Wanderlust

Roper Lake State Park, Arizona

2012-01-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2011 - We left City of Rocks in New Mexico, and drove about 200 miles to Roper Lake State Park 6 miles south of Safford, Arizona. Again we had a nice site with hookups - and if the lake had had sufficient water, we would have had a waterfront site. However, we were dismayed to learn that the water level was extremely low and no trout had been planted for months. The main reason we came to this park was so Don could fish - so we stayed 2 nights and got a refund for 2 more.

The best thing about this park was the view to the west of Mt. Graham and the Pinaleño Mountains. Most of the time they had clouds around the top.

Our view to the west the day we arrived.

You can see the lake - which would be much closer if it had more water

No need for the float tube here!

I believe the lights are from the Safford Copper Mine

A belated post from our NM/AZ trip

2012-01-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

After our stay in Alamogordo, we left on December 12, hoping to have a leisurely trip towards home. Our first stop was City of Rocks State Park, about 30 miles northwest of Deming. We intended to spend a day in Silver City, but it rained all day and was totally miserable. We stayed at City of Rocks for 3 nights, and our last day there enjoyed sunny weather and a nice hike among the rocks.

Dreary day - view from our site.

Sites here are large and have electricity, water, grill, and covered table.

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This jackrabbit thought that if he froze, we couldn't see him.

Sunny day! Cook's Peak in the distance.

Taking a hike through the rocks.

A little observatory. All the campsites are named for planets and constellations.

The first of several metates we saw.

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There were 6 metates in this rock, and one had been worn completely through.

Looking across the top of the City of Rocks.

Doing the tourist thing

2011-12-11T12:16:00.001-08:00

Friday night we enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner cooked by Kenny and Robin. We started off with a unique salad: mixed greens, blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, blue cheese, and poppyseed dressing. Then we enjoyed penne a la vodka and garlic bread made with local cheddar that had green chilies and tequila in it. Dessert was a pumpkin-chocolate pie.

On Saturday they picked us up at our campsite and took us site-seeing and shopping.

The first stop was McGinn's Pistachio Tree Ranch, where we saw the world's largest pistachio and bought some pistachio brittle and blueberry preserves.

Our second stop was Eagle Ranch, which also had pistachios, but in addition, had some nice wines. I tasted their sweet Riesling and like it but chose not to buy a bottle.

From there we headed up the mountain towards Cloudcroft, and stopped at the Old Apple Barn in High Rolls. They had lots and lots of curios, candy, preserves, and fudge. I walked out with some very pretty bamboo plates and bowls for the trailer. They look a bit like stone--but can be used like melamine (except they're safe for the microwave, which is why I got them).

From there we drove up to Cloudcroft, and enjoyed lunch at the Texas Pit BBQ Restaurant. We walked around and visited all the shops, and I'm very proud to say that I didn't spend a penny!

Kenny dropped us off back at our campsite around 4, and we enjoyed a quiet evening together before going to bed at 9:00.

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Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

2011-12-11T12:07:00.001-08:00

Friday, December 9

The visitor center and campground sit on the alluvial fan at the mouth of Dog Canyon, at the base of the Sacramento Mountains.

While the park is named for rancher Oliver Lee, who had a house about 2 miles below Dog Canyon, a man nicknamed "Frenchy" (he was from France) had a cabin right next to where the campground sits today. He had 2 rooms, the original stone one to the left and the brick one he added later.

Frenchy had a few cows and horses, and built rock walls up the side of the mountain to keep them in.

The rock wall extends across the mouth of the canyon as well, and a remnant runs right next to our campsite.

After Don and I looked at the visitor center, we took a hike up the canyon a short way. There's running water in the canyon, and Oliver Lee built a flume to send water down to his ranch house.

The remnants of the concrete flume can be seen above the trail along the creek.

A couple hundred yards into the canyon the trail changes course--you can go no further up canyon.

The creek is a couple of feet wide here.

Plenty of snow remains in the shade. The creek sinks into the ground here and is no longer visible.

The trail took us back up the hillside to the rear of French's cabin.

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White Sands in the Snow

2011-12-11T12:05:00.001-08:00

Friday, December 9

We awoke with the first light yesterday morning a little after 6. We'd decided not to cook breakfast but to go to the McDonald's that was 8 miles up the road at the interstate. Between hooking up and going to the dump station, we used up enough time to get out of the park gate when it opened at 7. After breakfast we were on the road towards New Mexico.

We started seeing remnants of Tuesday's big snowstorm when we approached Deming, and could see snow on the ground all the way to Alamogordo. We stopped for lunch at a rest area just east of Las Cruces, and then drove through town towards San Augustin Pass. The snow was deeper at the top of the pass, but the road was clear and dry. The view of the Tularosa Basin below and the Sacramento Mountains to the east was gorgeous.

We turned south towards El Paso just outside Alamogordo, and then after 8 miles, took Dog Canyon road the 4 miles to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. It sits on the alluvial fan at the mouth of Dog Canyon, and our campsite is a huge site with water and electric, as well as a view of the Tularosa Basin below us.

Kenny called us after he got off work at Holloman, and we went to see him and Robin at their house in town before going out to dinner. They took us to Tia Lupe's, which is one of the locals' favorite Mexican food places. You can have almost anything on the menu covered with your choice of red or green chile, and the waitress let us know that tonight's red was exceptionally hot ("Those folks at the next table can't finish theirs because it's too hot."). Kenny was unfazed, and ordered his burrito with the red sauce. And boy, was it RED! Don and I ordered the picadillo with green sauce -he had chicken and I had beef. It was pretty good - something new for me. Robin had a burrito, but enjoyed hers plain.

After dinner we visited for a bit at their house before returning to the campground for the night. When we got there, the thermometer in the truck registered 24 degrees, so Don unhooked the hose again and brought it in for the night.

Friday morning was a little bit warmer - 28. We'd agreed to meet Kenny for lunch so we decided to visit nearby White Sands National Monument first.

First, Don had to scrape ice off the windshield.

After we spent a few minutes at the visitor center, we took the scenic loop drive through the lower end of the park. The mountain above is Sierra Blanca, where I skied many times while I was in college at Texas Tech.

At the southern end of the park the dunes have lots of vegetation on them.

When there's no snow, the sand looks very white. But with snow on them, the contrast is evident.

Don took the hard way up to the top.

I took the easy way up around to the side.

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Fairbank -a true ghost town

2011-12-11T12:04:00.003-08:00

Wednesday, December 7

On our way to Tombstone, we crossed the San Pedro River and saw a sign for Fairbank Historic Townsite. We decided to stop and see it on our way back from Tombstone. (And it's FREE.)

In 1986, the Bureau of Land Management acquired the townsite and 40 miles of river corridor along the San Pedro. In 1988 it was designated the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. From the pamphlet:

"The 56,000 acre riparian corridor features some of the richest wildlife habitat in the Southwest. Here you will find 82 species of mammals, dozens of different reptiles and amphibians and nearly 350 species of birds. In addition, the river supports one of the largest cottonwood-willow forest canopies remaining in Arizona, and is one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest.

The area contains significant cultural resources dating back approximately 11,000 years to the Clovis people, the first known occupants in the upper San Pedro Rive Valley. The river valley was home to a Spanish fortress, several stamping mills, the ore-processing towns of Charleston, Millville, Contention, and others. The Boquillas Land and Cattle Company set up its ranch headquarters just south of Fairbank. One of the ranch manager's houses, now the restored San Pedro House on Highway 90, is open daily."

Fairbank is named after Nathanial Kellogg Fairbank, a Chicago merchant who helped finance the first railroad into the area in 1881. He was also a founding member of the Grand Central Mining Company in Tombstone. By 1889, Fairbank had five saloons, a meat market, general store, grocery, three restaurants, a hotel, a Wells Fargo office, livery stables, train and stage depots, a school, post office, and residents' houses.

The building on the left was built in the 1930s (making it the same age as our house in Forest Falls), and is often referred to as the "Teacher's House." the building on the right was a stable.

This is a two-seated outhouse - the second seat is hidden to the left.

The Fairbank schoolhouse was built in the late 1920s, replacing a wooden structure that had burned down. The original building was one room, but a partition separated it into two rooms. In the early 1930s a third room was added. The school was closed in 1944, and the students were transferred to the Tombstone Unified School District. The BLM restored the schoolhouse in 2007 using original materials where possible, and replicated features such as the doors and windows. It's been converted to a museum that is open to the public on the weekends.

This is the mercantile building, the oldest surviving building in Fairbank, dating to 1882. It housed a store, saloon, and post office owned and operated by several families. Some of the families lived in the building as well. The BLM is still in the process of renovating the building. Upon completion, the fence will come down and new interpretive signs will be developed.

The town still had people living there well into the 1950s, but the town was slowly dying and by the 1970s only a roadside store with a gas pump remained. By the mid-1970s the last few of its residents closed the store and moved away. the old train depot for the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad was moved to Tombstone.

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Tombstone

2011-12-11T12:04:00.001-08:00

Wednesday, December 7

After our morning in Kartchner Caverns, we decided to go to Tombstone for the afternoon. It's only about 30 miles.

I'll be up front and tell you we were less than impressed with Tombstone. We love visiting old mining towns and other historical places, but this was the first one where virtually everything was behind big walls and locked gates. Everything charged admission--the Bird Cage Theater, the O. K. Corral, the silver mine, and Boot Hill. We didn't see any of those.

The town has a 2-block section that's off limits to automobiles, and it's lined with shops that sell everything from curios and jewelry to expensive art and antiques. I didn't find anything I really needed, except for some tasty fudge.

There are two of these stagecoaches that will take you up and down the street (for a fee, of course) and show you the sights.

This photo is definitely going on Facebook!

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Kartchner Caverns

2011-12-09T17:03:00.003-08:00

Wednesday, December 7

If you ever get the opportunity to spend a little time in southeastern Arizona, you MUST visit Kartchner Caverns State Park. Wow! What an amazing place.

There are no photos from Kartchner Caverns because they're not allowed.

We were up early (since we'd gone to bed early) and had to run the heater in the trailer because it was so cold. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with diced ham and toast. Our caverns tour reservation was for 10:15, but we'd been told to arrive an hour early in case they had room in an earlier tour.

We were put in the 9:45 tour, and our tour guide was a ranger named Rachel. There were about 14 people in our group. We got on a little tram and were driven up the hill to the cave entrance. On the way, we were shown the sink hole where the discovery was made--a hole that was about the size of a grapefruit. It's a bit larger now, and is the only hole that is still open. The bats use this hole when they're in residence (right now they're not).

We went through a series of airtight doors, and the air got increasingly warmer and more humid. The air in the cave remains a constant 80 degrees and 99% humidity. Kartchner Caverns is one of two "wet caves" in the country (I don't know what the other one is). Rachel took us on the hour+ tour, during which we were overwhelmed by the magnificent beauty of the formations. We saw so many different kinds of speleothems--stalactites, stalagmites, and more. I learned that in addition to the no-photography rule, the lights inside the cave remain off when no one is inside, and they are activated by the rangers when a tour comes through. There's a limit on the number of people allowed in each day, too. The scientists and state park officials decided from the beginning that they would "do it right" when developing this cave, and took many of their policies from lessons learned from other caves such as Mammoth and Carlsbad.

We were disappointed when our tour came to an end. We could have stayed in there for hours, it was so beautiful.

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Gila Bend to Kartchner Caverns

2011-12-09T17:03:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, December 6

Tuesday morning we were up at 6 and took our time with coffee and breakfast, since we only had about 170 miles to go. I decided to use some of those fat blueberries I had in the freezer, and made blueberry pancakes with some Little Smokies. We were on the road by 8:30, and had an easy trip on Interstate 8 to the junction with the 10 near Eloy. There we picked up a little of the Phoenix-to-Tucson traffic. There was construction as well, but we really didn't have any difficulty.

We reached the turnoff to Kartchner Caverns State Park around 11:30, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that campers do NOT have to pay the state park entrance fee. (In Colorado, you have to pay for EACH DAY you're in one of their state parks.) We pulled into a spacious pull-through campsite among the mesquite trees and settled in for the next two days. We were greeted by Margie, one of the campground hosts and enjoyed a short chat with her. There are only 5-6 RVs here (in addition to the hosts) so things are blissfully quiet. The park is at an elevation of 4600', so it's a bit chilly.

After lunch we headed over to the Discovery Center and spent a couple of hours learning all about the caverns. We learned that they were only recently discovered--1976--but kept secret for 14 years until the public was made aware of the new state park. We watched a video about the discovery and the subsequent protection, as well as how the cavern's formations came to be. The Discovery Center has some very nice displays that help visitors understand the history and geology of the caverns.

We came back to the trailer around 3, where Don enjoyed a nap and I watched some TV. Dinner was barbecue "muffins," and we watched some more TV until we went to bed to read. We'd been warned that it would be freezing during the night, so Don unhooked the water hose and brought it inside the trailer for the night.

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1st Night on the Road--Gila Bend, Arizona

2011-12-09T17:01:00.001-08:00

Monday, December 5

There's something about an Arizona sunset. Even with no clouds in the western sky, this one was pretty.

We're at Augie's Quail Trail RV Park in Gila Bend, Arizona, after a drive of about 6 hours. Instead of getting up at O-dark-thirty like we used to we got up at our normal time (6:30), and enjoyed some coffee at home before we headed down to Mentone. We stopped at McDonald's for a quick breakfast, then went over to the place where we keep the trailer. We'd hooked up the truck already, so Don pulled the trailer out and I parked the Jeep in the spot.

Don had been concerned about the Santa Ana winds, and they were picking up as we drove through the San Gorgonio Pass. But he knuckled down and we pulled off the 10 at Indio to head south past the Salton Sea to the 8. We'd never gone this way before, and decided it was time to see something new. Interstate 8 goes past the southern end of the Imperial Sand Dunes, and we stopped at a rest area there for lunch.

Our son Kenny called us after lunch to give us some nice news: he proposed to his girlfriend Robin yesterday, and she (naturally) said yes. We're on our way to visit them, so I look forward to giving her a big hug and seeing her ring!

He says it's snowing hard there, and is supposed to snow all day tomorrow. We might delay our arrival in Alamogordo a day--it's nice to have that flexibility. I've been so used to being on tight schedules because of work.

We reached the campground at Gila Bend around 4 local time, and after our traditional "first night out" dinner of chili dogs and fries, are now watching Monday Night Football.

Tomorrow: Kartchner Caverns State Park, south of Tucson.

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5 days till we hit the road again!

2011-11-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

We're putting clothes and food in the trailer, checking the maps, and counting the days till we leave - on Monday.

Originally we were just going to visit our son Kenny, who is stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Then we added a two-day stop at Kartchner Caverns in southern Arizona, and made reservations for a caverns tour. Next, we thought we'd come back via the same route, but stop at Patagonia Lake for some fishing.

However, those plans changed. We had been talking about what to get the kids for Christmas, and I asked Don, "What do YOU want for Christmas?"

He replied, "Let me get the atlas."

I said, "I know what you're doing. You want to go somewhere else. I'm game!"

So, when we leave Alamogordo, we're going north - first for an overnight at the Kirtland AFB FamCamp. Then our first long stop will be at the Cottonwood Campground of Navajo Lake State Park along the San Juan River in northern New Mexico. Don's research tells him it's trophy trout waters, and the fishing is great in the winter. We'll have electric hookups, so if the weather's cold, we'll still be fine.

Our second stop will be at Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River below Page. Also great trout waters. We won't have hookups there, but we'll have plenty of propane!

From there, we haven't decided where we'll go next - we'll either come home or go to Echo Bay on Lake Mead, where we have a friend we might visit for few days.

I'll be sure to post stories and photos!

Anza-Borrego was a little too hot for us...

2011-10-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

Back in early September, we thought that late October would be a nice time in the desert. So our friends Patrick & Patty and Gary & Suzy decided to make it a group weekend, and we all made reservations for adjoining sites. Don and I decided to go down there a day early.

It was HOT! Luckily our television and satellite dish worked, along with the air conditioner, so we stayed inside and watched tv most of Thursday evening and Friday during the day. We had to run the air conditioner at night in order to sleep - it was too hot to open up the windows. Don decided to get up early Friday morning, and hiked up Palm Canyon to the oasis and palm tree grove. I just didn't have the desire to go out there in the heat.

Gary and Suzy showed up mid-afternoon on Friday, and Patrick and Patty got there about 7:30. They were joined by their best friends Jody and Kat, along with Andrew and Dave.

This weekend was Borrego Days in town, so on Saturday Don and I went to check out the festivities. After walking around to see the booths, we ate some wonderful barbecue and drank some raspberry lemonade. By then I was melting (can you tell I hate to be hot?) so we returned to the trailer to escape into the air conditioning.

Saturday night we all gathered at Gary and Suzy's RV to enjoy a chili feed. I had made a crockpot full of chili with meat (beef and pork) and Patrick cooked up a pot of vegetarian chili. Suzy provided all kinds of condiments and chips, and we sat around for several hours enjoying each other's company.

You can bet that Sunday morning Don and I were out of there as quickly as we could - and it was so nice to walk into our house. The thermometer on the wall said it was 58˚ inside when we got home. I promised I wouldn't complain (for a while) about being cold.

Below are Don's pictures from his hike up Palm Canyon. There's running water in the stream - even in the hot desert.

A heck of a week

2011-10-01T19:58:00.001-07:00

I'm so glad this week is over.
1. Sunday night I was awakened by severe pain in my lower right abdomen. It hurt any time I moved. By Tuesday it had migrated to my hip. I was pain free while lying or sitting down, in excruciating pain when I stood up, and then after walking 10-15 steps, the pain would go away. I went to the doctor on Wednesday, had my hip X-rayed, and got a tentative guess that it could be a bone spur. I was told to continue my water aerobics, so I did.
2. I took my daughter to a check-up at UC Irvine, where she learned some scary news. She had to go back the next day to see a different physician, and is now scheduled for two procedures next week, one of which will be under general anesthesia. The fear is that her initial diagnosis (6 years ago) of ulcerative colitis was incorrect and she actually has Crohn's Disease.
3. Don ran over a giant log in Lee Vining 2 weeks ago and ruined the spoiler underneath the front of his truck. He got that replaced this week, and it wasn't cheap.
4. Our daughter's truck needed to have its transmission replaced. We dropped it off on Wednesday, and picked it up Friday afternoon. $3K. Ouch.

I DID have a wonderful quilt guild meeting on Friday, and this afternoon my hip quit hurting. Texas Tech defeated Kansas this morning. So the week has ended with a couple of nice things.

I spent today at the sewing machine, except for a quick trip over to Oak Glen to see a small quilt show. That will be a separate post on Just One More Stitch. Dinner was Pioneer Woman's Cajun Chicken Pasta--and it was wonderful.

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Back Home

2011-09-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful trip to Rock Creek and Silver Lake. The first 4 days were up at the East Fork Campground on Rock Creek, about 30 miles west of Bishop. I had been so hot at home that it was nice to be a little cold. I was in long pants, vest, and flannel shirt most of the time at Rock Creek. I didn't take any pictures - I really didn't go anywhere. Don fished up at the lake, or on the creek, and I stayed at the trailer just enjoying the peace and quiet. I spent most of my days in my Strongback Chair, cross stitching or reading. Now that I have that chair, I can spend hours and hours outside and not complain about my back.

Our second destination was the Forest Service campground at Silver Lake, on the June Lake Loop. We've been going to June Lake for over 20 years, but have always stayed at Oh Ridge Campground overlooking June Lake. We decided to try some place different this time.

