Saturday, June 24
Last night we discovered that we had entered another time zone. We are now in the Pacific time zone so we had to set our clocks back. Due to that we got up at 7:00 instead of 8:00, oh well, I'm sure that will change in a day or two, once we become acclimated to the time change. We got a fairly early start this morning, but before heading out of Faro we decided to swing by the town dump to see if we could see any grizzlies. No such luck on the bears, but we did get a couple of photos of a young bald eagle. The town dump by the way is surrounded by electric fence to discourage bears.
We got on our way, the last stretch of the Campbell Highway. We got our first glimpse of the Yukon River here before we left the Campbell. The rivers up here are really beautiful. You can look down into a valley and see several channels of the river splitting up and forming a number of islands. The rivers up here aren't tamed and channeled into one narrow line like back home. We hit the Klondike Highway about 10:00 and we thought we were in heavy traffic. Everything is relative though, for the states this certainly would not be heavy traffic. We swung by Carmacks and filled the gas tank again. I knew fuel was going to be the biggest cost on this trip and it will be, but I don't imagine it will go down by next year either so there wasn't any point in putting the trip off for that.
Just a little ways north of Carmack we stopped at an overlook that showed the Five Fingers Rapids on the Yukon. We took some photos from the overlook and decided we needed the exercise so we hiked down to the rapids, about a 2 mile trip. It was interesting when we got down there because they explained in some plaque displays that one channel had been widened and steel cable had been secured through it to help pull the stern wheeler steam boats up through the rapids. I had not even known that steamboats had come up the Yukon, but apparently they were quite common until the 50s or so. I could not figure out how they used the steel cable until I saw a film on it in Dawson City.
We got back to the truck hot and hungry, so we ate a bite of lunch and headed up for what is known as the Silver Trail, which will take us about 70 miles off of the Klondike Highway to a couple of mining towns, Mayo and Keno, where we need to get our passport book stamped. By the way, this Yukon passport promotion grand prize is $1,000 in gold. We got to May about 3:30 but didn't stay long because we wanted to get to Keno before they closed for the day and get the passport stamped there also. It turned out that Keno is a lot more interesting than Mayo anyway. They have a really neat museum and there is a city campground there so we spent the night. The lady at the museum who stamped our passports said she had moved there in 1967 to work in the mines and never left even though the mines are gone now. The population of Keno is 25, but they sure are trying to lure tourists up here. Not too many people come up here, especially in the bigger RVs because it is a gravel road the last 40 kilometers or so. The lady also told us to drive up to Keno Hill and see what it is like on top of the world so we did. It is a quite impressive place. Mountains as far as you can see. There is some evidence of the mines that were once there and a marker with miles to various cities around the world up there also. It did seem as though it was the top of the world. We meet and chatted with a couple from New Brunswick while we were up there. They are staying at the Keno campground also.
By the time we got back to Keno it was getting late so we took a few photos and went back to the campground and made supper, read and hit the sack about 9:30. Still not use to the time change.
Sunday, June 25
Well, slept until 8:00 so I guess we're getting use to the time change now. It didn't get so cold last night. The thermometer just showed 49 this morning, but it warms up quickly. Every day seems to dawn clear, but by evening it is pretty well clouded over. The temperatures have been in the upper 70s each day. After breakfast it had warmed up enough to walk into town without a jacket. We took a few more photos and just browsed a little more before heading out. We also chatted with the folks from New Brunswick some more.
Today's destination is Dawson City (not to be confused with Dawson Creek). Dawson City was the focal point of the Klondike gold rush of 1897. It's primary industry today is obviously tourism. We first found a campground that had wifi, ate a bite of lunch, and then headed into town. Our first stop was the information center. We got acclimated and just began walking. We walked several blocks and went to Dawson City Museum, to get our passport stamped and then up to the Jack London Center and on to the Robert Service cabin. There are some really neat old buildings here in town. It was thriving during the 30s and continued to have gold mining going on around here until the 60s. The population declined though from the 30s and it is just now making a comeback. We saw several films at the information center, one on the steamboats of the Yukon, one on the gold rush, and one on Dawson City itself. Very interesting. Now we're back at the campground and I've updated the blog and downloaded photos. It has been a few days since we've had any internet capability.
Monday, June 26
Woke up this morning to clouds, fog, and rain. A change of pace for us. Since it was cloudy and gloomy we slept in until about 8:30. We decided to go over to a restaurant associated with the RV park we are in and eat breakfast. When we got there It was somewhat crowded and we asked if we could share a table with another couple. Their names are John and Eileen Frerking. They are from North Palm Beach, Florida. He is a retired Luthern pastor and she is a retired principal. We hit it off right away. They have a truck camper and so we shared our ideas about truck camping and some of the techniques for storage and use. They also have a daughter and son-in-law in Overland Park, KS and their daughter just had a new little girl. They're very close to Rob and Rebecca. We met up with them at Diamond Tooth Gertie's this evening and had a few drinks and watched the show and chatted. We hope to keep in touch and possibly see them in October when they will be in KC from about October 1 through Christmas.
We finally got away from the park about noon, found a gas station and filled the tank again. That is the only painful part about this trip :-). We also stopped to see about getting the oil changed but couldn't do it today so decided we would wait until Fairbanks or Anchorage. We went down to the Parks Canada information center and bought some tickets to some of the attractions in Dawson City. We went to a reading and narrative event on Robert Service a local poet who who such poems as 'The Cremation of Sam McGee' and 'The Shooting of Dan McGrew'. That was really fun. Then we went to the Dawson City Museum, which is quite elaborate and well done. They also had a great movie on Dawson City. We also picked up a few badly needed groceries. Donnie, I bought a gold pan today also. I remember a backpack trip we went on that Don brought a gold pan to do some panning. Thought I might give it a try here and there as we drive through Alaska.
Overall, even though it has been a dreary and rainy day it has been a lot of fun and eventful, meeting some new interesting people and learning some historic facts. It sure beats working.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
June 20 through June 23
Tuesday, June 20
We packed up and left Grande Prairie this morning, after contacting some folks via email. Becky told us that she is having an ultrascan this afternoon at 4:00 to determine the sex of her baby. We told her to leave a voice mail on the cell phone when she found out. Don't know when we will have cell service again though.
Dawson Creek was only about 60 miles down the road from Grande Prairie. The first place we stopped was the Dawson Creek visitor center. They had lots of brochures and a great little museum. The museum detailed life in the early years of Dawson Creek, but it had a lot of emphasis on the Northern Alberta Railroad, which was probably the thing that put Dawson Creek on the map. By the way, I had always imagined Dawson Creed to be a small little frontier type town. It definitely is not that. Lots of stores and some industry, also lots of people and traffic. The RVs were cramming the parking lot at the visitor center. It looked like a convention of the AARP.
The museum had a video that they played about the history of the Alaska Highway. Wow, the poor soldiers and contractors that laid the first road back in 1942 had a really rough go of it. The main reason for the highway was due to the fact that Washington feared an attack on Alaska by Japan and the US government wanted a land route to supply troops and supplies to Alaska. The US government paid for the initial construction of the highway, using a lot of army engineering troops and a lot of black soldiers. Apparently the thoughts back then were that black soldiers weren't capable of combat duty and thus they were used for support and duties like this. The highway was begun in the early spring of 1942 and was completed in late fall 1942. It was still a work in progress then but the basic foundation of the road was in place. Several soldiers died building the road, some drowned in the rivers that had to be bridged, some in accidents, and at least one froze to death.
The highway was turned over to the Canadian government 6 months after the war ended but it remained a military road until around 1948, so one had to get permission to use it prior to that. It became public after that and many people started using it to haul goods and supplies to Alaska in trucks, as well as traveling it to just visit Alaska. In the 1960s and 70s it became very popular for recreational purposes and the government began paving it. Today all of it is paved from Dawson Creek, Alberta to Delta Junction, Alaska. This is a 1200 mile stretch.
The next city we went through was Fort St. John about 60 miles past Dawson Creek. It too was a large type city, with lots of businesses and some industry, including a Walmart. I would guess that both Dawson Creek and Fort St. John have about 30,000 people each. After we left Ft. St. John things started getting a little more primitive, the traffic thinned out considerably and we would go for miles without seeing any buildings. We did see deer, coyote, and finally our first bear at about mile 300 of the Alaska Hwy. It was a black bear, not too large in size, and it was about 100 feet from the highway.
We drove quite a ways today hoping to get reasonably close, about 120 miles, from Liard Hot Springs so we could get to the Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park early enough to get a campsite tomorrow.
We found a nice little regional park along the Tetsa River that worked just perfect for the night. It is very well kept and attractive, but you wouldn't believe the mosquitoes. Yep, that's right folks, we've finally hit the mosquito area. The mosquitoes here were thick clouds. A few got in the camper every time we went in and out so we did that quite quickly. We had to hunt them down before we went to bed or they would buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz you to death all night. I know this is not my idea of fun either, but it is part of the price you have to pay to see the beauty of the north country.
Wednesday, June 21
Summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Summer is finally here. It dawned a lovely clear day and Carol slept in a little while I went down and walked along the river bank looking for bears. Okay, I don't know what I might have done if I had really seen one but I was kind of hoping I might.
We did get away from the campground a little early for us, about 9:30 and headed north again toward Liard Hot Springs. We passed quite a bit of wildlife today and got some shots of both mountain goats and sheep. We also saw some buffalo right here at Liard Hot Springs.
We got here about 1:00, in plenty of time to get a great campsite. We set up and then headed down to the hot springs. When they say hot, they do mean hot. It ranges from about 108 to 125 in some locations of the pool. You can probably see that the British Columbia Provincial Park people do a nice job of keeping this up. There is a wooden walk the whole half mile to the hot springs from the camp. It is a lovely place. After soaking for awhile we came back to the camper and read for awhile and then got some charcoal ready and grilled some steaks and brats. We had steak for supper, along with fried potatoes, and spinach, with a cold Molson beer. Life doesn't get much better than this :-).
We will save the brats to use in spagetti or warm up for sandwiches later.
After supper I got the generator going and downloaded photos from the camera and am now writing this insert for the blog. Now I think we will go use the pay phone and see if we can get ahold of Becky since we can't get cell service. Then we'll head back to the hot springs for an evening soak.
Well, we got ahold of Rob on the land lines and he said they were going to have a boy, what great news. We are really excited about having a little boy in the family. He'll love the tree house :-).
After that we did go back to the hot springs for another soak. We started talking to a lady who lived in Palmer Alaska. She had just gone back to Maryland to get her daughter who had a new baby with her. Her husband is in the Army and is being sent to Georgia for some temporary duty so the daughter is going back to Alaska with her mom for awhile. The mom went to Alaska in 1967 and has been there every since. She has driven the Alaska Highway several times and told about driving it the first time in 1967 when it was mostly gravel and she was pregnant. What a thrill, she sat on pillows all the way. She told about her life in Alaska. She is just the type you would picture living in Alaska, kind of independent and out-going.
Thursday, June 22
We left Liard Hot Springs campground and decided to get some gas across the highway. It was $1.22 a liter, which converts to about $5 a gallon so I just got $40 worth and we decided to wait until Watson Lake before filling up. It turned out to be $1.13 in Watson Lake.
It was too far down the road and we saw a pair of black bears. They were just browsing along the wide highway right of way. We pulled over and took a few photos. A little further down the road we saw a really big black bear, but didn't stop since we already had some photos. About another 50 miles we saw a pair of grizzly cubs, but no mama. We took quite a few shots of them as well. We never did see mama. the cubs looked to be second year. We speculated that they may have already been turned loose by the mother if she was having a new cubs this year. They were fun to watch.
We got to Watson Lake about noon and stopped at the visitor center. This is where we catch the Campbell Highway, so we asked about it. The girl at the reception desk said it was in good shape. The Campbell cuts off of the main highway here at Watson Lake and heads north west. It is mostly gravel with a short stretch of paved at the beginning and end. We thought this might be a better chance to see wildlife. It would also give us a perspective of what th Alaska Highway use to be like. We drove about a hundred miles today on the Campbell from Watson Lake to Frances Lake Campground. We did see three more black bear and one more grizzly cross the road in front of us. The brush and forest are so close to the road along this highway however our views were short. The bears along here are pretty skittish and tend to run when the see or hear a car or truck, especially our truck since it is diesel. About the closest we got to any of them was about 50 yards. Too far for good photos.
