Hi everyone, we are in Indiana at a campground on our last night before heading home. Needless to say we are ready to get there after hard driving for a few days. The drive was pleasant and our we enjoyed the beautiful sights along the way. After the cool weather in Canada and Alaska, we also enjoyed the warmer temperatures heading East.
We will always remember this trip as an experience that was both exhilarating and meditative. It moved us in a way that has changed us and broadened our world. The state of Alaska has so much wilderness that it is difficult to grasp it's immensity. Southeast Alaska has deep blue fjords surrounded by steep mountains and glaciers. The interior's tree covered hills march into the distance bathed by the light of the midnight sun. The wildlife was incredible! One of our favorite experiences was our stay at Ninilchik on the beach. Also our cruise to the glaciers was unbeatable as well as our fishing trip. But most of all we enjoyed our many drives seeing the wild life and the raw wilderness that is Alaska. We will cherish these memories forever. Thank you for experiencing our trip with us. Love, the Klineswesternadventure.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Hello United States
Hi everyone. After a delightful visit to Hyder, we are on our way home. We thought we could take our time, stopping to see some things we haven't seen before, but life has a way of sometimes changing plans. George's Mom isn't doing well so we are kind of hurrying home. So far it has been a good transition into the states. We crossed the border with no hassles except they came into the motorhome and looked through my refrigerator and proceeded to take my fresh peppers. Oh well, it could have been worse. We have been driving into beautiful country. The part of Washington we are driving through is all desert. What a contrast to the rainforest we just visited in British Columbia and the Artic rainforest in Hyder, AK. Warm too. 90's yesterday and 80's today in Oregon. More desert in Oregon but the Columbia River breaks it up and the mountains too. We climbed some pretty high mountains and the climb was very nerve wracking for me since I was behind the wheel. We are starting out this morning into Idaho. See you soon. Love to you all.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Hyder AK
Stewart B.C. and Hyder, AK.,July 29
What a surprise we had when we got into Stewart. First of all, everything is happening in Hyder, Ak. We camped in Stewart, B.C. Then just down the road is the border for Hyder, AK. We have to pass customs every time we left Hyder to go into Stewart. Last night in Hyder we went to the bear viewing area. After 5 minutes we saw a beautiful huge grizzly bear scoping out the salmon. We were able to observe him for a long time. You will see the picture. So cool! Then we were told to go to the "Bus". A couple bought an old school bus and made a restaurant out of it. The husband catches the fish and the wife cooks it. They have a little patio in front with 2 picnic tables. They added a room in the back of the bus with a heater. It was so neat! Robin Williams and Hilary Swank ate there when they were filming a movie in Stewart. Neat, huh? The food was delicious.
Today we took the 30 mile historic dirt road to Salmon Glacier which is the 5th largest glacier in the world. It was cloudy and foggy when we left but once we drove through the clouds it cleared up a little. We passed some old deserted mines and saw a working mine. Hyder's population is only 100 but they are happy people. Hyder was settled by many of the same miners that came through the Stewart area. It was originally known as Portland city but the U.S. post office rejected the name because there were already too many Portlands in the U.S. The name was then changed to Hyder named after Frederick Hyder, a Canadian engineer working for the Juneau Gastineau Mining Co. We are a little sad to leave beautiful Alaska. But we are sure to see more beauty in Canada on our way home. Love you all.
What a surprise we had when we got into Stewart. First of all, everything is happening in Hyder, Ak. We camped in Stewart, B.C. Then just down the road is the border for Hyder, AK. We have to pass customs every time we left Hyder to go into Stewart. Last night in Hyder we went to the bear viewing area. After 5 minutes we saw a beautiful huge grizzly bear scoping out the salmon. We were able to observe him for a long time. You will see the picture. So cool! Then we were told to go to the "Bus". A couple bought an old school bus and made a restaurant out of it. The husband catches the fish and the wife cooks it. They have a little patio in front with 2 picnic tables. They added a room in the back of the bus with a heater. It was so neat! Robin Williams and Hilary Swank ate there when they were filming a movie in Stewart. Neat, huh? The food was delicious.
Today we took the 30 mile historic dirt road to Salmon Glacier which is the 5th largest glacier in the world. It was cloudy and foggy when we left but once we drove through the clouds it cleared up a little. We passed some old deserted mines and saw a working mine. Hyder's population is only 100 but they are happy people. Hyder was settled by many of the same miners that came through the Stewart area. It was originally known as Portland city but the U.S. post office rejected the name because there were already too many Portlands in the U.S. The name was then changed to Hyder named after Frederick Hyder, a Canadian engineer working for the Juneau Gastineau Mining Co. We are a little sad to leave beautiful Alaska. But we are sure to see more beauty in Canada on our way home. Love you all.
