July 25 Mesquite Nevada

WE ARE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Now the work starts of cleaning the RV and doing the maintenance.  This is the end of the blog I hope you  enjoyed it.  Our friends in the west the pleasure is all yours to see me again.  Those of you in the east 3 more weeks and I will be gracing the east coast.  Those of you in the Netherlands you must wait 6 weeks before I invade Europe. Bye Bye Doei!
And to Ty and Jo I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

July 21-July 23 On the Road to Mesquite

                                             Wow this gas station has my name on it

                                               Ellen observing the Idaho Senate

                                               Harry presiding over the Idaho House

                                              Harry presiding over the Idaho Senate

                                                         The Snake River Gorge and Ellen
                                                            making me pay $5 to see it

This is a condensed version of the last 3 days.  We left Boardman and went to Farewell Bend State Park in the east of Oregon. It is on the snake river which is very pretty.  We relaxed and made burgers on the grill and went to bed.                                                                                                                   On Friday we moved on and stopped in Boise idaho.  Actually a very livable, green city and I can see where one wanting to leave the hubbub of the east would settle there.  It is not a hick town at all with enough business to be a great place to bring up a family.  We went to the Idaho Capitol building and there was no one there.  We crashed the House and Senate chambers and sat in the seats reserved for the speaker of the house and senate president.  Pretty immature but kind of fun in a childish way.  You sure couldnt do this in the east. Security would have had me behind bars in a flash. Interestingly many Basque (from Spain) immigrants settled in Boise.  So we had dinner at a Basque bar and had a delicious lamb grinder and croquettes like in Holland.  It was really good.  Left Boise and traveled to Mountain Home Idaho where we stayed in a KOA. 
Today we finally hit Nevada by going down US93 instead of I-15.  We stopped here in Wells Nevada and tomorrow onto Ely Nevada and by Monday we should be back home in Mesquite.
     

Photo of Boardman Oregon Campground

July 20 Boardman Oregon

What a gorgeous campground we have found by pure chance. So pretty that we decided to stay another night. I biked along the Columbia river. Yes I can still bike those of you that think I am the worlds laziest man. Not much to report except Happy Birthday to Hetty, Eric, the Bean and Thidney.

July 19 Boardman Oregon

We left cape lookout and headed through the Tillamook forest which separates Portland from the coast. We realized the only one we knew in Oregon were Joe and Sylvia. They were our dinner partners for a month on our cruise across the pacific to china in October 2009. Each night Joe would give me 20 trivia questions so each day I had to study. :-)
So we called them 15 min from their house. Ellen said,"Joe you want to meet us for a cup of coffee" and he said " not really". He had no idea who it was and when Sylvia realized she said, "thanks for the early notice". When we got there we hugged and they couldn't believe we showed up at their doorstep. I like surprising people like that so they don't make a fuss and if they have something to do we just move on. We spent an hour at their home and then said our goodbyes and moved on.
We drove along the Columbia river through the gorge which we have never seen. It is spectacular. Truly something to see. It isn't the three gorges of the Yangtze river but pretty close. I know I'm a show-off mentioning the Yangtze.
We have stopped for the night at a beautiful RV park on the Columbia river in Boardman Oregon. It is all perfect grass right on the river. We might stay tomorrow because there is a beach and bike path and it's going to be 85 and sunny. Who could ask for anything more.

July 18 Cape Lookout State Park Oregon

So you all wondering what happened to us?  As I told you we decided to stay a few days at Cape Lookout campground on the Oregon coast.  For those of you geographically and meteorogically challenged we encountered cool, damp and rainy weather.  Just perfect for beach time.  The pacific northwest is the only part of the country which is not broiling right now. We spent time reading and sitting on the beach.  When it's not raining 68 degrees on a beach is pretty nice.  Tomorrow we are heading towards Portland where old hippies go to die.

Photos from the road July 10 to 14

                                       Canadians are always stopping traffic to fix their roads

                                        Welcome to the lower 48

                                      Boeing building planes at their factory(airplane glue is used extensively)

                                               The Seattle Space Needle rears its head

                                           Ellen visiting the Capitol in Olympia Washington

                                                        And comes out like Rocky

                                      Bundled up for the hot July Pacific Northwest weather

                                                            Man is this guy cool or what

July 15 Cape Lookout State Park, Oregon

Left our cozy campground and headed further south to cape Lookout state park.  We plan to stay here 4 nights to enjoy the beach.  Unfortunately the the pacific northwest has resorted true to form and it's raining.  We did get an hour of beach time in but were a bit bundled up as it's 62 degrees here.  We lit a fire which promptly was rained on and rained out.  This is our furthest south on the coast and Tuesday we head to I-84 for the trip towards Salt Lake City and then south on I-15 to Mesquite and home sweet home.

