Super cruise of the Prince William Sound

July 14 – What a great day this was!  The sun was out and there was a chill in the air and we headed to the pier.  We had a bit of a wait to board and there seemed to be plenty of seating.  We went upstairs with Dave and Donna and claimed a table on the left side of the boat.  The scenery was beautiful and we saw Bald Eagles, Puffins, Sea Otters, marbled Murrelets, Pigeon Guillemots, Great Blue Herons, Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and Dall’s Porpoises.

The otters are great to watch as the females are carrying their babies and they lay back in the water with the baby on top.  They are very playful sea creatures. 

We went to the Columbia Glacier and parked for quite a while in hope of not only seeing cabbing of the ice but maybe some BIG cabbing.  There were cracking noises that sounded like they were behind the huge glacier.  It is 5 miles of glacier before reaching shore.  It has retreated 15 miles since 2021.

They provided a nice chicken meal for lunch and you could have free coffee and water thru out the day.  It was 8 hours for sure!  It was pretty brisk out and some folks sat outside but we only went out to use the restrooms that are entered from the bottom of the ship on the outside.

We dined out “again” with 2 other couples at the Fat Mermaid.  Donna and Dave and Dave and Laurie and all super nice people and we get a lot of laughing in.   As I’ve said, there are not a lot of places to go here in Valdez and most of the restaurants are small but we timed it well and got an outside table and a waiter with a great sense of humor!

There are only 2 gift shops and one was closed by the time we had dinner and Bill and I had been to the other one earlier and it had all clothing.  It was a nice ending to a fun day!

Arrival in Valdez - start point of the Alaska Pipeline

July 13 - Today was a short drive to Valdez, AK.  Not the best of roads but there was no rush to leave and we didn’t have any activities scheduled for when we arrived. 

We experienced fog again during the drive so thankful it was not an all day drive.  Ours is the largest of 4 campgrounds here and they are all full with caravan groups from varying companies.   Most of our group were given pull thrus and we are in the back of the park so we don’t hear much of the town or road noises.  We went ahead and went to the gas station next door and filled up so we can just get on the road on travel day.

Once we settled in and had some lunch Barb and I walked over to the Safeway and did our stocking up.  Boy, the prices are even worse here than they were in Canada.  I had sticker shock!  Glad I didn’t need meat, only lunch meat.

Our neighbors from Wisconsin, Dave and Laurie asked if we wanted to join them out for dinner so we did.  There isn’t a lot to pick from except small cafes and some outdoor places but the Best Western Hotel had good recommendations and we managed to get seated at the bar overlooking the harbor.  The food was excellent and pretty pricey but I enjoyed every bite.  We walked along the pier a bit and then headed back to the RV’s.

The towns are getting smaller - Tok!

July 12 -  Short drive day today.  Thanks Goodness!  It was only 84 miles to Tok, AK but it was still a bit hilly and curvy.  Not nearly as bad as we have been on.  We were following Dave and Donna and we slacked back a ways as he drives a bit faster.  Then close to the end I caught up to him.  We are all happy campers tonight as we all got full hookups with drive thrus!  Yea!  The only thing missing is WIFI but you can get it free in the office.  Actually they have a room between the office and the bar that has 2 folding tables to use for laptops.  I took mine in and managed to do what I needed to do as I forgot to take my charge cord. 

We went up to the bar and sat with 2 other couples and 2 singles.  They don’t serve food so I did a small patter of cheese and crackers.  They were all very appreciative.  We sat and visited for about an hour then it was time to get back to the RV and get some dinner ready. 

I had cut up and cooked a rutabaga when we first arrived while I made a small pan of Betty Crocker Peanut Brittle.  I got the rutabaga done for dinner and got out the leftover beef and shredded it and put some beef broth in to moisten it.  I mashed the rutabaga which is how Bill likes it , and added some butter and milk.  It’s kinda like mashed potatoes.    I didn’t used to like it but now it’s grown on me.  We had tomatoes from my 3 plants and they were delicious.  Now we have to wait a week for so for the next batch.

I did 2 loads of laundry here and will do another 2 once we reach Valdez, our destination for tomorrow.  It’s going to be a long day with 300+ miles.  Ugh!  As long as it doesn’t rain I am happy.

