Alaska with the Stocks 2009

Betty Brewer said:

My husband with the photographic memory reminded me "Totem Pole Park"  was in Ketchican on our cruise to Alsaka and not in Skagway. The memory is one of the first to go in olden golden years.

Betty

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It's not the where that's important, it's the experience.  Dean and I figure we have one memory between the two of us, and we are fortunate that we are able to fill in each other's blanks, just like you and Terry. 

A few years ago, Dean and I were looking for a Discount Mall outside of Las Vegas where there was a special store that we had purchased from.  There was a discount mall, but it wasn't the same one that Dean and I remembered.  The weirdest thing was that we both had the same wrong memory.  And it isn't like it would have been torn down because it was brand new.

I read a senior's idea the other day that said that if you don't remember it, it didn't happen.  That could come in handy for those embarrassing moments in all of our lives.

007 said:

Dean & Linda,

Did you see the Dole sheep on Sheep Mountain just north of Glen Allen on the way to TOK?
There are pretty high up would need telephoto lens for pic's.

So much for global warming.
Buffalo herds around Big "D" were a site to see, had a Albino calf year I was there.
Many thanks for the memories.

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It's fun to hear history.  Thanks for sharing.  We didn't see Dall sheep on Sheep Mountain because of low-hanging clouds, even though we spent the night at an RV park right across from it.  We have a good telephoto lens, but things happen so quickly up here that Dean swears that even though he has only two major lenses, the wrong one is always on when he needs to get a quick animal picture.

We have seen lots of signs of global warming.  They show us where the glaciers were ten years ago, and where they are now, over a mile away.  The animals are reacting to it also, with diminishing numbers.  We have seen buffalo on ranches, but I can't recall seeing them in the wild.  I'm glad you are enjoying the log.  It's usually fun to write, but sometimes a pain to post.

Ken & Sheila said:

In Ketchican we stayed in a parking lot (Fred Myers?). Ok for a 36 ft rig as we fit in two parking spots. Anything longer would hang on into the ailse. The lot wasn't big enough to park "against"(perpendicular to)  the parking spots.

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How did you get to Ketchikan?  On the ferry?  We would have loved to take the coach to Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka, but the ferry was so expensive and there weren't any roads there. We didn't have enough time in Juneau on our cruise, so the 3 hours on the Fjord Express would not have been adequate; we loved Totem Pole Park in Ketchikan; we were awed at the Raptor Center in Sitka.  We know so much more about the Russian Orthodox Church now that I would have liked to re-visit the church in Sitka.

BernieD said:

Linda & Dean
When you leave Prince Rupert on CN 16, about 100 miles up the road is Terrace, BC. There is an island on the east side of town with a most enjoyable campground, Ferry Island RV Park. The owners are most accommodating and helpful. There is a nice walk around the island and a woodcarver has carved faces and figures into a number of the trees. We also enjoyed watching the fisherpeople sitting on their lawn chairs in the river fishing for salmon.

Further up 16, take a detour to the town with the totem museum. They have a large collection of totems that have been brought in from other locations. I can't remember the name of the town but there was also another area we stopped at on 16 to watch the local First Nation people fishing in a gorge using spears and hoops. Fascinating.

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We found Terrace on our way into Rupert.  Their VC has the world's most unfriendly to RV parking lot we've ever been in.  We ended up leaving by going the wrong way on a one-way street.  We had stopped there because it was the first place with cell reception that we had come to.  Dean wanted to call Apple and get help with our non-functioning computer.  He powered up the computer so he could follow Apple's directions on what to do, and it worked like a charm, so we moved on. 
Unfortunately, RAIN (as differentiated up here from SHOWERS) is predicted up here for the next 4 days.  We have had a mix of rain and showers the 2 days we've been here, so we probably won't go to Ferry Island.  We would have loved to have seen it if we had decent weather. 
  I think the village you are referring to is Hazelton.  We planned to spend a day there and overnight at their RV park, but now we'll definitely stop at their museum, but probably move on after a short visit because of the rain.  We will ask when we are there about fishing in the gorge.  That sounds really interesting.  I don't know if I put it in one of my posts, but even the First Peoples have been limited in their salmon catches this year--in most areas, they are only allowed to catch 2 salmon per person for the whole year!  Their salmon count is only 10% of what they thought it would be.  This is a double whammy for them because not only do they not have the salmon to eat, but most of them are commercial fishermen, so their livelihood is gone.  This is not the first year it is happened.  They have had to switch to other foods, and they have shown a marked increase in heart attacks (not enough fish oil?) and diabetes.  There was a news item on TV where they were discussing this.  Apparently in the U.S., we are doing something right, and the salmon are coming back to our streams.  We are also spending a significant amount of money to seed the rivers with eggs.  The First Peoples feel that the government up here has been unresponsive to their plight and are challenging them to do as well as the U. S.  We so often hear negatives about how our government works, it's nice to be held up as a standard for another government to achieve. 
  Along the same lines, I have inquired of every Canadian up here about how satisfied they are with their medical care.  They REALLY like it.  Only one person was even a little bit negative.  Everything is covered except plastic surgery.  If you have a burn on your face, that is called "reconstructive surgery" and is covered, whereas a breast enlargement would not be.  I was against single-payer before we came, but after speaking with so many Canadians and in depth with some, I am for it.  Obama is right, also, when he says we pay so much more per person for medical services with poorer results.  The government is also working on equalizing payments for doctors here, so they are responding to the problems in their system.  All doctors are paid the same for an office visit, whether it lasts 5 minutes or 5 hours.  Therefore, gerontologists who deal with people who have developed multiple problems which require longer to assess and treat are on their way to the poor house, while surgeons, who are paid per procedure, hop from room to room in the hospital, etc. are doing quite well.  Result?  Lots of surgeons and few gerontologists.

