Cornucopia, Wisconsin , don't blink

Cornucopia, Wisconsin
July 16, 2009
Marcia’s Home Town. We arrived here and stayed at a new camp ground..no one else here but us wow…campers go wild! We have spent three days visiting with Marcia’s cousins (Walley and his wife Coleen, Delores- the “seniors of their family now”) and other friends in town. We also saw Hillary’s God -Mother’s(Sheri who was also a child hood friend) mother..Dorothy Swensen. She is still looking great and renting cabins and says she is 29(+). We promised to come back for her 100th birthday..but she didn’t say when that would be. “Cornie” is a great town that you would be proud to be from or visit. Very small: one gas station(for sale if you want a new business), post office(the most Northern in Wisconsin), general store (Elhers..wood floors and a nail bin) and two taverns(“Fish Lips” and “Village Inn”..we played pool and ate at the former). Lots (who knows how many that is) of folks are retiring here… but not if you need Walmart or Home Depot! We spent time visiting Marcia’s old “home”. Her Dad sold the property on Lake Superior(150+ acres..1200+ lake frontage, cliffs on the lake with sandy beaches) in order to retire, many years ago. House has been torn down and another is being built…no character like her old one and in a different place. The picture is Marcia standing where her front door step was and the view is something that she took for granted growing up. Not so now. We walked the grounds and got nostalgic. As Marcia said..”Great to be around other people who speak like me!”
So, we’ll be off to Sault Ste Marie and then across Canada to home. I will have put on about 13K miles by the time we are home. Wow. What a road trip. I’ll spend some time reflecting on all of this. I am looking forward to getting back, but it is a bit bitter sweet getting back..I do hate to admit. Eight cord of wood waiting to be cut and split.

Mountains a rear view mirror memory

Banff, Alberta
July 10, 20009
Ok..so I lied. Our next posting is not Whitehorse, YT. It is all the way back to Banff, which was not on the agenda, so to speak. We just started to drive out of Whitehorse, a beautiful day, and figured out a new way back down. The route is the “one less travelled”..The Cassiar Hwy(#37). It tracks down from outside Watson Lake, in between the coastal mountains and the Canadian Rockies. It starts on a gravel road that makes you really question the sanity of your decision, when you are responsible for 4 axles and tires in the middle of no where. I was constantly wondering how good my AAAPlus policy was after a set of pot holes. But we did manage them. Ironically, I got a flat tire pulling in to the campground after two days of rough road. It was caused by a screw, not a sharp rock. After all the miles of rocks and I get a flat because man made refuse…a message in there. The road connected with HWY16, came in the “back way”, West side, of Jasper. Pouring rain, but still beautiful. We treated our selves to an eat-out..a local sports bar and watched a ball game on the big screen..wow. Haven’t seen TV since May1 ! We then cruised down the Ice Field Parkway to Banff. Rain lifted…drop dead beautiful. I am sure we came this way, as opposed to cutting quicly to Edmonton, as we really hate to leave the mountains. This will be our last mountain fix, before they are only rear view mirror memories.
We started taking pictures of signs with wild life warnings..look out for moose /caribou.bear/,etc. We have seen so few mammals, our best documentation is the signs warning us. What’s that all about?
Since visiting Banff back in May, I have put 7500 miles on the rig. Overall, we have driven about 10,500 miles so far. A bit of road time. The dogs won’t know what to do with themselves with more space (nor us). Mickie is still not weight bearing, but seems to have less pain. Gretta loves to point the ground squirrels out side the trailer here. Marcia and are going hiking after our breakfast.
July 13, 2009
Ok, I really lied, about posting (mabe fish sizes too). It has been so hard to find a place to up-load a posting. Most places we started to go had no signals of any king. Actually a good thing, from a “quiet” perspective. We had gotten into the habit of “dry-camping”, choosing spots with no services, but great location. Low to no cost, but also no signal. Anyway…we are not in the mountains anymore. We drove out of the Rockies, heading east, decided to head for cheaper gas ($1.25/G less), cell phone signal, internet signals…you got back to the US. Yesterday we came through “North Portal” , North Dakota and then to Minot, ND (where we are right now….really). I was here at the strat of this trip on my way west. So my “loop” back to here(Minot,ND) has been 9359 miles. The forcast is for rain and severe T storms, so we will take our time going east. We want to catch a reunion in Marcia’s home town, Cornucopia, Wisconsin, so that will be our last “goal” before home.
The pictures are of a hike in Banff, and the beautiful prairies.