Our site, #36, had this view to the south of Carson Peak

This is looking west towards the Alger Creek Waterfall

Alger Creek waterfall

One of our day trips was up Tioga Pass to Saddleback Lake, near the east entrance to Yosemite. We got up there and learned they had drained the lake to about half capacity in order to work on the dam. That didn't deter the fishermen from coming, as the place was quite busy with shore fishers. Don and another guy were the only ones to go out in float tubes.

Saddlebag Lake, looking north

Saddlebag Lake - the view east from my stitching site

Around lunch time the clouds rolled in, and it became a little drizzly and chilly. We drove back down the road and stopped for a couple of hours along Saddlebag Creek. I stayed warm and dry in the truck while Don walked the creek for a while.

Saddleback Creek, looking south

Don, stalking the trout in Saddlebag Creek

Don on Saddlebag Creek

Another day trip was up to the Virginia Lakes. To get there, you take the 395 to Lee Vining, continue north up to the top of Conway Summit, and go left 6 miles to the Virginia Lakes. There are 4 lakes all within walking distance, and we chose to go to Trumble since there were so many people at the others.

The water in Trumble was a murky green, but it didn't hamper the fishing at all. From my chair next to the lake I watched Don catch fish after fish - over 30 in all. Of course he put them back.

This trip was a little different from others in that we had no hookups the whole time - and didn't bring the DirecTV receiver for when we were using the generator. We were able to pick up one radio station at Rock Creek and none at Silver Lake, so for 10 days we heard very little news from the outside world. It was rather pleasant. We each had books to read, and while Don fished I either read or worked on my cross stitch. We realized our trailer batteries need to be replaced - he would run the generator for a couple hours, and then 2-3 hours later the indicator light showed "empty' again. One of the batteries is 3 years old; the other is 4 - so it's definitely time to get them replaced.

We don't have any trips planned for a while. The next one will be towards the end of October when we go with some friends out to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Heading up to the Sierras

2011-09-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

We're leaving in the morning for a fishing and relaxation trip to the Eastern Sierras. We've never been able to go in September before, so it'll be interesting to see how many other people there will be. When I got online to make the site reservations, we had no difficulty picking our favorite sites.


Little Lakes Basin in the John Muir Wilderness

Our first stop will be along Rock Creek, at the East Fork Campground. It's only a couple of miles from where I shot the above photo the last time we were there. Don intends to a)fish Rock Creek, b) fish Rock Creek Lake, and c) hike into the John Muir Wilderness again to Little Lakes Basin to fish as many of the little lakes he can. I'll be going with him on that hike - it's a really easy hike from the Mosquito Flats trailhead into the wilderness. I intend to a) read, b)cross stitch, and c)do nothing.

Carson Peak, seen from Oh Ridge Campground at June Lake

Our second stop will be at Silver Lake Campground on the June Lake Loop. In the past, we've always stayed at Oh Ridge Campground overlooking June Lake, but this time we'll stay at Silver Lake Campground. In the above photo, it would be at the base of and to the right of the large mountain. Don intends to a) fish Silver Lake, b) fish Rush Creek, c)fish Grant Lake, d)fish Gull Lake, e)fish June Lake, and f) go up the Tioga Pass road towards the Yosemite National Park west entrance and fish Saddlebag Lake. I'll go with him on that trip. In addition, I intend to a)read, b)cross stitch, and c)do nothing.

Sounds like a great trip, doesn't it?! We won't have hookups, and I won't have internet access, so I'll post pics in about a week and a half.

Home at Last

2011-08-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

Such a welcome sight - our front door. I am so exhausted - I think I got about 3 hours sleep last night. We had left East Bay RV Park in Springville, Utah, intending to stop at the Cedar City KOA. We had reservations for tonight at South Point Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas. We arrived in Cedar City at noon, and Don wanted to continue. (He'd done that many times during the trip). So we went another 90 miles to Mesquite, Nevada, where we checked into the Virgin River Casino. There was no way we were going to stay in the RV--it was 111˚. Our room was only $25, so it was a pretty good deal to get off the road and be in an air-conditioned room. That was the only positive. We went over to their restaurant, and had a lousy dinner. My fried shrimp was freezer-burned and dry, and Don's fried chicken was overcooked and his fries were limp and stale from being under a heat lamp for a long time. We then discovered that the beds were hard as boards. I would lie on one side for 5-10 minutes until my shoulder hurt, then turn to the other side. I tossed and turned this way until midnight, when Don got up and decided we would drive home. He wanted to avoid the desert heat by driving at night. When we left Mesquite at 12:15, it was 95˚. Luckily it cooled down by the time we reached Las Vegas, and we were able to turn the air conditioner in the truck off the rest of the way home. We reached Redlands at 6 am, where it was a cool 65˚. We dropped the trailer off at the storage unit, unloaded the cold/frozen food and the dirty clothes, and grabbed a quick Egg McMuffin and coffee at McDonald's. We were home by 7 am. So nice. I put the food away, and Don emptied the truck, and then he went to bed and slept until noon. I haven't been able to sleep. I bet tonight I'll snore like a freight train!

I haven't posted since Dawson Creek - so here's what happened from there:

Saturday: Burning Embers Campground and Resort in Edmonton, Alberta. 292 sites. All full due to the holiday weekend and a bluegrass festival about 5 miles away. We lucked into a site after someone cancelled it because it was muddy. We were actually given a wooden pallet to use to walk on between the truck and the trailer door since it was so muddy. The drive from Dawson Creek was fine - the roads were in great condition and flat.

Sunday: Riverside Resort in Lethbridge, Alberta. Huge campground, which was at about 99% capacity since it was a holiday weekend in Alberta. It's also WAY overpriced. We paid $54 Canadian, which turned out to be over $58 US. We were in a section called "Arizona," which is called that because it's all gravel and no grass. There is a swimming pool, but it had dozens of people (mostly children) in it due to the holiday weekend. One good thing about this night was that we met Jim and Joanne in the next site and had several hours of friendly conversation. They're full-timers who spend summers in Alberta and winters in Yuma, AZ.

Monday: Countryside RV Park in Dillon, Montana. Very nice place. We pulled in to a nice pull-through site just in time to get set up before a major wind and thunderstorm hit. This is a pretty park, and if we go that way again we will stay there again. The owner/manager is a very nice woman, who really wants to give you information about the area. The shower and bathroom facilities are spotless.

Tuesday: East Bay RV Park in Springville, Utah. This is the second time we've been there. I recommend it as a place to stop along I-15. You are given a long pull-through site with full hookups. There's a pool and some very nice shower/toilet rooms. The park is nicely kept, and they only charge $28. That's a little more than HALF what we paid for a not-as-nice place in Lethbridge.

We learned from our daughter that while we were gone a wood rat got into the house - and then drowned itself in our toilet. She was up here to do her laundry and water our plants, and discovered it in the toilet. Gross! Luckily it didn't clog up the toilet when she flushed it away. We'll now keep our eyes and ears open for signs of more. We can't figure out how it got in. I haven't seen any signs in the kitchen or anywhere else.

This will be my last post on Wanderlust for a while - I'll be back on my other two blogs, Cookin' With Cyndi and Just One More Stitch, until we take the trailer out again.

Finished!

2011-07-29T18:58:00.001-07:00

We have officially driven the entire Alaska Highway, including the Cassiar, Klondike, Top of the World, Taylor, Richardson, Glenn, and Parks Highways. We have logged over 7600 miles since we left home on June 3rd. We still have another 2200 before we get back home.

We're at Northern Lights RV Campground in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. It's a pretty nice place--a little tight between spaces, but well-kept and with nice restroom and laundry facilities. In addition, "full hookups" here includes a sewer connection--something that was pretty rare along the highway.

This was our campsite at Toad River Lodge 2 nights ago. That, too, was a pretty decent place. It was a bit more spaced out than Northern Lights, and has very old, but working, restroom/shower facilities.

This is the beaver pond behind the campground. After dinner, Don and I walked over to see if we could see some moose on the lake. We didn't see moose, but spent about 15 minutes watching a family of 4 beavers and a pair of muskrats collecting sticks and weeds for their homes.

After leaving Toad River yesterday morning we went up and over Steamboat Mountain, where we had great views of the terminus ranges of the Rocky Mountains. I learned that the mountains here are the farthest north the Rocky Mountains extend--that any other mountains north of here are a separate range. So the Rockies extend from northern British Columbia all the way to north-central New Mexico. It was all one cordillera, or mountain-building event that created this massive range.

Our stop last night was at Sikanni River Campground, where Don was able to spend a few hours fishing. The river was running fast, and he was able to catch only one grayling. The Sikanni River has a place in Alaska Highway History--a regiment of African-American soldiers built the first bridge over the river in 1942, taking only 3 days. It lasted longer than any other bridge built on the highway that year.

Knowing we only had 160 miles to drive today, we slept a little later and enjoyed pancakes for breakfast. We made it to Dawson Creek by noon, and are in site #8 at Northern Lights. We relaxed for a few hours this afternoon, and then went to go take a photo of the Mile Zero marker in downtown Dawson Creek. We also spent some time at the Alaska Highway House, a small museum on the corner next to the marker.

We celebrated the completion of the Highway at Tony Roma's--baby back ribs for me and steak for Don. I also enjoyed a strawberry daiquiri--yummy! On our way back to the campground we picked up some donuts from Tim Horton's for tomorrow morning. They look good; this was our first visit to Tim Horton's, and we still haven't tried the coffee!

We decided that we want to go home now. One option that we had been considering was doing some more fishing in British Columbia; another was heading for Montana and fishing on the Gallatin and then going back to Henry's Lake for a few days. But home beckons. So when we get on Highway 2 tomorrow, which will take us through Alberta, we won't get off that road (except to sleep) until we get to San Bernardino. The 2 turns into Interstate 15 when we cross the border into the US. We don't know how far we'll go each day--it depends on the wind and how tired he is or isn't. But we think we'll be home by next Friday. We'll see.

Hooray! We did it!

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7,000 Miles and Still Going

2011-07-27T16:11:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Toad River, British Columbia, 398 miles from the end (or the beginning) of the Alaska Highway. That point is in Dawson Creek, and from there we'll still have about 2200 miles to go before we get home.

We had a nice breakfast at Rancheria Lodge this morning. They have some great 12-grain toast and hash browns made from red potatoes, which we enjoyed with our eggs. We were on the road by 8:00, and since this section of the Alaska Highway is in pretty decent condition, we made good time. Between Watson Lake and Liard River, we saw 3 black bears and 4 buffalo. Then when we got into Muncho Lake Provincial Park, we ran into 3 different herds (flocks?) of Stone Sheep. They like to lick the salts on the roads, and have little fear of motorized vehicles. Once you honk at them they'll get out of your way.

We stopped at the Muncho Lake overlook just before a rainstorm hit. You can see it off in the distance.

From Muncho Lake it was a mild uphill drive to a pass separating the Trout River and Toad River watersheds, and then a nice long downhill to the Toad River. We pulled into Toad River Lodge at 2:30, and are enjoying some TV at one of their pull-through campsites. The MLS All-Star Game will be on this evening on TSN (Canada's ESPN), so we're glad we chose to come this far.

Tomorrow: we have no idea! Don's thinking we'll go the 400 miles to Dawson Creek and then stay there 2 nights to "celebrate" our completion of the Alaska Highway. I hope so.

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Denali to Tok, Alaska to Kluane Lake and then Rancheria, Yukon

2011-07-25T18:35:00.001-07:00

Monday, July 25

We left Denali National Park, on Friday morning, and 915 miles later we are camped along the Rancheria River in the Yukon. It's on a little stretch of the Alaska Highway that runs through the Yukon before and after it dips down into British Columbia.

We made it to Tok, Alaska, on Friday, going through Fairbanks. The highway was in good condition all the way, so we made good time.

The Tanana River is one of the largest rivers in Alaska, and runs alongside the highway east of Fairbanks for a while.

We stopped for the night at Tok Village RV Park, which is a very large campground on the east side of Tok which caters to people driving the Alaska Highway. We were the 6th or 7th to check in, and within 3 hours, the place was nearly full. We did our laundry ($3.50 a load in the washer, and $1.50 for 45 minutes in the dryer.). Dinner was barbecued chicken thighs, cole slaw, and corn. We had cable TV that night, so we watched news and some reruns of Law & Order that we hadn't seen before.

Saturday morning we were up early (5:30) and after a breakfast of egg and bacon burritos, left around 7:00. This time, the road was NOT in good shape. We had heard the stories from many people about how it was under construction and full of frost heaves around Burwash Landing. Here's the scoop: it's that way from Beaver Creek all the way to Destruction Bay. We rocked and rolled and bounced for hours, and welcomed the chance to stop in Destruction Bay so Don could get a fishing license.

16 miles south of Destruction Bay we pulled into Cottonwood Campground, a unique but lovely campground right on Kluane Lake. Kluane Lake is the largest lake in the Yukon, and its waters are a deep royal blue. It's just beautiful. Don knew he wanted to fish there, so we opted to stay for 2 nights. We were given our choice of campsites - one with electricity and water in the interior of the park, or one with electricity only right on the water. Since our fresh water tank was 2/3 full, we opted for the lakeside site.

Looks beautiful, doesn't it?!

Let me tell you about the idiosyncrasies of this campground. First, all the electricity in the park is provided by generator. Therefore, it's 15 amp power. You're given a list when you check in of what 15 amps will and will not run. Then you're shown how to reset the breakers if you happen to pop one. Second, the generators have to go off every day (I'm assuming they need to be refueled and/or cooled and/or switched out), so there's no power at all from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. I can deal with that. Third, since the campground is so close to the Kluane Wildlife Refuge, they have a grizzly bear problem. Or at least, they used to have a bigger problem than the one they have now. They have no trash cans. You are asked to take your trash with you when you leave. Fourth, there's a lot of wind. It doesn't blow all the time, but when it does the waves really crash up against the shoreline. The good thing about a light wind, though, is it keeps the bugs away. They weren't bad here at all.

If you can handle those idiosyncrasies, and we can, then you will love this place. We sure did.

There were some lovely times when we sat out behind the trailer on the shore.

How's this for a place to read?

One more thing about that site--the bathroom in our trailer is in the rear, so it looked out over the lake. We were so close to the water that it appeared as if we were on a cruise ship.

Don did go fishing in the lake several times, and caught a grayling. That's all. But he had a nice time trying (they don't call it catching, just fishing).

This morning we were up again at 5:30, but hit the road a little earlier since I had made a coffee cake the day before. We made it to Whitehorse around 10:15; the highway was in much better condition than the previous day's stretch was. I was completely out of anything green, as well as eggs, so we stopped at the WalMart in Whitehorse. I've shopped at the Supercenter (a Canadian grocery store similar to Food 4 Less back home) and knew it would be extremely crowded, and I knew that the WalMart had ample parking for RVs. I was able to pick up canned peas and green beans, eggs, coffee creamer, bread, and some frozen spinach.

Back on the highway by 11:30, we decided to stop for lunch around 12:30. That was at a rest area just past Jake's Crossing. We reached Teslin around 1:30 or so (I really wasn't paying attention) and I was able to get lettuce and tomatoes at the Nisutlin Trading Post. We looked at the maps and the Milepost book and decided to go on to Rancheria.

Rancheria Lodge is right on the Rancheria River--and since it originates in British Columbia, Don can use his BC fishing license here. It's a pretty rustic place--derelict cars are strewn along the edge of he campground, but there are electric hookups (30 amp), a sani-dump, water fill-up, and clean shower/toilet facility. I can also go over to the lodge to use the WiFi, which is what I'll do in a few minutes.

We took the only electric hookup site on the river. The rest are in the woods a few hundred yards away.

This is the view from our big window. Not bad, huh!

And of course, since this is a good river for Dolly Varden (a kind of fish related to trout) and grayling, Don is out there and will be out there until almost dark.

We'll stay here for 2 nights.
Wednesday: Toad River Lodge and Campground

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Denali Grizzlies

2011-07-22T19:29:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, July 20

Along the way to the Eielson Visitor Center we saw 5 different grizzlies. One of them delayed our bus for about half an hour. We caught up to him near the Toklat River crossing as he was ambling along the road. It's park policy to not disturb them by trying to pass or force them off the road, so our bus an another one played leapfrog for a while giving everyone a chance to take photos.

He finally shuffled off to the side of the road, where those of us on the left side of he bus were able to take more pictures.

On the way back from Eielson we saw another down by the river.

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Denali Caribou and a Golden Eagle

2011-07-22T19:24:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, July 20

We saw a dozen or so caribou on our bus ride. This one was in the Savage River. Look at the size of that rack!

He stood around for a bit, and then must have really gotten tortured by the bugs. He began to spasm all over, and then took off running up the river. We had seen that a few minutes earlier with a younger caribou who had stopped in the middle of the road. He also twitched and shook all over, and then raced away down the hillside.

One of the last creatures we saw was as we were coming down the mountain near the Polychrome viewpoint. This giant golden eagle was perched on his nest about 50 yards from the road.

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Denali National Park - 2

2011-07-22T19:23:00.001-07:00

One of the things we knew we had to do at Denali was take one of the bus rides into the park to see the wildlife and the mountain. We reserved seats on the 9:00 am shuttle to Eielson Visitor Center, which is 66 miles in and has an excellent view of the mountain.

As the bus goes higher in elevation, we pass from the alpine vegetation that is mostly birch and white spruce into the taiga, which is lower bushes and stunted black spruce.

This is what the bus driver called a "safety shot," taken about 15 miles into the park. They say that you get to see the mountain about 30% of the time--the rest of the time it's obscured by clouds. Today it was, so far, clear, though you could see some small clouds being made on the mountain.

At the Savage River ranger station, a park ranger boarded the bus to give us some reminders about not disturbing the wildlife and also to wish us a good trip.

Yet another "safety shot," at about mile 20.

We crossed 5 rivers on our way to the Eielson Visitor Center.

If you look closely, you can see two Dall sheep on these rocks, which were high on a mountain above the Teklanika River rest stop.

Here we're about 3 miles from Eielson. It's now evident that we're going to get to see Denali in all its glory.

This is a glacial valley due east of Eielson.

The sun shone only on Denali. All the mountains around us were under clouds.

This is a pair of moose antlers. Two bull moose were fighting and locked horns. They never did get parted, and died that way. Wow.

These beautiful cookies are at the Toklat River crossing.

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Denali National Park - 1

2011-07-22T19:22:00.001-07:00

While we were in Anchorage I touched bases with my friend Suzy, who had been spending the summer in their RV in Fairbanks. She said they were borrowing a friend's Eurovan and were going to be in Denali NP on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of a trip that also included Homer, Seward, and Valdez. It was fabulous timing as we, too, were going to be in Denali those two nights.

For those of you who don't know me well, I was president of our local teacher's union the last 8 years of my teaching career. For 7 of those years, Suzy was the secretary (and her son Patrick was vice president and is now president.) She retired last year, followed shortly thereafter by her husband Gary. They left the second week in May for Alaska, and we'd hoped to meet up with them sometime while we were in the same state.

We left the Elmendorf FamCamp around 8, and had a lovely drive up the Parks Highway. Here's a bit of interesting trivia (at least I think it's interesting): Up until now I'd thought the Parks Highway was named because it went by two big parks - Denali State Park and Denali National Park. But no, it's named for a man named George Parks, the territorial governor of Alaska from 1924 to 1933.

At the interchange with the Glenn Highway, we saw this interesting Rav from Germany.

We stopped for gas in Trapper Creek, and Denali came into view. (I'm going to call it Denali, and not the unpopular name, Mt. McKinley.)

We then stopped for lunch at a rest area alongside the East Fork of the Chulitna River. We made it to Denali NP around 1:00, and checked into the Riley Creek Campground. I called Suzy, who said they'd be there about 2:30. We saved them the site next to ours.

