Monday, August 26, 2019   Spokane, WA

Cousin Kim and husband, Charlie, Wilson took us to the park in downtown Spokane.  It is the site where they held the 1974 World Expo.  It is very cool.  They had a big red wagon, an old carousel and lots of other things.

They have a sky ride that takes you over a waterfall that is used to generate power for the city.

They have this metal Garbage Goat that you can feed trash and it chews it up.  Recycling!

Back to the campground for an afternoon appointment to have the motor home detailed.

Back to Wilson’s house for chicken pot pie dinner!  Kim is from Lancaster so she knows how to make it!

August 27, 2019 Spokane WA to Deer Lake, MT

Left the campground and about 4 miles down the road Elaine saw something flapping at the rear of the motor home.  The cover to the water heater had come off and was hanging on by thin cable.  It made dents and scraped off paint of one of the cargo doors.  Luckily there was a nearby Camping World so we got hinges to put the dented cover back on the coach.  That along with duct tape and we were on our way.

We got to Deer Lake too late to tour the Old Montana Prison.

August 28, 2019 travel to Hardin, MT

A long drive day again.  Set up camp and headed to Little Bighorn Battlefield.  We were able to hear a ranger talk about the battle.  He explained what took place on the site and talked about how the U.S. Army troops were outnumbered and the mistakes that led to Custer’s Last Stand.  One thing that he pointed out that is unusual is that the battlefield was so spread out over the area that they had to handle the dead soldiers quickly so they were buried where they fell during battle.  You can see the small white tombstones spread around the area.  Sometime in the early 1900s the bodies were relocated to a cemetery on the grounds.

Thursday, August 29, Rapid City, SD

Arrived at the campground late afternoon.  We saw something interesting as we drove into the city.  Being close to Sturgis and it being Labor Day weekend there were a lot of motorcycles on the road.  As we approached the traffic light where we had to turn left there were police vans/cars and about 20 motorcyclists in the turning lane.  All the bikers had their hands over their heads!  We were able to keep going but heard later in the local news on TV that the “Banditos” were in town and several had been arrested for drugs and guns without permits.  It was quiet the rest of the weekend!

Visited Rushmore Plaza in downtown Rapid City.  It was a “Summer Thursday Event”.  There was music and vendors in the plaza and on the street.

We went to Firehouse Brewing Company for dinner.  This painting was on the wall of a building at their patio.

Friday, August 30, 2019 Rapid City, SD

We visited Mt. Rushmore.  There was construction on the amphitheater so part of it was blocked off but you could still see the monument.  Lots of people were there.

Then we went to Crazy Horse Monument.  The whole thing is privately funded.  They continue to work on completing it!

Saturday, August 31, 2019 Deadwood

We travelled to Deadwood in the car.  There is nowhere to park RVs!  There are lots of restaurants, gift shops and casinos!  It was a sunny, nice day.

Monday, September 1, 2019 Baraboo, WI

A long drive today that we split in to 2 parts.  The first part was the drive to Austin, MN.  There we visited the SPAM Museum.  Rick loves SPAM and has it almost every day for breakfast.  It was a nice museum.  People walk around with trays of samples. 

The SPAM product has influenced American culture!  Ever hear of SPAM mail?  They have different flavors of SPAM.  2 of those flavors are exclusive and only sold one in Hawaii and one in Puerto Rico…..and of course the SPAM Museum gift shop.  They also have SPAM spread to use on crackers or in a sandwich.

Thursday, 9/3/19 and on – travelling home!

When you get close to home you just drive and drive to get there.  We know it is only early September but along the PA Turnpike we saw trees with leaves starting to change colors.  Have we really been gone that long?

Then you get home!  Unloading the motor home took several trips with the pickup truck to the house.  3 months of accumulate souvenirs and stuff takes a lot of time to unload!

The Alaska Caravan was a trip of a life time.  Now we can do an Alaskan cruise and we don’t need to do the land excursions!  We’ve been there – up close and personal!  We made new friends and had experiences that we will never forget.

We traveled a total of 12,630 miles. used 1,786 gallons of gas averaging 7.62 MPG.

We paid as low as $2.34 in VA to $5.74 in Canada per gallon gas.

Saturday, August 10, 2019  Valdez, AK

We visited the Valdez Museum and then went for ice cream.  The ice cream truck was at the end of the harbor street where they were the weighing for the Valdez Woman’s Fish Derby

One lady brought a salmon that weighed 9.1 lbs.  We were chatting with her and she asked if we wanted some fish.  She lived in Anchorage and just loved to fish so she came for the derby.  She really didn’t need the fish.  She pointed us to where her husband was on the pier and said to bring a bag and meet her there.  Luckily we had some plastic bags in the car.  The man cleaned the salmon for us.  He asked if we wanted some halibut too.  He gave us a big piece of halibut to go with all the salmon!  We now have a freezer full of fish!

Sunday, August 11, 2019 travel to Tok, AK

The roads are terrible!  There is constant road repair.  With a short summer they work long hours on the roads.  With all the loose stone and gravel it is no wonder that over half of our caravan has chips in their windshields.

Monday, August 12, 2019 travel from Tok, AK to Destruction Bay, YT

Early morning departure.  250 miles of terrible road today.  Frost heaves and rough repaired roads.  Supposedly it was much better than when they travelled this road 2 years ago.  The scenery was beautiful.

Typical of Alaska/Western Canada campgrounds Destruction Bay RV Park is a stone lot with electric and water hookup.  Very little space between the units.  We had a great beef dinner provided by the campground guy, Loren.

