We're home!

Bonnie here:

   I love the way pyrotechnicians put off a barrage of fireworks at the end of the fireworks' display. Here's my barrage of pictures. We've home from a great adventure after driving more than 600 miles today! We saw some beautiful places and met some wonderful people. Thanks for joining us on our adventure! It's fantastic to be home!

Sand Bar Lake Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

Bonnie here:

Bonnie here:

     We’ve been enjoying the provincial parks here in Ontario. After some of the pretty poor campgrounds of Alaska, these spacious campsites are a welcomed change.  On Friday night we stayed in beautiful Sand Bar Lake Provincial Park in Ignace, Ontario. Our campsite made me think of the campground Steve, Josh, Daniel and I used to visit with my brother, sister-in-law, and our niece and nephew back thirty-five years ago. We had huge boulders at that campsite and lots of space. 

     As a lovely send off when we left Sand Bar Provincial Park, a flock of Canada geese flew over our heads. I know that Dan and Josh already have heard this, but each fall when I see a flock of Canada geese flying over, I think of my dad. When the geese flew over honking and juggling for their positions, I imagined that my dad was wishing us Godspeed. That made me feel even more safe than I was feeling. (I know what a good and safe driver Steve is, but I little help from heaven can’t hurt us.)

     It’s funny, but once we arrived in Ontario, I felt at right at home with the trees, lakes, boats, cottages, docks, and people. It’s SO different from the mountain towns and the prairie towns that we had driven through. In one day in Ontario, we saw more cars and people than we had for days in the Yukon and northern British Columbia. In keeping with my paying attention to the mottos — Ontario’s is “More to Discover.” That’s a good one. 

      On Saturday night we stayed at another amazing provincial park, White Lake in White River, Ontario. For Disney fans, we read that it is the hometown of Winnie-the Pooh. I have to Google that.  Another interesting fact about White River: This at one time had its fame as the coldest spot in Canada. Glad we are visiting in August.

      One of the nicest parts of being in Ontario is that now we are in the same time zone as our family and friends. I’m pretty happy that I have such an interesting and fun traveling companion. This is a long trip. 

     I’m sorry that we haven’t been in touch, dear family and friends, but we haven’t had the Internet here in the provincial parks — just lakes, trees, quiet, space, evening darkness and birds. My goodness, that sounds like Waterford, Maine!

     Tonight we still are in Ontario -- Sturgeon Falls. We opted for a commercial campground tonight so we could have Internet access. We dearly love the wilderness campsites of the provincial parks, but it's tough not being able to communicate with our loved ones!

Saskatchewan

Bonnie here:

  Our views were not as dramatic today, but they were lovely nevertheless.

Bonnie here:

  Time for some a travel photo updates! We are half way home! As you can see, we have met some new friends on this long, strange trip!

From the Mountains to the Prairie

Bonnie here:

    White moths fluttered and darted everywhere today as we drove along Route 16 (in a clean truck!), the Yellow Head Route. Truck grills in this area are loaded with moths. The folks who have moose catchers on the fronts of their trucks? Those moose catchers are full of moths. We saw hawks and Canada jays, too, as we traveled through the prairie communities where it is still hazy from the British Columbia fires. ( Did I mention a few days ago that we could smell the smoke in our camper? We had driven in British Columbia where we saw smoke coming up from the ground. Orange tape was strewn around some trees, and we saw signs warning people of the danger of fire.)
     In Saskatchewan we drove by the picturesque town of Big Quill in the Quill Lakes. We saw no boats or marinas -- just lots of farm equipment and lots of grain elevators. The farmers were still out in the fields working at 6:00. It is very different from home.
   Yesterday seeing the trucks hauling logs and oil and then today seeing farmers trucking hay and grain made me think of Walt Whitman's "I Hear American Singing." Only since we are in Canada, the words would have to be "I Hear Canada Singing." So many people working hard. A lot is right with our world. I always am happy to be able to witness this for myself.
  You know how I have been paying attention along the trip to place mottos? Foam Lake, Saskatchewan's motto is "The Best Place to Live." At first I thought what a cocky motto, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Good for them. They love where they live.
    Tonight we are in Neepawa, Manitoba. Their motto?  The Land of Plenty. I like that one, too.

Homeward Bound!

