Elk

Gypsy is scoping out the wildlife from the safety of the motorhome. Two Black Bears walked thru the campground this morning. A ranger arrived and chased them into the surrounding woods and fired two gunshots to scare them further away from the CG. I am afraid that it may have scared Gypsy more than the two bears...she has not come out of "hibernation" yet.

After Sunset

After sunset at a small lake in the town of Jasper, AB.

At Maligne Canyon.

Maligne Canyon

This is a small part of the Maligne Canyon.

Maligne Lake

Another pic of Maligne Lake.

Next Meal

Gypsy is eying her next meal at the Maligne Lake Lodge.

Jasper NP

July 30
Today is our first full day in the Jasper area. We drove the Jeep out to Maligne Lake, about 30 miles out of Jasper. We first stopped at Maligne Canyon which was formed when the Maligne Glacier met up with the much larger Athabasca Glacier. It is a very narrow canyon, only several meters wide in many areas, thru which flows the Maligne River. Thunderous waterfalls run thru the canyon.

Next we saw Medicine Lake which is filled by the waters of Maligne River. However, there is no obvious outflow. The water exits thru sink holes in the lake bottom into caves and underground streams. In the fall, the lake totally dries up, only to refill the next spring. They have tried various ways of stopping the drainage with no luck whatsoever.

Maligne Lake is spectacular, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Into Jasper NP

July 29
Awoke safe and sound from our night in total isolation. We drove first to Grande Cache, AB where we ate breakfast and had the motorhome fuel filter changed out. I had personally changed it before we left Monroe but we must have picked up some bad fuel in the Yukon because for the last day or so it had been surging in lower gears going up hills. Anyway, fixed the problem and we drove on to Jasper National Park and are spending at least four nights in the Whistler Campground, just a mille from the town of Jasper.

July 28

Drove from Fort Nelson to a TOTALLY isolated rec. area on the Kakwa River in northern Alberta. I mean, we are the ONLY ones here! A quarter mile off the highway and surrounded by forest. Had a great dinner at Mario's Rest. in Grande Prairie, AB..

This is the Liard Hot Springs, an obligatory stop on the Alaskan Highway in northern British Columbia.

July 27
Started the day off with a long soak in the Liard Hot Springs. This is another must-do stop and it was great! We walked back off the road for about a quarter mile to the cooler of the three hot springs (104 degrees). Bears are prolific in the area and there have been maulings and deaths. But not today...uneventful. We drove to Fort Nelson, BC, had dinner at A&W (no chili dogs here, darn it).

Stopped at the Visitors Center in Watson Lake, YT where they had a famous Sign Post Village. Well...MA HAD to add a sign of our own to the tens of thousands already there.

July 26
Left the nice city of Whitehorse, YT today for a 1,250 mile push to our next major stop, Jasper, Alberta. We made the obligatory stop at Johnson's Crossing for cinnamon rolls and Mukluk Annie's in Teslin, YT (see picture) for the salmon bake and ribs...good, not great. Drove to Fireside, BC for the night in a small, three site turnoff near some rapids on the Liard River.

July 25
Whitehorse, YT
MA writes...Well folks this is the answer to some ones prayer (not mine) but some people out there pay good money to travel the USA in this not Chevrolet. Actually it just proves if you put Mercedes on it they will buy it! What you are looking at is a coach by day and sleeping place by night. The people in this one are German and the others we have seen have all been Europeans. The windows you are looking at are in each individual sleeping box and I do mean box. These people have to crawl up a ladder into their own coffin like sleeping box for the night. Needless to say you won't see me in one of those Mercedes busses any time soon. We actually met one couple from that bus last night. They were walking by our coach and Bob, not knowing they did not speak English, spoke to them from our window. They were looking at our sign Gypsy,Tramp, and Thief out front and he said "I'm the Thief,I stole her heart". Well they had no idea what he said so they appeared at our door just as we were about to eat some lousy Chinese food. They were invited in and they looked around in awe, especially of our bath room, and then they would not leave. They were very pleasant, but did not seem to know what ,"well you have a nice trip" meant, so they hung around not understanding what we were saying and vice versa for a few minutes longer. Finally Bob opened the door and said good night and they smiled and said (in German) good bye. Later that night as I was trying to get to sleep, I found myself thinking about how I could make some extra money over there at their camp site peddling ear plugs. Can you imagine the sounds coming from those "boxes"?

