Going to Wasilla:)

Recovering from the kidney stone episode, I was ready to get to a little bigger town. So we hooked up and went towards Wasilla. The drive on the Alaskan Highway was a little rough and the heaves are really bad in numerous areas. Again go slow and you are fine. We, the US of A, do not mark the heaves and rough road areas as well as the Canadians, so you need to be careful and keep your eyes on the road. The first 100 miles are nothing to see but all of a sudden the views get very interesting. The mountains start to appear and then you see this fabulous glacier. Even though the clouds were out today, the glacier was fantastic. Pictures especially with the cloud cover don't do this glacier justice. Take my word it was very cool! We also saw a moose and her baby, they were on the run, so our picture missed the baby:(
We had made reservations at one campground west of town but after arriving we couldn't justify staying there. It was a small campground with 99% full timers who had been there for a while. It wasn't for us so we moved on toward the east end of town and found the Big Bear RV Park that suits us just fine. I am feeling much better and after a good home cooked meal, I think I will survive from my kidney stone episode.
Please keep David in your prayers. He only has 2 more months in the Kuwait area and then back to Germany and his lovely girlfriend, Tiffany :)

the end of the glacier

My Kidney Stone:((

Well after 117 days on the road and both of us feeling great and our first day in Alaska something not so good happened. We had been at the Hart D Ranch for about 3 hours when I started to get a sharp pain in the groin area. It kept getting worse and I could hardly stand up and we knew that I had to go some place for treatment. Lucky for us the owner Mary DeHart called the clinic, which was 8 miles away and they could see me. So we got our neighbors to watch the dogs as we had no idea how long we might be gone. You must understand if that place wasn't there we would have had to go 78 miles to the next clinic. So we were LUCKY!! Off we went with Suzanne driving for the first time in months, 8 miles to the clinic. Well the clinic was a 2 room log cabin run by Dede a nurse practitioner who saw us drive in and waved us to the clinic. She saw how much pain I was in and got a urine sample and sure enough she said KIDNEY STONE and started an IV. Now I have never had a kidney stone in my life and never want to again. She gave me pain medication and it helped some but the pain was the worst I have ever had. After about 2 hours she gave me a different pain medication and the pain started to lessen. We think I finally passed the stone as the pain stopped and she allowed me to go back to the campground. Dede was the greatest and checked everything else to make sure it couldn't have been some other problem. She even came by the campground the next day to check on me as I was pretty worn out from the rampage of the KIDNEY STONE!! If you are ever close to Slana, Alaska and need some medical attention visit Dede at the North Country Clinic, she is my hero!! I was able to drive to Wasilla/Palmer with out much discomfort. So it appears I am going to be fine. I am going to drink lots of water to keep kidneys flushed.

ALASKA !!!!!

Today 6/28/2011, Tuesday we made it to Alaska:)) Mission accomplished!!! Loaded up and headed out of Beaver Creek, Yukon to make the drive to Alaska. Down the road, 20 miles is the Alaskan border, where we showed our passports and were asked several questions and told “Have a Nice Trip!”

We finally made it to where I had thought and talked about for so long. It almost doesn't seem possible that we have come so far and it only took 117 days. What a feeling of accomplishment and joy to have arrived at our destination. The road is not the best and you have to drive slow, the road is not really any better or worse than those in Canada. It was also raining almost the whole drive and we haven't seen the sun yet in Alaska. The Alaskan Highway takes you to Tok a small town of less than 2000 where we stopped for fuel and groceries. We are glad we did because Slana does not have any fuel or grocery store. Slana is nothing more than a campground, post office and ranger station rolled into one. There is no town to speak of and we are staying an extra day to just relax and drive into the forest. The campground has nice full hookups and internet, but only 1 TV station and very clean restrooms and showers. The place is run by the by a very nice  lady who also runs the post office. Her husband and her ran the campground as a dude ranch many years ago and she was one of 5 registered women guides. She also does copper sculptures, which are very nice and runs the Hart D Ranch. The place has alot history and is worth the stay. It also has the only pay phone for miles and miles.

We are just excited to be in Alaska, which has plenty of trees and mountains. We hope to see some wild animals and hope to have a front row seat. There is daylight almost 24 hours a day and what nigthtime there is, is like dimming the lights. But so far we have not had any trouble getting to sleep, but it is strange.

Getting closer to Alaska!

Drove to Beaver Creek in the Yukon. The road to Haines Junction is pretty good, but the rest of the way has a lot to be desired. The last 40 miles to Beaver Creek has the most permafrost of the Alaskan Highway, which is permanently frozen earth, therefor the bad frost heaves and road conditions. As long as you go slow and I mean slow you survived:) We came upon one of the largest lakes we have ever seen Kluane Lake. The lake is a crystal like blue and is wonderful to see. The glaciers caused the reversal in the water flow over time. Beaver Creek is a very small town that has almost 200 people in the summer living there. The Westmark Campground is pretty nice and the sites have a lot more room than other parks we have stayed in. There isn't much to do, but after the drive, a day of relaxing is needed. Beaver Creek is only 20 miles from the Alaskan border and your only 2 miles at the most from the Canadian crossing. They have a nice visitor center and even allowed our dogs to come in and get a treat!! They also have statues of the original settlers of Beaver Creek. You can walk from one end of town to the other in 10 minutes as there isn't much to do or see. Since we had the extra day and had already walked to Beaver Creek and back, I had time to clean the camper, bikes and TW200, lots of bugs and road grime. Once the TW got washed I took her for a spin to the creek and down the main highway.

