Idaho Life

Tot volgende keer!

2017-07-28T21:38:00.002-06:00

We put Hedda's brother Aris and his wife Bertha on a plane back home today. We spent two full months in close quarters in the truck, trailer, and home and enjoyed each other's company completely!
I've known them both for close to fifty years and we have always got along well with both of them. This trip to Alaska was in planning for a few years and it lived up to all of our expectations.
We miss them already.

Day 49 - Home again!

2017-07-20T21:43:00.000-06:00

We survived! 49 days, 8379 miles, 9.2 miles per gallon, brought everyone back that we started with, no accidents, no major malfunctions, all marriages and friendships intact, and within budget.
We did replace both of our trailer batteries and I left the awning out and it got damaged in the wind.
I call that a very successful adventure!
Our first priority on arriving home was to figure out the water heater problem.
I am afraid that it is a lost cause, so tomorrow we will buy a new one.
Went to Mi Casa for dinner and early to bed.
Who knows what adventures are in our future!

Day 48 - Donnelly Idaho

2017-07-20T17:30:00.002-06:00

We knew that Ponderosa State Park in McCall would be full, but we stopped and checked just to make sure. We moved on to one of our favorite RV parks in Donnelly and found a pull through with full hook-ups for our last night on the road.
The weather was warm and sunny. We are finally drying up after all of that Alaskan rain!
It's hard to believe that our trip is almost over.
We have enjoyed every minute of it, but it will be good to get home tomorrow.

Day 47 - All the way to Potlatch

2017-07-20T17:20:00.000-06:00

A few more tears and then Bill and Cathy were on their way. We were still on Pacific time, so we were a little late in leaving.
We have straddled the Pacific and Mountain time zones for the last couple of days. Some days we were in one and then the other. We were in the Mountain zone when we left Fairmont Hot Springs, but we entered the Pacific soon after. We would be back in the mountain zone when we got south of Lewiston.
We stopped in Cranbrook at a Wal-mart to get rid of the last of our Canadian money. We filled our cooler and refrigerator and were on our way to the border. Passport checks went fine but twenty questions included "Do you have any fruit?" "Yes, we just bought some oranges." "Park over there by the yellow curb and bring me the oranges."
I parked by the yellow curb and opened the slide out because the oranges were in the fridge. Another border guy gave me hell for parking there! The oranges were delivered and we moved on.
I kept looking in the mirror to check on Bill, but he was on the road to Montana.
We were back in Idaho and moving south. Idaho has scenery as beautiful as any we have seen in the last 8,000 miles!

We saw a sign for an RV park, turned left towards Potlatch and found a city run park with cement pads and full hook-ups for $30.

Aris fried some halibut, but there was only four for dinner.
A very nice park. A walking path around the RV park and the baseball field with an old train engine.
Put this one in our memory bank for future use.

Day 46 - Fairmont Hot Springs

2017-07-20T16:56:00.003-06:00

Molly and I saw a deer on our walk this morning. They both kind of ignored each other. This time I had my camera!

We (That is the editorial "we") got the laundry done after we went shopping. We found a nice "country" sign for Cathy and while the rest of "we" were inside shopping Molly and I sat outside. I saw a book on the sale table about an arctic explorer and under that book was another book called "Gratitude" with each page a thank you and a short paragraph.
Grabbed it up!
This is our last supper together. We had a great trip and all three marriages are still healthy as is all six friendships! We are the perfect traveling companions. All of us accept the craziness of the others, and all of us can take some teasing. We will miss getting up and on the road by 9:00 and setting down to dinner every evening.

Cathy was wearing her tour directors hat again and found an outing for us. Just down the road and a short walk was the head waters of the Columbia river. We all agreed that would be worth seeing so after supper we made our way to the trail head. The girl at the information center failed to inform our tour director that the trail went through the mosquito tunnel of hell. We sprayed ourselves and each other with mosquito attracting anti-bug spray. There were clouds of mosquitoes around each and every one of us!
We made the half mile walk, saw the headwaters, and got the heck out of there!

