June, 2002

Saturday, June 1 - Day 21  (222 miles / 0 toad miles)

Today was a travel and sightseeing day. We drove from Kalispell Montana to Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia. We entered Canada about 10:30 a.m. and immediately saw deer by the side of the road -- the first wildlife outside of a park setting. En route we stopped for about three hours at Ft. Steele, a reconstructed town that built up during the gold rush around a Royal Canadian Mounted Police compound. We had lunch at Ft. Steele, where I managed to cough powdered sugar all over the table.

Stopped for the night (eventually three) at the Canyon Campground, down a steep driveway on the far side of town. After crossing a narrow interior bridge, we arrived at a nice wide site with a creek in the background. We took a short walk around the campground before eating a light dinner in the RV. It began to rain by early evening, and light rain continued all night and until late on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday, June 2 - Day 22  (0 miles 185 toad miles)

We slept in until about 9:30 this morning, with the sound of light rain tapping on the roof. We drove into town for a submarine sandwich lunch at Slappey's, then returned to the campground and did three loads of laundry. While the clothes were in the dryer, we drove back to town to the Park Information office where we picked up a lot of literature on British Columbia and purchased a $99 (Canadian) Discovery pass, which is the equivalent of the US Golden Eagle Passport -- good for all National Parks and National Monuments in Canada. With the exchange rate at $1.56 Canadian to $1 US, the cost of the Canadian pass works out almost exactly to the $65 price for the US version of the pass.

Although we had planned to stay in the RV park today because of the rain, we left in the toad about 2:00 and headed to Banff. Immediately on entering Kootenay Park (one of four contiguous parks, the others being Banff, Yoho, and Jasper) we saw some mountain goats on the side of one of the cliffs. The predominant trees in the park are fir, for the first time we see almost no pine trees. In Banff, we visited the Cave and Basin National Monument, basically a sulphur hot spring where an endangered species of snail lives. This was the first National Park opened in Canada, and the third in the world after Yellowstone (US) and Royal (Australia). We drove through downtown Banff on our way back, and decided that if we have time it may merit a visit when we return through Calgary after the Alaska portion of the journey.

We backtracked for the return, and saw one roadside black bear. On leaving the park, we saw more mountain goats, this time by the side of the road with a handful of youngsters. During the afternoon we crossed the Continental Divide twice, and will cross it three more times in the next two days. Purchased gas in town for 72.9 cents/liter. With 3.79 liters to the gallon, this translates to 2.76C for a gallon, or $1.77 at the current exchange rate. Other prices seem comparable to the US (or slightly higher) but turn out a little cheaper after the exchange rate is taken into account

Ate dinner at a decent German restaurant in Radium Hot Springs, then returned to the RV for reading and television, including the premiere episode of Fox's "Bachelorettes in Alaska."

Monday, June 3 - Day 23   (0 miles / 217 toad miles)

Today was a sightseeing day. We took the toad into the park system again, this time turning north to Lake Louise. On the way into the park today we saw a single mountain goat and a single big horn sheep. En route to Lake Louise, we stopped at Paint Pots, an area where ochre was collected for use in making paints. We also stopped at Marble Canyon, following the trail over a series of bridges to a fast flowing waterfall. With the snow melt, we are here at the right time of year to see a lot of water flowing in just about every water body. No rain today, but yesterday's weather had left all the walking trails muddy.

We had lunch at a deli in Lake Louise and bought a few supplies at a local market. We then headed west through Yoho National Park to the town of Golden. Along the way, we stopped to see "natural bridge" and more fast flowing water. Also stopped at a viewpoint for a set of spiral tunnels installed to overcome a 4.5% grade that was wreaking havoc on the early railroad system in Kicking Horse Pass. The 60 mile trip from Golden south to Radium Hot Springs was a nice highway, but essentially boring.

We called David and Marina this evening, the family is doing fine. Carol cooked a nice spaghetti supper while I caught up on bookkeeping and on this journal.

