Through South Dakota, to Iowa and Nebraska

South Dakota has a lot of places to visit, but the most notable are Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug, Devils Tower, and the Mitchell Corn Palace. Mt. Rushmore needs no comment. Not far off the highway and spectacular. Abe Lincoln is still there to talk to and have a photo op if desired. Wall Drug is not as well known unless you know someone who has been there, or if you have. It is an all purpose mall that occupies a full city block including all four corners. It started in 1939 in Wall, SD and almost went under after five years of trying to survive. Then the wife of the owner suggested that since Mt. Rushmore had been finished and folks were still driving past Wall to get there, that they needed something to get them to stop. Her idea was ice water. Air conditioners had not come along yet, and it was hot and dry in the summer. They had ice and lots of water. They placed signs along the highway much like the Burma Shave signs in that day saying that they had free ice water, and ice cream, and cola, etc. The first summer they had all they could handle. The next summer they had to hire 8 girls to help out. Today, Bill the son, has expanded the place even more and they still have free ice water, and 5 cent coffee. It is a tourist trap of the first order which draws up to 2200 visitors a day. All that a mall has, all the souvenirs you could want, and fantastic food, I had a roast beef sandwich which was the best ever, gravy better than on any other I have had. We traveled this road before on a trip out west but Wall Drug is even better than then. On to Devils tower which was the place the space ship landed in the movie, "Close Encounters", and to Mitchell with it's own claim to fame in the Corn Palace. They use real corn cobs to decorate the outside and inside of the place. They grow every variation there is for the palace. Then I drove south on I 29 and past Omaha Nebraska to my present camping spot almost on the line between Iowa and Nebraska. Tomorrow I will try to drive to my oldest daughters house northwest of St. Louis in Wentzville, then to my parents in Cape Girardeau, MO, then home. This will not end this blog though. I have many reflections of problems and ideas for the future trips that are sure to come, and ways to make a living by traveling, etc. I have ignited a desire to see the world in our son David. Julie and Jacki have already traveled a bit , but David was limited the the trip to the Petrified forest, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and across South Dakota when he was 16. This was a new experience for both of us and we both know that we can travel and make a living if one has a desire to do so. Maybe I have finally found out what I want to do when I grow up, and maybe David too once he finishes all the school he has planned, maybe culminating with becoming a professor at a university.

Glacier National Park on Independance Day

aka, Waterton Glacier International Peace Park. Seems that since the US and Canada have always had peaceful relations, the UN named the Canadian park north of Glacier and Glacier as a peace park. Due to the Fourth of July weekend, I camped at Flathead Lake about 60 miles from the park as it was as close as I could get into a campground. It was a very scenic area. Once in the park, the trip up "Going to the Sun Road" is narrow and also under construction. It is 52 miles of winding road with cutbacks, and to add to that they are doing construction on it. The trip took 2 and a half hours to reach the other side. They have added buses which I suspect will soon, when the construction is done, replace individual car traffic in the park as has been done in The Grand Canyon and Denali in Alaska. Once I reached the summit of 6600 feet, I continued all the way to the East entrance. The road was so tough, for my truck, the limited length to get onto the road was 20' and the truck is 19.5', that I decided to take the 120 mile trip around the park to get back. It was also raining the entire time at the higher elevations. It took me three hours to make the also rugged trip around. That evening I realized that my phone was missing. I had texted David as I entered, and later saw that I had no service up on the Road. Once I got out of the park, I decided to check for service again, and no phone. I searched the truck as it had fallen out of my pocket before and landed in a compartment in the truck door. Also at times I left it on the console. It was nowhere to be found. As I drove back to the camper, I drove through one small town and there was a bottle rocket war going on across the highway. It sounded like the truck got hit a few times. Then in Hungry Horse, the entire town was out and others too. The kids were shooting fireworks and the adults were mostly at the tavern but some were in lawn chairs along the highway too. I stopped and watched a while and took some photos, then left before it was dark enough for the town fireworks to start. I was wondering what had happened to my phone. I had left messages at the park to email me if they found my phone. I never received an email from the park but when I got to the campground, my computer had messages from David, Melissa and my dad. They had all received calls from the park saying that my phone had been turned in. The next morning I drove back to Glacier and had to travel the Going to the Sun Road again to get to the east entrance where my phone had been turned in. The day was better than the previous day but traffic was heavier on Monday than on the Fourth of July. I got to the east entrance and identified my phone and signed the necessary paper work and then had to decide whether to drive the long way again or just go back on Going to the Sun Road. I decided to go back through the park and was glad I did. I had dinner at a restaurant and enjoyed the evening as another day was gone. The next morning I left Glacier which is a name which needs to be changed to Glacier Lakes National Park as the remaining Jackson Glacier in the park is an 11 mile hike to what is left of it. Canada's park is Waterton Lakes National Park so they are ahead of us in the naming process.

I left on the road toward home again and the trip was very enjoyable around the Flathead Lake. On the south end was a beautiful town named Polson. If not for the winters, it would be a great place to live. There was a boat pulling kids on a tube in what had to be very cold water, but I suppose they get used to it here. I continued south to Interstate 90, the longest coast to coast highway in the US, probably due to the mountains and cities it connects. Somewhere between Boseman and Billings, I reconnected with bugs. On the windshield first, the when I drove through Billings and stopped at a McDonalds for a late lunch and to use the Internet for a bit , flies. Billings is where Melissa spent a year as an Americorps volunteer while getting away from the empty nest. She chose a good place as it is a lot like a smaller version of Memphis. She made some good friends there and traveled back to visit them once and again for the wedding of the daughter of one of the friends. It was tempting to try to find some of them, but they were her friends, as I was home working then and now she is home working as I travel through her town for a year. Life takes some interesting turn as it passes... Next, on to South Dakota for a day trip.

Return to Washington and on to Montana.

We arrived in Bellingham Friday a week ago in the early morning. We drove from Bellingham 100 miles down to Seattle to visit the Space Needle and David wanted to visit a brewery in the university area. David also wanted to see where Starbucks got it's start, but the streets were so narrow and the pedestrian and vehicle traffic so heavy that we decided to just drive past it and head back to my cousin Janet's house. She has a home on her daughter and son in law's 5 acres that they share with three horses, four dogs, and three cats, if I counted correctly. Oh, also two great children. We had planned to leave there sooner than we did, but I had work to do on the camper, and David wanted to go back to Seattle to visit Washington University with a friend he met on the ferry, so we stayed longer. We went back to a place Janet took us to on the way to Alaska that has fresh mussels from a farm in the bay and visited a fifties "joint" in the mountains which had a jukebox that still works, but the 45s are scratched up, and visited Deception Falls nearby. I took a few videos of the falls, but am having trouble getting them to upload. Then David received information that he needed to get back to Knoxville soon for an interview that would lock up graduate school, so I took him back to Seattle to catch a flight to St. Louis to visit my oldest daughter Jacki, and Melissa drove there today to take him back to Collierville to get his car by way of visiting my parents in Cape Girardeau. Once he gets his car, he will drive to Knoxville for his interview.
So I drove across Washington yesterday, and into Montana. Since David wasn't along I drove till dark which left me in the middle of nowhere in Montana. I spent the night in a rest area on I 90. When I stopped it was empty, when I woke up this morning, it was full of trucks and a few campers. By the time I left at nine, it was empty again. I slept with bear spray and a bit of hardware by my pillow, so I slept soundly.
Somewhere along the way I realized that this is the July 4th holiday weekend, and I could not reach David by phone, so I left a voice mail that I needed campground help. He sent me the number for Glacier National Park and I found that their campgrounds were full, but they had no camper hook ups anyway. Then I used my GPS to locate RV parks and they were all full within 60 miles of the park. So here I sit by myself with nothing to do except to work on uploading photos on a very slow Internet connection and updating this finally. Tomorrow I will drive into Glacier National Park and look around and try to decide whether to drive into Canada to see more glaciers or if it is worth the drive. A camper in DC told us that Canada has some of the most spectacular glaciers north of Glacier, so will likely go there.

Ketichakan, and thoughts on the ferry ride back.

