End of the road!

Our trip from Dawson City to Tuktoyaktuk was 576 miles each way on dirt, rock, and gravel roads. What we had heard of the roads were they were terrible and would literally slash your tires so carry multiple spares. We were in Gary’s Jeep Rubicon and Tom’s Honda CRV. Wrong. We found the roads not bad. There were some rougher sections where we drove 30 mph but most of the road was 50+ mph. I guess most of those thinking that it was so bad had never grown up driving gravel or shell roads. We had no problems other than a couple rock chips on the windshields which we expected. We did stop on the way back to help a guy change a tire on a rental truck camper. Since it was a rental all he had was the OEM jack. So we grabbed our air compressor, tire plugs, and impact driver. Tried plugging but there were at least 4 slits leaking so helped him change the tire. Met up with him later at Eagle Plains where they were able to repair it properly.

Once again we crossed the Arctic Circle like we did in 2019. We spent the first night in Eagle Plains which has a ?hotel?, very dated but comfortable, a restaurant, gas pumps, and a mechanic shop. Nothing else but it is halfway so a good place to rest and eat.

Then we drove into Inuvik for 3 nights. We were fortunate that weekend coincided with the Summer Solstice and National Indigenous Peoples day. Our room overlooked the baseball field where they had a tournament going each “night” until 2 or 3 am. The sun here would just circle around us never setting. We did facetime with Ella at midnight on Friday to show her how bright the sun was. On Saturday there was the Indigenous Peoples festival where they cooked whitefish, burgers, hot dogs, and caribou stew. Missed out on the stew but the whitefish was very good. And it was all free. We also visited the famous Igloo Church and were treated a tour of the attic and basement areas.

This picture was at about 2am

Then Sunday morning we drove into Tuk for the day. Cindy and I walked into the Arctic Ocean there which is actually the Beaufort Sea. Air temperature was 38ºF and the water temperature was 31.8ºF. A couple weeks ago there was still ice but it has since all broken up from wave action. We did see lots of ice driving up in the lakes. With the cold north wind blowing the water didn’t feel as cold as it actually was. But still too cold for a total plunge!

Then Cindy and I along with Darlene and Diana enjoyed a nice traditional meal cooked by Eileen, a local lady. We had muktuk (beluga whale blubber) which was thankfully boiled. Quite tasty. Then caribou stew, moose chili, baked Husky lake trout, baked Arctic char, bannock donuts, salad, coleslaw with blackberries, blackberry muffins, cream cheese tart with arctic berries. Oh and Tom and Gary went to Grandmaw’s kitchen to have “white man’s fast food” as Eileen said. 

Then back to Inuvik for our last night. Then we drove back to Eagle Plains for the night. While we were up there the road down to the Klondike hwy and it were closed due to wildfires. So when we got up yesterday morning and saw the road was open we battled our way through the mosquito hordes, jumped in the cars and started driving. We were able to get back to Dawson City and our RV’s with no problem. And we saw no evidence of fires or recent burns along the road but did see plenty of smoke. Last night it rained so the air is clear today. 

We did see a grizzly bear crossing the road. And saw a moose.

We’ll probably leave in the morning and cross the Yukon river on the ferry. There is a campground about 90 miles in Alaska we’ll try to spend there a few days if there are open sites. Of course 90 miles on gravel roads will take us 3 hours. Or longer if the rain deteriorated the roads.

Where are we now?

After 5 days in Ft. Nelson and the road only being opened once at 8pm to 6am we all decided we’d leave at the next opening. Gary/Diana and Cindy and I left at 7am to sit in the line at the closure hoping it would open sometime during the day. No such luck. But at 7pm as we were prepared to spend the night parked on the road a RCMP officer came by and told us it would open at 8pm. We called Tom/Darlene and they left the campground to meet up with us. We drove the almost 4 hour drive through the mountains and where the fire had burned along the road, through thick smoke, and finally got to Strawberry Flats where Gary and I were able to get 2 sites. Unfortunately Tom couldn’t fit so he continued on to the Liard Hot Springs. We spent a few days here in 2019 and remembered how beautiful the lake was. Still beautiful but the sky was hazy from the fires and the smoke got worse until we couldn’t see across the lake. 

We spent a few hours at the Liard hot springs which were very nice. Tom’s son said it reminded him of the movie “Cocoon” with all the old people soaking! Then we picked up dinner at a lodge near our campsites. On the drive we saw a bear, moose, and porcupine.

