Alaska – RV Travels in Europe and North America

September 7, 2017 Haines AK

Last night we had quite a rain storm, and even though we were sheltered in a forest the noise of the rain hitting the roof was quite loud. By morning it wasn’t raining, and even though it was cloudy it was pretty warm.

On our way to town to take care of some business with our estimated taxes we decided to go to a bridge across the Chilkot river to take some pictures of the river. While we were up there this girl showed up for her breakfast.

Initially there were only three of us on the bridge, but that would change quickly. The bear spent about 45 minutes working up and down the river looking for fish. By the end there were about 40 people on the bridge. We were fortunate to speak to the Bear Monitor for the Alaska State Parks and she gave us a history of the bear. The bear is 2 years old and her mother also still feeds from the river. She had a brother there, but he has not been seen in a while.

Another shot of her looking for fish. She put on quite a show.

Today we took the ferry to Skagway. Last time we took the ferry it took about 3 hours to go from Haines to Skagway. This time it was a high speed ferry that traveled about 40mph (36 knots). It was a short but pleasant trip, and saved us about 450 miles of driving.

When we pulled into Skagway there were three cruise ships in port, but it was surprisingly quiet downtown. We picked up a few groceries, and some souvenirs for friends and headed back to Scout.

September 6, 2017 Haines AK

Today we relaxed and enjoyed Haines. While yesterday was one of the prettiest days of the trip, today was back to rain. The first half of the day was just cloudy, but around noon the rain came in and it was pretty nasty.

A nice view near the fish packing facility.

We visited a working fish packaging facility, and got to see the process from purchase to packaging. It was quite interesting, and based on Ron’s experience in manufacturing he was amazed that we were able to pretty much wander around the facility unsupervised.

Our next stop was a Tinglit Indian cultural facility. The facility was really well done and the people operating the facility did an excellent job presenting the history of their people. They were obviously quite proud of the culture of their ancestors. The museum has some antique “Totems”, and we were quite lucky to have one of the elders tell us the story behind each totem. It was very fascinating, pictures were not allowed but we really recommend a visit.

We are currently sitting in the Haines library using their internet. Later we will decide whether to go back to the commercial campground in town to take advantage of 30 cable channels and unlimited electricity, or to an Alaska State Park where Scout is more in her element.

September 5, 2017 Haines AK

We started the day with a chance encounter with another Tiger in Haines Junction. As we were looking for fuel in Haines Junction Ron spotted another Tiger parked in front of one of the gas stations and pulled in to say hello. They were a French Canadian couple who were on a two year trip with their son and daughter in law. We spent about an hour discussing our trips and comparing notes on our Tigers both good and bad. After a while we decided to head out for Haines but it was nice finding out how others are making their Tiger work and learning that our issues are not unique.

The drive over to Haines was very relaxing, the scenery was beautiful and the road was the best we have seen for quite a while. When we arrived in Haines we checked on the ferry schedule and bought a spot on the ferry to Skagway on September 7.

It was blue skies and nearly 70 degrees in Haines when we arrived. When we checked in at the commercial park we asked if the weather was like this tomorrow, unfortunately rain is supposed to come in overnight so we decided to take advantage of the mild weather.

The harbor at Haines including a giant cruise ship.

We went to a river that is supposed to have a lot of bears, but they weren’t out while we were there. When we got back into town we took a nice evening stroll around town, and of course checked out the local brewery.

Tonight we took care of laundry and got in nice long showers. While we were waiting on our laundry, an incredible full moon came out over the harbor, just as the large cruise ship in town pulled out.

It was a really nice end to the day, the last few days have hit our stride and are starting to get a nice rhythm to the trip, we hope it continues.

September 3, 2017 Teslin National Wildlife Refuge

We woke up early in order to get some more photos of the glacier. I know Ton was excited because she got up and braved 32 degree temperatures for well over an hour shooting pictures in all directions. While it was cold it was the clearest day we have had on the trip.

In addition to the glacier we were parked under there was a large mountain range in the distance that Ron thinks is Denali, and Ton does not. There is a picture below for others to judge.

Mid-morning we pulled ourselves away from the glacier and headed out on the Richardson. Along the way we came to long sections of the Alaska Pipeline. It is an impressive engineering feat, and has largely delivered the oil safely to Valdez. The problems have been after delivery.

We ended the day in a nice campground in the Teslin National Wildlife Refuge. It is on a large lake. Right after we settled in a float plane made a couple of landings and takeoffs to entertain us and the other campers at the site.