Molly found some water to splash and play in and was nice and wet when we got back to the truck. Glad she rides in the back seat.
Tomorrow we split up in different directions, so we had to stop at the ice cream shop on the way back.

Day 45 - Fairmont Hot Springs

2017-07-20T08:14:00.002-06:00

Frustrating day! Very busy and hot. Every campground is full. There are very few places we can even stop because of the traffic. Lake Louise has parking outside of town and shuttle buses. We love the scenery, but it was much better on the way up in early June with cooler weather and way less people!

We head down highway 93 towards Radium Hot Springs. More full campgrounds, traffic, and beautiful scenery.
Bill and Cathy find an information center and get some RV park phone numbers. Cathy works the phone and finds us some places in Fairmont Hot Springs Resort.

The new section is full but we have spaces in the "old" section. Small narrow spots and only fifteen amp electric, but we are ready to stop. We finally get parked and set up. Cathy feeds us and we all take deep breaths and relax. We will stay here for two days, get laundry done and then the dreadful split up. Bill and Cathy will head more east to make their way to Montana and we will head south.

Day 44 - Jasper

2017-07-20T07:51:00.001-06:00

We are glad we got past Prince George yesterday. We have a pretty short drive to Jasper, less than 200 miles. The fires in BC are really bad and the news has more about how many people have been evacuated from their homes. We hope everybody is safe. The sun rise was red because of the smoke.
It is a weekend in July and a lot of the area is on fire so I think that everybody with some time off is heading to Jasper and the national parks.
Traffic is getting heavy. Some drivers are aggressive and taking risks when passing.
The scenery is wonderful and the weather is warm.

By the time we get to Jasper, everything is crazy busy. They have RV parking areas, but they are all full and parking a truck and trailer in town is impossible.
Bill drops Cathy off at the information center to try and find a camp spot and then drives around a five block circle. We are following and spot a grocery store and I drop off my people to get some necessities. Cathy calls me and says she has camping for all of us in an "overflow area" we are not sure what that will be, but we have a place and Bill and I are done driving for today. She comes out to the street just as Bill drives by. I still have her on the phone so she sees me and jumps in the truck. We follow Bill on another lap as he looks for a place to stop so she can get back in their truck. We make the switch and they head out to find the "overflow area" and I make another round looking for my people. Two more passes and there they are on the corner.
We follow Cathy's directions and head "north" on highway 16 that runs east - west and we find them driving around an open dirt field.
Bill says; "Where do we park?" and the answer is anywhere. He finds a level spot and we turn around so our doors are facing each other and we get some shade from the trailers.

Cathy was worried that we would be disappointed with the camp spot, but the views are magnificent and we enjoy the helter skelter parking and the friendly neighborhood atmosphere.

Day 43 - Purden Lake

2017-07-19T23:07:00.000-06:00

We stopped for gas at a small station at the top of the hill. It was also run by First Nation and they pumped our gas and washed our windows. When we went to pay she asked if we had camped at the campground and gave us another discount.

The plan was to try and get to a campground about forty miles past Prince George before we stopped.

The fires in BC have produced over 16,000 evacuees, and a lot of them are coming to Prince George and road closures have increased traffic on highway 16.

There was construction, and heavy traffic, but fortified with an ice cream, we made it past the city to Purden Lake campground before we stopped. We searched the open spots and found two next to each other and set up in a cloud of mosquitoes.

A nice place without hook ups, but they do have a dump station.

After supper Bill, Molly, and I went for a walk and as we turned a corner we saw two small black creatures on the road. They were about Molly’s size and it only took me about a second to recognize the black bear cubs. I caught a glimpse of mama bear in the ditch and we immediately retreated.

Of course neither of us had a camera.