We arrived at Ketchikan in the morning and were there most of the day. One must study the ferry schedule to figure out how long they dock where, as we were there only briefly on the trip up. Ketchikan is the fifth largest "city" in Alaska with a population of around 14,000. Their economy is based on fishing and tourism. We took a bus into town and found a tourist trap area much like we found in Juneau. We walked into a store and were confronted by a woman selling trips on a tour bus. The price was a bit high but she promised we would get the history and view of Ketchikan from a local, not a canned speech from an import bus driver. I fell for it and signed up. David and I were the only passengers on a small bus. The driver was a cute girl around David's age. She was nice, and we had good conversation, but she did not mention much local information at all, and when I asked her how Ketchikan got it's name, she had no idea. (It came from the name of a local creek which was named by the Tlingit natives.) Our destination was Totem Heritage Center,with Tlingit native totem poles, an antique gun collection, and antique autos. It was raining when we got there, and we learned a bit about it, but I found myself listening to the canned talks from other groups as I got more information that way. My thought is that the large groups may be from cruise ships, but the leader learns the information more than the small local tour people.
We saw more sea planes at Ketchikan in one place than anywhere else. There were docks with ramps with sea planes run up on them, and they were pulled up everywhere and in the air.
Remember the Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere"? Well it was to be built at Ketchikan, from the town to the new International Airport on an island. Look at my photos and you will see it across the water from where we were. It would have been a short bridge, but due to the huge cruise ships that would pass under it, it would have to have been very high up. The flat island that they had to put the airport on also houses several hundred folks most of whom work in Ketchikan, and the ferry across is 12 bucks each way. (According to our bus driver, it seems that Sarah Palin wanted most of the money for it used in Wacilla, so she canceled the project, and folks in Ketchikan don't like her very much.) Ketchikan has the highest number zip code in the US, 99950 if you are interested...


We visited Hawaii in 2002, and one goal I had on this trip was to compare two relatively rare events in an average persons life, a trip to Hawaii or Alaska and decide which was the best as a first choice or if only one can be afforded. Well, no real comparison can be made... In my opinion the type of person which makes each trip is different. Hawaii is for the person who likes comfort first and is willing to pay to get it. Yes, one can climb Diamond Head, hike trails to water falls, etc. However most of Hawaii is about attending luau, beaches, and great hotels. That can not compare with the harsh life of Alaska. That calls for the mountain man (or woman) type individual. However for the comfort loving person, there are the 3 to 4 daily cruise ships that arrive in some of the cities. Those folks have fine rooms, few waves from the open ocean, heated pools and a party atmosphere. They arrive at towns and cities which have tourist trap after gift shop, but little of what makes Alaska. They do see a great view of the shore of Alaska which is impressive, and get some locak tours, but meet few Alaskans, as the shops are full of summer help from the lower 48. So for the above reasons the hearty type and the luxury type can find something for themselves at both destinations, but they are not the same at all. Hawaii is a year round destination, Alaska is 90% summer only. Those who go in the winter are the really mountain man mentality who want to see the Northern Lights, ride snowmobiles, or really rough it in the cold. Even many Alaskans move to Juneau or Anchorage in the winter to escape the extreme weather in the central and northern parts of Alaska. When the seasonal workers go home to the lower 48, many of the central Alaskans go to south or southeast Alaska to work for the winter, as did the owner of the camping cabin we stayed in at Denali.

Last Couple Days in Alaska

We will catch the ferry back to Bellingham, Washington tomorrow and arrive there the morning of the 25th. It is about 80 degrees here in Haines today and in Alaska one can sunbathe for about 15 hours as some have been in and out of he sun since about 7 AM this morning. We slept in the truck last night due to not doing enough homework when we planned our dates. It seems that there is an international bike relay race every year about Fathers Day from Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada to Haines, Alaska. It is a 240 kilometer event, which is 150 miles. We followed or passed bicycles for almost the entire way. Then when we got to the border it was a two hour wait as we inched toward the customs checkpoint. We assumed that the race passing the border is what clogged it up, as well as everyone who left from Tok that morning was arriving about the same time, however it was not like that on the way up, so it was probably the bike race alone causing the bottleneck. The participants book rooms and campgrounds a year in advance and all were full including the fairgrounds and a park. We drove 12 miles out to a state park and they had a primitive camp ground that was very scenic and private, however they had strict fines if they found any cooler, food item, or grill left out to invite bears. We could not have put everything inside the truck, and David thought it looked like bears could be everywhere, so we drove back to town and slept in the truck at a picnic area on the bay that had outdoor restrooms. Virtually every rest area in Alaska and Canada had either porta potties or similar permanent facilities.
One difference between the USofA and Canada is that in the US there are signs warning of a fine if one litters the highway, in Canada they have a bear proof container by the road at a pullout about every 20 miles. One provides a way to dispose of trash, the other a fine but not necessarily a place to drop off trash.
I am so glad that we decided to leave the camper in Washington. After talking to folks that had made the trip before, I figured it was the best decision. After watching trailers bounce all over the place at very slow speeds, and having to pass them time and time again, the trailer would have never been the same again, and it would have taken twice as long to see less. David talked me into the ferry, and taking the fifth wheel on it would have cost several thousand dollars round trip, so leaving it was a good decision for us. For others with more time and patience, pulling one through Canada and Alaska may be a great idea.
The roads in Canada and Alaska are an enigma, some stretches are fantastic, as good as ever seen, and then suddenly worse than a nightmare. I drove 80 at times and other times 30 was too fast and bouncing all over the place. The stretches of gravel were some of the smoothest we saw as they keep road graders and rollers to keep those places smooth. The asphalt was either better or much worse. I mentioned this before but I can see several possible reasons for this. Obviously the extreme weather in the 7 month winter is a reason to break up the road. There are no concrete roads at all here, probably due to the weather. Another reason for wavey roads is the lack of clay here, there is a bit of top soil and then mostly volcanic or other rock, so the road beds we saw being established to widen a road is topsoil mixed with cedar chunks. Many cedars have died here in recent years, so that may be why they are chopping them up and using in the road bed. And lastly a contributor may be the super size trucks they run in Canada and Alaska. They haul two full size trailers, both tanker or full size standard trailer with large tractors pulling them. They seem to run at high speed even over the worst roads, so I assume that the cabs have springs and shocks in them too. Their tires have white stripes across them, but I have no idea what the stipe tires means yet. The RVs that are here have mostly Canadian or Alaskan tags on them and many are rentals. The big bus looking rigs seem to make the journey well from the lower 48, and many fifth wheels too, but those folks must have lots of time to pull them over the slow rough roads. I suspect that most visiting here are for the whole summer and have no required time to get back, or foreigners and others who fly here and rent cars or campers. (We taked to A German couple that spoke little English. I let them send their daughter a message with my Email, and David was able to discuss a bit of the trip with them as some of his German came back to him.) Lastly there are those on cruise ships who only visit the coast and go ashore at several places and them reboard for the next stop or back home.
Again, David and I are quite satisfied with what we saw and did. Both of us would like to return and do a bit more but this trip was very satisfying and fun. Our trip to Denali could not be equaled, much less improved on, but there may be other things we missed, glaciers and fishing, etc. Those will be future decisions to be made.

Tomorrow we leave the lynx, moose, and bears and move back to where the whales, porpoises, and more eagles are seen. Back to where things are less harsh, and more familiar...

Wow, what a day! (4 glaciers seen in one day...)