Fish,GoodbyAlaska,Hello Yukon

Dawson City, Yukon
July 3, 2009
Greetings from the famous Yukon Gold Rush town of Dawson City of 1896. (I’ll do a bit of editing in my favorite color[Rick])You’d swear it’s still in the old days, as we had to be ferried across the Yukon River to reach the city on its shores. Still very quaint, with dance hall, gold mining throughout the area. As for wild life: we only saw one rabbit since we left Fairbanks, about 250 miles ago! The birding is good though compared to the coast. This morning we enjoyed watching a white-winged cross-bill dad feeding his newly fledged babies on a tree next to our trailer.
This morning we left the Alaska U.S. border behind us(in the remote hills. Marcia was smirking at the border agent when asked about guns and we almost got seriously strip searched, until they figured we weren’t the average gun toting Alaskan.), completing that chapter. Taking another way, the “Top of the World “ Highway, which consists of 65 graveled miles of the 120(it felt like 500miles because of the pot holes, dust, and meeting other vehicles in the most inopportune times). Most of it was hairpin curves over mountains and hill above the tree line. It is REALLY REMOTE, and one can see for miles(if you are looking out the side window…not for the next pot hole!), like being on top of the world!
After we provisioned in Fairbanks, the interior big town of 100,000, we stayed at a local borough called North Pole, with all the trappings of Christmas. Almost as amusing as visiting the village of “chicken”, but I won’t go there!

Rick finally slaughtered me in the fishing department(let’s just say I had “my turn”), our second to last night in Alaska, called Clearwater River, located near Delta Junction. We stumbled across a world class trophy river for grayling, that was ACTUALLY peaking during our 24 hour visit. Rick and I caught 12 the afternoon and into the evening hours of 10:30! Just steps from our trailer! These were all fish 14-18 inches long, unlike the smaller ones we caught earlier in the trip. On the morning of our departure, we got up early and Rick caught 7 big graylings while I got skunked(it was really tough saying “oh..I guess I have another one”). He really deserves to have a good “gloat” on that one, as he usually has to assemble all my gear(the arrival afternoon I had caught four and Marcia, spinning, said “can I use a dry fly with this?” No. So I say I’ll rig up a rod…I didn’t know I meant new line,leaders,etc..then she turns around and out fishes me for THAT day), and consult on my meager casting skills. Being the good “Ranger Rick” that he is, he usually gives me the best spots cause I am so “casting-challenged”. What a wonderful 24 hours of dream-fishing, totally deserted of other fisherman, given no mosquitos, and 70 degree sunny weather.
Believe it or not, yesterday was the first day we wore shorts, and about the 4th day it was warm and calm enough to grill outside. Dawson City is like “Florida”. 80F…sunny, hot. Wow. The camp ground had a vehicle wash that was mandatory requirement for post Taylor Road travel. Anyway. Gotta post this find a fish picture. Next stop, big town wise and posting wise, probably Whitehorse YT.

