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After 262 days and 8,695 miles in the RV, we finally began our trip to Alaska. No surprise, the scenery has been spectacular in Canada. The roads have been great for the most part, mostly single lane but we're traveling at about 50 mph when we're not going through the towns or mountain passes. One big surprise is finding that we’re practically the only ones on the road which allows us to comfortably drive at our own pace. Claudia and I spent our first night in Canada by visiting the campground bbq pit. When it came time to order, the head honcho came over to tell us that he had a fresh lake trout available to grill that a friend of his caught earlier in the day and suggested we try that. Neither one of us was sure we liked it but as Claudia said, “When in Rome” so we gave it a try. It turned out to be delicious and that one trout was more than enough for the two of us. This turned out to be a good call and a great way to start our travels through unfamiliar territory. We took a walking tour of Clinton including a visit to the local museum. Clinton was a stopping point for many of the gold seekers as they headed north to the Cariboo gold fields and had a lot of great history. Our next stop was in Fraser-Fort George. Along the way we did spot our first wildlife as a deer ran on the side of the road and a bald eagle flew in front of us. I'll never get sick of seeing bald eagles. They're just so beautiful. When we arrived in Fraser-Fort George and as we drove down the gravel road to what appeared to be the middle of the wilderness, a nice little man came running out to greet us and welcome us to the campground. He then let us know that we were his first campers (ever), that this was his first day open and we were given his best site. If the guy hadn't been so nice we would have just kept driving but we stayed the night. Other than no Wi-Fi, lots of bugs and no other people, the place wasn't that bad if you like being alone in the wilderness. After a one night stop in Prince George, we arrived at our new campground in Smithers. The view from our campsite was breathtaking with a perfect view of the glacier on Hudson Bay Mountain right in front of us. There were mountains and wilderness all around us. After spending a day enjoying downtown Smithers, we took a short hike to view the twin waterfalls that run on either side of the glacier. We also stopped at the locally famous Wildlife Museum. It turned out to be an exhibit of the works of a local taxidermist. The museum was actually closed but the owner let us in as he was taking pictures of all his animals because he was planning to sell them to Cabalas, who were planning to open a new store in the area. You'll have to see the pictures to believe what we saw. Our next stop was in Iskut at an absolutely beautiful campground surrounded but mountains and very close to a wilderness lake. Our morning started off with a young moose just walking past our camper. It turned out to be a good sign because during the day we saw several more moose, including a baby. We also saw a fox, a coyote and several bear, both black and brown. Our best look at a bear came as a large brown bear; still wearing his winter coat was slowly walking along the shoulder of the highway until he finally got spooked and ran into the woods. On our way to our next stop in Watson Lake, our first Yukon Territory stop, we travelled the Stewart-Cassiar Highway that was the most beautiful drive we’ve taken so far. We saw mile after mile of majestic mountains and pristine lakes. Unfortunately, the state of the road itself wasn't as good as previous highways but we took it slow. While we were in Watson Lake, we stopped by the world famous Sign Post Forest to see the tens of thousands of license plates and signs that people from around the globe have left there. Claudia and I plan to be prepared to leave her old Rav4 license plate there on our return trip. We took off early the next morning in the pouring rain and eventually made it to Whitehorse. Along the way the rain had let up after a couple of hours but we hit some of the worst roads yet. At one point we were driving along an unpaved gravel road for about 10 miles and with the rain still coming down it covered both the RV and car in mud. Once we settled in at our campground, we took a stroll around town before heading over to the S.S. Klondike. The S.S. Klondike was the largest sternwheeler to run along the upper Yukon River and has been restored to her original condition. We had a fun time exploring her and learning a lot about the history of the Whitehorse and Yukon area in the early 1900's. Later, we headed back into town and had a nice dinner out at the Klondike Rib & Salmon BBQ. It’s a famous joint here in Whitehorse. From there we headed across the street to see the Frantic Follies Show. This is another well-known tourist stop in Whitehorse and was quite entertaining. It's billed as a vaudeville