Home Again, Home Again

After 9588 miles of driving in 72 days we are back where we started from.

The memories are priceless and they'll be with us forever. The mountain peaks, the wildlife, the fishing, the microbrews, and the hats- all I can think to say is WOW!

Sue would have stayed out indefinitely I think, but I'm glad to be home. I think secretly she is too. She will definitely miss her favorite read- the Milepost. She's been going through withdrawals, but now that we're home at least we have an unlimited supply of wine  to help her get over the loss.

Thank you all for following along. I'm not sure who you all are, but we've had 4046 page views to date, so I know someone is following this. If you find yourself going through withdrawals not having my posts to follow anymore, find your own wine. I don't have that much to share.

You'll be seeing us around again and we'd be glad to share any stories you're willing to hear. Don't hesitate to mention how much you like the new hats.

Until our next trip then-

Peace and Happiness,

Dave and Sue

Homeward Bound

Well we're back in California again. It won't be long before we're home. I'm surprised we have cell service here, being out in the boonies as we are. Even last night by Portland I couldn't connect.

We stayed with my sister two nights ago. That was pretty nice as we rarely see her and in fact, this was the first time we'd seen her house which she's owned for ten years. It isn't smoky here right now and that's a relief. We had gotten so annoyed by the haze it's very pleasant not to see it any longer.

We went through a downpour of rain earlier today, which is sad because it actually cleaned some of the bugs off the trailer. It was just covered with dead bugs and was going to make a great picture when we got home, but not so much now I'm afraid. On the plus side, it seems I finally found the water leak and fixed it so it won't rain in the trailer any longer... kind of, anyway. It is ever so slightly damp.

We'll be stopping in Milpitas to share a fish dinner with Steve and Harsha. I hope they have some wine, because we are fresh out, and there's no stores close by. WAH!!

I'll be posting again when I get home, just to wrap everything up. I'm not telling you when that'll be though, just because I want to keep you on pins and needles as long as possible.

ds

Something went wrong

I sent a new post two days ago when I was using someone's free wifi, but I see it didn't go through for some reason. I guess you get what you pay for after all.

Well, we're still having record breaking heat here, but tonight we're staying in an RV park, which means we have 110 volt electricity, which means we have Air Conditioning! Oh yeah!

Tomorrow we'll be in Washington visiting my sister, who happens to live by Seattle. We're driving about 300 miles a day right now, so we should get home eventually. We're a little disappointed we haven't seen any wildlife in a few days, but I guess we did see quite a bit already, so we aren't complaining.

We're trying to get rid of our Canadian money before we cross the border, so we stopped today at the "Cold Beer and Wine" store and picked up a 6 pack of ale. Life is good!! I have to wait another 28 minutes though before it's officially cocktail hour. That's Sue's rule by the way. Maybe she won't mind if we break the rule just this once....

I can't type and drink at the same time, so, later-

ds

Stewart, BC

Stewart is a cute little town almost at the end of a road which leads to Salmon glacier. After passing through Stewart you drive two more miles into Hyder Alaska, a town of "About 100 happy people".

After driving another few miles, you are back in BC again and on your way to the glacier. Salmon is the fifth largest glacier in Canada, and the largest one you can drive to in Canada. It was very impressive.

Well, I have to tell you about the drive down the Cassiar highway. You may recall in a previous post that I mentioned our friend Larry, who we had dinner with after Sue caught her salmon, told me the Cassiar was 500 miles of frost heaves and potholes. Come to find out, Larry has quite a sense of humor. Other than a short 25 mile section, it has been a wonderful road. In fact, yesterday we saw 6 black bears during our drive, and not one frost heave in sight. What a jokester! I tried my best to talk Sue out of this section of road after talking to Larry, and I'm very glad she didn't agree.

Unfortunately, it is really remote, so I haven't posted in some time. And I may not be able to post again for a few days. But the scenery is just spectacular. We have a lakeside campsite now, which is very nice since they are having record breaking heat here. It 's probably burning up in Atown, but here it's pretty toasty too- 90 yesterday. The lake water felt pretty nice.