August 22, 2009 Day 92(a day which necessitated a sense of humor) Prince Rupert, BC

Two 5:15 get-ups earned us a ?sleep in? today.  We then spend a few hours trying to reconstruct over a week of events from my chickenscratches and 2 senior memories. Even when we haven?t had wifi before, at least the computer worked, so I could write each night.  Trying to remember what happened when is the berries!
Dean then downloaded his photos, which we enjoyed reliving, but did not enjoy seeing the problems of diminishing light and increasing moisture.  The raindrops that Dean thought he was shooting through were actually drops on the lens, so we lost several good pictures that have big polka dots in them.
We moved to two different sites here trying to pick up Wifi, but can?t get it, so we?ll have to go elsewhere to post.  And so begins out saga!
By mid-afternoon we were able to leave for the VC.  However, the coach is sitting so high in the air that I can?t get out of it, even with a portable step.  Engineer Dean comes up with the idea of using the wood that we sometimes put under the jacks, putting that on top of the portable step, and it works.  The step onto it and the step from it to the ground are just ?doable?.
We get to the VC on Cow Bay Road, and we have the address, but it?s hard to find.  We find it in a mini-stripmall on our third time around.  They have no ramps, and I can?t stand very long, so Dean goes in with our list.  They have maps and good info and suggest we go over to the library to use Wifi.
We find the library with no problems, only to discover that neither of us brought the computer!  I had packed it per Dean?s instructions according to what pieces he wanted to bring, and I thought I was done.  He figured I had it handled.  Wrong & wrong again!
So back to the RV park we go.  Unfortunately, the library closes at 5:00, and it?s already 4;45, so we can?t go back in there.  We pass a Safeway and that is a biggie on our list now that we?re back from ?the bush?, so we stop and re-stock since we?re going back to the RV park anyway.
We head to the VC, which is open until 8:00.  But along the way, our stomachs remind us that we haven?t eaten since breakfast.  So, we pull out the VC map which lists restaurants.  We choose one and get there with little difficulty, but it is out-of-business.  So we choose another.  It is usually open on Saturday nights, but has closed this night for one night only.  Next door is CU?s seafood and steak restaurant.  The food was OK and reasonably priced.
It?s now close to 8:00 when we arrive back at the VC.  We decide to use the computer from the parking area since the VC will close in 10 minutes and we have a lot to post.  No entry for them shows up, so Dean goes in to inquire.  It turns out that they use the Prince Rupert Port Authority?s wifi, and that is located upstairs.  Even inside the VC the signal is very weak, so we stand no chance outside.  We decide to try outside the library?no dice.  We go to the casino, which the VC had recommended.  Theirs is locked, we don?t have a password, and we don?t want to gamble to get one.  Maybe outside our RV park?s office.  It doesn?t work.  Dean remembers that the owner said the antenna was by his bedroom window, so Dean parks in a line with it, and we?re good!  Oops!  Dean forgot to put in the picture of the flagpole, so he has to go back into the coach to download the picture from the camera.  He is amazed to find that we now have Wifi at the coach.  Amazing!  We get our posts done and have a real feeling of accomplishment.
It has poured all day; the RV is cozy.  We are in for the night.

Overnighted at Prince Rupert RV Park

Dean & Linda Stock said:

How did you get to Ketchikan?  On the ferry?  We would have loved to take the coach to Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka, but the ferry was so expensive and there weren't any roads there. We didn't have enough time in Juneau on our cruise, so the 3 hours on the Fjord Express would not have been adequate; we loved Totem Pole Park in Ketchikan; we were awed at the Raptor Center in Sitka.  We know so much more about the Russian Orthodox Church now that I would have liked to re-visit the church in Sitka.

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We did it by ferry with our 36 ft HR and Grand Cherokee. We made last minute reservations, available because the ferry system had just put a new vessel in service early. We took it to Juneau and stayed at the shopping center parking lot (with permission) and then to Ketichan where we again stay in a parking lot with permission. Then we when to Hyder-Stewart from where we were back on land. I understand the ferry no longer goes to Hyder-Stewart (actually it went to Stewart). Our previous trip to Alaska, (fly, train, cruise) we stopped in Juneau and Sitka.

I don't know if the ferries have adjusted there lanes for "wide body" motorhomes, but but on at least one leg you could only open the door enough to squeeze in with our "narrow body" rig. We made "deck calls" to feed and comfort the cats.