At the visitor center at Watson Lake we picked up a passport like book that involves getting it stamped at several locations throughout the Yukon. We began there in Watson Lake, of course, and one of the places was the historic airport terminal. We found this on the way out of town a short ways off of the Campbell Highway. We drove down and went inside. There was no one there except a couple of pilots who had just landed. They said there was a controller at the other end of the building. We proceeded down through the building, which by the way, was one of the nicest places in Watson Lake. Sure enough, who should we happen upon but Bill the controller. Bill was not exactly what I had pictured as a controller. He had on shorts and a fleece vest, but he also had a goatee, and lots of tattoos. He was friendly as could be though and happily filled out our form and we browsed our way back through the terminal, which happen to have been the main sight for hand off of aircraft to Soviet pilots during WWII when we were providing aid to the Russians in the fight against Hitler. That's right and you heard it right here folks.
The campground at Frances Lake is a Yukon government campground and costs $12 a night. This fee includes firewood so we had a nice campfire. The mosquitoes were somewhat bad but an application of deet kept them at bay. We sat out until about 9:00 when we finally had to get in the camper to get away from them. We had cabbage and brats for supper, along with fried potatoes. There was a German couple camped next to us they probably had hamburgers. They had flown into Vancouver and rented a truck camper with a slide. I asked how he liked the slide and he said it was not good because it took so much battery power to open it and he said his batteries weren't charging when they were driving so he was not too pleased. They used a hand crank to open the slide. For those of you not familiar with what I mean by a slide. It is a segment of the camper, usually the dinette that slides out of the main camper about 2 feet giving you much more room in the camper to get around. They also add quite a bit of weight to the camper. Made me kind of glad ours didn't have a slide.
Friday, June 23
It dawned a beautiful day in the Yukon today. Sun is shinning, the temperature is a reasonable 48 and the mosquitoes are swarming around the camper. The days usually do dawn clear and tend to cloud up some during the day, but we have not had any rain. The afternoon temps get up to about 76. Overall, it is a very comfortable temperature and weather has been very cooperative.
We cooked up some french toast this morning, using some french bread, well, we are in Canada you know, eh. After breakfast we piddled around and cleaned up the camper a little. Our destination for today is Faro about 2/3 of the way across the Campbell Highway. We were really anticipating seeing some wildlife when we left the campground around 10:00. It is about 350 miles across the Campbell Highway, and you can imagine being all gravel I probably averaged about 30 miles per hour. We saw about a dozen cars today and most of them were passing me. Dern, ferinners, come up here and slow down the traffic.
We stopped at the confluence, junction, where they come together, of the Houlle and Pelly Rivers for lunch and enjoyed walking the shore some looking for rocks. those are our kind of souvenirs.
Unfortunately, we only saw one bear all day. It was a large grizzly that crossed the road about 75 yards in front of us. I stopped the truck and he did stop and watch us for a minute and then rambled off into the brush. I drove slowly by where he entered but no more sighting, maybe that was lucky :-).
We stopped in at Ross River, on the Pelly River. It is about 6 miles off the Campbell Highway on the Canol Road. There is a foot bridge across the river here and also a Yukon government ferry. We had considered driving up this road, but opted out because there are not services and we can't get gas again until Faro, if there. The Milepost magazine published as a guide for the Alaska Highway and all other major roads in this part of the country says there is diesel in Faro. Unfortunately, we have found some of the stations mentioned it it to be closed, and at least one with a sign on the pump that says 'no gas'. We start looking to fill up again when the tank is at half full, just to be safe.
We got to Faro about 4:30 so we were on the road about 6 and a half hours and we only went about 160 miles today, now is that moseying or not. I stopped and took a couple of photos of a cabin along the road. It probably wasn't too old but it was deteriorating. There were the remains of an old wood stove inside. I thought, wow, what a way to spend the winter. No, thanks. I just can't imagine living up here. It is beautiful country to visit but the winters must be unbearably long and cold. I can't believe the cost of living up here. I went to the bank in Watson Lake to use the ATM and there was a notice of a house for sale. It was a plain looking house, three bedroom, single bath, I didn't notice the lot size, but the price was $228,000. A house like that in Jeff City would go for about $60,000. We picked up a dozed large eggs in Watson Lake also and they were $4.29. I was going to get a 12 pack of Coke but it was $8.99, so decided to wait until Dawson City which is a little larger city.
Well, we are settled here in Faro, Yukon Territory now. The city has a campground and the sites run $10 including electric, water, and dump so can't complain about that. We had hot showers at the shower house and doing a little laundry. Guess we'll wonder around a little later and see what there is to see here.
Well, there wasn't much to see here in Faro. It is a mining town and there were a lot of vacant apartment like buildings that were now deserted since the mine has closed down. The population of the city is only about 300 people.
I think I failed to mention that our microwave had gone bellyup at the beginning of our trip. I messed with our circuit breakers thinking something had happened when I put in the new converter before we left, but could find nothing. It is kind of a bummer, even though we can only use it when we have an electrical hookup. We do miss the microwave popcorn. Anyway, tonight I finally got up the initiative to pull it out and look at it. Low and behold, the problem was that it is simply a small plug in type model designed for RVs and until you actually loosen some screws and pull it out you don't know that it is simply plugged into an outlet hidden behind where it is set into the wall. The plug had simply come out of the socket. Plugged it back in and wahlah!!!!!, it works.
We packed up and left Grande Prairie this morning, after contacting some folks via email. Becky told us that she is having an ultrascan this afternoon at 4:00 to determine the sex of her baby. We told her to leave a voice mail on the cell phone when she found out. Don't know when we will have cell service again though.
Dawson Creek was only about 60 miles down the road from Grande Prairie. The first place we stopped was the Dawson Creek visitor center. They had lots of brochures and a great little museum. The museum detailed life in the early years of Dawson Creek, but it had a lot of emphasis on the Northern Alberta Railroad, which was probably the thing that put Dawson Creek on the map. By the way, I had always imagined Dawson Creed to be a small little frontier type town. It definitely is not that. Lots of stores and some industry, also lots of people and traffic. The RVs were cramming the parking lot at the visitor center. It looked like a convention of the AARP.
The museum had a video that they played about the history of the Alaska Highway. Wow, the poor soldiers and contractors that laid the first road back in 1942 had a really rough go of it. The main reason for the highway was due to the fact that Washington feared an attack on Alaska by Japan and the US government wanted a land route to supply troops and supplies to Alaska. The US government paid for the initial construction of the highway, using a lot of army engineering troops and a lot of black soldiers. Apparently the thoughts back then were that black soldiers weren't capable of combat duty and thus they were used for support and duties like this. The highway was begun in the early spring of 1942 and was completed in late fall 1942. It was still a work in progress then but the basic foundation of the road was in place. Several soldiers died building the road, some drowned in the rivers that had to be bridged, some in accidents, and at least one froze to death.
The highway was turned over to the Canadian government 6 months after the war ended but it remained a military road until around 1948, so one had to get permission to use it prior to that. It became public after that and many people started using it to haul goods and supplies to Alaska in trucks, as well as traveling it to just visit Alaska. In the 1960s and 70s it became very popular for recreational purposes and the government began paving it. Today all of it is paved from Dawson Creek, Alberta to Delta Junction, Alaska. This is a 1200 mile stretch.
The next city we went through was Fort St. John about 60 miles past Dawson Creek. It too was a large type city, with lots of businesses and some industry, including a Walmart. I would guess that both Dawson Creek and Fort St. John have about 30,000 people each. After we left Ft. St. John things started getting a little more primitive, the traffic thinned out considerably and we would go for miles without seeing any buildings. We did see deer, coyote, and finally our first bear at about mile 300 of the Alaska Hwy. It was a black bear, not too large in size, and it was about 100 feet from the highway.
We drove quite a ways today hoping to get reasonably close, about 120 miles, from Liard Hot Springs so we could get to the Liard Hot Springs Provincial Park early enough to get a campsite tomorrow.
We found a nice little regional park along the Tetsa River that worked just perfect for the night. It is very well kept and attractive, but you wouldn't believe the mosquitoes. Yep, that's right folks, we've finally hit the mosquito area. The mosquitoes here were thick clouds. A few got in the camper every time we went in and out so we did that quite quickly. We had to hunt them down before we went to bed or they would buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz you to death all night. I know this is not my idea of fun either, but it is part of the price you have to pay to see the beauty of the north country.
Wednesday, June 21
Summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Summer is finally here. It dawned a lovely clear day and Carol slept in a little while I went down and walked along the river bank looking for bears. Okay, I don't know what I might have done if I had really seen one but I was kind of hoping I might.
We did get away from the campground a little early for us, about 9:30 and headed north again toward Liard Hot Springs. We passed quite a bit of wildlife today and got some shots of both mountain goats and sheep. We also saw some buffalo right here at Liard Hot Springs.
We got here about 1:00, in plenty of time to get a great campsite. We set up and then headed down to the hot springs. When they say hot, they do mean hot. It ranges from about 108 to 125 in some locations of the pool. You can probably see that the British Columbia Provincial Park people do a nice job of keeping this up. There is a wooden walk the whole half mile to the hot springs from the camp. It is a lovely place. After soaking for awhile we came back to the camper and read for awhile and then got some charcoal ready and grilled some steaks and brats. We had steak for supper, along with fried potatoes, and spinach, with a cold Molson beer. Life doesn't get much better than this :-).
We will save the brats to use in spagetti or warm up for sandwiches later.
After supper I got the generator going and downloaded photos from the camera and am now writing this insert for the blog. Now I think we will go use the pay phone and see if we can get ahold of Becky since we can't get cell service. Then we'll head back to the hot springs for an evening soak.
Well, we got ahold of Rob on the land lines and he said they were going to have a boy, what great news. We are really excited about having a little boy in the family. He'll love the tree house :-).
After that we did go back to the hot springs for another soak. We started talking to a lady who lived in Palmer Alaska. She had just gone back to Maryland to get her daughter who had a new baby with her. Her husband is in the Army and is being sent to Georgia for some temporary duty so the daughter is going back to Alaska with her mom for awhile. The mom went to Alaska in 1967 and has been there every since. She has driven the Alaska Highway several times and told about driving it the first time in 1967 when it was mostly gravel and she was pregnant. What a thrill, she sat on pillows all the way. She told about her life in Alaska. She is just the type you would picture living in Alaska, kind of independent and out-going.
Thursday, June 22
We left Liard Hot Springs campground and decided to get some gas across the highway. It was $1.22 a liter, which converts to about $5 a gallon so I just got $40 worth and we decided to wait until Watson Lake before filling up. It turned out to be $1.13 in Watson Lake.
It was too far down the road and we saw a pair of black bears. They were just browsing along the wide highway right of way. We pulled over and took a few photos. A little further down the road we saw a really big black bear, but didn't stop since we already had some photos. About another 50 miles we saw a pair of grizzly cubs, but no mama. We took quite a few shots of them as well. We never did see mama. the cubs looked to be second year. We speculated that they may have already been turned loose by the mother if she was having a new cubs this year. They were fun to watch.
We got to Watson Lake about noon and stopped at the visitor center. This is where we catch the Campbell Highway, so we asked about it. The girl at the reception desk said it was in good shape. The Campbell cuts off of the main highway here at Watson Lake and heads north west. It is mostly gravel with a short stretch of paved at the beginning and end. We thought this might be a better chance to see wildlife. It would also give us a perspective of what th Alaska Highway use to be like. We drove about a hundred miles today on the Campbell from Watson Lake to Frances Lake Campground. We did see three more black bear and one more grizzly cross the road in front of us. The brush and forest are so close to the road along this highway however our views were short. The bears along here are pretty skittish and tend to run when the see or hear a car or truck, especially our truck since it is diesel. About the closest we got to any of them was about 50 yards. Too far for good photos.
At the visitor center at Watson Lake we picked up a passport like book that involves getting it stamped at several locations throughout the Yukon. We began there in Watson Lake, of course, and one of the places was the historic airport terminal. We found this on the way out of town a short ways off of the Campbell Highway. We drove down and went inside. There was no one there except a couple of pilots who had just landed. They said there was a controller at the other end of the building. We proceeded down through the building, which by the way, was one of the nicest places in Watson Lake. Sure enough, who should we happen upon but Bill the controller. Bill was not exactly what I had pictured as a controller. He had on shorts and a fleece vest, but he also had a goatee, and lots of tattoos. He was friendly as could be though and happily filled out our form and we browsed our way back through the terminal, which happen to have been the main sight for hand off of aircraft to Soviet pilots during WWII when we were providing aid to the Russians in the fight against Hitler. That's right and you heard it right here folks.
