SEPTEMBER 9 - 18, 2012

We are now on our own.  We spent 2 days getting back into the lower 48.  Glad to be back in the states with internet and phone service.  Our first night back in the states was spent in the state of Washington.  We tried to go the Grand Coulee Dam but when we got 12 miles from the dam we were turned around because of wildfires that were already crossing the roads. The whole area is full of smoke.  We went back to Soap Lake Washington to a campground there.   A bit scary I must say. The next day we called the dam again to see if we could get there but the roads were still closed.  A bit disappointed we decided to visit the Dry Falls.  Many years ago there were falls here that exceeded the size of Niagra Falls.  Below is the story of Dry Falls.

 

 

Below are a few pictures of how the falls look today.  It has created an area that looks very much like the Grand Canyon.  Beautiful.  You can also check out more pictures by clicking on the link below. 

 

THESE DRY FALLS WERE ONCE COVERED WITH WATER

 

IMAGINE THIS ALL UNDERWATER

 

 

We drove the next day to Spokane Washington and the roads are still full of smoke.  The skies were not clear of smoke until we left Billings, Montana

 

THIS IS WHAT THE ROADS LOOKED LIKE UNTIL WE LEFT BILLINGS, MONTANA.  THERE ARE WILDFIRES EVERYWHERE.

 

When we got to Montana we wanted to visit the Grant Kohrs Ranch but upon advice from a friend who tried to go there a few months ago we were to call first.  Sure enough, most of their buildings were closed and no tours were available.  We aren't having much luck trying to do sightseeing on our way home.  We finally got to do some sightseeing outside of Billings, Mt on our way out of the state.  We visited the Little Big Horn Battlefields.  We spent several hours here.  It is hard to look out at the fields and picture such a battle going on.  We listened to a Ranger give a talk on how the battle took place.  This was the place of Custers Last Stand.  We walked up to the memorial and visited the graveyard to read many tombstones.  War is a horrible thing taking many lives on both sides. 

 

We are now in Forest City, Iowa.  We are having our cracked windshields replaced along with a problem with our slideout.  We have ordered new shades for our coach and will sit here until Oct 2nd when they are due to arrive.  It will probably take 2-3 days to install them and then we will be on our way. 

 

We plan on doing the Winnebago Factory Tour and do any sightseeing that is around here.  We need a rest anyway.  Give us time to wax the coach while we are sitting here too.  

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

 









SEPTEMBER 6, 2012----SMITHERS, BC

Today is another travel day.  205 miles will be covered today.  Soon after starting out from Stewart,  Bear Glacier came into view. Once it reached across the valley where the present road now runs. The old hwy. can be seen hundreds of feet above the present road. Not far after that we saw a hanging glacier.

BEAR GLACIER

 Turning south on the Cassiar Hwy (37) we saw the Cassiar Mountain range ahead again.  All of the mountains we have seen have been beautiful.  

After passing the main First Nation village of Kitwanga, we turned off on one of the village roads to see St. Paul’s Anglican Church built in 1893 and still standing. We talked with an 82-yr. old native who has lived there for the past 50 years who told us that the roof on the steeple is still the original roof and wood shingles. He reminded us that the church was built before they had electricity and all the boards, beams and shingles were hand-cut. The wooden structure to the right was built about 30 years ago according to him, by volunteers to house the original bell which still rings. Weddings and other special events are still held at the church, but it is kept locked otherwise to prevent men in the village from going into it to drink. Those responsible for the church fear it could be carelessly (accidentally) set on fire by them. 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2012

Today is our last travel day of the caravan.  I can't believe our trip to Alaska is just about over.  We will drive 168 miles today to the town of Vanderhoof, BC.  It was a beautiful day.  Blue skies in the 70's.  

Our first stop was in Houston. Their "Claim to Fame" is the World Largest Fly Fishing Rod.

World's largest fishing rod

.  