It was expensive, but we didn't know if would ever get back and the Cassiar Hwy was a disaster that year (1998) so it was the only way to Hyder-Stewart.

I won't take my new 43 ft rig to Alaska so we will probably buy a used class C for the next trip, he says hopefully, (maybe also take it to Mexico) and then sell it.

Sheila and I are really enjoying your journals. Thank you.

ken

August 23 Day 93 Prince Rupert

Today was a day spent living life.  We went to the Safeway to get Benadryl for me since I?ve had two nights of frequently interrupted sleep from the ?itchies?, and I?m determined to get a good night?s sleep tonight.  Black flies and no-see-ums started biting me in Hyder and have follow me here.  My hands and feet are so bumpy and frostheaved by bites that they resemble Yukon roads.  Going horizontal seems to make them start itching like crazy.  Change in blood flow? I held out for 2 days, but now I?m willing to get an OTC.  I have taken 2-3 garlic pills for the last 3 months as a preventative, per the recommendation of a friendly pharmacist.  It only made me better seasoned for them.
We spent the day doing laundry.  Recommendation:  Make sure you have at least a week of clean clothes/towels before you leave Skagway.  Hyder & Stewart were too small to have a laundromat, and the RV park didn?t have one, either.  Then you are probably boondocking for a couple of days. At the Princess Rupert RV Park they had 4 washers, and only 2 of those worked. Oh, and you can only use cold water between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.?no hot or warm is available.  We are always finding things that amaze us?even after 3 years of RVing?and this was the first ?only cold water? laundry!
So, we used the info from the VC.  They listed 2 laundries, and one of those is out-of-business.  The other had many broken washers and dryers, so laundry had to be dried one load at a time.  It took FOREVER!  Then Dean discovered two other laundromats while driving around the block.  We did not take the time to check them out.
Then we went looking for a place to buy diesel, as the 2 stations in town were accidents waiting to happen, and we try to travel on the top half of the tank.  We found a Petro Canada outside of town at the same price of $1.07/liter. 
We found a lovely park that is very close to the museum.  The Court Building is in the center of the park.  It has very pretty plantings, some well-shaped, tiny trees, some beautiful large trees, as well as a totem pole.  It?s worth driving through at the same time you visit the VC or museum.
We drove about 10 miles out of town past Port Edward to visit some residential areas and a lake.  On the way out there we passed a Little League field with 3 pretty totem poles that we tried to decipher.  It was called the City Centre, but it was a little outside the city, and definitely not in the center of the city.  It was really interesting to see the different styles of homes, some elegant and some reflecting multiple add-ons in different styles.
We scouted out a place to park the RV tomorrow morning across from the Prince Rupert Museum and a secondary site by the ?mall? (their term, not mine).

Weather:  Overcast, sun peeked through occasionally, rain in the late afternoon coinciding with our drive.  High temp was in the high 50?s.

Overnighted at Prince Rupert RV Park

Dean & Linda Stock said:

We found Terrace on our way into Rupert.  Their VC has the world's most unfriendly to RV parking lot we've ever been in.  We ended up leaving by going the wrong way on a one-way street.

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Linda & Dean

We stopped at the VC on our way thru Terrace on the way to Prince Rupert and found it both difficult to traverse and lacking in knowledge. Unfortunate. We had seen the Ferry Island CG on our way into town and thought there was no way we could get our 41' coach in there, so we asked at the VC about boondocking. They gave us a couple of potentials, but also called the CG which informed them that they would be able to fit us in without a problem. We tried the the 2 boondocking sites recommended by the VC, which were useless, and then head to Ferry Island, which worked out great.

Ken & Sheila

We were in Stewart-Hyder in 2003 and wanted very much to take a ferry over to Ketchican, our favorite place in Alaska and not too far away, but all ferry service out of S-H had been discontinued a couple of years earlier.

August 24 Day 94 Fort Telkwa, BC (just east of Telkwa)

It was raining hard when we awoke, so we waited for it to diminish.  It didn't.  So at 10:45, Dean put on his coat and went outside to detach.  Of course, we didn't have a pull-through, so he had to go out a second time to attach the Jeep.  We had planned to go to the P. R. Museum, but we just wanted to be gone from the rain.  I hope the museum wasn't spectacular. 
We looked forward to possibly seeing black bears and moose, but only saw a few ravens.  We headed toward the 'Ksan Historic Village in Hazelton, a replica Gitxsan Indian Village, which was a little over 175 miles from Prince Rupert.
We saw the VC, so we stopped to get a better map, as you have to turn off Highway 16 and we didn't want to have to rely on signs.  We bought Okanogan peaches from a roadside stand at the VC, and Dean dashed into the VC.  We planned to stay at the 'Ksan RV park. The VC lady said she had tried talking to "the kids who are running it" and they did not give her information, and weren't very helpful.  In the Trailer Life, they had written that they had not been given access when they came out to rate it. 
When Dean came out from the VC, he gave me the map, and made a mistake and made a left turn, which put us back on Hwy. 16.  Oops!  We drove and drove with no place to turn around, the rain increased, and we decided to take a pass on visiting Hazelton.  One of the RVForum people told me it was really good.  I have a big interest in Northwest First Peoples, so I was disappointed. However, it was pouring rain, and a lot of the village was outdoors.  Maybe next time!
The road was good all day and the scenery was pretty. The rain stopped about 5:30 p.m., an hour before we lit for the night, so Dean got to connect us without getting drenched--a big plus.

