Author: wellsmarsha

May 18

Another cold morning and when it’s time to make coffee. I reach up to turn on the heat and nothing. No sound of hot air warming our environs. I pull my clothes under the covers to warm them up a bit before making coffee. Then it’s time to get dressed, make and deliver coffee, and have breakfast.

We’re off to spot more wildlife. The list for today is a cow and calf Moose. The calf was tiny so very recently born. Many Cariboo, and the normal list of birds. With all the birds signing we are enjoying using Cornell’s bird sound ID app, Merlin.

Now it’s time to troubleshoot the heater. First tack was to cut battery power to the trailer using the previously forgotten battery cutoff switch, I was hoping that would reset the circuit board since that is the most common item to fault. No luck. Next step was to check the circuit board for any fault errors, nope not that. Finally, I checked the fuse and found it to be shorted. A trip to the hardware store for auto 5 amp fuse and we are back in business. I’m much relieved since on Monday when we relocate to the campground at Mile 29 ½ it could be colder. With no heat we could freeze some of our water pipes. All is good.

Cariboo

Under Momma is a newly born calf

May 19

Waking up around 5:30 with the trailer in the mid forties I reach up and switch on the heat. Soon the camper reaches 60 degrees and I’m up making coffee. Life is good!

After breakfast we head out looking for wildlife. First is a porcupine then a moose. Further into the park we see a couple of cars stopped. I hop out of the truck and not far away I spot a Grizzly Bear. Back into the truck. It’s about 100 feet away digging up roots. We watched and photographed is for forty minutes then it rambles away. At times it was only feet from the road. What an experience. Later in the day we see another bear off in the distance and even that was exciting.

Tonight is our last night in this campground. Tomorrow we move 30 miles further into the Park for three days. We will be offline the entire time. Next update on the blog will be later in the week.

A View of Denali Mt. on one of the less frequent clear days

This view is more common

May 17

Good Morning! Outside temperature is around 30 and we are cozy in our trailer. When it’s time to get up and make coffee, I reach above me head and hit the switch turning on the heat. The small living space warms up to the high 50’s in a few minutes. At that time I’m up brewing coffee. It’s part of trailer life where I am the one to grind the bean for the French press. My next task is to take the 3 steps to the bed and deliver her steaming cup of coffee. It’s a routine I very much enjoy.

After breakfast we are ready to explore the Park. We’ve been here a few times in previous years so we are aware private cars are only allowed to mile 14. To venture beyond there one can ride a bus, go on foot or bicycle, or have a reservation at one of a couple campgrounds further out. So we drive out to just before the check point at mile 14 and turn around. We’re looking for wildlife and other than a few ptarmigans we see nothing as we head back to the Visitor Center. About a mile before the get to the Visitor Center we see two moose. I could post the photos here, but you can see only so many butt shots. 

As with any visitor center or nature center my bride must read all the signage and displays so I know we are going to be here for a while. At one point I hear one of the rangers saying to somebody that the road is open all the way to Mile 30 until May 20. We had seen the guard shack, but never drove to it and did not realize we were able  to drive another 16 miles. The road continues on beyond Mile 30  to somewhere around Mile 92 but a couple of years ago a huge landside closed the down down around Mile 42. Repairs and rebuilding are underway and schedule to reopen next year.

We head out from the Visitor Center retracing our steps and continuing to Mile 30. We observed many Willow Ptarmigan, a few Spruce Grouse, several Moose, and one Grizzly Bear.

Then it was time to head back to camp and get settled. After supper we drove the highway again. There we added several cariboo to our list.

Willow Ptarmigan

Spruce Grouse

Bull Moose

Another cold morning and when it’s time to make coffee. I reach up to turn on the heat and nothing. No sound of hot air warming our environs. I pull my clothes under the covers to warm them up a bit before making coffee. Then it’s time to get dressed, make and deliver coffee, and have breakfast.

We’re off to spot more wildlife. The list for today is a cow and calf Moose. The calf was tiny so very recently born. Many Cariboo, and the normal list of birds. With all the birds signing we are enjoying using Cornell’s bird sound ID app, Merlin.

Now it’s time to troubleshoot the heater. First tack was to cut battery power to the trailer using the previously forgotten battery cutoff switch, I was hoping that would reset the circuit board since that is the most common item to fault. No luck. Next step was to check the circuit board for any fault errors, nope not that. Finally, I checked the fuse and found it to be shorted. A trip to the hardware store for auto 5 amp fuse and we are back in business. I’m much relieved since on Monday when we relocate to the campground at Mile 29 ½ it could be colder. With no heat we could freeze some of our water pipes. All is good.

