Chapter 7: Thar be Fish in Them there Waters

~Wednesday the 13^th started with a late breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash and cinnamon rolls. It's hard to get an early start when the midnight sun tempts us to stay up so late. We drove to Wasila to pick up a new tire for the Ole Hezzie. While Dan and Nathan took care of the tire, Matthew, Dwylin, Jonathan and Jared did some laundry.

~With these details taken care of we finished our drive to Anchorage and from there continued south to Soldatna to meet up with Nelson, a friend of Dan and Jonathans. We ate an early supper at Frosas where we got our seafood fix. Jared enjoying some halibut and the rest of the guys cracking into some king crab.

After a brief visit at Nelson's place, we drove the scenic route down to Homer, traveling next to the Cook Inlet as more snow caps dotted the skyline across the bay. 

~We made it to Homer just after nine PM and drove down to the Homer Spit. The Spit is home to hundreds of travelers eager to take one of the many docked charter boats out the next day in hopes of a big catch of halibut or salmon. 

~On our drive down we were trying to book our own charter but couldn't find anything for all six of us so we started north again to dock our Ole Hezzie for the night.

Thursday was another late start on our drive back up to Anchorage. Jon and Matt woke up early for some fishing, but to no avail. Being cooped up driving was making some of us a little restless and ready for some action so we began to search for a good mountain to climb. After our second try, we found a good spot and began the climb. We spent a couple hours expending our excess energy making a roughly 2000 foot elevation climb. 

The climb made for some great views of the highway below as well as the Cook Inlet and mountains beyond. The workout left us sweaty and dusty so Matthew, Jonathan, Nathan, and Jared crossed the road to the inlet and took a dip in the cool, salty water.

Tired, and yet refreshed, we continued to Anchorage. The first stop was the mall for some souvenirs and a little food, then on to the Walmart parking lot. We picked up some more supplies and camped for the night as Jonathan is flying out at five AM the next morning, sadly his vacation is over.

OFFICIAL GRADE FOR THIS SEGMENT

A

BONUS PICTURE OF THE DAY

Chapter 6: Further Up and Deeper In

~After a two and a half-day stay in Watson Lake we were ready to be on the move again. We left Watson Lake just before 11 PM and drove the 16 hours to Fairbanks, stopping just to fill up with gas as everybody took 1 ½ to 2 hour driving shifts.

~The drive was mostly uneventful, couple moose lumbering across the road and an occasional elk along with one bear sighting. Being that it never quite gets completely dark this far north at this time of year so just a few hours of twilight driving is all we had to deal with.

~Fairbanks brings us to the end of the Alaska Highway, passing through the North Pole just before we reached it (totally serious). The Walmart parking lot in Fairbanks looked like its own campground as a smorgasbord of RVs and motor homes dotted the parking lot. We picked up a few more groceries and were on our way again, headed south towards Anchorage in search of a place to stay for the evening.

~We found a place to stay at the Grizzly Bear Campground. After dinner, Nathan and Matthew decided to head out in search of animal sheds. It was already after 11, but they took a flashlight and some bear spray and were off in search of adventure. They climbed to the top of Flat Top Mountain not needing the flashlight at all because of the altitude.

After finding it too cold to sleep out on the mountain they hiked back to Ole Hezzie at five in the morning with a couple nice caribou sheds in hand.

~Tuesday, the 12^th, we booked an eight-hour bus tour of Denali National Park starting at eight AM. About 30 percent of visitors get a glimpse of Denali Mountain, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, because it is often covered by clouds. But on this day, God gave us an almost completely cloudless day and clear views of the snow-covered mountain all day.

~The tour starts us about 80 miles from the mountain and winds its way through the park to roughly 35 miles from the mountain. Passengers on the bus keep their faces plastered to the windows in search of wildlife in the park. We see plenty of caribou loping through wide-open valleys or taking a siesta in the warm afternoon sun. We see several grizzlies during the trip, including a mother and three cubs, sadly there were no close-ups to get the heart rate going. We didn't get to see any moose in the park but did play chicken with a lone black wolf till he went off-road and trotted into the forest. There are supposedly 40 some wolves who make their home in the six million acre park, roughly the size of Massachusetts, so a wolf sighting is very rare.

