Friday, July 23 – Photo galleries are up!
Updated my Smugmug Gallery, click here to explore the 278 photos! In addition, there are 3 slideshows, all with different times and effects, enjoy!
Sunday, July 18 UPDATES: Photos uploaded to SmugMug, we took a lot!
Gas total = $583.63 and propane total = $50.84. We left the RV with about 3/8 tank or so of gas. The mileage was 1831 miles, so the gas cost per mile = $0.3106/mile or 3.22 miles/dollar.
The RV rented for $241.22 per night for a cost of $7,236.45 plus the mileage fee at $0.25/mile. Our grand total cost for the RV was $10,939.11. This includes the additional driver, prepaid gas and propane, cancel care protection, CDW (at $45.00/day, ouch). GRAND TOTALS = $10,939.11 + $583.63 + $50.84 = $11,558.58 / 30 nights = $385.29/day
Lessons learned – plan ahead for fishing trips, pay attention to what a gently used RV means. We didn’t need to have the 2021 RV off the line in Indiana. Because of COVID, a 2019, not really used in 2020, would have been just fine. Don’t take a Forester RV coach, not impressed with the build quality.
Day 32: Saturday, July 10 – Anchorage – LAX
Time to leave and return to pumpkin-ville. Nice, slow morning, breakfast down in the restaurant, the sourdough pancakes sure are good! We were packed up by 10: 15 or so, plenty of time! We plan on leaving the hotel by noon for a 2:30 flight, AK 140.
A great trip, spent the night at the Hilton by the airport and drove down to the OC to visit with Pat, before coming home. We were safe at home by early afternoon.
Day 31: Friday, July 9 – Anchorage
Time to shop once last time! After a breakfast and nice hot shower, we went shopping and had lunch at the 49th St. Brewing Company. Most disappointed in the beer, a stout and the halibut fish and chips. The best thing was the home-made, gigantic pretzel with melted cheese sauce. The Glacier brewing company, back when we first arrived, was much better. Lots of people showing up in Anchorage now!
Day 30: Thursday, July 8 – Anchorage
Breakfast leisurely and packing up the RV. The Bird Creek campground was about 1/2 hour away from Anchorage. We stopped by the UPS Pack-N-Ship store which was just slammed with some kind of computer problem. We ended up across the street at the FedEx pack and ship with no waiting. I think I shipped the HyperJuice charger in the box … or I left it in the RV.The time to return is 3pm, but we arrived around noon and were done by 1pm. We covered 1830.8 miles!
Read through the list of ‘fixes’ with Danielle, she hopefully wrote them down. We met Alvin, the tech guy I talked to over the phone in Soldonta. No charge for the broken window! In the Hotel Captain Cook by 1:30 for late lunch. No way to charge the computer now, the missing HyperJuice, so we ordered one online from Apple and picked it up at the 5th St Apple store in the mall.
Day 29: Wednesday, July 7 – Portage Glacier, Alyeska and Bird Creek
Our last full RV day! We decided to head to the Portage Glacier and take the water taxi tour to the lake. We made the 10:30 departure, the tour lasts for an hour. Very informative NP ranger information!
Starting to rain, so we decided to see if we could fit in Alyeska before the rain came in, off we went and arrived around 1pm at the foot of the mountain in Girdwood, Subway for lunch, Sandy wanted a meat ball sandwich and we topped off on gas, just in case. We were down to the 3/8 mark and were planning on dry camping for $20 at the DayLodge parking area. We wanted to make sure we could keep the generator running, so we added some gas.
The views up the tram were bautiful of the Turnagain Arm but the clouds were moving about too. A nice adult beverage at the tram top and back down to check out the overnight parking situation. Not exactly what I had in mind, so we decided to press onto the Bird Creek Campground closer to Anchorage. An OK place to overnight and boondock on our last night.
The rain was off and on, in the middle of the night, I noticed a little water seeping in on the floor by the living room popouts. This vehicle has a few issues.
Gas #12 in Girdwood: 7.045 gallons, $3.56, $25.07
Day 28: Tuesday, July 6 – Drive to Hope, Alaska!
Not in a real hurry this morning, got everything packed up and our neighbor was doing the same. They went dip netting yesterday and the day before with 12 salmon in their coolers. They are headed back to Anchorage. It is another cold and dreary and drizzly and rainy day here and all over the peninsula for that matter.
We drove our favorite stretch of road, now for the 3rd time and saw the “Bucket’s” restaurant that Tommy and his dad like like in Soldotna. The drive was nice and slow, the rain was off and on. We turned off on Hope Road and arrived at the Coldwater RV park in the early afternoon. This place needs some work, we drove the little town as well, not much going on. My mistake – we should have pressed onto one of the FS campgrounds near Portage Lake to see what our availabilty was, I didn’t ready the BOOKS!
Dinner was in the RV, but dessert was provided by the Dirty Skillet, next door, Turnagin Mud ice cream (with activated charcoal!) and Slutty Cherry Pie, delicious! It’s kinda miserable and activity reducing when its cold and rainy, reminds of us Hawaii’s north shore!
Day 27: Monday, July 5 – Kenai exploring
Lesiure time. booked an extra night here at the Klondike RV Park. Slow breakfast and headed out to Kenai to see the dip netters and the Russian Orthodox Church. Found the Church and a little walking tour of the area but the dip netting doesn’t start until July 10. Our neighbors in the RV park, seem to be getting ready with their huge nets at the ready.
