ah so one time I saw where to set new header picture, but didn’t have any new pics loaded onto blog site. New time I got connected to internet I couldn’t find where to do this!!!!!! hopefully it sets it today, I don’t see where it says ‘to apply’ hope it works!!!
Karen 🙂
Wearing my cuddle duds (long silky underwear) was a possibility for up here but didn’t know I’d be wearing them so much!! 55 is chilly up here, and very chilly when you are buzzing over the glacier melt water in the ocean, which we did on the ferry ride Saturday the 24th. The water was even a different color, lighter, and the surface tension is even different our captain said. I came prepared for any kind of weather, but am only using my sleeveless shirts for a visible collar with my long sleeve tee shirts. But weather or no weather I’m sleeping in, Alaska time, and getting lazy!! haha
If only Oakley could talk she’d be in total competition with Laura lea from Paonia, with her book about a dogs’ adventure. What she could say about spending the night away from us, inside a house or outside in the wild of Alaska night.
I had a dog sitter take care of our dogs while we were on this ferry ride, told her Oakley is an odd dog, but she trusted her too much and after having her for barely an hour she took them outside then wanted to leash them up and Oakley darted away and zipped under her wooden railing on her deck and was gone all day. Thank heavens she stuck close by in the neighbors yard, but she never came out as we yelled for her later that afternoon.
She may have gotten in the house, there were muddy prints around and the house had just been cleaned. Cliff and I went back the next day, driving our disel this time, she knows the sound of our truck. Still no luck we headed back to Soldotna, 80 miles from Homer got a call from sitter that she had been seen by a neighbor, we turned around after 45 min. and she came out immediately when we drove up! Happy Ending!! Whew! Big lesson next time will give explicipt instructions or they will be in crate for 8 hours in camper..
Ferry ride to Soldotna was beautiful, sunny, crystal blue water and sky. I got to see some sea otters! They are just as fun to watch in person as they seem to be in videos and tv!!!!
Found a great hide out in Hope, old mining town, actually gold ws discovered there before the Yukon rush started. Campground is right on the Turnagain Arm, lush trees and growth, so private spots between camping sites! The town is very very quiet, perfect for someone wanting to get away from busy life!!
Cliff took the plunge and bought a annual fishing license. We plan on being here easily 3 weeks maybe four, havent’ really looked at a calendar yet, ahhahahahahah sorry clients, but a 3 day is $45 bucks, 7 day was****, 14 day was like $103 so you might as well buy an annual one for $145 so you can fish any ol’ time you want while you are here!
A friend of the person’s cabin we are in, up the road offered hip waders, etc. and Cliff will be using them! Yea! A fishing trip out in the ocean is scheduled for Friday for halibut. The guys are going and us women will be window shopping along the way to Homer (again, for me 4th trip in a week) and hit the spit up again! Oh and talking about the spit, it is naturally made from a glacier, but did need some help in reinforcement after the big quake in ’64 by the corps with rock, which came from an island that we rode by on our ferry ride. I just this past spring figured out read actually that the spit is 5 miles long!!
The fishing regs are extremely complicated to understand. Cliff thought Colorado had the prize for that but he thinks Alaska has them beat hands down!!!!!
Oh Cliff and I were checking out some fishing trails/ramps along the Kenai River here walking along on a path and I spotted a moose about 30 yards away!!! He was small, we think he was a two year old. He didn’t seem to mind us, the area we were in was houses galore, a subdivision with trees between each place, you feel like you are in the woods but lots of people around, so we figured
I can see how a person could get the fishing bug here, to catch, catch, catch, and smoked it, freeze it, or however you want to preserve it, and take it home with you…….who knows what the future will bring there!
Lots of hiking trails here, short hikes and longer hikes, even with cabins along the way to stay in. A great trail from Hope to Seward is one of these, and heard the miners created it to get to Hope.
So thanks to Anna and looking at Stephie’s blog I bought a Nikon cool pix camera, don’t have to change lens to get a good zoom in…. so there is a regular shot of a glacier and a zoom in of it and the volcano across the bay and a zoom in shot of it…… Enjoy!
So Barb, my sister in law, here is a town named after you??? hahahah wonder if you have ever been called ‘Fernie’ 🙂 🙂 🙂
These mountains are just into Canada north of Glacier.
We are truly in a ‘cabin’ here!! And the guys, Cliff, Rusty and Gene are putting up, it looks like, the last of sheetrock that needs to cover up the ceiling in this place. A friend of theirs owns it. So cheap price to pay for shelter, a shower, real kitchen, wood stove, yes it was only 50 yesterday and rainy when we got here, and no heat in the place so a fire felt wonderful. Cliff said the tree, which was down, was the hardest wood he’s ever chopped and it was only as big as my upper arm.
