Alaska 2009
- Thread starter fisher205
- Start date
AlabamaDan
New member
Really enjoying your journal. Keep them coming. Interesting people take the same photos on their journey. Live your dream man and enjoy the road.
Red Zebra
Adventurer
Sorry I took a few days off for pheasant hunting.
Thanks for the comments. I hope this wasn't the trip of a life time because their is just too much yet too see.
August 17, 2009
I am sitting next to the Buckley River in Smithers, B.C. municipal campground sipping on a beer while I update the log. I plan on going fishing for pink salmon in the morning before taking off.
It rained off and on all night last night and was heavily overcast this morning. Today started early so that I could get over to fish creek and watch the bears. There was an older female there and the “bros” were down stream. All the pictures I took were bad. The light was low and so the shutter speed was too slow. I set the camper up in the parking lot and downloaded the 250 pictures I took yesterday. I did some other filing of photos and then went to check the bears again. There wasn’t much happening so I just sat around in the rain and talked with some of the regulars. I can easily see myself coming back up here. A little after noon I went back to the bus for lunch before I left. Diane was smoking some fish so was late with lunch. I had the chowder today and some grilled Coho salmon. Both were excellent. I was going to get a togo cup of the chowder. It was still raining at 2:30 as I left town. The water falls that come off of the hanging valleys were fantastic.
The drive to Smithers was uneventful. Just some rain showers off and on, and one small bear for wild life. It was strange to see fences along the roadway. There is a lot of haying going on around here. There have been some ranches in Alaska but I didn’t see as much. So to see agricultural stuff all around is different. The campground here is nice. One of the guys at Hyder (Karl from Jackson) told me about it. He stays here a lot and told me about how the manager Joe Kennedy is such a great guy and he was right. Anyway another very pleasant day. 203,400 212 miles
August 18, 2009
I got up this morning and fished for a couple of hours with no success. I made a good breakfast, went to Safeway and hit the road. A lot more traffic on the road and I now run the speed limit and have to quick gawking as much. This is pretty country with lots of rivers. St George is large. I skirt the edge of it but still get caught in a snarl of traffic. It’s about the same size as Sioux Falls. Canadians don’t believe in freeways. That may be good though.
I got to just south of St. George and stayed at a little campground. It’s a private one along the Fraser River. I thought it had an internet connection but they wanted an additional 3 dollars for that. I did get a long hot shower in. I also cooked some new potatoes that they had in at Safeway. The owner of the campground said that the fishing is poor. The water temperature is up 8 degrees above normal. This is the first time that I have worn shorts in a month. It is pretty warm here tonight.
There is a boat going slowly back and forth across the river. I couldn’t figure out what they were doing. I thought they might be trolling, but they were on the wrong side of the boat (since when does that matter, right Steve?). I then noticed the survey grade GPS receiver they had mounted on the boat. That they were running transects then made sense. I wonder if it made a bottom sounding at the same time as it took a reading?
A guy pulled in next to me and parked, went to the river, jumped in a boat and took off. An hour later he came back. He had been fishing and had about 4 big salmon. I asked him about it and he had a gill net down stream and was catching sockeye. They are about over. He said rod fishing wasn’t that good here without a boat.
August 19, 2009
It was warm last night. I had the camper opened up and didn’t need the sleeping bag until early this morning. A lot of highway noise and Canada sure has a lot of trains…
The fisherman was back this morning with helpers. I think his boy looked to be about 11 and the girl was about 6. You could tell the boy had helped before and the little girl hadn’t. The boy would patiently move her out of the way as they loaded stuff and then helped her get into the boat. They had a large king salmon when they got back. It was a late straggler.
I stopped at the visitor’s center at Quesnal and use their wifi to check email. There was nothing too exciting in it. As I dropped farther south it became more arid. It really reminded me of southwest Wyoming. It is filled with huge lakes. I wanted to go to Kamloops area to camp and to fish a stream east of it. Well every campground was full.
I should have found camping earlier but I wanted to get to this area. I finally found a campground at Pierre’s Point near Salmon Arm at 8:30.