Arriving in Vanderhoof, BC

At 5:00 we all left for our farewell dinner together. We had a great meal and everyone shared what they liked best for the last 60 days. Now this was something that took a long time for everyone to share. There were so many things that everyone talked about like: Seeing the Northern Lights, the Bubble Net Whale Feeding, seeing bears fishing, the trip thru Denali, seeing Mt. McKinley, the beauty at Homer & Kenai Peninsula, going fishing, Calgary Stampede, Liard Hot Springs, Banff, drinking glacier water at the Ice Fields, driving the Top of the World Highway, being part of the Frantic Follies and Diamond Tooth Gerties shows, the many boat rides, riding the White Pass & Yukon train, Palmer, many many socials and how blessed they were to have seen so much with great weather and great fellow RVers.  

Our wagonmasters and tailgunners presented us all with a gift bag.  Each couple received a beautiful framed picture of all of us at Milepost 0 at the beginning of the Alaskan Highway.  

At the beginning of our caravan the wagonmasters brought out a stuffed bear called Buddy Bear.  He was a cute little bear who was to go to a person or couple who had done something especially nice. 

BUDDY BEAR

 We got Buddy first because Jesse spent quite some time helping a fellow caravaner to fix his door which would not stay closed.  Buddy rode with us for one day and then we got to pass him on to someone else who had done something especially nice.  Well Buddy went from rig to rig during our 60 days.  It was now time for him to go back home to Madi & Spence (our wagonmasters).  We were all sad to see him go back.......but wait,,,,what is this???? In our gift bag is a mini Buddy Bear.  We were all thrilled to take mini Buddy home with us to remind us of all our good times.  

SEPTEMBER 8, 2012-----END OF CARAVAN 

This morning we were treated to coffee and donuts.  It was time to say goodbye.  It is a sad day as we have to leave all of our new friends.  Hugs were given and tears were shed as we all headed to our rigs to head out alone again.  

When we booked the caravan we were a little hesitant about spending 60 days with people we'd never met.  We were concerned about travelling on a schedule for so long too.  We have to say it has been a wonderful experience.  We have met people from all of the United States and 3 couples from Canada and everyone got along.  It was wonderful being bussed places and dropped off and picked up at the door.  I think we have gotten very spoiled with all the attention.  

SEPTEMBER 5, 2012-----HYDER, ALASKA

This is our second day in Stuart, BC.  

SHOP FRONT IN HYDER, ALASKA

About 6 pm most of us carpooled to Fish Creek Wildlife Viewing Area which is 3 miles north of Hyder, Alaska; Hyder is next door (but across the border) from Stewart. These towns are located at the head of Portland Canal, a narrow fjord about 90 miles in length. Stewart boasts of being Canada’s most northerly ice-free port.

Fish Creek, operated by the U.S. Forest Service, has a raised boardwalk for viewing the bears (both grizzly and black) as they fish for salmon in the shallow waters of the creek. What a treat! We saw many salmon in the crystal clear water; then we saw two bears at separate times as they rustled in the bushes, splashed in the water, walked along the creek and “hunted” for salmon.

BEAR CATCHING FISH

BEAR LOOKING FOR ANOTHER FISH

On our way back from Hyder to Stuart we passed the Grand Yacht Club of Stuart.  

CHECKOUT THIS YACHT CLUB

Well our wonderful trip is almost over.  Tomorrow is Day 59 of our 60 day Caravan.  We will be driving to Smithers, BC some 205 miles away.  We have had a wonderful time and hate to see it end.  

for more pictures 

http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012----STEWART, ALASKA

The Communities of Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska are located at the head of the 90 mile long Portland Canal. Today we are in Stewart, British Columbia, Canada. 

 We are going to meet up at Fish Creek Wild Life Observation Point in Hyder, Alaska at 10:30 am for a ride share to Salmon Glacier by way of the Salmon Glacier Road.

LINING UP FOR OUR RIDE TO SALMON GLACIER

This route provides access to some of BC’s richest reserves of natural resources including copper, gold & silver. You can observe over 20 glacier formations overlooking the Highway, giving it the name ‘Glacier Highway’

The road was the worst we have been on this whole trip.  The first 5 miles was all potholes and we proceeded at 5 miles per hour.  It took us 45 minutes to reach to the top of the glacier which was only 15 miles away.