Henri and Oakley are feeling at home totally in the camper. And they are not minding the leash now. Well until we got here, they are off the leash and totally enjoying it. 🙂
Eating very well, I didn’t plan on cooking much, easy easy meals, but the wonderful hospitality of Stella and Maryjo making you feel at home I’ve fallen into cooking a bit more, or helping out with clean up or adding a veggie or two to the meal!!!! But I can’t add much when they bring up catfish from home, haha. !!
So adventures begin soon.
So like I said in a post I did not get tired of seeing mountains…….these are in Alberta and British Columbia….the lake view is Lake Louise,,,,,,stunning, lots of tourist there. Getting ideas of where to come hang out longer on another trip!!! Glaciers, we traveled through the glacier ice field corridor north of Lake Louise.
So misc. pictures from last week!! Oh this outhouse in BC was a flush toilet even! That is one thing about Canada their rest stops are great, clean, nice smelling.
So figured out today, Saturday June 17, 2017, that we are paying $3.23/gallon for diesel, and that is the highest so far. Not bad we think, Cliff figured at home $5/gallon just for budgeting!!
I was cold this morning, and felt like it got colder after we got up! Stayed in an established campground outside of Whitehorse, Yukon.
So my advice about converting money over, I would do it, esp. if you plan on staying in government campgrounds, they don’t do change, twenty bucks is twenty bucks even if you have American dollars and it would only cost you $16 or so if you convert American dollars to Canadian, fyi!!! And so stores kinda convert one gal at a Walmart in Whithorse had to go to the office to find out the exchange rate, a different Walmart had it in its system…..now if you just shop up here our card converts automatically that is the easiest!!!!
Weather has been cool, highest on our trip all week has only been 60 once we got into Glacier National Park. Utah was hot as hell but we weren’t there long hahahahahah.
Rusty who is traveling with his wife along with his brother and his wife, didn’t realize just how far it is up here when you drive. I told them that when I got our BC/Alberta map and the Yukon map and opened them up on our table at home, I said out loud ‘what the hell did we get our selves into Cliff!!!’ hahahahah But looking at the maps I knew it was gonna be a huge trip!!! It’s really for the adventous soul. Lots and lots of country!
Was reading a bit of the men who were seeking their fortune, and the supplies they had to bring over Chilkoot Pass, a ton of good, 400lbs. of flour, 100 lbs. sugar, 100lbs. beans etc. took about 40 trips 33 miles one way to Bennett, overall 3 months of traveling back and forth walking to get his supplies over the mountain!!!!!! Then he had to get a raft/boat to go down the Yukon River to get to Dawson!!!! WOW!!!!!!! I’ve told a few people about the mini-series Cliff and I saw on the Discovery channel in 2014, called ‘Klondike” good story based on true facts. I found one finally on Amazon watched it again at home and brought it along too.
So we may be getting into some boring country to view finally, according to a couple of things I’ve read, will see. Oh we saw lots of animals yesterday, 2 foxes, a herd of bison right on the road, reminds us of a cattle drive in Delta county!!! hahah lots of black bear, and I mean black, jet black grazing along the roadside. My husband is hoping for a moose sighting and caribou, there are warning signs all slong the highway, but none have crossed our path yet. He may be with the wrong person, because when I flew up to Anchorage to visit Amy I was there for 3 weeks and we drove a bit here and there and I never saw one in the whole time so……..We will be up here longer and it’s late spring, early summer and babies, maybe we will have some luck.
So we are on the Klondike Hwy. now heading to Dawson City and getting into some dips and humps which are caused from frost heaves, finally. Read a lot about this problem and we were expecting to encounter it sooner than today…..
Well it’s up to 52 and it’s 12:06 and clouds breaking up, blue sky is always nice to see.
So got a base camp here on the Kenai and onto some secure internet….At a campground decided to turn on computer and something came up on sideline I got off in a hurry. So a day late and dollar short, here’s a new post……ha
So I have heard that the Canadian Rockies are spectacular…Our sights never changed all day today, June 13, 2017…..yesterday was pretty awesome also, that is why I took so many pictures, we couldn’t believe mountains after mountains were in the horizon all day long today! And they were all different shapes, and shapes and more shapes……We are camped at Pocahontas campground.
Lots of wooded area between each spot, you feel like you are really in the mountains camping. Our spot last night just north of Banff, lodge pole pines but no undergrowth to shield you from each spot right next to you. But it was quiet, even though the campground was totally full.
