Cassiar Hwy (August 18-19) - We had an hour and a half drive from Tok to the border crossing, where we would enter the Yukon. It was a nice day out and we were sad to be leaving Alaska but excited to see what was ahead of us. Sam scheduled a work meeting in Vancouver on the 23rd so we knew we had to be there the night before. That meant some big driving days ahead! We went about 5.5 hours that day until we got to Kluane Lake and decided to take a break. When we get in sight of any body of water Nelly grabs her frisbee and expects a stop and 9 times out of 10, we stop. It was so sunny and the water was crystal clear. Nelly had a great time running up and down the beach and flipping her frisbee in between throws. We had lunch and from there we hit the road to make it to our final destination for the night (high lake), which is located just 3 miles south once you turn off the Alaska Highway onto the Cassiar Highway, which is now British Columbia. We got in really late, tired and hungry. We ended up driving 13.5 hours that day (by "we" I mean Sam)! Nelly was excited to get out of the truck, picked up her frisbee per usual and explored the area. We moved our things back to semi permanent spots for the night (have to take things down for the bumpy drives) and started boiling some water for pasta. I wont get into it but, the pot of boiling water ended up spilling and burning Sams hands, really bad! Having no ice packs, he resorted to the halibut, which was pretty perfect. Unfortunately, he was in excruciating pain all night but was eventually able to fall asleep. We woke up early for another long day of driving. Made our coffee, went down to the lake, and we were back on the road. The Fox (August 19) - Shortly after leaving high lake we had our favorite wildlife encounter (so far). The Cassiar Highway is pretty deserted up north (I mean the Alaska highway is too, but even more so) so we had a feeling we may come across some wildlife. Sam stopped the truck after noticing something run down the ditch. He got out staying near the truck and a little fox appeared! This little guy kept getting closer and closer to Sam, not afraid at all, but curious. I also was getting curious :) I stepped out and he got scared, running away. Whoops. Sam called him back, we offered a dog treat which he denied, and that was it. But man, it was so exciting! Jade City (August 19) - We stopped in Jade City, which is a hwy community made up of one jade business that specializes in jade products. Fun fact: the miners in the Cassiar Mountain Range produce about 1 million pounds of jade each year, and half of that is exported. It was so neat to see all of the jewelry and other items that artists made. Great spot for Christmas gifts ;) Will you be the lucky one? Stewart (B.C.)/Hyder (AK) (August 19-20) - Take Hwy37A off the Cassiar Hwy(37) and you`ll reach Stewart (B.C.) in 40 miles and Hyder (AK) 2.3 miles further. We didn`t realize there was this part of Alaska, so once we did, it was a must stop. About 15 miles in we stopped to look at Bear Glacier, which used to reach the hwy. Stewart was just 25 miles further and is home to about 700 people. We saw a bear in somebody's yard and a couple blocks down thought we saw another, but just a Rottweiler :) Stewart`s Ripley Creek Inn is a collection of 9 historic buildings offering 37 rooms total, all with antique furniture and modern conveniences. It was so cute, but we didn`t even bother calling for a room because most likely Nelly would not have been allowed, but who knows! Hyder is even smaller than Stewart, with a population of 100. It was exciting to be back in Alaska! It was raining, but we later found out that`s quite common there. They get a total of 93 inches of rain/year, compared to the U.S. average of 39 inches. We headed to the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Area for a chance to observe black and brown bears fish for salmon in the shallow waters of the Fish Creek and Marx Creek. It was $5 to enter and coincidentally we were there during a prime time for bears to eat, the evening. We were waiting and waiting, in the rain, and decided to go back to the truck quick and grab the umbrella for camera protection. Within 10 minutes once we returned, black bears appeared! Everyone there huddled together, quiet, waiting to see what the bears were about to do. We ended up watching a 2 year old make two attempts at catching a fish but in the end, grabbed some leftovers off the side. We were content with that experience