View from Dragon Mt looking down on Dragon Lake and Quesnel. The main industry here is lumber, with about 10 processing plants. There is a pine beatle infestation going on that is killing millions and millions of acres of Lodgepole Pine trees. The government is encouraging the lumber companies to harvest the wood before it is unusable so they are very busy.

Barkersville Main Street. All the wooden sidewalks are elevated to avoid the mud when it rains.

We've spent a fair amount of time is this area of BC. Several days at Wells where we went to Barkersville. It was a very interesting historic site, well off the beaten path. A replica of a 1860 gold mining town with the entire staff dressed in period clothing. There are even children playing in the streets. It has all the stores and saloons, a stage coach, and gold mines. Since there were many Chinese who were here too, it even has a Chinatown. Then we drove about 75 miles to Quesnel and have spent 3 days here. But there are chores to do even when you're traveling. Oil changes, grocery shopping etc. and this is a very pleasant spot to do it. Quesnel is a very pretty city of about 11,000 people, many, many flowers all over the place. Gardens, hanging baskets, you name it. And Mike was able to get his bee venom shots here so he was quite relieved.

We went geocaching this morning, found two but failed on one more. One of our hunts took us to the top of Dragon Mt where there is a spectacular view of the countryside. The trip up there was hairpin gravel so I got Betty's gravel/dirt road for today. But it's a beautiful day so it was no problem.

Probably a couple more days in BC, then back to the US. At least there I will get my phone service back.
Barb

Use your imagination, in the center of the picture is a black spot, it is a black bear doing whatever it is that bears do. If you blow the picture up you can see his ears and head. So I do occasionally see a bear. Betty

Main street, Anglican church

2 of the actors at Barkerville

Bear Glacier on the way into Stewart, what a drive

Provincial campground outside Stewart

Dirty rig after the Cassiar

Quesnel, BC

We have a really good wifi hook up for a change. Spent the last 2 nights at Wells out on the end of Hwy 26. The real end is in Barkerville, a restored 1860s gold rush town, with actors taking the part of actual people from back then. Didn't down load pics of there yet but will dig up a few new ones. Didn't intentionally try to get the actors to break character, but they just don't break. Any question you ask them is answered in terms of 1860s. It was a beautiful day. In the afternoon we drove to a ghost town, only an old store remains standing and it has recently be privately purchase and moved onto a sound foundation, the walls and windows are finished and the owner is working on the inside. Had to remove 100 years of rat droppings, yuck! Nice guy to talk to, but then everyone in BC is just incredibly nice and eager to talk and to answer questions.
We are at an absolutely beautiful campground for the next several days, even have cell service.
We continue to have good luck with the weather, any rain is after we get set up. There was a dog agility contest going on when we arrived, truly incredible dogs.
Did 5 loads of laundry here, groceries tomorrow and cleaning the rig. Chores are always there even when traveling.
Talked to Eric Fri. and the word is that Marshall passed his drivers test. Way to go Marshall, you'll have to take Grandma and Grandpa out for a spin next spring. Also it is once again raining in Texas, wish they would share a little with the home stomping ground, very dry there, but it will save us money on paying for mowing.
That's it for now, will head further south in a few days.
Tom and Betty

10 weeks on the road as of last Monday. Hard to believe. And Chris & Jim left us that day to head home so now it's down to Betty & Tom and Mike & I. We've been heading down the Cassiar Highway (#37) in BC. It's very interesting that up here all the highways have names. I guess it's because there are so few of them! Northern BC has been having a lot of rain in the past few weeks and some of the highway actually washed away and closed the road right before we got to it. Luckily they were able to get it fixed enough to allow vehicles thru by the time we got there. A lot of gravel and pot holes! Several washouts where it was down to one lane but everyone got thru just fine.

We are camped at a Provincial Park on Meziadin Lake outside to Stewart, BC. which is on the border with Hyder, AK. This is actually a small port on the Pacific ocean, connected by the Portland Fjord. That was a surprise to me. It looks too far inland to be a port. Hyder is virtually a ghost town, many boarded up buildings. It's only claim to fame is the bear watching during the salmon runs. But of course there were no bear when we went. The salmon are not quite there yet, just a few, thus not many bears. We are a week too early. That's been the story of this trip. A week too early.

Heading toward Prince George today. We need to find a place with electricity to recharge batteries.
Barb

A Hazy day in Haines

This picture was taken from our boat coming back from Juneau. It was drizzling but the sun was trying to be seen. Taken at 8pm.

