Sam And Saundra's Second Time Around - Part 74

Sam And Saundra’s Second Time Around – Part 74

Washington and Oregon

8/4/11-8/19/11 – Whidbey Island and Home

Hank And Debbie

We were sorry that the weather had turn so cold and wet in Alaska, but we are looking forward to getting home and spending time with friends and family, especially those grandchildren. We had just one more thing we wanted to do.  Drop in on our friends, Hank and Debbie.  Both of them went through high school with Sam at Madison.

Remembering Way Far Long Time Ago

Hank and Debbie have a grand home on Whidbey Island. We took some salmon to grill on their grill and Debbie served a salad that we loved, especially with the salmon. Yum!  The view from their fabulous home is fantastic! While watching water traffic on the sound, we talked and listened and enjoyed ourselves totally.  We waited way too long to make this visit.  We spotted a deer next to the road as we left their house. Thanks Hank and Debbie for your hospitality and on such short notice! Did I tell you their home was grand?

We arrived home.  Safe and sound! Full of fish and fish full. We are so grateful that we are able to make such trips and experience such adventures.  Thank you for being a part of them.  We treasure you and ask God’s blessings for each you.

Love, Sam and Saundra

Keeping An Eye Out For Our Next Adventure

Sam And Saundra's Second Time Around - Part 73

Sam And Saundra’s Second Time Around – Part 73

Canada to USA

8/4/11-8/19/11 – Border Crossing

The remaining trip back to the US border was pretty uneventful.  We saw a caribou just after pulling out of Laird Hot Springs.  I saw another wolf, but was unable to get a picture.  We hit a lot of road construction with fairly long waiting times.  We boon-docked when we could and crossed the border at the same place we entered.  We constantly out ran the rain and cold, only to have it catch up with us fairly quickly.

Love That 'Rock' Salt

Well, there was that one storm.  We passed Fort Nelson and noted that the trucks were pulling off of the road. and thought it was a little strange.  No more strange than usual. The altitude was high and the overall weather was cool, gray, but not bad.  The roads were good and no construction was hindering us, so on we went.  It suddenly started to rain.  Not little bitty drops, not even the healthy strong drops we Oregonians are used to, but gallons.  We could hardly see.  Because other vehicles were on the road, we were afraid to stop, visibility had gotten so bad. No shoulders on this stretch.  We creeped on. Or maybe out. But it was not over.  Oh no!! Not over.  The wind began to blow, it got very dark and it started to hail. Hail! Lots and lots of hail.  Just when we thought the windshield would have to cede to defeat, it stopped.  Way eerie!  Maybe we should have listened to the non-verbal warnings those truckers gave us.  Wow!  Sam pulled over as soon as he could find a spot. Sam took deep breaths as I watched him.  What an experience. Start to finish was probably 10-15 minutes. The roads were so icy that we were worried that the trailer would slide sideway off the road, pulling us with it.  We waited until the ice on the road surface started to melt, then got back on the road to go … away from there!

Just After The Storm

Sam And Saundra's Second Time Around - Part 72

Sam And Saundra’s Second Time Around – Part 72

Canada

8/4/11-8/19/11 – Liard Hot Springs, BC, Canada

A Little Faster, Please

We run for the border and we make it1  Easy.!  Back in Canada, our next destination is Liard Hot Springs.  We spend the night at Pine Creek Recreation Park.  Nice Park. All the wood you could possibly need for campfires. Picnic shelters and really nice facilities. All for $12 a night.  Cool!  On the way we see snow covered mountain tops (Yippee!), some geese and a herd of wild horses nibbling the grass at the side of the road. 

Three Little Bears

 Next morning about ‘0h late light hundred’, we mosey on down the road.  No wild forest fires vying for our attention this time.  We are determined to take a dip in an outdoor hot tub.  We make a few stops along the way to admire the diamond willows in this area. We pass a mighty bull buffalo lounging around.  They lounge well. We see a young black bear munching on some road kill. Unfortunately, I got pictures before I knew for sure what it was. YUCK! After a pack of younger buffalo tried to drag race us, we stopped and watch a female black bear and three cubs munch their allotted grass servings. We finally reach Liard Hot Springs and as advertised, they have a campground right next to it.  We pull in. Find out it is more spendy than other provincial parks, but we figure it will be worth it.  We set up, start the generator to keep the fish in the freezer frozen solid.  We are dressed and ready to walk to the hot springs. A gaggle of park rangers (so rarely seen) inform us that the park rules have changed and we can only run a generator from 7 pm to 8 pm and from 9 am to 11 am.  Nonsense Rule. We get approval to go a few hundred feet away from our camp and run it in the day camp area.

Liard Hot Springs

We sprint slowly to the hot springs, walking on wooden walkways over the boggy ground.  About a fourth of a mile later, we come upon one of two hot spring pools that make up Liard Hot Springs.  The first has temperatures that hit 126 degrees.  I want to go to the second, where the temperatures are suppose to be a little lower, but it has been closed.  Not sure why, but Sam thinks a bear sighting may be involved. Bears do get first priority.  We get really well poached, then return to camp.  We enjoyed experiencing the very natural hot springs, appreciate the changing rooms and the walkways.  Next time, we plan to try out the hot springs near Fairbanks. 

