May: Oh Canada….Alberta and British Columbia

As we travel north toward Canada our last stops in the USA are in Montana. A week visit with Handy Bob and Noreen in Roundup, a few days in Great Falls. Then overnight in Browning at an Indian casino before crossing the border at Babb into Canada and onto Calgary. The city is bustling with activity and new construction, the oil companies are moving their operations here. We watch from the Calgary Tower while having lunch. It has been a while sense we visited a city, we usually try to avoid them.

                                       

                                         

Springtime in the Rockies. We’ve decided to drive the Canada Hwy.1 through Banff and Jasper National Parks and it’s gorgeous. The skies are overcast but the views are spectacular. We spend the night along the highway in a huge rest area. That night we take the cars up to Lake Louise for desert and coffee at the 90+ year old Fairmont Chateau. This is the first time Linda and I have ever seen a large lake freeze over. Only the area close to shore is starting to thaw, and this is late May. The winter lodge visitors ice skated on Lake Louise just in front of the grounds. The old world elegance of the lodge allows a view of the Lake from behind large windows in a quiet area adjacent to the banquet dinning room.

                                                    

Our next stops before leaving Alberta is the Columbia Ice Fields, Hinton, and Grande Prairie. It’s been cold and cloudy most of the time but the mountains and lakes are beautiful. Snow is still melting and the rivers and creeks are running strong. We’re stopping a lot to enjoy the scenery, taking our time. The last week of May we reach Dawson Creek, British Columbia. This is the official start of the Alaskan Highway. Mile 0. Thousands of US Troops, and civilian contractors built this road in 9 months, starting in 1942, ending in 1943. An unbelievable feat considering the winter, supplies and lack of experience. The bears have come out of their dens and are looking for anything to eat, they will forage about 18 hours a day and there’s 19 hours of daylight now.    

                                                     

 

                                                      

 

                                                      

 

                                                     

As May comes to a close we take a 3 day break at Toad River. The campground there is a welcome stop, it’s time for housekeeping, a rest and watch the moose in the pond in the early evening. Toad River is a haven for campers, road maintance  crew and travelers. They have fuel, restaurant, cabins, laundry, post office, Greyhound Bus stop, convenient store and more. We’ll soon go into Yukon Territory as we travel down the Alaska Highway……Skip and Linda

June: Alaska, “land of the midnight sun”

One of the “current events” of the long history of Alaska has been the building and maintaining of the Alcan Highway, built in the 1940’s. More recent is the “haul road”, the Dalton Highway built for the construction of the Alaskan Pipeline in the 70’s, In June we complete the Alcan Hwy.to Delta Junction and later in the month, drive a portion of the mostly unpaved haul road (in the Jeeps) to the Artic circle. As our journey continues north the days are getting longer.

                                                        

                                                                                                                                      

Started the month in Toad River, BC. resting a few days by the pond. Washed the RV and it rained the next day. An overnight stop at Liard Hot Springs and then cross into Yukon Territory for a stop in Watson Lake. Tomorrow we’ll tag our sign in the “sign post forest” with a date stamp for 2012. Linda walked right to the sign (put up in 2008) out of 65,000 signs, amazing! Soon my sister and brother in law will be in Skagway on a cruise, we’ll try to meet them for dinner. After a stop in Rancheria Falls Recreation area, the rivers and streams are swollen with snow melt and rain. South with a side trip to Atlin, BC. checking out the still active mining town and electrical problems in Donny’s rig. Four days by Como Lake was great even with light rain for two days. While in town at the visitors center we learn the roads are washed out behind us at Rancheria, and just north of Whitehorse at Klune Lake, also south on the road into Skagway. This 100 mile triangle has Whitehorse (and us) trapped in the middle and Whitehorse store shelves are emptied in one day. Luckily they repaired the washout to Skagway the next day and the drive down is cold and rainy, but beautiful. Dinner for 8 turned out to be 5, Donny and Jill, Linda and I, and sister Linda. Ed was quarantined in the stateroom with the flu and their neighbor couple got lost. We leave the restaurant and the sun is still out. The next morning it’s on to Whitehorse for housekeeping and supplies, the grocery shelves are just now being restocked. A rest area on beautiful Klune Lake, at the mud slide, is our next stop before entering Alaska, the skies are clearing and the Dahl Sheep are on the mountain. It’s a easy drive to Tetlin Junction, were back in the USA, camp near the Tanana River and have breakfast in Tok. A day later the Gerstle river crosses the Alcan Hwy, we camp under the 8 span bridge along its bank. It’s sunny, the wind has calmed, we stay for two days. It’s summer solstice, barely dusk at midnight. In the morning a moose walks through camp.

