Tulsa, OK

We have been in Tulsa, OK for the past couple of days.  We used to live here.  It has been fun riding around seeing how things have changed.  We lived in Broken Arrow just outside of Tulsa.  When we were there it was a relatively small community.  Today it has spread far and wide.

This area seems to be doing well economically, unlike back home in Florida.  They are building everywhere.  Stores are filled with people.  Maybe that is because the daytime temperature is 105 degrees.  Better to spend the weekend in a air conditioned store than to run you air at home.

We drove by our old house on S. Date St.  It looks about the same now as it did then.  In those days, that was the new part of town.  Today it is an old established neighborhood with tall trees.  When we lived there there was no shade.  Only very small trees lined the streets.

We drove by our children's school.  Arrow Springs Elementary was not far from our house.  Pete and Jason could walk to school each day.  Seeing this old neighborhood brought back many memories of old friends and acquaintances.   We drove by the little park where the boys discovered turtles that climb trees. I didn't believe their tale so they had to take me to see them.  Sure enough, there is a turtle here that does indeed climb trees.  We wondered if there were still any around.

We remembered the day the boys dragged a dog home.  They said it was a stray and it just followed them.  I am not so sure about that.  They begged to keep it.  I relented and "Daisy" became a part of our family.  Daisy didn't reveal a little secret she had though.  A few weeks later we were greeted with four little puppies.  One of them was pure silver in color.  They were all so cute they were all adopted in no time.

When we moved back to Florida, Daisy came along.  She loved to lie out in the middle of the street and sleep.  It wasn't a busy street but we always feared she would be hit.  Keeping her out of it was impossible.  When the kids were outside so was Daisy.

One day a car came down the street and ran right over here.  She just got up and walked away.  Another time she was hit by a dump truck.  I thought she was done for that time but with the kids praying fervently for her revival, she regained her strength and was soon back to being Daisy.  After this encounter we nicknamed her "Rubber Dog".  We have laughed about that many times.

By the time we moved over to Cape Coral, Daisy was very old.  We let her out one day and she returned all torn up.  At that time we had a couple of bobcats that hung around our house.  We were way out in the undeveloped area of the city at that time.  I suspect she tangled with one of them and lost.  Her wounds would not heal.  She began a spiral downward.  It was time for Daisy to be put down.  I will never forget the pleading look in her eyes as she was taken away.  She seemed to know this was the end.

Now I have another dog.  I didn't want a dog.  I inherited our granddog from our son when he decided to go into the Marines.  Our intent was to keep her until he returned but she became part of our home.  She travels with us today.  We love her company.  It is like having a kid all over again.  We spoil her and make a fuss over here all the time.  She is almost nine years old now.  She is turning gray.  In the back of my mine I know that day will come when she too will have to go.  I hate to think about it.  I didn't want her but now I don't want to be without her.

My son had Buddy's sister.  Her name was Aubrey.  They loved getting together to play when John would visit or we would visit John.  Buddy seemed to know when we were going to see her sister.  She would get all excited when we were near her house.

Sadly, Aubrey developed bone cancer.  Our son had to put her down a few weeks ago.  I know the pain he feels losing a best friend like that.  She was always there to greet him when he came home each night.  We have encouraged him to get another dog but he is reluctant.  I know if I was in his position I don't think I would want another dog right away either.   I would always be comparing it to Buddy.  I would be expecting it to behave like Buddy.  That wouldn't be fair to the new dog.

Isn't it strange how your thoughts wander sometimes?  We have spent much time this weekend thinking about the days that have gone by.  When we were in our youth and our kids still looked to us for everything.  We fondly recall, "Mommy, wipe my hinney."  Those truly were the best days of our lives.

We dodged a bullet in Dodge

We stayed in a small RV park in Deerfield, KS last night.  They don't get much business.  There are few RVs on the road in these parts.  It was a full service park and very inexpensive.  The drawback to the place were the plants that made up most of the ground cover.  They had nasty stickers like sand spurs on them.  Poor old Buddy couldn't even walk on it.

I visited with the owner for a while this morning.  Dale is a real character.  He loved talking about his family and grand kids as I do also.  He sure is proud of all of them.  He has lived in these parts all his life.  He owns all kinds of property from a mobile home park, RV park, motel and a small farm.  He asked all kinds of questions about us too.  He likes to dig into things.  I revealed I had been a state trooper years ago.  Did I ever strike a nerve with that.

He has had a couple bad experiences with troopers.  Mostly equipment violations of one sort or another.  He thought they should be a little more understanding hahahaha.  Then his son got a speeding ticket for speeding through a construction zone on a Sunday morning.  I guess he was late for church.   I think if Dale had known the night before I was a former trooper, he would have charged me double just to get some of his losses back.   He really was a great guy to talk to though.   He finally forgave me for my police experience with a big grin.

