Summer Adventure 2018 Day 61

Our day began with breakfast at the Yukon Motel, then off to the George Johnston Museum. What an interesting man he was. A self-taught photographer, who ordered his first camera kit from a catalog and he also owned the first automobile in the Yukon.

We finished the tour at the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre. One demonstrator was a young woman who is a designer. She is working on a dance robe. She explained how symmetry is very important to the Tlingit people, there are never shapes with corners in their designs and the different colors used by the coastal and inland people. Her dance robe, by tradition being her first, must be a gift. She has a couple of people in mind who will wear it and put it to use.

On the road again to Nugget City, Baby Nugget RV Park. It was a convenient stop on our journey, but that is the best thing I can say about it. They are over-priced for a site with water and electric, no one there was very friendly. Water at the restaurant is $2.95 because of conservation. Wifi is a hotspot at the laundry room; for checking email only, no phone calls or you will be charged $5.00 per minute and made to leave the park. It just was not a welcoming atmosphere.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 60

We left Whitehorse and went as far as Teslin about 150 miles, so it wasn't a long, hard driving day. We stayed at Yukon Motel & RV Park. After eating we visited the gift shop and museum there. It was an incredibly nice museum, admission was a donation. After that we went to the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre, another very nice museum which had an $8.00 admission. We arrived after the demonstrations were finished for the day. They allowed us to enter the exhibits we could view and said we could return the next morning to see the demonstrations. The lady there suggested we also go in the morning to the George Johnston Museum. He was her great-uncle.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 59

Freightliner found the problem with Bill's motorhome is the EGR valve, but they are not an authorized service center for it. He will closely monitor the CHECK ENGINE light and the motorhome's power as we continue the adventure.

Our visit to the YUKON BERINGIA INTERPRETIVE CENTRE was one of my favorites of the entire trip. Our tour guide, Tracy, must have degrees in Paleontology, Anthropology and World History! I could have spent days with her learning the things she was presenting to us for a mere $5 admission. I came away with a better understanding of the cycles of Earth, the many, many years of glacial and warming cycles. She answered questions regarding those cycles, how the First Nations people and the huge animals like the Wooly Mammoth and Short-faced Bear of the Yukon arrived there and the amount of time it took for their migration. In addition to Tracy's spectacular presentation there were two videos and a demonstration of how the First Nations hunters were proficient throwing spears to kill their prey and we could participate using the Atlatl, the tool used to launch a spear. We picked up our Yukon Gold Explorers Passport. During our stay in the Yukon we visited 10 of the participating sites and had our passports stamped then turned them in at the Whitehorse Visitor Centre. Now we will each be entered in the drawing for 1 troy ounce of gold to be held September 21. Wish us luck!

Summer Adventure 2018 Days 56-58

It was a long day of driving from Tok to Kluane Lake, even though it was only 225 miles. Much of the road had been recently treated to a fresh layer of chipseal which is a lot of loose, dusty gravel and where the vehicle tracks are made is craggy, like a washboard. That caused a four an a half hour drive to turn into seven rough hours. There was a brief stop at Destruction Bay while we prepared supper. A short time later we stopped at a roadside pullout where we decided to camp for the night.

The next morning we had an incredibly short drive to Fas Gas Plus where we parked for the night. It was still very early in the day, so Bill loaded us into his car and off we went to Haines, AK. After driving a few miles Bill realized we didn't bring our passports with us. We would need them to enter Alaska and return to Canada, so he turned around and back to Fas Gas Plus we headed.  Now with passports in hand we were off again to Haines. As we ascended the mountain road we drove into the clouds for several miles.

We explored Haines for a few minutes before finding the Bamboo Room to have lunch. Ray said he had the best halibut chunks here.  I noticed some motorcycles parked near the door; one of them looked familiar. Could it be the fellow Ray talked to in North Dakota on his way to Alaska is here in the same restaurant with us? I tried to quickly bring up this blog page to find his photo. But up here nowhere is the internet quick and by the time I found it he had already gone. I do believe it was that fellow. I wish Ray had at least asked him, and now I will never know for certain.

Haines is an Eagle Preserve where the largest population of eagles, more than 3,000 can be found. Naturally, I was happy to be able to photograph a couple of them and a few around Haines. During the drive back to Haines Jct.  the clouds had lifted and we made a few stops for more pictures includng Mount Logan, the tallest peak in Canada, the second tallest peak in North America and a black bear along the road.

It was another long day of driving, but the road was in much better condition and we stopped several times during the day.

