Travel, Animals and More

August 15. A really good day for travel and for seeing animals. We saw many, many bison along hwy. 97. Also, two black bears and a really big moose. Saw another Escape 19, but not folks that wanted to visit- oh well. Stopped for the night at a turnout south of Ft. Nelson. Felt safe as there were a couple of semi's there also.
August 16. National Airborne Day! Drove to Grand Prairie, A. B. We stayed at  Walmart along with several other campers. At Dawson Creek, we stopped for pictures of us and the Escape. We met a young man there getting pictures. He was on his way to be stationed in Alaska. To be honest, he looked to be about 19. Warm and sunny.
August 17. We headed toward Edmonton, but decided to go south as we really want to camp in several northern states before heading toward home. We stayed in a small town- Nanton, B. C..
Another beautiful day.
August 18. Crossed the border into United States at 9:40. Good to be back and see real mileage signs and gas in prices other than liters. Now at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana.  Really nice off  base fam camp. Got the last spot- a pull thru- which we always like.

August 19. Went to the post exchange and on to Walmart for a timely oil change. Wifi. Beautiful pics of the sunset.
August 20. Staying one more night.  Really like it here! Hot- what a change for us.
August 21. My beautiful daughter's birthday. Left the base early and camped free for the night in New Salem, North Dakota at their municipal park.
August 22. Now at a military camp in Little Falls, Minnesota- Camp Ripley. This is really nice!

More Juneau, Ferry and Teslin Lake, B. C.

August 11. We had all kind of plans for today, but the rain literally put a damper on them. We did do a little shopping and used the library's wifi.
August 12. Thomas' sixteenth birthday! More touristy things and found a new mall- Nugget-small.
August 13. Beautiful day. Stayed at camp. Cooked out, picked more blueberries and got some beautiful pictures of the glacier.

August 14. Up at 3:30 to prepare for a 5:00 ferry to Skagway. Had breakfast on board and we both are always amazed at the large amount of the servings and the very low prices. Chatted with two other couples and enjoyed a beautiful and scenic time. Got to see some whales and a sea lion colony. In Skagway, four cruise ships were in so we headed on out. Drove to Teslin Lake Yukon Government campground in B. C.. After eating we decided to take a walk and came upon a Casita from Texas in the other loop. Duke knocked and we were amazed to be greeted by Vicki and J. C. Cobb. We never know what the future will bring and this is another chance meeting of people we know as we travel. Had a nice reunion and took pictures of each other.

Juneau

August 6. Boarded the ferry to Juneau this morning at 9:15. Had a nice big breakfast on board to get us started. Cloudy and overcast most of the way. We are camped at Mendenhall Lake campground and since it is a National Forest the senior pass applies. What a sin to pay $5 night to camp! The beauty of our campsite is that the glacier is right in back of us.
August 7. Rain most of day. Used library's wifi till the whole mall lost power. We were hungry anyway, so we went for Chinese- Little Hong Cong. This was one of the best I have had.
August 8. Booked our ferry to Skagway for the 14th. Must be at terminal at 5am for 7am departure. Spent a lot of  time shopping - what more can you do on a rainy day?
August 9. More rain, but it sure does not curtail our activities. Pizza today at Bullwinkles across from the library.
August 10. Sunny at last! Decided to stay at camp and enjoy it. Day spent cleaning, repairing and general camping necessities. I picked blueberries by our campsite- quite tasty. Duke picked a few for me- pictures will follow as soon as I download them.

More Haines

July 31. We have enjoyed this place so much and it is so much fun having John and Barbara here. Today was rain, so did not get outside much.

August 1. Another month down the tube. To town today for various touristy things and to catch up  on wifi. Internet went down at the library, so we got very little done. Went to John's for (happy hour). Wine and cheese and A BEAR. We were sitting around the campfire when some boaters pulled to shore to warn us of a bear near. We fast put our food away and waited. In the meantime a ranger drove up and as he was preparing his weapons the darn thing came out of the brush down from our camp. I got my bear picture! He used a noise shot to scare it away. Later,  Duke, Barbara and I went back to sitting. Shortly, the bear was back and thanks to Duke seeing it come out of the brush by the camper, we were able to yell and he moved on. Took its time though as he reared up on a table in the site across the way. No food found so moved on. We resumed our sitting till late, but definitely an unforgettable night.
August 2. No rain, but damp and chilly and had to have heat on. What a difference from the lower 48,
August 3. Caught up on internet today. Went to Big Al's to eat fish and chips. Tiny little drive up shack with really good food. So pretty and sunny today! Sat at John's campfire and had a few visitors stop by.