Lunch at Louie’s Steak and Seafood for lunch in Kenai. Great broiled halibut with rice and broccoli while staring at all the animal mounts in the restaurant.
Drove back to Soldotna and stopped by the fabric store on Sterling Highway and I hit the Sportsman’s Warehouse #212, next door, quite a collection of stuff only in Alaska!
Did the laundry in the afternoon and had or last BBQ for dinner.
Day 26: Sunday, July 4 – Kenai fly fishing!
Talked to the Great Alaskan folks, Alvin, specifically, about the window. GA was going to call at 7am, but I called them at 7:30am, not the best follow-through. They offered no plan other than something for tomorrow, Monday, holiday and all.
Spent the morning coming up with a plan. Talked to our fishing guide, Phil, and asked to push back the trip to 1pm instead of noon and he was flexible. We bought the 3rd seat in the boat, so it was only the 2 of us. That gave us a little more time …
GA suggested removing the glass, and placing a piece of plexiglass in its place. I said yeah right, the window is high up and you need a ladder. I borrowed some duct tape and started the repair. I was able to use my campsite neighbor’s picnic table to give me the added height. My plan was to reinforce the window and help keep it in place, rather than remove it entirely. Masked over the window on the outside and on the inside. Used all of the black duct tape the office here had, used up the bright green tape on the inside and walked down the street to the auto parts place to get some more tape. We were missing about 2-strips worth on the top of the outside. Found the tape and completed the repair. Just FYI, the Gorilla Glue duct tape is super strong!
The repair held up on the hour drive to Cooper Landing, so far, so good. GA called when we were on the river, found a lead on a repair guy who could do the window removal and plexiglass repair. I asked if it the plexiglass would be already cut to fit, because they have the vehicle and the window measurements in the shop. Nope, he would do all the repair in the field. They really don’t think things through. I described my repair and decided to hold off on wasting a day for their field guy.
Arrived right on fishing time, 1pm and Phil was a fantastic guide, knowing the 8 miles section of the Kenai from Kenai Lake to the junction of the Russian River, an 8-mile stretch. We are fly fishing catch-and-release for rainbows, dollys and grayling. Started about 1:30 and put out at about 7:30 pm, a good day, 2 rainbows and 2 dolly vardens AND the fish that got away! A late day for us, we weren’t back in camp until 9pm, still daylight!
Gas #11 in Soldotna: 12.575 gallons, $3.50, $44.00
Day 25: Saturday, July 3 – Homer to Soldatna
Woke up leisurely after a big day. Packed up, dumped, filled up with fresh water … and found the leak in the sewer hose had gotten a whole lot worse. Stopped the dump, mini spill and now had to go find a new hose. Ulmer’s in town, had NONE, the car parts place had 2. I jokingly asked if they were $100, he said ‘yes’ plus tax. The kit was nice, 2 hoses, couplers and 90 degree adapters, all you could need. Found the public dump station, $20 and we were all done. Cleaned up our mess down in the dump valve station and off to Soldotna and the Klondike RV park. We were on the road by about noon. On the way, we thought we heard a bird strike on the RV, but no damage when we later looked around.
Arrived in Soldotna, went direct to Senor Pancho’s for lunch/dinner, good stuff! Went to Fred Meyer for a few more supplies and found dessert.
Discovered that the master bedroom fixed window pane had shattered, wonder if it was the bird? Called GA after hours about 10:30pm or so, the answering service called back and I returned their call about 12:45am. They promised to call at 7am. I decided to cover the window from the inside with a trash bag, in case the glass fell out inside or outside. Not much sleep.
Day 24: Friday, July 2 – Hallo Bay
What an adventure, beats fishing! We left Emerald Air at about 9 am, after being outfitted with hip waders and waterproof pants. The 1:15 minute flight on the de Havilland Otter was amazing, for weight and balance, I was in the co-pilot seat. The pilot Dave, had over 20,000 hours, and was a bit taller than I, so I guess we were about the same weight.
The Otter landed on the beach, unloaded us and left for the day to return at 3:30 pm for our return flight. Lance was our guide for the next few hours. Immediately, we saw bears. The requirement is to stay at least 50 yards away from the bears and we were instructed as to how to behave and speak in a “situation”. There were 9 in our group, plus Lance. We traversed streams and high grasses looking for optimal locations. It rained pretty much more than less, but everyone stayed dry. In the first stream crossing, Sandy took on a little water over her hip boot waders. Luckily, no one fell in.
For the next few hours, we did the same walking and fording around, just taking a break for lunch. We had to leave NO trace of any trash, even the bathroom situation. My hats off tot the ladies! The trip was a little long, for about an hour, we sat and observed the bears, moms and babies and the older, larger males.
The end of the trip had the floatplane out 1/4 mile from shore, he couldn’t come closer for fear of beaching himself, so we had to trek in the surf to meet him. That did me in, but we all made it. Dave was nice enough on the return flight to fly over the Mt. Douglas glacier field, pretty spectacular! The trip for Sandy and I could have been cut short, easily, by 2 hours or so, and we would have been fine. I think the same was true for the other passengers.
