that daylight doesn’t keep us from sleeping. It’s quite interesting to see the sun still in the sky at 11 PM, yet looking outside, no one is moving about. Today is catch-up day for us, seeing all the things we wanted to see, but have somehow missed. We began with a hike guided by staff from the Yukon Conservation Society, taking us from the suspension bridge over the narrow gorge at Schwatka Lake to Canyon City and return.

While waiting in the campground, we saw two foxes, the animal kind, running around the parking lot; neither appeared to be afraid of humans. The hike along the lake was quite interesting as one of our guides was of First Nation origin and told us of uses of many of the plants along the trail. One of the interesting things we learned on the hike is that “ladies” of the evening were referred to as Good Time Girls. Hmmm. After this 5.3 km (about 3.2 miles) hike, we drove to the downtown area of Whitehorse for a guided walking tour. It was a rehash of our bus tour on Thursday, but more detailed. Then it was off to the Transportation Museum of the Yukon. We particularly liked the old trucks and planes from the World War II era. The world’s largest wind vane is on the grounds of the museum, an old DC-3; it is balanced so well that a 2 mph wind will move it. We drove back to the motorhome for some rest, and then we’re off to the Fancy Follies late tonight. Tomorrow, we have a long travel day, some 330 miles, to Dawson City, Yukon Territory.

Our Recommendations for Whitehorse, YT We did a lot of things in Whitehorse, and most were worthwhile. Here’s how we rate them, best to worst. The Klondike II is definitely worth seeing, as was the long Centennial walk/hike. We also enjoyed the hike sponsored by the Yukon Conservation Society. The Yukon Transportation Museum was worthwhile, we feel sure the Fancy Follies will be good, and the downtown guided walking tour was also good. The Beringia Museum was OK, but we wouldn’t do it again. Also, the bus tour was OK, but it’s our opinion the driver/guide seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, and lacked credibility, and we wouldn’t do it again, though we did learn where to go on our own. Also, we wouldn’t do the cruise on Schwatka Lake again.

Kay’s Take I took a chance on a strange beauty shop and hairstylist because I was afraid that I would take the scissors to my own hair! Also the gray was coming back strong. That’s what happens when you have healthy hair and it grows so fast. Back to Whitehorse history. One of the fascinating things we learned was that they decided to restore the paddleboat Klondike and use her as a ‘boat museum’. But, she wasn’t seaworthy any more and a bridge had been built over the river too. How did they move her approx. 3 miles from her current spot to the other side of the bridge at the town park on the river? They moved her down the main street of town using soap (Palmolive, I think) and grease, with skids under her and 4 bulldozers pulling her. It took them 3 days! They had the pictures to prove it. Unbelievable!! They hired some engineers to help them figure a way and the engineers told them it was impossible. What did they know? Hehehehe! The Klondike was almost as long as a football field and going down the street she filled up the entire area to the sidewalks. We’ve had a really good time here and enjoyed most of the activities. My feet are ‘sore’ this afternoon so I’m loafing around before the follies.

Campground Pioneer RV Park, Whitehorse, YT, is not great, but good. It’s slightly better than the average in which we’ve stayed since entering Canada. Our sites have electric, water, sewer, cable, and wi-fi, though the wi-fi is sporadic. It’s a gravel lot, which is OK, but has some pools of water and mud left over from Wednesday’s rain, including where we unhooked our Saturn—thank goodness for Crocs. The shower rooms are adequate, but tend to pool water an inch or more deep because the drains are insufficient.