The campground at Frances Lake is a Yukon government campground and costs $12 a night. This fee includes firewood so we had a nice campfire. The mosquitoes were somewhat bad but an application of deet kept them at bay. We sat out until about 9:00 when we finally had to get in the camper to get away from them. We had cabbage and brats for supper, along with fried potatoes. There was a German couple camped next to us they probably had hamburgers. They had flown into Vancouver and rented a truck camper with a slide. I asked how he liked the slide and he said it was not good because it took so much battery power to open it and he said his batteries weren't charging when they were driving so he was not too pleased. They used a hand crank to open the slide. For those of you not familiar with what I mean by a slide. It is a segment of the camper, usually the dinette that slides out of the main camper about 2 feet giving you much more room in the camper to get around. They also add quite a bit of weight to the camper. Made me kind of glad ours didn't have a slide.
Friday, June 23
It dawned a beautiful day in the Yukon today. Sun is shinning, the temperature is a reasonable 48 and the mosquitoes are swarming around the camper. The days usually do dawn clear and tend to cloud up some during the day, but we have not had any rain. The afternoon temps get up to about 76. Overall, it is a very comfortable temperature and weather has been very cooperative.
We cooked up some french toast this morning, using some french bread, well, we are in Canada you know, eh. After breakfast we piddled around and cleaned up the camper a little. Our destination for today is Faro about 2/3 of the way across the Campbell Highway. We were really anticipating seeing some wildlife when we left the campground around 10:00. It is about 350 miles across the Campbell Highway, and you can imagine being all gravel I probably averaged about 30 miles per hour. We saw about a dozen cars today and most of them were passing me. Dern, ferinners, come up here and slow down the traffic.
We stopped at the confluence, junction, where they come together, of the Houlle and Pelly Rivers for lunch and enjoyed walking the shore some looking for rocks. those are our kind of souvenirs.
Unfortunately, we only saw one bear all day. It was a large grizzly that crossed the road about 75 yards in front of us. I stopped the truck and he did stop and watch us for a minute and then rambled off into the brush. I drove slowly by where he entered but no more sighting, maybe that was lucky :-).
We stopped in at Ross River, on the Pelly River. It is about 6 miles off the Campbell Highway on the Canol Road. There is a foot bridge across the river here and also a Yukon government ferry. We had considered driving up this road, but opted out because there are not services and we can't get gas again until Faro, if there. The Milepost magazine published as a guide for the Alaska Highway and all other major roads in this part of the country says there is diesel in Faro. Unfortunately, we have found some of the stations mentioned it it to be closed, and at least one with a sign on the pump that says 'no gas'. We start looking to fill up again when the tank is at half full, just to be safe.
We got to Faro about 4:30 so we were on the road about 6 and a half hours and we only went about 160 miles today, now is that moseying or not. I stopped and took a couple of photos of a cabin along the road. It probably wasn't too old but it was deteriorating. There were the remains of an old wood stove inside. I thought, wow, what a way to spend the winter. No, thanks. I just can't imagine living up here. It is beautiful country to visit but the winters must be unbearably long and cold. I can't believe the cost of living up here. I went to the bank in Watson Lake to use the ATM and there was a notice of a house for sale. It was a plain looking house, three bedroom, single bath, I didn't notice the lot size, but the price was $228,000. A house like that in Jeff City would go for about $60,000. We picked up a dozed large eggs in Watson Lake also and they were $4.29. I was going to get a 12 pack of Coke but it was $8.99, so decided to wait until Dawson City which is a little larger city.
Well, we are settled here in Faro, Yukon Territory now. The city has a campground and the sites run $10 including electric, water, and dump so can't complain about that. We had hot showers at the shower house and doing a little laundry. Guess we'll wonder around a little later and see what there is to see here.
Well, there wasn't much to see here in Faro. It is a mining town and there were a lot of vacant apartment like buildings that were now deserted since the mine has closed down. The population of the city is only about 300 people.
I think I failed to mention that our microwave had gone bellyup at the beginning of our trip. I messed with our circuit breakers thinking something had happened when I put in the new converter before we left, but could find nothing. It is kind of a bummer, even though we can only use it when we have an electrical hookup. We do miss the microwave popcorn. Anyway, tonight I finally got up the initiative to pull it out and look at it. Low and behold, the problem was that it is simply a small plug in type model designed for RVs and until you actually loosen some screws and pull it out you don't know that it is simply plugged into an outlet hidden behind where it is set into the wall. The plug had simply come out of the socket. Plugged it back in and wahlah!!!!!, it works.
Monday, June 19, 2006
June 17, 18 and 19
Saturday, June 17
We left the RV park and headed for the closest McDonalds so I could satisfy my fix for some hotcakes. I know a lot of you probably don't like McDonalds, but I do love their hotcakes. From here we went to the local Walmart and picked up four more canisters of propane for our catalytic heater. Since our furnace is questionable Carol doesn't want me to run out of gas cannisters for the Little Buddy heater. It is hard to believe we are not in the states. Canada really is quite a bit like the U.S., just more expensive. From here we headed to the zoo. Carol really likes zoos. I am not very excited about them but this one was supposed to be one of the best, so we will give it a try.
Much to our chagrin the zoo was kind of a dud. It was nice at one time I'm sure, but it did not seem to be all that well maintained to us. Even Carol was disappointed. We spent a few hours there and got a good walk in. It also has a botanical garden and that was the highlight for us. Overall though, we would not do it again. The entry fee was $16 each and we did not feel it was worth it. Carol even said she wouldn't make me go to any more zoos. Becky and Shelby should appreciate that. They know from experience her fascination with zoos.
About 1:00 we headed out of town, keeping our eyes peeled for a place to get wifi. No luck so we decided to wait until we got to Canmore, Alberta and found the library. They had wifi so we spent an hour or so there updating the blog. Then we walked around town and checked out some of the stores. I found a liquor store and picked up a 12 pack of Molson beer. I just don't know why Mexican and Canadian beer tastes so much better than American beer, but it does in my opinion.
From here we headed into Banff National Park. I'm going to digress here for a moment. The prices here in Canada are considerably higher, in general, than like items in the US. Groceries are quite a bit higher. Houses listed in the realty windows in Canmore were very high, comparable to Aspen in my opinion. The cost to get into the national park in $9 per person per day, so for us that was $18 for 24 hours. We got as far as Banff itself and found a campsite at Two Jacks Lake. This campsite was $19 for just a primitive, no hookups, campsite. Overall, the folks up here must make good money or it would be hard to live up here and make ends meet.
We had a couple of elk browsing around our campsite so I took some photos.
Sunday, June 19
Happy father's day. Can't think of a better way to spend father's day than traveling. We left the campground and headed up toward Lake Louise. This is a famous lake there in Banff that is fairly well know. It was kind of cloudy today but we got some shots of the lake and then went into the Lake Louise Chateau. Wow, what a place. The rooms start at $210 a night and got to $1800 for a suite. And here I am complaining about $19 for a campsite. Anyway, we browsed around inside. Pretty ritzy place. There was a lady playing a harp and the gift shops were pretty high class. Guess we need to see how the other half lives now and then just to keep perspective.
From Lake Louise we headed up to Moraine Lake, which was also gorgeous. Snapped some more photos and then headed out to see the Columbia Ice fields. These are glaciers in the mountains that are visible from the highway. It is amazing how large they are, massive comes to mind. We headed on up toward Jasper and were debating whether to stay in the park another night or head out. We checked the map and found that there was a Provincial Recreational Area campground just outside the park named Wildhorse Lake so we decided on that destination. We didn't want to pay another $18 plus $25 for a campsite just to spend one more night in the park. The campground at Wildhorse Lake turned out to be lovely so we were pleased with our choice. Amazing as it may seem we had cell phone coverage at Wildhorse Lake and Shelby had left me a voice mail wishing me a happy father's day.
We still haven't seen a bear. We did see some mountain goats in Jasper though, and we think some caribou, but weren't sure.
I must say that the Banff and Jasper National Parks are quite impressive and beautiful. The mountains are just majestic. They seem so overwhelming. There seems no end to them when you are driving through the park. Another thing that makes them impressive is the fact that 50% of them are above treeline so there are a lot of large barren peaks. They make the Tetons appear as mere foothills.
The night temperatures get down in the 40s so each morning when I get up I have to warm up the camper with either the furnace or the Little Buddy heater. Depending on whether the furnace works or not. Carol doesn't get up until the temp is over 70. It stays light late and gets light early.
Monday, June 19
This morning when we got up we started off the day with bacon, eggs, and toast. We don't do that often, or we would both weigh a ton. Sure tastes good sometimes though. We left Wildhorse Lake campground and headed northeast on 16 to highway 40 which we took north toward Grande Cache and Grande Prairie. We must have seen a dozen deer along this highway. Every time I saw one I thought of the great deerslayer, Had Ancel, our neighbor. He keeps our freezer full. We also saw a coyote stalking a mouse or something beside the highway. The wildlife seems to be becoming more abundant as we travel north. We stopped at the visitor center at Grande Cache and then went by a bank to use an ATM. From here we headed on north to Grande Prairie, which is a pretty good size town. It even has a Walmart. We found a great RV park called Camp Tamarack. The rates are reasonable and we have hot showers, laundry, and wifi. What more could we ask for. We went into town and picked up a swimsuit for Carol and a long sleeve shirt for me at Walmart and then went to a grocery store and picked up some groceries. Carol had forgotten her swimsuit and we will be stopping by Laird Hot Springs in a couple of days on our way to Watson Lake.
We came back to the campground and made some tacos for supper along with Molson beer. Hard to beat Mexican food with Canadian beer. It is now11:00 and way past my bedtime. It is still light enough out to walk around without a flashlight. I'm not sure what time it gets light, I'm never up that early. I'm getting so it is not hard for me to sleep 10 hours in a night. Never use to be able to do that before.
It is pretty nice not having any schedules to adhere to. We just move along as it suits us.
Guess I better get this loaded and hit the sack. Tomorrow we plan to head up to Dawson Creek. That is the beginning of the Alaskan Highway. Yep, that's right folks, three weeks on the road and we still aren't even to the Alaskan Highway yet. Oh well.
We left the RV park and headed for the closest McDonalds so I could satisfy my fix for some hotcakes. I know a lot of you probably don't like McDonalds, but I do love their hotcakes. From here we went to the local Walmart and picked up four more canisters of propane for our catalytic heater. Since our furnace is questionable Carol doesn't want me to run out of gas cannisters for the Little Buddy heater. It is hard to believe we are not in the states. Canada really is quite a bit like the U.S., just more expensive. From here we headed to the zoo. Carol really likes zoos. I am not very excited about them but this one was supposed to be one of the best, so we will give it a try.
Much to our chagrin the zoo was kind of a dud. It was nice at one time I'm sure, but it did not seem to be all that well maintained to us. Even Carol was disappointed. We spent a few hours there and got a good walk in. It also has a botanical garden and that was the highlight for us. Overall though, we would not do it again. The entry fee was $16 each and we did not feel it was worth it. Carol even said she wouldn't make me go to any more zoos. Becky and Shelby should appreciate that. They know from experience her fascination with zoos.
About 1:00 we headed out of town, keeping our eyes peeled for a place to get wifi. No luck so we decided to wait until we got to Canmore, Alberta and found the library. They had wifi so we spent an hour or so there updating the blog. Then we walked around town and checked out some of the stores. I found a liquor store and picked up a 12 pack of Molson beer. I just don't know why Mexican and Canadian beer tastes so much better than American beer, but it does in my opinion.
From here we headed into Banff National Park. I'm going to digress here for a moment. The prices here in Canada are considerably higher, in general, than like items in the US. Groceries are quite a bit higher. Houses listed in the realty windows in Canmore were very high, comparable to Aspen in my opinion. The cost to get into the national park in $9 per person per day, so for us that was $18 for 24 hours. We got as far as Banff itself and found a campsite at Two Jacks Lake. This campsite was $19 for just a primitive, no hookups, campsite. Overall, the folks up here must make good money or it would be hard to live up here and make ends meet.
We had a couple of elk browsing around our campsite so I took some photos.
Sunday, June 19
Happy father's day. Can't think of a better way to spend father's day than traveling. We left the campground and headed up toward Lake Louise. This is a famous lake there in Banff that is fairly well know. It was kind of cloudy today but we got some shots of the lake and then went into the Lake Louise Chateau. Wow, what a place. The rooms start at $210 a night and got to $1800 for a suite. And here I am complaining about $19 for a campsite. Anyway, we browsed around inside. Pretty ritzy place. There was a lady playing a harp and the gift shops were pretty high class. Guess we need to see how the other half lives now and then just to keep perspective.