Tuesday, June 4 - Day 24   (225 miles / 20 toad miles)

We got an early start today on our way to Jasper, Alberta. The drive north from Lake Louise was over the Ice Fields Parkway, a two-lane road which is closed to commercial traffic. By the time we reached 6500' elevation the ground was covered with snow. We passed our first glacier and first (and only) frozen lake of the trip and saw a variety of wildlife, including big horn sheep near Radium Hot Springs, a grizzly by the side of the road, and an elk.

Our campground was Whistler's campground in the Jasper National Park. It was a nice wide site with an unusual double circle pull-through parking arrangement. After a quesadilla lunch at a downtown restaurant, we took a short walking tour of Jasper, which is like the Gatlinburg of the Canadian Rockies. We bought a postcard with a picture of the glacier and wrote a short message to the folks at my office. Also did a little light grocery shopping.

We took a tram ride up the side of a nearby mountain. We could have taken a short but steep uphill hike on the snow to reach the peak, but decided the snow was too treacherous to try.

Wednesday, June 5 - Day 25  (242 miles / 10 toad miles)

Today was a travel day west to Prince George, British Columbia. It lightly rained on and off most of the day, with one short bout with sleet. It started in the mid-50s in the a.m. but got into the mid-30s during the night. En route we saw two black bear and two moose. Also saw a rainbow with the mountains as a backdrop, very pretty. The landscape was reminiscent of Northern Utah -- a long green valley between two mountain ranges. Ate at a Burger King for lunch, another indulgence in fast food

Arrived in Prince George in a cold rain and checked into the Hart Valley RV Park. It was a small park and we had a nice wooded site that backed up to a fence between us and the RV behind. Drove downtown in the rain and visited two galleries -- one First Nation gallery in a community center, the other a local art gallery in a larger civic complex.

Called Anne this evening to check in and arrange for more prescription refills. Checked with Federal Express, and there is no way to get a package delivered to us here before Monday or in Prince Rupert before Tuesday. We then went to a drug store to see if it is possible to fill the prescriptions here. The druggist on duty (the pharmacy manager) said that we needed a prescription from a doctor licensed in Canada. When he found out we were traveling to the middle of nowhere, though, he sold us a 14-day supply of the three needed medications without a prescription. Another example of the helpful people we have met along the way.

Thursday, June 6 - Day 26   (0 miles / 30 toad miles)

Today was a shopping and resting day in Price George. We started at the shopping mall where we bought a couple of books and 6 DVDs, each with three old movies -- spy, Mafia, cop, etc. When the rain let up, and after lunch at Arby's (fast food again) we went to the railroad museum. It was fascinating, with a variety of old rail cars to see and some to walk through. The best was the wooden snow plow rail car which was used to clear the tracks between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Also saw a gigantic crane that was used to lift derailed cars back onto the track. We gave the toad another car wash, it gets really muddy whenever we have to tow through either rain or a construction area.

After a trip to the cinema to watch The Sum of All Fears, we grocery shopped at Overwaitea, a British Columbia food chain. According to one of the volunteers in the museum yesterday, the store got the name because in the old days when you bought a pound of tea, they used to throw in a little extra. Ate dinner in the RV and I finished the book that Mike Smith loaned me about the NSA. Was a little surprised to see so many Secret and Top Secret code-words revealed, and also that the code-words seem to have remained unchanged for many years after I got out of the Air Force.

Friday, June 7 - Day 27  (107 miles / 13 toad miles)

Today was a short travel day. We had light rain again this morning, by the time we reached the Stuart River campground near Ft. St. James. The campground was almost deserted and we were met by the owner's two dogs. After setting up the RV we drove into town and had lunch (fish & chips for me and Chinese for Carol) at the King Restaurant, a local eatery where we were the only strangers and most of the customers were First Nation members.

After lunch we toured the Ft. St. James historic site, an old Hudson River Company trading post for New Caledonia -- which comprised present day British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Other visitors included a couple of class field trips and one birthday party. Back to the RV for an afternoon nap, dinner (BBQ hamburgers) in the RV, and a spy movie from the recently purchased DVD.

This is the first night that we are out of cell phone range. Looking at the map, that may continue for a while.

