We-2Bs: May 2015

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Alaska 2015 - Day 19 Photos

Discovery III

Float Plane

Float Plane leaving the river

Susan Butcher (late) & David Monson Home & Kennels

Fish Weir

Smoke House for drying Salmon

Food Cache

Coat worth $20,000

Very pretty Athabascan Eskimo girl

Trading Post

John Silas's Trapper Cabin

Inside Trappers Cabin

Susan Butcher's Famous Lead Dog Granite

Home on Chena River

Log Home on Chena River

Marion Berry Dessert from Fred Meyers

Alaska 2015 - Day 19 Fairbanks

Day 19 – 5-30-15 Saturday We drove into Fairbanks this morning stopping at Fred Meyers to pick up a few grocery items. This is a chain store similar to Wal-Mart – actually Wal-Mart was just across the street. Then we drove to the Alaska Office of Natural Resources to get some information on state campgrounds but they were closed for the weekend. So we called and got reservations for the Riverboat Discovery. We stopped for lunch at the most Northern Denny's Restaurant in the World.

The Riverboat Discovery trip is a 3 hour narrated paddle boat trip down the Chena River. The narrator explained several things about the river and the houses along the banks. He pointed out the house that President and Mrs Reagan stayed in for 3 nights in 1984 when Air Force One stopped in Fairbanks for refueling. Shortly after we departed the dock a bush pilot did a demonstration of a bush airplane taking off and landing on water right in front of and beside the boat. We were up on the third open air deck and on the side where he took off and landed so we got a great view. Most of the bush pilots like the Piper Cub airplanes. The one that the pilot was using today was built in the 1950's. The plane only weights 1100 pounds so it makes it ideal for the work the bush pilots do. They can take off and land on a very short runway.

The next point of interest was Susan Butcher's Trail Breaker Kennels and home that sits on the banks of the river. The boat stopped right beside the kennels. Her husband David Monson was in the yard and gave a talk about dog mushing and raising the dogs. Susan was a four time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She won it three times with a lead dog named Granite. No other lead dog has won it three years in a row. Susan died in 2006 from cancer. After explaining about the dogs and mushing he and the dog team gave a demonstration using a ATV instead of a sled since there is no snow now. Those dogs were really eager to run. They have to tie down the ATV until they get all the dogs hooked up because the dog want to run when they are hooked up.

After the dog sled demo the boat moved on down the river to the area where the Chena joins another river and there he turned the boat around. The Captain of the boat is the fifth generation to pilot boats on the river. He had his 5 year old son in the pilot house with him. He said he started training when he was 5 years old.

After turning the boat around the boat stopped at a replica Athabascan Eskimo Village. Several of the guides and crew on the boat were Athabascan Eskimos. They explained how they use fish weirs to catch salmon in the rivers, how they dress and dry them for food for them and their dogs. After docking the boat everyone got off the boat and they took us to several places in the village to explain about how they use animal furs for clothing and food and other things. Nothing is wasted. They use every part of the animal for something.

David Monson was on site to autograph a book that he and Susan Butcher had written about Granite. We purchased one and he autographed it for our two grandsons. We boarded the boat and make our way back to the dock. We got free blueberry donuts and samples of salmon spread on the way back.

This was a great trip. If you are coming to Fairbanks we highly recommend it. We used one of our two for one coupons we had in a Tour Save Coupon book that we purchased before taking this trip. This one trip paid for almost half the cost of the coupon book.

Next we stopped at The Great Alaskan Bowl Company. I am a wood turner so I was interested in their work. I was not so impressed. The bowls were nice – nothing wrong with them but they are basically mass produced – mostly automated. Not hand made one at a time like mine.

We drove back to North Pole Alaska and went to Santa's House. Santa was there so we got him to mail a post card to our two grandsons. Then we returned to the campground and I took the Jeep to the free car wash at the campground to try and get it a little cleaner. Maybe after a few more washes it will be clean again. I was going to run it through an automated wash in North Pole but refused to pay $10 for a simple wash and rinse, no soap nothing but spray some water and rinse it off. That was the cheapest wash on the list.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Alaska 2015 - Photos Day 17 & 18

Moose (our first sighting)

Two more Moose

Old Cabin

Co-Pilot with Alaska state bird

End of Alaska Highway (we made it)

Sullivan Roadhouse

Sullivan Roadhouse kitchen

Rika's Roadhouse (rear)

Rika's roadhouse (front)

Co-Pilot ready for Alaska Winter

Bathtub in Rika's roadhouse

Richardson's Highway near Rika's roadhouse

Tok Visitor's Center and Library

Wolfs

Log Cabin and food cache(Bear Proof)

Chicken Statue

Gold Dredge

Stage in Chicken

Downtown Chicken

Chicken Post Office

Alaska 2015 - Day 17 Tok AK

Day 17 – 5-28-15 Thursday We had not expected to get to Tok until today but we made much better time yesterday than expected on the bad roads. We traveled 4,696 miles to get to Tok. We talked to a RV'er that came up the Alaska Highway today and he said the road crews were paving some of the gravel road we traveled yesterday so maybe by the time we go back that way in mid July they will have finished at least the area that was gravel.