August 4. Up early and started preparing chili for tomorrow. Off to the farmer's market and met a few locals. This was at the fairgrounds and inside was a cute area of old shops- some real and some only shells to make them look authentic- Dalton City. Did the laundry afterwards and a real eye opener at $5.00 a load. We were at John's later and a bear came up on the bank beside us. A stupid tourist followed him too close and made him go back into the campground rather than off into the woods. Someone shot off a noise maker to scare him off.

August 5. Went to mass and stayed afterward for coffee. Friendly people. Father Perry asked to bless our truck and in doing so made our day and visit to Haines even more special. We took our chili and wine down to John's and had such a good time. Back at camp later, knock on the door and Jean Boeckman- our Casita buddy was there. We knew she was in Alaska, but did not know where. We met her twin sister, Jane and we all spent a while under John's awning talking. The rain had moved in earlier, so no campfire. Later, we said our goodbyes and went back to prepare for our ferry ride tomorrow to Juneau.

Blueberry Lake and Haines

July 24. Stayed at Allison Point one more day as we wanted to move to Blueberry during nice weather. Saw an Escape 17 and a small one- maybe a 13, while in town.

July 25. Beautiful day!  We are at  Blueberry for  two nights. Couldn't have picked  a more perfect camp and campsite.  As we were finishing our set up we had a wonderful surprise as Grady and Shirley Collier  from  Alabama pulled in. We met them last March at the Alabama rally. We went to their campsite later for coffee and met another fellow camper who is a teacher at Port Lion near Kodiak . It was so much fun visiting and hearing stories from all. Matt, the teacher, was so great to listen to as he shared his teaching and traveling experiences. We were sorry to see the evening end.
Matt was going on to Cordova for a marathon run on Saturday and the Collier's  were leaving  in the morning.
July 26. Our friends left at around 12:30. We took pictures of them and vise versa. We are truly blessed to have met so many wonderful people in our travels and to have such a gorgeous day today.

We were able to use our grill and do what we love best- camp.
July 27. Got on the road early and now heading to Haines. Passed through customs at Beaver Creek and had a great breakfast at Burwash Landing Lodge. The roads are pretty bad. Road work is every few miles. Slow traveling. Camped for the night at Lake Creek Yukon Gov. Camp.  Buggy and rain early, so we were not out side much.

July 28. Now in Haines and I have to say our truck and camper have never been this filthy! This time we wanted rain to clean them up, but it did not happen. Got to our destination- Chilkoot Lake State rec area and there were no vacant camp sites, but as it turned out, our friends, John and Barbara Harris  from Lubbock are  here and we stayed in their pull thru for the night. Had a great time with them cooking burgers on the grill, drinking a little wine and having a campfire. A fellow camper came over- Mike and his beautiful dog, Pretty Girl. Up till 11:00 and it actually did get dark for a change.
July 29. Barbara over to let us know a pull thru opened up. We moved and are so happy to have such a great site on the water. Beautiful mountains in the background. John came by later to warn us of a bear sighted in the area. We went in to read as it was a little cool outside. We will be here till next Sunday morning.
July 30. Up late. Found out from neighbors a bear was by our fire ring and from John that bears had played havoc with several tents last night.  Darn all I want is a picture! Went to town for wifi and a little tourist activities.

Pictures

This little guy was a constant visitor while we were in Leavenworth,WA.

Pictures

More Valdez

July 20. Sunny. Went to the Remembering Old Valdez museum and saw a film about the 1964 earthquake. Quite an exhibit. A woman had designed miniatures of the entire old town prior to the disaster and included street names and identified residents homes by names. Went to use the Internet at the library. We bought sandwiches and had another picnic on the boat docks. Back at Allison Point got a great eagle picture. July 21. Overcast, but a great day. Visited around the business area and docks. Back at camp we fixed salmon on the grill. Otters out again. July 22. What a difference one day makes. Rain all day. Tent campers in during the night at a couple of sites over. Loud. Don't know how they had anything dry to sleep in or on! The weather forecast in the mornings here are always from the previous day! Always have to wait till afternoon to get current info. Went to mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic church. Really enjoy visiting different churches. Went for brunch at a restaurant on the waterfront after mass. July 23. Had menudo late- nice and hot to start out on a damp days. Went to use the Internet at the library again. I forgot to mention previously that we have 2 new campers next to us. One from Bastrop, Texas was a helicopter pilot and the other from California was a Navy Seale. This resulted in instant friendship. We were due to leave tomorrow, but have decided to extend our stay a day or so.