This float plane entertained us for a while doing touch and go’s.

September 2, 2017 Summit Lake AK

Today we began to point back towards home. A lot of the businesses that cater to travelers close up after labor day weekend, so I guess that it is a hint that we should begin to head home.

But there are still things to see so we did not make it that far today. We had originally planned to head into Valdez for the night, but when we woke up the weather forecast for Valdez was lousy. Instead of heading into bad weather we decided to head North a bit towards the Denali Highway.

I have not mentioned the Milepost book since we took off, but do not come to Alaska without a copy. It is an incredibly detailed guide of all of the roads in Alaska, Northern BC, and the Yukon. It basically tells you everything about the road you are traveling on down to pullouts, and warnings of bad sections of road. The Milepost said that the first twenty miles of the Denali highway from Paxson were not to be missed, so we decided that would be our focus for today.

We made what should have been a 10 mile detour to go to the visitors center for the Elias-Wrangel National Park, but somehow we both missed the large sign on the highway telling us to turn, after about 15 miles we figured it out and turned around and headed back. Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest park in the US, but it only has two dirt roads that go into it, so it is largely wilderness. The visitors center is very well done and informative about the park.

We headed north on the Richardson Highway, and it was a long stretch of frost heave, and pot holes. We were averaging about 45 mph, even though the speed limit was posted at 65. There were plenty of people who did travel at 65 though so we were constantly watching our rear for fast approaching cars and semi’s.

The Milepost was right the Denali Highway was worth the trip. Ton nearly killed the battery on her camera taking pictures. At the top where the pavement ends was a BLM campground that had 100 spots. We decided we would stay there for the night, but it is labor day weekend, and despite being remote, it had a sign at the entrance saying that it was full. It turned out to be good luck.

The view from our campsite. The glacier in the background is Gulkana Glacier.

Consulting the Milepost, there was a State Park about 45 miles from where we were, and it also mentioned a BLM remote camping area with great views of Gulkana Glacier. We had decided on the State Park, but as we were driving down the Richardson we saw some RV’s parked in an area with incredible views. We have joined them for the night parked at the end of an old emergency airstrip with incredible 360 degree views.

September 1, 2017 Tolsana AK

Today was primarily a travel day. The forecast called for rain (again), but when we started out the first 100 miles were not that bad. We were able to enjoy what we suspect is pretty close to the peak colors around Denali.

After spending 12 hours chasing critters yesterday, this moose was on the road 100 yards from our campsite.

Scout waiting in line to dump the tanks.

About 60 miles from the park we took a short detour down the Denali Highway to look at some mountains we saw in that direction. The Denali Highway is a “short cut” of 100 miles over what our navigation had picked out, the catch it was 23 miles of pavement and 100 miles of gravel. Ron was tempted and Ton was skeptical and said that if we lost another tire she would be very unhappy. About 6 miles in we ran into a pretty nasty stretch of washboard and Ron decided to retreat back to our old friend the Parks Highway.

One of the many spectacular views on the Glenn Highway.

After driving thru a pretty good rainstorm for 150 miles we popped out into blue skies and morale picked up. We turned onto the Glenn Highway just hoping to get some miles in towards Valdez. We had not done any research on the Glenn Highway as we only saw it as a way to get from Wasilla to Glenallen on our way to Valdez. Well the Glenn Highway was another version of spectacular. The colors had not changed this far south. But the Glenn has draw dropping views of glaciers, rivers, and mountains that caught us by surprise. It really got us back into a good mood and ready to take on some more road.

August 31, 2017 Denali NP

Today was a long but very fulfilling day. As I said earlier we had some debate about whether to retrace our steps to Denali National Park. Today we are glad we did. We signed up for the 12 hour shuttle bus ride to the very end of the road in the park, and while it was a long day it was worth the trip and the sore butts.

We had done this trip seven years ago in late July and had a partial view of the mountain. Today we had low expectations as the forecast called for clouds with a good chance of rain. We were hoping to see some critters and those hopes were fulfilled, with multiple grizzlies, a couple of moose, and a few caribou. The front of the bus saw a lynx, but we were in the back so we missed it.

The highlight of the trip though was Denali, and the landscape in the park. Much to our surprise and the bus drivers Denali came out in full, and stayed out for several hours. Also the fall colors had set in and were surprisingly colorful with a nice mix of reds, yellows, and greens. Ton who as I have said is a fall colors snob, gave Denali a thumbs up.