Weather:  High in the high 50's, lots of rain

Miles traveled:  229

Overnighted at Ft. Telkwa R. V. Park, Space 30, overlooking a large, pretty river (see picture) with many mature trees, Cable TV, Wifi for $3.15, but it didn't work in our site so they refunded our money, walking trail, FHU, 30 amps, free RV high-pressure wash, and our cell phones worked, very secure with a large metal gate that has a camera on it, $26  They also advertise, but we didn't see the following:  glacier view, free private deluxe shower rooms, sauna.  The managers were very nice.

August 25, 2009 Day 95 Fort St. James, BC

Today was a beautiful day with SUN playing hide-and-seek with the clouds, but winning most of the time.  We were impressed by the town of Smithers.  It had lots of useful businesses, and everything was so neat, well-maintained, and clean.  Houston is also a very attractive town.  The park on the highway has spectacular plantings of flowers and a variety of trees, especially the gorgeous blue spruce.
We turned off Hwy. 16 to go to Fort St. James National Historic Site.  We drove 37 miles to FSJ, saw the VC, but confidently made the left turn following the signs to the historic site.  Oh, no!  The road dead ends into a lake; we can turn left onto a gravel/dirt road; or there is a dark wooden another Fort St. James Visitor Center in a dark brown log cabin with what appears to be a very small parking lot on our right.  I call the number for the Historic Site, and the lady tells me she knows where we are, and we should have turned one street earlier.  She does not know if the gravel/dirt road on our left leads back to the highway.  She gives directions on how to get to her once we get back on the highway. 
So we turn left onto this residential street of about 20 homes.  We can see where the road ends or bends left back toward the highway.  Which will it be?  We see a man outside his home.  We'll ask him.  As Dean opens the driver's window, the man almost runs back into his house. Dean is NOT happy!  He sees a wide spot on the dirt road and says it's going to be tight, but maybe we can make a U-turn.  However, there is a steep drop into a drainage ditch, so we can't be wrong.  Dean is 90% through the turn when he decides he can't make it and will have to detach the car, move it up, back up the motorhome, complete the turn, and re-attach. 
Dean starts this "blue job".  The neighborhood is all Nak'azdli and all the homes are in a state of disrepair.  I see a man come out onto his second story to shake a rug.  He sees us and disappears.  Soon his whole family is standing in the doorway watching us, and the wife and daughter have cell phones in their hands, I'm sure calling all the neighbors.  Within the time it takes Dean to complete the task, 6 cars/trucks have driven by us (representing about 30% of the houses).  Am I getting paranoid?  Everyone smiles and waves except for the man who lived in the house we're in front of.  He talked to Dean and laughed, and Dean had no idea what he might have said.  As Dean comes into the RV with his knee bleeding, he says, "I think we provided entertainment for the whole neighborhood!"
We decide to do what we always do first--go to the VC!  It is now so late we would not have time to see the Historic Site before it closed.  We are determined at this point to view every morsel because we have invested so much into getting to it.  It is 37 miles from Hwy. 16, and we will have to backtrack that.  We have passed up two "want to do's", and we are dedicated to doing this (unless it rains hard).  At the VC we learn that we can boondock at a nearby park.  There is an interesting chain saw carving oof a prospector in front.
We decided to go for a drive. The town is really run-down-lots of vacant stores/restaurants/markets, peeling paint, broken boards, rusting junk sitting around, and some pretty bright flowers.  There was a beautifully carved Mountie at the RCMP office.  The guide to the town showed a population of over 4,000, and I wondered about the unemployment rate.  We've seen lots of clear-cut forest land, and we saw many logging trucks going down the road.
We went down to the marina to pay our $13 and meet the marina manager, a young lady who lives in her fifth-wheel.  "Marina" is an exaggeration.  It is actually a place for boats to land or tie up, and it does not have many customers. 
We were very curious about the pink elementary school behind our park (see picture).  It was originally red, and it's now a tribal school that is not well-maintained. The tribe & the local gas station are planning on building a whole new school in 2010.  The elementary school is K-6, and there are about 70 students in 6 classrooms, and each class has one teacher and an aide.  They also have 3 full-time teachers who work with remedial students.  There are a substantial number of students with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  Since the tribe took over the school and they got this fantastic ratio, reading has markedly improved, especially comprehension.
In seventh grade they go to the middle school, then on to high school.  The manager of the marina has a degree in law enforcement, but she has chosen to teach alternative education.  She says many of her students have very, very low achievement levels, like first grade in math (ten years below grade level!).  Education is not a priority in their culture and family.  I can't even imagine how hard it would be to teach in that situation.  And, I wonder if the boys would respond better to a school that was any color but pink!
An amazing blue and white church with intriguing ornate architecture was near our RV spot.  Our Lady of Good Hope Church was built in 1873 and is the third oldest in B.C.  I would never have guessed it was Catholic except for the cross above the entry/steeple and the lighted Christ on the cross next to the church.  They had a French priest who may have influenced its design. 