Day 42 - Hazelton

2017-07-19T22:52:00.000-06:00

A miner (I didn’t misspell that, he is an adult that mines things) that is staying in one of the cabins told us about a good RV park in Hazelton, so we set our sights on that.

A moose walked through the meadow just below the campground as we were getting ready to go.

This is one area I would like to explore in more detail sometime in the future.

On the road again, saw another bear and lakes, and mountains, and trees.

A shopping trip in Smithers filled our fridge again and stocked our ice chest with beer.

Old Hazelton is run by First Nation. The RV park was at the juncture of Skeena and Kispiox rivers. It was green grass and again surrounded by breath taking views of mountains.

To get there we had to cross over the Hagwilget canyon bridge. It is a one lane bridge over a deep canyon. There is a viewpoint stop on the side.

The weather has been teasing us. We keep finding sun and then the clouds and rain catches up to us. We parked at RV park K‘san that has a native museum and village complete with totem poles and reconstructed long house and other buildings. We set up in the sun and went to visit the museum while Bill and Cathy produced a spaghetti dinner. Bill set the table outside and a few rain drops made us think that the rain clouds had found us again, but the rain held off and we ate our fill again.

If it wasn’t for the long walks that I do with Molly, I think I would be gaining some weight.

Day - 41 Mountain Shadow

2017-07-17T08:19:00.001-06:00

We left Big Creek Campground after another run in the gravel pit with a wet dog. We filled up with gas at the junction of highway 37 just before Watson Lake. When you look at a map and see a road you never know what you are getting into. Cathy, of course, has the magic book which gave us road conditions as they were two years ago.

Highway 37 is a winding, narrow road through the mountains, lakes and trees of Yukon and Northern British Columbia.

This is bear country! We saw at least five black bears crossing the road or on the side of the road.

We stopped at Jade City, but we were not impressed. They did have free coffee.

Cathy found us a small RV park Mountain Shadow RV Park. We turned on a dirt driveway that went down to an open meadow on the side of a lake with spectacular mountain views.

We set up and went for a walk along the lake looking for bears and moose, but we only saw an eagle sitting in a tree and then majestically fly over the top of us.

The pictures show us in jackets and then you can guess how the weather is!

The people who run the park live there most of the year except to go south to visit family. They said the snow isn’t too bad right there but the surrounding area gets lots.

Shopping is about 250 – 300 miles away, but she will order stuff from Wal-Mart and they have free shipping if the order is over $50 so they take good advantage of that service.

We bought some home made huckleberry jam. I asked if they picked their own huckleberries and she said yes, he carries the gun and I do the picking. Remember this is bear country!

We BBQ’d steak and the girls made hash browns.

Another good meal!

Day - 40 Big Creek Campground

2017-07-16T15:40:00.001-06:00

I started to laugh to myself as we came over the hill and I saw the sign for Big Creek Campground. We had stopped here on the way up and it was raining hard then too. This is where the mosquitoes were swarming around the windows waiting for us to come out. This time the mosquitoes were not as bad, but the rain was. We were able to fit both rigs into one spot above the creek and BBQ sate' was on the menu. Too bad I couldn't put the awning out, so I BBQ'd in the rain.

We made the climb out of Skagway and crossed into Canada. Good bye to Alaska for this trip!
The young man at the border was the most talkative one we have come into contact with yet. He warned us about all the fires and asked about The Netherlands. After he checked all of our papers he sent us on our way.
The drive was amazing in winding roads, great views of lakes, mountains, and trees. The weather was not the best, but we were warm and dry in the truck.

After supper, Molly and I went to an old gravel pit that we found last time we were here and she got to run free.

Wet dog and old man made it home with no wildlife encounters.

Day 39 - Skagway

2017-07-12T23:09:00.002-06:00

Weather. We have had good and bad weather. Most days when we have had something planned when we needed good weather we have had it. Such as our fishing trip. We had one really nice day in Haines and since then it has been rain. My hoody has not dried out and my waterproof hiking boots are wet.
I took Molly up the hill on the Dewey Lakes Trail and I was really wet when we got home. We keep a towel by the door to dry Molly off when we get back, but she still tracks in wet and mud.

