Hey Hey Hey Mike Mike Mike

It’s not hump day it’s Hay River. Yes length of stay here was increased due to changing plans and road conditions. This is ok though because we had an opportunity to experience a fish market, the Great Slave Lake beach, spent time at the visitor center and visited the museum. Roy and I did drive to the town of Enterprise to see a Jamboree and then of course up and down roads looking for animals.

Hay River called the hub of the North https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay_River,_Northwest_Territories is the terminus for the Railroad from here on up it travels on barges to reach the surrounding communities on the lake. So it does have a port, and an airport. I would say that it is a well rounded hard working town. We had just missed the train and some of the barges leaving that carried diesel fuel for the northern communities in the summer the barges transport enough fuel to keep all of the towns warm. This year might be a challenge as one of the railroad trestles had burned this summer and had just reopened. The fact that the town lays on water they also have a Coast Guard Station and Rescue boats.

Everyone in town was so friendly and helpful that I could imagine me living here (ok if I was 20 years younger). The visitor center told us the best place in town to have the local whitefish that come out of the lake is at Back Eddy, I can tell you they have real good ribs. We got there and ready to order and was told no fish the fisherman was out of town. The restaurant is on the second floor of a building with an elevator so Roy decided he would ride down in it. I don’t think it had been used in awhile because the waitresses had to find the keys then figure out how to use it and see if it worked. (BTW it was a little bigger then a closet). It worked when they opened the door I told Roy he could ride down in the elevator I walked. The funny part was we could hear them laughing all the way down. So I still wasn’t going for a ride.

Another suggestion from the center was the fisherman market, Roy had it on the agenda. I did thanked them for the suggestion and let them think it was their idea. We did go back when it was going on Saturday. I even got some homemade fudge exactly like my mom used to make reminded me of her and the holidays. The market had a few food vendors selling breakfast which we ate before we came silly us. A few crafters of yarn and soaps, a couple of veggie sellers, and the fudge lady who also made some homemade pies. Roy and I enjoyed the lemon meringue pie. It is a meeting place for the whole community.

After the market we drove around the corner to visit the Hay River Heritage Center. This is where I heard from a book of course the whooping crane call. This is so I can recognize it in the wild. The grounds featured an ice cream shop did not stop in as it was 60 too cold for ice cream. A few old boats, plus an old fire truck.

The tanker cars in the background are not part of the museum but they do carry some of the diesel up to the north as I mentioned earlier. In the Territories and I think through most of Canada there is much emphasis put on preserving the culture of the Indigenous People.

The part of this adventure I am enjoying is one place you go leads to another place to explore. So we visited the public beach on our way to the jamboree in Enterprise. Great Slave Lake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Slave_Lake has sandy beaches here in Hay River seeing the vastness of the lake is awe inspiring. I was told that the beaches on the other side of the lake near Yellowknife are rocky I’m looking forward to comparing the two. So we decide to head to a jamboree sounds interesting I have noticed people still love to get together for any reason to enjoy music food and good times. You also never know what you will see decorating a driveway when you go exploring. Please can someone show Roy where the Ketchup is he found the Muster sign.

The Falls

Not my falls although I could write a blog or two about those. No the waterfalls that are around Hay River NWT. It is actually a route that you can travel in the Northwest Territories. https://www.nwtparks.ca/explore/waterfalls-route . When we did this route on Friday I was also dodging rain drops. I got a few pictures using the landscape lens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Falls It was also really cold but that is what coats are for :). When I was walking up from the parking lot and could hear the rushing water but could not see it, I was amazed when the sound matched the force of the water. I met two locals ok from Yellowknife and told them I’m here to photograph the northern lights. Back to the Falls. The locals did tell me that the water was a little low but should increase due to all the rain. These falls are on the Hay River and was a short side trip from Hay River. The water drops 109 feet over the cliff to create the roar. Alexandra Falls does have a twin on this river it is called Louise Falls, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Falls and it is a three tiered falls. There was a short trail (1.9 mile) I could have walked to but I opted to have Roy drive me. Less then a mile down the road is the turnoff for the falls. This falls only drops 50 feet. I get to the over look and was a little disappointed because there was supposed to be a spiral staircase that you could go down to get a closer look. I did get a look from the first over look before it started to rain again. Unfortunately you do not get the full few from the top look out.

