WHITE MOUNTAIN TOPS AND AQUA LAKES

Most wonderful drive today from Teslin, Yukon to Skagway, Alaska. Kathe took lots of pictures through the windshield bugs, I hope you get the idea, it was spectacular. We didn’t have any traffic, and most of the drive we were the only ones on the road. Warren spotted this black bear of the side of the road, and we almost got his picture before he ran back into the woods.

When we crossed the border into Alaska we were stopped for an agricultural inspection. There were several motor homes stopped at the same time, so the inspector was working fast. Didn’t get much from our fridge, just one lemon and some little peppers. Unfortunately, we were looking forward to stocking up once we got to Skagway. There is only one tiny grocery, and they had very little in the way of groceries and no fresh produce. Anything they did have was very expensive. People say the locals take the Ferry to Haines to shop. We will have to do that to avoid bankruptcy and/or starvation.  Lucky for me they still have chicken in the freezer.

The RV Park is sandwiched in between a shipyard and the cruise ship dock. Not so great. There are 3 cruise ships in port tonight. Oh, and on the other side of the road is the railroad station for the tourist train. Our site was right up against a fence and so narrow we were hanging out into the road. A lot of discussion with the park manager and we now have a better site. But that is only for 3 days, then we will have to move. Where?? The good news is that there are no mosquitoes here.

No cocktails tonight, they are going to a Brewery. I’ll turn in early.

LONG LAKE

There isn't much here in Teslin. There’s a beautiful lake that is 78 miles long which the Tlingit people named Teslintoo, meaning “long narrow waters.” The village of Teslin has a population of 240, but there are at least that many tourists stopping here every day. A surprising number of motorcycles and motor homes pass through here on the Alaskan Highway.

Today my humans went out exploring the two historical museums here in the village. This village was settled by the Tlingit people who traded furs at the Hudson Bay trading post. The George Johnson Museum had an amazing collection of his photographs showing the daily life of the Tlingit people. There was also a collection of native arts and artifacts from the early days.  Once the Highway was built things changed for the community. 

Another museum in the village is the Teslin Heritage Centre which has cultural programs and demonstrations. The setting was right along the lake and although the museum was closed today, they were able to walk the grounds and take some pictures. We will try to stop here on our way back home.

Big excitement this afternoon was a large brown bear here in the RV Park. Kathe watched him grab a cooler and empty the contents, then he disappeared in the brush. A little too close for comfort. 

Everyone but KathyT is sick and tired of mosquitoes. She hasn’t been bitten yet!

Tonight’s cocktail was a Hawaiian Tidy bowl Martini.  

ALCAN HIGHWAY TODAY

I know I keep saying that the drive is awesome, but today was so really great I don’t know any other way to describe it! What was nice is that this road was a two-lane highway marked with the rough patches. We did hit some patches of light rain, but the sun was shining by the time we arrived at our destination. 

Along the way Kathe spotted a black bear crossing the road. We slowed down and the bear jumped the K-rail and disappeared into the woods before we could get a picture. He was a small bear, but we were glad he was off the road so that we didn’t hit him. 

A few more miles down the highway we saw a big rig pulled over to the side of the road. Apparently, the driver had hit a large female moose and his truck was disabled. Later we saw the driver here at the motel for the night, I guess his truck was not drivable after the accident.  Have to keep your eyes wide open here on the highways of Alaska.

We arrived a little after 1:00 at the Yukon Lakeside RV Park. It’s pretty primitive but we have 20 amp and water but no sewer. Have to watch our water for the two nights we are here. They don’t have much around here, just a trading post and a restaurant. There is a wildlife museum which the humans visited this afternoon which can only be described as a taxidermy museum as there were an awful lot of life-like dead animals on display.

Pictures today are of the drive today on the ALCAN Highway.

Tonight’s cocktail was a Lemon Drop Martini.  We had to use up our lemons before we cross the border in Skagway.

