Saturday, August 16, day 75 of our journey from Arkansas to
Alaska
299 miles
Elevation 1,608’, Temperature 65°
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| Southern British Columbia |
This was the day we crossed back into the mainland USA
(lower 48 to Alaskans). We took Highway 1 east to Kamloops, then 5 south to 97C,
and eventually 97 south to Washington. 
At one point, I noticed that the highest
posted speed limit was 120! I did that in one short segment, but don’t worry--that is only 72 mph. I was getting myself back into converting from kilometers
to miles. 
We actually found an old style A&W with root beer, did a tasting
at a winery, and purchased 3 bottles of wine as a souvenir.
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| US Customs Office |
We crossed the US border at 3 pm and got the most detailed
grilling from a male customs agent about what we had purchased in Canada and were
trying to bring back. Liquor, meats, fruit, and vegetables were the topics of
discussion. We were directed to pull over into a holding area and somebody
would be with us shortly! I looked at Daisy and sighed. I dug out our keys to
the TC while observing a family in front of us sitting amid several piles of
their personal belongings. Very soon a female agent approached us and asked
what fruits and vegetables we had purchased since leaving Hyder, Alaska. That
was easy, “none.” She smiled. At 3:10 we
were moving. The temperature was now 87°. Maybe that was why I was in a sweat.
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| I know this road well. |
We were now surrounded by country that I am very familiar with. I
detoured and took Daisy on a short excursion to learn more about my
personal history. After a 15 mile trip, I stopped in front of some well-worn buildings from the CCC era of the 1930s. These now unoccupied buildings were at one time the Conconully Ranger District Work Center.
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| Warehouse and barn built in 1934 and '36 |
In 1979, this was a thriving field
dispatch office of the US Forest Service. I was the last District Ranger to be here.
This place had a rich history before I came, and my arrival as the first Black
District Ranger in the 100-year history of the USFS added to that heritage.
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| Sign post without sign |
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| 1934 bunkhouse |
It was from here that I saddled and packed stock to ride the high country of the wilderness area, rode a snowmobile to monitor winter trails and snowpack conditions, and fought forest fires.
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| 3 trees are the CCC signature. |
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| Office built in 1934 by Civilian Conservation Corps |
Like me, the buildings are tired and retired from active duty. But as I looked at them and fingered the wood, the memories and these structures all came back fresh and re-invigorated. As we headed on down the road, I told Daisy the stories of my young adult years here.
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| Okanogan, Washington |
I lived in Okanogan, Washington with former wife Valorie,
daughter Shannon, and son Michael. I drove Daisy by our old tutor-style house
where I had many pleasant visions.
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| My Okanogan home, 1979-1982 |
We then went to stay overnight at the driveway in the home of my friends CeCe and Denny.
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| A good friend and buddy |
Unfortunately, CeCe was away for a girls' weekend,
so we didn’t get to see her. Denny took it upon himself to tell Daisy other
stories about my time there that I had not thought to mention.
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| I just love large flat driveways with electrical outlets. |
Sunday, August 17, Day 76, 76°
335 miles
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| In the gorge Washington side |
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| Crossing to Oregon side of the gorge |
We headed south on SH 97 to visit friends Steve and Arlene, who live in Carson, Washington. On the way there, we had to take a truck bypass via Oregon and then back to Washington. The reason was a Washington road tunnel height that was posted as only 12’9” and it might have been messy if I hit a bump.
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| Steve and Arlene |
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| Steve and Arlene's driveway of course |
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| Steve and Arlene's backyard. That is Oregon across the river. |
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| We were next door to Mt. St. Helens. |
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| Notice the moss and ferns here. |
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| Deer everywhere |
Steve took us up to the Colville Ranger Station, which was my second District Ranger appointment. This was in 1982-85.