Moose and a great pond

MILE 48 POND
Chena Hot Springs Road
Above Fairbanks
June 28, 2009 Sunday
We slid through Fairbanks, got some must need groceries (toilet paper, bread, scotch, and some other stuff that really didn’t seem all that important to me..but hey..what do I know?!)
It is beautiful up here. We found this place, with the help of a good map and local advice. It is a State recreation area, great little ponds(one on each side of the trailer, and Grayling and rainbows in each. Tough choice. A bit buggy if no breeze, but no real problem for folks from Maine. For the first couple of nights we were the only ones camping (“boondoggling”-“squatting”-not paying anything. It is great for the budget and the fact there are no services is great. We have gotten so used to being self-contained, that it is the “norm” now.
We have seen about 8-10 moose here, some interesting ducks and a plover. Not to mention lots of nesting birds that “bomb” Mick and Gretta when they are out. We even have a resident moma moose and her calf. We watched her trying to teach swimming to the calf the other day. The calf really wasn't too keen on it. Did lots of "bleating", as if to say "hey mom, I'll just walk". The girls spend most of the time in the trailer as the bugs would carry them away, if they stayed out, all the time. Mick is still not putting weight on her left rear leg. The good thing is her right rear leg(which “was” here bad leg) is getting stronger. I’m afraid the left will need an ACL repair if this lameness persists. Oh well.
So we will head to Fairbanks later today. Do some major “staging” for the return trip. Trailer bears need repacking, a new tire too. Fix a few things. Truck needs routine servicing and tire rotation, etc. We will do some major grocery re supply, as it is so expensive in the Yukon and British Columbia. We will leaveFairbanks early next week and plan to be in Chicken, Alaska (look it up) for the Fourth of July. Should be interesting.
Hang in there…`

Denali NP and a walk in the snow

Denali National Park
June25, 2009 ?Thursday
I hate to say it is tough keeping track of which day is which. But it is. Our best camping spots are usually Sunday night through Friday. No competition from those folks who are at work. (Nor rubbing it in…) The first couple of days we stayed outside the park, next to Ernie and Shary, from Rangeley. It was really great to see “neighbors” way up here. We had a great BBQ, and commiserated about fuel costs. They will stay until the end of the Summer, where as, we are getting close to the end.
When we arrived at DNP we tried to get into Teklaneeka Camp Ground (mile 29 into the park), the farthest you can go with a trailer/own vehicle, and only with a “special pass”. They only give out a specific number and it is usually by reservation. When we were making enquires months ago, we told “no problem”..no one is here when you want to come”. Well, you can guess..when we arrive at Park Headquarters’ our quest for a pass was met with “all booked up”. But we were told to check for cancellations..after two days, there was one and we got in. It was great because we had stayed the 4 night minimum, could not use the truck. Behing our trailer was a river wash with great hiking to local hills. We did have to be dutiful with our “hey bear” calls. Their traks were evident everywhere, as were wolf tracks. The dogs were not allowed off the camp ground loop road, and never off leash as there were more important 4 legged mammals in the neighborhood, and I don’t mean small “chatty” dogs.We got around the park on the shuttle bus. Even going out by Wonder lake was only a 6 hour round trip (Dog bladder’s last 6-8 hours…I wish mine did!). On our travels in and through the park we saw 6 sets grizzly sow and 2 cubs each, bull and cow moose(plural), grouse, lots a rabbits, Dahle sheep, golden eagles, and I am sure Marcia could an a few “vertebrates” to the list. We did a Ranger guided hike up Cathedral Mountain..and just for our entertainment we woke to rain that day..which switched over to snow during the climb. The picture says it all. The sun came out the day we left the park and we finally saw the big view:Denali. Beautiful. Bugs not bad... compared to Maine standards.
We are next going to head up Chena Hot Springs Road(above Fairbanks). Do some fishing(I hope a little catching), “boondoogling”, and check out the moose.

