CHRIS~N~CAROL

Homecoming!

2008-09-02T13:55:44Z

We’re back ! Not just on the blog, but back in the Lower 48. It’s really nice to be “home” where the main roads are paved, and believe it or not, the prices are lower on nearly everything!

In Edmonton, Alberta we met up with some friends we had made while in Las Vegas last March. Don and Diane also ride so we spent the day doing a circle tour of Edmonton on the bikes. It is a very busy, growing city. Construction is everywhere and the economy is strong. Wages are high but so is the cost of everything. The second day we were on our own so we did some sightseeing. We went to the West Edmonton Mall, the largest in the world. It has 800 stores, 100 restaurants, an indoor water park, an ice rink an amusement park, and 2 hotels! Chris found a place to try out a Segway and discovered they are not as easy as they look!

We then headed south through Calgary on a direct line to get back in the US ASAP. We wanted to be able to use the cell phones again, access the camping networks and enjoy some lower prices. Alberta is mostly rolling plains with all the wheat fields you would ever want to see.
The weather was improving and the driving was finally back on some smooth roads.

We crossed the border at Sweetgrass, Montana and were pulled out to answer a survey and have our fruit checked for place of origin. Took about 15 minutes and no problems. From there it was smooth sailing across Montana, Wyoming and into South Dakota. And we did sometimes "sail" - the wind was unrelenting as you can see from the trees!

The terrain has progressed from mountains (our last view of snow-covered caps) to flat plains that stretch seemingly forever.

There is a good reason The Great Plains have that name. At times, it seems that you can see forever.
It must have been daunting to the pioneers crossing hostile land and not being able to see any end, then to come to the Rocky Mountains! At this point we also began to notice the “presence of man”, even in what we used to think of the “boonies”!

Coming into Rapid City the truck’s temperature gauge gave a little blip toward hot and we could smell antifreeze. YIKES! We checked the fluid level several times but could not see any problem. However, being somewhat gun-shy at this point, we dropped the trailer in the campground and headed for the Ford Dealer so they could look at it and run some diagnostics the next day.

We used that day to see Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Deadwood and Sturgis on the bikes.
When we went to pick up the truck that evening, we found out they had replaced the radiator yet again! (Our 3rd replacement) They said it had a “crimp” in it, causing a leak. The next morning, we were back on the road. (PHEW)

About the time we got to Wisconsin today we realized that the trees were “normal size” again and there was grass growing spontaneously along the road. Tonight we’re in a beautiful campground with those tall trees all around us, and lots of families enjoying the holiday weekend. It feels like what we think of as home.

We plan to be back in Columbus shortly after Labor Day. This will culminate a year- long 21,000 mile trip during which we spent time in 21 states, 3 Canadian provinces, saw many things we had only read about and some things we never did figure out! Along the way we met some extraordinary people, traveled with wonderful new friends, and had some “very interesting” adventures. We learned a lot about the US and Canada, and a lot about ourselves. We hope you enjoyed our story and pictures. All in all it was a hell of a ride!

Homecoming! remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Mastering Alaska

2008-08-25T14:57:44Z

We have come to the conclusion that Alaska is just not an easy place to be. My main goal for the Alaska trip was to see Mt McKinley. This is something that only about 20% of the visitors ever get to do. Partly because it makes its own weather by being so tall and partly because most people only have 1 day to get a shot at seeing it. To help increase the odds we scheduled 5 days in the park 2 days on the road to get there where there were viewpoints and 3 days in Fairbanks where you can see it from the university viewpoint 125 miles away. It was sunny all along the road from Anchorage to Denali, but the mountain was creating a cloud above 7000' so we did not get to see it on the way. Once we arrived in Denali National Park it started raining. And it rained for 4 days. The forecast was for at least 3 more days of rain so hope of seeing the big one was slipping away. BUT !! A miracle!! On the 5th day there was no rain and there were a few breaks of sun. These are known as sun events in Alaska. Only I was determined enough to drive to the visitors center and book a bus trip into the park. This is a $40, 8 hour, 66 mile trip on a school bus with 40 of your closest friends. It is also the only way to get into the park. They keep cars out to keep it pristine. Finally I was rewarded by what the driver called "the best day for viewing the mountain all year".

So now on we went to Fairbanks. The weather was clear and we had several more views of the mountain along the road. We also got a good view of it along with the entire Alaska Range from the viewpoint of the museum at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

While in Fairbanks we made a stop at the Ford dealer where the truck had been repaired and got one more part installed, the coolant checked and the oil changed. We were good to go but still apprehensive. We also got to do some riding for the first time in a week. We went to see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline north of town and got lost on the way. We rode about 40 miles of dirt road that at times was little more than a cow path only to hit a dead end and have to ride halfway back to find the real route and some pavement. We finally made it and the site was very interesting.

