FosseOdyssey

Due to all the fires in Montana, we changed our route from Glacier National Park to Yellowstone National Park.  We stayed for a week and were able to explore most of the park and also crossed white water rafting off our bucket list White water rafting was fun.  The water was low as it was end of season with only class 1, 2, 3, and 4 rapids.  Very easy and low key said our guide.  We rafted  for 9 miles down the Gallatin River. The first rapid was the Fluffy Bunny (class 1 easy peasy).  All went well through the class 2 and 3 rapids. The class 4 rapids had more boulders , rocks and of course whitewater .  We made it through the Boulder Garden ,  the Thumb of God and then came the grand finale Box of Rocks. We were almost through the Box when our raft hit a boulder under my seat and bounced me off into the river. Luckily our guide and Tom pulled me into the raft like a beached whale.  Water was freezing but No injuries...you wear a helmet and personal floatation device   Moral of story

Most of Montana on fire, so changing directions.  Instead of going to Glacier National Park (smoke issues) we are going to West Yellowstone for a week. On our way we stayed the night in Butte.  Looking for things to do we read about Deer Lodge.  It's a small town 30 miles from Butte - population 3500 in town and 6000 for area. The old Montana Prison in Deer Lodge  is now a museum.  It was built out by convict labor starting in 1871.  The prison closed in 1979.  Famous inmates included at least one member of the Butch Cassidy gang and 2 of the top 3 suspected Zodiac Killer candiadates.  Interesting that the main cell house is built on almost the same plan as Alcatraz.  It is believed there may be ghosts as 2 men were hanged.  They occurred in 1908 & 1909 the inmates that were executed were the ones that killed the deputy warden and attempted to kill the warden by cutting their throats witH handmade   blades. The hangings  were pretty gruesome - they were a Jerk Up style ( th

Luckily we only had 2 nights in Banff.   I say "lucky" in a disappointing way, Banff is filled with smoke from the Verdant creek wildfire.  The smoke keeps pouring into the valley. We wanted to take the Banff gondola ride, but the cashier showed us the webcam and asked if we really wanted to spend $120 to go up. The visibility was extremely poor...just gray smokey skies.  We appreciated his candor and passed on the gondola We did visit the Caves and Basins historical landmark.  This is known as the birthplace of Canada's national park system it is a natural thermal mineral spring discovered in the 1870's   The waters are said to cure rheumatism, digestion and gunshot wounds.  Hmmmm... We stayed at the Tunnel Mountain RV park.  The trailhead for the HOODOOs starts from this campground.  So what is a hoodoo?  Basically it is composed sedimentary rock covered by harder rock that is difficult to erode.  Once the softer sediment erodes a needle or tower is formed. At

We stayed at Irvin's RV park in Valemont.  While here, we hiked the 4 k Cranberry Marsh trail.  It's an easy trail, well kept, fairly cool with several viewing towered.  This marsh is a natural habitat for birds and waterfowl.  Supposedly also beavers and muskrat with a possible bear siting.  All we saw was ducks , dragonflies and mosquitoes. Jasper is 70 miles away, but NO full hookups....and we need the electricity.   The road is good and we were in Jasper  within 90 minutes.  Used our FREE Canadian park pass (It's their 150th anniversary).  Since we had limited time, we visited Medicine Lake.  Also known as the disappearing lake as it is so shallow.  The water is a deep aquamarine with lots of surrounding fireweed as they had a major fire in 2015.  Further up We had a picnic lunch at Lake Maligne. Interesting to note there are no motorized boats, just canoes and kayaks....also no campsites around this beautiful lake. We hiked the Moose Lake trail around the lake.  On t

We spent a few days decompressing from the return trip on the Alcan Highway.  As expected there is a lot of road construction.  Our red truck is now a dull highway gray...nothing like dirt, gravel and road oil. Whenever you find a major city along the Alcan, look for Costco.  Our last Costco run was a few weeks prior in Anchorage.  Whenever you do locate a Costco, you have to restock, food prices are a little shocking in Alaska and Canada.....as everything must be shipped in or trucked in.   Do look for local goods, we found reindeer sausage in Alaska and here in PG we found LIVE Canadian mussels.  We bought the mussels (of course) added some linguini and french bread and had a delicious supper.  From a seafood perspective, the mussels come in third, after the Sockeye Salmon and Homer Oysters.  Fresh Sockeye remains our #1 seafood choice. I was able to celebrate my birthday at the Northern Lights Winery.   This is BC's northern most winery.   It has a beautiful view of the