204,055 (2 days) 688 miles
August 20, 2009
I found out why the campground wasn’t full a short time after getting set up. A CN train comes by about every 2 hours. I think this was their main east-west line. Not a very restful sleep. So I got going fairly early this morning. I stopped at a couple of the wineries and do some tastings. I mainly take photos and see what they are doing with them.
The Okanangan Valley is full of Winery’s, orchards, huge lakes, and people. It also seems to have a lot of ski areas. I didn’t realize how big most of these cities were through here. Kamloops and Kelowna are at least 100,000. The other towns range from 1000 up. It is hard to tell when you are leaving one town and entering another. But every campground is full. I think everybody is having their last fling before school starts.
I push on to Nelson and it seems to be a decent town. It’s a little bigger than Spearfish. Also the…. (wait for it) the campgrounds are full. I decide I am headed home anyway. I end up going to Salmo. It has a municipal campground with showers and even better yet… A place to camp. 204,390 352 miles
August 21, 2009
There was some thunder and a light rain last night. I got going fairly early this morning. I decided to get going home. I want to get a day with Sherri at home before she goes back to work and I need to get some things done there too. So with a nose for the barn I let the old Dodge have its head and we are going home.
The only problem is we have a lot of beautiful country to go through yet. It is great country all along the base of Canada. I will have to go back to the Crow’s Nest Pass Area. It was really strange to break out on the prairie again. The wheat was being harvested, hay was being put up must be getting closer to home. There were huge banks of windmills along the ridges south of the highway in Alberta. I guess just having gas and oil isn’t enough for Alberta. They’re trying to get the wind too. Good idea.
I did do a quick drive into Waterton Lakes before crossing back to the good old USA.
I have been ready to go home for a few days now. Anyway ready to see Sherri, so that when I decided to push to get home a day earlier I was really excited. But when the Border Patrol said welcome back to the US Mr. Ellis, it struck me that this little odyssey is almost over and I'm not sure I am ready for that either… But darn it the Dodge has the bit in its teeth and we’re headed home.
I fueled and grabbed a burger in Great Falls. I looked to the south and could see huge thunder heads and lightning. A bit of de-ja-vu. It was just like this last time I was in Great Falls in 1991. Anyway I was racing it to the east for awhile and then I had to turn south into it. I have been into a lot of overcast and rainy days on this trip. But I never did see anything like a prairie thunderstorm. I was talking to guy in British Columbia, and he told me about driving through South Dakota and getting caught in one. He said he had never been so scared in his life. They sure can be intense looking.
I found a place to camp north of White Sulphur Springs. It’s another late camp in the dark and rain. Luckily my cell phone has enough battery left to light so that I could do the padlock on the camper. Teaches me put the flashlight back in the cab. I will be home tomorrow. So tonight is my last night in the camper, at least as far as this trip goes. I will do an epilog to finish this once I get home. I don’t want to jinx anything now.
204,928 565 miles
August 22, 2009
I awoke to a sunny morning. I didn't sleep well last night. Maybe it's the last night on the road thing. This is my first time driving through the Belt Mountains. It’s not very touristy here and I am enjoying the road. I go on into White Sulphur Springs just to see it. I try to remember it as Ivan Doig described it in “This House of Sky” but my memory of the book is pretty faded. I head back up and catch US 12 east. It’s not long before this is one of worst roads I have driven on the whole trip. At least as far as a National Highway goes. It may be paved but I think the Campbell Highway was better. It eventually improves and I get through Billings. I stop for a late breakfast and get panhandled going into the fast food place. I am now on I-90 then 212 home. I think both the truck and I have run this so many times we can do it in our sleep. Which maybe good as tired as I am. I got home about 3:30 and it’s good to be back. 205,362 456 miles
Epilog
Total 10,386 miles, and glad I did it. I came back to all the things I didn’t get done before I left and all that accumulated while I was gone. The truck ran fantastic. The only thing that broke was two springs in the driver’s seat and that did start to affect my posture and comfort. The items I didn’t get done to the truck before I left weren’t needed. I still will look at adding driving lights, a grill guard/ bumper and definitely tow hooks and maybe get the Dodge so that I drive it instead of herd it down the road.
