Sunday, June 29, 2008
Lazy Sunday afternoon
It is Sunday late afternoon already! We have been here a week already! Boy time is flying by!
Friday we decided to go to Homer, Alaska and Home Spit..... the southern most tip of Alaska. We left around 9 and stopped by Clam Gulch to see if the tide was in or out... out means no clamming going on..... we planned to go back this week sometime. Anyway, after driving down to Homer we went on down to the Homer spit which is an island where the ships dock out of. It is basically a small island with buildings of shops etc. Lots of charter places to book charters. The crowds were large and that is the most people we have seen in town or villages along our trip. We found a place to eat lunch. They had several places to eat and all served about the same thing. We walked around for awhile and then down to the ships. The clouds followed us down there and it rained a little bit off and on.
Saturday morning we didn't do a whole lot. We are still waiting for the sun to come out and stay. It was cloudy and cool. It rained off and on sometime throughout the day. Charlotte and I went to a quilt show which was in Soldotna. It was neat to see so many different quilts....
Bill and I decided to find the Saturday Farmer's Market and doing some other errands and came home. Then Charlotte and Andy and us went out to eat supper. We had a HUGE 9" hamburger for supper at a restaurant called "Bear's Den". Bill and I split the hamburger which was very good.
Today we found a church in Kenai and came home and fixed a big breakfast with Don/Connie....this afternoon has been pretty lazy except we went for a drive to see if any fisherman were on the Kenai River. Not much going on.
The guys have decided to go clamming in the morning early..... stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thursday am
It is cloudy and pretty "brisk" this am here. It has even tried to rain a little bit. They told us that this is unusual weather for this time of year here! Well, they think it's fairly warm out and of course we think its pretty chilly out! :)
Yesterday afternoon was a lazy one around here in all 3 rigs I think. We left around 4:30 and went to a Farmer's Market. It was a small one on Wednesday's....not much there. They have another one on Saturday so we will see what it is like! Anyway, after that we drove around a little bit and then found a restaurant to eat supper. After suppper, we went to get some groceries at Fred Meyer. That is a Walmart and Kohl's in one! It has groceries,name brand clothing, shoes, plus all the things Walmart has. Their prices are still a little high but not so bad. We each got a "card" (like Dillons) to use and that helps!
The guys left around 6 this am to go fishing. I hope they catch something today. There is a fish sanctuary not far from here and evidently they had not opened gates to let the fish go..they opened them this am.... so hope they get something today.
Bill has been having trouble with his right knee.... he thinks he has torn the meniscus in it. It gave out yesterday am while he was in the water and he went down. One leg of his waders got wet as did his "backpack of snacks!" We bought a brace last night to see if that will help until he gets back to Ks. I'm sure he will be looking at surgery.
So that is about it for today.... Connie and I are going to check out some shopping in Solodotna this afternoon. We found a Joann's fabrics!
Have a good day!
Until next time!
BJ
Yesterday afternoon was a lazy one around here in all 3 rigs I think. We left around 4:30 and went to a Farmer's Market. It was a small one on Wednesday's....not much there. They have another one on Saturday so we will see what it is like! Anyway, after that we drove around a little bit and then found a restaurant to eat supper. After suppper, we went to get some groceries at Fred Meyer. That is a Walmart and Kohl's in one! It has groceries,name brand clothing, shoes, plus all the things Walmart has. Their prices are still a little high but not so bad. We each got a "card" (like Dillons) to use and that helps!
The guys left around 6 this am to go fishing. I hope they catch something today. There is a fish sanctuary not far from here and evidently they had not opened gates to let the fish go..they opened them this am.... so hope they get something today.
Bill has been having trouble with his right knee.... he thinks he has torn the meniscus in it. It gave out yesterday am while he was in the water and he went down. One leg of his waders got wet as did his "backpack of snacks!" We bought a brace last night to see if that will help until he gets back to Ks. I'm sure he will be looking at surgery.
So that is about it for today.... Connie and I are going to check out some shopping in Solodotna this afternoon. We found a Joann's fabrics!
Have a good day!
Until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wednesday morning
It is Wednesday morning here and the wind is blowing. It is supposed to rain but it hasn't started yet. The guys went fishing yesterday....Don was the lucky one to catch the 6-7# salmon. He said it cut nicely into 4 big chunks for their freezer.
Connie and I took a "scouting out Kenai" ride yesterday afternoon and found the nice Safeway in Kenai and also the Quilt shop. Imagine that! We actually happened to just drive by it and didn't realize it till we had gotten past. They had a huge selection of fabric!
After supper last night we decided to take a drive to see if we could see the Beluga whales in the Cook Inlet.... we finally found the place where they are to congregate and didn't see anything. It is in Kenai which is only about 4 miles from us.
We sat outside when we came home and visited for awhile then the campground owner stopped by for a chat. They were having S'Mores at the campfire so we decided to go check it out. The co-owners are a couple with 5 children they home-school. One of the sons gave a presentation poem called "Cremation of Sam McGee." He did a great job! He told us it took him a couple of summers to learn it all.
The guys decided to go fishing again today while the weather holds out... they had heard the fish were leaving the fish santucary where they went yesterday. Bill got a couple of bites but lost them...maybe their luck will change today.
So that is about it for today so far....not sure what the rest of the day has in store for us but the wind is here...just like Ks! haha!!!
Until next time!
BJ
Connie and I took a "scouting out Kenai" ride yesterday afternoon and found the nice Safeway in Kenai and also the Quilt shop. Imagine that! We actually happened to just drive by it and didn't realize it till we had gotten past. They had a huge selection of fabric!
After supper last night we decided to take a drive to see if we could see the Beluga whales in the Cook Inlet.... we finally found the place where they are to congregate and didn't see anything. It is in Kenai which is only about 4 miles from us.
We sat outside when we came home and visited for awhile then the campground owner stopped by for a chat. They were having S'Mores at the campfire so we decided to go check it out. The co-owners are a couple with 5 children they home-school. One of the sons gave a presentation poem called "Cremation of Sam McGee." He did a great job! He told us it took him a couple of summers to learn it all.