From Lake Louise we headed up to Moraine Lake, which was also gorgeous. Snapped some more photos and then headed out to see the Columbia Ice fields. These are glaciers in the mountains that are visible from the highway. It is amazing how large they are, massive comes to mind. We headed on up toward Jasper and were debating whether to stay in the park another night or head out. We checked the map and found that there was a Provincial Recreational Area campground just outside the park named Wildhorse Lake so we decided on that destination. We didn't want to pay another $18 plus $25 for a campsite just to spend one more night in the park. The campground at Wildhorse Lake turned out to be lovely so we were pleased with our choice. Amazing as it may seem we had cell phone coverage at Wildhorse Lake and Shelby had left me a voice mail wishing me a happy father's day.
We still haven't seen a bear. We did see some mountain goats in Jasper though, and we think some caribou, but weren't sure.
I must say that the Banff and Jasper National Parks are quite impressive and beautiful. The mountains are just majestic. They seem so overwhelming. There seems no end to them when you are driving through the park. Another thing that makes them impressive is the fact that 50% of them are above treeline so there are a lot of large barren peaks. They make the Tetons appear as mere foothills.
The night temperatures get down in the 40s so each morning when I get up I have to warm up the camper with either the furnace or the Little Buddy heater. Depending on whether the furnace works or not. Carol doesn't get up until the temp is over 70. It stays light late and gets light early.
Monday, June 19
This morning when we got up we started off the day with bacon, eggs, and toast. We don't do that often, or we would both weigh a ton. Sure tastes good sometimes though. We left Wildhorse Lake campground and headed northeast on 16 to highway 40 which we took north toward Grande Cache and Grande Prairie. We must have seen a dozen deer along this highway. Every time I saw one I thought of the great deerslayer, Had Ancel, our neighbor. He keeps our freezer full. We also saw a coyote stalking a mouse or something beside the highway. The wildlife seems to be becoming more abundant as we travel north. We stopped at the visitor center at Grande Cache and then went by a bank to use an ATM. From here we headed on north to Grande Prairie, which is a pretty good size town. It even has a Walmart. We found a great RV park called Camp Tamarack. The rates are reasonable and we have hot showers, laundry, and wifi. What more could we ask for. We went into town and picked up a swimsuit for Carol and a long sleeve shirt for me at Walmart and then went to a grocery store and picked up some groceries. Carol had forgotten her swimsuit and we will be stopping by Laird Hot Springs in a couple of days on our way to Watson Lake.
We came back to the campground and made some tacos for supper along with Molson beer. Hard to beat Mexican food with Canadian beer. It is now11:00 and way past my bedtime. It is still light enough out to walk around without a flashlight. I'm not sure what time it gets light, I'm never up that early. I'm getting so it is not hard for me to sleep 10 hours in a night. Never use to be able to do that before.
It is pretty nice not having any schedules to adhere to. We just move along as it suits us.
Guess I better get this loaded and hit the sack. Tomorrow we plan to head up to Dawson Creek. That is the beginning of the Alaskan Highway. Yep, that's right folks, three weeks on the road and we still aren't even to the Alaskan Highway yet. Oh well.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
June 15 and 16
Thursday, June 15
Rain, rain, rain and wind, very strong wind. The word hurricane comes to mind, only it is cold. We had camped at the St. Mary's entrance campground last night and didn't get out much due to the rain and cold. It was still rainy and cold and extremely windy this morning so we packed up and headed out toward Waterton Lakes and Canada. We did run down and take a look at Many Glaciers Lodge before we left Glacier entirely It wasn't quite as impressive as some of the other lodges in the park. There was a pit like fireplace and it was packed with people all around it. It was pretty cool in the lodge and everyone was wearing a fleece or sweatshirt. The weather is kind of like Missouri in February. The only difference is there are leaves on the trees. We left Many Gaciers and fought the wind all the way to the border.
The border crossing was reasonably easy. The lady border guard asked us if we had firearms. No. Did we have liquor? Yes, a little, told what we had. Did we have pepper spray and or bear spray? Yes, bear spray. Showed her that. Did we have any firewood? No. Okay, have a nice trip. Thank you. Bye.
The first place we stopped was the Prince of Wales Lodge in Waterton Lakes. It was interesting but not as massive as the lodges in Glacier. We enjoyed seeing the setup in front of the main windows. Girls in scottish style dress were serving tea and crumpets (biscuits and sweets) to folks at tables while a young man played the piano.
We drove through the Waterton Lakes town and found the campground and registered. We then drove back through the town but didn't stop anywhere. We got to the campground about 5:00 and just settled in for the night to hopefully sit out the rain and wind. Several deer frequent this townsite. It is very different from American parks as there are several tourist shops and motels hotels right there in the middle of the park.
We settled in had supper and read books. We actually had television reception here also and watched the news and weather plus a crime show. Good news, the forecast is for clearing skys and warmer temps tomorrow. We'll see.
Friday, June 16
Sure enough the rain has stopped and there are breaks in the clouds this morning. We took our time and packed up this morning. I wanted to check the water in my 12 volt camper battery. As I was doing this a man came walking by, or I should say being chased by a deer. He was walking his two poodles and the deer was trying to get to them. He sought refuge at our camper and I shooed away the deer. These deer up here are absolutely without fear. Another camper said they will kick a dog to death if given the chance. Guess I should have asked the guy for a reward. We finally headed up the road for we weren't sure where. When we got to a little town of Pincher Creek we drove downtown and stopped at a grocery store and picked up a few items. By the way, the sky is clear now but the wind has to be blowing at 50 mph. We filled the tank at Pincher Creek also. Diesel is .06 cheaper than regular up here. Everything is in litters though, so I'm not sure how much I got or how much it cost.
We stopped for lunch shortly there after and decided to go see a Provincial Park called Head-Bashed -In. Our friends Ray and Dianna had said it was worth seeing so off we went. It was a very well done presentation of the life of the Blackfeet that populated this area prior to the white men and the value of the buffalo to their lives. It basically is a cliff that was used by the indians to run large numbers of buffalo over the edge and kill them from the fall. It was well worth the visit.
When we got back to the parking lot it was decision time. Carol really wants to go to the Calgary Zoo tomorrow so we decided to head straight up to Calgary and find a campground. We got to town about 5:30 and it was rush hour, of course. this is a huge town with about a million people. It is no different than Kansas City or St. Louis. The zoo is supposed to be one of the best in the world though and I think we will enjoy it.
We found a campground just west of Calgary and that is where we are now. Shower time and charge all the batteries time cause we have power. We also have television again tonight. Miracles never cease. Carol's cooking supper as I type this. Guess we'll find out how good the zoo is tomorrow.
Rain, rain, rain and wind, very strong wind. The word hurricane comes to mind, only it is cold. We had camped at the St. Mary's entrance campground last night and didn't get out much due to the rain and cold. It was still rainy and cold and extremely windy this morning so we packed up and headed out toward Waterton Lakes and Canada. We did run down and take a look at Many Glaciers Lodge before we left Glacier entirely It wasn't quite as impressive as some of the other lodges in the park. There was a pit like fireplace and it was packed with people all around it. It was pretty cool in the lodge and everyone was wearing a fleece or sweatshirt. The weather is kind of like Missouri in February. The only difference is there are leaves on the trees. We left Many Gaciers and fought the wind all the way to the border.
The border crossing was reasonably easy. The lady border guard asked us if we had firearms. No. Did we have liquor? Yes, a little, told what we had. Did we have pepper spray and or bear spray? Yes, bear spray. Showed her that. Did we have any firewood? No. Okay, have a nice trip. Thank you. Bye.
The first place we stopped was the Prince of Wales Lodge in Waterton Lakes. It was interesting but not as massive as the lodges in Glacier. We enjoyed seeing the setup in front of the main windows. Girls in scottish style dress were serving tea and crumpets (biscuits and sweets) to folks at tables while a young man played the piano.
We drove through the Waterton Lakes town and found the campground and registered. We then drove back through the town but didn't stop anywhere. We got to the campground about 5:00 and just settled in for the night to hopefully sit out the rain and wind. Several deer frequent this townsite. It is very different from American parks as there are several tourist shops and motels hotels right there in the middle of the park.
We settled in had supper and read books. We actually had television reception here also and watched the news and weather plus a crime show. Good news, the forecast is for clearing skys and warmer temps tomorrow. We'll see.
Friday, June 16
Sure enough the rain has stopped and there are breaks in the clouds this morning. We took our time and packed up this morning. I wanted to check the water in my 12 volt camper battery. As I was doing this a man came walking by, or I should say being chased by a deer. He was walking his two poodles and the deer was trying to get to them. He sought refuge at our camper and I shooed away the deer. These deer up here are absolutely without fear. Another camper said they will kick a dog to death if given the chance. Guess I should have asked the guy for a reward. We finally headed up the road for we weren't sure where. When we got to a little town of Pincher Creek we drove downtown and stopped at a grocery store and picked up a few items. By the way, the sky is clear now but the wind has to be blowing at 50 mph. We filled the tank at Pincher Creek also. Diesel is .06 cheaper than regular up here. Everything is in litters though, so I'm not sure how much I got or how much it cost.
We stopped for lunch shortly there after and decided to go see a Provincial Park called Head-Bashed -In. Our friends Ray and Dianna had said it was worth seeing so off we went. It was a very well done presentation of the life of the Blackfeet that populated this area prior to the white men and the value of the buffalo to their lives. It basically is a cliff that was used by the indians to run large numbers of buffalo over the edge and kill them from the fall. It was well worth the visit.
When we got back to the parking lot it was decision time. Carol really wants to go to the Calgary Zoo tomorrow so we decided to head straight up to Calgary and find a campground. We got to town about 5:30 and it was rush hour, of course. this is a huge town with about a million people. It is no different than Kansas City or St. Louis. The zoo is supposed to be one of the best in the world though and I think we will enjoy it.
We found a campground just west of Calgary and that is where we are now. Shower time and charge all the batteries time cause we have power. We also have television again tonight. Miracles never cease. Carol's cooking supper as I type this. Guess we'll find out how good the zoo is tomorrow.
June 13 and 14
Tuesday, June 13
What a great day, we woke up to sunshine and it stayed that way all day. After breakfast we drove by Mc Donald Lodge just a couple of miles down the road from the Sprague Campground. Carol and I both love to go into these old national park lodges. They are so massive and elaborate. It makes us both think of the parks so many years ago when only the rich could enjoy them. Now even us poor folks can enjoy them. It really is fun to imagine what those early days though and let your mind and imagination float back to that time. There was a massive fire place in the lobby with a fire blazing away. It was pleasant to stand in front of and let it warm us since it was still pretty cool out. After walking around here we drove on up the road to the point where it was closed, the Avalanche Lake trailhead. We had heard from a lady at the visitor center that this was a good, but popular trail to hike. Since it promised to be a really lovely sunny day we headed up the trail. We did take some raingear, but left the bear spray at the camper. This is a very popular trail with a lot of hikers so we didn't have any concern about bears here.
We had several deer browsing along the trail. They didn't seem to be afraid of us. Probably because they have never had reason to fear humans, and/or some people have been feeding them. The park service really tries to discourage feeding since it can upset the animals ability to fend for themselves. We got some good photos of the deer though. When we finally got up to Avalanche Lake, it was lovely. It is surrounded by mountains and has some cascade falls feeding into it. The water is blue/green due to the glacial melt. We took some granola bars and trail mix with us, so we enjoyed a snack while we were there. Some chipmonks were making a nuisance of themselves. They had obviously been fed many times. We broke the rules and laid some nuts on the pack to get a couple of photos of them. We spent about two hours at the lake enjoying the views and hiking up to the other end. When we started back down the trail about 2:00 it was pretty busy with people coming up. Overall, we hiked about 5 miles and about 500 feet up and back down. It was a great hike.
From the trailhead we went back to Apgar Village and found an ice cream shop to get some ice cream cones. We just had to restore all those calories we burnt off climbing up to the lake. Since it was just about 3:30 we decided to find our way over to a road that runs north outside the park. We finally found the road after stopping and asking for directions. Yes, I asked for directions. It started to cloud up as we were driving north and we found a forest service campground on the north fork of the Flathead River called Big Creek and pulled in there. Deer again grazed through the campground. Some thunderstorms moved through during the night.
Wednesday, June 14
We started up toward an entrance called Polebridge this morning but the road was so bad and the weather so overcast we decided to go cutoff and head back to Apgar Village and on over to East Glacier. We got to East Glacier about 1:00 and found another huge lodge there and walked through it. Several displays of some of the history of the lodge were in the lobby so we browsed over that. From there we headed north toward St. Mary's entrance. We got here about 2:00 and found a campsite and after claiming it for the night we headed up to Sun Point, which is as far as we can go with the camper on the truck. There we took trail called the Sun Point Nature Trail to Bering Falls. The weather alternated between sun, rain, with lots of wind thrown in. It was a pretty fall though and we got some good photos. We're now back in the camper fed, warm and catching up on journal entries:
Here are a few comments from Carol:
We took a 5 mile hike in Glacier considered an easy hike by the visitor center, but was as much as I could manage. The deer come very close and seemed to resent our using their trail. At the summit was a beautiful lake with a snow covered mountain rising up behind it.