Till next time-

ds

Back in Whitehorse

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada that is. Alaska is but a memory now. Here's a tip for you travelers to Alaska. Don't get your oil changed in Whitehorse. I don't know if it's because I'm from out of town or what, but the price seemed a little steep at $159.62.

We're celebrating the Fourth of July in the parking lot of Wal Mart with 37 other travelers from the states. If you didn't see the sign on the building you would think this is an RV campsite. Well,one night here and we're on the road again; this time we're driving the Stewart/Cassiar Highway instead of the Alaska highway. It's supposed to be more scenic. Larry told us, while we were having fresh salmon for dinner, that it was 500 miles of frost heaves with constant slowing to a crawl to cross over them without launching the trailer in the air. Then as soon as you get up to speed, you have to slow down again for the next one.

Doesn't that sound like fun? I couldn't talk Sue out of it, so we're going the scenic way.

Speaking of scenic, we took a parting shot of the Fireweed and an unknown mountain peak as we were leaving Valdez. What a gorgeous day that was. Lucky for us we had so many.

BTW- when I mentioned that Sue wouldn't move far away from Levi in my last blog, I really meant Levi's family. That would include his parents, uncle, great aunts and uncles. third cousins twice removed, and everything in between.

While traveling in Canada, if you have Verizon for your service carrier, you have to get a special plan to get service. I opted for the plan with unlimited text (which is free), phone calls at 99 cents per minute, and data at $1/10mb. Good thing they don't have very good service up here or I'd be blogging even more than I am. I know I've spoiled some of my followers with regular posts, but I'll be cutting back until we get closer to the border. So for all you JSL's out there, be patient. I will return.

I wonder if Wal Mart is going to have fireworks for us tonight?

ds

Good day Sunshine!

What a beautiful day in Valdez. Clear blue skies this morning, with clouds building as the day progressed, and the temp is in the 60's. This is living.

We started the day on a bike ride, but the trail was a little rugged for Sue, so we got off the trail and rode through town on the streets. What a great place.

We then decided to go for a hike just outside of town on the Shoup Trail. Unfortunately it is overgrown with thistle at mile 1.5, so we didn't get far. What views though.

Today is our last day in Valdez, so we ended up at the harbor again where the restaurants and coffee shop are located. Just spent some leisurely time soaking up the sun, suds, and java. If I could get Susie to move this far away from our grandson, Valdez is where I'd go. They are in desperate need of a microbrew. I think that'd be a good second career for me, and since Mike doesn't want me to retire, I could make him happy too. And I could be looking at this view while working.

 But like I say, she won't go that far from Levi. Guess I won't be going back to work after all. Sorry Mike.

Tomorrow we'll be pointing the truck towards Atascadero when we hit the road. Before long, my blogging days will be over. In the meantime, I'll stay in touch.

ds

Valdez

We've been on the road now for 8 weeks and 3 days, and I think I've found my favorite area in Alaska. Valdez, and the road driving in, has some of the best scenery I've ever seen. Canyons, waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, the bay and harbor; WOW!!

Even I look good here!

Can you guess what hat I'm wearing?

A shot of the Worthington Glacier.

We don't know the name of this mountain or lake, it was one of many beautiful shots coming into town.

The small boat harbor is very busy and extremely picturesque.

Valdez is 100 miles from the nearest turnoff of the highway. You drive south to the port city and once you're here, there is nothing else in the area. It isn't big enough to have cruise ships dock here. Consequently, there isn't a lot of traffic, either from tourists or Alaskans. The town itself has a population of only 4100 people and it shows.

However, they have an average annual rainfall of 64", and an average annual snowfall of 325".There are lots of waterfalls around here. They have their own Bridalveil Falls, not to be confused with the famous falls in Yosemite.

It was raining really hard when we came into town yesterday, but as you can see, today is very nice indeed. Tomorrow is forecast to be even better, but even if it is, I think we'll be going for a bike ride.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

ds