July 29, 2009

Today was seafood fishing day. Mike and I walked down to the coast and tried our best to fish the Washington shores (with no gear of course). As we got to the pier, we saw a beautiful jellyfish swimming in the water. Then we went fishing with our hands. Mike and I caught lots of mini crabs, 2 clams, and 2 oysters. Only one of the oysters were big enough to keep. We shucked it and took it back to the van. Since neither of us are fond of raw oysters, we sauteed it with butter and seasoning salt. It was delicious! Next we loaded Amber and headed out onto 101 again. On our way we stopped at a winery. As Mike said, "I want to keep my Kelly happy". Wine does make me happy-hee, hee. Then we did a nice sized grocery shopping at Walmart and finally found a site at Bogachiel State Park. To end our night we had cheese and crackers, steaks, corn, potatoes and red wine :-)

July 28, 2008

Washington is having record high temperatures right now. It is 100 degrees today. Mike and I drove to Seattle so he could pick up his new check card and credit cards. We now know what it is to experience culture shock. Although we live in a big city, we have not been around it for six weeks now. Traffic, impatient drivers, hurried people, parking regulations, etc. seem like a distant past to us. As we were sweating our butts off in the sweltering heat trying to figure out the new parking meters, frustration brewed to a boiling point for both of us. Just as I was praying for God to please take me back to Alaska, Saint Blair came to our rescue. Blair was a true angel. He offered us quarters for the meters, walked us to a pub and grill, and spent two hours with us showing us the route we needed to take to get to the Pacific Coast Highway 101. Blair also guided us to the expressway so we could get out of the hustle and bustle of city life. Just when we thought the people we met couldn't get any nicer we met Blair. Thank you Blair, you are a true Good Samaritan. We proceeded to take the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry and then we stayed at Sequim State Park for the night. As soon as we got closer to the coast, it cooled down and watched another amazing sunset. Then we did our usual routine: Stop, Pop, Shuffle, and Drop (stop at a site, pop the top, shuffle our things, and drop the bed). We were exhausted!

July 27, 2009

Wo woke up this morning and were visited by a very nice couple from Oregon. They were traveling in a cream colored Westy and returning from Alaska too. We shared stories before they headed out for the day. Again it is a scorching afternoon. We traveled for about 250 miles and then needed to stop again to take a swim. Mike and I chose Kelly Lake for our dip. It was a beautiful torquiose blue and very refreshing. After a nice lunch we continued on. We drove through Cache Creek which is known as Canada's Arizona. It was blazing hot. Mike and I got blizzards from Dairy Queen and continued on. We watched a beautiful sunset as we kept on truckin'. Finally we got to US customs. We passed through with no problems again. Right after the border we stayed at a very run-down RV campground, but we did not care. It was 10:00 pm and we toasted a beer thankful to be back in America again.

July 26, 2009

What is this? Two days in a row with showers? Mike and I are going to become high maintenance. Our new motto is "shower when you got them". We truly appreciate the simple things in life now. One of our luxuries this afternoon was buying fresh tomatoes for our sandwiches. It was an extremely hot day today. As we started our first few miles on our way, an identical Amber passed us on the highway-it was even diesel! The one difference was that it was very stinky and passing puffs of smoke onto us. It reminded me of when Mike first got our Westy. Now with the new engine, she hums along. We only made it 250 miles today. We could not go any further due to the weather. We stopped to camp at 10 mile lake. We immediately biked to the beach and took an excellent swim. We then retired after eating BBQ chicken and rice. Just before bed Mike asked me, "Are you getting sick of living like this?" My response was, "No way, I could go on forever!" Each day is truly a new adventure.

July 25, 2009

Woke up today and had a fabulous shower! We said our goodbyes to Alex and Ryan and wished them well. Then we packed up with a hoard of 500 biting flies, and back on the road again. As we drove on, we passed our friends on the bikes and took a great action shot of them. Just a ways further we watched a black bear scurry across the road and disappear into the brush. A great way to start the day. Also, I don't think I mentioned this before, but the ravens out here in Canada and Alaska are the size of chickens. Check out the picture-remember to click on it to get full size. A little further on our way, we pulled up to a scene that looked like it could be an accident. Instead, it was a checkpoint. We were stopped by the fish and wildlife police. They were checking vehicles to see if any fish or game were being transported. Crazy! Since we are not, they flagged us through, and we carried on. Mike and I have stopped listing the Westy's that we pass now, they are plentiful in this area. It is great to watch Mike get so excited and lean his hand way out of the window to wave at our fellow Vanagon owners. We decided to stop early today at Shady Rest RV park just outside of Houston, BC. I had to blog and Mike had to tend to Amber. Only 750 more miles to Seattle!