Saturday, June 8 - Day 28  (221 miles /  98 toad miles)

Today was a travel day from Ft. St. James to Moricetown, British Columbia, where we stopped at the just-opened-for-the-season, but not-yet-mowed, hilltop Moricetown RV Park and Campground. No rain today, and the temperature rose from the mid-30s last night to the mid-70s by the time we reached Moricetown. En route we stopped for lunch at A&W, across the street from the world's largest (60' aluminum) fly-fishing rod. The daisies are in bloom, and we passed a number of fields that were almost solid yellow with them. We saw two more moose and three black bear, including one mother with her cub.

After settling in, we got in the toad and drove up the road to the K'San village, where we were the only people on the 4:00 p.m. guided tour of the lodge houses. The village was crowded when we arrived, as it was the locale for taking of the annual high school graduation photos. Leaving the village, we went to the site of about 15 totem poles, many of which were carved top and bottom with big bare sections in the middle.

Sunday, June 9 - Day 29  (194 miles / 10 toad miles)

Today we drove west to Kitwanga, where we bought diesel then turned "North to Alaska" and broke out the Johnny Horton CD to celebrate. Just up the road on the Stewart-Cassair highway we took a short side trip to another collection of totem poles. We continued north to Mezidian Junction, where we had the daily special B egg salad sandwiches with delicious cabbage soup for lunch. We then went west on Highway 37A, stopping to take photos of the Bear Glacier. In Stewart, BC, we stopped for two nights at the Bear River RV Park. We were the early arrivals, and got the end space with a nice grassy area B but also with mosquitoes.

We drove into neighboring Hyder Alaska where we stopped at two souvenir stores and then bought fudge that is "as sweet as the lady who makes it." She cooks a batch of 60 pounds every week except in the summer season, when it's about every three days. Crossed back through Canadian customs to Stewart, where we hit a couple more souvenir shops before returning to the RV for BBQ steak on the grill.

Monday, June 10 - Day 30    (0 miles / 45 toad miles)

We slept in to about 10 a.m. this morning. After a breakfast of the pastry we bought yesterday evening in Stewart, we drove back to Hyder and as far as we could (about 16 miles) up the road to Salmon Glacier. Along the way we stopped at the bear-watching area where people come in July and August to watch bears catch the salmon that are swimming up the river to spawn. We also passed some abandoned mining equipment, and also what appears to be an active mine. Drove across one narrow patch of snow before finally reaching the area where the road became impassable due to snow. From the top of the drive -- and a short walk across the first impassable patch of snow -- we got a good view, and hopefully good photos, of the glacier. A fellow from New Mexico was just returning to his vehicle, having hiked for about 4 hours up to and back from a viewpoint where you can look down on the top of the glacier. From his description of the trip, I'm glad we decided not to try it.

After stopping at two more stores that were closed when we visited Hyder yesterday, we once again went through Canadian customs and back to Stewart where we got the car washed by a fellow who works on a road crew clearing snow in the winter and runs a hot water RV and car wash during the summer. Vacuumed the RV then had dinner the local Bitter Creek Café. I had a tasty salmon dish while Carol had chicken curry. From just a day and a half here, one gets the sense of a very slow lifestyle that is pleasant, but might drive you crazy after a month or so.

Tuesday, June 11 - Day 31   (244 miles / 0 toad miles)

Today we backtracked from Stewart to Mezidian Junction, where we topped off the diesel before setting off north for Dease Lake. We drove the first stretch (actually the first three stretches) of gravel road, much of which was seal coated and the rest of which was in amazingly good condition. En route we saw half a dozen black bears and stopped for a sandwich lunch in a roadside park.

Stopped for the afternoon at the Dease Lake RV Park in Dease Lake, BC. It was a fairly barren park in a fairly barren town. We used the crank-the-compressor-yourself car wash then cooked BBQ chicken for dinner in the RV.

We had planned to stay here for two nights and to drive the narrow mountain road to Telegraph Creek tomorrow, but we had second thoughts about four hours of mountain driving to get to and from a town with nothing to see.