so got back in the truck and headed for Clements Lake Recreation Site, which has 5 first come first serve spots. It was hard to see what was all around us when we got in, but knowing there were bears in the area, the exploring would wait till morning. It was a beautiful site to wake up to! The fog was sitting low in the mountains and the lake was calm. 100 Mile House (August 20-21) - The drive from Clements Lake to 100 Mile House was just over 12 hours and we made home at the Safeway in town. This was simply a drive day, filled with beautiful sights as always! You`re wondering how British Columbia came up with such a unique name for a city, aren`t you? Well, 100 Mile House acquired its current name (first named Bridge Creek House) during the Cariboo Gold Rush where a roadhouse was constructed in 1862 at the 100 mile (160 km) mark up the Old Cariboo Road from Lillooet. They also have 70 Mile House and 150 Mile House. Squamish (August 21-22) - We woke up and weren't sure how far we were gunna go for the day. It was around 10:30 a.m. when we stopped at a gas station because we had just hit 10,000 miles on our trip! Unlike the rest of the world, we had totally forgotten about the eclipse but a nice man let us borrow his welding plate to look through, and it was amazing! When we got to Whistler it was fun to drive around and see what the area is all about, but that's all we did. It was lively and seemed like a great spot to waste the day, but our logic was that we couldn't afford any of the shops in the area anyway, so why pay $5/hour (parking) to window shop. We'll return one day! We decided to stop at Brandywine Falls Provincial Park for a short hike. It was nice to get out of the car for awhile and take a short hike to the 230 foot falls. We drove a bit further, just past Squamish down a forest road, to find our spot for the night. We found this location on freecampsites.net and were super excited when we got in and found nice big spot. We relaxed with a drink and made some calls, then had a truck pull up. Sam stuck his head out to see what was up and this man was stressing that we were parked in a "climbers only area" and that we'd be towed away. He was so rude about it that we just said ok and decided to stay put. You could say we were a bit paranoid that night thinking he`d call us in and we`d get a knock on our door in the middle of the night, but we were just fine and out of there by 8 the next morning. Vancouver (August 22-23) - It was only an hour and a half to get into Vancouver. We were making our way to the Kitsilano Community Center to take a free shower :) I think we were the only camper in the city and it was certainly our last time! The woman on the phone from the community center had told us there would be a spot for us to park with the trailer but when we got there we saw only one small parking lot, which we were not about to fit in, and street parking. Ever parallel park a camper? Us either! Luckily we were able to find a spot after a couple circles around the neighborhood. After showering we got a call from our host for the night that he was home early so we headed over to his place in Burnaby, just south of Vancouver. It was a beautiful area with nicely landscaped, gated properties and close to Deer Lake. After settling in and meeting Jack we took Nelly down to walk along the lake. For dinner, we took advantage of a Groupon and went to Agra Tandoori for some chicken tikka masala and butter chicken! The next morning Sam had his first work meeting of the trip, and first meeting with a CFO by himself. Had to capture the first time he got out of the camper in a suit! It was a beautiful drive to the office for him and he was pleased with how it went. We definitely rushed this area and did not spend any time exploring Vancouver itself. We just found it was busy and not the most camper friendly for those working with a budget. We will definitely return without the camper and Nelly one day to stay in the downtown area and get some poutine! We left for Seattle around 3 p.m. after Sam`s meeting. You`d think driving through this time would be horrible due to rush hour, but we were just fine and the border crossing took only 5-10 minutes. You could say Nelly is happy to be done with those :) We put a muzzle on her just to keep her quiet, cause its a hit or miss when she barks at someone coming to our truck, and we were not going to risk her making an officer upset. So long Canada, until next summer when we hit the Eastern provinces!
