July 27, 2009 ~ Monday
I am sooo torn! Wanting to leave for our property, BUT the Air Force bases in AK are having war games starting tomorrow and this would be an awesome place to watch! I imagine tho that they’ll be flying where we’d be driving, too…
There are 450 fires in AK that have burned 5 million acres already! We just came from north of Fairbanks and it’s quite smoky there and is now rolling into the North Pole area.
My downfall…books. I have well over 300 books at home, the majority relating to the north…and today added more. Now, when I go into a book store I have to look at the copywrite date since I can’t remember which I own.
Iceroad Truckers…the tv show. My brother-in-law and two sons have driven that road many times and know most of those men. In fact, the youngest son’s wife is the daughter of one who was killed in 2007. His mangled truck is at the beginning of the show. My brother-in-law has ‘an escort service’ for these drivers…driving pilot truck for many of them over ‘the haul road’.
When we do leave for our property, there will be 5-6 days where I can’t add to the blog as we don’t have service…or electricity…or water. BUT we do have bear… Today we bought 20 bullets for the 44 magnum…and tomorrow we’ll find more. There’s a shortage here, too…people buying and hording because of what the administration is proposing…

July 26, 2009 ~ Sunday
Tok to North Pole yesterday was driven while the folks around Nenana were having a fire storm...a HUGE cloud seen from the Richardson Highway north of Delta Jct.... am trying to download pictures, but they've been coming in all weird-like. What was surprising is that the cloud LOOKED really awful here, but disapated in short order.
We are parked at Jack's brother's place for a few days, then on up to our property...and it just so happened their grandson, all of 6 weeks old, had...HAD...to be held. I'm sure he was waiting just for me...

July 24, 2009 ~ Friday HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACKSON AND CAROLYN!!!
Went to sleep after 10:30 last night...still w-a-y light...and woke at 4:30 with it being w-a-y light. One of my favorite things about the north in the summer months! We traveled about 300 miles today with the road in fairly good shape except for some frost heaves and breakup from perma-frost. We'd heard "the road was horrible", but found it much better than several years ago with new seal-coat over many miles. Probably the bigger RVs are not happy with it...AND the little old lady that was driving a car going about 10 mph looking scared to death. Had to wait about 20 minutes at the border and had no trouble crossing when our turn...asked only about fruit, vegetables, guns, ammo, and animals...told us, "Welcome back!" and let us go on our way. Homer, on the other hand, got lost at the border and we had to turn him off. We are in Tok, AK at the Sourdough Campground...nicely wooded with everything a person would want...including a breeze to keep creatures at bay. The little buggers at Liard bit...and the results of those bites appeared two-three days later. I need a back scratcher!!!

July 23, 2009 ~ Thursday
The sunset last night was totally AWESOME...deep pinks...oranges...every color of blue...at 10:30! Got up this morning expecting to go to a Tlingit Native Heritage celebration for a bit before heaing to Whitehorse and Kluane Lake, BUT what was suppose to start at 10am wasn't even set up yet and there were maybe 10 people walking around...so...we left. Tonight we are staying on the shores of Kluane Lake at Cottonwood RV campground...a beautiful 'park' even tho it's very windy and the waves are lapping the shoreline about 25 feet away. Tomorrow, the border, AFTER traveling a road full of frost heaves...I'm talking maybe 30 mph in places. We've heard from those going south that it's very rough, BUT...we've heard that before and it's usually from the BIG rigs guys...the bus RVs...who go slow on almost all roads.

July 23, 2009 ~ Thursday Cloudy today and sprinkles of rain, but the sunset last night at 10:30 was awesome with pinks, oranges, dark and light blues! Yesterday we left Liard Hot Springs and drove into the Yukon Territory. The fireweed is in full bloom now as are other flowers…daisies, buttercups, different sizes of white star-shaped ones, dark blue-ish/ purple-ish tall lupine…all there to see for our enjoyment and the bear’s eating pleasure. So far we’ve seen three black bear (including the one with the daisies in his mouth), one cow moose, 4 bull moose and numerous wood bison, little and BIG. The campground we’re in (village of Teslin) has a wonderful display of animals in their gallery. The trees also have so many different colors, even a Russian olive- colored aspen. It’s Tlingit Heritage days here and I’m hoping we stay long enough to take in some of their culture. A weird thing happened last evening…we noticed the brake light in the cab flash on and off a few times. Don’t know quite what that means…no tail/brake lights? Run down battery? A short in the wiring? We’re clean again…found a laundry at the campground and only took $7 to wash and dry two loads. Showers felt good, too! Mosquitoes aren’t quite as bad here as at Liard…we have several (like 37) bites…some from horse flies, but the beauty and expanse (and the road goes on…) of the country far outweigh the itch! Last night a raven landed on a steel roof, probably 75 yaards away….and I heard the THUNK…then watched as he waddled up to the top, feathers ruffled…Nope, no photo…

July 21, 2009~Tuesday LIARD HOT SPRINGS…if you have never been to Canada’s provincial parks you are really missing an experience! Very very clean/beautiful/friendly…when you leave the site they come in with rakes! And power washers to clean the tables. The garbage is picked up frequently from the bear-proof recepticles…the toilets (not flushing) are cleaned and well supplied. We’ve been to the springs 5 times now (staying in the water probably an hour and a half each time…with cooling off periods out of the pool every so often) and will go early in the morning before we leave. And you meet the nicest people… from Canada/US/Germany/Australia, each so amazed with the road north, the people, the springs. We heard a rifle shot this morning and two this afternoon…sounded like they came from the lodge so wondering if they were scaring either bear or bison away, but didn’t see anything amiss when walking over to use the phone in the late afternoon. We’re leaving early tomorrow morning…after a soak…and will try to post at Watson Lake, Yukon Territory…

July 20, 2009 ~ Monday Happy Birthday, Lyndy!!! So…did not find a good source for plugging in at Fort Nelson… We arrived at Liard Hot Springs, having made reservations before starting…and found they overlooked us AND a 23 rig caravan has made emergency reservations because the lodge across the road has closed unexpectedly, BUT they very nicely ask us to wait saying they WILL find us a site…and they did. #40…beautiful, as usual and a bit more secluded than the sites we’ve been in before. That’s good since we have to run the p/u and generator to recharge C-PAP batteries everyday. The drive from Sikanni Chief Campground is about 350 miles and the road is narrow in places and curvy so the going is slow at times, but always awesome! We saw Bullwinkle and a cow moose and also a black bear. My understanding, from the people who are headed south, is that there is more wild life to be seen farther north…bear, moose, wood bison are ‘out’. So far, we’ve been to the springs twice and will go a couple more times today…planning on leaving Wednesday morning with many mosquito pelts…I’m sure enough for a warm winter coat. It’s hard to skin those little things… We’ve met, again, many interesting people. Three were biking down from AK together…one from Prudhoe Bay and another couple from Anchorage…friends who did not know the others were on their way and just happened to meet up along the road. They average 50-75 miles/day. Another couple had just been to Canyon Ferry, MT! The weather has been super nice with only sprinkles now and then, clouds or sun.