Fairbanks

We are in North Pole, Alaska now, right by Fairbanks. We are staying at the Santaland RV park. They even have reindeer here. We have good internet service here, so I’ll bring the blog up to date. The road to the Alaskan highway wasn’t the greatest, but then neither are parts of the Alaskan Highway. The one video shows construction going on, and how it wouldn’t take much to fall off the mountain. When we got closer to Fairbanks we saw a moose eating grass right by the road. This moose didn’t seem to concerned when I stopped the truck to get a couple pictures.
　
　
Today we went to a gold mine and gold panning presentation. The one picture shows the line in an underground mine where the top part of the earth meets the bedrock. Miners dig down to expose where the bedrock starts. This is where gold collects as it works it’s way through the earth. Another picture shows a slough where they pump water so it washes dirt down this slough. The gold collects in artificial turf that is in this slough, along with other dirt. They then pan for gold from this slough. After the presentation they gave us bags of dirt so we could pan for our own gold. I found $5.00 worth and Nan found $15.00. She then bought a gold locket for $60. I said "Great, the net price will be $40". Actually they sell you the locket for $60 that then holds the gold you found. I guess I was lucky. One guy's wife found too much gold to hold into one locket, so he had to buy two of them.

Bent axle on trailer

We spent the night in Dease Lake, British Columbia, and I noticed one tire was worn on the inside edge. I had a mechanic look at it the next morning and he said the leaf springs and bearings looked good, so he suspected a bent axle. That day we went about 250 miles to Whitehorse, Yukon. Because it's the capital city of the Yukon, it's a huge town. Population of 25,000. We talked to a axle shop yesterday afternoon, and he also suspected the axle. We spent the night in his lot FOR FREE, and then paid him $750 for a new axle and to replace one brake that wasn't working properly. That may seem like a lot of money to some of you, but remember, after the exchange rate I think I'm only out about $735. The girl at the axle shop said she's only worked there 3 weeks, and just about every day they've had an RVer stop in for axle or leaf spring repairs. I also have to find a new tire. My best bet is in Anchorage. The tire store in Whitehorse couldn't get the tire I needed for about 7 days.

Heading for Alaska

We’ve been working our way north towards Alaska. It is rare to have internet access, so I can’t update the blog very often. Crossing the border into Canada was fairly easy. When I was in Washington I shipped my 2 handguns to Tok, Alaska, since you can’t have handguns in Canada. At the Canadian border the guard asked if I owned handguns. I said yes, I shipped them to Tok, and then I showed him my shipping receipt. After that he only asked about my guns. He didn’t seemed concerned about liquor, fruit, vegetables, pets, etc. He just wanted to know if I had any ammo or gun parts, and if he searched the rig would he find anything gun related. Then he let us cross without any search.
As of today’s writing we are in Stewart, British Columbia, which is right by Hyder, Alaska, population 70. On the way here yesterday we saw about 5 black bear along the road, and a couple foxes. We also saw a moose a couple of days ago feeding in a marsh. I’ve included a picture of "downtown" Hyder. One thing they have in Hyder is a bear viewing platform. You can see in the picture that it is very long and follows the river where the black and grizzly bear catch salmon in July and August. They are starting to show up now in anticipation of the seafood buffet, but we didn’t see any by the viewing platform. The campground owner says that sometimes bears or wolves will wander through the campground at night. He said if you hear the dogs start barking at night, then something is taking a stroll through the campground. The good news is it’s only night time from about 10:00 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.
This evening (Saturday 6/5/10) we took a drive down the road at about 8:30 to see if the wildlife was out. We saw several black bear feeding along the road on greens, and one grizzly strolling down the road. For those who don’t know how to tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly - If a bear is chasing you, climb up a tree. If it climbs up after you, pulls you down, and eats you, then it’s a black bear. If it stands at the base of the tree and pushes on the trunk until you fall out and then eats you, then it’s a grizzly. One picture is of bear poop that we keep seeing on the road. Apparently the answer to the question - Does a bear poop in the woods? Probably, but they really prefer to poop on the road.

Seattle

We arrived in the Seattle, WA area last Sunday. We are at another Thousand Trails campground, so there is no charge to stay. Unfortunately there are a lot of trees at this campground so we are unable to get satellite TV. Also, there is no cable TV available, and no stations come in on the antenna. Talk about roughing it. The only thing we can watch is programs I have previously recorded on my DVR. After watching the same program several times, Judge Judy is starting to look pretty hot.
While in the area we visited my 2 nephews Greg and Mike, Mike’s wife Cheryl, and their perfect angel daughter Freya. Yesterday we took a tour of the Seattle underground. In the 1800's Seattle didn’t have a very good plumbing system because they were so close to sea level. Then good fortune struck. In the late 1800's a fire destroyed the whole downtown. They took the opportunity to rebuild the downtown at a higher level. So what was the first floor is now the basement of the buildings, and the original second floor is at street level. They give tours of the underground level and give a history of the town. The last picture shows glass tiles on the sidewalk that let light into the underground. When the gold rush started in Alaska, most people got their supplies in Seattle. As a result of this influx people traveling through the city, 10% of the 25,000 in population was made up of prostitutes. To make the religious people happy, they called these women seamstresses. In the museum there is a picture of one of these seamstresses, Madam Lou Graham. I wonder if we are related.
Today we cross the Canadian border to head towards Alaska. We gave away most of our liquor so as not to have any issues at the border. Washington is known as the evergreen state. That’s another way of saying they get a butt load of rain. With rainy days, no TV, and no liquor, Nan and I just walk around with smiles on our face and constantly hug each other.

Baby Harbor Seal

Today we went to Fort Stevens State Park. There was a ship wreck there from 1906. There were also some para gliders flying into the ocean wind. Then we walked along the beach at Seaside, Oregon. There was a baby harbor seal about 1 week old that was resting on the beach. The mother had left it there while it was in the ocean hunting for fish.

Seaside, Oregon

We arrived in Seaside, Oregon a few days ago. It’s been raining a lot so we haven’t done too much outdoors. Seaside is a resort beach town with several shops and eateries by the beach. Yesterday we drove about 30 miles to Astoria, Oregon to look around the town and have some lunch at the Baked Alaska Restaurant. Today we drove to the beach to watch the sunset.

Oregon Coast

We arrived in Florence, Oregon a few days ago. We got a chance to visit the Sea Lion Cave that is just a few miles north. We then left for South Beach, Oregon. We are going to be here about 10 days. We went to Newport today to pick up some dungeness crab. I wanted to go clamming and crabbing while here but it's the wrong time of year, so we ended up buying some crab. While there we saw some sea lions that were much closer than at the sea lion cave in Florence.