Waterfall #104

Have I mentioned how beautiful the scenery is? Everywhere you turn you see another exquisite (I need to remember this word for Bananagrams) view. Yesterday we toured Prince William Sound in Valdez. Everywhere you looked the view was spectacular, absolutely fantastic! Passing by one more beautiful waterfall, someone mentioned the count was up to 104. And glaciers - so many. Yesterday we saw 2 more. The captain had to steer the boat gently through a number of icebergs of different sizes - mostly small. Some had sea otters on them; some had harbor seals. I think the sea otters are the cutest ever, but mean, if cornered. So far we passed a number of rafts of otters which are curious and check us out just as we check them out. We took the boat close to one of the glaciers, and saw it calving 3 times. Early that morning, there was a tremor of 5.3 on the richter scale. We think a fairly large iceberg floating in the water, broke off earlier in the day. On that boat trip we saw a humpback whale, 3 Orcas, lots of bald eagles, a mass of sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and many, many birds.

We've been seeing informative displays of the 1964 earthquake and the Exxon Valdez oil spill. One display of the oil spill "hurt my heart" and I couldn't tell any others what it was about. Why should I ruin their day too? The wildlife are still in different stages of recovery. It looks like the herring have been badly affected. There are studies to try to find what, if anything, humans can do to bring back the herring to levels before the oil spill. The earthquake and tsunami of 1964 caused a great deal of destruction and loss of life. Valdez built a whole new town after that, because they decided the existing one was unstable.

A lot of people have been fishing, and bringing back their limit of 6 every day. The salmon are running. They are so thick that they are being foul-hooked. The regulations say you have to hook them near the mouth to keep them. The technique to catch them is to snag them. Doesn't sound like much of a sport, does it? One fellow was saying that some of the salmon they catch have other lures in them - on the side, or... He had one break his line easily, and he thinks that has happened to many others. Some of these salmon get pretty big. The bears come down to feed off the salmon, and there are spots where people wait for the bears to come. Last night there was one just before we got there, and another about 15 minutes after we left. The night before we missed the bear by about 20 minutes. I guess there are no set times when they are ready to eat. Or, maybe they heard we were coming. We should be seeing more bears fishing in a couple stops.

Skittles was in a pet parade tonight. Her first of course, and probably her last. Since she was the only one in the cat category, she won a little bag of cat toys. It was fun, and a few laughs.

Mountains, glaciers, sea water, sea otters and puffins

Our last 2 campgrounds have been on the sea. I've included a couple pictures from my campsites. In Seward we were parked on Resurrection Bay. In Homer we camped on the Spit. The views are beautiful. In fact every time you turn around the view is beautiful, whether you're on the water, driving the road, or just staring at the sky.

We've been looking at glaciers everywhere. One we approached in a boat, one we approached by foot, and one we approached by helicopter. And a number of other ones we viewed. When boating, we were told the lake we were boating through had been covered with the glacier, and was made from the glacial runoff. When we were walking toward the Exit Glacier, there were posts all along the way showing where the glacier began in what year. Of course, it has receded miles since they began recording. I think the first year of recording was 1889.

I just saw a bald eagle flying over the sea in front of my rig. I wish I had had my camera ready.

Today we took a boat over to Seldovia, a cute little seacoast town, reached only by air or boat. It was affected by the 1964 earthquake, when the land sunk about 6 feet. It also has been influenced by the Russian culture through traders of many years ago. There is a Russian Orthodox Church, started in 1820, with the current structure built in 1891. On the way, we saw puffins and sea otters. The boat received a "Mayday" alarm from a boat taking in water, and started to turn. However, another boat was much closer, so we continued on our way.

Today, a number of our caravan went halibut fishing.They all caught their limit, so tomorrow, we have fish for dinner. What a life!!!! I am so fortunate!!!

Rafting and Driving the Dogs

We've been having so much fun. The group is great. The scenery is FANTASTIC. And, we're doing a lot.

I sometimes wonder how I make it. Yesterday we stopped for a boat trip to a glacier. I locked my tow car, and forgot to unlock it and turn it on. Thus, the steering wheel locked. An hour later, as we reached our destination, I heard my tires squealing, when I went around the corner, and wondered why. The other day I was following another rig, and the driver asked how I was doing on gas. I hadn't looked at the indicator, so I told her "It's on empty, and blinking." We thought we were 30-40 miles from the next gas station, so I said a little prayer. I have a 20 gallon tank, and filled it with more than 20 gallons.