The guys decided to go fishing again today while the weather holds out... they had heard the fish were leaving the fish santucary where they went yesterday. Bill got a couple of bites but lost them...maybe their luck will change today.
So that is about it for today so far....not sure what the rest of the day has in store for us but the wind is here...just like Ks! haha!!!
Until next time!
BJ
Monday, June 23, 2008
Monday evening in Solodotna
We arrived in Solodotna around 2 yesterday afternoon. It rained on us most of the way here. By the time evening rolled around the sun was shining and the clouds were clearing.
It felt kind of nice to be in one place today and know we will not be moving and traveling long days for awhile. Today we cleaned the outside and inside of our rigs and spent most of the day just doing that and whatever else needed to be done.
On our way from Anchorage yesterday we drove along a highway that was along the coast and the mountains were on the other side of the coast. It was raining but they were just beautiful! They were all snowcapped and the clouds from the rain were hanging low! This is what our "vision" of Alaska would look like! When we turned on another highway our road became like Arkansas hills... twisting and winding and small "communities" along the way. The fisherman were really beginning to arrive and some were fishing.
The pictures I have hopefully posted were of the drive along the highway....
Well, that is about it for tonite!
Until next time!
BJ
Friday, June 20, 2008
explanation of pictures
I thought I would have a chance to explain each picture before posting but I skipped a step I guess!
Anway..... #1 - Alaskan Huskies sled dogs used in the park for winter patrol
#2 - Mt. McKinley
#3 - Grizzly bear with cub.... they slid down the snow and the cub was just having fun!
Anway..... #1 - Alaskan Huskies sled dogs used in the park for winter patrol
#2 - Mt. McKinley
#3 - Grizzly bear with cub.... they slid down the snow and the cub was just having fun!
And on a clear day......
We had a beautiful clear day and got to see Mt. McKinley! It was gorgeous!!!! Several people said it is only seen about 1 in 3 days and this must have been the 1!!!!
We saw 5 of the "big" ones during the day! We saw Dall sheep, a wolf, Grizzly bears, caribou, moose and of course Mt. McKinley... which by the way is called "Denali" in Alaska......
We returned around 4 today and then went to the stores and walked around before finding a Fish and chips place to eat supper. The halibut was delicious! After we got back to the park we sat around outside and decided where we were going tomorrow and for the next few days. Then our neighbors came to visit and we went in>>>>>>>> AKA.... MOSQUITOES as big as beetles! Even with Yard Gard they were still bothering us! The evening's are cut short!
Tomorrow is Summer Solstice so I heard that it will be light until 2:45 AM.... yipppeee!!! :) hahaha!
Hope you enjoy the pictures we took today...... it really was a great day and one of the big highlights of our trip for me! Of course I LOVE to watch animals!
We will be traveling to Wasilla, north of Anchorage, for overnight to visit the Iditarod area....can't wait!
Until next time...
BJ
At Denali National Park
We arrived yesterday around 11:30 AM. The drive from Fairbanks was very pretty and we are back in the mountains. They still have snow on some of the higher peaks here! We are parked about 8 miles from the entrance to the park.
After we got set up yesterday we had lunch, relaxed a while and then drove over to the Visitors Center and got tickets for our bus ride today to the park. It is an 8 hr trip on the bus today! We are all not sure if we can stand another bus ride for that long but to see the animals it will be worth it! We found out that they had a working dog mush show at 4 PM so we drove to the Kennel area and found it. It was very interesting. They use sled dogs in the winter time to check patrol and the paths and the area around the park. They are all Alaskan huskies. They had 4 little puppies they are watching to see how they will "turn out"..... so cute! We went back to the Visitor Center to watch a movie about the "Heartbeat of Denali"...it was very informative and the scenery in the winter was gorgeous. The "town" of Denali is along the road...they have a huge motel and several shops along the side of the road. The river is running very fast on the other side of the road.
We came back and Connie/Don had fixed tacos for supper so we ate outside and fought the mosquitoes. They are huge here!
Our trip begins at 7:15 so Ineed to get around and get ready for the day.
Have a good Friday!
Until next time!
BJ
After we got set up yesterday we had lunch, relaxed a while and then drove over to the Visitors Center and got tickets for our bus ride today to the park. It is an 8 hr trip on the bus today! We are all not sure if we can stand another bus ride for that long but to see the animals it will be worth it! We found out that they had a working dog mush show at 4 PM so we drove to the Kennel area and found it. It was very interesting. They use sled dogs in the winter time to check patrol and the paths and the area around the park. They are all Alaskan huskies. They had 4 little puppies they are watching to see how they will "turn out"..... so cute! We went back to the Visitor Center to watch a movie about the "Heartbeat of Denali"...it was very informative and the scenery in the winter was gorgeous. The "town" of Denali is along the road...they have a huge motel and several shops along the side of the road. The river is running very fast on the other side of the road.
We came back and Connie/Don had fixed tacos for supper so we ate outside and fought the mosquitoes. They are huge here!
Our trip begins at 7:15 so Ineed to get around and get ready for the day.
Have a good Friday!
Until next time!
BJ
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
I've got some catching up to do....
Sorry it has taken a few days to get caught up again.....