Check older posts for my latest message.

The White Pass & Yukon RR

Narrow gauge railroad.

This is as close as you want to get to a bear.

Glacier on the way to Juneau

Looking back at Skagway.

Taken from the White Pass railroad. Note the cruise ships in the harbor.

Coming in to Skagway

On the road again

Well I have to start over as my message apparently was dumped somewhere in cyber space.
Anyway, we are sad as our little group is breaking up tomorrow, with Chris and Jim starting home and the rest of us heading down the Cassier Highway though central BC. There is still alot to see and do before heading east.
Had a great time in Skagway, took the train on a bright sunny day, lots of rain for the ferry to Haines, but yesterday the fast boat to Juneau started out with overcast and brightened as we went along, until lots of sun and warmth in Juneau. Saw lots of wild life both ways, humpbacks, orcas and porpoises, plus lots of eagles, especially in Juneau itself.
Had an easy drive out of Skagway, can't say the same for Mike and Barb. Again a beautiful sunny day, with the best roads yet to Teslin.
Will try to send some pictures tonight, don't know exactly when we will be on line again. Phone service will again be very iffy as we will be in the middle of nowhere.
The hunt for the whale is over, with no luck. Apparently they aren't in this year.
That's it for now.
Betty and Tom

Teslin, Yukon

We may not be able to blog for a while now. Heading down the Cassiar Hwy tomorrow & they may not have much internet availability. We'll see. Yesterday we took the fast ferry to Juneau. Great trip! The ferry is a catamoran that holds 50 people and they watch for wildlife along the way. Saw some more whales including some Orcas, first time for that. When we left Skagway at 8am, it was raining (so what else is new) but by the time we got to Juneau, 90 miles away, the sun was shining. According to one of our drivers, Juneau only has sun about once every 9 days! So I guess we lucked out. My sister, Bev, was in Juneau the same day on a 10 day vacation to Alaska. Unfortunately she had a boat tour scheduled so I guess we will have to wait to compare our pictures. I'm glad she had a good day for her trip.

Coming across the border this morning, we ran across a not so nice agent. I don't know why but he decided that we must be suspicious people. He pulled us over and searched our entire camper. Told us to stand outside in front of the truck and give him the keys. Then he went thru every cupboard and drawer, including opening up the computer and starting it. He must have asked us 4-5 times if we had any firearms! I know, it's Michael's beard! Makes him look like the redneck he is. Finally after about 1/2 hour, he disappointedly told us we could go. The strange thing is he never checked the truck and it looked like they were pulling over most of the RVs coming thru. It almost seems like they got word to check for something coming out of Skagway. Makes for an interesting story.

Bird's eye view of Dawson

Dawson City from the top of a nearby dome. The large river is the Yukon. In the lower left the Klondike River is joining it. If you look just above the city, there is a dark line running on the lower edge of the Yukon. That is the Klondike. It's water is clear whereas the Yukon is silty and it takes a while for the waters to mingle.

Dawson City

Dawson City with the dirt roads and wooden sidewalks. And it was this way all over town, not just in the old section.

Carcross Desert

This is the Carcross Desert, the smallest desert in the world, on the road to Skagway.

Skagway

Friday in Skagway. Had a beautiful sunny day yesterday for our railroad trip up the White Pass. It's a narrow gauge track that literally hugs the edge of the mountain. In places when you look down, there is nothing but emptiness beneath you. I guess my fear of heights is getting better, those things are bothering me less and less. The highway down to Skagway is pretty amazing, There is an 11% drop from the summit of the pass to Skagway over about 15 miles. I don't remember the elevation drop but it's at least 2500 to 3000 ft. Quite a ride!! Now, we have to go back up that hill; at least there are plenty of spots to stop & rest the truck.

Today we are heading to Haines, a small town across the fiord, on a small ferry. In the rain. But a little rain is not going to stop us. And tomorrow we take another fast ferry down to Juneau.