We sat around for a couple of hours, talking about our trip (it was so nice to not talk about work!) and then we got cold and went inside for dinner. I was so cold that we didn't come back out, and went to bed early.

However, the next day, after our bus trip (next post), we enjoyed a warmer evening, a campfire, and long hours of conversation with Suzy and Gary.

Then yesterday morning (Thursday) we fed them breakfast before they left for their trip south. It was so nice to spend time with friends thousands of miles from home.

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We have LOTS of fish!

2011-07-17T21:19:00.001-07:00

Don left this morning at 10, and came back a little after 3. They had quite a successful trip. Don said he caught over a dozen halibut, but you're only allowed to keep 2. He also caught several cod, which he kept as well since cod is good to eat, too!

Don wanted me to discard this picture, but I think it's cute. I was up in the trailer looking down at him, so the angle makes him look shorter and like his pants are pulled up high.

This is Bruce, the owner of Reel Em Inn. He's a very friendly guy, and he and his wife Charlene have made this business a nice one.

The top side of a halibut is dark, as they blend into the ocean floor as they hunt along the bottom.

The other four people on the boat were a family from northern California who were staying in Soldotna and decided to go fishing. They have no idea how they're going to get their fish home. The last I heard they were going to have it frozen and shipped via UPS.

Charlene is busy cleaning OUR fish. That pile there is all ours.

Charlene then vacuum-packed my fish using a commercial vacuum machine that does 4 packages at a time.

These fillets, minus the big cod fillet we ate for dinner, weighed 28 pounds.

Believe it or not, I was able to get it all in the freezer!

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Ninilchik and Homer, Alaska

2011-07-17T21:01:00.001-07:00

Saturday, July 16

One of the most popular sites on the Kenai Peninsula is the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church. It sits on the bluff overlooking Ninilchik's small harbor.

The RVs on the beach are for people who are clamming. There are q couple of folks in our campground who have brought in full loads of clams yesterday and today. They spent hours shucking and cleaning them at the cleaning station at the front of the campground.

After we visited the church we drove down to Homer. The highway went through Anchor Point, so named because Captain Cook lost an anchor here in 1778, when his ships Discovery and Resolution sailed into Cook Inlet looking for the Northwest Passage.

We stopped at a rest area overlooking Kachemak Bay. Though it was a bit hazy, you could see the Homer Spit and across the bay to the Kenai Mountains.

I noticed the different vegetables growing in the planter at the rest area: lettuces, cabbages, chard, zucchini, onions, and more. The sign said "Please look but don't pick. Produce is the Homer Community Food Pantry." As we were walking around Homer, we saw mores planters, big and small, with similar produce growing in them. I guess you take advantage of the short growing season everywhere you can!

Our first stop in Homer was the Pratt Museum. I hace to say that the Pratt Museum is the best museum I have ever, ever visited. It has three floors. The top floor is dedicated to geological, geographical, biological, and historical displays. It was fascinating. I stayed there for almost two hours. The next floor down is a small room with several aquariums full of various small tide pool creatures (anemones, snails, starfish, an octopus, and more) and a couple of displays about the different sea birds. There's also a screen with a live shot of the Gull Island camera. From the Pratt Museum, 8 miles away, you can manipulate the camera to look all over the island and zoom in on the common murres (related to penguins), kittiwakes, puffins, cormorants, and glaucous-winged gulls in their natural habitat.

There are several different quilts hanging in the museum, and as a quilted, I had to take pictures of them!

There are also works of art from local artists on display.

The bottom floor has an exhibition about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, focusing on the cleanup and the effects of the spill on the wildlife and Flora of Prince William Sound. There are also a number of pieces of art related to the oil spill.

Just before we left the museum, I met and talked with George Harbeson, Jr. He wrote Homesteaders in the Headlights, a book about his "family's journey from a Depression-era New Jersey farm to a new life in Wasilla, Alaska." He's a retired English teacher, like me, and his father was also an English teacher. I bought a copy of his book and had him autograph it for me.

This little piece is about 12 inches tall, and is called "Reading Room." the artist is Margo Klass.

Our next stop was the Homer Spit. I was amazed at the number of tenters camped on the westward (ocean) side of the spit. They must risk getting blown away al the time. It's extremely windy there. We saw several dozen little shops caterers to the tourists who disembark from the cruise ships, but we didn't visit any of them.

Lunch was pizza at a very nice restaurant called Fat Olives. Our pizza was called a Capricciosa, and it had pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and capers. It was quite delicious!

We returned to Ninilchik around 3, and I convinced Don to go fish Deep Creek. He had been told that the fishing wasn't that good so he hadn't tried it yet--but I reminded him that even fishing without catching was better than sitting at the trailer. He came back at 8:30, and said he'd caught several Dolly Varden and some pink salmon. Finally! Some successful river fishing.

Tomorrow: Don goes halibut fishing.

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South on AK 1 to Ninilchik, Alaska

2011-07-15T20:56:00.001-07:00

We sure did see some lovely scenery today! First, though, we had to get out of Anchorage. It wasn't that hard--through the gate out of Elmendorf, right on Highway 1, left after a couple of miles, and then stay on the 1 all the way here.

First, the highway runs along the north shore of Turnagain Arm, then goes around the end and turns back west for a few miles. Then it heads south towards Seward, and after about 30 miles it splits. One road goes down to Seward, and the other goes west to Soldotna, then ends at Homer. We took the western road. About 20 miles south of Soldotna, we stopped for lunch at a pullout with these views:

Mt. Redoubt, which came to life most recently in 2009. It didn't completely erupt, but caused ash problems for the Kenai Peninsula.

We are now camped at a place called Reel 'Em Inn, a salmon and halibut fishing charter. Bruce has 2 boats, some cabins, and a few RV spaces. The RV sites are fine--we have full hookups and free WiFi. There are new toilets and showers, and if we want to use the laundry facilities, it'll be $3 a load (washer and dryer combined). Don will be going out on one of the boats on Sunday, fishing for halibut. The boats are small, so only 6 go out at a time on each one. We watched them come in this afternoon, and they'd had a very successful day. It looks like there's a 2-per person halibut limit, since they had 12 fish. Two of them were nearly 100 pounds each. I really hope Don catches some--I will definitely eat halibut!

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Elmendorf Air Force Base FamCamp

2011-07-15T20:29:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, July 13 and Thursday, July 14

We were up early again yesterday morning, but refreshed after a good night's sleep. Breakfast was corned beef hash and eggs, one of our favorites.

Our drive was a long one, but through beautiful scenery.

We turned right at Gakona Junction onto the Glenn Highway. The road gradually rose and we passed over the Tanana River/Yukon River drainage into the Matanuska River drainage,and stopped for gas at Mentasta Lodge.

This guy pulled onto the highway in front of us at Mentastay Lodge, and we followed him all the way to Palmer.

We then started heading west, and to the south we could see the Wrangell Mountains. Several large glaciers were in view--but the clouds were low and photography chances were slim. When we stopped for lunch we were in view of the Matanuska Glacier. This one is HUGE. It comes out of the mountains, and runs for miles and miles before it reaches its terminus, shown above.

As we neared Sutton and Palmer, it began raining, and by the time we reached the turnoff for Elmendorf Air Force Base it was pouring. We made it easily to their FamCamp, but at first we thought it was full. When I got out to ask an attendant, we learned there were two more loops and plenty of sites. He led us to a section of four empty sites, and we chose #28.

The sites here are roomy, and ours is set far apart from our neighbors. For $18 a night we get water and electric, free hot showers, and a dump station. Another plus is that I have not seen a single mosquito. We can get 5 channels of TV using the antenna.

We enjoyed a dinner of roast beef and gravy over rice, with a green salad, and were in bed pretty early.

This morning I thought my iPad died. It went black, and I couldn't get it to come on. Panic-stricken, since we have to have internet for some monetary matters (as well as my email, Facebook, and blogging)' we went over to the base exchange in case I'd have to buy a new mini-computer. I took the iPad with me. I found the electronics section, where the young man showed me how to reboot the iPad: hold both the power button and the round "home" button down simultaneously until the apple logo came up and everything was good. Whew! I told him he'd saved my day.

I then told Don I was going to the commissary. He said he'd thought we were going to wait until we got to Eielson (near Fairbanks). I asked, "can you guarantee that we will go to Eielson? We've changed our plans so many times, I want to take advantage of this commissary just in case we don't go to Fairbanks."

[For my readers who are unfamiliar with military commissaries, the prices are 30-35% cheaper than civilian grocery stores, and a good 50%+ cheaper than the grocery stores we've seen so far in Canada. For example, a can of corned beef hash, a breakfast staple for us, is $1.69 at the commissary. I saw cans for anywhere from $2.99 to $3.50 at stores in Whitehorse, Dease Lake, and Dawson City.]

So, I took my list and headed over to the commissary while Don enjoyed a cup of coffee at the Starbuck's next to the BX. On the second isle, a mumble to myself, "this should last me all the way home," exulted in a conversation with a retiree and his wife from Redlands (near my home in California). They were adamant that we did not need to go through Fairbanks when we left Denali. They said that, contrary to what we'd heard, the Denali Highway will be fine for us to take our trailer on. It's graded regularly, and they said it was in much, much better condition than the Top of the World and the Taylor Highways we drove on Monday. they said they take it 2-3 times a year, and that it's fine for RVs and trailers. Knowing that, and knowing that we really won't be going to Fairbanks and Eielson, I added a couple of things to my shopping cart. I now have enough food to get us back home, with the exception of things like eggs, bread, and produce.

I broke the news to Don, who was glad to hear it, and our plans are set for the next week or so:
Friday-Kenai Peninsula
Sunday-Don's going halibut fishing out of Ninilchik.

Next week-Denali National Park

Then, head towards home.
--------------

Last night this young moose made his way through the campground.

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The Top of the World Highway and Taylor Highway to Alaska

2011-07-15T16:26:00.001-07:00

Monday, July 11

We were up pretty early this morning--5:30 am. We ate some Apple-ham-cheddar muffins I'd made the night before, and were hooked up and ready to go by 7:00. We drove down to the ferry ramp and were happy to see we were first in line.

The ferry has just pushed off from the ramp on the other side of the river.

It's on the way across, carrying two trucks.

We got on the ferry, and were joined by a truck/5th wheel for the ride across.

We're getting ready to get to the ramp on the other side.

This is what the Top of the World Highway looks like on the Canadian side. For the most part it is well-maintained and relatively smooth. There were a couple of sections of pavement, but it was mostly gravel.

The road continues across the tops of the mountains, often above timberline, for 67 miles.

This outcropping of rocks is called the Castle Formation.

66 miles from Dawson City, we came around a corner and finally saw the border.

The border is manned by two people (one Canadian and one American) who live in the two buildings here. The sign says "Poker Creek, Alaska, Elevation 4127, Population 2, Most northerly land border port in the USA."

At this point the road turned to crap. It was a red, rutted, rocky, bouncy mess, which bounced us around for the next 43 miles (all the way to Chicken). It was the worst near the "town" of Boundary. This is also where we came across a small herd of caribou.

We startled them and they fled into the woods.

After 43 miles of that rotten road, we came to Chicken. This is one part, which consists of a RV park, store, and gas station. We paid $4.75 a gallon here, compared to the over $6 we'd paid in Dawson City.

Another mile down the road is "Beautiful Downtown Chicken." it's owned and run by Susan Wiren, and consists of a store, a bar, a cafe, and some cabins. We had heard that we needed to try her cinnamon rolls, so of course, we did. Don had the one with a white icing, and mine had a brown sugar icing. Both were excellent.

The bar is famous for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of baseball caps affixed to the ceiling and walls.

Chicken was (and still is) a gold mining town, and this is the Chicken Dredge.

At Chicken the Taylor Highway was paved. However, that did NOT mean it was a good road. It had numerous sections of gravel, and many, many miles of bouncy frost heaves. When we stopped for lunch at a gravel pullout about 50 miles from Chicken, we discovered the inside of our trailer was a disaster area.

Here are just a few of the problems:

- the pantry cabinet had come open and almost all of the canned items had fallen out onto the floor
- when the slide opened, a can of pineapple was stuck under the pedestal, and the force of the opening actually tore the can open. I had to clean up the pineapple juice and extract the mangled can from under the pedestal.
- the bottom of the pedestal broke--Don had to nail it back together today.
- the decorative moldings on the sides and top of the big side window broke off and were lying across the table. We took it apart and stored it under the bed. We'll have to get that repaired when we get home.
- the curtain rod fell in the bathroom
- the broom and mop came off the hooks in the bathroom

We finally hit the Alaska Highway at Tetlin Junction, 12 miles east of Tok. The road immediately improved, and we drove into Tok at 55-60 miles per hour. It was quite refreshing. At Tok we stopped for a 12-pack of beer for Don (almost half what we'd paid in Canada), and took the Tok Cutoff south towards Anchorage. 15 miles south of Tok we stopped at our first campground in Alaska, Eagle Trail State Recreation Site.

It's a nice campground--no hookups, but water is available as is free firewood. We had our loop to ourselves for a while, but even when we were joined by several different campers, it was peaceful and quiet. There's a creek nearby--Clearwater Creek--but Don said it didn't look like much of a fishery. There were minimal bugs, almost no mosquitos, so we sat outside and enjoyed a cool evening.

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Dawson City, Yukon - 4 - Dredge #4

2011-07-15T16:24:00.001-07:00

Saturday, July 9

We learned a lot today about placer gold and placer mining. During our various trips to Colorado we'd seen the kinds of mines where the gold was in veins in hard rock. The miners would blast it out, and the ore needed to be stamped, or crushed, to get the gold separated from its surrounding rock. Placer gold, on the other hand, is already separate from the rock, and is usually in the form of small sand grain-sized pieces or small nuggets. It's located in the stream gravels, especially in Bonanza and Hunker Creeks south of Dawson City.

The most expedient way to get this gold out of the stream gravels was to use a dredge. Much like dredges that clear mud and silt out of a harbor, gold dredges pick up the rocky stream gravel, put it through a giant hopper and then wash it through sluices. The gold dust, being heavier than the gravel and the water filtered down to the mats in the sluices and then was washed out by hand by the miners.

We drove about 8 miles up Bonanza Creek to the site of Dreedge #4. It has been maintained by Parks Canada as a historical site, and they give tours through it several times a day.

The white tent covers the workmen who are rebuilding the hull.

This diagram shows the process. The dredge sits on a giant pond of water, which it takes with it as it moves around the canyon. The dredge scoops up the gravel using a system of 64 large iron buckets, the gravel goes through the hopper in the middle of the dredge, and the excess gravel goes out the back of the machine, filling up the pond in the rear as the front of the machine creates the pond. The dredge is indeed a boat--sitting on a body of water up to 54 feet deep.

Our guide for the tour was the same man who portrayed Father Judge yesterday at the Palace Grand Theater.

These are a couple of the buckets used to scoop up the gravel.

The view out the side of the dredge.

The hopper, which let only small pieces of rock (and hopefully gold) through. The larger chunks of rock continued down through the hopper and were expelled out the back.

These are the sluices. The small pieces of sand and gravel were carried here by water--lots of water--and a system of netting and mats trapped the heavier gold dust. Periodically the machine would stop and the operators would rinse out the mats, hoping to find gold dust which would be melted and formed into bars.

This was the room from which a man operated the front of the dredge. All he did was move the front boom back and forth as the dredge moved forward. The radiator in the middle was to keep the hydraulic levers warm enough to operate.

This little bird was grooming itself on a cable outside the window.

This dredge was originally built on the Klondike River, about 12 miles from where it sits now. It made its way upstream over a period of about 18 years, and eventually stopped where it sits.

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Dawson City, Yukon - 3

2011-07-15T16:23:00.001-07:00

Saturday, July 9

This morning we got up to watch a little soccer, and then went to the Farmer's Market in Dawson City. I wanted some berries.

It was a pretty small market, but there were two different vendors with fresh fruits and vegetables.

These are honey berries. While they look like oblong blueberries, they are pretty tart. I wanted to make a crisp.

I mixed them with a little sugar, and made a streusel topping of oats, flour, brown sugar, and butter. About 20 minutes in the oven and it was done. Boy, was it tart!! In hindsight I think I should have used them in some pancakes or muffins. We ate it, though.

We took a little walk on the dike that separates the town from the Yukon River. We learned later that it was built after the river flooded the town, and it has served as a good protection ever since.

You can see the dike behind this memorial to the pioneers.

This is actually someone's living quarters. While Don was waiting for me to get my berries, he watched a young woman step out and get into a little boat she had tied to the side of it. She motored her way over to the bank and went into town to do some shopping.

This is the Keno, a paddlewheeler that was used for many years between Whitehorse, Dawson, and Eagle.

While we were looking at the Keno, the Yukon Queen, a sightseeing catamaran came in to let its passengers off for lunch.

This set of buildings is called the Third Avenue Complex. A sign says:
"In Dawson City history, permafrost ranks second only to fire as the bane of buildings. These three structures, dating from 1901, illustrate what can happen when heated buildings are placed on frozen ground; the frost melts, mixing water with the soil to form a very fluid muck into which the different footings settle at different rates. No restoration measures have been taken with these buildings so that visitors may see history as it naturally unfolds.

We ate lunch at Klondike Kate's--Don had a grilled chicken sandwich and I had a hamburger. Both were very good.

This is the Anglican Church built by Father Judge.

After lunch we walked around a little more, and then headed up Bonanza Creek to take a tour of Dredge #4. That will be covered in the next post.

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Dawson City, Yukon - 2

2011-07-15T16:22:00.001-07:00

Friday, July 8

We spent a little time in the afternoon at the Palace Grand Theater. In order to bring more visitors to the theater, and to have something interesting for them to see, Parks Canada decided to create a "Greatest Klondike Canadian" contest. Three different characters (portrayed by Parks Canada employees) explain to the audience why they should be selected. There's audience participation--three people are asked to be judges, and another is a timer. I volunteered to be a judge--though it was the entire audience who decided the winner, not the judges. We were just there to ask each contestant a follow-up question.

This woman was our hostess for the evening, and she gave her "name,"0 but I forgot to write down who she said she was. I think she was the wife of one of the builders or owners of the hotel.

The first contestant was Nellie Cashman. Not really a Canadian, Nellie came from the US. Her first stop was in the town of Cassiar, British Columbia, where she ran a boarding house. During the winter one year, she and some others hiked 77 days into the wilderness to take necessary supplies and medicines to a group of sick miners. Scurvy was a common ailment, and she took many pounds of limes. She later left Cassiar and opened up a grocery store in Dawson, while she also mined for gold. She convinced many of her fellow miners to donate money to the hospital opened by the Anglican church in Dawson. She remained single and was NOT ever a part of the local prostitute population (she emphasized this point).

Also American in origin, Father Judge came to Dawson to both build an Anglican church and to a build St. Mary's Hospital. He also was responsible for devising a hot water system in Dawson. His hospital was response for saving the lives of many Dawson miners, who were often too focused on mining to take care of themselves. He was nicknamed "The Saint of Dawson."

The third contestant was Sam Steele. He was the Superintendent of the Northwest Mounted Police in the Yukon, who "ruled" with an iron fist. He was noted for organizing the prostitute of Dawson into one location along Paradise Alley, and devising rules and regulations for their business. He also managed to maintain law and order in a rough town. He was sent away in 1899, but we were not told the events surrounding his demotion and banishment.

Following the contestant statements, the judges asked questions, and thin there was a "free-for-all" period where they spoke to each other to prove their points. Then the audience voted by cheering and clapping, and it appeared to be evenly split between Father Judge and Nellie Cashman. We three judges were then asked to break the tie, and we chose Father Judge.

