3 Bears and RV Park, 1 night on 31 July in Trapper Creek, AK.  We nicknamed this "the bug park".  But we did get a little solar power :)

Back to Cabelas for 1 night and won't go back!  Had to call 911 for a domestic squabble in the parking lot close to us.  The police ended up taking them away and their vehicles were later towed.  We had an incident at another Cabelas in Colorado last year.  Free parking doesn't always mean safe parking.  Sometimes we just have to stay in a city but we try not to.

We went through Talkeetna on the way to our next destination.

A nice lunch in town :)

Williwaw CG in the Chugach National Forest, Whittier, AK.   (29 July)

​Her are a couple of shots from our excursion to Hope, AK.

Trail River CG in Moose Pass, AK.  This was the night of "the incident" and we stayed here for 3 nights to settle our nerves and relax!  We finished setting up at 11PM and you can see how much light is left being at this latitude.

We took a day trip into Seward and enjoyed a trip to the aquarium.  Wendy got to see some Puffins :)

We stopped to take a picture in front of the IR camera :)

This is a salmon ladder we visited...are your eyes good enough to see the little fella we caught on camera?

This deserves a post of it's own and we hope it never happens again!  We frequently come across unimproved/unmaintained dirt roads in Alaska and thought this one was ok as Google listed it as the only alternative around our severely backed up planned route.  It started as a typical dirt road but Chick and I were both on our phones to family and the road became more narrow as we progressed along.  It soon became a one lane road with nowhere to turn around.  We had already traversed many twists and turns pocked with deep potholes filled with water and boulders.  WE COULD NOT BACK UP!  1 mile into a 4 1/2 mile road, which was essentially an ATV trail, and we were hoping and praying opposing traffic would not be around the next turn.  With 1/2 mile to go and the end near...it happened!  

As near as I can recall I tried to avoid the rut you see below and since the rear of the trailer was in very moist footing, the trailer slid just enough off solid ground and the right wheels sunk to the axles.  NO WAY OUT!!!!  Chick and his rig were behind me and of no help to pull us.  What now???

Wendy went on to the end of the road to civilization and found enough of a connection to phone a tow service 50 miles away in Soldotna.  On Star was very helpful in providing us with emergency contacts and providing us with our GPS coordinates to help the tow service in locating us.  It took them about 4 hours to show up :(  2 forest rangers arrived and were very helpful.  They made a path around us and directed 6 or so vehicles that made the same mistake we did.  One had airline tickets out of the country from Anchorage in about 3 hours...I really think there was a chance they made it to the airport on time as they had over 3 hours to make a 50 mile trip.

Between the Bobcat pulling the trailer sideways and the 4 wheel drive Jeep pulling us forward while I used our truck to help, we eventually got her on solid ground and we successfully navigated the last half mile and to the paved road and onto our next destination.  We eventually ended the day at around 11PM.  Thankfully there was still plenty of daylight to set up camp.

We are very thankful to get out of this predicament, and no one was hurt :)

24 and 25 July we stayed at Dennis',  an old working companion and fishing buddy of Chick's.  He has a beautiful place in Clam Gulch, AK.  We took a day trip to Homer where the tourists were out in full force!

Seaweed washed ashore.

Believe it or not, Dennis had his 79th birthday this week and he and Levi are building this home for a family menmber.  Remarkable :)

His dog, Bally, is paid very well for her job as supervisor of this operation!

​Morgan Landing State Recreational Site, 22-23 July.  This part of the trip was very crowded because of the fishing season, although the Salmon were few and far between.  We stayed in the overflow site since the park was filled to capacity.

Here on a day trip to Kenai the view was fantastic!

This was the hotspot for really good burgers :)

Naturally we had to stop for a "king cone"... Yum!

On 18-21 July we were at Williwaw Campground in the Chugach National Forest.  While there we took a daytrip to Whittier and Byron Glacier.  It rained the whole time :(

I took advantage of the rain to clean off our rigs. The first cleaning in over a month!

Birdcreek CG in Chugach State Park, Girdwood, AK 16-17 July.