We have been on the road for the past several days even though we have been here for since Monday I think! :)
We were able to leave Saturday morning around 7 AM on a clear bright day! It was beautiful! The trip across the Yukon River on the ferry was quite an experience. It is a free ferry and only took about 10 minutes going across. Andy/Charlotte and Don/Connie were able to go together on the ferry but we were able to go by ourselves. There wasn't anyone waiting like on Friday am. So we headed up the road to the "Top of the World Highway". It began as a paved road and quickly became dirt and gravel. We saw some gorgeous scenery and it wasn't near as bad as what I had imagine it to EXCEPT for the dirt and dust and gravel. It is a long stretch of road about 140 miles that took us about 6 hours to drive. We climbed quite a bit and the views from above were so pretty. We finally got to the border about 2 1/2hrs after we left. The road did have some hairpin curves and narrow roads but 2 vehicles could pretty easily manuever around and they weren't very long before the road widened out. We made it through the border in good shape this time! It felt good to be back in the USA!!!! We drove to the big town of Chicken,Alaska.... it has 1 store and a post office. The store is a gift store and gas station. We then finally got to drive on a paved road for quite a ways but it wasn't near as good some of the roads we had been on. So finally making it to Tok,Alaska about 4ish.... and we even gained an hour. We stayed at Tok RV Village for the night. It was a nice park with full hookups. We left there on Sunday am destined for Fairbanks. It is about 130 miles to Fairbanks from Tok. We drove along side of a mountain range all the way there.
At Delta Junction, we were at the end of the Alaska Highway! It is at the visitor center and 2 HUGE styrofoam mosquitoes greeted us! We now believe we have mosquitoes that big! They are very big around here and everywhere! We drove back about 9 miles to a meat market and everyone got either some meat or summer sausage or sticks. They process beef, elk, buffalo, reindeer. Of course they had samples and we tasted it all!
We arrived at Fairbanks around 2 and set up the rigs. It is nice to be here for a few days even though we really have been on the go since we got here. The park is nice but the spaces are tight. We were glad we are in a pull through but getting out may be tricky!
Yesterday we got up around 4:30 to be ready to leave at 5:45 for a bus ride to the Artic Circle! It was a very long day and a very long bus ride! The bus was nice so the seats weren't bad but it was just a long ride on paved and mostly gravel roads. We drove 200 miles north of Fairbanks to the Artic Circle. We stopped a few places on the way...one being a gift shop at Joy,Alaska. A couple has built this gift shop in the middle of nowhere. They had all kinds of Artic Circle clothing etc. among other things. The roads we drove on are used by the oil line people so the roads are not the best. We basically followed the pipeline all the way up. That road is about the only road to go to Prudhoe Bay which is about 200 more miles north. We couldn't even have gotten up there because you need a special permit to get even remotely closer. We stopped right under the pipeline and took pictures. We stopped for a bathroom break at the Yukon River Camp. The Yukon River bridge is the only bridge in Alaska where you can cross the river via a bridge. We also came back and ate supper there. When we got to the Artic Circle around 2:30PM our guide had quite a "ceremony" for us! She threw out the red carpet and it had yellow lines on it and we got our picture taken and officially greeted at theArtic Circle. It was suprising how green it was and the trees and grass growing. It was in the tundra but it wasn't barren like we thought it would be. It was cool and raining slightly. We even had a snack at the Artic Circle.. "tundra cake and perma frost icing".....
We got back to the River Camp around 5 and ate supper and then were on our way once again at 6. We drove back to Fairbanks and arrived around 10:45 getting home at 11 PM.... What an experience it was! We had people from all over with us...
It was still very much in daylight when we got back...so I took a picture of the daylight at 11 PM!
This morning we got on a bus again! around 8:30 and took a tour of downtown Fairbanks. Our first stop was the Pioneer Park...it is an old "town" replica of Fairbanks in the gold rush days. Nothing was open so we walked around and then went to the pipeline visitor center. Our next stop was the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. We toured on our own for about an hour. One very interesting thing we saw was called "the Place Where You Go Listen"..... it is a light and sound composition of what the earth is doing continually. We listened and saw how the earth sounds. Very neat!
So that is what we have been doing the past few days. I think we are leaving here tomorrow morning for Denali for a few days. We haven't seen very many animals and hope to in Denali! We even got a glimpse of Mt. McKinley today but it has been pretty cloudy the past few days..stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
We have been on the road for the past several days even though we have been here for since Monday I think! :)
We were able to leave Saturday morning around 7 AM on a clear bright day! It was beautiful! The trip across the Yukon River on the ferry was quite an experience. It is a free ferry and only took about 10 minutes going across. Andy/Charlotte and Don/Connie were able to go together on the ferry but we were able to go by ourselves. There wasn't anyone waiting like on Friday am. So we headed up the road to the "Top of the World Highway". It began as a paved road and quickly became dirt and gravel. We saw some gorgeous scenery and it wasn't near as bad as what I had imagine it to EXCEPT for the dirt and dust and gravel. It is a long stretch of road about 140 miles that took us about 6 hours to drive. We climbed quite a bit and the views from above were so pretty. We finally got to the border about 2 1/2hrs after we left. The road did have some hairpin curves and narrow roads but 2 vehicles could pretty easily manuever around and they weren't very long before the road widened out. We made it through the border in good shape this time! It felt good to be back in the USA!!!! We drove to the big town of Chicken,Alaska.... it has 1 store and a post office. The store is a gift store and gas station. We then finally got to drive on a paved road for quite a ways but it wasn't near as good some of the roads we had been on. So finally making it to Tok,Alaska about 4ish.... and we even gained an hour. We stayed at Tok RV Village for the night. It was a nice park with full hookups. We left there on Sunday am destined for Fairbanks. It is about 130 miles to Fairbanks from Tok. We drove along side of a mountain range all the way there.
At Delta Junction, we were at the end of the Alaska Highway! It is at the visitor center and 2 HUGE styrofoam mosquitoes greeted us! We now believe we have mosquitoes that big! They are very big around here and everywhere! We drove back about 9 miles to a meat market and everyone got either some meat or summer sausage or sticks. They process beef, elk, buffalo, reindeer. Of course they had samples and we tasted it all!
We arrived at Fairbanks around 2 and set up the rigs. It is nice to be here for a few days even though we really have been on the go since we got here. The park is nice but the spaces are tight. We were glad we are in a pull through but getting out may be tricky!