Talkeetna and a Fish

Talkeetna, Alaska
June 19, 2009 Friday
The curse has ended: Rick finally caught a nice sockeye salmon and two rainbow while we are in Talkeetna. We found out what the “catching fish” problem is: One of us has to be the sacrificial goat. (and therefore, no one is there to photo and document the catch) I was doing laundry and errands durring his successful solo fishing jaunt. The day before it worked too—I was visiting galleries and did a painting, while he caught 2 nice rainbows in the Upper Montana.
Besides known for its climbing excusions to Mt. McKinely and plane-trip charters to Denali Park, Talkeetna is known as the “the quaint little drinking town that has a fishing problem.” The flowers are finally coming to peak, and it is such a pleasure to hike in alpine meadows.
Prior to Talkeetna, We did have more frutstrating fishing exper iences driving up from coastal Seward, at the Kasilof River, Willow River (where I caught a smolt little bigger than my fly) and L. Montana. For you non-fisherman, these are all famous rivers. Unfortunately the King Salmon run is very weak this year. Our hopes were dashed once again, after a day on Clear Creek, which needs a “jet-boat dropoff. I hooked and lost 4 kings(spin rod) and Rick(fly rod) hooked and lost 2 kings. A small comfort was landing a dolly Varden that day. Just have to be content with the thrill of playing those 35 lb. fish for several minutes each.
While on the Clear Creek, our beloved lab Mickey apparently tore out her ACL on her “good hind leg”, so she is confined to the trailer until we get back to Maine. It looks like her hunting days are over.
The upside of coming too early to Alaska, is that there are hardly any mosquitos, June is the sunniest and driest month, and campground accommodations do not need advance reservations. But Talkeetna was the first time it was warm enough to grill outside. Boy did that fresh salmon taste good. The Inland is much warmer than the coast. We have had only two half-days of rain!
Now we are on our way up to Denali Park and meeting our Rangeley friends , Sheri Oldham and Ernie. Looking forward to hiking and more photography. If we get another rainy day, maybe another painting in the Park.
Best Fishes
Marcia and Rick

June 12, 2009 Friday
Seward , Alaska
We had to leave Homer, no we didn’t break any laws, but Marcia was outfishing me so bad…I just couldn’t take it anymore. She caught the King I posted last time. Then she went on a halibut charter( I stayed”home” to catch my King- got skunked! Da---T”), but she came home after catching 16 halibut, the largest 35lb! Our freezer is full. Guess what we are having for supper..today, tomorrow, and….
So, I know I can drive the truck. So we left. The fish (Kings were not running anywhere, so we ended up over here in Seward. Great town. We were here with Don and Marge Miller a few years ago. We had a great time then and are doing so now. We have hiked the Harding Glacier(I can’t can’t catch fish, but I can put one foot in front of the other going up hill!) (again hiked ..first time with Don and Marge), but now we met with snow 2/3 of the way up. Still a great day (you can see from the pic). Then we followed that with a “twofer” nature cruise into Ialik Bay and the Holgard Glacier. Lots of seals, sea lions, puffins, whales, a couple of orcas, all despite the foggy day and drizzle. We found a local guy who did day care with Mick and Gretta, while we were gone. Boy, did they have a great time. Played all day with other dogs, had some intelligent conversation (I’m sure), then came home (to our trailer), to eat and sleep. Oh yeahh…a dogs life.
So next we plan to go to the inland areas. We have had about 10 days of wind and 45F weather. Time to warm up and dry out..and mabe I can catch some fish. Fish count: I hate to say this(manhood points quite diminished)…Marcia ahead in count and way ahead in pounds caught. I’m going to have to catch a new countable/sport fish called the “salmonoid goodyearus” to catch up in weight!
Hang in there…next wi-fi I find..I’ll post (if the count gets better).

MARCIA FOUND THE KING!

June5, 2009 Friday
“Flash” Fish Update…Marcia just landed her first (I haven’t had the honor yet…hmmm) King Salmon. It was so exciting she lost her footing and fell in above her waders..but did not lose her grip on the rod. Just like movie stuff. Got it filleted and in the freezer..except for tonight’s supper.
The picture says it all. Gotta go the tide is turning and I gotta get out there…manhood points in danger at the moment.

Homer:Where's The King?!

June 2, 2009 Tuesday Homer Alaska
Ok…this is a delayed blog as we decided we would not post until we could say we are catching King Salmon. We arrived yesterday, fished like H..ll, got reel good at casting… got a lot of information..still casting. This fish are tidal, so theoretically, we fish according to the tide flow. Yea..right. An occasional King is taken, but they are not “running yet”. We are not moving until they are! We may not be home until December…but we are not moving from the Homer Spit until the kings fill our freezer(it’s small).

