Aug 21 Monday Lac La Hache, BC
After a nice night in the motel, we hit the road again, refreshed and rested and both of us enjoyed a wonderful shower. That was after I sat in the whirlpool last night until I was wrinkled like a prune! Ohhhh that was nice.
BC is so pretty and we really do enjoy this drive. And the closer we get to home, the more we enjoy things! We are in the Frazier River Valley and it is absolutely beautiful. Everything is so green and fertile; hay crop is baled in most places and other crops are just now being harvested. There are a lot of high end horse ranches up here as well. I think Lori would enjoy seeing some of these! Cortney, do you remember this area?
We are stopped for the night at Fir Crest RV and Resort on Lake Lac La Hache. What a beautiful place. We think we would like to come back next year for a week just here…possibly Gary and Jeannette would like to join us and/or Dick and Lano and/or Denise and Gordon and/or……………? It is so pretty, we could back our RV’s right up to the lake, they have great RV spots. The lake has great fishing in June and we could also rent a boat. I am bringing back info on it. Start saving your pennies and we could make this a great trip. There is a lot to see from here as well.
The weather was almost perfect today! Sunny, a few high clouds, and 85 degrees. We drove with the windows down most of the day just enjoying the fresh, warm air. Both dogs had their heads out for a while as well, sniffing and enjoying getting wind blown.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh in the distance I hear a train! We must be in an RV park! We have noticed that a lot of RV Parks are close to railroad tracks. That’s okay, just getting us ready for Odessa!
We saw a couple of very funny signs today. One sign said “Prairie Dog Farm and Meat” – that had me scratching my head and saying “HUH?” Do you think? NAH! Well, I guess maybe if ----nah! Never heard of Prairie dog meat! About 50 miles down the road there was a sign that read “West End Trial Rides” -- okay, what the heck does that mean? I am sure it should have read “trail” however it did make me giggle….brought back memories of a trip through Arkansas with Donna Bearden….Ride-a-Pest! Then I just broke out in loud laughter. That is one thing I will NEVER forget Donna and I still laugh at.
We are about 400 miles from home. I have a feeling once Al gets going tomorrow we won’t stop until Odessa! Which is fine with me. We have been in this camper for 10 days now…about 10 too many. Needless to say, once we get home, I am unloading this sucker, cleaning it and hanging a “For Sale” sign on it! I want my 5th wheel back! This camper would be fine if it was just the two of us, however, with the big dogs, 2 cats and us there isn’t room to sneeze. We have done pretty good in it, and it would be great for very short trips, but never a long one again in it. We need our space…even the dogs are getting grumpy and the cats are yowling they need space. So, adios camper! Sun Country, get the 5th wheel ready…
Critter count: 1 lonely deer
Aug 22 Oliver, BC
Ah… I can almost smell it…home! We are about 200 miles from home and I can’t remember a time I was so anxious to get home. Living in this tin house for 12 days and in our tin house in Alaska for 45+ days makes be ready for ROOM! And I am not alone, Al and all the animals agree…we need to stretch our legs.
We left this morning in glorious sunshine….and wound up in a smoky mess. It is really smoky here from the fires in Winthrop and Omak WA. We have just heard about 2 new fires just started in Omak, so it really makes it smoky here. The sun has that weird red glow, the smoke red glow.
It has been warm all day and we are loving it. We drove with the windows down most of the day. We decided to take the highway through Kelowna, BC instead of going over the high pass outside of Merritt BC. BIG MISTAKE! We have never seen traffic like we encountered in Kelowna! Seattle is a piece of cake compared to the mess we were in…and Tucson during snowbird season is a nothing compared to this. We sat dead still for over 30 minutes, just waiting to get through one traffic light. The bridge over the lake is narrow and down to two lanes….needless to say it takes FOREVER to get across the bridge and that backs up traffic for over 10 miles! AARRGG! We will know better to take the high pass and bypass this nightmare if we ever do this again.
We are at another wonderful RV park…Desert Gem. We have stayed here before and it is so well kept up and clean. We really do enjoy this park. It has a good restaurant with in walking distance for us as well.
Tomorrow home….
Aug. 23, Wednesday ODESSA!
FINALLY --- cats are out stretching their legs and OFF THEIR LEASHES after being tethered to them for 9 long weeks. Dogs are busy marking their territory and checking out all of the different smells that have been made in the last few months. And we are HOME. We arrived home around 5:00 p.m. after a long border crossing, a stop for fresh fruit and veggies (peaches are in season and so, so good) and a stop at the grocery store for milk, etc. The border crossing was very interesting this time. Not only were they checking each and every vehicle closely, (opening trunks, all doors, looking under them, etc.) all RV’s were pulled over for additional inspections. The US Customs agents were very thorough and professional and nice to work with. Of course, I have a soft spot for our Customs Agents having worked with them for the last 20 years, starting in Saudi Arabia. However, they did confiscate Al’s bologna! Al had found this Ukrainian Garlic Bologna Ring that he really liked. We made a special stop at 100 Mile House, BC for it, buying 3 rings and throwing them in the freezer. We were very careful about produce we were bringing back to the US, but didn’t give the bologna a second thought! Well….the bologna contained Canadian Beef, which you can not bring back to the US (Mad cow disease) and even though the bologna only contained less that 2% Canadian beef, we had to give it up. Now instead of having mad cow disease, I have a mad husband!
Odessa has never looked so good…we were more than ready to be home and out of the camper. Know anybody looking to buy a camper? Send them our way, such a deal we will make them!
We have fires all around us; the biggest of course is the Tri-Pod fire near Winthrop, which we get the smoke from; as well as the fires in Omak, which we could see driving through and now fire near Colfax that seems to be out of control as well, along with the multitude of fires burning around Spokane. We drove through smoke from Oliver, BC until we got to Wilbur, WA, at which time the smoke cleared. However, as I write this (10:00 p.m.) we have smoke and I truly don’t know from which fire. When we were having lunch in Tonasket a fire crew came in for lunch. There were 20 of them and they had just completed 14 days on the Tripod fire and were on their way home for 2 days before returning to the fire lines. The fire boss said it is bad everywhere. It is very, very dry here---we could have used some of that Alaska rain we had last 9 weeks! I spoke to my brother in Alaska tonight and he said it was still raining, mudslides and flooding everywhere! And we thought it was just because we were there it was raining! :-) Guess not!
Jerry and Ardis stopped by tonight we barbequed a tri-tip and had a short visit with them. It is so good to have them near by.
So now we are going to start the long process of unloading, sorting and getting ready to load the 5th wheel….this never seems to end! At least I am finally home and can take my time. However, I did manage to fall out of the camper this afternoon -- landing on my back and left hip. Needless to say, I am a bit scraped up and bruised, but I don't think I broke anything....just hurts like heck.
We traveled a total of 8,422 miles while gone (including trips to and from Kenai River to Anchorage, Homer, etc.); total travel miles to and from Odessa to Kenai River was 5,203; and we used 610.6 gallons of diesel for travel to and from only, at an average cost of $3.56 per gallon…you do the math, I don’t want to!
We had a good trip, caught lots of fish and will do it again probably, however, NOT in a camper and probably will not drive it again, but fly next year. So thus ends our Alaska 2006 trip.
Aug. 24.....Just a note...we are doing the unloading routine, albeit, I am alittle slow today as I am pretty sore. Guess I wasn't made for falling...I don't bounce well. Okay Suzi, you can stop laughing now! At least I don't have any black eyes....just a very black and blue hip, back and leg!
Very smoky here today....and only 80 degrees, but that is okay, I am finally in a pair of shorts...haven't had shorts on since June 9!
Until next time...we finally are
UNWROAMIN' Wraspirs!
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Aug 7 through 20..Alaska and heading south
Aug 7, Monday
Today dawned sunny, bright and fairly warm after the morning chill broke.
We left the river early this morning to take Jerry back to Anchorage airport. We stopped for breakfast at Gwin’s in Coopers Landing – this has rapidly become one of our favorite stops. The food is always good and the service cheerful and quick. Plus they make some of the best pancakes I have ever had!
We were sad to see Jerry leave….we wish he would have been able to stay a few more days, but we are glad for the time we had with him.
We met my brother for lunch, did a quick Costco run and the over to his house for the night. We are getting really good at backing that camper into his backyard! I bet he will be glad to see us head south. We picked his raspberries for him…well, I say we, but actually Al did most of the picking, I just ate them! Dick has loads of berries this year, I just hope they all ripen before frost. We froze some of them to take home with us…so we can enjoy them in the middle of the winter.
Aug.8 Tuesday
Back to the river today. It was another beautiful day. WOW – two in a row! We stopped at the wildlife preserve in Girdwood/Portage this afternoon on our way home. Saw moose, elk, caribou, musk ox, grizzly and brown bear, eagle, etc. I hate to see them penned up though.
The trip back to the river was uneventful, just beautiful weather and it was actually almost 80 degrees. I sat outside most of the evening just enjoying our view and the weather.
Aug. 9, Wed
Today I got to do my most favorite thing (not)…yup., you guessed it, laundry. Actually, the Laundromat I use in Sterling is very clean, well managed and there is an attendant there all of the time. Usually it is the owner who is there and we always have a good chat about the area. We missed a huge fire on Monday night..the old Sterling cannery burned. The fire department is labeling it as a suspicious fire….I guess the gossip is that the owner may have had the fire set. It has been a vacant building for a couple of years; after the cannery shut down it was used as a prefab builder for log homes..so there was plenty of sawdust for fuel for the fire. I am willing to bet this is the most excitement this community has seen for a long time!
It is cold, rainy and ugly again today. I guess it was too much to ask for 3 days of nice weather! We are ready to go home and hope we get some good weather. We are a little apprehensive of what we are going to find as far as gas prices go. After all of the nonsense of BP shutting down the pipe line, it is projected gas will be $5 a gallon in Canada. Great! It is interesting to hear what everyone around here has to say about the shut down….but the consensus is that BP has known for years there was a problem and didn’t do anything about it until now, when it can boost prices and gouge the consumer even more.
Aug 10 Thursday
We woke up to rain this morning…so what else is new? As much rain as this area has gotten this summer, it is a wonder anything could burn! Mold or rust yes, but burn?
We are packing today – my most unfavorite thing to do and I do it at least 3 times a year. I have the camper almost packed and Al is working on the trailer…I swear keeping that trailer neat and clean is almost impossible! And having to do it in the rain is not pleasant! We hope to leave here Saturday for Anchorage. The plan is we will spend the night there and then head to Valdez for a couple of days before heading south.
Locals are predicting an early winter here…snow by September…I want to be out of here soon.
Today another terrorist attack was foiled in London Heathrow airport….what has happened to our world? I don’t know why this has me so upset, but it does. Now we can’t carry on a airplane anything liquid or gel … which doesn’t bother me, I am one of the flying public that thinks you should only be able to carry on purses, laptops and ipods…not luggage. Not only do we have to remove our shoes during security checkpoint, now we can’t carry on a bottle of water. How sad this has become…and I am angry that our government can’t get this under control. WHY????? TSA asks you for your driver’s license, but how do they know it is real? It is so easy to get a fake ID so how do they know it is real????? We are at war and we should be ready to accept the inconvenience when flying….I personally don’t mind the extra security. Nuff said.
Aug 12 Soggy Friday
OKAY---so enough of the rain! I feel like a duck---web feet and all! It has rained constantly and hard since 8:30 last night…it is now noon and hasn’t let up AT ALL! I AM SICK AND TIRED OF RAIN AND COLD…I AM READY TO GO HOME! We are supposed to be loading the trailer today. Almost everything is packed with the exception of things we need for today and tonight. However, neither of us have any desire to go out and get the trailer hooked up and get soaked in the process. Loading won’t take long, if the rain would just quit for a few minutes! Even the cats and dogs don’t want to go out, which is unusual as Jose (aka Houdini) has been trying to get out on his own without the benefit of a leash, for the last 2 months! I think we are all fed up with wet, cold and gray! One good thing about rain here is while it is raining the mosquitos go into hiding…however, the minute it stops raining they come out in combat squadrons ready to attack!
Jennifer and Beverly are in New York City together for a few days and I sure do wish I was with them. They are having a great time sightseeing and shopping, however, I am not sure I could keep up with those two anymore! Poor Stephen will be exhausted when those two leave!
A little later in the day…….
I went into town to have a leak in the camper fixed…it seems to leak on my side of the bed and I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in a lake. While they were working on the camper I downloaded my email only to find out my sister was in the hospital. Apparently she had heart attack like symptoms and our family with the history of heart problems we tend to take the symptoms seriously! After several tests that have came back negative and the doctors can find nothing wrong with her heart she is being released to go home tomorrow. Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago…so who knows what is going on! All I know is she is okay and nothing appeared on the tests….whew!
Beau is doing great. I have his meds cut down to one a day and he seems to be doing fine with it. I will take him to our vet when we reach Odessa and I will also call our vet in Tucson as well. He is very interested in playing ball again and is active as ever…and on the look out for moose! Schuster is still playing “mother hen” however.
It is now 8:30 p.m. and we had a about a 45 minute break from rain this afternoon and we got the trailer loaded so tomorrow all we have to do is the last minute things and hook up the trailer, plus I will have the cleaning task before we leave. Our nephew is going to winterize the trailer for us this year as my brother may want to use it for a few days later this month.
It is still raining like mad out and has most of the day. Locals are getting their boats ready…..and this rain can only remind me of the “Galoshes Please” story of a few years ago…quit laughing Nancy, Eva, Donna and Ted! I am so ready for sun and warm!
Aug. 12 Saturday
We woke up to rain, nothing new. However it was more of a "Seattle Mist" so we finished our last minute loading, got the trailer out of it's "storage" and finally got off from the river about noon. It rained all the way to Coopers Landing and then it was just cloudy into Anchorage.
Elmendorf AFB is having it's air show this weekend and my brother lives fairly close to base, so we were able to stand in his driveway and see the Thunderbirds pass over. It still fascinates us to watch them.
My nephew and my niece came over for dinner tonight and we said so long to them until next summer. We will leave in the morning for Valdez for a couple of days, then get serious about heading home. We would like to be home by the 25th or so.
It is raining again as I type this...and it is about 10:30 p.m. and it is getting dark outside already. When the days start getting shorter up here you can really notice it....there is still a lot of daylight hours, getting light about 4:00 a.m. but last month at this time it wasn't even getting dark....at all.
So we are "On the Road Again" tomorrow.......
Aug 13, Sunday Glenallen, AK
We made it this far today after leaving Anchorage around noon. We just took our time this morning and visited with Dick a little longer.
It was an uneventful trip to Glenallen over the Glenn Highway. The Matanuska glacier was spectacular as always…stopped and took a couple of pictures, but it was cold and rainy (so what else is new?) so we kept on moving. We got into the “Boardwalk” RV Park (Cortney, you will remember this one) and got set up, cooked dinner. Then I took the dogs for a long walk, came back and tried to get on the wifi system at the RV park, but it was down .
Aug. 14 Monday Valdez, AK
Woke up this morning to rain, as usual. This has been a soggy trip! We finally headed towards Valdez taking our time going down Hwy 4. Very pretty trip, following along the Alaska Pipeline. Saw two glaciers, the Worthington and Mile glaciers….and some beautiful water falls, two in particular were Bridal Veil Falls (wonder how many Bridal Veil falls there are in the world???) and Horsetail Falls. Drove through Keystone Canyon, which is very dramatic with the high vertical rock sides on both sides of the road. And Ted and Shirley, we found another “hill” that rivals the hill down to Skagway! Not quite as steep, but scary none the less. And yes, we have to climb out of here when we leave!
Arrived to something new….FOG! And of course, rain, rain and more rain! I know there are suppose to be beautiful mountains on 3 sides of this town, however, you couldn’t prove it by me as you can’t see anything!!! We are supposedly parked right next to Prince Williams Sound, but again, I can’t see it!
After getting set up we walked to town, which is about 2 long blocks away. There is a Safeway here, and not much else as far as stores go. A lot of gift shops and a few restaurants. We had lunch at Alaska Halibut Hut, and the halibut was good, but not great. Then we went to the museum, which had a lot on the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 and the Good Friday Earthquake in 1964 where this town was wiped out. The original town site of Valdez is 4 miles from where the town is now. Again, the entire town was moved to safer ground. There is a shop in town that shows a video on the earthquake and I sat through part of it. Al came back to the camper, I walked around town in the rain/fog just to see what was here. I sure wish we could see the mountains around us.
We scheduled a boat trip on Prince William Sound tomorrow. I can only hope the weather will be a little better.
Aug 15 Valdez
Rain, rain, more rain….72 hours of straight rain, no stop. Valdez is a warm water port so it is known for its boats, fishing and harbor…however; local boat builders are busy converting their shops into ark building! Good heavens, does the rain ever stop?
We went ahead and went on the shorter of the two cruises on Prince William Sound, even though it rained all of the time and we didn’t get to see the mountains. However we did see lots and lots of bald eagles perched in tree’s trying to stay dry (HA); Stellar Sea Lions; and three Orca’s that put on a wonderful show, We had a family, a big male (papa), a cow (mama) and a calf (baby) but no Goldilocks! The Orca’s stayed with the boat for over an hour. We also saw a lot of beautiful waterfalls (go figure!) however, on some because of the overcast we couldn’t see the top of them. We cruised around plenty of ice bergs as well…but couldn’t see Columbia glacier due to the rain/fog! We did see Shoup glacier on the way back to port but this glacier is way back in and we couldn’t get very close. We did hear a lot about the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and saw where it happened and what they have done to prevent another oil spill of that magnitude.
After we got back and took the dogs for a walk, we walked 2 blocks to town and had lunch at Ku Fung a pretty good Chinese Restaurant. And yes, it is still raining.
Aug. 16 Wed. Tok, Alaska
We left Valdez in the pouring rain, and it managed to rain on us most of the day. Up over Thompson Pass, back into Glenallen. We stopped for lunch in Glenallen and met a couple from Puyallup who were traveling in a camper just like us. They were pretty much ready to be home and out of the camper as well. We could only agree. We have noticed the leaves are starting to change colors on a lot of the trees and there is definitely a nip in the air of Autumn. Even the weather forecasters (guessers) say Autumn is on the way.
From Glenallen we took the Tok Cutoff.,..same road that had been destroyed by an earthquake a few years ago. On our way to Alaska a couple of months ago it was really bad with lots of construction and frost heaves. Well, some of it has improved…we had about 8 miles of new paved highway; 50 miles of old highway with all the frost heaves, etc; 20 miles of old road that had been patched and the patched portions were great, the other was horrible and 45 miles of gravel road under construction. It took us longer to travel the 45 miles than it took us to travel the previous 80 miles. The road from hell! Lots of delays, waiting for oncoming traffic on one lane roads, etc.
