Day 35, Wednesday, 7/22: Another beautiful day at North Pole! The RV park gives tours of the town so we decided to take advantage of it. There were 4 of us in the tour van and a nice young guy named Jesse took us around. Didn’t take long but it was informative. After that Bob went to a Rotary meeting (took the RZR) and I did some ‘house’ cleaning and spent some time on the computer. Also, watched a couple of old movies since we have cable TV here… After lunch we took the RZR to Safeway and I was in heaven!!! Was never so glad to see lots and lots of vegetables and fruit at reasonable prices!! Being in the far north and remote makes you appreciate those things. It was hard to limit what we bought!!! It is a very nice and huge Safeway here at the North Pole.
After putting the groceries away, we walked over to the Santa Claus House that is a Christmas lover’s dream. Santa was even there and we had our picture taken with him. Would have spent more time shopping but we had laundry going and it was quite warm inside. Next to the house is an enclosure for the reindeer. They have huge antlers and we got some pictures of them too.
Since it was such a beautiful day we grilled some steaks and sat outside for a long time just enjoying the evening. It did get quite smoky from a forest fire nearby but that didn’t deter us. Some of the things we have noticed after being remote for so long are sirens, trains, traffic sounds… Things you wouldn’t normally even pay attention to.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
North Pole..... Santa's Play Ground
Day 34, Tuesday, 7/21: Left Chicken about 7:30 this morning and discovered the road suddenly turned to pavement about 10 miles out but still 25 mph most of the way to the junction with Hwy. 2 (the Alaska Hwy). Beautiful scenery and we did see two linx cross the road and a couple of rabbits. A bit of road construction along the way. Arrived in Tok around 10:30 and fueled. There are several really nice RV parks here which we will keep in mind when we pass back through. On to Delta Junction which is the end of the Alaska Highway. Nice visitor’s center here. There was an add in the Milepost for the Buffalo Center Drive-in saying they had the best burgers north of the Yukon so we decided to go there for lunch. Guess what? Closed on Tuesdays!!!!! So on down the road a piece we found the Buffalo Center Diner and they were open. First fountain drink (diet Coke) we have had in about 3 weeks and boy did it taste good! Decided to continue on to North Pole since it is only 80 miles. The wide rivers here are very muddy and you can understand why they call it the delta.
Stopped in at the Knotty Store just before North Pole and bought some things there. It is quite impressive and they were busy! Mostly Alaska souvenir stuff and they sell ice cream too but we were still full from lunch.
Arrived at Santaland RV Park about 3:30 this afternoon. It is quite large and very nice. Supposed to be where Santa spends his off season…. It is really warm here too (81) so nice to have hook-ups so we can run the air conditioner. Guess we are wimps after all the cold, wet weather we have had. Will tour the town tomorrow.
Stopped in at the Knotty Store just before North Pole and bought some things there. It is quite impressive and they were busy! Mostly Alaska souvenir stuff and they sell ice cream too but we were still full from lunch.
Arrived at Santaland RV Park about 3:30 this afternoon. It is quite large and very nice. Supposed to be where Santa spends his off season…. It is really warm here too (81) so nice to have hook-ups so we can run the air conditioner. Guess we are wimps after all the cold, wet weather we have had. Will tour the town tomorrow.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Chicken, Alaska
Day 33, Monday, 7/20: Decided to load up and drive into Dawson for breakfast. There was a place called Sourdough Joe’s that looked interesting. When we got there we discovered it didn’t open until 11:00 (they don’t serve breakfast, just lunch and dinner). Oh well. We walked around town and found a Chinese restaurant that served breakfast so that is where we ate. Found out most of the locals go there because it is good and very inexpensive. After breakfast we did a little shopping and then crossed on the ferry over the Yukon River about 10:30. The ferry crossing is right in town, at the northwest end. The road we are on at this point is called the Top of the World Highway and it is aptly named! You drive on the tops of the mountains for miles and miles. It is rough road (mostly gravel) and at times it was much worse than the Dempster! About 45 miles from Dawson is the Alaska/Yukon border crossing and we passed through without a hitch. Just showed our passports, they asked a few questions and that was it. We are amazed that they haven’t yet asked to even look in the trailer or camper…. This border crossing is only open in the summer as this road is closed in the winter. Saw lots of RV’s headed toward Dawson on this road. Surprised that people would bring their big motor coaches on such a road. Drove on another 30+ miles to the town of Chicken. It is quite tiny but has a huge RV park and a small ‘downtown’. It is just one building that is divided between a gift shop/liquor store and tavern! They have free ‘dry’ camping so we are camping in the parking lot tonight. They DO have WiFi though! Amazing…. Of course we bought a few things in the gift store. We are now on Alaska time which is an hour earlier than Pacific time. Another day, another adventure!! No critters were seen today.
