Day 49 - Destruction Bay, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska

Monique & Barry Zander, No. 13


As usual, we were about the last to leave the Destruction Bay campground heading to Skagway, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 27. At just under 270 miles, we were expecting an arduous journey through the Yukon and British Columbia and back into Alaska.

It was a day that brought three major surprises.

Surprise #1 -- Things got interesting at Slim’s River Bridge (Mile 23). There we saw a bridge that the legendary Sam McGee helped build. And, the surprise: Madi was there to ask us to do the caravan’s blog for the day. A long, dull day ahead … and we had to find things to write about.

It got a bit interesting when we arrived at Canada’s Kluane National Park, but viewing another film and seeing some high mountains didn’t seem like this would be a blog worth reading.

Surprise #2 – The road was laced with road heaves and construction delays. That’s not unusual, and it was a welcomed relief when we finally got to a smooth section of highway, and then came the surprise … or surprises. Major bumps in the road, some with signs and flags but a few with nothing but skid marks and wavy white lines on the roadside. We took it down a notch from our usual 58 mph.

Surprise #3 -- One of the most glorious, awe-inspiring highways in of our entire trip. It may have started at Emerald Lake (Mile 198.3), where the blending of green and aqua waters was memorable. We stopped at Spirit Lake and others over the next 100 miles or so, drawn to the viewing areas by the vistas.

The “World’s Smallest Desert,” which is actually a glacial silt dune, was a hop, skip & jump away, was our next stop. Then, not far down the road we visited Caribou Crossing, a tourist-trap village featuring a 3,000-pound slab of jade, a dogsled team behind whom visitors can ride for $50, and several other ways to spend unneeded money. The ice cream was good (our purchase for $3.50).

We drove into Carcross, a very interesting, historic town being restored by the Canadian government, which serves currently as the end of the narrow-gauge railroad from Skagway. We wish we could have stayed there another few hours, but we could almost feel Spence and Madi breathing down our necks.

A short time later, we were part of a two-vehicle bear jam. A black bear crossed in front of us, posed for pictures and went on his way.

Next stop: Yukon Suspension Bridge Visitors Center, where we cajoled the guard into allowing us to take a photo of the bridge by putting the camera up over a fence. At $17 a person to cross the bridge, we decided to forego the opportunity to walk across a gorge and back. We got a free sample of a maple cookie in the gift shop.

A few more stops at roadside pull-outs to contemplate the varied scenery, and soon it was time to take off the sunglasses to enter Alaska again. Our passage was delayed by a group of about 25 bicyclists in front of us, but we made it through in about 20 minutes.

Down the steepest grade of the tour with more beautiful scenery all around us, and suddenly we were in Skagway, greeted with a rousing or rowdy group of caravan members having an unscheduled social. But the day wasn’t over for us.

After getting settled a bit, we took off for town, hoping to see cruise ships while they were in port. Turns out, there are always cruise ships in port – very impressive. We ended our adventurous day by watching a van carrying girls screech up to the dock in time to see their cruise ship pulling out of sight into the fjord. The implications of their distress kept our interest until we got to sleep.

One other note. By the time most of us awoke Tuesday morning, Jenks & Nancy Jenkins and Nelson and Marlene Cahill had departed the caravan, on to other adventures. It was good having them as part of the group for the past five weeks.

Everyday on this trek to the Land of the Midnight Sun is wonderful!

Day 48 - Tok, Alaska to Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory

Ivan & Shirley Yurtin

Destruction Bay, YT Rig # 12 
Monday, July 26, 2010

We headed out this morning leaving Tok, AK for a long and rigorous drive to Destruction Bay, YT. So back on went the Pro Tec to protect our Jeep from the rocks. It was not raining, which was a nice change from what we had in Valdez, AK.