SIGN POST FOREST

 

Here in Watson Lake, there is a famous place called the Sign Post Forest where everyone traveling through can post a sign to commemorate their Alaskan Adventure. Warren made our sign last year and altered it for this trip with the date, our names, our RV club and the cities that we traveled from.  Jim and Warren loaded a latter, screws and a drill in the Jeep so they could hang our sign in the forest today.  There are over 100,000 signs at last count here nailed to all the wooden posts and trees. Many of these signs are visible from the ALCAN Highway.  Here’s a picture of the official posting, and one that shows the sign that Warren made.

After a quick visit to the Visitors Center to watch a film about the Yukon gold rush they stopped at the grocery store before heading back to the RV park for lunch. Shopping for groceries is a big deal here as everyone is worried about what will happen in a couple of days when we cross the border into Alaska. People are saying that we can’t bring any veggies, fruit, or meat from Canada into the USA. No one seems to know exactly what will happen, so the humans are trying to use up anything in the fridge. Luckily my dog food is in its original packaging, but who knows about the chicken breast that I eat. Supposedly only chicken products that state the origin of USA in the original packaging are allowed.

Later in the afternoon both Kathies and Jim saw a presentation about the Aurora Borealis at the Museum in town. I think it was really good film, but they had very comfortable seats to watch the show on a dome ceiling. At some point all three of them fell asleep. No one could explain the phenomenon of the lights to me.

Tonight’s cocktail was a Paloma.

WILDLIFE

Pouring down rain this morning as we started out for Watson Lake. We were back on Highway 37 but due to the rain it was slow going for the first hour. When the sun finally peaked through the clouds we passed several very large lakes, and of course more trees. It’s hard to believe you can drive for miles and miles and not see any farms or houses at all. 

We are always on the lookout for wildlife and there are signs all over the place indicating wildlife crossing, but today we actually saw a large brown bear on the side of the highway. Kathe quickly tried to get a picture through the window.  Not bad!

It seemed to me that it took forever today as the road was bumpy and very windy so I for one was glad when we stopped for lunch at a roadside pullout. There was a huge number of swallowtails on the side of the road and flying all around us. Too many to count, but so beautiful.

We arrived in Watson Lake and checked into Baby Nugget RV late this afternoon. We were lucky enough to get a pull through site with 50amp power.  Good thing because it was so hot this afternoon that we needed the air conditioning. It’s been cold and raining everywhere else, but now it’s finally sunny.

No one wanted to cook tonight and there is a restaurant on site. So, no cocktails tonight.

MUCH BETTER

We left Tatogga Lake early this morning. We all felt bad not telling the owners that we were leaving early, but it was such a dump that we really had to move on down the road.  Jim and Kathy T were able to book a site with full hookups about 50 miles north at the Dease Lake/Brown Family RV Park. We drove the Stewart/Cassiar Highway all the way, but we were only able to drive a maximum of 50 miles per hour due to the steep curves and grades.  It took over two hours to drive the distance.

The place we stopped for tonight was so much better than last night. While, like most of the parks we have encountered we only have 30amp service, we have water and sewer. A paradise compared to last night. 

They even had a grocery/liquor store and diesel fuel. The fuel however was $2.22 per liter so we will wait until the next stop in Watson Lake to fuel up. We have been paying around $1.80 to 1.90 at truck stops.

We are looking hard every day on the highway for wildlife.  Out of Stewart we saw a small black bear cub on the highway and this morning we saw a porcupine, but still watching for moose, caribou and of course more bears.

Tonight’s cocktail was the WooWoo as it’s become a favorite with the Kathies.

LOTS OF TREES

Today we drove from Stewart east, stopping at Meziaden Junction for fuel before heading north on Highway 37 to the town of Iskut.  We planned to stay here at Totogga Lake Resort for two nights. But it’s so scary and remote here we were waiting to see the guys with the banjos. Really, it’s so run down and overgrown with weeds we immediately started looking for different place to stay tomorrow night. 

The drive today was beautiful.  So many trees, snow covered mountains and lots of lakes, waterfalls and rivers. Too many to count. A green overload. We followed the Taylor’s and took some pictures of their coach ahead of us on the road.

Tonight, we thought we’d have dinner at the restaurant here at the “Resort" but we were all afraid to leave the motorhomes. It’s so remote we just wanted to stay in and cook some frozen pizzas.  We are leaving first thing in the morning and moving 50 miles north to another RV Park for the night.

