Paula Deen

October 5- 10 Orono, Maine

Although we have a hangar full of stuff in Alaska, we required additional supplies for the Alto. Because there are weight restrictions as to what it can carry, we elected to go the plastic route (sorry Brook and Valerie). While shopping at the big K I noticed that Paula Deen is on sale. Anything she endorsed can be had for a reduced price-karma will find you every time, Paula.

Traveling with the Alto

Steve and I had intended to stay a few days in Canada. However, we had volunteered to dog and cat sit for Sister Kay's menagerie and also wanted a chance to visit. Exiting out of Canada with a product made in Canada means Custom's paperwork is extensive. Fortunately we had completed most of it before leaving Alaska so the majority of our conversation focused on the US government shutdown and who the custom agents knew in Alaska.

It was a cool and beautiful five hour drive to Maine and my sister greeted us with one of my favorite wines and the best apple pie I have ever eaten.

Introducing the Alto

We stayed the night in a "no pet" hotel outside Quebec City, a few miles from our next morning trailer rendezvous. Stopping Tucker from thumping the wall with his Labrador tail in the hotel was unsuccessful-especially when it was time for breakfast and dinner, but our rule violator went undiscovered. 

All signage in Quebec is in French and between Steve and me there is a vocabulary of about ten words. We had printed driving directions to the dealership but road construction thwarted our preplanning. Fortunately, we left the motel early and arrived just before our full day of orientation was to begin.

On the floor of the showroom there were three Alto models and the most striking feature was that they  looked larger than I had envisioned. The sole English speaking agent, Denis, walked us to the back and waiting was our Alto adorned with a big red bow.

Safari Condo is known for their excellent service and the accolades are deserved. By 6:00 pm every feature of the Alto had been explained, additional accessories purchased and adjustments made so we were ready to tow it to a campground a few miles away. Steve and I were too tired to locate a service station where we could fill our propane tank that fuels our heater so we added a sleeping bag for nighttime warmth.

Walmart

One of the difficulties  traveling later in the season is that many of the the campgrounds close mid-September. Of course we assumed otherwise and earlier in the day when we looked at the map and calculated the length of our drive, we decided to stay in a campground near Regina, Saskatchewan. Two were listed and as it turned out, two were closed. Our waitress at a local Boston pizza suggested Walmart :( and our unfamiliarity with the area at 10:00 pm left us with few options.

To save traveling several hundred miles in travel, we dropped into North Dakota for a couple days. A pleasant surprise was that there are beautiful state parks along the way, and Tucker and I are enjoying the release from the car in one of them.

Tucker enjoyed a lunch stop at a lake the following day, especially because he got the salmon skin.

Although Tucker had an appetite, he was not feeling well. Later that evening, his respiration was so rapid we thought we would need to visit an emergency pet hospital. Fortunately, he improved a few hours later but it took several days for him to get back to his bad dog behavior-and we welcomed it.

Sculptures and Prairie Lights

September 29, 2013

We did not hang around for breakfast at the Star Inn Hotel and instead decided to look for something more likely to be palatable. Edmonton was about 35 miles and our intention was to stop there but by the time we navigated the traffic, we missed our chance. Instead, we stopped in Mundare for fuel for both the car and me. Although the breakfast was forgettable, the "sculpture" across the street in the town's only park was not. The plaque indicate it was donated the local sausage-making company. The company must be a big employer as this work of art possesses an uncanny resemblance to a doggy download.

Today I managed to take several photos of the prairie. Do not attempt to clean the smudge from your screen when viewing the sunset photo; I took it through the car window and Tucker added his special touch.

Coffee and the Star Inn Motel

September 28, 2013

After reviewing my photos for the day, I am disappointed I do not have any of the prairie. The palettes of the prairie grasses and fields under an endless blue sky shared by migrating geese was an unexpected pleasure. I do have one picture of Steve preparing mid-morning coffee with our Sumo Jetboil-a necessity if one is to avoid drinking Canadian coffee-I imagine a pound of coffee lasts a looong time in Canada.. Throughout the trip I hoped to be proved wrong with my initial critique but alas, it was not to be.

When planning our day's trip, we decided to truck camp in Onoway, Alberta but after a 10:30pm arrival and the thought of unloading the pickup to sleep we changed our minds. The only hotel in town was the Star Inn Motel, (aka the No Star Motel) but it did allow pets in the room. I felt fortunate that when I turned off the light in the bathroom and then quickly turned it back on, no additional guests scampered across the floor. However, there was not much I could do about the stale smoke smell. Steve fell asleep quickly but I needed to drink an Alaskan Amber while working on a crossword puzzle to fall asleep-now that would have been a photo op.

Whitehorse to Fort Nelson

September 27, 2013 

The bridge pictured below crosses the Teslin River, home to a diminishing number of several species of salmon.  The informational boards explain the concerns and actions taken by Teslin Tlingit First Nation people to increase the number of salmon in the river but returns continue to be low, especially for the Chinook salmon. 

The 600 mile drive from Whitehorse to Fort Nelson drive today was broken up by Wood Bison grazing along the highway, brilliant yellow foliage and an afternoon snack at Liard Hot Springs. It is a short walk on the boardwalk to the hot spring pools and well-worth a stop.

We slept in the truck at a campground whose restaurant serves chicken-fried steak. This is important only because after being a waitress in my teens and serving plenty of them, I finally realized why the name was given to a pounded and rather tasteless piece of meat (fyi-the steak has the same coating as  chicken although perhaps this almost tidbit was known by most of the readers of this blog).

Car Camping etc.

September 26, 2013

Tucker demands a lot of room when he beds down and my legs were immobilized by his body-try pushing 85 pounds of dead weight. To my chagrin, Steve did not suffer any discomfort as Tucker chose my side for his slumber.

We arose early, tracked down coffee and fuel and continued on one of our many long days of travel. After leaving almost three days later than initially planned and needing to complete a 4500 mile journey in eight days. Fortunately, the scenery diverted my attention from the interminable sitting.
Thousands of geese flew overhead and swans seemed to be in every size pond. Along the road we even spotted a red fox waiting for a break in traffic. At a stop at a visitor center near Kluane Lake, we spotted several hundred sheep on the mountain. I took Tucker for a walk and came upon enormous grizzly tracks in the silt-like mud. The distance between the paws was about 4 1/2 shoe lengths. After several hundred yards of following them, I thought better of it and made my way back along a different route.

In Whitehorse, we decided to book a room for a night but had no internet connection. As a work around, we purchased a mango smoothie at McDonalds and used their free wifi to locate a bed and breakfast.  There were some great walking trails close to the B & B and the shower was an elixir.

Off We Go...

September 25, 2013 

Steve and I pulled out of the driveway at 2:54 pm  and we drove 500 yards before I asked , "Are we stopping for food?" The 16 hour days we put in to get the house and us ready for our travels left little time for food and sleep. Fortunately, friends invited us for dinners earlier in the week and engaged us in conversation that did not include the words Windex or where should I put this?

Our first travel stop was to see where my Alaskan "Wroots" began when I started my first teaching job 60 miles north of Anchorage. When I moved in in the fall of 1981, there was no running water, electricity or porch. Upon leaving I did have electricity but there is still no well and the porch is a welcoming addition.

Commuting the 10 miles to my teaching job afforded incredible views-that has not changed at all.

Matanuska Glacier

We arrived after dark at Tok River Campground and unpacked the truck and placed everything on a picnic table so we could make the bed in the back. It was spitting snow so we covered everything with a standard issue blue tarp. However it was one that had beed used as a painting drop cloth and for the remainder of the trip, flecks of white paint marked our campsite.