Peaceful day in Chicken!

July 11 - Today was a bit more relaxing!  No rush to get up and on the road.  I made some sausage biscuits for breakfast and we kinda chilled until it was time to leave for today’s activities. I put a beef roast in the crockpit as I wasn’t sure how long I’d had it and there was no label as to the kind of roast it was.  I figured I could shred it for beef tacos or cut it up for just meat.

After lunch we all gathered down by the river for gold panning.  An elderly gentleman explained how you use your pan to go from a pule of dirt and rocks to specks of gold.  They have a small sluice that we used and some of the group went to the river right behind us.  After 3-4 pans I was over it.  I do think we got some tiny flecks of gold when we first started but couldn’t get them into the tiny bottle they give you to put your gold in.  Bill thinks he put some in the bottle at the end of his sluicing but I’d be darn if I can see it.  They say to fill the little bottle with water after you get to your RV.  He did it but I can’t see anything.  I got tired of it and wasn’t impressed with the whole process.

Some of the group wanted to visit an old school within walking distance.  There is a guide here that takes people there so a group got him to set up a time and they went to it.

The town of Chicken has 40 some people living here in the summer.  In the winter they all leave except for the postmistress and postmaster who are a married couple.  There is no ground water and the power is all by generator.  There is no grocery store and the only place to get fuel is at the campground.  There is one small café that we ate at last night.  So this is a destination for sure. 

My beef was good!  We had half of it with some bbq sauce and I made slaw for the side.  Dessert tonight was the rest of the rhubarb crisp that was in the fridge for a few days.

It stays light here most of the night but since I’ve been here before I didn’t get up several times during the night to see how light it is.  It was nippy when we got up this morning but turned into a lovely day and it’s nice to have some down time.  Tomorrow’s drive to Tok (pronounced Toke) is only 80 miles so in the morning we will fill up at the pumps here and once we got there we will take the RV to a wash station before we check into our campground.  I think there will be a line of us for sure!  Since it’s a short drive day it’s our best time.  The following day is about 300 miles.  I’m also going to have a full hook up so I can do 2 loads of laundry or more!!

Day from "H"

July 10 – What a day!  This is another “will not do again” day.  We were up at 4:45 to be ready to leave at 6:15. Today they had us line up in numerical order and we are 8.  Bill wanted to follow one of the Daves, so that was Ok’d.  Three of the RV’s did not get up since they stayed at the bar and partied and could not get up this morning.  Everyone has the name and address of the campground so they were on their own.

We headed to the ferry crossing in numerical order.  It takes about 15 minutes for the ferry to cross the river, unload the vehicles and come back.  There were 2 small RV’s in the line beside us and I think 4 -5 cars showed up.  They can’t put but 1 big RV on the ferry at a time but they can put 2 small ones beside it or cars etc.  We crossed on the 5^th trip over.  As they landed on the other side they lined up along the exit road so once we all made the crossing we left together.  It was a very tight squeeze for me to get the RV over and in to close the front and back parts of the ferry.  They did put a small RV and 2 small cars on with us.  Once we crossed I had to wait for the small vehicles to exit before I could steer to the middle of the gang plank to get off.  We waited for the last of the group then we hit the road.

What a road it was!  We drove most of the day on hard pack small gravel and dirt.  We had some paved road but it was Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride today for sure.  We spent 99% of the drive going up and down mountains in the rain and the road would widen and narrow and if there was passing traffic it was sketchy to get to far over to the edge.  Bill was quite a nervous wreak that I was going to go over the edge.  He didn’t think about I would be going down the hill as well so I was very careful!  It was a scary drive and bumpy as “H”!  We had some stretches of asphalt but that was few and far between.

It was almost 6 hours to drive 110 miles.  So that tells you what it was like!  The destination was Chicken, AK.  It’s a tiny little town that was a gold rush place.  The campground has only electric and that is 20 amp.  The spaces are all drive thru which is nice and that are much wider than our last place.  We were told to fill our water tanks before arriving as they have no under ground water here.  At 18 inches deep the ground is frozen year ‘round.  Their water is trucked in.  There is also no sewer but they have a dump station.