We planned to stop in Dodge City to see the Boot Hill Museum.  This is where Matt Dillon was sheriff, remember?  When we stopped we took a few photos of a train.  We then started for the museum.  Something drew my attention to my left front tire.  I walked over and looked.  Wire was showing on a small area on the inside edge.

I visually check my tires every morning before starting out.  This area must have been on the ground when I looked under there today because I didn't see it.  We were very near a blowout which could have been very serious.  Each day we pray for safe travels.  We ask the Lord to watch over us and keep us safe.  We had been held up for about an hour in construction and were considering not stopping at the museum.  As we drove by it, I decided at the last minute to turn around.  I am so glad I did.  We would have had a very bad day had we not.

I have felt a small vibration for sometime since Alaska.  We talked about how it felt like I lost a wheel weight and a tire was slightly out of balance.  I looked to see if I could see where one was missing but found nothing unusual.  I had been watching my tires more closely because of this and I am at a loss how I missed this before it got so bad.  My tires don't have that many miles on them so something like this shouldn't have happened.  After this, I plan to have the entire suspension gone over when I get home.  Those rough roads in the north country may have done some more unseen damage.

I got on the computer and located a truck tire store nearby.   They had what we needed in stock.  They had it mounted and I was on my way in less than an hour.  I will keep an eye on them from here on home in case there is something damaged in the suspension that caused the wear.  That little vibration is gone though.  So maybe it was a wheel weight.

It is hot here.  We are talking over 100 degrees hot.  Our air conditioner wasn't keeping up with it so I stopped and got some gas to recharge it.  It helped some but it was so hot it was still uncomfortable.  I fired up the generator and ran the house air too but it couldn't even keep the motor home portion cool.  These things aren't insulated so there is no barrier to the heat.  It is like a large rolling dutch oven.

I have some gauges to check the compressor pressure to be certain I have it charge properly.  I will check it again in the morning to see how it reads.  When it is so hot it even throws off the gauge from what I have read.  When it is cool I should get a better reading.  Maybe I can adjust it some and get more cold air out of it.

We have planned the leisurely scenic trip back but if the heat continues to be an issue we may just hit the interstate and fly home.  I hate interstates.  I drive all the back roads.  You don't see a vehicle in these parts for a long time.   You have the road to yourself.  The scenery isn't much.  Everything is dried up and burnt.  Streams are bone dry.  Folks say it has been especially hot and dry this summer.

We are camped in a municipal campground in the little town of Cherokee, Oklahoma.  Most of the people staying here are working in the oil fields.  There is a new oil boom in the Midwest.  I guess oil that was too difficult or to little to bother with years ago is not a hot item with oil prices as high as they are.  I spent a few minutes chatting with some of the oil workers here in the park.  They said there is lots of work in the oil field.  They seem to enjoy what they do.

Since we plugged into the power here in the campground, the air conditioner has been running continuously.   We even opened the cabinets to let the heat out into the room so they would cool down.   I went to get some salve out of a drawer in my bedroom.  When I unscrewed the cap it poured out like water.  It is Vaseline based.  I have never seen the motor home as hot as it is now.  We have curtains that separate the cab area from the living area.  It helps keep the cab cooler when we are traveling.  On a hot night like this it is keeping more of the cool air in the living area.   Right now at 10:30 PM with the air running, the cab area is still 98 degrees.  It is much cooler this side of the curtain though.

Well that is about it for today.  We are very thankful for the Lord's protection.  The tire was costly but not nearly as costly as a blowout would have been.  For those who wonder.....my inflation was spot on.  I do check it weekly also.   Good night.

Rocky Mountain National Park

We aren’t real quick to get on the road any day.  We usually have a couple of cups of coffee, read, chat and finally get dressed for the day.  This process takes about two hours as a rule.  If we leave the campground before 10:00 AM we are doing good.  Today we pulled out just a few minutes before ten.

Buddy sleeping with her Teddy Bear.

We drove through Steamboat Springs noted as a winter ski resort area.  By the looks of the ski slopes here I would say there is a great deal of difference in the ability of the average skier here compared those who fling themselves off the top of Jackson Hole, WY.  These slopes look very tame by comparison.  

Mountain lake near Steamboat Springs.

Our objective today is to drive through the Rocky Mountain National Park.  It is also the source of the Colorado River.  We passed by it along our path today.  Many were in waders fly fishing.  At the continental divide we viewed the source of the Colorado.  It would be difficult to imagine what a mighty river it becomes looking at these humble beginnings.

Colorado River

Source of the Colorado River near Continental Divide.

