Well, here we are in Kasilof, Alaska. All in all a pretty good trip considering the haul this year consisted of 20K pounds worth of truck & trailer and a nine-month old in the back seat
We might as well start over since I only got a couple of pix up on the original thread. I had though about doing regular updates, but our travel schedule put us outside of towns when we stopped and I needed to be in Soldotna for a licensing meeting on Friday the 18th.
We left Forks early morning on Monday, May 13. MIle 0. Gas at the highest prices we'd ever seen in town:
A mid-morning ferry from Kingston to Edmonds cost us $86 (ouch)!
We pulled into Pouslbo RV around noon time to get an electrical glitch hammered out in the the new RV ... an hour later we were set to go!
Ro-Ro was a pretty happy camper at this point, we'll see how long this lasts!!
We had a couple of more quick stops to make in Seattle, so we decided to go ahead and spend the night and get a good night's rest instead of starting with little sleep on a trip that promised few opportunities for prolonged rest. The welcoming sign at Maple Grove in south Everett:
A chance to keep up on 24 and Heroes was followed by a 5 AM wake up call. All was ready to go around 7 AM and here come the girls with a morning load of coffee for us as we prepare to hit the road:
Crossing the border in late morning was a breeze ... unlike last year where we had the first "hard time" that we'd ever run across. A right up the Frasier River was quickly followed by a "poopy" stop and a chance for the kids to play in the sun!
While Ro-Ro gets an inside room, Rainey got delegated to the back end:
Up through the Frasier Canyon and into the Thompson Valley took a little longer than I'd like, but with lots in tow, it was slower than normal. Plus it was time for another poopy stop. A beautiful stretch of roadway!
A look at the fabled Thompson in the spring:
Incredible weather, couldn't belive we were trying to run from it as fast as we could!
Job #1 was keeping everything on the road, #2 was keeping Rowan entertained. Drum lessons on the highway (movie):
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/boardpix/07alcanmovie11.movA late afternoon stop for fuel and dinner in Quesnel, BC gave us our first shocking look at gas prices here. With almost an even exchange nowdays and something like 3.8 litres to the gallon ... that's some spendy gas!! Fortunately, diesel was about $.25 a litre less throughout the trip
We pushed on to a rest stop between Prince George and Burns Lake for our stop for the night at about midnight. Rainey gets a drink before loading up the next morning:
The town of Houston wasn't too far up the road and it was time to fuel up both the truck and myself:
Next town in line is an old favorite fall haunt, the quaint little town of Smithers coming up, played a few rounds of golf at the course on the left:
The Bulkley was running a "wee bit" higher than normal, and of course, puke brown!
A couple of hours later, the Cassiar Junction was upon us. Meaning nothing this time of year in trip progress, this fall, it means we're almost there!!!
The Skeena also looked a "little" on the high side. Lots of flood concerns for this area this spring if it warms too quick as lots of snow lay up high.
We soon found that fact out for oursleves, even on the valley floor, lots of snow still on the ground:
The snow gave Rainey a good opportunity to cool down after a ball-tossing session:
Ro-Ro throught this whole thing is still pretty fun:
Our first sighting of Caribou mid-way up the Cassiar:
Ouch, you thought that gas in Quesnel was bad, how 'bout in the town of Dease Lake??
We stopped around midnight again Wednesday night after re-joining the Alaska Highway proper. Miles and miles of this lay ahead:
A quick check in the back seat, Ro-Ro still smiles!!!!! Thursday, day four in total, day three in hard travel and all is good
A little before noon came a stop in the town of Whitehorse in the Yukon:
The Haines Junction / Kluane Lake area is always a mess. Why not start it off with some snow???
Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!!
Oh yeah, bring it on, freshly ground up road means straight mud to drive on for a bit ... that white trailer is now brown!!!
And of course, flaggers and pilot cars ... an AlCan staple! But this one sure had a cute pup that looked a little bored waiting for his master!
And for all those that think they deserve the stupid award for driving this thing .... these guys win!!!! BIKING the AlCan??? No, thanks!