Now if you have been following our travels you are going to find this next statement unbelievable. Our next stop was in TOK !!! That is only because it is the only way to get in and out of Alaska on the highway. We were warmly greeted by the staff at the RV Park like we were long lost friends. While it was nice to see them and did feel like we had come home we were out of there early the next morning. We drove back over the same road we had taken to get to Alaska and were held up briefly (1 hour) getting across the border. Seems like everyone wanted to get out before winter started in September. The seasons are Sept – May, winter. June, spring. July, summer. August, fall.

Our next stop was a new place in the Yukon Territory. Watson Lake. There is a Signpost Forest there where people from all over the world have posted signs about themselves, or from their hometown.

About 55,000 of them. We had a sign with our names on it made in the Redwood area of California that we decided to add to the collection. Since Watson Lake is smaller than Tok we only planned to stay one night.

Did I say planned? My mistake. Next morning, about 30 miles out, our travel partners radioed to say they had an engine light on and no power on upgrades. YES Virginia, truck trouble again. They contacted a tow truck while we pulled our rig back to Watson Lake. We then returned and hooked up their rig to our truck and followed the tow truck back to Watson Lake. The next morning the repair shop told them the truck would have to go back to Whitehorse to the dealer for repair. 250 miles in the wrong direction. Since we didn’t want them to have to endure the same fate we had in Tok we decided to tow their rig to Whitehorse so they could be with their truck and in a civilized town. We made the 500 mile roundtrip in one day. We were going to part after two more stops anyway and since they were safe and we needed to get back to the states we said our goodbyes. It had been fun traveling with them and a real help when we both had truck problems.

We continued east to Edmonton over the Canadian Rockies where we saw more wildlife in one day than in a week in Alaska. Also some spectacular scenery and some scary roads. The Alaska Highway there is only about 20’ wide in parts with drop offs into water of the bottom of a canyon. Oh Yea, it’s under construction and dirt.

Mastering Alaska remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

On The Road Again

2008-08-06T08:27:43Z

After 3 weeks stranded in Tok, Alaska we are finally back on the road! Here's the ENTIRE town of Tok from the air! On July 23 Chris took a bush plane from Tok to Fairbanks to pick up the truck that was supposed to be finished. Upon arrival he found that it was not only not done, but as you can see from the picture, it was still pretty much in pieces. After Chris spent two days in a motel in Fairbanks, the truck was diagnosed as needing a new motor! Then the next day they "brought in a new technician" who decided it was good as new and said take it and good luck. The drive back to Tok (200 miles) was uneventfull except for dodging a couple of moose. The truck seemed to be running OK and we were anxious to leave, which we did immediately, even though it was already 3 pm!
We made it to Valdez about 9pm and settled into a campground just 1 block from the water and at the base of a glacier. It was a very pretty drive down and we saw several glaciers, lots of waterfalls, eagles, a bear fishing for salmon, and really expensive fuel prices. ($5.61) Two days there and we were on the road to Anchorage for one night in the parking lot of "Freddies" (Alaskan version of Super Walmart) where we restocked our food supply. The next morning we dropped off our TV for repair (it had died in Tok) and headed to what used to be the town of Portage - now just a place on the map.
We were able to connect there with our travel partners for 2 nights as we were on our way into the Kenai Peninsula and they were on their way out. On our one common day together we drove to Whittier by way of a car/ train tunnel! It is one way and one type of vehicle at a time. Cars go on the hour east and the 1/2 hour west unless there is a train which goes whenever they arrive. It's 2 1/2 miles long, about 16' high, 12' wide and costs $12. Before 2000, there was no way to get to Whittier by car at all! Once in Whittier, we went on a Glacier Cruise to see calving glaciers. It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of calving, sea otters, black footed kites, seals, porpise and more waterfalls. We also saw a large high-rise building where the entire population of Whittier lives. Very unusual to say the least.
Next we were off to Homer at the bottom of the Kenai Peninsula. Nice little town with houses up on a high bluff overlooking Kachemak Bay. We camped on the end of Homer Spit, a small strip of land that extends out into the Bay. It was about 1 mile long and 1/4 mile wide, and has 28 ft tidal changes every 6 hours! This is how they deal with it at the local marina. It had a Key West feel except at the extreme opposite end of the US and the climate scale. It would be a nice place to live except for the fact that it goes to 70 degrees below zero in the winter. Chris' thought is that that's about 150 degrees too frickin cold!!!!!!!!!!
After 3 nights it was back to Anchorage for two days to get the TV and see some sights. It was nice to be back in a "normal" sized town and be able to shop and go to a restaurant. Carol was excited to see a freeway and streetlights. Today we stopped at a Harley dealer, got a new rear tire put on Carol's bike, and came to the tiny town of Willow, about 1/3 of the way from Anchorage to Denali National Park (location of Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in the US at over 20,000'). McKinley is only visable about 20% of the time but we will have 5 days there starting Thursday so we hope to see it. We're back with our travel friends now until we get part way through Canada, so even though we're not completely trusting of the truck, we feel more comfortable. Keep your fingers crossed for us! More later.
C&C

On The Road Again remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Looks like we made it ???????????