The train leaves at 12:45, but we need to be there early to get our tickets. We had planned on leaving pretty early to do some walking around and shopping. The wet weather put a damper on that idea. We got there early enough to hit a store across the street and found a "big ass bear bell" for Cathy.
Then we just waited around. They finally called our boarding and we went outside in the wet and cold only to wait some more and then be herded across the street to catch our train.
The train ride was very interesting in the history that it covers. There are some spectacular views and we could even see the actual trail that took the gold rushers over the White pass. I have been on other mountain trains that were more dramatic in their mountain climbing, but because I have always been interested in the Alaskan and Klondike gold rush I really enjoyed the trip.

We got back and went to the Bonanza for hot chocolate, coffee, Irish coffee, and a beer.
Aris and the girls went shopping and I went back to take Molly out.
As soon as I got to the trailer I saw Bill struggling with his awning and our awning was jammed. Bill got his closed but the fabric was torn. Ours took some muscle and manhandling to get it closed. We drilled some holes and safety wired it shut. It will take some fixing when we get home. The worst part was that when we were leaving, Hedda said shouldn't we close the awning? I said it would be fine. Should have listened!
We went out to dinner at The Skagway Fish Company. Our last chance for Alaskan fish...until we get home!
Molly, Bill and I went for a walk along the tracks and through the back streets of town. Still windy and cold.

Day 38 - Skagway

2017-07-09T12:08:00.000-06:00

We have to back our rigs onto the ferry ourselves. We showed up plenty early and lined up in our assigned spots to wait for the ferry.
The lady next to us reported that her overall length was 52' and we had measured our rig as overall 58'. They came out and measured her at 56'. Luckily they had enough room to get her on. If you ever ride the ferry be sure to do exact measurement and don't guess or you could end up rearranging your schedule.
We were supposed to show up at 9:00 for an 11:00 departure. We of course showed up early and didn't leave until 11:45.

It takes a long time to guide a bunch of RV'ers backing down a steep ramp and into the bowels of a ship. I was the longest and went first. The guide was excellent and got me down the and all the way to the back of the boat with no problems. It is just a slow process.
The passenger area was nice and comfortable but we had to wait until we were underway before the snack bar opened for coffee.
The cruising speed was about 33 knots and got us to Skagway in no time. A Holland America Cruise ship named "Volendam" was tied up at the dock.

Unloading went much faster but they still had to watch for ground clearance going up the ramp. Again they were excellent and patient guides.
We had a two minute drive to our campsite and were set up in no time and on our way to souvenir shopping. Hedda and Bertha got Pandora charms from Alaska and I got stickers for the trailer.
Supper at Bill and Cathy's.

Then a short trip to the historic Dyea area which was the head of the Chilkoot pass trail. The gold rush town is completely gone now, but there are remnants of the wharf and informative signs along the way. We stopped at an overlook and saw Skagway with a rainbow above it.

Back to Bill and Cathy's for coffee and cupcakes. Life is good!

Day 37 - Haines

2017-07-09T11:35:00.000-06:00

Nice easy relaxing day. Watched for whales but didn't see any. We did see some cruise ships go by on there way back from Skagway.
Molly and I took an early morning stroll to Portage Point and on the way back we talked to a lady who had her lawn chair set up and her job was to watch for whales while they are working on the harbor. If she sees one she can stop the construction until they clear out. She said she liked her job when the weather was nice.

Visited the Eagle Heritage center and watched a video and saw great displays of wildlife and some live bald eagles. Of course we have been closer to wild eagles in the last few days.
Drove up to Lake Chilkoot as we heard that there were bears feeding on fish there. We didn't see any bears, but we did see some eagles and a guy sitting on a fish ladder counting salmon. Looks like a nice job for a couple of hours something like watching for whales.
The camp ground around the lake was really nice. No hook-ups, but nice wooded spaces with lake views.

