6.7.10 Alaska, (last entry Northbound)

6.7.10 We're Here - Northpole, Alaska. After 2 months, 6 days, over 4,500 miles of gorgeous country, and many enjoyable hours with friends and family, we finally made it to our planned destination!! Northpole, Alaska. We are parked on Art and Shari Harlow's property, where they are building their new home. What a beautiful spot to build a house and theirs is almost completed. They plan to be in before September. We seem to be having DirecTV and internet problems, and don't have either, but other than that, things are great! Our morning walks consist of walking around the property, and the dogs love the new smells, i.e., wolf, moose, etc. lol I'm not brave enough to just let them run loose.

Thought we'd start this off right, by visiting with Santa. After all, this is the Northpole.....




Boy, does he know a lot about you and where you live. So, you better be good!


The reindeer were a bit tired today.


Jack is in the sleigh, too, just look hard and you will see him.


And this is where we will be for about the next 4 months...... Art put in all the necessary things needed for a motor home to park, so we are quite comfortable.

6.5.10 Whitehorse, Yukon

6.5 - 7.10 Whitehorse abd Tok

Well, fancy that...you remember that horrible road that we took to come into Skagway? We're taking it back out. and no one has repaired it. SLOW GO again... The climb out wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. We dumped most of or water to lighten our load a bit. Maybe that helped. We are in Whitehorse, Yukon, and have just toured the local Wal Mart. We really are blessed to be in the US and have clean and comfort at our disposal.One funny thing though..so many people here are in their sandals and shorts. One of us is confused... Jack wanted to tour the Yukon Brewery, so he did....complete with samples.

Whitehorse, in the days of Klondike Fever, was one of the major ports for the Steamboats. The SS Klondike, a paddle wheeler, has been restored and is moored in town. The Steamboats aided the stampede to this area. It is almost unbelievable the thousands of people that crowded the streets during the 'Gold Rush' area. The SS Klondike was one of 250 paddle boats that ran up and down the river through this area for 50 years, aiding the trappers, gamblers and fortune seekers. They also hauled ore mined in the areas.

6.6.10 Spent the night at a Canadian Superstore parking lot with 6 other rigs. Wal-Mart was nearby and had 17 rigs parked in their lot. It's good that there are so many places that will let us park for free as wee travel. They know we will come in and shop.

In spite of not getting and address for church before we left Skagway, Alaska, Jack was able to find one for me. (We're back in Canada and have no phone service). Lucky me, I got to play the organ for the prelude music. They said the organ doesn't get used very much. One of the fulltime missionaries played the piano for the meeting. I didn't take my music, but should should always have it with me. You never know when it will be needed.

We finally made it to ALASKA!!!! We also took a picture of the International Boundary. I could stand in two countries at the same time. I was looking for Russia, but couldn't see it yet. lol

6.7.10 TOK Alaska Jack had to start the day by working before breakfast. The roads were so bad the last part of Canada, that the hitch was sbent in several places. So, after doing a lot of hammering to straighten it out a bit, we stopped in Tok to get it repaired. What a difference when we hit roads from the good ol' USA. They're not in a big hurry here...we arrived at about 10am, went to breakfast, groomed the dogs, Jack puttered around with motor home stuff, and here it is 1pm and we finally wee him welding. 2:00.... Here comes Jack with the tow bar. Yea!!!!!

The welding shop in Tok had a lot to offer. Jack ahd a tough decision to make... Keep the Cherokee, or get a new truck?... lol Looks a lot like a Scrambler.....

6.4.10 Skagway, AK

Sleeping has been very comfortable at around 50 dg. at night. But, what a way to wake up…and what a spot! Birds chirping, snow on the mountains, and the Excursion Train rattling right outside our door…….

While in Skagway, we decided to take a walk down town, and see the Alaskan Quilt Shop. I have been real good and haven’t gone to any so far. But, I’m weakening, and today is my day.

We watched the cute Soapy Smith Show, and a National Parks narrative on this “boom town”, it enlightened us on the Klondike story of Skagway. People stampeded in here by the thousands in 1898 via boat to get to Dawson City, Yukon, during the gold rush. The problem was, not many of them got any gold.

While in town, we weren’t invited to dinner, but Jack did get a picture taken with Sarah.

One of the jaded ladies caught Jack in one of the brothels, and I got him just as he was being lured up the stairs. Whew! Just in time. Some of the original buildings are still here, which includes the Red Onion Saloon.

The pianist wanted me to bring my older sister around........

We won't be able to go to church on Sunday, so Jack wondered if I could go a couple of days early? Silly boy!!!