Today we saw the original East Glacier Lodge. The lobby was supported by trees with bark attached (3 feet in diameter). Back in the teens, twenties, and thirties the place was the destination of the elite from the east transported by the Burlington Northern Railroad.
There was a display of a dairy and photos of a young woman who came here to work in 1926-27 while she was a college student. Today we took another walk and saw huckleberry, gooseberry, indian paintbrush, coralbells.
Got our heater working and we've had fun cooking meals in the camper. Found the cast iron griddle makes great toast. Cooke up some pork country style ribs with b-b-que sauce, macaroni and cheese one night. Next night made sandwiches , and tonight used chopped up pieces with a cajun rice package. Had spagetti another evening. Had grapenuts, and scones, and oatmeal, and eggs for various breakfasts.
We're both sleeping good at night. Everyday is another adventure down the road. It gets light at 5 a.m. and is still bright until after 9:30. I've been reading quite a bit.
Didn't get to take the "Going to the Sun" road as it is being repaired. The camper is too tall for the vehicle restriction size - so we would have had to have taken a tour bus.
What a great day, we woke up to sunshine and it stayed that way all day. After breakfast we drove by Mc Donald Lodge just a couple of miles down the road from the Sprague Campground. Carol and I both love to go into these old national park lodges. They are so massive and elaborate. It makes us both think of the parks so many years ago when only the rich could enjoy them. Now even us poor folks can enjoy them. It really is fun to imagine what those early days though and let your mind and imagination float back to that time. There was a massive fire place in the lobby with a fire blazing away. It was pleasant to stand in front of and let it warm us since it was still pretty cool out. After walking around here we drove on up the road to the point where it was closed, the Avalanche Lake trailhead. We had heard from a lady at the visitor center that this was a good, but popular trail to hike. Since it promised to be a really lovely sunny day we headed up the trail. We did take some raingear, but left the bear spray at the camper. This is a very popular trail with a lot of hikers so we didn't have any concern about bears here.
We had several deer browsing along the trail. They didn't seem to be afraid of us. Probably because they have never had reason to fear humans, and/or some people have been feeding them. The park service really tries to discourage feeding since it can upset the animals ability to fend for themselves. We got some good photos of the deer though. When we finally got up to Avalanche Lake, it was lovely. It is surrounded by mountains and has some cascade falls feeding into it. The water is blue/green due to the glacial melt. We took some granola bars and trail mix with us, so we enjoyed a snack while we were there. Some chipmonks were making a nuisance of themselves. They had obviously been fed many times. We broke the rules and laid some nuts on the pack to get a couple of photos of them. We spent about two hours at the lake enjoying the views and hiking up to the other end. When we started back down the trail about 2:00 it was pretty busy with people coming up. Overall, we hiked about 5 miles and about 500 feet up and back down. It was a great hike.
From the trailhead we went back to Apgar Village and found an ice cream shop to get some ice cream cones. We just had to restore all those calories we burnt off climbing up to the lake. Since it was just about 3:30 we decided to find our way over to a road that runs north outside the park. We finally found the road after stopping and asking for directions. Yes, I asked for directions. It started to cloud up as we were driving north and we found a forest service campground on the north fork of the Flathead River called Big Creek and pulled in there. Deer again grazed through the campground. Some thunderstorms moved through during the night.
Wednesday, June 14
We started up toward an entrance called Polebridge this morning but the road was so bad and the weather so overcast we decided to go cutoff and head back to Apgar Village and on over to East Glacier. We got to East Glacier about 1:00 and found another huge lodge there and walked through it. Several displays of some of the history of the lodge were in the lobby so we browsed over that. From there we headed north toward St. Mary's entrance. We got here about 2:00 and found a campsite and after claiming it for the night we headed up to Sun Point, which is as far as we can go with the camper on the truck. There we took trail called the Sun Point Nature Trail to Bering Falls. The weather alternated between sun, rain, with lots of wind thrown in. It was a pretty fall though and we got some good photos. We're now back in the camper fed, warm and catching up on journal entries:
Here are a few comments from Carol:
We took a 5 mile hike in Glacier considered an easy hike by the visitor center, but was as much as I could manage. The deer come very close and seemed to resent our using their trail. At the summit was a beautiful lake with a snow covered mountain rising up behind it.
Today we saw the original East Glacier Lodge. The lobby was supported by trees with bark attached (3 feet in diameter). Back in the teens, twenties, and thirties the place was the destination of the elite from the east transported by the Burlington Northern Railroad.
There was a display of a dairy and photos of a young woman who came here to work in 1926-27 while she was a college student. Today we took another walk and saw huckleberry, gooseberry, indian paintbrush, coralbells.
Got our heater working and we've had fun cooking meals in the camper. Found the cast iron griddle makes great toast. Cooke up some pork country style ribs with b-b-que sauce, macaroni and cheese one night. Next night made sandwiches , and tonight used chopped up pieces with a cajun rice package. Had spagetti another evening. Had grapenuts, and scones, and oatmeal, and eggs for various breakfasts.
We're both sleeping good at night. Everyday is another adventure down the road. It gets light at 5 a.m. and is still bright until after 9:30. I've been reading quite a bit.
Didn't get to take the "Going to the Sun" road as it is being repaired. The camper is too tall for the vehicle restriction size - so we would have had to have taken a tour bus.
June 11 and 12
Sunday, June 11
Sunshine, glory be. It is partly cloudy today but promises to be warm. Our plans are to check out of Dick's RV Park and go visit the Charles M. Russell Museum and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. We dumped our holding tanks at the site, and filled our fresh water tank before we left our site. I also filled the gas tank here. I'm getting so that when I have the opportunity I do it. No matter what 'it' is, you never know when the opportunity might present itself again. We went by the Great Falls Visitor Center and Carol picked up some notecards. Then we drove down River Drive toward the Russell Museum. We were both impressed with Great Falls. The River Drive is beautiful with lots of parks and a bike/hike trail several miles long.
We found the Russell Museum without any problem. It was quite impressive. Those of you who have not heard of Charles Russell, he is a well known western artist who did some tremendous paintings and drawings. He also did a lot of small sculptures. The museum consisted of a lot of his works as well as other western artists. His home and studio are also on the ground. He was born to a fairly wealthy St. Louis family in 1864 but his true interest lay in the west and he came out to Montana when he was 16 and never returned to St. Louis except for visits. He died in 1926 but his work lives on. It was a fascinating tour. He wrote a number of stories for western and outdoor magazines as well, so he was quite talented.
We finished up at the museum and went out to Giant Spring state park and found a place to park and have lunch. It is very pleasant traveling with your home along with you. No matter where you park you are at home. We just park and go back into the camper and go in and have lunch. After that we went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and really enjoyed that. It is one of the most thorough displays of Lewis and Clarks expedition. It is run by the National Forest Service. We spent about there and a half or four hours there and went to two programs besides looking at the displays. The emphasis is on the portage the Corp of Discovery had to make around the five great falls of the Missouri here (where Great Falls gets it's name), but it also covers all the rest of their journey. It really has a lot of emphasis on the culture of the indian tribes that they saw on their trip, and discusses these cultures in detail.
We are getting so that we are not getting away too early in the mornings. Therefore, the days do seem to pass awfully quickly. We didn't get away from the Interpretive Center until almost 6:00. As we headed back toward town we ran across a Blockbuster so we decided to stop and rent the new Harrison Ford movie 'Firewall' to watch this evening. We had supper at the McKenzie River Pizza Company on the River Drive and then went to Walmart to pick up a few items and park for the night. We have to stick around here in Great Falls to get the furnace worked on Monday. The pizza was great.
Monday, June 12
I had contacted a mobile RV repair person yesterday and he is to meet us at the Great Falls visitor center to look at our furnace. I have tried and tried to get it to ignite over the past couple of days and it just doesn't work. He showed up about 10:30 this morning, and of course, when we tried the furnace it ignited just like it was supposed to. We must have stopped and started it a dozen times while he was there and it worked every time. You really can't fix something if it works so we paid him $20 for his call and went on our way. Hopefully it will continue to work the rest of the trip. Don't fear though I do have a back up propane heater that warms the camper quite nicely, it just isn't as easy to use as the furnace.
We left Great Falls and headed up toward Glacier. It rained on us much of the way. We decided to start on the west side of the park so we headed over to West Glacier. Shortly after we got over the continental divide the sky began to clear and by the time we got to West Glacier the sun was shining. We went to the visitor center at the south end of Lake McDonald and then checked out the campground nearby. It was okay but nothing special so we decided to head up the eastern shore of the lake and check out Sprague campground. Glad we did since we now have a campsite with the lake in view. We had grilled bbq pork for supper along with asparagus and macaroni and cheese. After supper we took a walk around the campground and then pulled out the lawn chairs and sat by the lake shore and listened to the waves lap against the shore as the sun set across the lake. It is a beautiful evening, in a beautiful setting. What more could we ask for?
We meet some interesting people as we travel. We got into a conversation with one fellow tonight who is camped here. He is from Tulsa and just retired. He is taking his retirement trip this summer on a motorcycle and traveling about 18,000 miles all over the US and Canada. He mentioned that he has no retirement except his social security check of about $950 a month, and he is living and traveling on that. He is a photographer and told us about his website. He is trying to sell photos on the site. He goes by Wandering John. His motorcycle is about the size of Bob McCoy's and he spends most nights out in a tent. If the weather is too bad he does get a motel. I think I prefer my camper. It is fun finding out about other people and what they are doing.
We've also been noticing that t si getting dark later and later as we go north. It is 10:00 right now and still light enough to walk around without a flashlight. The longest day of the year is June 21 I think. If we happen to be at the artic circle on that date we would not see the sun set. We probably won't be that far north by then but we will see a lot longer days for the next couple of weeks.
By the way, the 'Going to the Sun' road is not open yet due to construction and repair. Don't know if we will be here long enough to see it open or not. We do plan to go up and see McDonald Lodge tomorrow and then hike a trail to Avalance Lake, weather permitting. Guess I'll batten down the hatches and hit the sack. Even though we are sleeping later we still go to bed early. I'm beginning to get use to this retired life.
Sunshine, glory be. It is partly cloudy today but promises to be warm. Our plans are to check out of Dick's RV Park and go visit the Charles M. Russell Museum and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. We dumped our holding tanks at the site, and filled our fresh water tank before we left our site. I also filled the gas tank here. I'm getting so that when I have the opportunity I do it. No matter what 'it' is, you never know when the opportunity might present itself again. We went by the Great Falls Visitor Center and Carol picked up some notecards. Then we drove down River Drive toward the Russell Museum. We were both impressed with Great Falls. The River Drive is beautiful with lots of parks and a bike/hike trail several miles long.
We found the Russell Museum without any problem. It was quite impressive. Those of you who have not heard of Charles Russell, he is a well known western artist who did some tremendous paintings and drawings. He also did a lot of small sculptures. The museum consisted of a lot of his works as well as other western artists. His home and studio are also on the ground. He was born to a fairly wealthy St. Louis family in 1864 but his true interest lay in the west and he came out to Montana when he was 16 and never returned to St. Louis except for visits. He died in 1926 but his work lives on. It was a fascinating tour. He wrote a number of stories for western and outdoor magazines as well, so he was quite talented.
We finished up at the museum and went out to Giant Spring state park and found a place to park and have lunch. It is very pleasant traveling with your home along with you. No matter where you park you are at home. We just park and go back into the camper and go in and have lunch. After that we went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and really enjoyed that. It is one of the most thorough displays of Lewis and Clarks expedition. It is run by the National Forest Service. We spent about there and a half or four hours there and went to two programs besides looking at the displays. The emphasis is on the portage the Corp of Discovery had to make around the five great falls of the Missouri here (where Great Falls gets it's name), but it also covers all the rest of their journey. It really has a lot of emphasis on the culture of the indian tribes that they saw on their trip, and discusses these cultures in detail.
We are getting so that we are not getting away too early in the mornings. Therefore, the days do seem to pass awfully quickly. We didn't get away from the Interpretive Center until almost 6:00. As we headed back toward town we ran across a Blockbuster so we decided to stop and rent the new Harrison Ford movie 'Firewall' to watch this evening. We had supper at the McKenzie River Pizza Company on the River Drive and then went to Walmart to pick up a few items and park for the night. We have to stick around here in Great Falls to get the furnace worked on Monday. The pizza was great.
