The Pitstick Family Alaskan Adventure: 2010

Saturday, August 7, 2010

August 6&7, 2010

August 6 & 7, 2010

On our final stretch home! Spent the nite on the 6th in Adrian, MN. Another nice campground with a pool and a fire pit for the girls!!! Finished off the marshmallows and hotdogs! Met some really nice full-timers camping next to us. The were originally from Spokane WA. They had a nice 5th-wheel with 4 slide-outs and let us tour it! Very nice, fireplace, flatscreen tv, an island in the kitchen, nice big closet in bedroom. I could really travel well in that!!!

We are now back to the flat land with corn and beans, not much wildlife to see, maybe dead along side the road!

So I guess this is the end of our adventure! At the moment we are somewhere in Iowa and have travelled around 9700 miles when we get home! Haven’t figured out the total dollars spent in gas yet! I have to say this has been a trip of a lifetime. Seeing Alaska and Canada wouldn’t have been the same had we not journeyed there on the Alaskan Highway! The sights were amazing as well as educational. The time spent together as a family is beyond words! At least for me! The girls seem to enjoy themselves too and haven’t seem to have missed summer at home, hopefully they will have extraordinary memories that they can look back on. They keep asking Dad where we are going next year! He hasn’t really responded yet. I’m sure he is planning a something great.....just hope it includes US!

The end to a perfect vacation: Dinner at Rips in Ladd with Leslie, Howard, and TREVOR!!! And a wonderful welcome home from Josh!

August 6&7, 20101

August 6 & 7, 2010

We are now back to the flat land with corn and beans, not much wildlife to see, maybe dead along side the road!

The end to a perfect vacation: Dinner at Rips in Ladd with Leslie, Howard, and TREVOR!!! And a wonderful welcome home from Josh!

August 5, 2010

Aug 5, 2010

What a relaxing morning. Arrived into Keystone pretty late last nite, so everyone enjoyed sleeping in and just hanging out in the campground. We had stayed at the campground a couple years back when we went on our Yellowstone trip. Nice place deep in the woods. To our surprise, it is the beginning of the Sturgis Bike thing, so the town and surrounding areas are filling up with bikers, even our campground had quite a few and next week is suppose to be worse! We were lucky to get a spot! Anyway, the girls spent the morning swimming, first time this whole trip I think! After lunch we went to Rushmore Cave. There we had an hour tour of the cave. It was very intersting. Next we went downtown Keystone and shopped, while Paul was able to sit outside on the boardwalk and have a few beers, and then had a family portrait done in the western saloon setting of the olden days!!! I think the alcohol may have influenced Paul just a bit on that! The girls and I dressed as showgirls and Dad was the cowboy! Had a gun and a hat! I really think he enjoyed it. I told him that was going to be our Christmas card this year! After that we tried buffalo burgers for dinner, at least Paul and I did. I thought they were very dry, much rather have our own beef! Then we went to Mt. Rushmore for the light ceremony. How moving! They honored the veterans at the end and sang the Nat’l Anthem. Very much worth the stop! Drove back to our campsite on a windy road that took us through three tunnels that had perfect views of Mt. Rushmore as you drove through, just one more amazing thing to see.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

August 4, 2010

Aug 4, 2010

Quote of the day! Abby: "You know Daddy's much happier with beer!" I don't think I need to say much more about our day of pretty much just driving!

Going back to yesterday, I ended my blog way too early. When we arrived at our campground in Harlowton MT,around 8pm. We pulled in and only 2 other RVs were there. It turned out to be a great site in some sort of city park, but we got to have a campfire and cooked hotdogs and had s'mores over an open fire. And of course Paul made fast friends with the other campers! They were from Canada and they were farmers, he was in heaven. We sat for hours and talked and compared farming stories. Then just when I didn't think I'd have anything to tell you all, they told us that the movie BrokeBack Mountain was filmed in part on their farm!!! They used one of their cabins on their property! I wanted their picture, but they didn't seem to hip on it!!!!

This morning we left none to early and drove to the Little Bighorn Battlefield!! Paul was in heaven. The girls and I teased him as he stood looking out over the field that he could just envision himself out there fighting the fight!! Thus we dubbed him "Chief Wannabe". It was a pretty interesting place. The girls really liked the tepee and costumes of the Indians and the memorial field with the markers of the men who had fought the battle! A nice little side trip.

We then continued on to South Dakota! Arrived at the campground we stayed at a couple years ago around 8pm had dinner and went to bed, we were exhausted!!!

August 2 & 3, 2010

Yeah!! We’re back in the lower 48!!! The past two days has been ALOT of driving! Once again made it through customs with no problem!! Spent last night in Red Deer, AB. One of the nicest campgrounds we’ve stayed at this whole trip!

Driving really brings us sooo much closer as a family, especially since there is usually no radio station that comes in!! But I now finally realized that Paul doesn’t usually listen to me????? I would get mad cuz I would know that I had read something to him, like directions, and he would act like I never told him! I was thinking I was going nuts, but I just realized that he just uses selective hearing....most of the time selecting not to hear me!!!! He did admit that I have been real good at reading the maps! Decided to take that as a compliment and not remind him in Canada and Alaska, there aren’t too many roads on the map, it’s easy to follow one or two lines!!! I’ll just let him be proud of me!!

