7-30-10

Got up early today and spent the day on the Kenai River fishing Red Salmon (Sockeye). We found the fish to be tough to get into the boat. The fought hard and were tough to get into the net. We ended the day with 8 nice fish. Not our limit but plenty to bring home. We were joined by a few brown bears during the day looking for the same thing we were. They kept to their business and did not seem bothered by our presence. The rain stayed away while we were on the river which was a good thing as it was plenty cold just standing river water all day. We are planning to head back towards Minnesota in the morning. The time went by fast but we are all ready to get back to some real summer weather. We may have trouble updating the blog on a regular basis as we are heading down British Columbia and there are very few towns until we are almost back to Jasper.

Till the next update.

Tim, Gus and Jeff

Yesterday, we went gallery and museum sightseeing throughout the Homer area. Weather was cooperative, and the day turned out great. We spent most of our time at the Norman Lowell gallery, a local artist that has spent the last 50 years at his homestead near Homer. He was born in Iowa, and moved to Alaska shortly after getting married. The upper left is an inside shot of the homestead cabin he built. His wife and him raised 5 children here, burning their own wood for heat until only a few years ago, when his age preventing him from continuing to chop trees. Though the picture doesn't do the gallery justice, it's a wonderful building and presentation. It's not at all what you would expect to find on a hillside in the mountains. The gallery itself is probably close to a half-million dollar structure, with four large rooms and galleries. About 90% of the art is Norman Lowell's, with a smattering of other local artists. It was a wonderful find.

We also visited Ben Firth's gallery. Mr. Firth does some wonderful work on natural materials, including carvings on moose horns, and oils on birch bark. His work was so unique and wonderful, Jeff didn't make it out the door without making an investment.

And finally, we went to the Homer visitor's center, which was a great museum on the history and current scientific research going on in the area.

Today is Jeff's birthday (he's getting so old!!), so we'll have to take it a bit easy. Planning to move to Cooper's Landing in preparation for out guided Salmon fishing expedition tomorrow. We get to meet our guide at 4:30 A.M., so we won't be partying too late tonight.....sorry, Jeff!!

Tim, Jeff, & Gus

Hello from Homer, Alaska!! Had a great day of fishing today. Jeff slaughtered the fish....he caught the biggest halibut on the far left, and the cod laying across the top. Meanwhile, Tim made a meager contribution with a couple of small halibut. When the fish were cleaned and packed, we shipped over 100 pounds of fish back to our families. Who said we weren't great providers??

Gus stayed back today, and caught up on a number of chores. In addition, he made us a GREAT dinner again tonight.

Actually, I think he enjoyed the day of solitude with the two of us gone after several weeks of living together!

We were extremely lucky today. While the wind and rains have made fishing miserable over the last two weeks, we lucked out with a gorgeous day. The mountain and water picture above is the scene from our fishing boat today.......not a bad way to spend the day.

Tim, Jeff, & Gus

Hike - July 24

Had a great hike yesterday. I was to solo hiker with our guide, so we went off trail in search of remote places and unique scenery. And we found it in abundance. My guide's name was Kevin. He is a biology student at Colorado Springs, and has a unique knowledge of plants, fungus, and spores. In the 3 hours we hiked, I tried to learn as much as a could from him. Again, "beauty is in the eyes of the observer". Had I not had the guides experience to draw on, I would have missed much of the wonder of what we saw. It's been a rainy season in Alaska, and the mushrooms were in abundance. It was like walking through an "Alice in Wonderland" movie. I had never seen mushrooms in such variety and vibrant colors before. Wild!!

In addition, we ran across many trapper set-ups from the prior winter. The sticks making a small teepee in the attached picture are set-ups used by trappers to protect the meat and trap from the falling snow, and to "funnel" the animal to the trap area. The meat is hung on the inside of the teepee, and the trap placed in the doorway. Kevin tells me the trappers check their trap lines with dog sleds.....it's a tough go to make a living here in the winter. It's definitely for hardy folk!

We must of chased off a bear in one area of our hike. Kevin is in one of today's pictures next to a place a bear laid for the night. When we found it, it was still giving off steam from the animals body. Since it was about 45 degrees out, we must of startled the animal with our talk (maybe it's a good thing I talk loud).

We spent 3 hours investigating, searching, and scrambling over the rock ridges above the village of Denali. The weather was about 45 degrees (perfect for what we were doing)......another great day in the Northland.

We left Denali about noon yesterday, and came to Anchorage. We went to "Humpy's" for dinner last night. While the food was just OK (Humpy's has been featured on the Food Channel's "Man vs. Food"), the atmosphere was fun and the drinks great.

Today, we move to Homer and get ready for Halibut and Salmon fishing.

Tim

The Denali Bus Tour

Wonderful bus tour today through the Denali National Park. Denali does not allow private vehicles within the park, so our choices were a bus tour or walk.