Wednesday, June 12 - Day 32    (161 miles / 0 toad miles)

We drove today from Dease Lake, BC to the Alaska Highway (with one more gravel stretch of the Stewart-Cassair), then a short way east to Watson Lake, Yukon. About half way up, we hit Jade City -- there is a lot of jade mining in the region -- where we stopped at the two roadside shops and bought a jade statute and a jade bracelet. We stopped for lunch in the RV at a nice lakeside pullout. During the afternoon we passed over the continental divide from which water flows either west to the Pacific or north to the Arctic Ocean. We also crossed the 60^th parallel, making us two-thirds of the way between the equator and the North Pole. The days are getting longer, the GPS says that sunrise is at 4:36 a.m. and sunset at 10:56 p.m. For the first time in several days, we saw no wildlife on today's drive.

Arrived mid-afternoon at the aptly-named Downtown RV Park in Watson Lake. The sites here are very narrow, the big draw is the free do-it-yourself RV wash, which you really need after getting off the Cassair highway. Must have taken us over an hour to wash the RV and another half hour for the toad. After the wash we walked "downtown" to see what there is; got money from an ATM; ate dinner at the pub in the Watson Hotel; and called Anne from a pay phone to check in. We are having her send the latest prescriptions and some mail to us at General Delivery in Tok, Alaska, where we expect to arrive late next week.

Thursday, June 13 - Day 33   (0 miles / 9 toad miles)

This morning Carol went to the doctor about a recurring bladder infection. We got in promptly to see the doctor, then went downstairs to the pharmacy where it took quite a while to have a simple prescription filled. We then did laundry followed by a major grocery shopping trip. We had take-out lunch from Archie's then returned to town to see a show at the Northern Lights Center and to walk through the sign forest -- which now boasts over 48,000 signs from people all over the world.

Returned to the RV where we have a good view of the do-it-yourself RV wash. There apparently is a Newmar caravan here, since there are many Newmar motorhomes and fifth wheels being washed then directed to parking by a man with a walkie talkie. Took a couple of hours to catch up with bookkeeping and this journal before going into town for dinner at a restaurant associated with one of the local motels where we had an excellent Greek pizza.

Tonight the Stanley Cup finals will be on the one channel we receive. May watch it after returning from dinner -- oops, too late, it started this afternoon and we just got to see the last couple of plays.

Friday, June 14 - Day 34    (323 miles / 0 toad miles)

Today was a travel day to Skagway. The first part of the drive was through a monotonous spruce forest -- sort of like Tallahassee to Jacksonville transplanted to Alaska. There were no clouds in the morning, and it reached the mid-80s by early afternoon. En route we stopped to see a Tlingit museum. It was closed for lunch when we arrived, so we took photos of the totem poles outside and ate lunch in the RV. When the museum reopened, we had a "guided tour" by one of the native Indians who works there. It is as much a community center as a museum.

On the cut-off road to the highway to Skagway we ran into about 5 miles of washboard gravel, probably the worst road so far. Once back on the paved highway, the drive to Skagway is spectacular with Lake Bennett on the left hand side of the road and big peaks in the distance.

We stayed at the Garden City RV park toward the north end of town. After hooking up, we walked into town and had a fish dinner at a restaurant near the cruise ship docks.

Saturday, June 15 - Day 35   (0 miles /  0 toad miles)

When we started the toad to drive into town this morning, there was a terrible metal dragging type noise from the right front wheel. The only auto repair shop in town is closed for the weekend, so we extended our stay here through Monday night. We walked to town (since the car was broken) for some morning shopping and lunch (sandwiches on foccacio bread) at an Italian restaurant near the railroad station. We took the afternoon narrated narrow gauge train trip to the summit of Whitehorse Pass and got some good photos along the way. The railroad was built in 2 years, 2 months and two days starting in 1898 to provide the stampeders with an alternative to the White Pass trail from Skagway or the Chilkoot trail from nearby Dyea. Bought a book on the gold rush and returned to the same Italian restaurant for a nice dinner. The waiter was brand new and did a good job despite the owner fussing at all of the hired help from time to time.

Sunday, June 16 - Day 36   (0 miles / 0 toad miles)

We arose late and spent most of the day in the RV, reading, napping and, for Carol, cutting out quilt materials. I finished Peter Jenkins book on Alaska, which was excellent and tells stories of a side of Alaska (the bush) that we won't really see on our summer trip.