We are now in Montana on a great interstate, tooling along at around 65mph!! Fastest we’ve gone in a long time? We are coming home a different way than we came. We decided that we would stop and visit Mt. Rushmore. We were there a couple years ago, but Mallory doesn’t remember, so to add to all the history they’ve gotten this trip we’ve decided to stop! Should be fun. Sorry I have no pictures to post, nothing tooo exciting!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

August 1, 2010

Pretty low key day. Although I was the first up this morning, we still didn't get off real early. Paul finally figured out the camper brake problem and yes it is fixed! Think it was rather important since we will be doing alot of mountain climbing the next couple of days! Once again he is sooo knowledgeable, capable, and resourceful!! We are still pushing him on the new camper!!! We told him since he didn't get a souvenir in Alaska, that maybe the camper should be it!!!

Anyway, pretty much are going the same route home as we came at least for today, then we are taking a different route with new sights! Nothing new to report. Canada is beautiful, but expensive. Travelled about 450 miles today, was really glad to stop for the nite. Ended in Fort St. John. We stayed in this town on the way but are at a different campground this time, very nice and homey!

When we left this morning the smoke from the forrest fires had pretty much cleared! When we went to bed last nite it was pretty smokey and smelly. Apparently the fire was still out there, just hadn't got that far yet. Glad we are headed away from it and has been a clear beautiful day. Has gotten much warmer too. I need a tan really bad! Paul would stop to do my nails this trip, but I'm not going to push for him stopping at a tanner!!! Oh well.

We did see some wildlife today and very up close and personal. First a couple herd of Buffalo. They were grazing right along side the road, they are just slow moving and lazy looking. But a beautiful site. Next we stopped right on the road to view a Stone mountain sheep. He had the horns and all, and just stood eating along the side of the road! We could have just reached out and touched him, he never did run off, even when we had the windows down and the girls were talking to him. Awesome!

July 31, 2010

OMG! This pretty much sums up the day! Left the cute little campground owned by the German lady fairly late, but Paul seemed ok with it since we had a great stay there. Had gone a little over an hour, tooling along at a good pace, pretty good road, and nice weather conditions. Came up to a bridge that had quite a big bump! and low and behold, we broke another spring, on the opposite side of the last one! There we were, along side the road pondering our next move, yet we really couldn’t move! Luckily for us just up a little ways was a picnic area pull-off, the Morely River recreation site. I’m not thinking camper repair was the recreation it was referring to but it worked for Paul. Decided a picture of the sign was sufficient, thought a better would be of Paul under the camper making the repair, but decided against it for obvious reasons!! Paul managed to move the truck and camper that far so that he had space to work. Since my husband is a smart, level-headed man, he had bought an extra spring at the last place when we had the repair done the first time. Now all we had to hope was that he had the tools, or at least some of them for the job! Apparently he had enough of what he needed, and about 2 hours later we were back out on the road! A new spring in place and a new tire, since the other one was pretty much ruined in the process of the spring breaking. Yeah Paul, he is my Hero!!!

This road is the same we travelled on on the way up so many of the sites we had already seen, however we did spot a black bear eating alongside the road. We stopped and were able to pull very close to him without him running away, about 10 feet from the truck, mind you my window was up! But it still was amazing!! The girls and I are planning on returning home thru Indiana so we can go to the camper dealers and pick out our new, and improved camper!!!

On the way up we contended with rain and road washing out, but it seems a new problem is at hand on the return trip. There seems to be a lot of forest fires causing roads to be closed! We are driving through smoke as I speak, guess we’ll keep driving hoping not to get stuck! Yikes, shouldn’t say this, but whats next?!!!

July 30, 2010

Awoke to a beautiful sunny and fairly warm day in Skagway. Paul spent most of the morning working on yet another mechanical problem with the truck and camper. This time the trailer brakes weren’t working. We have truck brakes, but not trailer brakes! Yikes, he’s not sure what’s going on, and we (the girls and I) left him alone while we shopped Skagway. I think we should be shopping for a new camper!!!!

Skagway is a very quaint town. Reminds me alot of Dawson City. A gold mining town that has the oldtime feel. They wooden store fronts, wooden sidewalks, and saloons. Very cute, but extremely busy. Apparently there are at least 5-6 cruise ships a day that stop here for the day, so the town is filled with tourists. A lot of the stores are very expensive jewelry stores.

We booked a 3 hour train ride on the Klondike Gold Rush train on the scenic White Pass and Yukon Route railway. We went from downtown Skagway, which is at sea level to White Pass Summit which is at an elevation of 2,865 ft. All along the trip up they told the story of how the railway came to be and the story of the gold rushers journey up the mountain and of the gangster “Soapy” Smith who was a Skagway resident and the hero who shot him dead, Frank Reid. There was awesome scenery, waterfalls, granite rocks, wildflowers, tunnels, bridges, and the cemetery where the “Soapy” and Frank were put to rest after their infamous shootout. We all really enjoyed this.

After the railroad trip we set out of Skagway, heading north on the Klondike. Paul thought we should probably fill up before we left town, the problem was we couldn’t find a gas station. Surely there had to be gas here. After scoping out most of the town, we finally inquired, only to find there was only one gas station in the whole town, for that matter for quite some ways out of town too, and that gas station only had 2 pumps!! The diesel wasn’t too overly priced though.

Once again we had to cross the border, back into Alaska and we headed for Carcross, which was about 70 miles. Scenery was beautiful along the way, but when we got there , the campground was nothing but a parking lot, with not one camper in it. We decided to move on. We ended up in Tagish. Not really much here either, in fact at this campground we are also the only ones, but how cute it is here. Actually has trees and grass. It isn’t a full hook-up, just electric. I told Paul that basically tonite he could classify this my “dry” camping experience, since there is no internet service!! The owner is a nice woman from Germany. She told me her whole life story and how she ended up here, very pleasant! It was a beautiful evening and we cooked out, some of Paul’s halibut, and it was warm enough out to eat outside, closet thing to camping we’ve had in a while!! I guess one could say today was our first day of heading home.