Boondocked at Cottonwood Park, a municipal campground looking out on Lake Stewart, dry camping, $13

Miles Traveled:  191

August 26, 2009 Day 96 Prince George, BC

We started our day by opening our drapes and seeing a big bright sun!  We left the coach at the park and drove about 3 minutes to Fort St. James (FSJ) National Historic Site, a gem-rated AAA venue, with a parking lot big enough for 2 or 3 motorhomes with toweds if people are considerate when they park.  Admission was $14.35 CN for 1 senior and 1 adult.  The museum showed an introductory film explaining the history of this fur-trading post and how the people lived. The aboriginal people were Carrier Indians.  They were called this because if a man died, his remains were cremated, and his widow carried them in a pack on her back for the rest of her life.
It gets as cold as -40?F!  There were about 7 buildings, and each had one or more fireplaces and  was staffed by someone in period dress who gave you a personal tour of that building.  We learned so much, and the explanations were interesting. The Hudson's Bay Company sent people here for 2 year enlistments, and they married native women called "country wives", who they left behind when they returned home.  Hudson's Bay encouraged them to marry the native women to improve their relationships.  Many of the employees of the Hudson's Bay Company here were themselves half-Indian and half-Scotch, including the boss of the trading post, Mr. Murray.  All of the trappers/hunters were natives.
The warehouse held the furs and what was going to be traded, like pots, food, blankets, liquor (although they would not sell it to the natives, and there were massive amounts of liquor for just 8 Hudson Bay employees), and it was filled in July/August when 3 extra HB employees would come to get the furs.  They would usually get 300 90-pound bundles of ermine, beaver, muskrat, wolverine, wolf, fox, coyote, bear, and mink furs.  They would get skunk pelts and dye the white stripe black and sell them to the aristocracy of London as beaver hats.
We also saw a performance by a talented young actress who will be performing in two dances at the Vancouver Olympics.  She enacted the difficulties of the daughter of the "boss" of the trading post.  She sang without music and wowed us!
The man in the fur processing & canoe/wood shop really knew his stuff.  He does this during the summer and attends college during the school year.  He was very well-spoken and will either teach high school history or go into forest administration.  He is the father of 3, two of whom are teenagers.  I didn't pry, but I think the tribe and Canadian government must really subsidize Indian education.  He alternates sending his children to the tribal school and the provincial school.  He says the low class size in the tribal school has allowed his high-achieving children to be challenged, and his son  has skipped one grade.  At the tribal school, there is an emphasis on learning the tribal language and to treasure the land and live from it.  They take the kids on field trips to learn how to ice fish on Lake Stewart, trap and prepare the skins, and into Barkerville, a 200-mile trek.  The field trips are free, but the children must earn their entry by doing what they are supposed to at school. Free breakfast is provided daily, and there are free lunches twice a week.  This is all paid for by the local gas station.  I wonder about all the academic time that is lost doing tribal culture activities and how that impacts the average child's achievement.
Dean also got a picture of the dock/pier.  They had a little tram from the dock that was used to haul the goods up to the warehouse and haul the furs down to the dock.
We really enjoyed it, but don't expect Jamestown.  After their canned speeches, ask questions.  That's when it's most interesting and you really learn the most. Many of the guides have done research to learn as much as possible about their We spent over 3 hrs. there. 
We made a "what-should-have-been" a pretty drive through forested land.  There were so many dead & dying birch trees that there was more brown than green.  The number of infected trees we have seen on this trip seems like an infinite number.

Miles Traveled:  105

Weather:  Morning was 55?F, late afternoon was 85?F.

Overnighted at:  Sintich Trailer & RV Park, FHU, 50 amps, Wifi that doesn't work tonight, Cable TV, very well maintained-they even had a water truck wetting down the gravel, $30.24CN with Good Sam-I like this much better than Busy Bee, where we stayed last time

August 27 Day 97 Prince George, BC

PG is a place to re-stock, do maintenance & repairs, and catch out breath after 4 months of travel.  We started at the VC at the intersection of Hwys. 16 and 97.  They gave us a good map and knew where almost everything was.  Two people helped us and used their phone book to look up and call our unusual requests, like for a sugar-free pie and a place where they have people working at the car wash (the interior of the Jeep is almost as dirty as the outside).  We involuntarily toured the outskirts of PG after not making a turn we should have.  Both of the major highways have miles of construction, and it's frustrating because you can see where you want to go, but there is an enormous ditch between Points A & B.
We made a very lengthy stop at Happy Trails RV, which had a nice variety of stock and a very helpful salesman. 
We saw the MacDonald's and figured out how to get there because we were parched in this heat. It was clean, but Dean said he found a new definition for "slow".  All we wanted was a diet coke.
We stopped at a bank and picked up Canadian $, and they didn't list any bank fee.  Maybe free?
At the VC they recommended the restaurant in the casino, so we stopped there.  And would you believe it-we got lost!  It seems that the restaurant can only be entered from the outside parking lot.  Inside they have a snack bar.  We were tired and hungry, so we stayed.  It was cheap, but we would not recommend their fish & chips.  I had a cup of soup, which was excellent. We stayed a little while and played.  It was fun and clean.
We went to the Canadian Superstore to do grocery shopping.  You have to turn in on Ferry before you get to the store, or it's a long way to the next turn.  But, we did find the Costco, and we see you have to turn in early for that, also.
The Superstore was like a WalMart, which they also have, but was possibly closed.  The clerk told me about hitting a moose with her semi, and she said it did $30,000 damage.  I asked her if it was a bull moose, but she only knew that there was moose poop everywhere.  We will be careful to avoid hitting moose, but we'd sure like to see one.  She also told me that both black and brown bears wander around in town now looking for blueberries.  I hope we see one!