Homer is the point of farthest from Maine. I have driven, according to Miss Vicky(my Garmin)(she can be trusted-doesn’t drink or get allusions of grander) 6369 miles to get here. In this distance and Marcia and I living in this ..some would say “tight space”..there are a few observations. Dandruff makes a lot of noise falling. Methane from dietary consumption can be an issue. Habits of hearing the refrigerator door “click” “closed” becomes a point of contention. Dry flush or wet?-tough decision at times, not for the user but the listener. Whoa..the freezer door is open. Well, gotta get ice for the scotch! What’s the problem!? We are learning. Hey the dogs are fine..they love “flushing” Eagles here in Homer…yes we see so many..that they re like crows to us. Tough..eh. Ok next post when we get a “fish”.
June3
Ok..still no fish, but no one else has any either. Is that supposed to be a justification or consoling? Anyway, the King Run is non-existant. Everyone is complaining. The State is closing rivers until the migrating fish counts go up. So, the moral of the story..don’t go on a fishing vacation with the Bakers. We threw spinners for 5 ½ hours today..does that count as aerobic activity? Mabe for the right arm. But no problem, tomorrow is another day and another tide to take a shot at.
The girls got two great hikes today. The last was a great one from the hights around Homer down to the beach through a lush warm valley..reminded us of Hawaii (where we caught just as many fish!).
Oh yea , we have new “daily count”: Eagles. Today is was atleast 15 and one was taking a “bird bath” at the boat landing. Big bird bath. If you catch a fish(key word here is “mabe”), you have to keep it close ‘cause if you don’t the Eagles will come and sit on it and not give it back to you. Talk about bullies!
Tomorrow it is supposed to rain, high tide is at 1:30PM, so we will get laundry and showers done before the fish start their run..we decided they will start tomorrow!

Valdez,AK and Good fish Count

May 26, 2009 Tuesday
Valdez, Alaska
We had not planned on coming here, well not fully. We were at a camp ground, on the Copper River, thinking about “Gee where shall we go tomorrow”(I know, what a luxury), and we said…we’re close( its all relative: 110 miles), make a left at the next fork in the road. So we did.

Wow..did we luck out. Sunny sky(only 33 in Valdez / year!), no wind, a camp site on the bay overlooking the mountains. Oh yea….this morning we saw, from our Trailer window, a sea otter paddling on his back past our area, a gazillion birds feeding on herring, and a sea lion swimming and getting salmon .( Oh yea..lots of bald eagles flying about, common as raven. You would not want to have a small dog around here, unless you tied a 20lb weight to it, but then the ASCPA would be at your door)Whoa..that is when we broke out the heavy rods and started to cast(not for the eagles..the salmon, in case you were worried). Nothing. But at least it was fun.

Oh yea fish counts. I wasn’t going to make this a regular feature, especially after our first morning, when I could not even get a fish to look at my fly and Marcia catching 4 arctic grayling. However, that PM, after supper(doesn’t get dark and the sun sets I think (‘cause were asleep by then) about 10:30PM), we fished and the Grayling went nuts over my red bellied humpy(sounds exotic, eh). I caught 9. So because the tally is in the right, the score is now: Marcia 5(I gave her my rod to catch a fish that night, once I knew I was ahead, and my arm was sore), Rick: 9

This town is really great. Lots to do. Did a hike today, up, and it was “up”, to a reservoir. The pic is from there. There was a local guy up there checking on the water( lots and still frozen). He asked if we had seen any wild life. I said “No”, what kind do you normally see here? He said “bears, lots of bears”. Ok we finished our snack, and not wanting to be ‘one’ ourselves, got the “H..”outa there.

So the clouds are moving in, the wind is at 20mph. No problem. We will cook up some local shrimp (4”long and they guy who gave them to us caught them himself.) and have some wine. Tomorrow we go ‘towards Anchorage”, and will stop to camp and fish on the way. Gotta find a way to keep marcia’s arm tied to her side(fish count you know).

So here is my Spanish contribution: Marcia esta cociendo camarones frescos anoche. Ayer, comimos halibut enrejado. The seafood factory is next door to our campgrounds. Oops, that’s cheating!

Yukon.Hey there are bears here!

