Halibut Fishing

We are in Seward, Ak for a few weeks.  We decided to try some halibut fishing so we booked a charter and went out on the ocean for some deep sea fishing.  The boat held 10 guests and it was funny because 8 out of the 10 of us were from Minnesota.  It was a beautiful clear day on the water and we all caught lots of fish.  We got our halibut -- the flat fish with the white belly.  The biggest one caught weighed over 80lbs.  Jim and I caught 20 and 30 lb. halibut which was plenty for us.  Jim also caught several salmon and we both caught lots of rockfish.  The crew on board the boat (in the picture) did a great job keeping us fishing and helping net or gaff the fish.  They also cleaned the fish as part of the price of the charter. 

We got to see humpback whales while we were out to sea.  They came out of the water and dropped back in the water and it looked like they were waving their giant flippers at us.  They were too far away and too quick to get any pictures.    We've been eating our fish and the halibut is very mild tasting although we don't understand why its worth $27.00 per pound in the store. 

Mt McKinley/Denali National Park

After doing a little gold panning in Fairbanks (found a little bit) we drove down to Denali National Park to see Mt McKinley/Denali.  There seems to be some controversy over what to call the mountain.  Officially its called Denali by those that live here but its still Mt McKinley on maps.  We were very lucky to actually see the top of the mountain.  Most of the time its in cloud cover but its been unusually dry and sunny so we got to see it.  We saw this moose browsing right alongside the road -- didn't much care about the cars and buses going by or stopping to gawk.  We drove the 15 miles into the park you can drive in your own vehicle.  We saw caribou and a wolf and got to walk on some tundra. 

We left Denali and headed to Wasilla.  There was a big wildfire that burned along the highway (the only road south to Wasilla) and when we went through we had to be escorted by a pilot car.  You could see where the fire had burned right up to the road and then jumped the road.   There were still spots smoldering.  There is a burning ban in most of Alaska and they have banned fireworks as well as the selling of them throughout the state. 

Western Yukon

The Yukon is so vast and empty -- native villages and a few little whistlestops with a motel, gas and maybe a place to eat.  Luckily there were also some very cute RV parks.  We stayed at three along the way.  One at Teslin Lake, one at Kluane Lake and the last one at Johnsons Crossing which is just the park and some cabins -- no other business.  The RV parks by the lakes were cold and windy -- the water is still very cold although most of the snow was melted off the mountains.  The only snow left was on the glaciers. 

We drove the last part of the Alcan which is notoriously the worst over two days.  There was 10 miles of washboard gravel and then 20 miles of gravel that was a little better maintained.  The paved part of the highway had very deep frost heaves.  We watched one 5th wheel go over a heave -- that was marked -- way too fast and his backend was airborn.  We met up with them at US customs at the Alaska border and the door to their rig wouldn't open.  They must have bent something underneath pretty bad. 

We spent two nights in Tok, Alaska and then headed to Fairbanks.   Along the way we stopped at Delta Junction and got a picture of the final Alcan milepost at mile 1422.  The road turns into the Richardson highway going to Fairbanks.   We found a place to pan for gold along the Steese highway which goes northeast out of Fairbanks.  We managed to find a little "color" so it was fun.    We went past the Chena Hot Springs -- didn't check it out-  I like to soak when is cold or rainy not when its sunny and warm.   The Alaska pipeline comes down through here on its way to Valdez.  We got to see it crossing a river and an up close view at a little visitor area they have set up so you can see the pipeline up close. 

Whitehorse, Yukon

While we were in Whitehorse in the Yukon we toured the SS Klondike.  Its an old paddlewheel boat that used to take cargo and passengers up the Yukon River.  The Yukon River is that beautiful blue color from being melted glacier water.  Whitehorse is a growing town and even has a Walmart now.   We took the time here to have the oil changed in the truck after over 5,000 hard towing miles.  We've run into some of the same people in the RV parks that we have seen all along the way up even as far back as Montana.  I guess its not surprising since there is only one road. 

After Whitehorse we went to Teslin, Yukon and stayed at a park on Teslin Lake.  The road has steadily gotten worse the farther up we go.  Lots of frost heaves and where its gotten too bad they just take it down to gravel --not sure if they will repave it since we haven't seen any paving equipment.  They seem to like to just keep grading the gravel, wetting the road down to the point of making it soup and then grading it some more.  Your vehicle and RV become covered in a thick coat of mud.  If they don't keep it wet and graded it turns into an extremely dusty (can't see 50 feet in front of you) washboard road.  We've decided we like the soupy graded road versus the dusty washboard road.

Watson Lake -- Signpost Forest

We have seen lots of wildlife along the road.  These stone sheep were just standing alongside the highway.  We've also seen fox, beaver, buffalo, lots of bears, geese, ducks, elk and one moose.  From Dawson Creek we made our way to Fort Nelson which was a long drive but not too bad.  Once we left Fort Nelson we were in the Northern Rockies and the road was winding with lots of 7 to 9 percent grades up and down.  Throw in some road construction and the threat of rain and we decided to park for the night after 120 miles and almost 4 hours of tense driving.    Although the Alaska highway we've been on so far is still better than any road we were on in Alberta. 

The next morning we had to wait for the fog to lift off the road.  Glad we did because there were lots of critters along the road.  We got to Watson Lake in the Yukon and went to see the famous signpost forest.  One of the original Alaska highway workers got homesick and put up a sign that told how far it was to his hometown.  Now the signpost forest has over 80,000 signs.  We did not add a sign to the forest but we did enjoy seeing where they were all from.   We stayed the next night in Teslin which is a native American (in Canada First Nation people) town.    Now we are in Whitehorse staying a few days so we can get the oil changed in the truck.  Since we left Yuma we have put over 5000 miles on the truck.