Chick is carefully removing twine wrapped around this Magpie.  The procedure went smoothly and the Magpie happily hopped off :)

Cabela's parking lot for 1 night, 15 July in Anchorage, AK.

After leaving Valdez we went about halfway to Anchorage to meet back up with Chick and Kathy after his successful visit with the dentist.  This turnout was quite a find as it was a good distance from the highway, the view was beautiful and we were the only visitors for the night.  We marked it as a must visit if through this way again :)

Here is a stop at a recreational area along the highway to view Matanuska Glacier.

This post includes many pictures of our glacier and whale watching excursion leaving from Valdez.  Although very rainy and 48 degree temps it was a most excellent time!

Here is our most excellent captain and tour guide.  What a fantastic job he (and his crew) did in keeping us around the main attractions for as long as possible and giving us so much entertaining and accurate information on the many things we saw.

Proof of the fact I did have my trusty hat when we left.  Who knows which lucky sea creature owns it now :)

Our departure commitee seems uninterested ...

These pictures of a humpback whale are not the best due to all the fog and rain we endured today.  No complaints though, we had the time of our lives on this 8 1/2 hour excursion :)

The beauty of the Meares Glacier is hard to describe.  This glacier is still advancing and as it does its massive size and weight just picks up and so much material and carries it along on it's journey.  As the advancement proceeds, much of the face breaks off and crashes to the water below.  This process is called "calving" and it makes a tremendous, thunderous noise when the ice breaks off and comes tumbling down!

This one made the captain start up the engines and turn into the huge wave it created.  The crew said it was the biggest calving of the season so far.

A crewmember netted this ice from overboard and Wendy takes hold for a few seconds...no gloves!

We're on the way back...

So Wen takes a nap... (there's a song in there somewhere).

One more meal at the Fat Mermaid before we leave tomorrow.

This is Valdez Glacier CG in Valdez, AK.  We'll be here for 4 nights to take a cruise and pick up our mail on Monday...probably in the rain.  This whole area is sooo beautiful as you will see in the next couple of posts :)

On the way we stopped to touch an Alaskan oil pipeline.

Magnificent scenery along the way!

This is a marina in downtown Valdez, a population of approx 4000.

The outflow of a salmon fish hatchery.

Locals await a free meal :)

Here we enjoyed dinner at the "Fat Mermaid".

This is a feral rabbit, it is huge!
Read here for more info on these rabbits...  www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/08/18/the-problem-that-valdez-just-cant-shake-an-infestation-of-bunnies/

This was just a 1 night stop near Glenallen, AK.  We had to separate with Kathy and Chick as they had to detour to Anchorage.  We hope to meet up in Anchorage early next week...we had paid for an excursion out of Valdez and couldn't get refunded so tomorrow is a date with the whales and glaciers.

A 1 night stop at Tok, AK for laundry and a grocery run and we're off again :)

Believe it or not, a rig pulled in between us soon after this picture and Kathy and Chick moved to the other side of the property as it's generator was pretty stinky :(

After a quick diagnosis from NAPA of a check engine light we determined the brakes were go to go so we went :)

We finally made it to Chicken, Alaska.  Kathy and Chick worked the gold camp here many years ago and we enjoyed being with them as they revisited places they frequented back in the day.  ​For more info on the town of Chicken see the link below.
www.alaska.org/destination/chicken

Chick is explaining to Wen which animal the footprints in the mud belong to.

Breakfast the next morning...

Yum!

Quite the bar scene...

3 buckets of  "pay dirt" yielded at least 100 specks of gold vs the 3 days of work in the field to get 1 speck.  ARGGG...but at least this was easy work :)

Bureau of Land Management CG 15 miles north of Chicken, Alaska.  Yes...Chicken :)  We're at the south end of a 3 mile stretch of free prospecting land along Jack Wade creek.  The drive here was spectacular!  It was overcast the whole way but very little rain.

We started out with a ferry ride to the other side of the Yukon River.  It's a free service provided by Dawson City :)

Trying to send you all some cooler weather from the chilly north.  It's 43F, breezy with occasional rain.