Thank goodness that the Taylor’s have a Starlink because there is no cell or internet service at all here. Chalk this up to another adventure!

Tonight’s cocktail was a raspberry lemon drop martini.

 

BEAR GLACIER

 

More rain last night and much of today. They say this area gets about 72 Inches of rain a year, too bad most of it’s been this week. The adventure today was a drive up to the Bear Glacier. No doggies allowed again. Who wants to sit in the back seat with 3 wet doggies. Guess that’s not really a question. 

Anyway, they had fun without us exploring along the road to the glacier and taking pictures of the many waterfalls and glacier lakes along the highway. Warren found a trail that took them down closer to the glacier along the lake for some great pictures.

So cold today that lunch was soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, just to warm up after the walk along the chilly lake in the drizzle. Jim and Kathe took so many pictures that it was hard to choose only two tonight for my blog.

Cocktail tonight was “Not Your Caribbean Mama.”

TWO COUNTRIES IN ONE DAY

It rained like crazy all night yesterday and Kathe and I got soaked. Of course, Jim cheered us on and handed out the towels when we sloshed back inside. Everything was puddles this morning, but the good news was that all the mosquitoes must have drowned, and we didn’t get bitten at all today.

There isn’t much to do here in Stewart, there is a main street with two restaurants and some gift shops, but after two days you can just about see and do everything. Today’s adventure was the Stewart Museum.  Everyone we talked to in town was very proud of their museum, so it was a must see for my humans. They watched a great film about the history of the area and all the mining booms and busts over the years. Hard to believe that this town of 400 residents once was a city of over 10,000. After the film they explored the rooms filled with lots of interesting historical photographs and antiques. One room was the taxidermist’s dream with all kinds of animals from the region. Kathe liked the Grizzly Bear.

Later on, they drove across the border to Hyder, Alaska to look for a seafood shop that was recommended by the visitor's center. Unfortunately, it was closed today as the owner had a goat that was pregnant, and the shop has a sign on the door, “Closed Do to Goat”. No seafood today! They moved on to the only other store in Hyder, the gift store, gallery and fudge shop pictured here. Crossed back over the border and waited for the rain to start again.

No cocktails tonight due to an abundance of peanut butter and maple walnut fudge sugar rush.

WHITE CAPS TO SNOW CAPS

Today’s adventure was a Salmon Glacier tour from Stewart into Hyder, Alaska driving from the port to the top of the Salmon Glacier. A fabulous trip that lasted over four hours with a knowledgeable guide who has lived full time here in Stewart for over 22 years. Of course, there were no doggies allowed but just look at these pictures.

Not much else to report except how fantastic this entire day was!

Tonight’s cocktail was a Chambord Spritzer!

SURROUNDED BY GLACIERS

 

Our drive today from Kitwangs to Stewart was spectacular. The closer we got to our destination in Stewart, BC the more beautiful the scenery became. Glacier after Glacier, unbelievably awesome. More pictures tomorrow.

Our RV Park in Stewart is Bear Den, all you have do is look around and see beautiful views of greenery and snowy mountains everywhere. The ice fields of Cambria are above us. We are here for four nights so we can see everything this place has to offer. Tomorrow a drive to Hyder and the Portland Canal will take us back into the US and the Tongass National Forest for the day.

Today driving into Stewart on Highway 37A. Kathy T took this picture of our coach. You really can’t see how unbelievable the scenery is in just a little picture. These glaciers are all around us.

Dinner in town tonight at a fabulous Mexican restaurant. Upscale and delicious food in this tiny town was a really great experience.  The cocktail tonight was Cuba Libre for my Kathe and Margarita for Kathy T.

KITWANGA

Short scenic drive today on the Glacier Highway/Stewart Highway to the town of Kitwanga. Lots of mountains and lots of trees everywhere we looked. Our campground is below the Kitmat Glacier one of the many glaciers in this area of Canada. We passed many glaciers on our way here and will pass more on the highway to Stewart tomorrow.