When most people think of Valdez, they think of the Exon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989.   This tragic spill occurred when the Exon Valdez oil tanker struck the Bligh reef 25 miles outside of the town...causing the biggest oil spill in North America.  There is that Alaska is bigger theme again. When visiting we learned that town of Valdez was moved after the Earthquake of 1964.  This 9.2 quake caused major damage.  The city fathers decided to move the town 4 miles away to a safer area. Only the foundations of the original town remain....as any remaining old town structures were burned (by fire department) to prevent anyone from living there. We went to Valdez as we have family history here.  My husbands Great Grandfather was a marshall in Valdez in the early 1900's.  In 1907, nine companies fought to take advantage of the short route from the coast to the Copper Mines at Kennecott.  The railroads hired marshals to protect their interests, as the locals wanted rights to the pass.  A b

Homer is known as the "Halibut Fishing Capital of World".  But if you don't fish, it is definitely worth a trip.   We stayed at the Baycrest RV Park - which has the best view of the Kachemak Bay and we are also able to see the Grewingk Glacier.  The view alone is worth the trip to Homer. But for those who don't fish, there are also other great options. 1. Walk on the spit, have lunch, book a charter.   I wasn't quite sure what a "spit" was.  Basically it is an extension of the land/beach that projects out to sea and is joined to the mainland at one end.  The Homer Spit is 4.5 miles long and of course, this is Alaska, so it is the LONGEST ROAD into ocean waters in the world. 2. Visit the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies.  We visited their Carl E. Wynn Center on Skyline Road.  Our guide Shannon took us on a 1.5 mile hike on the Fireweed trail / Bog.  She was really a great naturalist guide.  We learned what plants are edible .... Watermelon berries

A MUST boat charter from Homer.  Take a boat to Seldovia.  We took the Central Charters and Tours, the Rainbow boat II.   Typically the trip is 2 1/2 hours over, but our captain was fantastic.  She spent at least 3 hours "slowing" and "showing" us the local bird/sea life. Gull Island has a multitude of Alaska birds - our favorite being the Puffin and of course the Bald Eagle.  The sea life was very cooperative and our captain kept moving the boat to follow any sightings.    While in the bay we were able to see otters, orcas and even humpback whales.  But, your iPhone won't do the trick.  Be sure to bring a camera with telescopic lens and binoculars. The Athebasken Indians and Autiiq Eskimos were the original inhabitants.  In 1787-8, a Russian fur trade post was established here.  The Russians originally named the town Seldevoy which means "herring bay". Seldovia has some amazing wood carvings, our favorite was the crab...very detailed and a littl

After viewing the Kenai River and Cooks inlet outside Kenai/ Soldatna, we took a drive to Seward and the Kenai Fjords National Park.   We had to pick up Junior Ranger books for the grandkids and of course visit the Exit Glacier and get our National Parks book stamped. The Exit Glacier is an easy walk from the visitors center.  In 15 minutes you are able to view the glacier.  Along the path markers are placed along the trail showing the glaciers rescession over the past 100 years or so.  For those more adventurous you can also hike the Harding Icefield - but 8 miles is a bit time consuming.   The drive from Soldatna was 2 hours, so if we were more adventurous and not hungry we could have hiked there. We opted for a seafood lunch in Seward - a beautiful sunny day.   We walked around Seward trying to find the Seward Elks, but unfortunately, they no longer have a lodge here.

Girdwood or Whittier a difficult decision.  We chose Whittier.   This is a quaint seaside town, known as the "secret port" during  WWII.  To get to Whittier, you need to go through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.   This is the longest tunnel in North America @ 2.6 miles.  Of course Alaska had the tallest mountain, so it also needs to have the longest tunnel. The tunnel allows a single lane of traffic to drive over RR tracks.  There are 8 safe rooms in the tunnel...if the strobe light starts blinking white, STOP the car, leave keys in the ignition, car doors open and RUN to the nearest safe room. Sounds ominous....lucky for us it was an easy drive through tunnel with NO stops.  Do check the tunnel hours ...since it is one way, you can't just drive through when you want to. After a lunch of local halibut and chips, we visited a creek where the salmon were running. They were jumping and splashing.  I was the closet target and my pant legs were drenched.   It was amazin

While in Anchorage we visited the Heritage Center.  It had films, live native music and dancing as well as 6 life sized traditional Alaskan dwellings. We learned that Alaskan native cultures hold certain values pertinent to their traditions, people, and way of life.  I think it would be wise for all of us to respect these 10 traditional values 1. Show respect to others . Each person has a special gift 2. Share what you have. Giving makes you richer 3. Know who you are. You are a reflection on your family 4. Accept what life brings. You cannot control many things 5. Have patience. Some things cannot be rushed 6. Live carefully. What you do will come back to you 7. Take care of others. You cannot live without them 8. Honor your elders. They show you the way in life 9. Pray for guidance. Many things are not known 10. See connections. All things are related I know that I am still working on some of these....no need for those who know me to point out which ones need more work,

I remember learning about Mt. McKinley in school.  But in 2015 this spectacular mountain peaks name returned to the name Denali.  The native Athabaskan people called the mountain Denali....which means most high.    So, where did the name Mt. McKinley come from????  In 1896 a gold prospector named the mountain after presidential candidate William McKinley.  McKinley was elected president but unfortunately never visited Alaska...slight problem as he was assasinated.    In 2915 President Obama signed the bill changing the name to Denali. Regardless of what you chose to call this mountain it is impressive.  Standing at 20,310 feet it is the highest North American peak.  The peak is not always visible. In fact it is visible less than 30% of the summer season .  We were fairly lucky, here is our view from Talkeetna .

