Flagstaff to Utah 4/20

Leaving Flagstaff on US 89 we traveled through some of the most haunting landscape in Arizona. The colors of the earth and sky are unlike anywhere else. Not everyone finds it beautiful, but we always do. There is also the realization that we only pass this way if we are going someplace else. So it is easy to like for that reason. The last time we crossed the Colorado at Marble Canyon, the new bridge, pictured here, was under construction. Rafters faaaar below were just setting out on an awesome adventure of their own. Then we drove along the Vermillion Cliffs. More spectacular colors and formations. We did not see any condors.
We continued north on 89 to Big Rock Candy Mountain in Utah. The mountain looks like French vanilla ice cream with caramel topping. Not so much like candy. We were the only diners in the restaurant and the only campers in the RV park, so we got good service. There was a humorous sign post at the restaurant, we thought this one was apropos.
We were wanting to see wildlife, of course, (what is a trip without?) so we were pleased to see these deer in the river. We tried to count them but gave up after 40 because they began to run. This was the first time we had seen this many deer in one group. We saw additional deer this day, we estimate >200, which is a pretty good week of deer sighting in the Arizona mountains. We later discovered that deer in northern states run in much larger crowds than we are used to. Today we also went through snow for the first time. That's another thing we saw lots more of later.

We have arrived in Skagway, Alaska

Today we drove from Teslin, Yukon through Carcross, Yukon and into Skagway, Alaska. The scenery from Carcross to Skagway was spectacular! These pictures don't begin to capture the beauty. We had some of the best weather of our trip and it was about 37 degrees when I took the pictures of the snow covered mountains. With the sun shining and no wind it felt as if it were in the 50's or 60's.

Along the drive we passed signs warning of avalanche areas--do not stop. We gladly obliged. We also saw truck escape ramps and we were very happy not to need one. On our way down the mountain we saw two jeeps. Bill wondered if his brother Don was in one of them and after Don turned around and flagged us down we had a short visit and received good information about our permanent site in the RV park. A water pipe had to be repaired--thank you Don for doing all the digging--so we are in a temporary spot until tomorrow or the next day.

This is one of the few state or province signs I remembered to take a picture of; I guess I'll just have to remember where I've been.

This year commemorates the 50th anniversary of Alaska statehood. It was a big deal when it became a state because I was born in Alaska when it was a US Territory. Does that make me old? Nah...

We walked into town this afternoon and we were about a block from the RV park when I took this picture. We've been told that everyone is loving the weather this week because of the warm temperatures, blue skies and sunshine. We certainly liked it.

Is this the real beginning?

This is Bill, not Peggie. We are in Dawson Creek, BC, where the Alaska Highway officially begins. The Alcan Highway was completed in 1943 by the US Army so that soldiers and supplies could be sent to defend the continent from Japanese invasion. In 1948 the name of the road was officially changed to the Alaska Highway. So it is as old as I am, yet people still use the term Alcan. It amazes me how we latch on to a term and continue to use it long after it applies. The word Indian used to describe Native Americans comes to mind.
So the last week has been mere preparation for the real trip. With Casey on board we were definitely on vacation. Now we are going to work (for fun) so we must really try to keep the vacation feel. The last few days we have been getting snow showers. Mostly they seem to attack when I have to get out of the truck to pump gas. But we did have one fun storm while going through some mountains in Montana. The umbilical cord decided to come unplugged, depriving us of trailer brakes and lights right when we started downhill into near zero visibility.
But as you can see, we survived. We woke up to heavy frost this morning. We crossed into BC just a few miles ago and changed time zones so I guess it was just before 10 last night when I went outside and saw that the horizon was still orange with the sunset.
And so it goes.

Yikes! A Grizzly Bear

We were in Yellowstone on Wednesday and on our way out of the park we saw this Grizzly Bear. Someone at the Ranger Station at Old Faithful had mentioned to Bill earlier in the day that a bear was spotted over by Roaring Mountain. Sure enough when we came to Roaring Mountain we saw a group of cars stopped by the side of the road and people out taking pictures. The bear was about 70 yards away. Apparently he had come down from his den earlier in the day, returned for a nap and was back out eating--grubs, not people thank goodness. It was quite a day seeing bison, elk, goats, two coyotes, a wolf (says Bill--coyote says Peggie). It was wonderful to be in Yellowstone without the crowds. Not all of the roads were open but we enjoyed it so much.

On Thursday we drove through Montana dealing with a "mild snowstorm". The temperature in the afternoon was down to 16 degrees and there was snow on the road and lots of ice on our truck. Bill was cool and calm and got us where we needed to go very safely. We crossed the border into Canada around 7:00 p.m. and were pleasantly surprised not to have every nook and crannie of the RV searched. They believed us when we told them we didn't have a gun or fruits/vegetables/plants and just a bit of very fine liquor. It was all true so it was nice to get through without too much hassle.

We've been in Edmonton, Alberta since Friday night. Casey wanted to go to Edmonton Mall (I did too actually). It is quite a place with an ice rink, waterpark, amusement park, 800 stores and I think I saw one small part of it. She had to leave today and fly back to Phoenix since she's the career girl now and we're the retired folks. Sweet! We'll be heading on up the road in the morning to Grand Prairie and Dawson Creek.

A few computer woes over the last few days have kept me from posting and have my pictures unavailable. Things are better now but we're heading into more isolated country and probably won't have internet until we get to Skagway on Wednesday.

On The Road Again

We were able to leave Flagstaff at about noon on Monday after having the air suspension system repaired. This isn't a picture from that day but it is a good picture of our home for the next few months. Traveling across the reservation was very peaceful. The colors of the sky and the land are beautiful. Casey is on vacation but said she had to cross into another state in order to feel as if she is officially on vacation. So, on to Utah, a little bit of Idaho, Wyoming and into Yellowstone. Everyone is itchy to get on the road again so I have to wait to write the next post until I have internet service again.

Hey, Let's Get Going Already!

After what seemed like weeks (actually months) of preparation, Bill and I left Tucson bright and early this morning to head to Alaska. Daughter Casey is joining us for the first part of the trip and will fly home from Edmonton, Canada in a week. We've taken many road trips as a family so for old times sake it's nice to begin this one with her.

The Thomases are all about adventures when we travel; some are more fun than others. A fun adventure today was lunch in Camp Verde with friends and family since it will be quite some time before we return. An adventure of a different kind that we're still having (but not unusual for us) is a bit of rig repair that needs to occur. As soon as we hooked the 5th wheel to the truck we heard a loud noise which turned out to be a problem with the air suspension system installed on the truck to handle the weight of the trailer and keep the unit level. One of the air bags in the system popped/burst/collapsed/quit working which left us a bit tilted. Well, actually it was the truck that was a bit tilted as Bill and I haven't started celebrating the journey yet so we're still sober! So, Day 1 has us overnighting in Flagstaff where we have an appointment to have a new air suspension system installed tomorrow morning.

Because Casey does not want to spend her vacation week in Flagstaff we're hopeful that it will be a quick fix so we can travel on to the next adventure!