Yesterday we got up around 4:30 to be ready to leave at 5:45 for a bus ride to the Artic Circle! It was a very long day and a very long bus ride! The bus was nice so the seats weren't bad but it was just a long ride on paved and mostly gravel roads. We drove 200 miles north of Fairbanks to the Artic Circle. We stopped a few places on the way...one being a gift shop at Joy,Alaska. A couple has built this gift shop in the middle of nowhere. They had all kinds of Artic Circle clothing etc. among other things. The roads we drove on are used by the oil line people so the roads are not the best. We basically followed the pipeline all the way up. That road is about the only road to go to Prudhoe Bay which is about 200 more miles north. We couldn't even have gotten up there because you need a special permit to get even remotely closer. We stopped right under the pipeline and took pictures. We stopped for a bathroom break at the Yukon River Camp. The Yukon River bridge is the only bridge in Alaska where you can cross the river via a bridge. We also came back and ate supper there. When we got to the Artic Circle around 2:30PM our guide had quite a "ceremony" for us! She threw out the red carpet and it had yellow lines on it and we got our picture taken and officially greeted at theArtic Circle. It was suprising how green it was and the trees and grass growing. It was in the tundra but it wasn't barren like we thought it would be. It was cool and raining slightly. We even had a snack at the Artic Circle.. "tundra cake and perma frost icing".....
We got back to the River Camp around 5 and ate supper and then were on our way once again at 6. We drove back to Fairbanks and arrived around 10:45 getting home at 11 PM.... What an experience it was! We had people from all over with us...
It was still very much in daylight when we got back...so I took a picture of the daylight at 11 PM!
This morning we got on a bus again! around 8:30 and took a tour of downtown Fairbanks. Our first stop was the Pioneer Park...it is an old "town" replica of Fairbanks in the gold rush days. Nothing was open so we walked around and then went to the pipeline visitor center. Our next stop was the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. We toured on our own for about an hour. One very interesting thing we saw was called "the Place Where You Go Listen"..... it is a light and sound composition of what the earth is doing continually. We listened and saw how the earth sounds. Very neat!
So that is what we have been doing the past few days. I think we are leaving here tomorrow morning for Denali for a few days. We haven't seen very many animals and hope to in Denali! We even got a glimpse of Mt. McKinley today but it has been pretty cloudy the past few days..stay tuned!
Until next time!
BJ
Friday, June 13, 2008
Friday June 13
We are still in Dawson City, Yukon waiting for Andy's truck to get fixed. The fuel pump went out and luckily the Dodge dealer in Whitehorse had one. We will be on the road again tomorrow for Chicken and Tok.
So yesterday was a relaxing day spent just doing "stuff" around the rigs and laundry. We went out to eat supper last night again at Sourdough Joe's restaurant..... of course on the menu was halibut..... yummy!!!!
This am after Charlotte finished their laundry we took a ride over the ferry to the other side of the Yukon river and drove up the mountain a few miles to see what it was like for our trip in the morning. Bill and I drove down to the ferry around 8 this am and there were only about 3 rigs waiting to cross. By the time we got there at 11 there were 7 and more coming all the time. The ride across the ferry is free and it is a quick ride. They only go during the summer and is closed in the winter. Of course the Top of the World Highway is closed in the winter as well.
The river's current is swift and it didn't take long to get across. We got up to a high spot and could see where the Yukon and the Klondike River's meet.... beautiful sight! We could also look down on the town of Dawson City. Dawson City has no paved streets. The stores fronts are painted very nicely and are old and preserved.They told us that is gets down to at least -40 degrees in the winter here. The town boasts about 1,400 during the summer but only about 1,000 stay in the winter.
I will get the pictures we took this am loaded on the blog and share with you!
Stay tuned!
Until next time...
BJ
So yesterday was a relaxing day spent just doing "stuff" around the rigs and laundry. We went out to eat supper last night again at Sourdough Joe's restaurant..... of course on the menu was halibut..... yummy!!!!
This am after Charlotte finished their laundry we took a ride over the ferry to the other side of the Yukon river and drove up the mountain a few miles to see what it was like for our trip in the morning. Bill and I drove down to the ferry around 8 this am and there were only about 3 rigs waiting to cross. By the time we got there at 11 there were 7 and more coming all the time. The ride across the ferry is free and it is a quick ride. They only go during the summer and is closed in the winter. Of course the Top of the World Highway is closed in the winter as well.
The river's current is swift and it didn't take long to get across. We got up to a high spot and could see where the Yukon and the Klondike River's meet.... beautiful sight! We could also look down on the town of Dawson City. Dawson City has no paved streets. The stores fronts are painted very nicely and are old and preserved.They told us that is gets down to at least -40 degrees in the winter here. The town boasts about 1,400 during the summer but only about 1,000 stay in the winter.
I will get the pictures we took this am loaded on the blog and share with you!
Stay tuned!
Until next time...
BJ
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A sunny Wednesday morning
A sunny Wednesday morning in Dawson City,Yukon. We left Whitehorse aroun 7 in the rain and me watching the temp's and hoping they didn't get below 32 degrees! It did begin to snow some but didn't last long as the temp's would rise to about 37 then fall to 34 and then they stayed! The road was long and straight in some places and we drove in tundra and then beautiful forested areas. They have had several forest fires in this area over the past 50 years so some of the trees are still not back to "normal". We drove in mostly cloudy weather and some periods of rain but not to bad as the temps' began to rise to about 45 and stay there.
We arrived at Dawson City, Yukon around 4ish. Just as we pulled in we noticed Andy had a flat tire on the rig. Of course Charlotte was driving. They said it was a huge bolt. We are right across the street from a NAPA store so he went to get another tire. They will put it on today sometime.
