Mitchell, SD

A couple of days ago Nan and I went back to the flea market and picked up a Bison skull, complete with horns for $30. We plan on putting it outside the trailer for decorative purposes, until someone decides to steal it. We also picked up a Coyote skin hat for Nan's brother Mark. He was at the Sturgis bike rally in 2005, saw one for $150, and has regreted not getting it ever since. We picked up the one pictured for $90. It's obvious to see why he fell in love with this hat. Today we left the Deadwood area and drove to Mitchell, SD (home of the Corn Palace) for the night.

Deadwood, SD

Nan and I are tired of driving (mostly Nan), so we are staying put in Deadwood, SD for a while. We both like Deadwood. They have casinos, nice scenery, and a 50 cent breakfast at the Silverado Casino. They have an old car show event this weekend, so unfortunately we had to move out of the campground that is right in Deadwood because it was full, and go to one by Rapid City, about 15 miles away. It has been in the high 90's yesterday and today, so this is one of the rare times we've had to use our air conditioner. We went to a flea market today and they had a lot of interesting things. They had a black bearskin rug for $350, and several buffalo skulls with horns for $50 each. I really didn't want either of these things, for for those prices I may go back and get something. After living in a 400 square foot trailer with Nan for over a year, I'm starting to think like her.

We made it to the lower 48

Yesterday (8/20/10) we arrived in the lower 48 - Montana. It took us 12 days to get from Tok, AK to Montana. We spent a lot of time driving since we were anxious to get to the land of "Not ripping you off for food, fuel, and camping prices". Canada and Alaska try to make all their money for the year during tourist season. I didn’t track our expenses, but a friend we met in Alaska emailed us that their motor home trip totaled around $11,000 for 3 months.
We did take time to enjoy ourselves on the way to Montana. One place we stopped was Liard Hot Springs. We stayed in a provincial (government) park that was dry camping - no electric, water, or sewer. You could then walk to the hot springs from your site. They have 2 hot springs, but one was closed because a momma grizzly bear and her cubs were hanging around the one location. Along the highway we also saw some more wildlife. In the video you can see a big herd of bison that hang around right by the highway. We also saw some mountain goats. There is a fire that has been going on for about 4 weeks near Watson Lake, Yukon. This has caused some of the wildlife to move closer to the road.
We then headed to Jasper and Banff in the Alberta province. I hear it is just lovely there, but because of the smoke you could see much of the scenery.
We are spending two nights in Shelby, MT, because this campground has 50 amp electric so we can use any appliance we want all at the same time. They also have cable TV, water, and sewer hookup. I can tell that anyone reading this will be green with envy.

Heading to Ohio from Alaska

We are now on our way to the lower 48 states. Yesterday we drove about 9 hours from Tok, AK to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Today Nan is taking a train ride to Skagway, AK, for a day of shopping. She said she needed time to herself. I'm still trying to figure out how she will have time to herself since thousands of people on cruise ships are going to be dropped off in Skagway today. I'm starting to think that maybe I got on her nerves yestereday by playing my continuous loop of Good Vibrations by Markey Mark and the Funky Bunch on the radio for 9 hours. She has never been a big fan of the classics.

Valdez, AK

We arrived in Valdez, AK on Tuesday (8/3/10). We are spending 5 nights here. Our campground site gives us a view of the waterway into the port of Valdez. They have a fish hatchery outside of town. Three years ago they released some pink salmon, and they are now returning from the ocean to spawn. You can catch them if you want, but they are at the end of their life cycle, so they are really only good for smoking or canning, so I didn’t bother catching any. The bear don’t seem to care that the fish are near the end of their life, so they tend to hang around the hatchery to eat.
In 1964 Valdez had a bad earthquake that wiped out the dock and part of the town, and killed about 34 people. It was determined that the rest of the town was unsafe after the earthquake, so they moved the town about 4 miles down the road. We visited the site of the original town, but there isn’t much there other than some foundations.
Yesterday the Valdez museum put on a demonstration on how to make jam out of salmon berries (similar to blackberries). About 10 of us collected the berries (while watching for bears), at then went back to the museum to make the jam. Nan and I ended up with 3 jars.

Tonight Nan found a guy (with a tip jar) that had a hawk and an owl. Nan was able to have the hawk sit on her arm. Prior to that I was getting something out of the truck and heard a seagull squawking. I looked up and it was chasing an eagle that had one of the seagulls friends in it's claws. I asked the tip-jar guy why an eagle would choose a seagull over all the fish that are around here now. He said the seagull must have been sick or injured. We'll go with that theory.

Reindeer farm

Yesterday (8/1/10) we went to the reindeer farm in the Wasilla, AK area. Reindeer are the same as caribou. They say the only difference is that reindeer can fly. Reindeer are also good at multi-tasking. In the first video you can see one eating out of Nan's hand while it takes a leak. In addition to the reindeer, they had a couple moose, one bison, and some elk on the farm. They kept those behind fences, but the reindeer were tame enough to be right with us.