July 14 Fort Stevens Oregon

Awoke today in Saltwater state park (yes the name changed overnight.  Forgot to mention that our rear hubcaps fell off yesterday just as we arrived in the campground.  Due to the air hoses to the tire it stayed loosely attached.  The noise that makes was most unpleasant.  As the guy I said let's just reattach it but the doll said it's too loose we need a professional.
So our first chore of the day was an RV repair shop in Tacoma.  It took about an hour and a half and now we have no hubcap but our air hoses to the tire are now attached to the rims.  I guess that's good!
From Tacoma headed south towards Olympia the capital of Washington state.  We stopped to see the Capitol building and then decided it was time for Mexican food. Checked the Internet found the best Tex-Mex restaurant and proceeded there where we found that it doesn't exist anymore.  On the way we saw the Olympia lakefront fair and decided to eat there.  2 lamb gyros, 1 lemonade and 2 elephant ears(fried dough with cinnamon and sugar) and we were stuffed and headed south to Oregon.  Found a great campground called Fort Stevens state park which for you know-nothings is the largest campground west of the mississippi.  We talked to our campground neighbors and she happened to be the granddaughter of William McPherson Allen. I know you are saying who's that?  Well every time you get on a passenger jet you can thank Bill Allen who was the president and Chairman of the Board of Boeing and personally developed the 707, 727, 737 and 747.  As if that wasn't enough he developed the lunar lander and stage I of the Saturn-5.  Not too shabby!  See what you can learn from Harry and Ellen in Alaska!

July 13 Tacoma Washington U.S.A.

Made it to the good ol' USA.    Crossed the border with little trouble.  Ellen said before we got to the border that if he makes me take off my sunglasses I'm going to tell him I have a medical condition and must wear them.  And 10 minutes later the immigration officer said, "Ellen please take off your sunglasses" and ellen reacted exactly...................opposite of what she threatened and immediately complied.  All talk and no action.
We drove down I-5 to Everett where we stopped to tour the Boeing plant.  We did this 20 years ago and it was interesting then and was interesting now.  Watching them put a 747 together is fascinating. Only 3,000,000 parts and a tube of airplane glue.
Moved down to Tacoma where we stopped at a Washington  park that's called Salt Lake state park.  Tomorrow it's on to the coast of Oregon.  

July 12 Abbotsford British Columbia

Today was a long drive.  We tried to see a tramway but it cost $20 a person and we decided to save our money. We stopped at a campground called "cottonwood meadows country club RV park".  It sounded great on paper but was filled with all the Mosquitos of Canada who were heading south,a Korean man with all the warmth of a cross between Adolf hitler and don rickles, and a charge of $44.  Whenever you see an RV park called a country club, don't stop there.  Tomorrow the USA's lower 48.

July 10 & 11 On the road to the lower 48

These 2 days we spent driving east and south first along the yellow head highway to Prince George and then south on B.C. 97 towards Cache Lake.  We stopped for Sunday night at a private campground so we had electric water sewer cable TV(7stations) and wifi.  What a luxury!  The first time we had tv in 11 days.  We watched the Jaycee Dugard story.  Just when your kids are finally grown and you don't have to worry about seeing their face on a milk carton, they go and give us grandchildren and we have to start the worry process all over again.  It's sad that there are evil crazies in this world but this guy not only did this, but was imprisoned for the same crime and let go.  Oh our f...ked up justice system!
Today we drove about 5 hours and are now at Green Lake in a provincial campground.  That means right on a lake with no electricity water or sewer.  But our trusty "little rolling turd" does all that for us so we just lit a fire cooked our burgers and special ellen potatoes and sat at the fire telling ghost stories.  Tomorrow will probably be our last night in Canada.  Thank you Canada and Canadians for your hospitality.  You truly are America's best friend.