On our way back to our trailer we stopped by the cabin of Robert Service, a famous Canadian poet. Two poems that my students would be familiar with are "The Cremation of Sam McGee," and "The Shooting of Dan McGrew."

There's also a Jack London museum and a cabin built from the logs from his old cabin but I failed to take any photos. The museum was closed when we drove by and we didn't make it back.

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Dawson City, Yukon - 1

2011-07-15T16:21:00.001-07:00

July 8, 9, and 10, 2011

Following the discovery of gold on Rabbit Creek (later renamed Bonanza Creek) in 1896, Dawson City became the center of the Klondike Gold Rush and the Yukon's first capital. Today it is many a tourist town, but a new gold discovery south on upper Bonanza Creek is causing a true boom - an upsurge in mining activity.

We pulled into town around 10:30 am, and got a full hookup site at the Bonanza Gold RV Park. We had originally planned to stay in the Yukon Government Campground across the ferry, but once again decided we liked "amenities." Besides, the US women would be playing a World Cup quarterfinal game this weekend, and we wanted to watch it on TV.

Before we even set up, Don drove over to the RV wash rack and spent $4 to wash most of the caked-on mud off the trailer. The folks in the truck camper had just come back from a trip up the Dempster Highway, and their RV was even filthier than ours.

The first thing we did after unhooking and setting up was drive up the Midnight Dome road.

From there we could look down and see the town of Dawson City, the Yukon River coming in from the southwest, Bonanza Creek to the south, the Yukon flowing downstream to the north, and the beginning of the Top of the World Highway to the west.

There was a house on the island in the lower left of the above picture. I zoomed in and this is what I could get.

On the way down from the top of the dome, we stopped at the home and studio of Shirley Pennell, who calls her business sign of the Raven. She does "fiber art," which is a more intricate, artistic form of quilting. She creates scenes from nature, using different kinds of cloth and fibers, and has about 20 of her creations on display (and for sale). I asked permission to take photographs, and she told me, "Pick one." I didn't argue, though it's my opinion that since she doesn't have a website, it might be good for business if she had photos of her work out in the blogosphere. But I selected the piece below:

This work is about 9" x 12", and semi-three-dimensional. The handle of the lower pot and the wires at the tops of the pots stick up from the surface. While she had numerous pieces of work that depicted scenery and animals, this one was my favorite.

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Whitehorse to Moose Creek

2011-07-15T16:20:00.001-07:00

July 7, 2011

As usual, we were up pretty early since it was a travel day. After a breakfast of coffee and egg/bacon/cheese quesadillas (I made them the night before and we reheated them in the microwave--no dishes) we were on the road by 7:30.

The Klondike Highway runs from Skagway, on the coast, all the way to Dawson City, but we were taking the northern section, from Whitehorse to Dawson. We made pretty good time; there were only a couple of sections that were either gravel or undergoing construction.

We did the mandatory stop at Braeburn Lodge and picked up one of their famous cinnamon buns. They're huge, and feed 4 people. We'll cut into it tomorrow morning for breakfast.

About halfway between Whitehorse and Dawson City are the Five Finger Rapids. They are given this name because of the four islands which create the five channels.

Two interpretive panels give information about the rapids and the geology of the Yukon Valley. The first states: "The swift water and narrow channels through the Five Finger Rapids posed a formidable danger to the overloaded boats and rafts of the 1898 Klondike stampeders. Whitehorse-bound sternwheelers had to winch themselves over a 30-60 centimeter(1-2 feet) drop in the navigable channel until the underwater obstacle was blasted away."

The second:
"A little less than 200 million years ago (early and middle Jurassic period), this area was covered by tidal flats and river deltas at the edge of an inland sea. Geologists now call this area the Whitehorse Trough. Over a long period of time, the river sediments were buried, compressed, and turned to rock. The area was lifted when the plate holding the oceanic floor, inland sea and islands connected with the crumpled edge of North America. Until 3 million years ago rivers draining this area flowed southward to the Gulf of Alaska. During the Ice Ages, expanding glaciers in the coastal mountains plugged the passage downstream, causing the river to back up. Now the relatively young Yukon River flows northwest to the Bering Sea. The Five Finger Islands and riverbank are composed of conglomerate rock (pebbles and boulders imbedded in a sand and mud matrix) that is more resistant to erosion than surrounding mudstone layers.

Our lunch stop was at a roadside pullout about 30 miles north of Stewart Crossing. Since Don was insistent that he needed to fish a stream instead of a lake, we pulled into the Moose Creek Campground, one of the Yukon Government campgrounds. It's similar to a Forest Service campground in the US. There are no hookups, but the sites are large and well-spaced, sturdy, clean picnic tables, fire pits, vault toilets, and trash disposal containers. One thing that's nice about the Yukon campgrounds is that the firewood is free. There was a good-sized pile waiting for us. All this for $12. I'm writing this at 7:00 pm, and there are 2 other campsites being utilized.

I'm getting the solitude I've been seeking. Last night in Whitehorse, we were kept awake by two young men in a site two places over who decided, as a lot of inconsiderate campers do, that everyone else wanted to hear their booming, thumping, rock music. Even when there was an hour-long power outage earlier in the evening, the rock music kept on rockin'. But at 11:30 or so, I think they stopped. I fell asleep around that time.

My late night must be why I was so tired when we got to Moose Creek. Don put on his fishing gear and headed off to the creek. I took a brief nap, and then read for a while. I didn't want to sit outside because the mosquitos and flies are so bad.

He came back around 6, and reported that he'd caught 3 grayling. At last! Fish from a stream!

However, he also decided we won't stay a second night--we'll press on to Dawson tomorrow.

-------
It's now about 8 pm, and I want to report that I tried. I really tried. Don wanted to use some of the free firewood, so even though it's the warmest day we've had on this trip, I went outside to join him. He really likes sitting by fire. I lasted 5 minutes. I had on my mosquito-repellent shirt (which works, by the way), long pants, and had liberally sprayed myself with bug spray. But they just kept coming. I think the bug spray kept the Mosquitos from landing, but it sure didn't keep them from hovering close to my ears and face. Aaarrrrggghhh! I am now back inside the trailer, even though it's a bit stuffy, and Don's still bravely hanging on outside.

And now that I'm ready to go to bed, I've remembered that I have a mosquito net that is perfect for sitting outside. It hangs over my hat, and prevents the Mosquitos from buzzing around my face and ears. Since that's what bugs me the most, I should remember to use it next time.

Don't know when that'll be. Don has decided to move on tomorrow, and go to Dawson City for 3 nights. He wants hookups, too. Who am I to argue with that? At least tonight is Q U I E T.

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Going "off the grid"

2011-07-06T19:31:00.001-07:00

"The grid" up here is the electric power system; for me, it's the Internet and connectivity to the outside world.

In the last few months leading up to my retirement, I told many of my friends and family that one of the things I was looking forward to the most was making it to a campground in the Yukon and being ALONE. (Well, alone with Don). My job made me be connected via email, Facebook, cell phone, home phone, fax, and text, and I've slowly eliminated those connections (for the most part) since we've come north. No fax or home phone since June 2, and no cell phone or text since June 15 (I turned it off when we crossed the border into Canada). Since we've had Internet in a lot of the campgrounds we've stayed at, or I've found a Starbucks, I've had email and Facebook. I have them tonight, too.

But tomorrow, we're going to begin a stretch of days at campgrounds with no hookups or WiFi, and I really hope that very few other campers are there. We'll see. Tomorrow and Friday we'll be at the Moose Creek Campground, run by the Yukon Government. Then we'll move further north to the Yukon Campground across the river from Dawson City--don't know how long we'll stay there. From there we'll make our way across the Top of the World Highway into Alaska, and go to Chicken. Then we'll take the Taylor Highway to Tok. Perhaps in Tok we'll have hookups--we don't know.

But the next two nights are the ones I've been dreaming about. I'll let you know how the fishing goes and how much I enjoyed the solitude.

So I'll see you in a while!!!!

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Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre

2011-07-04T19:55:00.001-07:00

The second museum we visited today was the Tlingit Heritage Centre, about 2 miles from the George Johnston Museum.

It had four beautiful totems out front, representing four Tlingit clans. Inside there's a large meeting room, a smaller area with museum-like displays, a kitchen, and a gift shop. While I may have called this a museum, it's clearly a center of activity for the local Tlingits.

These are called button blankets, and I'm not sure what kind of groups they represent.

Padded outfit for carrying an infant.

We looked at several different canoes, one new, one old, and a couple made of fiberglass but intricately painted.

We returned to the trailer for lunch, and...you guessed it! Don went fishing.

I walked down to the dock and watched for a while, until the wind got too strong for him.

These are the Dawson Peaks for which this resort is named.

Now this is a picture of something I've been waiting to happen. Up until now, Don has left the planning for this trip up to me. I've tried to find fishing spots for him, and campgrounds that are either well-regarded or have whatever amenities we need. I also have found the sights for us to go see, and so far he's been interested in my choices. I was very happy to see that Don is now taking a more active part in the planning.

Today we made our decisions about routes, though as you know, they're subject to change. We did decide to go to Whitehorse tomorrow for 2 days, and we'll be meeting up with Sue Thomas (http://suethomas.ca) tomorrow night. She's in Whitehorse for a little while and we invited her to come visit. If you want to get lost in gorgeous photographic descriptions of her travels in the Yukon, Alaska, and British Columbia, go visit her site for a while. I go back again and again for inspiration.

We also made the decision to take the Klondike Highway to Dawson City, and the Top of the World and Taylor Highways to Tok. What fun that will be!

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How to Protect Yourself From Bears

2011-07-04T19:37:00.003-07:00

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Beautiful Yukon Day

2011-07-04T19:37:00.001-07:00

When I got up this morning at 7:00, Don was long gone. He'd gotten up before 5 to go down to the lake. He returned around 7:30, hungry for breakfast and coffee. I made a bauernfruhstuck (diced potatoes, onions, bell peppers, sliced little smokies, eggs) and we ate the leftover biscuits from last night.

Around 9:30 we decided to go visit the two First Nations museums in nearby Teslin.

First, we stopped at a rest area/photo viewpoint to take a picture of the Nisutlin Bay Bridge. The "bay" is actually the Nisutlin River where it flows into Teslin Lake, and the bridge is the longest water span on the Alaska Highway at 1,917 feet. Teslin Lake is 86 miles long and averages about 2 miles across.

At the viewpoint is a display explaining how the chinook salmon are endangered and what the Tlingit are doing to address the problem. One significant thing they did was vote as a community to not fish AT ALL for salmon in 2010.

The first museum we stopped at is the George Johnston Museum.

George Johnston (1884-1972) was a Tlingit known for his trapping, his photography, and his 1928 Chevrolet. With his camera he took hundreds of photographs that documented the lifestyle of the Inland Tlingit people of Teslin and Atlin between 1910 and 1940. Many of those photos are on display at this museum, along with a very interesting video documenting his life, his people, and his work.

One of the first stores in the Teslin area.

This is a wooden bowl, in which soups were cooked by adding hot stones from the fire pit.

The canoe on the left of this display was made using one moose hide.

This is George Johnston's 1928 Chevrolet, the first car in Teslin. When he brought it, the Alaska Highway had not yet been built, so George built a 3-mile road for it, and drove around Teslin. In winter, he put chains on the car and drove it on frozen Teslin Lake.

These are beaded sewing kits.

This was radio building used to assist pilots in navigating the route from Fairbanks to Whitehorse to Edmonton.

Our next museum will be in the next post, as it's difficult to upload lots of photos at once.

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Meziadin Lake to Dease Lake to Teslin, Yukon Territory

2011-07-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

Sunday, July 3

We cut our stay at Meziadin Lake short mainly because of the weather. Friday, since it rained all day, we were forced to stay inside or in our chairs under the awning--which is fine if all you want to do is read or cross stitch. But everything in the trailer was damp, especially the insides of the windows. The weather forecast was for more rain on Saturday and Sunday, so we figured it would be better to drive north in the rain instead of sit.

So, Saturday morning we were up at 6:30, and after a breakfast of coffee and cereal, were on the road at 7:45.

Around 8:30 we started going through some patchy cloud areas where we could catch glimpses of the beautiful Skeena Mountains to the east. The Milepost book says that the lodge at Bell II (the second time the highway crosses the Bell River) is popular in the winter with heli-skiers.

At one point we saw an oncoming RV stopped in the road; he flashed his lights at us-- a sign of some kind of wildlife.

This young wolf was walking around in the road, and when we approached him after I took the picture, he merely walked over to the side of the road and sat as if to watch the traffic go by.

The road was excellent until we crossed Ritchie Creek, and even then it was in such good shape we were able to keep the speed at about 90 kmh/55mph. We kept our eyes out for wildlife, but didn't see any more for quite a while.

This was a quick rest stop next to Mehan Lake.

When we stopped for gas in Iskut, I looked up and saw this hanging glacier on the side of Mt. See the terminal moraine at the bottom of it?

Plan A was to take on water and use a dump station, and then go spend a few days at Boya Lake Provincial Park. Sue T (http://suethomas.ca) had recommended this as one of her favorite parks. We stopped at a nice-looking RV park in Iskut and asked if we could pay to use their sani-dump and fill with water. The owner said, "oh, no, we don't do that."

But before we turned around to leave, I took a picture of Mt. Edziza from their driveway, and you can now see a twin glacier and moraine to the other one (which is now on the left side of the photo).

So we continued on to Dease Lake, and just before we got there Don decided he wanted hookups for the night. We took a site at Dease Lake RV Park, which cost us $28 for water, electric, and sewer. They advertised hot showers, but those need quarters--$1 for 10 minutes. There was a nice surprise when we checked out the laundry room--the washing machines were only $1.25 per load. When we did our clothes last (in Banff), it was $4 a load. The dryers were $1 for one cycle, compared to $4 in Banff. We did 2 loads of clothes, and since I didn't have enough quarters for the needed second dryer cycle, our heavier clothes were still slightly damp. No problem; we hung them up in the trailer. Dinner was 4-Taste Angel Hair Pasta, green salad, and breadsticks. Sooooo good.

While we were finishing up the laundry, Don announced, "Change in plans." He'd gotten out one of our campground guide books, and read that the fishing was poor at Boya Lake. He also felt we needed to do some longer driving days, so he decided we'd skip Boya Lake and press on to the Yukon.

By 7:00 pm, the campground was nearly full with travelers from the Cassiar Highway. The opening question between anyone meeting to chat was, "Which way did you come from?" We've learned that this shared experience of the Cassiar is enough to serve as conversation starters between perfect strangers.

We were tired from the day, and went to bed to read around 9.

Sunday, July 3

This morning we were up at 6, and as I was reaching for my apron to fix breakfast (I always wear an apron to cook--and even then I still get spots on my shirts!), Don said, "How about bagels and and cereal for breakfast?" I really didn't want all those carbs, but I didn't want to have to clean up after a cooked meal, so I acquiesced. But I only had a bagel.

We were on the road by 7:45, and made good time the first 90 miles. The road was in much better shape than we'd expected. Even the gravel sections were smooth. The roughest section of the road--the bounciest--was the section between Boya Lake and the junction at the Alaska Highway. It was so bouncy that my cabinets came open and tossed sewing stuff all over the place, and our knife rack came dislodged twice. But that was it.

We saw several bears today; the other two were a grizzly cub (mama had to be nearby) and a juvenile black bear running across the road.

We stopped for a bit at Jade City, about halfway up to the Alaska Highway. It's not a city, though. It's a store and parking area. The store sells mostly jade that was mined from the Cassiar Mountains and turned into various kinds of jewelry.

They had all kinds of cutting tools outside on display.

The jade pieces were all too expensive for me, so we continued on.

North of Boya Lake we passed through the remnants of a major forest fire. There was total devastation on both sides of the road for 15-20 miles, and you could see the burn zone extending for miles in all directions. It appeared pretty recent. Something I must look up.

[Note: I just looked it up, and it was the first week of June. So less than a month ago.]

We reached the Alaska Highway around 11:00, and filled up our gas tank at the Junction 37 Services station. Lunch was around noon at a roadside rest area.

These mountains were to the west. We skirted the north side of them.

We stopped at the Continental Divide Lodge and Campground to inquire about Yukon fishing licenses, since the Upper Rancheria River was flowing clearly. They didn't sell them, and since Don won't break the law and fish without one, we kept on going.

We are now camped at Dawson Peaks RV Park on the southeast shore of Teslin Lake, in the Yukon Territory. Since half of the lake is in British Columbia, Don can still fish using his BC license. He'll get a Yukon Territory license tomorrow and go fish a couple of rivers in the area. They're not blown out like the ones are further south.

We've eaten dinner and I'm going to go do dishes now; Don's out on the lake. Then I'll go over to the office area and use their WiFi. It doesn't reach out to where we're camped. One of the things I like about Blogpress is that I can write my posts, include the photographs, and save until I'm ready to post at a WiFi hotspot.

We'll be here at least 2 nights and then it's on to Whitehorse.

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To Alaska and Back in One Morning

2011-06-30T13:41:00.001-07:00

Get out a map of Canada that includes Alaska. Look at the southernmost tip of Alaska. If your map is detailed enough, you should see, just a little northeast of Ketchikan, the towns of Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder, Alaska. That's where we went this morning, and made it back in time for lunch here at Lake Meziadin.

After a breakfast of stuffed French Toast (spread cream cheese on one slice of bread and a little marmalade on the other and then make a sandwich that you dip in the egg batter and fry), we hopped in the truck and headed down Highway 37A. It's a 40-mile spur of the 37 that goes to the coast and the towns of Stewart and Hyder.

Along the way you go through some fabulous scenery, and see several glaciers and lots of waterfalls.

This is the first glacier you get to. It may not look like one, but most of it is covered by debris. The top is partially obscured by clouds.

I really thought this would turn out better, since you could see the twin hanging glaciers clearly in person. Take my word for it, then, that on either side of the vertical snow line, there are two hanging glaciers.

This is Bear Glacier, only 18 miles from our campground. It used to come all the way to the highway, but now ends in this lake.

This is the toe of Bear Glacier, where the water coming out of it forms the Bear River. The highway now follows the Bear River all the way down to the Portland Canal.

This is an unnamed fan glacier. A large portion of the left side has recently calved (broken off).

There are waterfalls everywhere, and you can hear the roaring of them because there are so many.

After the highway goes through a narrow canyon, the valley and the river open up.

You first come to the town of Stewart, British Columbia. It sits at the head of the Portland Canal, which is actually a long fjord or inlet from the Pacific Ocean. Stewart has approximately 700 people, and has a school, a health facility, a gas station ($1.33/liter), and numerous stores and services. We stopped at the little visitor center to pick up a pamphlet.

Next to the Visitor Center is this monument to the American and Canadian men from the Portland Canal who sacrificed their lives for their country in World War I and World War II.

I hope you can click on these to make them larger so you can read them.

About 2 miles from Stewart you cross the international border into Hyder, Alaska. Hyder has about 100 people, and unlike Stewart, the roads are all gravel or dirt.

Fish Creek runs down from Salmon Glacier into the Portland Canal. Every summer the salmon come up the creek to spawn, and out come the bears. Both grizzlies and black bears come by the dozens to feed on the salmon, so the U. S. Forest Service has built a long raised viewing platform so humans can watch the bears. Unfortunately for us, we're about 2-3 weeks early, so no salmon, and no bears.

When you cross the border into Alaska from Stewart, there is no checkpoint. However, when you cross back into Canada, there's an agent who asks you for your identification and asks all the same questions you're asked when you cross anywhere else (where are you coming from, where are you going, how long will you be in Canada, do you have any firearms or anything else to declare).