It was interesting, that in the flat water in the bay, yesterday’s bear trip was cancelled due to high surf, wind and rain in the Katmai NP. I guess I felt somewhat vindicated and to tell the truth, had we gone fishing, I think I would have been in even poorer shape today. It was meant to be.
We ordered the ‘Uncle Sam’ medium pizza from Fat Olives for dinner, we were exhausted and went to bed by 8:15 pm.
Day 23: Thursday, July 1 – Homer
A day to relax, the water in the bay stayed pretty flat most of the day, go figure!
We had a leisure breakfast, then strolled around the spit, having a bloody mary at “Salty Dawg” to drown our sorrows. Shopped around, had lunch at the “Bus Named Sue“, delicious halibut fish and chips, probably the best I’ve had. They used Panko crumbs, lighty fried and we split a 3 piece order.
The afternoon was nice and leisure, the park is starting to fill up for the 4th. Dinner was taquitos, they were ok. We gotta eat up the leftovers!
Day 22: Wednesday, June 30 – Homer
Spent the day getting ready for tomorrow. Laundry first and then went to town, bought our 7 day non-resident licenses, some rain gear for tomorrow and Friday. We had lunch at Fat Olives, recommended!
Filled up again on propane and gas, not sure what is happening, we took 6.1 gallons on propane. Returned to the RV with dinner and dumped and filled with water, getting that out of the way.
AND THEN, we got a text saying our Kachemak King trip for tomorrow is CANCELLED. Mechanical boat problems, not a courtesy call, a text. We scrambled around trying to find another boat, no luck. My take-away – try to plan ahead of time for fishing. I wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t plan, my FAULT big time. A couple other leads fell short, stay away fro FISHINGBOOKER.com, it’s not worth it, no feedback. Its a good thing, we didn’t pay in full!
Did manage to hook up with Phil, out of Cooper Landing, on the Kenai. We are scheduled with him on Sunday, afternoon/evening fly fishing on the Kenai for rainbow and dolly varden, the premier river in the peninsula!
Gas #10 in Homer: 14.049 gallons, $3.56, $50.00
Propane #3 in Homer: 6.1 gallons, $3.89/gallon, $23.73
Day 21: Tuesday, June 29 – Homer
Got an early start, headed to Homer for breakfast. We drove around and out to the spit to check out the areas. Breakfast at the Duncan House Diner was great, nice to be served.
While doing breakfast, we reviewed the bear adventures and settled up Emerald Air as our choice. Right now the falls trip isn’t having salmon fish upstream, so the beach adventure is the better ticket. An all day adventure booked and ready.
Found a fishing charter, Kachemak King, for 3/4 day private halibut charter for Thursday, so we’ll have a busy couple of days. We asked the captain if we can move the 6:30 am departure, we are leaving at 7:30!
Went driving around town, went to the fabric stores and the all-inclusive Ulmer’s ACE Hardware, they have everything!
A little down time in the afternoon, then dinner at Capt. Patties, it didn’t disappoint with all the reviews! Great grilled salmon and baked halibut!
Should be a busy couple of days coming up!
Day 20: Monday, June 28 – Seward, Day 3 and points west …
Started off in Seward and headed to the Bear Creek weir, off mile marker 6.6 or so on the exit out of town. It is a non-profit outfit that is working to keep the coho and sockeye salmon population continue. The organization has fish ladders where the upstream fish are caught, roe raised, fingerlings grown and then re-populated into Bear Lake. The fish find their way to the ocean and the cycle continues. The fish extraction quota was already reached for the season, so the salmon finding their way upstream were surplus, destined for a non-profit food bank. The cycle of life.
We continued up Highway 9, through Moose Lake to the Tern Lake turnoff onto Highway 1. Cooper Landing and other areas were right on the Kenai river and lake as it head to the ocean. We saw the Princess Lodge in Cooper Landing and kept pressing westward.
We passed through Soldotna and the Centennial/Swiftwater Park right on the river. It is first come, no reservations. We continued down highway 1, checking out campsites in the book that were recommended. Not really anything to get excited about. We ended up at the KOA Home campground overlooking the Homer Bay. The ‘patio’ site, number 13, had a BBQ and a gas fireplace, along with chairs and a table. It has been the most expensive campsite to date at $90/night. It had a gorgeous view and was worth the price.
Gas #9 in Soldotna: 16.373 gallons, $3.36, $55.00.
Day 19: Sunday, June 27 – Seward, Day 3 – Kenai Fjord Adventure
Today is a beautiful, blue sky day! The Kenai Fjord Adventure folks picked us up at the campground, 10:25 am for an 11 am trip. Our bus driver mentioned that the offshore waters, after the islands, could be a little choppy, cruises coming back in the last few days had quite a few folks seasick. We popped our seasick pills, dry, no water, from the New Zealand-Australia cruise. Sandy had 2 packets left and I found one in the bottom of my backpack!
We arrived and they now had 2 boats going out, popular cruise! Ours was at 11:15. Prompt boarding, chicken turkey wrap ordered and off we went. Our goal was the Aialek glacier, not the Holgate. Our boat was the Aialek as well, so a good omen! The Holgate, it was explained, was in a narrower fjord, with larger icebergs, making maneuvering more difficult. The 1.5 mile wide Aialek gave all boats and kayakers more room in a much wider bay with smaller chunks of ice to deal with.