act and demonstrates the type of entertainment that was around during the gold rush days. When the show ended at about 10:30, we walked outside to our car and it was as bright as midafternoon. With sunset not coming until 11:30 at night, it’s really strange. The next day we took a drive over to one of the local scenic spots named Miles Canyon. Once there we were able to cross a beautiful canyon over the Yukon River on a suspension bridge and walk along some of the trails. Our next stop takes us into Alaska for the first time and we’re really looking forward to it. Ed We arrived at our first stop in Washington during a steady rainfall. It was the first time we had to set up in the rain since we hit the road full time 8 months ago so we have nothing to complain about. After over 2 days of pouring rain the sun once again peeked out from behind the clouds and we were able to head out for some sightseeing. Although it was not a perfectly clear day, we were fortunate enough to see the peak of Mt. Rainier as we entered into the Mt. Rainier National Park. We learned that much of the time people don't even see the peak due to the high precipitation and cloud cover in the area. We started our trip through the park at the lower elevation and drove through a moss and lichen covered forest of evergreens. We weren't driving for long when we came upon a black bear foraging right on the side of the road. As we drove further into the higher elevations we saw some beautiful waterfalls and lots of snow. We took a couple of short hikes before reaching the highest point we could drive. That was at the visitor center where we were surrounded in 20 to 30 foot snow banks. We were lucky enough to once again get a few peeks between the clouds of the top of Mt. Rainier which tops off at 14,416 feet, by far the highest point in the area. Our next campground took us to Monroe Washington where we were able to celebrate Claudia’s birthday with a trip into Seattle. Claudia has posted a separate blog entry describing our day there so be sure to check it out. Following our day in Seattle, we took a day to relax before heading out on a beautiful 5 mile hike into Wallace Falls State Park. Stella joined us as we made our way through some beautiful forest and up to 3 gorgeous waterfalls. I say "up" because it was quite a climb but we all made it back and forth without too much trouble. Our next campground was supposed to be our last stop before beginning our Canadian and Alaskan adventure but unfortunately, we learned very quickly that this was not a good campground for us. With no cell service, Wi-Fi or TV and a site that needed a lot of work we decided that we just couldn't stay there for 2 weeks. Because it was the beginning of a 3 day Canadian weekend however and with the campgrounds full we decided to stick it out for 3 days. We took advantage of our time there by doing some necessary shopping as well as taking a very nice drive out to Oak Harbor, a town on an island off the Washington coast. While there we crossed a couple of enormous bridges through what we learned was called Deception Pass. We pulled over to take a closer look and discovered a beautiful canyon with the ocean running through it as we walked across both bridges and climbed along the banks. This is another example of the type of places we have been lucky enough to stumble across that display beautiful parts of this country that we never knew existed. When we did finally hit the road again, we found a great campground in Lynden Washington where we were able to relax and prepare for the next phase of our adventure. While there we took a trip across the border and visited Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in Vancouver. In addition to crossing over a 450 foot long, 250 foot high suspension bridge across a gorge, we also climbed up into an enormous tree house and walked from treetop to treetop across a series of suspension bridges. Yes, they were high and yes, they swayed. We had some great views up there and when we returned to ground level, we had many more great views as we walked along paths in this beautiful park within a forest containing some of the oldest trees in North America. After our walk, we still had one more path to take. This time it was along a path they call the "Cliffwalk" and it was just that. This was a series of boardwalks attached to the wall of cliffs and eventually out onto a portion of the boardwalk that jutted out from the cliff faces by about 40 or 50 feet so that you felt like you were suspended in midair. This was a bit creepy but another great view, particularly straight down. It turned out this was the last sightseeing trip we took out of Washington due to plenty of rain during our stay in Lynden. Instead we continued to look for places to see in Alaska and in addition to booking a Riverboat Discovery Tour out of Fairbanks we also made lots of notes about other great spots to check out at our various stops. Knowing that