I had fixed lasagna the day before and so we heated that up for supper last night before going to downtown to a casino/dance hall show called "Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall." They had slot machines and card games of all kinds in there and at 8:30 they had a show. So we sat down and our luck....we were in the front area! This was a singing and can-can dancing show. "Gertie" had a great voice and thankfully picked on another man to sing to and rub her chest into! But the can-can dancers picked 4 men from the audience to come and try their luck at can-can dancing! Guess who they picked! YEP<>>>>>> they picked Bill!!!! Now I KNOW how he HATES doing things like that...but being the good sport...he went up on stage and "crash-coursed" the can-can dance...down to even turing around and swinging his "no-butt" in the air! We were just dying from laughter! It was soooo funny and of course not one of us even brought the camera!!!! He did a good job and got to take the garter off the girl and a kiss and his 5 minutes of fame was over! :)
The show only lasted about 45 min. But we still had fun!
Today we plan to do some scouting around and looking around downtown...... they have a huge dredging machine here so we plan to see that.
Bill is washing the truck right now...it was sooo covered with dirt and mud from the construction we drove in yesterday mixed with the rain. We had to wait in line at a construction zone and drove about 5 miles in wet and mud and whatever they put on the roads. We will probably do it again down the road too.
This is the last "big" town before heading into Alaska! We are planning on leaving tomorrow morning and taking our "ferry ride" over the river to the other side to head to the Top of the World Highway and Chicken before going to Tok.
So have a good day!
Until next time!
BJ
We arrived at Dawson City, Yukon around 4ish. Just as we pulled in we noticed Andy had a flat tire on the rig. Of course Charlotte was driving. They said it was a huge bolt. We are right across the street from a NAPA store so he went to get another tire. They will put it on today sometime.
I had fixed lasagna the day before and so we heated that up for supper last night before going to downtown to a casino/dance hall show called "Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall." They had slot machines and card games of all kinds in there and at 8:30 they had a show. So we sat down and our luck....we were in the front area! This was a singing and can-can dancing show. "Gertie" had a great voice and thankfully picked on another man to sing to and rub her chest into! But the can-can dancers picked 4 men from the audience to come and try their luck at can-can dancing! Guess who they picked! YEP<>>>>>> they picked Bill!!!! Now I KNOW how he HATES doing things like that...but being the good sport...he went up on stage and "crash-coursed" the can-can dance...down to even turing around and swinging his "no-butt" in the air! We were just dying from laughter! It was soooo funny and of course not one of us even brought the camera!!!! He did a good job and got to take the garter off the girl and a kiss and his 5 minutes of fame was over! :)
The show only lasted about 45 min. But we still had fun!
Today we plan to do some scouting around and looking around downtown...... they have a huge dredging machine here so we plan to see that.
Bill is washing the truck right now...it was sooo covered with dirt and mud from the construction we drove in yesterday mixed with the rain. We had to wait in line at a construction zone and drove about 5 miles in wet and mud and whatever they put on the roads. We will probably do it again down the road too.
This is the last "big" town before heading into Alaska! We are planning on leaving tomorrow morning and taking our "ferry ride" over the river to the other side to head to the Top of the World Highway and Chicken before going to Tok.
So have a good day!
Until next time!
BJ
Monday, June 9, 2008
More pictures for you!
I finally got a picture on our blog! This is what we drove through yesterday from Carcross... hope you enjoy some of the others.......
Monday evening
We are still in Whitehorse. It rained or drizzled most of the day. I cleaned and did laundry all day... Bill got propane, fuel for the truck, and piddled around and also had his nap! Me... I plugged along working all day. I also made a pan of lasagna for tomorrow for supper and a pan of Butterscotch Brownies for some snacks.
Don/Connie and us went to the SS Klondike late this afternoon. It was a big cargo ship that was used to haul iron ore, and goods from Whitehorse to Dawson City. It was very interesting and it was used from 1938- 1954. They have it dry docked now and what was interesting they had to get it from the yard to the edge of the Yukon River where it is now..... they used 80 tons of Palmolive dish soap on the streets of Whitehorse to bring it to the sight it is now. It took 3 weeks to get it to the sight. They had to take down lines etc. for it to move about 6 blocks from downtown.
We are leaving here around 7 in the morning to go to Dawson City. We will spend a couple of days there.
So that about covers our exciting life today...
Until next time!
BJ
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Sunday evening in Whitehorse
We are in Whitehorse, Yukon getting here this am be driving in the most beautiful SNOW!!!! Yes..... when we go up this am it was snowing! Just huge big snowflakes! I was ready to stay another day but Bill went to the office and they said we would be ok to drive the 44 miles to Whitehorse...so we left around 9.... Charlotte is impressed because we left even 1 min. to 9!
We left yesterday am to go to Skagway around 7:30 so by the time we got there it would be 7:30 Alaska time. We needed to be there to get our tickets to ride the steam engine train at noon. We were able to walk around Skagway and do some shopping. We also ate an early lunch at a restaurant .... and old brothel..... called the Red Onion Restaurant! It was really neat inside and the food was excellent! The history of the restaurant was soo interesting and they had pictures all over beside the barwhich was still in use. We were able to go upstairs to part of the brothel but they had it closed off unless you paid..... being cheap we didn't go on the tour. After we ate we got our tickets for the train ride. It was 4 hours and very slow...but just beautiful! The weather was perfect and it was actually warm by their standards...they told us it was rare it was that warm but it sure wasn't in the morning! The wind was cold.... The train went 24 miles up the mountain to Fraser which is the Canadian border. We saw interesting points along the way and the ride up was slow and the train had to stop several times to gather steam and take on water. They had snow still on the ground and of course on the side of the mountain. The ponds..lakes,.... were still froze in parts and the waterfalls we saw were really pretty. On our way down we even got to see a bear on the tracks! So that makes 2 bears we have seen!
When we got back we ate leftovers and just relaxed for the evening......
