Northeast Montana (Scobey, Flaxville, & Whitetail)

September 7-12, 3013

After leaving Grand Coulee, WA, our next destination was the Northeast corner of Montana.  We had two overnight stops before arriving at our friends, Gary and Connie Brenden.  We have known Gary and Connie for many years, having met at our church in Alpharetta, GA when we lived there.  We were both in the new members orientation at church and found out we had many similar interests. 

Chuck and Gary are both of Norwegian descent, so there are always a lot of Norse comments.  In addition to that, we discovered we all like to bowl and ended up bowling on leagues together while in the Atlanta area.  Golf was another passion of us all and we golfed together almost every weekend--Gary and Chuck with the guys, and Connie and Phyllis with other ladies.  Lots of fun memories.  They are also our grandson, Lucas', godparents. 

We had so much fun with them.  They are staying on their family farm for the summer.  Until this year, they lived in Southern California, but their house was sold while they were at the farm.  So if you don't count the farm and their fabulous motorhome, they are "homeless".  They left the Atlanta area several years ago moving to the Phoenix area.  After a few years, they moved to Southern California.  Looks like now they are returning to Arizona.  We have visited them in all of their homes now since we finally made it to the farm.

Chuck helped Gary work on some of the farm's outbuildings the first day, and Phyllis and Connie canned tomatoes from the garden.  This really brought back memories for Phyllis, since her family always had a large garden, her mother was always canning and freezing all kinds of vegetables.  We had wonderful sweet corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers from the garden, and Connie's brother shared some tasty steaks from his herd of cows.  Something to be said about farm life and good eating.

We celebrated Chuck's birthday the second day by playing a round of golf on their neat little course in Scoby.  Lots of laughs, some good shots, and many not so good shots.  Later that evening we got to experience the "nightlife" in Flaxville by going to the Bum Steer.  Gary was from Flaxville, and Connie was from Whitetail.  Unfortunately both of these towns have decreased dramatically in population since Gary and Connie grew up here.  There isn't much left of either town, but it was interesting seeing where they went to school, had their first kiss, etc.

Bella and Scamp had a marvelous time on the farm.  They were able to run free, chase cats, play with each other, and just get plain tuckered out.  We may have a hard time getting them to be okay on a leash now.  Of course, since we heard coyotes howling at night along with an owl or two hooting, we didn't let them out at night without being leashed.  They weren't sure what to think about the coyotes howling. 

Now we are on a direct path to Bar Harbor, ME.  No we are not crazy going all the way across country.  Our good friends, Mike and Pat Dizazzo, are in Bar Harbor, and we are going to spend a few days with them before our CHOC rally in Mystic, CT.  It will take us about a week to get there. 

Gary, Connie, Phyllis, and Chuck after golf game

Gary and Chuck working on the farm

The chicken coop will never be the same

Connie supervising the work

Saying goodbye

Crossing the driveway on our way out

North Dakota near Theodore Roosevelt National Park

The "Lower 48" by way of Teslin, Watson Lake, Iskut, Stewart/Hyder, Smithers, and Prince George

August 25 - September 6, 2013

Started in Dawson Creek and ended in Smithers

 

This blog is kind of a catch-up and caravan wrap-up.  We just haven't had much for cell service or internet connections lately.  The map above is our caravan route. 

After riding the White Pass Train in Skagway, we departed the next morning for a series of one-night stops beginning with Teslin, YT.  We had stopped at Teslin on our way to Alaska.  We stopped at both the George Johnston Museum and the Tlinglet (lst Nation) Museum since we didn't take the time to visit them earlier.  Guess we must be about museumed out since we didn't stay long at either.  The George Johnston was interesting, but we didn't have it in us to read everything.

The next morning we headed to a campground near Watson Lake on the Cassiar Highway.  We had been in Watson Lake on the way in, but this was a different campground.  Not much was going on that evening so we gathered for a happy hour.  The overnight stops after a while are tiresome.  After this stop, we headed to Iskut, BC.  The campground was in a pretty setting on a lake in a pristine wilderness forest.  That evening we were served dinner by a bunch of kayakers who had come to kayak the Stikine River.  The Stikine River is the Mt. Everest of the kayak world.  These guys were from all over, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, etc.  They had agreed with the owner to work for him helping to prepare and serve our dinner.  The regular staff had all left for school.  It was interesting to hear their stories.  The meal was just okay.  It seems as if roast beef is the most common dinner that is prepared for groups.  This makes at least 3 or 4 meals of roast beef served by campgrounds during our trip.  We have decided they just don't eat fried chicken, or chicken of any kind in this part of Canada or Alaska.