Monday, June 12
I had contacted a mobile RV repair person yesterday and he is to meet us at the Great Falls visitor center to look at our furnace. I have tried and tried to get it to ignite over the past couple of days and it just doesn't work. He showed up about 10:30 this morning, and of course, when we tried the furnace it ignited just like it was supposed to. We must have stopped and started it a dozen times while he was there and it worked every time. You really can't fix something if it works so we paid him $20 for his call and went on our way. Hopefully it will continue to work the rest of the trip. Don't fear though I do have a back up propane heater that warms the camper quite nicely, it just isn't as easy to use as the furnace.
We left Great Falls and headed up toward Glacier. It rained on us much of the way. We decided to start on the west side of the park so we headed over to West Glacier. Shortly after we got over the continental divide the sky began to clear and by the time we got to West Glacier the sun was shining. We went to the visitor center at the south end of Lake McDonald and then checked out the campground nearby. It was okay but nothing special so we decided to head up the eastern shore of the lake and check out Sprague campground. Glad we did since we now have a campsite with the lake in view. We had grilled bbq pork for supper along with asparagus and macaroni and cheese. After supper we took a walk around the campground and then pulled out the lawn chairs and sat by the lake shore and listened to the waves lap against the shore as the sun set across the lake. It is a beautiful evening, in a beautiful setting. What more could we ask for?
We meet some interesting people as we travel. We got into a conversation with one fellow tonight who is camped here. He is from Tulsa and just retired. He is taking his retirement trip this summer on a motorcycle and traveling about 18,000 miles all over the US and Canada. He mentioned that he has no retirement except his social security check of about $950 a month, and he is living and traveling on that. He is a photographer and told us about his website. He is trying to sell photos on the site. He goes by Wandering John. His motorcycle is about the size of Bob McCoy's and he spends most nights out in a tent. If the weather is too bad he does get a motel. I think I prefer my camper. It is fun finding out about other people and what they are doing.
We've also been noticing that t si getting dark later and later as we go north. It is 10:00 right now and still light enough to walk around without a flashlight. The longest day of the year is June 21 I think. If we happen to be at the artic circle on that date we would not see the sun set. We probably won't be that far north by then but we will see a lot longer days for the next couple of weeks.
By the way, the 'Going to the Sun' road is not open yet due to construction and repair. Don't know if we will be here long enough to see it open or not. We do plan to go up and see McDonald Lodge tomorrow and then hike a trail to Avalance Lake, weather permitting. Guess I'll batten down the hatches and hit the sack. Even though we are sleeping later we still go to bed early. I'm beginning to get use to this retired life.
Saturday, June 10, 2006
June 6 through June 10
Tuesday, June 6
After we left Soda Lake we went back to Pinedale. I again used the wifi services at the library to work on my blog system. One thing that I've found while on the road, it is not easy to keep my computer battery charged. I finally remembered that I had a 30 amp inverter under the back seat of the truck that I could use in place of running the generator. After we finished up at the library we went in a couple of shops in Pinedale and headed north on 191 to Jackson. Part of the road parallels the Hoback River through the Hoback Canyon and is very pretty.
We got to Jackson around 1:00 and decided to go into the park via the back road from Teton Village. There is now a manned entry gate there and the road has been paved. What is this world coming to? By the way, the guys that are familiar with this area, Vista Grande was not open, it appeared they were remodeling it. Not sure if they are going to rename it or not. The tram at Rendezvous Mountain is going to be replaced by a newer tram. Times they are a changing. We stopped at the Moose visitor center and had a bite of lunch and then we went up the highway to Moran Junction and over to Jackson Lake . We wanted to check out the campground at Signal Mountain. It was not very nice as far as scenery went so we opted to take the drive through the park. We drove to the top of Signal Mountain and took a few photos, and then headed toward Jenny Lake and back to Moose Junction. We went to Gros Ventre Campground on the Gros Ventre River and got a campsite. Ran into a couple from South Carolina who also had a truck camper. Chatted with another couple in class B RV. They were from Arizona.
We had a great taco supper and that evening went for a walk around the park. Carol got a little tired so I continued by myself, and much to my amazement I discovered that George and the Tioga Team were in the next loop over from us. I went and knocked on his door and introduced myself. We chatted for a little while and I headed back to the camper before it got too dark to see. George has a web blog that I have followed for the past three years. He travels all over, including Mexico and the western US and keeps all of us wannabes informed of his travels with his blog. I was just amazed to run into him after so many years of monitoring his travels. He is the one who gave me the idea of a blog such as this.
Wednesday, June 7
Well, no trip to Jackson would be complete without a visit to the Bunnery, so after a morning walk we headed into Jackson and did just that. It was great as usual, although I think their prices have gone up a little. We then walked around the square and bought a couple of obligatory t-shirts and headed back to the camper. We filled up with gas and bought ice, and hit the road north again toward Yellowstone. Just a couple of comments on Jackson. I think I have overcome my fascination with this town. It has just gotten too big and touristy. Is that a word? Anyway, it is definitely a pricey upscale type place. Donnie, you won't recognize the Trapper, it is undergoing a whole new front end rennovation. I'm not even sure where one parks now.
As we drove north we passed several open areas with some buffalo, but they were too far off for photos. We also noticed that there was still a lot of snow on the ground at the south entrance of Yellowstone. The rivers are fast flowing and swollen from snow melt. The burned areas of Yellowstone are really apparent even now, almost 20 years after the big fires. There are several small trees starting up and there is still a lot of down deadfall. One ranger mentioned it takes 90 years for the Lodgepole pines to mature, the downed timber will rot over a 40 year period and provide nourishment for the young trees.
We drove through the park to Old Faithful, and sure enough were just in time for it to spout. It is hot here, low 90s and sunny. Not a good situation for long hikes. We didn't get to go into the Old Faithful Lodge, since it is being remodeled inside and won't open until later in the month. They have built a whole new lodge nearby and that is where all the activity is. They have also enlarged the parking lots ten fold and they were nearly full. To think this is early in the season and the crowd really hasn't gotten here yet. No telling what it will be like in July and August. We are loving the park to death. Guess we're part of the problem.
We decided to go to Madison Junction Campground and get a site and sit out the hot weather for some evening jounts through some geyser basins. On the way here we ran across a herd of buffalo and got several photos. They are really fun to watch. They seem very nonchalant with the traffic and just ignore it. We also saw a coyote just north of Old Faithful. He was beside the highway, watching the traffic, waiting for a chance to cross. It is amazing how the animals adjust to the environment. After we passed he crossed. We are now in site 50, loop B of the Madison Campground. Guess we'll have a bite of supper and head out this evening to see some geysers.
Thursday, June 8
This morning we got up and around about 7:00 and decided to take a walk around the campground. Just below the campground is a huge bright green meadow which the Madison River zigzags it's way through. We hiked along the river and ended up on a small overlook and we both marveled at the beauty of this valley. We could see buffalo grazing in the meadows below as we stood and determined our schedule for the day.
The first thing on the agenda was to pack up and head to a trail head for Monument Geyser. I had read that this wasa about a a 3 mile hike roundtrip. The guidebook said the trail followed the river for about a half mile and then turned left and began a serious category 3 climb for about a mile. It was right. It climbed about 900' from the river. It began to rain while we were hiking up the trail and by the time we got to the top we were in overcast fog or cloud like conditions. The geyser basin itself was only some steam thermoles and one small hot spring. We snapped a few photos and started back down. I won't say it was worth the hike, but we had hoped for more and the hike did us both good. Somethings I need to remember when hiking out here are ponchos and bear spray.
We spent the rest of the day driving Yellowstone roads and enjoying the scenery. We stopped at a museum at Norris Geyser Basin and also at Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammonth is the park headquarters and is where the army was first billeted to protect the park from poachers and souvenir hunters at the end of the 1800s, before the National Park Service was established.
Yellowstone was the first national park and just as today many opposed this designation because they wanted access to the timber and minerals. Times haven't changed too much in that respect. We exited the park through the northeast entrance. We saw lots of buffalo and antelope in the drive through the Lamar Valley to the northeast entrance. We also saw an eagle soaring above the valley. It is very difficult to describe the beauty of this area. Pictures also do not do it justice. One has to see it for themselves.
We stopped at a general store in Cooke City. Dave Bryan and I had driven through this area about 26 years ago. The evening entertainment then was to watch the bears come out at dusk at the Cooke City dump. I asked the owner of the store if that was still the case and he said, 'No, they built an inside dump about twenty years ago'. A short distance outside of Cooke City we ran into some road construction. Carol couldn't resist taking a photo of the flag holder. He was true Montana.
We found a forest service campground about 15 miles out of Cooke City called Crazy Creek and decided to stay there. There are several bear warning signs there and Carol didn't sleep well that night. The camp host said they had had a bear the previous week, but traffic had picked up and the bears tend to leave when more people are around. We hiked over to a large waterfall across the highway from the campground It was quite impressive.
Friday, June 9
Today is Beartooth Pass day. We again went over to the waterfalls and tried to get some photos. I took a hike up to the top of the falls and on up into the forest about half a mile thinking I might run into a clearing, but not such luck. I forgot a poncho and bear spray again. When I got back we had breakfast and headed for the pass. It was very cloudy and we didn't have a lot of chances for good photos. The clouds covered much of the mountain tops and spilled down into the valleys. Despite this it is a really pretty drive, but is quite crooked and I had to keep my eyes on the road. We stopped at a few overlooks and took a few photos. There is still lots of snow. We made it over the pass and back down the other side to Red Lodge, Montana by about 1:30. We filled with gas and headed up to Billings. At Billings we stopped at Walmart and stocked up on groceries and then headed north toward the Missouri Breaks area. There is a scenic by-way that parallels the river for several miles. It is all very rough road. I hoped to explore that by-way. We got to the river and the campground we hoped to stay at was full. We also found out that the by-way road was much too muddy for us to take. We finally found a pull off overlooking the Missouri and spent the night there. This is pretty country. I was disappointed we couldn't explore it.
Saturday, June 10
We drove down through Lewiston this morning and are now in Great Falls, at an rv park with wifi, showers, and a laundry. By the way, our practice with laundry is - if it don't stink don't change it so it doesn't build up too fast. I'm trying to get this written up so I can update the blog. We have a problem with the heater in the camper. It won't work. Carol is not a happy camper. We may have to hang around here until Monday so we can take it into an RV dealer and see if we can get it worked on. It has been raining on us the past couple of days. this limits what we can do outdoors. Found out today that the 'Going to the Sun' highway in Glacier is still closed due to snow and the forecast is for more rain over the next week. We'll let you know what we decided to do with the next blog entry.
After we left Soda Lake we went back to Pinedale. I again used the wifi services at the library to work on my blog system. One thing that I've found while on the road, it is not easy to keep my computer battery charged. I finally remembered that I had a 30 amp inverter under the back seat of the truck that I could use in place of running the generator. After we finished up at the library we went in a couple of shops in Pinedale and headed north on 191 to Jackson. Part of the road parallels the Hoback River through the Hoback Canyon and is very pretty.
We got to Jackson around 1:00 and decided to go into the park via the back road from Teton Village. There is now a manned entry gate there and the road has been paved. What is this world coming to? By the way, the guys that are familiar with this area, Vista Grande was not open, it appeared they were remodeling it. Not sure if they are going to rename it or not. The tram at Rendezvous Mountain is going to be replaced by a newer tram. Times they are a changing. We stopped at the Moose visitor center and had a bite of lunch and then we went up the highway to Moran Junction and over to Jackson Lake . We wanted to check out the campground at Signal Mountain. It was not very nice as far as scenery went so we opted to take the drive through the park. We drove to the top of Signal Mountain and took a few photos, and then headed toward Jenny Lake and back to Moose Junction. We went to Gros Ventre Campground on the Gros Ventre River and got a campsite. Ran into a couple from South Carolina who also had a truck camper. Chatted with another couple in class B RV. They were from Arizona.
We had a great taco supper and that evening went for a walk around the park. Carol got a little tired so I continued by myself, and much to my amazement I discovered that George and the Tioga Team were in the next loop over from us. I went and knocked on his door and introduced myself. We chatted for a little while and I headed back to the camper before it got too dark to see. George has a web blog that I have followed for the past three years. He travels all over, including Mexico and the western US and keeps all of us wannabes informed of his travels with his blog. I was just amazed to run into him after so many years of monitoring his travels. He is the one who gave me the idea of a blog such as this.
