Back in the Valley

We are back in the Valley laying low untill our cruise. Kristen and the kids came with us as well as Frieda, for some camping time at Cultus. Today Carol took them back to Vernon. We also went to Adam and Luba's Canadian wedding reception in the park. The weather was good and did not rain. The weather is going between rain and sun every other day. We are here till Sept 4th and then go to Davenports for a few days before the cruise. I can't wait to get to dryer and warmer weather.

Yukon Couple

Here's the Yukon Couple, saying goodbye to the Yukon at Peter's house, posing on a real dog sled. We told Mocha to pose nice, or she would wind up like one of the racks above the door way. She got along good with their dogs, free running on the farm.

There was alot of this pretty wheat grass everywhere.

We are making good time and are a couple days ahead of schedule. (Doing 160 does help). We are in Fort St John. We have added relax days in 1oo mile and a couple of days in Vernon before the Valley, but I'm getting ahead of myself, there's still more coming in between. This time we met two herd of buffallo. This group was in no hurry to get off the highway. We saw a few dead ones (buffallo and moose) in the ditch. Hopefully a semi hit them and not a car. The semis here have huge bush guards on the front.

Seward

What a week and a half. I finally got internet service to update the blog. We made it to Seward and found the RV site right on the beach. This is the view from our trailer.

Mocha enjoyed playing in the water with the sail boat and nice scenery behind her. I finally had to bring her in as she was trying to catch what the fisherman beside us was casting into the water.

One morning I caught a picture of a cruise boat in the fog.

We went on a 6 hour glacier cruise. This is looking from the boat to our trailer. Because of tsunamis they don't allow building close to the water, so the city rents out rv spots.

NOTE, here's Carol actually on the bow of the ship, and enjoying it.

We were one of the first ones on the ship and picked good seats at the front. We went out to shoot pictures and found this lady in our seat on our return, so we sat in one of the other ones. Then she asked us to hold her seat, and left. I then sat back in my original place and Carol went to shoot some more pictures. Then the lady came back with her daughter, and left, and came back with her husband. Carol came back and saw that they multiplied. Any way, we got our seats back and made the best of it.

Porposes (sp) were playing with the ship, off the bow.

We saw all kinds of wildlife, like these harbor seals.

Here's Carol shooting some birds (ha ha). We saw all kinds of birds from puffins to eagles.

After about 3 1/2 hours we got to the glacier. It was awsome listening to it's movement and the crackling noises and pieces falling into the water.

Our cruise also had a barbequed salmon dinner with corn on the cob, rice and salad, as Carol got a picture of me eating. Just getting ready for the next cruise.

This mountain was behind our campsite. It's beautiful with the tree line, then the meadow line, then the bald top. Carol heard there is a race on the mountain every year. The campground was very confusing, as it was self registration. Some sites were reserved on specific days. The camp hosts were of no use as they just stayed in their RV. I helped a few people out to understand how to register and soon people were coming to me for directions. Word was getting around, even in town. A new camper came in and said he heard from someone in town to go directly to my trailer to figure out where to camp. Maybe I should apply for a job.

While I was running the campground, Carol went dog sledding. They run on tires to keep the dogs conditioned.

Here she is with her pick of the litter.

Her tour also took in a glacier.

Next we went to Chicken, Alaska. (named after the river). Myrtle told us to visit it. I hate to tell her the town is a little more run down than when she was there. It is actually an old mining ghost town, and they have a RV site there.

Next to the campsite they also have a old dredge. Looks spooky.

Today we headed back to Canada on the Top of the World Highway, through Dawson City again as the other way was too rough with frost heaves. This highway crosses numerous mountain ranges across the tops. This picture is just before Canada Customs. We made it back to Harm's in Whitehorse for night. Our next plans are to go past the Bennett Dam and down to 100 Mile again.

Anniversary

August 6th we left Dawson City, back to Whitehorse. We arrived at dinner time and borrowed Peters car to go to town and celebrate our 32nd anniversary. Then we got an early start to Alaska. I got tired of it being light all the time in Dawson City. At 12:30 am it was just getting dark. Here's a couple we met from Germany. They shipped their van here to drive and sleep in.

There was alot of road construction along the way. The stupidist part was between Whitehorse and the US border. Alot of frost heaves, so it felt like riding a bucking bronco. Because of this stretch (150 km) we will probably go the back way to Dawson City again and down to Whitehorse.