0 Comments
Beluga Point Lookout (August 10) - After enjoying our free breakfast at the hotel, we were off, heading for Seward. The morning was a bit gloomy and the clouds were sitting low. It was a love/hate relationship with the clouds because they were blocking the mountain views which we wish we could see, but at the same time it was cool to all of a sudden see a mountain peak behind and come out of no where! Our first stop along the way was at Beluga Point Lookout where you get 180 degree views of the Turnagain Arm. Byron Bay Glacier (August 10) - We stopped at Byron Bay Glacier for a 3.3 mile hike - this ended up being one of our favorite spots! The trail was lush with ferns in the beginning and followed along the Byron Creek, which was peaceful to listen to. The weather was still gloomy so it wasn`t high in traffic, which is always a big plus. As you near the snowfields at the bottom of the glacier, the trail ends and you have the option to continue in many different directions. Nelly wanted to head for the snow right away, of course. To say she was happy would be a huge understatement. She absolutely loves the snow! The first snow fall back in WI was always so exciting (for all of us) because we could just head to the park and run around on untouched fluff like little kids again. So yes, we acted as if we got our first snow fall and had some fun :) The sun decided to come out and with the reflection off the snow, made it really bright. We just kept going. The further and further we got, the prettier the views became; noticing new waterfalls and glaciers. And when you turned around to look back at what you hiked, you saw Portage Lake. All in all, beautiful views! This was our first glacier hike and definitely one to remember. Whittier (August 10) - To get to Whittier, you must pass through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, which is the longest (2.5 miles) highway tunnel in North America, and the first designed for -40 Fahrenheit temperatures and 150 mph winds! Nelly did not like this tunnel. It cost $22 to go through the tunnel and enter Whittier, which we were not aware of heading in, so we were ready to make it worth it! We parked for $5 (this place gets ya) and headed for "downtown" ... the fact that they called it downtown was really funny to us. We took in the views and popped into some shops, then sat down for fish & chips at Varly`s Swiftwater Seafood. It was delicious and just what we needed after our hike at Byron Bay Glacier. We stopped at their museum to read about the history of Whittier, which was actually quite fascinating. From there, we drove down to the harbor to go for a ride in the Green Bean. This was the first time we tried three people and Nelly, and we realized about 2 feet in, it was not going to work out the way we had it. After moving things around a bit, we were off, cruising for the first time in salt water! We noticed some waterfalls up to the left so we made our way over there. They looked a lot closer from the shore but eventually, we arrived. We enjoyed a drink listening to the waterfalls and having a new view of Whittier. Then the waves came, pushing us up onto the rocks. Sharp rocks. We tried getting off of them while staying put, but soon realized that was impossible and could end up puncturing the canoe. Ben stepped out to get us off the rocks and it was all good. Until we were about 5 minutes away and Ben realized he was without his phone. We cruised back and saw it sitting on a rock, under the water. You know the drill ... get it in rice! He kept it on rice for the next 48 hours and would you believe it? It`s alive! Seward (August 10-11) - We ended up sleeping at Forest Acres Municipal Campground which was just before Seward. It was a quick in and out but we weren`t quick enough. We paid for an RV site (which is more expensive than a tent site) and Ben pitched his tent within our site. The ranger came by in the morning and made us pay for a tent site as well, saying its not how many sites we take up, but rather what we sleep in... ridiculous! It was a rainy morning (yay) and none of us were wanting to just shop around (I mean, I would if I had money...but yeah) so we walked around Seward a bit to just take it in and grab a coffee. We went to Sea Bean and if we had one comment about them, it would be that their drinks were too cold. We got a mocha, but they might as well call it super sugary chocolate milk. Before leaving, we saw the start of the Iditarod National Historic Trail which goes 938 miles to Nome. As you can see from the picture, Nelly was not having the sled dog life... Exit Glacier (August 11) - It was in our bible (the MILEPOST book) and is one of Kenai Fjords National Park's major attractions, so it was a must! The glacier has receded about a mile in the last 100 years. Along the trail there are signs with a year engraved on them, locating where the glacier was in that year. Will we ever return