The dinner was followed by entertainment by a guy that sang for about an hour.  He was very good.  He played a mixture of songs.  Remember we are older and most of the group goes to bed early, so on top of an early morning start, they were falling asleep and left early.  Out of 31 people there were only 12 left at 9:15!

Tuesday, August 13, 2019 Whitehorse, YT

Another grueling drive day.  The roads were better but still not smooth asphalt.  A lot of dips and patched bumps.

We had a lot of dirty clothes so we decided to go to the same laundromat that we had visited in early July.  We had a surprise when we got there.  It was free laundry night!  It was a Union sponsored activity to encourage and help people do laundry.  It was to encourage the homeless and lower income people to do their wash.  No one was there except us and maybe 2 other people.  We kept telling them we could pay and they kept saying no that it was a free laundry night.  We donated to their Yukon Union non-profit group.  

Wednesday, August 14, 2019 Whitehorse, YT

We had a group tour of the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.  We saw lots of animals.

Thursday, August 15, 2019  Whitehorse, YT

Took the car to a Chevy dealer to have a Stabilitrak warning checked.  It was a computer thing.  They reran computer thing and all was well.  Then we went to Wal-Mart for supplies for the next few days.  No kidding – you get excited when you see a Wal-Mart in this part of Canada.

We stopped at an A&W for lunch.  It was very good.  They serve soda in a glass frosted mug!

The Wal-Mart has a McDonalds inside it —-complete with a drive up window!

Friday, August 16, 2019 drive to Watson Lake

Long drive again.  Group dinner of BBQ sandwiches.  Not too much in this town.

Saturday, August 17 drive to Iskut, B.C.

Lots of driving again.  Stopped at Jade City along the way.  Rain at night

No cell service, no WIFI, no TV service.  Even Meow Meow literally sat up to watch a DVD.

Sunday, August 18, 2019 Iskut to Stewart, B.C./Hyder, AK

We knew the rain stopped in the middle of the night but what we didn’t know that it turned to snow!  What a surprise to find everything was white on August 18.

Everyone had to scrape the snow off of the slide toppers before they could be pulled in for travel.  It was a slow drive up the mountain.

We finally got cell service about  ¼ mile before Stewart.  Stewart is in Canada and Hyder is in Alaska.  There is, again, only one road.  You have to make sure you have your passport if you cross the border.  You can drive from Stewart to Hyder and there is no U.S. Border station.  That is because the road ends.  It doesn’t go very far into Alaska.  When you come back to Stewart you have to go through Canadian Customs!

We went to Hyder for dinner.  We ate at the bus.  Delicious fish and chips.  The son fishes, Mom cooks in the converted bus and you eat in the building behind the bus.  Quite unique.

After dinner in Hyder we went on the only road they have to the U.S. Fish Creek Wildlife Site to view bears.  The site is a boardwalk with fencing about 12 feet above the ground.  It is beside a creek where salmon are trying to swim upstream and the bears come to feed on them.  It is kind of gross to watch the bear catch and eat the fish but it is nature.  The bear only eats certain parts of the salmon.

Monday, August 19, 2019  Stewart, B.C.

We visited downtown Stewart.  That didn’t take long.  There isn’t much there.  We drove back the highway we came in on to see the glacier.  The road, once again, there is only one road, no turnoffs, intersections, just a 38 mile stretch back to Steward/Hyder.  These people are isolated.

We had a group dinner.  Everyone on the caravan brought a can of soup.  The soup couldn’t be anything cream or with noodles.  Tonya dumped them all in a crock pot and we had soup.  It actually was very good.  We scattered shortly after eating because it started to rain.  Luckily it was warmer so it would be rain, not snow.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019 Smithers, B.C.

Again – a driving day.  We had pizza with the group for dinner.  The rain eroded a lot of the glacier on the road to Stewart.  Here is a photo of the glacier 2 days later.  The glaciers are melting fast.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019  Prince George, B.C.

Another driving day to our final destination with the caravan.  The highway was getting better because we are heading south toward the U.S. border.  It will be good to get to the lower 48!

Had dinner with the group at restaurant across from campground.  After dinner we went to the Treasure Cove Casino.  We didn’t win but had fun.  Used our Canadian dollars

Thursday, August 22, 2019 Prince George, B.C.

Explored using the car.  Checked out Costco location so we could gas up the motor home in the morning and found a spot to get propane tank filled.  The heat has been on for the last several nights so we needed propane.

Caravan group had a farewell dinner at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.  Very good food.  We said our goodbyes because tomorrow we all go it alone!  We are scattering in different directions.  One of the best things about the caravan is that for 53 days we didn’t have to plan campground locations or how to get there and what to do.

Friday, August 23, 2019 heading to the Lower 48!

The first day after the caravan and we are on our own!  We left the campground, stopped for gas and propane and then we were on our way south.

We stopped in Cache Creek at Brookside Campground.  We had leftovers from our frig for dinner.  We needed to empty the refrigerator in preparation for crossing the border.  You never know what they are going to prohibit coming back to the states from Canada.

Saturday, August 24, 2019 heading toward Seattle

We left Cache Creek heading to the border.  Very pretty views.  Very different than the north.

We were crossing at Sumas, WA.  There was a long line.  The sign at the turnoff warned that there was a 70 minute wait.  And it was longer than that!  We stopped and then moved a car length for a little over a mile.  Then we finally saw a sign that told us on Saturdays from 8-4 that RVs could use the commercial truck lane.  It took a bit to get to the turn off but we made it.  Zipped right up to the border, the guy checked our passports and said have a good day!  We were back in the Lower 48!