July 25

Started off as a sleepy Sunday, just worked on computer stuff and read the online news until early afternoon when we went into Whitehouse for the final time.

We visited the McBride Museum where the First Nation culture, the gold mining process and the indigenous animals were featured.

Then we toured the Klondike sternwheeler riverboat that transported people and cargo between Whitehorse and Dawson City, site of the Klondike Gold Rush. It operated until 1952 when the first road was built.

Later we hiked along Miles Canyon near the city. The headwaters of the Yukon River begin in Bennett Lake, BC and flows northward, thru a series of lakes, to Whitehorse where it officially becomes the Yukon River, one of the longest in the world at over 2,000 miles. This picture is taken looking upstream, prior to funneling thru Miles Canyon.

Miles Canyon

Prior to the Whitehorse dam being built, the stampeders heading to Dawson City had to navigate terrible rapids here. Hundreds of lives and boats were lost. Several methods of getting around the rapids were attempted, such as a rail road made from stripped spruce logs as rails, with some success. This is looking downstream toward a suspension bridge that we walked across.

Miles Canyon

Another look at Miles Canyon.

Miles Canyon

This is a truly beautiful area!

Whitehorse Dam

Speaking of the Whitehorse Dam, they have build a 2,000' long fish ladder so that the salmon returning home to spawn can make it past the dam. They have just now begun to pass, only several/day. By August 1st, there will be hundreds per hour passing thru the fish ladder. The Chinook Salmon enter the mouth of the Yukon River in late May-early June for the 1,875 mile journey to their spawning grounds. Enroute, they change color to red and they don't eat, living off their own body fat.

To: Berri & Colin

I've got bad news...while hanging my a-- over the side of the moving train recording spectacular scenery yesterday, the battery on the CamCorder dislodged and littered up the Yukon countryside.

I've got good news...I (finally) found and bought a replacement battery in Whitehorse that has double the life of the original.

Love, Dad

Daytrip to Skayway

Well Bob and I just got back from our trip to Skagway on a bus/train trip thru the White Pass. The train ride was beautiful and went along the same trail that the gold stampeders went on their way to Dawson in 1898. That is really spectacular country and there is no way I would have ever struck it rich, cause that trail is not for me on foot with baggage! I probably would have stayed in Skagway ,working at the Red Onion Saloon. They say that some people worked the mines and others worked the miners, that would be my job. Most of the miners that made it to the top only to find that the gold was either already staked or never found it at all. Only a small percentage ever got rich. This is a vast land of many varied sights. I don't think it's easy to live up here, so we won't try. Bob has some pictures of the day that he will down load later. In one of them he made a new best friend.
Ta,Ta, for now...Malice

Skagway Bordello

I had a chance to visit this bordello in Skagway, Alaska. The cost was quite reasonable...$5.00 for 15 minutes... actually took about 20 minutes.

Miss Kitty

This is Miss Kitty...I thoroughly enjoyed our time together...thought a nice tip was in order. What do you think?

WP&YRR

Once the stampeders reach Lake Bennett with their 2,000 pounds of supplies, they made boats to float the inter-connecting lakes of southern Yukon Terr. and into the Yukon River for the 500 mile trip to Dawson City, the site of the Klondike Gold Rush.

WP&Y RR

This railroad was built as an alternative to the Chilkoot Pass overland route that the gold stampeders used in the early days of the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890's. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police required that each stampeder have supplies for one year (2,000 pounds) or else the stampeder was turned back. They averaged 40 trips up the 30 degree slope to Chilkat Pass to get their ton of supplies staged for the RCMP to OK their passage into Canada.

WP&Y RR

Still at high altitude beginning our descent of 3,000 feet in 20 miles.

White Pass & Yukon

The White Pass & Yukon train at 3,000 feet, along Lake Bennett.

Carcross, YT

July 24
We got up early this morning, ate breakfast at the campground rec center, boarded a bus at 7:30 and rode to Fraser, BC to meet the White Pass & Yukon Railroad for a spectacular trip to Skagway, Alaska for the day. The bus stopped in Carcross, YT for a short break and I took this pic of the fireweed wildflowers with Lake Bennett and the mountains as a backdrop.

DC-3

As you can see, MA is standing beside a DC-3, on display outside the Whitehorse airport. This airplane also serves a useful function, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week...can you guess what it is? Add a comment below if you think you know.