We went back to camp to get laundry done and supper made. Aris and I went to the IGA and bought two bags of groceries for $72.
We went back to Lake Chilkoot in the evening to look for more bears again. Still no bears, but the lake was still beautiful and we saw an eagle on a rock eating a salmon. Worth the drive.

Day 36 - Haines Alaska

2017-07-08T19:17:00.001-06:00

Sleep late and relax. We only have about 150 miles to Haines, Alaska. The culture center had a great movie about the Kluane national park and the local first nation tribes and plenty of information about the local area. Our tour director was armed with a list of places to stop between here and Haines.

The first stop was the liquor store where we picked up a 12 pack of Yukon Red.

We then managed to take in a short walk to a glacier field, a fishing village, moose marsh (no moose) and then some of the most breathtaking scenery we have seen on the whole trip. Pictures will not do it justice!

Back in the USA and down the road to Ocean View RV park. We again are in a gravel parking lot with hook-ups and great views!

We got set up just in time for a crab feed with all of the other RV’ers. Good time meeting other people and eating good food.

We had a relaxing evening watching boats and a short walk along the bay.

Me: I can’t remember what those flowers are called.

Hedda: Those are forget-me-nots….(grimace)

Me: laughing!!!!!

Day 35 - Haines Junction

2017-07-08T19:05:00.000-06:00

Molly and I got a late start so we only had one hour to climb to the overlook and back. We didn’t make it all the way, but we went quite a bit farther than the night before.

We topped off with gas in Tok and set our sights on Haines Junction in Canada. It was another long day with lots of frost heaves. The frost creates waves and pot holes in the pavement that makes us heave!

We were again blessed with outstanding scenery. The road gave us views of Mt. Logan the highest peak in Canada and then hugged the shores of Kluane lake.

Another 300 mile day brought us to Haines Junction. We found an RV park that had full hook-ups, but really was just a gravel parking lot with tremendous views of the surrounding mountains. We were tired and opted for dinner out at Frosty’s where we filled up on burgers, fries, and soft serve ice cream. Luckily they served beer because we were too late for the liquor store.

Day 34 - Tok (almost)

2017-07-08T09:27:00.004-06:00

Molly and I had a nice walk on our favorite, secret, trail next to the railroad tracks. We didn't see any bears, but Molly chased numerous squirrels.

We drove through some beautiful country, but the roads were getting rougher.

We found a state park just before Tok that had some pull through’s that were right across from each other. For a fourth of July, there was nobody else around. There were a couple of other rigs but they moved on to another place in the park.

After a 300 mile we were ready to relax and BBQ some bratwurst patties and drink a beer….but wait a minute….some brother-in-law brought in the last two beers last night and forgot to mention that there was no more beer in the ice chest.

That means that I had to BBQ without beer!!

Even though I couldn’t remember ever BBQing without beer, I found out that in can be done, but I don’t recommend it.

Cathy found some trails and after supper Bill, Cathy, Molly, and I went for a walk. We had a choice of an easy mile walk with little or no climbing or a trail that went straight up to and look out point. Cathy made the decision to try the climb. We worked up a sweat but didn’t make the whole mile and a half up, but we probably went half way.

Day 33 - Anchorage

2017-07-06T23:30:00.001-06:00

Driving some of the same roads we came in on going back to Anchorage. We already are reliving memories. There is Bertha Creek Campground. There is the road to the Whittier tunnel. There is Potter Bog and there is a moose in Potter Bog!

We stopped at a place where there was chain saw carvings. The work was beautiful and we left with a Welcome Bear for Aris and Bertha and a moose for us. He had some amazing eagle tables that were big and expensive.

Bill and Cathy hurried on ahead of us after a quick lunch because they had an oil change appointment at the GMC dealer. They found two spots in the Black Spruce Fam-camp very close to where we were before.