On the way, we stopped first to see humpback whales, orcas, Dall porpoises and our turn into the Aialik arm of the bay. The Aialek glacier did not disappoint, the captain turned off the engines and you could hear and see the calving of the glacier. Really magificent!
On the return trip, she took us to look for Puffin, sea lions and harbor seals. All the boxes were checked off and we arrived back into port at the assigned 5:15 pm. Our shuttle bus driver mentioned the fish weir out of town to check out. On the list!
A long but comfortable day with a great crew and fellow passengers. We met a group of 3 mid 30 years old programmer folks working out of of San Francisco. They were travelling and working remotely during COVID, saving rent, and seeing Alaska. They stayed in AirBnBs or rented RVs to travel about. They were from Poland, Russia and Kazakhstan. They had an interesting perspective!
Day 18: Saturday, June 26 – Seward, Day 2
Leisurely breakfast in the RV, we dumped before we left, not sure what we would have again, at Resurrection campround. We have spot 540 for 3 nights.
Drove back to the Exit Glacier for a better photo op. On the way, our neighbor at the KOA pointed out the bald eagle and her nest on the tree in front of our campsite. By the time we took some photos, the dad appeared as well. This campsite was extremely clean, new and full of wildlife. It’s high on our list! After the glacier, we drove down to the Salmon Bake to scope out the parking, got our spot in mind.
Stopped by the Seward Amateur Radio Club Field Day setup at the Little League Park, a good bunch of folks, with a homebrew DX 80-10m Commander.
On the way to Resurrection, we stopped at a bakery in town and arrived at the campsite right around the 1pm checkin time. Got the radio gear ready for 20 meters and played until right about 4pm. I quickly packed up the gear and we were on the road to Salmon Bake by 4:15. We arrived by 4:25 and were number 4 in line. Yelp and Trip Advisor recommended a 4:30 arrival for a 5 pm opening. The restaurnant, as all are, was understaffed, but we pressed and all was well. We were done by 6:15, woe to those who didn’t get in on the menu quickly. The sauteed halibut and coconut prawns were delicious, halibut a little cool, but oh well.
Played radio after dinner until around 8pm, very frustrating, could hear folks in OR and AR an NFL, but no one could hear me. Field Day contact was 1 = KL7SWD, the Seward folks down the road.
Day 17: Friday, June 25 – Seward, Day 1
Leisure day, french toast with the leftover sourdough from Safeway for last night’s spaghetti. It came out pretty good in the small fry pan!
Drove down to Miller’s Landing scoping out locations for tomorrow’s FD. Looks like all the good spots on the bay may be taken, but there are couple of day use areas that may work well.
Explored 4th Street in Seward, lunch at the Lone Chicharron, delicious tacos, amazing what you find as you explore! Sandy browsed the Sew Bee Cozy sewing shop on 4th Street and picked up a few goodies. We headed over to the Seward Marine Aquarium, great exhibits, worth the stop.
Tonight’s stop is at the Seward KOA, spot #18, on Exit Glacier road, so before we parked, we drove up to the end of the road to check out the Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjord National Park. Another impressive sight, it is the only road accessible portion of the NP, all other access is via boat or hiking trail.
As we were sitting and relaxing in the RV, a momma moose and her baby coming strolling through our row in the camp. It was their time to check out the humans and they disappeared back into the forest as fast they appeared!
Tomorrow is Field Day! A killer dinner spot is the Salmon Bake on Exit Glacier road, we saw it coming in, “good bear, terrible food”. We’ll see tomorrow!
Gas #8 in Seward: 12.705 gallons, $3.70, $47.00.
Day 16: Thursday, June 24 – Valdez – Whittier Ferry
Woke up early today to catch the Alaska Maritime Ferry to Whittier. We had to be there at 6am for a 7am departure. Made it with plenty of time from the campground, just a 5 minute drive. We arrived about right on time and there were a bunch of RVs and cars already in line. We were the LAST to board and last to exit. We were parked perpendicular to the hull with a little room on each side. We left about 7:15 and arrived in Whittier right on time at 12:45pm.
It was raining the whole boat trip, visibility must be fantastic, but not for us. The seas were pretty calm, one small rough patch, but all on board survived just fine.
Lunch in Whittier at the China Sea Restaurant on the wharf, delicious shrimp stir-fry!
MAJOR SCREW-UP. I didn’t look at my calendar. We had 2 days in the Whittier/Portage Valley area, but I forgot. With the weather, we pressed on to Seward instead. My reservation, FOR SATURDAY-TUESDAY, Resurrection Bay, #540, appeared occupied because I was off by 2 days. We booked a one night stay in spot #507, good thing, because we arrived in a pouring rainstorm and OUR SPOT was taken with people still occupying the spot. We waited and they finally left.
It rained most of the night, but all is well in Seward.
Day 16: Wednesday, June 23 – Valdez, Day 2
A day to relax and catch up with real showers and laundry time.
Tried radio again, with no contacts.
Breakfast at the Old Town Diner and dinner at the Nat Shack food truck. Both were pretty good. The Nat Shack halibut taco was excellent, a little small for $7 each. The crunch-wrap was also really excellent.
The day was overcast, drizzly, but it rained later afternoon and evening. The rain kept us awake with its constant tapping. We have to get up early tomorrow.