I’m stating the obvious, we’re very excited about the next phase of our trip. Beginning in 2 more days, we begin our 5700 mile, 52 day tour through some unbelievable areas of Canada and Alaska before returning to the US on July 20th in Shelby, Montana. We’re ready to go!! Ed We went to Seattle for a very special occasion – my birthday! The weather was perfect for walking around the city. We started our day strolling around the iconic Public Market at Pike Place. Then we hopped on the monorail for a short ride to the Space Needle. The view from the top was spectacular! There are snow covered peaks visible all around Seattle, including Mt. Rainier, which is 60 miles away as the crow flies. Just beautiful! Then we were back on the monorail to the market where we strolled some more and watched the fish mongers tossing fish around their store. We took a short walk over to the waterfront and rode the “Great Wheel”, a huge Ferris wheel that extends out over the bay and also has spectacular views. (I loved it! Ed, the roller coaster king, was very “nervous”.) Then we walked back to the market and had a delicious lunch at the Athenian Restaurant. There is a seat at the counter designated as where Tom Hanks was filmed having lunch in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. That was our brush with greatness. After lunch we strolled some more, purchased some swordfish steaks for supper, then headed home. The swordfish was fabulous! It was a wonderful day. Claudia Before I begin talking about our time in Oregon, I want to tell you about a stop we made on our way there. Our final stop in California was at the Driftwood RV Resort in Los Molinos. This is a small private campground right on the Sacramento River that has just been taken over by new owners. After we checked in, we were told that we were the only campers and to just drive down to the river, park however we like and make ourselves at home. We ended up parking sideways along the river so that the entire canopy side of the RV was facing the river with just an amazing view. We spent most of our 3 days there just sitting by our site, listening to the birds and entertaining ourselves by watching 2 ospreys that were busy watching over their nest and looking for food in the river. It was an outstanding way to end our time in California. Our next stop was at Crater Lake RV Park in Prospect, Oregon. We ended up with another nice site in a quiet, wooded area with barely any other campers nearby. From here we headed off to Crater Lake National Park not really knowing what to expect. The bad news was that most of the scenic drive around the crater as well as most of the hiking trails were all closed due to snow. Snow banks in the parking lot of the visitor center were well over 15 feet high and many of the buildings were still completely covered in snow. The good news was that even at 7100 feet, it was still 70 degrees outside and all that snow made the area even more beautiful than we could have hoped for. Even with some overcast clouds hovering overhead, the beauty of Crater Lake couldn't be missed. This is another park that we plan on returning to in warmer weather for a different perspective and to enjoy some hiking around the rim of the crater. On the way back to the campground we decided to stop at two of the points of interest in the area that we were told about when we checked in at the campground. Rogue Gorge was an awesome raging river flowing through a beautiful gorge and Natural Bridge was further down that river where the water rushed into underground lava tubes and then came rushing back out of caves further down the river. Both places were well worth the trip. The next day we had breakfast out in a historic local landmark before heading out to visit several scenic spots that we heard about through the campground. We took several hikes through the forest and saw gorgeous waterfalls, loads of rapids and beautiful gorges. Stella was in her glory once again as she ran freely, off leash through many of the trails. Our next stop in Oregon was in Silverton. Silverton is located in the Willamette Valley where it seems that everywhere you look it's green. While in Silverton, we enjoyed a visit to the Oregon Garden. The Oregon Garden is a pet friendly, 80-acre botanical garden, featuring more than 20 specialty gardens showcasing the diverse botanical beauty that can be found in the Willamette Valley and throughout the Pacific Northwest. It was a beautiful place to visit and a great way to end our time here in Oregon. Ed Beautiful Napa Valley! I cannot say enough about how pretty it is here. Miles and miles of green rolling hills covered with vineyards and grass and trees. After our trek through the arid southwest, the greenery is so welcome.) We camped in Calistoga, which is right in the heart of wine country. I debated whether to take a guided wine tour, or just go to a single winery or two or three on our own. I decided to start with one winery and