Frantic Follies - Whitehorse

Last one of the cat

Skagway July 18th

First to answer Rich's questions, yes Kita is hanging on with her R front leg, when facing the other direction she hangs on with her L. She isn't so dumb, although we have now had to catch her three times and she hit her head on the mirror in mid jump once.
As for the permafrost in the picture of the cabin, the windows are at ground level and should be at least 3 feet above ground as they are on the other side of the house.
The hunt for the whale is not going well. A lady here knew exactly what we were looking for and did indeed sell them several years ago but they are no longer available. She is an oldtimer here and knows what everybody is selling. Will look in Haines tomorrow and in Juneau on Sat.
We take the train ride today on what looks to be a beautiful sunny day.
Will try for more pictures today, have a really cute one of the cat if you all can stand one more, probably the last for the trip.
More later
Tom and Betty

Permafrost damage at old Chicken

Kita on the bumpy road to Dawson City

Lulu Belle

Moving on 7/17/07

We're back at Whitehorse today. Will go to the Follies tonight then on to Skagway and the fast ferry and the train to White Pass. Had easy trip from Dawson City to Carmacks and on to Whitehorse today. The weather was beautiful leaving yesterday then the rain descended for set up. Today was sunny and warm, in the 60's. No cell phone service here. Went to the grocery store and loaded up for the next week. That's it for now, will try to send pics as.
Tom and Betty

Dawson City

We arrived in Dawson last evening. Stayed at a small federal campground just south of Chicken which was very nice & quiet. There was one other couple in there from California who we then played hop-scotch with all the next day. The Top of the World highway is something else! It is paved from Tok Ak up to Chicken and then it's gravel or a combination of gravel & mud, mostly mud. When the rest of the crew came across it was a sunny beautiful day but we weren't that lucky. About the time we hit Chicken it started raining and that mud turned pretty slick. We had to go into 4-wheel drive several times to keep from sliding and this road is narrow and hugs the sides of the mountains in places. No guard rails of course. Very interesting trip! The number of RV's & trucks that use this "highway" is amazing. It took us about 5 hours to go 100 miles. Our camping buddies from Calif had car trouble, dropped an exhaust pipe, on a curve on the highway. Luckily someone was able to help them wire it up. Not a good place for car trouble!

Today we are going to explore Dawson, it looks to be an interesting town.
Barb

30 foot whale

Dawson City July 14

We got to Dawson City yesterday without any trouble. We are glad we put 2 new tires on the front of the truck in Glenallen 2 days ago. Enjoyed Chicken - only electric, cooked hotdogs over a fire in the rain. Ate under the awning. Took a walking tour of old Chicken during the gold mining days. What a mess permafrost can make of buildings over time. Will post a picture later as the pics are still in the camera. Had breakfast at the Chicken Cafe one of only 3 businesses in the town other than campgrounds. The blueberry pancakes were 10-12 inches in diameter, I could only eat a third of my single cake. The other baked goods were truly sinful, had to get a cinnamon roll - big enough for us both. Seems like everything else in Alaska, comes in only Top of the World Highway lives up to its billing you are on top of the mountains a fair amount of time. The views were beautiful, more than a camera can capture.
The road was okay, talked to a couple truckers on the CB to thank them for stopping for us. The first one let the second one know we were coming and that we were nice so the second guy stopped for us. Other wise they have been known to race by you without even slowing down and damage your vehicles. A little politeness goes a long way.
The ferry ride across the Yukon River at Dawson was a hoot. Only 2 rigs at a time if your lucky. Some times the wait can be hours. There were at least 10 rigs lined up to go west this morning or is it north. Directions are difficult up here with no dawn and no sunset.
We are staying in Dawson until Mon. morning so Barb and Mike can catch up with us. They cut off back to Fairbanks to spend another day with Bill.
Dawson is an old fashioned mining city, dirt streets and wood side walks. You can drive to the top of a Dome over looking the city which is awesome, did that last night while the sun was shining. Going to Diamond Tooth Gertie's tonight for the show. Farmers Market this morning - 3 vendors, good veggies.
Guess that is it for now, have to take advantage of the good wifi when we can. Will do some pics from Valdez
Betty

As Betty said, we had a great trip on the Lu-Lu Belle. It's quite a boat. Holds about 40-50 people, mahogany wood thru-out and oriental carpets. Capt Fred makes you wipe your feet before you board! My camera didn't quite die, so I'll post some pictures of the animals we were able to see. Did not get a good whale picture though. Mike was invited to go Halibut fishing with the owner of the rv camp on Monday. They were out for about 13 hours and about 70 miles out into the Sound. Caught 2 halibut, 70 lb and 40 lb, but not by him. He threw one back, too small, but had a good time. They are out in the pouring rain right now checking out the salmon. There are now so many salmon they have removed any limits.

Valdez is a great town with very friendly people and not too touristy. I really like it here except for the amount of clouds & rain you get but perhaps we are at a bad time. Will have to come back & check it out again. The owners of this park are from Hudson, WI in the winter and up here all summer.