Then because of the smoke we left the next morning for Watson Lake. Spent a couple days there and went searching for our sign from 2019. Cindy remembered that it was near some antique equipment used to build the Alcan hwy. We found it! And were able to hang our new sign near our old one. We also found a sign that Jen and Kirk hung in 2019 that was very near ours. We didn’t know them at that time of our trip but they were excited that we had found theirs and it was so near to ours. Maybe one day our kids or grandkids can find our sign.

Tom and Darlene also hung their sign.

Then on the road again to Carcross. Still looking for clear blue skies. Not today as it drizzled all day. Got to Carcross and woke up to fog! But it burned off by 8am. We visited the Tlingit First Nations Center and saw the same canoe that we watched being carved in 2019.

  

                                                

Cindy and I left the others since we had seen Carcross and Whitehorse before. We drove a couple hours and found a small campground on a lake that is actually a very wide area of the Yukon river. 

We’ll spend the night here then find another campground on the way to Dawson City where we’ll meet up with Tom and Darlene and Gary and Diana. Then we’ll start our drive up to the Arctic Ocean!

Hotel California

About time for an update. We made it into Canada at the Roosville border crossing. No problems, answered the standard questions and got through. Then drove up and across the Rockies to a nice campground in Black Diamond, Alberta. Spent a couple days there then up to Glen’s farm west of Edmonton to meet up with Tom and Darlene. Gary and Diana went to Banff to see that area which we saw a few years ago.

Had a very nice time visiting with Glen and some of his friends when he bbq’d for us.  From Glen’s we drove to Valleyview, AB. 

Stop! Do not continue! Danger Will Robinson! 

After a very tiring drive through the country roads with lots of wind I was tired. And there is a fire that has closed our road a few hundred miles from us. So we sat at a nice campground for a couple of nights to see when the road will open.  Gary and Diana are a couple hours ahead of us and will sit tight until we decide to move and meet up again. So Cindy caught up with laundry and it’ll be a day resting.

Something interesting, we have a Starlink mini and have been setting it outside on a tripod. Until yesterday it’s been pointing north. Now it’s pointing south. Interesting.

On Wednesday we arrived at “MILE 0” which marks the beginning of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.  Gary and Diana were waiting for us and finally we were all together to make our way on to Alaska.  Of course the ladies had to take their picture to mark their arrival to the Alaska Highway.

Thursday brought another windy day which meant another challenging driving day ending in Pink Mountain, BC.  Our neighbors at this new campground were with us a couple of days before.  They are from Wisconsin and driving to Anchorage, so we will be traveling together for a while.  Our party of three is now a party of four RV’s.

We next arrive in Fort Nelson for the night.  As it turns out, the wildfire to our north has caused another road closure.  Guess it is time again to pause our forward motion.  Hey we are not on a set schedule and are free to meander at will.  Just take advantage of a few days of rest while the firefighters do their job.  They are keeping us safe.  Other than the high winds, we have been blessed with good weather and welcoming Canadians.  Life is Good!

Last thing I remember 
I was running for the door 
I had to find the passage back 
To the place I was before 
"Relax," said the night man 
"We are programmed to receive 
You can check out any time you like 
But you can never leave"

On the road again

When we left our plans were to get into Canada before the Memorial Day rush. Somehow I thought it was next week and we could take our time to avoid all of the traffic. Oooppps! Brain fart. No one in our small group told me or disagreed with me that I was wrong. So it’s all their fault right? Hahahaha.

Anyway the Harvest Host we planned to spend 1 night has 50 amp if needed and water and dump available. They graciously are letting us stay here until tomorrow for $15/night. That’s CHEAP. Now we can avoid the traffic and crowds at a nice quiet farm with more alpacas, chickens, ducks, and sweet Zoey, an older Great Dane.

Tomorrow we’ll drive up the Salmon river to a parking lot at Lost Trail Ski Trail for a night right at the Idaho/Montana border. Then on to Kalispell, MT for Tuesday night. That’ll put us an hour to the Canadian border for an early crossing. Haven’t planned anything past that yet.

