We spent the last night sleeping

in what amounted to nothing more than an abandoned campground. This is the one spot where I really worried about bears. And it was cold that night. And wet. Every time my knit hat would slip off of my head I would wake up to put it back on. It is also the night that I slept with my car keys in my hand and the jeep parked directly in front of the tent just in case we needed to make a quick escape. Thankfully, we didn't have any unwanted visitors during the night, we just woke up with frozen fingers and toes.




As I mentioned, that abandoned campground was run by a French Canadian couple. I don't know if the food was really as good as it smelled, but we were hungry and cold. The wood stove was crackling, and the kitchen had wonderful bakery smells emanating from it. There were fresh cinnamon buns along with several types of cookies in the glass display case. And fresh baked loaves of bread.....




It is also the only restaurant I have ever been to where there was only one restroom. The restroom had two stalls, one for ladies and one for men. I'm not sure why they even bothered to label the stalls.




Anyway, as Jake and I were eating our fresh crepes (full of ham, eggs and peppers) and fresh hot coffee, an older couple came in for breakfast. We started chatting and they said, "Oh yes, we saw a big grizzly just about 5 miles up the road". Words cannot express the relief I felt that we had made it through the night without incident and we were packed up and ready to go.




And so we went. It was about 400 miles to home and only about 50 miles to the border. It was much easier to get into the US then it was to get into Canada. Jake was very disappointed that we did not get any stamps on our passports. As soon as we crossed back into the states the quality of the road changed for the better. There was fresh pavement, and visibly lines on the road. And no more frost heave. At least not for the first 50 miles. Once again, the road was primarily straight, and easy drive in the rain.









I know there are mountains somewhere behind those clouds












And so we drove.




It was really an uneventful and slightly boring drive. But every so often, the sun would come out and I could glimpse some mountains in the distance. About 100 miles away from home the sun came out and those mountains came into full view.


























This is the Matanuska Glacier. My understanding is you can drive pretty close to this one, and I think there are trails you can walk on out to it. For me, it was a delightful find. How cool is it to have this beautiful piece of nature so close to home?




Jake and I only enjoyed the view for a short time. At this point we were both antsy to get back home. Back into the car it was and much to my surprise, the easy drive turned back into a twisting turning maze of a mountain-hugging road. This was not what I expected or needed after all the driving I had done. Retrospectively, it was a short drive, but you know how you get when you are coming home after traveling? You just can't think of anything but getting home, and that's the zone that I was in mentally.




About 45 minutes after we passed the glacier, we stopped for gas one last time and finally turned onto a road where I could look around and say "hey - I know where I am". Another 45 minutes and we were pulling into our driveway. Unfortunately, I forgot to change our clock to Alaska time once we crossed the border. This was a problem because Steve was going to have pizza ready for dinner for us. He kept asking, "what time will you be home", and I said 7:30. Which was right if I was still in the Yukon, but I wasn't. That explains why I stepped into the house at 6:30 and surprised the heck out of Steve who had been waiting to make dinner.




It was a wonderful trip. I'd do it again. And if I do, I'll share the experience with you.




What do you think? Would you want to come with?

Technology is a wonderful thing

when it works. Somehow, when I went to post my blog yesterday, the second half of it disappeared. I guess that means you have to read it in installments, rather like an old-time serial story.




Here is where we left off - We were leaving Edmonton and heading into the Canadian Rockies.We saw these guys when we got lost in Edmonton. Be sure to read the sign on the back.





We could see they were looking at us, so we waved, and the gun turret bobbed up and down in a wave back


Before we got to the Rockies we still had a lot of miles to go. The weather remained wet and rainy and at about this point I realized I no longer had dash lights or tail lights on the trailer or jeep. But I still had brake lights and turn signals, and since we were heading into the part of the world where day lasts for 18 hours or so, I wasn't really worried about it.




When we pulled over for the night and asked the man behind the counter for a tent site he said, "you know it's going to rain, right?" We did, so he offered us a teepee to sleep in instead to try and keep drier. It sounded like a great idea and he gave it to us at a discounted price. What could possibly be wrong with that?