We headed toward Seattle.  Traffic on I-5 was heavy.  We called several campgrounds in the area and they were all full.  We ended up in the employee parking lot at Tulalip Casino in Tulalip, WA.  They have an RV lot but it was completely full.  So there were several RVs that overflowed into the employee parking lot.  Security told us it was okay but that they had to put a notice on our window that if we didn’t move in 48 hours the RV would be impounded!  It turns out there was a huge Sammy Haggar concert that brought in a huge, huge amount of people.

We spent some time in the casino and didn’t do too badly.  Thank heavens for big casino parking lots.

Sunday, August 25, 2019 travel to Spokane, WA

We were up early and on the way to Spokane to visit Cousin Kim and her husband, Charlie.  We hoped to beat the traffic by driving early on a Sunday morning.  The traffic wasn’t too bad.

We got to the campground in Spokane Valley and set up camp.

Had dinner with Kim & Charlie at Longhorn BBQ restaurant.  We delivered the goodies that we had brought from Lancaster, PA – chow chow, chips and Cope’s corn.

Monday, 7/29/19  Travel to Homer, Alaska

It was a later morning departure from Kenai since it was only 80 miles to Homer.  Beautiful views of 3 mountain volcanoes along the way.

Our campground for tonight is a KOA campground just outside of Homer.  The view from our front window is incredible. 

Tuesday, 7/30/19  Homer, Alaska

Drove to the Homer Spit.  The Spit is a piece of land that juts out into the Peninsula.  Lots of quaint shops, restaurants and fishing charters.  Homer is the Halibut Fishing Capital of the World.

We visited the Salty Dog Saloon.  They have $1 bills hung everywhere.

Saw fishing boats coming in with some of their catch.  There are some big halibuts.

Drove up to lookout point.  Full view of the harbor complete with the airport.  That thin strip of land is the Spit.

Wednesday, 7/31/19 Homer

We had 2 bald eagles that had a nest in a tree at the campground.  You could hear them and see them flying in and out.  The eagle is at the top of the middle tree.

The group visited Bear Creek Winery for a tasting and tour.  They make a lot of fruit wines.

Later that evening the wagonmasters and tailgunners cooked us a fresh fried halibut and hush puppies dinner!

Thursday, 8/1/19 Homer continued

Rick and 4 others in the group took a fishing charter from the Spit.

They caught 9 halibut and 2 rock fish.  We picked up 43 pounds of halibut at the processing plant that was split between the fishing group.

In the afternoon Elaine went with some of the group to the Kilcher Homestead.  It was really primitive.  They were homesteaders from Switzerland.  They are well known for the Discovery Channel show – Alaska The Great Frontier.  It was all back to nature stuff and a little bit crazy the way they still live.  They were a very musical family.  One of the founders granddaughter is Jewel , the singer.

Friday, 8/2/19 drive from Homer to Sewark, AK

Seward is a cruise ship port.  Today the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas is in harbor.

Checked out shops on Main Street.

Saturday, 8/3/19  Seward

Today’s ship is a Viking Line ship.

We were up early to catch a bus to take the group a short distance to the pier.  We boarded the Kenai Fjords boat Aialik.  We saw lots of stuff! 

Beautiful scenery, wildlife and the Ajalek Glacier.

How Elaine got this photo is a mystery.  It must have been just the right light and angle.  One of the best pictures ever.  You might see this hanging somewhere in our house in the future.

The glacier was something to see.  When a piece was about to break off and drop into the water you would hear a rumble.  I have a terrific video of a big piece falling into the water.

The picture will have to do for this posting.

On the way back we saw 4 Orca whales.  Didn’t really get good pictures of the full body but here are the fins.

One of the workers on the boat was a young guy from Rising Sun, MD.  Small world!

More views from the boat.

Sunday, August 4  Seward

Now there is Holland America’s Westerdam in port!  Lots of balcony rooms on the back of the ship.

In the morning the group went to the Seavey’s Ididaride tour and we got to go on a dog sled ride.

We got to hold and play with puppies.

Monday, 8/5/19 Seward to Palmer

Lots of road construction in Palmer.  It is the site of the Alaska State Fair.  The fair starts 8/22 so we are too early.  Apparently there is always terrible traffic jams during the fair.  With the road work it will be even worse.  Since it is daylight for 20 hours they are working long days to try and get the road in shape for the fair.

Tuesday, 8/6 Palmer, AK  with a visit to Anchorage

In the morning we visited a Musk Ox farm.  These are strange looking animals.  Almost prehistoric.  The musk ox have an undercoat that is the 2^nd most expensive in the world.  $95 an ounce for the yarn from the fur called Qiviut

In the afternoon we drove back to Anchorage to visit Rick’s cousin, Kim’s son, Shawn.  Shawn took us to the JBE Elmendorf military base.  His wife, Stephanie, is a captain in the Alaska National Guard.  She is also a helicopter pilot.  We arrived just as she landed in a Chinook helicopter.

Rick got to sit in the co-pilot seat and check out the instrument panel.

The base is a joint base of the army, airforce and national guard.  It is huge.  We got to see planes that refuel other planes when they are in the air and lots of F22 fighter planes.  When you are in the lower 48 you don’t think about how close Alaska is to Russia and Korea.  They are the first defense in case of attack!