A view of the mountain from the visitors center.

We did not get back to Scout until nearly 9pm so we had a quick bowl of instant noodles and turned in tired but happy we made the 600 mile detour to come back.

August 30, 2017 Denali NP

After a lot of debate we decided to backtrack to Denali for a couple of days. The weather was supposed to be good, meaning not raining. When we woke up this morning it was not raining and there was a little blue in the sky, but as we drove towards Denali we first encountered fog, and for the last 100 miles heavy rain.

The end of the road for private vehicles.

Ron was a little down about the rain, but as we pulled into the park the rain lifted. We signed up for the all day drive into the park tomorrow so we will have to get up a little early and head over to catch our ride. We drove into the park as far as we were allowed, had a nice siting of a moose, and took a short hike. While still a little gray we enjoyed the hike. The tundra is starting to get its fall colors which is pretty. Ton is a fall colors snob (nothing beats New England), but she thought these colors were worth the trip.

August 29, 2017 Anchorage AK

We woke up to a pouring rain. The bad news is that the weather is still bad and gray, the good news is today is simply a drive to Anchorage and shopping so the weather is not that important. After a visit to Costco for fuel and food, and the PX and Commissary for more food we camped up at Ft. Richardson, and towards the end of the day enjoyed a little bit of sunshine with our rain.

August 28, 2017 Seward AK

Well it was another gray day. The forecast was clouds and occasional showers, and they were right. Because of the weather forecast we decided to buy tickets to the Alaska Sea Life Center. It is a very nice aquarium with a focus on Alaska’s marine wildlife. The highlight of the visit today was a 3 month old orphaned walrus. We were able to watch a feeding and like all babies he was very cute.

The rest of the day was a leisurely walk around town. Of course we visited the local brewery which was fair. The rain held off for most of the day but we called it a day pretty early and went back and gave Scout a bit of scrubbing.

August 27, 2017 Seward AK

Today we woke up to sun! What a difference a little blue sky did for our morale. We have been struggling with the constant gray weather since we arrived in Anchorage. But today was glorious.

We are shifting over to Seward today which was a highlight of the last trip. On the way out of town we stopped at an overlook of Homer which we had passed the last three times because it was socked in. This time it was quite sensational and Ton got some good pictures.

Driving over to Seward we had views of a group of off shore volcanoes and several clear views of Mt. Denali. For the first time Alaska was living up to our memories from seven years ago.

The required picture at the entrance to a National Park.

As we came into Seward we stopped at Exit Glacier. We read that the glacier had retreated 1000 feet in the last 10 years, so we were curious about how it would compare to our memories. It had definitely moved back and the face had shrunk quite a bit.

August 26, 2017 Homer AK

We had a late start today and a pretty light schedule. It was still raining but the forecast showed clearing later in the day.

The most westerly point you can reach by highway in North America.

We started out by heading into town to check out the interagency visitors center. It had a trail down to a slough that we took but there was not much to see. Our next stop was the farmers market. Several of the stalls were Old Believer families from the Russian Orthodox Church. We tried a potato pie which was pretty good, and cheap.

On the boat tour yesterday they pointed out a spot of land that had the most westernmost road in North America, so we decided to head out there. As we pulled into the lot there was a group of folks standing around a car in the lot. One of them came over and asked us if we had a metal hanger so they can try to unlock their car. We gave them one of our hangers and they managed to get the car unlocked. They had an interesting operation there where they launch fishing boats directly into the surf using old bulldozers. The fishing culture in Alaska is pretty impressive and omnipresent.

Our last stops for the day were to try taster trays at the two breweries in Homer. When we returned to our spot the sun was out and the mountains were clear, but the wind was howling, so after a brisk walk on the beach we hunkered down in scout and waited for sunset.

August 25, 2017 Seldovia AK

Today we took a boat tour of the sound outside Homer. It was a wildlife viewing tour and also a visit to an island town called Seldovia.

The wildlife tour did not disappoint as we saw a lot of birds including bald eagles, about 50 sea otters, and 3 whales.

Seldovia was an interesting stop. It is located on an island about 10 miles from Homer and was one of the original Russian settlements in Alaska. It has a cute Russian Orthodox Church. Originally it was a fur and Herring fishing center. Now it seems to thrive on tourism.

Alaska was originally Russian, thus the number of Orthodox Churches.