The departure procedure was a little different due to the fact that the Fantasy Tours schedule landed them in Tok along with Adventure Caravans. Naturally, that meant two caravans would be departing at the same time, but it worked out fine. Seventy-seven miles into the trip we came upon construction. As a result, we had a ten minute wait which resulted in 20 rigs lined up waiting for the construction workers. It was quite a sight to see that many rigs lined up on the highway. That was the only area that we had to actually stop and wait.

The major part of our journey was loose gravel, pot holes and frost heaves. . . . . . one right after the other. For the rig drivers it was a very long day of driving plus very challenging. Ivan started calling the highway to Destruction Bay the “Destruction Highway”. The road was rough on the rigs and created damage to Marvin’s tow hitch, bending the steel bar!

A good part of the scenery was trees on both sides of the road, ponds and lakes interspersed among the trees and shrubs. We kept watching for wildlife, but did not see much in the morning other than a cow moose standing in a lake. Later in the afternoon we stopped in a wonderful bakery and lodge called, “Pine Valley” located in Beaver Creek, YT. Jim and Evelyn stopped at the bakery also, and we left at the same time. A few miles down the road we noticed their rig was pulled off the road and we saw Evelyn walking down the highway pointing towards the trees. We stopped and sure enough a huge bull Moose. What a site!!

We had other sites we wanted to stop at but it was getting late and we wanted to stop at the Kluane Museum and still make it into the campground in order to check out the walking sticks that Doubie was selling. On the outside of the museum is the World’s largest Gold Pan. The Kluane Museum of Natural History had wildlife exhibits displayed in their natural habitat that were extremely realistic. Also displayed were Native clothing, tools, weapons and Yukon minerals. The museum was well worth the stop.

Once we arrived at Destruction Bay Lodge, we readily set up our RV and made our way to the travel briefing. Dinner was being served by Loren, the owner of the lodge. The dinner was excellent and he introduced himself and gave us some background as to how he developed this lodge into what it is today. The food was homemade from the preparation of the roast beef, potato salad, salad, salad dressing, homemade rolls, etc. Dessert was also homemade and Loren served the berry/rhubarb with whipped cream to each of us.

After dinner we were entertained by a wonderful band called “Loose Gravel” led by Tim Naylor. There were only a small handful of us that took advantage of the wonderful entertainment, in spite of being tired. Sorry so many of our fellow travelers missed a great performance. Loren played the drums in the band and later recited a poem that depicted his move and love of the area. He then sang a song that he wrote about the Kluane area. Loren is a very versatile person that Built the Destruction Bay Lodge, makes repairs as needed, cooks the food, composes music, plays drums and sings……quite a guy! We had him autograph a CD of his before we left.

Day 47 - Valdez, Alaska to Tok, Alaska

BLOG – Sunday, 7-25-10 Jeff and Noreene Totten #11

The words from the song, “Oh Susanna” reflect the start of the day: “It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry”. The end of the day would reflect songs more along the line of hymns of thanksgiving.

 
As we turned in last night, it was raining and it rained all night. “It rained all night the day I left”. Rain continued in the early morning but shortly into our drive, the rain stopped. Half way through the drive, the overcast sky changed to scattered clouds and sunlight producing another great sunny Alaskan day. “The weather it was dry”.

Our trip back along the Richardson Highway started with an opportunity to view the beautiful Bridal Veil Falls and other spectacular falls. The river running alongside the road seemed to be higher than it had been when we passed this way a few days ago. Perhaps rain the day before had been heavy at higher elevations and had contributed to an increase in runoff.



Continuing down the road, we came to an area of Diamond Willows and stopped to cut one. Now comes the fun of turning that piece of Willow into an attractive walking stick. It will be interesting to see if these untrained eyes have selected a good piece.

Next stop: Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park. This park has a beautiful visitor’s center and shows a very informative film on the forces of glaciers and the other forces contributing to geological change over time spanning millions of years. In the center, we even found a book about Valdez during the Gold Rush that had Jeff’s Grandfather’s name in it. We had been looking since the beginning of the trip and finally struck our gold.