July 24, 2009

We started our day off seeing two huge moose as roadkill-not a great site. We were grateful that we stopped driving last night when we did because that could have been us hitting those magnificent creatures. Counting our blessings, we continued driving on to the Cassier Highway in British Columbia. As we were driving through the gravel sections of road under construction, we heard a horrifying noise. It sounded like a large clunking and scraping sound. It was so loud that the car behind us stopped to see if we needed help. Thankfully, we realized that Amber's spare tire had just fallen off underneath the van. Mike quickly fixed the situation and we rolled on. We stopped at the Dease River to have lunch. We met a nice couple traveling the same route as us but starting off in New York (and we thought we had quite a drive). As we continued on our journey, a bee smacked Mike in the neck and then proceeded to go down his shirt and sting him two or three times while he was driving. Being the amazing person he is, he said "I would much rather it be me than you Kelly. I took one for the team." If anyone knows me, I am allergic to bee stings! In our last stretch before stopping we saw a calf moose and a black bear. Finally we stopped at Bell 2 Lodge in the Skeeny Mountains. We got a tent site and then soaked our smelly bodies in the hot tub. It was fantastic! To end the night we had a couple beers with the guys (Alex and Ryan) next to us. They were traveling by bicycle from Anchorage to Panama City all by themselves. That is hard core! Wow, is all we can say. Their blog site is http://www.pedalingforpeople.org/

July 23, 2009

We woke up early today in order to prepare for customs. We listed everything we needed to claim on a piece of paper, I made breakfast and sandwiches for the trip, and Mike "Canadianized" the van again. We had absolutely no problems this time. It was a good feeling because we just want to make mileage today. We had to retrace our beginning steps which meant 300 miles of pot holes and frost heaves again. Mike drove for 12 hours and accomplished 500 miles. He sure is a trooper! After it got pretty dark (which is 2:00 am) we decided to pull over to a rest area and sleep a bit. We definitely did not need Amber hitting a bear or moose, especially since we have half a trip more to go!

July 22, 2009

To Anchorage we go! Amber had an appointment at 9:00 am at Estey's Auto to get her valves checked. We arrived there on time and Bob (owner of Estey's) was an excellent man. He advised us that it did not have to be done until we reach California. He was an honest mechanic, which is hard to find nowadays. We then headed to Walmart and REI for the essentials. Then we kept on truckin'. Amber was doing awesome-she reached 74 mph today! We ate at Freeze in Glen Allen and kept on going. A cow moose crossed the road right in front of us as we completed this last stretch. We retired at Deadman's Lake about an hour away from the border. This was the very first spot we stopped at on our way into Alaska (and it is free). We watched an awesome pink sunset and enjoyed our last Alaskan beer. (This picture is for you Josh Kieck!) It was a somber night because we did not want to leave Alaska, even though we know we will be back to our new favorite state again. However, we are only half way done with our trip-onward West Coast!

July 21, 2009

Mike and I said goodbye to Steve and his family today and headed to a campsite closer to Anchorage. Amber has an appointment at 9:00 am tomorrow so we decided to spend the night at Bird Creek State Park (30 minutes from the city). It was a quaint site with lots of mushrooms that Mike quoted, "Wow, a smurf could live under there!". Wood was hard to find so Mike climbed a tree and cut off some dead limbs. Yes, sometimes my fiance thinks he is Bear Grylls. It was a rainy day so we had a fire most of the day, set up a tarp to dry our laundry, and grilled pork chops and corn on the cob. It was a pleasant evening, Alaska has done us well.

July 20, 2009

Today is wallet day. We head back to Cooper's Landing in search of Mike's wallet. Gas station-no, Chugach state forest-no, Visitor Center-no. Instead we decide to bike up the trail 5 miles to check the places we stopped at along the way before Mike realized it was gone. I said that we had done true mountain biking before. I was wrong. We Alpine biked for 5 miles, the way back was a breeze-5 miles downhill. When we returned, Mike canceled all his cards. We did laundry and then met up with Steve. We stopped at the bar with Steve. Then he introduced us to Alaskan fishing. I caught my first pink salmon and it was exhilarating. Thank you Steve for being such a great friend to us. We will miss you!

July 19, 2009

Only 7 miles to our van in Hope today! We are exhausted, smelly, and hungry. We have done 39 miles in 3 1/2 days in the mountains. We hike on, and on, and on. All we want to see is Palmer creek because that means only two more miles. And on and on we go! Still no creek. But what is that around the corner? Amber? Yes it is!!! We hiked all the way to the van who was waiting for us with a cold beer. What a wonderful welcome! We drove to town, checked into a motel, and then went for pizza. The most amazing "Freak" pizza ever. As we retire to bed, we are literally old man and old woman walking. Ouch! Our calves are killing us.