Yukon Golf

July 23
I got to play golf at Mountain View Golf Course outside of Whitehorse, YT. I really enjoyed the company of Valerie (a kindergarten teacher) and her husband, Clint (works for federal government). They recommended a great local restaurant and MA and I tried it out. G & P's was terrific!

Pipeline Bridge

This is the suspension bridge of the Alaskan Pipeline crossing the Tanana River near Delta Junction, AK

Fireweed

This is a hillside full of Fireweed wildflowers in the Yukon Territory.

July 21

Today we drove from Fairbanks to the Kluane Wilderness in Yukon Territory. We stopped for lunch at Rika's Roadhouse in Delta Junction. This is a very popular stop for the cruise ship companies who extend their customers' experience with road trips thru Alaska and Canada.

Still Hanging

Well it's been awhile since you heard from 'ole Malice, so I thought it was time. We're in Whitehorse,Yukon Territory and Bob is finally playing golf. You all know what that means,at least 4 hours of uninterrupted shopping and the like. I've been goooood so far and plan to keep it up, but every now and then the mare needs to kick up some dust. Am I right!?  Gypsy is watching for bear and moose so all is taken care of here at the house, so I'm off(just a little) to town. There is a country song by Tanya Tucker and the title tells it all. "Hangin out,Hangin in, Hangin on and Still in Love With You", well that's me and I'm lovin it! Malice out!

July 20

We are now in Fairbanks, drove up yesterday. Had a terrific lunch in Nenana at the "Monderosa"...the best hamburgers in Alaska. May be right!
 
Today, MA is getting her hair repaired (once again) and I am getting some work performed on Addie...oil change, new shock absorbers (warranty) and a chassis battery drain problem (warranty).
 
I am pirating the wireless Internet access here in the lobby of the Aspen Hotel, out near the airport. They don't seem to mind.
 
The smoke is back! As bad as ever. Fires in the Haystack area north of Fairbanks have forced some evacuations. We will be here for 2-3 days and then head south (toward Tok), beginning our return to civilization.

Denali NP

A panorama of Denali National Park. The park service strives to keep this park "forever wilderness". They seem to be doing a very good job! The May 2004 issue of National Geographic had an article on wolves bringing down a moose over a week's time. Did you happen to read that article? It took place in this area and was quite unusual to have been witnessed and documented by humans.

McKinley

Another view of Mt. McKinley.

McKinley

That is Mt. McKinley soaring above the clouds. Please click on the pic to get a MUCH better look. If you look closely, you can see that the mountain is showing BOTH her north and south peaks...fairly unusual say the locals.

Denali Tour

July 18
Took the suttle bus 66 miles into Denali National Park. Generally, the public cannot drive further than 15 miles into the park...the reason for the shuttle buses. We saw the entire summit of Mt. McKinley! At 20,320' it rose majestically above the surrounding 13-14,000' peaks. Later we saw caribou close-up, several moose at some distance and four grizzly bears at about 200 yards. Our digital camera got a photo using the digital zoom but it is poor quality. Berri & Colin's digital CamCorder probably did a much better job because it has the optical zoom...we'll see.

July 17

I made reservations for 3:00pm for a flight over the summit of Mt. McKinley and to land on a glacier. When we showed up, they had cancelled the glacier landing due to weather and were not sure about the visibility of the mountain. So, I decided to forego that trip. So we drove the Jeep back into some offroad area north of Healy. We met a local family (probably Athasbascan heritage) picking blueberries and salmon (or cloud) berries. The grandfather always walked with a rifle over his shoulder to frighten off any bears that might get curious or aggressive.

Later we went to dinner at the Alaska Cabin Nite dinner theater. They served all-you-can-eat baked salmon and pork ribs, potatos, corn, beans and blueberry-blackberry cobbler. The food was good and then they put on a show relating the life in Alaska in the early 1900's...cute show.

July 16

Arrived into the Denali National Park area, set up camp and drove around the village...didn't take long. We did not find any eating area that wasn't unreasonably expensive so we drove up to Healy, about 12 miles morth and had a good dinner at the Totem Inn, where locals eat. The Denali Riverside RV Park is situated on the banks of the Nenana River. The Alaska Railroad passenger and freight trains travel on just the other side of the river but they are not noisy...no crossings in this area. We bought tickets for the Saturday night dinner theater at a lodge and for the bus trip into Denali National Park. This is a view from our campsite.