July 9 Smithers British Columbia

                                          In Smithers they keep their rabbits on a leash

                                          The Dutch flag flies proudly in British Columbia

                                       Oh man I eat too much  I'm bigger then a horse

                                                              Downtown Smithers

                                                 Ellen in heaven at the Dutch food store

Yes folks we have found the number one cutesy British Columbian town. It's Smithers. We woke up and the sun was shining so we decided to stay here for the day and do "the chores". The chores are the laundry and wash the RV. Our RV has attracted every dead bug in Alaska the Yukon and B C. And if that wasn't enough imagine the dust and mud we accumulated over 7000 miles. We went to the farmers market and walked around and observed the produce and arts and crafts.  We bought a rhubarb pie and cookies.  Only the healthy stuff for us.
After our chores and the market we went shopping on main street and ellen found nirvana. To most women that would be a clothing boutique or jewelry store. But not ellen. She found a store that sells Dutch food. They had dropjes, hagelslag, cookjes and Nederland vles. For those who don't know Dutch that's Dutch licorice chocolate sprinkles cookies and meat. Those are Ellens favorite foods.  For Michelle and Valerie we bought Stroopwafels. Ken and John got nothing!!!!We drove back to our campground and I am now sitting by the river writing my blog.  Heading east tomorrow and just found ot that our road is washed out.  I hope the RV can swim.

Haines Alaska....The director was not Spielberg!

This is Take 2 Take one was better but Ellen forgot to press the record button.  She is still the love of my life

Hey Hey Yogi Bear Live and in Color July 5, 2011

                                         So you think bears dont say hello on the highway

July 1 to July 8 Photos

OK FOLKS THESE ARE IN REVERSE ORDER THE LATEST BEING ON TOP

                                              The view from Salmon Glacier

                                                     Salmon Glacier looking South                                       

                                                 Salmon Glacier Looking West

                                                             Salmon Glacier from 3000 Feet

                                                Ellen standing over Salmon Glacier

                                                  Us just 6 steps away from the abyss

                                         Ellen and her new friend having dinner at "THE BUS"

                                                         The Bus where dinner is served in Hyder

                                  Ellen looking for salmon to feed the bears  A week or 2 early

                                               A warning to be taken seriously

                                                 Is it snowing in July????

                                                           The Cassiar Highway
                                       

                                             Elizabeth and John from Brisbane at our campsite

                                          Which way to Nijmegen?

                                              Ellen making friends with a bear

                               The same bear from behind............NOT------ No close up lens used

                                                 Here eating my lunch on the side of the Cassiar

                                          Why would someone do such a dumb thing?

 

 The Volendam waking me up  Took this ship to China and Japan

                                               The "big rolling turd" on the Meziadin Lake

                                            The "big rolling turd" on Boya Lake

July 8 Smithers British Columbia

Left our lakefront campground and proceeded to drive the last 100 miles of the Cassiar. Still beautiful scenery and a fairly easy drive. 2 years ago the 500 mile Cassiar highway was a dirt road so our timing was excellent. We reached the Yellowhead highway and turned east towards prince george about 200 miles away. We found the cute town of Smithers about 40 miles down the road and an inexpensive municipal campground with ......wait for it..........excellent Internet service and free yes I said free firewood. Also the town of Smithers has a Safeway and tomorrow has an open air farmers market. What more could we ask for. So Smithers is our location for the night. Thinking of possibly relocating to here...................NOT!
Spoke to our beloved children and grandchildren because we also have phone service here in the metropolis of Smithers. Can understand a little of their phone conversation.....they want us to bring them something from the far northwest. Now if only our grandchildren can begin to talk. :-) that's all folks ending on a little joke

July 7 Maziadin Lake British Columbia

Left Camp Run-a-Muck campground to begin the 23 mile climb up to Salmon  Glacier.  This road is more like a trail and it was the toughest road so far.  It climbs for 3300 feet on an unpaved dirt and rocks road with no guardrail.  And if you look down you are really looking far down.  The glacier is spectacular but it took us one and a half hours to get up the mountain.  We stayed for a half hour and then began the down the mountain journey.  Ellen refused to let me drive down and she drove the whole way down in first gear at 10 mph.  Tharp ly advantage was she never touched the gas pedal so we saved money letting gravity do the work.
We drove the 35 miles back to the Cassiar highway and stopped at a provincial lake called Maziadin lake.  We parked right on the lake and here is where we spent the night

By the way those wondering where are our photos the last few days will have to wait as the Internet is so slow here that I am lucky to upload text. Pictures take forever and there is too much to see to wait for photos to upload. Will do it as soon as possible