The source of the Poudre River just a short distance the other side of the divide.   The grey areas you see in the forest are dead trees as a result of the pine beetle infestation.  In many areas most of the forest is dead.  :-(

This trip over the mountain pass was another white knuckle trip for the driver, ME.  Darlie was snapping photos all along the way.  There is no shoulder and it drops hundreds of feet at the edge of the pavement.  I kept asking her how much room I had at the edge of the pavement.  She kept saying I was doing fine and to just keep hugging the centerline.  She continued to snap while I kept my eyes glued to the centerline.  I was one of only 3 motor homes I saw on the enter trip and I was bigger than the other two.

Note pavement in corner of photo.  One wheel off and  you will tumble a very long way down this hill.

I do love the thrill of driving this big thing up over something like this.  It scares the daylights out of me but I still love doing it.  Today we made our highest pass ever.  We topped out at 12,183 feet!  That is high.  We were up even with the highest peaks.  I can check off another high mountain adventure.  I have traversed some passes and roads that were much more hazardous than this one.  The pavement here was wide.  I have gone on some that barely are wide enough for the motor home.  I creep over those places. 

12,183 feet.

You can tell I get a charge out of this.  I am not taking any undue risk.  I asked the rangers if the road was passable in an RV my size.  They assured me it was.  I wonder why I didn’t meet too many up there?

Lava Cliffs 

I have to comment on my disappointment in Timber Creek campground in the National Park.  It was a horrible looking place.  I wish I took a photo so you could see it.  It was very uninviting so we passed it by.  After seeing how beautiful the Canadian National Park campgrounds are, it is a great disappointment to see how poorly provided for are our own.  I often wonder what Canadians think when they see our campgrounds.  

Little mountain lake.

We drove out of the park to a NFS campground called Olive Creek.  It has no services and the sites are small but very well kept.  They are also nicely treed and private.  Large boulders protrude from the ground everywhere.  Numerous chipmunks parade around your campsite looking for a handout.  I think they have been very spoiled by the campers.

Darlie had to have a photo of my glee after descending the Rocky Mountain Park highway.

Several older couples stopped by for a chat while we sat by our campfire.  We shared stories of our travels and adventures, family, grandkids and home.  It has been a good day.  But sadly it will be our last day in the mountains.  We will head east out across Kansas tomorrow.  We love these mountains.  Had we seen them years ago we would be out here rather than in Florida.  But then maybe the Lord had other plans for us.

Splitting firewood at Olive Creek.

One of our neighbors at Olive Creek.

Flaming Gorge

We absolutely loved our campground last night.  It was very quiet.  We were surrounded by beautiful sagebrush covered hills.   Each campsite had a nice shade tree to enjoy.  Looking out the front window, we had a view of Flaming Gorge Reservoir.  This morning we were greeted by rabbits and a small herd of deer stopped by our campsite to browse on some green shoots.

Morning visitors.

When we got on the road later in the morning, we nearly hit an antelope.  They had crossed the road ahead of us.  Just as we approached them, one little guy decided to run back across the road in front of us.  It was nearly his last dash across the road.  It would have made a mess of the front of the motor home too.  They are difficult to see in the low brush along the road.  They blend right in.

We went from this.......

To this......

To this higher up.....

To this on top of the mountain.....

And finally to this.  All in just five miles!   Utah has a very diverse scenic landscape.

If you ever visit Flaming Gorge, the most scenic route is Rt 530 to Rt 44.  You climb some steep mountains with fantastic views.  Going down the other side of the mountain into Vernal, UT is quite exciting too.  There are 10 switch backs in 10 miles and the grade is up to 10%.  We went down in first and second gear.  It was no problem.   They have guardrails along the road, which is a big plus.  Some places out west have no guardrails at all.  You are crawling along a ledge that drops hundreds if not thousands of feet.  Not that guardrails would do much good but they do give you a sense of where the edge of the road is.

Descending to Vernal, UT

Very low humidity gives the sky a crisp blue color.

Vernal is a small village in northeastern Utah.  The main street was lined both sides with beautiful hanging baskets of flowers.  It looked like they were decorated up for the 4th of July with red and white flowers.

Buddy enjoyed the view of the Gorge from the shade of a juniper tree.

We spent the rest of the day on Rt 40 across western Colorado.  It is pretty barren land but still quite scenic.  We stopped in the town of Craig to pick up some things at the store.  Darlie wanted to go out to eat tonight but all that was open were fast food joints.  We opted to continue on to Yampa State Park where we are camped for the night.  It is a very neat and spacious park.  Since I couldn't take Darlie to dinner, I rustled up some grub for us while she lie down for a while.

This stone is more yellow than Yellowstone.  This was taken in a rock cut near the Gorge.

Mountain Man Museum

As we left our campground this morning north of Jackson, WY. we had to wait for a herd of buffalo crossing the road.  They were on their way for a morning drink in the Gros Ventre River.  While we were stopped, one buffalo decided to take a dump right in front of us.  Darlie had to take his picture, of course.