Wednesday, August 7  travel from Palmer to Valdez, AK

The drive was a little over 260 miles.  The road was very rough from Glenallen to Valdez.  We stopped at the Visitor Center in the Wrangler-St Elias National Park & Preserve.  This is the view from the overlook.

Thursday, August 8  Valdez, AK

Got to sleep in this morning then an afternoon walking tour of Old Valdez.  A guide from the Valdez Museum told us the story of the town.  The 1964 Good Friday earthquake and flood devastated the town.  33 people died as a result of the 30 foot wall of water that followed the earthquake.

The city was relocated further down the bay and is New Valdez.

It is very hot here today.  The sun is very intense.  They are breaking temperature records.

Friday, August 9  Valdez, AK

Glacier boat tour early in the morning.  It is good we are camped right across the street from the dock.  The group had to be at the boat at 6:30.  We saw sea lions, puffins and humpback whales.

Again the whales don’t come that far out of the water but when a humpback is ready to dive you see the body briefly followed by the fin.

Then as we got closer to the Columbia Glacier we started to see the icebergs.  The captain told us that yesterday they were able to get up to the face of the glacier.  She said something must have happened overnight that caused chunks to come in the water.  No wonder with the heat they have been having!  For a bit we felt like the Titanic!  Some of the chunks are blue.  WE had to stay 10 miles out from the glacier.

On the way back to the pier we saw views that almost made you think you were in the Caribbean!

After a steak dinner at the Elks Club we drove to the Solomen Gulch Fish Hatchery on the other side of the bay.  Amazing what salmon do to return home to spawn.  It was a site that you couldn’t believe.  These salmon were hatched here and a year later they are returning to spawn …..and then die.  The hatchery has ladders that the fish jump to get back home.  Many of them die from exhaustion.

The sea lions take advantage and come in to feast on the fish.  Again I have some good video but you can’t paste it on the blog.

Monday, 7/22/19  Denali National Park

We went back to the Denali Visitor Center and then to the dog sled demo area at Denali.  They use dog sleds in the park instead of motor vehicles when there is snow. 

That night we want back to the 49^th State Brewing Company for dinner again.  You can see by the sign that we were only 159 miles from Sarah Palin’s house!

Tuesday, 7/23/19  Travel to Anchorage

On the way to Anchorage we stopped at the Veteran’s Memorial.  Again, we had great view of Denali Mountain (formerly named Mt. McKinley). 

When we got to the RV Park we decided it was time to go to the laundromat.  Next door to the laundromat was a hair salon.  We each got haircuts for $10 each!

Wednesday, 7/24/19  Anchorage

We got the Alaska Rail Road train to Whittier, AK.  The train goes from Anchorage to Grandview.  Terrific train ride.  We got on the train at 9:45 A.M.  Went to Whittier where we saw a cruise ship in the harbor.  The train goes through a tunnel to get to Whittier.  Cars use the same tunnel so since the railroad owns the tunnel the train takes priority.  The cars are stopped until the train gets out of the tunnel.  It was an awesome ride.  We saw 3 different glaciers.  Not too many animals but we did see several eagles.

We got off the train at Portage and boarded a bus to get us back to Anchorage.  We went for dinner at Gwennie’s Old Alaska Restaurant.  Quite a place.  Interesting interior.

Thursday, 7/25/19 free day in Anchorage

Did some shopping since we were in a populated place.  Stocked up on basic supplies.  We went to Shipping Creek area to watch people fish for salmon off of the banks of the river.

Anchorage was much bigger than Fairbanks.

Friday, 7/26/19  Drove to Kanai Peninsula

The town closest to the campground is Soldnota.  We drove around and they told us no visit is complete without a stop at a bakery called The Moose is Loose.  Delicious apple fritters and cinnamon rolls.  They have a bun called Roadkill that is like a cinnamon roll flattened until it is only about ¼” thick.  It was crispy and delicious.

Rick’s cousin Sean delivered packages to us on Friday.  Sean and his Dad, Charlie, had been fishing in Kenai the week before we got there.  We used his address in Anchorage to have RV parts delivered to in Alaska.  He lives in Anchorage but was in Kenai for the week fishing.  We got to see them as they were on the way home.

Visited the Soldotna Visitor and Kenai Visitor Centers to get maps.

Saturday, 7/27/19  Kenai

Visited the local hardware store for some hardware we needed for the RV.  Most unusual store.  Never saw so much fishing stuff!  The walls were covered with stuffed animal heads.

It was Progress Days in Soldotna so we visited the park where it was being held.  They had vendors, food trucks and entertainment on the stage.

Then we went back to the Kenai Visitor Center where they had some local arts and craft tents on the lawn.  We went back about a block to a small park where we could look down at the dipnetters on the beach.  It is legal for people to dipnet for about 3 weeks in July.  They set up camp on the beaches and use big nets to scoop the salmon out of Cook Inlet.  It was incredible.  We could see the salmon jumping out of the water on their quest to go north.  People just scoop them out of the water.

We talked to a young man along the street.  He showed us the fish he had caught in about 3 hours of dipnetting.

Sunday, 7/28/19  free day in Kenai

In the morning the tailgunner and Rick fixed the slide topper on the RV with the parts that Sean delivered.  Rick also installed the part to fix the motor home front turn signal.  Then we visited Kassik’s Brewery.  We had a late lunch and returned to the campground.  It was a resting day!  We were going to go to a local rodeo at 1 PM but it rained so we didn’t think it would be a good idea.  We were really behind on the blog so we spent some time on updating it.  We have been so busy!