Steve here:
Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015

Stayed in a nice, rustic campground last night.  The gentleman has done a great job, but is working his tail off.   For whatever reason, he hauls water for the 24 or more campsites.  He has a big tank in his truck and bigger ones at the campground.  Perhaps his well is not good or he can't afford a well with more reservoir?
I delayed our leaving for a while this morning while I put our first spare on our most worn tire ( on the camper).  I have another spare, but need to have it mounted on the rim I just removed.
We are definitely eager to get home, but I had no intention of setting the pace we've maintained these first four days.
Doing my fuzzy math, I figured we had 4030 miles to travel from Haines, Alaska to Waterford, Maine.
So:  If we were to be home in 10 days, we needed to travel 403 miles per day,
       If we were to be home in 11 days, we needed to travel 367 miles per day,
       If we were to be home in 12 days, we needed to travel 336 miles per day.
I set us up a little schedule of 350 to 400 miles per day, but there are not always campgrounds where I said we could stop.  Surprise!!
Today was a great example.  I figured that if we made it to Lloydminster, SK, that would be a good day.  We arrived in good shape and the gentleman told us he had no available sites, but he bet that by 8:00 there would be some cancelations.  It was only about 4:30!  I looked at my navigator and she looked at me and that looks said, we can make another hour or two by the time he knows there is a site available.
We had no intention of driving 515 miles today, but by 6:30 - well shy of his 8:00 time line - we were settled in in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan!!
Tomorrow we should pass the half-way-home point!

Canada!

Bonnie here:

   I'm not surprised that Yukon's mottos is "Bigger than Life." It is. You can drive for miles and miles in this beautiful place and never see a person. Now that winter is fast approaching, the mountains are snow capped and even more impressive than they were when we drove through on our way up to Alaska. The Yukon is nature's cathedral. I imagine that anyone who knows how social I can be might be surprised that this is one of my favorite places, but there you have it. I love it.
     If the Yukon is nature's cathedral, than British Columbia is her palace. In the northern Rockies you never know when bear, caribou, stone sheep, wood bison or goats might join you on the road. It's thrilling. Each turn with the majestic mountains, lakes, streams and rivers is a post card shot. I kid about taking 85 pictures a day just so I can show my family when we get home. I keep saying, "They won't believe this!" I'm crazy about British Columbia, too. ( Dan Edward, guess what -- Chris Hadfield is playing in Dawson Creek, British Columbia!)
    Alberta is like the old West. When we were out to dinner the other night, I kept expecting that a modern day Clint Eastwood would saunter in to the bar. I think Steve mentioned how the bar stools are saddles. You've got to love that. On another occasion, I and two other ladies were the only women in the the very nice, respectable restaurant. Like the old West, a lot of guys are here working. Now it is with Spectra Energy. In this part of Alberta ( we aren't down in Banff and Lake Louise on the way home) it's dusty and dry. Homes don't have flowers in their yards. We are driving by huge farms, oil businesses. No lakes, no mountains. Horses, cattle, farms, equipment, Dollar Tree. It's a very different world.
     Now we are in Saskatchewan. We are murdering lots of bugs because it's in the 70s here. No sparkling sky today because of fires up in British Columbia. Seems strange to see cars and trucks on the road!

On To Fort Nelson!

Steve here:
Monday, August 24, 2015

Woke to 40 degrees in Rancheria.
On the road by 8:06.  9 hours and 405 miles later we reached our destination, Fort Nelson, BC.
Today we named this road trip "Bonnie And Steve's Alaskan Safari - 2015".
The Milepost is fantastic about telling you what to look out for all along the way - wildlife included.  Fortunately, our normal driving speed is 60 - 65 MPH.  We were going about that speed this morning when we rounded a curve and saw a tractor trailer with flashers on.  On both sides of the road, and in the middle, were at least 100 bison.  Lazing in the sun, eating, strolling.  They seemed totally non-plused by us, but we and the two men in the tractor trailer were very excited!
Next, we nearly hit a caribou.  Reminded us of Josh and Dan's encounter with the elk at the Grand Canyon!
In bunches of three or more we saw a couple dozen goats.
Took a lunch break on the north shore of Muncho Lake and even encountered some insect wildlife!
As we neared Fort Nelson a good sized black bear was lumbering across the road right in front of us. I downshifted as I braked and that scared him, so we didn't get a great photo, but we were just as excited, anyway!
Filled up with fuel, picked up some groceries and headed to the Triple G Hideaway Campground.  Cowboy themed.  Supper in their restaurant.  Nice kids working AND the Internet!
Good day and nearly 1000 miles closer to friends and family!  😊

