Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 28, 2013 – 54 F and raining. Today rain and wind all day. We had lunch at a great place the Calico Cupboard Old Town Cafe and Bakery in Mt Vernon. We then went to the Duffield’s home and watched Alabama beat Old Miss 25-0 and they graciously let us do our laundry. I had earlier watched on ESPN3 Tennessee barely beat South Alabama 31-24. It was another wonderful day with dear friends.

Calico Restaurant

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 27, 2013 – 53 F and raining. The Duffield’s came over to our house and we had coffee and cake. Later we had a great dinner and enjoyable time at Romano’s Macaroni Grill in Lynwood, WA. We had dinner with the Duffield’s and Sato’s. We were all stationed in Germany and flew together in the 80’s. We got to talk about old times and laughed and laughed about many things that happened in Germany.

Linda and Jim Duffield

Duffield/s , Sato/s and Jo Ann

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 26, 2013 – Sunny and 51F, A great day. Today we went to Orcas Island which is part of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. The Duffield’s are building a new home on the island. It was an adventure with an hour ferry ride. The island is beautiful and the Duffield’s new home is on the water with a wonderful view of the ocean. The house will not be finished until March. We had great hamburgers at the Lower Tavern. The island is so big that at times you forget that you are on an island.

Ferry to Orcas Island

Snow covered Mt Baker

Duff and Jo Ann in front of Duffield's new home

Lower Tavern -- great hambergers

San Juan Islands

Beautiful boating area

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 25, 2013 – Sunny and 53F.  We had a great day. We went on a Hwy 20 driving tour that Duff put together for us. We saw Anacortes, La Conner, Washington Park, and Cap Sante Park. Also, had a wonderful Duff cooked pasta dinner and ice cream at Duff and Linda’s home. Their home is beautiful and has great views of the mountains around Mount Vernon. We talked to Linda on the phone. She will be home tomorrow. She has been helping their daughter who just had breast cancer surgery in Idaho.

Cap Sante Park overlooking Anacortes, WA

View of San Juan Islands  near Anacortes, WA

Downtown old Anacortes, WA

Deer in Anacortes, WA

                                                               

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 24, 2013 – 51 F and cloudy. We went to Walgreens and Magic Nissan in Everett, WA. We got flu shots and oil change for the truck. We had Mexican dinner with Duff at El Gitano. Thanks you Duff for  dinner; it was great. It was great to see him. We talked about 2 hours. We plan to see him again tomorrow. Linda will be here Thursday.

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 23, 2013 – 55F and rain.  Prissy loves her Tennessee blanket. We went shopping at Wal-Mart for food. We now have food for awhile. Tomorrow we will work on oil change for truck and flu shot. The Walgreens we found in Mt Vernon was not a store but a sleep clinic. We were told there is a Walgreens in Bellingham,WA that gives flu shots.

Prissy is a Tennessee Vol - She would like it better if they had a cat as a mascot. 

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 22, 2013 – 50 F and cloudy. Today, we drive to the USA. We are on our way to Mount Vernon, WA. The drive was in canyon country of British Columbia. It was very pretty. The border crossing took about 20 minutes. They let us back into the USA. Our Canada and Alaska part of trip is over. We plan to be in Mount Vernon about 5 days or more. We need to change oil in truck, shop for food, get our flu shot, visit with Duff and Linda, and tour Seattle. and then start down hwy 1 or 101 to California. There are so many things to see; it is had to decide what to do.

Drive from Cache Creek, BC to Mt Vernon, WA 

Drive from Cache Creek, BC to Mt Vernon, WA

Drive from Cache Creek, BC to Mt Vernon, WA

Drive from Cache Creek, BC to Mt Vernon, WA

Drive from Cache Creek, BC to Mt Vernon, WA

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 21, 2013 – 59 F and cloudy. Rested today and did laundry. Football was only on radio. We had air only Canadian TV. That was alright because-- Tennessee lost to Florida 31-17 and Alabama beat Colorado St 31-6.

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

Brookside RV Park-- Cache Creek, BC

September 20, 2013 – Partly Cloudy and 57 F. Today, we drive to Cache Creek, BC and then to Mount Vernon, WA. In Mount Vernon, WA we will be visiting our long time friends the Duffields. Cache Creek is in the mountains  more like the Smokey Mountains than the Rockies Mountains that were in Alaska and Alberta. They do hiking, fishing , cross country skiing and skiing, and snowmobiling, white water rafting around Cache Creek.

Brookside RV Park-- Cache Creek, BC -- has swimming pool

Farms in BC

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 19, 2013 – Rain and 52 F – Today, we drive to Prince George, BC from Hazelton, BC. It was a great drive- no dust, no bumps, no potholes. We are in the farm and lumber area of British Columbia –large saw mills, cows, hay, lakes and farm houses. Also, the highway runs through the geographic center of BC.  It is a great rainbow trout fishing area.