Lots of mosquitoes here, but no wildlife yet. Kathy T thought she saw a black bear on the highway but no one else was quick enough to see it. They say there are lots of bears spotted in this area so maybe we will get lucky tomorrow. 

This afternoon they drove to the Gitanyou/Kitancool Historic Village to see the Land of the Totems. Many ancient cedar totems in this small Native American village. They walked around and took pictures of these totems which symbolize the clans or families that once lived in this village.

The cocktail tonight was A kiss on the lips!

SOME RAIN AND SOME SUN

Here in Huston it’s been raining off and on both days. In fact it’s been raining off and on in every town we’ve stayed in so far. Today Kathe promised me a bath if the sun came out, so I was crossing my paws that it wouldn’t happen. She did some laundry and then she noticed that the sun came out. So, she plopped me in the kitchen sink and next thing I knew I was under water. After I was all blown dry and beautiful she took me out for a picture in front of one of the many flower beds here in the park. Then it started raining again!

There were a few stores here in Huston. They went exploring and shopped at the hardware store, grocery store, and the pharmacy. When you travel between these small towns, I guess you have to buy stuff just in case you need it. Then, I guess you complain that you have no place to put stuff. At least that’s what I heard.

There are so many mosquitoes here that the humans have purchased all kinds of spray and repellents including something that looks like a tennis racquet to zap mosquitoes.  Look out, you could be zapped, and it stings!

Tonight’s cocktail was a Farmberry Cosmo.

JUST THE WAY I LIKE IT

 

I don’t like this trip. All we do is drive. We’ve been driving for miles, and we still haven’t reached Alaska. We’re not even close. I’m supposed to ride in my crate, but I’ve had just about enough of being in a cage. I’ve been fussing and whining until I finally got Kathe to let me out today. She blocked off the back of the coach with cushions and I curled up on her jacket. Now, that’s the way I like to travel.

Today we drove on the Caribou Highway (97) and turned slightly West on to the Cassier Highway (16) which connects us to the Yellowhead Highway to Alaska. So, we are making progress. Over 1800 miles in two weeks, no wonder I’m tired of the crate.

The drive today was green. No doubt because of all the rain but everything, everywhere is green. Except for the occasional herd of cows and sheep on the many farms we passed. The weather has been cold these last few nights and it’s awful hard to get out of the warm bed in the mornings. 

We are in the town of Houston, BC for the next two nights at the Shady Rest RV Park. It’s nice and quiet here, but there’s no shade.

Tonight’s cocktail was a Blue Hawaiian.

A RAINY DAY IN HIXON

 

The plan this morning was to take a hike to the waterfall first thing. The falls are a short jeep trail away and even shorter walk through the forest. Since it was already starting to rain Kathe took me for a walk around the campground instead. I enjoyed the walk much more than she did.

A change of plans, they all piled into the Taylor’s car and drove to Prince George for a Walmart run. Prince George is a big city about 35 miles away, but they have all the stores you could want. We haven’t had any grocery stores in any of the small towns we have been staying in, so Walmart was a treat. Of course, they made a stop at the Liquor Store to stock up as well.

After lunch the sun came out, so while I was napping, they set out to find the waterfall. Jim drove the jeep on the trail leading up to a parking area and they walked about a half mile on a rocky trail to the surprisingly large waterfall. We wouldn’t have known it was right around the corner from our camp, but KathyT found it on the web. Later they found a nice trail through the woods behind the RV Park, which was right along the river.

Tomorrow, we leave early in the morning for Huston, BC another long driving day.

Tonight’s cocktail was a vanilla raspberry martini.

LOTS OF TREES AND LAKES

Another long Canadian drive on highway 97 from Clinton to Hixon. We left early at 10 AM and didn’t reach our destination until about 4 PM. It was raining when we left so that was kinda good even though we smelled smoke, we knew the forest fire would be out soon. Plus, we didn’t hear the helicopters this morning.  

A few miles out the rain stopped, and the rest of the drive was pleasant and sunny. We passed lots of ranch land and many lakes along the way. Trying to get take a photo when the coach is flying by at 100 Kilometers a minute is not so easy. Take it from me there many, many beautiful lakes and a million pine trees along the route. When we arrived, our neighbors told us we just missed a hailstorm. Happy we missed it!