We walked downtown by the cruise ship pier for dinner (since the car is still broken) and ate in an eclectic restaurant that was filled to capacity by one dinner party and a handful of other diners. After dinner we saw the Soapy Smith show which told the story of one of Skagway's most notorious characters, a real con man who -- after fleecing an arriving gold rusher -- would generously give him the money for a return trip to Seattle.  One of Soapy's main scams was to have the gold rusher telegraph home (through lines which dead-ended in the bay) -- the miner would then receive a "return telegram" from his family asking for money, which Soapy would "wire" to the family for him.  The show prompted me to buy a book on Soapy which turned out to be an interesting read.

Monday, June 17 - Day 37   (0 miles / 30 toad miles)

Drove the car to the repair shop this morning. After being told that the mechanic would not even be able to look at the car until Tuesday, I persuaded him to at least listen to the noise it was making. After finishing a tire repair on a tour bus, he took me next -- pulled the wheel off and bent back a piece of dragging metal. Twenty-five dollars well spent for 2 minutes work

Since Skagway is small and flat, we biked first to the cemetery where Soapy Smith and his killer Frank Reid -- who suffered a fatal wound in the exchange of gunfire -- are buried. Frank Reid's tombstone reads "He gave his life for the honor of Skagway." The tombstone of one of Skagway's "soiled doves" reads "She gave her honor for the life of Skagway." By way of historical note, the Soapy Smith book reveals that surveyor Reid was no angel -- he and other early settlers basically stole the land the city was built on from its original owner.

Then biked downtown where we toured the city museum, window shopped in several souvenir places, and had dinner at the hole-in-the-wall restaurant that we had eaten at years ago on our cruise stop in Skagway. Another historical note -- Skagway was formerly Skaguy and Skaguay before the post office finalized the current spelling.

In the afternoon we drove about a dozen miles to Dyea, the gold rush town that died when the White Pass Railway was completed. Saw the one remaining store front, the remains of a warehouse, and the remains (feathers) of a seagull that had been captured a week earlier by a local coyote. On the drive back to Skagway we saw a cruise ship and a ferry sailing up the Lynn Canal and saw a high flying eagle. Dinner was stew that had been cooking all day in the crock pot.

Tuesday, June 18 - Day 38   (340 miles / 0 toad miles)

Today was a long driving day. We headed north from Skagway in a morning rain. Stopped in Whitehorse for ATM, fuel and a quick trip to Wal-Mart. Had a quick lunch in the RV. During the afternoon we passed a number of pretty mountain lakes, but saw no wildlife. While we have seen a fair amount on the trip, none of it has been since Prince George. We made a photo stop at one of the lodges originally constructed along the gold rush trail. Stopped for the night and stayed in a small RV park at Stewart Crossing, Yukon. Since the RV park had only 15 amp electric service, we simply did without. We had dinner (stuffed potato skins and fish and chips) in the restaurant run by the French owner of the RV park.

Wednesday, June 19 - Day 39   (110 miles / 20 toad miles)

A fairly short drive today from Stewart Crossing to Dawson City, the gold rush town where the Yukon River meets Bonanza Creek. The Guggieville RV Park is at the site of one of the two former corporate mining offices in the area --the one financed in part by the Guggenheims (the other having been financed by the Rothschilds). Because the electric hookup was in the back and the water in the front -- both on the wrong side of the RV -- we had to buy another length of water hose to be able to complete our hookups.

We did our own walking tour of downtown, stopping for subs in a local eatery and seeing the Han Indian museum. Late afternoon we drove to the top of the mountain overlooking town, but because of overcast and low clouds could not get any decent pictures. After dinner in the RV, we returned to town for the Gaslight Follies show in the reconstructed gold rush era theater building.

Thursday, June 20 - Day 40   (0 miles / 43 toad miles)

Today was a sightseeing day. We started the day with a tour of Dredge Number 4, one of the two largest of the twenty-plus gold dredges to work a 40 square mile concession in the Dawson City area. The hour-long guided tour was one of the best we have had -- with a very knowledgeable park service guide. Next was a tour of the Bear Creek mining camp, the administrative and maintenance facility for the larger of the two mining corporations.