Matanuska Glacier and Valdez

July 16. Visited the Glacier and decided, since it was a beautiful sunny day, to camp at the adjoining rec site. We were able to cook out and really enjoyed actual camping without rain or wind.             July 17. Now at Allison Point in Valdez. Right on the water and a beautiful and sunny day. Along the way here, we stopped at several places for pictures. Cute picture of a squirrel at a rest area- not a rare creature, but cute! We stopped at Tolsona Lake where Duke jumped in with his unit in 1961. A good memory for him. It was January then! Also went to Wrangell- St. Elias visitor center, got a passport stamp and a pic of a fish wheel. Pictures at Worthington Glacier, Bridal and Horsetail Falls. Saw eagles along the way- one across from our campsite. A man from Texas stopped to say hello. He lives in El Paso and retired military.                                                                                                            July 18. Otters behind our trailer this morning. Another great day. Had a picnic at a pavilion overlooking the boat docks. We drove to a very scenic rec. site- Blueberry State and will camp there a couple of days after Allison Point. We then stopped at the old railroad tunnel site in Keystone Canyon for pictures and a short walk in to it. The tunnel was never completed due to differences of opinion and a follow up gun battle. Visited Valdez Glacier campground where we  were before and then back to take pictures of the receding glacier. Drove out to Robe Lake where there was a small rec. area and a private float plane dock. Also, took a picture of an unusual (to us) dredge like machine with paddle wheels. Stopped briefly at the Horse and Trail site of 1945. Back towards camp we saw harbor seals, sea lions and many, many salmon coming into the hatchery. Saw many eagles today also.                                                                                                                                                       July 19. Our Escapes 1 year birthday! Beautiful day- the warmest yet. We visited the Crooked Creek Science Center and got pictures. Saw the huge Indian wood carving  by Peter Toth and the bear at the college which is by the same artist. Toured the Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum and the Valdez Historical Museum. Also went to the Original Valdez Site where the whole town was prior to the 1964 earthquake. A nice day to sit out and watch the boats and otters in the water.

Seward and Anchorage

July 9. Ready to leave for Seward at 8:30 and discovered we had a flat on the trailer. Had to find air and discovered not many stations even have it any more! Found a tire company and we will head to Soldotna to have it fixed. Another eagle picture. Repair at Johnson Tire- great service and friendly staff. Finally off again. A little rain and sun. Ran into road repair and mud, nothing new here. We are at Iditarod campground. July 10. Sightseeing today. Went to the military camps- nice. Walked in town. Rain and wind moved in. Not nice. July 11. Rained all day, but we were out most of it. Saw the Benny Benson memorial. He designed the Alaska flag. We out to Lowell Point. A couple came by to look at our trailer. Neighbor next door is from the Woodlands in Texas. July 12. Now in Anchorage for a few days. Elmendorf AFB. PX and a little shopping as well as Internet in food court. Three moose across from PX had cars stopping for a look. We bought a DVD- Act of Valor and watched it. July 13. Nice sunny day. Fun doing what Duke and I like to do- no more than we have to! July 14. More of the same. Two more couples from Texas. One Georgetown Jeanette and Brian and the other from Waco. Laundry today. Going to stay another day. July 15. PX and Internet mainly. Drove around a little.

Homer

July 3. Very windy during the night. Sounded like the waves were coming into the trailer! Over 20 eagles on the beach this morning. On to Homer and what an awesome sight as the mountains came into view. In Cast-A-Way park(on the spit )as before-same great owners and service. To visitor center for info. Otters swimming in bay on the spit and one outside our back window. Rainy and cool. July 4. What a fun day! Independence Day. A little cloudy and some sum. After touring the spit a little, we headed for the Elks for a 12:00 BBQ. Sat with 2 couples- 1 from California and the other from Oregon. Quite a lot of food including brisket, pork, chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers and numerous sides and desserts and drinks for $15.00 a plate. After that to the farmers market which is always fun. July 5. Went to Beluga Point. Saw an eagle in flight then returning to its nest. Got our pictures in front of welcome to homer sign. Went to the shopping mall, then back to camp to go to lunch with Marv and Vicki. Good food- expensive as most of it is. July 6. Went to the large visitor center and watched 2 films and walked through their great exhibits. July 7. To the farmers market. Bought a few items and listened to a couple playing music. Kettle corn and blueberry lemonade. To the famous Salty Dogs for a tshirt and then pictures of eagles on the locals roofs. Back at camp Duke fixed a delicious salmon chowder. Internet here, so caught up a bit. July 8. Went to a beautiful mass at St. John The Baptist Catholic church. Another eagle to see. To Ben Walters Memorial park. Walked the boardwalk, took photos of ducks, sea planes and an unusual lily pad. Cleaned trailer, duke made a great chicken soup, got another eagle picture, charged all electric up and got ready to leave for Seward tomorrow.