Sunday, 7/14/19  travel Top of the World Highway to Chicken, AK

To get on the Top of the World Highway you have to cross a river on a free ferry.  That was an adventure.  Rick drove the motor home and Elaine drove the car on and off the ferry.  On the other side of the river we connected the car and went on our way.  The ferry rid only took 5-7 minutes.  Maybe they should build a bridge but that is a lot of money for just summertime use.

The highway was paved for a bit……but mostly dirt.  We had to go through Customs at the U.S. Border.

If figures that on the U.S. side the dirt road got worse.  Hairpin turns, no guardrails, soft shoulders weaving through the mountains.  Quite exciting.  The bumpiest ride we have ever had.  Sometimes there were stretches where we only went 10 MPH.  It took us almost 4 hours to go 108 miles.  The motor home almost shook apart.  Dirt and dust is thick on the car and motor home but we arrived safely in Chicken, Alaska.  Year round population is 7 people.  The campground has a restaurant and gift shop with everything you need.

Monday, 7/15/19

It was a short distance from Chicken to Tok, AK.  Much better roads.  It was only 78 miles so we had a late start from Chicken.

A stop for ice cream along the way at a store that had interesting display of animals.

Tok was a little bit more like civilization.  They had a grocery store and a good restaurant. 

If you filled up with gas at the RV park gas station you got a free car/RV wash.  This isn’t like the car wash at home that we are used to using.  It is simply a power wash nozzle, no walls, no roof.  You should have seen the line up.  It was a group RV/car wash!

Tuesday, 7/16/19

Early morning to the North Pole.  This North Pole is a town just south of Fairbanks.  We made it to the end of the Alaska Highway.  You can see they have big mosquitoes!

We all got settled at the campground in time to board the campground bus to a Salmon Bake and then a show at the Grand Palace Theater.  The show told us the story of Fairbanks beginnings.

Wednesday, 7/17/19  Fairbanks

The bus took us to the Discovery Riverboat for a ride on the Chena River.  It was an old paddle boat.  A demo of airplane landing and taking off in the water next to us was interesting.  1 in 7 people have a pilot license.

We had a brief presentation at a dog sled complex.  The dogs couldn’t wait to run.

Next stop on the riverboat was at a native Alaska village.  At the village we had several presentations explaining housing, hunting and survival in Alaska in the early days. We also saw some reindeer.

Thursday, 7/18/19

This morning included another bus ride to Gold Dredge #8.  There we boarded a small train and rode past the dredge.  The process for finding gold was described.  It is a lot of work!

The train stopped for us to pan for gold.  This time we didn’t have to get in the creek!  They gave each person a bag of dirt and we sat at a table and panned for gold.  Then they weigh the gold chips that you find.  Together we had $36 of gold.  We bought the pendant to put the gold in.  It is a great souvenir for Elaine to wear.

As we returned to the bus the guide explained the how the Alaska pipeline works.

The bus then took us to the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum.  It is a private collection of antique autos and vintage fashions.  The dresses were beautiful.

Friday, 7/19/19  Free day in North Pole/Fairbanks

We took the motor home to garage for an oil change then we went to Santa Claus Lane to see Santa’s reindeer and gift shop.

Saturday, 7/20/19  Drive to Nenana Canyon        

Nenana Canyon is the Denali Park Commercial Area.  It was around 130 miles.  The roads weren’t too bad.  You had to always be on the lookout for frost heaves.  They could get really bumpy. 

Again we were in a campground where parking was close.  We had to unhook the car at a turnout before we got to the village.  There was no way we could get in to the campground without unhooking the car first!

Dinner that night was at a restaurant called Prospector’s.  The pizza was delicious.

Street is a boardwalk with shops along the side.

Sunday, 7/21/19 Denali National Park

Up early and on way to Denali Bus Station for a 7:30 AM bus.  We took the bus to the Eielson Visitor Center that is 66 miles inside the park.  It was a long drive.  We arrived at the Visitor Center around 11:30.  Along the way we saw moose, caribou and grizzly bear.  Spectacular views.  It was a clear, sunny day.  We were lucky because the bus driver told us that they had not been able to see the top of Denali Mountain for the past 2 weeks.  Only 30% of park visitors get to see the top of the mountain and we saw it!

We got back to the bus depot around 3:30 P.M.  We decided to drive to Healy, AK to the 49^th State Brewing Company.  Very interesting décor and very good food.

Monday, 7/8/19  Whitehorse, YT with a day trip to Skagway, AK

Our first time in Alaska!  A bus picked the group up at the campground and drove us to the train station.  We got on our own car on the White Pass & Yukon Route train.  The scenery from the train was beautiful.  Again there is a haze in the sky from the forest fires.  Sometimes you could smell the smoke.

We arrived in Skagway, AK.  Of course we had to pass through Customs since we crossed into the U.S.  There were 3 cruise ships in harbor so the town was pretty busy.  The shops were the same jewelry shops like the Caribbean ports!

The bus took us back to the campground from Skagway.  We had to pass through Canadian Customs on the trip back.

The bus stopped at Carcross Desert on the way back.  Strange terrain after what we had been seeing.

<insert desert >

Tuesday, 7/9/19  Whitehorse

Visited several stops in the Yukon Passport book. 

Lots of Holland America Cruise line buses in town.  Whitehorse is one of their land excursion stops.

Group dinner at the campground that night.

Wednesday, 7/10/19 drive to Dawson City, YT

Longest drive day of the caravan – 330 miles.  The usual bumpy roads but this time interesting smoke from the forest fires.  For about 20 miles you could hardly see 100 yds. ahead on the road because of the heavy smoke.  It was really kind of scary.  We kept waiting for them to close the road.