We arrived in Tok to a very strange site…sun! Yes, we had sun for a while this afternoon…long enough for us to get settled in our RV park and for me to take the dogs on a much needed walk and ball session.
Beau has had a little of a relapse, however I put him back on his full dose of Prednisone and he seems to be better today. I just hate keeping him on the Prednisone for any length of time. But he played ball as he always has tonight.
We will be heading into Canada tomorrow so our cell will be on, but I won’t be answering it. If you need to reach us in an emergency call Jennifer and she knows how to reach us. If not, we will catch up with you when we reach Odessa. We will be checking email however, so don’t stop emailing us! Aug 17 Thurs Haines Junction, YT
We left Tok around 10:00 this morning heading east and south….officially on the way home. The campground in Tok was very nice and the showers and restrooms were extremely clean.
The road between Tok and Haines Junction isn’t any better than it was last June. Frost heaves and lots of pot holes, patches, etc. The truck, camper and trailer didn’t fair any better going this way either. The trailer looks like someone picked it up and turned it upside down! When opening anything in the camper you watched for falling/flying objects…everything is scrambled!
We lost an hour today, so we didn’t get into the campground until 6:00 p.m. We are at the Kluane RV park and it is a nice park. Fortunately, we are parked right next to the office and laundry so I took advantage and did a couple loads of laundry. I think I am addicted to Laundromats! At any rate, we have great wifi service here and it’s free. Last night there was a charge for wifi…first time we have encountered that.
I took the dogs for a long walk this evening and didn’t have any trouble with mosquitos (I think they have had their fill of me!) however, I did encounter some nasty little black flies that take huge hunks out of you and hurt like crazy when they bite. Now I have a new enemy to battle! Whoopee!
SUN! We had sun all day and no rain! We did have some clouds, but the sun did our hearts good. I didn’t say it was warm however. Still have on long sleeves, jeans, socks and shoes! For those who know me well, know I hate socks and closed toed shoes…however they are a necessity here.
Critter count: 1 live squirrel, 1 squished squirrel and 1 bear
Aug 18 Friday, Watson Lake, YT
After leaving this morning we drove in beautiful sunshine most of the day. Roads were much better today. Stopped in Whitehorse for a quick trip to Walmart and had lunch at Pizza Hut. I drove for a while, then we stopped at Johnson Creek for a break and Al drove from there on as we had to cross a bridge that I definitely didn't like; it’s high and being worked on so very narrow. ULP…not my cup of tea.
Arrived in Watson Lake around 6:00 p.m. and I took the dogs for a walk and got a gazillion mosquito bites -- here we go again. Sunny, but cool and there is a definite hint of fall in the air.
Critter count: 1 moose and 2 squirrel
Aug 19 Sat. Ft. Nelson
We managed to make it to Ft. Nelson in one shot today…no delay’s in Toad River. Matter-of-fact we breezed right past Toad River, waving as we went by.
This part of the trip is always so pretty…and scary. We have Summit Pass to go over, very narrow, no guard rails, and lots of switchback curves. And the added hazard of Stone Sheep and Caribou on the road way. And they didn’t disappoint us…we saw over 30 Stone Sheep and one lonely Caribou, which I might add, is the ONLY Caribou we have seen this trip.
It is moose hunting season and we have decided the moose have packed their bags and have moved further into the woods, or have gone to Vegas, one of the two! We were talking to one of the highway construction crew today (as we sat and waited for “our turn” to go) and he said he hasn’t seen a moose in over a week…right after hunting season opened.
Roads are much better this stretch, however, lots of road construction and delays. But less frost heaves and pot holes as big as Texas. And the mosquitos are back in full force. I slept with one last night and have several bites today. Just as I was recovering from all the previous bites.
No television tonight…last night we were watching KHQ out of Spokane in Watson Lake. This RV park has no television, and the wifi is poor at best. I finally gave up trying to get on line. However, as I say that, we have really been fortunate to find wifi just about everywhere…and in places least expected!
Weather is beautiful today. Warm, sunny, bright with a few clouds……SUN!
Critter count: 30 Stone Sheep, 1 lonely caribou and plenty of mosquitos
Aug. 20, Sunday, Chetwynd, BC
Originally we had planned on going as far as Dawson Creek today…however, on our way from Ft. Nelson to Dawson Creek, we noticed this highway 29---cut off to Chetwynd and by passing Dawson Creek. It actually cuts off quite a few miles/kilometers as well. We said “why not?” So when we reached Ft. St. John we made a quick right turn on Hwy 29 and found ourselves on a beautiful drive. Very slow as the road is narrow and curvy, but oh, so, gorgeous! This highway took us right down along the Peace River and into Peace River valley. The leaves are starting to turn a bright yellow and beside the green fir and the beautiful river, it was a wonderful drive. We made a quick stop in Hudson Hope for fuel (it was actually cheaper here than anywhere else we have been!) Crossed the river and on to Moberly Lake and into Chetwynd. The road was actually very good, most of it recently paved, so it was a pleasure to travel on a smooth road. And the weather was glorious....and it was actually 83 degrees...off with the socks and long sleeves! yea!
We made a decision today to stay in a motel tonight and stretch our legs. We are staying in a new Days Inn and they gave us a suite for the price of a regular room! I have no idea why, they asked if we would like a complimentary upgrade and we jumped on it. I think we must have looked pretty bedraggled! The cats are staying in the camper tonight, much to their dismay, but the dogs are in our suite with us. And suite it is….complete with living room, kitchen (full), king size bed and a whirlpool tub that I am going to take advantage of very soon. We are watching the Seahawks smack the Colts and I am convinced Autumn is here – at least in northern BC!
Our plans are to be home by Thursday or before. If all goes well, tomorrow we should be south of Prince George, probably Clinton for the night and then Osoyoos the next night. We are so ready to be home for a few weeks. Even the animals want to get out and play and not be tethered to leashes!
I’m off to the whirlpool tub…………………………
Critter count: 8 deer
Today dawned sunny, bright and fairly warm after the morning chill broke.
We left the river early this morning to take Jerry back to Anchorage airport. We stopped for breakfast at Gwin’s in Coopers Landing – this has rapidly become one of our favorite stops. The food is always good and the service cheerful and quick. Plus they make some of the best pancakes I have ever had!
We were sad to see Jerry leave….we wish he would have been able to stay a few more days, but we are glad for the time we had with him.
We met my brother for lunch, did a quick Costco run and the over to his house for the night. We are getting really good at backing that camper into his backyard! I bet he will be glad to see us head south. We picked his raspberries for him…well, I say we, but actually Al did most of the picking, I just ate them! Dick has loads of berries this year, I just hope they all ripen before frost. We froze some of them to take home with us…so we can enjoy them in the middle of the winter.
Aug.8 Tuesday
Back to the river today. It was another beautiful day. WOW – two in a row! We stopped at the wildlife preserve in Girdwood/Portage this afternoon on our way home. Saw moose, elk, caribou, musk ox, grizzly and brown bear, eagle, etc. I hate to see them penned up though.
The trip back to the river was uneventful, just beautiful weather and it was actually almost 80 degrees. I sat outside most of the evening just enjoying our view and the weather.
Aug. 9, Wed
Today I got to do my most favorite thing (not)…yup., you guessed it, laundry. Actually, the Laundromat I use in Sterling is very clean, well managed and there is an attendant there all of the time. Usually it is the owner who is there and we always have a good chat about the area. We missed a huge fire on Monday night..the old Sterling cannery burned. The fire department is labeling it as a suspicious fire….I guess the gossip is that the owner may have had the fire set. It has been a vacant building for a couple of years; after the cannery shut down it was used as a prefab builder for log homes..so there was plenty of sawdust for fuel for the fire. I am willing to bet this is the most excitement this community has seen for a long time!
It is cold, rainy and ugly again today. I guess it was too much to ask for 3 days of nice weather! We are ready to go home and hope we get some good weather. We are a little apprehensive of what we are going to find as far as gas prices go. After all of the nonsense of BP shutting down the pipe line, it is projected gas will be $5 a gallon in Canada. Great! It is interesting to hear what everyone around here has to say about the shut down….but the consensus is that BP has known for years there was a problem and didn’t do anything about it until now, when it can boost prices and gouge the consumer even more.
Aug 10 Thursday
We woke up to rain this morning…so what else is new? As much rain as this area has gotten this summer, it is a wonder anything could burn! Mold or rust yes, but burn?
We are packing today – my most unfavorite thing to do and I do it at least 3 times a year. I have the camper almost packed and Al is working on the trailer…I swear keeping that trailer neat and clean is almost impossible! And having to do it in the rain is not pleasant! We hope to leave here Saturday for Anchorage. The plan is we will spend the night there and then head to Valdez for a couple of days before heading south.
Locals are predicting an early winter here…snow by September…I want to be out of here soon.
Today another terrorist attack was foiled in London Heathrow airport….what has happened to our world? I don’t know why this has me so upset, but it does. Now we can’t carry on a airplane anything liquid or gel … which doesn’t bother me, I am one of the flying public that thinks you should only be able to carry on purses, laptops and ipods…not luggage. Not only do we have to remove our shoes during security checkpoint, now we can’t carry on a bottle of water. How sad this has become…and I am angry that our government can’t get this under control. WHY????? TSA asks you for your driver’s license, but how do they know it is real? It is so easy to get a fake ID so how do they know it is real????? We are at war and we should be ready to accept the inconvenience when flying….I personally don’t mind the extra security. Nuff said.
Aug 12 Soggy Friday
OKAY---so enough of the rain! I feel like a duck---web feet and all! It has rained constantly and hard since 8:30 last night…it is now noon and hasn’t let up AT ALL! I AM SICK AND TIRED OF RAIN AND COLD…I AM READY TO GO HOME! We are supposed to be loading the trailer today. Almost everything is packed with the exception of things we need for today and tonight. However, neither of us have any desire to go out and get the trailer hooked up and get soaked in the process. Loading won’t take long, if the rain would just quit for a few minutes! Even the cats and dogs don’t want to go out, which is unusual as Jose (aka Houdini) has been trying to get out on his own without the benefit of a leash, for the last 2 months! I think we are all fed up with wet, cold and gray! One good thing about rain here is while it is raining the mosquitos go into hiding…however, the minute it stops raining they come out in combat squadrons ready to attack!
Jennifer and Beverly are in New York City together for a few days and I sure do wish I was with them. They are having a great time sightseeing and shopping, however, I am not sure I could keep up with those two anymore! Poor Stephen will be exhausted when those two leave!
A little later in the day…….
I went into town to have a leak in the camper fixed…it seems to leak on my side of the bed and I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in a lake. While they were working on the camper I downloaded my email only to find out my sister was in the hospital. Apparently she had heart attack like symptoms and our family with the history of heart problems we tend to take the symptoms seriously! After several tests that have came back negative and the doctors can find nothing wrong with her heart she is being released to go home tomorrow. Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago…so who knows what is going on! All I know is she is okay and nothing appeared on the tests….whew!
Beau is doing great. I have his meds cut down to one a day and he seems to be doing fine with it. I will take him to our vet when we reach Odessa and I will also call our vet in Tucson as well. He is very interested in playing ball again and is active as ever…and on the look out for moose! Schuster is still playing “mother hen” however.
It is now 8:30 p.m. and we had a about a 45 minute break from rain this afternoon and we got the trailer loaded so tomorrow all we have to do is the last minute things and hook up the trailer, plus I will have the cleaning task before we leave. Our nephew is going to winterize the trailer for us this year as my brother may want to use it for a few days later this month.
It is still raining like mad out and has most of the day. Locals are getting their boats ready…..and this rain can only remind me of the “Galoshes Please” story of a few years ago…quit laughing Nancy, Eva, Donna and Ted! I am so ready for sun and warm!
Aug. 12 Saturday
We woke up to rain, nothing new. However it was more of a "Seattle Mist" so we finished our last minute loading, got the trailer out of it's "storage" and finally got off from the river about noon. It rained all the way to Coopers Landing and then it was just cloudy into Anchorage.
Elmendorf AFB is having it's air show this weekend and my brother lives fairly close to base, so we were able to stand in his driveway and see the Thunderbirds pass over. It still fascinates us to watch them.
My nephew and my niece came over for dinner tonight and we said so long to them until next summer. We will leave in the morning for Valdez for a couple of days, then get serious about heading home. We would like to be home by the 25th or so.
It is raining again as I type this...and it is about 10:30 p.m. and it is getting dark outside already. When the days start getting shorter up here you can really notice it....there is still a lot of daylight hours, getting light about 4:00 a.m. but last month at this time it wasn't even getting dark....at all.
So we are "On the Road Again" tomorrow.......
Aug 13, Sunday Glenallen, AK
We made it this far today after leaving Anchorage around noon. We just took our time this morning and visited with Dick a little longer.
It was an uneventful trip to Glenallen over the Glenn Highway. The Matanuska glacier was spectacular as always…stopped and took a couple of pictures, but it was cold and rainy (so what else is new?) so we kept on moving. We got into the “Boardwalk” RV Park (Cortney, you will remember this one) and got set up, cooked dinner. Then I took the dogs for a long walk, came back and tried to get on the wifi system at the RV park, but it was down .
Aug. 14 Monday Valdez, AK
Woke up this morning to rain, as usual. This has been a soggy trip! We finally headed towards Valdez taking our time going down Hwy 4. Very pretty trip, following along the Alaska Pipeline. Saw two glaciers, the Worthington and Mile glaciers….and some beautiful water falls, two in particular were Bridal Veil Falls (wonder how many Bridal Veil falls there are in the world???) and Horsetail Falls. Drove through Keystone Canyon, which is very dramatic with the high vertical rock sides on both sides of the road. And Ted and Shirley, we found another “hill” that rivals the hill down to Skagway! Not quite as steep, but scary none the less. And yes, we have to climb out of here when we leave!
Arrived to something new….FOG! And of course, rain, rain and more rain! I know there are suppose to be beautiful mountains on 3 sides of this town, however, you couldn’t prove it by me as you can’t see anything!!! We are supposedly parked right next to Prince Williams Sound, but again, I can’t see it!
After getting set up we walked to town, which is about 2 long blocks away. There is a Safeway here, and not much else as far as stores go. A lot of gift shops and a few restaurants. We had lunch at Alaska Halibut Hut, and the halibut was good, but not great. Then we went to the museum, which had a lot on the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 and the Good Friday Earthquake in 1964 where this town was wiped out. The original town site of Valdez is 4 miles from where the town is now. Again, the entire town was moved to safer ground. There is a shop in town that shows a video on the earthquake and I sat through part of it. Al came back to the camper, I walked around town in the rain/fog just to see what was here. I sure wish we could see the mountains around us.
We scheduled a boat trip on Prince William Sound tomorrow. I can only hope the weather will be a little better.
Aug 15 Valdez
Rain, rain, more rain….72 hours of straight rain, no stop. Valdez is a warm water port so it is known for its boats, fishing and harbor…however; local boat builders are busy converting their shops into ark building! Good heavens, does the rain ever stop?
We went ahead and went on the shorter of the two cruises on Prince William Sound, even though it rained all of the time and we didn’t get to see the mountains. However we did see lots and lots of bald eagles perched in tree’s trying to stay dry (HA); Stellar Sea Lions; and three Orca’s that put on a wonderful show, We had a family, a big male (papa), a cow (mama) and a calf (baby) but no Goldilocks! The Orca’s stayed with the boat for over an hour. We also saw a lot of beautiful waterfalls (go figure!) however, on some because of the overcast we couldn’t see the top of them. We cruised around plenty of ice bergs as well…but couldn’t see Columbia glacier due to the rain/fog! We did see Shoup glacier on the way back to port but this glacier is way back in and we couldn’t get very close. We did hear a lot about the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill and saw where it happened and what they have done to prevent another oil spill of that magnitude.
After we got back and took the dogs for a walk, we walked 2 blocks to town and had lunch at Ku Fung a pretty good Chinese Restaurant. And yes, it is still raining.
Aug. 16 Wed. Tok, Alaska
We left Valdez in the pouring rain, and it managed to rain on us most of the day. Up over Thompson Pass, back into Glenallen. We stopped for lunch in Glenallen and met a couple from Puyallup who were traveling in a camper just like us. They were pretty much ready to be home and out of the camper as well. We could only agree. We have noticed the leaves are starting to change colors on a lot of the trees and there is definitely a nip in the air of Autumn. Even the weather forecasters (guessers) say Autumn is on the way.
From Glenallen we took the Tok Cutoff.,..same road that had been destroyed by an earthquake a few years ago. On our way to Alaska a couple of months ago it was really bad with lots of construction and frost heaves. Well, some of it has improved…we had about 8 miles of new paved highway; 50 miles of old highway with all the frost heaves, etc; 20 miles of old road that had been patched and the patched portions were great, the other was horrible and 45 miles of gravel road under construction. It took us longer to travel the 45 miles than it took us to travel the previous 80 miles. The road from hell! Lots of delays, waiting for oncoming traffic on one lane roads, etc.
We arrived in Tok to a very strange site…sun! Yes, we had sun for a while this afternoon…long enough for us to get settled in our RV park and for me to take the dogs on a much needed walk and ball session.
Beau has had a little of a relapse, however I put him back on his full dose of Prednisone and he seems to be better today. I just hate keeping him on the Prednisone for any length of time. But he played ball as he always has tonight.
We will be heading into Canada tomorrow so our cell will be on, but I won’t be answering it. If you need to reach us in an emergency call Jennifer and she knows how to reach us. If not, we will catch up with you when we reach Odessa. We will be checking email however, so don’t stop emailing us! Aug 17 Thurs Haines Junction, YT
We left Tok around 10:00 this morning heading east and south….officially on the way home. The campground in Tok was very nice and the showers and restrooms were extremely clean.
The road between Tok and Haines Junction isn’t any better than it was last June. Frost heaves and lots of pot holes, patches, etc. The truck, camper and trailer didn’t fair any better going this way either. The trailer looks like someone picked it up and turned it upside down! When opening anything in the camper you watched for falling/flying objects…everything is scrambled!
We lost an hour today, so we didn’t get into the campground until 6:00 p.m. We are at the Kluane RV park and it is a nice park. Fortunately, we are parked right next to the office and laundry so I took advantage and did a couple loads of laundry. I think I am addicted to Laundromats! At any rate, we have great wifi service here and it’s free. Last night there was a charge for wifi…first time we have encountered that.
I took the dogs for a long walk this evening and didn’t have any trouble with mosquitos (I think they have had their fill of me!) however, I did encounter some nasty little black flies that take huge hunks out of you and hurt like crazy when they bite. Now I have a new enemy to battle! Whoopee!