I'll tell you what's wrong. Teepees leak. Yeah, I knew it had a hole in the top but what I didn't expect was for the water to drip down the supports and leak on me. It leaked on me the first place I put my bed, and the second, and the third. Finally, I got to a spot that appeared to be dry and then it stopped raining. In hindsight, Jake said, "We should have put the tent up in the teepee." It would have fit too!




Finally, we were headed into the great Canadian Rockies!




But first, we had to pass through Beaverlodge, Alberta. Home of the World's Largest Beaver.

















The Highway is full of twists and turns, with few guard rails. Our progress was slow because going uphill I couldn't go more than about 45 mph and going downhill I could feel the trailer pushing me. I was very grateful that I had just had my brakes checked. We did finally get to see some wildlife, something that we really hadn't seen much of up to this point. I do wish I had stopped more when there were photo-op spots, but sometimes I just couldn't get to them, and always in the back of my mind was the thought that I still had soooo many miles left to drive. Here are some pics of the Canadian Rockies. The lakes and rivers were the most fabulous blue-green color. I couldn't get the color to show right in the photos. The copper in the mountains leaches into the water and just creates a beautiful science experiment.









































Jake swears someone owns the horses, and maybe he is right. But I'm not sure who is heading up into the Rockies to round them up.




Once we got through the Rockies, a beautiful if white-knuckle type of drive, the landscape flattened out. We headed to Watson Lake, home of the Signpost Forest. The forest was started in around 1942 by a lonely guy who was working on the Alaska Highway. I didn't realize it, but people are encouraged to bring and post their signs. I'll be prepared the next time around.




According to the Milepost, there was a campground right downtown within walking distance of the Signpost Forest. Like most towns we passed through, everything was in walking distance. All of these little towns were pretty hard-scrabble. Rough looking. Rough roads, businesses closed. And right next door a brand new business would be being built. Watson Lake was bigger then most of the other towns. We could walk to the grocery store, the Signpost Forest, and the 5 other businesses in town. But it was the most disappointing of all the places we camped as it was really nothing more than a gravel, dust-filled parking lot. The Irish guy behind the counter warned me that there were no picnic tables in the campsite. But he lured me in with free hot-showers. Every other place the showers cost a "looney" for 7-12 minutes of hot water. What's a looney? A $1.00 coin with a loon on the back. Our campsite was in a back corner, but it was warm and dry giving us a much-needed opportunity to dry out the tent. At least for a few hours, because it rained again that night.









see the Jeeps lined up, ready for action?






I thought this was the most adorable camper





The ugliest campground, perhaps in all of Canada






Signpost Forest















Anguilla for my friend Terry







a Maine plate for my fellow Maniacs






A nod to the NY contingency






Packerbackers are everywhere!






The WI is scratched in under the Burlington part of the sign. Given the population, I think this sign is a few years old.



 Our drive the next day took us through more spectacular scenery. And to the only campsite that really made me nervous.






I took this photo at a rest stop. There was a young couple who looked like they must have spent the night parked there. They had one pick-up pulling a second pick-up and a huge cat sat on the console in between the seats of the second truck. The young man was brushing his teeth with a bottle of water while the girl pulled out her yoga mat and went through her routine at the side of the highway. In front of this beautiful scenery, next to the outhouses and with all the truckers driving by and watching.






















































There is historical significance to this boat in Whitehorse. And I have no idea what it is.







Dirty Road Warrior!

We got to about 150 miles away from the US border and it started to rain. Again. I considered driving straight through, but it was almost 6 PM and I was concerned because I still had no dash or tail lights. Instead we decided to camp for the night. The only place we saw turned out to be a lodge that at first we couldn't tell if they were open or closed. The sign said RV park and campground, but I don't know when the last time was that anyone camped there. The sites were overgrown and the place was just desolate. The owners told us no showers, and no bathrooms after 9:30 PM because that was when they locked up. Since we didn't know what was up the road, we opted to stay. We didn't cook that night, and I wouldn't let Jake wander, something that I know irritated him, but this looked like the place a bear might just come and bite us.





















This is an RV park?