Today started out pretty slow. We had Pop Tarts for breakfast indicating what was expected to be a day with few plans. David has bought some hip boots for the purpose of fording an Exit Glacier stream to try and actually touch a glacier. The day before, a ranger said that they could not recommend such an attempt as the glacier and snow was melting faster as the weather warmed up. (High 50s during the day, and high 40s at night.) We thought that with hip boots he could make it across, and if so he was going to throw the boots back to me and I would try it too. As it turned out, he got across the first fork, but the next he could almost get across in several places but the fast moving water had carved out a channel in the bed that was just too deep for the boots. Pushing it may have caused the current to take him off his feet or fill the boots. It was good that he is cautious and the one trying this, as had I been the first I would have forced the issue and got wet and very cold, as I have other times in my life. Caution is not a common Heise trait but one David has acquired by listening to stories of near misses.
Two rangers were present in the latter stages of the attempt and one interviewed David as to the possibility of crossing the streams, and when he heard of the attempts and failure, he asked us if we thought it was doable by the general public, and of course we said no. Since others were watching from above, David assumed that others were asking to try. Anyway, he radioed back to strongly advise others not to try it, however they do not have the right to stop anyone. They can stop you from entering areas where they are trying to reintroduce plant growth, or to protect animal life or dens, but not from trying to kill yourself! David was quite satisfied that he had walked a couple of miles trying to make it happen, and with his best shot, was satisfied to leave without touching a glacier.
We started up the highway back to Anchorage, with no other plans other than to spend the night at Elmendorf AFB again on the way back and to begin the journey to Washington and the rest of the trip home, by way of Glacier National Park and a trip into Canada where more great glaciers are. I called base billeting and they informed me that all rooms were booked, so we decided that since we were carrying camping equipment, we would tent camp there as they have a very nice family camp on base, with hookups as we have an electric heater with us.
David fell asleep as we traveled and I saw a sign for Portage Glacier. We had heard that it was only accessible from water. Earlier when we saw it on the way down, David had said that they probably rented kayaks to get to it and it was a bit cold for that. Regardless, we had some time to kill, so I turned off the road toward Portage Glacier. When we got there, David was awake, and the boat to get to the glacier was a large closed in heated boat with the top open for outdoor viewing from above. We bought tickets just as it was preparing to leave. They gave us more information on glaciers, most of which we had already heard, but it was a fun trip and we saw small icebergs out in the water with 10% if it sticking above water, and 90% below and they had an aquarium tank with glacier ice in it to demonstrate the rule. David took a photo of it as my memory card had just maxed out. Today was very drizzly and overcast so we couldn't see the glacier to the top, but got a good look at it near the waters edge. A large chunk of it broke off during an earlier trip out today which produced the bergs. Nearby was another glacier which no longer reached the waters edge, but we took photos of it too. We were also told of a glacier nearby that you could walk out on, however the trail was closed due to avalanche risks near it. Once we got back to land and had bought some post cards, the girl at the counter said that they did not tell her that the other glacier was closed today, so we decided to check it out. The trail had no indication of being closed so we started up it. This walk fulfilled David's day and trip. We got to the glacier and were able to walk out onto it. It was still covered with snow in the area we walked out on, however David walked a long way up it. One could see indications that we were on the glacier, but the snow was several feet deep. This alone would more than make our day, but more was waiting for us at the Emendorf AFB campground.
We arrived at the campground around 6 PM, and checked out the showers then started looking for a suitable site. David said, "there's a moose". I answered OK and kept going, since we had seen moose before. He said he wasn't kidding there were two moose. So I stopped and across the road were a he and she moose, he was young with only the start of antlers. We took photos as I had my other memory card in the camera now, and again started looking at sites for the tent. We passed an RV and there was a black bear. We are on a military installation which is totally fenced in. How did moose get in here, and now a bear? Seems that the base is so big that when they built it, there was no way to remove all the game, so some remained inside the fence and has its own habitat. They are more human friendly than most, however as I took a picture of the bear as it was moving away from us, a military police lady pulled up and was watching the bear move away. She told us that a child in the housing area had been bitten by a bear and they were watching them. That totally ended the tent camping for David, which ended it for me to. I suggested that he could sleep in the shower stall, but no way were we staying on the base with the friendly animals... Therefore we are eating a pizza in a motel about 30 miles from the base, in a safe upstairs room. Caution in deep streams is a good thing but fearing a nice cute bear is another. I got a photo of it, the huge moose was OK, but not a little bear. Tomorrow we journey back to Tok, then the next day through Canada on to Haines again. Reporting that may be sporadic, but today was a good day in every way, except for staying in a motel tonight. We hiked several miles today and a good bear free night may be in order...

South to Seward

We are at an equal distance from home by road miles as were were at Denali. Tomorrow we head back toward Anchorage, after David fords a fast glacier stream to "touch a glacier". We tried at Mendenhall Glacier and hiked a long way to fail due to a wrong turn, late in the day, and mosquitoes that tried to carry us home for dinner. We visited the Exit Glacier today and we talked to park rangers about the best way for us to touch a glacier or walk on one, and of all the options, it seems that buying hip boots and crossing the melting ice stream to get to the bottom of Exit Glacier is the fastest, easiest, way to touch a glacier of all the many glaciers which are hard to get to. Mendenhall was dangerous at the bottom due to breaking off into a lake. Exit Glacier is no longer calving and is easy to walk up to once one crosses the ice cold stream. David bought hip boots today to try it in the morning. I am not obsessed with touching a glacier like he is, but he wants to toss me the boots once across for me to freeze like him. Then he wants photos so we will risk my camera to get across, as his is too good for such a risk.
Why the name Exit Glacier ? Harding Ice Field is over 300 sq miles in total, but if you count its 40 glaciers that it supports, then it is over 1000 square miles. When scientists were studying the Harding Ice Field, most of the glaciers it provides for are too dangerous to climb or leave from, but one glacier was short and compact which made it a safe exit. Therefore the name of Exit Glacier is still on it.

As time runs down on the Alaska portion of this adventure, I realize just how much priorities have changed for both of us, and in some ways merged. David's goal was to go to Alaska and see as much on the way there as he could. My goal was to see Mt McKinley and to go salmon fishing. Now salmon fishing is off the list for several reasons. One, fresh salmon tastes about like the frozen salmon we get at home. Two, if we caught a salmon, what would we do with it? We couldn't carry it all the way home frozen, nor did we really want to clean one even if it is similar to cleaning a trout. We wouldn't want to eat it all at once, and most of all, the most popular way to catch them is to snag them. When they "run" they don't chase bait, they just keep going. When the "fishermen" see salmon they throw a line with a large triple hook over them and when they snag one, they pull until it is in, as to let any slack will let it get away. To us this is a way to get food or fish to eat, but not a sporting way to do it. Therefore we will not snag salmon on this trip, but again try to fish for trout when we get home again. That will keep us from having to clean and eat a fish in a very short period of time. We could hire a guide to maybe do it differently for about 250 each, but we would still have to deal with any fish caught. Maybe on a future trip here or in the lower 48, but no salmon on this trip other than what we had for dinner tonight! The king crab was good also, but not worth the price it brings even here. Snow crab is just as good if harder to get to.

Overall this country is wild and fresh, but harsh to live in year round. Summers are exciting and full of adventure. Winters are hard, long, and dark. The northern lights (aurora borealis) is better seen in the states in the summer time as it gets dark there, here the only time to see it is in the winter when it is almost always dark.

Denali Back to Wasilla, AK (Previous updated also)

(Note to self; when you get up at 4:30 AM to get someplace to catch a bus for a 12 hour day of sightseeing and walking, go to bed early! Before and after.) We were up till near midnight the evening before Denali, as it is hard to go to sleep with the sun still up, then after the long day, David stayed up till 11 PM and I to 12:30 AM working on the blog. We had no reason to set an alarm this morning and we both woke up and looked at the time at exactly the same time, 10 AM. (Neither of us has done anything like that up to now.) Check out time was 11 AM. We scrambled around and in a disorderly manner got out of the cabin at 10:50. Then we took a shower and got ready for the day in the campground showers.
We drove back toward Anchorage, but got tired around 5 PM and stopped in Wasilla. (Home of Sara Palen.) When we got in the area prior to Anchorage, I went out of the way to go through Wasilla just to see if you can see Russia from here. (You can't, but they have T-shirts saying you can, however they say from Alaska, not from Wasilla, or Sara's front porch.) Then I later learned that we had to go through Wasilla on the way to Denali, and we are back here to spend the night tonight.
I stopped at a small cafe in a gas station along the road south from Denali, which David didn't think was a very good idea, but I told him we needed to sample some local ambiance. We had breakfast at 2 PM which they were happy to fix and it was quite good and the burgers we saw others with looked real tasty too. When I asked "Mom", the owner if they closed or moved south in the winter, she said no, that they were open year 'round. She said that most other places closed so she got a lot of business from winter tourists and locals from miles around with no place else to get away to. I suppose that when it is dark almost all day, one wants to go out and eat once in a while. I can't even image how it would be, dark all the time, however it isn't really fun with it light all the time either. One place told us that kids would be out all "night" but had to be quiet so others could sleep. The folks that stay in central Alaska say that the roads are maintained passable in the winter. To them that means with chains, or snow mobile. In places there are poles about 15 ft. high and 50 feet apart that are like a tall 7. The horizontal end is at the edge of the road with reflectors on it. I ask a local what they were for, as I could not see a reason for them. He said that there were areas where the snow drifts constantly, even when not snowing, to six feet or more. The reflectors tell the road crews where the road is, to clean it and others where the road is to travel. The reflectors are because it is always dark in the winter. I saw pickups and SUVs with light bars on the bumpers and across the top and they said that it takes that to see the reflector poles, and the "road" when all is white.
It seems that most of the "summer" businesses here use workers from the lower 48 states. We met a young lady right out of high school from Utah who couldn't afford to go to college yet, so she came to Alaska because she had always wanted to. She took a job in the very first town that she came to out of Canada, (Tok). Tok is flourishing because it is the first town out of Canada which is a day's drive, and because it is a days drive from the next place on the return trip. With the roads so poor and the damage to windshields and RVs, the town is full of motels, campgrounds, RV repair shops, and windshield repair and replacement shops. We met a lady from San Diego that is a school teacher there in the winter, but has worked for a store in Alaska for 8 years in the summers. Meeting folks here is fascinating and we don't have to start the conversation. As soon as we open our mouths for any reason, we are asked where we are from. I told one young lady to guess, and she had no idea. I told her to think about any place as she couldn't hurt our feelings right or wrong. She said Tennessee. That was all she could think of in the south she said. Other Southerners we have met, say I don't have a southern accent, so I suppose it is all in relation to where one is from themselves.
We have no plans for tomorrow, so will decide that when we wake up. When we make plans we change them, and we left Tennessee with the idea that without plans we would do what we wanted as we wanted. That has slowed us down some, and we are getting a bit homesick, but we started this journey to see Alaska first, and there have been many detours which have broadened our horizons, and shown us new places and opportunities for the future if ever needed. This has been an educational, emotional, fun experience, with some downturns thrown in for a wake up call. I am older, but wiser for the trip. David has had his eyes opened as to the adventure that one can have for a lifetime if one plans his life and career for such travel.