One of my pet peeves is that you can't see what you're taking with your camera, in bright sun - in my case, with neither my Kodak camera, nor my iPhone camera. The Kindle corrected the problem, so you can read your book in the sunlight; why can't the cameras? I hadn't planned on getting another camera or phone for a while, but I may if I can correct this problem. On this trip I keep taking pictures, hoping some will be good. Well, today, at the glacier where we were "mushing," somehow I reversed the camera, and, not knowing it, took 127 pictures of my face. You can imagine how pleased I was with that.

We had the best time the other day, rafting down a river. The river went by our campground. It was so nice to look out on the river, the mountains, and a train across the river. We had been waving to the rafters we saw go by, and today we waved to the campers. The rafting was so much fun. We were supposed to have a raft where we all paddle, but the order got messed up somehow, so we had a person who did all the rowing and steering, and all we had to do was hold on.They asked us to stay together with the people we planned to raft with. Just like that we all grabbed each other, and dared them to pull us apart. Of course, they gave us the normal instruction and safety points. As soon as we pushed off, he had us practice the positions, and leaning forward. Then we hit some rapids. I've included a couple pictures of our rafting. In the first picture you really can't see those of us who were in the front. But in the second picture you can. Two of those legs you see in the second one are mine. Then we came to the second big rapids, and Bob and I went back again, with our legs up in the air. With help from my neighbor in the raft, I got up, and another wave took me back again. At that point the "Rower" said to both of us, "Stay down, but get ready." Okay, then we hit the third rough section, and Bob and I were determined we weren't going over a third time. I took the wave straight in my face, and, without raising my head, turned toward Bob to see if he stayed up too. Success!!! We then told the "Rower" he should take us back to the first one and let us prove we could do it. No go! ....... But the best part of the rafting trip, was to see a moose and her calf about 150 feet up the river from where we launched. That was special, and she didn't run away - just kept watching us, while we watched the two of them.

At the campsite today, we're looking out over a bay, and mountains, and glaciers. It is absolutely beautiful!! We took a helicopter up to a glacier, and then rode on a dogsled. Mush! Guiee! etc. Forgetting about the reflection on the ice and snow, a number of us got sunburns. I found out they have to protect a number of the dogs from sunburn too. I never thought about that. They had a large number of dogs, and 6 brand new little puppies. On the dogsled, we stood just in back of the musher, or trailing further back on the back of a sled. Standing on the trailing sled was more fun. You had more control, and felt like you were actually a musher. It was like water-skiing. I used muscles I haven't used for a long time.

Trouble in the Mountains

Have you heard about the roads in the Yukon and Alaska? It's true. Actually we have all felt the roads weren't that bad, but.... There are 8-10% grades, narrow roads and cliffs on the sides with no guardrails. You think you're fine, and then... Passing a bus or big truck coming the other way, particularly when they're flying, can be hairy!!!! And, also, there are many drivers who pass you on the same side - semi-trucks, RVs, local trucks, local cars, etc - going faster than you dare. You pull over as far as you can and say a little prayer. I sometimes close my eyes, getting ready for the stones hitting my windshield, or the vehicle sideswiping me. We have all learned to hug the center, and stop when a vehicle is passing. One of our rigs - the largest I think - a 43 foot, towing a small SUV - went too close to the side, as a dump truck, coming the other way, passed. His tow car went off the packed dirt into a slushy side (Yes, it was raining!) and pulled the rig off too. We heard over the CB " We've gone off the side" and then the rig in back "Fantasy 6 has gone off the road." I thought maybe they'd gently slipped off the road, but when I saw the rig, it was tilted, and ready to tumble down the cliff. The rig in back saw it happen, and thought it was going to tumble out of sight. The driver of that rig was sick all night. The tailgunner ran down and employees of the Bureau of Land Management, who were in those trucks passing, all stopped to help. They got the people and the cats out, but that was all they could do that night. People stayed on the mountain all night taking turns guarding the rig. Two tow trucks were needed: one to keep the rig from tipping any more; and the other to slowly winch it back onto the road. Two days and $5,100 later the RVers joined us for dinner. It was amazing - the rig ran with the change of a tire, a dent on the corner and side where it had been buried in the mud. Holland America had 2 buses stuck in the traffic, which could not get past the operation until it was finished. Those people missed the ship. When we were told to go by the disabled rig, and continue to the campground, we passed another of our rigs, also off the road. That wasn't nearly as bad. The tow bill there was a mere $1,500. The tow company said they had pulled 4 vehicles off that mountain the week before. The rain was worse that week. We were all happy it happened there, where there was a narrow ledge, rather than a spot where there was no ledge at all. This trip is exciting, but that excitement we can do without.