SUN! We had sun all day and no rain! We did have some clouds, but the sun did our hearts good. I didn’t say it was warm however. Still have on long sleeves, jeans, socks and shoes! For those who know me well, know I hate socks and closed toed shoes…however they are a necessity here.
Critter count: 1 live squirrel, 1 squished squirrel and 1 bear
Aug 18 Friday, Watson Lake, YT
After leaving this morning we drove in beautiful sunshine most of the day. Roads were much better today. Stopped in Whitehorse for a quick trip to Walmart and had lunch at Pizza Hut. I drove for a while, then we stopped at Johnson Creek for a break and Al drove from there on as we had to cross a bridge that I definitely didn't like; it’s high and being worked on so very narrow. ULP…not my cup of tea.
Arrived in Watson Lake around 6:00 p.m. and I took the dogs for a walk and got a gazillion mosquito bites -- here we go again. Sunny, but cool and there is a definite hint of fall in the air.
Critter count: 1 moose and 2 squirrel
Aug 19 Sat. Ft. Nelson
We managed to make it to Ft. Nelson in one shot today…no delay’s in Toad River. Matter-of-fact we breezed right past Toad River, waving as we went by.
This part of the trip is always so pretty…and scary. We have Summit Pass to go over, very narrow, no guard rails, and lots of switchback curves. And the added hazard of Stone Sheep and Caribou on the road way. And they didn’t disappoint us…we saw over 30 Stone Sheep and one lonely Caribou, which I might add, is the ONLY Caribou we have seen this trip.
It is moose hunting season and we have decided the moose have packed their bags and have moved further into the woods, or have gone to Vegas, one of the two! We were talking to one of the highway construction crew today (as we sat and waited for “our turn” to go) and he said he hasn’t seen a moose in over a week…right after hunting season opened.
Roads are much better this stretch, however, lots of road construction and delays. But less frost heaves and pot holes as big as Texas. And the mosquitos are back in full force. I slept with one last night and have several bites today. Just as I was recovering from all the previous bites.
No television tonight…last night we were watching KHQ out of Spokane in Watson Lake. This RV park has no television, and the wifi is poor at best. I finally gave up trying to get on line. However, as I say that, we have really been fortunate to find wifi just about everywhere…and in places least expected!
Weather is beautiful today. Warm, sunny, bright with a few clouds……SUN!
Critter count: 30 Stone Sheep, 1 lonely caribou and plenty of mosquitos
Aug. 20, Sunday, Chetwynd, BC
Originally we had planned on going as far as Dawson Creek today…however, on our way from Ft. Nelson to Dawson Creek, we noticed this highway 29---cut off to Chetwynd and by passing Dawson Creek. It actually cuts off quite a few miles/kilometers as well. We said “why not?” So when we reached Ft. St. John we made a quick right turn on Hwy 29 and found ourselves on a beautiful drive. Very slow as the road is narrow and curvy, but oh, so, gorgeous! This highway took us right down along the Peace River and into Peace River valley. The leaves are starting to turn a bright yellow and beside the green fir and the beautiful river, it was a wonderful drive. We made a quick stop in Hudson Hope for fuel (it was actually cheaper here than anywhere else we have been!) Crossed the river and on to Moberly Lake and into Chetwynd. The road was actually very good, most of it recently paved, so it was a pleasure to travel on a smooth road. And the weather was glorious....and it was actually 83 degrees...off with the socks and long sleeves! yea!
We made a decision today to stay in a motel tonight and stretch our legs. We are staying in a new Days Inn and they gave us a suite for the price of a regular room! I have no idea why, they asked if we would like a complimentary upgrade and we jumped on it. I think we must have looked pretty bedraggled! The cats are staying in the camper tonight, much to their dismay, but the dogs are in our suite with us. And suite it is….complete with living room, kitchen (full), king size bed and a whirlpool tub that I am going to take advantage of very soon. We are watching the Seahawks smack the Colts and I am convinced Autumn is here – at least in northern BC!
Our plans are to be home by Thursday or before. If all goes well, tomorrow we should be south of Prince George, probably Clinton for the night and then Osoyoos the next night. We are so ready to be home for a few weeks. Even the animals want to get out and play and not be tethered to leashes!
I’m off to the whirlpool tub…………………………
Critter count: 8 deer
Monday, August 07, 2006
Alaska July 31 to Aug 6
From our daily log.............
July 31, Mon
We really didn’t do a whole lot today. We went with Dick to Sears so he could buy a new refrigerator. His in the house is probably 30 years old, and still works, however, his garage fridge went out, so now he is moving the house fridge to the garage and new one into the house. We also went out to the BX just to look at what they have. The BX’s sure aren’t like what they were when I was allowed access to them. This one at Elmendorf is really a super big store carrying just about anything you could want.
It was cloudy and cool today……and rainy, of course!
Aug. 1 Tue
Jerry arrived this evening. Al and Dick went to pick him up and I stayed home and cooked dinner. Most of the day I spent doing laundry at Dick’s house this time. I swear I do laundry about every other day! I know I don’t, but it feels that way!
It’s nice to have Jerry here, however, I sure wish Ardis could have gotten the time off to come along. Maybe next time. Jerry is having a hard time with the lack of darkness….and we hardly notice it anymore! I guess we have acclimated to our surroundings.
Aug.2 Wed
Back to the river today. It rained most of the way here and is still raining off and on.
The sockeye (red’s) salmon are finally running strong in the Kenai, so the state has opened up fishing again on the river, limit 3. In 5 casts I had hooked 3 fish! The fish are really running strong….and the department of Fish and Game say this is an unusually strong run, however, about 3 weeks late. Most fishermen that come up to fish for reds come up July 15 for a week…usually when the fish are running the strongest. This year, for what ever reason, the fish hung around in Cook’s Inlet longer than usual…but they are here now! All of us limited out in less than an hour. What fun! Jerry is really having a good time fishing.
Aug. 3, Thursday
Jerry and Al spent most of the day fishing. I went into town and downloaded email and did a little cleaning around the trailer. We had wonderful bbq’d salmon for dinner tonight…just the way I like it..out of the river and on to the bbq. YUM!
Weather is still ugly.,..raining, cold, cloudy ick.
Aug. 4 Friday
Al and Jerry took off to go halibut fishing out of Ninilchik today.. Al called when they got there…too windy and the launch was closed. Darn…and Kevin (Buttchaser captain) didn’t call us. A needless trip to Ninilchik! I can see why it was closed…it’s windy, cold, cloudy and raining hard here.
After they got back from their “ride” they both went down to the river and caught their limit. After a while, I went down and caught my limit as well. I caught one red that really put up a fight and boy was it fun to bring him in! There for a while I didn’t know who was going to win…him or me!
Jerry spent part of the day watching our bald eagle…I call him ours as he is always sitting up on top of a dead tree next to our trailer making his noise…which I can’t even describe what it sounds like. And I know he would really like to feast on our cats given the chance!
Aug. 5 Sat
Today we went to Seward to take the Wildlife Cruise on Resurrection Bay. This is the same cruise we did with my brother, sister, sister-in-law, Cammie and Cortney a month ago. We really enjoyed it today as well…and it was clear and sunny most of the day! Not warm, however! Jerry really had a good time -- on the way down to Seward we saw a black bear cross the road. On the cruise we saw a black bear on shore, plenty of bald eagles and Puffins. But no whale this time, which was disappointing.
After the cruise we walked around Seward for a bit, then headed home, stopping at Gwin’s in Cooper’s Landing for dinner. Great place to eat!
Aug. 6 Sun
Well, our freezer is full of salmon and halibut…..Jerry will be taking part of it home. He has succeeded in catching his limit every day. Again they were suppose to go out on the “Buttchaser” for halibut today, They were scheduled to depart the launch at 6:00 a.m. in Ninilchik, which is about an hour and half drive. They left at 4:00 a.m.; around 5:30 a.,m. Keven, boat captain called and said the wind was up and he wasn’t going out. I called Al told him. They decided to go on down to the launch since they were just turning on the road to the launch when I called. Apparently, Kevin just didn’t want to go out, as everyone else was going out. They tried to get on another charter, but they were all full. We think next year we will go back to going out of Homer on halibut charters…they seem to never cancel due to weather. At any rate, Al and Jerry decided to drive on down to Homer to see if they could possibly get on a late leaving charter out of there…but there weren’t any available. Jerry won’t get to experience halibut fishing this year…he will have to come back next year.
. They did see several Bullwinkles (moose) on the trip to and from Homer, just no Rocky…..Rocky lives in our fish camp and is busy annoying our cats!
It is sunny today, but cool -- just like a perfect autumn day…but wait, isn’t it still August? I don’t feel like I have had a summer this year. I still need my quota of warm weather and sun.
Jerry and Al are napping right now (2:00 p.m.) and are planning on going down to the river later to fish. I, on the other hand, am on my way to the laundramat….my favorite hang out as of late.
On another note, Beau is doing much better…almost back to his old self. He is still on a huge dose of prednisone, and has had some side effects from it, but he is doing better. I have dropped his dose of prednisone down as the doctor prescribed, so hopefully he will have less of the side effects. Schuster is still being a mother hen with him and won’t let him out of his sight for very long! It is driving Beau crazy! J
Daylight hours are getting shorter! It gets DARK around 1:00 a.m. and doesn’t get light until around 3:30 a.m. I actually saw some stars this morning when I let Beau out at 2:30 a.m. something I haven’t seen in 2 months! The locals are already groaning about the upcoming dark age (winter) and I can’t say I blame them. I sure wouldn’t like the long hours of darkness during the winter…heck, I don’t do well with the hours of darkness we get in the winter in Tucson!
July 31, Mon
We really didn’t do a whole lot today. We went with Dick to Sears so he could buy a new refrigerator. His in the house is probably 30 years old, and still works, however, his garage fridge went out, so now he is moving the house fridge to the garage and new one into the house. We also went out to the BX just to look at what they have. The BX’s sure aren’t like what they were when I was allowed access to them. This one at Elmendorf is really a super big store carrying just about anything you could want.
It was cloudy and cool today……and rainy, of course!
Aug. 1 Tue
Jerry arrived this evening. Al and Dick went to pick him up and I stayed home and cooked dinner. Most of the day I spent doing laundry at Dick’s house this time. I swear I do laundry about every other day! I know I don’t, but it feels that way!
It’s nice to have Jerry here, however, I sure wish Ardis could have gotten the time off to come along. Maybe next time. Jerry is having a hard time with the lack of darkness….and we hardly notice it anymore! I guess we have acclimated to our surroundings.
Aug.2 Wed
Back to the river today. It rained most of the way here and is still raining off and on.
The sockeye (red’s) salmon are finally running strong in the Kenai, so the state has opened up fishing again on the river, limit 3. In 5 casts I had hooked 3 fish! The fish are really running strong….and the department of Fish and Game say this is an unusually strong run, however, about 3 weeks late. Most fishermen that come up to fish for reds come up July 15 for a week…usually when the fish are running the strongest. This year, for what ever reason, the fish hung around in Cook’s Inlet longer than usual…but they are here now! All of us limited out in less than an hour. What fun! Jerry is really having a good time fishing.
Aug. 3, Thursday
Jerry and Al spent most of the day fishing. I went into town and downloaded email and did a little cleaning around the trailer. We had wonderful bbq’d salmon for dinner tonight…just the way I like it..out of the river and on to the bbq. YUM!
Weather is still ugly.,..raining, cold, cloudy ick.
Aug. 4 Friday
Al and Jerry took off to go halibut fishing out of Ninilchik today.. Al called when they got there…too windy and the launch was closed. Darn…and Kevin (Buttchaser captain) didn’t call us. A needless trip to Ninilchik! I can see why it was closed…it’s windy, cold, cloudy and raining hard here.
After they got back from their “ride” they both went down to the river and caught their limit. After a while, I went down and caught my limit as well. I caught one red that really put up a fight and boy was it fun to bring him in! There for a while I didn’t know who was going to win…him or me!
Jerry spent part of the day watching our bald eagle…I call him ours as he is always sitting up on top of a dead tree next to our trailer making his noise…which I can’t even describe what it sounds like. And I know he would really like to feast on our cats given the chance!
Aug. 5 Sat
Today we went to Seward to take the Wildlife Cruise on Resurrection Bay. This is the same cruise we did with my brother, sister, sister-in-law, Cammie and Cortney a month ago. We really enjoyed it today as well…and it was clear and sunny most of the day! Not warm, however! Jerry really had a good time -- on the way down to Seward we saw a black bear cross the road. On the cruise we saw a black bear on shore, plenty of bald eagles and Puffins. But no whale this time, which was disappointing.
After the cruise we walked around Seward for a bit, then headed home, stopping at Gwin’s in Cooper’s Landing for dinner. Great place to eat!
Aug. 6 Sun
Well, our freezer is full of salmon and halibut…..Jerry will be taking part of it home. He has succeeded in catching his limit every day. Again they were suppose to go out on the “Buttchaser” for halibut today, They were scheduled to depart the launch at 6:00 a.m. in Ninilchik, which is about an hour and half drive. They left at 4:00 a.m.; around 5:30 a.,m. Keven, boat captain called and said the wind was up and he wasn’t going out. I called Al told him. They decided to go on down to the launch since they were just turning on the road to the launch when I called. Apparently, Kevin just didn’t want to go out, as everyone else was going out. They tried to get on another charter, but they were all full. We think next year we will go back to going out of Homer on halibut charters…they seem to never cancel due to weather. At any rate, Al and Jerry decided to drive on down to Homer to see if they could possibly get on a late leaving charter out of there…but there weren’t any available. Jerry won’t get to experience halibut fishing this year…he will have to come back next year.
. They did see several Bullwinkles (moose) on the trip to and from Homer, just no Rocky…..Rocky lives in our fish camp and is busy annoying our cats!
It is sunny today, but cool -- just like a perfect autumn day…but wait, isn’t it still August? I don’t feel like I have had a summer this year. I still need my quota of warm weather and sun.
Jerry and Al are napping right now (2:00 p.m.) and are planning on going down to the river later to fish. I, on the other hand, am on my way to the laundramat….my favorite hang out as of late.
On another note, Beau is doing much better…almost back to his old self. He is still on a huge dose of prednisone, and has had some side effects from it, but he is doing better. I have dropped his dose of prednisone down as the doctor prescribed, so hopefully he will have less of the side effects. Schuster is still being a mother hen with him and won’t let him out of his sight for very long! It is driving Beau crazy! J
Daylight hours are getting shorter! It gets DARK around 1:00 a.m. and doesn’t get light until around 3:30 a.m. I actually saw some stars this morning when I let Beau out at 2:30 a.m. something I haven’t seen in 2 months! The locals are already groaning about the upcoming dark age (winter) and I can’t say I blame them. I sure wouldn’t like the long hours of darkness during the winter…heck, I don’t do well with the hours of darkness we get in the winter in Tucson!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
A bear, fish, moose and mosquito tale
July 12 Wednesday Sterling
We left Anchorage about noon after a quick stop at Costco for dog food. Got back to the river around 4:00 after making a couple of stops along the way. We purchased a TV Antenna and had it installed this evening…we now are back in the modern world with a TV! We get fairly good reception on the major networks and nothing on any others, which is fine. The man who did the installation is from Macedonia, but has been in Alaska for 30 years (and yes, he is a citizen of the U.S.) and we enjoyed talking to him. He has lived in this area all of the 30 years and was telling us about the great changes around here in the last 30 years. Fun to talk to.
The weather has finally turned warm and sunny and we are enjoying the 70+ degree temps. And yes, that is warm for this part of the world.
July 13 Thursday
After spending most of the day doing small chores around the trailer, we took off for Ninilchik this afternoon as we are halibut fishing again tomorrow. We are parked back on the beach at Deep Creek State Recreation Area. It’s really windy and the tide is very high this evening. We are going out early tomorrow, so it’s off to bed for all of us before 9:00 p.m.
July 14, Friday
Up early at 3:30 a.m. (yawn…there isn’t much that I will get up for this early in the morning) we were at the boat launch by 5:00 a.m. Ninilchik is a tractor launch, where the boats are put in the water with a tractor. Why aren’t the tractors running this morning? Hmmmm…why aren’t there more boats here? Where is the ButtChaser (our boat)? NO ONE IS GOING OUT! The wind is still blowing, but not as bad as last night, however, the surf is pretty rough. All launches are closed and NO boats are going out as there is a storm moving through Cooks Inlet and the seas are 6-10 feet waves…uh, no thanks, I don’t want to be out in that. We didn’t want to star in our version of “The Perfect Storm!” So we head back to the camper, load up and are back to the trailer by 7:00 a.m. By 7:05 a.m. we are all in bed sound asleep! So much for fishing today. And by the way, the reds still aren’t running in the Kenai, so we don’t have any fish here either.
Finally about 10:30 a.m. we get up for the second time today. Cortney and I decided to go do laundry (it has been 4 days since we saw a Laundromat…we are having with drawals!) And we needed to do some supply shopping, so into Seldotna we go. First of all we discover that the Laundromat there has a waiting line just to get in. Yup, all the fisherpeople are here. At this time of year, every year, thousands of people come to the Kenai to fish. We do our shopping at Fred Meyers, which is a battle since the store has all the aforementioned fisherpeople in it since the fish aren’t running! Finally we finished and found our favorite Laundromat in Sterling is empty…we did the chore and got home around 5:00 p.m. Bruce came down for a dinner of bbq’d ribs. He also tells us of a bear being spotted just up river from the campground. So we have decided the cats and dogs won’t go out on the leash for a few days.
As I sit and write this, I am looking out the window at the trees gently blowing in the breeze and the beautiful blue-green of the river below us. What a great place to be.
Sterling, AK July 15, 2006
This episode of our travels was going to be called "A Fish Tale" until early this morning when we had an interesting experience, with a bear.
