OUR BEST TRIP EVER…HANDS DOWN…

  Our VERY favorite trip ever, and we did it BEFORE we ever owned an RV…was driving to….

                                     ALASKA!!!!

In 2002, we drove 11,000 miles in one month…leaving August 18th, getting home Sept. 18th..I thought I would give you a little thumbnail of our trip… I cannot begin to put every picture on here…

We had talked about going to Alaska, and finally decided we shouldn’t wait any longer… We drove up the Alaskan Highway in our pick up (not diesel, and not extended cab), went all the way to Prudhoe Bay, and came back through British Columbia on the Cassiar Hwy…My mouth was open the whole way (imagine that)..It was a dream come true…and I kept a journal that I made into a 62 page book…

In this case, clicking on the photos to see them larger is a GREAT idea!!

OBVIOUSLY, WE WERE HAVING A GOOD TIME AT THE WOOD CARVER’S ON THE KENAI PENINSULA….




THE WILDLIFE WAS FABULOUS…THE CARIBOU WERE SHEDDING THEIR VELVET FROM THEIR ANTLERS…WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO SEE THE TOP OF DENALI.. THE GRIZZLY BEARS WERE FAT AND SASSY, FORAGING FOR FOOD FOR THEIR LONG  WINTER’S “NAP”

I WAS IN 7TH HEAVEN THE WHOLE TIME…..CAN YA TELL??

WE SAW MUSK OX ON THE “HAUL ROAD” ON THE WAY TO PRUDHOE BAY…AND THE PIPELINE FOLLOWED RIGHT BESIDE US, SOMETIMES DIPPING BELOW THE RIVER AND BACK ABOVE GROUND ON THE OTHER SIDE …







WE STAYED ONE NIGHT AT COLDFOOT CAMP, ON THE WAY TO THE BEAUFORT SEA AND THE OILFIELDS (THAT’S THE ONE AND ONLY STOP, AND IT IS TRULY A CAMP!) OUR ROOM WAS IN A LONG MODULAR SECTIONED UNIT…TWIN BEDS, A SHOWER, SINK AND STOOL..$140 A NIGHT…. WORTH EVERY PENNY!





WE HAD FINALLY REACHED OUR GOAL…MILE ZERO AND THE BEAUFORT SEA…WE HAD TO TAKE A BUS TOUR TO SEE IT…IT WAS 2002, AND NO ONE WAS ALLOWED LOOSE IN THE OIL FIELDS AFTER 9/11….ON LEFT IS OUR “HOTEL”….RIGHT, TWO HAPPY ADVENTURERS AT THE ARCTIC OCEAN….
 


ON OUR WAY BACK FROM DEADHORSE, WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO SEE A GRIZZY ALONG THE ROAD, FORAGING FOR FOOD…A “BEAR ASS” , SO TO SPEAK….

ABOUT 60 MILES NORTH OF FAIRBANKS WE CAME ACROSS A WOMAN AND HER MOM WITH CAR TROUBLE…LET ME JUST SAY THAT THERE IS USUALLY NO ONE IN SIGHT ON THIS ROAD…MCGUYVER HOOKED THEIR CAR TO OUR TRUCK WITH OUR TOW STRAP, PUT THEM IN THE CAB OF THE TRUCK WITH US, AND PULLED THEIR CAR UP THE HILL TO A PLACE WHERE WE COULD GET THE CAR OFF THE ROAD…(THAT IS THE ROAD GRADER FOLLOWING US, BELOW, RIGHT)…WE THEN GAVE THEM A RIDE  TO A “STORE”  (LONG TRAILER WITH AN OUTHOUSE)…TO USE THE PHONE…PRICE FOR THE TOWTRUCK….$5.00 A MILE..HMMMM…5 x 60=$300 SMACKERS…

 

WE SPENT A COUPLE NIGHTS IN HAINES, WHICH IS FAMOUS FOR THE BALD EAGLES….IT IS A CRUISE SHIP STOPOVER…THAT SIGN MCGUYVER IS POINTING TO COMING OUT OF THE OUT HOUSE SAYS “BEARS SPOTTED IN AREA RECENTLY”….OK, LET’S GO!






BEFORE WE GOT OFF THE ALASKAN HIGHWAY, I WANTED TO RECREATE A PHOTO MY AUNT AND UNCLE .  UNCLE WALT WAS IN THE AIR FORCE AND HELPED BUILD THE ALASKAN HIGHWAY…THIS PHOTO OF THEM ON THE LEFT WAS TAKEN IN APRIL, 1948.(.ONE MONTH BEFORE I WAS BORN)..THIS PHOTO“RECREATION” WAS ONE OF MY GOALS ON THIS TRIP…





WE HAD A GREAT LITTLE LOG CABIN AT NORTH BEAVER POST, YUKON TERRITORY..AND THEY DIDN’T CHARGE EXTRA FOR THE MOSQUITOS…




OUR LAST STOP IN ALASKA WAS THE TOWN OF HYDER…IT IS THE SOUTHERN MOST SPOT YOU CAN BE IN ALASKA…VERY MUCH LIKE A MISTY FIORD..THE GLACIER IS CALLED BEAR GLACIER…YA SEE WHY , RIGHT???


WELL, I SURE SHORTENED THAT TRIP UP…WE HAVE A BUNCH OF PHOTOS…AND  2 VIDEO TAPES OF OUR TRIP…OUR HOPE IS TO GO BACK AGAIN…TAKING OUR TIME….AND TAKING OUR HIKER….SEEMS TO ME LIKE WE BETTER “GET AFTER IT”…MCGUYVER AND ME …WE’RE BURNING DAYLIGHT!!!!

“There is one word of advice and caution to be given those intending to visit Alaska…If you are old, go by all means, but if your are young, wait.  The scenery of Alaska is much grander than anything else of it’s kind in the world, and it is not wise to dull one’s capacity for enjoyment by seeing the the finest first.”

…..Henry Gannett, Harrison Expedition 1899