After returning we finally got a little break in the weather, and we were able to spend a nice quiet evening enjoying the view, talking to our neighbors and watching the boats go by on their way to the harbor. For the first time on the trip we did not move Scout which was nice.

The weather is not perfect, but the views are spectacular. That is a glacier just to the right of the smoke stack of the ship.

August 24, 2017 Homer AK

We started our day by heading to Costco to fill up on the cheapest diesel of the trip. The diesel at Costco was almost 30 cents less than the fuel we saw around town, and equal to what we were paying in Oregon.

The drive to Homer was done in a driving rain and while the views were pretty we are hoping for better weather on our way back so we can get some pictures.

A Russian Orthodox Church we passed on the way to Homer.

Tonight we are on the Homer spit parked facing the ocean with views of mountains, glaciers and the ocean. These kind of views are why you have one of these expensive mobile hotel rooms.

A couple of cool wooden RV’s. The one on the left looks like it is still in service.

Having a drink in the Salty Dawg, a must stop bar in Homer.

August 23, 2017 Anchorage AK

Today we returned to the Chevy dealer to get the new parts installed in Scout to get the Diesel Exhaust Fluid system back in service. After a couple of hours the service representative came in and said it may be 3 or 4 more hours, and offered to have their courtesy shuttle drive us somewhere.

We decided on the Anchorage Museum. The museum was undergoing renovation, but they had a very nice display of artifacts from all of the different native groups in Alaska. The artifacts belong to the Smithsonian Museum and are on loan to Anchorage. The display was really well done and interesting. They also had a section on the relationship between Russian and Alaska. We also took a walking tour of the museum with one of the docents.

We finally got Scout back about 3pm, and so with time on our hands we headed over to one of the 18 breweries in Anchorage. Odd Man Rush brewery was a hockey themed brewery with pretty good beer. The last stop for the day was the PX and Commissary at the Air Force side of the base. Gabi had told Ton that the commissary was one of the best she had seen and Ton concurred after the visit.

August 22, 2017 Anchorage AK

We woke up bright and early to head over to Alaska Sales and Service. They were able to diagnose the problem, and the good news is it is under warranty. The bad news is the part was not in stock so we have to return tomorrow to finalize the repair. They also confirmed that we could drive around town and take care of our other business.

We had some time until we had to be at Costco for our tires, so we headed downtown to check things out. We joined in a guided walk by the National Park Service. As usual with NPS talks it was outstanding. The ranger was very knowledgeable and the weather was clearer than forecast so we could see Denali and all of the other mountains.

Some flowers from downtown Anchorage, the flowers are starting to fade in mid-August.

Our next stop was 49th state Brewery. The food was good, the beer was good, and the view from the restaurant was outstanding.

We next took care of our tire replacement at Costco, and filled up our refrigerator with food. It will be nice to be able to have full confidence in our tires.

We joined Gabi and Ron for an outstanding Chili dinner. We solved a lot of the problems of the Tiger world, and shared war stories from our times in the service. Thanks Ron and Gabi for the great chili and company.

August 21, 2017 Anchorage, AK

Today the plan was to get the heater on Scout reinstalled and then drive the 350 miles to Anchorage so we could get the tires we had waiting for us at Costco. At this point we thought we would have everything repaired and could begin to relax and enjoy our Alaska trip.

Sunset from our room in Eileson last night.

We wrapped up the installation of the heater and it seemed to work well. If you are in the Fairbanks area and need work on your Espar heater I highly recommend the team at Inland Mechanical Services. They did a great job getting us back on the road.

We wrapped up at Inland about noon, and began heading towards Anchorage. We went from clear skies in Fairbanks to cloudy skies as we headed south. The highway from Fairbanks to Anchorage passes Denali National Park. As we passed thru the park area it was quite cloudy so we had written off seeing Denali. When suddenly the mountain showed up clearly. Ton managed to get some good photos of the mountain.

Right after the mountain had showed itself to us, and just when we were thinking our tour of tire shops and mechanics of Yukon and Alaska was almost over. We got a check engine light telling us our emission system needed immediate service and the truck began counting down the miles until it went into “limp mode”. Essentially we had 150 miles until the truck began limiting our speed. After some cursing we began calling Chevrolet dealers in Anchorage to get an immediate appointment. The first two dealers could not get us in for 2 or 3 days, the last dealer Alaska Sales and Service were able to schedule us in tomorrow. So once again we will be spending time talking to mechanics.