We arrive at Salmon Glacier from Summit. The Salmon Glacier, the fifth largest in Canada, is a remnant of that last great age of glaciers.  It was beautiful seeing the glacier from the top rather than from the bottom on all our other glacier viewings.  The sun was out and it was a magnificent day.

Ivy, George, Tom & Rita enjoying the view from the top

River formed from melting glacier

Everyone brought a lunch and we had a nice "Brown Bag Lunch" together.

OUR GROUP AT THE TOP OF THE GLACIER

AUGUST 27, 2012-----TOK, ALASKA

Today is a travel day.  255 miles to cover.  We are going back through Tok to go onto the next leg of our journey.  Nothing much happening today.

AUGUST 28, 2012

Another travel day, 225 miles to Destruction Bay.  Roads weren't very good today.  Makes for a long driving day.  The campground is so-so, however the campground owner is a hoot.  He prepared this gourmet meal for all of us and served us.  An hour after we ate he entertained us with his guitar.  Has quite a nice voice too.  Gave us his life history of how he came to settle in Destruction Bay.  He is very happy in this desolate place.  The mountains outside our motorhome are beautiful but it sure isn't a place I'd want to live.

Looking forward to tomorrow.  We are leaving for Skagway.

AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2012-----SKAGWAY, ALASKA

Today Aug 29^th was a travel day to Skagway, Ak.  270 miles to travel.  After about 70 miles we made a stop at an excellent bakery.  All three units always agree to stop for bakeries.  We made another stop today at Carcross, YT.  We decided we would walk around the town for a while the other 2 motorhomes decided to go on.  It is the first time since the beginning of our caravan that we have split up.  They are tired of seeing things and walking, we on the other hand are not.  We spent a few hours just walking around and taking pictures.  Carcross is an old town with wooden sidewalks.  Carcross became a stopping place for gold stampeders on their way to the Klondike goldfields.  It was a major stop on the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad from 1900 until 1982, when the railroad stopped train service.  In the early days, passengers and freight transferred from rail to stern-wheelers at Carcross.  The White Pass & Yukon Route runs a popular trip down to Skagway from Carcross.  We will ride that train on Saturday. 

We arrived in Skagway in time for supper.  Weather is once again nice.

AUGUST 30, 2012

Today we took an all day boat cruise over to Juneau.  We were on a catamaran for about 3 ½ hrs and then about a 1 ½ hr bus tour to Juneau and through the town.  We had 2 hrs allotted on our own for lunch and to visit a few shops.  There was only 1 ship in port so it wasn’t too crowded.  Then we reboarded the bus to return to the catamaran for our return trip.  The day was beautiful, bright and sunny.  The captain told us that 2 days ago the seas were so rough that everyone got sick and that yesterday was just as bad so they had to cancel all trips.  But today, it is beautiful out…..seas are nice and calm.  Once we were back on board they took us out looking for whales.  Our captain said a few weeks ago was primetime for whale watching, but now, lots of whales have already started heading for Hawaii.  Well 15 minutes into our trip a whale was spotted in the distance.  As we approached the area where it was spotted a pod of whales appeared.  The captain said there were at least 12 of them.  All of a sudden a whole bunch of them came up out of the water at one time,,,,,right in front of the bow of the boat.  I have never seen anything so amazing.  They stayed around our boat for hours.  At one point, they were right on the side of the boat, all breaching at once.  Awesome sight.  We will put all the pictures up for you to see,,,,just click on the link below.

It sure was a full day. but it was an awesome day.

We left at 7:30 A.M. and returned at 9:30 P.M.

AUGUST 31, 2012

Today is a free day.  We headed into town for breakfast in one of the local Café’s and then off for some souvenir shopping.  This town has 4 cruise ships in port today but they will leave by evening and a few more will come in tomorrow.  The town has lots of jewelry stores.  We looked around all the shops and didn’t buy a thing. 