Our Last Day In Alaska

Steve here:
Sunday, August 23, 2015

Our goal for today was Rancheria, YT.
We left Haines at 9:06 and reached our destination at 7:06 - losing an hour along the way.  450 miles of nearly perfect roads.  It seems that there are always a few gullys or whoopsies caused by the permafrost and always some much needed construction, but today was a good day!
Oh, I forgot to mention.  We should all Google "how do Eagles walk?"  At the Eagle Encounter yesterday they had two injured Eagles, and when the young lady fed them they walked over to the food like a sailor with sea legs.  No way did I have any idea how they would walk!
Along the way we saw two more Eagles, a few of what they call ground squirrels but looked like little gophers to me and one, lonely rabbit.
For a little excitement, the campground in Rancheria was out of diesel, but we had our two back-up five gallon containers, so we were all set.
A bit of rain while we drove, but mostly a very nice day for a ride!

Lovely town!

Haines, Alaska Adventures

Serendipity!

Bonnie here:

    It's funny how things turn out. Our original plan for the day was to take the Fjord Express on the Lynn Canal to Juneau to revisit the Alaska Museum and Mendenhall Glacier. Well, Steve and I hadn't made our reservations ahead of time, and the catamaran was full. We had to change our plans. Good thing we did because our day has been amazing.
    After a delicious breakfast at the Chilkat Restaurant and Bakery, we drove out to Chilkoot Lake  Road along the Chilkoot River where we saw lots of people fishing and catching lots of fish. You can see the fish jumping right out of the water. Really.
     The people weren't the only ones catching the fish. We also came across a momma grizzly and her two cubs who were frolicking, swimming, climbing on the rocks and fishing. I've never been so close to bears in my life. They were busy looking for salmon so we were safe, but we were just about 30 ft away. Amazing.
    We found a museum, too. The Seldon Museum here in Haines was a delightful find. They offer a lot about Native culture as well as about pioneer culture. So not only did we enjoy a bear encounter, we found an interesting museum as well.
    And there is more. We discovered Fort Seward which was considered a "foreign duty" post in the 1920s. In WW1 it was used for a training base for Alaska recruits. In WW11 it was used as a rest area for the military who served in the North Pacific. Well, after WW11, the military no longer need to use it so five military vets and their families bought the 400 acres and the 85 buildings and moved to start a new life in Haines. I love that story. These folks moved here and became a part of the town.
     I think Haines might be my favorite Alaskan town. Picture Camden, Maine with eagles, bears, so many salmon you couldn't catch them all and surround it with snow-capped mountains that are home to ice fields. It's beautiful here, but our family and friends are NOT here so tomorrow we head across that big country called Canada!

Back To Haines, Alaska!

Steve here:
We made the truly wise decision yesterday to do the 50-70 mile pot hole/construction segment, so that today would be easier.
Today's trip was another amazing one.  In 2009 we drove the same highway, but the low laying clouds covered the amazing peaks and their glaciers.
We go settled in to the  Haines Hitch-Up RV Park, took a shower (this mornings 32degrees discouraged us), and headed out for lunch.  We found the same restaurant/ bakery where we ate on our first trip - The Chilcoot Restaurant and Bakery.
We then went in search of our favorite excursion from '09, The Fjord Express to Juneau.  Unfortunately, it was booked solid for tomorrow.
We always told our students to make plans, but have them be flexible!
Plam B sent us to the American Bald Eagle Foundation thanks to a wonderful lady at the local information bureau!  We got there just in time for an eGle feeding. I didn't volunteer for a feeder.  They ARE hungry!
So, what did I learn today?
The term "Bald Eagle" comes from Old English.  Balld used to mean white.  Over the years one of the "l's" was dropped.  So, bald eagle doesn't mean they look bald, it means they look white!  Who'd a thunk!!
We also drove  to Chilcoot Lake and saw many salmon, three bald eagles and no bears.  Now, a man with a camera right out of National Geographic showed us photos of a mother and her cubs from a few minutes earlier, but we missed them!
We did, however meet some other wonderful folks.
Our friends who know Carl and Briana Collier and their children will appreciate this.
We hit our second or third tourist spot and recognized this family. Eventually we had to speak.  Turns out they moved here yesterday.  He is a U.S. Immigration Guard moving here - Haines, Ak. - from Arizona - perhaps the worst border detail in the country!  He feels so blessed to be coming here from there!  His wife said he might have to wear his vest, but not carry an automatic weapon!  What a change!!
Dinner at the Harbor Bar.  Nice burgers!
Good night!