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| One of the first USFS training centers |
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| I was slimmer and trimmer then |
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| We heated with wood. We cut, stacked, and burned 5 cords each winter . |
This was the first time my family had actually lived on a government compound in a CCC constructed house. Steve was State Park Superintendent of a nearby land unit, and Arlene and I taught a Sunday school class together. It was great to re-visit memories with old friends and to have Daisy meet them.
Monday, August 18, Day 77, 70°
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| If your rig hits the dangling thingies, it is too tall. |
We crossed into Oregon and went to Hood River and had brunch of Smoked Salmon Benedict and then to the Naked Winery for a tasting.
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| The Hood River Hotel (circa 1912) for breakfast |
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| One doesn't have to be naked to taste here. |
Then we traveled 155 miles back to Yakima, WA to visit a truck camper factory the next day. I wanted to see how these units are constructed from the bottom to the top. We really like our 2007 unit and know that some day we will want a newer one. Besides, I had some suggestions if anyone cared to listen. We found a state campground about 9 miles away.
Tuesday, August 19, Day 78, 78°
We went to the Adventurer factory for a private 1½ hour tour.
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| They listened. |
Adventurer is now the manufacturer of Eagle Cap truck campers, which is the brand we have. We were pleased to learn that the concerns I expressed about design flaws in our unit that cause it to be prone to leakage and poor design that makes it difficult to maintain have been addressed in the 2013 and newer units. I got to see redesigns including the welding of the structure walls to make them sturdier and lighter weight than our current unit. I expressed my concern that the 4 end-corner jacks were not constructed to handle long term usage. They showed me the upgraded jack that is now being installed to handle that concern. The jack tube is larger in diameter and has a larger motor to drive the gears. I left confident that at least one manufacturer is listening to its users.
We left Yakima and arrived in Worley, Idaho about 4:15 pm
and connected with our friends Lee and Jay for wine and dinner. We gave Jay the
jade and rhodonite rock pieces we had selected for him at Jade City, BC a few
days before. We know nothing about rocks but he saw some jewelry possibilities
in what we had selected. We spent the next 4 days at the resort where Lee and
Jay spend the summer. We enjoyed several local area day tours, ukulele lessons, and
musical programs at the resort, as well as socializing during happy hours and
meals of course.  |
| Our good friends |
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| This was our Idaho living room. |
Sunday, August 24, Day 83, 62°
372 miles
After a few days of relaxation, it was time to hit the road
again. On the way past Clinton, MT we observed that it was the home of the
annual Testicle Festival (testyfesty.com). I might have to add it to the list
of places to visit sometime! 
Our destination was Camp Three Forks, MT (elevation 4,150’)
and we got there about 6:35 pm. Just before we got there, Daisy announced to me
that the box of 160 tissues she had purchased to have in the truck was empty.
She figured it had lasted over 9,040 miles, or 56.5 miles per tissue. Maybe it
was time to get the girl home?
Monday, August 25, Day 84
402 miles
We headed east on the Interstate and saw new snow on some of
the high peaks as we traveled the prairies. Our destination for this night was Makoshika
State Park in Glendive, MT.
We had visited our friend Fran, who was the camp host there, on our way to Alaska over 80 days before, and it seemed fitting that we wrap up our travels with a return visit on our way back home.
There are no hookups at this campground so we boondocked and ran the generator as needed in the evening. We enjoyed sharing stories of our summer experiences with Fran and hearing about her activities as well. She had another friend visiting, and it was also good to meet her.
We had visited our friend Fran, who was the camp host there, on our way to Alaska over 80 days before, and it seemed fitting that we wrap up our travels with a return visit on our way back home.
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| That's Fran roasting weenies with me. She is a remarkable woman. |
There are no hookups at this campground so we boondocked and ran the generator as needed in the evening. We enjoyed sharing stories of our summer experiences with Fran and hearing about her activities as well. She had another friend visiting, and it was also good to meet her.
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| Boondocking means no hookups. |
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| Sunset in Montana |
Tuesday, August 26, Day 85
201 miles
We crossed into North Dakota and were greeted by these scenes.
We crossed into North Dakota and were greeted by these scenes.