Propane #2 in Valdez: 3.1 gallons, $4.50/gallon, $13.95 This propane thing is confusing, I paid in pounds in Healey, yet gallons here in Valdez. Something doesn’t match up here. Propane is 4.2 lbs/gallon or we picked up 1.04 gallons in Healey for $13.16. The tank is physically 12.2 gallons. The propane tank is now reading, correctly, I guess?
Day 15: Tuesday, June 22 – Valdez, Day 1
Another overcast day and breakfast at the Fat Mermaid. We hooked up to city water.
Drove out to the Salomon Gulch Hatchery for the self-guided tour, no salmon running yet. We are either too early or late in the migration period. On the way back, drove through the town outskirts looking for wildlife and property for sale.
A few groceries at the Safeway down the street and gas fillup. Dinner, looking for fresh fish, was at the Halibut Shack, fish and chips.
Played radio in the afternoon and made an SSB contact with Mr. Buddipole himself, W3FF in Oregon, I think. The MP-1 doesn’t reach out, I used the EFHW with the 20 meter radiator only and was spotted on the RBN, so I think that is the go-to antenna. It was the one I used in Denali National Park. I did HEAR AJ6FN, Greg in the afternoon. I gave him a 555 report but he couldn’t hear my puny 15 watt signal. He was running 100 watts.
The weather was cold and drizzly most of the day. Interesting, here at the park, the clouds stay above, so we are dry, where a mile or so inland, you’re in the fog.
Gas #7 in Valdez: 16.586 gallons, $3.80, $63.01.
Day 14: Monday, June 21 – On the road to Valdez
Drizzly morning at the Paxson campground, our neighbor left earlier than we did. True to the info on the road website, there was construction on the Richardson Highway in 2 sections. The first had a 20 minute delay waiting in line and following a pilot car and the 2nd was just slow following the pilot car. Heavy duty construction in both areas.
I was hoping to stay in the Glenellen or Copper Creek areas, but the road was drizzly, wet and really low ceilings, not a day to go siteseeing. So, we called the Valdez KOA and booked another night, 3 instead of 2. We pressed through Glenellen getting gas and pressing down to Valdez. A beautiful drive, but the low clouds obscured some of the roadside pullout views.
Arrived in Valdez, passed the KOA on the outskirts of the city and drove to the Ferry Station to get our bearings. We have to be in line on Thursday at 6 am for a 7 am departure to Whittier.
Driving through town, we saw the Bear RV campground, the adult and the everyday sections and the Eagle’s Rest RV park. It is close to the waterfront, walking distance, so we decided to stay here instead of at the KOA. We are at site #417.
Managed to flush the fresh water from the “C” Lazy Moose RV campground and all is well. Took a bit, but got it done. I was worried about burning up the water pump, but just did in stages with the kitchen sink, shower valve and bathroom sink. Hooked up to city water for the first time.
Dinner/lunch at the Fat Mermaid, pizza!
Played radio with no success, can hear North Carolina, but that’s about it!
Gas #6 in Glenellen: 17.231 gallons, $3.73, $64.25.
Day 13: Sunday, June 20 – On the Richardson Highway – South
Popping in the living room, I ended up with a shower because of the rain last night. Trying to keep the hydraulics tucked in with the paint stick, I reached over too far. This RV really does have minor issues and squawks. We also dumped, not sure of what the southbound plan was. I was aiming for the Tangle Lakes area on the Denali Highway, about 20 miles west at the end of the paved road. We filled with water and I noticed that with the dump, he posted non-potable. BUT, the water at the campsite, was also stained a rusty color. Now we have rusty, fresh water. We have to get rid of it.
We drove down the Richardson, Highway 2, with 2 moose views along the road! A really beautiful highway. We stopped at Rika’s Roadhouse and had lunch in Delta Junction. Rika’s was really well done and the burger and zuchini sticks at the Buffalo Center Drive-in were delicious too.
The weather changed to cloudy and drizzly and we ended up passing the Highway 8 cutoff to Cantwell and the Tangle Lakes campground idea. Twenty miles further inland, no thanks, tomorrow will probably be cold and rainy according to the NWS. We pulled into the Paxson BLM campground just south of Paxson Lake. BLM fee is $12/night, but because we are old folks, we get the National Parks Senior discount, 1/2 off = $6! We arrived about 3:30 pm at camp, site #8 in loop 1.
Nice steak for Father’s Day! The reports on the AlaskaNavigator.org site, report 2 areas of road construction, between Paxson and Glenellen on Highway 2. Something tells us, with no work on Sundays, that we should have pressed on. A couple of other RVers mentioned the construction delays too. We’ll see tomorrow morning, better to tackle the road issues when we are fresh.
Day 12: Saturday, June 19 – Fairbanks #3 and the North Pole
Leisurely morning, left for Pioneer Park after dumping and filling up with water. Not sure if we are coming back here tonight (night #3) or press on.
We went to Pioneer Park, arrived about 11 am to find out the park opens at noon. So, we drove out of town to the Aleyska pipeline viewing sight outside of town on Highway 2. Snapped a few pictures and headed back to Pioneer Park. We come to find out that most of the vendors are at the June 19 Midnight Sun Summer Festival in downtown Fairbanks. So, we made a quick exit, and parked on the north side of downtown to enjoy the sight
We had lunch at Lavelle’s Bistro on 2nd street. The halibut chips were really delicious, light and fluffy and amazing. The Twister IPA was perfect for it too.