and end up passing a sign marking 2017? That would be weird... Homer (August 11-12) - We drove around trying to decide where home was going to be for the night. It became a clear choice when we got to the Homer Spit and there was room on the beach :) There was a sign saying single vehicles only ... but that`s what we love about our set up. We are pretty much two single vehicles. Just get in quick, un-hitch, and park the truck next to it... walla! The Salty Dawg was a bar on the spit that looked too interesting to pass up so we headed over to relax a bit from the day. The whole bar is covered in dollar bills and other random items. It started out as one of the first cabins built in 1897, soon after Homer became a town site. The first post office, a railroad station, a grocery store, a coal mining office, school house, home - this place has history! (read more about the history) Have you seen The Ranch on Netflix, with Ashton Kutcher? You should. But anyway, we met a guy who looks just like Beau (Sam Elliot) on the show. He acted just like him too, it was hilarious! After a few drinks with him and his wife and hanging our own dollar bill, we headed back for a late dinner on the beach. Can you believe it that this was the first night (on the trip) that we had SMORE`S?? We`ve been stocked with the ingredients ever since. Halibut Fishing (August 12) - We went with J&J Smart Charters, located in Ninilchik (45 minutes outside of Homer). This is a family run charter and we were lucky enough to go out with the two owners, their young grandson, and three of their friends. They also have a campground so we were able to park in a site and leave Nelly in the camper while we fished, which ended up being 11:30-3ish. There was a teenage boy who offered to listen for Nelly and let her out if needed, but she slept the entire time. We took a quick drive with the boat down to the Cook Inlet and the truck was replaced with a tractor to take us out to the water, it was pretty cool. There was even a Packer flag waving from the shore! That was one thing we noticed in Alaska, there are actually a lot of Wisconsinites. There was supposed to be a storm coming in that afternoon but there was certainly no sign of it. The water was calm and the sun was shining - it was a perfect day! We saw a puffin on our way out which was very exciting. We got to our spot and they set up all the rods for us. It didn`t take long for the first bite and since I (Abby) was the newbie, I was up! Here we go. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Just keep reeling and reeling...then it just pops up, a lot smaller than you were imagining it would be after all that work! From that point on, it was constant reeling. Out of the nine of us fishing, we kept 18. We caught way more than that so were able to compare and decide which ones stay and which ones go. Once we all had noodle arms (ok, maybe I was the only one) we headed back to clean up the fish and prepare them for meals :) After that and a nice hot shower, we made our way back to Anchorage (Cabela`s parking lot - great spot) because Ben`s flight was the next morning. You know what was for dinner that night! Halibut tacos :) Amazing and easy! All we did was fry them in beer batter (lager and flour) and throw them in a tortilla with cabbage, avocado and a mayo/sour cream/cayenne sauce. Halibut goes for about $25/lb in the stores so definitely worth the cost to just go catch your own! Anchorage (August 12-14) - We used this time to take a small break; Sam worked, we planned our trip, cleaned, did laundry, and made a Walmart run (I wonder how many times we`ll have gone to Walmart by the end of our trip). I decided I want to take photos of the inside of our camper from time to time so we can see how it changes along our trip. So here it is... a look inside of our reality. Valdez (August 14-17) - The drive in was beautiful! (I know I say that a lot, but everywhere is beautiful, I can't help it) It was really gloomy and foggy out; at times only being able to see 20 ft. in front of you, which is scary when you`re in the mountains! We stopped along the way to see views of the Wrangell Mountains (Mount Sanford, Mount Drum, Mount Wrangell, and Mount Blackburn) and since it was late, planned to hit the Old Railroad Tunnel, Horsetail Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the Worthington Glacier on our way out of Valdez in a few days. Getting in really late, we parked at the Safeway in town and called it a night. The next morning Sam worked and then we headed out to see what this place was all about! We went back out of town (10-15 minutes or so) to the Valdez Glacier, where we read on freecampsites.net (awesome site) that there is free camping available. The road in was a bit bumpy but we made it and found a great spot to set up camp. We threw the frisbee for Nelly and walked down to the glacier. How was this spot free?! Once Nelly had enough we left