Portage, Whittier and Soldotna

June 29. We are at Williwaw campground in the Chugach National Forest. On the way here I took pictures of Beluga Point which has a good view of Turnigan Arm. Saw our first eagle, but too far for a picture. This was about 9 miles from the Portage turn off.  Got pictures of the Spencer glacier. Double campsite with the Marvs-nice wide and paved. Went to the beautiful Begich, Boggs visitor center. Lots of pictures of mountains and blue ice. A great film- Voices from the Ice.
June 30. We all got in Marv's truck and went to Whittier and through the long tunnel. It was sunny at camp, but cloudy and cold there. Got some delicious hot chocolate and then off to Hope. A little nicer there. Had lunch at the Discovery Cafe. Good food! A cute small quaint town-good for us tourists to take a look see. Back at camp and sun was out.
July 1.  Another month gone! Today we drove to Russian River to camp, but full and check in at 5, so since it was only 11, we drove on to Fred Meyers in Soldotna. Sunny. Dropped the trailer and went to do laundry. This was a very pretty day and we did a little shopping and stayed out to take advantage of it.
July 2. Marv on to Homer, but we weren't ready yet. We stayed in  town till about 2:00, then to Mile 137 and camped on the beach at Deep Creek State Rec. area. Cloudy in Soldotna, but sunny and windy here. Eagles on the beach.

Talkeetna, Wasilla & Anchorage

June 25. Drove to Talkeetna. Stopped at the visitor center. We camped here overnight before. Same man at desk. Had lunch at the Denali Brewery and Pub for a great meal of fish and sweet potato fries- one of our favorite meals from 2010. Well worth the return! Walked around town a little, then off again. Stopped at the Alaskan Veterans Memorial and took pictures. Drove on to Wasilla to stay at Fred Meyers, but manager said no. We then went on to Walmart where the manager welcomed us.
June 26. Went to the visitor center and bought a beautiful book and cute print of sea otters and a beaded necklace made from Wasilla potatoes. From there we all went  to the Iditarod headquarters where we got to hold some puppies-several pictures for this. Saw a nice film. From there to the Dorothy G. Page museum where we saw a film of the 2011 Iditarod race. Went to lunch across the street at a sub and salad place, then back to spend the night at Walmart.
June 27. My birthday. I cannot believe I am this old. Drove to Anchorage. Camped at Centennial Municipal park. Friendly staff. Decent camp sites. Went to the visitor center-pictures. An outdoor concert was going on. Flowers all over. Had lunch at the Glacier Brewery. Food not very good!
Duke and I then went to the Alaskan Sausage Company for a few things. Rained. Marv and  Vicki had us over for cake and ice cream and presents. Duke gave me an Ipad and a dressy purple tshirt.(We  just got it in town). Vicki gave me a Pier 1 gift card which I love. Also wine glass candles- I had seen them in Leavenworth and really liked them. A fun evening.
June 28. We spent most of the day going all over- 2 Best Buys, Target, Sams,Walmart, Sportsman's  Warehouse, Liquor Store and  the  Ulu Factory. (Met Ted and Cindy there).They were beside us in Fairbanks. In all it was truly a shopping day!

Denali

June 19. Now at Denali National Park. Very slow check in, but worth it. A moose and two babies around office. Later we saw them as we walked around camp. Went to a ranger presentation on squirrels.
June 20. Up early for a twelve hour bus trip up to the roads end. Great driver-Kim. Talked the whole time-not a tour guide, but was so informative. Saw a few grizzly bears moose, and sheep. Mt. McKinley clouded in so could not see all of it.

June 21, 22, 23 & 24. Toured the area. Went to sled dog demonstration, drove the old Denali Highway as far as the Sluice Box. Same owner as before-nice man.Saw all the films we could at the Wilderness and Visitor center. Attended a ranger presentation on golden eagles. Grady and Shirley from Alabama rally came by to see us-they had recognized our rigs.

Alaska!