After the gold tours, we returned to downtown for a late lunch at the Jack London restaurant in one of the local hotels. Called Anne, a day late, from a pay phone in the hotel -- except for Skagway, we have been out of cell phone coverage since Prince George. In the later afternoon we toured both the fire truck museum (four trucks) and the city historical museum.

Tomorrow is the summer solstice, but because we are further north today, the day will be longer -- sunrise at 3:48 a.m. and sunset at 12:48 a.m. for a full 21-hour day. We returned downtown in the evening to lose $20 at the casino slots, take in one of the floor shows, and have a light dinner in the casino.

Friday, June 21 - Day 41   (191 miles / 0 toad miles)

We slept in this morning then departed across the ferry and over the Top of the World Highway to Tok, Alaska. Ate PBJ sandwiches for lunch while waiting in what turned out to be a 2-hour line for the ferry across the Yukon River. The highway from the river to the Canada/US border is paved, but had a lot of rough spots. It traverses a beautiful ridge line for quite a way -- it really is like driving on top of the world. After passing through the northernmost US border crossing, we stopped for photos and for lemonade being sold by the custom agent's enterprising young boys  Because of the cool temperature, we suggested that they sell hot chocolate instead of lemonade, and learned we were not the first travelers that day to make the suggestion..

The US side is unpaved, but the gravel road was in good shape and was no worse than the Canadian "paving." We made the obligatory stop for shopping, photos and ice cream in beautiful Chicken Alaska before continuing the journey into Tok and a night at the Sourdough RV Park -- a nice long wooded site with about a million mosquitoes.

Saturday, June 22 - Day 42   (260 miles / 5 toad miles)

After a sourdough pancake breakfast and stories by the long time Alaska park owner, we headed to the post office to pick up a package Anne had sent. Unfortunately, the P.O. is not open on Saturday, so we will come back through Tok later next week.

From Tok we headed west and south to Valdez. We took a short side trip on the Copper Center loop. It was a good diversion, we had lunch at the historical Copper Creek lodge and saw their small museum filled with photos of the Alaska Highway construction and artifacts of the 1898 gold rush. Continuing toward Valdez, we saw Mt. Billy Mitchell, named after an army telegraph constructor and future army aviation maven; a pump station along the 800 mile Trans Alaska pipeline; bridal veil falls (and a passing rafting tour); and road side glaciers. The last part of the drive into Valdez has some beautiful scenery.

We are housed for the night in the "new" waterfront section of the Bear Paw RV park. Although they have back-in spaces, everyone has pulled in to have a good view of the harbor. We drove around the small town to get the lay of the land and had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant.

About 11:00 p.m. we were treated to a half-hour display by six fire fighting boats competing to see which could spray the highest and in the most intricate patterns. Apparently this happens a only couple of times a year -- this time in connection with a theater program hosted by the local community college.  We're glad we parked facing the water, otherwise we would have missed this interesting show.

Sunday, June 23 - Day 43   (0 miles / 2 toad miles)

Today was an 8-1/2 hour glacier and wildlife trip in a sightseeing boat on Prince William Sound. It was a nice boat with good narration. We shared a table with a couple from Kissimmee Florida who are part of a Good Sam caravan and made interesting conversation.

The highlight of the trip was Mears Glacier -- three and one-half miles across and 200+ feet high. We got within a quarter mile of the face and parked for about 45 minutes. Because of the sea of ice from the second glacier -- Columbia Glacier -- we could only get within about 7 miles of the face. Had a nice halibut lunch aboard ship.

We saw fairly small numbers of a variety of wildlife. Sea otters floating on their backs and turning loops; Stellar sea lions on the shore; harbor seals on ice floats; puffins (one of a few species of solid bone birds) floating on the water and flying away; Dall porpoises swimming in the boat's bow wave; and several eagles, including a pair trying to keep their captured salmon away from intruding crows.