PArt of our RV adventure is traveling to all 50 states. While in each state we intend to play golf at least once.   So far, we can cross off California, Arizona, Hawaii (oops no RV but lots of golf) and now Alaska.  The RV park we are staying at has a mini 3 hole course...more of a warm up for the course we played in Fairbanks. The North Star Golf Club is Americas most northern course.  It is a lot like golf courses near Yosemite.   Lots of  foreststion and one of few courses in Alaska with grass greens. Only 46 more state golf courses to go.  

Forty miles outside Fairbanks is a natural hot springs. The Chena Hot Springs are fed by deep underground water heated by earth to a  temperature of 106.   Ok maybe not chillin in the sense of Temperature...more on the relaxing scale.   Thank goodness we brought lots of ice cold water. The history of the spring dates back to Gold Rush days when weary Gold miners came to relax and soothe their tired muscles.  And most likely used by the indigenous tribes prior. This is a really nice rural resort with hotel rooms, rv park, horseback riding. And only 7 miles away is the Angel Rock trail which has a great view of the valley from the top.    If we come back to Alaska we would definitely stay here for several days.  Hike the trail, enjoy the Springs and maybe even get a massage.

We visited the University of Alaska museum.  They had a great gallery of Alaskan history.   Surprisingly enough women were part of the Klondike gold rush in the 1890's.  Ethel Berry known as "The Bride of the Klondike" led a fascinating life....mining for gold to eventually moving to Taft, CA where she and her husband Clarence found more gold - "black gold - OIL" and formed Berry Petroleum.  Amazing we came to Alaska to learn about Californians We also had our first up close and personal grizzly siting (lucky he was stuffed).  Not sure our bear spray would work on a grizzly this size.  The museum also has "Blue Babe" the worlds only mummified steppe bison.    Totems poles are still being carved but more protected as works of art.  Though originally carved to display a clan crest, hold cremated remains or celebrate a dead leaders life. After museum went to salmon bake and musical comedy show.  And of course got to take a Salmon ride

Everyone has to stop and visit with Santa while in the North Pole.   This little town was homesteaded in 1944 by a farmer , Bon Davis.  In an effort to attract toy manufacturers, the name North Pole was selected.  After all ....who doesn't want a toy made from the local elves.   Unfortunately not a field of dreams ending, as no toy manufacturers came. In the 1950's Con Miller, a local North Pole trading post operator acquired a reputation as playing Santa to the children in local Alaskan villages.  Con named his trading post the Santa Claus House.  Stop by the house, buy a few trinkets and you and Santa can discuss the meaning of naughty and nice.   Remember he checks his list twice.

We always like to visit local Farmers Markets when we travel.   We headed out to the Tanana Farmers Market early Saturday am.  It had all the essentials....produce, food tents and local artisans.    The growing season in Alaska is limited but we bought some local kale and kohlrabi.   While buying an early lunch, the cashier asked if we were going to the Golden Days parade and Rubber Duckie race. Well sure...let's go! The Golden Days festival goes on for 5 days in Fairbanks.  This festival celebrates Fairbanks Gold Rush history.  Small town parades are so fun, lots of community participation and pride. This parade was no exception.  It featured local school  marching band, bagpipe group, community groups , the hoosegow float complete with fluzies and the famous Felix Pedro along with his pack donkeys. Felix is the Italian immigrant who started the Alaska gold rush in 1902, when he struck gold in the foothills outside Fairbanks.  He is famous for the saying "THERES GOLD IN THE

While in Watson Lake we had to visit the Sign Post Forest.  Our mission was to locate the Dos Palos city sign (the town we grew up in).  My in laws put up this sign in 1983 while on their RV trip to Alaska.  Even though there are more than 77,000 signs we found the Dos Palos sign within 5 minutes.    My father in law must have had a ladder handy, as it was at the top of a 10 foot post. If you don't know the history This forest was started in 1942 by a homesick US Army GI, Carl Lindley  while working on the Alaska highway.  Carl erected a  sign pointing to his hometown of Danville Illinois.  Others soon followed suit and the Sign Post Forest was formed.  It's actually designated as an official Yukon Historic site. The signs are not just city and street signs. Travelers have erected many unique and unusual items with their names and dates....snowboards, shoes, helmets, license plates, toilet seats and even a bedpan.    Besides US and Canada there are signs from throughout t