Looking south down the Portland Canal. We're not sure what kind of operation this is, but my guess is that it's for loading logs onto boats. The brochure we picked up says forestry is one of the main reasons Stewart and Hyder exist. If you know something else, let me know.

Looking north up the Portland Canal. We saw 4 fishing boats. When we first passed by it was low tide, but now the tide is gradually rising.

There are 5 of these tie-down cleats on the platform where we parked. Obviously bigger ships used to dock here.

More waterfalls on the way back.

We were back to the trailer by noon, so after a lunch of quesadillas, and with the rain finally stopped, you wanna guess what Don's doing?

You guessed it!

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Jasper to Vanderhoot to Meziadin Lake

2011-06-29T17:25:00.001-07:00

It was overcast when we left Jasper yesterday morning, and by the time we got over Yellowhead Pass it was raining. We stopped anyway at the Mt. Robson Visitor Center to take a picture of the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. They say that a majority of the time you can't see the top due to the weather, so I don't feel bad.

When we turned north on the Yellowhead Highway at Tete Jaune, we saw a flashing sign that said "Highway 97 closed at Pine Pass. Take alternate routes." That was our intended route. We briefly thought that we would spend the night in Prince George, and that the closure would be brief enough to get going the next day. we turned on the radio and soon found out that the closure was expected to be at least 2 weeks. No traffic could go from Prince George to Chetwynd--there were multiple washouts including the major one below Pine Pass. In addition, the Hudson's Hope Highway was damaged too. The suggested detour was through Jasper and northern Alberta. We didn't want to double back, so we decided to take the Cassiar Highway. Our original plan was to come back from Alaska down the Cassiar, so we'll just go up it instead.

We stopped for lunch at a roadside turnout, and passed through Prince George around 1:30. For a few brief stretches we had some nice views, but most of the day was spent driving through lots of rain.

We decided to stop for the night in a small town called Vanderhoof. It advertises itself as "the geographical center of British Columbia." The RV park, Dave's, was beautiful and affordable. We met several different couple who were returning from Alaska, and one couple, Bill and Sharon from Kelowna, BC, gave us some tips on places to stay once we leave Meziadin Lake.

This morning we were up at 6, and on the road by 7:30.

This is the world's largest fly-fishing rod, on display in Houston, British Columbia. The fly is 22" long.

We stopped for lunch just outside of Smithers, with this view of Hudson Bay Mountain. See the small glacier in the center?

This was a pretty sight in Moricetown.

Our intended stop was 'Ksan Campground in New Hazelton, but we got there before 1:00 and decided to keep going. Once Don had heard about Meziadin Lake from our neighbors in Vanderhoof, he wanted to go there. It was only another 105 miles.

We stopped for gas at the turnoff for Highway 37, and filled up the gas cans so we'd have plenty for the generator if we needed it. This sign just cried out to have its photo taken.

It was raining intermittently, and occasionally we'd have views of some of the local mountains.

This is the single-lane bridge over the Nass River. The gorge is 400 feet wide, and the bridge is 130 feet above the river.

We arrived at Meziadin Lake Provincial Park at 4 pm, and were lucky enough to get a site right on the lake! This place is gorgeous! It has no hookups, but there's a water pump, and a small store run by the camp hosts with a few essentials like bug spray and drinking water. At $16 a night, we decided to stay for 4 nights. And, even though we're hundreds of miles from the nearest decent-sized town, we have WiFi! Unbelievable.

Here's our view:

And here's one of the biggest reasons we're staying 4 nights:

Tomorrow: Stewart and Hyder, two side-by-side towns separated by an international border. Check it out on your map.

Best laid plans...

2011-06-28T15:30:00.001-07:00

I posted last night that we were heading to Dawson Creek and Mile Zero today. So why are we 60 miles west of Prince George?

There are several places on the highway between Prince George and Chetwynd that have been washed out. The BC authorities give a rough estimate of 2 weeks before the road reopens. We didn't learn this until we were halfway to Prince George, and didn't want to go back to Jasper to take the detour through northern Alberta. We'd been planning to return from Alaska on the Cassiar Highway, so we just switched and will go up the Cassiar to Alaska and come back the Alaska Highway to Dawson Creek.

We grabbed our maps and books and decided to stop for the night at Dave's Campground in Vanderhoof. It's a pretty nice place--long, level pull-through sites with cable TV. I'm paying $3 extra for the WiFi, but we needed to pay bills and I wanted to do my blog posts, so we paid it.

Tomorrow we'll go to Hazelton or New Hazelton--I'm going to go research campgrounds. The next couple of days will be spent in Hyder or Stewart.

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Just call us Mr. and Mrs. Grump

2011-06-28T14:23:00.001-07:00

Monday, June 27

We just cancelled the next 6 of our 7 days we'd reserved at Jasper. There are quite a few reasons, including our desire to actually get going on the Alaska Highway, but the biggest reason is the $&@! kids. We were assigned a site here at Whistlers Campground that is next to 3 different families with a total of 12 kids. The 2 boys in the site right next to us can't throw a frisbee very well, and have hit our truck twice. Don nicely told them to stop. Their mother took offense to that, and chewed him out--he shouldn't have said anything to the kids, but to her. Right. Everyone has their own rules. Then the 10 kids in the two sites on the other side (they're together) are just ...10 kids. 10 kids. 5 of them have bicycles that are equipped with noisemakers of some kind--they sound like our bikes did when we were kids and had playing cars attached to the spokes with clothespins, but on steroids. There's an infant, who has made its presence known numerous times, and several toddlers, who keep running away and have to be yelled at to return (they don't listen well). I really am done with kids.

Knowing that it's only going to get worse with Canada Day on Friday, and knowing that there are still no rivers to fish around here, we've decided to leave in the morning. We might stop somewhere between Prince George and Dawson Creek, or we might make it all the way to Dawson Creek. We just don't know. What will happen will happen.

The adventure begins!

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Columbia Icefields Parkway

2011-06-28T14:22:00.001-07:00

Monday, June 26

We were up at 6:30, and had a quick breakfast of bagels and hard-boiled eggs. I decided on those two items since they required no kitchen cleanup.

By 8 we were on Highway 1 heading north.

These were the first nice peaks we saw north of Lake Louise.

The scenery started getting a little more dramatic.

33 kilometers north of Lake Louise we stopped to see the first glacier of the day. This is Crowfoot Glacier, so named because nearly 100 years ago, there was a bottom talon, as in the photo below.

A little further on we stopped at Bow Lake.

That's Bow Glacier off in the distance. Bow Lake is the source of the Bow River.

Looking the other direction across Bow Lake.

From here we went over Bow Pass and into the upper Mistaya River basin.

Yours truly at one of the Waterfowl Lakes.

Mt. Chephren above Waterfowl Lake.

The Mistaya River flow north into the Saskatchewan River. At the crossing we stopped for gas and a break, and then got back on the road going up the Saskatchewan River.

In the first picture I took of Don, he was so serious. For this one I made him laugh.

The Saskatchewan River.

Getting closer to Sunwapta Pass.

Once you get to the top of the pass, you get to the Columbia Icefield. The Icefield is a giant dome of ice, from which about a dozen large glaciers flow. The Icefields Center is located at the base of Athabaska Glacier and Dome Glacier, with a view of another unnamed one nearby.

Athabaska Glacier. This is the one which has tours. For $50, you can take a bus to a point along the side of the glacier about a third of the way up, and then transfer to a bus-like vehicle with giant wheels. This second vehicle takes you out on the glacier and lets you do a little exploring on the ice. We chose not to do this.

Less than 70 years ago the glacier was much larger than it is now.

This is Dome Glacier, so named because it comes right out of the giant ice dome at the top of the Icefield. This glacier actually is as long as Athqbaska, but the bottom 1/3 is covered by rocks and dirt.

Unnamed glacier to the south of Athabaska Glacier.

Another shot of Athabaska Glacier.

Lunch break!

This is Mount Edith Cavell. It's made almost entirely of quartzite. I'd learned that at Fort McLeod when we saw the Rock That Ran. It, too, was made of quartzite, and geologists suspect it originally came from the area near Mount Edith Cavell.

We finally saw Mountain Goats! First we spotted a group of 5 grazing on the side of the road, right next to a turnout. Don swung into the turnout, and I got out to try to get some photos.

This guy is clearly shedding his winter coat. He looks pretty ragged.

The cars spooked them, so they ran towards the river.

I thought they were gone, so Don and I walked out to the viewpoint over the Athabaska River. The goats were grazing on the cliffs above the river.

Here the goats are about 50 feet below me, but still hundreds of feet above the river.

We saw some bears about 5 miles down the road--a mother and her cub--but we were going too fast to stop. I'm sure we'll see more as the days go by.

Last Day in Banff

2011-06-28T14:18:00.001-07:00

Sunday, June 26

Don was able to get a little fishing done on Johnson Lake.

I took one last picture of the mountains to the east.

Tomorrow: Columbia Icefields Parkway and Jasper

Exploring Banff Museums - 2

2011-06-24T10:42:00.001-07:00

Thursday, June 23

POSTCARD ALERT
If you want me to mail you a postcard from here, email me! Click on my profile to get my email address.

When we came out of the Whyte Museum, wearing shorts and t-shirts, it was raining. Since it was already 11:30, we decided to save money on lunch and return to the trailer to eat and change into warmer clothes.

Our second museum of the day was the Buffalo Nations Museum. Here we viewed exhibits on the history and contributions of the various First Nations who inhabited the area.

I loved the intricate beadwork.

This is a dance shawl decorated with shells.

A giant ammonite (fossil)

More beautiful beadwork, this time using a pinwheel that I've used in my quilting.

The 3rd museum of the day was the Banff Park Museum. It was built prior to the days of electricity, and houses a collection of wildlife representative of the area (as well as a few items that are not).

After our museum visits we returned to the trailer for dinner--it was sprinkling, but Don said he could still cook on the grill. I took a ch ivory breast and cut it in 4 pieces for quicker cooking, and sprinkled it with lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. We then cut the cooked chicken in small pieces for soft tacos. I made some homemade salsa to go with it and we enjoyed a little Mexican food.

By the time dinner was over a major thunderstorm had rolled in. The winds were fierce--our neighbor lost his awning. It ripped right off, cut lengthwise by the wind. Lightning flashed overhead, causing lots of loud thunder, and around 6 pm the power went out. It stayed put for about 2 hours, but we were fine with our generator (we wanted to watch some TV tonight). We learned later that the power outage was widespread all through the mountains, caused by the wind.

It's definitely colder, but we're glad we have our little space heater. Going to bed now go read and sleep!
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Exploring Banff Museums - 1

2011-06-24T10:20:00.001-07:00

Thursday, June 23

POSTCARD ALERT
If you want me to mail you a postcard from here, email me! Click on my profile to get my email address.

The weather forecast was for afternoon rain, so we decided to take in some of the wonderful museums in Banff.

First up: The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

We were given a guided tour of two heritage homes. This one is the Moore home, where Pearl Brewster lived with her husband Phillip Moore. Pearl Brewster was a sister to the founders of Brester Transfer, a transportation company that conducts different tours of the Canadian Rockies and the Columbia Icefields. The home was originally built elsewhere in Banff, and was moved to its present site on the Whyte Museum grounds in 1971.

The bed was a gift from a friend, and it was originally too high for the room. Pearl had to saw 6" off the legs, and remove the canopy for it to fit in the room. The flowers on the quilt were hand stitched by Stoney (First Nations) women and individually signed.

This is the home of Peter and Catharine Whyte, the founders of the museum. The Whytes, both painters who also were devoted to preserving the culture of the Canadian Rockies, built the home in 1931.
Here's a little about Catharine:

Every room has shelves full of books--as they operated the town's library for many years out of their home with their own personal books.

Their informal eating table. All the paintings on the walls of the home were done by Peter or Catharine. We saw many more at the Buffalo Nations Museum this afternoon.

This is Peter's and Catharine's studio.

At bottom right is a self-portrait of Peter.

After the heritage homes tour we went back inside the museum to view the Women Adventurers in the Rockies exhibit. This exhibit was fascinating--it chronicles 10 women, 5 contemporary and 5 from the past, who blazed different trails in the history of the Canadian Rockies. Two were painters, two were explorers, one was a warden's wife, and one was the first female warden. The ones that interested me the most were the contemporary ones.

Diny Harrison was the first North American woman to become an internationally certified full mountain guide and member of the International Federation of Mountain Guides.

Diny on a bivouac.

Diny's guide outfit.

Nancy Hanson.

Kathy Calvert was the first female warden in the national parks.

I was drawn to these 3 women because I wanted to be a climber, explorer, and ranger when I was in my teens. I didn't fully commit to that dream, but remember fondly the few years I actually did climb and explore.

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A "me" day in Banff

2011-06-24T09:34:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, July 22

Don wanted to Spend the day fishing at Johnson Lake, so after breakfast I dropped him off and headed into town to use the WiFi at Starbucks, arrange for a haircut, and do a little window shopping.

I asked for a haircut referral at the Visitor Information Center, and was directed to En Vogue, right down the street from the VIC and Starbucks. When I told the hairdresser I wanted a few inches of my ragged, tired-out hair cut off since I was growing out the old color and hoping natural, he said, "Oh, I'd love to do that for you. It really needs a new look." I loved his honesty. We made an appointment for 12:30, and I went to Starbucks for a while.

I wanted a salad for lunch, and found a restaurant that served one described as mixed greens with a raspberry vinaigrette. They seated me upstairs on their patio, where I had a lovely view and an excellent salad.

Here's my new cut. Don's first reaction was that I look like my sister Eileen. That's perfectly all right with me. As the day went by the ends curled even more, and I have a little "flip" in my new hairstyle.

It's definitely healthier, since he cut about 6 inches of dry, split ends off. I had told him to cut off as much as he wanted, as long as I could still pull it into a ponytail.

The rest of my day was spent reading next to the lake while Don fished. He had said he would be out on the lake until 2--that 5 hours would be plenty--but he didn't come in until 5!

So instead of grilling something for dinner, we had a tuna casserole that I was able to throw together from cans in the pantry. (You use canned potato sticks instead of noodles. It was a bit salty--I used a cheaper version of caof mushroom soup instead of the low sodium one. But Don loved it.)

We had to stop for a small group (7) of elk crossing the road next to the campground.

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Lake Louise and some afternoon fishing

2011-06-22T09:11:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, June 21

POSTCARD ALERT
If you want me to mail you a postcard from here, email me! Click on my profile to get my email address.

I was up at 5:00 am. For some reason I hurt all over, especially my hips and shoulders, and just couldn't stay in bed any more. I tried to be quiet while making coffee, but Don soon joined me (which was okay--it was nice to sit outside together for the first time in a week.) Though it was chilly, it was dry. Finally.

We knew from what we'd been reading that we needed to get an early start on our visit to Lake Louise, so after a breakfast of bacon and eggs, we hit the road.

We took the advice of our neighbors here at the campground and took the Bow Valley Parkway to Lake Louise. There are two ways to get to Lake Louise: the highway, Canada 1, and the Bow Valley Parkway. If you take the 1, it's a 4-lane, restricted access highway with a speed limit of 110 kmh. The Bow Valley Parkway is 2 lanes, with a speed limit of 60 kmh. It has frequent pullouts, exhibits, and picnic areas, and you're supposed to see wildlife along the way.

We saw this elk within 2 minutes of getting on the parkway, but didn't see any other wildlife the whole way.

There are beautiful mountain sights along the way. The mountains in the top photo are the Sawback Range,and the bottom one is called The Castle.

This memorial goes with a lesson Don and I learned today. This is the site of an internment camp for about 60 Ukrainian immigrants during World War I. About 6,000 had been lured to Canada to assist in building rail lines and roads. When the war broke out, the Canadian government forced them into internment camps. This is exactly what the U.S. government did to thousands of first- and second-generation Japanese during World War II. It's shameful what ignorance and fear can cause people to do.

At the end of the Bow Valley Parkway we crossed over the 1 and through Lake Louise Village, and then took the short drive up to Lake Louise. The parking lot was already filling up, and since construction forced the closure of two other lots, it was a crammed zoo up there. (Don and I hate crowds!) We took a few photos of the lake, and wandered over to the Fairmont Chateau in search of a cup of coffee. We saw that one cup would cost us each over $5, so we realized we didn't want any. I bought a few postcards and we were on our way.

Our next destination was Moraine Lake. It's below those mountains in the photo above.

Moraine Lake isn't as built up as Lake Louise. There's a lodge, but it's rather rustic compared to the Fairmont Chateau.

After we left the Lake Louise area we went back on to the Bow Valley Parkway, intending to stop for lunch at Baker Creek.

A few more stops with sights along the way.

We changed our minds about lunch, and at Castle Junction turned on to the highway to go back into Banff.

This is a wildlife bridge like the one we saw in Nevada.

We had the most wonderful lunch in downtown Banff. We ate at a restaurant called Grizzly, which specializes in fondue. But we didn't have the fondue--we both got their sausage of the day plate, which was a veal knackwurst. It was served on some mushroom sauce and topped with frizzled onions, with some rosti and bread on the side. We both cleaned our plates.

We went back to the campground to get Don's fishing gear and a book for me, and went to Johnson Lake so Don could spend the rest of the afternoon on the water.

He caught one fish, a brook trout, and had bites from several others. It was a beautiful afternoon, so it wasn't wasted.

We snacked for dinner, and are now watching a little TV. Well, the Tav is on, but he's snoozing and I'm writing. Who knows how long we can last on the longest day of the year?

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Banff - Amazing!

2011-06-22T09:09:00.001-07:00

Monday, June 20, 2011

POSTCARD ALERT
If you want me to mail you a postcard from here, email me! Click on my profile to get my email address.

This has got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. I've waited so long to get here.

We were up around 7 am; it was finally starting to dry out. We knew we only had about 40 km (25 miles) to drive, so we took our time with breakfast and breaking camp.

By 11 am we were hooked up and on our way to the dump station near the park entrance. At 11:45 we entered the main gate of Banff, where I had some unexpected sticker shock. The entrance fee for Canada National Parks is $19.60 PER DAY. I had mistakenly assumed that the Canadian parks would be like the ones in the US-one fee that would cover 7 or 14 days. They sell a season pass for about $135, and since that would be cheaper than paying daily for the 2 weeks we're in Banff and Jasper, that's what we got.

It was only about 5 miles to the town of Banff and the Tunnel Mountain Campground complex. We are in the trailer court, where we have full hookups. But what's even better is the view.

We're on the second row from the "front," giving us a pretty commanding view of Mount Rundle and the Bow River Valley. Above, Don's cooking burgers and toasting the view.

We drove into Banff the back way down Tunnel Mountain, where I took a couple pics from a viewpoint over the town:

After a visit to Starbuck's to get some coffee, we drove out to the Lake Minnewanka Loop to check out possible fishing spots.

This is Lake Minnewanka from its dam. There's really no place here for Don to launch his float tube.

This bighorn sheep ewe was relaxing right next to the parking lot.

These are the Palliser Mountains above Lake Minnewanka. We drove on to Two Jack Lake, but didn't stop. After that we turned off the loop and went to Johnson Lake.

Near Johnson Lake is a sign indicating that this is the Fairholme Range, "an environmentally sensitive site." We are encouraged to NOT enter the area in order that damage from years of human use and overuse can be mitigated. I imagine that it must have been frequented by backpackers for many years and they're now encouraged to go elsewhere.

Cataract Falls, on the side of Cataract Mountain just a mile from our campground.

The last spot we checked out was the Cascade Ponds, which were nicely set in a park with picnic tables. He might try the ponds
out later this week.