July 28 &29, 2010

July 28 & 29, 2010

Since the past two days have pretty much been driving, I decided to combine them. Left early, but not as early as the previous day. Drove and drove and drove. Made it to Tok by early afternoon. Finally reached the border and crossed without incident! The road really started to get rough. Was only able to go 35-40 mph. We had decided to go to Haines and take the ferry to Skagway and then leave out of Skagway and head toward home. We got a ferry booked for Thursday nite at 10 pm so that at least gave us some time to get there. We ended the day yesterday in Destruction Bay finally around 8pm. The road was awful so I think Paul was ready to call it a nite! The one thing we’ve noticed this trip is that although there are many campgrounds, none of them are tooo pretty. Not alot of grass and trees, basically just parking lots with hookups. This one was none too pretty.

Awoke around 8am. Don’t know what got into Paul but we slept in. Had about 300 miles to travel today in order to get to Haines for the Ferry. We weren’t too sure the road condition so we got started. The drive was very scenic. I thought Seward area was my favorite, but I have to say I’m leaning toward Haines more and more. We saw a black bear walking right across the road in front of us today....beautiful! Paul laughs at me, but the bears really do scare me. He wants to just pull over on the road side in a beautiful spot and dry camp for a nite. Sounds fun, and is legal to do, but I am seriously afraid of bear! He says I’m being crazy, but we’ve been hearing alot of stories about how the bear are becoming bolder and bolder and have been reported attacking people! I really don’t want to take the chance!

Got into Haines in the early afternoon, so we had time to stroll around that town and check out what it had to offer! Cute little shops (of course) and The American Bald Eagle Foundation. A really neat place. Had actual a wildlife that had been stuffed and all sorts of information and facts about them. Also had two live owls that the kids got to get their pictures taken with them. All their live animals are animals that have be wounded. The owls were beautiful. It was a nice little informative tour.

Before going to the ferry we went to Chilkoot Lake State Park. What a beautiful area. Apparently the bears are seen frequently at the river there collecting salmon. Today, however, we missed it. While we were exiting, Paul felt something unusual with the camper, one of the brakes seemed to be stuck? Anyway, he ended up taking one of the tires off, right on the side of the road. Although that wasn’t what the problem was. Apparently the emergency break away safety brake had snagged and activated, so the problem was resolved and we made it to the ferry in time.

Boarding the truck and camper on the ferry was another great adventure. I have to say, I’ve never seen Paul that apprehensive about something. He had to drive the camper and truck down a steep docking plank, then make an incredibly sharp turn at the bottom. Then they had him pull forward, then back up, then reposition, then backup, etc. Finally we came to rest in our parking spot, only to wonder for the next hour on our ferry ride over, how and what we would have to do to disembark. By the time the ferry was loaded and set sail we were at least 45 min late, which made for an after midnight arrival into Skagway, where it actually was dark at night! But which also mean’t parking the camper at the campgrounds in the dark. But with all Paul’s experience ( he is the best backer-upper) and patience everything went just fine!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

July 27, 2010

So much for sleeping in. I thought this was vacation,, which to me means relaxing and resting! Apparently my husband thinks otherwise! We were up dressed, packed up, breakfast eaten, and ready to go by 8:00am. On a morning that we had nothing to do or get to? Needless to say the women of this family were less than talkative on the morning portion of the trip! Even though we were giving him the silent treatment, he didn’t seem to mind!!! Guess there will be more shopping somewhere along this trip!!

We set off out of Seward today heading home, or so we thought. We have now decided to journey to Skagway before we leave. We have to call to see if we can get on the ferry leaving Haines, before we know for sure. Should know tomorrow.

Trip today was pretty boring, (and quiet). Had to go back through Anchorage, so we decided to stop and visit the visitor center. We were told it was something we should see. It is a log cabin with a sod roof right in the middle of downtown Anchorage, other than that, not much to see! And the people who work there were less than informative. One would think if you were working for a visitors center you should have at least visited some of the cities in the State!?

Headed toward Tok today, but was really to far for today. We, girls and I, finally convinced Paul at 6pm to stop! I feel like I’m with my Dad on a family vacation when I was young, you know marathon driving, stopping for nothing until they said so!!!!! Anyway, ended up in Glenallen Alaska in a very cute little campground, that even lets us have campfires and it’s not raining! Yeah. Spent the evening around the campfire, eating the last of Paul’s fresh salmon, drinking some Alaskan beer! A nice ending to a day that started out a little sucky!!!!

July 26, 2010

Woke again to rain! Headed out around 7:30am to catch a boat for a 9 hour tour to the Northwestern Glacier. Since it was rainy out we pretty much knew that the boat ride would be a little bumpy, and were we right! People were getting sick right and left, luckily none of us!! Mallory and I probably felt the worst, but we hung in there and it finally settled down a bit! We saw Orca, porpoises, sea lions, sea otters(Mallory’s favorite),puffins,seals, sea gulls, and jellyfish. It was really neat seeing the sea lions just hanging out on a rock in their own environment.