Around 7:30 this morning we were aroused from a nice sleep with both dogs barking and growling....all three of us were telling the dogs to "HUSH" and they refused to be quiet. I asked Cortney (who sleeps on a futon in the living room) what the dogs were barking at. I thought it was the owners son or someone walking around outside and I couldn't understand why the dogs wouldn't stop barking, or why both cats were suddenly fluffed up and very scared. Cortney replies, very matter -of-fact to my question with "oh, its a bear in our garbage can". Wait, did you say BEAR???? BEAR!!! I came out of bed in a flash and went to look out the window and sure enough a grizzly bear was eating our garbage. I stood there and watched him in a pure stupor. I couldn't move! I was scared frozen! And remember, we are in a 33 foot camp trailer....with one swipe the bear could be in here with us. I was racking my brain as to what to do? I couldn't remember ever receiving any training on what to do if you encounter a bear in your garbage can right outside your trailer. He was close enough I could have reached out and touched him (I am assuming it was a him--I didn't check!) About this time I heard a growl, and it wasn't from our dogs, who we had finally succeeded in getting them to quiet down. THE BEAR WAS GROWLING AT ME! GULP!.. What to do? I know, I will call my nephew who has a trailer 4 spots from ours....he will know what to do. I wake up Bruce and he says "HUH??? Who is this?" -- Not funny! Finally I get through to him what is happening. Pretty soon the doctor who has a trailer next to Bruce and Bruce's friend Jamie come driving up in this old beat up pickup...they sit outside our trailer and rev the engine..the bear looks up from eating, looks around as if to say "don't bother me, I am eating" and goes back to pawing through our garbage. Obviously, that isn't going to work, and remember us? We are the ones stuck inside this tin can of a trailer. I have already tried my cousin Ted's method of scaring off wild animals, I have yelled "shoo- shoo" a couple of times from inside the trailer and the bear didn't even have the decency to acknowledge I had even said anything! I can see the headlines now "3 people held hostage in a tin can of a trailer by grizzly!" HELP! Finally, Jamie gets out of the truck and throws a couple of rocks at the bear....to which the bear looks around and goes back to eating. Ya, that worked! Finally Jamie and Doc get the bear's attention with a few more well placed rocks and the bear wanders out to the road..for a minute...but the temptation of tantalizing garbage for breakfast is too much for the bear, so back he comes. He decides this time to attack our barbeque....which in doing so the propane tank hits him on the head and he goes back to eating our garbage..much safer! HELP! HELP! Again comes our rescuers with their rocks...oh wait, there is another bear (bear #2) They are chasing the wrong bear.....our bear (as he is now known) is still eating...they chased away the wrong bear! HELP! HELP! HELP! Jamie comes around the corner of our truck (which is parked in front of our trailer) and sees our bear. Bear #2 has retreated into the woods. Finally, Jamie hits our bear with enough rocks that he trots off to the woods, for a minute. But, back he comes to eat more. After a couple more attempts, Jamie (My HERO) chases the bear off to the woods. Then Jamie shouts to me "Pick up the garbage or bear will return" and he walks off! WAIT...you want me to come out THERE and pick up the garbage????? NOT VERY LIKELY SINCE THERE IS A BEAR OUT THERE! We spend the next few minutes on bear watch (seemed like hours) and finally Doc comes back and I bravely go out and Doc and I pickup the garbage and stuff what is remaining of it into the back of his truck and he takes it to the other side of the campground (where I have now decided that is where we will put our garbage all of the time). And where is our camera's in all of this? In the truck! And I wasn't about to go get them. So I used my trusty cell phone to take pictures.....I can only hope I can get the pictures off the phone and on to my computer!
So now we are on bear alert! I finally got brave and took the dogs out to go potty....but we went the opposite direction of the woods! And everyone in the park has been down here to see where the bear WAS! Now, what's up with that? There is nothing to see but bear tracks! And the jokes have started..."oh, having bear claws for breakfast?" etc. HAHAHA--not funny! I need to take the dogs out, but I am sure the bears are lurking near by in the woods, just waiting to come back to see if there is anymore garbage (there isn't) for a mid-day snack. Everyone has assured me that the bears have probably moved on..wait? PROBABLY? Nope, not good enough for me! So for now the dogs have their legs crossed and I am not going out.
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July 15 Sunday
No more bears…thank heavens! Today dawned bright and sunny…but you notice I didn’t say warm! It got all the way to 70 today…will I ever be warm again?
Dick and Janice drove down for the day. We had a good visit…we bbq’d chicken and I made a macaroni salad. Had a fun day.
July 16 Monday
No fish running in the river yet…and the weather is crummy. Cold, overcast and I think someone stole the sun! We basically hung around and watched movies….not too much to do.
July 17 Tuesday
We were suppose to go out halibut fishing today, however, the charter was cancelled due to high waves and heavy winds on the inlet. So we drove into Soldotna so Al and I could get hair cuts – it was either that or dog tags! WOOF ! Had lunch in Soldotna and wandered through Fred Meyers with everyone else in the world. The parking lot at Fred Meyers was so packed we had a hard time finding a parking spot.
July 18 Wed
Cortney and I decided the heck with it, we were going to try our hand at fishing. We hadn’t come all this way to not fish! So Al rigged up a couple of poles and off we went. We had no idea what we were doing, so we just watched the others out on the bank and did what they did. Cortney hooked one, but we couldn’t get it landed. Finally after two hours we were cold, tired and disappointed …no fish.
July 19, Thursday
Laundry day today! Cortney likes this job just about as much as I do! Al went with us to town and we had Chinese food for lunch, then back to the Laundromat. We managed to get the laundry done in less than two hours this time!
Still cloudy, cold and rain off and on. Feels like Seattle on an ugly fall day! Where is the heat and sun? Oh yeah, everywhere else but here. Terrible storms in St. Louis and the rest of the country is baking…..except here!
July 20 Friday
We were suppose to halibut fish again today and we got blown off again by high seas and wind. I am beginning to wonder if we will ever get to halibut fish. So Cortney and I went back down to the river. Al, who has done nothing but talk about fishing for the last year seems to have no interest in fishing! That is worrying me. He says he just doesn’t want to fish, but he has gone up and down the 141 steps it takes to get to the river. So that isn’t the problem.
Cortney hooked 3 today, but didn’t land any. One of the doctors (Doc) took pity on us today and taught us how to fish for reds. We pretty much had it down, he just refined our technique! I have fished this river for 6 years and still haven’t landed a red. A bit frustrating.
Ray, the owner of Fish on Inn is very ill and not expected to live. We are concerned about what is going to happen to our spot here when he dies. His children are to take over, but the only one that has any interest in it isn’t who any of us want running it. He has a substance abuse problem (nice way to say he drinks until he is drunk) and we are all afraid he will let it go downhill. We can already see signs of things not being kept up like they were before. And since Al is showing no interest in fishing, we are wondering if we should cut our losses and sell this place. I love it up here tho…much more than I thought I would. I love just sitting watching the trees, river and the eagles fly over. It is truly beautiful up here and I love the peace and quiet.
July 22, Sat
Cabin fever struck today. Cortney and I went fishing for a while, but nothing was happening and my shoulder hurts to much to do much fishing. After we got back to the trailer we all climbed in the truck to do some sightseeing. Now, mind you, we have driven up and down the highway between here (Sterling) and Soldotna for the last month…but haven’t really stopped to check out any of the side roads. We wound up going up to Niskiki today. Not much there, but a pretty drive, however it would have been prettier if it wasn’t so cold and rainy. ARRRGGGG…give me some heat and sun! It was 106 in Odessa today and 104 in Tucson…..
July 23, 2006 Sun
FISH…finally! The reds are finally beginning to run in the river. Bruce brought up his limit for us today. Of course the limit went to 1 today! GRRRR the day they really start to run! What’s wrong with this picture? Anyway, the minute Bruce brought up his fish, Cortney was chomping at the bit to go fishing. As soon as we finished up breakfast dishes, on went the boots and off we went. The dock was crowded, but we found a spot and started to fish. After about 50 casts, my shoulder gave up. I reeled in and watched Cortney fish. She hooked 3 right off the bat, but couldn’t get them landed. After about an hour she finally caught her first red. She was so excited I was afraid she would fall in the river! Jamie helped us net it, get it off the hook and helped Cortney clean it. A nice 6 pound red. Bruce and Holly will have a great salmon dinner!
Weather is still horrible. A true Alaskan summer….I could do without it! It reached a whopping 63 today! I am frozen. We did see a peek of the sun this morning for about 2 minutes…and it left for the day. So I know it is out there somewhere….just not here.
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July 24 Mon
FISH…lots of fish. Not as many as in past years….but the reds are finally running. The counts are way down, and the state is closing red fishing on the Kenai as of midnight tonight. Of course, just as we are finally getting some fish in. Cortney and I went down this morning and beat the water to a froth, but didn’t get our fish. Had lots on the hook and off again, but didn’t get one landed. We finally came back to the trailer and I nursed a very sore shoulder and elbow. Later in the day, we went back down to the river with our neighbor and Cortney caught her fish….so one more in the freezer. Finally, I caught my first red! What a thrill! Now I know why everyone spends hours fishing for them! WHOOHOO! Of course, I caught my first fish about 3 hours before the state shut off the fishing on the Kenai. Oh well, the Kasilof and Russian river are still open.
Weather still cold, gray, cloudy and rain. ICK!
July 25, Tuesday
Halibut fishing today. Finally! Of course, my rotten luck has stuck with me and I got sick before we went out from a bad breakfast at McDonalds and I wound up staying in the camper watching it rain all day while Cortney and Al went halibut fishing. AND I LOVE HALIBUT FISHING! WHAAA! They brought back their limits, but they were very cold and wet when they got back as it has rained all day. But Cortney was happy, she caught her halibuts. She will be taking home some nice fish.
We drove home from Ninilchik in the pouring down rain. This weather sucks! I need sun!
July 26, Wed
SUN!!! FINALLY!!! We woke up to a nice, sunny day. Not exactly warm, in the mid 60’s, but sun. We spent the morning doing some cleaning around the trailer and doing some chores. Bruce and his nephew Zach got here about noon and they invited Cortney to go fishing for trout, kings or what ever they could catch out of the boat. So she went with them and Al and I went into town to dump the old futon mattress at Salvation Army and to get some parts we need to make some repairs to the trailer.
After we got back we did some more work, then Cortney came back and said they had caught 2 trout and Bruce had invited her for dinner and then they were going back out for more fish. She is really hooked! Don’t know where she is going to fish in Arizona!
I took the dogs for a walk after dinner and guess what we ran into. A mama moose and 2 babies! I usually walk the dogs up to the road, let them off the leash and let them run for a while. As I was getting ready to leave the park I looked up to see mama moose….uh…without having cousin Ted here to protect me from mama moose, I decided it would be wise to go back to the trailer. Especially after Beau got a look at mama and let out a WOOF! Mama did the “look”, lowered her ears and hackles came up…..we went back to the trailer as a pretty good pace! I got the dogs in the trailer, but I couldn’t stand it…I had to go see where mama and babies where. Sure enough, they were just off the road leading into the park. I stopped and chatted with the couple who have the first trailer and we moose watched for a while. Babies seem to be yearlings, and usually this is about the time mama is trying to break away from babies. These two seem to be sticking pretty close! If nothing else, we have seen plenty of wild life here…how exciting. It would have real exciting if mama had gone after Beau, however, we have already done that and don’t want to repeat it. What are the words cousin Ted? Oh ya, “HEE YAW” with a wave of arms! Got it!
July 27 Thursday
More sun! Whoo hoo! In fact it was an absolute beautiful day.
Cortney went fishing most of the day with my nephew Bruce and his nephew Zach. She out-fished them! She caught a 23 inch trout! Of course, you can’t keep any over 18 inches, but she had a blast catching them. She also caught more than they did! She has really turned out to be a real fisherperson!
Of course, I did the thing I do best today….laundry! UGH! I am on a first name basis with the owner of the Laundromat in Sterling!
July 28, Friday
We are in Anchorage tonight. We drove in today…which, by the way, was another beautiful day. The drive is so beautiful, but it is extra pretty when the sun shines. I can’t begin to describe the beauty of Alaska. The mountains are so pristine and the water in the rivers is what I would call in “icy” blue. Just breath-taking!
We are at my brothers tonight. We went to Sea Galley for dinner tonight so Cortney could have her promised crab legs. We promised her crab legs months ago, so we did that tonight. I ordered oysters, which I love, but these were horrible. I am having one heck of bad luck eating meals out!
We have a sick dog….our Beau dog is very sick. After dinner Cortney and I took him to the emergency vet. He hasn’t ate or drank for two days and is very lethargic. And he doesn’t want to play BALL…so we know he is very sick. The vet did an exam and ran some tests. Beau has Masticatory Muscle Myositis….translates into the muscles in his head and jaw have atrophied and he is unable to open his mouth without a great deal of pain. This condition is not cureable, however, it is treatable and he will be able to live a long, productive life with the aid of prednisone. Right now he is on a massive dose of prednisone and an antibiotic, since he is running a fever as well. A couple of years ago he had a horrible eye infection and our vet suspected he had Masticatory Muscle Myositis. She sent a blood sample to have tested for the disease, and the results were negative. However, she cautioned us then that as he got older it may present itself again, which it has. The vet here was wonderful and took his time to explain everything to me. Of course I was scared to death…my poor baby dog! We are having to feed him through a feeding syringe tonight, which he wants none of. And the antibiotic is a huge pill…how I am suppose to get this down him is beyond me! Needless to say, he will be in bed with us tonight so I can monitor how he is doing.
July 29, Sat
We did the “farmers market” thing today. We went to the South Anchorage Farmers Market which is truly a farmers market. Got some great veggies! Then Al wanted to go to the “Farmers Market” downtown – which is more of a craft fair than anything else. But, I really enjoyed it. I don’t know if any of you have ever read the comic strip “Tundra”….I LOVE IT…it reminds me a lot of FarSide by Gary Larson, which is my absolute favorite. Anyway, Chad Carpenter, the creator of Tundra was there and I got an autographed book. I have already read and laughed my way through the book once. And cousin Ted, he is as funny in person as the comic strip is! Visit: http://www.tundracomics.com/index.html for a great laugh.
The weather has turned cloudy again this afternoon and rain is forecast for the next ? days. Whoopee…
Beau is doing a bit better today. He drank some water and ate a little and his a little more active. Getting pills down him is still a struggle tho!
July 30, 2006 Sun
Up early to take Cortney to the airport…we are now Cortney-less. Sure is quiet around here. The dogs and cats are POUTING! They miss her.
It has rained almost all day. A constant rain, good for the yards, miserable for me! And the camper has developed a leak in the front right corner, so I spend a lot of time mopping up water….Denise and Gordon take note….a repair coming your way when we get home.
Beau is doing much better today – he is so smart tho. He KNOWS when I get his pills out and he goes and hides! I have to find him, then convince him to take his pills…I have hidden them in a bite of hot dog…he eats the hot dog and spits out the pill; in cheese which he does the same thing. We tried peanut butter and just butter and to no avail. Tonight I am trying a piece of ham….
Schuster has been so funny during this whole thing…he watches over Beau like a mother hen. Today he has not left Beau’s side and I think he is getting on Beau’s nerves! Beau growled at him this afternoon as if to say….”leave me alone”!
We are going to stay in Anchorage until at least Wednesday morning. Jerry (Al’s son) is flying in on Tuesday for a week stay with us. We are really looking forward to having him here. OF course, we are going to do the halibut fishing routine again, and hope to get him out on one of the rivers that are still open for red salmon fishing. And my nephew is going to take him out silver salmon fishing as well.
We left Anchorage about noon after a quick stop at Costco for dog food. Got back to the river around 4:00 after making a couple of stops along the way. We purchased a TV Antenna and had it installed this evening…we now are back in the modern world with a TV! We get fairly good reception on the major networks and nothing on any others, which is fine. The man who did the installation is from Macedonia, but has been in Alaska for 30 years (and yes, he is a citizen of the U.S.) and we enjoyed talking to him. He has lived in this area all of the 30 years and was telling us about the great changes around here in the last 30 years. Fun to talk to.
The weather has finally turned warm and sunny and we are enjoying the 70+ degree temps. And yes, that is warm for this part of the world.
July 13 Thursday
After spending most of the day doing small chores around the trailer, we took off for Ninilchik this afternoon as we are halibut fishing again tomorrow. We are parked back on the beach at Deep Creek State Recreation Area. It’s really windy and the tide is very high this evening. We are going out early tomorrow, so it’s off to bed for all of us before 9:00 p.m.
July 14, Friday
Up early at 3:30 a.m. (yawn…there isn’t much that I will get up for this early in the morning) we were at the boat launch by 5:00 a.m. Ninilchik is a tractor launch, where the boats are put in the water with a tractor. Why aren’t the tractors running this morning? Hmmmm…why aren’t there more boats here? Where is the ButtChaser (our boat)? NO ONE IS GOING OUT! The wind is still blowing, but not as bad as last night, however, the surf is pretty rough. All launches are closed and NO boats are going out as there is a storm moving through Cooks Inlet and the seas are 6-10 feet waves…uh, no thanks, I don’t want to be out in that. We didn’t want to star in our version of “The Perfect Storm!” So we head back to the camper, load up and are back to the trailer by 7:00 a.m. By 7:05 a.m. we are all in bed sound asleep! So much for fishing today. And by the way, the reds still aren’t running in the Kenai, so we don’t have any fish here either.
Finally about 10:30 a.m. we get up for the second time today. Cortney and I decided to go do laundry (it has been 4 days since we saw a Laundromat…we are having with drawals!) And we needed to do some supply shopping, so into Seldotna we go. First of all we discover that the Laundromat there has a waiting line just to get in. Yup, all the fisherpeople are here. At this time of year, every year, thousands of people come to the Kenai to fish. We do our shopping at Fred Meyers, which is a battle since the store has all the aforementioned fisherpeople in it since the fish aren’t running! Finally we finished and found our favorite Laundromat in Sterling is empty…we did the chore and got home around 5:00 p.m. Bruce came down for a dinner of bbq’d ribs. He also tells us of a bear being spotted just up river from the campground. So we have decided the cats and dogs won’t go out on the leash for a few days.
As I sit and write this, I am looking out the window at the trees gently blowing in the breeze and the beautiful blue-green of the river below us. What a great place to be.
Sterling, AK July 15, 2006
This episode of our travels was going to be called "A Fish Tale" until early this morning when we had an interesting experience, with a bear.
