Our 2023 Adventures

Hi Everyone It has been 2 weeks since our last blog.  It has been a busy couple of weeks.  Travelling through Canada and all the fires and smoke.  Returning to Jasper and picking up trailer.  Putting trailer back in service, etc., etc.  Notice the pics  below the smoke conditions on our drive: Black Bear Moose                             Red Fox Picking up the RV was a joyful event.  We missed our home on wheels.  We found the RV in great shape.  There was a sign of a little visitor (mouse) having paid us a visit.  However, due to condition we left the RV, he or she could not find food to eat and promptly vacated.  Cleaning was simple and uneventful.  We spent 3 days making sure all was operational before getting on the road again.  The last stop in Canada was Fairmont Hot Springs.  We were scheduled for a week stay.  D...

 Hi guys It seems that this great adventure of ours is coming to an end.  However, we're continuing to have a great time and continue to see the beauties of these countries. We saw many bears on the drive.  We only got pictures of 2 of them.  We saw 2 female black bears with cubs, one of the mommas had 3 cubs!   We spent 3 nights in a B&B in Stewart BC.  This town borders Hyder Alaska.  Two neighboring towns, Stewart and Hyder, in different countries,  without a physical border between them.  The only official barrier is the Canadian customs stop on the way back from Hyder, Alaska.  Interestingly so, the US does not even have a custom entry point.   So, many miles south of the main Alaska Canada border and south of the ALCAN, we picked up the Cassiar Highway.  It is a meandering, curvy and mostly narrow "highway".  It takes you southwesterly to the coastal town of Stewart, BC.  By driving along the coast...

 We drove the 14 miles to get to the other side of the Port of Valdez.  It would have been 3 miles, if we had a boat!  This road leads to the Solomon Gulch Hatchery.  We saw quite a spectacle with the sea lions "fishing" and the gulls presenting some stiff competition! Robert did some more fishing, farther up the road, while I was entertained by Harbor seals snorting and "roaring"!   At the far end of this road, is the end of the Alaska Oil Pipeline.  With high security at their gate, no vehicle traffic is permitted in there.  We can see the pipeline and its equipment, from across the bay near the Valdez Marina (3 miles away!)  We see oil tankers docked there every day.  We did a short hike on the Dock Point Trail, with some pretty views of the harbor.  We had the experience of going on this hike at low tide.  Forgot to look at the Tide Tables, which everyone here has and is well-versed on.  So we did a low tide pic, and l...

 Hi everyone! This past Monday we took a fantastic dinner and wildlife viewing for a 6 hour cruise in the Prince William Sound.   The main destination was the Columbia Glacier.  It was one of the largest glaciers in Alaska, and the last of the tidewater glaciers to go into retreat.  Today it is one of the most active glaciers.  It is both expanding and retreating but the latter is occurring at such pace that it is a losing battle for its future.  On the way there we made several stops to view wildlife whenever it presented itself.  We boarded at 2:30pm local time: Bald Eagle En route we encountered one of five of these vessels parked along the route of oil tankers traveling in Prince William Sound.  It is one of many resolutions that came out from the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. Oil Spill Response Vessel towed by tug boat These are parked strategically in PWS and respond immediately to any oil spill to avoid delayed response as it was experien...