Anchorage to Denali National Park (Detail added)

We left Anchorage planning to drive to Denali National Park and Preserve and then on to Fairbanks, but after talking to folks before and during this leg of the trip, we decided today that there is more to do in the Anchorage area than in going north to Fairbanks, so we will return to Anchorage. The reason we left Anchorage before being finished there was due to weather forecasts. On average, Denali, (the big one or high one in native language) or you may know it better as Mount McKinley, is only visible on average four days a month. The weather predicted today to be clear, but only for Monday, today. We saw the mountain all day from base to top. Our guide said it is even more rare to see it all day as it often gets covered up by lower clouds most days when it is visible. So we made a good decision to get here when we did. The photos did not do justice to just how big and high it really is. While Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on earth above sea level, it is further south in latitude than Denali, or Mt. McKinley, with less wind. Mt. McKinley is taller from it's base than Everest is. Therefore they both claim to be the tallest mountain along with another in Hawaii.
This day may have been the best yet for both David and me. We saw a fantastic mountain which almost looked like a ghost. We saw 10 bears in 16 different sightings during the day, which were too far away to get good photos. We saw two wolves, again pretty far away, a lynx up close, golden eagles, ground squirrels, and two different moose, or meese, or whatever with their calf! We saw the second pair up close and personal. I decided to get a closer look as the mom was lying down, with the calf standing next to her. As I moved closer, maybe 15 ft. I zoomed in for a photo and she heard my camera and first turned her ear, then her head to look at me. I slowly backpedaled and decided I been close enough! It was a fun eventful day.
We are staying at a fascinating place also, it was originally home steaded in the fifties, however they allowed it into the 70s. They no longer allow home steading, but may open it back up in the future as new roads are built. The current operator of the campground and cabins, the third generation went to the lower 48 to go to school and to get a mate. The place was nice and well kept, but we went walking and found some "strange" things, including a place that looked like it was out of a James Bond movie with a tall privacy fence and a huge metal building all closed up and locked. We decided not to look further as it was posted to keep out and secured by the "owners right to bear arms". There was a windmill generator and old junk cars and other interesting things there too. I did learn that the place produced its own power for years, but now is on public utilities. When I asked about what we had seen, the owner said that it is private property. When I asked again in a different way, he again said that it was private property. Later he said that they lived back there, however it was obvious that they lived in and behind the office, so I decided to not mention it again.
We are just 15 miles from where Chris McCandless (Into the Wild) died in the Denali windneress. We saw and crossed the river that is small in the Spring, but gets wild when the glacier and snows melt later in the summer, which kept him from escaping. That along with not knowing there was a bridge nearby nor what plants of the Alaskan wild are edible is why he died.
I will post more details when I am out of the area and have more time. More to come as I remember it, as today we were worn out with a 12 hour trip and seeing so much.

From Haines to Anchorage, AK

Folks, I seem to have a problem... I am trying to be the objective reporter, writing a journal of mine and David's trip to Alaska, however I seem to come across as "not excited to be here", or "things are not going as well as I had planned". Now I guess I have to face the facts that no trip of this magnitude can possibly all go as planned, but since we have intentionally from the outset, made no plans, then I have to say that things are going exactly as not planned! As for excitement, if something excites me, I take a picture of it, so don't listen to my boring words, look at my photos! I review my photos over and over, but I only do a brief proof read of what I write, so all I can do is apologize for my 64 year old mind's inability to infuse excitement into my words and for the grammatical and spelling errors. Accuracy and hitting the highlights is my goal, and to add my goosebumps would only make this longer than it already is... The excitement is in making the trip at all, not in the day to day events! Talk actually became action, and that is the real exciting thing.

From Juneau, the tourist capital city of 31,000 folks, we ferried to Haines, AK about 80 nautical miles Northwest. It is a quaint small town. My highlight was visiting the American Bald Eagle Foundation. The live owl and the many displays were only part of my delight! When I was a young manager at Sears Southland Mall, in Memphis, I had a younger Memphis State University student working for me as a camera salesman. We went water skiing and canoeing together and had a bit of an accident with the canoe that caused Mike to fall in the water and get caught in a tree and finally pop up downstream after I was in a panic. He went on to become a PHD professor of marine biology at Auburn University in Alabama. Here in Alaska were a professor and three students from Auburn U that either knew him or had classes under him. I have not seen him in years and only had a few email contacts over the years! Now that is exciting to me, but I have no pictures to show my goosebumps... sorry...
Then the story goes south again, but I have to report the facts, the road from Haines into Canada for about 400 miles and then back into Alaska are the worst I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life. The reports I had from other campers is part of why I listened to David explain how the ferry over the Alaskan Marine Highway made sense. We were in a strong truck and got bounced all over the place. If we had done this from Washington with the fifth wheel, we may have destroyed the truck and trailer. The road was like ocean waves with deep pot holes and trenches in them. I was dodging things on both sides of the road. I had heard about the gravel and trucks throwing rocks and breaking windshields, but the gravel parts were the only smooth places in the entire road. We got stopped at the Canadian border and they found a few pieces of firewood in the back of the truck, and we had to turn around and take the firewood back to the US of A as it was not allowed into Canada. Once we got back into Alaska, the roads were no better for a long way. My guess, based on what the naturalist told us on the ferry, that they have only a bit of top soil on top of the rock which causes the trees to be short and have wide root systems rather than deep ones, is that they have no clay to pack before they put the asphalt down, so over time the roads become wavy and broken. Anyway, we finally after 6 hours of Canada, and back into Alaska, arrived in a small town called TOK. (Pronounced like toke, taken from the intitals of the founder.) The main business in Tok is either RV repair, or windshield fixing or replacenment. Most of the motels were booked full, but we found a really nice one and got a good nights sleep. The desk clerk was a young lady out of high school from St. George, in southern Utah who had always wanted to visit Alaska, and came here and Tok was the first town she came to, so got a job. She is saving money to go to go home to college while here... (a bit of the American dream?)
From Tok, the roads varied from good, to bad, to worse. They would be really great in places, and really bad in others, and in other places winding and steep up or down. We saw several glaciers which still facinate me as they are frozen rivers, often in places where there is no snow or ice otherwise. Anchorage is busy, with all the chain restaurants we did not see elsewhere in the state so far. Tonight we are in a beautiful suite on Elemdorph AFB connected with Fort Richardson for a bit less than a cheap room here would cost.
These are the facts, the road was bad, the food is good, and I am "excited" to be here! Good food and friends and family make me glad whereever I happen to be. (When you are a Heise, anyone you meet who will talk to you and better yet, listen to you, is a friend!)