One of the neatest things in Arco, ID is since about 1930 the senior class climbs up a small mountain and paints their class year in white paint: 

Here’s our stop for tonight, cloudy, thunder and light rain. Should sleep good tonight:  

We left Wednesday morning, spent 2 nights at a Harvest Host farm in Tremonton, UT waiting on Gary and Diana to catch up. Cleaned up the coach a bit while waiting. Then drove up to Howe, ID for another Harvest Host. On the way we visited EBR-1, Experimental Breeder Reactor #1. Cindy and I saw it in 2013 but it was nice to see it again. It was the first nuclear reactor to generate electricity and powered Arco, ID as the first town to be powered by a nuclear reactor. Lots of theory and development went on here. Pretty neat to see. Then another 30 miles to the HH farm. We decided to spend our free night and 2 more nights at $15/night here. Tomorrow we’ll drive around sightseeing in Gary’s jeep.

Here’s our sunset at 9:06pm. Getting a bit further north so sunset is later.

Almost ready to leave

Cindy and I have been pretty busy getting the motorhome ready for departure on Tuesday. Got to the cabin a couple weeks ago, brought the motorhome up. When you’re planning a trip of 3-4 months it takes time to figure out everything you need to pack and where to pack it. But it’s going well. After everything is packed we’ll still have a good bit of room. Having dinner tonight with good friends Jennifer and Kirk. And their daughter Christina.

Got a snag in our plans. We’re going to Riverton, UT for a doctor appt. on Wednesday then had planned to meet Gary and Diana in Perry, UT then take our time driving to Mulhurst, Alberta to meet up with Tom and Darlene. But Gary just called and has transmission problems. So he’ll get that fixed but might be delayed a few days. So we’ll meet up with Tom & Darlene in Helena, MT. Then Gary & Diana will catch up to us at Mulhurst.

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Once again

 We've been enjoying our Colorado cabin for the past few years. There is a great community at Arrowhead, the summer weather is absolutely enjoyable. Most days are in the 70's with an occasional day bumping the low 80's but only for an hour or two then down into the 50's overnight. Open window weather fo sho. Cindy and I are both members of our volunteer fire department. We enjoy being able to serve our community and are called out, mostly for medical emergencies, whenever someone has an issue up here. Remember we're at 9400' and the top of our mountain is 11,500' so the altitude can be an issue especially for weekenders who come up to play hard. 

But in a few weeks we'll head back up north, way up north to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT Canada. Tuk is on the Arctic Ocean where I plan to jump into the frigid waters. Will I? Won't know until we get there. Then into Alaska where we'll spend a few weeks at Jennifer's brother's 80 acre place parked at his pond. Jennifer is our Fire Chief and good friend.

Last fall while talking with Gary at his orchard (he's a retired fruit farmer near Delta) he mentioned that his wife Diana would love to travel to Alaska one summer. I said that Cindy wanted to return. So once we mentioned it to both ladies the planning started. Gary has a really nice truck camper with 2 slides and we have a cabin. So off we went looking for a motorhome. After looking at everything locally I found a 30' Monaco single slide motorhome in Cheyenne, WY. We drove up, checked it out, and bought it. It drove great on the way back to our cabin. Then I started some upgrades. It is in great condition inside and out, and mechanically. But it had no inverter and only 2 golf cart batteries. From our trip in 2019 in our 36' Foretravel I had a good idea of what was required to be comfortable electrically. So after a few weeks I had added an inverter, 400 watts of solar, 280 amp-hour LiFePO4 battery, DC-DC charger, transfer switch, and a few other essentials. Now we'll have use of the microwave and coffee maker while dry camping. We plan to do mostly dry camping. It's waiting for our return to Arrowhead in a few weeks. Then I spent some time helping Gary upgrade his camper, Kirk (Jennifer's hubby) helped also. Gary had 1 80 watt solar panel so we replaced that one with 4 100 watt panels, added an inverter, and a transfer switch. He already had 200 amp-hours of LiFePO4 batteries so should be good on that. Now he'll have coffee in the morning and popcorn whenever he likes. Then I got a call from Tom wanting to know if he and Darlene could come along with us. Sure! We've known Tom and Darlene for 14 years. He decided to buy a 40' Super C and is adding solar and LiFePO4 batteries. All 3 of us will be ready to dry camp. So when we went back to our cabin a couple months ago we flew to Phoenix where Tom and Darlene picked us up. I spent a couple days helping him with his upgrades. Then Gary and Diana drove down to spend a couple days and meet Tom and Darlene. Then we drove back to Arrowhead with them.