I have been blocking the skylights off at night in the bathroom and opening the bathroom door to make our bedroom darker as it is still light when we go to bed. This am I noticed it was darker than usual..... looking out I saw it was snowing! It began around 7;30 and by the time we left at 9 it was really coming down! I don't know how much they got but it snowed on us all the way here..... the trees looked like a beautiful Christmas scene.... we took pictures and I hope to get them downloaded to the blog....we have to figure out how to do that and have good internet to do it.... We are finally able to use our air card again so maybe Monday I can get that done. In Carcross we only had one TV channel and it wasn't something we wanted to watch.... a mixture of several things and Bill just doesn't like cartoons in the am! Here in Whitehorse we have cable so we are in 7th Heaven! :)
Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon and its a larger town... half of the population of the Yukon live here so that's about 16,000 people! We went to Walmart this afternoon and they do not have many groceries so we found another grocery store.... I can't tell you how much we have had sticker price shock on groceries here! We bought enough to get by but will stock up when we get to Alaska..hopefully we will have enough to do that! I just can't justify paying $7.59 for a half gallon of ice cream! :) YIKES!!!! We did find some today for $4.59 for a half gallon.
We are staying here for 2 nights and then heading to Dawson City on Tuesday but will take 2 days to get there...we just aren't traveling big days..... makes them too long and we are all too tired. At least the snow this am cleaned off the rigs and trucks today. Then we head to Alaska and back in the USA..... the weather has been great and we really can't complain too much about the roads either...we all expected them to be worse and they can be yet!
Well, its time to close this down for today....have a good evening!
Until next time!
BJ
We left yesterday am to go to Skagway around 7:30 so by the time we got there it would be 7:30 Alaska time. We needed to be there to get our tickets to ride the steam engine train at noon. We were able to walk around Skagway and do some shopping. We also ate an early lunch at a restaurant .... and old brothel..... called the Red Onion Restaurant! It was really neat inside and the food was excellent! The history of the restaurant was soo interesting and they had pictures all over beside the barwhich was still in use. We were able to go upstairs to part of the brothel but they had it closed off unless you paid..... being cheap we didn't go on the tour. After we ate we got our tickets for the train ride. It was 4 hours and very slow...but just beautiful! The weather was perfect and it was actually warm by their standards...they told us it was rare it was that warm but it sure wasn't in the morning! The wind was cold.... The train went 24 miles up the mountain to Fraser which is the Canadian border. We saw interesting points along the way and the ride up was slow and the train had to stop several times to gather steam and take on water. They had snow still on the ground and of course on the side of the mountain. The ponds..lakes,.... were still froze in parts and the waterfalls we saw were really pretty. On our way down we even got to see a bear on the tracks! So that makes 2 bears we have seen!
When we got back we ate leftovers and just relaxed for the evening......
I have been blocking the skylights off at night in the bathroom and opening the bathroom door to make our bedroom darker as it is still light when we go to bed. This am I noticed it was darker than usual..... looking out I saw it was snowing! It began around 7;30 and by the time we left at 9 it was really coming down! I don't know how much they got but it snowed on us all the way here..... the trees looked like a beautiful Christmas scene.... we took pictures and I hope to get them downloaded to the blog....we have to figure out how to do that and have good internet to do it.... We are finally able to use our air card again so maybe Monday I can get that done. In Carcross we only had one TV channel and it wasn't something we wanted to watch.... a mixture of several things and Bill just doesn't like cartoons in the am! Here in Whitehorse we have cable so we are in 7th Heaven! :)
Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon and its a larger town... half of the population of the Yukon live here so that's about 16,000 people! We went to Walmart this afternoon and they do not have many groceries so we found another grocery store.... I can't tell you how much we have had sticker price shock on groceries here! We bought enough to get by but will stock up when we get to Alaska..hopefully we will have enough to do that! I just can't justify paying $7.59 for a half gallon of ice cream! :) YIKES!!!! We did find some today for $4.59 for a half gallon.
We are staying here for 2 nights and then heading to Dawson City on Tuesday but will take 2 days to get there...we just aren't traveling big days..... makes them too long and we are all too tired. At least the snow this am cleaned off the rigs and trucks today. Then we head to Alaska and back in the USA..... the weather has been great and we really can't complain too much about the roads either...we all expected them to be worse and they can be yet!
Well, its time to close this down for today....have a good evening!
Until next time!
BJ
Friday, June 6, 2008
Friday evening June 6
Good evening from Carcross, Yukon!
We left Watson Lake around 7 this am and drove until about 1:30 to Carcross, Yukon....we crossed the British Columbia and Yukon border 7 times in the passed 2 days! We will be in the Yukon territory for a few days before crossing into Alaska!
The weather held out again today ( we are sooo thankful !) and no clouds to follow us or rain! BUT..... the guys washed the outside of our rigs yesterday after we stopped at Watson Lake and the rigs and trucks were clean and shiny when we started this am ....but no longer!!!! We ran into construction and it was dirty, dusty and thick then we hit more construction that was wet!!!! Well, now we are filthy again and it has seeped inside! I mopped the floor twice when we got here today and it probably could be done again. Nancy, you were right!...... the dust is so thick on the construction lanes you need a wet rag to cover your mouth and nose! And that is no joke!!!!
We only saw a buffalo today leaving Watson Lake and a porcupine along the side of the road. Not many animals moving around today although it is colder up here! We are about 2,389 ft about sea level and in the mountains.... the views were very pretty today but the trees are different and not so much the spectular scenery we saw yesterday!
Carcross is a very small town and we are at the only RV park....we have fullhookups but it is a very basic park...good enough for a couple of days. Lots of Tlingit Indians in this area....
We have our reservations or will get our tickets in the am when we go to Skagway. We are going to take a 4 hr. ride on a steam engine train in the mountains. Skagway is a town on the ocean so we will drop quite a bit of altitude on our way down..... we decided not to take the rigs down there because of that.... heard too many stories of downhill problems!!! Stay tuned and I will let you know!
We have had a great time on this journey and have seen so many beautiful sights and can't wait to reach Alaska! One thing I have noticed as the towns that are pretty popular stopping places are not really that big ...some less than 500 people or 1,500 at the most... amazing!
The roads have been fantastic so far....only today was the worst stretch part of the 5 miles of construction that we had to go slow.... like 30 mph. There was alot of Rv traffic yesterday but today we were pretty much on our own.