I forgot to tell you how we travel with the caravan.  There are 16 units so every night before a travel day we have a meeting.  We all take our milepost book and they go over the route of travel for the next day.  Then the tail gunner reveals the departure groups.  We go out in groups of 3 units (one group will have 4 units since we have 16.  One lady is alone in a Class B van style unit.  She is 82!  She is always the 4^th in a group so we can sandwich her between us!)  We all have numbers on our RV and tow car.  We are number 3.  The tail gunner has a whiteboard with the day’s departure numbers on it.  Number 1 is the wagon master.  They always go first with some units and the cardinal rule is that you never pass Number 1!  The tail gunner is number 2 and they are always the last to leave the campground.  The tail gunner is the mechanic/fixit guy that makes sure everyone is on their way.  If you are in the first group you usually leave early and you leave an hour before everyone else.  By leaving first and an hour earlier the wagon master and his group get to the next campground, gets the site assignments and gets flaggers out on the highway to signal the rest of us where to turn in for the campground and parkers to help you get into your site!  An hour after the 1^st group leaves we depart the campground in groups of 3 in 15 minute intervals.  You can travel with your assigned group or you can do your own thing along the way stopping when you want.

The other thing we use the number 3 for is for any group event to make sure everyone is present.  Rodney, the wagon master, will start the count since he is number 1.  Then the people count off…..2, 3, 4, 5 etc. to 17.  We skip 13.  That was supposed to be our number in the alphabetical last name sequence but since the Beggs decided not to join the caravan we took their number 3!  Not that we are superstitious or anything but we really don’t need a number 13 in the group!

Thursday, 7/11/19  Dawson City, YT

In the morning we had a group tour of Dredge No. 4.  These are moveable floating buildings that were used to mine for gold.  Over 46 years Dredge No. 4 recovered 8 metric tons of gold.  Canada didn’t have the same kind of environmental laws that we have in the U.S.  They still don’t we some of the things we observed.

After time for lunch the group travelled to a working gold mine.  Our van driver was from Germany working as a tourguide for the summer.  He explained the dredging for gold.  The owner of the mine has diversified by running the tour company.  Smart man.  After the tour we all got a pan full of dirt, got in the creek and panned for gold.  Together we got a few flakes of gold.

Look close you will see the few flakes of gold in our pan!

Friday, 7/12/19  Dawson City

Dawson City is really only open in the summer for tourists.  In the winter there is too much snow and cold weather.  There are some people that live here year round but most just come to work for the summer.  The street is dirt and the sidewalks are wood just like the beach!

That night the group went to Diamond Tooth Gerties Saloon for the show.  You could stay for all 3.  Eight of us made it to the midnight show.  It was a little risqué!  It is also a casino/saloon.  As the night went on the youngsters from town filled the room.  Rick was up on the stage trying to dance the can-can!

Around 11 PM Rick and Rod went down to the Downtown Hotel for a Sourtoe Cocktail.  There is a club you join if you do the Sourtoe Cocktail.  It is a human toe that is kind of petrified.  You have to kiss the toe (disgusting) and then it goes in a shot of Yukon Jack.  When you do the shot your lips have to touch the toe!  Ich!!!  If you swallow the toe there is a $2500 fine.  Apparently they have lost several.  I have no idea where the toes come from.

It never really gets dark here in the summertime.  Here is a picture that we took at 1 A.M.

Saturday, 7/13/19  free day in Dawson City, YT

We slept in since we were out so late the night before.  Rick and Bob worked on a problem with the motor home connection to the car we tow.

Dinner at the Jack London Grill with some folks and then early to bed for an early Saturday departure.

These campgrounds are nothing like the campgrounds we are used to him the U.S.   You are lucky if you have full hookups and you are packed in like sardines.  Sometimes there isn’t room to put out the awning.

Sunday, 6/23/2019 Minneapolis, MN to Valley City, ND

Stopped for the night at the Municipal Tourist RV Park.  Very small and you help yourself!  But it was more than sufficient for the price of $27 per night. 

Valley View has the tallest, longest railroad bridge in the U.S.  It was built in 1908 and is still used by trains today.

Monday, 6/24/19  Valley City, ND to Medora, ND

Arrived in Medora in time to briefly drive thru the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  We saw some deer, bison, prairie dogs and then there was a sudden rain downpour.  How quickly the water creates flooding in the plains.

We went to the Pitchfork Steak Fondue at Medora Musical complex.  They cook steaks on a pitch fork and they certainly provided all the fixings.  Who did we run into but Theodore Roosevelt and some of his family members.

We decided to go to that evenings performance of their musical in the outdoor ampitheatre.  The downpour at the Park made us a bit leary of purchasing the tickets until closer to show time.  As you would know we bought them 15 minutes before showtime and then it rained.  The show was delayed an hour but we saw a full rainbow.

The show had a country theme, since, we were in the west.  They had singers and dancers that were excellent.  They told the story of the town and how Roosevelt fell in love with it after a visit in his early years.  One of the entertainers was Todd Oliver and his Talking Dog, Irving.  He was excellent.

The Beggs were able to rejoin us in Medora.

Tuesday, 6/25/19  Travel to Billings Montana

Time to do some laundry.  After we had clean clothes we found a little place called Tiny’s Patio for a bite to eat.

We drove around and saw this statue in front of the Billings Chamber of Commerce.  Right next door in the grass were someone’s pet bunnies.