Time to get to ALASKA!!

Last day in Whitehorse

Our last day at Whitehorse we decide to take another hike . We left from the Robert Service Campground which made us think of the hippie era. It is a nice place to hike from and have your picnic. The hiking trail leads you over a cool footbridge to the Whitehorse Rapids Generating Facility and dam which produces power for as far away as Dawson City. It was really cool to see the water rushing from the dam and heading down stream. You hike up a little farther and you come to the Whitehorse Fishway , the longest wooden fish ladder in the world which allows fish especially salmon to go around the dam. The hike continues to take a trail up the hillside to over look that is called Lookout Hill. It is a steep climb to the top but well worth it. We missed the return trail and went down a very steep trail. The only problem, we had to go back the same way but this time a very steep incline. We passed our stress test for the week , it was a CLIMB. Overall probably a 2 and a half round trip hike which gives some awesome views of the Schwatka Lake and the surrounding area.

We enjoyed our 4 day stay in Whitehorse and the Hi Country RV Park is nice with pretty good internet and sites. It is time to move closer to Alsaka so we must say good bye to Whitehorse and Hello to Beaver Creek a very small town of 200 during the summer.

Herring Gull nesting area

Visited Miles Canyon

The Yukon River runs thru Miles Canyon which is banked by black columns of basalt rock. You cross over the cayon on a suspended footbridge that you can make sway if you want:) The water is a beautiful blue-green color and is really wonderful to look at. We took a half mile hike that follows the river to Canyon City. Canyon City is where people going to Dawson City stopped to prepare themselves for the portage around the rapids. There is not much to see but a winter sled that was used to brings supplies etc.. to the city. Suzanne and I couldn't stop ourselves from putting our feet in the nice cold water. We had our feet in the water  as a tour boat came by. We waved and they waved back and I am sure several took pictures of those people with their feet in the water:)  We took the road over to town and stopped to take a picture of where we had been. Along the road were several businesses that give float plane rides. They looked like fun!
Please remember David in your prayers.

Staying in Whitehorse, Yukon

We have been here 3 days and are finding our way around town. The campground is close to the road that leads to town. Went to town and stopped to see the SS Klondike which helped transport supplies and people between Dawson City and Whitehorse. Of course we had to visit downtown as we had to check out the local stores. They also had an afternoon farmers market which had some local baked goods and homemade jewelery. There are several vehicles at the campground that were used to build the Alaskan Highway. It appears they were just left behind! They have an airport which isn't hard to find, Just look for the big airplane on a pole:)

Going to Whitehorse, Yukon

Time to get closer to Alaska. Went to Whitehorse today and saw some beautiful scenery. On the way we stopped at Rancheria Falls and we let Sandy and Oreo observe their second waterfall. They really enjoyed the short trail to the falls. As we were leaving 2 Model A's came driving up. They were on there way to Alaska from Maine. What an exciting trip they must be having!! We decide to stop and see Teslin Lake a very large and beautiful lake.  Our next stop was a wonderful one at the Johnson's Crossing Campground for a cinnamon bun. We had to wait for them to be bake and they were worth the wait! Life doesn't get any better than a cinnamon bun right out of the oven!! This place also made a great ham sandwich on homemade bread, so if your ever in the area stop and have lunch. But save room for the cinnamon bun:)) made it to Hi Country RV Park, I think the nicest campground in the area. Make sure to make reservations as they have been full. We are less than 400 miles from my goal ALASKA!! will be there on June 28th!!

How would you like to sleep up there?

Watson Lake and the Famous Sign Forest!!

Watson Lake has the famous Sign Forest with over 70,000 signs now hanging in the forest. I have never seen so many different signs in my life. It attracts a lot of visitors every day as people post their signs. We also saw our camping friends sign, can't believe we found it with so many different ones. The rain has not stopped for most of the day but we took a short drive to see Watson Lake. It is a nice looking lake and has a primitive campground. I wanted to also get a picture of the Air Force Lodge, for our son, that was built in 1942 and was used for the pilots coming to the area. It has been completely redone but the rooms and the facility are the same size they were in 1942. We met the owner and he told us a little of the history and gave us a tour of the lodge. We will be going to Whitehorse tomorrow and that will get us 300 miles closer to Alaska:))))
We found out we had been on the wrong time for 2 days. We did not know that we went to a different time zone. We ate early and got up early. So we now have proof, Time doesn't matter when you are retired!! It doesn't get much better than this!!