Juneau, AK (3rd post made on Wed. 6/9/2010)

We arrived in Juneau two hours late, again due to a sister ferry occupying the only landing spot. We got up at 4:00 AM on Monday morning to pack up to leave the boat at the scheduled time of 4:45, however we actually got off at 7:00 AM. Once one is fully awake, one cannot just go back to sleep, especially when everyone else is up too. At one point the captain made a large circle just kill time like an aircraft circling an airport. We took a "shortcut" in the inland passage that cruise ships have to go 200 miles further to get to the same place. The 40 mile stretch averages 150' wide and 24' deep. Our ship had a draft of thirteen feet so it was passable for us, but difficult to pass if meeting another ferry which did not happen to us.
We had read and heard so much about Juneau and it was a major stop for us, however when expectations run high, one is easily disappointed. I can not say that we were let down, but the three days we planned was too many. Last evening, we had visited all we wanted to see. If Melissa had been along, she would have found plenty of other things to do, but we two guys are not very creative. First thing on Monday we went to visit Mendenhall Glacier and that was fantastic as we had not seen a glacier before. It looked like a wild river flowing frozen in time. It has receded 1.7 miles since 1958, which left a lake at the bottom of it now. Since temperatures have been rising since the last Alaskan mini-ice age ended 250 years ago (yes, 250 years ago ago!) it is expected to continue to recede slowly. However it also moves forward at about 40 plus feet a year, and with increasing snowfall recently it could actually move forward a bit in the future. It is the most accessible glacier in Alaska and one of the most visited in the world. The ice in a glacier is hard and crystal clear due to the pressure of snow sitting up to a mile thick in places. This clear glacial ice only passes blue light and reflects the longer wavelengths. Glaciers form when there is snow trapped deep in mountains and when it overflows it descends like a river and digs deep u shaped trenches. Amy, the naturalist said that glaciers formed the inland waterway which is up to 2200 feet deep in places.
After the glacier the rest of Juneau is a bit like a tourist trap. Almost every morning three cruise ships dock and immediately become the tallest buildings in town. They leave in the evening around 9 PM and then another set arrives the next moring. Juneau has a year round population of 31,000 and also has no roads in or out, so air and water are the only ways to get here. When the cruise ships arrive, they also become a large segment of the total population. Then main drag runs down the harbor and is very narrow as all the roads in town are. There is a tram up the side of the mountain which hems the city in at the ocean. David didn't want to ride it but there is a restaurant and trails at the top. There are photos of it on the Website. The shops are small tourist trap types with pricey souvenirs. Also there are county fair type eating booths and restaurants which too are over priced. We quickly learned that the way to tell Alaskans from tourists is that Alaskans were wearing shorts and halter tops or T shirts, the tourists were wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts. (The days have averaged around 65 degrees, and the nights 50 degrees or so.) We found a good Asian restaurant out on the edge of town and ate there twice. After cruising the strip, we went to the Alaska Brewing Company and sampled some basic beers and exotic experiments. (They are working on a breakfast beer made with bacon, maple syrup, and oatmeal.) I was glad it was not available yet. On Tue. we drove to the state capital building and visited an ancient Russian Orthodox Church. Then we were out of things to do, so we took a hike... An 8 mile hike on the west side of the glacier to be exact. It climbed 1300' in a steep up and down manor above the glacier. We took a wrong turn and didn't realize it until we were above the trail to the glacier, that allowed you to walk out onto it. By the time we could look down and see the line of the glacier path, it was getting late in the afternoon and the mosquitoes were as large a horse flies, so we decided to go back, hiking approximately 5 miles total. We had a good meal and went to bed. Today we visited a museum of Alaskan history, then went to McDonald's for lunch and spent the afternoon catching up the blog. Tonight we board the ferry at 1:30 AM to Haines to continue our journey likely moving on toward Anchorage which will require about 400 miles through Yukon, Canada.

Ketchikan and Wrangall, Alaska

The scenery was only nature in the northern parts of Canada shoreline, however once we entered Alaskan water, then the shore started showing some signs of habitation with houses here and there. Some had boats only out front, some had sea planes or pontoon planes.
Ketchikan was our first stop. It is the first town located within the 16 million acre Tongass National Forest which is a temperate rain forest. Ketchikan is on three islands, and requires a boat to visit the entire town. We left the boat but did not have time to see much as a sister ship was in our way of docking which delayed us and the stop was shortened to stay on schedule. On the way back we hope to have more time to look around. http://www.visit-ketchican.com/
Somewhere I read that Wrangell was the first town in Alaska, but I do not remember if it was first American town, or Russian town, however Russia is a long ways from Wrangell. It was probably the first incorporated American town. It is where we saw the first large group of bald eagles. They were flying around and landing on roofs and sitting in trees. (We have driven to Reelfoot Lake in NW Tennessee to see one or two sitting in trees, and here they are everywhere.) Wrangell has a bear and wildlife observatory and is close to glaciers. It has great salmon fishing for sockeye (red) or pink salmon. There is also sea fishing available as Halibut is the other great Alaskan fish. http://www.wrangall.com

North to Alaska

After much deliberation, we finally decided to save time and maybe a bit of money by taking the the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry up the inside passage to Alaska rather than pull the trailer up a very long mountain highway that is not even paved in long sections with huge trucks roaring past at high rates of speed. Our best source of information this entire journey has been from other travelers in the camp grounds. We were told that the trip was scenic but difficult and hard on the vehicles. The "poor man's cruise ship" was a much more restful trip, we were told. We booked a round trip and I got to ride free as they have a "driver rides free" special on right now if one books a mirror image round trip. We chose a three week round trip to and from Juneau that can be moved backward for 10.00 if we decide to stay longer.
We traveled for two days up the coast of Canada. Some trips stop in Prince Rupert, Canada however this trip skipped that stop. We were in open ocean twice for a bit over an hour each on this trip, and the ship rocked from side to side, and from front to back as we crossed the large spaced out diagonal swells. Had the trip been all open ocean, it would not have gone well for me. I didn't get sick but got to feeling a bit queasy. Had it all been that way, I may have become sea sick.
Our first stop was Ketchikan, AK. We got off the boat for a while as folks got on and off. We were there for close to two hours. The folks not concerned with costs, booked their trip from stop to stop and stayed at each place for a day or two. None of the towns we stopped at had roads in or out of them, as they are only accessible by air or water. We saw many small planes sitting at the docks and some in the air. I thought Hawaii was a small place to have to live, but these towns were isolated other than visits by the weekly ferry or cruise ships that stop. Each is about a half day or more from the next by boat. There were light houses along the way that used to be staffed by a four person team that kept them working, however they now don't require any human staff, but some have folks living in the old lighthouse houses. I don't know if they pay rent, or if they were able to purchase the houses.
The ship had Amy, a Park Ranger Naturalist on board and she gave three talks each day on the history, foliage, animal, and marine life of Alaska, and the glacier activity. I did not attend all of them, but David did attend most. Several were totally interrupted as someone would spot a whale or a porpoise, or the captain would announce seeing one and the talk was over until the activity was past, then she would pick up her talk again. We saw both humpback and orcas on the trip. I put one photo of a "splash" on the Net and some porpoise fins. My camera is too slow reacting to get a shot of a whale on the surface or blowing. I hope David got a shot of one, but he has not downloaded his photo's in a while. I will update the photos later if he got any good shots I missed.

Arrrived in Sedro Woolley, WA

We followed the coast of Oregon through about half the state, then due to it being the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, we had to move inland to find an RV park with a vacancy. As we traveled east from the coast, we saw more versions of RVs than we have seen on the trip, all heading for the coast. It is too cool for swimming, but we saw people laying out in the sun. I guess that if you live in the north, you take what you can get and enjoy it. We came to Interstate 5 at Eugene, OR a bit before dark and found a Good Sam RV Park. The office was closed but they had some vacant, non reserved spots so we stayed. This was the first campground we visited that offered a Continental Breakfast the next morning. Then we took I-5 north to Washington. We drove through Seattle, and David was surprised to see that the Space Needle is not the tallest place in the city as several other buildings are now taller and much larger. We plan to go back to visit Seattle, maybe on Thursday, and have visited several places in the area that my cousin Janet has showed us, which were all fascinating and made great photos which I will put up. On one beach made of rocks, there were rock examples of most of the granite counter tops I have seen in showrooms. I was able to put a few small samples in my shirt pocket, but removing rocks was not allowed. I put some photos on the Net of the volcanic rocks there.
We visited a quaint little restaurant on the bay and they had a sign in the window that they had fresh mussels. We shared 2 pounds of them and a few grilled oysters. The bay view was a great backdrop for a tasty unusual meal. Then we drove a bit further and Janet pointed out the Mussel farms in the water in the bay, so they grow their own fresh mussels for the area.