Then the glacier. It was named the Northwestern Glacier after Northwestern University in Illinois, because professors from that university came and did research studying it. We were able to get upclose with the boat. We saw the glacier calving, which means breaking off, and could hear it cracking, sounded like fireworks! Was really amazing. It too was very bluish in color. Has to do with the way the ice absorbs all the colors but blue? Who knows, maybe someone could explain it! Anyway it was blue and it was amazing. Hard to believe how long these have been there, but also how much quicker they seem to be disappearing! The girls seem to really enjoy the boat ride.

Returned back to our campsite once again to rain! We were all exhauseted, looking forward to sleeping in in the morning!

July 25, 2010

Yet another rainy day here in beautiful Alaska. We are still in Seward, which I understand could be quite beautiful if the haze and rain would move out. We’re hoping for tomorrow. We are still in the same campground right on the water but we have moved to water and electric hook up! Yeah! This morning Paul was nice enough to plug the generator in brew a pot of coffee and dry my hair, but we soon found out my hairdryer must use too much power, since it knocked the generator out! Luckily if I used the low setting and unplugged everything else in the camper I got my hair dried! Now I don’t have to worry, we have electric.

Since it was rainy today we decided to do the Sea Life Center. It was a an indoor facility that taught about marine life in Alaska. They had seals, Stellar Sea lions, puffins, other fish and sea birds, squid, and octopus. We were able to touch some of the star fish, sea urchins, crabs, and other slimy underwater creatures. The girls loved it. Mallory was a little disappointed since they have no sea otters there. They talked of them, but no live ones! Hopefully tomorrow we will see them when we go out on the fjord tour boat.

After that we talked Paul into taking us all out to lunch. We all wanted to go for halibut chunks and chips. I thinks after last nite’s dinner of Paul’s fresh halibut, the girls have changed their mind about eating fish. Lunch was good, no left overs. Then we did a little shopping, found yet another Vera Bradley spot! Paul was content sitting on a bench talking to a stranger! ( The girls tease him alot about how he can just strike up a conversation with anyone as soon as we leave him). I like it though since he always seems to find out good information!

In the afternoon we decided to to go to Exit Glacier. This is in the Kenai Fjords National Park. It is the only glacier that you can pretty much drive to. It did involve a hike from the base, less than a mile, the sign said....felt like more, and once again uphill, in the rain!! But it was fun and beautiful. The glacier is in the Harding Icefield. It had a bluish tint to it and was huge. Very amazing.

July 24, 2010

Another rainy day. It has rained pretty much the entire day! Paul awoke at 5 am to go on his halibut charter. The girls and I opted out since getting sea sick seems to always happen to me and the girls didn’t seem to interested. I, however had to get up with him in order to drive him to the dock so that the girls and I had the truck to shop the town of Homer!! How cute of a town it is. Most of the shopping and restaurants are on the Homer spit, so we managed to get to most of them before Paul got back. He returned with his two halibut, that was all they were allowed to keep. He did however keep fishing, caught about 8 all together, but had to throw them back. The two he kept were 15 and 17 pounds! He was happy and once again so am I since I know were gonna eat fish tonite! And he’s getting quite good at the grilling process! Even the girls liked this kind of fish to eat!

After he finished we headed back up and out and around to Seward. About 3 hours. We had hoped to get there earlier, since we wanted a campsite on the beachfront there too. We did get one but with no hookups, it’s on a first come first serve basis. It’s okay though, we can move in the morning and hopefully have water and electric and be even closer to the water!!

I’m sure this would have been a beautiful drive in today had it not been so raining and hazy. We plan on spending a couple days here, Suppose to rain all day tomorrow, but then clear up. Have a lot planned while were here.

Friday, July 23, 2010

July 23, 2010

What a good day! Paul went back out salmon fishing around 5 am this morning. Didn't have very good luck last night. But he tried again before we had to leave today, and wow he brought one home. About a 10 pound red salmon! Yeah Paul way to go! We are soo proud of him and we will get to eat it tonite! The best part is I know he had soo much fun fishing. (And all the new equipment paid off)

We left around 11:30 today from Sterling and headed south to Homer, Alaska. What a beautiful drive. I have to say of all of Alaska that we've been to this by far is my favorite. The water and mountains are stunning! Our campsite is right on the Kachemak Bay on the tip of the Kenai peninsula. The view is spectacular. Didn't do much today just checked out Homer and the shopping! Lots of restaurants and shops. And then of course had fresh salmon for dinner!! yummy!!

July 22, 2010

Left Anchorage late morning. Spent the morning doing laundry and cleaning the camper while Paul met with a friend of his that lives in Anchorage. He gave Paul some information on where he should try his luck at salmon fishing. So off we headed to Sterling AK. Just south of Anchorage. What a beautiful drive down the Kenai Peninsula. Arrived shortly after lunch and went to a local fishing/hardware store to get Paul set up with all the necessary fishing equipment to fish for salmon. With a lot of prodding he finally got what was needed. We all know that Paul can be a little tight (I may have mentioned that before). He had a hard time purchasing the waders that are needed since he thought he'd probably only use them this one time, but I explained to him that there are many outfits I have purchases that I have maybe only worn once! And as far as the expense he was incurring, I reminded him that even though it was hard for me to spend the money on yet another Vera Bradley, it is vacation....enjoy! Needless to say he left with great equipment and set out to the river to get us a salmon dinner. Now it's not that I don't have faith in my husbands fishing skills, but I did decide to make the girls and I a little snack while we waited....just in case.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

July 21, 2010

OMG thought I wouldn’t have anything to write about today. We were mostly in the car on our way to Anchorage, pretty uneventful and of course rainy most of the way! Found a campground downtown right on Ship Creek. Right next to a railroad track and fairly close to the airport! But for being in a city it was good. First thing we did was find a mall so the I could finally get my nails done, very long over due! After that we found an ice skating rink in the mall so we made the girls try it. They had a blast. Neither one had done it before, but they were quite good and caught on pretty quick! Neither Paul or I dared to try, I figure I am taller and have a farther distance to fall and being older I probably have brittle bones!!!