Cassier Hwy
Cassiar Highway, British Columbia, July 26-28
Hi everybody! It has been quite a trip. Oh my goodness! As I am writing we saw a bear on the side of the road and we slowed down and took some pictures of him and he walked right up to the motorhome and checked us out. I think we could have bonded with him if a semi wasn't in back of us. That was absolutely the best bear sighting we have had on this trip! Thank God for this gift! Back to our trip. We left Skagway and started the Cassiar highway. We had read that it was much improved over the Alaskan highway but they lied. It was porpoisy and gravelly on much of it and didn't get much better until we were halfway through. But we did see a couple of neat attractions. We didn't make our turn when we were supposed to and came upon the Carcross desert. What a surprise! It is an area of sand dunes. It is composed of sandy lake-bottom material left behind by a large glacial lake. I am so glad we missed our turn. You never know what you'll find in the mountains. And it is a rainforest. I never heard of a desert in the rainforest. We turned around and made our turn and came upon Jade City. It earned it's name as a commercial outlet for jade mined from the nearby mountains. The store was just packed with beautiful pieces of different specimens of jade. These Cassiar mountains provides 92% of the worlds jade market. This was a neat place with free coffee, Wi-fi and overnight camping. This was definitely a jewel.
We stayed 2 nights at turnouts in the road when we got tired of driving. At our lunch breaks we ate and then took a power nap to re-energize us. The nights were, to say the least, cool. We woke up to 40 degree temps. We used the oven for dinner and turned on our generator in the mornings. We don't mind. We are tried and true campers. Even George hasn't complained about the cold. After all, it is Alaska and Canada. We have about 150 miles to Stewart, B.C. Where we will stay for a couple of days to recharge. See you there.
Hi everybody! It has been quite a trip. Oh my goodness! As I am writing we saw a bear on the side of the road and we slowed down and took some pictures of him and he walked right up to the motorhome and checked us out. I think we could have bonded with him if a semi wasn't in back of us. That was absolutely the best bear sighting we have had on this trip! Thank God for this gift! Back to our trip. We left Skagway and started the Cassiar highway. We had read that it was much improved over the Alaskan highway but they lied. It was porpoisy and gravelly on much of it and didn't get much better until we were halfway through. But we did see a couple of neat attractions. We didn't make our turn when we were supposed to and came upon the Carcross desert. What a surprise! It is an area of sand dunes. It is composed of sandy lake-bottom material left behind by a large glacial lake. I am so glad we missed our turn. You never know what you'll find in the mountains. And it is a rainforest. I never heard of a desert in the rainforest. We turned around and made our turn and came upon Jade City. It earned it's name as a commercial outlet for jade mined from the nearby mountains. The store was just packed with beautiful pieces of different specimens of jade. These Cassiar mountains provides 92% of the worlds jade market. This was a neat place with free coffee, Wi-fi and overnight camping. This was definitely a jewel.
We stayed 2 nights at turnouts in the road when we got tired of driving. At our lunch breaks we ate and then took a power nap to re-energize us. The nights were, to say the least, cool. We woke up to 40 degree temps. We used the oven for dinner and turned on our generator in the mornings. We don't mind. We are tried and true campers. Even George hasn't complained about the cold. After all, it is Alaska and Canada. We have about 150 miles to Stewart, B.C. Where we will stay for a couple of days to recharge. See you there.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Skagway Ak. June 25
Hi folks, We arrived in Skagway from the ferry early this afternoon. What a quaint little town! The population is only 862, but there were hundreds more visiting from cruise ships. It is located at the northernmost point on the Inside Passage in Southeast Alaska, 100 air miles north of Juneau and 112 road miles south of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. This where the Great Klondike Gold Rush took place in 1898. Here, the stampeders piled off steamships eager to make their fortunes. This town held many temptations for these lonely men. Their were saloons, brothels and gambling. A famous thief, Soapy Smith lived here with his ruthless gang. He stole from everyone he met and ended up being shot to death here.
There is so much to do. There is gold panning, The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway to ride, and a quaint frontier town to shop and eat in. We ate in a saloon/brothel that was fun. I found some jewels on my walk in the evening. I am fond of natural food stores and I found that, along with a garden store, gift shop and glass blowing demonstrations. The third jewel was unexpected. I walked right over a beautiful bridge over Skagway River. Amazing what you can find on foot! We are getting close to finishing up our trip in Alaska. But we have lots more to see and do since we are going home on the Cassier Highway. See you soon!
There is so much to do. There is gold panning, The White Pass and Yukon Route Railway to ride, and a quaint frontier town to shop and eat in. We ate in a saloon/brothel that was fun. I found some jewels on my walk in the evening. I am fond of natural food stores and I found that, along with a garden store, gift shop and glass blowing demonstrations. The third jewel was unexpected. I walked right over a beautiful bridge over Skagway River. Amazing what you can find on foot! We are getting close to finishing up our trip in Alaska. But we have lots more to see and do since we are going home on the Cassier Highway. See you soon!
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