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So I grabbed my camera and headed back to the car. Up the road is another waterfall that is just a day use park McNallie Creek https://www.nwtparks.ca/explore/waterfalls-route/mcnallie-creek

This is an interesting side trip to a falls, at the visitor center in Hay River the woman told me that locals would jump off the edge of the falls when she was growing up. The other thing is that these falls just go into the big hole she called it a sink hole. My funny thought was after seeing Louise and Alexandra Falls was you need to grow up.

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It was here I met a couple who had just come from Louise Falls and I said so did I and was disappointed I could find the steps. I was up to a spiral staircase. So they explained how to find it, after a quick thought I decided lets go for it. (Roy loves to drive). Back at Louise Falls after driving through some rain then into some blue skies I’m thinking great there is a chance. Ok, I have depth perception issues so once I get to the steps down I see it’s a very tight spiral staircase and the trees are extremely close on the way down. In the back of my mind I’m thinking this older couple did it I can too. Then logic took over the last time I did something because someone else did I came home on crutches from a sky trip. (I was 12 but still). So I decide to go back to the look out and even though I am practicing with the landscape lens I still love to use my 150mm – 600mm to zoom in on things. I head back to the car again to grab it. Mother Nature had other plans because right before I got back to the car it starts to rain. I got wet but made sure the cameras stayed dry. So I’m so thankful logic took over or I still might be sitting on a step on that spiral staircase. I will have an opportunity to check out Lady Evelyn Falls as we are spending time there on the way to Yellowknife.

Our First Rodeo??

It was especially involving ATVs, cowboys, cowgirls, and a tractor. This year it has been all about taking the different road. After having to change plans again due to road issues we end up on AB64 (short cut). The road was a good conditioned paved back road with 10% grades up and down through lush agriculture no flat Alberta here. We ended up here because the road and area we were headed towards had some mud and construction issues an excuse to come back next year.

After spending the last day at Toad River adjusting travel plans we decide to do 850 miles in three days. The first night we spent boon docking on the side of the road. The next morning we get up going stop at the only restaurant in 80 miles. After breakfast we leave and run into things headed across the road we slow down and discover this. No they were not running wild it was a modern day cattle drive. (with ATVs). So we fell in behind and alongside to enjoy the craziness. The tractor was carrying a huge round bale of hay which I assume is the feed. We watch them cross the road and split up the herd.

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We were both amazed at the use of ATVs but not one horse was used and instead of whips to get them away from the gate and back on the road to go to the next gate they used pool noodles to make noise in the air to steer them. We stayed behind them until they reached the second pasture and got back off the road. Growing up in Wisconsin the dairy cows stayed on the farm. There were quite a few babies in the group of cattle and the calves were sticking close to mom. The other unique thing was you would have a cow that was like a traffic cop, stand still and just make a bellow sound as if to say hurry up, move your butt. I was glad though when this traffic finally MOOOOOOOOOOOOVED Along.

So even though we’ve changed the roads we still are finding adventures and sights that we would have missed if everything went as planned.

Crossed Over

Today we crossed over the Continental Divide even had signage to go with the event. The spot we were at today is the lowest point of the divide the water shed is separated by just a small hump of sand and gravel. Could you imagine being a stick that broke and one half ends up in the Arctic Ocean and the other half ended up in the Pacific Ocean (Bering Sea), you would never cross paths again. Yes, sometimes I have random thoughts like that.

We are at the Watson Lake Provincial Park got a spot very near to the water Roy even walked down to it. I was out practicing more landscapes. Today is probably the last day for cell phones and internet for about a week or two as we are headed to Toad River Lodge in BC Canada https://toadriverlodge.com/ . I will have cable and full hook-ups though. We are also coming to an area that we have not traveled before so I am getting excited. I know there is more dirt roads in the near future but I have the packing figured out as to minimize dust and jarring. So one more thing I learned from traveling the Dempster.