July 15

Today we drove to Byer's Lake Campground at Denali State Park where we spend just one night. It is very wooded and the lake is beautiful. Gypsy and I hiked up to the Alaska Veteran's Memorial to visit the memorial and view Mt. McKinley. The memorial is very inspirational. The view of McKinley was disappointing. It is a perfect day weather-wise but the haze from the forest fires to the east made viewing difficult. I was able to see it but none of the pics were worth uploading. They say that only 30% of the visitors to Denali get to see the top of the mountain. We cooked a steak dinner at the camp and then MA, Gypsy and I hiked back up...same result...only glimpses of McKinley thru the haze. We will try again tomorrow as we leave.

July 14

Another slow day - by design. We did drive to downtown Anchorage and walk along 4th Avenue, a major tourist attraction and had lunch. Later we had dinner at a Mongolian BBQ, just like we used to visit in Dallas and Austin.

July 14

This will be another down day, resting up for the big push to the north, up to Denali and Fairbanks. We have slightly modified our plans to leave Anchorage one day early and add one day at Byers Lake Campground in Denali STATE Park. This is supposed to provide the best camping experience for those visiting Denali. We have already paid for three nights at a private CG. We may wish that we had more time in the state park CG...we'll see.

A Sad Day

July 13
It was a sad beginning to the day today...I took Berri & Colin to the ANC airport for their return to Austin. Got a call around 7pmADT from Berri saying they were back in Austin. We had a great eight days with them!!! Our next family exposure comes August 9th when we meet up with Ashley, Javi and Camryn in Calgary. That is less than four weeks!!!

We spent a relaxing day here in Anchorage, only out to shop for groceries and visit Earthquake Park. BOY! There was such destruction on Good Friday 1964! A 9.2 earthquake literally destroyed small coastal towns and wiped out entire neighborhoods here in ANC.

July 12

Drove back to Anchorage today, stopping for a late breakfast enroute at the Summit Lake Lodge and at the visitors center at the Portage Glacier. Berri and Colin decided to return to Austin one day early because Berri had an early Thursday meeting and their arrival back into Austin would be very late after a long day of flying.

Colin's New Friend

Colin has a new friend in Alaska.

Exit Glacier

July 11
We hiked up to the face of Exit Glacier and it was impressive. Later we stopped by the "I-did-a-ride" kennels. This is a play on word Iditarod, the dog mushing event held each March, racing dog teams from Anchorage to Nome...1,000+ miles. This year's winner was Mitch Seavey and he is the owner of the I-did-a-ride kennels. We took a tour of the kennels, got to kiss some puppies and watch others take a trip in a large wagon pulled by a team of Alaskan Huskies. In the evening, we toured the Alaska SeaLife Center where they rehabilitate injured animals and return them to the wild.

Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier just north of Seward, AK.

Kenai Fjords Tour

July 10
Today we took a boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park and, once again, the trip was spectacular! We were so close to the Holbert Glacier that we could hear the creaking and moaning of the glacier's movement and the explosive sounds as the glacier calved into icebergs. We saw two humpback whales clearly for extended periods. Sea otters resting in open water, sea lions basking and barking on the rocks, hundreds of Puffins, several dozen Pacific White-sided dolphins played tag with our boat and Dall Porpoise played but at a distance of about 40 yards. The fjords are majestic and we all really enjoyed the trip. Colin had a smile on his face for hours afterwards.

Colin

Colin is enthralled with the sights and sounds of Alaska, our 49th state!!!

Berri & Gypsy

As you can see, Berri and Gypsy are taking in all the Alaskan scenery as we drive to Homer.

To Seward

July 9
Drove to Seward today, a trip of approx. 170 miles. The locals say that in Homer you get a great view; but in Seward, you are part of the view. I believe it. In our campground we are surrounded by mountains, bald eagles and Bear Creek.

When we lived in Connecticut, we became friends with Mike Weiss and his family thru church. Mike later became (and still is) our financial planner. Several months ago I mentioned our Alaska travel plans to Mike and he said that he and Bob Denzell and Tom Ruud (from the same church) were planning a fishing trip to Alaska in July. We figured out that our itineraries intersected in Seward for one day only. Mike suggested that we find each other and have dinner. Well, after a number of missed cell calls, the seven of us got together at a great seafood place right on the water in the Seward Small Boat Harbor. Mike hosted a terrific dinner that began after 9:00pm. It didn't end until after 11. King crablegs, halibut, prawns, scallops, calamari, steamer clams...it was wonderful. Thanks, again, Mike!