We took "Top of the World" highway for this leg, a mostly dirt and gravel road for about 80 miles with the rest of the trip on paved roads.  The slopes were quite severe and close attention was needed for nasty potholes.

The border crossing was uneventful, this time.

This is Walker Fork Campground and  I'm only cleaning the windows!

Except for the back window as it's helping to keep out daylight at 2 AM!

We FINALLY made it to Alaska!  :) :) :) :)

This is one of the many spots we chose to search along the 3+ miles of public access along the creek.

Chick had very marginal luck with his sluice...this is really hard work on our old joints but we always manage to have a great time searching for the gold.

It was nice and relaxing to be in a place for 3 nights.  Tomorrow we hope to be in Alaska :)  Gold panning today, Parade yesterday, and rest and relaxation the first day.  We happened to be here on Canada Day weekend.
Canada Day is similar to Independence Day in the U.S. in that both are related to gaining independence from the United Kingdom. For Canada, however, Canada Day marks only one (but one very important) milestone on the path to full independence. It took many more years for Canada to gain complete sovereignty, with the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and the final passing of the Constitution Act in 1982.
Similar to the Forth of July, Canada Day is celebrated widely, with fireworks displays, concerts, barbecues, patriotic parades, and celebratory festivals. The Canadian flag flies high across the country. Many people paint their faces red and white, which are Canada’s national colors. There are often citizenship ceremonies as well.

We found a viewpoint, Midnight Dome Lookout, atop this hill/mountain just outside the town...Dawson City is at the left center of the picture.

It is quite beautiful up here and for a little more info follow the below link.
​www.ehcanadatravel.com/1-yukon/klondike/dawson-city/parks-places/4612-midnight-dome-lookout.html

The next day was Canada Day and we were fortunate to see the beginning of the town's parade :)

Royal Canadian Mounted Police proudly marched down the street to lead the parade.

A little food and music followed by games for the children provided for a magnificent day :)

This time Kathy has ensured mosquitoes will not penetrate her face mask that's securely affixed to her jacket while Chick is enduring the frigid waters as he searches for that elusive golden speck!

This free gold panning site was home to 10,000 people in the town of Grand Forks back in 1900!

Here we are at the Bonanza Gold Motel and RV Park.  The trip took longer than expected because of road condirions.

This poor fellow had his trailer come off the hitch.  No one was hurt.  We stopped to help and were able to get the tongue elevated to put back onto his truck.

Hard to believe he drove his truck down into the boggy ditch to hook up.  We left at this point as he had a way to communicate with someone who had bigger equipment and we could no longer offer any more help.  They were safe and had communication.  We wished them luck and continued on. 

Two posts ago I made mention of easier than expected road conditions.  That was then, now is different.  This 20+ mile stretch is under annual construction while the weather is warm.  Worse than traveling 30mph is encountering frost heaves at 50 mph.

No one in sight.

After 30 minutes or so the pilot car did show and we start heading north again.

It doesn't pay to get too close to the edge of the road.  Further inspection reveals this accident happened a while ago as the "do not cross" tape encircled the vehicle.

 The Selkirk First Nation (Hucha Hudan people) is a First Nation self-government in the Canadian territory, Yukon. Its original population center was the trading post of Fort Selkirk, of Yukon, along the Yukon River but most of its citizens now live in Pelly Crossing, Yukon where the Klondike Highway crosses the Pelly River.  The language originally spoken by the Selkirk people was Northern Tutchone. There is a great effort to preserve the language and culture, as can be seen by the popularity of the Selkirk "Keeper of the Songs", Jerry Alfred.
The Selkirk First Nation signed a Yuko Land Claims agreement in 1997.

After passing through Whitehorse we made a turn to the north towards Dawson City on Yukon 2 road.  We expect to encounter more difficult highway conditions along this route.  We gathered a few groceries and items in Whitehorse but many things were closed up for Sunday and the town doesn't allow overnight stops for RVs and travel trailers.  The weather is still rainy and cool so we have to manage our solar usage a little closer.  This is the Fox Lake Burn Rest Area.

