Alaska Trip 2019

I did two days of golf in this small town.  First, I went to the local 9 hole golf course, and they had a slot into which they asked for a $10 payment.  There was no pro shop, nor anyone at the course.  So, I borrowed one of their pull carts, and played 9 holes.  The course was not well maintained, but I have seen worse on this trip.  After the short round, I went to Camping World in Burlington, and purchased a few needed items for the trailer, including new sewer hoses and a collapsible ladder. The next day, we took a drive into the North Cascades National Park.  It was sort of drizzly and cloudy, so we could not see a whole lot.  This park has many glaciers, and is second to Alaska in the number and square miles covered, but it does not even compare to Alaska.  Good drive, nevertheless! And finally, on our last day, I drove 30 miles north to another golf course, and played a round at the North Bellingham Golf Club.  Lots of fun, but goo...

Beautiful drive down the Fraser River Valley, connecting with lower British Columbia, and finally the border crossing at Sumas.  We stopped briefly at Hells Gate, but it would not open for another hour, so we decided to skip this tourist attraction.  Would have been nice to see it, but we don't like waiting!   Although the signs coming into the border crossing said only a 15 minute wait, it took us an hour and ten minutes in line.  Excruciating pain!  I abhor such wasting of time, but it was all in the name of travel.  No problems passing through the customs checkpoint, just a slow border agent! Several miles further, we arrived at the Sedro-Woolley City RV Park, and settled in.  Did some shopping, but not at the right store.  Seems we wouldn't find a full supermarket until tomorrow!

After a brief continental breakfast in the clubhouse, we AGAIN said farewell to our fellow travelers, then hit the road.  Long day today, almost 300 miles.  I checked my left rear tire on the trailer at a rest stop, and the steel belt was showing through the rubber.  The tire was wearing on the inside edge.   I traveled a little farther, then decided I could not risk it any more.  At another rest stop, I changed the tire to the spare, using my new bottle jack to lift the axle.  Fortunately, I was on the shady side, as the terrain shifted from forest to dry grassland, and it was hot, at 100 degrees.   I am so glad I decided to change the tire, as a blowout might have been catastrophic!    The tire was worn because the rear axle on the left is out of alignment. Gas mileage was great today, as it was mostly downhill, especially the last 60 miles. Arrived at our reserved RV spot for the night, and it was dry and desolate, but glad to be stopp...

Another non-eventful day of driving, our last day with the Fantasy RV Tours caravan.  So sad that we will be saying goodbye to everyone tonight. I went for a short bicycle ride after we were set up, then we prepared for our farewell dinner.  It was a nice event, and every rig was awarded a certificate for something special (or not so special!)   Dianne and I were awarded a certificate for the most surprising entertainment, meaning the bagpipes, which came out for the first time way back in Fort Nelson, and were requested many times throughout the trip. We agreed with several fellow travelers that this was not "goodbye," but rather "see you on the road."  We fully intend to keep in touch with this group, and to stop in and say hello when we are in their area of the country. After the dinner, I played in the park, wearing my utility kilt.  Everyone appreciated it, including one of our travel mates who came out of his rig in his underwear to take photos....

Non-eventful drive.  No wildlife, no excitement, just 211 miles of driving.   We did stop in the town of Smithers, BC, just a few miles before today's destination.  We shopped at Canadian Tire, where we bought a bottle jack, RV wash materials, and correll (sp?) dishes.  Had to kill some time so that the wagonmasters could arrive at the park before us.  I went back into town later in the afternoon, and washed the truck at a self-wash place.  What a difference, but I could not get off the tar that leaves a rough layer on the surface of the paint.  Will need to take care of that later.   We had pizza at the dinner meeting, and it was hot, as Dianne and I were some of the last ones there, and we were in the sun.  The shade would have been great, but all of could not fit into the small amount of shade that existed.