Sam And Saundra's Second Time Around - Part 71

Sam And Saundra’s Second Time Around – Part 71

Alaska 

8/4/11-8/19/11 – Chicken

We waited for the silvers to arrive. We waited for the clouds to depart so we could see the high ground.  Neither happened.  It did start raining again.  We decide to continue on down the road.  We go back to the Glenn Highway to return to Glennallen. We are going to see if we can outrun the rain, check out the Klutina River and Valdez when we get there, just because we still have a little fish oil in our eyes. The drive was beautiful.  Cloudy, but beautiful.  Due to the cold (Valdez was falling into 30’s), we decide to forgo going after any more fish.  After all – we want to return in a couple of years, and this will add to our reasonings. We have a fabulous dinner with Bill and Dorothy at Gakona, touch bases with Joel and get back on the road home. 

Road To Chicken

We stop at Eagle Trail State Park, just before Tok, the hub of Alaska.  One cannot drive anywhere in Alaska without going through Tok. We decide to take a day trip to Chicken. Chicken is on the Top Of The World Highway on the way to Dawson City. Not to be confused with Dawson Creek. The road has very little pavement, a lot of dirt/gravel and is extremely agitating in places. It has a ferry somewhere in the middle.  Sam really wanted to see Chicken. We did not want to add any stress to Brutus.  A day trip was our answer.  Brutus was cooperative and took us through Tok, then turned left. We go about 80 nicely paved miles and there is Chicken. 

Chicken?

You know it is Chicken because it is the only town we have seen on this road, the sign says Chicken and right over there is a chicken.  We pull into one of two apparent sections of the town, designated by two RV Parks.  We opt to go to the one with the Chicken, a duet of outhouses, next to a big dredge.   Sam wants to pan for Gold.  He has his own pan from South Dakota and is ready to try it out. A long, wooden trough, filled with water, is conveniently placed by a big pile of dirt-filled gravel. Sam pays his daily fee of $8, gets a lesson and goes to it. Chicken Creek has a lot of working gold mines along its shores. I shop and use the outhouse.  The shop is pretty normal. The outhouse is outstanding.  I have never seen a better waterless ‘powder room’. The Hen’s is brightly painted inside and out, flowers and all.  I walk around the dredge, read up on it, and to my surprise, Sam is soon ready to move on.  We have a very good lunch at the gift shop and call it a day.  Brutus goes on autopilot back to camp. We have been to Chicken, Alaska.

Community Gold Panning

Know why they called it Chicken? At the gold camp they ate a lot of ptarmigan back in the beginning.  They wanted to call the town ptarmigan in honor of their food source.  You try to say ‘Go Ptarmigans’ three times fast – let alone spell it – and you’ll know why Chicken was chosen. Owen would have named it ‘Meat-On-A-Bone’. 

Sam And Saundra's Second Time Around - Part 70

Sam And Saundra’s Second Time Around – Part 70

 Alaska

8/4/11-8/19/11 – Talkeetna

Silvers are not in. We decide to do some sightseeing.  We check out the Hatcher Pass turn off from the Parks Highway, but the clouds are too close to the ground to make that worthwhile.  We will try that one a little later.  We drive towards Fairbanks to see if the mountains are on view in that direction.  Spying Mt. McKinley is still on our ‘To See’ list.  Unfortunately, the clouds are not going to leave us alone. The mountains have taken a vacation from prying eyes.  I begin to feel like we have our own personal rain cloud.  So, we turn off on the road to Talkeetna.  Talkeetna is famous for being the home of ‘The Daughter’ of Pete and Judy.  More great friends from the Mexico caravan group.  (They did not make it to Alaska this year – but are regulars.) Talkeetna is a village, so by definition, can nestle. Nestle between the Talkeetna Mountains and the Susitna River.  The road that goes into the village is the same one that leaves it. It really is in the middle of nowhere. The village itself is a mix of old, older and new-that-is-made-to-look-old rustic buildings. Some are residences, some are regular businesses, but most are local arts and craft shops, sprinkled with specialty food stops. 

'City' Sign

Sam and I were on a quest to find ‘The Daughter’.  We have no idea what her name is, or the name of the shop. Memory lapse. Armed with the names ‘Pete and Judy’, we start the walk down the main village roadway that ends at the riverbank. We window shop, almost buying a quilted wall art piece that included absolutely beautiful and amazing … salmon.  We discussed, milled around, talked and finally asked ‘How much?’  We did not buy.  But thought about it.  We ended up buying some almonds, mainly because the sellers little girls were so cute and very good at drawing your attention to their stall. We knew that ‘The Daughter’ was an artist who did quite well with her sales from the art shop.  There were several art shops.  We walked into one some distance from our starting point.  It appeared to be a fairly new large building, as the boards were unpainted but not weathered.  A cardboard sign told all that it was an art shop.  We entered.  Really nice art work of all sorts.  Water color, oils, acrylics, wood, cloth, woven, beads, jewelry, Wall hangings, cards, and lots and lots and lots.  Good, good quality. Looked and looked.

 The young girl at the counter finally became free and we asked her if she happened to know Pete and Judy.  And she did!  She was their granddaughter.  We were stunned that with so many options we walked into the right shop first time.  We talked for a short time.  Her mom was not available, but she was adorable.  We did not think to ask her name.  Gotta tell you Pete and Judy – what a very beautiful, articulate and plain nice granddaughter you have.  We told her ‘Hi’ from you.  We finished off our Talkeetna experience with a famous cinnamon role from a café and rock-hunting on the rocky shores of the river.  Pockets, arms and tummies full, we return to camp. Good day trip.