But the scenery looks beautiful. Even this large dump truck is posing with the scenery, which makes it look better.

We pulled into Tok Alaska and were greeted by the Texaco station. Good thing they have more than one gas station in town. Also when we hit Alaska we are in a new time zone, one hour earlier. We spent the night in Tok. (Named after a Husky).

We met alot of vehicles pulling four quads. Must be the weekend and hunting season.

Today in our travels we went through rain patches and sunny patches. Here's a picture of rain and the sun shining on the snow peaked mountain top. (Click picture to make larger)

Out our left window we saw a glacier. We are in Palmer AK for the night and tomorrow we should be in Sewerd on the coast. We plan a few nights there before we head back.

Dawson City

Today we did the touristy things in Dawson City. (Long long way from Dawson Creek). We first took a ferry over to the other side of the river to the Top of the World Highway.

This is the view to town, just 5 km up the road.

Back in town, I took my Segway along the boardwalks. All the sidewalks are wood boardwalks. The guy giving horse rides thought it was cool, Old meets New. People here were baffled by the Segway.

Again they errected a statue to me.

This is a dredge they used to mine gold. It is huge, 5 storeys high. It would go up a creek and dig its own creek as it went.

This is a view from space, to give an idea how far these things worked.

I panned for gold just upstream from the dredge, close to where the first gold was discovered here. All I got was 2 specs. Carol found neat rocks in hers with silver and copper. Mocha is helping me also.

Our RV site road was aptly named Margaritaville.

Kusawa Lake

This is a statue dedicated to me (and all miners).

Mocha loved swimming and getting the stick before Harm's dog, which was a good swimmer, and part Chesapeak like her.

Also at the river cooling off. Carol and JoAnne walked down and Kevin and I biked and Segwayed to the river with the dogs.

Sunday we went with Harm's to Kusawa Lake, about an hour west of Whitehorse. The guys went boating and the women went mountain climbing to the tree line. Here's Carol reaching the top.

And finally posing with the view after catching her breath.

Here's her climbing partners JoAnne and Barb.

Pete caught 2 fish within 2 casts, plus had the only lisence.

Here's our whole group eating and telling fish stories.

On the way back we saw a bear. He sure wasn't afraid of us.

Today we drove all day to Dawson City, the place that started the gold rush. Dawson City had electricity before New York, as this was a thriving gold town. This is probably the furthest we will go north. It's just above the 63rd parallel. Abbotsford is just above the 49th. We have to go back to Whitehorse to go to Alaska as the highway west of here is too terrible, all gravel with large holes. Meanwhile we will stay here in Dawson City for 2 nights to see the sights and do some gold panning.

This is Carol in front of the restaurant we ate at in Dawson City, keeping in touch with her mother. Finally we had a good restaurant meal, at a Greek place. We were getting tired of french fries served with everything at all the stops. Our RV site has cell service, wi-fi and cable TV.

Whitehorse

So much happened on the last entry I forgot one. This is in Watson Lake and it started by a lonely soldier putting up signs with mileages to his home town etc. Now people from all over the world have added their own hometown signs. This picture is half of it. There are thousands.

We spent the next night in Teslin and a helicopter came down into one of the campsites and spent the night.

When we arrived in Whitehorse, Carol was so happy there was a Starbucks. Actually they have a few.

We saw a suspension bridge over the Yukon River. Gold seekers took rafts along this river to Whitehorse, where they caught paddlewheelers going to Dawson City.

This is a 3 storey log building in town that an MLA built for an office.

This is Pete and Joanne's log home north of Whitehorse.

This is the house their daughter and husband are building. It has straw walls, with stucco over it.

We had a break in town at a sidewalk cafe, and resumed our tour of downtown Whitehorse.

This is one of many paddlewheelers that took miners and freight to Dawson City.

We visited a fish ladder by a dam.

Here's Klondike Carol target shooting.

And Yukon Roy shooting. We went gopher shooting and I blasted one.

We took in a Follies show.

Here's Carol with some of the cast. Pete and Joanne knew some of them and we met them after the show.

Seeing Carol got her picture taken, I had to also.

This picture was taken at 11 in the evening. This is close to the land of the midnight sun.