July 18, 2009

As Mike and I were packing up to continue on our adventure, Garrett and I were looking up at the hills trying to find a waterfall that was on his map. As I peered up I saw a HUGE black bear grazing in the hills. We all sat down and enjoyed our breakfast of oatmeal while looking through Garrett's binoculars watching this amazing beast enjoy his feast of berries, rest, and continue up higher and higher into the mountains. (Hint-if you click on the pictures of our blog they will appear full sized.) We finished up and said our goodbyes. I think the bear heard us because he darted away full speed into the fores t. We continued on our hike. Mileage was our goal today, and we did accomplish it. We hiked 14.5 miles from mountains to valleys. We did reach the highest point to Resurrection Pass at 2600 feet. We were spent. This is a new record for our backpacking days!

July 17, 2009

"Kelly, Kelly wake up. Something big went by and now there's something huge in the water!" That was my wake up call today. Mike slowly grabbed his bear spray and went out of the tent. 15 yards outside our tent in Trout Lake was a beautiful cow moose munching grass and drinking water. If the picture seems fuzzy, it is because we were quite startled not knowing what could be out there at first. What a great way to start the day. However, things took a turn for the worst. After we hiked almost 2 miles from our campsite and loaded up on bug juice, Mike realized his wallet was missing. We searched our packs from top to bottom. No wallet. He left me alone in bear country and ran back to our site to search with absolutely no luck. We continued on for 9.5 miles. It was a strenuous uphill alpine hike. Wow, we were exhausted. After we set up, we were joined by a great guy named Garrett. He was a seismologist and visiting his girlfriend who was working in Alaska for the summer. We hung out together, sipped cider, had a campfire, and read ghost stories. An excellent end to a stressful day.

July 16, 2009

Steve and his uncle George drove us to Cooper's Landing today so we could start our trek on the Resurrection Pass Trail. It is a 39 mile path that travels through the mountains up to 2600 elevation and then descends downward to Hope where Amber is parked. We hiked 4 miles in and saw Juneau Falls. Then we hiked another 3 miles to Trout Lake. We found a great campsite and set up. After that, we got ready for dinner and some drinks. That is when Mike realized our water filter was not working. From now on Mike and I had to boil all water and then put our bottles in the lake to cool down. Minor set back, we know how to overcome obstacles out here. We ended our night by sipping whiskey by the fire and reading Alaskan ghost stories. (Lindsay-you will like this book when we are done!)

July 15, 2009

Sea Kayaking here we come! To get to Whittier we had to drive through a long tunnel that has been blasted through the bottom of a mountain. It was quite a site! We headed here to go sea kayaking in Prince William Sound. Our guide was a wonderful man named Drew. He helped us suit up, gave us a few sea kayaking tips, and away we went. The weather was cool with a light mist, but at least the water was still. We kayaked for six hours around the sound. We saw waterfalls, a glacier in the distance, and numerous eagles. We ate a lunch of salmon and pasta along the beach and then hiked up to waterfall accessible by foot. Afterwards, we headed back to the harbor and joined our kayak buddies Kim and Ryan for dinner. It was an experience that could not be missed in Alaska!

July 14, 2009

Today we headed to Whittier to go sea kayaking in Prince William Sound. We got about half way there and finally got cell phone reception. There was a message from the Alaskan Sea Kayaking manager Pete that it was way to windy to go out to sea. We will try again tomorrow. Mike and I decided to spend the day packing for our backpacking trip instead. After that it was picture time. Jason (owner of Amber's prettier twin) who is a professional photographer (http://www.jasonsheaphotography.com/) suggested that we take pictures of all of our vans lined up next to each other, great idea! After a picture shoot with the Westy's, Adam had to leave to go home and tackle a nasty case of carpenter ants. Jason stayed and his wife Liz and their beautiful baby girl joined him for the night. We all got together and had a little barbeque. Mike grilled steaks on the fire, wood grilled steaks are the best. As we were eating our feast we found out Michael Jackson died! I honestly think we were the last in the country to find out. I know he got a little wierd in the end but for us Gen Xers he was like our Elvis, kinda sad. After dinner we hung out around the campfire and Jason brought out his guitar and played some songs (we really liked the love song he wrote for his wife). Later on Steve joined us and played some songs as well. It was another great night. We retired early this night, around 2am.

July 13, 2009

We woke up today feeling much better. Mike and I reorganized the Vanagon so we no longer had to do the "Westy shuffle" so often. Then we went for a 10 mile bike ride. This was true mountain biking. Every way you turned was like a postcard. When we returned, Mike set up 5 star accommodations so we could could take a solar shower. It was spectacular! Then we set up the dutch oven and made chicken wings. As we were eating dinner, we saw 2 vehicles driving up the gravel road that had a very familiar profile: 2 Westy's!!! We couldn't believe our eyes! And to make it even cooler one was the same exact color Amber was (Assuran Brown). Mike was so excited that he couldn't finish his dinner and ran to their campsite and chatted Vanagon for an hour then invited them over to our site for more VW talk. Their names were Adam and Jason and they were from Anchorage and were going camping for a couple days. We were out of beer from our binge the previous night so they brought their cooler and supplied the beer and we supplied the campfire and whiskey, what great people we are meeting on this trip. We didn't get to bed until 3 am...again.