May 21, 2009, Thursday
Whitehorse, Yukon

We have to pinch ourselves ( or wait for the next frost heave) to make sure we remind ourselves how far North we are. This is really spectacular country. It’s about 150 miles between gas stops, no towns to speak of until you arrive at a town…duh, sounds like the “I found it in the last place I looked!” type of comment.
We stayed at a beautiful lake: Muncho lake. Still frozen, snow in the surrounding mountains(that is where the pic is from).

When we left there, heading for Whitehorse, we drove over the highest place of the ALCAN: Summit Lake. We had a 45min hold as a semi’ had slid off at the top and a grader and sander were working the road. I think our Maine crews could have done better. When we checked in at our camping area in Whitehorse the check-in person said “what color is your truck?”(for the registration form), then she said “no let me guess…mud gray?” How did she know? I think she has seen folks who have driven this road before. Dirty..dirty..dirty. My OCD goes nuts.

Whitehorse is really a nice town. Snow is almost gone, 65F. Very beautiful, located on the Yukon River, lots of local hikes and wild life stuff. We passed an Eagle watching the river all the time. Oh yeh..on the way here we ventured past 1 black bear, 1 brown bear, 20-30 Bison(the ‘wood’ species) and a few caribou. We also saw a lot of wolf scat in the woods. Also..Mick got what I call “Bear Weird” on a hike the other day( in Maine she knows when they are around) , we turned around and went back to camp. Hmmm.

So today was taking care of lower 48 business( like ..trying to close the sale of my mother’s condo in Florida,while in the Yukon!!!), fixing some blowing fuse issues with the truck, putting on a new trailer tire, and some other stuff. Reality does find its way to us. Got the truck and trailer washed today…mabe I should go back to camp registration and change the “color” part of the form!

Tomorrow…we’re off..two more days to Alaska(I hope). The next stretch of road is reputationed to be the worst. 30 mph speed stuff. We’ll see. Tok Alaska will be our next “big” stop. Tomorrow will be a road side(Boondogling) place. Can’t wait to start fishing.

FORT NELSON, MORE SNOW

May 17, 2009, Sunday
Hola mi amigos! Hoy esta nevado cinco centimetros.

Fort Nelson, BC: Google it . We have to pinch ourselves to remind us where we are. North. Way North. And we have “more North West” to go. Today we left Dawson Creek : know as “Mile One” of the Alaskan Highway or also called the “ALCAN”. How this 1400 mile road was made in 8 months , in 1942, is not only unbelievable, but puts to shame our current road projects and the time it takes.

In Dawson Creek we woke to 2” of snow, but said ”we’re from Maine, no big deal!” Ok..320 miles later after remote highway, turns called “Suicide Hill”, and big valleys, and impressive down hill turns on slush/ snow covered roads, we finally got here. Truck and trailer encased in dirt and ice. Welcome to the ALCAN!
Mick and Gretta have settled in. Mick ate something(she barfed it up and I couldn’t quite recognize it, not sure I really wanted to), but she is a bit “under the weather”. Marcia is going nuts with all the birds to watch. We did see a coyote, fox,and an entitled attitude caribou (who walked in front of the truck on the snowing portion of today’s ride). Tomorrow, we want to go to a place called Muncho Lake Provincial Park, down the road. Do some hikes. Then the day after to a place with a bunch of natural hot springs. We’ll need them after the hikes.

The pic is in Dawson Creek. The famous Mile One Marker. I could have sent a pic of the ice encrusted trailer, OK SO i DID. I’d rather forget that.

I checked today…I’ve driven 4166 miles since May1. Wow. Oh yea gas prices up here are going up. Now about $3.78 / gal. ouch. Glad there are lots of down hill!
Where is Spring?

Edmonton, Alberta and a bit of Snow

May 13, 2009 Wednesday

“Taking care of business” has been the theme for the past couple of days. Boring stuff for you guys and actually, me too.

I came out of the Rockies, (sounds like I was Jeremiah Johnson or someone) a day early as the forecast was for an Arctic front moving through and it would snow… a lot. So I thought I would find a camp site half way to Edmonton. Wrong… they were either closed or stuck behind a gas station (although a valuable and frequently used resource..not my idea of the western experience for nocturnal accommodation). So..true to what seems to be my “credo”..”when in doubt just drive 100 miles more”.
I ended up in Edmonton, Alberta. The camp site..not very esthetic, but functional and a great big field full of gophers and a couple of ptarmigan, just to entertain Mick and Gretta.