her to sleep and made our way back into town to drive down Dayville Road. We saw sea lions out in the water and salmon, lots and lots of salmon. The road leads to the Pipeline Terminal but public access ends at the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery, the largest salmon hatchery in Prince William Sound. After that we checked out the Old Valdez town, the harbor, and picked up a few essentials at the grocery store. That night we had a great bonfire and made chicken, potato, onion, pepper foil packs! The next morning we packed up and headed out early to move to the Bayfield Campground in town. We wanted to get on the 11 o`clock tour to the Columbia Glacier so needed a safe spot to leave the camper and our baby inside while we were gone. LuLu Belle Cruise (August 16) - We made it! We fit onto the 11 o`clock and were prepared with our layers of clothes and extra batteries/chargers. Apparently the cold weather really drains batteries and we were not going to risk being without a camera! The website says the tour can be anywhere from 7 - ? hours long. We called and tried to figure out the average time (to see if it would be an alright time away from Nelly) but they really wouldn`t give us anything, so we had no idea how long we`d be gone. Nelly loves her sleep though, especially after days of running around, so we were pretty certain she would be just fine. I`m not even sure how to describe this experience. It was a blast! The boat was beautifully designed and built by the captain and offered a small menu from the kitchen. They`re smart by making fresh blueberry muffins and brownies on board...when you smell it, you have to get it! The water was somewhat calm in the beginning but soon became wavy and pretty wild. It was rainy and wet when you were outside the boat so most people stayed inside and ran out every now and then to snap a quick picture. The wildlife we got to see was so exciting! We had dall's porpoises swim in front of the boat, rafts of otters close by, an eagle in a tree, sea lions sleeping on shore, and puffins in the rocks. Sam and I swear we saw a whale`s tail from afar but it was quick and we have no proof...so, believe it or not. We finally got to the Columbia Glacier, the second-largest tidewater glacier in North America and largest in Prince William Sound. This was the final destination and turnaround spot for the tour. The captain got as close as he could get, until the icebergs were just too big. We stayed for about an hour so everyone could get their photos in and then made the trek back to Valdez. We were getting anxious for Nelly because we knew it would be about 9 hours total by the time we got back to her. We finally got back, ran to the camper, and she jumped off the bed as if we were only gone an hour. After going to the bathroom and getting some love, she was back to sleep. We warmed up with some grilled cheese and tomato soup then went to bed ourselves. Valdez Glacier (August 17) - Sam worked in the morning and I did a load of laundry. After each getting a hot shower in we drove back to our spot by the Valdez Glacier to take the Green Bean out. It was a bit rainy in the morning and the forecast showed more coming our way but...when would we ever have the chance to canoe to a glacier again? We could see a tour group on kayaks from a distance so just avoided them and it felt as if we were all along out there. The water was so chalky you couldn`t see the end of your paddle. We got to the glacier and brought the canoe up to walk around a bit. It was actually pretty scary cause there were parts you thought were just rock but an inch under was ice, so you`d end up sliding down...and there are spots you do not want to slide down! When we got back into the canoe, we were about to kick off until we realized our paddles were still on shore. So close!! On our way back we went inside an iceberg cave - definitely one of our favorite memories from Alaska! It was so blue and such a unique experience. Sam says don`t worry Grandma, it was safe :) On our way back to shore we scooped some ice to make drinks later! Worthington Glacier (August 17) - "UNSTABLE GLACIER AREA. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK" ... for some reason we walked right past this sign with no second thought. The trail was nice and easy and then all of a sudden it took a turn and just kept going up and up. What were we getting ourselves into? It was drizzling out at the bottom and by the time we reached the top, it was a light flurry. We walked right up a ridge along side the glacier for a view from the top. A simple trip or slip, and you`re on your way down... Tok (August 17-18) - This was our last night in Alaska! So crazy to think it had come to an end. We parked at the Fast Eddy`s Restaurant and enjoyed a pizza while reminiscing on all our adventures. We headed out early the next morning and crossed the border back into the beautiful British Columbia.