Though the day was cloudy (too cloudy to see Mt. McKinley), we saw an abundance of wildlife. Attached are a few of the many photos we took. We saw a total of 11 grizzlies (3 in the photo above), a number of moose, some huge Caribou, one wolf, and many, many Dall sheep.

We got back around 4:30. It's getting cold, and we're planning to go to the villiage of Denali for pizza and a beer or two this evening.

Tim

7-22-10

Moved from Fairbanks to Denali Park this morning. The drive was short only about 130 miles. The weather was overcast but at least the rain stayed away until evening. We took an ATV ride this afternoon in an area right next to Denali National Park. We had a great time! We were lucky enough to be in a group with a family from Michigan who were all powersports riders. Our tour guides were 3 young bucks who were happy to take us further and faster then their typical tours would allow. They all agreed it was the most enjoyable tour they have had in years. We went up the mountain and down a creek for miles in the water. It was alot of fun and everyone got along great. We all got a bit muddy and wet but it was worth it. We take the bus into Denali in the morning. We are hoping the weather breaks long enough for us to see the top of McKinley. Stay tuned to find out if it does. Tim cooked steaks for dinner and we had a fire going to keep us warm. Life doesn't get much better then this.

Tim, Gus, Jeff

Good morning from Fairbanks....

We are taking a down day in Fairbanks....call it a day off the road. We are all three sitting in the "Alaskan Coffee Company" hammering on our PC's, catching up on e-mails, facebook postings, etc. I'm not sure if I should be proud we have three baby boomers embracing technology, or sad that we are in one of the most natural wildernesses left and are sitting in a coffee shop on laptops? Is our society really made better by the technology? OK....so I'm getting off the subject.....(and I have to hurry so I can update my Nook).

A total of approximately 3200 miles on our trip thus far (no wonder we are a bit road tired). Tomorrow, we move to Denali for an ATV ride in the afternoon, followed by a Denali bus tour on Friday, and a guided hike on Saturday. We are looking forward to the next few days.

Tim

WE MADE IT!!!

Arrived in Tuk, Alaska around 8:00 local time last night. The last 200 miles were a bit brutal (Jeff got to drive the last 5 hours or so). The highway department is losing the battle with the frost heaves. We were going 10 mph at times, and probably didn't average more than 30 over the total distance. Long day, but not as long as the trucker had in one of today's pictures (the accident had occurred several hours earlier....not sure if anyone was hurt or not).

We are all glad to be here. Tuk is a small town (maybe 500 people).....Gus made a great dinner when we arrived (it was wonderful), and we went to the local watering hole for a couple of after dinner drinks....

About 2- 3 hours of darkness a day here....could lead to future trouble. Seems like we can stay up way to late, and the bars are open until 5 a.m. This is not a good combination!!!

Tim, Gus, and Jeff

One week on the road....

So we have full fledged agreement on a number of issues, including:

1. The Canadian people we've met are absolutely wonderful!! Friendly, helpful, pleasant, and truely interested in where you are from; where you are going. We truely enjoy their company and our contact with them. Tonight, we got to meet Emily; our waitress at Klondike's in Whitehorse, Yukon. Before the night was out, she was sitting at our table giving us crap (which we handed back in abundance), making the experience truely enjoyable (with one exception....she thought I was considerable older than Jeff and Gus...which HURT)

2. The scenery is absolutely remarkable: Today, we saw wild Bison in the Yukon, a herd of mountain goats; reindeer; and Caribou; along with outstanding mountain ranges and gorgeous valleys.

3. Our partners in life (which we miss terribly) probably wouldn't enjoy this trip much...to get them to Alaska we will probably have to look at airplanes and/or cruise ship alternatives (Val would prefer the transporter from the Starship Enterprise, but the expense would kill me).

4. The sunlight is dang tough to get used to here. It's now about midnight, and it's finally starting to get dark outside. And by 3:00 A.M., the sun will be coming back out.......WHEN ARE WE SUPPOSE TO SLEEP????

A great day today....and a greater one planned for tomorrow...... Great experiences. Great times. Great friendships.

From Whitehorse, Yukon.....

Tim

Hi from Toad River, BC.....

So...try finding that on a map!! Interesting day. We made 405 miles; not the distance we wanted, but OK based on the troubles we had. Blew a tire on the front of the tow vehicle today and didn't notice it right away (the size and weight of the motorhome makes it virtually impossible to recognize what is going on with the tow vehicle). Anyway, by the time we knew what was going on, we had totally wrecked the rim...bent up the inside wheel well (fixable), and pretty much wrecked the other front tire. We were able to put on the spare, limp to town, and about 3 hours later (and much $), we were fixed up and back on the road.

But ignoring our mechanical challenges, we had a great day. We saw Moose, Caribou, and Deer on the road this evening. We are staying at a small RV park tonight with a rolling creek out our back door; and the weather is drop dead gorgeous.