Our route was to take us south to Rock Springs then on to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.  The first hundred miles of the trip was just beautiful.  Green mountains rose of from rushing turquoise streams.  We drove along slowly taking it all in.

We stopped at the Mountain Man Museum in Pinedale, WY.  Pinedale was the location of several of the rendevous held by the fur trappers and traders back in the 1820s and 30s.  Reading stories of the moutain men has always been of great interest to me.  The mountain men were beaver trappers who inadvertently explored the Rockies and established trails that would later be followed by settlers on the Oregon Trail.

Darlie paying a visit to her western relatives.

The museum does not allow photography so I can't show you all the wonderful displays they had there.  Many of the items have been donated by families of early settlers who have had the items handed down to them.  Many of the artifacts are in near original condition.  They also show a 20 minute video that gives a bit of mountain man history.  For those not familiar with the mountain men, it gives a good overall account of their lives and contribution to the expansion of the country.

Darlie wanted this little bird on the blog.

South of Pinedale we entered a desert.  Neither of us like the desert.  We crossed a portion of the Great Basin.  I always pictured it as being a lush grassy plain watered by far away mountain streams.  No so.  It is dirt, rocks and sage brush.  Not an appealing mix.

This had to be real boring land for the settlers to have to cross.  But more importantly, it lacked the water they needed for their travels.  I imagine many people and livestock perished out there.

Tonight we are camped at a NFS campground in Flaming Gorge NRA.  It is a very pictureque setting.  There is a thunderstorm overhead but no rain makes it to the ground.  The air is too dry.  The rain evaporates before it gets down to us.  A few drops would wash some of the layer of dust off the old bread truck.

When I was at the Workhorse dealer in Spokane to have my ignition switch replaced, the mechanic told me the chassis my motor home sits on was also used for a bread truck.  I was not far off by saying driving this was like driving a bread truck.  Workhorse no longer makes this chassis because GM discontinued the mighty 8.1 liter Vortex engine.  There is no gasoline engine large enough to do the job.  Now all Workhorse chassises are diesel.  I know you could care less but it fills up space so I could put a photo of Buddy here.

Buddy taking a nap on Darlie's lap.

Darlie just went out and took some sunset photos.  I have to include one of those.

Yellowstone Revisit

Last year when we visited Yellowstone it was crowded and congested.  This year we are here more than a month later in the season.  The park is not crowded at all.  You can actually find places to park an RV.

Upper Falls

We never got to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the falls last summer because of the traffic congestion.  This year the parking lot was nearly empty.  Either it is the economy or I know many schools are already back in session so vacations are over for many people.  In any case, we finally got to see the most spectacular sight in Yellowstone.

My lovely bride.

The upper falls is smaller and is not surrounded with the yellow rock for which the park is named.  The lower falls is 300 feet.  Photos can't do it justice.  It is one of those things you have to see.  I would compare the beauty of the gorge to Bryce Canyon.  There are many colors displayed in the rock walls.  The deep turquoise green water adds to the effect.

Lower Falls

We also visited the Mud Volcano.  It is nothing too spectacular but when it was named it must have been. It was discovered in 1878 by some dude whose name I forget.  At that time there was a cone with mud shooting up into the air blanketing the trees around it.  Two years later the mud volcano blasted itself to death.  Now all that remains is a boiling pot of smelly water.

Mud Volcano

Next to the Mud volcano is what they call the Dragon's Mouth.  It certainly is descriptive of what you see and smell there.  There is a cave with yukkie gray water shooting out of it with blasts of steam and a roar with each blast.  The Dragon has very bad breath also.  Years ago an unidentified tourist gave it the name and ti stuck.  It certainly is more interesting than the Mud Volcano.

Dragon's Mouth (smelly)

We drove down past Yellowstone Lake and on to Teton NP.  On the way we passed a small stream where a moose was having his dinner.  We thought we had see the last of the moose for this year.  What a surprise.

We are camped in Teton's tonight.  Tomorrow we will go south on Rt 89 towards Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.   From there we will be going on to Colorado.  There are so many choices of routes there we haven't made up our mind where to go.   We will figure it out when we get there.

We are having difficulty with our Verizon mifi down this way.  It worked perfectly everywhere we went in Alaska.  Some places were very remote but we still had mifi.  Not so in the northwestern USA.  The thing is next to useless here.  It is slower than dial up when it does work.  I think I will look for a better option for next year.

Montana

We have been off the grid the past couple of days.  We are in Montana.  It is one of our favorite states.  There are so many places to camp in the woods here.  There are also many beautiful things to see along the way like the Kootenai Falls between Troy and Libby on Rt 2.

Kootenai Falls

Kootenai Rapids

We drove down a one lane dirt forest service road day before yesterday to find a remote campsite.  We went five miles before we could even find a place where we could turn around.  That spot turned out to be the campsite we had been looking for.