We did some laundry while eating breakfast and while the laundry was drying we drove the Jeep to Chicken Alaska about 80 miles from Tok. Chicken has a Winter population of about 7 and Summer about 40. The snow on the road to Chicken is not plowed in the Winter so the people that stay through the Winter are stuck unless they use a snowmobile or airplane to get out. Yes they do have an airport. That is how the mail is delivered twice a week. The town has two RV parks, some small rental cabins, four gift shops, three places to eat, a salon, a liquor store, two places to get fuel and a US Post Office. We had lunch in one of the Cafes'. The town was a gold mining town and some gold mining still goes on there. The miners wanted to name the town Ptarmigan (the state bird which looks like a chicken) but no one was sure how to spell it so they name the town Chicken. There is a 18' by 12' chicken statue in town that was built out of recycled high school lockers in Homer Alaska and trucked to Chicken.

We returned to Tok and stopped in the local grocery store to pick up a few groceries. Tok is a small town. It has several RV parks, a couple of gas stations, gift shops, repair business, schools, etc. And for such a small town they have a really nice paved walking/biking trail off the highway. If you drive to Alaska you have to go through Tok arriving and leaving.

At 7:30PM the owner of the CG puts on a Pancake Toss. We went tonight and participated. He has everyone to introduce themselves before the contest begins. You get two tries to toss a pancake into a 5 gallon bucket. The first toss does not count but it you get the second one in you get a free breakfast in the CG cafe. One person out of about 25 got one in tonight. The owner, Tim, is almost as good on stage as some professional stand up comics. This is a real nice CG. The sites are large, level, with spruce trees between the site that give some privacy and the pull through sites are long. Most sites are full hook up. We would stay here again if we need a CG in this area.

I just checked the weather with my phone using Weather Bug and sunset tonight is 11:09 PM. Sunrise this morning was 3:49AM. Sure glad we have night shades in the MH that block out the daylight.

Alaska 2015 - Day 18 Tok AK - North Pole/Fairbanks AK

Day 18 – 5-29-15 Friday We departed the CG at 8:15AM and stopped at a nearby fuel stop to fill up. We try to start out every travel day with a full tank. The drive out of Tok toward Fairbanks was an easy drive. We passed one area where there had been a forest fire probably a few years ago. We came through an area on Wednesday after crossing into Alaska that had recently burned. In fact we could still smell the burnt trees and some of the fire fighting personnel were still on scene with their equipment. Yesterday on the way to Chicken we saw a large area that had burned probably years ago. It takes a long time for the trees to replenish due to the permafrost and harsh climate. We read that most of the fires here are started by lightning strikes.

We came up on three Moose grazing on the left side of the road. There was no traffic so I stopped and opened the side window and got a photo of them. They had crossed the road right at the Moose Crossing warning sign on the side of the road. And who says Moose can't read.

We stopped at the Delta Meat and Sausage Company. They are a family run business, raising their own livestock and have one of only three approved meat processing plant in Alaska. We got some Reindeer Summer sausage, Elk Summer Sausage, really nice meaty bacon and reindeer breakfast sausage links. They set out samples to try of several of their products.

Nine miles later we stopped in Delta Junction the official end of the Alaska Highway. The lady at the Visitor's Center took our picture in front of the end of highway sign with our camera. We checked out the visitor's center and then walked across the street to Sullivan Roadhouse Historic Museum. The roadhouse was moved to this location to preserve it. Most of it is still original. The guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the roadhouse and had slept in it in the late '80's before it was moved to Delta Junction. It was a very interesting place.

Not long after leaving Delta Junction we stopped at Rika's Roadhouse. This roadhouse is original and is two story. Rika ran this roadhouse for many years raising her own livestock, hay, gardens, etc, with very little help. There are several original outbuildings. This is also a very interesting stop. It sits on the banks of the Tanana River and the Alaska Pipeline runs between it and the highway. This was our first sight of the pipeline. There is a large parking lot that has 23 spots for overnight RV parking for $5. After touring everything we went back to the MH and ate some of the Summer sausage we had just purchased at Delta Meat and Sausage along with some smoked Gouda we had in the refrigerator. Nice lunch.

We drove on to our next stop a few miles past North Pole Alaska. We checked into the Riverside RV Park for 4 nights about 2:30PM. The Chena River runs down the side of the RV park. As we came through North Pole we saw a glass repair business so I called them about fixing the 3 rock cracks in our windshield. They will be out Tuesday morning to fix them. I had already called the insurance company so I followed up with them to finalize the process.