Homer Housing

Housing (truthfully) along the Homer Spit.

Captain Pattie's

Captain Pattie's Seafood Restaurant in Homer.

On Bishop Beach in Homer, AK

Capt. Pattie's

Getting ready for Halibut and Alaskan King Crab at Captain Pattie's in Homer, AK.

Jeep on the Beach

July 7
Today we took the Jeep out onto the beach in front of the campground and drove several miles thru the rocks and sand. The tide was out and there were horseback riders and shell seekers at thew surf's edge. We introduced Berri to off-roading and she loved it. Had a wonderful dinner at Captain Pattie's Fishhouse out on the Homer Spit, a narrow, 4.5 mile long protrusion out into Cook Inlet. There are hundreds of tenters, RV'ers and squatters along the beaches of the Spit. I finally got Alaskan King Crab, fresh off the boat and it was great. Everybody else had the baked halibut which was also terrific. Then we took a skyline drive for about 15 miles behind and above Homer. What views!!! MA spotted a moose grazing about 50 yards off the road.

To Homer

July 6
Congratulations to Berri! She packed very light and efficiently...we are able to get all their clothers, etc. into three overhead cabinets that we emptied for their use. Folks, this is REALLY good news and makes traveling & set-up a lot easier.

Driving to Homer, AK today We got fueled up in ANC at $1.949...what a relief (albiet temporary) from the $2.09 - $2.88 rates we've seen since we left New Mexico five weeks ago.

The drive to Homer was spectacular, along Turnagain Arm, Chugach National Forest and culminating with a panoramic vista as we entered Homer. Berri saw our first moose, grazing along the road. We still have not seen an ENTIRE bear. We did see the southbound end of a northbound Black Bear in BC. Our campsite is right in the town, facing Cook Inlet, set back about 100 yards to the water's edge. We are looking forward to experiencing Homer.

To ANC

July 5
Driving to Anchorage...Finally...RAIN!!! It began raining during the night and most of the way to Anchorage. This is a real blessing to the firefighters up north as well as the tourists and tourism businesses. The difference in the skies is dramatic.

We stopped on a mountain top and cooked lunch listening to the rhythm of the falling rain. Later, we arrived into Anchorage around 6pm, setup a dry camp in a deserted K-Mart parking lot, along with about three dozen other RV's. Ate dinner and then picked up Berri & Colin at the ANC airport. They were right on time and bushed after traveling 13 hours from Austin, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Salt Lake City. They are with us for nine nights...we are eagerly looking forward to the adventure!

Leaving for ANC

Monday, July 5th
We are breaking camp this morning for our 300 mile trip to Anchorage where we pick up Berri and Colin at 9:47ADT tonight. We are really looking forward to seeing them and spending nine days together on the Kenai Peninsula!

The campground here in Valdez has WiFi so it has been very convenient to get connected right in the comfort of our own home. Updates to the BLOG have been frequent while we were here...that will likely change. Tonight we dry camp in a Wal-Mart or K-Mart parking lot after picking up Berri & Colin. Then three nights in Homer (a drinking town with a fishing problem) and three nights in Seward before returning to ANC. Don't know what to expect re: wireless connection but will definitely try.

It is FINALLY raining! First rain since we left Eastland, Texas in late May. That will certainly go a long way to helping douse the fires up north and clear up the smoky skies.

Well, gotta put on my slicker (bought esp. for rainy Alaska) and walk her majesty, Gypsy, drain the holding tanks, get buttoned up and back "On the Road Again".

Talk to y'all soon!

Midnight Sun

This is a pic of the campground in Valdez at 11:15PM. This is not touched up - it really IS this light. It does get dark(er) but the sun comes up around 4am.

Firehouse Dog

Gypsy is interviewing for a new job...firehouse dog. Unfortunately, her spots are too big, her size too small and her personality too excitable.

Fourth of July in Valdez.

July 4th

This is the Fourth of July and what better way to celebrate the Fourth than to go to a small-town festival. Here in Valdez, they shut down two blocks and had booths for food and crafts.