Way behind…

We were sick (Flu then pneumonia) and often didn’t have Internet, so…. we’ve been to Haines, then drive to Valdez, then a ferry to Whittier. Then it was Seward and the Kenai peninsula. A couple of trips to the hospital and some fires and smoke made the Kenai segment a blur. Homer was a fun adventure, followed by Girdwood, Anchorage, Denali, Fairbanks and now, here, in Chena Hot Springs. If a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll save you some reading…

Valdez was way prettier than expected! Nice town too!.
On the drive from Haines to Valdez you pop into the Yukon for a while…
Mountains, Glaciers and waterfalls everywhere….
Our last ferry ride (Valdez-Whittier) was through Prince William Sound
Seward was a favorite. The weather was outrageous, but eventually the smoke from forest fires limited visibility.
Smoke was so bad some days, guide cars were needed to make sure you stayed on the roads. At times “zero visibility”. And it didn’t help Tim’s pneumonia!
Seward has hundreds of camping spots, right on the beach!

Juneau, Skagway & Haines…

Wow…. it’s been beautiful. The ferry trips are an adventure in themselves, sometimes the waiting, and loading take more time than the trip! A couple trips, we opted for luxurious berths.

Mt Roberts tram ride and a little hike at the top…
Finally… King Crab legs at Tracy’s Crab Shack
Mendenhall Glacier view from our campsite…
Seeing more eagles every day….
Sometimes things were a bit tight on the ferries. Glad we had a small rig, as there were times when you had to backup ONTO the ferry! Sometimes tide levels made the ramp angles “interesting”
Skagway vintage snow blower
@ the Arctic Brotherhood building
live bird in the sanctuary
Chilkoot lake were it becomes the river
Haines… one night on the ocean and another on the lake

BTW…. saw “Carlos” from Gold Rush White Water… was having fathers’ day dinner with the family.

Wrangell, AK

Wrangell is different, and nice. Unlike many of the other inside passage ports, Wrangell is NOT driven by the cruise ships and hordes of tourists. There are many special things about Wrangell, but you’ve got to look close, or venture away from the city center to see them. Anan has some of the best fish/bear viewing in the state. There are ancient petroglyphs, garnets, and wildlife galore.

We found some great campsites…. some in town, and others 10+ miles out of town.

Ketchikan AK

The 1am – 7:00M ferry trip from Prince Rupert BC to Ketchikan AK was a bit weird, because of the times, and loading issues…. but otherwise a wonderful trip. The early dawn gave a different twist to the forests, mountains, and islands. The cruise ships always blow my mind, especially compared to all the tiny vessels around them.

While on the deck a gentleman caught my eye and motioned me to come through a “crew only” gate. It was the Captain, and I was being invited onto the bridge to experience the docking in Ketchikan! Wow.

Unloading was smooth and within a half hour we were at Shelter Cove campground, right on the water and gorgeous!

Beautiful campground… and falls.

The ferry rides begin…

The first of 3 weeks of ferry rides started with a beautiful run from Vancouver BC to Vancouver Island. This beast could hold 300 cars! The beautiful sunshine continues.

And, thanks to Eddie Fox, we were able to stay overnight in Comox, right on the beach!

Ride #2 followed an awesome 5 hours drive up Vancouver Island, still with glorious sunshine and blue skies. A 1-hour stop in Telegraph Cove was about 100 hours too short.

Ferry Ride #2 was an epic 22 hour trip up through the “inside passage” between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert BC. We had a “cabin with 4 berths” but spent most time wandering the decks and viewing the scenery. Spectacular mountains, islands, forests, waterfalls, and wildlife everywhere. The word “scenery” doesn’t do it justice!

Blue skies became the typical gray marine layer… then turned worse as we neared Prince Rupert… drat, rain.

After a night in Prince Rupert, we’ll get a day to taste the local flavors, then, next, it’ll be 11pm check-in for an overnight ferry ride to Ketchikan AK. (ps… we’re supposed to be eating healthy/cheap in the Van, but couldn’t help ourselves. Dinner tonite was in a little restaurant inside a local seafood processing plant…. Seafood nachos and a smoked salmon sampler. )

The trip to Seattle

OK, left Phoenix and made it to Tonopah NV, spent the night in a casino parking lot. Second night we spent in a campground outside of Klamath Falls Ore. In spite of it being Memorial Day weekend, there was almost no traffic.

On the third day, we decided to drive through Crater Lake Or., since it was in the neighborhood. Apparently, they didn’t get the memo about this being the unofficial start of Summer…

Not only could we NOT see the lake, we could barely see the road!

Third night was an enjoyable visit with the Stermers in Vancouver WA. with Dave, LeAnne, and Jeff. Thanks for the dinner, warm bed, and a gourmet breakfast!

‘Made it to Seattle in the early afternoon…. beautiful weather on Memorial Day and expected for the whole week.

Tardis

Meet Tardis… not exactly time travel, but close!
RoadTrek Zion SRT, with solar and lithium batteries. The theory is we can “rough-it” with endless power. We’ll see….