We're on the way to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.  The last several hundred miles have been spectacular!  Snow capped mountains, lush green valleys, wildlife from bears to buffalo, I know, Bison for you purists :)  The weather is cool and unpredictable.  The mosquitos and flies are unrelenting but manageable.  All in all we've seen enough to bring us back if blessed enough to have another chance.  The roads have not been the horror story we were expecting...yet.  But we're still barely into these legendary roads and expect challenges around every turn.

This stream have been fun to pan a bucket of dirt from but I thought better of it after reading this sign.

This was a pit stop for us, not for gas, just for a leg stretch.  Good thing "not for gas" as a US gallon would have cost over $8.  The highest so far :(

This was our stop yesterday at Watson Lake Tags RV park in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, Canada.  It was a necessity for laundry duties.  Not our best choice of campgrounds but we're thankful none the less.  A sudden storm, and I mean sudden, popped up and produced a lot of heavy rain and pea sized hail.

This site is right across the street from where we stayed.  I saw representation from Argentina to New Zealand!  Pretty cool.

As I travel around the country I look for squadron patches from my old squadron, the 20th Military Airlift Squadron.  XX.  I have yet to find one so I put up one of my own.  Even though the XX has been retired some time ago, I took an alumni sticker from our reunion in Myrtle Beach, SC and put it on display in this field of other patches in the Yukon Territory, Canada, on the ALCAN highway.

Wendy was happy to see the Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force represented, as she was one :)  Yes, I am outranked and have been for many years :) :)

Here is the last suspension bridge on the Alaska Highway.

Welcome to the Yukon!

For a moment I was wondering if this guy was thinking of a head butt.  It's not like I could avoid him as he was right next to the highway and I had to pass by.

Same dilemma here!

We had an unexpected lengthy delay leaving our last campground this morning but things worked out favorably and we departed without a firm destination in mind.  We thought to just stop at a turnout along the highway.  We turned out at mile marker 440 for a leg stretch along Lake Muncho.  It was about 4 pm and so we decided to stay for the night after seeing the beauty of this place. 

On the way here we stopped for gas.

That 2.19.9 equates to 8.29 per gallon Canadian which equates to $5.84 per gallon US.  YUK!

Three fiberglass trailers pumping gas 1 after another.  I've never seen that before.  An Escape and Bigfoot (both Canadian made) and our US made Oliver :)

Sections of the ALCAN to mile marker 440 were gravel and following too close was hazardous.

At mm 440 Wen and I took a short hike away from the road and were rewarded with some wonderful scenery :)

Here is Tetsa River Services and Campground.  A one night stay after a thunderstorm went through.  We were going to take showers and do laundry but the campground shuts off their power at 5pm...45 minutes after we arrived.  Arggg!!  I have only seen mosquitoes this bad once before and it was in the Florida Everglades 25 years ago traveling with Wendy's parents.

I think Chick had as many mosquitoes flying around inside his hood as on the outside but it had little affect on the fun we were having :)

EDIT   EDIT   EDIT
​It was Kathy's hood that failed to keep all the mosquitoes out...

We are at marker 182 DC.  Beautiful view although infested with non-biting flies (so far non-biting).  These are free pullout spaces for overnight travelers.

Here is the original 0 mile marker from 1942.

Most travelers stop for the obligatory photo op on their first time through...we were no different.

This is possibly an old Boler fiberglass trailer (made in Canada from 1968 to 1972).  Boler went out of business in 1972 and Scamp bought the molds and that's how Scamp trailers got their start.

We thought the second window painting from the left was quite 3 dimensional and it was...there was no glass in that frame and the birds were metal caricatures placed in the front.

A couple of more sunset pictures from our trailer door.

I don't know when the fires occurred but as far as the eye can see the destruction of this forest was total.  We drove for at least 15 miles and saw this on both sides of the road.

Let the adventures begin :)  We're still in British Columbia and beginning our travel along 1390 miles of our most feared highway.  Potholes, frost heaves, rocks crashing into our vehicles, trucks flying down the highway and mostly nowhere to pull over will present us with some challenges I'm sure.