                                          

                                          

Fairbanks!  We finish the Alaska-Canada highway in Delta Junction and turn north to Fairbanks to look up Rod and Joni. We met them in Yuma, Az. two winters ago flying the Alaska state flag. They just returned from Salmon fishing on the Copper River and had 2 large filets on the BBQ grille. It was a feast. We now have 22 hours of daylight (with sun) and 2 hours of dusk. One day around noon we leave for the Artic Circle and returned at 9PM, more driving than were used to but a good ride. Changed one flat tire for a research group from UA Fairbanks but had no trouble ourselves.

                                         

                                         

After returning to Fairbanks a side trip to Chena Hot Spring brings us to the end of the month. We camp 4 days by a lake and enjoy some good weather and moose in the lake. Next month Denali National park and the mountain.

April: On the move NORTH!

It’s time to make our way to Alaska. Still a lot to see in Arizona, so we’ll take a couple of months and enjoy the journey. We spend Easter week at Theodor Roosevelt Lake in Az. We make camp early, enjoy local trails and geology, and the Tonto National Monument, a place set aside to preserve the culture of Indian tribes who settled the area. We hike up to the lower cliff houses built around 900 to 1150, it’s amazing how they lived, and prospered here! Soon our quiet spot on the lake is invaded by holiday partiers from Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Goodyear, Tempe and all the rest of central Arizona for the Easter weekend. They surround us! The weather is good and it’s families and friends spring break Arizona style. Jet boat, jet ski, pontoon boat, canoe, fishing boat, kayak, and row boat fill the lake and campers line the shore. We’re ready to move on the next week and find some quiet again.

                                    

.We worked our way toward the Colorado state line with a overnight stop In Winslow, Arizona and had to “stand on the corner in Winslow, Az.” for a picture. Then to the Hopi and Navajo reservation area of Canyon de Chelly (d’shey). There is evidence of people living in these canyons for nearly 5000 years, the last 1250 years, Pueblo, Hopi, then Navajo who stay summers here still. 2-3 days were spent exploring the area from the rim above, then it required a Navajo guide to enter the canyon floor and share their culture and history on a 4 hour 4WD drive tour. We finished Arizona this year with a stop at Four Corners monument where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico all meet in one point.

                                           

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The weather is changing while in Canyon de Chelly and it turned windy, cool, with rain and snow flurries. It’s easy to tell we’re moving North into Colorado, the mornings are cooler, 30’s and the days in the low 70’s. Wolf Creek Pass at 10,850 feet still has 4+ ft. of snow in the middle of April. On into Wyoming with stops at Hattie’s Lake near Laramie, Casper, Shoshone, and Cody, with a visit to Buffalo Bill Museum. Linda and I went in 1988, it was a world class museum then and even more spectacular now. We drove 1500+ miles in April and moved through 4 states into Montana, stopping often and enjoying this fantastic country and still averaged only 50 miles a day.