Bill got the oil change and we all made a commissary/BX run.

Molly and I got in a nice walk with Bill and Cathy. There were reports of more bear sightings, but we didn’t see any.

No new pictures today.

Day 32 - Soldotna

2017-07-04T09:39:00.001-06:00

Guess what! We woke up to rain! And more rain, and more rain!

We slept late and eased into the day. Went to Soldotna for lunch and a Safeway visit. Then into Kenai but we had no real interest in getting out of the truck because of the weather. It was still raining.

Went back to an area on the Kenai River to watch the salmon fishers but we saw no action there either. Took a different way back and we were rewarded with sightings of 6 or 7 moose.

Drove down to the village of Ninilchik on the beach and we saw a bunch of eagles feeding on the low tide.

Aris is frying some halibut for dinner and the rain has finally let up.

Bill, Cathy, Molly and I went down to the beach again and there were at least a dozen eagles on the beach and in the trees. They were talking back and forth to each other. That is not something that you see everyday! Unless you live in Ninilchik Alaska! The trawlers were drifting in the calm seas and a sea otter was relaxing on the evening tide.

A lazy day. Tomorrow we are going back to Anchorage.

Day 31 Ninilchik fishing!

2017-07-03T23:42:00.002-06:00

“Nobody has any bananas do they?” asked Captain Jesse.

“Yeah, I brought one in my lunch.”

He looked at me with panic on his face.

I guess the local superstition is that bananas are bad luck. I immediately dug it out of my cooler and threw it overboard.

I don’t know if our luck changed right away, but not too long afterward Aris caught the first halibut.

We were about 15 miles due east of where we were launched in one of the most efficient ways of getting a bunch of boats in the water I have ever seen. You line up, disconnect your tow vehicle, load your passengers in the boat, and a big tractor with a variety of tow balls hooks on your trailer and pushes your boat in the water and then parks your trailer.

There is a driver and a hookup man and they move pretty fast. The line of boats waiting extended about half a mile up the hill.

There was only the four of us fishing(Cathy, Bill, Aris, and me) with Capt. Jesse and deck hand Rick.

The weather was unbelievable! Very calm seas, no wind, and the sun even came out a few times.

We fished in a few different places at depths of 180 to 285 feet (55 to 87 meters), with weights ranging from 3 to 5 pounds. It was a lot of work just reeling in to check bait. Cathy hooked something really big that ended up breaking the line. That happened to her three different times during the day.

They told us when we signed up that the trip would be around six hours depending on the fishing and the tide. We left the park at 8:15 and didn’t get back until after 5:00. You are allowed to keep two halibut, one under 28” (71cm) and one over. It is the Captain’s duty to monitor who has what and each fish is marked with a cut on the tail. The decision about throwing back a small fish can be hard. You want to get as close to the 28” mark as possible. We all threw back some small ones that the crew called ping pong paddles, that towards the end of the day we were wondering if we had made the right decision. We all got our two fish. Aris caught the first fish, the biggest fish, and finally the last fish which measured at 27-7/8”

Perfect day!

They filleted them out for us and vacuumed packed them for us and we were able to squeeze all of our 25 pounds of fillets (except for enough for Sunday dinner) into our freezer. Bill and Cathy had theirs shipped home.

The girls had Nasi Goreng ready for us and all of the clothes washed when we got back. We are lucky guys!!!

I took the girls for a ride and showed them the beach where we launched the boat and some eagles.

Molly and I went down to the beach and saw the sun breaking through the clouds shining on the commercial trawlers drifting in the calm waters. Of course I didn’t bring my camera. When we climbed up the many stairs to the state park there was an eagle sitting on top of a tree squawking, and I still didn’t have my camera.

It was a beautiful day!

Day 30 - Ninilchik - Homer

2017-07-03T23:24:00.002-06:00

Leaving Seward and onto Ninilchik a small community between Homer and Soldotna. We had reservations at an RV park with full hook-ups who also booked fishing charters. We were still undecided about going fishing or not.