Overnighted at Sintich Trailer & RV Park.

Weather:  People say it is humid because of the lakes, but Dean and I are enjoying the 85?F weather!  We have no complaints.

August 28 Day 98 (a fix and re-supply day) Prince George, BC

After doing chores at the RV, we went to the library, located in the Civic Centre.  We downloaded our e-mail, map-quested, posted, banked, paid bills, and googled places.  We saved ourselves a lot of time by googling and calling businesses.
Our Jeep was in need of TLC.  It has over 20 chips in the  windshield and 3 cracks, as well as hundreds of tiny dots.  Even though Dean has washed it, it needed a thorough inside and outside wash.  There are two "full service" car washes-Finish Line and Hands On.  FL is being renovated for the next 10 days, so we spent $30 at HO, and they got a lot of the dust/dirt out of the inside, and the outside is so clean that I don't recognize it!
The Jeep also needed a plastic light cover for the turn signal light ($80!). The Jeep dealer here did not have it. A piece of gravel shattered it.  Many of dings in the windshield and the injury to the light cover occurred when we were driving it (as versus towing), so no amount of padding over the front or shielding would have prevented the need to replace the windshield when we get home.
We went to The Home Building Centre, which was very well-stocked, to get a caulking gun.  They also had hinges that we needed.
The Future Shop is the equivalent of Best Buy.  It did not have the memory card Dean wanted for our camera, but it did have good stock and Dean got me a memory stick.
Then, we proceeded to the bank to get cash. Gas has been running around $1.05 per litre, and we have found a cash price of $0.88 at the Shell on Hwy. 97 right by our RV park.  We will pay cash.
We went to AA Burger Bar, where Dean had a very good burger with hand-pressed meat and fresh bakery bun.  I had chicken, which was good, and a great dinner salad with red onion, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  We would recommend them.
There is only one 6-screen movie theatre in this town of 80,000.  They also have The Park Drive-In which plays the same double feature film all summer and is open on Friday and Saturday nights.

Weather:  High of 81?F, smoky air because of fires caused by lightning

Overnighted at Sintich Trailer & RV Park

My cousin, Dennis Loxton, has lived in Prince George for many years.  Compared to me he is a bit wild, always coming up with great moneymaking schemes and wild women LOL

At one time his business was to agist sheep for the farmers in the snowfilled regions. Then he would get together with his shepherds and miles of moveable gates and 'drive' the mob of sheep up the large wide ways between the block of trees in the pine forests. For this he would be paid good money by the farmers to agist their sheep when their land was snowed over. He would also be paid good money by the BC Forest folks for weeding the ways between the blocks, and there was the bonus of rich manure spread randomly   He used the name of silviculture to describe the process to me.

Now that sounds like a wild-aussie scheme but it worked for quite a few years. Maybe his wife and children still live there, have not seen him for some months so it is hard to know just what he is up to at any one time

Here is a blog about him and the business that used to be... http://earthjustice.blogspot.com/2008/08/sheep-and-softwood-lumber.html
And a comment says: "As far as I know you can reach Dennis Loxton at 250-971-2348"

If you get the chance, please take a few minutes to say G'day to him. He's a character in the full meaning of the word LOL