July 6 Hyder Alaska

Back in Alaska!! Drove further down the Cassiar and took a turn to the west.  50 km down this road we came to the city of Stewart BC. It is a small town of 1500 people with a grocery where we got grub and as you know found 12 packs of coke for $6 a real bargain considering 10 dollars is the going price.  Then in an amazing twist of geography we crossed the border to Hyder Alaska "the friendliest ghost town in the world" .  It's got 100 people and a few shitheads (that's it's motto no kidding). There are no paved streets but there is a great restaurant that is called the bus. Why cause it's in a school bus reconfigured as a kitchen.  Best food I've had in Alaska.  We drove out a dirt road to the bear viewing site where you watch bears in the wild feed on salmon coming to spawn.  Unfortunately we are a week early and the salmon keep to a strict schedule.  They don't want to get there early because assuming they are not eaten by bears, they die after they spawn.  All together not a great system for the salmon!
Read today of yellowstones first death from grizzly attack in 25 years.  See Alaska bears are friendly and know not to affect the economic system that brings tourists to see them.  So no eating of humans allowed-a state law passes by Sarah Palin.  Unfortunatey Canadian bears don't follow Alaska law.

July 5 Iskut British Columbia

Very uneventful day. We drove about 2 hundred miles down the Cassiar highway to Iskut which is a small town 2 stores a bar and a church and population of 50.  We stopped for the night at a campground on the property of one of the populace.  Actually it's pretty nice place called Mountain Shadow with water and electricity and wifi that's from the 1970's.  That's right there was no wifi in the 70's.  And this wifi that was promised works just as well.

July 4 Independence Day Boya lake British Columbia

Happy birthday to my beloved country.  Got up today and blasted Stars and Stripes Forever through the RV stereo system.  Unfortunately as usual by the time we get up every other camper is gone.  So no one heard my serenade to the USA.  Drove east on the Alaska highway but seeing the opposite view from our way up in May.  Tried to get some water to fill up our water supply but were shooed away by the gas station owner so I sneaked around back to steal some of her precious water.  And got away with it.
Headed south on the Cassiar highway.  Many of the trees were burned during what I think was a controlled burn by the British Columbian forest officials.  We stopped at Boya lake and got a beautiful campsite right on the lake.  But the highlight was our "next campground" neighbor.  It was Elizabeth and John from  Brisbane Australia.  They were the funniest and nicest people.  Ellen wrote yesterday how you meet people and within an hour know their life story.  Not only did we know each others life story, but each others intimate toilet habits too!!!! We had such a raucous blast that we couldn't stop laughing and spent the whole evening telling stories.  They unfortunately are heading north towards Alaska while we of course are heading south.  We hope to see them again on the east coast as they are traveling the world and heading towards the USA east coast.  You find the greatest people in the camping world. 
Finally a sad story.  After we arrived the campground Marshall came around most upset and said to lock up your food that there was a bear in the campground.  We immediately did that and watched carefully with my trusty bear spray.  About a half hour later we heard what we thought was a cannon and ellen said why would Canada be celebrating the fourth of July.  You guessed it......the Marshall had to shoot the bear because after shooing him away he returned to the campground.  They said after a bear is shooed away and then returns they have no choice but to kill the bear.  He has had human food and will be dangerous near people.  A sad ending but a necessary one.  After seeing many small children in our campground I couldn't agree more. The bear needed to be destroyed.

July 3

We woke up at 11am and left the lovely Yukon govt campground in carcross.  We drove to emerald lake which reflects like a rainbow.  I hope my photo makes it easy to see the multitude of colors.  We headed back on the Alaska highway towards Watson lake where we will go directly south on the Cassiar highway.  That is a different road than we took into Alaska and it used to be400 miles of unpaved road but has since been paved----we hope.  Stopped at Tetlin for the night.

July 2 Skagway Alaska

Guess what woke us at 6am in the morning here in Skagway .  The damn Volendam the same ship we not only took on our Alaskan cruise in 2009 but took across the Pacific to China and Japan.  We keep running into those ........dam ships that we cruise on.  It was raining this morning and we did a little food shopping and left Skagway and headed north.  The south Klondike highway is as pretty as the Haines highway.
We crossed back into Canada and were examined by a cute immigration officer.  Even Ellen thought she was pretty. We were surprised to find the same lake we kayaked on in 2009.  And the same kayak company and the same old Yukon train that we rode on.  Who would have figured that we would return to the exact place in the middle of nowhere.
We drove on to Carcross Yukon Territory where we were treated to another hungry bear.  This one just ate roots and plants as we watched from 10 feet away.  They are very accustomed to people which is extremely dangerous.  I have been reading a book on bear attacks and when they have eaten our food they must be killed.  No one feeds them but they are used to people watching which means they have lost their inborn fear of humans - not a good situation.  We have stopped for the night at Carcross Yukon campground.  12 Canadian dollars and all the wood you can burn - a great deal!