After the ice skating adventure we decided to drive up to Flat Top. This is a mountain in the Chugach mountains that looks like someone sliced the top off and is flat on top. There is a look out that you can climb and then there is a trail you can hike to the top. Well, since it was 8pm my thoughts were to either come back the next morning and do it or maybe just do the little look out climb, but no.....Abby really wanted to to touch a cloud!! So Paul thought that would be fun. So yet another adventure was begun. We climbed and climbed and climbed, always seeing our destination but not reaching it! The higher we went to touch the cloud the more the trail became more and more rough, soon we were basically rock climbing! Mind you none of us were really dressed for hiking, Abby had crocs on and Mallory was in shorts with no jacket and it was considerably colder, there was snow on part of this mountain. Anyway, we finally reached the top and we not only touched the cloud, we were in it! But now the fun was to scale down the mountain...Yikes none of us were nearly as excited as when our journey began and now it was raining and did I mention there was no one on top with us!!!! We weren’t even sure where the trail was, if there was one! At this point Mallory was on the verge of tears, and so was I, once again I’m sure I’ve seen a Lifetime movie like this where the people never found there way out!! I mentioned to Paul that this possibly could be construed to authorities as a form of child endangerment! Well, finally we made it down, soaked and cold and sore! Probably not half as sore as I will be in the morning! I think it took us about 3 hours! When I got back I read up on this mountain Flat Top and the book says that this is it is an easy mountain to climb???? I think we must have hiked a different one!! Anyway it was a great adventure, now that it is over. Needless to say we all slept very well!

July 20, 2010

What an amazing day it was today!! We booked an 8 hour bus tour of Denali National Park. You are only allowed to drive so far into the park and to go any further you need to take a bus. They can’t promise you will see wildlife, so we decided to book the 7a.m departure in hopes of spotting at least a few of the animals. Yes, I was up and at it by 5 a.m.!!! We had a great bus driver/tour guide who made the trip really enjoyable. As she put it we hit a grand slam on the views! We saw 12 grizzly bears, 4 moose, some caribou, many Dall sheep, a few golden eagles, and 7 wolves! And to top it off we were able to see Mt. McKinley! On the way there we watched a young Grizzly bear being chased down the mountain side by 7 wolves! He ran right down in front of our bus with the wolves right behind him. He managed to escape, but Paul say probably only for a while, eventually they would get him! One of the wolves walked right past our bus right on the road, he was only feet away from our window. Then on the way home we were crossing a bridge and there was a mother grizzly with 2 babies along side the road. She was trying to get them to the other side of the water, but it was pretty rapid, so she decided to cross the bridge. She and her babies walked down the center of the road right across the bridge, all the while she was trying to keep the cubs together as they wanted to wrestle and play with each other. i kind of know how she felt!! Been there done that! Once again we were right there up close. It was such an incredible experience. Viewing Mt. McKinley was also really beautiful. I understand that it is a rarity to get to see it and we weren’t sure it was going to clear up, but it did. Mt. Mckinley is the highest mountain in North America.

Afterwards the girls got their National Parks passport stamped and we called it a day! An extraordinary day!

July 19,2010

July 19, 2010

Left Fairbanks early this morning in route to Denali National Park. Took about 2 hours to drive here. Beautiful scenery along the way, but once again rainy and cloudy. Paul was hoping to get a campground inside the park, but they were full. Since none of the ones inside the park have any kind of hook up, the girls and I were secretly happy to find one just outside with water and electric!! It is very cool. It over looks the Nenana River. We back up right over the top with a beautiful view, but it is very windy and chilly today.

We decided to do the Whitewater rafting today, but couldn’t get out until the 6p.m. ride. Oh well, since it never seems to get dark here we thought it would be ok. Decided to do the shopping, lots of souviner shops, Paul just loves those!!! At least we got that out of the way so we can just enjoy Denali for the next couple of days!

We were very excited to do the rafting! We were happy to hear they provided wetsuits and water shoes, they only told us to bring extra socks, so we figures our feet would maybe get damp. After about 1/2hour or so getting instructions on how to get into the wetsuits and instructions as to what to do if you get thrown out of the raft or if the raft were to tip over, we were on our way! By this time I was having second thoughts. especially when our raft guide told us that he was the one guide that had broke the record of the company’s safety streak by being the one who tipped over a raft not long ago! Anyway, I was brave and decided to press on. Mallory told me to just stop being a baby it was going to be fun! Little did we realize the water was 35 degrees and the temp outside was only 58 degrees! Needless to say when we got wet, which was within the first 5 minutes we were cold, and Mallory was the first to begin whining! Who was being the baby then? We were out on the river for a good 2 hours and it was amazing and fun! We hit one rapid so hard that is knocked our guide onto his butt and he was laying on the bottom of the raft! Aside from the cold, the trip was by far one of the best things we’ve done on this trip! Some how I was the one that got the most wet though.

By the time we arrived back at our campsite, it was after 10pm and of course it was raining again!

