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”