Author: Henberta

The open road is great, but a change of pace to driving the big rig is welcome.  The more settled parts of Alaska are easy to view on a train trip.

Henry uses the wait at the station to catch up with family……

The Fairbanks to Anchorage route takes you by Denali Park, with its magnificent vistas.

The railroad in Alaska is not much like Amtrak in the lower 48; the trains seem to run on time, the food is good, and the carriages are quite comfortable…. in fact, conducive to a little nap, in spite of the scenery.  Some people even fall asleep in public parks after disembarkation!

A couple of cars feature an open viewing deck, which is super for watching the passing show…. just don’t get caught in the automatic doors!

Wildlife viewing from the train is not ideal; we saw this lonely bear (speculation that it was a young male recently out on his own), but from obviously far away. 

Seward is the starting point for many adventures, most especially fishing…..

Anchorage was more fun than expected.  People here are crazy about fishing everywhere, even under a bridge in the city, where they catch several types of salmon!

A day of great weather led to a 25-mile bicycling trip along the Cook Inlet and around the floatplane airbase.

Domestic animals were out for exercise and socializing…

And most exciting was coming across a large bull moose, feeding unconcernedly along the bike path….

A souvenir bike jersey will commemorate this enjoyable day!

You may recall that we need to be in Winnipeg on 31 July to welcome Henry’s daughter Holly, son Clay and their families for an adventure in Manitoba’s polar bear region.  From Alaska, we will return to Canada and the Yukon Territory for a few days, then leave the rig again in Whitehorse and fly to Winnipeg for the family get-together.

A fun interlude in Alaska; now back to Canada and the road ahead!

The Alaska Highway was constructed during World War II to connect the lower 48 contiguous United States to its then-territory of Alaska, thought to be a key point of defense against threat from opposing Japanese forces. Built largely by the US Army Corps of Engineers, it was not an easy assignment…

Returning to Canada from Alaska, we spent our first night far from any town at a really charming accommodation which was originally built to house army construction engineers and their horses during the building of the highway.  Several remnants of their occupation remain on the property, which now includes cabins, RV slots and an airstrip (which we unfortunately could not use due to high winds during our stay).

The ladies running this show were welcoming, providing us after hours with an outstanding meal in a remote outpost….. salmon lasagne, fresh greens from the garden and some delicious side salads, along with a decent bottle of wine. 

Many similar accommodations were active along the old highway, but most have been abandoned, as improvements to the highway have drastically reduced the amount of time required to travel this route.

Lucky to have had a taste of this piece of recent history….

 

 

In February 2015 we met a young family that was working a trapline near a lake in a very remote area of the Yukon…… we flew in to their camp and spent an afternoon snow-shoeing and learning a little bit about the trapper lifestyle.  Here we are then with Megan, Brian and their 18-month-old daughter Tasin.

Today they live in Haines Junction, and we had a grand time getting together four and a half years later!

Tasin is now a lively and charming 6-year-old, who is looking forward to spending this coming winter at the trapline again.

Megan is an artist who creates incredible pieces from natural materials such as fur, leather and wool.

Her dad was an inventor/tinkerer who developed a land/water prototype that Henry tried to figure out how to adapt to flight…..

Brian recently became a guide at a nearby lodge.  We spent 5 nights there, the first couple of days doing a little fishing…… very little unfortunately, as Megan was the only one to land any fish.

My fault that we caught virtually no fish!  I missed this sign in the lodge breakfast room…

Henry got to chop some wood….. while a little woodland sprite appeared in the background!

As usual, a couple of canine encounters…… and a grizzly bear track! 

Henry has a passion for geology, and wanted to try gold-panning.  Brian formerly had gold fever, and was happy to show Henry the ropes.  Some exciting ATV rides were necessary to access the sites!

No fish to speak of and no gold, but a lot of great fun.  So very pleased that we contacted Brian and Megan and went out of our way to see them.  Lesson in life – don’t ever hesitate to follow up with people you enjoy….. the payoff can be truly gratifying for all!  

We will keep up with them and look forward to seeing where life takes them next.

Life will be taking us next to Whitehorse and then Winnipeg, where we will meet up with Henry’s family for a journey to Churchill and a remote lodge on Hudson Bay for a polar bear safari…….

The long-awaited polar bear adventure in Manitoba…. with Henry’s daughter Holly, husband Matt and kids Caleb and Lily and his son Clay, wife Polly Etta and kids Kaylyn, Hayden and Hailey.  

Manitoba’s capital city was our meeting point…

The best way to transport a group this size was to just rent a whole bus!

We visited the mint where we saw how Canadian coins are produced and later learned a bit about the Hudson Bay Company, a huge commercial enterprise sponsored by the English government that was the center of industry during the colonial days.  (Below is their logo; the slogan “pro pelle cutem” means “skin for a pelt”, often interpreted to refer to the hardships the traders went through to obtain, store and ship the furs that were so treasured by the European markets.  Hudson’s Bay has evolved through the centuries and is now a retail clothing/housewares company, much like JC Penney.)

We flew on to Churchill, northeast from Winnipeg on the shore of massive Hudson Bay.  Henry made a friend on the plane…..

Churchill is a pretty small town, the major industry being tourism.  The most phenomenal feature is how perfectly positioned it is to attract beluga whales in the estuary on which the town is perched.  We first saw them on a Zodiac visit….

and later when we all went out on kayaks to get up close and personal!