Wednesday, 6/26/19  Travel to Butte, MT

We crossed the Continental Divide.  Now all the rivers run a different direction than the rivers in the east.

Thursday, 6/27/19 Butte, MT to Shelby, MT

We circled (literally) up at a campground called Lewis & Clark.  This was our staging campground for the Canadian border crossing.  Here another caravan member joined us for another group dinner.  It was raining so we were inside the Hittinger’s unit.

Friday, 6/28/19 Cross the border into Canada to Nanton, Alberta.

Seems like all we have been doing is driving.  We have a deadline to get to Dawson Creek, BC by 7/1/19.  We explored Nanton and High River.  Lots of RVs on the road since this is a holiday weekend for the Canadians.  Monday, July 1, is Canada Day.

Saturday, 6/29/19  Spruce Grove, Alberta,

The cats are tired out from a day of travel!

Sunday, 6/30/19 Spruce Grove, AB to Valleyview, AB

The group had a spaghetti dinner at the campground that night.

Bob Beggs had an injury to his eye.  So after a run to the emergency room and some contemplation the Beggs decided not to continue on the trip.  We were very sorry that they had come this far but understood all the problems they had on the trip west with their rig.

Monday, 7/1/19 Dawson Creek, AB

We made it!  We joined the caravan at the Mile 0 Campground.  It is the beginning point for the AlCan Highway.  (Alaska Highway)

We had our 1^st group dinner and travel meeting.  We learned how to use the Milepost book to follow the route through Canada and Alaska.  It has post it notes everywhere.

Tuesday, 7/2/19 day at Dawson Creek

We had a group breakfast and then a group photo at the Alaska Highway sign.  There are 16 units in the caravan.  Ahlmeyers are the wagonmasters and Murnanes are the tailgunners. 

We went to the Alaska Highway House Visitor Center.  We saw a film about the building of the highway in 1942.  Did you know that the Japanese actually occupied 2 of the southern most Aleutian Islands?  That is what caused Canada and Alaska to join together to build a supply route highway in case the Japanese invaded.  It was built through rough mountains, rivers and just tough terrain by the armies.

The Kiskatinaw River bridge is a wooden curved bridge that you can still drive on today.

Wednesday, 7/3/19 Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, BC

Beautiful views of the Canadian Rockies as we drove.

Had dinner at the campground restaurant.  Interesting decorations in the restaurant.  Observation about Western Canada –  lot less people,  very rural,  lot less of the things that we take for granted – Walmart, McDonalds, just stores in general.  Metric distances and litres of gas need to be calculated.

Thursday, 7/4/19 Fort Nelson to Toad River

The bumpy roads begin.  Beautiful scenery but winter reeks havoc on their roads.  You learn to look for the bumpy road sign and the sticks with flags to warn you to slow down.  You can’t drive more than maybe 50 mph or the RV will shake apart.  You have to check the screws in everything at night to make sure they don’t work there way loose.

We saw elk, bear, deer, beaver and wild horses as we drove.

Friday, 7/5 & Saturday, 7/6/19 Travel to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

Small town with minimal stores, gas stations and people.  We visited the only grocery store in town and it was quite impressive. 

On the way there we had to wait for some stone sheep to cross the road!

We also stopped at Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park.  Rick had a dip in the springs.  I only got my feet wet.  It was hot water!

Saw bison along the road.  Lots of them!

Watson Lake is known for its Sign Post Forest.  Of course the group sign was posted and we have one for Bart, PA.  Even though our address is Quarryville it was too long to put on the sign so we opted for Bart!

At the Watson Lake Visitor Center we all picked up a “Yukon Passport”.  It is a book that encourages you to get stamps at several places in the Yukon Territory.  After you have 10 or 20 stamps you turn the book in for a chance to win gold jewelry.  20 stamps is a bigger prize than the 10 stamp.  Everyone gets a pin for participating.

One of the places was the Yukon Airport.  It was quite interesting.

Sunday, 7/7/19 travel to Whitehorse the province Capital

This was a much bigger town but still not as big as maybe Willow Street or Strasburg.  They did have a Walmart and a Sav-On Grocery store.  The lady at the visitor center said that the province has a population of 40,000 people and 30,000 live near Whitehorse.

Along this drive we started to see the haze from the forest fires north of us.

This is also the drive where we picked up a chip in our motor home windshield.  The roads are coated with a fresh layer of crushed stone and dirt.  All it takes is a passing tractor trailer and flying stones.  A speeding truck passed us and the stones hit the windshield.  2 small chips and a pretty good one.  This is a common thing on these roads.  Several other units in our group got them from the same truck.  One couple got a chip in their motor home and the car they were towing.  We all figured we were initiated and will get the chips fixed later.  There will probably be more.

This is an interesting weather vane – a full size airplane at the Whitehorse International Airport.

That’s it for now. We will post more later.

Sorry it has been so long since we left home and started our blog.  We’ve been busy!

Friday, May 31, 2019   

Loaded the motor home and departed for our adventure around 11 A.M.  Dry

Camped for the night in the parking lot at Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, WV.  We had a good Chinese dinner and played the slot machines for a bit.  Contributed to West Virginia economy.

Saturday, June 1, 2019

We were up early and on the road.  Stopped at a KOA in Wytheville, VA for the night.  We were timing our arrival in Sevierville, TN for the HRRVC Eastern International Rally.  Arrival times were noon to 4 PM.  The campground was the River Plantation RV Park.  It is huge.  There are 150 units attending the rally and we only filled about ½ of the sites.