After dinner Don and I walked over to the edge of the campground where the walls of the canyon drop away for hundreds of feet down to the Bow River. This is Tunnel Mountain on the right. Back in the 1800s when engineers were looking for the routes for the railroad, they thought that this mountain blocked the way. Plans were made to blast a tunnel through the mountain. Even though the tunnel was never built (they found a way for the tracks about a mile north), the mountain is still called Tunnel Mountain.

This photo is taken from the same place as the one before; I just turned and faced to the left instead of the right.

Tomorrow: Lake Louise

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A great idea for leftover roast beef

2011-06-19T09:42:00.001-07:00

Thursday June 16

Last night I made some quesadillas using some leftover roast beef. These weren't Mexican, but I still call them quesadillas because they had the basic filling-inside-a-tortilla.

Here's what I did:

First, I thinly sliced an onion, and slowly sautéed it in a small amount of butter. I think I used about a tablespoon. I would have added a small splash of balsamic vinegar, but since I didn't have any, I used soy sauce.

I took the leftover roast beef and shredded it.

I then used the caramelized onion, some roast beef, and some cheddar cheese as fillings for a flour tortilla quesadilla, and browned it on both sides until the cheese was melted.

You could try other kinds of cheeses--Swiss or Provolone come to mind. I made our quesadillas two ways: since Don was more hungry than I was, I made a sandwich with two tortillas and the filling inside. Once the cheese melts, it's easy to flip it over. I then cut it like a pizza with my kitchen scissors. For me, I just used one tortilla, put the filling on one half of it, and folded it over for grilling.

We ate this with a salad--making this a wonderful meal with leftover meat.

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Rainy, dreary day

2011-06-19T09:40:00.001-07:00

Thursday, June 16 If I can get this one to post, it goes before Kananaskis Country

We were up at 6 this morning. Turned on the local news, and were dismayed to see the stories about the rioting and looting in Vancouver. Those were NOT hockey fans, but thugs. What a shame for that lovely city.

The sun was shining brightly, but we knew from the news that we'd be driving into lots of rain. We hit the first showers at Claresholm, and it got steadily worse as we continued northward.

By the time we got to the outskirts of Calgary it was raining pretty steadily, and Don's mood was not improved at all by having to drive in traffic. He hates traffic of any kind. There's no low-traffic bypass around Calgary--you have to go into town to get to the 1 West.

Then next, we got out of Calgary, but were heading right into the wind. He couldn't get the truck up over 45 mph.

We finally made it to our exit for Bow Valley Provincial Park, and as we drove towards the main office where you register, I asked him, "do you want me to see if we can 'upgrade' to a site with hookups?" We'd been doing pretty well money-wise, so we agreed to give it a try. Lucky us--there was a cancellation! The campground's booked solid for the weekend, but someone had just cancelled that morning, so we are now in a hookup site just yards from the Bow River.

It was still raining as we set up, but knowing we we going to be able to use our little electric heater made it all right. We finished setting up, and headed for Canmore to get Don an Alberta fishing license and to go to the store for some groceries. With those chores out of the way we did a little exploring, and discovered several lakes and ponds he could fish. He dropped me and the groceries back off at the trailer and went off to do a little fishing in the drizzle.

This is the view from the campground.

A couple of miles from the campground, but still in the park, is Middle Lake. It's too shallow to have any fish.

Dinner was Texas Goulash (macaroni, ground beef, onions, canned tomatoes, cheese), and we watched a little of the CBC station that we can pick up with the antenna. The biggest story here is the destructive rioting in Vancouver.

We're both pretty tired, so we're going to go read and go to bed early. Good night!

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Kananaskis Country

2011-06-19T09:39:00.001-07:00

Saturday, June 18
Today we saw the sun! Knowing that it was supposed to be dreary again tomorrow, we decided to get out of the trailer and explore Kananaskis Country. This is the beautiful mountain valley to the south of us, through which flows the Kananaskis River. For those of you who are followers of the Winter Olympics, the alpine skiing events were held here when Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988.

Our first side trip was up a gravel road to Sibbald Meadows Pond, where Don looked at it for its fishing possibilities.

I thought those signs were interesting. This is what we Texans call "cattle guards."

Coming down from Sibbald Meadows we had this view of the Kananaskis Valley.

This is Wedge Pond. We stopped here for a couple of hours so Don could try to catch some arctic grayling.

There are paths throughout the valley for bikers and hikers, and there are plenty of benches for stopping and resting. Many of them have markers such as this one.

Right in front of me was this little ground squirrel. I'm very pleased with the zoom on my new camera.

Don fished for about an hour and a half, and though he spotted several fish rolling on the surface, he didn't catch any.

We headed further up the canyon, and saw a sigh that warned of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep on the road. These guys are shedding theirncoats and look a bit ragged, but I didn't care!

As we continued up the valley, I noticed the folded strata in the mountains. I love geologic features like this.

We reached our destination, the Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes. Between the two lakes is a picnic area/viewpoint, where we decided to stop for a picnic lunch.

I'm glad we didn't need to use the facilities! This one had a sign on it that said it had been damaged due to frost heave. The large tank underneath had been forced out of the ground.

This is the view we enjoyed during our lunch today.

And this is the view we enjoyed as we headed back down the valley.

It started to rain as we went back to the campground, but since we had most of the day rain-free, that's okay.

We had French Quarter Potatoes again, with some tomato salad, and I'm writing blog posts and watching news while Don is napping next to me in the recliner.

Tomorrow: Canmore, the museum, a small pond in town, and Starbucks (to use their WiFi).

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The Rock That Ran

2011-06-15T17:40:00.001-07:00

We're finally in Canada! We're at the Buffalo Plains RV Park east of Ft. McLeod, Alberta.

We got up at 5. Why? It seems that the further north we are the longer the days are, and when the sun came up my body said it was time to get up. I'm going to have to do something about that.

We had plenty of time for coffee and French toast, and were hooked up and on the road by about 7:30.

It was strange to see that this is the same I-15 that we travel so much in Southern California. We're used to seeing it full of traffic, so having almost no one on the road except us is rather strange.

Let me explain how surprisingly pleasant our experience was at the border. First of all, two "old guys" (retired guys Don was talking about at the Malmstrom campground) told Don I was going to have problems with the meat in my freezer. I'd just gone to the commissary, and added 6 pounds of ground beef, some steak and cubes steak, 4 pounds of chicken breasts, and 5 pounds of sausages to the freezer. Don said that the old guys had horror stories of people getting their meats confiscated at the border, and that it had to be "in the original package." I already had the freezer half full of meats from home that I'd packaged and sealed with my FoodSaver, and had also put the ground beef in individual bags for the freezer. I had visions of having to give up all that meat. The old guys also had said that we'd have our trailer inspected, and that they'd go through the freezer, refrigerator, and cabinets. They had plenty of details in their stories, so I was worried. I'd done my research on the internet, and up until today, thought I'd be okay. I didn't have any produce, which was the one thing I'd been warned about.

So, here's what really happened: we pulled up to the short line of cars, and in 10 minutes were up to the window. The woman welcomed us to Canada, asked for our passports, and asked 5 questions: where did we live, where were we going, how long did we plan to stay in Canada, was this our first tie here, and did we have any alcohol or tobacco. She then said we needed to park and go inside and see the immigrations guy since it was our first time in Canada. He asked us a couple of questions, and then sent us on our way.

No inspection. No confiscation. Just a friendly welcome to Canada.

As we made the western turn after the border crossing, we had a good luck at the dark thunderstorms building in the west. As we continued northward, they got darker and darker, but it appeared we were going to escape them.

We made good time to Lethbridge, and then Ft. McLeod, where we stopped for gas and to get some Canadian money. I got on the phone with our bank (Chase), to remind them that we were now in Canada, and I didn't want to have any troubles using our debit cards. I had notified them 2 months ago via their website, but just wanted to make sure. As Don was fueling, I used the ATM with no problem, and withdrew the maximum cash it would let me withdraw. I then went to the register to pay for the gas--it was declined! Aaaarrrggghhh! Luckily, I had cash to pay with. I got back on the phone with Chase, and told them that i'd spoken with them about this only 10 minutes before. That made 2 notifications, and this one would be the third. The Chase rep was apologetic, and said she was making notes on the file, and that everything would be all right.

We then continued out of Ft. McLeod, turned north on the 2 and then west on the 785. 12 kilometers west was Buffalo Plains RV Park, where we are camped for tonight.

It's a small campground of 30 sites, but they're large and level, and we have a pull-through. The place is attractively landscaped, and has spotless restrooms and a nice laundry room.

The WiFi costs $3 extra, but it's fast and worth it.

Only 2 kilometers west of the campground is this interesting sight:

It's called The Rock That Ran. Here's the Native American story behind the rock, followed by the geological story: (click on the picture to make it larger)

Geologically speaking, this rock is an erratic--a rock carried by a glacier for many miles from the glacier's origin, and deposited out on the flat plains.

"During the formation of the Rocky Mountains between 150 and 50 million years ago, thick layers of quartzite rock were thrust upwards several thousand meters. Subsequent erosion has exposed these beds in the main ranges of the Rocky Mountains between Mount Robson and Lake Louise. Mount Edith Cavell, near Jasper, is composed almost entirely of quartzite.

Rockslides from the quartzite mountain peaks cascaded onto the surface of a valley glacier. Geologists generally believe that this took place during the last Ice age, about 18 thousand years ago. The glacier carrying the quartzite blocks moved out onto the plains, collided with other glacial ice, and travelled south as far as Montana. As the glaciers melted, the quartzite rocks were laid down in their present positions."

We're able to pick up 3 TV stations with the antenna, so there's no need to set up the satellite dish. We're watching hockey! One of those 3 stations is showing Game 7. Don and I are pulling for different teams; he likes underdogs so he's hoping the Bruins win. I started rooting for the Canucks during the playoffs, but if Boston wins I won't be too upset. it's not like my Kings or Ducks made it out of the first round!

This has been a long post, so I'll wrap it up.

Tomorrow: Bow Valley Provincial Park

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So glad this day is almost over!

2011-06-14T17:00:00.001-07:00

It started off all right--we got up at 5 am, drank some coffee and ate a granola bar.

We went outside to hook up the trailer in order to leave, and had to scrape a layer of ice off the windshield of the truck. The thermometer in the truck registered 31 degrees.

As we were leaving Henry's Lake, we had to go through several miles of thick fog--the water temperature was warmer than the air temperature. We headed north up the 87 and then the 287 and stopped about 60 miles up the road in Ennis for breakfast.

I'd done some searching on the Internet, and this place was highly recommended. It's called Yesterday's Soda Fountain and Restaurant, and it's inside the Ennis Pharmacy.

There are about 10 nice booths, and 5-6 smaller tables. I had to take a photo of what they did to the legs of the chairs to keep them from scratching the wooden floor:

Every "foot" had a baby sock on it!

The breakfast was great--Don enjoyed his sausage and eggs, and I had bacon and eggs. But I also enjoyed their specialty, which they called fry bread. It was like a a big sopaipilla--a piece of fried dough coated with cinnamon and sugar, and served with a dollop of honey butter. I'm glad I ordered the small piece. If I'd gotten the big one, I'd have eaten it all!

We then continued north on the 287, crossed a heavily swollen Jefferson River, then passed over Interstate 90. We then hit a series of sections of road construction, and when we finished with the road construction, we hit winds. It was rough going all the way into Helena. But along the way, we passed a small herd of elk and dozens and dozens of pronghorns.

At Helena, we gassed up and got on I-15 to Great Falls. We found the Malmstrom Air Force Base FamCamp, and selected a nice pull-through full hookup site for $19. We set up, and I headed off to the BX and Commissary.

Here's where I had the BAD part of my day: I keep my commissary list on my iPhone. When I got into the commissary, I realized I'd left it in the truck. I went out to get it, and then did my commissary shopping. As I was going back to the truck, I couldn't locate my keys. I have a purse with lots of pockets, and searched frantically for those keys, but couldn't find them.

The commissary staff had a mixed reaction to my plight. One gal went and searched all the carts, and checked with the cashiers to see if the keys had been turned in. But all the rest couldn't get away from me quickly enough. I knew that Don had his truck keys back at the campground, less than a mile away, but no one knew how I could get them. No one volunteered to give me a lift--less than a mile; no one offered to call me a cab; they just wanted me to take my groceries off their hands so they could have the cart back.

I should point out that Don has a cell phone, but decided not to bring it on this trip. He seldom answers it anyway--one of my pet peeves.

Well, I did have my iPhone, so I looked for taxi companies in Great Falls. The first one I called was out of business, but the second one said they'd send a driver to the commissary. He showed up a half hour later; we put all the groceries in his trunk and he took me to the campground. Don sure was surprised to see me show up in a taxi! We unloaded the groceries, he gave me his keys, and the taxi driver took me back to the truck. There I found my keys--on the passenger seat underneath my flannel shirt. I must have set them there when I went back to get the iPhone.

By this time, it's 3:30, and I'm shaking from having no food since 8 am.
So dinner was the tuna salad I was going to eat for lunch tomorrow, and now, finally, I'm a little calmer.

We're going to watch a little TV, do a little reading, and try to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow's a short day, though--about 3 1/2 hours.

But I don't want to go through this again!

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Good Fishing Today

2011-06-13T14:15:00.001-07:00

It was good yesterday, too--but it poured rain all day ( and snowed a little, too). Don said the fish actually started biting when the weather worsened.

Today Don came back around noon and told me to grab the camera. (He'd mentioned yesterday that he was tired of telling me about the fish instead of having proof).

These are Yellowstone Cutthroats, and he estimates each one weighs about 3 to 3 1/2 ponds each.

One of the camp hosts told Don to come to the office to get his picture taken, and while we were there, the owner had to have his picture taken with Don.

The man in blue took a video, too. After the pics were taken, they printed one up and had Don sign it. It's now hanging up in the office for everyone to see.

As we were walking away, this boy came up to get his picture taken with this nice rainbow:

It's probably a 5-pounder.

Since we don't care that much for trout, we gave them to one of the camp hosts. He and his wife will be enjoying fresh trout for dinner!

Tomorrow: Malmstrom Air Force Base inGreat Falls
Wednesday: Ft. McLeod, Alberta
Thursday: Bow Valley Provincial Park west of Calgary for 4 days

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Not much going on except rain and relaxing

2011-06-12T13:26:00.001-07:00

...and nothing wrong with that! We awoke to rain and clouds this morning, but the rain tapered off a little and Don decided to go fishing. I sat down at the sewing machine to make more fabric, and have reenforced to stop due to stiff shoulders and a sore wrist (from the finger pressing).

I watched 4 straight crime/mystery stories on ID, and am now enjoying the Angels-Royals game. It just finished pouring rain for about half an hour, during which I couldn't even see the hillside a hundred yards away. The clouds have lifted some, but Don's still out on the lake. What's a little rain when you're fishing?

So it's a wonderfully boring day. Aaahhh, retirement!

Anyone every get amazed or surprised about some of the things that come up during Autocorrect? Just now, when I typed Aahhh, it was corrected to "Sanjib." Huh?

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Henry's Lake - 2

2011-06-10T15:52:00.001-07:00

This is the view from our front door. The lake isn't visible from here but is just a half mile away.

These are the East Centennial Mountains, to the west. This is the view I have looking out the window from my recliner. The lower dirt road goes west up Red Rock Pass and into Montana.

Yesterday and today Don spent most of the day fishing. It was the first time we had time alone (without the other). We'd been together 24-7 for 6 days, and it was time for "me time" for each of us. I did laundry yesterday morning, then pulled out the sewing machine to "make fabric." I took a gallon-sized ziploc bag full of scraps and sewed them into increasingly larger pieces until I had most of the scraps used up. I have enough 3 7/8" and 3 1/5" squares for 5 12" stars (using solid background) as well as all the large pieces in the photos below.

Tomorrow I plan to cut the orange background pieces for the stars and start putting the stars together.

There's a roast beef with potatoes, carrots, and onions in the oven, and since it's been a nice day outside, it's pretty warm in here. But Don got himself chilled while he was fishing, and thinks it's just fine. At least it smells nice!

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Henry's Lake-1

2011-06-08T20:31:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, June 8
We are now camped at Red Rock RV Park at Henry's Lake in northeastern Idaho. We're about 15 miles from West Yellowstone.

This morning we awoke to clouds and sprinkles, which temporarily gave way to sun long enough for us to hook up the trailer and leave Craters of the Moon. We stopped at a free county dump station just south of Arco, and then turned off the 22 onto the 33. This took us east all the way to Rexford' where we got on the 20 and went north. In Rexford we noticed the Teton River and the Henry's Fork were higher than we'd ever seen them; there was lots of flooding everywhere.

When we got up on top of the Island Park caldera we saw that theree was still lots of snow in the forest and on the north-facing hills. The mountains are still snow-covered too, of course. The clouds and rain followed us from Craters of the Moon, and shortly after we arrived at Red Rock RV it began sprinkling again. I could look west towards Red Rock Pass and see that it was snowing.

We unhooked and set up, and then drove Robbin's Roost in Island Park so Don could get an Idaho fishing license. I also wanted some salsa--and ended up saving several bucks by getting a jalapeño for 27 cents. I brought my little rocket blender so I could make margaritas and salsa, so I took a can of diced tomatoes, half of a jalapeño, garlic, salt, and a dash each of dried cilantro and sugar and whipped up some homemade salsa. It was good with tortilla chips and was great on our tacos.

Don had to go fishing--he's been without his fishing "fix" for several weeks--so he put on his gear and headed for the lake. While he was gone, I broke out the sewing machine and "made fabric" (sewed together lots of small scraps into larger pieces that will then be used in some other pieces).

He returned around 4:30--said he didn't get a bite--it was too windy. Te rains returned during dinner. We're using the electric heater since it's rather chilly. It's a little weird reading other people's blogs about the heat in mother parts of the country, when I look out my window and see snow still on the ground.

I just realized it's late--so I'm going to bed!

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Arco and EBR-1

2011-06-08T20:10:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, 7 June

We drove into Arco yesterday for a few groceries, and again this morning on the way to EBR-1 (more about that later). One of the most memorable things about Arco is the numbers painted on the mountain overlooking town.

These are done by the seniors of every Arco High School graduating class for almost 100 years. The oldest one we could see was 23, but we might have missed some.

This rock building is City Hall, I think. I took this photo because it leads into our next stop, EBR-I.

We drove southeast out of Arco about 18 miles, passing this really cool volcanic cone which was creating its own clouds.

We took the turnoff and drove up to EBR-I.

EBR-I, or Experimental Breeder Reactor-I, was the first power plant to produce usable electricity using atomic energy. It did so on December 20, 1951.

It has been decommissioned since 1964, but was dedicated as a Registered National Landmark in 1966. Is is open to the public for free guided or self-guided tours.

When you enter the building, you first see this mockup of a 1950s living room, with the television showing a short film about the reactor. We were greeted by a young woman who explained that she could be a tour guide or we could use the brochure and take the self-guided tour. We chose the latter.

The first lesson I learned on this tour was about nuclear fission. Short explanation (from the brochure): The universe is composed of tiny particles called atoms. Atoms of uranium-235 were used at EBR-I to generate electricity. A uranium-235 atom splits, or fissions, when struck by a neutron. The splitting atom produces heat and waste products, and releases two or three neutrons. If those neutrons strike other uranium-235 atoms, they in turn split, yielding heat and still more neutrons in a chain reaction."

Note: while this sort of makes sense, I have no idea what is done to make the neutrons go and strike the uranium-235 atoms, or where this chain reaction takes place. I just can't seem to wrap my brain around this part of the process and what a reactor core looks like.