Our last stop before Tok RV Village was Mentasa Lodge and a Burl wood shop offering beautiful pieces of furniture. Taking home a nice piece of furniture in a motor home was tempting but we passed on the idea.

When we arrived at our park, Jim Northup came by and mentioned to Noreene that the connection between our tow vehicle and the motor home had come loose. Three hours later, starting before and ending after a dinner of Lasagna, salad, garlic bread and desert prepared for us by our wagonmasters and tailgunners, Jim along with Spence Schaaf and Gary Johnson with assistance from Jenks Jenkins and Darrell Marshall, had removed the tow vehicle grill and bumper, searched and found extra bolts, retightened the connections and reassembled the grill and bumper. In my days I have done numerous jobs around the house from changing electrical plugs to building a small outdoor staircase but automotive mechanics and I never came together. For the efforts these gentlemen gave on our behalf, Noreene and I are truly grateful! If we were not on a caravan; this problem would have cost us not only a repair bill but at least a day of vacation time and quite possibly problems in rearranging reservations for the balance of the trip.

Day 46 - Valdez, Alaska

Saturday--July 24, 2010   Day 46--Valdez, Alaska   Sheryl & Bob Price, Rig #10

We were picked up in the morning at the campground in what looked like a school bus but it was actually made to be used as a tour bus for the Aleyska Oil Terminal before 9/11 and the tours were halted. Our driver and our guide, whose names escape me, were very funny and informative.

As they drove us out to where the original town stood they told us all about the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 and the ensuing tsunami that took the lives of 33 people. Most of them were working on the wharf where there was also a ship docked and the wharf just sunk and the ship came up over it. The only thing left of the town now is the land which is covered in bushes and trees. The town was moved 4 miles away to its current location because the land is more stable. At a distance we could see 3 of the collection ships that are anchored there. They are to be used to collect any oil that may be spilled in the sound in case of another accident like the Exxon Valdez. They have 42 miles of oil booms-one of the largest amassed anywhere although some of it is being used in the gulf right now. We also stopped to get a great view of an eagle sitting atop an electric pole.

Our next stop was out to see the Fish Hatchery area where the salmon are coming back to spawn--the pinks. There were lots of fisherman although you are not supposed to fish there and lots of fish but we noticed that they throw back a lot for some reason. There are also lots of sea gulls, sometimes eagles, sea otters and seals and when you are lucky you will see "The Bears". That morning and the night before we were not lucky.

On to the Oil Terminal which we had seen from the boat the day before but this time we had a somewhat closer view. We had a good view of the #1 birth which they don't use and some of the huge tanks which I think she said that each one is over an acre in size. She said that at one time she worked there giving breathalizer tests. She had several stories to tell.

They drove us out to their very own Valdez Glacier which we could not see because it was hiding up in a valley but we saw some big ice hunks that had broken off from it. Something very curious is that there were two pristene picnic tables with no initials carved in them but the Alaskans seem to have an affinity for shooting at all their signs.

They drove us back into town to show us all their businesses, museums, government buildings, a new dock for the cruise ships which don't come here now, a beautiful Civic and Convention Center and theater, Prince William Sound Community College and one of Peter Toth's wooden carvings of the head of a native Alaskan. The town truly isn't much but due to the oil money they have received from the State of Alaska and the oil company they are one of the richest towns in Alaska. It was an enjoyable tour.

After being brought back to the campground we all scattered to find lunch somewhere--we ended up at Old Town Burgers where lo and behold a bunch more showed up. Then we scattered again to wander around to some of the museums and to see some camera footage of the earthquake. In too short a time we had to go back to the coach to prepare our food for the potluck in the evening and our briefing. The potluck was fun and all the food was really good. I think we all probably ate too much.

We went home to the coach to clean up the kitchen and close up the coach for the coming mornings trip and go to bed. This night I was exhausted and sick of the rain. I should have gone to see "The Bears" because they were seen by some of the others. Oh well, maybe another time.