Fisher Creek

We were in the heart of grizzly country.  We were camped next to Fisher Creek.  At dusk we hoped to see a bear come down to the waters edge.  But that didn't happen.

Wild Flowers at our creek campsite.

We have been taking it real easy giving Darlie time to regain her strength.  Yesterday we drove over to Hungry Horse Reservoir near Glacier NP.  We had wanted to camp there on one of our other trips to Glacier but didn't take the time to do it.  The forest service park was nearly full.  We had to take a site back away from the water.  That was disappointing.  Part of the campgrounds are shut down this summer because of road improvements that are being made.  Maybe we will go back another year and try again.

Today we decided it was time to start for home.  We were 3000 miles from there this morning.  I managed to knock 400 miles off that today.  We  had to make several stops to look at various things along the way.  We also had a couple in another Winnebago Brave pull alongside and want to stop and chat.  We found a wide spot overlooking Polson Lake.

Our new found friends were from Illinios.  They have been traveling in their Brave for years.  Theirs was a 1995 and it looked brand new.  He said they keep it in an airplane hanger.  He waxes it once a year and really babys it.  They have driven it to Alaska two times and they have visited every state and province of Canada.  They were very interesting people.  We thanked them for flagging us down for a chat.  We always meet the nicest people in a motor home.

Our plan is to drive through Yellowstone and Tetons again on our way back.  We are camped in the most beautiful spot along Rt 89 just 25 miles north of Yellowstone.  We always look for scenic places to spend the night.  You  look at the photos and you decide if we found a scenic place to camp tonight. The best part of it though is it is free.  It is a fishing access site along the river.  We have the place all to ourselves.  I take that back.  The misquitoes are about as heavy as we have seen anywhere.  I think they eat Deet for kdinner too.

Our campsite tonight on the Yellowstone River

As the sunset, the golden late summer grass on the mountain sides gave the appearance of a velvet carpet.  Words or photos can't fully capture how beautiful it really is.

Sunset on our campsite

On the move again.

Darlie is slowly regaining her strength after her hospital stay.  She was discharged yesterday morning.
We drove just a short distance to a NFS campground at Lake Gillette along Rt. 20.  It was a very nice campground with very large private sites.  It was a good place to relax and recoup.

The drawback with Lake Gillette was we had no phone or Internet connection.  We wanted to be where we could talk to family who might be concerned about Darlie's condition.  So we decided to move  to the Priest River area in Idaho just 50 or 60 miles away.

We are at a C.O.E. campground called Riley Creek.  It is located on the Pend Oreille River.  We have water and electric here.  That is something the NFS campground didn't have.  Our mifi works but we still have no Tracfone signal.  Tracfone is nearly worthless most places off the interstate.

We plan to stay here for a couple of days while Darlie rests up.  Then we will go over to the Libby area of Montana.  There is not much else to report today.  We have some interesting stops planned as we work our way home.  So stay tuned.

Providence, Mount Carmel Hospital

The Bible says the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord.  The only righteousness I possess is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for my sins.

I feel we were divinely guided by the Lord to Providence, Mount Carmel Hospital.  This small rural hospital  is a state of the art facility.  They have the most advanced technology in use here.  This small hospital serves a vast rural area of northeastern Washington.  They are very proud of their hospital and have very good reason to be proud.

The staff is top notch.  Everyone has been most helpful and attentive.  The patient truly comes first.  There is a small town friendliness that goes with the place.  You feel at home and welcome.  We have never had a hospital experience like this one.

Darlie's favorite nurse.

My wife was seriously ill from a probably food poisoning.  I thought for a time I was going to lose her.  Dr. Nagrani and Dr Shannon did an excellent job in caring for her and ministering the proper medications for her rapid recovery.  The turn around in her condition has been amazing.  I do attribute that to the work of the Lord through the prayers of many who have brought her before the throne of God.  All wisdom and knowledge comes from above.  I thank the Lord for the wisdom and knowledge He has given each of her doctors and caregivers.

Buddy and I have been camped in the hospital parking lot.  This way I can be close to Darlie and visit Buddy frequently during the day.  She seems to know something has been wrong.  I can tell she misses Darlie.  She will be so excited to see her walk out of the hospital.

While I was eating my lunch yesterday, a deer walked right out next to the road and began munching grass.  I am told there are many village deer that happen by from time to time.  Colville is a very pleasant community.  The pace is easy going and friendly.

The possibility exists that Darlie will be discharged tomorrow.  We will take it easy for a week or so before working our way back towards home.  We both love this part of the country.  Of all the places we have visited, the northwest is our favorite.  We will be back this way again.  But as much as we have been pleased with Mount Carmel Hospital, we hope not to visit here again.