We are here tonight at Canyon Creek Campground in Hixon, BC. Warren and Kathy are camped so far away that we can’t use their Starlink tonight, so I’ll keep this short. Our site is really nice on the edge the forest and very quiet. Here for two nights, but really in the middle of nowhere. Good thing that my Kathe has AT&T so at least we have a hot spot. Didn’t know that the Verizon mifi wouldn’t work in Canada.

Tonight’s cocktail was a peach pie!

SMALL TOWN PLEASURES

 After sleeping in this morning, it was time for the humans to explore the city of Clifton. Us doggies have been doing our own exploration already here in the campground. But the humans took the Jeep, left without us, and set out for town. Driving into downtown Clifton too quickly they almost missed the town. Had to turn around at edge of town and drive back slowly to see the sights. They had a map with a walking tour as if there really was something worth seeing. Two antique shops, an ice cream shop, one hotel/restaurant, and a museum.

First came the two antique shops with a stop in between at the ice cream shop. Next was the museum which had lots of photographs of historical buildings and people, but mostly a bunch old rusty farm equipment in a barn behind the building. Then it was time for lunch at the hotel. Boring. I’m glad I stayed home.

The excitement of the day was seeing fire trucks speeding down the highway and eventually finding out that there was a forest fire less than 2 kilometers from our campsite. This afternoon the helicopters were flying overhead and picking up water from the nearby lake to drop on the fire.  They told us that if it gets close, we will be given time to evacuate. Great.

Delicious dinner tonight of fish and chips from the food truck on sight. Fresh Halibut, what a treat! The chef was a retired commercial fisherman who serves fish and chips every weekend here at the campground.

ALL THE WAY TO CLINTON

 

Tonight, we are staying in Clinton, Canada at the Clinton Pines RV Park. It was a long drive on the Trans-Canada Highway 1, more than five hours. The drive was only 166 miles, and we had to stop twice for road construction which added time to the drive. The road conditions were okay, but climbing over mountains crossing narrow bridges, and driving curvy roads made me a very cranky dog. Oh, and don’t forget all the dark tunnels we went through. 

We left the pine forests in Rosedale and entered the “hot spot" of Canada. When we left Rosedale, everything was green and lush but soon we started seeing more rocks and dried vegetation. Who knew that Canada had a desert. 

As we got closer to our destination we started to see some pine trees again. As I slept a good part of the way I got tired of being cooped up in the dreaded cage, I voiced my objections loudly and long enough to give my Kathe a headache.

Betcha I won’t have to ride in that cage next time. 

We’re here for two nights and after that drive all of us need a break. It was a hassle getting to our site but with the help of the camp host we finally slipped in next to the Taylor’s.

Kathe wants to say tonight’s cocktail was a lemon drop martini! Wonder why she needed one?

ANOTHER RESTING DAY

 

Woke up this morning and it was raining. We went back to sleep. By about 11:00 Kathy T came over to discuss a plan for the day. Kathy is very good at planning adventures for the humans. Today the plan was to drive 18 miles into Chilliwack, BC to check out the Dickens Museum, a British market and tearoom.

Great plan, except when they arrived, they found out that the museum was really an antique shop with lots of bone china teacups and teapots for sale. Not much use for fine bone china in a motor home.  Also, the tearoom was closed today and open only on the weekends. Warren did purchase some British food stuffs and some homemade pies. But otherwise, the trip was bust.

There was, however, a Safeway and a liquor store in town. Since we aren’t sure when we will see that combination again, it was time to stock up with a few things. And later this afternoon, Jim took Warren and Kathy T back to hike the Bridal Veil Trail. I just stayed home with my Kathe and took a well-deserved nap.

OH CANADA!

We crossed the border this morning into Canada. The only open lane was so narrow that both of the coaches had a hard time not crashing the side mirrors on the concrete barriers. After all the worry last night about how much wine and spirits we were carrying, the guard didn’t even ask us about it. Just wanted to know about guns and ammunition, which of course we aren’t carrying. The only warning was to keep our apple cores and dispose of them in Alaska.