~A short night of rest and long bus ride made for some sleepy tourists and we slept quite a bit on the way back out of the park. After exiting the park we topped off our brake fluid in Ole Hezzie, which was acting up that morning, and headed south again towards Anchorage in search of food and a place to park for the night. After some thick, juicy burgers at a roadside hole in the wall, we found a free spot to rest for the evening, nestled between the highway and a rippling creek.

OFFICIAL GRADE FOR THIS SEGMENT

A-

A Blast from our Past.

Enjoy this Suprise from our fourth day of our trip. going through the Jasper and Banff National Parks.

Enjoy

Chapter 5: What Does the Fox Say

Day 1 

~Wanting to get our wheel issue figured out we left camp at 5:30 AM Friday morning and pulled into Watson Lake, Yukon around 7:30. Watson Lakes biggest attraction is the Signpost Forrest started in the 1940s by an Alaska Highway worker and now boasts over 80,000 signposts.

~The early morning drive to Watson Lake finally got us our wildlife fix as we saw several herds of Bison grazing beside the road and Nathan was able to get a selfie with a black bear. In Watson Lake, Dan dropped us off at a laundromat and took the Ole Hezzie, seems to be the name we've settled on for the RV, to the Signpost Tire. Turns out we've got a bad right wheel bearing. They've got the parts in Whitehorse, about a four-hour drive. A greyhound bus could deliver but they tell us some folks they know are coming sooner and can bring it down.

~Satisfied, we grab some lunch at Kathy's Kitchen, pick up some fishing license and go in search of a campsite with expectations to have the part Saturday and be on our way again in the afternoon.

~Our stay tonight is the Watson Lake Campground, the lake supposedly stocked with good pike fishing, but we again struggled to cash in. So we instead grilled some chicken wings, potatoes, and carrots while testing our ax-throwing skills. Nathan and Jared were able to recruit another person for our late night swim in the lake as Matthew joined.

 We slept in this morning knowing our parts for Ole Hezzie wouldn't be in till later in the day.

Day2

~6 o'clock comes early in search of fish, but once again to no avail. They once again came back empty and headed for bed. All of a sudden around 10:30, Dan had enough, we put away our fishing rods and headed back into town.

~After breakfast in town we went out in search of good fishing spots. Billy, our very helpful mechanic, told us to head to the end of the runway on the opposite side of Watson Lake so we checked it out. Once again the fishing was left wanting so we headed back to town to check on the parts. Around seven in the evening we find out that the delivery folks decided to stay in Whitehorse to attend a wedding but assure us they will have it there between three and five PM on Sunday.

~We are beginning to get desperate to get out of town and Dan begins checking if there is a vehicle he could rent or even buy to drive the four hours to Whitehorse and pick up the part himself. Eventually, Matthew, Jonathan, and Nathan end up on the Alaskan Highway with the intent to hitchhike up and back for the parts. After 30 minutes of rejection, they're still trying to recover, they give up and we head back to the airport and our free camping spot for the night.

~On our way we spot a fox and stop for pictures. Nathan soon exits Ol' Hezzie with Oreos in hand. The fox seems to love the taste of the sugary Oreos and Nathan eventually can get it to eat right out of his hand and getting a selfie with the wily fox. Afterward, he comments that he feels bad for feeding it a GMO food.

 

~It's already nine PM by the time we arrive at our campsite and we decide to fry up our catch of fish from the trip so far and add in some baked beans and chips. After supper and clean up we head out for more fishing. It's already eleven PM, but still full daylight. We fish until 12:30 being swarmed by mosquitos and bringing back just one 30” pike. While Dwylin did indeed catch a fish, a White Fish, which isn't good eating. So we eventually decided to name the fish “White Trash”, and we through him back in the lake.

~The sun has set by now, but it doesn't sink far below the horizon so there is still some light and pink hues in the sky. Jonathan and Dwylin join Nathan, Matthew, and Jared for a late-night dip in the lake, Dan took his earlier, and we headed to bed.