August 29, 2009 Day 99 Prince George, BC

Where do locals bring the produce they grow and pick from the wild?  The Saturday Farmers' Market had about 30 booths, and the smell of bannock (a kind of Canadian Indian fry bread served with preserves or dusted in powdered sugar) wafted through the air.  We resisted and bought a small sugar-free cake, sugar-free preserves, and a "lemon cucumber" which is about the size of an orange.  We cannot find sugar-free sweets anywhere (we have done an active search & contacted 5 places), so this was a treat.
The elevator access to the library from the parking lot is through City Hall. Today (Saturday) there was a wedding in progress, and the whole building was off-limits.  We found a way in through the underground garage-best way to come in is through 15th St.
We went to the library to post & do the things we forgot yesterday.  They have a traveling book program.  You take a book from the shelf, log into the internet when you finish reading it, and leave it at another library.  You can also see where it has been.
We went across the parking lot to Two Rivers Gallery.  They had the most real looking tree coming out of a man's head (statue).  It is made out of cast iron, even the pine cones!  It is so realistic that even the birds were fooled at first.  We were intrigued by the beautiful totem pole and wondered about its symbolism.  We had previously seen a totem with the big hole in the bottom often signifies the year when they had no summer due to a Phillipine volcano that erupted about 100 years ago.  The skies were so darkened by ash that the sun was obliterated.
The gallery building has gorgeous architecture, but there were only about 20 paintings and 10 pottery exhibits inside.  There were 2 that were impressive.  Admission was only $4 each, so we hadn't invested much time or money.  Not a "must do", but it's so close to the library and Connaught Park that you might want to stop by.
We enjoyed driving through Connaught Park and seeing all their lovely floral displays.
Mother Maria's Health Store told us they have sugar-free cookies. The store was small, had limited stock, no sugar-free cookies, and the prices were very high.  Dean was disappointed.
I went next door to the very small sushi bar.  They only had 2 fresh sushi, salmon and tuna, and most of their sushi was fried or cooked.
We stopped at the Shell station near Sintich RV Park on Hwy. 97 to gas the car and discovered that it's a Flying J, but the only way you'd know it is if you drove in and saw the pumps in the back with the Flying J insignia-no sign anywhere else.
We went to Costco, and it had closed early because it is Saturday.
We want to leave early to drive 2.5 hours to Barkerville, so we came home to do some repairs, eat dinner, and get to bed.

Weather: High of 83?F, fires still rage near Vancouver, but the smell is gone.

Overnighted at Sintich Trailer & RV Park

August 30, 2009 Day 100 Prince George, BC

We should have stopped at Barkerville, a national historic site, when we came north on Hwy. 97, but we didn't know about its existence.  It is a 2.5 hour drive from Prince George.
Stop at the VC on the highway on your way in and you'll save money on the admission ($24.25).  Their hours are 8:30 to 8:00.  Try to get there early because it should be an all-day excursion. They do have  RV parks in Wells (5 miles away), but we didn't check them out.
Barkerville is a gold rush town of 125 heritage buildings with people dressed in period clothing.  It was good, but it has the potential to be so much more, and we can see work in progress.
There is a 10-minute video when you enter.  We got there about 11:30, and we didn't get a chance to do the guided town tour with a historic interpreter because we had to make choices of activities.  We have found that these tours are really good and bring history to life.  We went on the historical tour of Chinatown, heard the story of the Theatre Royal and Williams Creek Fire Brigade, and went to the live show at the Theatre Royal ($25).  This was an hour-long very professional performance; be sure to see it.  I ate in Chinatown, and Dean ate at Jake's in European town.  Both places were good.  Mine was $12, and the fabulous vegetables are cooked one order at a time-no steam table-so they were crispy, but cooked.
The ticket is good for two days, and if you go to all the walks/talks, you could spend two days there.  There are stage-coach rides, gold-panning, demonstrations, and a lot of tours offered only in the morning.  You can also tour the buildings on your own. 
The drive on Highway 26 takes about an hour, and has good road, nice scenery, and good wildlife.

Wildlife sightings: 2 deer, 1 black bear

Weather:  High of over 87?F

Overnighted at Sintich Trailer & RV Park

August 31 & September 1 Days 101 & 102 Prince George, BC

We have spent lots of time here chasing our tails.  Dean needed a new memory card for his camera.  People keep on telling us where there are camera stores, but they?ve all been put out of business by the big box stores of Costco & WalMart.  We discover this after driving to each place we heard about.  We were smart enough to call those we found by googling in the library.
Dean went out to replace the turn signal light bulb on the jeep.  It requires a special kind of wrench.  Over to Sears we go again.  We have decided to leave tomorrow morning, even though we haven?t seen the Railroad and Transportation Museum.  Otherwise, we?ll never get out of here.
We went to Costco & laid in supplies.  It is much smaller than ours at home, but it is SO MUCH BIGGER than anything we?ve seen in weeks that it?s a treat to shop there. 

Weather:  80?s

Overnighted at Sintich Trailer & RV Park

September 2 Day 103 Jasper, AB

Our drive on Highway 16 was pretty, but everything is tinder-dry.  The road was great, and we should have seen lots of wildlife.  There are many dead trees, yellow grass, but also many pretty evergreens.
At the KOA, they say that all the wildlife has gone high up on the mountains because of the heat and drought.  We had planned on going into Jasper NP, but we want to see wildlife.  We decide to stay only one night here.  Too bad, because it is the loveliest park we?ve been in on this whole 5-month trip.
We will come back and see Jasper in May/early June, some year. 

Overnighted at Hinton/Jasper KOA, 50 AMPS, wifi??if I hold it with one hand, hanging off the computer table, and then only for a few minutes before we?re dropped, 50 AMPS, wide, grassy sites, though Dean would prefer wider roads, beautifully maintained, tables with benches at every site, a puppy playground with tunnels, slides, and hoops, a lot of expensive play equipment?slides, horizontal bars, swings, ladders, and more, firepit building, a baby bath sink in the washroom, kamper kitchen, community campfire, laundry with great hours (8-10), games room, and a tiny tots playroom.  We usually go to KOA?s as a last resort, but we?d definitely stay here again.  $36

Weather:  90?F or close to it.