2008-07-11T21:39:30Z

I think the pictures say it all. We made it to Alaska, one of my longtime dreams.
Unfortunately we only made it 10 miles inside the border, when the engine on the new 2008 Ford truck blew up. We were stranded on the side of the road for 5 hours waiting for the tow truck to come from Tok, the nearest town, about 90 miles away. Then it was a 3 hour ride back to Tok, in the tow truck, pulling our truck with the camper attached. 30 mph all the way except where the road was gravel and then we had to slow to 15-20 mph. We got into a campground around 11 PM just before sunset.

You really can’t appreciate the 19 hours of sunlight until you have been here. We have trouble sensing when it’s time to go to bed or get up unless we black out the bedroom. Often there are people out walking and conversing in the campgrounds until 11 pm.

As for the truck, it has some exhust cooling valves that are bad as well as needing to have the biggest part of the exhaust system replaced and will be towed to the nearest Ford dealership which is in Fairbanks, about 212 miles away. In the mean time we are in a nice campground in Tok and have the motorcycles to ride. Too bad there are only 2 roads! The one from Whitehorse to Fairbanks which we came in on, and one that intersects it, going from Chicken to Anchorage. Fortunately the town has a grocery store, good cell service and 5 cable stations. There are reportedly 1400 residents! They must be counting tourists.

We convinced our travel partners to continue to the Kenai Peninsula as planned, and we will catch up with them as soon as we get our truck back. We will have to shorten our stay most places but we had allotted 5 weeks to see Alaska. Too bad 2 weeks will be spent looking at Tok.

This really is the last frontier.

Looks like we made it ??????????? remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Yukon Summer

2008-07-08T21:52:09Z

Hello again.
We have progressed from British Columbia to the Yukon Territory. There are 30,000 people who live in the YT and 23,000 of them live in the capitol of Whitehorse. Of those 1/2 are decedents of the original people (known as First Nation).
As you might imagine we found a lot of services in Whitehorse and that was a good thing. While pulling into the campground one of the 6 wheels on the camper sheared off all of it lug nuts and went rolling away. Luckily we were only 1/2 mile from a repair shop and they were able to replace the hub and bearings and put on the spare. Because we didn't want to continue without a spare we ordered a new rim which had to be shipped from Edmonton. This held us up for 4 days but that was OK since we needed to do some housekeeping and stock up on supplies. The day we were leaving our travel partners had an accident with their rig and needed to get some fiberglass work done on the tail end so it was back to the repair shop for them. Bad timing. It was Canada Day weekend and no one was open. By the time they got it fixed, we ended up spending 10 days in Whitehorse.
While we were there we connected with a gal at the local Harley shop for a Wild Women Wednesday ride and also took a day trip to Skagway, Alaska. Lots of great scenery and our second step into Alaska. Both Skagway and Hyder are located along the inland waterway that is part of Alaska that really looks like it should be Canada.

While in Whitehorse we got to experience what the locals call Yukon Summer. On a sunny afternoon we got a major sleet storm. Mind you this is JULY!!!!. Little pellets about the size of small peas covered the ground and dropped the temperature about 25 degrees in 10 minutes. Most bizarre.

These pictures are from our trip to Skagway, about 100 miles. It is a ferry stop on the Inland Passage and is full of touristy type stores

One day while I was out riding and seeing some of the local color I came across a bunch of redneck Canadians who had built their own mudrun. They were having a ball and I think I was the only person there who went home clean.

Yukon Summer remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Lower British Columbia

2008-06-15T20:53:39Z

OK folks, a new phase is here. I (Chris) am learning to post to the blog. This segment covers our travel from Rosedale, BC to Smithers, BC. Most of the roads here follow railroads, which follow rivers because that was the only way to circumvent the mountians. While it is not the most direct route it certinaly is scenic. The train picture is the Canadian National Railroad along the Thomas River. There is another railline on the road side. Usually they are seperate but in places they share the roadbed because the is just barely room for the tracks do to the sheer cliffs.