I will hopefully have pictures of many animals in the near future as we are going to be visiting Wood Buffalo National Park. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_Buffalo_National_Park

So I will be thinking of you guys while Roy and I are exploring.

Say IT ISN’T So

August 1st. Wow, we have a little over a month left on the trip. It seems the longer we decide to be on the road the faster it flies by. This has been a strange year with the fires, the lack of animal sightings, the flat tires. The result of all of those things is an appreciation for every trip and the fact that every trip is different. I think we have had more unplanned down time which allows us to explore more.

These mosquitoes maybe metal sculptures but I can tell you they are life size. This is outside the visitor center at Delta Junction the end of the AlCan. Our last night in Alaska we stayed at Tok River State Recreational Area right outside of Tok. River front property very quiet park, great end to this part of the trip. tokcamp2 tokcamp4

I may be weird but I do love playing tacky tourist when it comes to signs. yukonsign This was the case with the 141st Meridian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/141st_meridian_west this is also the border between Canada and the US state of Alaska. bord akyb

Tonight we decided to drive into Whitehorse YT to the farmers market mark5 and to eat at “Klondike Ribs & Salmon” https://www.klondikerib.com/ At the market I caught one of the volunteers munching on a carrot she really gets into her role. https://fireweedmarket.ca I maybe should have warned her I was taking a picture, but there is no fun in that. I do have to say when we’ve wanted to get out and explore the areas the crowds and the weather have been good. (not to crowded or hot). This market had a concentration of food trucks but no snacking cause we did not want to spoil dinner. Here’s a sampling of the booths and crowds. mark1 mark6 mark2 One booth that held an interest for me was the CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society) which is a group striving to promote and protect Canada’s wild animals. https://cpawsyukon.org/ Right now they are focusing on the Porcupine Caribou herd and the breeding grounds. I had a interesting discussion and even bought a t-shirt to help the cause. mark4

At the restaurant we indulged in Elk Carpaccio this was extremely good and not spicy or greasy. I had my standby of halibut fish n chips, Roy had the house specialty BBQ Ribs and salmon. I can say when we travel we do eat very well. klon1 The funny thing is we always have enough left over for at least one or sometimes two more meals. klon2 On a side note we also because of being off the beaten path have been using the kitchen in our Lance more.

Our journey is now turning to the northern lights and the process of getting there. I am looking forward to experimenting with photographing these and hopefully sharing some of these shots.

Day Tripping

We didn’t get a chance to do the Dalton or spend time in Chena Hot Springs or even boondock in Manley Hot Springs we did take some interesting day trips around the area. I have seen Ospreys, log cabins, native crafts, Sand Hill Cranes, baseball games and pipelines.

I did get the opportunity to watch an osprey bring a fish to it’s mate and then the mate bringing the fish home to the nest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey We came back a second time to get these pictures.

It was also amazing to see the interactions between both adult birds. The one who brought the fish in also took the remainder of the fish with it when it left. We noticed the nest on our first drive up the Steese so of course I had to come back to see if I could get more pictures, the cool thing is I did. The second trip up was rainy and there was a bike race going on, so more traffic then normal. Like a good mom she did keep her chick as dry as possible during the downpour. Most of the pictures are from behind as I thought I could get closer with my camera on the other side of the nest. It was about this time that the second bird decided to fly in with a fish. Watching the osprey feeding the chick was impressive.

On the way up to the nest Roy found a dirt road. It did have a sign F.E. Corp Gold Camp it was closed but we drove up to check it out anyway. It looks like it might be opening soon a lot of remodeling there was some old mining equipment on the grounds check it out. It’s funny what you can find on a dirt road. I need to be more trusting when Roy takes those dirt and gravel roads.

Heading up to the Steese we stopped by the pipeline. Which in itself is an amazing engineering feat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System I look extremely small next to the pipeline. There is a pull off that shows the inside of the pipeline with what they call a pig that travels through the pipeline and keeps it clean.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigging

Another thing is the stickers people have put on the warning sign that tells people not to climb on it the pipeline. I also did not know some of the facts on the information board, the pipeline has 12 pumping stations and is 800 miles long just to name two facts.

We drove around Fairbanks and found ourselves at the train depot. The train was not in but I was able to get photos of the depot.