Moose with a newly born calf below her

May 19

Waking up around 5:30 with the trailer in the mid forties I reach up and switch on the heat. Soon the camper reaches 60 degrees and I’m up making coffee. Life is good!

After breakfast we head out looking for wildlife. First is a porcupine then a moose. Further into the park we see a couple of cars stopped. I hop out of the truck and not far away I spot a Grizzly Bear. Back into the truck. It’s about 100 feet away digging up roots. We watched and photographed is for forty minutes then it rambles away. At times it was only feet from the road. What an experience. Later in the day we see another bear off in the distance and even that was exciting. Tonight is our last night in this campground. Tomorrow we move 30 miles further into the Park for three days. We will be offline the entire time. Next update on the blog will

Denali both North Peak and South Peak

Left Fairbanks around 9am heading south towards Denali National Park. Campsite reservations within Denali National Park are coveted often require booking months in advance. That is not the way we travel. In all our traveling years with our Airstream we have booked ahead maybe 2 or 3 times.  Our thought was that it’s early in the season and not many travelers are on the road yet. There’s still spots of snow and ice around. We’ve already encountered several nights with the lows in the lower 30’s.

We called and booked 3 nights at Riley Campground just inside the Park. There are other campgrounds further in, but they don’t open until May 20. We get to thinking, we are booked until May 19 at Riley Campground, why not extend that reservation by one day then book at a more primitive campground 30 miles into the Park. We inquire about that and we are booked. So plans now are to be in Denali for a full week.

Next up is to set up the camper for our use for the first time in 9 months. It’s a routine task where I deal with the outside setup and Marsha with the inside. All systems go. We test the hot water heater, check; The heater, check; the stove top, check, the water, check; the electrical system, check.

Next task is to load the items we normally haul in the trailer back into the trailer. That’s done. We are all set. Hey, wait a minute, there is no electric power in the trailer. Time for me to troubleshoot the problem. When not plugged into “shore power” our trailer is suppled with DC power from 2 lithium batteries. Nothing is working. Shore power is when we can plug into an outlet or a generator. No electricity available at any campsite in Denali NP so that leaves the generator.

Briefly, I need to step back and mention we purchased a new tow vehicle this past winter. A Ford F-150 Powerboost. It’s a hybrid with a built-in generator. So now it’s time to put the truck to the test. I set up the connection and like magic we have power. and everything runs. That’s fine in a pinch, but we do not want to run the truck all the time so we can enjoy the comforts of our cosy trailer. Need to continue troubleshooting why no DC power.

Luckily, in Riley Campground we have enough Cell Signal to get on the web. Thanks to a few websites along with Youtube I had some things to explore. After a couple of hours, I was still clueless on what to do figuring I could call tech support the following day for more troubleshooting ideas. Then it dawned on me there is a battery cut off switch under the dining room table. I checked and sure enough the switch was off. Switched it on and problem solved. While placing something under the table, one of the items hit the off switch!

Tomorrow we hope to explore more of the Park.

Before going further Marsha informs me that I vacillate in and out of first person narrative. I’m taking ownership and responsibility of this blog. I’ll try to speak in first person and state if I am writing differently.

Briefly, let me cover the past several days. Leaving Sunday, May 5, we headed westward with the destination of Faribanks to retrieve our trailer. It was at the service repair place since July 16 last year.

Just before leaving home we discover our friend in Fairbanks is heading out of town on May 17. Thus our decision is to push on our way to Fairbanks to see her before she leaves. So no sightseeing and lollygagging on our way west. We will do that once reunited with our trailer.

Our first planned destination along the way was a stop outside of Madison, WI for a visit with our friends Scott and Dawn. Our first camping stop was in northeastern Indiana at a beautiful state park, Pokagon State Park.

We arrived at Scott and Dawn’s mid Afternoon.  Next day we headed west along smaller roads across Wisconsin, Iowa, and camping at a Lions Club campground in Amour, South Dakota. After breaking camp we headed first west then north reaching Lewistown, Montana. Twenty miles before Lewistown driving though rain showers and temperatures in the mid and upper thirties Marsha started saying, “At least it’s not snowing,” but before she got out the last word we drove around the corner to see everything covered with snow. The road was clear but in places there was 8 to 10 inches of snow. It was at that point we decided that we were not camping, but needed to find a motel. Our motel parking lot was filled with 4 inches of heavy slush. The next morning there was more snow, but after 20 miles we left it behind. 30 miles south of us they had 29” and people were stranded in their cars for up to 10 hours. We dodged a bullet.