see how it goes. (Ed is not a wine drinker, so this was pretty much my show.) We went to Castello de Amorosa which was just down the road. It was a beautiful Tuscan style castle with vineyards and winery. The castle was like a museum, complete with grand ballrooms, many wine cellars and secret passageways and even a torture chamber with some interesting artifacts on display. This is an upscale winery that does not sell in stores. You have to order it directly from them. They were selling barrels for $10,000. We passed. After touring the castle we had a tasting. We each got five choices. Ed and I chose different wines so that I could “help” him with his samples. I am glad I decided on a single winery because I was quite tipsy by the end of the tasting. Ed was designated driver today. We had lunch in Calistoga and that was the end of winery touring for me. Later in the day, we took a short ride over to California's Old Faithful and were able to watch a geyser erupt about every five minutes or so. It wasn't Yellowstone, but it was quite impressive. On our last day in Calistoga Ed got his chance for a tasting. In addition to all those wineries, Napa Valley has several great microbreweries. We chose the Bear Republic Brewing Company in nearby Healdsburg. We had a great lunch and Ed tried a “sampler” of seven of the house specialty brews. He enjoyed them very much. I was designated driver on this day. Claudia As much as we loved the wilderness in the National Parks, it was nice to get back to civilization again where our cell phones and Wi-Fi once again worked. We started off our visit to San Francisco by taking a short walk from our campground in Greenbrae over to the Larkspur ferry that took us for a half hour trip to San Francisco. It was a great ride, right past San Quentin Prison where the prisoners waved to us as we passed by. Once in San Francisco we took an old time cable car ride to Chinatown where we had some lunch. Then it was back on the cable car until it was time to switch cars and we decided to take a walk down to Fisherman's Wharf. Once there we walked around, just taking in the sights and sounds. We did enjoy a couple of crab cakes from one of the dozens of vendors. We eventually jumped on to one of the historic trolleys for a trip back to the ferry terminal and headed back to the campsite. The weather was perfect and we had a great, although tiring day. The next day we decided to take a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge where we parked and took some pictures. We wish we could have spent more time there so we could have walked or rode our bikes across the bridge. Next we moved on to our next campground in Calistoga, about an hour north knowing we were going to return to San Francisco in a few days since we couldn’t get Alcatraz tour tickets while we were there. We did return a few days later by getting up early and heading back into San Francisco for our delayed tour to Alcatraz. We couldn't find a parking space at the Larkspur ferry terminal so we ended up having to drive into the city. The drive in actually wasn't that bad and we were able to park for less money than the ferry would have cost us. We also got there early enough that we were able to walk around Pier 39, one of San Francisco's great tourist spots with lots of shops, restaurants and bars. It also offered a great view of both the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. At one stop along the pier, we looked out at and watched hundreds of sea lions basking in the sun on wooden rafts, less than a hundred feet away. After that, we took our tour of Alcatraz and weren't disappointed. We walked around the island and inside the prison, took an audio tour that walked and talked us through the entire prison building, explaining things as we walked around, including some of the famous attempted jail breaks, complete with sound effects. The audio tour definitely made the trip a highlight. Unfortunately, the traffic back wasn't as kind as on the way in but we did finally return to the camper after about two and a half hours on the road. Stella sure was glad to see us when we returned. It was a 10 hour day for her but she did great. Yes, it was nice to get cell service back and we loved San Francisco but we’re looking forward to returning to less populated areas. Ed After seven months on the road, we finally made it to California. We started our visit to California by visiting four National Parks. The first park we visited was Joshua Tree. What a surprise that was. We expected loads of Joshua trees and a lot of desert. We got that and a lot more. This place was loaded with beautiful boulders, stacked on one another and spread out. We took a couple of beautiful hikes, one into a box canyon that at one time was used by outlaws to hide cattle that had been rustled. After Joshua Tree, we headed off to Shoshone where we camped while we toured Death Valley. Shoshone was a tiny little town with 17 residents, an Inn, a