Driving Statistics

Beginning Mileage: 12,612.4

Beginning Time: 7:00 AM PDST

Ending Mileage: 12,877.6

Ending Time: 3:30 PM PDST

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 265.2

CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 3,751.3

A New Day Yesterday was a tough day, but we always wake up with an optimistic view of the world. Because we have a short travel day today, Monday, we opted to have a big breakfast, and depart a little later in the AM. Finally, we experienced a night with no rain, which made breaking camp much easier. We departed the campground at 9 AM, and stopped for two black bears, a grizzly bear, a fox, Cranberry Rapids Overlook, and near Contact Creek Lodge for gasoline. The roads were much better than yesterday, but we still drove about 45 mph, arriving in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, at 1:30 PM. Over the next couple of days, we will cross between British Columbia and Yukon Territory 5 times. Watson Lake is a nice, but small town. After setting up the motorhome, cleaning it on the inside, and washing the Saturn, we walked to the Sign Forest and Visitor’s Centre. While we had heard and read about the Sign Forest, it boggled our minds with over 66,000 signs. We saw several from Arkansas, but missed Jerry and Ann’s. Our sign goes up tomorrow. The Visitor Centre was informative, with a good slide presentation, good displays, and very useful travel information. We opted to eat out tonight, but finding a decent place to eat in Watson Lake proved challenging. The “hotel” where we ate had a limited selection, but the food was good. Tomorrow, we see the Northern Lights Centre, and have a special speaker.
Watson Lake, Day 2 (Tuesday) Sunlight at 5:30 AM! It’s hard to sleep when the sun is shining so brightly, but we’re not complaining after so much rain. The laundry facilities at this particular campground are much less expensive than just about anywhere we’ve been in the last couple of weeks, so today was laundry day, and as a bonus, good wi-fi is available while sitting in the laundry room. While Kay was doing laundry, I downloaded the bank statement, paid bills, repaired the door on the motorhome, and balanced the checkbook. We’ve just about converted everything to internet banking, so as long as we have access to the internet, we’re OK. After a busy morning, we hiked the 3 km (about 1.8 miles) around Wye Lake, a small lake in Watson Lake. Despite using OFF, the mosquitoes ate us up! We also drove to the historic Watson Lake – Yukon Airport, a key facility during World War II and the building of the Alaskan Highway. While Watson Lake has shopping and other necessities, we’ve begun to realize that we’re in the Yukon Territory.
Kay made crock pot soup overnight, and it made for a good lunch. We met the group at the Northern Lights Centre for two videos in a large dome-shaped theater, one on astronauts, and the other on the northern lights, i.e. aurora borealis. The group adjourned to the Sign Forest where our caravan sign was hung, with our names on it, right about “…the Yukon…” in the center of the sign! The ladies of the caravan decided we should have a cookout this afternoon for dinner, and I volunteered to flip burgers. Side dishes were brought and we had a great time, followed by our travel meeting, and then a guest speaker who had grown up here, operated her own business, and ran the Visitor Centre. She gave us a wonderful, detailed view of life and culture in Watson Lake. High lights of her talk included a discussion of curling, winter weather, and tanning a moose hide. We returned to our coach at 9:30 PM, ready to travel to White Horse tomorrow.
Caravan Adventures The caravan adventure went much smoother this leg, and our campground is excellent. We were able to get in our sites upon arrival, though we did stop for a half hour outside of town waiting for the wagon master to OK proceeding into town.
Our Recommendations for Watson Lake, YT The Visitor’s Centre, Signpost Forest, hike around Wye Lake 1, and Northern Lights Centre were all worthwhile.
Kay’s Take I gave this campground my highest rating! The ladies’ bathroom is immaculate; showers are very nice and wide with seating available! They even supply a hairdryer. Best ones yet. I filled out a Good Sam Evaluation on them and mailed it with some postcards I sent to the kids at the Canadian Post Office near us. We’re having a hamburger grill/potluck tonight at the campground along with a speaker from the area. We’re heading to Whitehorse tomorrow and will stay there a few days. Then we will head north to Dawson City, the famous gold rush city in the Yukon. We’ll be there a few days; drive to Chicken, Alaska and we’ll be in Alaska for almost a month. The scenery is beautiful every mile! Wish you all were here with us!
Campground Downtown RV Park, Watson Lake, YT. We had all services in a pull-thru site including electric, water, sewer, wi-fi, and cable, plus an RV wash. The laundry was clean and among the least expensive yet. The restrooms were immaculate and second best of our entire trip, only exceeded by 7th Ranch in Garryowen, MT. We definitely would stay here again.
Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 12,483.9
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM PDST
Ending Mileage: 12,612.4
Ending Time: 1:30 PM PDST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 128.5
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 3,220.9