The camper was a different story. It was rough when I bought it and my years off road adventures in it haven’t helped. Some of the problems are; 1) the front cab over area sags about a half inch. This allows bugs to get in while driving. It is unpleasant to climb into bed and find a bee there. 2) The cab over area also does not seal very well. 3) The back door is now loose in its hinge and sagging. I can’t figure out how to tighten it. 4) The left rear corner is hanging up when lifting or lowering and it seems to need continual tightening of the many screws holding it together. 5) The thermostat needs to be replaced. 6) The dry rot that has a huge effect on the stability of this camper. But you know for being 25 years old, neglected and abused it held together and provided shelter. I never got wet and always felt secure and comfortable. The Nova Kool refrigerator worked great and shut down as it was supposed to when the batteries were low. The furnace worked well also when the problem with the thermostat was figured out. My system for filtering water was a bit cumbersome but worked. It does need some refining. I also need some better reading lights. The LED’s don’t seem to draw bugs and don’t use power.
I feel validated in my ideas about creating a “simple” dependable camper. After 7 weeks of living and traveling in it I do see things I would like to change or improve and will start on them when time, money and opportunity lets me. But even with these issues it is setting in the driveway and I can have it ready to go in about two hours including grocery shopping. I would take it on the same trip again right now as it sits (well maybe fix the seat).
Some things I learned on this long of a trip are:
•Take a day or two off from driving at least once a week. I think you need to catch up to yourself. You may not be working but you are going through a lot of changes and it does feel good to just quit moving.
•Campgrounds especially in National Parks or high frequented areas, have a spot not later than 2 in the afternoon. It's a lot more fun looking at scenery, not for campsites.
•There are interesting people on the road. If staying in a Campground be sociable. I mixed my stays between in the bush and campgrounds. Some of it was because I was traveling alone and got tired of talking to myself, but I found out about a lot of the places that I enjoyed the most by other travelers telling me about them.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Ellis
Thanks for the comments. I hope this wasn't the trip of a life time because their is just too much yet too see.
August 17, 2009
I am sitting next to the Buckley River in Smithers, B.C. municipal campground sipping on a beer while I update the log. I plan on going fishing for pink salmon in the morning before taking off.
It rained off and on all night last night and was heavily overcast this morning. Today started early so that I could get over to fish creek and watch the bears. There was an older female there and the “bros” were down stream. All the pictures I took were bad. The light was low and so the shutter speed was too slow. I set the camper up in the parking lot and downloaded the 250 pictures I took yesterday. I did some other filing of photos and then went to check the bears again. There wasn’t much happening so I just sat around in the rain and talked with some of the regulars. I can easily see myself coming back up here. A little after noon I went back to the bus for lunch before I left. Diane was smoking some fish so was late with lunch. I had the chowder today and some grilled Coho salmon. Both were excellent. I was going to get a togo cup of the chowder. It was still raining at 2:30 as I left town. The water falls that come off of the hanging valleys were fantastic.
The drive to Smithers was uneventful. Just some rain showers off and on, and one small bear for wild life. It was strange to see fences along the roadway. There is a lot of haying going on around here. There have been some ranches in Alaska but I didn’t see as much. So to see agricultural stuff all around is different. The campground here is nice. One of the guys at Hyder (Karl from Jackson) told me about it. He stays here a lot and told me about how the manager Joe Kennedy is such a great guy and he was right. Anyway another very pleasant day. 203,400 212 miles
August 18, 2009
I got up this morning and fished for a couple of hours with no success. I made a good breakfast, went to Safeway and hit the road. A lot more traffic on the road and I now run the speed limit and have to quick gawking as much. This is pretty country with lots of rivers. St George is large. I skirt the edge of it but still get caught in a snarl of traffic. It’s about the same size as Sioux Falls. Canadians don’t believe in freeways. That may be good though.
I got to just south of St. George and stayed at a little campground. It’s a private one along the Fraser River. I thought it had an internet connection but they wanted an additional 3 dollars for that. I did get a long hot shower in. I also cooked some new potatoes that they had in at Safeway. The owner of the campground said that the fishing is poor. The water temperature is up 8 degrees above normal. This is the first time that I have worn shorts in a month. It is pretty warm here tonight.