We headed to the North Pole and arrived to see Santa. WE MADE IT TO THE NORTH POLE and we did some heavy damage in the Santa Claus House gift store! Rylan will be happy.
Not sure of heading back to the RV park for night #3 or press on Highway 2, the Richardson Highway, we decided to press on. Our camp for the night is at the “C” Lazy Moose RV Park and Gift Shop, $40 per night electric and water included. His website is down.W e were parked and popped out by 5pm. We are in spot #21, backed up to the same Tenana River that we saw yesterday! We are the only ones here, nice a quiet. On the way, there was some of the strongest rainstorms we’ve had. A little challenging driving this big RV. The vehicles behind me never wanted to pass, I think that means something.
Day 11: Friday, June 18 – Fairbanks #2
Laundry morning at the River’s Edge RV Park. Finished that chore, called the Discovery III Riverboat cruise and booked for the 2pm sailing down the Chena River. They wanted us there by 1:30 pm, so we did our next Costco and Fred Meyer grocery runs beforehand. Lunch was at the FireHouse sub sandwich place. The Hook and Ladder medium-sized combo was yummy.
Thinking the riverboard cruise would be hokey at best, we were both pleasantly surprised as to what we learned, it was well worth the cruise! At most, we traveled about 2 miles down the Chena river to the confluence of the Tanana. The cruise lasted right to 5pm, their 3 hour cruise advertisement.
Coming back to camp, I dropped Sandy off at the River’s Edge Resort, right next to the campground, it was highly rated and did not disappoint. The lavender-honey halibut and the blackened salmon with mango salsa did not disappoint. The strawberry shortcake was excellent as were the Hendricks’ Tonics, just the thing after a hard day sightseeing!
Day 10: Thursday, June 17 – Fairbanks #1
More wet weather last night and this morning. The black water tank is full, grey water pretty close and the fresh water is pretty empty. The 4.5 gallon spare water jug we picked up helped out. No playing radio today.
We made it out of the park a day early and Sandy drove most of the exit route. She did a great job, the scenery looks totally different in reverse. Denali could not be seen from any angle.
We decide to press onto Fairbanks and made another earlier reservation at the River’s Edge RV Park. We will stay the planned 2 nights, but just shift them forward. This will give us more time to make the journey from Fairbanks to Valdez.
The drive was about 1.5 hours long and we stopped at the Black Diamond Grill and Golf Course outside of Healey. From Healey to Fairbanks was misty and overcast.
The propane tank now reads below zero after taking on 4.4 pounds of gas in Healey. The tank read above 1/2 last night, this morning, at zero. Called the Great Alaska RV folks, they returned the call about 4pm and suggested we take it to repair shop tomorrow. The 4.4 pounds equates to about 1 gallon out of a 9 gallon tank, per the specs in the manual. The gas gage indicator fell below zero, at the 6pm position. The first tech suggested the float valve in the tank was stuck, maybe a rubber mallet would knock it free. He promised to escalate the problem and have tech support call back. We will just monitor the use and fill up again in about 10 days. This RV has issues. The dining area arm assembly dangles and can get pinched when drawing in the popout, good grief.
We arrived at the River’s Edge place, kinda underneath the flight path of Fairbanks International but right by the Chena River. Pretty empty, but in the middle of town, a little noisy. The plus is that the Chena River Grill is right next door! Campsite #I-14 with cable TV and internet. Not much on the TV, weather shows clear tomorrow, but maybe drizzly on Saturday.
Propane #1 in Healey: 4.4 pounds, $2.99/lb, $13.16
Gas #5 in Fairbanks: 20.776 gallons, $3.42, $71.00
Day 9: Wednesday, June 16 – Denali National Park, Day 3
What a difference a day makes, it is overcast and gloomy, a day to stay inside. It rained off and on.
Nice day to get up leisurely, have Keurig coffee and use the microwave. The toaster set off the smoke detector, so I removed the battery.
Played radio outside, but got eaten by the mosquitoes pretty quickly. Moved inside, there is a pass-through at the top of the screen door and it worked pretty well to the kitchen table. I needed all 75′ of coax though. Zero contacts, did not really hear anyone. Tried off and on all day with great expectations, 14.052.5, 14.048.5, 7.048.5 – nada! Bummer.
Took a walk out to the Teklaneka river bed and river. The glacial melt is moving really quick. The water is very silty and murky.
Ran the truck engine for about 1/2 hour in the late afternoon. The solar panels were putting out zero to 2.5 amps, depending on the sun conditions. The batteries were down charging to the 1-2 bars on both of them according to the solar controller.
We’re going to leave a day early, tomorrow, instead of Friday.
Day 8: Tuesday, June 15 – Denali National Park, Day 2
Our bus-pass tickets were at 8:10 am, we showed up a little early and the bus was pulling out. I pounded on the bus and Sharon, the bus driver, stopped and waited. Her 8:10 am time and our 8:10 am time were way off. She promised to pay attention to the POSTED schedule.
Our bus pass guarantees a seat on the bus as far as it goes, to the Eielsen center for now. It stops as you site wildlife.
We arrived Eielsen at 11:08 and departed at 11:40 pm. We saw caribou, Dahl sheep and grizzly bears on the drive. The views are amazing, some of the drop-offs were intense and it was hard to not take a great picture. Back at camp about 1:50 pm.