7-16-10

Drove from Lake Louise to Dawson Creek BC today. We are now on mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. We drove through many miles and we mean many!, of the Canadian Rockies.
We then came down onto the plains and are now in Ag country. We put on 467 miles today. Not alot but had many up and downs and corners to navigate. We are now focused on getting to Fairbanks which is about 1500 miles away. We are over half way there as we have traveled 1700 miles to date. We had a great meal at a local steak house. We all agreed that everywhere we have been the locals from Canada have been very friendly and a joy to talk with. We are doing some laundry this evening and are planning a early departure towards Watson Lake in the Yukon Territory in the morning. No pictures today as we are all too lazy to download our cameras.
Later,
Tim, Gus and Jeff

Went to the Columbia Icefields today.....ANOTHER awesome day. Saw a black bear on our way, and a grizzly on the way back. Took buses out to the glacier and were able to walk around a bit (felt like being in Roseau in January). We'll post more photos tomorrow (Marlys: Gus needs a new computer!! He's got all the pictures!).

Jeff, Gus, & Tim

Morning 7-15-10

Spent the day yesterday at Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau. This place is truely as beautiful as all the pictures you see. Someone once said that special places are in the eyes of the observer. We think this is one such place.

Hiked back to a tea house close to the "Plain of six glaciers". The hike was a bit grueling for our first one of the trip, about 8 miles and close to 3000 feet of elevation. Our muscles felt it last night.....but the views and teas were worth the trip. Tim also had some homemade rye bread that was wonderful. The tea house does one supply run per year by helicopter, and backpacks in the rest of their supplies throughout the year. We decided they must really be in good shape!!

Last night it was steaks and beer....as we continue to fight the good fight!!

Jeff, Tim, & Gus

7-13-10

Spent the morning taking off the slide awning. The weather was great to work in -Cold-Windy and Raining. After a few hours the operation was successful and the awning was removed and everything tied into place. It all seems to work fine (WE HOPE!) Spent the afternoon in Banff walking around the shops. It is was a good day for this as it rained all day and the temps were around 50. The restaurants looked great I could spend a week here just trying all the interesting food (I had better bring Sandy along for that). Anyway the weather is supposed to clear tonight and warm up. We are moving to a campground at Lake Louise in the morning. Looking forward to seeing the mountains without all the fog and clouds.

Till then,

Jeff

Good morning!! We're west of Calgary about 20 miles on the Bow Ridge river (nice campground). Yesterday was a bit less than perfect.

Got on the road fairly early yesterday morning, and made it to the Canadian border just after lunch. The winds were 50 mph out of the west by the time we got north of the border, and driving the big rig got a lot more difficult. While I had taken the easy shift in the morning, Jeff took over for the border crossing and wind navigation.

Shortly after crossing the border, we had our first mechanical problem. An awning that protects one of the slide outs from rain got caught by the wind, was fully pulled out, and stuck while we were driving. We pulled over and ultimately duct taped the awning to keep it from whipping around and tearing, and were able to proceed. Should have had the camera out. I went up the road to make sure cars would be cautious and pull around. Gus was supporting Jeff and what he needed from the ground. And Jeff was on top of the motorhome on the Canadian prairie in 50 mph winds thinking he was one of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk. Maybe it's a good thing no one thought about the camera! But everyone did their part, and soon we were moving again.

We stopped at a visitors center south of Calgary (in Claresholm: picture above), and ran into a wonderful lady who helped us find a virtual library of materials on Alberta, maps, and things to do while we are staying in Banff. If you have the opportunity, stop.....she is wonderful!!!!

Gus got the last driving shift of the day, and once again he got stuck with the worse. Our GPS system would up taking us down the city streets of Calgary, while at the same time battling the winds, rain, and road construction. Now trying doing that with a 43 ft motorhome pulling a Tahoe! He did a marvelous job, but he did need a Jack or two once we arrived. Kudo's, Gus!!

Well, better get back to help the guys on vehicle repairs. We are going to try to get our awning fixed up this morning, then take the Tahoe up into the mountains for a little scenery and hiking adventure. By the way, it's about 45 degrees here West of Calgary, and we are told we will run into snow today........

Tim

Day 1 on the road

628 miles today. Tonight we are at a nice campground in Glasgow. Gus and I cut our teeth at driving "the rig" today.....and we DIDN'T WRECK ANYTHING!! Great day, again. Into the campground by 7:00, supper on the grill, drinks 3 and 4 are going down good. Boy, LIFE IS TOUGH!!

Saturday....preparation day!

Good evening....this is Tim. Finished loading and sorting all of our stuff into the motorhome today (can't decide what to call it. How about "Big Bertha"). Went out to Zorbas for pizza, and a beer or two. Good day!! Ready for takeoff in the morning.

Jeff has his new motorhome and all the toys that go with it. Gus brought his new SLR lens, and is ready to take some great pictures. I've got six new pair of socks and six new pair of underwear. In the game #1 ("who brought the best new stuff"), I won hands down!!

Off to Montana tomorrow......and the TRIP IS ON!!