campground, one gas station and a restaurant. It was a beautiful location looking out at the mountains. On our only full day in Shoshone, the three of us headed off into Death Valley by car. Again, I’m not sure what we expected but it was another gorgeous area. We’re starting to call these “wow” days because it seems that’s what we’ve been saying over and over as we drive through the area. This time it was more of a painted desert with painted mountains. We took a couple of side roads into places words just can't describe. There were mountains of every conceivable color. And off in the distance, the snow covered Sierra Nevada Mountain range. We were so alone at one point we felt like we were the only living creatures until two coyotes peeked over the shoulder and wandered over to our car as we slowly drove by. Once it came time to leave Shoshone, we headed off in the RV towards the Sequoia National Park. Since we consider this trip an "adventure", we decided to take the scenic route through Death Valley rather than the main highway. On this trip, in the RV and towing the car we hit two separate areas with elevations near 5000 feet. The elevation was not as much of a problem but the switchbacks and sharp turns through jagged mountain passes tested all my RV driving skills. Claudia said that when she looked out her side window at times; all she could see was space. My eyes were glued to the road, praying that another RV or bus wouldn't come around the corner as we hit some of those turns. The vistas at the top however were breathtaking. Needless to say, we made it to our next campground safe and sound where we camped while visiting Sequoia. We started off with a drive through Sequoia and as we've encountered at each of the National Parks we've traveled through so far, we were delighted by what we saw. Even though we have seen pictures of the giant sequoias, we were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the forest and all the giant sequoia's as we drove at an elevation of close to 7000 feet. We took a beautiful mile long hike into the forest in order to see General Sherman, the world’s largest living tree that is approximately 2200 years old. We also took another hike up to Moro Rock. This was a climb of over 400 steps in order to arrive at the top of a huge boulder where it seems you're standing at the top of the world at an elevation of 6,725 feet with a 360 degree view. It was just another beautiful day. Now it was time to move on to Yosemite National Park. Unexpectedly, my driving skills were once again tested as we made our way to Yosemite. There were plenty of twists and turns across a variety of elevations with drops on either side so steep we couldn’t see down them. On some turns we could see our car beside us. We did make it safe and sound to Yosemite however and began a trip through what turned out to be the highlight of our California National Park tours. There were waterfalls, rock formations, trees taller than most buildings and views like nothing we've ever seen. Add to that the fact that the weather was gorgeous with deep blue skies and the visit was just wonderful. We took three trips to the park. On day one we traveled through Yosemite Valley, visiting such beautiful sights as Bridal Veil Falls, El Capitan, Yosemite Falls and Half Dome. At Yosemite Falls we climbed up the rocks to get as close to the lower falls as possible. On day two, just as gorgeous as day one, we returned to the valley. We started out by taking a 4 mile round trip hike to Mirror Lake where we could see images of the mountains above us perfectly reflected in the lake. Words can’t describe the stillness and the deep blue skies. Once we returned to the car, we pulled out our bikes and saw the park from a different perspective as we bicycled through the valley. On day three, we decided to take a trip up to Glacier Point, an overlook into Yosemite Valley from an elevation of 7,214 feet with a commanding view of Yosemite Valley, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and the High Sierra’s. It was just a magnificent way to end an absolutely awe inspiring visit to four of the most beautiful parks in the country. And best of all… we’ll be back. Ed Arizona was all that we hoped for - lots of sunshine and warm temps and desert scenery. Our first excursion was to Tombstone, which really hasn’t changed that much since the Earps had their famous shootout at the OK corral. We had lunch there and took a trolley tour and stopped at Boot Hill to see the graves of the famous and not famous. We planned to have some service done on the car, so next day we hung around the camp. After that we went to Saguaro National Park-West and enjoyed the unique landscape of that desert. Besides the Saguaro cactus that only grows in AZ, the high point of the trip was that we actually saw a real roadrunner! (No Wile E. Coyote.) We also went to Old Tucson, which is the setting of countless western movies and TV shows. It was