Chicken, Alaska
Day 33, Monday, 7/20: Decided to load up and drive into Dawson for breakfast. There was a place called Sourdough Joe’s that looked interesting. When we got there we discovered it didn’t open until 11:00 (they don’t serve breakfast, just lunch and dinner). Oh well. We walked around town and found a Chinese restaurant that served breakfast so that is where we ate. Found out most of the locals go there because it is good and very inexpensive. After breakfast we did a little shopping and then crossed on the ferry over the Yukon River about 10:30. The ferry crossing is right in town, at the northwest end. The road we are on at this point is called the Top of the World Highway and it is aptly named! You drive on the tops of the mountains for miles and miles. It is rough road (mostly gravel) and at times it was much worse than the Dempster! About 45 miles from Dawson is the Alaska/Yukon border crossing and we passed through without a hitch. Just showed our passports, they asked a few questions and that was it. We are amazed that they haven’t yet asked to even look in the trailer or camper…. This border crossing is only open in the summer as this road is closed in the winter. Saw lots of RV’s headed toward Dawson on this road. Surprised that people would bring their big motor coaches on such a road. Drove on another 30+ miles to the town of Chicken. It is quite tiny but has a huge RV park and a small ‘downtown’. It is just one building that is divided between a gift shop/liquor store and tavern! They have free ‘dry’ camping so we are camping in the parking lot tonight. They DO have WiFi though! Amazing…. Of course we bought a few things in the gift store. We are now on Alaska time which is an hour earlier than Pacific time. Another day, another adventure!! No critters were seen today.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Dawson City Day 2
Day 32, Sunday, 7/19: Bob was up early and a caravan of big RV’s left the park about 6:00 this morning! It seems empty here now as they were parked next to us. It is cloudy but not raining. Bob got the laundry going early (before I got up) and we had breakfast at a little café here in the RV park while we waited for the laundry to dry! They have two guys from France here this summer to cook and we had wonderful crepes with caramelized apples and a nice omelet. Visited with some folks who are on motorcycles heading to Alaska. They are from Alberta and they were interested in the RZR which we had taken to the café. After that Bob worked on one of the camper jacks that had not been working. Looks like it needs a new motor which we will get in Fairbanks or Anchorage. We don’t need it unless we want to unload the camper from the truck and then we could use the manual device. Watched TV and read for a bit, took naps…. Finally this afternoon the sun came out so we decided to take the RZR into ‘downtown’ Dawson City to do some sightseeing. Still lots of folks left from the music festival that has been going on here all week. The tickets cost $160 each! We just walked up and down their main street and drove around a bit. We did visit their very impressive museum. Plan to go back in the morning to a couple of stores to buy ‘stuff’! Didn’t want to pack it home on the RZR… We will be going through town anyway on our way to the ferry. Even though Dawson is a Canadian town it was built by people from the US who were here looking for gold in the late 1800’s. Tomorrow we plan to head to Chicken, Alaska. We read that the town fathers (some miners) wanted to name the town ptarmigan but none of them could figure out how to spell it so they named the town chicken! Thought that was interesting….
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Another Critter day and then Dawson City
Day 31, Saturday, 7/18:
Woke early and left about 6:30 toward Two Moose Lake, 50 kilometers south. Decided to wait and make coffee and have breakfast there. Just as we were pulling into the turnout at Two Moose Lake we spotted a Mama Moose and two calves on the hill just north of the lake. She spotted us too!! Got some pictures and they wandered off. This is a nice spot to watch the ducks on the water and let the mosquitoes swarm around you…. We made coffee and had a bite of breakfast and decided to head on down the road since we figured the Mama and calves were probably all that we were going to see. Just after this spot we saw a black fox on the left side of the road and we watched him (or her) for quite a while pouncing and playing in the tundra. It was quite a sight! About 20 klicks (kilometers in Canadian) down the road we spotted another female moose just off the road grazing in a small pond. Probably the closest we have been to one and we got quite a few pictures! She was a bit nervous but didn’t run off. THEN, on down the road were a Mama fox (red) and her two (black) little ones running down the road right in front of us! They were sure cute and stayed on the road for a long time before disappearing into the bushes. We kept seeing what looked like female pheasant on the sides of the road but determined they are ptarmigan, a tundra-dwelling grouse and they eat willow buds. There is a thick cover of willow along the river. Anyway, it was quite a morning for critter watching! Left the Dempster about 11:00 and arrived here in Dawson City where we are planning to spend several days to clean up. They have an RV wash, laundry, and hook-ups.
After washing the truck/camper/trailer we settled into our spot. We spent some time cleaning inside the camper and trailer (everything was covered in dust). About 5:00 it started to rain and we had a tremendous lightning storm! It’s been a long time since we’ve experienced anything like it and the rain was coming down in buckets. We could hardly hear each other speak inside the camper! That lasted about 45 minutes but it continued to rain for awhile after that. Didn’t get to do laundry today because there were people waiting in line for the machines. Had some dinner and watched a bit of TV.