Played radio some more, again on 14.052.5, 14.048.5 and 7.048.5 – nada, AGAIN. I have the macros for CW and SSB down now on the KX3.
We have been blessed with fantastic weather since Saturday at K’esugi Ken campground. Four days of clear and warm weather being able to see Denali from various angles.
BBQ tonight! A little bit of rain last night.
Day 7: Monday, June 14 – Denali National Park, Day 1
We left Denali RV Village campground right around 8:30am, got some gas, filled up the 5 gallon water jug, emptied the tanks and proceeded up into the park.
We arrived around 10:30 at the Teklaneka campground. It is the most furthest campground in, at mile marker 29. We found campsite #46, there are 2 loops and the camp is pretty quiet. It is about an 1.5 hour drive, the last section from the Savage Creek Trail Loop checkpoint is gravel/dirt.
At the checkpoint we were briefed by the rangers about the can/can’t dos. Carry your bear spray at all times, even a run to the restroom! The road ends at milepost 92, Kantisha. This season, it is closed past the Eielson Visitor Center.
We just hung out, had spaghetti, tried out the convection oven on the generator. We have NO hookups at all. The generators/auto engines can run from 8-10 am and 4-8pm, quiet times after. Nice and relaxing afternoon. We’ll see how the solar panel does.
I played radio, could hear lots of activity on 20 meters SSB, but no one could hear me. Lou in Spain and a R5 (russian station) were booming in as well as several mid and east coasts stations. Made one CW contact, W2xx, I think.
Gas #4 in Denali: 8.357 gallons, $3.59, $30.00
Day 6: Sunday, June 13 – West Fork glacier under Mt. Deborah
A relaxing morning, with a quick phone call to Witt at Denali Adventure Tours about flying in a helicopter today. By 11:40, we were getting shuttled over to the Temsco Airbus AS350 for a 50 minute ride out to a glacier walk-about. The flight took off about 12:25 and we were back by 1:45 or so. The trip was amazing, narration was a little lacking, but wonderful views. The flying took us to public lands (BLM?) east of Denali NP, at the foot of Mt. Deborah, called the West Fork glacier.
Shopping and prep time for tomorrow’s adventure into the park. We tried the Thai/Chinese food place for lunch, it was excellent!
Day 5: Saturday, June 12 – Denali Park Entrance and Rainbow RV Park!
I promised Sandy breakfast in Cantwell, so we packed up. As we left spot #24 at K’esugi Ken campground, and as we turned the corner exiting, Denali appeared and she was magnificent. We looked around for a few photo ops around the campground host area, made a few, and headed north for Denali. Just after the highway north, at about milepost 136, there was gravel pit area that went whizzing by. Sandy said it had a good view of the mountain. I kept driving, hoping for a better view. At MP 142 or so, I turned around and headed to the gravel area. A sign at the entrance had rates of $5 for one hour or $25 for overnight camping. The path leads down to the river bed, a fantastic location. We took our 1 hour snapshots and headed back up north!
There was road construction in a couple of places, but the ride north on Alaska 3 took us to the Veterans Memorial and the North View campsite/rest area. The Memorial was full of cool information, WWII even affected the Aleutian Island chain. The North View rest area had a great view, but not as good as the morning’s views.
We made it to Cantwell, still no breakfast, or lunch and pressed on to Denali arriving about 1pm. Our campsite, number 11, for 2 nights is at the Rainbow Village RV Park. We are full hookups, but packed in like sardines. This is the closest RV park to the NP entrance. There is a cute boardwalk with all kinds of touristy things and the Black Bear diner and bakery did not disappoint for lunch. They make their own biscuits, a breakfast and lunch crowd, closing at 2pm.
Provisions in the park entrance area are pretty slim, so after lunch, we headed down/north to Healey to the 3 Bears grocery store chain. We stocked up on stuff for the next few days in the park. 3 Bears even had Krispy Kreams! We headed back and stopped in the park to checkout stuff for our reservations starting Monday. The Aramark folks were nice enough to check us in, campground and bus pass-wise. We are ready!
The late lunch had us do a simple wine (champagne), cheese and crackers dinner!
Gas #3 in Cantwell: 14.323 gallons, $4.329, $62.00
Day 3 and 4: Thursday and Friday, June 10 and 11 – K’esugi Ken Campground
We dumped for the first time, Thursday morning, no issues before leaving.
Another leisurely drive. Before we left, the host at Talkeetna recommended Byers Lake or K’esugi Ken campgrounds. We arrived shortly after noon, after driving the RV loop, we found campsite #48. There are 4 campsites NON-RESERVED, 1st come, first served. We snagged one, all the others are reservable and pretty much were. The recommendation from the host at Talkteena was we stay here instead of Byers Lake. The campground hosts here at K’esugi Ken said the same thing. NO generator use there. We have electricity, vault toilets and a walk to the water spigot. There is a view of Denali, but we still haven’t seen her. We passed the Denali South parking lot/camp area on the way here.
Friday morning, we purchased another night, $30 and will bug out tomorrow to the entrance to Denali National Park.
Tom and Sally Freeberg are in the NP somewhere, headed Saturday south to Seward. Wonder if we will pass them!
Played radio Thursday and Friday, Thursday 2 contacts, Oregon and a local Alaskan west of me. Friday = 0. Not even the RBN picked me up on CW.