really fun to see and touch all those props and sets and see lots of characters in period clothing strolling about the town. While in the desert we discovered there were other problems with the car, so it was back to the dealer next day. However, they gave us a cute little red Chevy something-or-other on loan for the day. We were able to see the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, which was another great take. While in Tucson, we got to visit a friend that I have known since I was about five or six years old. Our families were very close growing up and we spent many weekends together over the years. I hadn’t seen Donna in over 30 years, but it felt like it was just last week. After Tucson, we went to Phoenix and visited with our friend Harriet, who moved to Scottsdale several years ago. The three of us plus Stella took a great hike in Lost Dog Wash Trail. It was more beautiful desert scenery. Then next day Harriet and I went to the ballet in Phoenix. That was a real treat! While in the area, Ed’s cousin Richard (who we visited in VA) happened to be Scottsdale taking care of some business for his mom. We got together and took another hike and had a bite to eat. Besides the beautiful scenery of Arizona, we really enjoyed visiting with friends and family we haven’t seen in a while. Claudia Since Claudia and I have never been to New Mexico, our expectations were high. We were not disappointed. Our first stop was at Carlsbad Caverns which is like no other cave that we've ever seen. We decided to hike the mile and a quarter trail down to the main area of the caves rather than take the elevator. Then we hiked for another mile and a half to see the prime areas of the cave including enormous rooms and tiny passages. We spent three hours exploring and enjoying each section. Unfortunately, no pictures can describe the beauty and size of Carlsbad Caverns. This is one place you need to see for yourself to appreciate. We also took a drive over to the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens, a State Park a short drive from our campground. It was a beautifully laid out environment with lots of potential but unfortunately, most of the animals were hiding. The next day, Claudia, Stella and I headed back to Carlsbad National Park for a 9.5 mile scenic drive. The National Park Service has built a dirt road (more like a trail) through the mountains around the caverns. The road is not traveled by many and gave us the feeling that we were all alone in the wilderness. We made hairpin turns, drove through dry creek beds and saw some of the most beautiful country ever. We almost "chickened out" when we saw the road we were planning to take but the car held up fine and we are so glad we went. We arrived at our next stop in Las Cruces, New Mexico after a beautiful 3 hour drive. The weather was perfect as we drove through some gorgeous scenery along the Guadalupe Mountains and across the Salt Flats in Texas. Once in Las Cruces, we took a 210 mile scenic drive (not including side trips) that felt more like 400 miles but every mile was something special. Our first stop was at White Sands National Monument. Come to find out, there really isn't a "monument" there. The sand is the monument. And there's a lot of it. Miles upon miles of powdery white sand always cool and as soft as anything you've ever touched. At one point we took off our shoes and climbed a couple of dunes. Even Stella struggled to work her way up the dunes and through the sand. Then it was off for a trip through part of the Lincoln National Forest. We saw beautiful mountains and canyons on our way up to the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation and saw snow for the first time since we left home. Of course, we were thousands of feet high and when we took a drive up to the Windy Point Vista Lookout just below the summit of Sierra Blanca we were just under 12,000 feet. That ride by the way, was a white knuckle drive up 10 miles of switchbacks, mostly without guardrails. We didn't take a lot of pictures on the drive because we both had our eyes closed (LOL). The drive back down was even scarier. Our last stop on our scenic drive was at the Three Rivers Petroglyph site where there are thousands of petroglyphs. On the way we witnessed the devastation from an enormous forest fire that happened two years ago. It was amazing how much of an area was completely destroyed and we could clearly see where the fire line ended as we left the area. New Mexico turned out to be a real pleasant surprise for us and we enjoyed all our travels through the areas we covered. Next year we’ll be returning to see more of the northern portion of the state and we’ll be looking forward to it. Ed |
AuthorsEd and Claudia always dreamed of retiring and travelling the country in their motorhome. They retired in 2013 and this is the continuing story of their adventures on the road. Archives
March 2024
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