The water picture is from our campsite on Kokanee Bay, BC. As you can see the weather has improved a little. It only rained a of and on that day. The saga of searching for WiFi continues because the aircard costs .69 per minute. We were able to capture a signal outside a restuarant in Lac La Heche and do our email and a little research. I took a bike ride and am discovering that the side roads usually only go to a specfic location and stop. That, and the fact that they often turn to gravel or dirt, makes loop riding difficult. Usually I just ride the road ahead on our route to see if there is anything interesting or to scout out fuel, food ect. Speaking of fuel, diesel here continues to climb. The last fill-up was $186.01 OUCH! Since our campsight was so beautiful we decided to have our 1st picnic with our travel partners Janet and Ron. We almost finished eating before it rained. Dessert was enjoyed indoors with a hot cup of coffee as it was only about 50 degrees.

The 3rd picture was taken from beside the camper in Glacier View RV Resort just west of Smithers. It's obvious where the name came from. This is Kathryn Glacier on Hudson Bay Mountian. The campground is at 3500' and the mountian top about 8600'. We were able to do some chores in Smithers. Oilchange, farmers market, groceries. laundry ect. We tried to ride the bikes to the twin falls below the glacier but again ran out of pavement. The gravel portion of the road was about a mile long and then it was a hike on foot from the end of the road. We decided we really didn't need another close-up. We went to a salmon hatchery instead where they were raising about 190,000 baby fish. It takes two years in the hatchery before they are tagged and released.

Later in the day the weather was getting pretty nice. Sunny and 60. Carol was working on a sunshade for the skylight in the bedroom so I decided to go for another solo ride. After runing out of pavement a half dozen times I decided to try a dirt road. (It looked like good dirt) I rode about 20 miles and saw some really pretty Alpine type farms. I had to stop once to let a young farmer herd his cows down the road from the milkshed to the pasture. It was getting late and I was getting worried because I had no idea where I would end up when I began to see mileage markers decending from 10-9-8 ect. I ended up in a little town only about 10 miles west of the campground on the main road. I returned around 7:30 PM in time for dinner and to join Carol as she talked to 2 guys setting up their tent in the campground. They are on enduro bikes, riding from Michigan to Alaska! She had finished her skylight cover along with a cardboard cover for the bedroom window. We needed these so we could have get a little more sleep. It is getting light here about 3:00 AM and not dark until 11:00 PM. This morning we were able to sleep until 8 for the 1st time in a couple of weeks!

We head for the Cassiar Highway Tuesday morning.

Lower British Columbia remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Houseboat Fun & Entering Canada

2008-06-15T19:33:20Z

Hello Again!
Seattle was great as always, especially Pike Street Market (picture)
We had a wonderful long weekend at Friday Harbor, in the North Sound with friends Jerry and Cheryl. They built their houseboat (picture) in their back yard!! Luckily we had some of the best weather in months while out on the island. The ferry trips were fun and of course we saw more beautiful sights by motorcycle! (Gypsy went with us in her special carrier and enjoyed the whole thing.) (Picture of the 4 of us)
Back on the mainland, we picked up the camper, reloaded the bikes and headed for our last "lower 48 campground" where we met up with Janet and Ron (Picture of R&J in their back yard where we visited with them. Their son and family now live there, and they have a slab for the 5th wheel when they go to visit). Of course we needed to pick up a couple of items, before heading into Canada so one last trip to the grocery. We expect prices to be high in Canada.
Our trip across the border was unremarkable (ie. they didn't search either rig, and the dog's papers passed inspection!). Of course the weather reverted to our "usual" and we were all pretty well soaked by the time we got set up in our campground in Rosedale, BC. It was adjoined to Bridal Veil Falls Park, so Chris and I hiked about a 1/2 hour up to the base (picture) after things died down to a drizzle! The hot tub was very popular in spite of the weather, but the "heated pool" was BRRRR!
Prices in Canada are very high. Today we got the discount price on diesel by paying cash - it was $6.80/gallon!!! (We've been paying $7.25/gal!!) OUCH! The food prices are comparably high and the tax (on everything) is about 14%. Good thing we stocked up. (Are you all feeling better now?)
Today the weather gave us a break - warm and sunny, so we went for a great ride on one of the few roads. We're in Prince George, B.C., a town of about 10,000. When you leave the city, there's really nothing but beautiful mountains and trees with swift running rivers everywhere for a great distance. I feel like a pioneer! (well, except for the fact that KFC, McD's, etc. are everywhere in town. Tomorrow we head farther north! Internet access is intermittent, so we'll update when we can!

