Alaska at Last

I made it into Alaska night before last and stopped in a rest area just outside the town of Tok.  The roads in the upper Yukon were horrible and seem to get worse every year.  The last 100 miles are done at about 35 mph due to potholes, swells in the road and gravel roads.  However, the scenery in northern Yukon makes up for the roads. There are as many rivers and lakes as you can imagine and the Wrangell-St. Elias mountains are unbelievable. These mountains separate Alaska from Canada, and the only way into Alaska is to  go around them to the north.   The Wrangell-St. Elias National park is little known and is the largest of all US parks.  It's 6 times the size of Yellowstone and is mostly non-accessible except from a distance.

Yesterday made it on into Anchorage and parked in the City lot next to the train station for the night.  I can get Internet here so it gives me a chance to check on the online classes I'm teaching  I was also able to visit one of my favorite places in Alaska...The Great Alaskan Ale House...aka Humpy's.
The weather is great...high 40s at night low 60s in the daytime.  The sun rises around 4:30 am and is setting around 11:00 pm, but that will change in June as the days will get even longer.

Grizzly

  My plan for today is to drive on down to the Kenai Peninsula to Soldotna where I will  stay for most of the summer.So...Stay Tuned 

Change in plans...I have to wait until tomorrow to have someone look at the breaks on "The Goose".

Dawson Creek BC to Whitehorse YT

I left Dawson Creek Yesterday (Thu) morning headed up the Highway.  Thursday was not very eventful.  I covered 475 miles landing at Liard Hot Springs in northern British Colombia.  Lots of miles, but not much excitement.  Not the story today.  I left Liard around 5:15 am headed to Whitehorse, the capital city of the Yukon Territory.  As I left Liard. I drove 85 miles with only one truck, one RV and one car to pass me going the opposite direction.  If there is a song of  "The Lonesome Highway", it was written about this stretch of road.  However, I have never seen this much wildlife as I did today.  three bears, lots of Buffalo, Elk, Moose, and a heard of wild mules herded by a dog.

Alaska Highway Dawson Creek BC to Delta Junction Alaska 1422 MILES

Just pulled into the Alaska Mile “0” Campground in Dawson Creek BC.  I’m actually at mile marker 1.5, so that only leaves 1188.5 miles to the Alaska border…I can’t wait.  I will probably stay here for two nights and then it’s a 3-day scramble to the 50^th state.  

 You may notice different miles in the sign to Delta Junction.  The reason is the mile markers are set to the original mileage while the sign above is the actual miles today which is shorter due to a lot of road straightening over the years.  At any rate, it's a long way.  So Stay tuned.

This is a mural in one of the alleys in downtown Dawson Creek.  It almost looks real.

Alberta

Aaaaaah Canada.  I can’t get across it fast enough.  I’m currently in Whitecourt Alberta, and just crossed the halfway to Anchorage point yesterday.  Total  miles to date 3531.  I’ve been in Canada since night before last and probably have 2-3 more days before getting to the Alaska border and back in the US.  Gas already $5 per gal, and will go up in Ft Nelson and Watson Lake, then back down as I get into Alaska.

Watched the Lightening play last night in the Crown & Anchor Pub here  in Whitecourt.  Met a couple of guys who were actually pulling for the bolts.  It’s pretty easy to find the hockey games here in Canada, as there is no other sport. 

Need an oil change today, even though it’s only been a couple of months, but 5k miles, so I’ll be getting that done next.  Gotta take care of the Blue Goose.

Still having bad weather…rain all day yesterday.  That makes 5 out of the last 6 days of awful weather.  The trip would be a lot nicer with clear sailing, but I need to concentrate too much on the road when it rains, so I only see the car or truck in front of me.  And that makes a very boring day.  Maybe a better day today.  And maybe I’ll get some pix when the weather clears.  But in the meantime…Stay tuned.

The Cowboy State

I got into
Wyoming yesterday morning and "Surprise, Surprise".  About 50 miles north of
Cheyenne, all of this funny white stuff came falling out of the sky.  I'm not sure what it was, but it stacked up about 4 inches deep and caused me to have to pull into a rest stop for about an hour.  I thought it was almost summer???

Fun Driving

Not sure what this is

This is what northern WY looked like this morning...from one extreme to this.

 I'm heading for Bozeman MT today, hopefully with no more snow, however, I checked the weather out in front of me and it looks like rain and 50 degree highs for the next 5 days, so ...stay tuned.

Kansas and Nebraska

I left Kevin's in south east MO yesterday morning headed north and west.  Currently about 50 miles north of Salina KS headed to North Platte NE or Cheynne WY.  Depends on the weather.  Pictures tomorrow.  Stay tuned...

Leaving Florida

I stayed a couple of extra days to wait until Allyson (granddaughter) got out of the hospital.  Turns out she had a stomach virus and is fine now.  I left Niceville this morning and drove thru Montgomery, Birmingham and Jasper on my way to Tupelo Mississippi for the night.  After that, I'm hopeful that I can get thru Memphis.  Saw some devastated neighborhoods from the tornadoes  on the way. Looks as Tunica is out of the question due to the fact that the casinos are under water. No pictures yet, but, stay tuned...

I made it to Springfield with no problem crossing the Mississippi.  Everyone is well here and Kevin and I went to a Springfield Cardinal AA baseball game Saturday night (he is the stadium announcer for the games).  This morning, we all went to a legendary breakfast place  in Springfield.  IF you are ever here, check out Aunt Martha's Pancake House.  Also if in Springfield, tune into Kevin's morning radio show on KTOZ 95.5.

Kevin doing his thing

Kelly Sam and Lily

The Journey Begins

Mother's Day Brunch

I left St Petersburg at 8:30 Friday and made it up the road to Chiefland.  The next morning I was up and drove on to Sally's house...Emptied and dropped off the trailer, then set up the RV in Stony Point State Park, a very nice campground on the intercoastal waterway.  Sally, Scott and Allyson have a great house in the Bluewater Bay area.  This community has it's own marina, tennis club and golf courses.  We had a great brunch at the Marina on Mother's day. Sunday afternoon, Ally and I went fishing...no luck. Sunday night Ally got sick and the doctor said she has a stomach virus.  Hope she gets over it soon.

D-Day

The Blue Goose on the launching pad

This is my final day of preparation.  I moved into the RV Tuesday night to ensure I had packed everything I needed.  The first night, I realized I didn't have my check book, so the effort was worth it.  I will be loading a small trailer to haul to Sally in Ft Walton Beach area in the panhandle.  As of now, I'm not sure when I will leave there due to the flooding on the Mississippi.  I planned to go thru Memphis, but that may be out.  I'll make my next post "On the Road"...