Took a drive today to Fish Creek, in Hyder, Alaska, just across the border.   This is a National Park type area, where a boardwalk is built along the creek so that people can watch the bears feeding on the fish.  Well, the salmon were running and spawning, but in the 1/2 mile of boardwalk, we did not see a single bear.  Oh well, off to  Salmon Glacier. Just past the bear viewing area, the pavement turned to gravel, and farther up, to dirt, and we climbed, and climbed, until we were at the summit, looking down on Salmon Glacier.  The view was spectacular, and we lingered for a while, took some pictures, and then returned down the 17 mile each way dirt and gravel road, which was very rough in some spots.   We were the first in our group up there, so on the way down, we saw several others going up the hill.  Stopped back at Fish Creek, but still no bears! Did I say Salmon Glacier was awesome?  No, I said it was spectacular.  There is somethi...

More bears on the road today.  Many more than any other day.  Unfortunately, there were rigs ahead of us that stopped first, so when we got up to the bears, they had already scampered off into the brush. We passed through Jade City, an area where they mine Jade, cut it, send it to China for carving, and receive it back to sell to tourists.  Quite an operation! It was a beautiful drive, all-in-all.  More bears, and beautiful scenery, including the Bear Glacier and Bear River.   When we arrived in camp, we noticed that our dining room window was broken.  It was intact when we started the day.  My story is that when we drove between the momma bear and her cubs, the momma bear wanted to come through the window!  Of course, that did not happen.  We don't know how the window broke, but a travel angel, Rachel, donated her cutting board so that we could tape it up, to keep the weather and dust out.   Thank you, Rachel!

Exiting the RV Park, we were supposed to turn left after 1/2 mile.  Well, the navigator missed that part, and we wound up going almost all the way to Watson Lake, 13 miles later. We realized the mistake much earlier, but there was no place to turn around.  On a more positive note (well, not really, not wanting to capitalize on others' misfortune...), nine rigs missed the turn.  Some realized earlier than others, and were able to turn around earlier. On a more positive note, it was a beautiful drive through forested valleys and mountains.  We came across a momma bear and two cubs.  The cubs were wrestling in the middle of the road.  I stopped well away, but an oncoming car was not slowing down.  I stood out on my running board, and waved my arms, trying to flag him down, even though my flashers were on.  He finally stopped, and the passenger was taking photos of the momma bear to the right of their vehicle.  She did not like that they were s...

Upon leaving the Pioneer RV Park in Whitehorse, the tailgunner, Mike Greenwood, noticed a loud rattle coming from the front passenger side wheel of the trailer.  He said it sounded like my brake caliper was loose.  We originally thought we might take the wheel off when we got to the next campground, but I decided to take the rig to the local RV repair shop just north of the RV Park.  Turns out one of two bolts was missing.  The RV shop could not locate a bolt anywhere in town, but gave me the part number to order one.  The mounting bracket was also broken, so I got the part number for that too.  I thought I'd order them and have them shipped to Prince George, so I could have the repairs performed there.   In the meantime, after a four hour wait at the RV shop, they tightened the single remaining bolt, put the wheel back on, and I was on my way.   I had to sign a waiver, as they did not want me to drive in that condition, and instead wait until Mon...

Once again a beautiful drive from Haines to Haines Junction.  Arrived in Whitehorse around 1500.  Washed the truck and trailer at the RV Park wash station, but did not do a very good job - it was quick, and I was grateful for Dianne's assistance.  Once again, we were the first ones into town.  

We took a flight from Haines over Glacier Bay National Park.  So many photos that I thought I'd make a separate post for them.

Took an early morning boat ride to Juneau, where the boat let us off about 35 miles north of town.  A bus picked us up, and drove into Juneau, dropping some of us off at the airport so that we could take a cab to Mendenhall Glacier.  The reason for the drop-off north of town was to give us more time in town, as it was still 90 minutes further via boat.  The entire tour was supposed to go to the Glacier, but the tour operator did not get renewed for the glacier permit.  Politics!  Instead, the tour went to the fish hatchery, which also would have been fun. Dianne and I opted for the glacier, and it did not disappoint.  Totally awesome! On Wednesday, I played a round of golf at the Eagle's Nest Golf Course in Haines.  It is a nine hole course - the greens are astroturf, and the fairways were not mowed.  The rough is non-forgiving.  Still had fun, and went around twice.  In the afternoon, we went to Chilcoot River and Chilkoot Lake, whe...