6.3.10 Continuing West

We had rain most of the day from Watson and a stretch of the Alaskan Highway was not paved, which is seldom the case, and when we got through it, we were towing a brown jeep totally caked in mud. Because of the rain most of the day, the road was like brown jelly. We did encounter a bright spot however. The Dawson Peaks Resort boasts that it has the best 'Rhubarb Pie' in the Yukon. You know, they just might be right.



Whenever we get out of the motor home, this is the look we come back to.

We decided to take a detour off the Alaskan Highway by going to Skagway, Alaska, via Highway 2. The drive to Skagway was breathtaking, even if we did have rain most of the day driving. Another RV’er said a trucker advised him not to tackle the steep grade of 11% for 11.5 miles, but we decided to take it anyway. Other reports said the road would be fine. We just took it slow. The other choice would have been the ferry out of Haines at $250. We did lose one of our electric power circuits on the way down, the one that powered the rear view camera to see the Cherokee being towed. Jack had me check all the breakers and fuses, and because I was trained by a professional, I was able to click them properly, and ‘Voila’ we have power. Thanks, Leroy….

We had to cross this suspension bridge, which is the longest one in Alaska.

All of the rivers or streams are plum full of water. And I do mean ‘plum’ and ‘full’. Everything is so green and beautiful. The water was seeping or gushing out of the rocks as waterfalls in many places along the passage. We talked of how challenging it would be to traverse this country before there were any roads. The forests are so dense, the obvious choice would be the rivers.

6.2.10 Watson/Muncho Lakes area

6.2.10 Muncho Lake...... Jack keeps kidding me about driving. Well...... This is as close to that dream as I'm going to get. I couldn't even see over the steering wheel. He of course said, "Well raise the seat". All of the streams and lakes are very full with water. They are beautiful.

The lodge has a service of float planes that one can procure, if one wishes. Jack wished, but we didn't.


Watson Lake

We finally made it...... to here...

I have a very important job while Jack drives. I am to read the MilePost book and report. You know, it's very important to know what you are going to be seeing, and when you see it, you will know what you are seeing. (huh) Luci is always a big help. As soon as the motor starts, she thinks she has to get on my lap.

As I said, animals are everywhere. Today was the day for Moose and Bison. Couldn't get pictures of the Bison, as we couldn't stop.

While at Watson Lake, we visited the very famous 'Sign Post Forest' . There are 67,983 signs posted here. We looked and looked, but the closest we could come to one of our homes, was Albuquerque and Provo.... Jack had to consult the signage to get our bearings.

Forest Fire 6.1.10

6.1.10 After leaving our beautiful camping spot by the Peace River, between Fort St. John, and Hudson Hope, and doing laundry in Fort Nelson (which was very expensive, $2.50 per wash load), we encountered a road block just out of town. It was a forest fire, and we got to see the 'Hot Shots" in action. We weren't detained too long, and were on our way again. I learned a new road term. 'Frost Heave'. I thought the signs meant undulation,or road bump. The road was usually very rough over the heaves.


The road is not as good as it has been, and often is just gravel. We don't go very fast, hoping to protect the motor home a bit. We did see lots of different animals however, many bears, stone sheep (a lighter colored mountain sheep), moose, deer. and something small,brown and furry. We weren't allowed to stop on the road for picture taking, and the turnouts weren't big enough for our rig. It was a long day of driving, and we were very glad to get to our night spot at Toad River Campground.

Chetwynd Chain Saw Carvings 5.31.10

5.31.10 Chetwyn, BC
This is the Chain Saw Capital of the World. And, after viewing a few of these sculptures, it is easy to see why. The detail..... lips, eyes, nails..... WOW there is everything imaginable carved out of wood. There are carvings all around the town.



From here, we went to the Peace River to camp for the night.

Lake Moraine Glacier. 5.27.10

5.27.10 Need to back up a little, as I forgot to send the Moraine Glacier. These glaciers are so pretty, and this time of year, they are all frozen over. A 'Moraine' is a bunch of land or rock that is shoved down the hill in front of the moving glacier.

This BIG GUY was very friendly..... As you can see, rain again....
Jack had a talk with him however, Man to Bear...

This was a beautiful glacier!!

5.28.10 Athabasca Falls-Shopping Jasper

5.28.10 Today we visited the Athabasca Falls South of Jasper. These Falls have created an amazing rock formation, and continue to change the layout of the falls.






The water keeps changing and eroding the land, and we were able to walk where it once was..


We also got some shopping in. I was cold and didn't want to shop anymore, so went to the car. But Jack "made me" get out of the car for one more store. Results.....New birthday coat!!