Around 7:30 this morning we were aroused from a nice sleep with both dogs barking and growling....all three of us were telling the dogs to "HUSH" and they refused to be quiet. I asked Cortney (who sleeps on a futon in the living room) what the dogs were barking at. I thought it was the owners son or someone walking around outside and I couldn't understand why the dogs wouldn't stop barking, or why both cats were suddenly fluffed up and very scared. Cortney replies, very matter -of-fact to my question with "oh, its a bear in our garbage can". Wait, did you say BEAR???? BEAR!!! I came out of bed in a flash and went to look out the window and sure enough a grizzly bear was eating our garbage. I stood there and watched him in a pure stupor. I couldn't move! I was scared frozen! And remember, we are in a 33 foot camp trailer....with one swipe the bear could be in here with us. I was racking my brain as to what to do? I couldn't remember ever receiving any training on what to do if you encounter a bear in your garbage can right outside your trailer. He was close enough I could have reached out and touched him (I am assuming it was a him--I didn't check!) About this time I heard a growl, and it wasn't from our dogs, who we had finally succeeded in getting them to quiet down. THE BEAR WAS GROWLING AT ME! GULP!.. What to do? I know, I will call my nephew who has a trailer 4 spots from ours....he will know what to do. I wake up Bruce and he says "HUH??? Who is this?" -- Not funny! Finally I get through to him what is happening. Pretty soon the doctor who has a trailer next to Bruce and Bruce's friend Jamie come driving up in this old beat up pickup...they sit outside our trailer and rev the engine..the bear looks up from eating, looks around as if to say "don't bother me, I am eating" and goes back to pawing through our garbage. Obviously, that isn't going to work, and remember us? We are the ones stuck inside this tin can of a trailer. I have already tried my cousin Ted's method of scaring off wild animals, I have yelled "shoo- shoo" a couple of times from inside the trailer and the bear didn't even have the decency to acknowledge I had even said anything! I can see the headlines now "3 people held hostage in a tin can of a trailer by grizzly!" HELP! Finally, Jamie gets out of the truck and throws a couple of rocks at the bear....to which the bear looks around and goes back to eating. Ya, that worked! Finally Jamie and Doc get the bear's attention with a few more well placed rocks and the bear wanders out to the road..for a minute...but the temptation of tantalizing garbage for breakfast is too much for the bear, so back he comes. He decides this time to attack our barbeque....which in doing so the propane tank hits him on the head and he goes back to eating our garbage..much safer! HELP! HELP! Again comes our rescuers with their rocks...oh wait, there is another bear (bear #2) They are chasing the wrong bear.....our bear (as he is now known) is still eating...they chased away the wrong bear! HELP! HELP! HELP! Jamie comes around the corner of our truck (which is parked in front of our trailer) and sees our bear. Bear #2 has retreated into the woods. Finally, Jamie hits our bear with enough rocks that he trots off to the woods, for a minute. But, back he comes to eat more. After a couple more attempts, Jamie (My HERO) chases the bear off to the woods. Then Jamie shouts to me "Pick up the garbage or bear will return" and he walks off! WAIT...you want me to come out THERE and pick up the garbage????? NOT VERY LIKELY SINCE THERE IS A BEAR OUT THERE! We spend the next few minutes on bear watch (seemed like hours) and finally Doc comes back and I bravely go out and Doc and I pickup the garbage and stuff what is remaining of it into the back of his truck and he takes it to the other side of the campground (where I have now decided that is where we will put our garbage all of the time). And where is our camera's in all of this? In the truck! And I wasn't about to go get them. So I used my trusty cell phone to take pictures.....I can only hope I can get the pictures off the phone and on to my computer!
So now we are on bear alert! I finally got brave and took the dogs out to go potty....but we went the opposite direction of the woods! And everyone in the park has been down here to see where the bear WAS! Now, what's up with that? There is nothing to see but bear tracks! And the jokes have started..."oh, having bear claws for breakfast?" etc. HAHAHA--not funny! I need to take the dogs out, but I am sure the bears are lurking near by in the woods, just waiting to come back to see if there is anymore garbage (there isn't) for a mid-day snack. Everyone has assured me that the bears have probably moved on..wait? PROBABLY? Nope, not good enough for me! So for now the dogs have their legs crossed and I am not going out.
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July 15 Sunday
No more bears…thank heavens! Today dawned bright and sunny…but you notice I didn’t say warm! It got all the way to 70 today…will I ever be warm again?
Dick and Janice drove down for the day. We had a good visit…we bbq’d chicken and I made a macaroni salad. Had a fun day.
July 16 Monday
No fish running in the river yet…and the weather is crummy. Cold, overcast and I think someone stole the sun! We basically hung around and watched movies….not too much to do.
July 17 Tuesday
We were suppose to go out halibut fishing today, however, the charter was cancelled due to high waves and heavy winds on the inlet. So we drove into Soldotna so Al and I could get hair cuts – it was either that or dog tags! WOOF ! Had lunch in Soldotna and wandered through Fred Meyers with everyone else in the world. The parking lot at Fred Meyers was so packed we had a hard time finding a parking spot.
July 18 Wed
Cortney and I decided the heck with it, we were going to try our hand at fishing. We hadn’t come all this way to not fish! So Al rigged up a couple of poles and off we went. We had no idea what we were doing, so we just watched the others out on the bank and did what they did. Cortney hooked one, but we couldn’t get it landed. Finally after two hours we were cold, tired and disappointed …no fish.
July 19, Thursday
Laundry day today! Cortney likes this job just about as much as I do! Al went with us to town and we had Chinese food for lunch, then back to the Laundromat. We managed to get the laundry done in less than two hours this time!
Still cloudy, cold and rain off and on. Feels like Seattle on an ugly fall day! Where is the heat and sun? Oh yeah, everywhere else but here. Terrible storms in St. Louis and the rest of the country is baking…..except here!
July 20 Friday
We were suppose to halibut fish again today and we got blown off again by high seas and wind. I am beginning to wonder if we will ever get to halibut fish. So Cortney and I went back down to the river. Al, who has done nothing but talk about fishing for the last year seems to have no interest in fishing! That is worrying me. He says he just doesn’t want to fish, but he has gone up and down the 141 steps it takes to get to the river. So that isn’t the problem.
Cortney hooked 3 today, but didn’t land any. One of the doctors (Doc) took pity on us today and taught us how to fish for reds. We pretty much had it down, he just refined our technique! I have fished this river for 6 years and still haven’t landed a red. A bit frustrating.
Ray, the owner of Fish on Inn is very ill and not expected to live. We are concerned about what is going to happen to our spot here when he dies. His children are to take over, but the only one that has any interest in it isn’t who any of us want running it. He has a substance abuse problem (nice way to say he drinks until he is drunk) and we are all afraid he will let it go downhill. We can already see signs of things not being kept up like they were before. And since Al is showing no interest in fishing, we are wondering if we should cut our losses and sell this place. I love it up here tho…much more than I thought I would. I love just sitting watching the trees, river and the eagles fly over. It is truly beautiful up here and I love the peace and quiet.
July 22, Sat
Cabin fever struck today. Cortney and I went fishing for a while, but nothing was happening and my shoulder hurts to much to do much fishing. After we got back to the trailer we all climbed in the truck to do some sightseeing. Now, mind you, we have driven up and down the highway between here (Sterling) and Soldotna for the last month…but haven’t really stopped to check out any of the side roads. We wound up going up to Niskiki today. Not much there, but a pretty drive, however it would have been prettier if it wasn’t so cold and rainy. ARRRGGGG…give me some heat and sun! It was 106 in Odessa today and 104 in Tucson…..
July 23, 2006 Sun
FISH…finally! The reds are finally beginning to run in the river. Bruce brought up his limit for us today. Of course the limit went to 1 today! GRRRR the day they really start to run! What’s wrong with this picture? Anyway, the minute Bruce brought up his fish, Cortney was chomping at the bit to go fishing. As soon as we finished up breakfast dishes, on went the boots and off we went. The dock was crowded, but we found a spot and started to fish. After about 50 casts, my shoulder gave up. I reeled in and watched Cortney fish. She hooked 3 right off the bat, but couldn’t get them landed. After about an hour she finally caught her first red. She was so excited I was afraid she would fall in the river! Jamie helped us net it, get it off the hook and helped Cortney clean it. A nice 6 pound red. Bruce and Holly will have a great salmon dinner!
Weather is still horrible. A true Alaskan summer….I could do without it! It reached a whopping 63 today! I am frozen. We did see a peek of the sun this morning for about 2 minutes…and it left for the day. So I know it is out there somewhere….just not here.
----
July 24 Mon
FISH…lots of fish. Not as many as in past years….but the reds are finally running. The counts are way down, and the state is closing red fishing on the Kenai as of midnight tonight. Of course, just as we are finally getting some fish in. Cortney and I went down this morning and beat the water to a froth, but didn’t get our fish. Had lots on the hook and off again, but didn’t get one landed. We finally came back to the trailer and I nursed a very sore shoulder and elbow. Later in the day, we went back down to the river with our neighbor and Cortney caught her fish….so one more in the freezer. Finally, I caught my first red! What a thrill! Now I know why everyone spends hours fishing for them! WHOOHOO! Of course, I caught my first fish about 3 hours before the state shut off the fishing on the Kenai. Oh well, the Kasilof and Russian river are still open.
Weather still cold, gray, cloudy and rain. ICK!
July 25, Tuesday
Halibut fishing today. Finally! Of course, my rotten luck has stuck with me and I got sick before we went out from a bad breakfast at McDonalds and I wound up staying in the camper watching it rain all day while Cortney and Al went halibut fishing. AND I LOVE HALIBUT FISHING! WHAAA! They brought back their limits, but they were very cold and wet when they got back as it has rained all day. But Cortney was happy, she caught her halibuts. She will be taking home some nice fish.
We drove home from Ninilchik in the pouring down rain. This weather sucks! I need sun!
July 26, Wed
SUN!!! FINALLY!!! We woke up to a nice, sunny day. Not exactly warm, in the mid 60’s, but sun. We spent the morning doing some cleaning around the trailer and doing some chores. Bruce and his nephew Zach got here about noon and they invited Cortney to go fishing for trout, kings or what ever they could catch out of the boat. So she went with them and Al and I went into town to dump the old futon mattress at Salvation Army and to get some parts we need to make some repairs to the trailer.
After we got back we did some more work, then Cortney came back and said they had caught 2 trout and Bruce had invited her for dinner and then they were going back out for more fish. She is really hooked! Don’t know where she is going to fish in Arizona!
I took the dogs for a walk after dinner and guess what we ran into. A mama moose and 2 babies! I usually walk the dogs up to the road, let them off the leash and let them run for a while. As I was getting ready to leave the park I looked up to see mama moose….uh…without having cousin Ted here to protect me from mama moose, I decided it would be wise to go back to the trailer. Especially after Beau got a look at mama and let out a WOOF! Mama did the “look”, lowered her ears and hackles came up…..we went back to the trailer as a pretty good pace! I got the dogs in the trailer, but I couldn’t stand it…I had to go see where mama and babies where. Sure enough, they were just off the road leading into the park. I stopped and chatted with the couple who have the first trailer and we moose watched for a while. Babies seem to be yearlings, and usually this is about the time mama is trying to break away from babies. These two seem to be sticking pretty close! If nothing else, we have seen plenty of wild life here…how exciting. It would have real exciting if mama had gone after Beau, however, we have already done that and don’t want to repeat it. What are the words cousin Ted? Oh ya, “HEE YAW” with a wave of arms! Got it!
July 27 Thursday
More sun! Whoo hoo! In fact it was an absolute beautiful day.
Cortney went fishing most of the day with my nephew Bruce and his nephew Zach. She out-fished them! She caught a 23 inch trout! Of course, you can’t keep any over 18 inches, but she had a blast catching them. She also caught more than they did! She has really turned out to be a real fisherperson!
Of course, I did the thing I do best today….laundry! UGH! I am on a first name basis with the owner of the Laundromat in Sterling!
July 28, Friday
We are in Anchorage tonight. We drove in today…which, by the way, was another beautiful day. The drive is so beautiful, but it is extra pretty when the sun shines. I can’t begin to describe the beauty of Alaska. The mountains are so pristine and the water in the rivers is what I would call in “icy” blue. Just breath-taking!
We are at my brothers tonight. We went to Sea Galley for dinner tonight so Cortney could have her promised crab legs. We promised her crab legs months ago, so we did that tonight. I ordered oysters, which I love, but these were horrible. I am having one heck of bad luck eating meals out!
We have a sick dog….our Beau dog is very sick. After dinner Cortney and I took him to the emergency vet. He hasn’t ate or drank for two days and is very lethargic. And he doesn’t want to play BALL…so we know he is very sick. The vet did an exam and ran some tests. Beau has Masticatory Muscle Myositis….translates into the muscles in his head and jaw have atrophied and he is unable to open his mouth without a great deal of pain. This condition is not cureable, however, it is treatable and he will be able to live a long, productive life with the aid of prednisone. Right now he is on a massive dose of prednisone and an antibiotic, since he is running a fever as well. A couple of years ago he had a horrible eye infection and our vet suspected he had Masticatory Muscle Myositis. She sent a blood sample to have tested for the disease, and the results were negative. However, she cautioned us then that as he got older it may present itself again, which it has. The vet here was wonderful and took his time to explain everything to me. Of course I was scared to death…my poor baby dog! We are having to feed him through a feeding syringe tonight, which he wants none of. And the antibiotic is a huge pill…how I am suppose to get this down him is beyond me! Needless to say, he will be in bed with us tonight so I can monitor how he is doing.
July 29, Sat
We did the “farmers market” thing today. We went to the South Anchorage Farmers Market which is truly a farmers market. Got some great veggies! Then Al wanted to go to the “Farmers Market” downtown – which is more of a craft fair than anything else. But, I really enjoyed it. I don’t know if any of you have ever read the comic strip “Tundra”….I LOVE IT…it reminds me a lot of FarSide by Gary Larson, which is my absolute favorite. Anyway, Chad Carpenter, the creator of Tundra was there and I got an autographed book. I have already read and laughed my way through the book once. And cousin Ted, he is as funny in person as the comic strip is! Visit: http://www.tundracomics.com/index.html for a great laugh.
The weather has turned cloudy again this afternoon and rain is forecast for the next ? days. Whoopee…
Beau is doing a bit better today. He drank some water and ate a little and his a little more active. Getting pills down him is still a struggle tho!
July 30, 2006 Sun
Up early to take Cortney to the airport…we are now Cortney-less. Sure is quiet around here. The dogs and cats are POUTING! They miss her.
It has rained almost all day. A constant rain, good for the yards, miserable for me! And the camper has developed a leak in the front right corner, so I spend a lot of time mopping up water….Denise and Gordon take note….a repair coming your way when we get home.
Beau is doing much better today – he is so smart tho. He KNOWS when I get his pills out and he goes and hides! I have to find him, then convince him to take his pills…I have hidden them in a bite of hot dog…he eats the hot dog and spits out the pill; in cheese which he does the same thing. We tried peanut butter and just butter and to no avail. Tonight I am trying a piece of ham….
Schuster has been so funny during this whole thing…he watches over Beau like a mother hen. Today he has not left Beau’s side and I think he is getting on Beau’s nerves! Beau growled at him this afternoon as if to say….”leave me alone”!
We are going to stay in Anchorage until at least Wednesday morning. Jerry (Al’s son) is flying in on Tuesday for a week stay with us. We are really looking forward to having him here. OF course, we are going to do the halibut fishing routine again, and hope to get him out on one of the rivers that are still open for red salmon fishing. And my nephew is going to take him out silver salmon fishing as well.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Alaska Update
A few pictures to include with our daily log. We are really enjoying our time here and being with Cammie and Cortney...however, I would not want to go through the teen years again! ugh!
We are slowing getting the trailer the way we want it. Still have some work to do however. And the park we are in has to cut a new road in to it, so we have the wonderful experience of listening to the road construction. The acreage next to our park has been sold to a developer and they plan on putting houses on it....which doesn't make us happy. That will bring more people and more noise, to our quite little retreat, plus we will have to listen to more construction for the next couple of years since construction time here is April to Sept. usually. AND I am sure it will run off all of our wildlife we enjoy; at least during construction. OH well, life goes on.
July 3, Monday
Off to Anchorage today. Jean, Bob and Mary will leave on Wednesday, so we wanted to spend some more time with them before we left. We got into Anchorage in the late afternoon after a quick stop at Walmart to pick up supplies for the river.
July 4, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, Tuesday
We visited most of the morning; then Bruce came over about noon, as did Janice. We had a bbq this evening with friends Jamie and Julie Brophy joining us. Jamie did Panko Halibut (yum) and Bruce bbq’d wonderful steaks. We also had the required potato salad, watermelon, baked beans, etc. Great 4th of July bbq!
Bruce took Bob and Mary to the airport late tonight as their flight is a 1:15 a.m. The rest of us just collapsed. Finally about midnight we heard some fireworks going off…remember, it stays light up here a long time this time of year!
July 5, Wednesday
I took Jean to the airport this morning at 10:30 for her noon flight. When I got home Al, Dick and I just looked at each other and said “boy, where did everyone go?” I did some errands today and Al and I went to buy an TV antenna for the river, hoping to get some reception for a least a couple of channels.
We cooked Moose steaks for dinner…the girls loved them. I was betting they wouldn’t touch them, but they surprised me and asked for more!
After dinner, Al, Dick, Cammie and Cortney went out to Elmendorf (Dick is retired Air Force) to look for moose. They saw a yearling bull and the girls got plenty of pictures.
July 6, Thursday
Back to the river today. It sure is a beautiful drive from Anchorage to the Kenai. Majestic mountains, glaciers and glacier fed rivers and lakes. Really impressive! I never get tired of this drive.
After we got back and unloaded, we were sitting outside when our eagles made an appearance. They are so impressive and beautiful. Cammie and I watched them a long time and the eagles were putting on a show for us, swooping down low and soaring high above the trees and river. Cammie got some good shots with the camera.
The weather has turned cool and cloudy today and we are suppose to have rain tomorrow. This is a typical Alaska summer, which reminds us of Seattle. I spend a lot of time with the mosquito zapper...waging my never ending war on mosquitos!
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS
AL, JO, DOGS, CATS AND
CORTNEY AND CAMMIE
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
We are slowing getting the trailer the way we want it. Still have some work to do however. And the park we are in has to cut a new road in to it, so we have the wonderful experience of listening to the road construction. The acreage next to our park has been sold to a developer and they plan on putting houses on it....which doesn't make us happy. That will bring more people and more noise, to our quite little retreat, plus we will have to listen to more construction for the next couple of years since construction time here is April to Sept. usually. AND I am sure it will run off all of our wildlife we enjoy; at least during construction. OH well, life goes on.
July 3, Monday
Off to Anchorage today. Jean, Bob and Mary will leave on Wednesday, so we wanted to spend some more time with them before we left. We got into Anchorage in the late afternoon after a quick stop at Walmart to pick up supplies for the river.
July 4, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, Tuesday
We visited most of the morning; then Bruce came over about noon, as did Janice. We had a bbq this evening with friends Jamie and Julie Brophy joining us. Jamie did Panko Halibut (yum) and Bruce bbq’d wonderful steaks. We also had the required potato salad, watermelon, baked beans, etc. Great 4th of July bbq!
Bruce took Bob and Mary to the airport late tonight as their flight is a 1:15 a.m. The rest of us just collapsed. Finally about midnight we heard some fireworks going off…remember, it stays light up here a long time this time of year!
July 5, Wednesday
I took Jean to the airport this morning at 10:30 for her noon flight. When I got home Al, Dick and I just looked at each other and said “boy, where did everyone go?” I did some errands today and Al and I went to buy an TV antenna for the river, hoping to get some reception for a least a couple of channels.
We cooked Moose steaks for dinner…the girls loved them. I was betting they wouldn’t touch them, but they surprised me and asked for more!