                                         

March, Enjoying the warm, dry desert

March starts quiet and warm, we have moved from Yuma to a BLM area in California, Yuma is still our closest community for groceries, casino, and supplies. We stayed in the desert 3 weeks, first camping with Escapees friends then enjoying the quiet when they moved on. Donnie and Jill’s friends from Montana (Handy Bob and Noreen) came in to camp the week before the Yuma air show, we visit with them in between trips to Algodones, Mex. They know the area well and show us places to hike and explore, but they are anxious to go home and with a break in the weather they soon head north.

                   

Our last Saturday in Yuma, the air show is great. MACS (Marine Air Corp Station) Yuma has F-18 squadrons based here and add Tora Tora Tora, the WW2 show and the US Air Force Thunderbirds. We found a side street next to the base airstrip with a good view and brought our chairs and cameras, there was a high cloud ceiling and very little sun. The day was great, it started in the morning and lasted all day, with the Thunderbirds as the finale. They were fantastic.

 

                     

Our last week and a half in March begins a slow push north. A few hours away is Quartzsite. It’s time to empty tanks, fill with fresh water, laundry and groceries. Another move outside Phoenix for the Good Sams RV Club show, then relax near Wickenburg, Az. Soon, weather permitting (too cold) we’ll leave Az.                 

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February 2012, Warm Days

It’s time to leave Tucson and go to the first rendezvous in Arizona. Ajo (ahh-hoe) is only a couple of hours southwest, toward the Mexican border. This small mining community is celebrating their 100th birthday and a month long festivities are planned. We join other Escapee RV club members about 10 miles northeast of town camped in the desert, enjoying the boondocking lifestyle. It’s good to see members from previous years and catch up. There are artist displays in town, speakers with the Library and a pot luck dinner in camp. We also have an opportunity to volunteer on  work day with the Cabeza Prieta NWR. Most afternoons we're entertained with aerial combat training on nearby Barry M.Goldwater Air Force Bombing Range. Fully armed fighter jets, banked in hard turns, are making their approach to the bombing range. We can see the pilots in the canopy, they are just over our head, skimming the RV’s and terrain. After getting our mail in Tucson and housekeeping in Casa Grande we move on to Yuma, Az.

                                  

Yuma has become a comfortable stop each winter with free camping and easy access to Algodones, Mexico. The local casinos allow parking for RVs and it’s only a few miles to cross the border for food, pharmacies, liquor, dentist, and eyeglasses. We take the Jeep to the US side parking lot and walk in, spending the day and having lunch. Two visits in less than a week and Linda’s crown is finished, and I have new lenses in my old frames at a fraction of US prices. Most of our time is spent off Ogilby Road, on the California side of the Colorado River, eight miles north of Mexico. Even though the southwest has been cooler this year, the month was great and we used less than a half tank of fuel for February.

January 2012, Florida to Arizona

A great start west. After spending time with family and friends in Florida, I-10 seemed like a fast pace. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana flew by, casino hoping along the way. Linda won enough to pay for fuel and then some! Don’t ask what I won. We ease into San Antonio, Texas and spend a couple of nights at Wal-Mart waiting for Don and Jill to drive down from Austin. Time to stock up on supplies and go into Big Bend National Park. We leave the interstate highway and take old US 90 through Del Rio and Marathon then drop down into the park. the weather is good, cool nights and warm days as we camp out on Grapevine Hills, an isolated area in a remote expansive park. It was nice,with some walks and a hike along the Rio Grande river near the canyon entrance, but the drought has brought out some pesky flies and after 5 days we head back to US 90 and continue west into New Mexico. Low fuel dragged some trash from the tank into the filters and we replace them in Deming, New Mexico, power is back to normal, on into Arizona.

                       

Our first stop in Arizona is south of Wilcox near the Chircahua National Monument. The land of standing up rocks! This isolated mountain range in a grassland valley is a secret stronghold where four ecosystems come together. A fascinating history of Apache Native Americans and pioneer immigrant settlers. Ranger guided talks of the preserved Faraway Ranch bring to life the last 125 years of history. After 3 days here, an easy drive west to Tucson closes out January.

                       

More soon, Skip and Linda