Jo Ann can find DQ's everywhere - ice cream break

Farm country center of BC

View from Single lane bridge in Hazelton, BC

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 18, 2013 – 46F and cloudy/sunshine. We went to the Indian museum and visited Kispiox, BC. Both were interesting but not 3 stars. We learned about totem poles. They are like a family tree. You start at the bottom. They tell you what clans have married, important events in a family, what clan the family is currently a member of. It is not a religious symbol. I worked on trailer tire pressure and hub nuts. All the nuts were tight and one tire needed air. 

Ksan Indian Museum

Ksan Indian Museum

Home in Kispiox, BC

Totem poles Kispiox, BC

United Church of Canada est. 1895

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 17, 2013 -- 50F and sunshine. We got laundry and baths done today. Also, we rode around and looked at Old Hazelton, BC, New Hazelton and drove over Hagwilget Suspension Bridge. Tomorrow, we will visit Kispiox, BC (has 15 totems) and the Ksan Village Museum. This area has the most Totem poles in the world. The area is home for the Gitxsan people. Gitxsan translates as “the people of the river of mist”.

For Sale- A Pilot;s dream home.

Ksan Campground- Hazelton, BC

Single Lane suspension bridge

Downtown Old Hazelton

Totems in frount of Ksan Museum

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 16, 2013 – 55F and rain/sunshine. Today’s drive was short to Ksan Campground in Hazelton, BC. The campground is on the river and is surrounded by mountains. It is open until October. We plan to stay here a few days and visit the Ksan Indian museum and 1890 old town. We have not seen the world’s largest fly rod yet. The internet is really weak at our RV site. I may have to move outside if I really want to wifi. Also, there is a single lane suspension bridge over Hagwilget Canyon of the Bulklet River which is 460 feet long and 262 feet above the river. We crossed it today. What a view! Don’t look down! We do not have any pictures yet. Jo Ann cooked a wonderful dinner tonight- fried chicken, green beans, baked potatoes and corn bread with Jell-O with fruit for dessert.

Hazelton Info center

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 15, 2013 – 42 F and clear. The electricity went off at 6 am. We got to see if the propane and battery worked as advertised. We found our old percolator coffee pot and made coffee. It was a great experiment. We had not used one for years. How long do you boil the water??? We found a sign outside of office telling us this was a planned power outage from 6 am – 6 pm. The temperature is now 66 F and we had to open windows on the trailer to cool it down. Hopefully the power will come back on at 6 pm. We drove over to Hyder, Ak. We visited the bear viewing area – no bears – not many fish either. Also, we climbed a narrow gravel road up the mountain to Salmon Glacier. The electricity came on at 4 pm. We ate at the King Edward Hotel/Motel/ Restaurant. It was a good place to eat. It had a Brinks truck parked out front. You needed it to help with your bill. Tomorrow off we go to Hazelton, BC ( pop 6500). They have the world’s largest Fly Rod, Indian village, and 1890’s town.

Downtown Hyder, AK

Salmon Glacier

Downtown Steward, BC

Our camp site in Stewart, BC

1910 Hotel built for $100,000 -- For Sale-- Maybe a investment opportunity?

King Edward Restaurant with Brink's truck

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 14, 2013  -- 42F and clear. It was not a good day for Tennessee Football 59-14 loss to Oregon (worst loss since 1910). However, Alabama won 49-42 over Texas A&M. We just watched TV -football all afternoon. We were not sure we could even get the games. However, our cable had ABC and CBS. We may do a little work on trailer hub inspections and tire pressures or maybe some more laundry. We are resting after 4 days of traveling. It is 71 F outside now. It’s been a long time since we have had this warm of weather but we are coming south. Stewart, BC (pop 494)/ Hyder, AK (pop 87) are 2 miles apart on the border. We will drive over to Hyder, AK tomorrow to see if we can see some bears fishing and the Salmon Glacier. Today we did nothing..

Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 13, 2013 – 43 F and partly cloudy. We move today to Stewart, BC/ Hyder, AK. We will stop there for a day or two and do a little housecleaning and etc. The drive over was very pretty. The scenery on our trip has looked like post cards.. We arrived in Stewart about 5 pm (PT). Bear River RV Park is a nice park and it does have bears and wolves coming through the park. They do not recommend walking outside at night and making sure all food is in storage.

Old Volcano behind Campground

Mountain Shadow RV Park, Iskut, BC

A logging machine that can pullup, cut and pile the logs.

Bear Glacier--along road to Stewart, BC

Mountain Shadow RV Park-- Iskut, BC

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Trip to Alaska and West Coast

September 12, 2013 --  48 F and bright sunshine. Today was a long day. We drove from Teslin, YT to Iskut, BC about 320 miles. We are camped at Mount Shadow RV Park. It's at the base of old volcanoes. A very beautiful site and nice RV camp.

Mountain Goats

Along road to Iskut, BC

Along the road to Iskut, BC