Happycampers on Tour

[syke]

Looking forward to following along... the wife and I are making the Alaska trip in 2013.

[Happycamper]

Thanks all for the good wishes. We have been in Reno for three days waitng for various parts of the registration process to fall in to place. Now waiting for an UPS delivery which is 2.5 hours late. When it comes we register the vehicle and get the tags and fly off to Pittsburgh to get it.

The car transport companies desipte their promises and good intentions have cost three weeks, but no $$$ .

Frustration.

[Happycamper]

We flew to PA Friday night, got a temporary transit permit Saturday and are now on the way back to Reno for permanent registration. That should be done Tuesday or Wednesday and then we will be on the way to Seattle to pickup the Hawk FWC.

The north calls.

[Happycamper]

Well another week has passed and we are now in Canada!

The drive back to Reno was enjoyable with nothing of note except long days on the blacktop.

registration was a breeze.

we had a couple of outings with the relations watching Colin paragliding. That place has everything, skiing, hiking, kayaking and hilss to jump off. They think it is heaven.

Next day it was off to FWC to have the eye bolts attached.

That night we stayed in Bend OR after a part lap of crater lake, very spectacular!

Then we got to the home of the FWC Hawk which we purchased. Albert and Jola live in an idyllic setting on Bainbridge Island, on the water right accross from seattle. Lovely and relaxing to sit on their deck and watch the world go by. The very gracious hosts looked after us handsomly, thankyou. But there was work to do . Jenny shopped for all the things needed to equip for extended touring, like a coffee plunger etc and I got stuck ito wiring up the battery isolator. By the end of saturday the camper was on, all systems go!

Sunday was a day of rest and we took the ferry to Seattle and had a look at the markets and art gallery. Australian Aboriginal art on tour was the special exhibition, long way to go to see some sand paintings!

Yesterday we toured the Boeing factory in Everett and crossed our first border, into Canada. It went smoothly as expected.

The best part of thet day was meeting our daughter Amanda who we have not seen since Christmas day. She will tour with us for three weeks.

More soon and photos, yes I know you want photos.

[Happycamper]

IMG_5641.jpg

Amanda and camper at Glacier View park Smithers BC

[Happycamper]

After picking up Amanda on Tuesday we set off late morning. Sensational drive up through Whistler where we had a lunch stop and a walk around. Interesting to see the ski fields being used for summer pursuits like mountain biking and ziplining. Ended up that day at a Green Lake campground.

800 km followed on Wednesday and a great campsite looking at a glacier and two waterfalls on Hudson’s Bay Mountain.

Another big day of 750km finds us at Dease Lake. Beautiful view and the thunderstorms seem to be passing around us. We will be cosy in the FWC.

The Dodge is marvellous; it loves cruising along at 60 mph and sips the diesel at about 20 mpg (Aussie gallon).

[Billhilly]

Hey Happycamper, Great setup you got there.
You are in one of my favourite areas of the world right now, and are heading into what I hope to see in a few years. I've been to Smithers three times, and plan on heading to Deadhorse diner for breakfast one day. Congrats on getting it all organised, and getting out and doing it!

[JIMBO]

Sorry I missed you guy's last week, I got back to Fernley on the 24th and I'll be here for a while--

The Boeing industry is a real treat, Heh Heh, I visited them In the 50's, at MOSES LAKE-

I'll keep an eye on your posts-

Good luck and enjoy-

JIMBO

[Happycamper]

Our day after the camp at Glacier view camp consisted of a walk to the falls coming off the glacier , on the waterfront with a beautiful view. We did meet a few mosquitoes here that wanted to eat us. This is a constant issue here when outdoors and the deet repellants seem to work OK .

It rained overnight so we slept in, packed up a wet tarp and got away by 1000, late by our standards. Stopped at a Jade selling place an hour later for coffee and we continued to Whitehorse for supplies.

Here we met Ben Davenport “Cornwall2Capehorn” who after crossing Russia a year ago has fallen in love with Canada and his travel has stalled temporarily. We had a good night with him and were inspired to get on with it!

Next day was to be a diversion as we headed south to enter Alaska at Skagway, take the Alaska marine highway ferry to Haines. This area has a fascinating history as the stepping-on point for the goldminers heading to the Klondike in the 1890’s.Skagway is very tourist orientated as up to 5 cruise ships stop here daily through the summer! People everywhere. We were happy to get on the ferry. Haines is much more overlander friendly!

Sunday was spent bear spotting at Haines, checking out the fishing, the salmon are starting their run upstream to spawn, and then driving north to Alaska again. We rentered Alaska at 1800 and ended the day at the Border City Lodge, which is essentially a roadhouse with campsites out the back. Adequate for us. Today – Fairbanks

[Happycamper]

Imagine these with the previous post, you decide which goes where!

Keen followers will notice the non Engel refridgerator, at least it is not called a Waeco over here. (but it sure looks like one!)

Lunch spot.

Evening work station.

We saw a man catch a fish, trout I think, and release it.

The way to Skagway was foggy and misty

Ferry we took from Skagway to Haines.

Two blokes doing a survey/count of the number of salmon going up stream to spawn, presently about 1000 per day.

Grizzly bear crossing the road between a house and some camps.,

etc, etc

Our excitement for today came when we checked in at our RV park and saw a sign on the wall saying the road to Prudhoe Bay is closed on Tuesday!! Further research reveals that it may be closed between 0700 - 1900 or it may require pilot cars to get us through the work area, which is between about 86 - 100 miles from Fairbanks. We cannot get there before the start so plan to head off after lunch and arrive close to the end of the work time, use the long evening to get to our half way point. Plan B is to sleep wherever we end up. Will let you know in a few days how we go.

The North calls.