Continuing with our push we continued northwestward crossing in to Alberta at Sweetgrass. We camped at a Bow Valley Provincial Park outside of Canmore, Alberta. This is where the Canadian Rockies start. Our next destination, Houston, British Columbia where our friends, Dee Jay and Kerry live. That day we traveled the Ice Fields Parkway from Banff to Jasper then westwards along the Yellowhead Highway arriving late in the day after 700 miles. We made enough progress in our trip that the decision was made to spend a rest day with them. We arrived on Friday and left on Sunday. As always it was a great time catching up with good friends.

While in Houston we heard the Alaskan Highway was closed due to forest fires in the Fort Nelson, BC area. Nelson was under a mandatory evacuation order. As of this writing the highway is still closed. Fortunately with seeing our friends in Houston we had planned on taking the one other way to Alaska, the Cassiar Highway, a smaller, more remote route with fewer services.

Just to get to Houston from where the Alaska Highway starts is a two day drive. With people changing routes to get to Alaska we were ahead of the rush by at least a day maybe longer. We push from Houston and made it just beyond where the Cassier joins the Alaska Highway near Watson Lake, home of the Signpost Forest. Again we stayed at a public campground which was pretty empty since there were so few travelers ,Yet another long day and arrived at Tok, Alaska. There we eat supper at Fast Eddies, a favorite place of ours to eat. Thank you Kathe O’Mally for telling us about it 6 years ago.

From Tok we drove on to Fairbanks arriving on Tuesday two days before our friend was leaving. Later we discovered I was wrong and she  doesn’t leave until Sunday, the 19^th.

We spent a couple of days in Fairbanks getting our trailer road ready once more. Plans are to head out with our trailer on Thursday.

As you remember from last season, we left our trailer in Fairbanks awaiting repair. It was repaired in October agreeing to return to retrieve it. The retrieval operation is about to begin. We leave Sherburne on May 5. Normally, we would dilly dally, but a good friend who lives in Fairbanks is heading out on her own adventure on May 17. We want to see her before she leaves so we will push to make that happen.

After three months the trailer is repaired. Parts finally arrived. Now it waits in Fairbanks until we pick it up in May.

Wheel bearing repaired and we should be back on the road in half an hour!!

As we travel eastward the excitement of returning home pushes us to do longer days. We stopped last night near Midland, MI with the hope to do the 550 miles to home today. We’ll it is not to be. This morning the front left wheel started make noises especially while turning right. We have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) that reports pressure and temperature of each tire as we travel. This morning three tires reported temperatures in the sixties while the front driver side tire climbed into the 90s. We stopped and called a local Ford Dealer and they are looking at it now. More to come as we know more.

As we continue our way south we stayed at a few Yukon Territorial Parks along the Alcan. View were outstanding with clear skies. A few miles before Watson Lake we turned south on the Cassier Highwayor Highway 37, which is the alternative to taking the Alcan. A couple of miles south of the Alcan we encounter smoke and soon come to a stop at a roadblock. The road is open but they allow only one way traffic. Once it’s our turn to proceed a log of our truck and number of passengers are recorded. We are instructed not to stop for the next 40 km until we reach the end roadblock. Smoke is thick and we even see heavy smoke originating way less than a mile away. Then we start seeing burning, but no flames, on the road shoulders. It was impressive and intense. We passed the fire zone and the air cleared as we headed south. At the end of the day we decided showers were necessary so we did not tent but rather got a room and a roadside “resort.”

On the road the next day we continued south to our next destination, Stewart, British Columbia and Hyder Alaska. Hyder is just about the most southern town in Alaska and the only way in and out other than by private boat or plane is the road back to Stewart, Columbia. Hyder is connected with Stewart so much that is shares emergency services and lots more. There are no US Customs control at Hyder but once you cross back into Stewart one must pass through Canadian Customs. It is a low key border crossing. Hyder is the only town in Alaska not on Alaska Time. It shared Pacific Time with Stewart. It even has a British Columbia Area Code.

Hyder hosts a bear viewing area on a small stream. We were here 5 years ago and were just before the salmon run so we did not see bears then. Now we’re close the end of the salmon run and we miss it on the tail end. There are still salmon heading upstream and the stream is littered with many dead salmon. Last week there were still plenty of bears. Oh well, we will need to come again in the future. From Hyder and the bear viewing area the road climbs over 20 miles from sea level to well over 3,000 thfeet in elevation. At the top the road overlooks the Salmon Glacier.

The next day we leave Hyder and head south to the Yellowhead Highway which is part of the Tran Canada. We stop in Houston, BC and stay with our friends, Kerry and Dee Jay.

We spotted 4 different black bears all looking healthy and large.

Marsha viewing Salmon Glacier near Hyder, Alaska

Salmon Glacier 20 miles outside of Hyder, Alaska