We are staying in Rosedale, BC at Camperland.  It’s a huge campground that backs up to Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park.  There are hundreds of tall trees surrounding us. The sites are narrow and it took some skill to turn in between the trees. The weather here is much cooler than anyplace we have been in the last week. 

This afternoon Kathe and Jim decided to hike to the falls and check it out. The Park had a dense canopy of Western red cedar, hemlock and red alder and there were lots of sword ferns on the way to the viewpoint. 

RESTFUL DAY

 

No driving today. Everyone slept late including me. No where to go, nothing to do, just relaxing and catching up on chores was the excitement of today. Kathe did some laundry and Jim worked on some little projects. The highlight of the afternoon was a trip into the town of Burlington for a stop at Camping World. Followed by a visit to the hardware store. Then the Kathies were hungry, so they stopped at the local Panera before heading back to the RV park.

Tonight, Warren made a delicious dinner with this burrata salad and a kale and cheese stuffed roulade steak. He stuffed it with cheese, breadcrumbs, and kale from his garden. He served it with a homemade marina sauce. Nothing left to share with the doggies.

Sad news today. While Kathe and Jim were on a walk late this afternoon they saw a bald eagle swoop down right in front of them. He picked up a tiny bunny in his talons and flew off. Beautiful sight, but bad news for our bunny.

A NIGHT IN THE WOODS

We crossed the Oregon/Washington border early this morning and made it all the way to Burlington, Washington in time for my dinner. It was our longest ride yet and I tried my best to make Kathe take me out of my crate by making a lot of noise. No dice! I had to ride in the crate for safety and no amount of begging worked. I managed to give Kathe a headache.

We arrived here at the KOA in the late afternoon. It’s paradise! Tall green trees and large sites with grass on either side of us. It’s so quiet. There are fat robins flying around and I saw a very tiny bunny on my evening walk.

The park is hidden away from the highway, and we had cross over this creek to get to the area with the biggest sites. The bridge was so narrow that we almost didn’t fit. This campground is a KOA “Holiday” which means it’s set up for spending more time here. Luckily, we are here one more night before we enter Canada.

JANTZEN BEACH (NO BEACH) RV PARK

 

After a long drive today, we finally reached our destination in Portland, Jentzen Beach. Kathe remembered staying here several year ago, but things have changed. This time the place is mostly mobile homes and not many spaces for traveling folks like us.  And there isn’t a beach, there never was one, but we used to be able to walk to the Columbia River last time we stayed here. 

Now, the access to the river is fenced off almost everywhere. Kathe and Jim walked for a long time and were never able to get near the water for a picture. At least they got some steps in tonight.

They decide to take the car, and they kept driving around and around and down toward the river. Blocked at every place they tried. Best thing you can say is that there are no homeless camps on the river here in Portland. They finally trespassed on someone’s lawn to take this picture almost at sunset.

UP AND DOWN THE MOUNTAINS

 Beautiful drive today. Beautiful scenery, we passed Lake Shasta and Mt. Shasta, but the traveling up and down and round and round made my head spin.  Did you ever wonder if dog’s ears pop like human ears? Well, they do! Lots of steep grades today and lots of ear popping but at least the roads in Northern California were smooth today.

This is a picture of Lake Shasta. The water level is so much higher than the last time we saw it. Made me wish we were going on a houseboat trip, such beautiful smooth water. I tried to get a good picture of Mt. Shasta but there were always too many trees in the way.  Take my word for it that mountain is huge and still covered in snow. And beautiful.

We kept driving out of California into Oregon where we are spending tonight. We tried to make reservations months ago at Seven Feathers in Canyonville but there were no sites available.  We ended up at Stanton County Park practically across the street from Seven Feathers.  A little hard to find our sites, they were way back along the river.  As you can see it was worth the effort.

EXPLORING REDDING

Last night was a rough one. It was so hot that we had all three air conditioners running and my humans were discussing the problem for a while before anyone could get to sleep. The coolest place in the coach was the floor tile under the bed. Unfortunately, no one would join me down there. Part of the problem was electrical. Jim was concerned about the power coming into the coach and the amount of power necessary to run all three airs. Eventually, after midnight they turned on two air conditioners and went to sleep.

