Wigpro
Well-known member
Well my Alaska Adventure has taken an unexpected turn. My early spring trip up for a job in the Denali area was an adventure, for sure, with plenty of snow and bad weather. When I arrived in Cantwell everything was still frozen and we had more snow several days in a row. I arrived there on May 9th - Exactly one month from when I left Arizona. It is well documented in my BLOG if you would like to catch up.
Well the late winter and then early very warm weather put my boat job in jeopardy and it ended before it really started. The heavy snow and ice buildup had the river frozen solid until very late in May, then a two week rush of hot weather, high 70's brought all the snow down and ice melting caused the companies "River Camp" for the boat tours to flood, putting the building under water and unable to launch the boats, which meant a ton of lost business. In fact many areas of Alaska experienced significant flooding this year and some towns are still underwater or recovering from severe damage from the ice and water. Anyway, my position was eliminated so I am on the road again.
Right now I am sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot along with 15 or so other RV's in Fairbanks Alaska, I am on my way to Haines where I have a short camp host gig lined up in one of my favorite areas of Alaska. I will be working HERE! If you get to Haines be sure to stop in and say hello, this is one of the most beautiful campgrounds in Alaska, make reservations it fills up the views are to die for. I will be there for three or four weeks and will also be doing some job hunting in Haines and Skagway, otherwise I am heading back to Montana for some river fishing!
Funny thing here in Fairbanks...the parking lot has stanchions with 110 V outlets so people can plug their cars in during the winter. I noticed several small campers were plugged in....I checked the nearest post to me and it was dead, so I walked around and found one that was on and after going to the laundramat came back and parked by the live one. I went in and did my stock up on groceries and supplies to the tune of $182.00 and on my way out stopped by Customer Service and asked the manager about the electric outlets and they assured me they were OFF and they were controlled out of headquarters in Arkansas and they could not be turned on. I said well there are several campers plugged in and the manager laughed and said well they have no electric....so I laughed with him and returned to my camper to unload my groceries and watch TV and enjoy my electric. Nice to keep my laptop charged without having to run the generator and heat something up quick in the microwave. So if in Fairbanks - take your tester and check the outlets at least a few are alive....
My travel plans call for me to drive from here to Tok, probably tomorrow or the next day, spend a night there and then get ready for the roughest road to Haines Junction. Will probably take a break there from the rough road and then head down the short beautiful drive to Haines the next day.
I expect to take my time as I don't need to rush to be in Haines, the job is a temporary position that doesn't really start until around the 15th. Plus I want to spend some time on my photography and smell the roses....
Stay tuned, I will update as to road conditions and the trials of my journey.
Enjoy,
Jim
A quick edit for you computer junkies - Verizon has activated their network in Alaska and I am sitting here with 4G service on my hotspot in Fairbanks!! YIPPEE!
Well the late winter and then early very warm weather put my boat job in jeopardy and it ended before it really started. The heavy snow and ice buildup had the river frozen solid until very late in May, then a two week rush of hot weather, high 70's brought all the snow down and ice melting caused the companies "River Camp" for the boat tours to flood, putting the building under water and unable to launch the boats, which meant a ton of lost business. In fact many areas of Alaska experienced significant flooding this year and some towns are still underwater or recovering from severe damage from the ice and water. Anyway, my position was eliminated so I am on the road again.
Right now I am sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot along with 15 or so other RV's in Fairbanks Alaska, I am on my way to Haines where I have a short camp host gig lined up in one of my favorite areas of Alaska. I will be working HERE! If you get to Haines be sure to stop in and say hello, this is one of the most beautiful campgrounds in Alaska, make reservations it fills up the views are to die for. I will be there for three or four weeks and will also be doing some job hunting in Haines and Skagway, otherwise I am heading back to Montana for some river fishing!
Funny thing here in Fairbanks...the parking lot has stanchions with 110 V outlets so people can plug their cars in during the winter. I noticed several small campers were plugged in....I checked the nearest post to me and it was dead, so I walked around and found one that was on and after going to the laundramat came back and parked by the live one. I went in and did my stock up on groceries and supplies to the tune of $182.00 and on my way out stopped by Customer Service and asked the manager about the electric outlets and they assured me they were OFF and they were controlled out of headquarters in Arkansas and they could not be turned on. I said well there are several campers plugged in and the manager laughed and said well they have no electric....so I laughed with him and returned to my camper to unload my groceries and watch TV and enjoy my electric. Nice to keep my laptop charged without having to run the generator and heat something up quick in the microwave. So if in Fairbanks - take your tester and check the outlets at least a few are alive....
My travel plans call for me to drive from here to Tok, probably tomorrow or the next day, spend a night there and then get ready for the roughest road to Haines Junction. Will probably take a break there from the rough road and then head down the short beautiful drive to Haines the next day.
I expect to take my time as I don't need to rush to be in Haines, the job is a temporary position that doesn't really start until around the 15th. Plus I want to spend some time on my photography and smell the roses....
Stay tuned, I will update as to road conditions and the trials of my journey.
Enjoy,
Jim
A quick edit for you computer junkies - Verizon has activated their network in Alaska and I am sitting here with 4G service on my hotspot in Fairbanks!! YIPPEE!