Sidelined for a few days

We have been sidelined for a few days for illness.  Things happen when you travel just like they do at home.  We call things like this "just a little bump in the road".  We trust the Lord to watch over us and guide us each day.  We know we are in his care regardless of what happens along the way.

When we get on the road again, we have some neat things planned so be sure to check in for new posts in the days ahead.

Morning in Spokane

It is difficult to get used to so much sunshine again.  And the temperatures have been near 90 degrees.  I plan to wear shorts for the first time since leaving Indiana a couple of months ago.  I just packed our jackets and rain gear away.  I don't think we will need them again on this trip.

We are here to have our starter switch  replaced AGAIN.  From what I read they have worked out the brake problems and the starter switch problems on the Workhorse chassis now.  It would be nice if they would pay me for the repairs I have had to make because of their defect.  I am outside the recall window.  There must be a place to complain.  I may have to look into that further when I get home.  In any case, we are hoping for at least one more start from the switch this morning so we can drive to the repair shop.

Our motor home is old but it is all ours.  We met people who have bought nice big new rigs but they can't afford to go out to dinner or take a fishing charter because they have high RV payments.  Why do people do that?  I think it is all image.  Impress the neighbors.  Big hat no cattle as they say in Texas.  I know these people could have bought something less and paid cash and enjoyed themselves on the road instead of having to pass up the things you are there for to begin with.  I have the feeling, the way our economy is going, that a lot of people are going to begin to learn to live within their means.

I didn't mention our trip back down the Cassier Highway in Canada.  As I mentioned in my last post, the Alaskan Highway through the Yukon was in much better shape than when we went up in June.  I actually got to enjoy some of the scenery this time instead of keeping my eyes glued to the road for holes, dips, dives, rocks and other assorted hazards.

The Cassier Highway is a more westerly route down through Canada.  It departs the Alaskan Highway near Watson Lake, Yukon.  From there it is 450 miles of very remote countryside to the Yellow Knife Highway (Rt 16) in British Columbia.

The northern half of the highway was fair to terrible.  It was like being back on the hellish hundred miles again.  The southern half of the Cassier is very good.  It is also very scenic.  The northern half, not so much.

Gas stations are few and very far between.  You have to fill up when you see it.  Many businesses along the Alaskan Highway and the Cassier are closed down.  Travel has been way down the past few years so I guess these places couldn't make it.  Another problem is these little gas stations are home operations.  They close when they feel like it.  You can't depend on them being open when you get there.  A fill up at the start of the highway and one somewhere in the middle will get you across this section.

We spent the night in an RV park in a place called Bell 2.  There is a Bell 1 but all that was there was a sign that said so.  When we left there in the morning we met an elderly man from Florida who was traveling alone.  He was very concerned having lost his wallet somewhere in the Yukon.  His credit cards, cash and ID were gone.  He did have one hundred dollars left but like he said, "A hundred dollars doesn't go very far in this country."

He had three quarters of a tank of gas left and was worried he wouldn't be able to make it to Smithers where he was having some money wired to him.  Smithers was about three hundred miles south.  He asked us if we would mind following him to Smithers.  He was fearful of being left stranded in this remote part of the world.  You only pass a car every 10 or 15 miles.

We agreed to follow him.  You could see his relief on his face.  We traveled along with him for most of the rest of the day.  We made it to Smithers.  His money was on the way.  He was very grateful for our help.  He said it sure took the fear out of the trip knowing we were right there behind him if something should happen.

That brings up another point.  If you have a very close friend or family member who would travel with you to Alaska and back, it would take some of the worry out of the trip.  You have someone to help you if you do encounter problems.  We don't tow a car and we were traveling alone so if I broke down or had a flat, I was at the mercy of passersby.

Would I make this trip again?  Probably not.  Am I glad I did?  Absolutely.  It was an experience of a lifetime.  Alaska is beautiful with adventure everywhere.  I will remember the Yukon for the hellish hundred miles.  I will remember British Columbia for all the black bears.  You practically had to shew them out of the road.  Watch for bear poop along the shoulder of the road.  It was everywhere.  Darlie passed time counting piles.  :-)  Buddy will miss growling at the bears too I am sure.  She rode up front all day watching for wildlife to growl at.

I'm off to the repair facility.

So you want to drive to Alaska, Hey!

Darlie has been under the weather the past few days so my star photographer is out of commission.  I know most of you just look here to see her photos so I apologize for nothing but text tonight.  We are camped in a very nice RV Resort in Spokane Washington tonight.  I am here to have my third ignition switch installed on my Workhorse chassis.  But enough of the boring stuff.


What I learned about driving to Alaska may help you plan your trip someday.  You may not believe everything I tell you but I can assure you it is true.  You had best be prepared for all that may happen and that means having a sense of humor, patience, and deep pockets cause it's going to cost you.