We finally made it though that nasty section of road by mid-afternoon Thursday. Then just before, and after the town of Beaver Creek (westernmost community in Canada) ... things really went south!!!
Close to 100 miles of incredible frost heaves. It has been nasty in the past, but this was huge stuff, non-stop. A short movie clip ... make sure to listen for the ice & drinbks in the cooler for full effect. We used to have a section in AK that we called the "17 Miles of Hell", thus the reference to the 70 or so we were currently at and contintued for a ways. 100 miles at roughly 25 mph was all we could manage with the RV behnd us:
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/boardpix/07alcanmovie325.movBy early eve, the Alaska border was finally upon us and time for another poopy stop and pix!
The town of Tok (founded by Sol?) is the first stop in AK. Even out in the boonies in AK, gas prices fell through the floor, Ro-Ro seems happy about that fact!!
Late enought hat we didn't want to stop for a real dinner, the mini-mart at the gas station looked to be the ticket. They should put warning labels on gas station burritos that are labeled "The Bomb" ... wait, maybe they did!! Plus some kleenex for the nicely timed cold that was now clogging my head but good!
Back on the road, we found a Swan and a Beaver sharing the same swimmin' hole:
We were dragging, but these wayward caribou that wouldn't get off the road gave us some much needed comic relief!!
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/boardpix/07alcanmovie39.movWe finally called Thursday around 1 AM (Friday) about 60 miles short of Glenallen. A cold, but gorgeous morning greeted us as we looked over to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park:
Elaspsed driving time so far:
Off towards Anchorage over the high plateau gave us one more shot of snowfall for the trip!
A little before noon and civilization appears on the outskirts of Anchorage:
OH my, how do those gas prices down south look now??
Downtown Anchorage, in all its glory:
Off to the Kenai Peninsula, a look across Turnagain Arm, home to the world's second largest tides, nearly 40 feet of exchange here on spring tides!!
An annual sight along the Arm ... smelt dippin'!
After four good days on the road, Ro-Ro finally loses it in the home stretch!!
http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/boardpix/07alcanmovie47.movAround the Arm, over the Pass, and a final right off the Seward Highway down to Kenai:
The upper Kenai follows the road through here:
Half-hour later and one of the Peninsula's most fabled spots passes us by, Good Time Charlie's!!
We made it into Soldotna with just a half-hour until meeting time ... a quick stop to the Borough Offices and the Post Office for paperwork and I made it to my meeting just minutes late
After licensing, it was off to de-mud the trailer:
And Grandpa & Grandma came to see Ro-Ro while Daddy washed the trailer ... a big upswing in her mood!
Off to Kasilof we went ... oh yeah, Parker, it even a little below its normal low flows of this time of year!!
Slept late on Saturday and got the RV mostly set up and started working on dishes, cell antenna and all that sort of fun stuff
Sunday got he Durango and boat picked up from storage and fish camp is almost complete:
Slept late again yesterday, trying to get rid of my crud before the schedule goes nuts. Had a single client booked that chose the evening for his trip time so I grabbed Fishgal's dad and a friend that runs a local B&B to ride along as we went to see what was finning around in the river.
IT took until tide came to us, but it was time to do battle!!
Not legal for retention on Monday's this time of year, this wild one went back after a quick picture, in the water of course, Sparkey's Law has been in effect for many years in this area:
Corey's dad, Steve ... shows off his fishing prowess, flounder snagger!!!!!!!!!!
Bill, from Kansas City, had never seen a salmon before ... now he gets to do battle with one!!
Didn't want to take any meat home, but we figured this hatchery fish would make a good welcome dinner for us, so it got some good wood shampoo!!!
Not long after a nice buck hit the deck as well .... major barbeque coming up!!
Thw warm day finally started cooling quickly as the sun got way low in the sky, so we called it an eve and headed for the barn ... what a beautiful end to our first trip down the river this summer!
Just the start of things .... we'll see many of you over the next few months and we'll share some with the rest of ya!!!
Leave a few for us for this fall at home!!
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