Healy/Denali Town Center (August 4-7) - Sam's brother was in Fairbanks for work at the time so we stayed in his hotel parking lot the night before and woke up to meet him inside for a nice continental breakfast - great start to the day! It was a short drive to Denali, just under 2 hours. There is one thing we've noticed that Alaska LOVES - their espresso's. In each town, or in the middle of nowhere, there are trailers/trains turned into little shops that sell coffee drinks and usually some bakery or sandwiches, and their sign almost always advertising espresso's. Each one unique in their own way makes you wanna stop at all of them! So on our way to the Denali area we ended up at Gold Hill Express because we filled up with gas right next to it and we both like convenience :) We got a mocha which was very sweet, but very good. High five for sugar highs! Abby has a family friend that comes up to Alaska each summer to work for a water rafting company in Denali so we got in touch and she recommended we stay at Denali Outdoor Center which is located in Healy, 10 miles from the Denali town center. This park was beautiful and we lucked out being able to stay in the best site, with no reservations! We enjoyed camp for awhile, walking Nelly down to Otto Lake so she could swim and get some energy out. There was a European couple on the dock so we were trying to be polite keeping Nelly on the shore, but oh did she wanna jump off that dock so bad! We let her get a couple in, sorry not sorry? We started hearing music and laughter across the lake so the curiosity kicked in and we headed over to find a blueberry fest! FREE mini blueberry pies topped with blueberry ice cream and blueberry popcorn - umm yes please, and thank you! It was a great appetizer and then we headed over to the the Totem Inn to grab dinner. After that we made a quick stop back to camp to see Nelly and kill some time. On our way back we saw a Moose and two calfs - so exciting! We headed back to the bar area of Totem Inn that night to meet Aly (the family friend who works for the rafting company) and some of her friends. One being Savannah, who works for an ATV adventure company. ATV & Rafting Tours (August 5) - We were able to fit into the 1 o'clock ATV tour and the 6:30 rafting tour - both for free! Huge saving!! We started the day off with a big egg scramble and walk with Nelly, then we were off for tour #1. We took a shuttle from the Denali town center to a section of public land that is surrounded by Denali National Park (ATV riding is illegal in National Parks). We had the choice to ride on a single or side by side and decided on the side by side because neither of us had been in one before and we weren't sick of each other yet! The tour went through some very beautiful spots and we stopped three times at overlooks. We were starving by the end (3:30) so stopped at 49th State Brewing on our way back to camp for a drink & hot pretzel and cheese. Something about hot cheese makes everything better... am I right, or am I right? We got back to camp to give Nelly some attention before our next tour. Took a walk down to the lake, this time to a different spot through the woods, past unused tent sites, and it was beautiful. Before we knew it, it was rafting time! Out of the two tour options we were put on the more adventurous one with class 3 and 4 rapids. We rafted down the Nenana River and it too was a beautiful trip. We were wearing dry suits since the river is made up of glacier water and at one point, where it was a bit more calm, we had the opportunity to jump in if we wanted. Once one person went in, we all did, it was really cool to just bob in the water! The tour lasted 3 hours so we were pretty tired by the time we got back. Denali National Park (August 6) - This was not as adventurous and exciting as we were hoping it would be. Dogs are only allowed outside your vehicle in restricted areas (like the parking lot) and the cheapest bus tour we found was $80/person which we didn't feel like paying, so we were limited to the first 15 miles open to the public. From that point forward only shuttle/bus tours are allowed. The only wildlife we saw was a caribou. There was no parking available near the Savage River, which would have been fun to hang around a bit, so it was a quick in and out, but we'll be back one day! Also the camping sites fill up quickly and have stupid dog rules :/ Denali National Park was just not for us. Get this though ... later on we found out there was a shuttle to take you a bit further in for about $30/person. Mannnnnn. Ya win some ya lose some I guess. Denali State Park (August 6-7) - From the National Park we made our way to Byers Lake Campground within Denali State Park. On our way we kept passing cars pulled over and people out on the side of the road. We finally realized they were picking berries, so we decided to follow suit and grab some bowls and our hiking shoes. Nelly had fun at first, running around thinking we were going for a long hike, then she realized we were just staying in one area and had enough. We put her back in the camper and continued picking for about an hour, accumulating a half gallon of berries! Once we got to the campground we set up camp and took the truck down to the boat launch to take the Green Bean (our canoe) for a ride. Sam had built a new canoe motor mount when we were in Banff so we tried that out for the first time and had a very relaxing ride! The sun was setting and the views of the mountains were beautiful. Anchorage (August 7-10) - We left Byers Lake Campground in the Denali State Park around 1 and had a 2.5 hour drive to Anchorage. We stopped at the Denali Viewpoint South to catch a glimpse of the 20,310 ft. mountain, Denali or McKinley, whichever you prefer to call it. It is North America's highest mountain. The weather plays a huge role in whether or not you'll be able to see it - they say in the summertime visitors only have a 30-40% chance of seeing it, even inside the park. I'd say we got pretty dang lucky :) Once we left, we passed...you guessed it...an espresso stand. Got our mocha for the morning! When we finally got into Anchorage we were appalled - Walmart did not allow overnight stays - what?! Thankful that Cabela's allowed us to stay not just one night, but three. It was actually a great location and we've come to find that a lot of RV parks are just parking lots anyway. They do it figuring we'll stop in and buy at least one thing, and I could have easily stocked up on beef jerky, but do I REALLY need it? That's what I have to keep asking myself on this trip. The answer was a sad no. Sam surprised me for dinner by taking me out for pizza! Oh have I missed pizza. We went to Moose`s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria which is one of the highest reviewed pizza joints in Anchorage and has house-brewed beer. We weren't disappointed and as always, had leftovers for lunch the next day :) Sam had to work the next two mornings and while he did that I cleaned and organized the camper (already time to do it again) and took Nelly for walks. His brother Ben was in Anchorage as well, so we picked him and one of his work friends up to go watch float planes take off and land at Lake Hood. We also checked out the bar Darwin's Theory with the rest of Ben`s work group. It was a quirky, fun, and smart bar for offering free popcorn! A regular across the bar got us all our first drinks and before we left the bartender went over to him to settle the tab, which was at least 4' long! How long was he there buying people drinks??? Good man! We picked Ben up from his hotel the morning of the 10th to head to the Kenai Peninsula - another free breakfast :)
Tok (July 28-29) - The drive to Tok from Whitehorse was brutal. We thought the potholes in WI were bad... there`s a reason why our bible (remember the MILEPOST book) says "Don`t miss anything but the potholes!" On top of those, the road was a roller coaster. We decided we weren`t going to look in the camper until the end of the drive. The drive was just over 7 hours but seemed to go by faster, I think just cause of our excitement. The border was so simple, just like the last time. They asked us a couple questions, welcomed us back, and we were in! The roads were better and the signs were finally in mph! We got into Tok around 5:15 p.m. and met up with Sam`s brother, Ben. Coincidentally, he is in Alaska right now for work. We met the group of guys he is working with and had a couple drinks before driving to the Golden Bear for dinner. Their group was scattered between the motel and cabins behind Fast Eddy`s, so we just parked in the big lot there. After dinner we brought Nelly out to meet everyone and have a couple more drinks. Nelly begged for some of the leftover pizza the guys had, and like always, scored 2 crust pieces! The next morning we all had breakfast at Fast Eddy`s - it`s an iconic stop in Tok for Alaska Highway travelers because you won`t have many other food options till you reach Fairbanks. After breakfast we took advantage of Ben`s hotel room and hoped in the shower.