Monday, July 19, 2010

July 18, 2010

Our last day in Fairbanks! We have had a wonderful time here with Judy and Regi, for that we THANK them greatly. This was a relaxing day. Paul finally got to wash the truck, it was so bad you couldn't really see what color it was, due to all the dust and mud we experienced getting here. So while he did that, Judy took the girls and I downtown Fairbanks to one of her favorite stores, that just happens to sell Vera Bradley!! I know your jealous NoNo!! Well I now own my first Alaskan Vera Bradley. And how cute it is!!

When we returned home Regi had lunch ready and we experienced our first Eskimo Burgers and he recapped the language for the girls, they seem to be really catching on, we'll probably have to phone occasionally for refresher courses!!

After lunch they took us to the Large Animal Research Station where we got to see live muskoxen and reindeer/caribou. The muskox look like something from the Fred Flintstone days!! They are in the sheep and goat family and came from the Arctic. Really impressive and their fur is very valuable, as ratty as it looks the underlayer is so very soft .

We then all went to dinner at the Turtle Club, and enjoyed some delicious prime rib and fish. Great way to end our time in Fairbanks! Just another thanks to our friends Regi and Judy for a great time and great hospitality!

p.s. Filled truck with gas today for the cheapest yet!!$3.39 per gallon!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

July 17, 2010

Had to get up and moving early. Went to the Riverboat Discovery. This was a 31/2 hour cruise down the Chena River to where the Tanan Rivers meet. We watched a plane take off and land on the water. Also we visited a Chena Indian Village, where we learned about the Athabascan Indians. We also encountered sled dogs at the kennel of the internationally acclaimed athlete Susan Butcher, who was a four time winner of the 1,100 mile Iditarod Dog Sledding Race! The girls really liked to the dogs! After that we went to the Eldorado Gold Mine. Here we took a train to a gold mine, where they taught us how to pan for gold. The girls had been waiting for this the whole trip. As fun as it looks, it is hard work and will take more practice til I really get it. Anyway the outcome was good. I found $48 worth of gold, Paul found $44, Mallory found $40, and Abby found $20. The girls and I combined ours and put ours in lockets on a necklace and 2 bracelets. This way we can show off our gold! That was great fun!!

Also saw the Alaskan Pipeline.

After the long day, we met up with Regi and Judy at a Brewery and got to taste some Alaskan beers and brought home a couple of jugs, which we spent the evening enjoying! And of course learning more about Alaska. Regi will have the girls speaking Eskimo before we leave!

It has been wonderful having Regi and Judy here to show us around and to let us share this time with them, wish we could take them on the rest of the trip!!! Thanks to Regi and Judy.

Friday, July 16, 2010

July 16, 2010

Started the day out stopping at North Pole, AK. Everywhere you look there is candy canes, and Santas. Saw some real reindeer and of course Santa Clause. After a little prodding I got the girls to at least sit with Santa so I could have a picture! Of course there was shopping, which as anyone that knows Paul would know he was less than enthused. Rather than Santa I think his Christmas mascot was the Grinch!!

Shortly after that we arrived in Fairbanks. We will be visiting friends here. Judy and Regi Soolook. Regi is a native Eskimo. They are truly wonderful people that we enjoyed a great evening with. Regi even taught the girls how to say a few things in his language. Judy filled us in on what there was to see and do in Fairbanks and then drove me around on a little tour, this way I will know exactly where to direct Paul tomorrow.

Oh and I forgot to mention, shortly after we arrived here Paul noticed that the rear bumper was cracked, probably due to the spare tire and the girls bikes that are mounted there being bounced around excessively on those awful roads getting here. Anyway he thought we should have it fixed before we went any further, so here again we ended up at a welding shop (that make 2) to have the camper repaired. (I'm thinking maybe Paul should be a little nicer to Santa and maybe a set new camper keys would be in his stocking this Christmas) But lucky for the girls and I there was a cute little 50's diner that happens to be the northern most railcar diner right next door to the repair shop, and since it just so happened to be lunch time the girls and I had him drop us off and we had a great lunch. Paul would like it noted that lunch cost more than the repair did!

We also so a bull moose running down the side of the road. That makes 4 moose, 6 bear, buffalo, an eagle, a porcupine, and lots of sheep!

Tomorrow we are planning sightseeing in Fairbanks.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

July 15, 2010

Set out of Haines Junction at around 9:30 am. That of course was a little later that Paul wanted it to be, but 3 girls getting ready takes time, (u’d think he’d be catching on to that?) This is our last leg of our Canada journey, should be crossing the border today.

I just have to mention, this by far has to be the best way to get to Alaska. This trip has been the most beautiful and adventurous journey I have ever experienced. I feel truly blessed that I am lucky enough to be here right now! At this point I can’t

imagine Alaska being more beautiful than the Canada segment has been, we’ll see!!

We started out today following along the Kluane River. This was a breathtaking view all along the way. The mountains up ahead of us were covered in snow and the clouds hung beautifully around them. The road was very twisty and bumpy. This was by far the worst road conditions on the highway soo far. Then we got behind a caravan of motorhomes that were traveling together, about 15 or more and because of the road conditions we really couldn’t go over 40mph, very slow going and bumpy. We were warned that it would be bad, and it was, Thank god it was dry and not raining for that portion. Only been about 40-50 degrees today. We drove about 8 hours again today, but we did cross the border!!!Yeah we are in Alaska. Somehow I thought it would feel different than it did, it still looks beautiful, just like Canada. Got through customs without any trouble. That was the nicest custom man we’ve ever encountered, was actually friendly and had a conversation with us.