Woke early and left about 6:30 toward Two Moose Lake, 50 kilometers south. Decided to wait and make coffee and have breakfast there. Just as we were pulling into the turnout at Two Moose Lake we spotted a Mama Moose and two calves on the hill just north of the lake. She spotted us too!! Got some pictures and they wandered off. This is a nice spot to watch the ducks on the water and let the mosquitoes swarm around you…. We made coffee and had a bite of breakfast and decided to head on down the road since we figured the Mama and calves were probably all that we were going to see. Just after this spot we saw a black fox on the left side of the road and we watched him (or her) for quite a while pouncing and playing in the tundra. It was quite a sight! About 20 klicks (kilometers in Canadian) down the road we spotted another female moose just off the road grazing in a small pond. Probably the closest we have been to one and we got quite a few pictures! She was a bit nervous but didn’t run off. THEN, on down the road were a Mama fox (red) and her two (black) little ones running down the road right in front of us! They were sure cute and stayed on the road for a long time before disappearing into the bushes. We kept seeing what looked like female pheasant on the sides of the road but determined they are ptarmigan, a tundra-dwelling grouse and they eat willow buds. There is a thick cover of willow along the river. Anyway, it was quite a morning for critter watching! Left the Dempster about 11:00 and arrived here in Dawson City where we are planning to spend several days to clean up. They have an RV wash, laundry, and hook-ups.
After washing the truck/camper/trailer we settled into our spot. We spent some time cleaning inside the camper and trailer (everything was covered in dust). About 5:00 it started to rain and we had a tremendous lightning storm! It’s been a long time since we’ve experienced anything like it and the rain was coming down in buckets. We could hardly hear each other speak inside the camper! That lasted about 45 minutes but it continued to rain for awhile after that. Didn’t get to do laundry today because there were people waiting in line for the machines. Had some dinner and watched a bit of TV.
Dempster camping
Day 30, Friday, 7/17: Woke up during the night about midnight and couldn’t believe how light it was. It’s just amazing and feels a bit weird. Only heard one big truck go by during the night and Bob heard one car this morning (I slept in). The sun is out and looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. Bob is cooking breakfast and then we will head on down the road. Plan to spend one more night somewhere along the Dempster before getting back to Dawson City.
Forgot to mention yesterday that we got our first battle scar! A big truck went by and kicked up a rock so we now have a chip in the truck windshield but it is down low and to the left on the driver’s side. Doesn’t interfere with seeing the road and we somewhat expected it to happen sooner or later.
We visited with a couple from Wellington, New Zealand at the Arctic Circle marker. Her brother was also with them and he lives in Calgary, Alberta. Friendly folks and they are traveling in a small SUV pulling a tent trailer. Not sure how they all fit since they were all quite tall! She trains search dogs so there was discussion about search and rescue.
Fueled in Eagle Plains where there was a tour bus full of teenagers. Not sure where they were headed but they were going south toward Dawson City. Lots of RV’s headed north toward Inuvik while we are headed south. Stopped at a rest area and saw Elephant Rock. It is a rock on the very top of a mountain that is shaped like an elephant. Hard to see without binoculars but we managed to spot it. Pretty cool! It is in the Dempster Hwy. guide book that we got at the first campground on the way in and that has been a wonderful thing to have. Lots of information about things to look for and see that you would miss if you didn’t know about it.
We are stopped in a rock quarry again for the night. It is about 5:00 and we were getting tired. About the 150 kilometer marker from the Dempster Hwy. junction. Plan to spend a few hours at Two Moose Lake in the morning. It is at the 102 marker and that is where we saw the big bull moose on the way north.
OK, so Betsy is getting addicted to cribbage on the computer!!! We have even had to run the generator so we could charge up the laptop…. Camping in the wilderness is such a challenge.
Forgot to mention yesterday that we got our first battle scar! A big truck went by and kicked up a rock so we now have a chip in the truck windshield but it is down low and to the left on the driver’s side. Doesn’t interfere with seeing the road and we somewhat expected it to happen sooner or later.
We visited with a couple from Wellington, New Zealand at the Arctic Circle marker. Her brother was also with them and he lives in Calgary, Alberta. Friendly folks and they are traveling in a small SUV pulling a tent trailer. Not sure how they all fit since they were all quite tall! She trains search dogs so there was discussion about search and rescue.
Fueled in Eagle Plains where there was a tour bus full of teenagers. Not sure where they were headed but they were going south toward Dawson City. Lots of RV’s headed north toward Inuvik while we are headed south. Stopped at a rest area and saw Elephant Rock. It is a rock on the very top of a mountain that is shaped like an elephant. Hard to see without binoculars but we managed to spot it. Pretty cool! It is in the Dempster Hwy. guide book that we got at the first campground on the way in and that has been a wonderful thing to have. Lots of information about things to look for and see that you would miss if you didn’t know about it.
We are stopped in a rock quarry again for the night. It is about 5:00 and we were getting tired. About the 150 kilometer marker from the Dempster Hwy. junction. Plan to spend a few hours at Two Moose Lake in the morning. It is at the 102 marker and that is where we saw the big bull moose on the way north.
OK, so Betsy is getting addicted to cribbage on the computer!!! We have even had to run the generator so we could charge up the laptop…. Camping in the wilderness is such a challenge.
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