Wednesday, June 7
Well, no trip to Jackson would be complete without a visit to the Bunnery, so after a morning walk we headed into Jackson and did just that. It was great as usual, although I think their prices have gone up a little. We then walked around the square and bought a couple of obligatory t-shirts and headed back to the camper. We filled up with gas and bought ice, and hit the road north again toward Yellowstone. Just a couple of comments on Jackson. I think I have overcome my fascination with this town. It has just gotten too big and touristy. Is that a word? Anyway, it is definitely a pricey upscale type place. Donnie, you won't recognize the Trapper, it is undergoing a whole new front end rennovation. I'm not even sure where one parks now.
As we drove north we passed several open areas with some buffalo, but they were too far off for photos. We also noticed that there was still a lot of snow on the ground at the south entrance of Yellowstone. The rivers are fast flowing and swollen from snow melt. The burned areas of Yellowstone are really apparent even now, almost 20 years after the big fires. There are several small trees starting up and there is still a lot of down deadfall. One ranger mentioned it takes 90 years for the Lodgepole pines to mature, the downed timber will rot over a 40 year period and provide nourishment for the young trees.
We drove through the park to Old Faithful, and sure enough were just in time for it to spout. It is hot here, low 90s and sunny. Not a good situation for long hikes. We didn't get to go into the Old Faithful Lodge, since it is being remodeled inside and won't open until later in the month. They have built a whole new lodge nearby and that is where all the activity is. They have also enlarged the parking lots ten fold and they were nearly full. To think this is early in the season and the crowd really hasn't gotten here yet. No telling what it will be like in July and August. We are loving the park to death. Guess we're part of the problem.
We decided to go to Madison Junction Campground and get a site and sit out the hot weather for some evening jounts through some geyser basins. On the way here we ran across a herd of buffalo and got several photos. They are really fun to watch. They seem very nonchalant with the traffic and just ignore it. We also saw a coyote just north of Old Faithful. He was beside the highway, watching the traffic, waiting for a chance to cross. It is amazing how the animals adjust to the environment. After we passed he crossed. We are now in site 50, loop B of the Madison Campground. Guess we'll have a bite of supper and head out this evening to see some geysers.
Thursday, June 8
This morning we got up and around about 7:00 and decided to take a walk around the campground. Just below the campground is a huge bright green meadow which the Madison River zigzags it's way through. We hiked along the river and ended up on a small overlook and we both marveled at the beauty of this valley. We could see buffalo grazing in the meadows below as we stood and determined our schedule for the day.
The first thing on the agenda was to pack up and head to a trail head for Monument Geyser. I had read that this wasa about a a 3 mile hike roundtrip. The guidebook said the trail followed the river for about a half mile and then turned left and began a serious category 3 climb for about a mile. It was right. It climbed about 900' from the river. It began to rain while we were hiking up the trail and by the time we got to the top we were in overcast fog or cloud like conditions. The geyser basin itself was only some steam thermoles and one small hot spring. We snapped a few photos and started back down. I won't say it was worth the hike, but we had hoped for more and the hike did us both good. Somethings I need to remember when hiking out here are ponchos and bear spray.
We spent the rest of the day driving Yellowstone roads and enjoying the scenery. We stopped at a museum at Norris Geyser Basin and also at Mammoth Hot Springs. Mammonth is the park headquarters and is where the army was first billeted to protect the park from poachers and souvenir hunters at the end of the 1800s, before the National Park Service was established.
Yellowstone was the first national park and just as today many opposed this designation because they wanted access to the timber and minerals. Times haven't changed too much in that respect. We exited the park through the northeast entrance. We saw lots of buffalo and antelope in the drive through the Lamar Valley to the northeast entrance. We also saw an eagle soaring above the valley. It is very difficult to describe the beauty of this area. Pictures also do not do it justice. One has to see it for themselves.
We stopped at a general store in Cooke City. Dave Bryan and I had driven through this area about 26 years ago. The evening entertainment then was to watch the bears come out at dusk at the Cooke City dump. I asked the owner of the store if that was still the case and he said, 'No, they built an inside dump about twenty years ago'. A short distance outside of Cooke City we ran into some road construction. Carol couldn't resist taking a photo of the flag holder. He was true Montana.
We found a forest service campground about 15 miles out of Cooke City called Crazy Creek and decided to stay there. There are several bear warning signs there and Carol didn't sleep well that night. The camp host said they had had a bear the previous week, but traffic had picked up and the bears tend to leave when more people are around. We hiked over to a large waterfall across the highway from the campground It was quite impressive.
Friday, June 9
Today is Beartooth Pass day. We again went over to the waterfalls and tried to get some photos. I took a hike up to the top of the falls and on up into the forest about half a mile thinking I might run into a clearing, but not such luck. I forgot a poncho and bear spray again. When I got back we had breakfast and headed for the pass. It was very cloudy and we didn't have a lot of chances for good photos. The clouds covered much of the mountain tops and spilled down into the valleys. Despite this it is a really pretty drive, but is quite crooked and I had to keep my eyes on the road. We stopped at a few overlooks and took a few photos. There is still lots of snow. We made it over the pass and back down the other side to Red Lodge, Montana by about 1:30. We filled with gas and headed up to Billings. At Billings we stopped at Walmart and stocked up on groceries and then headed north toward the Missouri Breaks area. There is a scenic by-way that parallels the river for several miles. It is all very rough road. I hoped to explore that by-way. We got to the river and the campground we hoped to stay at was full. We also found out that the by-way road was much too muddy for us to take. We finally found a pull off overlooking the Missouri and spent the night there. This is pretty country. I was disappointed we couldn't explore it.
Saturday, June 10
We drove down through Lewiston this morning and are now in Great Falls, at an rv park with wifi, showers, and a laundry. By the way, our practice with laundry is - if it don't stink don't change it so it doesn't build up too fast. I'm trying to get this written up so I can update the blog. We have a problem with the heater in the camper. It won't work. Carol is not a happy camper. We may have to hang around here until Monday so we can take it into an RV dealer and see if we can get it worked on. It has been raining on us the past couple of days. this limits what we can do outdoors. Found out today that the 'Going to the Sun' highway in Glacier is still closed due to snow and the forecast is for more rain over the next week. We'll let you know what we decided to do with the next blog entry.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Monday, June 5 & Tuesday, June 6
Monday, June 5
We got up fairly early at the Irish Canyon BLM campground, about 6:30 but still didn't beat our only neighbors out. They arrived the night before about 10:00 and left at 6:00am. They must not be retired. Carol did a little walk while I climbed a nearby hill. The view was great unfortunately I didn't take the camera and wasn't about to climb it again, I was sucking air so hard the first time I didn't know if I would survive or not.
After breakfast we headed up county route 10N toward Wyoming. About 12 miles up the road we came to CR72 and I saw from my trusty DeLorme map book it lead to some valleys with springs so we decided to explore it. We found the valleys with springs and they were gorgeous. They were also full of cows. Carol thought they were cute so she took a bunch of photos of them. We also found a lovely overlook and took a few photos. I really like the shot of the little daisies and the lichen on the rock.
We drove through Rock Springs. I have been by here many times but never taken the time to drive downtown. It really is a nice downtown area. I got a few train related shots for my brother Mike. We then headed over to Hwy 191 and north toward Pinedale. Just north of Pinedale a state patrolman stopped me just to ask if I was still running with that leadfooted Willie Nelson look alike. I told him yes and he almost gave me a ticket. For those of you not acquainted with my buddy Dave Bryan he has a beard and mustache and sometimes wears his hair in a pony tail. He has also had numerous run ins with the authorities out here in Wyoming, all related to excessive speed.
We got to Pinedale about 2:30 and stopped at the Pinedale ranger station. They let us refill our water tanks there and we found out the library had free wifi. The campground at Elkhart Park is open but the temperature was forecast to get to 38 degrees at Pinedale so we decided against going up to a higher altitude. The campground at Green River Lakes is closed until July 1. They are doing some logging in there to eliminate some trees that have died from the pine bark beetle supposedly. We did some shopping at Faler's General Store and got some groceries for supper, and then headed over to the library to upload the blog. Carol found some bargain books for sale there so she was happy.
We saw a state wildlife area that had free camping in our Don Wright book of free camping and it is only about 8 miles north of Pinedale so we headed up to a place called Soda Lake. It is beautiful. We have seen lots of antelope, hawks, deer, and a badger. The badger ran beside the road for a few feet and as he slithered off into the sage brush he looked back with his black and white masked face as if to say, 'How dare you disturb my territory.' There is some sort of larve hatch though and these bugs are all over the place. They don't bite but they are like large mosquitoes, humming loudly, so they are unnerving. We found an open campsite so the breeze tends to keep them away. We also have a great view of the Wind River Range as you can see from the photos if you view them. Bob, Dave, and Donnie will recognize Gannett peak. We've all been right up amongst them on some hiking trips into the Winds.
Note: I'm going to try posting the photos into a Yahoo album and send everyone an invitation to view them. If you don't want to you don't have to that way, and also it is less time consuming than email. I was afraid email may be a problem for some of you with dial up internet also.
We cooked up some hamburgers for supper and took a long walk. When we got back to the camper I beat Carol at a game of Scrabble and we went to bed.
Tuesday, June 6
Got up about 7:00 this morning and decided to try the generator since we had no close neighbors here. There are only two other campers here at Soda Lake and they are across the lake. I needed to recharge the computer batteries and Carol wanted to use her curling iron. It is working great. Since she can do her hair she thinks this camping thing just might work. We are talking about walking around the lake but that is quite a walk. We'll probably head for Jackson today.
We'll be heading up to Yellowstone after Jackson so it may be a few days before I can access wifi again.
Adios.
We got up fairly early at the Irish Canyon BLM campground, about 6:30 but still didn't beat our only neighbors out. They arrived the night before about 10:00 and left at 6:00am. They must not be retired. Carol did a little walk while I climbed a nearby hill. The view was great unfortunately I didn't take the camera and wasn't about to climb it again, I was sucking air so hard the first time I didn't know if I would survive or not.
After breakfast we headed up county route 10N toward Wyoming. About 12 miles up the road we came to CR72 and I saw from my trusty DeLorme map book it lead to some valleys with springs so we decided to explore it. We found the valleys with springs and they were gorgeous. They were also full of cows. Carol thought they were cute so she took a bunch of photos of them. We also found a lovely overlook and took a few photos. I really like the shot of the little daisies and the lichen on the rock.
We drove through Rock Springs. I have been by here many times but never taken the time to drive downtown. It really is a nice downtown area. I got a few train related shots for my brother Mike. We then headed over to Hwy 191 and north toward Pinedale. Just north of Pinedale a state patrolman stopped me just to ask if I was still running with that leadfooted Willie Nelson look alike. I told him yes and he almost gave me a ticket. For those of you not acquainted with my buddy Dave Bryan he has a beard and mustache and sometimes wears his hair in a pony tail. He has also had numerous run ins with the authorities out here in Wyoming, all related to excessive speed.
We got to Pinedale about 2:30 and stopped at the Pinedale ranger station. They let us refill our water tanks there and we found out the library had free wifi. The campground at Elkhart Park is open but the temperature was forecast to get to 38 degrees at Pinedale so we decided against going up to a higher altitude. The campground at Green River Lakes is closed until July 1. They are doing some logging in there to eliminate some trees that have died from the pine bark beetle supposedly. We did some shopping at Faler's General Store and got some groceries for supper, and then headed over to the library to upload the blog. Carol found some bargain books for sale there so she was happy.
We saw a state wildlife area that had free camping in our Don Wright book of free camping and it is only about 8 miles north of Pinedale so we headed up to a place called Soda Lake. It is beautiful. We have seen lots of antelope, hawks, deer, and a badger. The badger ran beside the road for a few feet and as he slithered off into the sage brush he looked back with his black and white masked face as if to say, 'How dare you disturb my territory.' There is some sort of larve hatch though and these bugs are all over the place. They don't bite but they are like large mosquitoes, humming loudly, so they are unnerving. We found an open campsite so the breeze tends to keep them away. We also have a great view of the Wind River Range as you can see from the photos if you view them. Bob, Dave, and Donnie will recognize Gannett peak. We've all been right up amongst them on some hiking trips into the Winds.
Note: I'm going to try posting the photos into a Yahoo album and send everyone an invitation to view them. If you don't want to you don't have to that way, and also it is less time consuming than email. I was afraid email may be a problem for some of you with dial up internet also.
We cooked up some hamburgers for supper and took a long walk. When we got back to the camper I beat Carol at a game of Scrabble and we went to bed.