So, I’ve gotten the truck serviced(3400 miles since I left Maine), put two new tires on the trailer(that was fun..jacking up the thing, crawling about in the dirt, then getting the new ones back on). Needed to grocery shop for Marcia’s arrival. Fruit, vegitables, you know..low carb , healthy stuff. I finally got the non-spousal food cleared out (oh sigh)..doritos, hot dogs, occasional cooky. If I couldn’t cook a meal in just one pan..well, it didn’t get cooked! Tomorrow the joy of doing the laundry( yea ,right ,in the stream with a rock).

Hey when I was coming down from the mountains I saw a wolf who just walked out of the woods as I passed. He ( of course it was a ‘he’) was as surprised as me(or is it I?), then turned and ran back in. He was big! Made our Maine coyotes look like “little yappy dogs”. (No offense to those of you who may own such mammals). Also, mountain goats and a few deer, who were contemplating jumping in front of the truck. I’m glad they reconsidered.

This morning I woke up to the dogs bugging me at 5AM. They were cold..the trailer heat had gone off and it was about 42F in the trailer..I had run out of propane. So I went out side to switch the tanks…snow! It was 27F out there….whew. I’m glad I wasn’t up in the mountains!

So..Marcia arrives tomorrow night. It’ll be good to have her here. You all should be proud..I even got wine and flowers! Friday is her birthday. What a way to celebrate…sitting in a truck, heading for Alaska!

The picture is shot out the window on the Ice Field Road in between Banff and Jasper. Now you know why I didn't want to stay with the forcast of "more snow".

Hang in there, stay warm

Three Wrong Turns and the Snow

May 9, 2009 Saturday
I was going to “Blog “ yesterday, but was too tired. This job is tough, what ..? no sympathy! Got snow -ed outa Glacier National Park, yesterday AM, pretty, but cold and windy. I was the only one in “town” (everyone else had enough sense not to go there after 3 -5 feet of snow a few days before) (but who knew?) Then, I took the back way into Alberta… ok, I should have known better. Made three wrong turns, couldn’t find an open camp ground. The backing up the narrow roads, after finding closed gates, is always a lot of fun in the rain/snow. Then I missed the turn in Fort MacCleod,AB for my camp ground. So…I ended up in Calgary. Loved the rush hour traffic, they loved me too hauling my trailer. Don’t ask for any international favors there for a while. Or atleast don’t admit you are from Maine.
So this morning I wondered “where can I find more snow”….I am now in Banff, AB , at the Tunnel Mountain National park. Camped, so to speak, at 5000ft. When I pulled in. the response is when they see the truck plates (always happens) “Gee your along way from Home” but here they end with an “ehh”. Yep (I say), aayuh.
You don’t want to know how beautiful this place is. But I’ll tell you anyway. My view out the window of the trailer is drop dead breath taking. The Bow River valley is winding out in front of me between the mountains, which of course, are snow covered. My pic is of the girls and part of the view. Gretta is in second heaven as praire dogs (what are they doing up here?) are burrowed right in front of our site). They have to be kept tie here..for real…there are plenty of big mammals here and the bears are coming out from their winter ‘sleep”…hungry. So, we are actually following the rules.
On a social observation note: the Canadian hwys are better than ours, their western towns look more prosperous, I don’t see as many obese people, but the gas is a buck more and the cheerios are $4.50 a box.. The local radio stations were fed up with all the hype with the H1N1 bug, however, some said keep the yanks out, well be safe. Go figure.
I’m going to stay here a couple of days. Let the girls have a break from the truck. Do some hikes, well better go…hey..there’s an Elk walking up in front of our trailer! Wow….