What I did understand what how the electricity was generated-the heat was carried from the reactor core by liquid metal, which in turn heated a second system of liquid metal, which heated water to make steam to drive the turbine and generator.

I also understood why this place was a "breeder." again, from the brochure: "At EBR-I, a chain reaction was harnessed to generate electricity and also to demonstrate that more new fuel could be created than the reactor 'burned.' Creating nuclear fuel is possible because of the property of natural uranium. Less than 1 per cent of natural uranium is the fissionable uranium-235. The rest is another kind of uranium called uranium-238, which does not readily split. Instead, a neutron is absorbed by a uranium-238 atom, which then changes into plutonium-239' a fissionable atom and a good reactor fuel. Thus, EBR-I was a 'breeder' because it 'bred' more plutonium-239 atoms than the uranium atoms it consumed.

This is the control room, from which scientists started and stopped the chain reaction and controlled the equipment for making electricity.

Some interesting milestones in the history of EBR-I.

There was lots of information about the reactor core, the fuel rods, and the whole process, but like I said, I just can't seem to get it. I saw what the fuel rods look like, and saw where they're lowered into the core, but just don't understand the rest of it. It's still fascinating, though!

In the last large upstairs room was a turbine and a generator, along with a string of 4 light bulbs. In 1951, the initial reaction created enough electricity to light up the light bulbs. It was a momentous occasion, and the men who were all involved chalked their names on the concrete wall to commemorate it. There's now a protective glass covering over those names.

I have to admit that the biggest reason for my lack of understanding is the absence of physical science classes in my education. I never took chemistry or physics, so my mind just doesn't go there. I did, however, take enough geology coursed in college to qualify it as a minor, so you'll understand when I say I have a passion for all things related to geology. That's why I'm having so much fun here at Craters of the Moon.

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Craters of the Moon National Monument-3

2011-06-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

On the way back from Arco and EBR-I, we stopped at the east entrance sign so Don could snap this photo of me. (He likes doing that for me.) we then went back to the trailer for lunch, intending to do some hiking in the early afternoon. That didn't happen until about 3, since the remnants of a huge storm were passing through and it was raining again. [It had rained much of the the night.]

So, we listened to the radio for a bit, snapped a bit, and then went for our last hike around 3. From the campground, there's a short trail up and over a hill and down to a walkway through the North Crater Flow.

This photo is taken from our campsite, showing the chunks of crater wall in the middle of the flow (I'll explain later) and the dark storm clouds still passing through.

I'm fascinated by the shapes of cooled lava. The ropy, smooth lava is called pahoehoe. It's hotter as it flows, and stays in a relatively fluid state until it cools. The crumbly, blocky lava is called aa, and it's that way because it's cooler and crumbles as it moves.

The North Crater Lava Flow came out in several stages, and as it slowly gushed out of the crater, a portion of the crater's rim broke off. It was carried on top of the flow for about a half mile to where it now stands. It's huge--about 50 feet high.

This is that same formation, taken from the top of the hill that you have to climb to get to the trail.

We've really enjoyed our stay here. If we had another day, we'd go visit the caves--but those are for another time.

We decided today to change our plans-again. We had spoken to a fellow camper here who had come down the 93 from Hamilton. We asked him about the Bitterroot River, and he said that it was raging and was eating away at the embankment near the Sula Bridge. We called the Sula campground when we were in Arco, and the manager said the river was "6 inches below the sand bags." That meant that not only was our campsite in danger of being flooded, the river was impossible to fish. We decided instead to go to Henry's Lake, and now have reservations for 6 nights at the Red Rock RV Park just west of the state park. We've hardly spent any money at all so far, except for gas, so this will be a treat. Don will be able to put his float tube in the lake, which he has done before. It's a beautiful place and it'll be good for both of us to have time to ourselves after being together for 24 hours a day the past 5 days.

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Craters of the Moon National Monument-2

2011-06-08T16:50:00.001-07:00

Monday, June 6
We really did sleep in this morning-it was about 7:30 when we got up. Since we didn't have to go anywhere today, we leisurely enjoyed our coffee outside.

Breakfast was cereal (a decision I regretted later while hiking), and then we went to the Visitor Center. They have some great explanations of the formation of the park, including 2 short movies. This area is over the same "hot spot" that created Yellowstone--and beginning 15,000 years ago the Great Rift formed, running north-south on the Snake River Plain. There have been numerous lava flows and eruptions since then, forming different types of lava and cones.

After our Visitor Center experience, we drove out on the road through the upper monument. We were disappointed to find several major areas closed due to construction, and I wondered aloud why it all had to be done at the same time. If I were queen I would have done one section at a time so as not to inconvenience visitors with more than one closure at at time. But I'm not queen, so we had to drive by the North Crater Flow area, the Devil's Orchard, and the Spatter Cones and Big Craters Area.

This cinder hillside is covered with Dwarf Buckwheat plants. They're evenly spaced in order for their root systems to compete for water.

We stopped at a trailhead and decided to hike out to the Tree Molds--places where lava had cooled around the trunks of several trees (which were incinerated, but still left the impressions of their trunks and bark. The trail was 2.6 miles, but was fairly easy.

It was a lot like hiking along the side of a large river, only instead of water, the lava was what had flowed.

We saw some pretty interesting lava shapes.

Here you can see the edge of a flow that just stopped and cooled above the cinders.

Early in the hike you come to a cinder crater.

The first of three distinct tree molds. You can see that a trunk once existed, but was incinerated when the lava hit it.

The other two.

Next we went about 100 yards further on the trail, and saw where there were some tree molds of trunks that were horizontal.

The impression of the bark on this one reminds me of a crocodile.

These were gross (to me). They had the appearance of spider web-enclosed cocoons, but instead of one caterpillar, each sac had hundreds of tiny wriggling worms. If you know what they are, let me know.

We're almost back to the parking lot.

We came back to the trailer around 1, ate some lunch, and made a quick run into Arco for some beer and produce. Right now we're weather-watching. A huge front that impacted northern California and Nevada has finally made its way here. The skies are overcast, it's sprinkling occasionally, and the wind is gusting pretty heavily. But it's not too cold, and we're inside.

I just want the wind to die down before it's time to cook dinner. I have a steak thawing!

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Craters of the Moon National Monument-1

2011-06-08T16:18:00.001-07:00

We were up again at 6 yesterday morning, intending to watch part of the French Open finals match between Nadal and Federer, but the Salt Lake City preempted it for a telethon. (The same station Preempted the Stanley Cup game the night before--I guess hockey and tennis aren't that big a deal in Salt Lake City.). So, we were on the road fairly early again, and headed north out of Wells on the 93.

The open range north of Wells must have lost of deer, as we saw two of these deer-crossing bridges over the highway.

We gassed up in Jackpot, just on the Idaho-Nevada border, and continued on through Twin Falls and across the Snake River.

I was caught off guard at the Snake River bridge, so the phot is crooked. But it was a beautiful gorge at that point.

The 93 took us up onto the Snake River Plain, and we got to Craters of the Moon around 1:00.

We had already decided that if we couldn't get into the campground we'd continue on to an RV park in Arco, but we found what must have been the only level site in the whole campground. At least that's what we were told by 3 different people who walked by while we were setting up.

The campground sits right in the lava flow, with views of both cinder cones and spatter cones.

We relaxed during the afternoon, then cooked some chicken on the grill for dinner. After dinner we took a walk around the campground, then while I went to nurse 2 ingrown toenails, Don walked a short trail nearby.

He took this photo of the campground. Our trailer is just to the right of center. We're taking that trail again after dinner (unless it rains) and I'll take a pic using the zoom.

The people who had this campsite before us left some dog kibble out for the chipmunks. This little guy and his friends ate it all up in less than an hour.

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Wide Open Spaces

2011-06-04T18:22:00.001-07:00

We were up at 6 this morning. It was really nice to sleep in and not hurry. We enjoyed coffee ousted, and then I made some egg, ham, and cheese grilled sandwiches for breakfast. While Don was sitting outside, a guy from a couple of spaces came over to ask if we had any spare styrofoam cups. He wanted hia morning coffee, but had forgotten to pack the cups. Guess what? I had two extra ceramic coffee mugs, since I'd bought some special ones in Lake City last summer ( from a local potter)' so we gave him our old ones. Did a good deed and have 2 fewer mugs to haul around.

We were packed up and on the road by 8, and headed up the 93. The Dixie Chicks' song "Wide Open Spaces" is running throuh my head as we go for miles without seeing another vehicle on the road.

Off to the northeast we can see the peaks of Great Basin National Park, with snow-covered Wheeler Peak rising above it all at 13,063'. Sure is beautiful.

11:30 am
We stopped for lunch at a roadside picnic area/historical marker commemorating Schellbourne. It started as a Shoshone village, became an Overland Stage and Mail station, then a Pony Express station.

This iron sculpture was behind the signs, and off in the distance (about 3 miles) is the site of Schellbourne.

This marker was placed by the Pony Express Centennial Association in 1960.

After a lunch of sandwiches and Chex party mix, we continued north on the 93 to Wells, which is on I-80. The road took us all along the snow-covered Ruby Mountains, and then the East Humboldt Range. We are camped for the night at Angel Lake RV Park, which is not as nice as the one we stayed in last night, but it'll do. It's got 43 sites, but it looks like 35 of them are taken by full-time residents. There are just 8 sites down the middle row for those of us who are passing through.

Dinner was Jerk Turkey Burgers--I added about a teaspoon of jerk seasoning and a little bread crumbs to some ground turkey, cooked the burgers, and served them on whole wheat buns with Swiss cheese, a slice. Of pineapple, and a little spicy mayo. Yum!

Over dinner we decided to change our itinerary after we leave Sula. Instead of going to Great Falls, we're thinking about going to Hungry Horse so Don can fish the Flathead. From there we'd go up the 93 into Canada, and go through Kootenay NP to Banff and down to Bow River Provincial Park. We'll see if that plan holds.

Tomorrow: Craters of the Moon.

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French Quarter Potatoes

2011-06-04T18:02:00.001-07:00

Last night we were in the mood for something filling,since lunch had been snacks while driving. I had some Polska Kielbasa in the fridge, and some Yukon Gold potatoes that needed using up, so I borrowed a recipe from a blog called "What Did You Eat?" in Sher's recipe, she used Andouille sausage, but I thought the Kielbasa would work. Another change I made from Sher's recipe was using brown & spicy mustard instead of Creole mustard. But the garlic and cayenne made this spicy enough, so the changes still made for a tasty meal.

French Quarter Potatoes

1 T Creole mustard (I used brown & spicy)
2 t Worcestershire sauce
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 small red or white potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping teaspoon chopped garlic
½ cups chopped red onions
3/4 cups chopped green bell pepper
2 andouille sausage links, quartered lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch chunks (I used 8 oz. Polka Kielbasa)

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne. Set aside
Heat olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet and cook the potatoes and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Cover the pan as they cook. When potatoes are tender, add the garlic, onions, and bell pepper and raise the heat to high and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the sausage and stir until heated through. Stir in the mustard mixture, then serve. Serves 2.

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On Our Way!

2011-06-03T15:35:00.001-07:00

Friday, June 3, 7:15 a.m.

We just hit the road, so I decided I'd pass a little time by writing a post that I can upload later when I have WiFi.

Days ii and iii passed pretty quickly--I had work to do at the office and at one of the elementary schools, along with a couple of end-of year activities. On Wednesday I was invited to join the high school English department at their farewell lunch for Scott, Cynthia, and Donna, and I enjoyed being with all my colleagues from back when I was in the classroom.

Yesterday Theresa joined us for dinner, and stayed a little while to watch the Mavs-Heat game before her soccer game in Loma Linda. I think it finally hit her that things are changing--I told her I'd left my office key at the office, and she teared up. I asked her why she was getting emotional, and she said, "I don't get to come by your office to see you any more." I told her that she could drop in and see Ingrid (my office manager), and that when we're in town, I'd be able to be more flexible about going to lunch or breakfast.

Speaking of Mavs-Heat, can you believe the finish of that game (game 2)? I missed it. We gave up on the Mavs when they were 15 down late in the 4th quarter. I learned from a friend's Facebook post that they rallied to win by 2. Amazing. Now, hopefully, they can win the title without having to go back to Miami.

This morning we were up a little after 5, and went to Denny's for breakfast. There we were waited on by a former student (she's now married with a 10-year-old son), and chatted for a bit with a fellow retiree and his wife. They're so different--His wife told me she's petrified about his retiring, and is insisting he substitute for the District so they can afford retirement. He says he's not going to sub, and it's going to be fine. He wants to travel--she doesn't. It makes me so thankful that Don and I are on the same page about retirement and travel.

We finished breakfast, went back to the park and hooked up the trailer. We got onto I-10 at 7:00 am, and are currently headed up the Cajon Pass on I-15.

11:30 a.m.

We just crossed the Nevada state line, where 2 casinos (Buffalo Bill's and Whiskey Pete's) draw in those gamblers and travelers who either don't want to go the 46 more miles to Las Vegas or are stopping for one last try before heading back to California. We've stayed there twice on our way back from a summer trip. I'll never forget one incident that happened at Whiskey Pete's. We were flipping through qthe channels on the in-room television, and they had 3 porn stations broadcasting nonstop. Apparently someone had failed to activate a lockout function or something. I'm nearly a senior citizen and I was a bit taken aback--imagine what a mom or dad would do if their little kid was flipping through the channels and the porn came up! Crazy.

12:30

We stopped for gas at the Petro/Valero at the Speedway exit--paid $3.73/gal for regular unleaded. Another 5 miles north on the 15 was the turnoff for the 93--the Great Basin Highway. This is our first time up this road. We decided to take it for that reason. We both wanted to see something other than the Interstate. So far it's been lots of straight, mostly empty road and beautiful faulted and folded mountains. The weather's lovely--our dash thermometer says it's 82, but with the windows rolled down it feels nice and cool. The sky has a few hazy clouds, but that's it. A gorgeous day.

This P on the hillside is for Pahranagat Valley, where the towns of Alamo and Ash Springs are located. It's a very pretty valley--two large lakes at the Pahranagat Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and lots of green. It's not what we expected in this part of Nevada.

We first stopped to look for a campsite next to one Of the lakes in the Refuge, but we saw the " no generators" sign and kept on going. We passed a fairly nice-looking RV park in Alamo, and then a really seedy one in Ash Springs. We kept on going.

As we came down into the Delamar Valley, we looked across and saw the northern edge of a giant Joshua Tree Forest.

We crossed that valley, went up and over 6276' Oak Spring Summit, and through a pretty canyon into the town of Caliente. We were looking for the turnoff to Kershaw-Ryan State Park, but saw a sign for Young's RV Park. We turned in, and discovered a little gem. Large pull-through sites and enormous shade trees (I think they're cottonwoods), full hookups, showers, laundry--for $21 a night.

It's about 75F, slightly breezy, and just all-around nice. Dinner will be French Quarter Potatoes (recipe to follow, but basically fried potaoes, onions, and summer sausage with a mustard-Cajun seasoning).

Big Trip - Day i

2011-06-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a typo. You know how in some books there are pages in the front before the book really starts? They're numbered i, ii, iii, iv, and so on. Yesterday was day i. We've moved the trailer out of storage into Yucaipa Regional Park, where we're staying for 3 nights before we hit the road. This way we can load everything into it, make lists of what we still need from the house, and I can go to work 5 minutes away instead of 20.

So I took off from work around 2 and joined Don over at the park. He'd set up an hour or so earlier. We enjoyed sitting outside in the cool shade for a while, set up the TV and satellite dish, ate a dinner of chicken, rice a roni, and salad, and then relaxed in the evening before he crashed early. He was tired. I stayed up and watched TV until 11, and did a little stitching on a colorful owl cross stitch piece.

The night was great for sleeping - must have gotten down in the low 50s. I had to close the windows because it was almost too chilly. I'm so glad we put the two memory foam pads on the bed in the trailer - it's so comfortable that it's not an adjustment at all.

So, today is day ii, I'm at work (working hard, can you tell?) until noon. Then I've been invited to lunch with the high school English Department. If I hadn't become president I'd be teaching with them, so it's very kind of them to include me in their end-of-year lunch. There are 4 of them, plus me, retiring, and Patrick will be leaving to be president - so there will be big changes.

That's it for now. Only 1 more day of my career after today.

It's all about the service

2011-05-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Sure, it's nice to have a 3-day weekend and a day off from work. Sleeping late was great. But I want to stop for a minute and remember those family members of mine who have served or are still serving:

My dad, Lt. Col. Charles Floyd, who died on New Year's Day 2001, joined the Army Air Corps, became a pilot, and served in the AAC, which became the US Air Force, until he retired in 1973. I think he was in the AF for about 30 years.

My brother-in-law Tom graduated from the Air Force Academy and served in the Air Force.

My brother Chuck went through ROTC at SW Texas State and North Texas State, and gave a full career to the Air Force. He's now retired from the AF and working as a math teacher in Ingram, Texas.

My brother Barry, who died 5 years ago, joined the Air Force and served 5 or 6 years. The Air Force took him to South Dakota, where he met his wife Alice. She's a true sister to me.

My husband Don joined the Air Force in 1967, and retired after 23 years in 1990. We met while I was stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany, and we've been together 30 years. He's been stationed at McCoy AFB(now closed - Orlando, FL), Myrtle Beach AFB SC, Korat RTAB in Thailand, Ramstein AB Germany, Rhein-Main AB Germany, Norton AFB CA, and Zweibrucken AB Germany. I've probably left something out, but those are the ones I remember either hearing about or being there with him.

My father-in-law Gene is a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer. He met and married Don's mother Erika when he was stationed in Augsburg, Germany.

My brother-in-law Wayne is retired from the Air Force. His last base was at Keflavik, Iceland.

My brother-in-law Bob served in the Army, and was at Mannheim, Germany when we were at Rhein-Main.

My son, Staff Sergeant Kenny Holman, has been in the Air Force for 8 years. He's been to Hill AFB in Utah, Kunsan AB in Korea, Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Manas AB in Kyrgyzstan, Kadena AB in Japan, and is currently at Holloman AFB in New Mexico.

My nephew Charles served in the Marines. Theresa and I drove down to see him when he was going through basic training in San Diego.

My niece Nikki served in the Air Force. We saw her last when we were camping at Lake Mead and she was newly married to Alex, who is in the Air Force.

I went through AFROTC at Texas Tech University, and served 2 years with the AF at Rhein -Main AB in Germany. That's where I met Don and where our daughter Theresa was born.

I hope I haven't forgotten anyone - if I did, I'll add them later!

Getting Close!

2011-05-28T21:24:00.001-07:00

This is our last weekend at home for a long time.

I'll go work half days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We'll be "moving in" to Yucaipa Regional Park on Wednesday, so that we can make sure the trailer is all ready to go and we have all the things we need for our trip. then on Friday, we'll HIT THE ROAD!!!!

The past week has been fun--two different retirement parties, plus my book club gathering, and almost nothing to do at work since the school year is ending and the transition to the new president has already begun.

Today I finished sewing the last of a bunch of blocks for a swap, and then I packed up all my quilting stuff that I will take on the trip. On Monday we'll take all the frozen food down to the trailer (it's in a storage unit down the mountain in Mentone) and then I'll defrost the freezer in the basement. We've been eating some interesting things lately as I've been whittling down the more bulky foods. Tonight, for example, I used up some pepperoni and mozzarella and made a pizza. Unfortunately, the pepperoni was old--and tasted old--so we picked it off and ate mushroom pizza.