July 1 Haines Alaska

We left our Lynn canal campground and spent the day in Haines until the ferry to Skagway which leaves at 8:30pm.  First chore was doing the laundry which should have been awful but was a lot of fun.  The MooseHorn laundromat was owned by a lady named Jan who was my equal in every way when it came to my usual give and take.  She was so much fun.  Ellen and I joked with her for 2 hours.  The local laundromat is the social gathering place in Haines especially among the people whose houses do NOT have running water.  The laundromat has showers and before you get the idea that these people must be poor the homes are beautiful but the pipes can freeze.  So the laundromat is the social gathering place.
We filled up with propane at the ......wait for it........the propane store. That lady did not find me funny when I asked if I could smoke a cigar while she filled my propane tank.  And she told me in all seriousness "you are not funny". Shut me up rather quick.
We went on to Fort Seward which had a beautiful view of Haines and the Lynn canal.  We went to the waterfront parked and stayed for four hours.  It was 70 degrees and beautiful. We headed towards the ferry dock and stopped at Lake Chilcott which was one of the most gorgeous sights so far on our trip.  We had dinner there next to a babbling brook which was surrounded by mountains.  We put the RV on the ferry to Skagway and boarded the ship.  It was only an hour ferry ride but was very impressive.  Mountains surround you like the gorge on the Yangtze river.  We had done this trip before in 2009 but were asleep as the Volendam did this trip at 6am.  Got the last RV spot in Skagway as this is July 4th weekend.  Hope we have a spot tomorrow or we will sleep on the road.

July 3 written by Ellen

What I (Ellen) learned in 2.5 months living in a RV and driving thru Alaska

1.     there is no such thing as a long hot shower in a RV

2.     Verizon Wireless lies – they do not cover “all of Alaska”

3.     the “MiFi” is not the miracle solution for travelers on the road

4.     wearing camouflage pants in Alaska is cool

5.     it’s ok not to get hi-lights in your hair every two months when on a long RV trip – all women my age doing the same trek are in the same boat (RV) 

6.     I can cook a whole dinner (appetizer, main course and dessert) over a fire pit in a camp ground

7.     mosquitoes in Alaska are the size of small birds – hence the saying “the mosquito is the national bird of Alaska”

8.     in a campground you either get water, sewer or WiFi – not all three at the same time

9.     it’s ok to sneak out in the middle of the night in your long underwear to pull the grey and black water tanks – you ”need to go” and the tanks are filled to the rim after two showers and all day dishes – most likely you will see your neighbor doing the same thing

10.  if the ad in the Milepost for WiFi is BIG with BOLD letters it usually means that you get 1 hour free WiFi on the Tango-internet and after that you get booted out for the rest of your stay

11.  if the campground gives you a big chocolate cookie when checking in you only get ½ hr free on the Tango-internet and still get booted out for the rest of your stay

12.  rapid dissolving toilet paper is just that “rapid dissolving” do I need to say more?

13.  I will never eat pasta again!!!

14.   in Alaska it is all about cinnamon rolls and fish or fish and cinnamon rolls

15.  gloves are a must even in the summer

16.  potable water is not up to human standards consume at your own risk – according to signs in some Alaskan State Parks

17.  I will not pay $9.99 for a 12 pack of Coca-Cola

18.   “Top of the World Highway” is over rated and under paved

19.  in the small communities of Alaska doing laundry at the local laundromat is the social event of the week – everybody gathers there for showers, laundry and WC. 

20.  it’s ok to wear your jeans until they stand up by them self  - if somebody notices look guilty and say “it was a mad scene at the laundromat” Alaskans understand.

21.  in some small communities and campgrounds there are no flush toilets but plenty of outhouses J

22.  it is true what they say about Alaska – it is cold!!

23.  your neighbors at the campground can be your best friends forever in 1 hour and you spend the next day with them hiking, biking, cooking, drinking and telling each other your life story and the next week while driving down the Alaskan Highway you need to ask your husband “remember those people next to us at the campground what are their names again??”

24.  Alaskans are the warmest, friendliest, kindest, down to earth and most helpful bunch of people I ever met.

25.  and the most important thing – make sure you kinda like your travel companion because 24/7 for 2.5 months in a 25 ft RV is a long time :)  H. thanks for going with me.

June 30 Haines Alaska

June 30 Today as god did on the seventh day we rested from our trip.  Sounds like an oxymoron but we needed to catch up on our bill paying and we had cable tv so I watched will and Kate arrive in ottawa.  The weather was cold and windy and we were situated right on the Lynn canal so it seemed a little colder than normal.

July 1 Haines Alaska