We also saw fishing boats with purse seines, several former fox-farming islands, the marine terminal at the end of the Alaska Pipeline, and the approximate epicenter (geologists do not agree) of the 1964 earthquake that devastated old Valdez. We also saw the site of the Exxon Valdez oil spill (there have been eight larger worldwide since then) which occurred when the pilot did not turn off the autopilot before executing a course change to dodge a well-documented reef. This was another great tour, with good narration and a number of worthwhile sights.

Returned to the RV for a Greek pizza delivered by the No-Name Pizza Parlor. It wasn't as good as the Greek pizza in Watson Lake.

Monday, June 24 - Day 44   (0 miles / 5 toad miles)

Today we stayed close to home. In the morning we went to the local pharmacy to try to get a supply of the prescriptions that are waiting for us at Tok general delivery. The pharmacist's first statement was "I can't provide a refill without transferring the prescription" -- but after seeing what the medications were, she proceeded to sell us a seven day supply. We then called the Post Office in Tok to see if they could forward our express mail package to the campground in Fairbanks. After first stating that they had the General Delivery package, the clerk consulted her boss and then proceeded to say that she could not confirm or deny having it, because "I don't know who I'm talking to, so send a fax" -- clearly a better way to establish my identify. We faxed a request for the mail to be forwarded and called back later to confirm that they had the fax and the package was on its way.

We grocery shopped then had sandwiches in the RV for lunch. After lunch we went to the Valdez museum, where they had some gold rush history, quilts on display, and other goodies. We then went to the museum annex, which featured a small scale model of "Old Valdez," prior to a 1964 earthquake which devastated the area, and a film on the earthquake and ensuing recovery operations. Had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant -- with two east Indian gentlemen at a nearby table debating the relative merits of rice and noodles.

Tuesday, June 25 - Day 45   (216 miles / 0 toad miles)

Today we left Valdez headed for Fairbanks. Because we got the mail forwarding arranged, we will not have to go out of our way to Tok on this leg of the journey. We also called Denali National Park to reserve a campsite for "after Fairbanks" and were lucky enough to get a three-day space starting on the day we wanted. On the way north out of Valdez we stopped for photos of Horseshoe Falls, which we had driven past on the way in. We also stopped at Worthington Glacier for a close-up view of a riverine glacier. On a back pathway I was buzzed by a sea gull while trying to take a photo of the glacier -- guess she must have been nesting nearby.

We returned for lunch at the road house in Copper Center where we had eaten on the trip in. Our previous waitress --one of the local high school girls -- was busy training to serve dinner by poring over the dinner menu and getting advice from one of the "old-timers," who didn't look much older at all.

We decided to try to Denali Highway -- a 135 mile east-west route which is about 90% unpaved. It was raining, and we stopped for the night at the free Tangle Lakes BLM campground about 25 miles in, at the end of the paved road. This was our first night of dry camping, and we seemed to survive.

Wednesday, June 26 - Day 46   (115 miles / 0 toad miles)

Today we drove the rest of the Denali Highway -- 111 miles of mostly washboard that took us almost 6 hours at just over 19 miles per hour. This is the most remote road we have traveled so far. We stopped at one of the few roadside businesses about half way across to have a slice of pie and watch a few minutes of the Brazil/Germany World Cup soccer finals. We heard later that Brazil won for the third (?) year in a row.

As might be expected, the Denali Highway was a quiet road. We caught a glimpse of a moose turning and running away from the highway and saw a couple of eagles sitting on the ground in treeless areas -- the second one over a fish it had just caught. We also saw small ponds that had been formed when glaciers retreated from this area thousands of years ago. We ate both meals in the RV, lunch by the roadside and dinner in the Cantwell RV Park at the west end of the highway.

Thursday, June 27 - Day 47   (148 miles / 4 toad miles)

When we got up this morning and tried to get underway the toad would not start. We borrowed a truck from one of the work-campers to get a jump start. We then we drove to Fairbanks, whose River's Edge RV Park will be our resting place for eleven nights. We stopped for lunch at the Two Choices Restaurant in Nenana where mother-the-cook and daughter-the-waitress bickered throughout the lunch hour. We had planned to see the (small) local museum, but remodeling work was underway and the museum was closed. Other that this, we did not do much sightseeing along the way, as we will be backtracking in another week and a half.