September 3, 2009 Day 104 Edmonton, AB

We made the easiest 4-hour drive of our trip?-divided 4-lane highway, with a wide green parkway in the middle, smooth pavement, gorgeous but infrequent rest stops (long, diagonal parking for RV?s that are towing, flush toilets, level, and blacktop!).  We did note that on the half-circle sign showing fire danger, ranging from  very little to extremely dangerous, the needle had been positioned 20? past extremely dangerous.  We see all kinds of signs warning of moose, deer, and mountain sheep, but only see ravens.  Dean did see a large dark animal dart from the parkway center divider across the opposite side of the road, and he believes it was a wolf.  Alberta?s Dept. of Hwys. Deserves a gold medal.  We?ve only encountered short periods of construction, and miles of smooth as glass asphalt.
We got to the VC at 4:32?it closes at 4:00.  We got to the Jeep dealer at 4:59, and they closed at 5:00.
We came home to eat, use wifi, and plan.  We had hot weather today and a thunderstorm with lightning and thunder this evening.  Our cat is sensitive to noise and hid in the panel behind the accelerator. Dean tried his best to get him out, but he couldn?t. I hope he comes out soon!

Overnighted at Glowing Embers RV Park & Travel Centre, $34.20, FHU, 30 AMPS, TV svs via antenna, Wifi, $34.20.

September 3 Day 105 Edmonton, AB

We caught up on our e-mail in the morning, and we should have opened the Telus Science Center.  It is so interesting, we could have spent a full day there.  They have a special DaVinci exhibit that leaves in 4 days.  I didn't realize that he also was an inventor, as well as a painter.  He also did a beautiful bronze horse, which took him 16 years to make because he spent so much time watching the movements of different kinds of horses.  Unfortunately, it was destroyed, but there is another one made from his same mold.  He invented many types of machines which included devices that transferred linear motion into rotational and visa versa.  He built a bridge which only consisted of relatively small logs that would be available anywhere, and there were no fixed attachments (bolts, ropes, nails).  It could be taken apart and put together with ease.
I learned so much in the Human Body section.  I usually run that category on Jeopardy, so I thought I knew quite a bit.  Not so!
I wish we had skipped the show, which Dean enjoyed and I thought was so-so, as it took time from the museum part.  We spent about 5 hours there, no time out for eating, just seeing their exhibits, and we are planning on going back.
This is the best science museum I've ever been to, and we've been in many.  Their explanations were excellent.  You had to read and understand the scientific principle before you could do the interactive exhibits, or you wouldn't know what to do.  In other museums, I have often seen kids just running from exhibit to exhibit pushing buttons, with no idea of what they are seeing.  You can't do that in this museum. 
They kicked us out at 7:00, and the other patrons were also lingering.  The City Guide and AAA book said they were open until 9:00.  We are finding that the decrease in tourism has caused several places to change their hours.

Weather:  It rained a lot in the afternoon while we were inside, and it stopped shortly before we came outside.  How convenient!

Overnighted at Glowing Embers RV Park-great WIFI!

September 4 Day 106 Edmonton, AB

We got up early to make the hour-long drive to the Ukranian Cultural Heritage Center (a gem-rated AAA attraction) and be there when it opened at 10:00.  Even though we arrived a few minutes after 10, the parking lot was almost deserted, and there was a "CLOSED" sign at the entrance to the parking lot.  We talked to others who were wandering around, and just as we were driving out, I saw a security guard.  He told us it was open, but the money-taker hadn't come.  The K-12 schools as well as the colleges here started the Wednesday BEFORE Labor Day, and the Center wasn't aware of it, so they had a "skeleton staff" today.
The Center is composed of authentic buildings from the 1910-1920 era. About half the buildings had costumed interpreters who explained about the site as if they were the person from that era who owned or operated that building.  I especially enjoyed the grain elevator, and Dean thought the blacksmith was interesting.  We were impressed with the inventiveness and adaptations these people made to be able to have a good life in this new land.
We have found that people make these places come alive, and many of the buildings were closed completely because their interpreter had gone back to college. The site is really spread out, so wear good walking shoes.
We had lunch there.  I had a true Ukranian meal with piroghies, cabbage stuffed with lemon rice, and a kielbasa.  Dean had a burger.  They did not have ice for our cokes, which we have encountered in several places.  Maybe they have so much ice in the winter that they don't want any in the summer.
We took the guided tour, which was interesting.  I would definitely try to get here when they have a full staff, because the interpreters add so much.  We left around 3:30, so it was a full-day activity.
The attached pictures ore of the Ukranian Orthodox church, a combination hardware store and gas station, the lumber company  and blacksmith shop, and the grain elevator.  The blacksmith had used a Ford model T engine to power the various tools in the shop vis a series of belts and shafts.
We stopped at the wonderful big Costco on our way home.  They had a much greater selection than Prince George.

Weather:  High in the high 70's, about 2 minutes of heavy rain twice, mostly sunny

Overnighted at Glowing Embers RV Park.

We were in Edmonton two years ago and enjoyed our stay waiting on a new MH windshield.  Our the roads still a mess or have they fixed them?..Where are you heading next?  We are currently in Winnipeg heading west towards Regina and will enter the US Thursday..tim