Fairbanks (July 29-August 4) - We made our way into Fairbanks and decided to splurge a little and actually stay at a campsite! For $20/night we stayed at Chena River State Campground. We wanted to be able to un-hitch and take the truck places for the next couple days. First stop without the camper was the auto shop connected to Walmart. Bruce needed an oil change! We were starving and this oil change couldn`t have gone any slower...I think we`ve all had the experience before where you are watching the worker drag their feet - like COME ON!!! Eventually it was finished and we headed over to HooDoo Brewing. We had read there would be food trucks outside so this sounded perfect! We grabbed a beer from inside and then went out to order from the Thai restaurant that was there. The cook was the owner of the restaurant and very nice, giving us free samples and being generous with our food portion! It just wasn`t enough food. So we got back to camp and ordered more Thai food for pick-up. THAT was more than enough food. We slipped into food commas and that was it for the night. The rest of our time in Fairbanks we did some laundry, got our front windshield fixed (had a rock chip), replaced a cap so we could use our water again, checked out their dog park, the Morris Thompson Cultural Center, and just relaxed! We checked out Pioneer Park one day, which commemorates early Alaskan history with multiple museums and historic displays on site. We felt like we walked into 1903! Within the park (which was free!) is the SS Nenana - a sternwheeler that carried passengers and cargo on the Chena River from 1933 to 1954. At 230 feet (70 m) it is the second-longest wooden-hulled ship still in existence, and is now a museum. Dalton Hwy/Arctic Circle (July 30) - The James W. Dalton Highway (signed as Alaska Route 11), is a 414-mile road in Alaska. It begins at the Elliot Highway, north of Fairbanks, and ends at Deadhorse near the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. It is one of the most isolated roads in the United States. We left Fairbanks and planned to go up to the Arctic Circle and back. Right away Sam tried convincing me to go all the way to Prudhoe Bay - I was not for it at all because we didn`t pack enough food etc. but after saying "we could say we went to three oceans on our trip!" for the millionth time, I was convinced. The excitement didn`t last long because I looked in our bible (MILEPOST) and we needed 24-hr clearance to get on a tour from the end of the highway to the Atlantic Ocean. Unable to wait it out, we decided to go back to our original plan - up to the Arctic Circle. 139.4 miles from Fairbanks, we made our first stop at the Yukon River Bridge and walked up to the oil pipeline for the first time. Its huge! The next stop we took was 170.6 miles from Fairbanks. We turned down a dirt path (a different dirt path) and drove a mile west to scenic 86-Mile Overlook. We could see tors to the northeast, Yukon Flats Wildlife Refuge to the east and Fort Hamlin Hills to the southeast. 199.5 miles from Fairbanks, we finally made it to the 'Arctic Circle' sign! And you wouldn`t believe how small this world is .... just the day before, when we were in Delta Junction (end of the Alaska Hwy), we were talking to a couple that drove up from Cali on their bikes. We talked a bit and shared our plans with one another and when we said goodbye we joked that we`d see them up at the Arctic Circle ... and we did! We got our picture with the sign and then decided to drive 17 miles further into the Arctic Circle to enjoy a drink & PBJ at Gobblers Knob Wayside. The elevation at this spot was 1,500 ft. and offered a great view of the Jack White Range, Pope Creek Dome, Prospect Creek drainage, Pump Station No. 5, Jim River drainage, South Fork Koyukuk drainage and the Brooks Range on the northern horizon. We turned around there and started our journey back to camp - maybe one day we`ll return to drive it all the way! North Pole (July 31) - Let me just start with ... it`s not what you pictured the North Pole to look like as a child. There are no elves running around, talking snowmen, a giant Christmas tree or hot cocoa around each corner. But it was pretty neat with candy cane lights, festive street names, and the worlds largest Santa! The worlds largest Santa (42`) is at the Santa Claus House where we shopped around a bit and got to see his reindeer. Santa was "taking care of his elves" while we were there, so we didn't get to see him. The north pole that they have in town was actually flown over the North Pole :) On our way out of town we stopped at Little Richards Diner and absolutely loved it! We split a strawberry shake and a shrimp & fries basket. While we ate we enjoyed reading the signs on the wall with funny, and some not so funny, quotes.
|
Archives
September 2017
Categories |