If I were to drive up again, I would plan to hit the Alaska highway about the second week of July.  By that time most of the worst sections of the miserable hundred miles in the Yukon have been repaired.  I found sixty of the one hundred to be drivable at normal speeds.  Sections that had no pavement at all in the spring had fresh coats of tar and stone.  It makes for a nice dusting of you RV. 


Speaking of that, if you are one of those guys who is always polishing the hubcaps when you stop at night, you might better just stay home and save yourself the aggravation.  Mud, dust, grime, rocks and gravel will pummel your rig all the way.   Be sure you are not the type who whines at every scratch, dent or busted windshield.   Not to mention what happens to your toad, if you don't lose it all together that is.  I'm serious.  It happened to a few we encountered.  Many suffered superficial damage.


I had both windshields replaced on my motor home last winter.  Both of them are damaged now.  One side can be repaired.  It only has some stone chips from flying gravel.  The drivers side has a plum sized hole in it.  Yes the rock nearly came through.  Glass flew all over the dash and on me when it hit.  All of this happened in Canada so I can't blame Alaska.  Alaskan roads were pretty good overall.

Top of the World:  Save that for your return trip end of August or first of September if the weather has been fairly dry all summer up in that area.  In the spring, right after break up and with days of rain that road turns into a sea of mud.  If you get out of the track you are gone.  The soft shoulder will pull you right over in the ditch.  That is if you are lucky and there is a ditch where it pulls you over.  One poor soul from Texas was driving a 40+ foot  diesel pusher that got a wheel in the goo and it pulled him over an embankment turning the rig upside down.  All that was left after it was pulled out was the frame, wheels and engine.  The rest came back in dumpsters.  It's true.  You can see the remains at Willard's Garage in Tok.  I was there when he brought it in.  A $4,000 plus tow job, I might add.

Remains of diesel pusher.

Denali is over rated.  I know I will tick some people off with that statement.  I have been there twice and wasn't all that impressed either time.  I did take the 11 hour endurance trip out into the park.  It is long and if you don't see any game, it is boring.  Fortunately on the day we went visibility was good with overcast so we didn't see the mountain.  We did see caribou and other little varmints and an eagle or two.  The bag lunch was best left in the bag.  There are far more beautiful places than Denali in Alaska.


I'm sure there are those few who will say they went and all was just peachy.  We didn't meet them but I am sure some were around somewhere.  Everyone we talked to had their story to tell.  Whether it happened to them or it was something they witnessed, all had a story.


It is one time I was thankful to have an old RV.  If it was new, I might be the guy with the dust cloth you see in the parks in the evening.  I am sure we got some new dings and scratches but when I see one I can't remember it was there before or if it is new.  It is all just part of the experience. 

One of many bears to cross our path.

The Weather:  Be prepared if yo plan to do anything outside.  That means having rain gear and boots would be good to bring if you have them.  It rains a lot in Alaska.  When it rains it rains.  It can be a steady downpour for three or four days without let up.  You either will sit inside bored out of your mind or you will be like the Alaskans and do whatever you want outside.  Cookout, fish, eat lunch, visit or just go for a walk, all are rainy day activities for an Alaskan.   When in Alaska do as the Alaskans do.  Pay no attention to the weather.  


Have clothing that can be formed into lots of layers.  Summer in Alaska is down right cold for this Florida boy.  Day time highs average mid 50s to mid 60s with a rare 70 or higher day thrown in.  Expect about three sunny days a week and four days of downpour.  You get so you don't think about it and if you are there long enough you find yourself getting hot when the temperature gets up to the mid 60s.  That is where the layers come in.  You can start shedding.


If you walk out to look over a nice little mountain lake, be prepared to sink in over your shoes when you are about twenty feet from the lake edge.  The ground is like a huge sponge.  You sink right in.  Also if you are walking in tall grass or bushes near a lake edge be prepared to discover a knee deep pocket filled with cold water.  You detect these when you are knee deep in cold water, not before.  I know these things from experience.  I almost bought myself a pair of Alaskan sneakers (boots) but wondered what I would do with them at home.


The Cost:  Everything is expensive.  Get over it.  Think about where you are. The nearest supply house may be three hundred miles away in Anchorage.  You pay for the convenience of not having to run up to Anchorage every time you need something.  I never felt things were priced to take advantage of the tourists.  People live in those places too all year long and they pay the same prices.  Again, think about where you are.


Fishing:  I bought an annual license for $145.00.  I felt it was worth it.  You can buy a one day, three day or two week license also.  If you just wanted to go out on a charter for the day or if you just wanted to get a few days on the stream when the salmon run, those options would work for you.


I could stop and fish those little mountain lakes when I passed one.  Also, when the salmon run, there is a mentality like the gold rush is on again.  Everyone is on the river after salmon.  If you haven't seen a salmon run I don't know how to explain it other than fish are literally on top of one another.   Drop in a hook and pull and you have a fish.  Snagging is legal in salt water.  In fresh water, fish must be snagged in the mouth.  People had boxes full of red salmon frozen and packed for shipment back home.  