We also had time to visit North Pole Alaska and Nenana Alaska while we were here too. Pictures are on the way.

Farmer’s Markets

Fruits, veggies, crafts, and poems all in one place. There is a weekly farmers market that we discovered in Fairbanks AK https://www.tvfmarket.com/ the Tanana Valley Farmer’s Market. This week Roy found a mildly spicy homemade salsa, I found my garlic and green onions. The garlic is good for my cholesterol and it keeps mosquitoes away. I also found Becca http://www.poembybecca.com/aboutcontact.html .

She uses a typewriter and birch paper. I asked her how often does she get asked what that is? Her response was she gets asked more often the question about getting asked about getting asked what that is. I hope you followed that. It took me having her explain it twice. So the question about getting asked about getting asked what it is happens more then asking what it is. Now getting back on track. Starting off on with that exchange. I see the little things she has typed on birch bark, very motivational, I then see a sign which states she will write a poem about anything all you have to do is name the subject then pay whatever. I’m game for this. I still have sweet memories of Buki Bear and will always have these. So what subject do I pick.

I pick Buki, like anyone she needed to get a feel for what he was like. So I told her. I think she nailed it. I will let you decide. First off Buki hated to travel, poor guy got motion sick so he traveled through my blog. I also shared how he came home with me. Mr meow box he was although he would be quiet for me. Buki Bear was not his first name from me and it was a nickname. I think he had the longest name of any pet until he finally responded to Kabuki shorten to Buki Bear. (full name Sir Giblet Hufflepuff Shmoo Kabuki Quimby) The human aspect of him what cat do you know who will only eat beef when it came to people food. So after about twenty minutes I come back to this. poem1

Buki Bear
The road less traveled,
you knew how to get around without moving

Knew the ways to be human, the foods –
the beef only

On the road with you, 18 years, a cascade of names

A single moment of shushing a meow and hearing you listen

All to be taken in, to be left with the meowing we wish we could unsheesh.
Rebecca Lawhorne

We also talked about how things happen for a reason and people touch our lives exactly when we need them to touch us.

While I was walking around the market waiting for her to finish I stumble across some football themed kitchen stuff. You know we are redoing the kitchen so it is only logical that I have a new kitchen theme to go with so here it is. DSCN8956

Hot pads, bib for dish soap, and a hand towel. The other reason for this purchase is football season is coming. So I end this blog by saying

‘GO PACK GO’

Lemons Make Lemonade

That’s a better title then ‘with smoke comes fire’. Unfortunately the fires caught up with us this year. I can report the most it effected us was we had to change our plans. Roy did say he wanted to do some SOP (Seat of the pants) camping this year. He clarified that with me by saying this was not what he had in mind.

The original plan was 3 nights in Fairbanks then boondocking around the interior of Alaska for 11 nights and return to Fairbanks for 8 nights. Mother Nature had some different plans. That picture was one of the nights you could see smoke in town, it also helped us make the decision to stay in town for the next few weeks. We are still planning on driving up the Dalton and leaving the trailer in Fairbanks (baby still needs a rest). As far as driving to circle this might be out of the question because it’s a little far for a day trip. There is still a fire burning by Chena Hot Springs which was in the plans at one time. This past weekend did help some of the fires because of the rain it also cleared the air for the airshow at Eielson Air Force Base. I am ok with this 3 weeks in Fairbanks it will give me enough time to explore plus eat at some good restaurants that we discovered on our last time here.

We spent one day at Pioneer Park which is a free park divided into sections covering history of Fairbanks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_Park_(Fairbanks,_Alaska) The day was smoky and pictures were interesting in that you can see smoke in the pictures. The park itself was large we were able to rent 2 scooters for $10 an hour what better way to get around. Each of the buildings were moved from other areas of Fairbanks and each building has a plaque with where it was originally located. The brown building with the white trim was a house of Ill Repute. The park has a train but due to smoke in the air Roy had to settle on this to get his train fix.

He does make a handsome engineer. I think we need a trip back here to take the train for real. Speaking of trains they have the Harding Railroad Car https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harding_Railroad_Car on display. There is also an aviation museum on the grounds of the park. We did not go inside though we are here long enough I think it is worth a trip back.