Change in Direction

So I set out this AM, bright and early...and began to question the up coming turn to the North. Hmmm. To go North meant the $1 more mer gallon of fuel, plus when marcia and I return, I would be retracing my steps. Hmm. So as I approached the fateful junction of Grand Forks, ND...I decided to just stay on Rte 2 and move right on across the plain state of North Dakota. Well, it is as billed ... FLAT. Lots of good farm land...great big tracters that pull out onto the highway as if they own it..and they are big enough to make you think they do. Ever listen to the Country Western song... "John Deer"? Anyway..kind of like playing "pokey man" real time on Rte 2.

When driving along one thinks of alot of stuff, some weird, some not. So....did the oxen of our settlers ,out here, need more hay / grass to eat when bucking 25mph head winds? Did they think of miles per mouthfull of grass? How long did their wheels last on their wagons? Did they even think about hitting pot holes at high speed? I guess "high speed" is a realative term. I guess "pot hole" is realative too.

Minot, ND is where I am. They are too strick about the dogs loose...don't like this place. No place to "boondoggle" tonight. Wind still 25-30mph (7PM). Tomorrow I hope to get to Shelby, MT. Edge of the Rockies. Oh yea, the "girls" replaced the fish aroma with a couple of great cow pies. I like the fish better.

Gotta cook supper..can't wait to run outa hot dogs and beens!

hang in there....Mick.Gretta..and me

May 5, 2009
If we lived in Mexico we would be really bummed out..this should be a party day. But here in Bimidji, Mn things are pretty quiet. No marguerite parties that I have found yet. I couldn’t find a truck stop or place to “boondoggle”(not pay), so I am at a camp ground. Stoney Point on Cass Lake. Geat view of the lake, dogs can just jump right in, however the ‘girls’ always seem to think that swimming also means rolling in whatever seems real good right after. Their idea of “real good” and mine are two different things. Nothing like the ‘aroma’ of dead fish in the trailer along with the addition of wet dog smell. And some of you thought you wanted to come with me. Hmm.
1509.9 miles so far. Left home in the rain and worst stretch of road was Rte 16 to Errol. That was the trailer axle stress test. Drove 16 hours the first day, stayed in a truck stop in Spanish, Ontario. That was interesting. No there were no 3AM knocks on my door from RCMP or “women of the night”, but the truckers kept their trucks running all night and they blocked me in. So I ended up almost relocating a telephone booth to get out. Snow and rain greeted us on the road, but I finally got back to the US (after an hour at US Border Customs in the “Soo”. I guess it was my comment about just getting back from Mexico and had a fever. Geewiz….those guys do no not have a sense of humor.
I just met with Jeff, my brother, and we spent two days in Rhinelander , Wi. It was a great camp ground. Still no leaves.. but I have managed to aquire my first black fly bites and found a tick. We a great time, mabe “too good of a time” the first night. However we have good livers and recovered quickly.
But today..it’s really off to Alaska. I will probably get back into Canada tomorrow. I am not anxious to pay an extra buck a gallon, but atleast it’s cheaper than last year. Since I left VT I have been paying about $2- 2.15 / gal. In Canada, add 75 cents after you do all the math. However, as I am heading North, the curve of the Earth towards the North Pole, demonstrates I am going essentially down hill, so that helps. Plus the closer to the Pole that I get, the greater the magnetic effect..right?!. So we will just roll along, keep a window cracked…(remember the fish smell and wet sandy beach).
Hang in there…. Rick and the “Girls”

North To Alaska 2009

Last year many of you and some others encouraged me to send them travel updates, mabe because they are glttons for punishment and have nothing else to do with their time. So, as a result I decided to do this "blog". Different and mabe a bit more fun. First rule about reading my stuff...I don't pretend to know my spelling or grammar..sorry about that for you English gurus. Second :is if this starts to get boring for you..turn it off. Third please write back if you have a chance.
Spring is arriving so that means it's time to escape "Mud Season". Here in Maine and especially in Rangeley, it is a time of year when mud prevails. Anyone who can..gets outa town. So this year's trek is to Alaska. I plan to leave here about May first and head North, well more North West. If things go as planned, Marcia will join me in Edmonton,AB about two weeks later. So until then, it'll be Mick and Gretta for company. Not to mention alot of flat country to get through.
So ..I gotta do some packing...
hang in there....