8 Aug 2011 – Monday

Very early morning—up at 5:00 a.m.; have to be at the ferry by 7:00 a.m. for the next leg of the trip to Sitka.  This ferry was a little smaller but very clean and comfortable—another 4 1/2 hour ride.  Dave gets to sit back and enjoy the trip instead of driving.  Sitka is a unique little fishing village.  After finding a camping area near the Coast Guard Station, we set up and then walked to town.  I found two FABRIC STORES.  We ate dinner at “The Dock” (fish and chips).  We had a nice walk back then stood around the campsite for an hour talking to our neighbors.  I decided that I had better update the blog and Dave took a walk on all the fishing docks.  Very nice day.

6 Aug 2011 – Saturday

Drove to Haines AK—this is where we are going to catch the ferry .  Our schedule is as follows:

7 Aug – Haines to Juneau (4 1/2 hrs)

8 Aug – Juneau to Sitka (4 1/2 hrs)

9 Aug – Sitka to Ketchikan,(9 1/2 hrs)

11-13 Aug – Ketchikan to Bellingham WA. 

5 Aug 2011 – Friday

Drove back from Valdez to outside of Tok.  Stayed overnight at White River RV park YT.  Went up to the office to wash clothes and the manager talked to us and a few others until 11:00 p.m.  He is a collector.  In the campground he has old vehicles, washing machines, antlers, stuffed animals, fish, old gas pumps, gas station signs and more.  He was entertaining.

4 Aug 2011 – Thursday

Drove to Valdez today.  Went to the Fish Hatchery.  Thousands of fish waiting to go up the river to spawn, but they were restricted by a weir from going up the stream because it would over-populate the spawning area.  We also went to the Ferry Terminal to check on boarding passes to go to Sitka, Juneau, etc.  We were told that we could not get boarding passes there, that we would have to go to Haines.  We stayed at the Valdez Glacier Campground run by the National Guard.  Tomorrow we’ll drive to Haines.

3 Aug 2011 – Wednesday

Left Seward mid-morning.  Drove back to Anchorage.  Thought about staying in the Walmart lot but security said it was against city ordinance so we went to Elmendorf AFB Fam Camp.

2 Aug 2011 – Tuesday

Dave was up at 5:00 a.m. to go fishing.  He rented some waders the night before.  It rained on and off most of the day.  I kept myself busy reading and catching up on the blog.  Dave returned about 4:30.  He didn’t catch a fish.  He was soaked through and through because it rained all day. 

1 Aug 2011 – Monday

Left Anchorage about 7:00 a.m.  Stopped for pie and coffee along the way.  Arrived at the Seward Resort, US Army Alaska (campground) about 11:00.  Talked to Scott Bartlett who runs the campground.  Suggested we go to the Alaska Sea LIfe Center in downtown Seward while we were waiting for the campsite to be available.  Dave bought a license for the following day to go fishing in the bay for salmon, halibut, or cod.  The weather was too bad to go out any further.Took a walk later to see the Fish House where the fishermen go to clean and prepare their fish for freezing.  Quite a setup.   

31 July 2011 – Sunday

Arrived at the Alaska Native Heritage Museum this morning at 9:00 a.m.  We toured this museum until about 1:00.  Went to Red Robin for lunch (similar to Chili’s).  Again, I had the good old GPS find Walmart.  We also went to a Fred Meyer store which is almost like Walmart.

30 July 2011 - Saturday

Rick brought us from the Alaska Native Heritage Center, where Rick works, to downtown Anchorage to tour the Alaska Heritage Museum.  Enjoyed the museum thoroughly.  We then walked down the street to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center (federal bldg).  We also went to a fabric store before catching the bus back to the Heritage Center.  The weather was great and walking around Anchorage was enjoyable.   My uncle fixed grilled King Salmon for dinner—very, very good.  My Aunt Rosemary (my Dad’s sister) is a little feeble so he does pretty much everything right now.  We will be touring the Alaska Native Heritage Center tomorrow morning, so we excused ourselves to get some sleep for an early tour.

29 July 2011 – Friday

Left Denali Park mid-morning and arrived in Anchorage early afternoon.  The GPS and some good directions from my uncle got us right to their front door.  We reminisced most of the afternoon.  My cousin Rick came over to see us.  I remember seeing him when he was about 7 years old—which was about 40 years ago.  Had a nice evening.

28 July 2011 – Thursday

Yesterday, we bought tickets for a bus tour through Denali National Park.  There were three tours to choose from:  a 4-hour trip, an 8-hour trip, and an 11-hour trip.  We chose the 8-hour trip (on a school bus—not very comfortable for 8 hours).  Everyone had to bring a box lunch (no restaurants on the way).  I had to close my eyes on some of the mountain roads.  It was worth the trip.  We saw moose, mountain goats, a male grizzly, and down further a female grizzly with two of her cubs.  I thought that we might see Mount McKinley, but no such luck.  It is said that only about thirty percent of the people that come here actually see the top of the mountain because of the clouds.  It was a great day.