After Iskut, we headed for Stewart/Hyder for a 3-night stop.  Stewart is in British Columbia and has a population of around 700, and Hyder is in Alaska with a population of around 100.  If you have ever seen videos of people standing on a boardwalk watching bears in a stream catching salmon, Hyder is the place.  The stream and boardwalk are part of the National Park System.  We traveled back and forth over the border every time we wanted to go view the bears. The US doesn't have a border crossing there, but Canada does.  We saw several bears, and one evening as we were watching a big grizzly, a wolf decided to come to the stream as well to have a salmon or two.  They came within about 25 feet of each other when the grizzly did some posturing causing the wolf to go around the bear and take off down the stream.  It was almost dark, and the pictures didn't come out very well.  I have included the picture below of the two of them together, but it is hard to make it out.

We celebrated our 45th anniversary in Stewart.  We found a restaurant in town that served King Crab legs, so that is what we had for our anniversary lunch.  Dinner that night was a chili cook off with the caravan.  Phyllis did make some chili and actually came in 3rd place.  This was a surprise since her chili is just plain old chili and nothing exotic or unusual.

Last stop on the caravan was in Smithers, BC.  We had the farewell dinner in a hotel, and you guessed it roast beef again.  They also had salmon and some vegetables which was nice.  The meal was much better than some of the others.  It was hard to say goodbye to everyone after having spent the past 48 days with them.  We have plans to have a reunion next year.  Several of us will stay in touch with each other.  Having survived a blown engine, hydraulic pump malfunction, gas filter issue, cracked and pitted windshields, no hot water (Aqua Hot leak), slides that wouldn't work right, and several other smaller issues, many of the folks were just ready to head back to the states as soon as possible.  Some just couldn't take the wilderness any longer.  Luckily we didn't have such issues and stayed an additional night in Smithers, then went to Prince George for a couple more nights.

At Price George, we met up with Pat and Bernadette and Jack and Linda, and we all had dinner together--it wasn't roast beef.  We grilled and had "regular" food.  Jack and Linda had to get two new tires the next morning before heading out--they are also the ones that had the blown engine.  Once they get home, the motorhome is going to be sold.  They were real troupers through all of their ordeals.  We had Pat and Bernadette over for breakfast the next morning.  It was so nice to have a day where we didn't have to do anything or go anywhere unless we wanted to do so.  We all went to a nice restaurant for a great dinner that evening.  Saying goodbye the next morning, we knew this was the last we would see any of the caravan folks.  Truly on our own now.

We decided to push a bit the next day and got to about 60 miles from the border staying overnight in a Canadian Tire parking lot.  The Canadian Tire stores are wonderful, so we walked around the store and parking lot before settling in to watch a movie. 

Today (Sept.6th) we crossed back into the lower 48.  It does feel good to be back.  We drove to Grand Coulee, Washington.  Once we got settled into the campground, we toured Coulee Dam, went to the casino, and then went to the laser light show at the dam.  Guess we think we have to do every thing there is to do in an area still. 

The picture taking has slowed a bit, but here are a few to hopefully enjoy.

PJ feeding year old Muskox

Biggest bull Muskox at farm

Black Bear fishing for salmon

Grizzly(R) and Wolf(L) in salmon creek at almost dark

45th anniversary in the fog at a glacier

 

Grizzly in the salmon creek

Black Bear at the Hyder dump (there were 4 bears there)

Grand Coulee Dam-largest concrete structure in the world

Pumps inside the dam

Osprey showing off at the dam

Topography sure has changed, warmer, and where are the glaciers

Chuck and Phyllis at Grand Coulee Dam

Salmon, Bears, Northern Lights, Skagway, Juneau, and WHALES!!

As good as it gets!

August 19-24, 2013

Our free day in Valdez was good.  We did clean the inside of the coach.  "Clean" is a relative term up here.  I can't begin to tell you how many times Chuck has washed the outside of the coach and our car.  Every time he does, he swears he isn't going to do it again until we get home. Of course the dirt gets so caked on he has to clean them.  The rain isn't helping anything.  Alaska seems to be having its normal weather now--overcast, rain, cool to cold--mostly in the 50's maybe a 60 and a few minutes of sun.  I need sun, so don't think I will be moving to Alaska soon.  Loving the visit however.  Today in Juneau they told us they normally have about 6 days of sunshine during the summer.  This has been a very unusual year for them.  Well, I wish the weather would go back to being unusual at least for a few more days. 