Houseboat Fun & Entering Canada remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

ChrisNCarol Chronicles

2008-05-26T00:05:48Z

Hello All from Vancouver, Washington!

Since we last wrote, we've had lots of long rainy chilly days! Out here, they routinely talk about the possibility of "sun breaks" when giving weather predictions! (We think it's just to keep folks hopeful!).

We haven't let the weather stop us from seeing some amazing places, but the motorcycles are definitely sitting way more than we'd like! Recently we've seen the World Kite Museum, the biggest driftwood I've ever incountered, beautiful mountain waterfalls, as well as Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens (both of which were still heavily snowed in - parking lots not plowed, etc. as of yesterday!) We've visited longtime friends of mine here in Vancouver, and made some new ones. In fact, we met a couple who are now going with us to Alaska! Janet and Ron don't ride, but are lots of fun and I'm sure we'll enjoy having their company along the way. Janet shares Chris' birthday, and it's been VERY interesting to see how similar they are!

We're stocked up and heading to Seattle tomorrow. After spending a few days with some friends on their houseboat at Friday Harbor (near Victoria, CAN) next weekend, we'll do our final preparations, meet up with Janet and Ron, and cross into Canada on June 5. It will take us 3 weeks to make the long run to the Alaskan border, with many interesting stops along the way, AND the thrill of about 50 miles of gravel highway (construction) on route #37! We're expecting to be in Alaska 5 weeks before taking another 3 weeks to come diagonally across Canada and back into the US somewhere in Minnessota.

Yes, the price of diesel is ALARMING! We've started thinking of $4.39/gal as a bargain... UGH! We're both thinking we'll need to find some part time work this coming winter to refill the coffers :-).

Hope you all are enjoying a wonderful spring and looking forward to summer fun!

ChrisNCarol

ChrisNCarol Chronicles remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Redwoods/Elk/Rain/Snow

2008-04-22T20:22:38Z

Here we are in lush northern California! The trees are just as amazing as they say, and there's a herd of elk that roam the acres around us, sometimes crossing right behind the camper! They and the horses have an intersting relationship - almost like there's a demilitarized zone in the middle of the pasture. The elk of course have no regard for the fencing and I think the horses are jealous!
Unfortunately it's been cold and rainy for days, and yesterday when we drove up on the ridge behind us (about 1000 ft.) we ran into SNOW!!! Honest to goodness sticking on the trees and road SNOW! Needless to say the bikes haven't been out of the rig and according to weather predictions, probably won't be for a couple of weeks!
Our next stopping place has an indoor pool and hot tub! YEAH!!

Redwoods/Elk/Rain/Snow remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Motorcycle ride to the coast from Russian River

2008-06-15T19:34:27Z

What a great ride! About 160 miles round trip from our campground on the Russian River out to the coast and back. Beautiful twisty roads through the forest. Saw our first redwoods on this journey and the US mainland point closest to Hawaii! Great lunch at "Queenies" (in a remodeled Studebaker showroom) overlooking the Pacific at Elk, CA. It's impossible to describe the thousands of acres of vinyards on every slope and flat area, and the palatial homes that sit in their midst! Tomorrow morning we move on.
C&C

Motorcycle ride to the coast from Russian River remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

Pacific Coast Highway

2008-06-15T19:35:35Z

Stunning! The view was everything we thought it would be - the road, not so much! We think this stretch would be great on the motorcycles, but leaves something to be desired when hauling the rig.

We're still having trouble with getting the dates to work correctly when making entries....I'm sure we'll get it eventually!

Pacific Coast Highway remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs

C&C Chronicles

2008-04-08T17:56:56Z

Hello Everyone!

We've been On The Road full-time together in OUR rig since August 7, 2007. (Carol's original rig and truck found a home with friends Deb and Joe with whom we hope to have many opportunities for travel in the furture!)

So far we've covered 8600 miles with the truck and 5th wheel, and another 12,000 on the motorcycles! We been at 160 ft. below sea level at the Salton Sea near Mecca, California, and above 11,000 ft. at Sandia Peak outside Albuquerque. We have 14 states under our belt so far and have been in temperatures as low as 19F and as high as 98F. (The 19 taught us a lesson about desert camping in the winter!). Along the way we've met a lot of great folks, many of whom also share our love of motorcycling.

We hope that finally starting this blog, after months of promises to many folks, will allow those interested to "see" and read about some of our adventures. We think of you all often, and enjoy hearing from everyone.

We're currently a little southwest of Sacramento, CA and heading north to Alaska this summer.

C&C

C&C Chronicles remains copyright of the author roadhouse, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

Comment on this entry | Tweet this | Your own free travel blog | More Travellerspoint blogs