Tonight we had tickets to go to a Monte Carlo Night at Soapy Smiths.  Jefferson Randolph Smith, aka Soapy Smith reigned over Skagway in the 1897-1898.  He was quite a character.  You’ll have to google him to read about him.  When we got to the casino we were given paper money to play the casino games.  It was lots of fun and the person who won the most was presented with a prize during the Vaudeville show to follow.  The show was very entertaining.  It was called The Days of ‘98 Show with Soapy Smith.  It told of Soapy Smith and how he ran the town and ended up getting killed.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2012

This morning we got some errands done.  At noon we went over to the train depot for our White Pass & Yukon Train Ride.  The rain held out until our ride was done.  It was a great ride through the mountain passes. 

After the ride, we went back to souvenir shopping and found all our souvenirs.  Then we joined another couple at the Red Onion Saloon for pizza.  This saloon use to have a brothel upstairs and they have a museum and guided tour of the brothel.  We didn’t have time to get in on that….pizza was great though.  Got our last Alaskan Amber beer. 

Tomorrow we leave Alaska.  Sorry to be leaving but getting anxious to get back into the lower 48.  We will be in Yukon Territories and British Columbia for almost another whole week before the Caravan ends.  At that time we have another 3-4 days to get out of Canada.  The trip has been wonderful.  Only disappointment is not having seen the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).  They tell us we are about 2 weeks too early.  It isn’t cold enough yet or dark enough.  We are losing daylight at 6 minutes a day, so it is now dark by 9:30 or so.

Having a great time.  Life is good.

SEPTEMBER 2, 2012----Northern Beaver Post, Yukon Territories

Today is another travel day…..we are headed back to the Yukon Territories over some of the same terrain that we came up on.  It is a long day with 308 miles to travel.  Roads aren’t too bad today.  Lots better than we have had.  Not much to stop and see as we’ve travelled this road before.  A stop to refuel and then for a quick lunch and off  to the campground.  We are all tired.  Had a travel briefing and social.  Another couple is leaving the group, they are tired and want to get back to the states.  We are now down to 16 units and the wagonmasters and tailgunners.  A few people decided to play cards but we decided to turn in early.  Weather is getting very cold.

At 1PM there is a loud knock on our door.  When we opened it everyone was outside with their pajamas on.  We walk outside too and up in the sky are the Northern Lights.  It was amazing.  We stayed outside for quite sometime watching the skies turning from reds to greens.  I can’t even explain how beautiful it was.  We are posting all the pictures for you to see but you really have to see it in person to appreciate how beautiful they are.  Our trip is complete……this was the only thing we hadn’t seen. 

Luckily tomorrow we only have 148 miles to travel and can sleep in. 

SEPTEMBER 3, 2012

Today is day 56 of our 60 day Caravan.  The time has flown by.

It is another travel day. We are headed  to Dease Lake, BC.  148 miles to drive.  Roads aren’t that great today.  We are travelling down the Cassiar Hwy heading towards Vanderhoof,  BC where our caravan will break up.  We have not been on this road before and it is up and down and very windy and narrow.  The sun is out though so that’s a good thing.  Different scenery than we have had too.  Lots of trees and the mountains are greener (no more snow coverings).  It is pretty but I miss the snow capped mountains. 

We stopped at  Jade store on our way.  Jade boulders are cut here and are from the Princess Jade Mine 82 miles east.  One of the largest jade claims in the world.  Jade is the Alaska gem.  They had beautiful but expensive jewelry and other items in this store.  Gave us time to stretch our legs.

Tonight is a travel briefing and social.  We are having a white elephant exchange.  We all have to put an item in a paperbag and staple it.  The Wagonmaster had us all stand in a circle with our bags and read us a story that had us passing the bags right, left and across for several times.  The bag you ended up with at the end of the story, was yours.  It was lots of fun.

At 7pm we are gathering to cook Smores.  

Haven’t had internet or cell service for several days now.  Not looking too promising for having it for the rest of the trip.  Will post as soon as I can. 

Having a blast.

to view pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/motorhome234