There is a huge pile of cut wood at these campgrounds, ready for you to take, but there is a fire fee if you do! The bathrooms are flush toilets, awesome!!!!! The ones here at Pocahontas look brand new.
Getting here today we had our longest wait at construction, reminded me of the waits when they were building the Glenwood Canyon new road…while we were waiting a guy came running out and around his car then he had a 3-4 year old girl in his arms and gong to the side of the shoulder! I knew what was happening there!!! Yep down come the pants and hands join under her knees and the incident occurred, even the little shake after happened, been there, done that!!! hahahahahah
Jasper was a very, very busy tourist town. Reminded me of Aspen that’s how busy, no parking on the street at all. Fueled up and got out of there asap.
Lovely, lovely evening tonight!! It’s actually was warming last night here in Canada that it was at Glacier, not needing a double comforter last night proved it!! Elevation was 3724 was warmest night yet! Sundown was after 10 and light was starting about 3:15 when I, for some reason woke up!!! Made a round pillow to go under my knees to straighten my back, has helped tremendously with no stiff back in the mornings!
1300 miles so far!! or a tad more that was back in Jasper about 28 miles ago!!!
Henri and Oakley are settling in ok, doesn’t mean they like the miles in the truck during the day, we go for walks around the campground often.
Oh and the pass this year to get into their ‘national parks’ is free this year, and camping is only $16 a night!!!!! Our poor national parks need help desperately wonder how we could get our system to be as flush with money to upgrade facilities?
Well off to Grande Prairie and probably Dawson Creek today. That is where mile marker 0 of the Alaskan/Canadian Highway begins. Will be typical tourists taking pictures with the big sign, hahahah!! Gotta have something fun to show the grandkids, right? J J
The scenery is finally changing no mountains around think we are in the ‘north’ country finally..
Oh not having internet/service ummmm the main thing I miss is the info for traveling at your fingers!! HA that sounds like a familiar phrase. Getting into a town to know where something is whre the other exit might be instead of backtracking to get back onto the highway!! Where a town park might be, yes I miss that and so does Stella, who is traveling with us with her husband, and brother and sister in law also, they are from Arkansas. Sending a text or message to Amy & kids and Kevin & family would be nice too, but will take advantage here soon in Grand Prairie or Dawson Creek!!! P.S. it’s a rainy day today, but the clouds parted a tad and some mountains to the west showed up so we are still following the rocky mountains.
An original bridge on the Alaskan Highway!!
Had to do the tourist thing ya know!! Esp when you drive this far!!!
Our drive so far has been beautiful. Lots of trees up ‘north’ here but they know how to clear a big path so you can see animals!!
After finding side button to take pics I’m taking more whoops pics!! Haha. And Cliff and Stella took a shower in out outdoor shower the other morning!!! 😊😊
Rivers are huge up here like all things in BC and the Yukon!!
So I’m very grateful for Starbucks- free internet!!! Twice now. 😊.
Finally off to Alaska at 12:32pm. July 9, 2017. The wind followed us from north Delta to just about Pocatello, ID. , really it did…….And for that matter our friends said the wind was horrible in SD Friday night so it must have blown the whole US of A Friday……..it’s actually blustery today, Sunday here at the east entrance of Glacier NP. And a high of 50!!!
One thing about it no bugs!!!! hahahahhah
Even though I’ve lived in Colorado for 41 years now, I still loved the scenery starting south of Pocatello…….and I see why they call Montana the ‘big sky’ country.
Didn’t get to drive on the ‘Road to the Sun’ in Glacier, still working on removing snow on the road, usually ready by the 4th. of July that is!! whoops guess that is the only 4th coming up now, hahahah. But having to have to drive on the southern route was lovely in a canyon for most of it then hitting the openness was awesome! I don’t get tired of seeing mountains!!! and they are taller than ours since they start out at a lower elevation!!! And they look it too!!!! The bathrooms here look very old, but running water, real toilet, perfect!!! Our poor parks system could use more money, and that is why I don’t mind buying a park pass, national or state!!!
Oakley and Henri know our camper is home, but riding in the truck sure isn’t fun for a dog that doesn’t have to wear a harness or leash much!
It’s been scary seeing people drive 70 or 80 and are texting/looking at their phone!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
And the roads here are wonderful and that is why you can drive 70…….
First two days didn’t eat much, just sitting in a vehicle, but today after meeting up with our friends, from Arkansas, they pulled out the catfish and whipped up some homemade hushpuppies…….that made up for not eating much the two previous days!!! ahh
gigisworld2016 