We are now trying to decide how to proceed with the trip as there are ferry rides from various points in this country and in Canada to make the trip shorter and easier, however budgets will figure into the final decision also. My next entry will probably be as we proceed by whatever method we come up with in the next few days.

In The Middle of Oregon.

Tonight we reached Eugene Oregon, and may make Seattle tomorrow. This morning we took a two mile hike among the Redwoods in Redwood State Park which is part of the national park of the same name. I left my camera in the camper at the campground, so I will only have David's photos when I can get to them as he went to sleep shortly after we arrived. This is brief due to little new today but there was a seemingly brighter and deeper blue ocean in Oregan than in California, with more and bigger rocks in the ocean. The most notable thing I noticed about Oregon is that the state, being "progressive" with their laws, still reminds me of gas stations 40 years ago. They pump your gas for you, by state law. Therefore, most "gas stations" looked and felt like I knew 40 years ago. They had 7 Elevens, with no gas, and gas stations without a market inside, and the restroom was still on the side of the building. We did see a couple of places that had a bit of a store inside but not many. Also, the state has no sales tax, so David may get a new Netbook, as his battery is shot in his computer, and a Netbook, will give him a new battery with a place to write, if he goes to graduate school, while being able to transfer it to the laptop at home and connected to power.

San Franscisco to the Redwood Forests

We had a great evening with cousin Diane and her husband Casey. I visited them on their sailboat and it was really nice with all wood interior, likely a type of wood that I cannot spell. It was similar in some ways to the camper,but much more sophisticated, with radar, radios, and multiple ways to power it. I am a boat person having owned one all my adult life, but Casey is a BOAT PERSON, and I could never explain the difference due to lack of knowledge, and not knowing the ocean BOAT lingo. However we had dinner with them at the yacht club, and I do know good salmon when I eat it and a good Margarita too. They were excellent! Then we had desert at another great place. As we left the next day, we planned to visit them again on a camping trip they were taking in the same direction we were heading, but the campground was reserved to capacity, so we continued north on US 101, the coastal highway which has branches, CA highway 1. Casey had suggested a place in Napa Valley to go for a superb wine tasting, so we visited Kunde Estate Winery and it was a day when they didn't have tours scheduled for the cellar and wine making, but we did taste some really fantastic Sonoma County wine and cheese. We had to have a small bottle of the Zinfandel Port which we will save for a special occasion. Then unfortunately I let David convince me to take highway 1 to the coast to stay at a KOA on a beach on the Pacific Ocean. I enjoyed the destination, even though it had no Verizon cell availability or WiFi, however the trip there was awful, which is an inadequate word, but I try not to use those other adjectives. It was 33 miles of up to 10% grades, the worst so far by 3% and cutbacks constantly. The fastest we went in that distance was 25 mph, and the cutbacks were mostly 15 mph. It took forever to get there! I have photos of the campground in the Web photos, and we were on the beach even if it was cold again. The way back to 101 was the same type mountain highway, but with the addition of rain and giant Redwoods nearly in the road. As we reached US 101, we came to the site of the Redwood that you can drive a car through. Another photo-op we could not miss. David set the GPS to take us to the Redwood National Park to spend the night, but it turned out that the "park" is more of a forest than a park with no campgrounds found. However on the north edge of it, we came upon a really nice private campground on a river that has salmon fishing in the fall, but not in the spring. We detached the camper and tomorrow when the sun shines again, we will do some driving and hiking in the redwoods. Nearly half of two days was spent on winding roads, but we will move faster tomorrow into Oragon to see what is there.

Reno to San Francisco

I would have to say that of all the places I have been in this country, it is a toss up between crossing Wyoming or the trip from Salt Lake City to the Sierra Nevada Range in California for the most desolate unoccupied distances I have traveled. Reno is a city in the middle of nothing, at least traveling on I-80 East to West. I can't speak for north/south. We went through so many elevation and temperature changes in very dry desert air, on this trip, that I now have bronchitis and have lost my voice. David went through some sore throat problems too. As we reached the mountains in eastern California we reached a new high in elevation. We crossed 7300' above sea level and within an hour we were at 1000 ft. with 5% to 6% grades down much of the way. At times it was like descending on an airliner with ear pressure and all. On the way to the RV park in Larkspur, CA in Marin county, we reached levels of -40', below sea level.
Yesterday we had our first Burmese food ever at the recommendation of an employee of the RV park. It was a bit different than mainstream Asian food, but was quite good. Then we went to the Presidio which was a big deal when I was at Fort Ord near Monterey, CA in 1967 for Army basic training. During WWII it was a major west coast defensive fort after the attack on Pearl Harbor. However it is just a park and interesting place to visit today. The gun placements looked much like the ones I saw in Germany. After the Presidio, we spent much of the day hiking to and onto the Golden Gate bridge. I took way too many photos but will limit how many I put up on the Photo Site if I can. Today David took a ferry to San Franscisco, then another ferry out to Alcatraz in the rain, which I chose to pass on. I may visit another cousin, Diane while he does that, and we plan to have dinner with her and her husband at their yacht club. They live on a sail boat at the club. I seem to keep finding cousins as I cross the country, only one cousin visit was planned ahead of time. I found the other two by changing destinations, or by not knowing where they lived. I think I will be out of cousins after I visit Janet in Sedro Woolley, WA, so don't expect to see any in Canada or Alaska if we ever get there. This trip is going slow but it is very enjoyable so far, with a few mishaps here and there. Since leaving Collierville, the trip odometer shows 3700 miles. Some were local trips, but most were highway miles. We may be here another day, then we will move north through Redwood, and wine country...

Travel to Reno, NV from Salt Lake City

Leaving Salt Lake City west on I-80, you drive past the airport, around the south end of the Great Salt Lake, and then for miles on the former "Bonneville Lake" bed. It was the prehistoric precursor of the Great Salt Lake. The flat turned from tan to snow white and I thought it was snow as it turned abruptly as in a line of snow. We drove and it continued. We passed a Corvette out in it, sunk up to his axles. He must have thought he was at the Bonneville Salt Flats Speedway, which we passed about 40 miles further on. There was a Hummer trying to pull it out, but with little success. My truck may have had better results, but we had the fifth wheel attached and this was on an Interstate, not a good place to be trying to tow someone out from the highway. Just before the terrain changed we did pull off and see if it was snow, as by now we were not sure what it was, so I took a piece and tasted it and it was pure salt. It is amazing how much salt there was in places between Salt Lake City and the Nevada border. When we reached Nevada, there was the state line sign and a casino sitting right on it. The parking lot was in Utah, and the casino was built on the edge of the state line, no time wasted to get busy gambling. Every gas station we saw was also a miniature casino. Soon we saw billboards for the Mustang Ranch. David and I thought it would be a good experience to visit it, but then figured it would look strange for us to stop, look around and then leave, so we kept going.
We drove 9 hours today and arrived at Reno just as it got dark. The temperature was 28 degrees. While in Sandy, UT, we had temps of 80 in the day and near 55 at night to 45 in the day and 30 at night. David and I both have sore throats, probably due to the dry air and the wide temperature swings we have experienced on this trip. Some of the swings involve elevation as we have gone from Collierville at 400 foot above sea level to 7000 foot on the way to the Grand Canyon, then down to 3,000 feet, and back up to 6000, to 4500 at Salt Lake City, then back up to 6000 and tonight at 4000. Next we will go through Sacramento, CA and on to San Francisco which is near sea level. David wants to visit Yosemite National Park too on the way, but that too is off the planned path so we will have to reason on it, as at this rate we may not make it to Alaska till July, and have to turn around and come back. One has to set limits on the rabbits chased off the path...