Day3 

~We sleep late again Sunday morning and waste the day throwing a frisbee in the lake and exploring the woods. We begin to head back to town at 2:30 to check on our parts but our interrupted by another wildlife sighting.

~We park and run after what we think is a raccoon, hatchet, and sticks in hand. Turns out to be a porcupine, that we affectionately named Charlie. We played with him long enough for Nathan to get his next wildlife selfie and were again on our way.

~We parked Ole Hezzie in front of the Signpost Tire shop hoping the bearings would arrive sooner rather than later. Around 8 we finally get a call that they are five minutes out. We call Billy, our super helpful mechanic and he is willing to fix up the Ole Hezzie and get us out on the road again.

~Jonathan found an old wooden ore while exploring and we all carved our names and added it to the signpost Forrest.

~ Around 10:30 we head out still Alaska Bound!!! Yes, we still going to flippin' Alaska.  Because of the delay, the plan is to drive straight through to Fairbanks, an 18-hour drive, but you never know which way the road may turn...

Boy did it turn fast. Early this morning we had a bit of cell signal and it lasted just long enough for us to wish that it had not ever worked. Learning of the death of our friend Shadrick Miller has drained most of the excitement out of our morning, the morning that we are to enter Alaska. One of the worse parts of the whole ordeal is finding out while we are so far away, and knowing that we can't celebrate in his life with his family and friends. Shad, you were a great friend, but we hold on to the hope and promise of seeing you and our other friends and family again. Please keep the Sam and Cathy Miller family in your prayers.

Shadrick Miller

1993-2016

Chapter 4: The Road Goes Ever On and On and On

~After leaving the national parks the terrain becomes a lot less mountainous, but still more remote impressive than the flatness of Indiana. As kilometer after kilometer rolls by our heads remain on a swivel as we are in constant search of bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bison, caribou, elk, moose and bear with money being involved for the first person to spot a bear.

~With no major animal sightings the past couple days, we've been enjoying the changing landscapes, noting that some countries pack millions of people into small areas and here there are millions of acres of land with nary a person in sight. The first of these last two days brought us to Dawson Creek. British Columbia and mile 0 of the famous Alaska Highway.

~Fifty miles into the highway is Charlie Lake, our stop for the night. We got out the two inflatable rafts and entered the lake for some fishing around six in the evening. With the fish not biting we were just ready to head back and start supper at eight when the winds died down and the first fish was lured in. For the day several small pikes were caught and Nathan and Jared brought in six walleye.

We cleaned them and put them on ice, preparing for a fish fry later in the trip.

~We got a seven o'clock start the next day with hopes of more fishing and more fish that evening. It was a fairly uneventful travel day.

Still, no wildlife as we traveled back into some more mountainous regions with winding roads, rock walls, steep vertical drops and rock bottom rivers creating simple rapids. Mile 404 brought us to the town of Toad River. The Toad River Lodge is a do-all/one-stop offering restaurant, gas, motel, tire repair, camping and post office. From the ceiling of the lodge hangs a collection of thousands of trucker hats.

~Our stop for the night was MacDonald Campground on Muncho Lake, mile 442 of the highway.

As we stepped out of the RV, Jon noticed that one of the rear tires was leaking air. Upon farther inspection, the two tires on the right rear were almost bald while the left rears looked fine.

The spare was quickly put on with plans to look for new tires and the cause of the uneven wear the next day. We then proceeded out on the lake excited to add to our catch of fish. Fishing didn't come so easy today. After several hours on the lake we came back in around 8:30 with only a couple lake trout to show for it, but not enough for a meal.

~Muncho Lake is surrounded by towering 7000 foot high mountains creating great views while sitting out on the lake but also makes the water a bit on the chilly side. That didn't stop Nathan and Jared from taking a, "not so skinny", dip in the water before bed.

~After being refreshed by the cool blue waters of Muncho we all headed to bed to prepare for an even earlier start the next day.

OFFICIAL GRADE for this segment:
B+