The following day we traveled to Whitehorse. As we entered the town Bill noticed a Freightliner / Cummins garage. After setting up at Pioneer RV Park, we went there so Bill could check to see if they could look at his CHECK ENGINE light on his motorhome. Normally, no one is at the garage on Sunday, but we found another angel there. He told Bill to bring the motorhome there the next morning and he would work it in to analyze the  problem.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 55

We spent the whole day driving from Valdez to Tok with a stop for fuel and a sandwich at The Alaska Hub on Richardson Hwy at the intersection of Glenn Hwy. That was one busy place.  Shortly after that we turned on to the Tok Cutoff. That one I thought was one of the worst roads we've traveled, but Ray, the driver, thought it was a good road. My neck and shoulders didn't agree with him. An overnight stay at Tok RV Village and dinner at Fast Eddy's. You might remember we ate there when we first arrived in Alaska.

Summer Adventure 2018 Days 48-54

The summer adventure has been slow and easy this week. We spent the week in Valdez at Bear Paw RV Park right on Harbor Dr. Valdez is a small town and we are right in the heart of it. The only places we drove to all week were Thompson Pass, Keystone Canyon to the fish hatchery on the other side of the bay.

Bridal Veil Falls

Horsetail Falls

We ate at some of the popular eateries like the Fat Mermaid for good pizza and again for breakfast one morning; Old Town Burgers for yes you guessed it - delicious burgers; Fu Kung Chinese cuisine and Sweet Cheeks Bakery, a tiny Air Stream trailer with a walk-up window to order a scrumptious cinnamon roll right here at the RV park.

This one came to visit at Bear Paw.

We would stroll along the harbor every afternoon to the fish cleaning station to see which captain brought in the biggest haul for the day. There were dozens of halibut weighing around 70 lbs. the one for the season is 226 lbs. A 149 lb halibut was the largest caught all week until yesterday when a very happy young man brought in one weighing 164 lbs and taking 3rd place in the Valdez Halibut Derby. The fish are put into a large wheelbarrow from the boat, if they are large ones they are weighed on the official scale on the lower dock then wheeled to the top level where the entire catch is hung for photos with the fishermen. After that the fish cutters, who the captain called as they were coming in to let them know when they would arrive, went to work making filets out of those fish. In less than 10 minutes they can have one of those giant halibut cut into filets and on the way across the street, to the fish packer. It isn't glamorous, but it draws a large crowd daily. Everyone in town knows about the derby.

The biggest halibut is 164 lbs.

The captain helping with filleting the halibut.

A wheelbarrow of  filets.

The fish hatchery is at the other side of the bay and we drove over there daily to check to see if the salmon had arrived hoping to see they had and the bears catching them. Everyday we were disappointed to see no salmon or bears. The eagles had been scarce this week until today. We saw 7 this morning as we went to check on the salmon, so we were happy with that to end the week.

Throughout the week we went out exploring a bit at Thompson Pass, Worthington Glacier, a stop at Keystone Canyon to photograph the Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls and the abandoned tunnel that was dug by hand but never finished because of a feud. And there was a short little hike to a lookout over Valdez. We visited both museums and went to the site of Old Valdez. Valdez was moved after the Good Friday Earthquake in 1964.

Bill is checking out this chunk of ice from Valdez Glacier.

Can you see Bill? A tiny black speck in the lower left corner.

There isn't one thing polished or sophisticated about Valdez, but it is a very friendly place where you quickly feel comfortable and everyone we met loves Alaska and is proud to call Valdez home.

This seal caught a fish. Maybe they are coming to Valdez.

Summer Adventure 2018 Day 47

Leaving the best campground, Paradise Alaska, behind today. I wish we could have stayed another day, but Valdez is waiting. We stopped for fuel then just after getting on the road Bill tells us his check engine light is on. We found a nice place to pull off the road and lo and behold, there is an eagle flying just above our heads. I grab my camera to see what sort of pictures I can get. 

They guys checked all the fluid levels and the light is still on, the rig has plenty of power and nothing seems wrong, so we take off on the Glenn Highway toward Glennallen. Ray called Stan to confirm there shouldn't be a problem driving Bill's rig. The call was short, it was dropped. So onward we go and Bill kept a close eye on how his rv was running. 

The drive was probably the most gorgeous drive of our entire trip as we left the farmland of Palmer going to Valdez with views of the Talkeetna, Wrangell and Chugach Mountains as well as Matanuska Glacier, Worthington Glacier, Thompson Pass and the waterfalls, Bridal Veil  & Horsetail, of Keystone Canyon.