Tuesday, June 6
Got up about 7:00 this morning and decided to try the generator since we had no close neighbors here. There are only two other campers here at Soda Lake and they are across the lake. I needed to recharge the computer batteries and Carol wanted to use her curling iron. It is working great. Since she can do her hair she thinks this camping thing just might work. We are talking about walking around the lake but that is quite a walk. We'll probably head for Jackson today.
We'll be heading up to Yellowstone after Jackson so it may be a few days before I can access wifi again.
Adios.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Saturday, June3 & Sunday, June 4
We left Denver around noon on Saturday and got to the Hamilton Ranch around 2:00. It is located near Wetmore, Colorado, south of Canon City. I knew it was going to be something when I saw the gate Rob had to open to get in. It is about 1,000 acres with a lovely home, and a number of animals including horses, cows, and buffalo. We met Rob's dad Robert and his significant other Joan. The first activity was touring the home. What a fantastic place. It is all log and stone. The logs are from original log cabins that Robert has been able to salvage and keep from being burnt. The interior is hard to imagine, with lots of antiques, It is very western and massive. It is a much more elaborate version of our own lodge. Robert has a number of animal heads and stuffed animals on the walls from his hunts in the US, Canada, and Afica.
Joan, Carol, Shelby, Rob and I went on a fairly long hike there on the ranch. Also Ben the German Sheppard and Minnie Mouse the cat that wants to be a dog went with us. As Carol says, "Ben, the dog, and Minnie Mouse, the cat, play together and watch out for each other. It is amazing to watch." It was a very pretty hike and great exercise. We got back about 6:00 and had supper around 7:00. It was a wonderful meal with salad, shrimp, asparagus, rice, and wine. We sat on the porch for a while before supper and saw four mule deer cross the field by the house.
Sunday, June 4, 2006
We said our goodbyes and left the ranch around 7:30. Robert was having a big get-together for his employees today and we wanted to get out the road before the crowd started pouring in. We stopped at the Royal Gorge briefly, but weren't too impressed. The Grand Canyon it's not. We also stopped at Fairplay for a short lunch break and headed on north up Highway 9 through Breckenridge, Dillon, Silverthorne, Kremmling, and Steamboat Springs. The land is extremely dry south, down by Canon City and all the way to I-70, but it started turning green the further north we got. There was still a lot of snow on the ground at Rabbit Ears Pass just south of Steamboat Springs and the fields and forests are very green up that far north. Since this is just the first part of June there should not be this severe dryness down south> We stopped at Steamboat and got some ice cream. We finally arrived at the BLM campground I was shooting for about 5:00. We went almost 350 miles today. It was too far. Don't think I will do that again. We had salad with tuna and hardboiled eggs on it for supper tonight. This is a quiet campground. There is only one other camper here. It is also free. We stayed here last year on our way to Portland. Tomorrow I hope to do a little exploring in search of a herd of wild horses that frequents this area. It is 10:00 now so I guess I'll hit the sack.
Joan, Carol, Shelby, Rob and I went on a fairly long hike there on the ranch. Also Ben the German Sheppard and Minnie Mouse the cat that wants to be a dog went with us. As Carol says, "Ben, the dog, and Minnie Mouse, the cat, play together and watch out for each other. It is amazing to watch." It was a very pretty hike and great exercise. We got back about 6:00 and had supper around 7:00. It was a wonderful meal with salad, shrimp, asparagus, rice, and wine. We sat on the porch for a while before supper and saw four mule deer cross the field by the house.
Sunday, June 4, 2006
We said our goodbyes and left the ranch around 7:30. Robert was having a big get-together for his employees today and we wanted to get out the road before the crowd started pouring in. We stopped at the Royal Gorge briefly, but weren't too impressed. The Grand Canyon it's not. We also stopped at Fairplay for a short lunch break and headed on north up Highway 9 through Breckenridge, Dillon, Silverthorne, Kremmling, and Steamboat Springs. The land is extremely dry south, down by Canon City and all the way to I-70, but it started turning green the further north we got. There was still a lot of snow on the ground at Rabbit Ears Pass just south of Steamboat Springs and the fields and forests are very green up that far north. Since this is just the first part of June there should not be this severe dryness down south> We stopped at Steamboat and got some ice cream. We finally arrived at the BLM campground I was shooting for about 5:00. We went almost 350 miles today. It was too far. Don't think I will do that again. We had salad with tuna and hardboiled eggs on it for supper tonight. This is a quiet campground. There is only one other camper here. It is also free. We stayed here last year on our way to Portland. Tomorrow I hope to do a little exploring in search of a herd of wild horses that frequents this area. It is 10:00 now so I guess I'll hit the sack.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Friday, June 2, 2006
Just messed around Shelby's house today. She had a couple of chairs that needed the seats recovered so we made a couple of trips to Walmart for supplies and finally got the right things. Also found a place to fill my propane tank today. Tonight we will go to a Friday night artwalk near Shelby's house. These small neighbor hood areas in Denver are always having promotional events and they are very fun to go to. Don't worry those of you who know me, I'm not going for the culture, just the free wine.
So we're good to go tomorrow when we head south to Wetmore, CO to meet Rob's dad and see his ranch. We'll spend Saturday night there and then head up to Colorado Springs to meet his mom. Sunday afternoon we'll head out to begin our visit to the great American northwest.
So we're good to go tomorrow when we head south to Wetmore, CO to meet Rob's dad and see his ranch. We'll spend Saturday night there and then head up to Colorado Springs to meet his mom. Sunday afternoon we'll head out to begin our visit to the great American northwest.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 & Thursday, June 1, 2006
We got up around 6:00 and when everyone was ready to hit the road we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast. Not too much in the way of real camping so far.
We stopped in Cottonwood Falls, KS on 177 north. It is the county seat of Chase County and has a beautiful courthouse that is the oldest active courthouse in Kansas. It is a pretty little town with brick streets and quaint shops. We also stopped at Strong City about two miles south of Cottonwood Falls and peeked into an old railroad depot. A group is trying to raise money to restore the depot. It will take a little money all right. Strong City grew up because the railroad track was laid a couple of miles north of Cottonwood Falls and thus the growth of a new city. Guess the folks of Cottonwood Falls didn't pay the railroad enough.
From here we headed to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. This is a joint project with the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy. It is nice to see our Nature Conservancy dues being put to good use. The park service owns about 40 acres with the old farm mansion and barn and the Nature Conservancy owns about 10,000 acres. The park service maintains and monitors the whole area. The old farm mansion was built by Stephen Jones in the 1870s and a fascinating house tour is provided. It was a cattle ranch with a huge barn. Jones also had banking and lumber interests in nearby Strong City. We all took a bus tour of the prairie narrated by a ranger that lasted about an hour and a half. We saw numerous wildflowers (wild alfalfa, butterfly milkweed, plain milkweed, primrose, to name a few). We also saw many birds (sandpipers, scissor tails, swallows, etc.) and some reptiles, no not snakes, lizards.
From here we headed north again on 177 to Hwy. 24 at Manhattan and west from there. For the second night in a row we drove through strong winds and heavy rains. We camped at Sheridan state fishing lake where primitive camping is free. It is located a short distance off of 24 about 10 miles east of Hoxie, KS. It was a pretty lake with lots of birds, blooming barrel cactus, and rabbits. We also watched a pair of swallows with a nest in the shelter next to us. About 10:30 another front moved through and rain and stong winds kept us awake for a short while.
Thursday, June 1, 2006
I must be getting use to retirement, this is pretty nice. We all slept until 8:00 this morning and didn't get away from the campsite until nearly 10:00. Also the fact that we have been on the road for 2 days and aren't even 2/3 of the way across Kansas yet says a lot.
We got to Colby. I was looking for an RV dump station. For those of you not use to the terminology that is a place to empty our waste water holding tanks. I found an RV Park and checked to see about dumping. There happens to be a Walmart right next to it and she gave me the third degree about where we stayed last night. I told her Sheridan fishing lake. She said it would just be $5 to dump then. If we had stayed at Walmart it would have been $15. Glad she didn't ask where I stayed two nights ago. I do empathize for them though, having an RV park right next to Walmart. Right after dumping our tanks at the RV Park we found a Petro truck stop with a free dump site. Guess we will check the truck stops before the RV parks in the future.
We finally arrived at Shelby's house around 2:00 and got everything squared away. I finally got a badly needed shower. We're waiting for Shelby's Rob to get home to eat an early supper. We may go to REI this evening.
We stopped in Cottonwood Falls, KS on 177 north. It is the county seat of Chase County and has a beautiful courthouse that is the oldest active courthouse in Kansas. It is a pretty little town with brick streets and quaint shops. We also stopped at Strong City about two miles south of Cottonwood Falls and peeked into an old railroad depot. A group is trying to raise money to restore the depot. It will take a little money all right. Strong City grew up because the railroad track was laid a couple of miles north of Cottonwood Falls and thus the growth of a new city. Guess the folks of Cottonwood Falls didn't pay the railroad enough.
From here we headed to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. This is a joint project with the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy. It is nice to see our Nature Conservancy dues being put to good use. The park service owns about 40 acres with the old farm mansion and barn and the Nature Conservancy owns about 10,000 acres. The park service maintains and monitors the whole area. The old farm mansion was built by Stephen Jones in the 1870s and a fascinating house tour is provided. It was a cattle ranch with a huge barn. Jones also had banking and lumber interests in nearby Strong City. We all took a bus tour of the prairie narrated by a ranger that lasted about an hour and a half. We saw numerous wildflowers (wild alfalfa, butterfly milkweed, plain milkweed, primrose, to name a few). We also saw many birds (sandpipers, scissor tails, swallows, etc.) and some reptiles, no not snakes, lizards.
From here we headed north again on 177 to Hwy. 24 at Manhattan and west from there. For the second night in a row we drove through strong winds and heavy rains. We camped at Sheridan state fishing lake where primitive camping is free. It is located a short distance off of 24 about 10 miles east of Hoxie, KS. It was a pretty lake with lots of birds, blooming barrel cactus, and rabbits. We also watched a pair of swallows with a nest in the shelter next to us. About 10:30 another front moved through and rain and stong winds kept us awake for a short while.
Thursday, June 1, 2006
I must be getting use to retirement, this is pretty nice. We all slept until 8:00 this morning and didn't get away from the campsite until nearly 10:00. Also the fact that we have been on the road for 2 days and aren't even 2/3 of the way across Kansas yet says a lot.
We got to Colby. I was looking for an RV dump station. For those of you not use to the terminology that is a place to empty our waste water holding tanks. I found an RV Park and checked to see about dumping. There happens to be a Walmart right next to it and she gave me the third degree about where we stayed last night. I told her Sheridan fishing lake. She said it would just be $5 to dump then. If we had stayed at Walmart it would have been $15. Glad she didn't ask where I stayed two nights ago. I do empathize for them though, having an RV park right next to Walmart. Right after dumping our tanks at the RV Park we found a Petro truck stop with a free dump site. Guess we will check the truck stops before the RV parks in the future.
We finally arrived at Shelby's house around 2:00 and got everything squared away. I finally got a badly needed shower. We're waiting for Shelby's Rob to get home to eat an early supper. We may go to REI this evening.
May 30, 2006, Tuesday
We left Jefferson City around 11:45 this morning. We stopped at a highway rest area just east of Collins for lunch about 2:30. We arrived at Fort Scott, Kansas around 4:30 and stopped at the national historic site. The fort was built in the 1840's to help guard the frontier. It was used to monitor sections of the Santa Fe trail and the Oregon trail. It was also used extensively during the Mexican American War and then sold at auction in the late 1850's. It was rebought and used as a supply fort during the civil war. It also housed refugees who sought relief from the conflict.
Ft. Scott, Kansas
We left Ft. Scott around 5:00 and decided to head for El Dorado State Park. We stopped in Gas, KS for gas. When we got there it was $15.50 to camp so we headed out again to find a Walmart in El Dorado. We found that and I asked permission to park the night. It was no problem with them. Walmarts are very RV friendly and allow people to park overnight if they are passing through. The proper etiquette is to be inconspicuous.
We had pizza for supper, played a game of Scrabble and wet to bed around 10:30.
Ft. Scott, Kansas
We left Ft. Scott around 5:00 and decided to head for El Dorado State Park. We stopped in Gas, KS for gas. When we got there it was $15.50 to camp so we headed out again to find a Walmart in El Dorado. We found that and I asked permission to park the night. It was no problem with them. Walmarts are very RV friendly and allow people to park overnight if they are passing through. The proper etiquette is to be inconspicuous.
We had pizza for supper, played a game of Scrabble and wet to bed around 10:30.
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