Seward, Alaska -- Scenery, Art and Dogs

Bonnie here:

 

     In a few years when we read about the Iditarod, we'll have to pay attention for a dog named "Sebago." When we were in Seward, we went to a tourist attraction (aka tourist

trap) that the Seavey family hosts. It features a two-mile "sled" ride, some dogs that are training to become Iditarod sled dogs, and a 'meet and greet' with the dogs and a few of their adorable puppies. The attraction also features a talk about the training routine for the race as well as the special care of the dogs. It's an interesting way to spend a few hours. At the end of the ride which they call "Ididaride," guests can suggest names for the puppies in training. I suggested "Sebago." Hope they like that name. I think it has a nice ring to it. Good time!
     Seward which happens to be Mile 0 for the Iditarod, has some amazing scenery. Our campground was nothing to write home about, but the scenery is.
     We also cheered on the salmon as they swam and jumped upstream. It's a riot. I took a video; you can hear us cheering the salmon upriver. I wonder is they ever had cheerleaders before.
     We are fortunate that we are enjoying sparking days. The last time we were in Seward, the clouds surrounded the mountains like a string of pearls. This trip the mountains are jumping out at us.

Bonnie here:

   You can see the Russian influence in the south/central part Alaska. The church served as the first school on the Kenai Peninsula. Before the children had formal schooling, they learned Native traditional skills and about nature, hunting, fishing and life from their parents and grandparents. We read an account from one of the elders who sadly remembered that the church and schools took their children from them. I am sure that most priests and teachers were well meaning, but it makes me sad to read about children being separated from their parents and family. (On a positive note, aren't the onion-topped buildings pretty?)

Glennallen Is A "Cool" Place!

Steve here:
One year, when Josh was in California, our travels took us to West Yellowstone.  It was mid-July, around Daniel's birthday and parent's weekend at the Lobster Pound.  We awoke to 37 degrees!
This year, our family is back in Maine in a bit of a heat wave, it's mid-August, we're in Glennallen, Alaska, and we awoke to a new camping record - 34 degrees!  Cool!!

An eagle

Bonnie here:

   What would a blog about Alaska be without a photo of an eagle? Well, it would be great to have a clear photo instead of a blurry one, but I have decided that a blurry photo is better than no photo. I watched this eagle swoop down and steal a fish from some seagulls. I think they can do whatever they wish.

Art in Alaska

Bonnie here:

   I don't think we mentioned that when we were in Anchorage we visited the Anchorage Museum. What a find. The second piece of art is a bag that people used to carry what they needed when they traveled by dog sled. The third piece is a dog blanket from about 1900. Lucky dogs to have such amazing blankets.

Northern Lights

Steve here :
Homer Spit was actually 8/18, but without the internet postings get messed up!
Today is Wednesday, 8/19, and we're starting the day in Seward.
We are headed home!
I got up last night at 2:00 to go to the campground bathroom because our camper, oops!  I digress!
So, as I returned from the bathroom I looked to the north to locate the Big Dipper and there were the beautiful, amazing strands of blue/green that  they call the Northern Lights!  I practically raced - well, I waddled quite quickly - back to the camper and Bonnie was ready to go the bathroom too, so she got to see them!  As a married couple, we saw them once in Raymond in 1972 and we, as a family, saw them once on the way to Montreal.  They are such a treat!  I think we have so much ambient light today that we're lucky to see them at all at home.
So, about the bathroom......
We were on the way to the dump station when I noticed one of our camper brakes was locking up.  The campground host sent us to the local garage - "No Sweat Auto Repair" - and they were our heroes of the day!  Jason freed up a few minutes, determined that I had been too free with the grease gun and had gumped up one of the electric brakes.  He took less than 15 minutes to get us squared away and on the road!  Thank you, Jason!!
So, about the bathroom.....
We fixed it in Anchorage.  Enough said!!
We stopped in Palmer for breakfast/lunch at The Valley Hotel's Open Cafe.  Despite a "brown out", they served a delicious meal!
I think of my cousin Connie Hall when we are in Palmer because he worked there one summer during college and told me wonderful stories of his summer there.
We finished the day driving to Glennellen, past the Matanuska Glacier.  Beautiful, scary, bumpy, rainy, beautiful!!
northern Lights Campground in Glennellen.  Not fancy but nice!