More shots of the countryside on the way to Dawson Creek.

Another Walmart overnight stay.

Here's the best I can do with my yoga mats.

We are about 20 miles north of Prince George for one night.  We gave it a go for a possible gold prospecting site in Quesnel but the river water was way too high so we moved on to Salmon Valley.  We finally got a full day of sun (yay) for solar :)

This is Mandy.  A bit of a freaky story if you follow this link...
https://www.quesnelmuseum.ca/node/264

FWIW... I will post a follow-up if I have a nightmare tonight !

A stone's throw from behind our trailer, I tried a couple pans of sand but found no gold.

This might give Wallace nightmares :)

Here is a city park run by the town of Barkerville.  We'll be here 2 nights.

Of course we'll get down to the river for a little gold-panning :)  EDIT... the next day our panning did produce a little "flour" gold.  WOOHOO!

On the way here we saw a huge moose, a rabbit, and mama bear with her cub that escaped the camera.

On day 2 we went to the town of Barkerille and strolled through this historic town.  It's claim to fame centers around hydraulic gold prospecting back in the 1800's.

That was an expensive kiss!

Prices have come up over the years...

A huge trommel brought in water to power a big wheel to bring up pay dirt from hundreds of feet below ground and deposit it onto a sluice to filter out the gold.

This fellow was not impressed with all the commotion around him :)

We're in West Lake CG and RV Park, BC, Canada.  We plan to stay 2 nights and find a few trailer parts for both trailers tomorrow.  Nothing major but it's a good place for RV parts and we want to take care of a few items while they're still small problems.

On our way out of Valemount we took this picture of the field next to the campground and after noticing some movement on the horizon we found....

More prairie dogs!  I wonder if they followed us all the way from Devils Tower, where we stayed a couple of weeks ago :)

Another picturesque drive on the way to Prince George.

Chick came up with the idea to pan for gold in dirt from this construction site.  It has been said that dirt scraped up along side the road may indeed contain gold, depending on the location it came from.

We went for a hike and made a u turn after finding a second pair of fresh bear tracks...

Camp Blackman was our next stop...1 night.  The girls were able to do the laundry and we had water and electricity, treasured commodities as of late :)

The drive here took us through Jasper National Park and it was truly magnificent.  Following is a very large number of mountain pictures.  We were surrounded for 80+ miles through the park :)

2 Walmarts in one week.  I would have never guessed that was in our future, but we actually feel more comfortable here than if we were at a Walmart in the States.  It's been pretty busy but quiets way down at night.  It's still confusing that it doesn't get dark until after 11 pm and dawn comes shortly after 5 am.  Can't wait to see how Alaska will treat us with darkness!

Kathy noticed the back bumper was sagging a little and Chick discovered all 4 support brackets were cracked.  We're very thankful the brackets held long enough to find a welder to fix things.  Here Chick is explaining the details of the expensive 5 hour job to make things right.

The welder appears to have done a very good job :)  A little paint and repositioning of the load and we're ready to get "on the road again"   :)

A  short travel down a 6 mile dirt road took us to this beautiful setting.  This is Wild Country Gardens, a Harvest Host campground.  We'll be here for 1 night.

Complete with some amenities :)

Even haircuts...

This is Gull Lake Honey Company.  We stayed here for 1 night.  It was very windy, cold and rainy.

They have quite a bouquet of beautiful pheasants.

​Wendy found this herd of pigs...she is happy!

She fed this one a daffodil stem and now has a lifelong friend :)

This is interesting...this wonderful person, Pauline, was in Charleston, SC, offering her services as nurse after Hurricane Hugo went through in 1989.  We may have even crossed paths as we were there tending to our home and community after that storm.  They were very gracious to share their stories with us during our brief encounter.

Bee boxes, on the left, are only half used in the fields around the countryside.  Cold and rainy weather have been hard on the bees and blooms this year. 

These are boxes shipped here containing queen bees from Asia, Russia, Hawaii and many other places.

Ray, Pauline and their grandson stop by to send us off the next morning.  It was a great stay for us and I learned a great deal about bees :)