This all happened on our way to Chicken, AK, where we also passed over the border into Alaska. My rig was chosen to pull over, so the ranger could go through it. That wasn't bad at all. In fact he apologized for having to do it - but I was the randomly chosen person for inspection at that time. I was able to keep the peach I bought in Canada, since I was going to eat it immediately.

I am having a great time. We are busy with touring. Today in Fairbanks we went to the ice museum, which supports and gathers sculptures of ice, made during the international competition in March. The display is kept at 20 degrees. We then went to the museum at the U of Alaska, Fairbanks, which was most interesting, and finally to a botanical garden. There they experiment with the growing ability of different plants, bushes, etc. to see what thrives best in Alaska. Cabbages do. They are huge!!!! And we saw a moose on the way to, and another on the way back - in the city of Fairbanks!!!! Last night we went to a salmon bake, which included salmon, halibut, cod, king crab and prime rib.After that we saw a humorous show about the "history" of Fairbanks. The show had a great educational piece on the outhouse - why did they ever develop those 2-seaters? - and a parody of Who, being the lead dog, What, being in the middle and I Don't Know, in the back. Well done!!! I Think said.

At Whitehorse we toured a paddlewheel, S.S. Klondike, which delivered gold ore and passengers up and down the river. It included many stores from the days past. I included a picture of Borden milk, which I thought Barbara Adams would get a kick out of. At Dawson City, Yukon Territory, which was a great little town, we learned many "interesting" stories about people then and now. We also took a ferry across the river. People who choose to stay the winter on the other side of the river, have no roads, no stores, no water or electricity. They are truly in hibernation until the summer comes back. Also, in Chicken, Alaska there are 4 permanent residents. They are totally isolated in the winter since the roads are closed. Even in the summer, the only way to communicate is by Skype. And sometimes the satellite is "down." Life is much more isolating and challenging up here. The people who owned the RV park we inhabited in Chicken for a day had mined gold for many years. We think they did quite well with their claims.

Above Dawson City we went to the small mountain to watch the sun set at 12:33 AM. Even though it sets - and you can see it set - it doesn't get dark. We're guessing it rises shortly after. And the next night we dry-camped at the top of the world. There have been other tours, gold panning, hot springs, shows and  cookouts. One thing I have learned about this last frontier - Yukon and Alaska - is that every time you start setting up for your outside food activity, it rains. But no one is complaining about the wet food. We also have THE BEST group ever. Everyone gets along, and everyone enjoys each other.  What a trip!!!!

Through the Yukon

I met my caravan June 26th at Dawson Creek, British Columbia. I don't know if Dawson Creek is like the TV show, since I've never seen the TV show. The Caravan participants are a great group of people. I know we are going to have a fantastic time together - lots of laughter and camaraderie. I am the only single, but people are being nice and including me. The day I got to Dawson Creek there was a small lake in the town and a big RV camp across from it. Two days later there was a huge lake, which encumbered all the trees in the park, and most of the RVs across the street - at least the ones that hadn't been driven away - were in water over their tires. The flooding continues.

We traveled through British Columbia, and have now been in the Yukon for a couple days. The Alcan Highway is quite something. It was built in less than 9 months in 1942 as a way to get materials across Canada and Alaska, and increase US and Canadian security, particularly with the Japanese strategizing to take claim in the Aleutian Islands. This highway cost $140 million, and was designated the 16th International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in the world. In 1942 Dawson Creek's population grew from 600 to over 10,000 in a few weeks, with the troop increase to build the highway. Can you imagine??!! In Watson Lake a few of the soldiers working on the highway, put up signposts to their homes, starting a tradition which now claims more than 7,000 signs. Of course, we added ours from the caravan.

This seems to be the cinnamon bun capital of the world. We stopped at the first place recommended, and I swore I would never have another, because, no way, could it be as good as that one, until we hit the next place and he was just taking 2 pans out of the oven. And, we've been told there are more ahead.

We haven't seen as many animals as we wanted, since we want them to be at every corner, but we've seen a lot. Bison, sheep, bear, moose, and more. We are now at Whitehorse, and will be here a couple days. So far the trip is all I wanted, and more. I have had trouble with my car's battery draining again, but the Wagonmaster and Tailgunner have been great, charging it, fixing turnlights, and so much more. This is a great way for me to travel - with someone to tell me about all the best places, and take care of all the problems.

I'm also learning a lot of tricks of the trade. Most of these people have been RVing for many years. Two of the couples have been 24-7 for a number of years. And of course, everyone has stories. I guess you can't do this without having stories.