27 July 2011 – Wednesday

We took our time leaving Eielson AFB this morning.  We knew it wasn’t going to take long to get to Denali National Park.  On our way out the gate, there were a mother and baby moose grazing in the field.  Arrived at the park about noon.  .Went to the Mercantile Store to get our reservations to camp for two nights.  We set up camp, had dinner, and then took a long walk around the campsite.  Along the way we went to the ampitheater to hear one of the rangers talk about the history of the area. 

26 July 2011 - Tuesday

 

Decided to stay another night at Eielson AFB AK.  We went to the BX and Commissary.  Talked to a lady in the produce department who was there for 25 years and was retiring soon.  On our way to Fairbanks, we stopped at the North Pole (it’s like a Christmas store).  We sat on Santa’s lap and he gave us a little info on Alaska.  As Dave would say, I am making it my life’s goal to visit all the Walmarts across country and Fairbanks was no exception.  Washed some clothes that night and met another couple at the laundry room.  They were from Texas.  We exchanged tales of our trip.  Nice people.

25 July 2011 – Monday

Left campground at 10:00.  I think we are getting a slower start lately.  I don’t know if it is me dragging my feet or if it is Dave talking to everybody.  As we were driving toward Fairbanks, we saw another moose in a pond, so we had to take pictures.  Eielson AFB is a few miles this side of Fairbanks, so we decided to have a look.  We went to the Famcamp and decided to stay the night.  We met another couple that live in Shalimar, Florida (Eglin AFB, so the men had a lot to talk about.  We will head to Fairbanks tomorrow.

24 July 2011 – Sunday

On the road at 8:00.  Headed for Chicken AK on the Top of the World Highway.   We saw two elk before passing through the border to Alaska USA.  We drove to Delta Junction for the night.  Saw another bear in the road but it didn’t want to stick around for a photo. 

23 July 2011 – Saturday

Started this morning at 8:15. On our way to Dawson City YT over the Klondike Highway which was finished in the 1950s.  Dave put on his brakes hard because there was a grizzly in the road.  The grizzly went into the ditch around us and then came back up to the road behind us.  First one we saw.  When we arrived in Dawson City YT, we went panning for gold.  We didn’t hit it rich.  Toured a dredge that was used to dig gold.  There were 26 that were built—the pieces came from Ohio and then put together here.

17-21 July 2011

Just relaxed today.  Took a walk around the campsite and talked to a few people.

7-18-11.  This morning we left Malmstrom AFB and went on our way to Great Falls.   Farmland as far as the eye can see.  Stopped at Tim Horton’s for dinner then to the gas station.  A wind and hail storm came through while we were filling up the truck.  Headed for the Red Deer Lions Municipal Campground about 8:00.

7-19-11   Stayed in Grand Prairie at Rotary International RV Park near welcome center.  As Dave was walking through the park, he met a guy who’s brother was stationed at Plattsburgh (small world).  We went on a tour of Grand Prairie given by the Welcome Center—very interesting.  . 

7-20-11.  Left camp about 7:15.  The Alcan Highway started at Dawson Creek We stopped at another Welcome Center for more info on the sites up further on the Alcan.  We stopped for the night at Fort  Nelson.  Lost another hour on the clock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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7-21-11.  Got on the road at 7:30.  The weather was a mixture of light rain and sunshine.  It was a great day as far as seeing the wildlife.  We saw 2 moose,  4 herds of bison, and 5 bears at different spots on the road.  We also saw a stone goat.  Took over 500 pictures today of scenery and wildlife.  We stopped at Watson Lake, Yukon, for the night.  Met another nice couple in the laundry room.  He gave Dave his card and asked him to look them up on the way home.

 

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14 July 2011

Left the campsite this morning at 8:45 to go see Old Faithful.  The temperature was 40 degrees.  Old Faithful erupts about every hour.  It was a beautiful site.  Took a good number of pictures of this geyser and several others as we drove up the road.  Drove out of Yellowstone and stopped at Butte, Montana  for the night.

13 July 2011

Left Cody WY this morning and are now headed to Yellowstone National Park.  On the way we stopped at the Buffalo Bill Dam.  The history was fascinating.  Our senior pass for the Yellowstone National Park was great—free entrance.  We had lunch at Sledge Bay.  You can smell the cedars.  We called ahead to make reservations at Grant Village (camp site) and were lucky to get the last camp site.  We took a mile hike to find the showers and laundry room.  Nice walk.

22 June 2011 - Day 1

Left home early Wednesday morning (June 22, 2011).  Drove to David & Rene’s house in Wood Ridge.  Stayed there for a couple days.  From there we drove to Lancaster PA.  Stayed at a campground near Lancaster.  Called Pat and Bill and they came over the next day.  They brought us to a market and we went to Shady Maple that afternoon.  Came back to the campground and sat around talking for awhile.  Dave and I took a walk up this huge hill to see where the main campground was.  We got our exercise in that night.

Tuesday – 12 July 2011

 

 

Left Ellsworth AFB, SD this morning about 7:45.  The weather was beautiful and the scenery was gorgeous.  We stopped at Sturgis and Dave looked around the museum.