Tomorrow we head for Fairbanks to see Bill one more time before we leave. I can hardly believe that we are "heading home"! Not quite yet though, still going over the Top of the World Highway and to Skagway and Juneau and then down thru BC. But our time in Alaska is winding down and it makes me sad. The rest of the crew is heading for Tok and on to Chicken & Dawson where we will probably catch up with them.
Barb

PS - If you can see them, there are people at the bottom of the Falls.

Still In Valdez
Well what can you say about the Lulu Belle Tour. Captain Fred talks during the whole trip, his 2 mates are great. One is going to be a senior in high school in Provo and the other will be a senior at BYU. Both young ladies who really know their way around the boat, even steering it.
Have some fabulous pictures of humpback whales, hope I can down load a couple today for the blog. He takes the boat into caves where you can touch the rock without even leaning out. Don't know why the boat doesn't scrape the walls. We followed at least 7-8 whales for the longest time to get pictures of them flipping their tails. On did in right in front of the boat, almost splashed those of us in the prow of the boat. I thing I got a picture just as the tail was coming down. Wouldn't you know it is on the 35mm camera, the digital battery died. Also got great shots of the ice at the Columbia Glacier. What a blue. The face of the glacier was 7 miles away and that is as close as you can get now days.
Went up to the Worthington Glacier, just the 2 of us and I climbed up to the face and had my picture taken with my hand on the ice. It was surprising crystaline in texture, sort of like our snow is after it melts and refreezes. Thought it would be smooth. It was a beautiful sunny day up there and we returned to clouds and rain ever since.
Tom has had no luck with the fishing, but Jim has gotten 8 so far. Last try today as we leave to head north to Tok in the morning

Well we have been at Valdez since Wed. I could really live here, very laid back, the people are the best. The scenery is top notch. The guys have done some fishing, Jim got a nice salmon and Tom got a small one he gave back to the bay. Will be staying until Tues. some Mike can go fishing with the campground owner and the others can do more salmon fishing the pinks are running now. We are sitting at the small boat harbor the best place to connect with the internet. The park's wifi isn't very good - no surprise. Finally were able to pay the Cingular bill - had to register since they have changed to AT&T. What a pain.
No luck on the whale search so far. Took Kita to the vet yesterday with Snuffy to renew their papers to cross into Canada. They were surprisingly well behaved. They seem to have declared a truce lately, no hissing or barking. Who'd have thought!
We go out on the Lulu Belle boat tour this afternoon, about 6-7 hours the weather looks to be improving with blue sky beginning to appear.
Today is the 7th day of the 7th month of 2007. Cool date.
Tom and Betty

Bday girl and the glacier

Salmon at Bear Creek

Seward

Considering my partner of 40 yrs forgot my birthday it was a pretty good day. Went to Exit Glacier and I walked up the trail to within 30 ft of the glacier, really beautiful even had a woman take my picture up there. The trail was too steep for Tom to take, he took a shorter one instead. Had lunch at a local restaurant recommended by the campground, very good caribou burger plus cherry pie alamode. Then we drove out as far as we could on the west side of Reserection Bay, came back and went to the Alaska Sealife Center. Awesome displays, information, sea animals and birds. Then we drove up to the base of Marathon Mountain where the crazy race is held on the 4th. Then we drove around the east side of the bay and back past the campground to the necessary dirt road. At that point Eric called to wish a happy birthday. On the way back we stopped and watched the salmon at the creek again.
We leave for Palmer tomorrow and then on to Valdez for 5 days. Maybe the guys will go fishing again.
Betty

Seward

Drove up from Homer yesterday, mostly in the rain & clouds, and took a gravel road loop down around Lake Skilac. Very pretty even in the mist. Seward, pop ~2,000, is expecting 40-50,000 people here for the 4th. They have a race up one of the mountains here called Marathon Mountain, very steep and very high! Coming down is worse than going up, so they say, there are injuries every year. We saw a few people scoping out the trail, at least I think those moving dots were people!

Seward has a sealife center here that is very interesting. There is oceanic research and wildlife rehab done there. They have displays of harbor seals and stellar sea lions and many ocean birds. Puffiins are very interesting birds. They are divers and use their wings to "fly" underwater. One of their seals just gave birth to a son, difficult to do in captivity.

Red (Sockeye) Salmon are now running. We have a creek right next to our campground and we are watching them. Sorry, no fishing!
Barb