We arrived in Bismarck about 4 pm and met friends Arlene, Bryce, and Shirley for happy hour snacks and drinks.
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| Margaritas! |
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| Shurls was a little late dropping in. |
Afterward we visited Cindy, where we stayed the night in her apartment’s parking lot. Our main reason for seeing her was to celebrate her graduation from college.
She picked a great place to dine and we “awarded” her with a sparkly pink t-shirt we had purchased for her in Alaska.
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| A belated graduation celebration |
Then we went back to Cindy’s place and showed pictures of our recent Alaska journey. She endured them well. We used her shower—no need for shower shoes here. Then we bedded down in the TC.
Wednesday, August 27, Day 86
383 miles
Today was another treat in that my son Michael and his girlfriend
Beatra were in Bismarck and met us at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Cracker
Barrel caters to RVers by having RV parking slips in their lots. It was a wonderful
coincidence they were there visiting Michael’s mother when we were coming
through Bismarck to celebrate with Cindy.
We got back on the road and Daisy made phone calls to confirm a visit with friends and
her sister in the days to come. We headed east about 10 am and stopped in
Clearwater, MN at 5:45 pm. This was the 39th state we had visited in
the truck camper.
Thursday, August 28, Day 87
140 miles
We entered Wisconsin, our 40th state, and arrived
at Jeff and Kay’s home near Eau Galle, WI. We had last seen them at Big Bend
National Park in Texas.  |
| More good friends |
We parked by their horse barn, shared leftovers, and told stories before soaking in their hot tub. It is comforting to have friends and family who let you just drop in with only one day’s notice!
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| The horse barn is just in front of us. |
Friday, August 29, Day 88
236 miles
We had a brunch with Jeff and Kay including fresh fruit from a farmer's market.
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| The chefs at work |
We had a brunch with Jeff and Kay including fresh fruit from a farmer's market.
Of course we had blueberry pancakes.
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| We do love the roads we travel. |
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| Great facilities |
We reluctantly got on the road and found a casino RV campground to stay in that night. The campground was full service but we had to go to the casino’s hotel registration desk to pay. It took about 45 minutes of standing in line to pay for a site that we were already hooked up in. Remind me to avoid casinos on weekends!
Saturday, August 30, Day 89
158 miles
As with Jeff and Kay, we had given short notice of our
proposed overnight visit to Daisy’s sister Mary Lee and brother-in-law Rick in
Kirksville, MO. We had stayed in their driveway before and took a tour of their
almost completed home renovations. We had drinks and Daisy made them a smoked salmon
dip with some our Alaskan goods. It is always good to visit family, even if the
time is brief.
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| It was the first Saturday of college football, hence the Virginia Tech and Mizzou shirts. Both teams won their games! |
Sunday, August 31, Day 90
343 miles
This was the final leg of our wonderful Alaskan adventure! We were almost home.
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| Heading into Ozark country |
This was the final leg of our wonderful Alaskan adventure! We were almost home.
We drove southwest across Missouri into Arkansas and arrived home at 4 pm.
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| When I see this view of Table Rock Lake, I know home is near. |
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| The last turn |
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| Gosh, but this looks good. |
We had a great journey. It was the longest trip we had made to date in our nearly 3 years of marriage. We traveled for 90 days, 89 nights: 23 of the days were in the US, 17 in Canada, and 50 in Alaska. We drove our 15 year old Ford 11,018 miles. The fewest miles we traveled on any travel day was 40 and the most was 419. The highest price of fuel we paid per gallon was $4.65 in Valdez, Alaska and in Canada was the equivalent of $5.90 per gallon, but of course it was in liters. By the way, Daisy took 9,240 pictures, averaging over a hundred per day. Even with the road, mechanical, and weather challenges, we would do it again.
We met some great people on the road and saw some unique and beautiful country. The plus thing is that we did this adventure together!
We met some great people on the road and saw some unique and beautiful country. The plus thing is that we did this adventure together!
We've only just begun!