Sunday, 6/2 – Saturday, 6/8/2019

We got to see many friends that we have made in the past years while visiting state rallies in Texas and Arizona.  It is amazing the bond that is created with fellow club members.  We also got to meet the wagon masters and tail gunners for the caravan we are joining July 1.  There were seminars, bingo, food and games. 

We also visited the Bush Beans Visitor Center.  We learned all about beans.  They have a museum, café and general store.  We also saw pigs fly!

We also had entertainment by Kenny Evans.  He also recruited 4 of the members to be backup singers.  It was hysterical.

Sunday, 6/9/2019

Said our goodbyes and headed north to Centre Hall, PA for the HRRVC PA Sate Rally.

Overnight at Walnut Hill Campground in Staunton, VA.

Monday, 6/10/2019 – Saturday, 6/15/2019

Arrived at the Grange Fairgrounds in Centre Hall, PA.  It is about 30 minutes east of State College.  Tragedy struck a member of our group on Tuesday.  Our State Treasurer for HRRVC was on the way to Centre Hall with her husband when they had a flat tire.  While waiting for the repair she unexpectedly passed away.  It was a shock to us all when we got the phone call.  Members of our group that are connected to EMS networks were able to find the location of their motor home and send another member of the group that lived nearby to see if he could assist her husband.  She will be missed. 

At the PA Rally we had seminars, food and fun.  New member Lisa Rice showed us how her dogs, Patriot and Little Dude, train for search and rescue. 

We had an excellent duo, LeBlanc & Kissinger, for entertainment on Friday night.

Rick and Duane had us all laughing during our Dad Joke session.  They told one liners trying to get the other one to laugh.  Duane won.  He can really keep a straight face.

Sunday, 6/16/2019

Pulled out of Centre Hall around noon heading west.  Destination Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada by 7/1/2019.  There are 3 other couples travelling west from Centre Hall to join the same caravan.  We plan to make Streetsboro, OH by late afternoon.

Meow Meow helps me navigate every day.  He is a big help.

Along the Ohio Turnpike our phone alarms went off with a weather alert.  The alert was a tornado watch.  It said to seek shelter immediately.  Where do you do that on a turnpike?  Luckily there was a Service Plaza with a brick building.  We pulled into the parking lot, kept an eye on the sky in case we had to run for the building.  Luckily there was not a tornado but apparently there had been heavy rain near the campground we were spending the night.  The road to the KOA was closed due to flooding on the road.  We had to detour using some narrow residential streets to get in the campground.  Excitement we don’t need!

Monday, 6/17/2019

RVing is like a hurricane every day.  One of the group had a slide that wouldn’t retract so they called an RV repair company and told us to go on and they would catch up.  They actually ended up calling the manufacturer tech support and the rep was able to walk them thru reprogramming the slide.  It worked and they got underway.  Destination that night was Birch Run, MI.

Nearby town, Frankenmuth, is famous for the largest Christmas store in the U.S.  It is Bronners.  It was something to see.

The town has a Bavarian flair.  Very unique and beautiful buildings.  The town is also known for their chicken dinners at The Bavarian Inn.  We had to try it.  Excellent fried chicken with all the trimmings. 

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

We left the campground heading for Mackinaw City, MI.  We arrived early afternoon.  The town reminded us of Ocean City without the ocean. They had Lake Huron instead.  The bridge that you take to Upper Peninsula was huge.  Of course to add to the tension there was construction on the bridge.  If the winds are too high they close the bridge or limit the vehicles that can use it. 

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

We were on the shuttle from the campground to the ferry terminal at 8:30 to catch the 9:00 ferry to Mackinaw Island.

On the island they do not allow motorized vehicles.  You have to walk, ride bicycle or take a horse drawn carriage.  Lots of shops and restaurants.  We opted to take a carriage ride.  The driver took us around the island and gave us lots of information.  There are year round residents but tourist season only runs May – October because the lake freezes solid.

One of the attractions on the island is the Grand Hotel.  It is beautiful and very expensive.  If you are not a guest you have to pay $10 to look inside the lobby!  It was built in 1887.  The driver told us the nightly rate starts at $380 a night.  It has the longest porch in the country.

This is the view returning from the carriage ride around the island.

They actually have multiple employees whose job is to scoop up the horse droppings from the streets! This guy actually gave Rick the finger for taking his picture.

We also had a good lunch while on the island.

Thursday, 6/20/2019

Travelling again.  Destination Harris, MI to visit friends of one of our travelling partners.  Camped overnight at campground at Island Resort & Casino.  Spent the evening at their home and they served us a real U.P. (Upper Peninsula) dinner.  We had pasties.  They are like our Amish fry pies or Spanish empanadas.  Homemade crust with hamburger, potato, and veggies bake inside.

Friday, 6/21/2019

Destination St. Germain, WI to visit an Armstrong friend who retired to his family cabin in Wisconsin.  What a cabin!  It was beautiful.  Some of you reading this blog know Jim Joyce and his wife Jean.  They hosted the group for dinner at their cabin on the lake.  The driveway back from the road was an experience.

They have an eagle that lives nearby.  We heard the babies shrieking for food.  We saw one flying in to feed the babies.

After dinner we briefly visited the house they live in.  It has a gorgeous view too.  On the way there we saw lots of deer.  They are in the woods!  But on a lake again.  Great to see old friends.

Saturday, 6/22/2019

Overnight at a KOA just north of Minneapolis, MN.  Group dinner with hamburgers and pot luck at the campground.

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