Bonnie here:
    Steve mentioned our staying overnight on Homer Spit. It truly is fantastic. I took this picture in the morning as a cruise ship was coming into port. Love it here.

Windy Night On Homer Spit!

Steve here:
I think the cloudy, rainy weather may be on the way out, because the wind blew and rocked our world all night!  The good news is we were like babes in a cradle rocked to sleep.
We went over to The Boardwalk Bakery for some breakfast.  They do an amazing job and the same folks were there as in '09.  Delish!
Someone along the way told us to visit Anchor Point on the way out of Homer.  Amazing!  You look across Cook Inlet at these volcanos - none active right now - that are part of the Ring Of Fire.  A friendly local guy came over to talk with us and explained that fron left to right, the mountains were A.I.R.S.  I'm too lazy to look up A. and S., but I - Iliamna and R - Redoubt are both over 10,000 feet.  They are very pointed - volcano like.
By the way, today marked 5,818 miles from Waterford!
It was interesting in that this trip was so very clear.  In 2009 we drove these same Sterling and Seward highways, but the mountains were obscured by clouds.
At the campground I spoke with a nice man from New Brunswick.  Folks at campgrounds are so friendly!
Took a ride over to Mitch Seavey's "IDIDARIDE" saw some sled dogs, took a ride.  It was fun.  Mitch won the race in 2013, and his son, Dallas won the year before and the last two years.  It was sort of cute.  You know how folks who do a half marathon have the "13.1" stickers and marathoners have "26.2"?  These trucks had "1049 - Iditerod"!!
The last trip today was set up by a park ranger.  He sent us to the Bear Creek Fish Weir.  There were hundreds, thousands, lots -  of Silver Salmon trying to swim up and over the weir.  Even I could have caught one of them!!
Beautiful travel day!

Homer (continued)

Bonnie here:

     Sorry, Faye. Somehow I cut you right out of the picture! Obviously, I really don't know what I am doing!

Homer, Alaska

Bonnie here:

      Steve and I met up with Brian and Faye today here in Homer. I think the highlight of the day probably was the walk we started to take. We cut our walk short when we encountered a moose and her two babies. My goodness, we were close!

      Dinner ( fish and chips)

on Homer Spit was delicious, too. Quite a day!

Yes, we saw the top!

What a view of Mt. McKinley!

Bonnie here:

   I meant to post this last night, but I fell into bed instead. We met up with Faye and Brian from Monday to Friday and enjoyed a fun-filled five days. As Steve already explained, yesterday we visited the Matanuska Glacier and found one of the coolest restaurants ever. Look at the view we enjoyed. The food, drinks and people were all great at the Long Rifle Lodge. It may not look like much from the road, but if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods, be sure to give this place a try.

Anchorage - Alaska Native Heritage Center

Steve here:
We awoke this morning to 45*, not bad.
Our goal today was to hit Anchorage and perhaps touch base with one of our Naples Lobster Pound ladies.  Time will tell..
We pulled through town and found the campground I had originally picked - as had Woodalls - but it sits right beside a railroad track.  We have been there.....
So, we back tracked and pulled into The Centennial Park Campground.  The sites are well treed and well spaced - and the wi-fi works - so who's to complain!?!
Minor problem with our water pump as we have no water on site.
We headed out to find adventure and a RV shop, but it was Saturday afternoon....
We made it to downtown and found a cute moose oriented gift shop and picked up some gifts.
Strange thing.  Our GPS is not Alaska friendly, so we have been navigating by the stars.  Today we remembered that Josh and Dan, and the rest of the free world, use their phones to find places.  OMG! It works!!
We found the Ulu factory and even purchased a gift for ourselves!
Using our phones 😊 we then made our way to the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  I wish you all could go there.  We did find Bonnie a nice birthday necklace, but the most amazing part was human!
There was a lady from St. Lawrence Island who told about her life.  She was wonderful!  Then, there was this group - and I think they were from the same area - and they did native dancing.  The lead man had a Navy veteran hat on, and he ran the show.  I hope Bonnie shares photos, but I did audio some of it to share with Julia.  It was an amazing afternoon!
They did end with an audience participation.  That was a bit scary, but we did it!!

What an unexpected pleasure! Steve and I visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center today for story telling, dancing, art, history and crafts. Lovely visit!