The lady at the check-in counter said because we are staying in the RV park, we can save some money and if we picked the right day we could save some more. We said “How about tomorrow? “

She looked at her schedule and said if we went on Saturday we could save another $50.

OK sign us up!

Bill and Cathy wanted to go but our girls declined the invitation.

After we paid, and were walking back to the trailer in the 50 degree windy weather, I was wondering if we made the right decision. It was cold here, what would it be out on the water? Oh well we will have to dress up warmly.

After we got set up we were off to Homer.

The overlook before you descend into town is a good place for photo opportunities.

I have said that a lot of the communities we have visited are “interesting” because I don’t quite know how to describe them any other way. Homer falls into that category. We went out on the spit, a gravel embankment that sticks out Kachemak Bay, with industrial buildings and boat junk yards mixed in with souvenir shops, restaurants, and charter boat fishing tour offices.

It was a popular area as there were lots of people walking, shopping, fishing, and I assume eating and signing up for fishing trips. Homer brags of being “The halibut capitol of the world”.

A stop at a gift store that closed 20 minutes early and saved us some money.

Next stop Safeway. Friday night before the 4th of July weekend attracted a huge crowd to join us. It was as busy as if it was a Friday night just before a big holiday weekend.

Home for pasta dinner thanks to Cathy.

A walk with Molly down a huge flight of stairs (105, I counted them) to the beach and back and it was time to make preparations for fishing.

Day 29 - Seward

2017-07-03T22:16:00.002-06:00

It’s called Mt. Marathon and sticks up 4,000 feet above Seward. I found the trail head for the hiking trail, but there is also a “Racing Trail” that is steeper and not recommended for sane individuals. Every 4^th of July they run a race up the racing trail. For the sane people there is the hiking trail. Molly and I went up the steep hiking trail for about ½ mile and I let her run loose.

I put it on my to-do list to bring the bear spray and see how high we could go.

Seward has a sea life center that has sea birds and animals in displays that mimic their natural habitat. The animals have been rescued and the ones that cannot be returned to the wild are displayed for our pleasure and education. It is really well done and quite an experience to see them from above and beneath the water.

Home for lunch and pick up Molly then we went looking for salmon. There is a salmon viewing area and one of Cathy’s friends told her where it was. Somehow we missed it and went a few miles too far and then walked a mile to a stream where there were no salmon.

On our way back to the main road we saw the sign. The sign was facing the wrong way and we could not read it going in but we read it real well on the way out.

So we watched fish try to climb the waterfall. There were lots of fish lined up waiting their turn.

It was pretty cool.

Our last stop was Exit Glacier. Bill, Cathy, Aris, and Bertha walked up to the glacier, while Hedda and I took care of Molly.

Dinner was chicken courtesy of Aris.

Bill, Molly and I took our evening stroll up Mt. Marathon hiking trail. We got up above the tree line and had a great view. We met some guys coming down who had been up to the top. They were muddy and tired. One asked us if that bear spray we were carrying really worked. We told him we weren’t sure, but if he wanted to try it out we would soak him in bacon grease and turn him loose. He could send us a written report on it’s effectiveness and if we didn’t hear from him we would assume it didn’t work. He declined our offer.

Well that was high enough for us that night so we went home to bed.

Day 28 - Seward

2017-07-03T17:43:00.003-06:00

We saw it on the map, but we couldn’t find it. At the last minute I spotted it and slammed on my brakes and pulled into the turn out. Bill was able to find a pull out just up the road. We got some pictures of Bertha Creek.

Seward weather was not any better than Whittier. We pulled into the city RV park around 11:00 and checkout was at 12:00. We started checking out the receipts on the posts and found two spots close together that were open. They had water and electric so we took them. Cathy was on the phone to the whale /glacier boat and came hustling up “Let’s go. We have reservations for the tour boat at 12:00. Lunch will be served there, but we have to hurry!