Day 45 - Valdez, Alaska

Evelyn and Jim Northup Rig#9         Friday, July 23, 2010

Woke up this morning excited about going on the Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruise. We had to meet everyone at the dock to load the boat by 10 a.m. Captain Amanda Bauer welcomed us aboard. She narrated during the trip telling us about the Alyeska pipeline and terminal. And also telling us about the glaciers, and fishing on the Prince William Sound.

We went through ice that has broken off the glaciers. Also saw Steller Sea Lions, Humpback Whales, Sea Otters, Pigeon Guillemots, Tufted Puffins, Eagles, and Harbor Seals.

 

A great lunch of chicken with Alfredo sauce, rice, mixed vegetables and a roll was served in the middle of our trip. Then on the way in, we all were given a choice of chowder or vegetable soup.

In between waiting to see special things, some of the group took naps as it was a 9 hour cruise.

We got back in time to go where the salmon swim upstream to see if we could see some of the bears that have been known to hang out at the fish hatchery. We saw the bears the night before, but we were not so fortunate last night.

All in all the day was great and enjoyed by all.

Day 44 - Palmer, Alaska to Valdez, Alaska

Ira & Bev Miller Rig #8                                  Thursday,  July 22, 2010

We woke up today at 5:45 and once again had to put the heat on in the rig to take the chill out before we got showers.  The weather was cloudy and cool and things were not looking good for a nice sunny day.  Our girly girls, Cuddles and Zoe, did not even want to get out of bed. They looked at each other as if to say, “Oh dear, we are going to be traveling again.”  If Zoe could talk, she probably would have said she was ready to go back home and see the yum yum lady, our neighbor Denise.  Not that she has not been getting yum yums from fellow travelers.

At mile marker 12.6 we were starting to see hints of sun.  However, that did not last long.  At mile marker 24.2, Ira decided to stop along the road and wash the windshield.  Most of our fellow campers do it the day they get in from a long ride; however, Ira is a little different.

Today’s journey consisted of long hills to climb, lousy weather and many, many frost heaves. This caused our travel to be a little longer than expected. However, on another note, it was great scenery and good points of interest to visit.

Our first place of interest was the Matanuska Glacier. What a beautiful glacier this was to see today. We also traveled the Eureka Summit, which has an elevation of 3,322 feet and it is the highest point on the Glenn Highway. We also stopped at the Worthington Glacier State Recreation site and took pictures of that glacier.

We also saw pump station #12 of the Alaska Pipeline. This pumping station is one of several that are responsible for pumping oil to the Port of Valdez. The oil is shipped to the "lower 48" and to the rest of the world.

Two of my favorites on this trip today were Bridal Veil Falls and the Horsetail Falls. The girls were feeling a little left out each time we left the RV so we decided to include them in a group picture. We took their picture in front of Bridal Veil Falls. We then proceeded to the Horsetail Falls in which Ira (Dad, Poppy) decided to walk up and take a drink from the falls. I did not know he was doing this until a fellow traveler said Ira was going up the falls. When he came down they told him he better be careful that he does not get "ice worms."

We arrived at Bear Paw Camper Park at 4:00 PM and quickly set up the rig for our stay, and you guessed it, it started to rain again. With hopes of walking down to the harbor to check things out, but this will have to be done later when the rain stops. But I doubt it ever will.

We later had dinner with Evelyn and Jim and this consisted of homemade chicken pot pie, wine and sour dough bread. After dinner, Evelyn asked me if I wanted to go down where they were fishing to see if we could see the bears eating fish. Jim, Evelyn and I decided to take the trip and guess what? We saw a momma bear and her three cubs down by the water catching fish. Ira stayed home and was unloading our camera for the blog today and Evelyn thought Jim had his camera in the car. I managed to get pictures on my cell phone, however, I haven’t learned how to unload them as of yet as I do not use the camera that often to take pictures.

This was the most awesome view of the day. It was worth all the bad weather we had throughout the day.

bear photos courtesy of Evelyn Northup