Today the four humans went into Redding to check out the Turtle Bay Exploration Park. There is an indoor Museum, and a huge outdoor park built along the Sacramento River. There’s a beautiful bridge over the river that’s known as the Sundial Bridge. It was built in 2004 and is the highlight of the Sacramento River Trail. The bridge is a working sundial as the shadow traces an arc on the river from 11am to 3pm.

After a delicious lunch at the Bridge Bistro, it was time to check out the Museum.  There were exhibitions about building the Shasta Dam and the design and construction of the Sundial Bridge.  There was a mini–Shasta Cavern to walk through complete with some bats on the ceiling.

The Kathie’s went to the parrot exhibit and let the birds eat nectar while the birds landed all over them. Kathy T enjoyed feeding them, but my Kathe not so much.  After the parrots they went into a butterfly exhibit where there were so many butterflies it was hard to walk around without stepping on one.

HOTTER THAN HOT

A long drive up the extremely rough I-5 today. So rough in fact that both Jim and Warren are working to repair their bathroom walls. The bumps and potholes were so bad these last two days that the walls have shifted in both coaches. Jim tried to bolt the wall to the floor last night, but it moved again today. Both guys are getting out the toolboxes and working on the problem this afternoon.

It’s super-hot here today, at least 104 in the shade. There’s a nice patch of soft green grass at each of our sites.  We didn’t see anything but dried grass and weeds at the last two places and that’s quite a problem for me. Foxtails and dried grass stick to my coat and boy, does Kathe get after me with the brush. She’s not too gentle, but I understand that foxtails can really hurt if they get into my skin.

Too hot for the humans to cook dinner tonight. Even too hot for martinis! Now that’s a first. Guess I’ll just relax after my meal and chill out on the cool tile floor.

FLAG CITY

We’re here in Lodi, California for one night.  It’s a nice park, but not a blade of grass anywhere, just lots of rocks.  I’m glad it’s only one night, because it’s a flaming hot 100 degrees and windy. It’s like opening the oven door when Kathe and I go walking. Luckily there are some tall shade trees between the campsites. I’m just going from one tree to the next and then right back into the air conditioning. It’s even too hot for any interesting critters outside, so there’s really no reason to stay outside anyway.

It was a short drive today, all the way on the interstate, and it was so bumpy it was shaking my crate so much I couldn’t sleep. We were all very happy to stop for a rest and some lunch, just for a rest from the crazy potholes.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to stopping in Redding where it’s supposed to be a little cooler.  

COALINGA THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE

It’s our first night, after a reasonably short drive, we stopped here at the Almond Tree “Resort”. We’ve been here many times before as it’s the only game in town along I-5 headed North. Not much to talk about here, except to say there are no almond trees anywhere near the place.  They replaced them years ago with pistachios, but I guess they forgot to change their name. We heard a rumor that there is going to be a new RV Park at Harris Ranch which is about 10 mile north on I-5.  That would be swell, 50 amps and a steak dinner, I can’t wait!

Anyway, after a couple of long walks around the place, and some snooping around the oleanders I'm ready for a long nap. 

The drive was uneventful, and we were happy to meet up with Kathy and Warren.  Bella and Gianni are already napping so we haven’t even seen them yet. Guess the real fun will start tomorrow.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...

Here we go again. They tell me we are going to Alaska for the whole summer. Sounds like I heard that one before, but this time they assure me that we are going to make it all the way. Keep your paws crossed!

We are starting up the coastal route this time and will cross into Canada from Washington, so that's a change from last year.  I have my doggie passport so I shouldn't have a problem at the crossing, but I'm keeping my Mountie with me just in case I have trouble. 

We are going with the same cast of characters as last year, Kathy, Warren, Bella and Gianni Taylor and of course my humans, Kathe and Jim. I'm another year older and have a few more problems, but I still know how to have fun on a road trip. Just thinking of all the adventures makes my gray whiskers twitch. Squirrels, Elk, and Moose, up close and a bear or two from my window. Things are looking up; just hope I can stay awake, long enough to enjoy the ride.  I do really enjoy my naps!