 This turned out to be the coldest night. We later leaned there was snow falling to the north of us. When we went to pack up the tent, the water from the rain during the night felt like an ice water bath to our fingers. I could smell a wood fire burning as we packed up for the last time, and I was delighted to discover that the fire was in the lodge. We sat down next to it, warmed up, and ordered breakfast crepes from the French Canadian baker. Breakfast was delicious. The lodge is in a great spot, so I wish this young couple the best of luck as they try and make a go of it.





Their view from their deck. If it ever warms up enough to sit there.

Finally, we were on the way for our last day. The rain stuck with us most of the drive back home.




Our last day will have to wait for tomorrow. It's late here, and time for bed. At least most of the tale has been told. I can finish the rest tomorrow. Good night for now.

We drove 3,870.6 miles

in 10 days, through 6 states, 3 provinces and 2 different countries.  And it was a blast!  Oh, there are things I would do differently the next time.  I think I would like to have a camper.  It rained on us 7 out of 8 nights.  It was only 8 nights because of the one night we spent in the hotel.  And now that I am home I will freely admit that I was petrified about bears in the campsite.  We were lucky, and never saw any near us, but that doesn't mean that the thought didn't spook me the whole trip.

And I would figure out the money thing differently.  I am not a worldly traveler. I don't go on big vacations. This is the first big trip I have made in eons. I didn't want to carry a bunch of cash on me, so I thought I would take travelers checks.  Sounded like a good idea.  Well, the first inkling that maybe it wasn't such a great idea was when my own bank charged me for them.  That should have sounded the warning bell.  But I forged ahead.  In the U.S., I found some stores that didn't want to take them, but mostly it there was just confusion from the cashier who had to call over the manager and ask "Do we take these things?"  I feel as though I was performing some valuable community service and educating cashiers across the country.  However, when I got to Canada, I found some places refused to take them.  And they wouldn't take American money either.  Actually, most places took American dollars, but some charged 10% above the cost of the purchase.  And a few places wanted nothing but Canadian dollars.  I was okay with that, so I headed to a bank to exchange some Travelers checks into Canadian dollars.  The first thing they asked me at the bank in Canada was "Do you have an account with us?"  Now the warning bells are going off in my head and I know that whatever is coming will not be in my favor.  Sure enough, they would be happy to cash my checks for me, but it will cost be $5.00/check.  And since the exchange rate right now is not favorable to the US dollar there is an immediate loss.  I estimate it cost me about $50 to purchase/exchange the Traveler's Checks.  Never again.  Next time the trip will be plastic!

The other thing I would do is to take a small gas tank with me.  I never ran out of gas, mainly because I was fanatic about filling my tank up whenever it got close to the half-way mark.  Good thing too.  The stops on the Alaska highway were pretty far between.  And I also found places where there was no gas available because they were waiting for delivery, or the pumps were broken leaving only one functioning pump, or the time I spaced out and drove by the stop.  It was so easy to do.  There would be a sign that said Services 2 KM and then a gravel driveway looking thing would be off to the side.  Sometimes you could tell before hand what it was, but not always. The one time I drove by I had a half-tank and I was down to a quarter when I finally found another gas station.

Anyway, those few details, and the rain, are the only complaints I have.  Jake was a good travel companion, if not much of a navigator. Did I mention that I did this as a pretty low-tech trip?  No radar detector or GPS, no MP3 player or Ipod, and my CD player is on the blink.  Just an FM radio, an Atlas and the Alaska Milepost.  We stopped and spoke with people at many different Visitors Bureau's, and they never gave us bad advice!  I know Jake got bored on much of the trip.  I mean, how much time do you want to spend sitting in the car? But he was able to plug into his music, pull his hat down, and nap.

Now, back to the adventure part, which I know is the part you've been waiting for...