We were hoping to make it to the North Pole tonight, which is just 15 miles from Fairbanks, but we couldn’t hold out, I will admit it was probably me as much as the girls being ready to get out of the car!! I think we are all ready to get out and see something other than trees or mountains! Found a great little campground in Delta Junction called Green Acres, thought that might make Paul feel at home. Just picture Paul as Oliver and me as Lisa!!! And when we began to park the camper tonite that was probably who we were acting like. He needed me to place the board under the tires to level it, (something I have done a 100 times), but tonite he decided to use his farming signals, those would be the ones that only he and his dad understand. Well I thought I understood, however I ended up being quite wrong! I got the stern look of “What were you thinking?” A neighbor camper and his wife found it humorous! I didn’t. Like I said it was time to stop and call it quits for the day.

We did see a big moose today running alongside the highway. That was all the wildlife we saw today, oh maybe a bald eagle though!!

July 14, 2010

Well, we decided to leave Dawson City and head back the way we came. Thought we could wait it out and the bridge flooding wouldn’t last too long, however, they told us it was undetermined as to how long it could be closed, and it was still raining. So we packed up and headed back down to Whitehorse to take the other route to Alaska. It’s raining today so it’s pretty gloomy and I should mention that someone in the car isn’t really talking much!!!!Oh well we’ll just let him be, however there aren’t many radio stations up here, I offered to sing, but I just got a glare, to be taken as no! The only radio stations we’ve been able to get are talk shows about sex! Guess they get bored up here?

On the upside we came across a young black bear standing in the middle of the road. Very cute. We are hoping to see a moose or and elk today. The closer we get to Whitehorse it seems to be clearing up, hopefully tomorrow we could be in Alaska!!! I can’t believe we have been on the road for 9 days, time has really gone fast! I have to say this has been an awesome experience for our family. Have had some great times creating memories!!

Made it back to Whitehorse at about 6:30p.m., did a little grocery stock up, gassed up, and decided to go a little further to Haines Junction, about 90 minutes away. Even though it rained most of the way to Whitehorse, the sun finally came out, but was raining again by the time we got to Haines Jct. There was only a few campgrounds there, and Paul was wanting to just pull over at some little stream or turn off along the way and just rough it. Obviously the girls and I out numbered him. We told him we would stay at a hotel and he could go camp somewhere like that. I don’t know, I think I watch too much lifetime t.v. but things could happen. I’m sure I’ve seen that movie once. There was a story on our way up of an elderly couple that was missing and they had found their camper burned and no sign of them? Paul said I should be more afraid of bear that that happening. Now I’ve got something else to think about!!! We did find a campground, the very last spot!! Arrived at 10:00 p.m. in the rain. Had to turn the furnace on when we arrived, just 50 degrees or so.

Hopefully we will make it to Fairbanks tomorrow. I was thinking maybe we should visit the North Pole on the way. A little town south of Fairbanks, Christmas is everywhere there, It might be fun!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

July 13, 2010

Well we are still here in Dawson City, Yukon! Was hoping to leave tomorrow, but our neighbor said he heard it would be Saturday before they opened the road.!!Yikes I'm trying really hard to remain calm, but....this town was said to be soo fun, haven't encountered it yet. Paul on the other hand seems to be enjoying this. After all it is a town that still resembles the 1800's, same buildings, dirt roads, and wooden sidewalks. It looks just like something from one of his westerns he usually watches, but is having withdrawal from since we don't have t.v. I think he's thinks he's John Wayne. He said he even saw a street named the Duke. There are some cute little shops though, so not all is lost, have manage to make a few purchases! I just feel trapped!!!

We did go to the Top of the Dome. It's this mountain that at the top is a 360 degree overlook of the town. I guess you can go at 12 midnight and watch the sun set. Haven't done that but if we spend any more nites here we might. It was beautiful though, a little scarry driving up, but sooo worth it.

After that we went to the Discovery Claim, which is where the first gold was found here. There we toured a dredge which would be one of the orignial gold digging machine, that took the place of the pick and shovel to find the gold. Very interesting.

Pretty quiet day, and a little rain. Were hoping to get out soon!!!

I'm attaching a picture of Abby's version of a Moose, as you can see we are just a little bored! Also is a picture of a small boat that Paul is looking into buying. It's docked here in town!

Monday, July 12, 2010

July 12,2010

July 12, 2010

Stopped in Whitehorse this morning. Viewed the SS Klondike II, which was a boat that moved people and goods in and out of town during the goldrush days. Also went and saw the fish ladder. That was very interesting. It’s more like a tube that allows the salmon to bypass the dam so they don’t get caught in it and are able to get up stream to lay their eggs. However, while we were viewing this Abby was stung by a bee. After about 1/2 hour, we finally calmed her down, but now both her and Mallory are cautious of any flying insect! When we were stopped for construction Paul had his window down and a fairly large bug flew in and landed in the back seat.....Thank God we were stopped because both girls, screaming, flew opened their doors and jumped out of the truck right along side the road, the sign holder man had to wonder what was going on. I couldn’t help them since I was laughing tooo hard!!! Tonite will probably be a sleepless nite dreaming of bees!!!

After leaving Whitehorse we decided to leave the Alaska Highway and take a side trip up the Klondike to Dawson City.

We found a great little lookout about 1/3 of the way. It was the Five Finger Rapids. These were on the Yukon River and were a major river obstacle for boats going down the Yukon River. There was a trail and 239 stairs to a viewing area above the rapids. We decided it would be good exercise for us after being in the car all these days. It was beautiful beyond words and the hike was interesting, but what anyone needs to realize is that if you go down 239 stairs, you have to go back up them! yikes, it was nap time for me after that!