June 15. Left Whitehorse. Stopped to take pictures at Canyon Creek bridge. Took pics of bridge and water and of a friendly black dog that came to greet us. Went through US customs at 3:30 local time.Good to be in US. Visited Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. Stopped for night at Toc River State Rec. Site just a litte east of Tok, AK.
June 16. To Fast Eddys for breakfast, then off. Saw a Moose and baby. Stopped at Delta Junction Visitor for a picture of end of Alaskan Highway sign. Then of Tanana River pipeline crossing and santa at North Pole. Arrived at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks and will be here till he 19th.

Whitehorse, Yukon

June 12, 13 & 14. At Hi Country RV park where we stayed twice in 2010. Road to get here was not too bad. Some areas under water though and a few homes in Upper Laird Springs. Saw two red foxes.
Gas is a  little lower in the Yukon. Met a man in Testlin from New Braunfels, Texas. Later we saw him again at Walmart in Whitehorse. Groceries here are pretty scarce due to the road closings.
We had fish and chips at the Klondike Salmon & BBQ. Cold and windy.

Stewart, Hyder, AK, and Watson Lake

June 8. Drove toStewart, B.C.,but Municipal Park closed for camping, so we went a ways out of town to Clements Lake Rec. site-a freebie. Nice lady at visitor center-been here 47 years.  Lunch in town at the King Edward Hotel-pricey and not too good fish and chips. Took a pic of Duke on boardwalk outside of visitor center. Took pictures of Bear Glacier on the way to Stewart.
June 9. Hyder, Ak. Disappointed as road to bear viewing and glacier was closed. Went back to camp, packed up and drove to Mountain Lake RV resort in Iskut, B.C. Hook-ups for the night. Saw over  a dozen bears on this route.
June 10 & 11. Alaskan highway closed to Whitehorse, Yukon, so we headed a little east to Watson Lake. Camped at a provential park. Went to Signpost Forest where Duke placed his license plate in 2010. Found it and got his picture.

June 12. Road open, so off to Whitehorse.

Off Again

June 6. Overnight in Vanderhoof, B.C. Right beside train tracks, so a little loud during night. On way stopped at a Canadian Tire  and bought a dutch oven for 29 bucks. Saw a black bear on a hill outside of Clinton.
June 7. Stopped at Houston visitor center. Lots of flowers, but less than in 2010. I was told they got a late start in planting this year. Here is the home of the world's largest fly rod-wow. Pizza at Bostons in Smithers. Stopped for pictures at beginning of Cassiar Hwy(37). Here were totem poles of Gilwangak-authentic. Also, pics of St. Paul's Angelican Church (the bell tower near the church houses the original bell from 1893). Saw a black bear around the Cranberry river area. Too fast to get a pic-though I tried. Later got pics of bears near Brown Bear lake. Night at Meziadin Lake Provential Park.

Arriving in Washington

May 27. Arrived in Moses Lake, Washington and found a nice rv park, Sunset RV Resort. Saw a deer on the way here. Nice area and a surprise that there was a space since it is a weekend. Sunny 70. (Good Sam).

May 28. On to Leavenworth where we have reservations for the next 3 nights. Met here with Marv and Vicki and we are at Icicle River RV Park.
May 29. Toured the town, shopped, had lunch and ice cream. This is a pretty Bavarian themed town. We walked in the Riverfront park and Blackbird Island. Pretty flowers and foliage.
May 30. Had breakfast at Sandy's Waffle House-good food. Did a little shopping and back to camp for a campfire.

British Columbia

May 31. Today we arrived in Osoyoos, B.C. for the Escape Rally.  Here till June 3. Rease and Tammy greeted us. It was fun meeting other Escape owners-there were a lot! Really a great rally and beautiful campground at Nk'Mip RV Park. Individual sites were made private with trees on both sides. We won a $25 gift card to Safeway.
June 3, 4, 5 . Duke and I went on to Clinton, B.C. ( He keeps calling it Nixon). We camped at Gold Trail  RV park. Quite a character was the owner-Mike. Good cook and  quite a joker. Scoped out the whole town-all 1 mile of it! Marv and Vicki here on the 5th.

On Our Way

May 24. Left San Antonio with temperatures around 90 and anticipations of cooler days ahead. Got to Amarilla and spent the night at Walmart. Used this location before and found a friendly staff.
May 25. Off early and made it to Casper, Wyoming.  Walmart again. Will average about 500 miles a day. Cooler.

May 26. Ok. We wanted cooler weather ( be careful what you wish for)! Now 34 and snow and light rain most of the day. Spent the night at a casino in Missoula, Montana.