After dinner, Al, Dick, Cammie and Cortney went out to Elmendorf (Dick is retired Air Force) to look for moose. They saw a yearling bull and the girls got plenty of pictures.
July 6, Thursday
Back to the river today. It sure is a beautiful drive from Anchorage to the Kenai. Majestic mountains, glaciers and glacier fed rivers and lakes. Really impressive! I never get tired of this drive.
After we got back and unloaded, we were sitting outside when our eagles made an appearance. They are so impressive and beautiful. Cammie and I watched them a long time and the eagles were putting on a show for us, swooping down low and soaring high above the trees and river. Cammie got some good shots with the camera.
The weather has turned cool and cloudy today and we are suppose to have rain tomorrow. This is a typical Alaska summer, which reminds us of Seattle. I spend a lot of time with the mosquito zapper...waging my never ending war on mosquitos!
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS
AL, JO, DOGS, CATS AND
CORTNEY AND CAMMIE
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
Friday, June 30, 2006
Anchorage to Kenai River
From our daily log..........................................
June 20
We arrived in Anchorage around 3:00 p.m. Bob, Mary, Dick and Jean were here to greet us. The travel from Glenallen was uneventful, beautiful though as we pass by Matnuska Glacier. It is receding rapidly.
We are parked in the back yard at Dicks. The camper and trailer fit perfectly. The dogs are loving being able to run in the back yard. Had the cats on their leash, not liking it, but if they want out, they have to be on the leash.
June 21
I did 9 loads of wash at the Laundromat today. Cortney and Bruce washed the truck, camper and trailer….they were so dirty, I wasn’t sure they were ours. It is cooler today…and kinda tried to rain.
June 22
We spent most of the day cleaning the inside of the camper and then doing nothing except enjoying each others company and visiting. Cammie is suppose to come in at 11:45 p.m. however, her flight is delayed by two hours. Cortney and I will be up late.
June 23
Cortney and I picked up Cammie at 1:45 a.m. I managed to have two naps today. We really didn’t do much today.
June 24
The girls, (Jean, Mary, Cammie and Cortney) and I went shopping today at the Dimond Mall. Had a good time. We stopped at Sam’s and bought a couple of broasted chickens and had them for dinner.
June 25
We went bbq hunting today and bagged one at Walmart. We managed to stuff it in the back of Bruce’s Mercedes SUV. It rained off and on all day.
June 26, 2006
Cortney, Cammie and I did another 5 loads of laundry today at the Laundromat, then to Costco to get supplies for the trailer at the river. Had a roast pork for dinner. It has been cold and rainy off and on all day.
June 27
Today we came down to the river. “The River” is the Kenai River, just out of Sterling. This is where our trailer is located…right on the river, 130 steps up…it is definitely a HIGH BANK site. I drove Bruce’s motorhome with Jean, Mary, Cortney and Cammie..or the “girlmobile”. The guys (Al and Bob) drove the truck and camper with all of our "male" animals...the "boymobile". Dick was planning on coming, but he has been having several episodes with his heart on a daily basis and his pacemaker has had to bring him back into sinus rhythm so his doctor didn't want him to come down to the river and be that far away from the hospital.
The trip down was beautiful, as only Alaska can be. The weather was perfect…sunny and not to hot. We got here around 5:30 p.m. and everyone pitched in to help unload the cargo trailer. Now, the dilemma was where to put things in the trailer. I will be hunting for things for the rest of the summer, and then some. At some point in the near future, Cammie and Cortney are going to do an inventory for me! We finally got things put away and had sandwiches for dinner and all of us fell into bed. Bob, Mary and Jean are staying in the motorhome and it is parked right next to us. The cats have already explored every inch of this trailer and I think they are glad to have a little more room to roam!
The owner of this park is in the hospital and not doing well. His son helps him here and he stopped by to help us get the hot water heater going and to check and make sure everything was okay. We will have to re-level the trailer at some point in time. And to my delight we have wild Iris blooming behind the trailer!!
June 28
Last night was COLD. And the beds that Al and I slept in were as hard as a rock! So today we were off to Fred Meyers for mattress toppers and other supplies for the trailer. We spent the majority of the day in Soldotna. Sterling is a smaller town, with not much in the way of stores, having only a small “mom and pop” grocery store (matter-of-fact, that is the name of it) and a few fishing tackle stores and a furniture store. Soldotna is 17 miles from us and is a larger town, and has Fred Meyers, Safeway and a small mall with Penneys and Sears.
After we got back from town we all collapsed for a few minutes. We got the mattress toppers on the beds and put all the supplies away and then we down to my nephew, Bruce, trailer for steaks. Bruce’s trailer is 5 spaces down from us.
The girls discovered Bruce’s collection of DVD’s and we borrowed several. We don't have any TV reception here yet. and we haven't made up our mind if we want to go satellite or just put up and antenna. Also, we have no Internet here and can't get wifi either. We are trying to decide what to do about that, whether we put a phone in just for internet, or go to town once in a while to do email. Fortunately, the cell phone works...some of the time!
June 29, 2006
Do you know what ‘glacier flour” is? We do! Today we took a 4 ½ hour wild life boat tour on Resurrection Bay out of Seward. Seward is about 90 miles from where the trailer is. We boarded at 12:30 p.m. on the “Star of the Northwest”, a 100 foot vessel booked through Majormarine…a good tour company.
Glacier flour is what is in the water and it comes from the glaciers crushing the rock to a fine powder as the glacier moves. When the glacier melts, this “flour” mixes with the melt and flows into the bay/stream, etc. It is an ugly gray color. At the beginning of our tour, the water in the bay was this ugly gray, however, after getting away from where the glacier melt is the water turned a beautiful blue/green.
We saw a lot of wildlife, eagles, puffins, jelly fish, Stellar Sea Lions and a humpback whale that came right up to the boat and put on a real show. The ranger on board the boat said she had never seen a whale stick around as long or put on a show like this one did. It passed under the boat several times, surfacing and blowing, rolling over, etc. and stayed around for over 30 minutes. Everyone got shots of it. And have you ever smelled the water from a spewing whale? Not very pleasant! However, all in all was wonderful experience and we all enjoyed it.
Mary and Cammie decided to get a little sick while on board. They just had queasy stomachs for a while we were out on open water, but once we got back to the bay and the water was calmer they were fine.
The meal on board was so good….copper river salmon and prime rib, plus all the trimmings. The prime rib was some of the best we have ever had!
We got home around 7:30 and bbq’d hamburgers for everyone and just sat around and visited and talked about our day. Did you know that Alaska has about 25 earthquakes a day! Most of them are too minor to feel, and Alaska has over 50% of the US earthquakes! The reason for this is the Pacific plate is slipping under the North American plate, dragging the front edge of the North American plate with it. Now you have had your science lesson for the day!
The Kenai River is so beautiful…and blue green color that I can’t even describe. I will try to send pictures later of it. The Sockeye salmon first run on the river is over, and everyone is waiting for the second run (the best run) to start, which should be in a couple of days. That is when true “combat” fishing will begin! And this park will fill up with all the people who own trailers here and come once a year for 10-14 days to fish. Right now in the park there are just 3 trailers occupied, but that will all change in about a week. This place will be busy, busy, busy and so will all the stores, etc around. The Kenai peninsula will fill up with more people than one can believe! Kind of like Tucson in January. J
June 30 – Happy 13th Birthday Lori!
Can’t believe our youngest grandchild is 13! Where does the time go?
It is raining today, a nice, Seattle type rain. Locals say this summer will be a true Alaska summer, wet, rainy, cloudy and buggy! So far they aren’t too wrong, especially about the bugs! Mosquito’s out number the people a million to one! And over half of them have bitten me! My mosquito bites have mosquito bites! I have tried everything and nothing seems to do much good….Muskol is the best so far -- the rest of the stuff the mosquitoes just gargle!
Bob, Mary, Jean are on their way back to Anchorage in the motorhome. Bruce is taking them back and he will stay in Anchorage until they leave. We will probably go to Anchorage on Monday and stay until they leave on the 5th and then come back here.
I think the girls are getting a little bored, however, they have plenty of DVD’s to watch and books to read.
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS
AL, JO, DOGS, CATS AND
CORTNEY AND CAMMIE
June 20
We arrived in Anchorage around 3:00 p.m. Bob, Mary, Dick and Jean were here to greet us. The travel from Glenallen was uneventful, beautiful though as we pass by Matnuska Glacier. It is receding rapidly.
We are parked in the back yard at Dicks. The camper and trailer fit perfectly. The dogs are loving being able to run in the back yard. Had the cats on their leash, not liking it, but if they want out, they have to be on the leash.
June 21
I did 9 loads of wash at the Laundromat today. Cortney and Bruce washed the truck, camper and trailer….they were so dirty, I wasn’t sure they were ours. It is cooler today…and kinda tried to rain.
June 22
We spent most of the day cleaning the inside of the camper and then doing nothing except enjoying each others company and visiting. Cammie is suppose to come in at 11:45 p.m. however, her flight is delayed by two hours. Cortney and I will be up late.
June 23
Cortney and I picked up Cammie at 1:45 a.m. I managed to have two naps today. We really didn’t do much today.
June 24
The girls, (Jean, Mary, Cammie and Cortney) and I went shopping today at the Dimond Mall. Had a good time. We stopped at Sam’s and bought a couple of broasted chickens and had them for dinner.
June 25
We went bbq hunting today and bagged one at Walmart. We managed to stuff it in the back of Bruce’s Mercedes SUV. It rained off and on all day.
June 26, 2006
Cortney, Cammie and I did another 5 loads of laundry today at the Laundromat, then to Costco to get supplies for the trailer at the river. Had a roast pork for dinner. It has been cold and rainy off and on all day.
June 27
Today we came down to the river. “The River” is the Kenai River, just out of Sterling. This is where our trailer is located…right on the river, 130 steps up…it is definitely a HIGH BANK site. I drove Bruce’s motorhome with Jean, Mary, Cortney and Cammie..or the “girlmobile”. The guys (Al and Bob) drove the truck and camper with all of our "male" animals...the "boymobile". Dick was planning on coming, but he has been having several episodes with his heart on a daily basis and his pacemaker has had to bring him back into sinus rhythm so his doctor didn't want him to come down to the river and be that far away from the hospital.
The trip down was beautiful, as only Alaska can be. The weather was perfect…sunny and not to hot. We got here around 5:30 p.m. and everyone pitched in to help unload the cargo trailer. Now, the dilemma was where to put things in the trailer. I will be hunting for things for the rest of the summer, and then some. At some point in the near future, Cammie and Cortney are going to do an inventory for me! We finally got things put away and had sandwiches for dinner and all of us fell into bed. Bob, Mary and Jean are staying in the motorhome and it is parked right next to us. The cats have already explored every inch of this trailer and I think they are glad to have a little more room to roam!
The owner of this park is in the hospital and not doing well. His son helps him here and he stopped by to help us get the hot water heater going and to check and make sure everything was okay. We will have to re-level the trailer at some point in time. And to my delight we have wild Iris blooming behind the trailer!!
June 28
Last night was COLD. And the beds that Al and I slept in were as hard as a rock! So today we were off to Fred Meyers for mattress toppers and other supplies for the trailer. We spent the majority of the day in Soldotna. Sterling is a smaller town, with not much in the way of stores, having only a small “mom and pop” grocery store (matter-of-fact, that is the name of it) and a few fishing tackle stores and a furniture store. Soldotna is 17 miles from us and is a larger town, and has Fred Meyers, Safeway and a small mall with Penneys and Sears.
After we got back from town we all collapsed for a few minutes. We got the mattress toppers on the beds and put all the supplies away and then we down to my nephew, Bruce, trailer for steaks. Bruce’s trailer is 5 spaces down from us.
The girls discovered Bruce’s collection of DVD’s and we borrowed several. We don't have any TV reception here yet. and we haven't made up our mind if we want to go satellite or just put up and antenna. Also, we have no Internet here and can't get wifi either. We are trying to decide what to do about that, whether we put a phone in just for internet, or go to town once in a while to do email. Fortunately, the cell phone works...some of the time!
June 29, 2006
Do you know what ‘glacier flour” is? We do! Today we took a 4 ½ hour wild life boat tour on Resurrection Bay out of Seward. Seward is about 90 miles from where the trailer is. We boarded at 12:30 p.m. on the “Star of the Northwest”, a 100 foot vessel booked through Majormarine…a good tour company.
Glacier flour is what is in the water and it comes from the glaciers crushing the rock to a fine powder as the glacier moves. When the glacier melts, this “flour” mixes with the melt and flows into the bay/stream, etc. It is an ugly gray color. At the beginning of our tour, the water in the bay was this ugly gray, however, after getting away from where the glacier melt is the water turned a beautiful blue/green.
We saw a lot of wildlife, eagles, puffins, jelly fish, Stellar Sea Lions and a humpback whale that came right up to the boat and put on a real show. The ranger on board the boat said she had never seen a whale stick around as long or put on a show like this one did. It passed under the boat several times, surfacing and blowing, rolling over, etc. and stayed around for over 30 minutes. Everyone got shots of it. And have you ever smelled the water from a spewing whale? Not very pleasant! However, all in all was wonderful experience and we all enjoyed it.
Mary and Cammie decided to get a little sick while on board. They just had queasy stomachs for a while we were out on open water, but once we got back to the bay and the water was calmer they were fine.
The meal on board was so good….copper river salmon and prime rib, plus all the trimmings. The prime rib was some of the best we have ever had!
We got home around 7:30 and bbq’d hamburgers for everyone and just sat around and visited and talked about our day. Did you know that Alaska has about 25 earthquakes a day! Most of them are too minor to feel, and Alaska has over 50% of the US earthquakes! The reason for this is the Pacific plate is slipping under the North American plate, dragging the front edge of the North American plate with it. Now you have had your science lesson for the day!
The Kenai River is so beautiful…and blue green color that I can’t even describe. I will try to send pictures later of it. The Sockeye salmon first run on the river is over, and everyone is waiting for the second run (the best run) to start, which should be in a couple of days. That is when true “combat” fishing will begin! And this park will fill up with all the people who own trailers here and come once a year for 10-14 days to fish. Right now in the park there are just 3 trailers occupied, but that will all change in about a week. This place will be busy, busy, busy and so will all the stores, etc around. The Kenai peninsula will fill up with more people than one can believe! Kind of like Tucson in January. J
June 30 – Happy 13th Birthday Lori!
Can’t believe our youngest grandchild is 13! Where does the time go?
It is raining today, a nice, Seattle type rain. Locals say this summer will be a true Alaska summer, wet, rainy, cloudy and buggy! So far they aren’t too wrong, especially about the bugs! Mosquito’s out number the people a million to one! And over half of them have bitten me! My mosquito bites have mosquito bites! I have tried everything and nothing seems to do much good….Muskol is the best so far -- the rest of the stuff the mosquitoes just gargle!
Bob, Mary, Jean are on their way back to Anchorage in the motorhome. Bruce is taking them back and he will stay in Anchorage until they leave. We will probably go to Anchorage on Monday and stay until they leave on the 5th and then come back here.
I think the girls are getting a little bored, however, they have plenty of DVD’s to watch and books to read.
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS
AL, JO, DOGS, CATS AND
CORTNEY AND CAMMIE
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Glenallen to Anchorage
From our log-- we are finally in Anchorage~
Anchorage June 21
Longest Day of the Year...and we in the land of the midnight sun!
We arrived in Anchorage yesterday afternoon after a long trip from Glenallen. The road was a bit better, but very narrow and windy....so it took a long time.
Both Jo's brothers are here, as well as her sister and sister-in-law. We are all having a great visit. Bruce, Jo's nephew was here last night for dinner and came back over today to help clean the very dirty truck, camper and trailer. They actually look like our rigs again! Bruce also lent me his car....a Mercedes M SUV! Now, of course, I want one! Fat Change.
I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the inside of the camper some what, and visiting with my siblings. The weather is cool and cloudy with some rain this evening. The sun did come out for a few minutes this afternoon. We are going to be busy for the next few days and probably won't go down to the river until Monday. Bruce plans on going down this weekend so we will get a report on the river level.
The dogs are very happy to be here and out of the camper.....they are enjoying running in the back yard. The cats are still on their leashes however...and not happy about it.
So, until next time, we are here, happy and glad to be off the road for a few days!
Al & Jo
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
Anchorage June 21
Longest Day of the Year...and we in the land of the midnight sun!
We arrived in Anchorage yesterday afternoon after a long trip from Glenallen. The road was a bit better, but very narrow and windy....so it took a long time.
Both Jo's brothers are here, as well as her sister and sister-in-law. We are all having a great visit. Bruce, Jo's nephew was here last night for dinner and came back over today to help clean the very dirty truck, camper and trailer. They actually look like our rigs again! Bruce also lent me his car....a Mercedes M SUV! Now, of course, I want one! Fat Change.
I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the inside of the camper some what, and visiting with my siblings. The weather is cool and cloudy with some rain this evening. The sun did come out for a few minutes this afternoon. We are going to be busy for the next few days and probably won't go down to the river until Monday. Bruce plans on going down this weekend so we will get a report on the river level.
The dogs are very happy to be here and out of the camper.....they are enjoying running in the back yard. The cats are still on their leashes however...and not happy about it.
So, until next time, we are here, happy and glad to be off the road for a few days!
Al & Jo
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
Monday, June 19, 2006
Toad River to Glenallen, AK
From our daily log...
June 17 Testlin, YK
We got out of Toad River about 10:30 this morning after having breakfast in the cafe and saying goodbye to everyone who was so nice to us. It kinda’ felt like we were leaving old friends!
Fueled in Watson Lake and had lunch there around 3:00 p.m. We really had a head wind today, and a very curvy road.
Stopped for the night at Dawson Peak RV Park, 8 miles south of Teslin. Nice park, but lots and lots of mosquitos! We finally had the stew I cooked a couple of days ago for dinner, then Cortney and I took a walk with the dogs to the lake and back. Not sure what lake this is.
We are seeing lots and lots of RV’s. I would say 10 RV’s to 1 car/truck. There are lots of RV parks along the way and so far we haven't had any trouble finding one. I did make reservations for our RV park last night as we wanted a pull through (quit laughing Jeannette!) and I am glad I did, we got the last one! This place we are in says it is famous for it’s homemade Rhubarb pie, so of course we bought a piece, but haven't tried it yet as we were all too full.
The guy parked next to us is from LA, and is retired LA City Fireman. Of course, I had to ask if he knew Dan, but he didn’t – he retired 14 years ago!
Critter count: 1 bear, 1 deer and 2 wild buffalo!
June 18, 2006 Happy Fathers Day!