Nice to not have to move!
Gas #2 in Trapper Creek (Talkeetna, 6/10): 8.198 gallons, $3.049, $25.00
Day 2: Wednesday, June 9 – Talkeetna Camper Park
Nice leisurely drive from Palmer. Arrived early after McDonalds breakfast and quick stop at Walmart for a few more items.
Talkteena was overcast and the clouds pretty much wiped out any chance of flying today. Tomorrow isn’t looking much better. A convenient 10 minute walk into town for a late lunch, the Denali Brewing Co. was slammed packed. This COVID thing really does have all food establishments really backed up. The halibut fish and chips were good as was the Pretzel bun prime rib sandwich.
A nice quite evening in the RV watching a little TV from the Mac, surprisingly, the signal was strong enough.
Rather than stay another day here, with the flying weather not looking so good, we decided Thursday morning to move up north and find another place closer to Denali. The Denali North camp area was scheduled for Friday. Instead, we decided to just drive.
Gas #1 in Willow: 9.911 gallons, $3.249, $32.30
Day 1: Tuesday, June 8 – RV Pick Up and Big Bear RV Park
Good morning! What a morning for sure, arrived via taxi from the hotel quickly, we were there before our 10am appointment.
The RV arrived, Forest River 3251LE, who knows when and we spent some time just getting all the squawks discovered. The vehicle mirrors don’t work electrically, one of the coach latches was in backwards, they gave us 3 grey water tablets (not enough for me!), the BBQ didn’t fit (had to take the lid off), the gaskets on the slideouts are suspect (he says ‘normal’). There was no real walkthrough, I just discovered everything reading the books (online, prior to the trip) and the anemic GA vehicle book. Oh well, we got loaded and rolled out about 11:30 am.
We hit the Target, Costco, Carr (Safeway), Walmart and finally on the road leaving Anchorage about 4:30! Camp was 45 minutes away in Palmer, Alaska right off Highway 3, the Parks Highway. We are in spot #48, a pull-through with electric and water, dumping station is on the property.
The adventure begins!
Monday, June 7 – Anchorage
Breakfast at the Snow City Cafe, good eats too! A little bit of a wait, but a very popular place right around the corner. Had an opportunity to wander around town and to the 5th Street Mall. There is even an Apple store there. Today was the WWDC, it was over when the store opened. The staff had no idea of what was presented, so they said.
Sandy had a massage in the hotel, wonderful she said and I was able to finish the next 3 church bulletins. The next 5 weeks are done and emailed to Stephanie and Terri, I just have to figure out how to upload them now to the church website.
We took the anchoragetrolley.com extended tour of the city. Lots of fun facts and an enjoyable adventure, leaving the driving to others.
Dinner at the Fletcher’s Pub here in the hotel. The halibut fish and chips and the halibut tacos were delicious, the tacos were better. Tomorrow, we pick up the RV!
Sunday, June 6 – LAX to Anchorage
We arrived safely in Anchorage, 2 flights from LAX to Seattle and Seattle to Anchorage, flights 1352 and 101. Staying at the Hilton LAX, we were wakened up with banging on the door at 12:30 am. It was the LAPD with a reported woman screaming for help in “room 511”. Not sure what 511, it could have been 15511. The LAPD showed up alright, 4 of them and were determined to get in. We called hotel security and asked them to show up at the door as well. All was good, we opened the door, they verified Sandy was OK and we tried to sleep until 2:30 am. Showered and out the door by 3:30, dropped off the car at 4:00 am, caught the shuttle to the airport, through security by 4:45, Starbucks and all the rest of the airport, opened up at 5. Boarding though was at 5:20, se we toughed it out.
LAX to Seattle on time, arriving 8:55 and the Seattle to Anchorage boarding at 9:20 for a 10:00 am departure. Not much time in between but it all worked.
Hotel Captain Cook for 2 nights, very nice junior suite, room 708 with 2 bathrooms! We explored the 4th and 5th street areas around the hotel. Dinner at the Glacier Brewhouse, good eats and vibe.
Tomorrow – the city tour bus.
Broken Things:
Before we started
- The truck review electric mirrors don’t work, wrong module from the factory, the fuses keep popping. The tech upgraded the fuse from 5 to 10 amps and it still blew. There is a wire pinching somewhere.
- The RV water heater has a faulty fuse, bypass it, if the water heater won’t work.
On the trip
- The water heater went out, removed the fuse
- The bathroom door latch won’t, removed the strike plate
- The water heater doesn’t always kick on, fiddle with it
- The living room motorized hydraulics dangles below the slide, pinching the lines. Used a paint stick each time to ensure that the lines are tucked in.
- The RV sewer line developed a tear, replaced
- The master bedroom window shattered somehow
- The bunk bed upper locking bolt is just waiting to fall down
- Propane tank meter reading, physically, the float, is faulty. Hard to tell what the reading is.
- Folding chairs are flimsy, one bent slightly
- BBQ handle fell off numerous times.
Cheesy stuff
- Tea kettle, toaster, pots and pans
We bought:
- 2 pans, non-stick
- 2 places silverware
- Spatula
- Cutting board
- Sponges
- Wine opener
- Soaps
- potholders
- fitted sheets
- 4 gallon water jug
- 4 1-gallon water jugs