Road Work After yet another rain last night, we departed Fort Nelson about 7:45 AM on Sunday, July 12, 2009, heading west across the upper Canadian Rockies. We stopped at Tetsa for large cinnamon rolls about mid-morning, and continued slowly as road work allowed. Several times we were delayed for quite a few minutes, the longest being some 20+ minutes, and traveled over gravel for several miles. One’s view of road conditions is relative to at least two factors—what they’re used to, and how fast they drive. We have driven some pretty poor roads in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Montana, and I’m a slow, conservative driver, so for us, the roads are not too bad. Of course, they’re not a piece of cake, either! Some of the big rigs drive like there’s no tomorrow. Maybe they don’t care if they ‘tear’ up their rigs. Also, when they drive like a bat outta you know where, they miss all the animals and sites off the road. Why did they come?

Lots of Animals We had rain much of the drive today, but despite the weather, we saw lots of animals including two moose, several caribou, several stone sheep, lots of bison, and several black bears.

The drive along Muncho Lake was wonderful, with beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife. If traveling alone, we would have spent a couple of days here. Regrettably, we had camera problems today so there are few animal pictures, despite some great opportunities. Strawberry Flats was a very neat provincial park on Muncho Lake where we would have loved to stay. There are sites right on the lake!

Caravan Adventures The verdict is still out on this caravan. It was very well organized, but thus far, has been poorly executed. Several of the big rigs (40 foot +) have had problems delaying their arrival in camp, and they tend to get the larger pull-thru sites with better power supplies (30 amp or 50 amp electricity versus 15 to 20 amp for the rest of us) as they need lots of power to run all the niceties in their motor homes . That means the rest of us get what’s left over, or at least that’s my impression. Actually, they have to have the larger pull-thrus because of their length, but as an added bonus, they tend to get the better power supply as well. And today, we, along with over half the caravan, waited an hour and a half for the “wagon master” to arrive to assign camp sites. Unfortunately, the campground had changed owners, the previous owners had not left our reservation, and everything was topsy turvy. Finally, a couple of the ladies took things in their own hands and assigned the sites themselves. Of course, we ended up with one in which the power supply didn’t work at all. The RV park maintenance man did some work on the breaker box, and we finally ended up with variable 15 amp power. Consequently, I did not attend tonight’s meeting as the meetings seem to serve no purpose—a carryover from days as a bureaucrat attending many purposeless meetings! We did walk over to Liard Hot Springs for a wonderful soak in hot sulphur-laden water, and a brief respite from the mosquitoes. The electricity went out again, right in the middle of baking pizzas. I started the motorhome generator and finished baking while Kay sought repairs at the office. While we were eating, a First Nation woman who apparently owns the campground brought the relative young maintenance man down to fix the breaker—he was so drunk he could not walk by himself, and she had to physically support him—but he did fix the breaker! Amazing! Alcoholism is a huge problem among First Nation people (that’s Canadian for Indians). There was also a ‘local’ buffalo that seemed to adopt this RV camp area and the locals called him ‘John’. (that’s Kay’s son-in-law’s name too). John was a HUGE buffalo and he was very close to our RVs just munching the grasses and minding his business. Kay didn’t stay outside very long!

Our Recommendations for Liard Hot Springs, BC First, Muncho Lake is incredibly beautiful, and has lots of animals. We’d like to have spent more time there, and were advised to do so by our friends and Alaska travel mentors, Jerry and Ann. Also, if in the area, definitely visit Liard Hot Springs and take in a soak. The price is $5 per person for a day pass, and it does make one feel better.

Campground Liard Hot Springs Lodge and RV Park, Liard Hot Springs, BC Electric (variable, supplied by generator) and water. The pull-thru spaces allowed us to stay hooked-up to our Saturn, about the only plus to this campground. We would opt to stay in one of the provincial parks if in the area again, even if it meant dry camping, or drive in to Watson Lake, YT.

Driving Statistics
Beginning Mileage: 12,295.7
Beginning Time: 7:00 AM PDST
Ending Mileage: 12,483.9
Ending Time: 1:30 PM PDST
TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 188.2

CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 3,092.4