We are still having trouble getting used to the daylight hours. It was still very sunny and bright at midnight (land of the midnight sun!). I woke up at 2:30 and it was kind of dusk…then I woke up a t 4:00 a.m and it was bright and sunny again!
The dogs and I took a walk to the lake again this morning. It’s a nice walk and they could get off the leash for a while, until another man walking his dog started down the road…then I leashed up the boys and it was a good thing I did, they really didn’t like this other dog. First time I have seen that!
We left Dawson Peak Campground at 9:15 this morning Stopped for fuel in Teslin at 3.61 a gallon. We are beginning to consider that cheap! Al fueled in Ft. Nelson at $4.34 per gallon! OUCH! Then at Watson Lake it was cheaper, it was $3.91 a gallon.
Teslin Lake is so pretty … but then every lake up here seems to be! I just realized we haven't seen any Caribou yet…well, let me rephrase that, and LIVE caribou. We did see a dead one along the road yesterday. Right now as I write this we are between Teslin and Whitehorse. We will stop in Whitehorse to get some groceries…we are running low or out of a few things.
After stopping in Whitehorse for groceries, we were pulling out of the parking lot and guess who we ran into AGAIN! Yup, Don Miller, my ex! Apparently the U.S. is big enough for us not to run into each other, but Canada isn’t! He had been in Whitehorse for 3 days fishing and was heading towards Seward….and we aren’t!
We had lunch at Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ House…great halibut fish and chips. We tried to go to the Edgewater, however, since they serve liquor, you had to be 19 to get in and we couldn’t get in with Cortney. Finally let Whitehorse around 2:00 p.m.
Stopped in Haines Junction for fuel and an ice cream. Road is still pretty good, some frost heaves, but not bad. Drove along side Lake Kluane (pronounced Klew-aw-nee) –lots of road construction. We were stopped for over 10 minutes. Fortnately, this is a beautiful, blue green lake, so the view was great. We finally arrived at Cottonwood RV Park, 16 miles south of Destruction Bay for the night. BIG MISTAKE! First of all, it was the most expensive RV park we have had so far. Granted, it was right on the lake, however, they have no electricity, so everything is ran off generator and we only had 15 amp service. Secondly, because of the bear problem, you have to take your own trash out with you when you leave and dispose of it elsewhere. And there were more mosquitos here than anywhere else we have been! Fortunately, I had bought some heavy duty, what the locals wear, mosquito repellant and it worked well. On the plus side, the showers were very clean and lots of hot water and they were free! Most other places the showers were either metered (25 cents a minute) or $2.00 per shower. We bbq’d pork steaks for dinner along with a baked potato and asparagus. Cortney and Al watched a movie, Jo read and the dogs slept in the evening. Very windy and cold at night….brrrr!
Critter count: 1 porcupine, 2 deer and a coyote.
June 19, 2006
We left Cottonwood around 10:30 this morning after a leisurely morning. Some road construction to Destruction Bay. After that pretty bad road with lots and lots of frost heaves and rough patches, travel is very slow…..about 40 mph at the most. Cool today.
After crossing back into the USA at about 1:00 p.m. we finally arrived at Tok, Alaska at 3:00 p.m. Since it was still early, we decided to go on to GlenAllen, AK on the Tok Highway Cutoff. Now, this road was destroyed 4 years ago by an earthquake. Apparently, they are slow at road repairs…we drove 87 miles of HELL…the road was gravel and very slow and rough and a lot of frost heaves…frost heaves are wonderful things! If you have never experienced them, they are road heaves…that’s the only way I can explain it. It was very dirty and muddy in spots as well…our white trailer is now brown, as is our black truck! It will take a lot of work to get rid of the grime! We finally arrived in Glenallen at around 8:00 p.m. Alaska time (1 hour behind PDT). At the first campground we stopped at they were completely full…oh oh….however, about a mile down the road we found another campground…well, it is a place with somewhat level spots and full hookups…I can’t really call it a campground, but it does have WIFI service!
One we looked in the trailer, it looked like someone picked it up, turned it over and shook it…what a mess. Also, the camper wasn’t in much better shape. However, since we will be in Anchorage tomorrow, we will leave the mess until we get settled.
Critter count: 1 beaver
June 17 Testlin, YK
We got out of Toad River about 10:30 this morning after having breakfast in the cafe and saying goodbye to everyone who was so nice to us. It kinda’ felt like we were leaving old friends!
Fueled in Watson Lake and had lunch there around 3:00 p.m. We really had a head wind today, and a very curvy road.
Stopped for the night at Dawson Peak RV Park, 8 miles south of Teslin. Nice park, but lots and lots of mosquitos! We finally had the stew I cooked a couple of days ago for dinner, then Cortney and I took a walk with the dogs to the lake and back. Not sure what lake this is.
We are seeing lots and lots of RV’s. I would say 10 RV’s to 1 car/truck. There are lots of RV parks along the way and so far we haven't had any trouble finding one. I did make reservations for our RV park last night as we wanted a pull through (quit laughing Jeannette!) and I am glad I did, we got the last one! This place we are in says it is famous for it’s homemade Rhubarb pie, so of course we bought a piece, but haven't tried it yet as we were all too full.
The guy parked next to us is from LA, and is retired LA City Fireman. Of course, I had to ask if he knew Dan, but he didn’t – he retired 14 years ago!
Critter count: 1 bear, 1 deer and 2 wild buffalo!
June 18, 2006 Happy Fathers Day!
We are still having trouble getting used to the daylight hours. It was still very sunny and bright at midnight (land of the midnight sun!). I woke up at 2:30 and it was kind of dusk…then I woke up a t 4:00 a.m and it was bright and sunny again!
The dogs and I took a walk to the lake again this morning. It’s a nice walk and they could get off the leash for a while, until another man walking his dog started down the road…then I leashed up the boys and it was a good thing I did, they really didn’t like this other dog. First time I have seen that!
We left Dawson Peak Campground at 9:15 this morning Stopped for fuel in Teslin at 3.61 a gallon. We are beginning to consider that cheap! Al fueled in Ft. Nelson at $4.34 per gallon! OUCH! Then at Watson Lake it was cheaper, it was $3.91 a gallon.
Teslin Lake is so pretty … but then every lake up here seems to be! I just realized we haven't seen any Caribou yet…well, let me rephrase that, and LIVE caribou. We did see a dead one along the road yesterday. Right now as I write this we are between Teslin and Whitehorse. We will stop in Whitehorse to get some groceries…we are running low or out of a few things.
After stopping in Whitehorse for groceries, we were pulling out of the parking lot and guess who we ran into AGAIN! Yup, Don Miller, my ex! Apparently the U.S. is big enough for us not to run into each other, but Canada isn’t! He had been in Whitehorse for 3 days fishing and was heading towards Seward….and we aren’t!
We had lunch at Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ House…great halibut fish and chips. We tried to go to the Edgewater, however, since they serve liquor, you had to be 19 to get in and we couldn’t get in with Cortney. Finally let Whitehorse around 2:00 p.m.
Stopped in Haines Junction for fuel and an ice cream. Road is still pretty good, some frost heaves, but not bad. Drove along side Lake Kluane (pronounced Klew-aw-nee) –lots of road construction. We were stopped for over 10 minutes. Fortnately, this is a beautiful, blue green lake, so the view was great. We finally arrived at Cottonwood RV Park, 16 miles south of Destruction Bay for the night. BIG MISTAKE! First of all, it was the most expensive RV park we have had so far. Granted, it was right on the lake, however, they have no electricity, so everything is ran off generator and we only had 15 amp service. Secondly, because of the bear problem, you have to take your own trash out with you when you leave and dispose of it elsewhere. And there were more mosquitos here than anywhere else we have been! Fortunately, I had bought some heavy duty, what the locals wear, mosquito repellant and it worked well. On the plus side, the showers were very clean and lots of hot water and they were free! Most other places the showers were either metered (25 cents a minute) or $2.00 per shower. We bbq’d pork steaks for dinner along with a baked potato and asparagus. Cortney and Al watched a movie, Jo read and the dogs slept in the evening. Very windy and cold at night….brrrr!
Critter count: 1 porcupine, 2 deer and a coyote.
June 19, 2006
We left Cottonwood around 10:30 this morning after a leisurely morning. Some road construction to Destruction Bay. After that pretty bad road with lots and lots of frost heaves and rough patches, travel is very slow…..about 40 mph at the most. Cool today.
After crossing back into the USA at about 1:00 p.m. we finally arrived at Tok, Alaska at 3:00 p.m. Since it was still early, we decided to go on to GlenAllen, AK on the Tok Highway Cutoff. Now, this road was destroyed 4 years ago by an earthquake. Apparently, they are slow at road repairs…we drove 87 miles of HELL…the road was gravel and very slow and rough and a lot of frost heaves…frost heaves are wonderful things! If you have never experienced them, they are road heaves…that’s the only way I can explain it. It was very dirty and muddy in spots as well…our white trailer is now brown, as is our black truck! It will take a lot of work to get rid of the grime! We finally arrived in Glenallen at around 8:00 p.m. Alaska time (1 hour behind PDT). At the first campground we stopped at they were completely full…oh oh….however, about a mile down the road we found another campground…well, it is a place with somewhat level spots and full hookups…I can’t really call it a campground, but it does have WIFI service!
One we looked in the trailer, it looked like someone picked it up, turned it over and shook it…what a mess. Also, the camper wasn’t in much better shape. However, since we will be in Anchorage tomorrow, we will leave the mess until we get settled.
Critter count: 1 beaver
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Still in Toad lake
Toad Lake, BC June 14, 2006
We are still here. I just talked to Al in Ft. Nelson and the part for the truck won't be in until tomorrow afternoon and he should be back here tomorrow evening. With any luck we will be back on the road by Friday.
The tow to Ft. Nelson cost $500....yikes! That's like 3 tanks of gas! Thank goodness we have insurance to cover that.
Today Cortney and I did laundry, cleaned the camper and trailer and hooked up the TV to satellite service. At least here we have Satellite TV and Internet. We are parked close to the laundry and restrooms and they just hooked up the Internet in the laundry room today.
There is a forest fire burning across the lake and ridge from us. We can see the smoke and we just hope the wind doesn't change,....that won't be good if it does. We haven't heard any planes or helicopters dumping water on it yet either. It makes the sun that weird color of red...fire red.
Tomorrow cortney and I plan on taking a short walk. We are still seeing a lot of moose in the lake and enjoying just sitting out side and enjoying the scenery and watching the mosquitos eat me! I have on the strongest deet they sell and I am still getting bit! I GIVE UP>
More later..............................
Al & Jo
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
We are still here. I just talked to Al in Ft. Nelson and the part for the truck won't be in until tomorrow afternoon and he should be back here tomorrow evening. With any luck we will be back on the road by Friday.
The tow to Ft. Nelson cost $500....yikes! That's like 3 tanks of gas! Thank goodness we have insurance to cover that.
Today Cortney and I did laundry, cleaned the camper and trailer and hooked up the TV to satellite service. At least here we have Satellite TV and Internet. We are parked close to the laundry and restrooms and they just hooked up the Internet in the laundry room today.
There is a forest fire burning across the lake and ridge from us. We can see the smoke and we just hope the wind doesn't change,....that won't be good if it does. We haven't heard any planes or helicopters dumping water on it yet either. It makes the sun that weird color of red...fire red.
Tomorrow cortney and I plan on taking a short walk. We are still seeing a lot of moose in the lake and enjoying just sitting out side and enjoying the scenery and watching the mosquitos eat me! I have on the strongest deet they sell and I am still getting bit! I GIVE UP>
More later..............................
Al & Jo
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
Dawson Creek to Toad River
Hello All....
We are currently in Toad River, BC, population 100 or less. And by the looks of it, we will be here a couple of days. But let me start at the beginning of yesterday.
We left Dawson Creek and made our way to Ft. Nelson. Saw 6 deer, 2 black bear (one was a cub) and a healthy coyote. Got into Ft. Nelson and decided to stay at a motel last night....a break from the camper. All of us got a good nights sleep and the dogs got a good run last night, so they slept well, too.
This morning we went to breakfast, then filled up with diesel at $3.94 a gallon!!! Yikes, the most we have paid so far. And back on the road....drove through some beautiful scenery, and after about an hour on the road, we began smelling raw diesel fuel. Hmmm....but since we were going up and down we thought maybe it was just a bit of an overflow from fueling. But then it started to really smell and the gas gage was sinking fast! About 50 miles out of Toad River (the nearest place in the middle of nowhere).....we kept on going to Toad River. Now, Toad River consist of a gas station, Cafe, Cabins, RV park and an emergency air strip. We get out of the truck and look under it and diesel fuel is POURING out! Our $3.94 per gallon diesel fuel! ARRGGG! I wanted to get a bucket and catch it! We asked if there was a mechanic here and yes, there was. He came out, looked and looked, and looked, scratched his head, and looked some more! Finally found that the fuel was leaking from the place where the fuel lines split into the injectors (I think)...anyway, he couldn't fix it. He called a tow truck from Ft. Nelson to come get the truck. In the mean time (it took over 3 hours for the tow truck to get here) we unhitched the trailer, took the camper off and and settled in for a day or two. Well, at least Cortney and I settled in here....Al went with the truck back to Ft. Nelson (122 miles back!) We are hoping it will get fixed tomorrow, but if they have to order parts it may be Thursday before we are back on the road.
While we were eating lunch here this afternoon, an RV pulled in and this man came in the cafe. I about choked on my water....it was Don Miller, my ex-husband! Now, I ask you, what are the chances???? He is on his way to Alaska as well....but stopping at the same place?
Strange things do happen.
In the mean time, the people here are so nice to us and very accommodating. The cafe has great food (Cortney and I had dinner here tonight) and have a satellite Internet hookup and satellite TV! If only Cortney and I can figure out how to hook it up! We are parked with a great view of the mountains, a lake and today saw 7 moose (yes, I GOT TO SEE MOOSE -- more than one!) feeding in the lake. Of course the mosquitos are as big as horses and my new cologne is DEET...unfortunately, it doesn't stop these mosquitos! They are a hearty bunch!
By the way, before I forget to mention this again.....the rock and roll has finally been removed from the truck and camper and I am no longer hanging my head out the window turning green from motion sickness! THANK YOU SUN COUNTRY RV!
We did see 17 stone sheep on the way to Toad River...one was a baby! We also saw two buck deer this morning. Al was salivating!
Ted and Shirley, you will remember Toad River...it's the cafe we stopped at that has all the caps on the ceiling...over 6887 of them! Pretty cool!
So, until next time.....we are the
STUCK, UNWROAMIN' WRASPIRS
Al, jO, cORTNEY AND VARIOUS ANIMALS!
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
We are currently in Toad River, BC, population 100 or less. And by the looks of it, we will be here a couple of days. But let me start at the beginning of yesterday.
We left Dawson Creek and made our way to Ft. Nelson. Saw 6 deer, 2 black bear (one was a cub) and a healthy coyote. Got into Ft. Nelson and decided to stay at a motel last night....a break from the camper. All of us got a good nights sleep and the dogs got a good run last night, so they slept well, too.
This morning we went to breakfast, then filled up with diesel at $3.94 a gallon!!! Yikes, the most we have paid so far. And back on the road....drove through some beautiful scenery, and after about an hour on the road, we began smelling raw diesel fuel. Hmmm....but since we were going up and down we thought maybe it was just a bit of an overflow from fueling. But then it started to really smell and the gas gage was sinking fast! About 50 miles out of Toad River (the nearest place in the middle of nowhere).....we kept on going to Toad River. Now, Toad River consist of a gas station, Cafe, Cabins, RV park and an emergency air strip. We get out of the truck and look under it and diesel fuel is POURING out! Our $3.94 per gallon diesel fuel! ARRGGG! I wanted to get a bucket and catch it! We asked if there was a mechanic here and yes, there was. He came out, looked and looked, and looked, scratched his head, and looked some more! Finally found that the fuel was leaking from the place where the fuel lines split into the injectors (I think)...anyway, he couldn't fix it. He called a tow truck from Ft. Nelson to come get the truck. In the mean time (it took over 3 hours for the tow truck to get here) we unhitched the trailer, took the camper off and and settled in for a day or two. Well, at least Cortney and I settled in here....Al went with the truck back to Ft. Nelson (122 miles back!) We are hoping it will get fixed tomorrow, but if they have to order parts it may be Thursday before we are back on the road.
While we were eating lunch here this afternoon, an RV pulled in and this man came in the cafe. I about choked on my water....it was Don Miller, my ex-husband! Now, I ask you, what are the chances???? He is on his way to Alaska as well....but stopping at the same place?
Strange things do happen.
In the mean time, the people here are so nice to us and very accommodating. The cafe has great food (Cortney and I had dinner here tonight) and have a satellite Internet hookup and satellite TV! If only Cortney and I can figure out how to hook it up! We are parked with a great view of the mountains, a lake and today saw 7 moose (yes, I GOT TO SEE MOOSE -- more than one!) feeding in the lake. Of course the mosquitos are as big as horses and my new cologne is DEET...unfortunately, it doesn't stop these mosquitos! They are a hearty bunch!
By the way, before I forget to mention this again.....the rock and roll has finally been removed from the truck and camper and I am no longer hanging my head out the window turning green from motion sickness! THANK YOU SUN COUNTRY RV!
We did see 17 stone sheep on the way to Toad River...one was a baby! We also saw two buck deer this morning. Al was salivating!
Ted and Shirley, you will remember Toad River...it's the cafe we stopped at that has all the caps on the ceiling...over 6887 of them! Pretty cool!
So, until next time.....we are the
STUCK, UNWROAMIN' WRASPIRS
Al, jO, cORTNEY AND VARIOUS ANIMALS!
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
Odessa to Dawson Creek
From our daily log)
Alaska 2006
June 9
Left Odessa around 2:30 P.M. Stopped in Omak at Walmart for a few supplies, mainly mosquito spray…we are heading into the land of Mosquitos….GIANT mosquitos. Crossed the border into Canada at Oroville at 6:00 p.m. It was a little wait in line and we had rain. Finally stopped for the night in Osoyoos, BC at NK’Mip Campground. It was a nice campground, right on the Osoyoos Lake. However, it rained all night. We decided instead of cooking we would go to the Elks for dinner. We hauled the camper and trailer over to the Elks only to find out no food was served, it was Bingo night! They recommended the Diamond Steak House and it was very good. The steak house was also a Greek restaurant, and while Al had prime rib and Cortney had Chicken Parmesan , I had Mousaka, which was the best I have had since being in Greece! YUM!