The shuttle picked us up in the parking lot and brought us to the check-in desk. We paid and proceeded to our boat.

It wasn’t raining but there was no sun either. We sat outside upstairs where we could get out of the wind or be out on the deck.

The snow covered peaks surrounded Resurrection Bay with Seward getting smaller behind us. Not too far out we saw a whale surface. You couldn’t see much except for a small portion of his/her back and then a couple of slaps of the tail, but you got an idea of their size.

Lunch was an hour ride to Fox Island. We disembarked (I never got to say that about myself before. I always said I got off of the boat, but this is a pretty big boat and the crew was treating us well, so we disembarked.) and went to the lodge for all you can eat prime rib, salmon, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, and some weird beans which were all included in the price of the boat trip.

After about an hour on shore, we embarked back on the boat and hit the high seas again.

The sights included Bear Glacier, some rocks with thousands of nesting gulls. More whale tails and sea lions and puffins and then our 4 ½ hour cruise was over. It was a great trip and we sat inside where it was warm on the way back.

We only ate sandwiches for supper because we had such a big meal.

Day 27 - Whittier

2017-07-03T17:27:00.000-06:00

We left Anchorage heading south. The wind along the coast was nasty and cold. The scenery was

beautiful but sunshine would have been appreciated!

We stopped a couple of times along the way and when you look at the pictures notice how the trees and branches are leaning because of the wind.

We found a nice campground early along the road to Whittier but of course the rain had started by then. We set up across from each other. After a quick lunch we headed for the tunnel. It is about 2 ½ miles long and has set times because it is a one way tunnel and you have to share it with the train and alternate direction traffic. We got there just in time and only had to wait 11 minutes for our turn. The girl in the ticket booth said (even though I asked nicely) that I could not blow my horn in the tunnel.

Whittier was not the best looking town, but very interesting. The earthquake and resulting tsunami in 1964 devastated the community.

There was an in depth museum that talked about the history with pictures, displays, and reader signs.

Back through the tunnel and a stop at the Chugach National Forest visitor’s center. We watched a movie that told about the area and walked through a bunch of interactive displays. The views would have been much better if we had a little less weather, but they were still great.

We made a whole pot of chili. The last time we made chili, there were no left overs. This time we made a little extra. Still no left overs!

Molly and I walked to the salmon viewing area and saw no salmon. We followed the trail beside the stream up to a couple of ponds. We saw evidence that bears do “do it” in the woods. Moose do it too. But we saw no animals.

We drug our wet selves home. As I told the Aussie guy in the parking lot, if we were looking for good weather we would have gone to Arizona!

Day 26 - Potter Marsh

2017-06-27T09:37:00.002-06:00

Spent the morning getting the oil changed, buying propane, and finishing up the laundry.
Our tour director came through again. We visited Potter Marsh boardwalk wildlife viewing center. They have built a series of boardwalks and we were able to walk above the marsh and observe birds, an otter, and even an bald eagle.

It was raining slightly when we started and of course it got slowly wetter as we stayed. There were some salmon swimming in the stream and we watched a couple of big ones surface.
After a lesson in Walmart efficiency for our visiting family. (huge store; 2 lines open; a person's card didn't work - had to call a supervisor; a couple with various WIC checks - had to call a supervisor; = 45 minutes in line) we headed home. On the way through the base Hedda and I spotted a black bear on a side road. Later when I was walking Molly, I saw a cow moose and twin calves. Aris was getting frustrated that he hadn't seen anything recently so after supper (Cathy & Bill made stuffed salmon and we had dessert at our house, cheese cake, Bailys and coffee) Aris, Molly and I went for a ride around the base and saw two moose.

Tomorrow we are on the road again towards Whittier.
Bill & Cathy bought bear spray. I guess she figured she wants to keep Bill around if we find a bear and I can outrun him!