The Salt Lake experience

We had to cross mountains again to get to Sandy, UT. We arrived at Julie's about 5 PM on Saturday. She fixed us a good dinner that could best described as "Chinese Hawaiian", but it was great, something I or Melissa will try when we get home. I did one of the tightest parking jobs I have ever had to do to fit the camper in Julie and Scott's driveway. I had about an inch and a half to play with on either side. I ended up with the back of the trailer up against the carport so I let some air out of the tires on the opposite side, and all was well. However in the morning I will have to get it back out of there! On Sunday after church, Scott took David snowboarding on a small ski slope up in the mountains while I worked on my Online photos and washed some clothes. The ski lift was not running as the place was closed, so Scott had to carry his skis and David the snowboard back up the hill with each run, so they got quite a workout. Since I was not there and David had all he could handle with the board, there are no photos. While at Julie's I fixed a huge pot of beef stew, and a pot of spaghetti sauce. Most of the stew got eaten in one sitting, and the rest went for Scott's lunches for a day or two.
David and I kept Shiloh, the grandbaby and niece for one day and that was an experience. All went well as she trained us very well. She has the best fake cry I have seen, but it took a while to realize it was fake, so now she knows she can get picked up whenever she wants if "Mom" is not around. Julie took her to the baby sitter after that so we would not spoil her any more than already done. She said it was bad after Melissa kept her for several days on her last visit and she didn't want to have that repeated. We took many photos and some will be put on the photo Site.
We picked the worst day of the year to visit Antelope Island in the Salt Lake. The gnats were swarming, there were some mosquitoes, and the lake had a strong sulfur odor caused by bacteria at the bottom, which periodically comes to the surface. There were actually a few folks in the water at the beach, and other visitors looking at the buffalo herd. There are also antelope and deer on the island but we did not see any. The lake has water running into it after rains, but none runs out, it just evaporates or soaks in over time which has left a large amount of salt in it. It is said that if one floats in it, their body will be half out of the water. I will leave that test for another time as the truck got covered with gnats, and we didn't get 0ut but once to go into the visitor center.
We don't know where we will get to tomorrow, but it will be in the direction of San Francisco...

On to Las Vegas

This leg of our trip was not in any original plan. When we got to the Grand Canyon, David did some figuring and found that it was only about a hundred miles further to include Las Vegas and he had a strong desire to see Sin City and its excesses. Once we arrived he had set aside the hefty sum of eighteen dollars to wager on Black Jack and the slots. I didn't plan to touch anything as I once my lost my entire military pay check during basic training in a poker game. (I was determined to win back my losses, so I kept playing until there was nothing left to play with.) That experience early in life was a valuable lesson on my nature, and gambling in general. We had made plans to meet my cousin for lunch the next day, so when we arrived at the campground on Lake Mead in the evening, David and I decided to go check out the Strip. We arrived just after dark and found a parking spot on a side street in front of a row of small stores. Parking garages and all parking we saw was free. I was blown away at the size of the casinos. Yes they look big on TV, however I never realized that most take up a whole city block or more, with the bottom floor filled with every conceivable method one could imagine to get you to turn over your money to them and feel almost good about it. Most casinos had an area the size of a gym or larger just for sports betting. Every kind of game and race is on its individual jumbo tron type screen on the wall. There were row after row of computer workstations for the gamers to study stats. and place bets. They don't allow "open" photography in the casinos, but I got a waist shot of one of he rooms which did not come out very well. I know a lot of folks that have been to Vegas, but no one had prepared me for how big it all is. Floor after floor of hotel rooms over each game floor. The first one we went to after parking was Bellagio which we remembered from the Oceans Eleven movie. David was ready to get gamblin'. I showed him a quarter slot, and he looked for a place to put a quarter in. I can remember when they accepted coins, but now all want bills. He slid a dollar in and looked for a lever. There was one but on this machine, it did nothing, so he pushed the button. On his third quarter push, I heard something happening. He had won eighty dollars! That got my interest so I sat down beside him and put a dollar in and lost it. Then I put in a second one and won ten dollars, this is starting to be fun! Then we sat there for thirty more minutes and we finally got bored and I left with nine dollars and David had seventy five. This would be silliness to anyone with money or a gambler's mentality, but we were quite happy. The next day I won seventy five cents and was happy and quit before going into the losing column. David ended his gaming the next day too, and I left with 9.75 and he with 70.00. Probably my worst experience was when a waitress walked up and offered us a complimentary drink and before I could open my mouth David said no, we are fine as he sipped a beer that I had paid for! It's all the same to him as he is on my tab as a graduation present.

We met Jim, my cousin the next day and that is where I saw the part of Las Vegas that I liked. It was the old version of a Las Vegas strip and things were a more manageable size and price. We had a good lunch with Jim at Main Street Station Casino, Brewery, and Resort. Then he showed us the old town highlights and it was still really nice with a lot of folks there, possibly more local than tourists. We went into a place that had a large pool in the center court with more rows of recliners for tanning than I have ever seen, and almost every chair was taken. (See the photos) There was a water slide that went in a tube through an aquarium. There is a brief video in my photos of someone passing through the fish aquarium. There was even a section of street devoted to archived signs that may have appeared in movies of the past but are no longer being used on a business. That evening Jim and his wife Alice met us at Boulder Station which is a Casino nearer to where we were staying on Lake Meade. (Jim bought lunch and I bought dinner but it turned out that Alice had a comp coupon which covered for over half of dinner.) Regular casino goers have perks but David sent away the only perk we had a chance at!
I enjoyed the visit to Las Vegas, but one theme kept coming to mind. At the Grand Canyon, they stressed water conservation, and all bathroom devices used recycled water. At the Hoover Dam, they stressed water and power conservation. Yet Las Vegas has fountains everywhere evaporating water, and far bigger bright lit up signs than would be needed. Jim mentioned that new housing could not be sodded and watered, yet the businesses could be as extravagant as they chose to be, probably due to the cash flow generated for the city. I assume that if a business pays the electric and water bill, they can do as they please. Somehow this does not seem right to an old Midwest guy, but that is the way it is, so far...
Next stop, Salt Lake City area, Julie, Scott, and Shiloh.

Hoover Dam & Las Vegas

About a mile before arriving at Hoover Dam we had to stop for a vehicle inspection to check for explosives. It would likely take an eighteen wheeler of high power explosives to put a dent in a dam the size and depth of the dam. I suppose that they want to prevent any "propaganda" successes, and exercise "due diligence". There is a large bridge being built downstream from the dam to bypass traffic around Hoover Dam. That will allow security to check only those wanting to visit the dam itself. The sheriff deputy who was to inspect our rig happened to have served in the Army, and he saw my Air National Guard plate and we got to talking politics and tea parties. He told of being at the demonstration at Harry Reid's home town that brought out 10,000 folks against Reid, and the counter demonstration that Harry arranged which only produced several hundred. The deputy looked inside my trailer and asked if that was my shotgun and I told him yes but it is not loaded. He asked me if I had a hand gun and I told him yes in the truck. He told me to take the clip out and all would be fine and sent me on without further inspection. Citizens with gun permits do have an advantage with law enforcement because we make their job a bit easier, or at least they think so.
We toured the power generating operation of the dam and it is quite impressive. The dam is seven hundred twenty six feet high, one thousand two hundred forty four feet across. Six hundred sixty feet thick at the base, and forty five feet thick at the top. Four point four million cubic yards of concrete in the structure. And forty five million pounds of reinforcing steel make this an impressive structure. It has 17 turbines inside the dam. It sends power to many states and provides water for the Imperial Valley which allows it to exist where there was once only desert. For anyone wanting more details of the era when it was built, Google: Hoover Dam. Wikipedia and Watersheds TV both have much information. The dam has served well over it's 75 years with seasons of much water, and of little water. Right now Lake Mead is at a level 100 feet below desired normal and just a bit above the record low. There are several reasons for this. In recent years there was less snowfall in the Colorado River Basin, which caused a drought. Also water usage has increased, and there is the normal draining of the rocky terrain where the lake is located. These team together to cause the drain on Lake Mead. There is some irony to all this... First, when the dam was built, several states fought over water and power share. This held up the dam for some time, until Hoover told them to get together and work out a "treaty" and the dam would be started with the agreement still in the works. Arizona worked hard to get a large share of the water to allow Phoenix and other areas to grow. At the time Phoenix was using mostly well water. When the dam was finished and Arizona got its share worked out, the water was piped to Phoenix and due to the mineral content of the water, it was hard on the infrastructure and the residents did not like the taste of the water, so today most of the water that Arizona gets is "dumped" in the desert. Why? Because the agreement reads that if any state needed less water, it would be diverted to other locations. Arizona knows that the time will come when they will have to have the water, so they waste it now to keep their "share". I have not researched this in depth, but my cousin has lived here for years and is a civil engineer who specializes in water and drainage, so I am taking his word for it. Also the Imperial Valley uses vast amounts of the water in ever growing locations, and lastly, what is left in the Colorado River flows into Mexico where it eventually runs dry. It no longer drains into any body of water, just runs dry. Mexico lays claim to a certain amount of water, which it is no longer getting, so that too is a matter of contention. The waste of water will be looked at again when we get to Las Vegas. There are photos of the Hoover Dam and the new bridge in the photos at the address in the previous edition.