We have a birding friend who has been encouraging Roy to engage in more bird recognition. He is only interested in finding the big yellow bird known as Big Bird. So I am just glad Roy did not have a paint brush with him to paint this big bird yellow.

I was glad because I didn’t have bail money. I did ask our birder friend Lisa if she had bail money. I texted this picture to her with a note asking for bail money I said he got caught trying to paint it yellow. Her reply was I thought it was one of those scams. Then I sent this picture and she texted ok now I know it’s legit. I sent back Roy assures me it’s legit so please send money. This is what I got from her

so good news is I did not have to use her money. We are going to check out LARS (Large Animal Research Station) while we are here now that the smoke has cleared. Another thing we might do is head back out to the North Pole for some less smoky pictures. So the lemons we acquired have already been made into lemonade.

The Wheels on the Car Go Round& Round

until they don’t. This is the story of the merit badge we earned on the Dempster. I will say I really thought Roy having two spares for the Jeep was overkill. It wasn’t. The second day up the Dempster started with a little bit of drizzle not bad at all. We made it passed the Artic circle even got a picture. Then we had just mentioned that the tire monitoring system on the RV had not beeped. Side note this system had been beeping over nothing. All of a sudden we hear a beep and see on the dash that our right rear tire of the jeep is going flat. You know how you just get a feeling, I knew the minute I saw the rock standing up and we hit the it that one of our tires were going to go flat. I hate it when I’m right :).

Roy was able to roll to a stop and move over to the side of the road. So we are sitting there looking at each other cringing about having to change the tire. We bought a hoist we could put in the hitch of the car to get the tire off the roof. Small problem was we would have to drop the trailer, and set everything up jack up the car and change tire. I was willing to do it until Roy’s mind found a second choice. Flag some one down, head back to Eagle have them come change the tire. (remember this road is the less traveled road). My response was OK, I think we should give it until noon, (it was 10am) if no one comes we will change it ourselves.

Good news here we got extremely lucky within 10 minutes two cars were headed our way. The first vehicle had a man and woman and two kids very full car. They were willing to make room I was ok with that. Right behind them was a trucker camper with two people in it, the first car said they would wait and see if the couple could make room. I go check and they did, so on the way to Eagle Plains we head. Thirty one miles back to the restaurant and gas station did not take too long. One thought in my mind was these people could be ax murders (side note they weren’t). The other thought was no one will be looking for us for at least a week as we had no cell service.

Now, my thought was no way to contact Roy if they can’t come and change tire. Of course that was not the case, people will do anything for a price. (Price was cheaper then I thought it would be). The owner only had to questions for me; 1. do you have a spare 2. why don’t you change it. Answers to both was yes and my hubby has COPD and I have MS. I just answered the guy said no problem, inside I’m jumping up and down. So, $200 Canadian lighter Gerald and I were on our way. Funny thought it took half the time to travel to where we were because someone knows the area. I did learn where the restaurant gets their water, a creek down the road.

The most annoying part for Gerald was the mosquitoes he had to deal with, he did get tipped for this. I tried to keep the mosquitoes away I don’t think it helped. We were on our way from flat tire to new tire in 2 1/2 hours. Fast forward to Inuvik, Roy needs a new tire to replace the one that is flat. Once the tire came off we saw that the rock did a number where it could not be fixed.

Timing and plans are everything. I say this because we were able to extend our camping at Happy Valley. Original plan was to spend 2 days with the trailer in Tuk, only needed a few hours to explore the city. So our accommodations secured lets go find a tire. Not so easy as it would be in a city, but that is all part of the road less traveled. We were able to get the tire flown into Inuvik this was a good thing.

Tire $350 Flight $300 Peace of Mind Priceless. So now with a brand new tire on the car spare tire back on roof, bad tire on top of roof too. The best part of the whole tire excursion was the comments of how prepared those people are 2 tires on top of the car. The look on the faces after we tell them that nope already had to replace tire, taking the flat back for a refund.

Sorry for the delay in posting I just wanted to wait until new shoes for the jeep were ready to be put on, we are getting these this week.