Our express mail package was waiting our arrival at the RV park and we took the opportunity to wash the RV and toad at the park's car wash facility. Shortly after settling in, we arranged a river boat tour for Saturday and a fly-drive Arctic Circle tour for Monday. The toad would not start again, this time we called Good Sam road service and they sent a tow truck to jump start us. We went to Sears, who recharged the battery but determined it would not hold the charge, so we bought a replacement. Taco Bell for dinner and then back to the RV for the evening.

Friday, June 28 - Day 48   (0 miles / 5 toad miles)

Today was a housekeeping day -- vacuuming, groceries, laundry, etc. Since the express mail package did not include Carol= s Synthroid prescription -- they had filled Zocor instead, we tried to get a prescription-less refill at the local pharmacy. That didn't work, and we had to "transfer" the prescription to Alaska to get a month's supply.

In the afternoon we went to the two small local antique shops. Purchased a Russian pin which purportedly says "I helped build a homeland for the Afgans" for fifty cents -- we'll send it to Toby (my Russian history major son-in-law) when we get a chance. Returned to the RV for a pork chop dinner.

Saturday, June 29 - Day 49    (0 miles / 33 toad miles)

This morning we were picked up, along with many others, by a shuttle bus which took us to the dock for a half-day tour of the Chena River on the River boat Discovery. This was a high volume, well-orchestrated operation run by a family that has been operating river boats on the Chena for over 100 years. The river boat holds about 900 people, and was better than 2/3 full for our morning trip.

Despite the size of the crowd, it was a very good trip. The entire trip was narrated and we learned quite a bit about the history of the area. Stopped en route by the riverside home/training facility of Iditarod winner Susan Buckner, where she told us a little bit about the training of sled dogs. They had a new batch of pups and before the pup's eyes are open the trainers blow across the young dog's noses so that they will begin to recognize their trainer's scent. Also stopped for an explanation of the "fish wheels" that the natives use to catch salmon and a demonstration of preparing a salmon for drying. We then got off the boat at a reproduction Athabascan village and had presentations on fur trapping, native housing types, hide tanning and cloth making, and dog mushing. All-in-all, a very interesting and educational trip.

We ate lunch at Subway (see what the big city -- 32,000 -- does to us), got haircuts, then returned to the gift shop at the river boat dock for a little shopping. Got one of my law partners, Cheryl Stuart, a T-shirt that says "In Alaska, men are men and women win the Iditarod."

In the evening we walked around the RV park and adjacent lodge before a light dinner in the motorhome.

Sunday, June 30 - Day 50   (0 miles / 214 toad miles)

We took an all-day trip today in the toad south on the Richardson highway to Delta Junction and return since we will not otherwise be traveling this stretch of highway. The scenery is nothing to write home about -- or even write in this journal about -- but we did see a couple of sights. First, we stopped at North Pole, Alaska, to tour the Santa Claus house, i.e., gift shop. We then continued in the rain south to Delta Junction where we had vaguely Italian sandwiches in a small restaurant. We shopped for a few minutes at the only store in town, which had a sparse but eclectic inventory.

On the return trip north, we made three stops. The first was at the historic Rika Road House and the second was at an elevated river crossing for the Alyeska pipeline. Carol bought some fur scraps from a roadside vendor at the pipeline crossing.  The third stop was a store featuring items made of burls, with wooden animal statutes in the front, including one of a giant mosquito. On the way back we stopped again at the Santa Claus house and bought 80 assorted "North Pole" Christmas tree ornaments for the folks at my law firm. We returned to the RV to a note saying that due to aircraft mechanical problems, the fly-drive trip for tomorrow was cancelled and asking us to call for substitute arrangements or a refund. We called and rescheduled the trip for next Sunday -- the next time it is offered. I suspect that the tour was not even offered tomorrow and that the "mechanical problem" claim was a cover-up for a mistake in booking by the folks at our RV park. Since we will still be here next Sunday, and were offered a $100 discount for our trouble, we didn't push the point.

◄  May, 2002