To recap: the first night was at a boring KOA and the second night was at a campsite next to cows.  It poured on us that night, and we only got slightly damp, but it was the first night of the cold.  The next night we stayed at another KOA.  We had been to Mt. Rushmore and by Devils Tower.  It was a warm evening that we spent with Terry, a teacher from Ohio, and her daughter Molly.  Terry gave us the idea for down blankets in the sleeping bags, but when we went shopping we found fleece inserts.  They were wonderful, along with the knit hat I picked up to wear as part of my sleeping attire.  Without those additions to our sleeping bags, I'm not sure we would have been able to camp every night.

Let me tell you a little about the landscape. After we crossed the Mississippi River, the land was rolling hills and Jake and I kept seeing signs for Wall Drug.  By the time we got to the Missouri River we were convinced we wanted to go to Wall Drug and check out the old time flavor.

But after we got past the Missouri the landscape flattened out and there was NOTHING to see. No hills, no animals, no billboards. I said to Jake, maybe we missed it. There are no more signs. Jake looked around at all the empty landscape and said, "Mom, there is nothing to advertise for. There is nothing here." And he was right, it was miles before we saw anything. But the signs for Wall Drug did eventually show up again. We made it to Wall Drug, but I was disappointed in it. It was nothing but a huge tourist trap that was full of people buying touristy items that resembled the touristy items that are sold in downtown Anchorage, and I even saw some of the same items in Canada. Anyway, it wasn't long before we were back on the road.






Our border crossing into Canada caused a bit of delay. Maybe it was the bow and arrows, or the fact that we had shotgun barrels, but no guns. Whatever it was, it took us about an hour to get across the border. But I think we had it easy. I was watching the van that pulled in after us. It appeared to have several Mennonite folks, or some similar sect, and their van was examined stem to stern. Their hubcaps were taken off, and someone crawled under the van to check out the undercarriage. Meanwhile, the jeep and trailer sat next to them and no one gave them a glance. I had nothing to hide, but I was still glad that they didn't take apart the trailer.

Big Sky Country continued to get bigger and bigger

Why does it say Alaska on this van in Wyoming?

More funky Americana fun

The scenery in Wyoming and Montana had given away from hills and mountains to plains. Empty empty plains. Anyone ever read O Pioneers by Willa Cather? I can almost understand how the emptiness can drive someone crazy. And the scenery didn't change once we got into Alberta. The roads were straight and essentially flat. Farms were there, but few and far between. There wasn't even a lot of cows to be seen. On the second day in Canada, when we headed toward the Royal Tyrell Museum, I was impressed by how incredibly straight the road to the museum was. It was as if some grand architect had placed a chalk-line in the earth as a guide for the road, like I might do on the wall to ensure my wallpaper is hung straight. Unfortunately, there was also major construction on this little road causing lots of dust and delay. But the museum in the middle of the Canadian Badlands was worth it.





Outside the museum.  It will be Jake's fate to explain why he wouldn't show his face.



The original pea-brain

 





There's the jeep in the Canadian Badlands!

After all that driving to get to the museum, we were a bit off track.  It took us a while to get back to the highway, and then it seemed to take forever to find a campground.  Actually, it seemed to me that not everything in Canada was well-marked, which probably explains why we got lost in Edmonton. But that didn't happen until I got tired of looking for a campground and we spent a lovely night in a hotel with a pool and great showers.

After that, we were back on the road. The landscape changed again from plains to hills and farms were more numerous.  We saw some wildlife, mainly deer and antelope, but not much else.  I was surprised by the number of horses I saw, more like ranches than farms.  Evergreens became more prominent and the land got hilly.  The road was a two-lane highway and it was full of campers and truckers.  And a few U-Hauls and motorcycles thrown in for good measure. 

The next campground we stayed at was busy and full.  It was still raining, but we were able to get a small fire going.  We met a nice guy, Ernie, who was riding him BMW bike from Ontario, to Chicago and onto Fairbanks where he was meeting with some friends and doing a different route than we were taking.  Our neighbors on the other side of us were living in their tent as they were looking for work.  I think if anyone needs a job, they can head to northern Canada as there were help-wanted signs all over.  On the other hand, there were also many for sale signs up, so whatever people were doing for a livelihood, maybe it wasn't working so well.

Ernie has his own blog of his adventures.  You can check it out at www.alaska-ADV-on-two-wheels@blogspot.com