After setting up the MH, Lena sliced the bacon, made some hamburger patties and I grilled them on the Weber grill. The bacon on the hamburgers was delicious. We have plans to do several things in North Pole and Fairbanks so we may be here more than 4 nights.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Alaska 2015 - Day 16 Whitehorse - Tok AK

Day 16 – 5-27-15 Wednesday It was drizzling rain when we got up. They sure need some rain here because it is really dry. We ate breakfast and departed the CG at 6:55AM PST and drove a few miles and fueled up the MH, then drove out of Whitehorse down the Alaska Highway. We know today we will be driving over the worst roads on the trip.

The frost heaves in the road began a few miles out of Whitehorse. A frost heave is where the ground freezes during the Winter and distorts the ground under the pavement. Some places sink down and some raise up causing for much damage to the pavement and some bad driving. The road department does a pretty good job of marking the bad places with orange flags so you really have to be alert and drive slow in these areas or you can cause lots of damage to your vehicle. We have heard stories of people bending axles and other bad things, usually because they are driving to fast for the conditions. They have not found a way to prevent the damage to the roads from frost heaves. They just keep repairing the worst areas a section at a time. A car can handle the frost heaves much better than a large motor home.

The scenery we were driving through was pretty spectacular and would have been more so if it had not of been raining and overcast. We were not able to get but just a few good photos through the windshield due to the rain. The dash cam captured some of it but of course the windshield wipers are also in the video. There were mountains on both side of us and some of the mountain top were covered in snow and the clouds were down below the peaks of the mountains making for some really nice views.

We stopped at a pull off after driving a couple of hours at the location of an old bridge named Canyon Creek Bridge that was originally built during the Gold Rush. It has been rebuilt over the years and is now just a historic bridge. It was about 44 degrees, drizzling rain and overcast so we went back to the MH, cranked the generator and made a cup of coffee and some hot chocolate and I ate my cinnamon bun that we purchased a couple of days ago. Lena had already ate hers.

We were not sure how far we could get today. Tok Alaska is about 350 miles from Whitehorse and with the bad roads we were not sure we could make it to Tok today. 350 miles is about our normal daily average miles on good roads. About 50 miles past Whitehorse the roads got better and were good through Haines Junction all the way to Destruction Bay. But just past Destruction Bay is a tiny place called Burwash Landing. From there all the way to Beaver Creek the frost heave were one after another. We really had to slow down and watch the road for the flags. There was about 50 miles of so of this stretch that was just gravel and dirt where the road crews had torn the bad pavement up and was preparing to repave the road. Actually the gravel/dirt sections were a much better ride than the paved sections but the road was wet from the rain this morning and it was really making a mess of all the vehicles. Most of the people wanted to drive faster than we did so they blew by us. One motor home came barreling by us and threw rocks up on our windshield as he blew by. I let him hear how my air horns sounded. The services along this 100 miles or so of road are almost now existent. We saw one pickup truck that was sitting beside the road with his flashers on and the hood up. We found out later from some other travelers that he had blown by them in a hurry but they passed him a few mile later as he was sitting beside the road broke down. Sometimes the turtle get to the finish before the rabbit.

We finally made it to Beaver Creek and stopped at Buckshot Betty's for a much needed rest and something to eat. As we were going in we met two couples that was in the same campground with us at Tetsa River CG. They were planning to make it to Tok today. We had a good lunch and decided we could make the 100 miles to Tok because the road was reported to be much better from here to Tok. We crossed into Alaska in about 40 miles. While we were in line at the border crossing we got to watch a helicopter take off just a few yards in front of us. It had landed in a spot where the two lanes of road splits around the border office building. The agent checked our passports, asked a few questions and sent us on our way.

We arrived at the Sourdough Campground in Tok about 4PM Alaska time, which is 4 hours behind time on the East Coast. The temperature had got up to almost 70 degrees and the sun was shining. We checked in and drove to their car/RV wash station and spent about an hour washing the mud off both the MH and the car. There were lots of RV'ers coming to the wash to clean their vehicles and RVs. The campgrounds here make money with their car/RV wash stations when the roads are bad. We had already checked into the CG and was washing our vehicles when we noticed several of the RVs that had blown by us on the gravel/dirt sections coming down the road. So with all their rushing we still got to out CG and was washing our vehicles before they were. We got the vehicles fairly clean and pulled into site 13. After 10 hours of driving over some really bad roads we were ready to settle down for the evening.

Hey I am supposed to be RED.

Rock Guard

When we start making our way back to the lower 48 we will have to travel the same bad section of road again. We are hoping some of the construction is completed by that time. There is no other way to Alaska by road except by the Alaska Highway. So we will backtrack on the same road almost to Watson Lake before turning onto the Cassier Highway to go to Hyder Alaska and other parts of Canada on the return trip.