We finally arrived at Ft. Richardson in Anchorage about 7pm. We saw another Tiger belonging to our friends Ron and Gabi Moeller. They were kind enough to invite us in where we caught up on our experiences, and drank a fair amount of their wine.

August 20, 2017 Fairbanks AK

Last time we visited Fairbanks we were very impressed with the botanical gardens so we decided to go again. The most spectacular thing are the giant cabbages that Alaska is famous for. I think the picture tells the story pretty well.

One of the giant cabbages Alaska is famous for.

After the botanical gardens we headed over to the visitors center in Fairbanks. On this trip we have been very impressed with the network of visitors centers along the Alaska and the other highways. The Fairbanks one is really nice with the feel of both a visitors center and a museum. It also features outstanding internet, as all of them do, making them a hub for visitors in RV’s looking for free internet.

We ended the day with another visit to Fred Meyer to get some more food and supplies. Ton also was looking for some more long pants as it is colder here than she expected.

A bonus picture from the botanical gardens.

August 19, 2017 Fairbanks AK

The first chore for the day was to sort out the tires. We had both researched tires looking for a good tire with the maximum load rating. We both had decided on BF Goodrich TA KO2’s as it had a load rating of 3400lbs per tire (our current tires are rated at 2400ibs). Luckily for us one of the Costco’s in Anchorage had 4 on hand and the price for 4 new tires was pretty close to the price for 2 Nitto’s which we currently have on the truck. So after some pleading from Ron and pulling the Oregon card (the tire center guy in Anchorage was originally from Roseburg OR) we convinced them to hold the tires for us until Tuesday. So Monday as soon as the heater is fixed we will be doing the 6-8 hour drive to Anchorage.

The rest of the day was spent getting the oil changed on the truck, shopping at a huge Fred Meyer grocery, visiting the Commissary and PX (grocery store and variety store for non-military folks) at Fort Wainwright we were pretty well stocked. We would have bought more but now we are going to be at a Costco on Tuesday.

After that we were able to relax a little. We visited Wendys for Chili (Ton’s favorite), Hoodoo Brewery, and Santa’s Village in North Pole, Alaska. Hoodoo is the best brewery we have been to on this trip. We did a tour led by one of the owners and brewers and his passion and knowledge was obvious. Unfortunately they don’t distribute outside of Fairbanks so we bought a few cans for future consumption.

August 18, 2017 Fairbanks AK

The plan was to head to Fairbanks and restock, change the oil and enjoy some civilization before heading to Denali. We were still working on a replacement tire, and it looked like we would have to do that in Anchorage.

Then about 2am Ron woke up and noticed the heater was not working. The heaters have always been a problem with Scout, we have been thru 2 webasto heaters before converting to the Espar heater we now have in her. The Espar had been working like a champ, until now. Ron sent out some help emails to Provan and Rixen heaters at 2am hoping for some response when we got up in the morning. We huddled together under the blankets until morning.

At 6am (it was 32 degrees)Ron began calling around. The first call was to Provan and Mark answered and said he was trying to get some information and would call us back. Ron then called Rixen the supplier of the heater and they were extremely helpful and they walked Ron thru troubleshooting the unit. Working with Rixen we eliminated the obvious causes. Finally between Rixen and Jay at Provan we were able to get to get a fault code from the unit and it said that the impeller was jammed or frozen. Meanwhile Mark found a couple of places in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks that could work on the heater. After some discussion we opted for Fairbanks as it was closer and along the route we had planned.

So at about 9am we found ourselves frustrated and heading for Fairbanks and Interior Mechanical Services. We were under a bit of a time crunch as it was Friday and Interior closes at 5pm so we went as fast as we could with 3 different types of tires on the truck. We arrived at Interior at abut 2pm and Ernie the manager arranged to get us right in to the shop. They suspected that the air intake had sucked in something and clogged the impeller. This usually results in the impeller having to be replaced. They were right, but unfortunately by the time they dropped the unit and confirmed the problem we had run out of time on Friday so were going to be in Fairbanks for the weekend. Also, a gasket set was going to have to be air freighted from Anchorage so we could get going on Monday.

With the heater off and overnight temperatures in the high 30’s we were looking for lodging. All of the hotels in Fairbanks were $300 to $500 per night and even the Army base wanted $175, so we are about 20 miles south of Fairbanks at Eileson Air Force Base where we found a room for $60 per night.

So we are where we planned to be, likely for the time we had planned to be here (3 days), but still frustrated because it is not on our terms, but on Scouts terms.