There is a boat going slowly back and forth across the river. I couldn’t figure out what they were doing. I thought they might be trolling, but they were on the wrong side of the boat (since when does that matter, right Steve?). I then noticed the survey grade GPS receiver they had mounted on the boat. That they were running transects then made sense. I wonder if it made a bottom sounding at the same time as it took a reading?
A guy pulled in next to me and parked, went to the river, jumped in a boat and took off. An hour later he came back. He had been fishing and had about 4 big salmon. I asked him about it and he had a gill net down stream and was catching sockeye. They are about over. He said rod fishing wasn’t that good here without a boat.
August 19, 2009
It was warm last night. I had the camper opened up and didn’t need the sleeping bag until early this morning. A lot of highway noise and Canada sure has a lot of trains…
The fisherman was back this morning with helpers. I think his boy looked to be about 11 and the girl was about 6. You could tell the boy had helped before and the little girl hadn’t. The boy would patiently move her out of the way as they loaded stuff and then helped her get into the boat. They had a large king salmon when they got back. It was a late straggler.
I stopped at the visitor’s center at Quesnal and use their wifi to check email. There was nothing too exciting in it. As I dropped farther south it became more arid. It really reminded me of southwest Wyoming. It is filled with huge lakes. I wanted to go to Kamloops area to camp and to fish a stream east of it. Well every campground was full.
I should have found camping earlier but I wanted to get to this area. I finally found a campground at Pierre’s Point near Salmon Arm at 8:30.
204,055 (2 days) 688 miles
August 20, 2009
I found out why the campground wasn’t full a short time after getting set up. A CN train comes by about every 2 hours. I think this was their main east-west line. Not a very restful sleep. So I got going fairly early this morning. I stopped at a couple of the wineries and do some tastings. I mainly take photos and see what they are doing with them.
The Okanangan Valley is full of Winery’s, orchards, huge lakes, and people. It also seems to have a lot of ski areas. I didn’t realize how big most of these cities were through here. Kamloops and Kelowna are at least 100,000. The other towns range from 1000 up. It is hard to tell when you are leaving one town and entering another. But every campground is full. I think everybody is having their last fling before school starts.
I push on to Nelson and it seems to be a decent town. It’s a little bigger than Spearfish. Also the…. (wait for it) the campgrounds are full. I decide I am headed home anyway. I end up going to Salmo. It has a municipal campground with showers and even better yet… A place to camp. 204,390 352 miles
August 21, 2009
There was some thunder and a light rain last night. I got going fairly early this morning. I decided to get going home. I want to get a day with Sherri at home before she goes back to work and I need to get some things done there too. So with a nose for the barn I let the old Dodge have its head and we are going home.
The only problem is we have a lot of beautiful country to go through yet. It is great country all along the base of Canada. I will have to go back to the Crow’s Nest Pass Area. It was really strange to break out on the prairie again. The wheat was being harvested, hay was being put up must be getting closer to home. There were huge banks of windmills along the ridges south of the highway in Alberta. I guess just having gas and oil isn’t enough for Alberta. They’re trying to get the wind too. Good idea.
I did do a quick drive into Waterton Lakes before crossing back to the good old USA.
I have been ready to go home for a few days now. Anyway ready to see Sherri, so that when I decided to push to get home a day earlier I was really excited. But when the Border Patrol said welcome back to the US Mr. Ellis, it struck me that this little odyssey is almost over and I'm not sure I am ready for that either… But darn it the Dodge has the bit in its teeth and we’re headed home.
I fueled and grabbed a burger in Great Falls. I looked to the south and could see huge thunder heads and lightning. A bit of de-ja-vu. It was just like this last time I was in Great Falls in 1991. Anyway I was racing it to the east for awhile and then I had to turn south into it. I have been into a lot of overcast and rainy days on this trip. But I never did see anything like a prairie thunderstorm. I was talking to guy in British Columbia, and he told me about driving through South Dakota and getting caught in one. He said he had never been so scared in his life. They sure can be intense looking.
I found a place to camp north of White Sulphur Springs. It’s another late camp in the dark and rain. Luckily my cell phone has enough battery left to light so that I could do the padlock on the camper. Teaches me put the flashlight back in the cab. I will be home tomorrow. So tonight is my last night in the camper, at least as far as this trip goes. I will do an epilog to finish this once I get home. I don’t want to jinx anything now.