One more task left is to go through the "to do" list on the DVR and make sure it's got the bare minimum to record. We'll be gone pretty long, so I don't want to have it fill up quickly. I don't want to miss "The Closer," "Memphis Beat," "The Glades," or "Hawthorne"-- our favorite summer shows. I know we'll have TV pretty often this summer, but I don't want to organize my days around TV. There's so much more to do!

3 half days left!

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Visitors for the party

2011-05-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

This is my son, Kenny, and his girlfriend Robin. They drove in from Holloman AFB in New Mexico to be with me at the retirement party last night. Then, showing they are YOUNG, they left at 6:30 pm and drove back. To New Mexico. He called early this afternoon and said they got back home at 7 am. I remember when I used to stay up all night. At least I think I remember.

Getting Closer! and Winter Plans

2011-05-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Today is the first of three retirement parties. This is the one that the teachers' association (of which I'm the president) puts on. For the first time in 8 years I won't be the emcee - I've turned that over to the current VP and incoming president. This time maybe I'll win a door prize!

We just committed to winter in North Carolina. Yes, winter. I'll be volunteering at the W. Kerr Scott Dam Visitor Center and Environmental Education Center from the last week in December (right after Christmas) for at least 2 months. I will actually USE the Environmental Education master's degree I earned 10 years ago.

Why North Carolina? And why winter? Well, first of all, we have our big Canada-Alaska trip planned for the summer. Then we'll stay home for a couple of months, wanted to go somewhere to escape the winter snows. Remember my gripes about the shoveling? We might get ice storms and some cold temps in Wilkesboro, but shouldn't have to shovel. Secondly, I have a sister in Cary and a sister-in-law in Fuquay-Varina, both about 3 hours away. We'll stay at Jordan Lake a week or so before Christmas and spend it with them, and my mother's coming from Texas and another sister's coming from San Francisco. A bit of a mini-reunion. So it's an opportunity to see family that I haven't seen since my brother died 5 years ago.

Thirdly, I researched all the winter fishing opportunities for the area, and Don's going to be fine. Not only will there be good fishing in the lake, but he can fish the Yadkin River and go up into the mountains if the weather's not too bad.

So retirement is going to be busy!

13 more work days.

Fire above Forest Falls

2011-05-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of John Katena

Yesterday afternoon we heard a helicopter flying around - we figured it was looking for a lost hiker (a common occurrence) or something "normal." After about an hour, Don looked out the window and said, "Take a look at those clouds - those aren't clouds, are they?" I looked, and said, "Nope. That's smoke." We went outside, and saw that a fire had broken out on the side of the mountain in Lost Creek Canyon, about 2 miles from our house. It's up at about 8,000' (we live at 6,000'). We were joined by our neighbors for a while, and my neighbor John took these photos. I'd love to claim them, but my camera isn't powerful enough. These were taken from our front steps.

The fire must have been started by a careless hiker, since it's situated along the connector trail between Momyer/Alger Creek and Vivian Creek in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. It was pretty close to Dobbs Creek.

The wind was blowing the fire mostly towards the east, but a few spot fires kept breaking out downhill. Those eventually were put out by a couple of water drops (we think) and we went back inside after we saw the third helicopter join the fight. After about 3 hours we no longer heard any helicopters, so we figured it was out or mostly out.

This morning, on my way to work, I saw several dozens of fire units parked in the Momyer Creek parking lot - and lots of crew getting ready to hike up to the fire. Since the fire is in a wilderness area, no mechanized equipment is allowed - no ATVs, no saws - just shovels and pulaskis wielded by firefighters on foot. I'm assuming they're going up to put out spots and smolders to make sure the fire is completely out.

Recommendation: Get this App!

2011-04-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

If you have a smartphone - whether it's an iPhone, an Android, or a Windows-based phone, then you must get this application, if you don't already have it. It's free.

Gas Buddy

I downloaded it this morning, and discovered it's extremely easy to use, and soooo useful. Don and I have recently made the switch over to cash after using Shell, Conoco, Chevron, etc. credit cards for years. We liked the convenience of making once-monthly payments. But now with the prices of gas so high, we're switching to cash since we can save so much at the local Fastrip, Arco, or other nondescript station.

This morning I paid $4.13/gallon for regular at the Fastrip, compared to $4.23/gallon at the Shell.

The app allows you to check for prices near your current location, or by town/state/zip code, including Canada. You can also update it easily, which I did for 5 different stations this morning. You can get prices for regular, premium, and ultra-premium, as well as diesel. (I can't believe it's $4.69 for diesel at Chevron today!)

I am getting no compensation for this "commercial."

Home from the Kern River

2011-04-24T20:10:00.001-07:00

I'm writing this from home--Sunday night, April 24. We got home around 1:30 this afternoon.

Saturday was another gorgeous day in the Sierras. We got up at 6:30 and this time, since it was warmer than Friday, enjoyed our morning coffee outside. Breakfast was Apple Breakfast Stacks, and then Don headed upriver again to the Wild Trout section.

He came back early, and announced, "Got a big problem.". Since I'd heard some ticking noises in the truck on the way, my first thought was that something was wrong with the truck. But no, he showed me his waders, which had sprung a big leak. His sweatpants were soaked. He'd torn up the waders scrambling through some brush after an errant fly. We went to Kernville to the fly shop to replace the waders. (Cost of errant fly: $2.75. Cost of new waders: $162.00). And the truck's still making ticking noises.

Dinner was hamburgers and fried potatoes; again we enjoyed some of the evening before going to bed to read.

This morning we were up at 6:30 again (I don't know how he does it--no alarm clock, and he doesn't wear a watch.). We heated up the leftover breakfast quesadillas from Friday, and were out of the campground by 8:00.

We were home in plenty of time to watch our Ducks get eliminated from the hockey playoffs and also saw our Angels get shellacked by the Red Socks. We've done laundry, unpacked everything, and are now enjoying "Amazing Race."

This is one of the things I do when Don is fishing, and I don't feel like staying at the trailer. In this picture I'm cross stitching and getting my legs sunburned.

I'm going to attempt to add a map to this post:

View Weekend Trip to the Kern River in a larger map

We're now starting the countdown to our big trip. 39 Days!

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Friday at Fairview Campground

2011-04-24T19:50:00.001-07:00

This post was written on Friday, April 22, 2011

The night was cool--temps in the 40s, but it was comfortable in the trailer. We got up at 6:30, and enjoyed our first cup of coffee inside. We tried sitting outside, but it was a breezy and a little too chilly. After a breakfast of sausage and egg quesadillas, Don headed upriver.

I sat outside with my cross stitch for a couple of hours, but it started getting a bit too warm in the sun and I didn't want to put the awning up. I put everything in the trailer and took a walk around the campground with my little notebook. Since we know we'll be coming back, I made a list of the campsites that are appealing, as well as long and wide enough, and also made note of the ones that are long enough but either sloped or too narrow. There's one that's next to the river that is my #1 favorite for next time--I'm drawn to the concept of falling asleep to the sound of the river.

Don came back around 3:00, and said he caught a few nice fish upriver. He had to hike about 2 miles to get to the river again after the trail went up high above the bank, and so he was a little tired. We sat in the shade for a while, watching the mountainside to the east. We watched a car head up a 4WD road, and wondered where the people in it were going. I hadn't brought my Sequoia National Forest Map with me on this trip, so I couldn't see if they were going up a hiking trail or not. About 2 hours later, while we were cooking dinner outside, we saw them coming down what appeared to be a trail several hundred yards above where they'd originally stopped. Then late at night (after 9), we saw their flashlights and realized they were still up there. I'm going to have to check the map when I get home and see what's up there.

We also watched a large deer climbing up the mountain, but it was just the one. That led us to talking about the Alaska Highway, and our hopes of seeing lots of wildlife along the way.

Dinner was grilled chicken, baked beans, and corn, and we sat outside another couple of hours until it started getting dark. We read in bed-- Don made it until 8:30, and I had to finish the book I was reading (Capture by Robert K Tanenbaum), so I made it 'til 10.

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Fairview Campground on the Kern River

2011-04-24T19:49:00.001-07:00

This post was written on Thursday, April 21, 2011

Tomorrow's a school "holiday," so I took a personal day in order to have a 4-day weekend. We got up at 6, had some coffee and read the paper, and I filled the cooler. We stopped at McDonald's for a bite of breakfast, then hooked up the trailer and were on the road by 7:30.

The marine layer was pretty far inland, and we didn't rise out of the clouds until we got to the top of Cajon Pass. Then we hit gusty winds as we left Adelanto for the drive across the desert. When we stopped for gas in Inyokern, it was gusting pretty hard, but Don had filled up the water tank to give the trailer some weight so it wouldn't sway too much.

We crossed over Walker Pass and dropped down into the valley that led to Lake Isabella. When we got to our turnoff for Kernville, we were met with a giant "Road Closed" sign. That meant we'd have to go about 20 miles out of our way. We stopped for lunch at Paradise Cove, and then got to Fairview Campground around 1:30.

Fairview Campground is a Forest Service campground about 16 miles north of Kernville, right next to the Kern River. We're in site #34, and while we're not at river's edge, we can hear it since it's a big, loud river. It's about 65 degrees, sunny, and a little breezy. Lovely! Don's already geared up and is out stalking the wild (and stocked) trout.

The view north from our front door

7:00 pm:
We just got back from dinner at McNally's. All the money we saved by staying here went towards dinner! It's a very well-known steakhouse, and we each had a big meal. I had their "petite filet mignon"--it was 10 ounces. We have half of it left to make sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. Don had the ribeye, and ate every bite. The prices are pretty high, but you really can't come up here without eating at McNally's.

After dinner we drove upriver to the Johnsondale Bridge. This is where the road and the river separate--the road heads west up to Johnsondale, Camp Nelson and Giant Sequoia National Monument (different from Sequoia National Park). The river flows down from due north here, and this is where the Wild Trout section is. Just below here is a dam that separates the Wild Trout section from the rest of the river, which is stocked. The Wild Trout section has specific rules and limitations, and is accessible only by foot trail along the eastern bank. Don decided he'll come back to spend the day here tomorrow.

This is the Kern River, looking downstream from the Johnsondale Bridge.

Next to the Johnsondale Bridge, a road used to go down from the road level to the river. In addition to blocking it off at the top with a gigantic boulder, they Laid down fresh concrete and scattered it with large irregular-shaped rocks to further prevent anyone from driving down it.

We're going to sit outside for a while, then go inside and read before going to bed.

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Long trip preparations

2011-04-17T14:27:00.001-07:00

As we get closer to the trip "up north," I find myself making various changes to my normal routines. For example, today I was going through the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper, and learned I couldn't use some of the ones I normally clip because they expire while we're on the road (and I don't need them now). Later, I was getting ready to add an item to my shopping list, and realized I wouldn't need it until we returned this fall.

I'm already making a mental list of what to take from my fabric inventory--not too much, because I KNOW I'll be hitting any quilt shops we pass.

I look at the freezers, and have decided I have to get the large one downstairs emptied out so we can turn it off for the summer. Therefore, my meal planning centers around that. I plan to fill the freezer in the trailer, especially with meat, since groceries are going to be more expensive further north. Since I want to utilize local produce as much as I can while we're on the road, I need to use up some of the frozen fruit and vegetables I've accumulated. First up will be a trifle for my book club, and I'll throw in the strawberries. The blueberries will go in muffins and pancakes, and the bell peppers are probably going with me. The rest will gradually be eaten over the next few weeks.

We are taking one more short trip before the big one--we're going to the upper Kern River Thursday and will be there for 3 nights. We have a reservation at Fairview Campground (Forest Service). No hookups. But at $9 a night using Don's Senior Interagency Pass (also called America the Beautiful), it's a bargain. Don will get to fish the Kern, and I'll take a couple of good books and my cross stitch. I haven't done any cross stitching for almost a year, and have 2 nice pieces to work on. I've spent many nice hours cross stitching next to a river, and I can tell you it's one of the most soothing activities I can do.

We'll use this short trip as a "shakedown" for the long one, and make lists of things we need to do or put in the trailer before summer.

One thing I'm looking forward to is putting some more books on my nook. I've been told that I'm getting a Barnes & Noble gift card or two as retirement gifts, so deciding what titles to get will be great fun. I have plenty of paperbacks to take as well, so I don't have to worry about running out of reading material.

-----Only 31 more work days!------

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Continuing the Countdown

2011-04-13T19:05:00.001-07:00

I now have 34 working days left. We have finalized our plans for the first part of the summer: on June 1 we're "moving into" Yucaipa Regional Park for 2 nights so we can get everything ready to go. I'll still go to work those 2 days, but having hookups (instead of having the trailer in the storage lot) will allow me to fill up the fridge and freezer. We'll be able to come back up to the house in case we forget anything.

The first month of the trip is scripted-reservations have been made.

June 3 we'll hit the road, and plan on spending the night in Alamo, Nevada.

June 4: probably Wells, Nevada.

June 5, 6, and 7: I think that we'll be ready to stop and stretch our legs for a bit, so we're going to stop at a campground in Arco, Idaho near Craters of the Moon National Monument. There are some nice hikes to take and places to see, so a 3-night stop will be good here.

June 8: Sula, Montana. We'll stay here for 6 nights. Our campsite, at the Sula Country Store and RV Campground, is 20 feet from the East Fork of the Bitterroot. It's one of Don's most favorite rivers to fish. I love the area-rugged mountains, rushing rivers, bighorn sheep, and a small (16-sites) campground that's one of my favorites.

June 14: Malmstrom Air Force Base FamCamp in Great Falls, Montana, 2 nights. Here we'll use their FREE laundry facilities and stock up at the commissary. I plan to fill the freezer and fridge since I'm sure food will get more expensive as we go further north.

June 16: Bow Valley Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada, 4 nights. Don's first opportunity to fish the Bow River. We'll do a little exploring of Kannanaskis Country- the beautiful mountains southwest of Calgary. We decided to forego hookups here to save a little money--since we want hookups in Banff and Jasper.

June 20: 7 nights at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court in Banff National Park. I made the reservations the very first morning the reservation window opened.

June 27: 7 nights at Whistler's Campground in Jasper National Park.

July 4: Off into the Great Unknown! We intend to make our way to Dawson Creek and Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway, and then head north and west. We've looked at maps, the Internet, Milepost (the book), and numerous other guides and resources, and have decided NOT to decide right now where we'll stop and which routes we'll take when faced with choices. I'm sure we'll make it into the Yukon Territory, but will we make it to Alaska? Will we take the Klondike Highway to Dawson City? Will we go all the way to Fairbanks and Anchorage? Will we take the Cassiar Highway and visit Stewart and Hyder? I have no idea. We'll make those decisions when we get there.

This is going to be so fun!

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New recipes

2011-03-21T14:45:00.001-07:00

I decided to bring my crockpot along on this trip--I thought it would be nice to have a few things cooking all day instead of doing everything at dinner time. On St. Patrick's Day we had the usual corned beef, potatoes and cabbage, and yesterday I tried out a recipe for pork chops. I used pork sirloin, however--occasionally I can get them on sale at Costco, and since it's sirloin, it's much more tender than loin chops. I also tried a new way to eat cucumbers--I had some at an Austrian restaurant (Johannes) in Palm Springs and figured out how to duplicate them. (At least I like them just as much, whether I duplicated them or not!).

Slow Cooker Maple Pork Chops

4 boneless pork chops
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Place chops in bottom of slow cooker; add onion. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chops. Cook on low 6-7 hours. Serve over rice with pan juices.

Dilled Cucumbers

3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced (if you're using an English cucumber, you don't have to peel it)

Whisk cream and sugar until frothy (but not whipped); add vinegar, salt, and dill weed. Stir; add cucumber. Let sit 15-20 minutes before serving.

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Lazy Day

2011-03-19T15:30:00.001-07:00

We're still in Bishop. Today has been a laundry and TV-watching day. First it was soccer games this morning (Manchester United vs. Bolton and Everton vs. Fulham), then some NCAA men's basketball (UCLA losing to Florida) and NBA (our Clippers beating Cleveland), and right now seeing my Texas Tech Lady Raiders losing to St. John's in the NCAA women's tournament. We'll watch some more college basketball, and tonight we'll tine into another soccer game as Chivas USA plays Kansas City.

I've been sewing a lot, too--I have 3 small quilts quilted and with binding attached, ready to finish binding next week when we go to Lone Pine and have no electricity. Yesterday and today I made 51 little pinwheel blocks from some leftover charm squares, cut them off center, and have sewed 42 of them into a small quilt top. I need to add a border, sandwich it, and quilt it--and then I'll have another one to bind. The other 9 blocks will make their own mini.

Our plans are to leave here on Tuesday and go to Lone Pine for 4 nights. We'll either stay at the Lone Pine Forest Service campground or boondock somewhere in the Alabama Hills. Until then Don's going to do some mo fishing on the Owens River and I'm going to enjoy doing whatever I feel like doing.

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A little exploring

2011-03-16T21:36:00.001-07:00

Today the cold front moved in, and the clouds hung low over the mountains most of the day. We decided to do a little exploring and headed south to Big Pine Canyon. The road is an easy one, and takes you up into the snow pretty quickly.

Looking east down towards Big Pine and the Owens Valley. You can see some dust kicked up by the wind.

Looking northwest towards the Sierra Crest, much of which is obscured by the clouds.

This point is still 4-5 miles from Glacier Lodge, but we weren't about to go through the cones and into the snow.

Don checks out upper Big Pine Creek.

From here we thought we'd go look at Klondike Lake north of Big Pine, but we're greeted by this very odd entrance gate setup.

On the right is a locked gate that's open to trailers and vehicles with boats from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In the middle is the exit, with spikes to prevent anyone from entering.

On the left is a narrow, S-curved entrance that is designed to prevent anyone towing a trailer from entering. The curves looked even too tight for our truck, so we didn't go through.

From there we drove some of the dirt roads along the Owens back to Bishop, where we stopped at the Mountain Light Gallery. It's full of Galen Rowell's photography, and I like to go there whenever I'm in Bishop. Galen Rowell was a rock and mountain climber, who has climbed some of the most famous climbs in the world--Yosemite, Patagonia, Everest, Whitney--and became just as well-known for his photography.

We stayed there about an hour, and then the river began calling Don again. It was getting cold, but he stayed out there until dinner time. Insewed all afternoon, and when Don came back, we walked across the street to the Petite Pantry. I had the beef birria--marinated beef, shredded and served in soft tacos, and Don had a hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and some of the best beef gravy I've ever tasted.

Now we're enjoying "Criminal Minds," one of our favorite shows.

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Staying in Bishop

2011-03-16T21:08:00.001-07:00

After looking at the weather report for the area of Nevada north of here (wind, cold, rain, snow), and seeing that things are going to remain mostly nice in the Bishop area, we decided to stay here. We moved yesterday from the very rustic (but beautiful) Pleasant Valley Campground to the very citified Highlands RV in town. While Don fished, I broke out the sewing machine and had some quilting therapy while watching TV. Then I walked across the street to Le Petite Pantry-a place known for its Mexican food (bet you thought I was going to say French!) and pie. I enjoyed a slice of apple pie and a cup of coffee, and read a little of my Laura Lippman Tess Monaghan series. After Don came back I took my first shower in 4 days--it felt soooo good!

We're going to enjoy hookups and civilization for a week, then we'll head to Lone Pine and rough it for 4-5 days before heading back home.

Here are a few more pics from the Pleasant Valley area.

This is the Pleasant Valley Campground, taken from the top of the hill to the south. Our trailer is the white dot in the center of the photo.

Up above the campground is 3-mile-long Pleasant Valley Reservoir, and above the reservoir is a power plant. This is the Owens River just above the power plant.

The power plant and penstock.

Since there's a locked gate, fishermen ride their bikes the 3 miles from the power plant to where they can get down to the reservoir by the dam.

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