Once everyone arrived and was settled in and washed their front windows we went to a local tiny place for a dinner of caribou brats with either potato salad or slaw.  They had homemade pies and cinnamon buns.  I had a piece of cherry pie and Bill went with blueberry.  Very good! 

We rode with Dave and Donna so we tootled around a bit after checking out the tiny gift shop. Time to settle in for the night as it’s raining which puts me to sleep!

Next Stop Dawson City

 July 9 - Today we headed out to Dawson City that is 111 miles.   The time estimate was 5 hours.  It ended up being 8 hours.  What a rugged trip that was!  We got off the Alaska Highway and on to Hwy 2 and again it was mountains and rivers which were lovely.  Then we got into the fire area which was no threat to us but it was very smokey and hazy.  You could smell the fire.

The additional time actually was due to stopping 3 times at work zones.  The first one we waited a long time for the Lead Truck to get back to our side.  Then we were maybe ½ mile in and about half of the group was crossing and they had the rest of us stop for a work truck.  Well, it was starting to rain a bit and once they signaled for the car in front to go he had no traction and we were “uh oh”!  He was towing a travel trailer and they asked him to back up and turn right and he got over so the rest of the group could pass.  The people in front didn’t want to leave him but he waved them to go.  Once we left I think they hooked a winch to his truck and towed him out of the muddy area.  We were glad when we learned he was back in the line.

Well, we had to go thru 2 more work areas and they don’t do a little section at a time, they do several miles so you can only creep along or bump yourself to death.  We zigzagged to avoid potholes etc.  Not a fun drive.

We all arrived safely in Dawson City and we all had pull thru spaces with full hook ups.  I did a load of laundry while Bill was outside chatting with the group.  Then after showers we were all headed to a casino with a show and we supposedly had reservations for steak dinners before the show.  We pulled into the lot and the place was closed so we walked a couple of blocks into Dawson City and there was a bar/restaurant and they had room for all 26 of us.  Everyone had a fun time in addition to a good meal.  Bill and I shared an order of poutine and he had a chicken sandwich and salad and I had a buffalo burger with salad.  It was like we switched!  Everyone finished up timely to walk back to the theatre where we picked up our entrance tickets for the dance hall show.  We all enjoyed the music, singing and dancing.

Then we took the couple who rode with us down to the ferry landing to see where we are heading in the morning.  They said it holds 2 RV’s at a time but it’s not very big!  It only takes about 15 minutes to cross the river to Alaska!

So tomorrow is sure to be another adventure!

Loved my breakfast!

July 8 – This morning was breakfast in Whitehorse where we arrived at the outskirts yesterday.  The food was very good, slow service though slow waitresses.  I had French toast and chorizo sausage and have French toast left for tomorrow morning.

From there we went to see the S S Klondike.  It was a cargo ship that went up and down the Yukon River.  Our guide was an Indian Native who volunteers at the ship and he was extremely knowledgeable about the building of the ships and the perils they faced.  Unfortunately, the ship is going under renovations inside so we didn’t get to see inside except the cargo area in the bottom thru the windows. There were two guides and we all thought our guides were great.

After the ship we were on our own for the rest of the day.  Barb and Mike rode with us today and we drove around some to see an old church and the downtown, then we went to Dollarama, Walmart, (while the guys went to Canadian Tire), another grocery store and then we were ready for some lunch.  The tavern we planned to eat at which was the oldest tavern in Whitehorse no longer serves food.  They recommended a place down the road, Earls.  The food was delicious, very upscale and I think our friends were a bit taken back on the prices.  Bill and I enjoyed our meal and we cleaned our plates.  Our friends both didn’t touch their broccoli, he didn’t eat his rice.  So I got their broccoli and rice and took it home and I have half of them both with my leftover chicken for dinner.  

We took them to see the Douglas DC-3 airplane weather vane.  We visited yesterday and there was some wind and we all got to see it move with the wind.  It’s really cool to sit there and see this huge plane turn with the wind. 

Dinner was leftovers from lunch and other nights, so I didn’t have to do much.  Earlier I made a batch of Chocolate Chip Brittle that I broke up and made 5 little bags to share with our fellow travelers.  Next time I have time to bake a batch I’ll share with 5 others. 

Time to call it a day as we are to be at a gas station meet point with others at 5:45AM.  Ugh!