If you do your own checking around, you will find you can have them frozen, packaged and shipped fairly reasonably yourself rather than using the charter boat captain's favorite fish packer.  I found you could ship fifty pounds for about $3.00 per pound and have it packaged and frozen for about a $1.00 per pound.  You can't buy halibut anywhere for $4.00 per pound.  Let's not talk about the cost of the charter though.  


Flat Tires:  We didn't have any.  I think you are more prone to getting a flat if you have worn tires, over inflated tires or soft tires.  There are roads with lots of stones on them but good tires, properly inflated can hold up to the conditions.


Cell Phones:  Before leaving home, be sure you have coverage in Canada.  You may be able to add it while you are up there.  Don't plan on having a cell signal once you get up on the Highway.  It is pretty spotty up there if there is any at all.  My phone didn't work at all in Canada.  


Internet:  I used a mifi from Verizon while in Alaska.  I didn't find anywhere it didn't work.  Some areas were very slow though but I always had a connection.  Don't use your mifi in Canada unless you have added international coverage.  It will cost your $2.05 per megabyte in Canada.  I learned the hard way.


Many campgrounds offer wifi.  I tried to log on to their systems a few times just to see how good it was.  I always had trouble connecting.  


Campgrounds:  Forget about a nice grassy site.  Gravel pads are an upgrade in Alaska and northern Canada.  We found state recreation sites had some very nice campgrounds.  A few even had paved pads.  Forget about water and electric.  Most are so remote there is no power in the area.  Few have dump stations for the same reason.  You can find dump stations everywhere, however, gas stations, Fred Myer grocery stores and many municipalities have them.


One thing I found to be useful when driving were the flashing lights before every intersection that tells you the green light ahead is about to turn red.  If it says prepare to stop, you had better stop because it will be red when you get there.  I wondered why they had these things.  They must be costly.  Then it dawned on me that stopping on slippery ice covered roads in the winter may be a problem.  These signs give you a heads up to start slowing.

Buddy.  Longing for home.

I know I could share more but I am getting tired.  Maybe I will think of some other things to share later.  

We are back in the lower 48

I just wanted to let you know that we are back in the lower 48.  We are in Colville, WA. tonight.  The good news is we made it in just 4 days without problems.  The bad news is Darlie was very sick the last two days and this afternoon while coming into Kettle Falls we smelled smoke somewhere from the dash.  It smelled like real hot wiring.  We will take it in to someone in the morning to have them look it over.  We can't seem to find the what it was.  That makes you very nervous.  I am very tired tonight so I won't post more now.  I will give a full update tomorrow night, hopefully.  Thanks for the prayers.

We are leaving Alaska in the morning.

It is bittersweet to be leaving Alaska.  We have had such a great adventure.  We love the people and the beautiful state.  We have felt very welcome here by everyone we have met.  They really know how to treat visitors.  If this old bucket of bolts will hold together for another year, we might just drive up here again.  I may feel differently after I drive that hellish 80 miles or so just over the Canadian border.

Today we drove up to Tok via the Tok Cutoff.  It is a little traveled highway.  At times we went ten to fifteen miles without seeing a car.  It is very peaceful to pull over and just listen to the silence and take in the gorgeous view.

I spotted all the wildlife today.  That is unusual because I am driving.  But the road was so empty I could take some time to look around.  I spotted a family of swans swimming on a lake next to the highway.  Later I spotted a bull moose having his lunch in a pond.

When we pass a place like this we say it looks moosie because this is where you see moose the most often.

See the grass on his horns?  He had his head under water eating when we came along.

We stopped in Tok and visited with some locals we met on the way up.  We are camped at the Sourdough Campground.  They have a sourdough pancake toss in the evening followed by local entertainment.  The idea with the pancake toss is to get one into a bucket for a free sourdough pancake breakfast.  We visited here on our way in.  We had a good time and thought it would be a nice way to say goodbye to Alaska.

Alaska has more miles of bike path than any state.  We are in the middle of nowhere and bike paths line the road.  I have a hunch they are snowmobile paths in the winter.  They go for miles.

For those who follow us, we will be out of touch for a few days while going across Canada.  Our phone and mifi doesn't work in Canada.  If we have a wifi connection somewhere, we will post a quick update.   Our planned route now is to go the Alaska Highway to the Cassier Highway south through British Columbia to Prince George and south on a yet to be determined route after that.  We will cross back into the states in either Washington, Idaho or Montana.

For those of you who pray, please keep us in your prayers through this part of the trip.  It is very remote and it is a bit intimidating when you think about it.  It will be a relief to get back into the states and be wired again.