Now we're enjoying our condo in Baton Rouge and spending time with our grandkids. Since my last update we have 2 new grandkids thanks to Mike and Katie. Luke will be 3 the end of April and Jane is 7 months old. Eva is 11 and Ella will be 17 in a couple months. And she will be a junior at EDWhite. I can't be getting that old. Oh yeah, I am 71 now. Ouch, but still going strong, kinda strong, well still going at least. 

That's it for now.

As the world turns our plans change

    Well we survived covid.  We both caught it back in February 2020 before much if anything was known about it.  Had lots of fatigue and bad coughing for a few weeks then recovered with no problems.  Actually it hit me while driving back from Arizona.  I’ve never been able to sleep while Cindy was driving the coach, maybe a light cat nap.  This time I’d lay down on the sofa and be comatose until Cindy shook me awake for me to drive again!  Back home we quarantined along with everyone else for most of the summer.  

     Then in 2021 we hit the road again, we figured we could quarantine just as well in the coach and be in nicer weather with beautiful scenery.  So we headed to Colorado and rented a lot at Arrowhead Ranch way up in the mountains at 9400’ between Gunnison and Montrose.  While we were there we decided that Arrowhead was one of the prettiest places we’ve been to so we bought a lot!  Full hookups with a nice shed.  

    That lasted only 1 year.  We met so many nice neighbors and really discovered the area so we decided to sell the lot and Foretravel and buy a cabin at Arrowhead.  It’s a 2 bedroom 2 bath log cabin with a great deck, single car garage, separate shed, and a basement.  I’ve always wanted a log cabin with a basement.  

    Our view of the Elk mountains

    Arrowhead Ranch is a special place.  We discovered it about 7 years ago while spending a month in Creede and have rented lots and a cabin since then.  There is a mountain lodge with restaurant and rooms.  A security patrol and a firehouse.  There are about 300 cabins with 40 or so people who live there full-time.  And a hundred or so RV lots.

    We went back at the end of January and stayed until the beginning of March.  In winter all RVs must leave and they close the “filing roads” inside the subdivision.  The road from Hwy 50 to Arrowhead is plowed and we have a winter parking lot where we park the car.  From there we either take a snowmobile or the Ranger with snow tracks.  The Ranger has a full cab with heater so is pretty nice to get around in.  Every Tuesday we have a potluck at the firehouse and play dominoes after.  I just couldn’t see Cindy carrying a pot of gumbo sitting behind me on a snowmobile.  Got lucky and bought the Ranger already setup from a neighbor who was leaving the mountain.  We burned more firewood in February than I have in my lifetime.  Glad Dirk left us plenty.

Cindy riding our snowmobile

Arrowhead Mountain Lodge

    Right now we’re back home waiting on Mike & Katie’s new baby to be born!  Yahoo!  Another grandkid to spoil!

We’ll probably head back to the cabin in late May or early June for the summer then probably get back to Louisiana in October or so.  Scott, Niki, and the grandkids are planning to come up for a week this summer.  It will be so much fun.  Gotta build a fire pit in the yard to roast marshmallows and make s’mores.

    Oh yeah we bought a Roadtrek van.  Found it in Tampa, had a friend check it out for me (thanks Richard), drove down and picked it up.  That’ll be our travel vehicle and for short trips.

Water shooting everywhere!

Tuesday 9/10/19

The weather Tuesday morning brought a light drizzle early and threatening skies so we decided not to leave early in the hopes the skies would clear for our drive.  We left West Glacier about 11:15 heading for Missoula.  The drive was another pretty one and the weather continued off and on with light rain and cloudy skies.  We fueled up the coach in Missoula just as we reached the I-90 then another 4 miles east on I-90 to our stop for the night.  

Our Harvest Host membership includes several Breweries throughout the country and there is one is Missoula we decided to try out.  We stayed at the Big Sky Brewing Co on Trumpeter Way right off the interstate.  We had called ahead to reserve a spot and got directions on where to park.  It was an easy in and out and we were entertained by a guy parking his trailer.  He was parked when we pulled in, right on the other side of the lot from where we parked.  No sooner had we shut down our engine when we see him get in his truck and pull out of the spot he was in.  Oh well, we thought, guess he decided not to stay there.  Then he turns around and comes back.  His wife (with her dog on a leash) directs him back almost to where he was before.  He gets out, looks around and drives out again.   We see him pull up a little past an 18 wheeler and park.  Then we see him leave again.  About an hour later we walked over to the Tap Room and see he is now parked behind us.  WOW, guess he just could not decide where he wanted to be.

