Valdez

We traveled along the Richardson Hwy from North Pole to Valdez, Alaska. We saw a moose before coming to Glenallen AK. We stopped at the visitor Center there and found out what to look for along the way. At Thompson Pass we saw (and Becky touched) the Worthington Glacier (it was free too). In Keystone Canyon we saw several water falls along the road. All day long the Alaska pipeline was spotted here and there.

We will spend a day or two in Valdez then decide what to do next. Well, a delicious smell keeps coming my way and I must follow.

North Pole - Night 2

Today is Monday, June 29 (I think). We spent the day wandering around Fairbanks and the city of North Pole. The campground we are staying at offers free tours of North Pole. So in 45 minutes or so we saw the sights. In Fairbanks we saw part of the Alaska pipeline and learned about 'pigs' in the pipeline. 'Pigs' help keep the inside of the pipeline clean. We also saw some Muskox in a big game research center. After eating at a good Chinese restaurant here in town, we decided to stay the night again. So we washing Little Guy and Vibe, are airing out the camper, doing laundry to get us ready for on the road again. Oh - we also waved hello to my brother and mom via the Fairbanks Arctic Cam at the newspaper building and signed their guest book as well.

I'm trying to also upload some pics from the day, but the internet connection is slow. Tomorrow we will head down toward Valdez and check that area out before heading back. Hope all is well back home.

North Pole

We started the day in Seward Alaska, stopped in Anchorage, and also stopped at Denali National Park before ending up at the North Pole (Alaska). What a long day. We were not able to see Mt McKinley at Denali because it was to cloudy. Again, it rained off and on all day.

Did you know the North Pole has a McDonalds?

Tomorrow we will check out Fairbanks and maybe go a ways on the Dalton Hwy.

Anchorage to Recharge

We are headed North again. Stopped at a Fred Meyer grocery store to restock. Cheap gas here $2.91!!!! Checked in with the parental units and big brother today. All is well at the home front. It's now time to replenish the body at Wendy's. Still have people checking out the Little Guy. Several of our family members have suggested selling the rig and flying home! We could probably do that and make money on the deal. Anchorage still has manic drivers, but we are having better luck getting things done and finding places. A word to the wise - don't totally depend on those GPS units, they certainly can lead you astray, especially if they do not have the current map updates.

Whales

We saw whales today (June 27) - Humpback whales. We also saw puffins, sea otters, sea lions, sea gulls, & glaciers. Most of my pictures were taken with my film camera because of the telephoto lens and because my digital camera died. I thought I had extra recharged batteries, but they were not charged. So you will have to wait for those photos. I got the famous back fin of the whale before it went under - it ought to be cool! I stayed out on deck most of the day while Gary chose to stay in the cabin. He did come out to see the whales though.

Tomorrow we will leave Seward and head toward Denali National Park. After that we will head toward Fairbanks. Then from there, who knows. Today's weather was perfect for whale watching. It did start to rain when we were returning and has rained on and off since. I'm going to try to upload some pictures Gary got with his camera. Hopefully I will have better success than last night.

Seward Alaska

It's Friday night and I'm sitting in the brisk Alaskan air by the Gulf of Alaska. Last night we stayed in Tok and today we traveled down to Anchorage then to Seward. We planned to stay in Anchorage tonight; however after a brief period of frustration, more on my part than Gary's, we headed south.

Why was I frustrated? We went to a Wells Fargo branch to get some more Canadian money for our return trip. We were directed to a branch down the road in a mall - parking across the street in a parking garage. With a trailer, parking garages are out. So we then decided to find a Jiffy lube to get the oil changed and most importantly, replace the air filter. After being cut off closely by several rude drivers we find the Jiffy Lube, but oh - they are out of air filters. So now we are looking for an auto parts store to do it ourselves and yes, sucess. Now to find a campground. I locate one via the GPS - we go to the address, but guess what - it's now a subdivision!

So here I am at Miller's Ferry campground watching the neighbors throw a frisbee for a stray dog to catch. Never mind their own dog is being neglected. I miss our dogs. Gary is in bed, but I guess I'm still too wired.

We had beautiful scenery on the way down, but the internet service here isn't the best so I'm having trouble uploading photos. You would think that if you have to pay for the service on top of the camping charge - it would be decent service.

If Gary is up to it we will try to take a day cruise to see marine wildlife and glaciers either tomorrow or Sunday. We did see a glacier today, but you had to pay to go see it up close. Needless to say my zoom lens got us close enough.

Despite the way the blog sounds, we are still having a good time. I just dislike mean/rude people. Why can't we all just play nicely together in the sandbox of life.

I will upload more photos when I can.

Chicken

Greetings from Chicken Alaska - Yes we finally made it. We are in the downtown Chicken Cafe eating. We are now 4 hours behind in time so it is only 3:12 pm. It stays daylight most of the day. and when it gets dark, it's only a dusky dark. It's weird having daylight at midnight (IN time).

From here we will go into Tok, Alaska. It is about 80 miles from Chicken. The Top of the World Hwy was 90% gravel so it has been slow going today. The Vibe and the Little Guy are holding strong (and so are the occupants).