204,928 565 miles
August 22, 2009
I awoke to a sunny morning. I didn't sleep well last night. Maybe it's the last night on the road thing. This is my first time driving through the Belt Mountains. It’s not very touristy here and I am enjoying the road. I go on into White Sulphur Springs just to see it. I try to remember it as Ivan Doig described it in “This House of Sky” but my memory of the book is pretty faded. I head back up and catch US 12 east. It’s not long before this is one of worst roads I have driven on the whole trip. At least as far as a National Highway goes. It may be paved but I think the Campbell Highway was better. It eventually improves and I get through Billings. I stop for a late breakfast and get panhandled going into the fast food place. I am now on I-90 then 212 home. I think both the truck and I have run this so many times we can do it in our sleep. Which maybe good as tired as I am. I got home about 3:30 and it’s good to be back. 205,362 456 miles
Epilog
Total 10,386 miles, and glad I did it. I came back to all the things I didn’t get done before I left and all that accumulated while I was gone. The truck ran fantastic. The only thing that broke was two springs in the driver’s seat and that did start to affect my posture and comfort. The items I didn’t get done to the truck before I left weren’t needed. I still will look at adding driving lights, a grill guard/ bumper and definitely tow hooks and maybe get the Dodge so that I drive it instead of herd it down the road.
The camper was a different story. It was rough when I bought it and my years off road adventures in it haven’t helped. Some of the problems are; 1) the front cab over area sags about a half inch. This allows bugs to get in while driving. It is unpleasant to climb into bed and find a bee there. 2) The cab over area also does not seal very well. 3) The back door is now loose in its hinge and sagging. I can’t figure out how to tighten it. 4) The left rear corner is hanging up when lifting or lowering and it seems to need continual tightening of the many screws holding it together. 5) The thermostat needs to be replaced. 6) The dry rot that has a huge effect on the stability of this camper. But you know for being 25 years old, neglected and abused it held together and provided shelter. I never got wet and always felt secure and comfortable. The Nova Kool refrigerator worked great and shut down as it was supposed to when the batteries were low. The furnace worked well also when the problem with the thermostat was figured out. My system for filtering water was a bit cumbersome but worked. It does need some refining. I also need some better reading lights. The LED’s don’t seem to draw bugs and don’t use power.
I feel validated in my ideas about creating a “simple” dependable camper. After 7 weeks of living and traveling in it I do see things I would like to change or improve and will start on them when time, money and opportunity lets me. But even with these issues it is setting in the driveway and I can have it ready to go in about two hours including grocery shopping. I would take it on the same trip again right now as it sits (well maybe fix the seat).
Some things I learned on this long of a trip are:
•Take a day or two off from driving at least once a week. I think you need to catch up to yourself. You may not be working but you are going through a lot of changes and it does feel good to just quit moving.
•Campgrounds especially in National Parks or high frequented areas, have a spot not later than 2 in the afternoon. It's a lot more fun looking at scenery, not for campsites.
•There are interesting people on the road. If staying in a Campground be sociable. I mixed my stays between in the bush and campgrounds. Some of it was because I was traveling alone and got tired of talking to myself, but I found out about a lot of the places that I enjoyed the most by other travelers telling me about them.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Ellis
Last edited:
I guess I didn't realize you went solo. 
rustyjames
Observer
Awesome!!!!!!
Thanks for the comments, and I'm glad to share it with you. The saga of the bad furnace thermostat continues.
I was cleaning a some pheasants Sunday night and could hear a clicking sound coming from the camper. It was the furnace trying to ignite. Everything was "supposed" to be off . The thermostat indicated it was off. The camper hadn't been used since mid October when I used it for opening weekend of pheasant hunting. So it has killed the batteries. We've been only having highs of 10F so no work has been done on it. - Brad
I was cleaning a some pheasants Sunday night and could hear a clicking sound coming from the camper. It was the furnace trying to ignite. Everything was "supposed" to be off . The thermostat indicated it was off. The camper hadn't been used since mid October when I used it for opening weekend of pheasant hunting. So it has killed the batteries. We've been only having highs of 10F so no work has been done on it. - Brad