Part of the reason our vehicles get so dirty is there is so much rock and gravel here--roads, RV parks, etc.  The reason there is so much dirt is as the glaciers recede rock is left behind.  The first things that grow on this rock are lichens and moss.  After them comes the fireweed (I mentioned fireweed before being the first thing that grows after a wildfire), then willows--not weeping willows and alders.  All of these things are breaking down the rock to some degree and adding nutrients to the new soil.  Next will come Black Spruce and maybe Hemlock and Cottonwood trees.  It is great to see the progression of the soil and plant life.  You can just look up a mountain and see what stage it is in. 

After we cleaned the coach, we visited the fish hatchery and watched the salmon work their way up the fish ladder.  As the strongest make their way through, they are taken out of the ladder and the roe and sperm are "harvested" to use in the hatchery to produce the next generation of salmon.  These salmon are raised until they are ready to be released into the ocean.  They make their way out into the ocean for 1 1/2 to 6 years depending on the species of salmon.  The reason they come back to the hatchery when they are ready to spawn is because this is where they were born.  The whole salmon cycle is amazing.  How salmon make it back to where they were hatched is miraculous.  The whole hatchery system supports the commercial fishing industry since many of these millions of salmon are caught by the commercial fishermen and sent to you in restaurants, groceries, cans, etc.  Big industry here in Alaska.

We had hoped to see a Black Bear or two at the hatchery fishing for salmon, but we didn't.  However we stopped at an information kiosk at the side of the road to watch some salmon spawning in a stream.  We started to leave, but Chuck wanted to read one more sign.  As we were reading the sign a Black Bear came out of the tall grass, looked over a few salmon, made his choice and disappeared back into the grass.  Right place at right time. 

Leaving Valdez we had some one night stops.  We know the Northern Lights are starting to show in some areas on clear nights.  Phyllis stayed up very late one night hoping for clear skies and a chance to see the Northern Lights.  It was clear (and cold) saw the almost full moon (haven't seen the moon in quite a while) and the big dipper, but no lights.  The next night we had moved back to Whitehorse, YT, and didn't expect to see the lights, so went to bed.  Luckily Phil and Karon's dog needed to go out in the middle of the night, so Karon saw the lights and woke us up to see them as well.  They were pretty cool.  It is early in the season, so they weren't really spectacular but we did see them.  Has rained every night since.  Maybe we will get another chance.

Making our way to Skagway, we went on another boat cruise.  This time we were headed to Juneau which is the capital of Alaska.  We had to take the boat to get there since Juneau is the only state capital you can't get to by roadway--need to either go by boat or by air.  Both Skagway and Juneau are big cruise ship destinations.  We really don't enjoy all of the shops that are owned by the cruise ship companies.  We did see the Mendenhall Glacier while in Juneau.

The BEST thing though is on the way back to Skagway on the boat, we saw a pod of Humpback Whales.  We were able to watch them for quite a while (not long enough for Phyllis).  Saw many flukes as they dove, some spy hops, and some feeding activity.  Yes, we are happy campers now.

Tomorrow we take the White Pass Train.  Wonder what we will see.

Salmon that have come back to hatchery area to spawn

Fish Ladder

Black Bear with lunch



Eagle pair waiting for us at boat dock in Juneau

Finally some King Crab that didn't have a ridiculous price

Young Black Bear in a tree at Mendenhall Glacier NP

Mendenhall Glacier and high volume waterfall from ice fields

Humpback Whales (4) and a fluke

 

Seward, Glaciers, Valdez

August 13-19, 2013

We have been out on the water several times lately from Halibut fishing in Homer, then a three hour dinner cruise in Seward, to a nine hour boat tour of the Prince William Sound to see wildlife and glaciers.  You would have thought we would have seen a whale or two by now--no such luck.  We have seen Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Dall Porpoise, sea otters, salmon, sea birds like Puffins, and Eagles.  Guess we shouldn't complain.

Can't complain about not seeing much of a glacier in Glacier National Park now that we have seen glaciers on foot, from the air, and from the sea.  Saw icebergs a plenty today.  We have no clue how many glaciers we have seen.  They seem to be everywhere in this area.

