The Journey Continues: Day 1 thru 6

We are in Whitehorse tonight at a hotel, and I can now update our journey.  Of course, like most of life, nothing has gone as planned.  But we have definitely left Alaska (not for good-but more on that later).  So I guess you could say that was part of the plan and it actually happened.

Day 1;  Mile 0-55:   September 30, 2013.  We were hoping to be gone early in the day, but no way!  It snowed all day.  We got at least 3 inches of snow, probably more.  In the last couple of hours, we were almost throwing things in any available space, just so we could get out of there.  We finally departed Coal St. at 1849 with the snow falling softly.  What a perfect picture of a serene winter evening.  However, it made for a stressful road trip for me because of towing the motorcycle trailer in the dark and expecting at any moment to either hit a slippery spot and jackknife the trailer or run into a moose.  Dave and Dad were in the Ford towing the cargo trailer.  We did see 3 moose on the shoulder-all dining leisurely on some plants close to the road.  They never gave any acknowledgement of our passing by.  I guess they won't miss us.

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  Caravan and motorcycle trailer-ready to go

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

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  Tree stump in our backyard

  
  

  
  

  

  Spruce tree by our front door covered with icicles

                                                        

Snow on trailer platform

     

                                  

Folding platform on cargo trailer

Day 1;  Mile 55:  Dave notices truck lights dimming.  He is very concerned that the battery will fail before we reach Fairbanks in another 55 miles.  We make it to the Walmart parking lot (in Fairbanks) about 2135, eat sandwiches for supper and return to a dead battery in the truck.  Dave's diagnosis of a failed alternator is accurate.  We jump the truck with the caravan, drive quickly across the road to the Lowes parking lot to plug in battery charger (Thank you Lowes), and spend the night there.  It was so cold in the camper that Dave turned on the furnace for a short while. (very short)  We all went to sleep dressed as we were.  Who wants to change into pj's in the cold.  Sweet dreams!??!

Day 2;  Mile 55-70:   October 1, 2013.  We drove to GVEA and parked in their lot. Dad and Dave removed the old alternator while Mom and I went and picked up doughnuts.  We all sat in GVEA's lunch room (it was nice and warm) and had breakfast.  Dad and Dave then worked on installing the new alternator.  Didn't take long.  Dave said goodbye to people at GVEA; we ran some errands; filled about 15 cans of fuel; had lunch at Mayflower (yummy buffet); and eagerly climbed into our vehicles with the anticipation of a problem free journey.

Day 2;  Mile 70- 294:   We leave Fairbanks to resume our journey.  Time now is 1545.  Roads are dry even though the chill of winter is in the air.  The birch trees are a brilliant yellow and line the road as we head south east towards Tok.  The roads are a little bouncy and travel is a little slow.  We drive until 2119--a lot later than we wanted to.  We are determined not to drive any more in the dark.  We came prepared with lots and lots of stories on CD's, tapes, MP3 players, and stored on my netbook.  But today, we talked back and forth through the CB radioes ( we each have one in our vehicles) so much that finding uninterrupted time to listen to anything else was not possible. 

Birch trees line the highway for most of the day.

Still in Alaska on Day 2, late in afternoon

Day 3; Mile 294-518:  The day started out very overcast and temperature is 32.  By early afternoon the sky turned blue.  Gorgeous landscape!  But the roads are terrible!!!  About 90 miles after starting this morning we arrived at the Canadian Border Crossing.  As I started to drive away, I heard this loud scraping noise.   FLAT TIRE!  (brand new tire with high load rating)  It took us about 1 1/2 hours to change the tire.  Of course, the tire was destroyed from dragging it about 20 yards to get out of the way.  Roads continued to be bad until Burwash Creek.  Stopped for night at base of  Soldiers' Summit trail by Kluane Lake.  This spot is a historic and scenic one and well worth visiting.  Today, we started listening to Murder She Meowed by Rita Mae Brown.  It's a murder mystery with lots of bad people involved in drugs.  Rather pathetic and sad commentary on humans but it keeps us interested and helps keep me awake.  Mom is taking lots of pictures and getting better at handling the CB radio, although once in a while she tries to take pictures with the "speaker" (CB mike) and tries to talk into the camera.

Our last few moments in Alaska.  Dad, Dave, Mom, & I

Our first few moments in Canada.

Somewhere in Canada about 1500.

Dad & Dave at Kluane River rest area.  Look at those beautiful blue skies.

Yukon, around 1700

Day 4;  Mile 518-688:   Beautiful sunrise.  We hiked the trail to the Memorial at Soldiers' Summit.  This is a short trail uphill, not too steep, that takes you to the memorial and informative signs and beautiful view of the Lake. Stopped early at the Klondike Inn in Whitehorse, Yukon.  It's a good thing they have a large parking area. We visited Miles Canyon in Whitehorse after we checked into the hotel.

Sunrise.  Kluane Lake in background

Mom & Dave at Soldiers Summit.  Kluane Lake in background.

Taken from the trail to Soldiers Summit.  Truck and Caravan somewhere in picture.  Kluane Lake in background.

Taken from Soldiers Summit trail.

Miles Canyon, Yukon River, Whitehorse.

Miles Canyon, Yukon River.

Day 5;  Mile 688-972:  After stopping at Visitor Center in Whitehorse, we continue through the Yukon.  The day started out sunny but turned to clouds and rain. We drove til almost 7 PM, finally reaching Watson Lake.  We had a few minutes of daylight to view the Sign Post Forest.   We parked along the road just south of town for the night.

Maybe the Teslin River.

Probably in Yukon.  Sometimes, for a short bit, we drove out of Yukon and into B.C and then back into the Yukon.  Raindrops on Windshield.

Sign Post Forest, Watson Lake, Yukon

Day 6; Mile 972-1,216  Welcome to British Columbia.  (It is now October 5, 2013)

It is quite chilly this morning (about 34), and we are out of propane, so we leave without breakfast hoping it will warm up a little to change propane bottles and get some heat in the camper.  Ten minutes after starting this morning, we are out of the Yukon for good and pass a "Welcome to British Columbia" sign.  We drive into fog, pass buffaloes grazing near the road, and stop about 40 miles past our camping spot.  We replaced the empty propane bottle and after a warm breakfast we continue under cloudy skies, occasionally passing buffaloes, and reach the Liard Hot Springs about 122 miles later.  It has warmed up and is partly sunny.  As Dave is fueling the vehicles from gas cans we brought along, a sudden downpour drenches us.  It doesn't last long, but the temperature dropped about 10 degrees.  Dave, Mom, and I decide to go to the hot springs while Dad stays behind to take care of his cold.  Since Mom was brave enough to go into the water, I decided to also.  (But be prepared-the dressing room is one big space-no privacy)  WOW!  It sure was hot!  Took a while to get used to it.  But we were warm for a looonnng time after leaving the water.
We continue past Muncho Lake and stop for the night about 1915. It is about 36 degrees.  I am so thankful for our faithful little camper stove.  (Our camper is about 45 years old-"PHOENIX" made in Elkhart, Indiana)

Changing propane bottles.  We want heat!!

Cargo trailer.  The Buffalo were so unimpressed with us.  But we were impressed by them.

Dave & I enjoying the hot water.

Boardwalk to Hot springs

Mom and I after our warm dip.

Muncho Lake around 1830, elevation about 3700 feet