We brought our name sign that hung on our house for so many years and left it yesterday at Watson Lake Sign Forest. They had poles in the ground for people to leave a sign.... the gal told us they figured over 65,000 signs had been hung ..... it took us quite a while to look at some and we did not see all of them. Made out of all kinds of things...from wood to even half a plastic milk jug! Even town signs.....
We will be here until Sunday morning when we leave for Whitehorse, Yukon.
Until next time!
BJ
We left Watson Lake around 7 this am and drove until about 1:30 to Carcross, Yukon....we crossed the British Columbia and Yukon border 7 times in the passed 2 days! We will be in the Yukon territory for a few days before crossing into Alaska!
The weather held out again today ( we are sooo thankful !) and no clouds to follow us or rain! BUT..... the guys washed the outside of our rigs yesterday after we stopped at Watson Lake and the rigs and trucks were clean and shiny when we started this am ....but no longer!!!! We ran into construction and it was dirty, dusty and thick then we hit more construction that was wet!!!! Well, now we are filthy again and it has seeped inside! I mopped the floor twice when we got here today and it probably could be done again. Nancy, you were right!...... the dust is so thick on the construction lanes you need a wet rag to cover your mouth and nose! And that is no joke!!!!
We only saw a buffalo today leaving Watson Lake and a porcupine along the side of the road. Not many animals moving around today although it is colder up here! We are about 2,389 ft about sea level and in the mountains.... the views were very pretty today but the trees are different and not so much the spectular scenery we saw yesterday!
Carcross is a very small town and we are at the only RV park....we have fullhookups but it is a very basic park...good enough for a couple of days. Lots of Tlingit Indians in this area....
We have our reservations or will get our tickets in the am when we go to Skagway. We are going to take a 4 hr. ride on a steam engine train in the mountains. Skagway is a town on the ocean so we will drop quite a bit of altitude on our way down..... we decided not to take the rigs down there because of that.... heard too many stories of downhill problems!!! Stay tuned and I will let you know!
We have had a great time on this journey and have seen so many beautiful sights and can't wait to reach Alaska! One thing I have noticed as the towns that are pretty popular stopping places are not really that big ...some less than 500 people or 1,500 at the most... amazing!
The roads have been fantastic so far....only today was the worst stretch part of the 5 miles of construction that we had to go slow.... like 30 mph. There was alot of Rv traffic yesterday but today we were pretty much on our own.
We brought our name sign that hung on our house for so many years and left it yesterday at Watson Lake Sign Forest. They had poles in the ground for people to leave a sign.... the gal told us they figured over 65,000 signs had been hung ..... it took us quite a while to look at some and we did not see all of them. Made out of all kinds of things...from wood to even half a plastic milk jug! Even town signs.....
We will be here until Sunday morning when we leave for Whitehorse, Yukon.
Until next time!
BJ
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Thursday in the Yukon
We have not had very good internet service or none at all the past 2 days.
We are in Watson Lake, Yukon. We got here around 11 today after coming from Liard Hot Springs yesterday..let me back up....
We left Ft. Nelson and then drove to Liard Hot Springs yesterday. The drive was just gorgeous! We saw Stone Sheep, Big Horn Sheep, a caribou and a moose ran in front of Don/Connie...... they roads were good and paved only a few part that weren't....
On our way to Liard Springs yesterday we stopped by Muncho Lake.... it the most turquoise color I've ever seen next to Crater Lake..... it is a long lake and it was soooo pretty...we stopped and had a photo shoot!
Liard Hot Springs is a Provincial Park in British Columbia and so we had no hookups at all..... no water or elec. connection except by running our generators.We did fine with that and even watched a movie last night! We had to turn off our generators at 10 (rules) and so we got along good. It is a natural hot springs and so we all donned our swimming suits and sat and just relaxed in the hots springs. Andy was the only one who dunked all the way in for his sinuses....he said it really helped! For supper we had a mixture of tacos, enchilladas and dips.....
We left around 8 this am and didn't really have too far to go today...about 140 miles to Watson Lake. We all brought our signs to hang and will probably do that soon...it is only around 3:30 here and it is still light out at past 11! The sun begins to shine around 3:45 AM !!!! Ask us how we know!
On our travels today we saw some gorgeous scenery and sooo many trees! The mountains just go on forever! The guys put some hail screen material on their radiators this afternoon as tomorrow we are going through some famous "Alaskan highway construction"..... we already have a chipin our windshield that is branching so better not push our luck with radiator problems.
I know I"m rambling on our journey but sometimes I remember something after I've written it! CRS I know!!!
The campground we are at now has full hookups and it is basically a flat lot with spaces..... at least we have full hookups and wifi! I have had some trouble with my air card and not sure if its the area we are in or the air card.... so am using wifi connection now. Alot of people have been coming in today after us and so we are glad we have a space for tonite! Lots of RVer's on the road! Many more than we thought there would be.
We are planning on going to Carcross tomorrow for the weekend. We all want to take the train ride at Skagway on Sat. or Sunday depending when we can get tickets..... We have about 300 miles to drive tomorrow and we were told in the office today that it is about 60-70 miles of construction.... aka..... dirt and gravel.....hopefully it won't rain.... We all washed our rigs and trucks when we got here as they have an RV wash free to use..... so we did that before we unhooked.
Well, that about does it for today......
we are beginning to see some gorgeous scenery and want to download our pictures so we can put them on our blog site.... stay tuned!
Until next time! We will even be back "in the states".....
BJ
We are in Watson Lake, Yukon. We got here around 11 today after coming from Liard Hot Springs yesterday..let me back up....
We left Ft. Nelson and then drove to Liard Hot Springs yesterday. The drive was just gorgeous! We saw Stone Sheep, Big Horn Sheep, a caribou and a moose ran in front of Don/Connie...... they roads were good and paved only a few part that weren't....
On our way to Liard Springs yesterday we stopped by Muncho Lake.... it the most turquoise color I've ever seen next to Crater Lake..... it is a long lake and it was soooo pretty...we stopped and had a photo shoot!