In Seward, we had signed up for an optional activity of visiting an Iditarod Champion's Kennel (Mitch Seavey and son Dallas Seavey) .  Chuck has come down with the cold that has been traveling through the caravan and didn't feel like going.  PJ went with the wagonmaster's wife and enjoyed the tour.  These dogs love to run and get so excited when they are getting connected to a sled or in this case a cart.  We were able to go on a two mile ride with 16 dogs pulling 9 people effortlessly in the cart.  Being in the low 50's, it was a little warm for these dogs who like to run in the below freezing temperatures.  They were stopped and rested during the run because of the "heat".  We were able to hold some 3-day old puppies since they begin socializing the puppies almost immediately.  Alaskan Huskies have been bred from several breeds of dogs and are mostly bred for endurance.  While some of them do have blue eyes, most of them do not look anything like a Siberian Husky. 

After I returned from seeing the dogs, Chuck was feeling good enough to take a flight over the glaciers and the Harding Ice Fields.  The planes are getting smaller; this plane was a 4-seater Cessna.  Like so many people we have met up here, the pilot came up on vacation one year and never left. Will let the pictures tell the glacier story.

Exit Glacier by foot--yes we went all the way to it



Stellar Sea Lions seen during dinner cruise

Dog Team -- PJ in cart

Harding Ice Field--glaciers flow out of ice fields

Exit Glacier by air--we were at the bottom when hiking

Chuck, Phil, and the pilot

Horsetail Falls

Sea Otters playing

Iceberg from Columbia Glacier--saw it turn over

Us at Meares Glacier

Meares Glacier

Harbor Seals on iceberg from Meares Glacier



Oil pipeline terminus in Valdez


Happy tomorrow is a free day!

Homer, Camping on the Spit, and Halibut Fishing

August 9-13

While the view at Kenai on Beluga Point was beautiful, we didn't see any Beluga whales.  We did see several sea otters and bald eagles.  Three of us hosted an evening social celebrating the half-way point of the caravan.  Luckily the campground had a very nice heated pavilion, so we could enjoy being together even in the cold rain.  Beluga Point was just an overnight stay.

Homer, the Halibut capital of the world, has a population of around 5,000.  Homer is named for con man Homer Pennock.  He set up a base camp on the spit for hopeful gold miners.  There is mystery surrounding him, and since he avoided being photographed there is some question whether it is his likeness that hangs in the visitor center.  Many of the towns in Alaska seem to have been camps either for gold miners or construction camps for the railroad, roadways, and the pipeline.

What is "the spit"?  We camped on the spit which is a glacial moraine that is constantly reshaped by ocean currents.  A glacial moraine is the area where a glacier has terminated its forward thrust before beginning to recede.  Today the spit is a 4.5 mile strip of sand and gravel which would have been washed away years ago if not for human intervention.  We could have been under water at high tide if the tide was exceptionally high.  The tides are around 18 feet in this area.  Tidal currents are swift as we learned while fishing.

The highlight of our stay on the spit was a day on the water halibut fishing.  We truly had an Alaska adventure as Chuck says to make the cold and rain more tolerable.  Thankfully we had a beautiful day the day we arrived, or we would not have realized we were surrounded by mountains and glaciers.  Our caravan had enough people who wanted to fish to reserve the whole boat.  Nineteen of us went, and sixteen fished at any given time.  We did a pretty good job of not getting all tangled up with each other unless a fish thought otherwise.  The limit on halibut in this area is two per person, and we limited out the boat.  Since we had decided to put all the fish in a pool, we all netted out about 16 pounds of halibut per person.  Chuck was the s*** a** which is our family's term for the person who catches the first fish.  He caught the first on the whole boat.  And as is customary, Phyllis caught the biggest fish...sort of.  I had my rod, and Chuck brought me a sandwich, so I handed him my rod to tend while I ate.  Well he hooked a fish which it took both of us and the deck hand to bring in.  Since Chuck already had his two fish, and it was my rod, and I helped bring it in, I got credited with the fish, which turned out to be the biggest of the day.  We were all exhausted after the trip not to mention the sore muscles.  We boarded the boat at 0630 and arrive back around 1430, and that evening we had a hot dog cookout.  Loving this adventure.

Chuck with the first halibut

PJ with the biggest--35# halibut

The biggest four caught

Driving into Homer--nice glacier view

The Spit--we were camped on little strip of land out in water.



Eagle on light post right behind our RV

Caravan Camping on the Spit and a sunset to boot

Fun around campfire

Sea Otters are big