Wednesday

We left Missoula for our 260 mile move to Island Park, ID which will put us close to the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.  Since it would be a mix of Interstate and US Highway driving we would both drive this day.  Forest started out to get us on to the Interstate then Cindy took over and drove a couple of hours on I-90.  We switched out again when we saw a “Chain Up Area” sign, that means some steep grades are coming, not good for Cindy.  GOOD THING we switched when we did, it was a windy, steep section that is fit for Forest.  We found a nice little Rest Stop for our lunch stop.  Arrived at Valley View RV Park in Island Park, Idaho for our 4 night stay.  It puts us just 20 minutes from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Thursday

We were up at 5am to be sure we would enter Yellowstone ahead of most of the crowd.  The drive was a little slow once we entered the park because some people like to just inch along rather than utilize the pull-outs for their sightseeing.  Our choice for our first trip into Yellowstone was to take the south loop towards Old Faithful.  We made our first stop at the Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin.  There is a nice elevated boardwalk trail taking you past many bubbling boiling cauldrons.  We noticed lots of wildlife “droppings” along the way and were just commenting and wondering if we would see any animals when on our next turn there was a very large male Bison just grazing right on the side of the boardwalk.  He did not appear to be bothered at all with us.  Very glad he did not decide to run us off because I know he could run faster than either of us could!

 Next stop was the Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin.  Again there was ample parking at this hour and another raised boardwalk.  A lot more people at this stop but not too crowded.  The colors were very nice and it was a good hike.
                                              

We had not really planned to stop at Old Faithful but did change our mind and glad we did.  This of course is “a must see” for all tourists, kind of the “calling card” for Yellowstone, so we expected a ton of people.  Yes, there were a lot of people but there is a very large area with several Geysers.  This particular stop has lodging, visitor center, gift shops, cafeteria, gas stations, etc.  It is a “village” for sure.  There are several parking lots and being early, we were able to get a spot in the lot closest to Old Faithful.  There are “predicted times” posted for Old Faithful and several other Geyers in this grouping, so we found the spot we wanted and waited to see Old Faithful give us her show.  The viewing area is set up with two rows of benches around the boardwalk circling the Geyser.  We set up the tripod and camera next to a youngster from Alabama, and had a nice visit with him while waiting.  When we picked out spot it was very early and there were only a couple of other people out.  By the time the “predicted eruption” arrived there were hundreds of people waiting.  Old Faithful gives her show about every 90 minutes and we were glad we decided to see it.

While waiting on Old Faithful we looked at the predicted eruption times for the nearby geysers.  We decided to see the Grande Geyser’s show.  The expected eruption was showing 12:45 but the “window” was from 12:00 - 1:30.  So we grabbed a snack and rested a bit inside before making our way to Grande.  The boardwalk took us past several smaller geysers, some of which were bubbling.  Looking into the ponds the water is so clear you can't tell how deep they are, they are, and are HOT!

We arrived at Grande Geyser about 11 am.  There were some benches just as at Old Faithful but not nearly as many, so we were glad to get there early.  We picked out spot and before long the guy we were next to earlier to watch Old Faithful joined us.  He is a young man from Alabama, we figured in his early 20’s, traveling alone with his photography equipment.  He and Forest set up their tripods and cameras and spent the next couple of hours talking photography and travel.  It was nice to have someone sharing the same interest to visit with.  I guess they looked pretty professional because we had many many people stop to ask us when would Grande Geyser give her show.  The window of  12 - 1:30 came and went.  There was some bubbling, some steam but no show.  After waiting that long we were not leaving until we saw the Grande Geyser erupt.  Sure enough, about 1:45 the activity began.  Grande Geyser is the largest of three geysers grouped together and it is the one that will spurt the highest (about 200 feet).  When she did it was a beautiful sight to see and we had no regrets for waiting so long.  Old Faithful was nice but only shot up once.  Grande Geyser was prettier and shot up three times with the other two geysers showing also.

We made our way back out of the park the same way we came in rather than making the loop.  Traffic coming in had certainly increased in the time we had been there.  The areas where we had stopped coming in which had lots of parking available now were overflowing with cars and campers.  People were parked all along the sides of the road for about a quarter mile in each direction from the attracted sites.  So glad we went in early.

Friday 9/13/19

Today will be a down day to catch up on laundry and allow our backs and knees to rest up from Thursday.  Always glad we have the luxury of time to let our old bodies recover.