Liard Hot Springs is a Provincial Park in British Columbia and so we had no hookups at all..... no water or elec. connection except by running our generators.We did fine with that and even watched a movie last night! We had to turn off our generators at 10 (rules) and so we got along good. It is a natural hot springs and so we all donned our swimming suits and sat and just relaxed in the hots springs. Andy was the only one who dunked all the way in for his sinuses....he said it really helped! For supper we had a mixture of tacos, enchilladas and dips.....
We left around 8 this am and didn't really have too far to go today...about 140 miles to Watson Lake. We all brought our signs to hang and will probably do that soon...it is only around 3:30 here and it is still light out at past 11! The sun begins to shine around 3:45 AM !!!! Ask us how we know!
On our travels today we saw some gorgeous scenery and sooo many trees! The mountains just go on forever! The guys put some hail screen material on their radiators this afternoon as tomorrow we are going through some famous "Alaskan highway construction"..... we already have a chipin our windshield that is branching so better not push our luck with radiator problems.
I know I"m rambling on our journey but sometimes I remember something after I've written it! CRS I know!!!
The campground we are at now has full hookups and it is basically a flat lot with spaces..... at least we have full hookups and wifi! I have had some trouble with my air card and not sure if its the area we are in or the air card.... so am using wifi connection now. Alot of people have been coming in today after us and so we are glad we have a space for tonite! Lots of RVer's on the road! Many more than we thought there would be.
We are planning on going to Carcross tomorrow for the weekend. We all want to take the train ride at Skagway on Sat. or Sunday depending when we can get tickets..... We have about 300 miles to drive tomorrow and we were told in the office today that it is about 60-70 miles of construction.... aka..... dirt and gravel.....hopefully it won't rain.... We all washed our rigs and trucks when we got here as they have an RV wash free to use..... so we did that before we unhooked.
Well, that about does it for today......
we are beginning to see some gorgeous scenery and want to download our pictures so we can put them on our blog site.... stay tuned!
Until next time! We will even be back "in the states".....
BJ
Monday, June 2, 2008
Monday in Dawson Creek
We left around 8:30 this am and drove to Grand Prairie. We had planned on stopping for the day in Grand Prairie. It was around 2 when we got there and so we decided it was only 75 miles to Dawson Creek..... Mile 0 on the Alaska Hiway. So we traveled on and made it to Dawson Creek around 4. After we got set up we decided to go downtown and have our picture taken at the Mile 0 sign and then eat supper. We drove around the downtown area for a little bit but everything was closing.
But the exciting part was we were in the lead and lo and behold coming upon a ridge a bear ran across the road! He was a big black bear and we tried to pull off quick so the others behind us could see too. He ran into the trees before we could stop. Don and Connie saw him cross the road but Andy and Charlotte didn't get to see him. That was the first time ever Bill or I had seen a bear in the wild before!
We are at a campground called Mile 0 RV Park tonite and will go to Ft.Nelson tomorrow. It is a small campground and we are lucky we were able to get spaces as so many people came in after us today. The lady told me they had 3 caravans coming in soon. We are starting to see lots of RV's on the road. Diesel in Dawson Creek ... is $1.50 per litre..which equals to $5.50 per gallon. We hope to find it cheaper down the road at Ft. Nelson.
The weather has just been gorgeous! I know I keep saying that but today was an exception... it was about 78 and the sun was shining..in fact its still fairly light out at 10:30!!! We are still in Mountain time and won't be in Pacific time until we get by Fort St.John I'm told.
Well, that about takes care of our day and its time to get to bed....
until next time!
BJ
But the exciting part was we were in the lead and lo and behold coming upon a ridge a bear ran across the road! He was a big black bear and we tried to pull off quick so the others behind us could see too. He ran into the trees before we could stop. Don and Connie saw him cross the road but Andy and Charlotte didn't get to see him. That was the first time ever Bill or I had seen a bear in the wild before!
We are at a campground called Mile 0 RV Park tonite and will go to Ft.Nelson tomorrow. It is a small campground and we are lucky we were able to get spaces as so many people came in after us today. The lady told me they had 3 caravans coming in soon. We are starting to see lots of RV's on the road. Diesel in Dawson Creek ... is $1.50 per litre..which equals to $5.50 per gallon. We hope to find it cheaper down the road at Ft. Nelson.
The weather has just been gorgeous! I know I keep saying that but today was an exception... it was about 78 and the sun was shining..in fact its still fairly light out at 10:30!!! We are still in Mountain time and won't be in Pacific time until we get by Fort St.John I'm told.
Well, that about takes care of our day and its time to get to bed....
until next time!
BJ
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sunday evening June 1
We are still in Edmonton, Alberta. We will leave here in the morning for Grand Prairie then to Watson Lake. We are taking a couple of days to get there. The weather has been gorgeous and no rain clouds today!
We spent a relaxing morning and didn't do much and then decided to find the local Walmart....we saw one on the way home yesterday but Gertie GPS took us to another one so we had a scenic drive in the country on the way home but made it ok.... sometimes I'm not sure Gertie knows what she is doing! We bought some groceries and I noticed things were higher than in the US but they also had different brands with French on them ... being made in Toronto.... just an observation...
I bought some black fabric and made some coverings for the shower skylight and the bathroom fan. Maybe it will be darker in there tonite.
Hope everyone had a good weekend and will write again tomorrow!
until next time!
BJ
We spent a relaxing morning and didn't do much and then decided to find the local Walmart....we saw one on the way home yesterday but Gertie GPS took us to another one so we had a scenic drive in the country on the way home but made it ok.... sometimes I'm not sure Gertie knows what she is doing! We bought some groceries and I noticed things were higher than in the US but they also had different brands with French on them ... being made in Toronto.... just an observation...
I bought some black fabric and made some coverings for the shower skylight and the bathroom fan. Maybe it will be darker in there tonite.
Hope everyone had a good weekend and will write again tomorrow!
until next time!
BJ
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