Critter count: 1 deer in WA
June 10, 2006
Left Osoyoos around 10:45 a.m. --- we all slept until 8:30! Even the dogs and cats! I think we were tired. And, while I think of it, all animals are on this trip, included Jose! It rained all night, pitter-patter on the roof, sounds like popcorn popping when you are in a camper. Headed north on Hwy 97. This is absolutely beautiful country…lots of lakes and mountains. Took Hwy 97C from just south of Kelowna to Merritt, BC…very high pass and beautiful. Fueled in Penticton, at $3.66 per gal for diesel, which is cheaper than regular gas! OUCH! Rain off and on to Merritt. Had a horrible lunch at Woods Restaurant in Merritt…won’t do that one again! After lunch I took over driving…narrow and curvy roads to Cache Creek then we hit Hwy 97, nice road. Lots of wild flowers along side the road, lupine and black eyed Susan’s. We also saw a moose and 2 deer today. The moose was in the middle of a green field eating….she was very big and a dark brown color. Needless to say, I was very excited. We are in Clinton BC tonight at the Gold Trail Campground…same one we stayed at 3 years ago. Had dinner at the restaurant here…they guy who owns the campground and restaurant is a real character. Rain finally quit and it was very nice to sit outside and have a drink and relax. Cortney and I played ball with the Poodles and the cats got to get out on their leashes. Jose loves to get out (go figure) but Juanito could care less.
We only traveled 233 miles today…we must get going earlier and travel a little more miles if we plan to make Alaska this year!
June 11, 2006
We left at 9:00 a.m. this morning. Hwy 97 is the “Gold Rush Trail”….I can’t imagine traveling this route years ago during the gold rush. We stopped in 100 Mile House for fuel (3.44 this time) and did a grocery stop at Safeway. It’s fun to check out the different brands they carry. And Cortney was amazed that a lot of the items are in English and French.
Saw a deer just north of 100 mile house. Weather is perfect….blue sky with some clouds, temperature is in the high 70’s.
Stopped at McLeese Lake and had a picnic lunch next to the lake. The weather is beautiful, about 75 degrees. Met a couple from Scotland here. They were traveling from Vancouver, BC to Prince Rupert, then back to Vancouver Island.
Arrived in Prince George to early to stop for the day. We fueled up and then headed on, relying on our trusty travel guide book “The Milepost” as it said there were campgrounds along the way. Which was right, however, either they weren’t open or had no water and electric.
About 80 miles south of Chetwyne we came across a pickup and boat stopped dead in front of us, there were two motorhomes we were following, they managed to get around the pickup, however, we were met with a huge truck coming the other way---we couldn’t stop as we came up on this hazard so quickly, (he was on a curve) but we managed to get by him and the on-coming truck pulled right to help us get by. WHEW! Then, about 70 miles south of Chetwyne, we were approaching a bridge crossing a creek, the on-coming car was stopped on a curve to let a duck and her babies cross the road….however, the car behind them couldn’t stop, swerved into our lane…Al did some real good driving here, he missed the oncoming car and the bridge abutment by inches. Needless to say we were glad the motorhomes had pulled off about a mile before this, or we would have all been in an ugly situation. Our hearts were beating pretty fast after this! People who stop IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FOR DUCKS ON A CURVE ARE BLOODY IDIOTS! We finally stopped about 10 miles south of Chetwynd at Caron Creek RV.; By the time we stopped it was 7:00 pm and we had traveled 428 miles.
Critter count: 1 deer and 2 squirrels and 1 dead duck and ducklings
June 12, 2006
Left campground at 8:30 am and stopped in Chetwynd for breakfast. We are now approaching Dawson Creek and we will begin the Alaska Highway (ALCAN)…from Dawon Creek to Tok, Alaska, 1280 miles. Beautful weather and scenry.
Al & Jo
Cortney, Juanito, Jose, Schuster and Beau
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
Alaska 2006
June 9
Left Odessa around 2:30 P.M. Stopped in Omak at Walmart for a few supplies, mainly mosquito spray…we are heading into the land of Mosquitos….GIANT mosquitos. Crossed the border into Canada at Oroville at 6:00 p.m. It was a little wait in line and we had rain. Finally stopped for the night in Osoyoos, BC at NK’Mip Campground. It was a nice campground, right on the Osoyoos Lake. However, it rained all night. We decided instead of cooking we would go to the Elks for dinner. We hauled the camper and trailer over to the Elks only to find out no food was served, it was Bingo night! They recommended the Diamond Steak House and it was very good. The steak house was also a Greek restaurant, and while Al had prime rib and Cortney had Chicken Parmesan , I had Mousaka, which was the best I have had since being in Greece! YUM!
Critter count: 1 deer in WA
June 10, 2006
Left Osoyoos around 10:45 a.m. --- we all slept until 8:30! Even the dogs and cats! I think we were tired. And, while I think of it, all animals are on this trip, included Jose! It rained all night, pitter-patter on the roof, sounds like popcorn popping when you are in a camper. Headed north on Hwy 97. This is absolutely beautiful country…lots of lakes and mountains. Took Hwy 97C from just south of Kelowna to Merritt, BC…very high pass and beautiful. Fueled in Penticton, at $3.66 per gal for diesel, which is cheaper than regular gas! OUCH! Rain off and on to Merritt. Had a horrible lunch at Woods Restaurant in Merritt…won’t do that one again! After lunch I took over driving…narrow and curvy roads to Cache Creek then we hit Hwy 97, nice road. Lots of wild flowers along side the road, lupine and black eyed Susan’s. We also saw a moose and 2 deer today. The moose was in the middle of a green field eating….she was very big and a dark brown color. Needless to say, I was very excited. We are in Clinton BC tonight at the Gold Trail Campground…same one we stayed at 3 years ago. Had dinner at the restaurant here…they guy who owns the campground and restaurant is a real character. Rain finally quit and it was very nice to sit outside and have a drink and relax. Cortney and I played ball with the Poodles and the cats got to get out on their leashes. Jose loves to get out (go figure) but Juanito could care less.
We only traveled 233 miles today…we must get going earlier and travel a little more miles if we plan to make Alaska this year!
June 11, 2006
We left at 9:00 a.m. this morning. Hwy 97 is the “Gold Rush Trail”….I can’t imagine traveling this route years ago during the gold rush. We stopped in 100 Mile House for fuel (3.44 this time) and did a grocery stop at Safeway. It’s fun to check out the different brands they carry. And Cortney was amazed that a lot of the items are in English and French.
Saw a deer just north of 100 mile house. Weather is perfect….blue sky with some clouds, temperature is in the high 70’s.
Stopped at McLeese Lake and had a picnic lunch next to the lake. The weather is beautiful, about 75 degrees. Met a couple from Scotland here. They were traveling from Vancouver, BC to Prince Rupert, then back to Vancouver Island.
Arrived in Prince George to early to stop for the day. We fueled up and then headed on, relying on our trusty travel guide book “The Milepost” as it said there were campgrounds along the way. Which was right, however, either they weren’t open or had no water and electric.
About 80 miles south of Chetwyne we came across a pickup and boat stopped dead in front of us, there were two motorhomes we were following, they managed to get around the pickup, however, we were met with a huge truck coming the other way---we couldn’t stop as we came up on this hazard so quickly, (he was on a curve) but we managed to get by him and the on-coming truck pulled right to help us get by. WHEW! Then, about 70 miles south of Chetwyne, we were approaching a bridge crossing a creek, the on-coming car was stopped on a curve to let a duck and her babies cross the road….however, the car behind them couldn’t stop, swerved into our lane…Al did some real good driving here, he missed the oncoming car and the bridge abutment by inches. Needless to say we were glad the motorhomes had pulled off about a mile before this, or we would have all been in an ugly situation. Our hearts were beating pretty fast after this! People who stop IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD FOR DUCKS ON A CURVE ARE BLOODY IDIOTS! We finally stopped about 10 miles south of Chetwynd at Caron Creek RV.; By the time we stopped it was 7:00 pm and we had traveled 428 miles.
Critter count: 1 deer and 2 squirrels and 1 dead duck and ducklings
June 12, 2006
Left campground at 8:30 am and stopped in Chetwynd for breakfast. We are now approaching Dawson Creek and we will begin the Alaska Highway (ALCAN)…from Dawon Creek to Tok, Alaska, 1280 miles. Beautful weather and scenry.
Al & Jo
Cortney, Juanito, Jose, Schuster and Beau
http://wroamin.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Alaska or Bust?
And we are off....well almost. We have a few minor details to take care of but we are trying to be heading north sometime on Friday. Have all the "house sitters" in place, the cats and dogs have their beds and food dishes packed and hopefully we will take BOTH cats this time! In other words, we are just about ready to make our trek north to Alaska. We figure it will take us eight days, just like the last time to go from here to Anchorage. However, knowing us, it could take a bit longer. We like to stop and see things along the way and we have no idea how much road construction we will encounter along the way. There are two seasons in the great north of BC and Yukon, winter and road construction!
I am armed with the required mosquito repellant....industrial strength size! The mosquitos are as big as house boats up there! The pets have been to the v-e-t to get their shots and health certificates, so I can't think of much more we have to do before leaving. Oh wait, I still have to load the food (and if you know Al, there will be a lot loaded!!) The camper is almost packed to capacity, the trailer getting very full, so we have to be close to being ready to leave! NO MORE ROOM!
I am beginning to feel like all I do any more is pack, unpack, repeat! I swear I just finished unpacking....oh, right, I did! We have been home less than a month and we are off again! Never let it be said we let an grass grow under our feet!
Since my last blog, we have been busy bee's. We had company for a week from Tucson. We took them on the requisite trip to Seattle where they enjoyed the Space Needle, Pikes Place, and downtown. We enjoyed the doctor and dentist office! We did do the Boeing Tour with them and must say, I was very impressed. I have been away so long a lot has changed and the new 787 sounds like it is going to be wonderful! Wonder how they are going to move those engines???? The old Traffic coming out in me? Nope, I am done with that life!
The weather around these parts has been strange, very hot one week, very cold the next and rain, rain, rain! The last few days have been a mixed bag of rain, wind, sun, heat, cold, you name it!
Cortney, is here and is going with us to Alaska. Now, how do I explain Cortney's relationship to us? Well, Cortney is actually Al's 2nd cousin...I think. I get the cousin's way too confused. Anyway, she is daughter of Bruce and Al's cousin (1st cousin once removed) Holly. The live about a mile from us in Tucson and we are very fortunate to have them as not only relatives, but close friends. Cortney is 15 and a truly wonderful young lady. AND, on the 22nd of June, Granddaughter Cammie will be joining us in ALaska for 3 weeks as well. Cammie is 16, so I will have two teenage girls on my hands....and no, I am not questioning my sanity....yet.
We have had some sad new since our last blog, AL's Auntie Anne (Cortney's great grandmother) died last month. She was AL's fathers sister and lived to be 96, almost 97. We have visited with her in South Dakota almost every year since retiring. She was such a wonderful lady and we will miss her.
When we bought our trailer in Alaska everyone said they were coming up to visit. At first we were booked solid for the summer, and as of today, NO ONE IS COMING! Everyone (Including Dan and Billie) have bailed on us! WELL!
Never the less, we are on our way tomorrow. AL has the garden in (yes, he planted tomatoes, and we have a caretaker for the garden) and I think everything is ready to go. Al seems a little hesitant to go, which I can understand since he has been having problems with his back and knees again. I can only hope it gets better, or we may be back sooner than planned. THe plan is to be in Alaska about 2 months, pestering my brother, nephew and niece and spending time at our place on the Kenai River, near Sterling Alaska. We will be on our cell phone once we reach Alaska (but now while in Canada) and we will try to check email every night. Let us hear from you!
So until next time.....adios,ciao, auf Wiedersehen or so long, or what ever. We are once again...
THE WROAMIN' WRASPIRS AND ONE SANDERSON
AL, JO JUANITO, JOSE, SCHUSTER, BEAU AND CORTNEY!
(See, Juanito got first billing this time!!)
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Water, no Water?
I feel as if I am playing that game show "Deal, No Deal?" with our water in the house...."Water, No Water?" But I am getting ahead of myself. Like I said in my last blog, we arrived home and after figuring out where and how to turn the water on, we were in business! WATER! Well, that is until last night. Last night was just plain weird...all night. IT was a hot day yesterday, and kind of cloudy all day. Around 6:00 it started to blow and we got a few drops of rain. Then, we had a thunder storm that lasted over 2 hours of rumbling and rain. A nice rain that makes the wheat farmers here very happy. About 9:30 p.m. we lost power. Total blackness --and this house is DARK. Hmmm...where are the flashlights? After a scramble and stumble over a couple of dogs, I found one flashlight. And then located the candles. We sat in the dark for about 45 minutes, then decided to go to bed. Just as we were drifting off to sleep the power came back on and every light in the house was on! We got up and turned off lights and went back to bed, thinking we were going to have a good nights sleep. But, it was not to be. At 1:30 a.m. we were jolted awake with a "POP" then the sound of gushing water (sounded like Niagara Falls under the house). Now what????? We climb out of bed, put on some shoes and go looking for the cause of the noise. We discovered a water leak under the house...gushing water. Now, haven't we been here before? What the he--????? Oh, by the way, it was raining outside as well. I go out and locate the water shut off valve (the very same one I couldn't find last week...I am becoming way to familiar with it now), shut the water off and think "plumber, first thing in the morning." We get back in bed, start to drift off, when a thought goes through my very soggy brain, "Water heater?" Al, do you think we should turn off the water heater? Yup! So back up out of bed and back into our shoes and back outside in the rain to turn off the water heater. GRRRR! Finally, back to bed...only by then I was wide awake and a million thoughts going through my brain. I finally was lulled back to sleep by the rain about 4:30 a.m. We called our plumber this morning and he came out and discovered the source of the problem, a fitting had popped off one of the connections. Sure hope we don't have to make a habit of this! At least we now have water again. And we sure are sleepy today!
Since getting home we have been busy, just getting unpacked, (well, kinda' getting unpacked -- have several things that are taking up permanent residency in the trailer right now) cleaning the 6 months of dust and dirt out of the house, and trying to get ready for company at the end of the month. And then throw in a couple of trips to Moses Lake for supplies for the garden and house, etc. Actually, when I look back on the last week, we have packed a lot into it! And, here I felt I hadn't done anything!!! And it has been hot here....not just mildly warm, I am talking record breaking heat. 97 one day, 96 the next. This is May, right???? Feels like Tucson, looks like Odessa! I am confused. (no comments from the peanut gallery) And the S-s-s-n-n-n-a-a-a-k-k-k-e-e-ssssssssssssssss are out! Our neighbor up on the hill killed two (yup, TWO) rattlers on Thursday. GULP! On our way to Moses Lake yesterday I saw three dead snakes (the way snakes are suppose to be) on the road. So, I am really on high snake alert!
The truck and camper are at Sun Country RV getting the rocking and rolling taken out of them! Also a few minor maintenance things taken care of so that part will be ready for our big trip to Alaska next month. I have piles everywhere of Alaska bound stuff -- plus some stuff in the garage we will have to load before we leave. I am beginning to feel like I am in the moving business....oh wait, I AM in the moving business! From Odessa to Tucson; Tucson to Odessa, and repeat....and now throw Alaska in the mix! No wonder I never know where anything is...and I attributed that to my age!
Al is busy planning his garden. He got the rotatiller out Thursday and tried to start it and of course, it would start, but wouldn't stay running (I think these things get together during the winter and plan out revenge on us.) So the rotatiller is in for repair, then hopefully, he will get the garden in. Garden, you say??? Aren't you gone for the summer? YUP, but some how, some way, we will still have a garden...thanks mostly to the wonderful people who water our lawn for us while we are gone...they also get the garden. But this year, they will also share in the crops from the garden, which will mainly be, yup, you guessed it, tomatoes. Anyone who knows Al knows that tomatoes are his favorite. There will also be some zucchini planted....just for fun!
Well, that just about brings us up-to-date for now. The dogs and cats are loving their wroaming space....and the dogs LOVE the grass. Whoopee...nice, soft, green, grass to play on! The cats are on mice patrol outside and climbing the trees...yipee, these trees don't have stickers and bite! Hope they enjoy their freedom, because come next month, it's back into the camper and off we go again!
For now, we hope you are all happy and healthy and enjoying life. Until next time...Happy Trails to you.
The UNWroamin' Wraspirs,
Al, Jo, Beau, Schuster, Jose, Juanito
Since getting home we have been busy, just getting unpacked, (well, kinda' getting unpacked -- have several things that are taking up permanent residency in the trailer right now) cleaning the 6 months of dust and dirt out of the house, and trying to get ready for company at the end of the month. And then throw in a couple of trips to Moses Lake for supplies for the garden and house, etc. Actually, when I look back on the last week, we have packed a lot into it! And, here I felt I hadn't done anything!!! And it has been hot here....not just mildly warm, I am talking record breaking heat. 97 one day, 96 the next. This is May, right???? Feels like Tucson, looks like Odessa! I am confused. (no comments from the peanut gallery) And the S-s-s-n-n-n-a-a-a-k-k-k-e-e-ssssssssssssssss are out! Our neighbor up on the hill killed two (yup, TWO) rattlers on Thursday. GULP! On our way to Moses Lake yesterday I saw three dead snakes (the way snakes are suppose to be) on the road. So, I am really on high snake alert!
The truck and camper are at Sun Country RV getting the rocking and rolling taken out of them! Also a few minor maintenance things taken care of so that part will be ready for our big trip to Alaska next month. I have piles everywhere of Alaska bound stuff -- plus some stuff in the garage we will have to load before we leave. I am beginning to feel like I am in the moving business....oh wait, I AM in the moving business! From Odessa to Tucson; Tucson to Odessa, and repeat....and now throw Alaska in the mix! No wonder I never know where anything is...and I attributed that to my age!
Al is busy planning his garden. He got the rotatiller out Thursday and tried to start it and of course, it would start, but wouldn't stay running (I think these things get together during the winter and plan out revenge on us.) So the rotatiller is in for repair, then hopefully, he will get the garden in. Garden, you say??? Aren't you gone for the summer? YUP, but some how, some way, we will still have a garden...thanks mostly to the wonderful people who water our lawn for us while we are gone...they also get the garden. But this year, they will also share in the crops from the garden, which will mainly be, yup, you guessed it, tomatoes. Anyone who knows Al knows that tomatoes are his favorite. There will also be some zucchini planted....just for fun!
Well, that just about brings us up-to-date for now. The dogs and cats are loving their wroaming space....and the dogs LOVE the grass. Whoopee...nice, soft, green, grass to play on! The cats are on mice patrol outside and climbing the trees...yipee, these trees don't have stickers and bite! Hope they enjoy their freedom, because come next month, it's back into the camper and off we go again!
For now, we hope you are all happy and healthy and enjoying life. Until next time...Happy Trails to you.
The UNWroamin' Wraspirs,
Al, Jo, Beau, Schuster, Jose, Juanito
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