The always Majestic Grand Canyon

From a KOA in Flagstaff, we called ahead to the Canyon camp grounds for reservations. Seems the RV Village in the park is booked from March through most of November at least a year in advance. We drove to the Canyon and found a circa 1970s Flintstone theme campground for dirt cheap about 25 miles from the canyon. It was run down, but there were some campers there so I paid for two nights since we would only be sleeping there. The next morning we went to the canyon and on the way passed a better but not great campground at twice the price of Flintstones. It got down to around freezing each night and as we arrived at the canyon, the temperature was only up to 40 degrees. We walked around some and then ate an early lunch and as we were sitting down, we noticed it snowing outside. Within a few minutes it was like a blizzard with heavy snow blowing almost parallel to the ground. By 1 PM it was clearing up some. It is not possible to drive to the canyon overlooks anymore, unless you have a special handicap pass which requires that one be totally unable to board a bus in any way. I only saw two cars doing this the entire time, and they were assisted elderly folks. The large buses rotate on a 15 minute basis, and one can get off whenever one wants and then catch the first bus by when one is ready to move on. There is also a rim trail one can hike or bike. David and I hiked between some of the shorter legs, and caught the bus for the ones over a half mile. David and I discussed the trail down into the canyon, but neither of us was confident that we could make it back up if we tried to walk down, and I doubt you can catch a mule down there for the ride up only. By mid afternoon, the sun was shining bright and we got some pretty good photos. There is always a haze in the canyon these days due to smog from Mexico and California. I used a UV haze filter which did not get rid of it totally, so I used Picasa to edit the photos some and eliminated most of the haze up close, but was unable to remove it from the longer distances. The Grand Canyon averages 10 miles across, and at one point you can see a landmark 35 miles down the canyon and it does not appear to be that far, however how many times can you see a measured distance of 35 miles? We hoped to get some great sunset photos but clouds started coming in and the shots were limited.
Now we head to Las Vegas to meet up with a cousin of mine who lives there and see the strip and any place else cousin Jim and his wife Alice have time to show us. We will cross the Hoover Dam and may try to take a tour if they have any.

Meteor Crator, Petrified Forest & Painted Desert

On the way to Flagstaff, we came across the Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest, and Painted Desert. The meteor crater is the best preserved crater on the planet, and is 2.4 miles in circumference, and over 550 feet deep. Some years ago, four airline pilots rented a plane and flew to the crater. They decided to circle inside it, and due to the heat, and elevation, they were unable to fly out of it. When they ran out of fuel, they made a controlled crash in the bottom and a wing has been left there to remind anyone else not to try it!
Since we had seen all three places on a trip made in 2002, we spent some time at the Petrified Forest, but skipped the Meteor Crater and the Painted Desert this time to get on with the trip. I did locate some photos of the crater and the Painted Desert from the last trip and included them with this trip's photos at: www.picasaweb.google.com/kenheise According to a Ranger, the Petrified Forest once had hundreds of acres of petrified trees in various forms, but before the area became protected, people carried them off in truck and even train car loads. They were a popular yard decoration in the early twentieth century, especially among the rich. There are still plenty to see if you ever get in the area. At one time the petrified forests were covered with dirt, or more likely with sea water which allowed silt and minerals to settle and replace the wood as it decomposed. (There are other petrified forests, but the one in Arizona is the largest.)

Days 4 - 6

As we continued our trip I noticed that my GPS shows that the elevation has climbed very gradually from about 500' above sea level to 7000' near the Petrified Forrest. Also we have noticed that the wind outside has gradually increased too. Day 4 we had winds in the 40 mph range, today we have winds around 40 gusting to 60 mph, velocities that I am used to only seeing in thunder storms at home. Surprisingly driving has been buffeting at times but without the control problems that other campers are reporting and I have experienced in the past. Now I am glad that we have a fifth wheel trailer and not a bumper pull or a motor home style. The hitch being over the rear axle limits or removes the sway effect very well. This evening we had planned to stay in Flagstaff but stayed longer at the Petrified Forrest than planned so we are staying near it. Turns out the Interstate is closed between here and Flagstaff due to the winds, so it worked out fine. The only notable stop during this period was the Petrified Forrest.
I now realize that this blog should be called the Road to Alaska, with a different one for Alaska itself. I may try to change it, but since everyone now realizes this, probably won't. Tomorrow we will go to Flagstaff and probably take the rest of the day off for cleaning and rest. Then on Tuesday we will spend most of the day in the Canyon.

Days 2 & 3

Day 2 was from Little Rock to Oklahoma City. We stayed in a State Park on Lake Thunderbird. It was a day of travel only and we stopped early to charcoal a rib eye, fresh corn on the cob, and baked potato. There were speedboats on the lake and in past years I would have been wanting to be out there too, and maybe even rent a boat, but not today. About the only real thoughts I had on this day is that it seems a bit arrogant to put up a blog as few if any would even want to see it. However if my parents or any member of my family look at it then that alone would make it worth the effort. If not, then I have always considered a "diary" or a journal. Therefore this can be my journal for myself or grand kids, which also make it worth the effort, therefore it now exists.
Day 3 was a trip to the Oklahoma City Bomb Memorial. It was interesting, but not overpowering. There will be more photos at Http://picasaweb.google.com/kenheise
Then we traveled to Amarillo, TX and stayed at a KOA to have a WiFi connection, and the highway to it was Historic Route 66. After we passed a highway marker it hit me that we should do a photo op with the rig and us by the sign. I told David that I was stopping at the next sign, but there wasn't another. Now we have to decide whether to backtrack for a photo op, or continue and hope to see another at some point. Tomorrow we will probably cover the most miles so far as there is little to see between here and points 500 miles west unless we find something unexpected.

Day One of the Great Alaska Adventure was interesting, and no way predictable. It took far longer to get on the road than planned, and that turned out to be a small miracle in itself. The trailer window that was supposed to be ordered to meet us in Salt Lake City was messed up by the parts man at the RV place where the camper was bought. He did not send it to Salt Lake City where we were to be, at the end of the four week allocated time to make the window. He sent it to our house instead.
While we were finishing up, a UPS truck stopped in front of the house. Melissa went out to it and got a box. I couldn't see it, and she said that we may have our window and I thought she was joking. While installing it took a bit over an hour, I am glad that its a done deal, and we don't have to wait for it to arrive. Had it arrived an hour or so later, we all would have been a bit unhappy with having to turn around or reship it. It was here two weeks early. So I will use the cliche, all is well that ends well! We drove for about three hours today and the sun in our eyes got so intense, that we decided to camp at a KOA near Little Rock. I took a photo or two of the campsite as we barbecued some chicken, but I will have to take time to learn to add photos to this to show them, however I will put them up on the Web at the same place as the DC photos at a later date. It is 9:30 and David is already going to sleep as he got up earlier than I did, so we will have to work on getting on the same schedule.

The day prior to departure

As I sit here at my desk I am feeling more apprehension than anticipation... Why would that be? Maybe because today I woke up to my first day as a 64 year old man. I am a year older than yesterday, or is it that the DC trip went well, but I overspent, and know I am going to have to learn a bit more about being frugal. Then I wonder if I packed all that we will need, or if I over packed and the the camper is over it's load limit?
My son was trapped in Nashville after going to visit friends and the floods came. He should be home this afternoon and we will leave in the morning. I assume that once we hit the road tomorrow, the anxiety will blow out the window with the dust.
And the biggest question? Am I really ready for a trip of this magnitude? The plan is to head West to the Grand Canyon, North to Sandy Utah where I will replace the window that blew out on the way home from DC and visit our daughter Julie, her husband Scott and mostly the new grand baby. Then on to the Golden Gate bridge and the bay area just to take a picture of the Bridge and to have experienced it. Then up through wine country with a few side steps to see the rocky beaches. Thru Oregon to Sedro Woolley, Washington where I will visit a cousin I rarely see. From there I will ship my hand gun home as Canada is not friendly to handguns. We will only carry a shotgun with slugs and shot into Canada. David has a friend in Vancouver we will visit, then it is North to Alaska with no further plans, it will be day by day decision making as we don't want to be locked into anything.