Stopped at a gas station to top off the tank. It was a cute little station and store store that featured Klondike ice cream. Decided it would be appropriate to have Klondike ice cream cookie sandwiches since we were traveling the Klondike Highway. Yummy treat, but expensive....$19 for 4. Paul just smiled (well sort of) and went on! Thank god we’re camping and brought a lot of our food, between that and gas we would for sure be broke!! We figured out today, on the longggg drive that gas has been running us over $4.15 a gallon, that would be on the low end, some places much higher. Asked Paul if maybe that was a sign, he just said maybe I shouldn’t have figured out the conversion!!!!! Least he still has his humor!!!

So, we just turned on the local station just in time for the news! Mind you we are headed for Dawson City for the night and then on to arrive in Alaska the next day, only we found out that in the next town past Dawson there is flooding and a bridge washed out. That is the ONLY road out of here!Yikes. Talked to a road construction guy who said it would be 2 days before it opens. Luckily Dawson City is supposed to be a fun place. I told Paul that maybe this is a sign, but he shrugged it off saying it will be fine!!! Tonite is definitely a beer nite for me. Guess I will do laundry and clean the camper tonite!!! Least we’re in a full hook up tonite with internet!!!!!! I’m sure things could be worse. And I guess this means we will get to sleep in in the morning.

July 11, July 11, 2010

Since we had no electric to run the alarm clock, and I was not good at figuring out my alarm on my phone, we got to sleep in til 7am.!! Yeah. And my sweet husband turned on the generator, so I had a hair straightener and coffee!

Started the day off headed toward Watson Lake, home of the Sign Forest. Once we got here we decided to empty the tanks, $5 to empty them at a campground, only to find out that 1 block away was a free dump station. Paul wasn’t aware there were free facilities in some towns. Oh well.

Went to the sign forest, just rows and rows of signs from all over the world. Lots of license plates, wood signs, street and town signs, just about anything people could write on. We of course had planned to make a sign, but never got around to it. The girls were disappointed, until we came across a city of Ottawa sign from the street dept,, had the street dept. peoples name on it from many years ago, Paul thought probably 25 years ago or so, he knew some of the people, so we just borrowed a corner of it and signed our family name and date to it!!!! Saw another sign with some people from Ottawa on it, no last names though. The sign forest was started around 1941 when a soldier who was working on the Alaskan Highway, who was from Decatur Illinois, was homesick and hung a sign of his hometown on a tree, and it just took off. It was really kinda neat! While we were there we also watched a movie on the building of the Highway, kinda interesting, more for Paul than the girls and I.

Saw quite a few buffalo today as we were heading to Watson Lake. they are huge! Had babies with them also.

From there we headed to Whitehorse where we are spending the night, suppose to be a fairly larger town, with a little shopping and a brewery for Paul. I am told there is also a Walmart in Whitehorse.

Along our drive we came across a sign to the Rancheria Falls. We decided to pull off and take the hike. Wow how amazing. There was a wooden walkway back to the falls, very impressive falls, certainly glad we pulled over for that! Then shortly after we left we encountered 2 more black bear just grazing alongside the road. One was brown and one was black. We stopped and watched for a while, they are truly amazing!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Saturday July 10, 2010

Once again early morning wake up call!!! Then to top it off found out the time changed again, now we are 2 hours behind home! Paul wanted to get an early start, since we were told wildlife is spotted better early morning, and this was suppose to be the beginning of wildlife territory. Well, he was right we spotted 2 moose right off the bat, a mother and her baby. They were crossing the road right in front of us. Then shortly after that we saw two black bear, one we got pretty close to! It was truly amazing! That pretty much made Paul’s day!

We arrived in Fort Nelson around 12 noon. The girls spotted an A&W fast food rest. while we were getting gas and begged Dad to eat lunch there. At first he said no, but since we really hadn’t eaten out this trip he gave into them, then quickly was regretting it when all 4 lunch sandwiches and rootbeers came to $44.!!!!!!!Yikes. I quietly told the girls they REALLY needed to eat every last french fry!

After that we started the climb through the Canadian Rockies. How beautiful! The roads were; very steep and winding, and dusty! Max. speed limit was close to 60mph, but once we got deep into the mountains, about 30-40mph max, but oh sooo beautiful!!! Words can’t begin to describe it. We even experienced road work delays in the mountains, just can’t escape it!

Was a good day for wildlife viewing, aside from the bear and moose we saw in the morning, we also encountered another bear and alot of sheep. Those were on the road and we had to stop for them to move. There were babies and mammas. Very cute!

Arrived at Laird Hot Springs around 4pm. Even though I had found a full hookup campground, Paul thought it would be fun to stay at the Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park, where the hot spring pools are located. This was a NO hookup park!! Much cheaper in price, just no electricity, water, or sewer. The problem for the girls and I was mainly was that we were unable to charge our cameras, ipods, and computers! Not to mention I would not have hair dryer, straightener, or coffee maker in the morning. Thank goodness for generators!! We managed to talk Paul into running the generator for a while in the evening to charge our stuff!

The upside of this stop was the awesome hot springs. There were two pools of them. The upper and the lower. They were very, very hot! But oh so relaxing. The girls

commented on how good their skin felt later that night. We all enjoyed that experience.

We met a really nice couple from southern British Columbia, that were on their way back from Alaska, they gave us some useful tips on Alaska.

We finally got to have a campfire at night. This made for a perfect ending to our day! Tried to turn in early, however, the sun didn’t want to set. Woke at around 3am only to see if was still pretty light out.

The Pitstick Family Alaskan Adventure