Quite a thrill to have several of these leviathans nudging your teeny tiny vessel only a few feet away!

Churchill bills itself as “Polar Bear Capital of the World”, so they do get the occasional large furry white visitor.  Here are Lily, Holly and Kaylyn outside the polar bear jail…

They also have non-polar-bear/beluga-whale residents…. a fine canine and a couple of Icelandic ponies…

From Churchill, we had to separate into two groups to take the small fixed-wing flight to the remote Nanuk Polar Bear lodge, about 80 minutes away further south on Hudson Bay.  Although the day was slightly overcast, we were able to spot more than 20 polar bears from the air on each trip!  (Caleb and Matt below enjoying the flight…..)

There were 6 other people on our adventure – and as Henry and I have learned on similar outings, all of them were friendly, fun to be with and interesting.  We enjoyed hearing their stories and learning a bit more about them.  (The person in the hood is Mai, a dermatologist from Taiwan with perfect skin…. likely to remain that way, unlike mine.  She is also a master flamenco dancer!)

Nanuk Polar Bear lodge is very comfortable, featuring excellent cuisine and appropriately themed refreshments…

The big attraction is, of course, the bears.  Several black bears stalk around the lodge itself.

But polar bears are what we came for.  We searched for them on foot, slogging through sticky mud….

and on “rhinos”, conveyances specially constructed for the boggy tundra-like terrain…  although they got stuck in the mud more than once, much to Henry’s delight.

Hayden found some moose teeth!

More of Mother Nature’s beautiful wild flowers….  such stand-outs in what most consider a bleak landscape!  Compensation for the white sameness of winter…..

And yes, some extraordinary polar bear moments…… this handsome young fellow was a little too interested and had to be – well – discouraged….

 

Another day, after several hours of fruitless searching, we came upon a point between the bay and a stream with an amazing number of polar bears.  Trust me – from our vantage point in this photo, we can see no fewer than 16 bears.  Some on the shore, some on the land, some in the water.  It was a sighting that rivaled the best that our guides had ever seen.  Hard to convey just how exciting the moment was.  You’ll just have to come visit yourself!

Grand things come to an end, and we had to return to Churchill through rain, clouds and delays caused by the same…..

and from there back to Winnipeg.  

With a full day left before the end of our adventure, we decided to check out some more wildlife at the zoo, including a very cool polar bear area, a pelican feeding and butterfly sanctuary…

Holly arranged a limousine for this outing….. a nice touch before our parting….. Holly, Clay and company back to sweltering Texas, and Henry and I back to Whitehorse in Yukon Territory where the truck and trailer are patiently waiting.

A beauty shot from the plane over the Rockies….

And for us, back to Whitehorse for a few days.  Henry picked up a bug and was bedridden for a day to regain strength before hitting the open road again.

He’ll be back in no time.  We stayed in the same hotel we were in before our dog-sledding trip in February 2015.  The view this summer is much less romantic than it was during that cold crisp winter…..  

We’re pleased with the Manitoba experience with family…. hope they are too.  From here, we have no particular agenda.  Will probably meander east through Yukon and BC and then into Northwest Territory.  No need to get back to Texas until it cools off a bit!

PS – This means little to anyone but me, but this is my 100th post on this blog!  So many memories, lots of photos, and a few miles covered.  Some faithful followers…. thanks to you all!

 

 

Muncho Lake, British Columbia

Tucked into a lakeside cabin …….

Snow is to continue all day today.

After several days in Whitehorse we ventured east slowly. We will brave the elements tomorrow to head closer to our next waypoint …. Yellowknife, capital of Northwest Territories.

The snow was just so lovely (hard as that may be for those of you from the frozen north to believe)……

We broke loose from our not-so-cozy cabin to proceed across the countryside, and enjoyed seeing just a few others who weren’t afraid of the cold weather…..  (We hear so often of caribou herds, but these are the only ones we have seen.)

This kind of weather inspires one to seek a fire (which the lodge owners where we had stayed refused to light, as “it’s not winter yet”.  Humph!).  The delightful lady whose roadside inn features magnificent cinnamon buns (best in the galaxy!) had a happy little blaze going.

(Please note how important it is to mark your cinnamon bun by pressing your index finger firmly into its moist and gooey surface!)

A couple of black bears at the side of the road had also apparently found something worth digging for….

uncaring but more likely unaware of the fate that awaits some of their brethren…

The snow did not hold, but we were soon distracted by the herds of bison (big herds!) strolling by the roadside.  (Look for babies popping up out of the grass on the second clip…)

Finally the Northwest Territories border appeared and we were excited to be moving into a new space, although doubtful that it could possibly contain anything special or exciting to our jaded travelers’ eyes.

 

To paraphrase Shakespeare, the course of true adventure never did run smooth.  Yes, there must be hiccups (hiccoughs?) along the way.  And when you have almost 10,000 miles on the road, it’s madness not to expect them.

Relieved that they survived the Dempster highway north and south without problems, the tires nonetheless took a beating…

We wisely got some new ones in Whitehorse before venturing further….

(If the wheel looks a little naked, it’s because a couple of hubcaps were “appropriated” during our extended stay in Whitehorse…..  We didn’t even notice until the tire store guy pointed it out.)

All thankfully was well until we reached the outer reaches of Yellowknife.  There,  sections of severely undulating road surface caused by permafrost finally took its toll on a wheel bearing…… causing the entire wheel assembly to disintegrate, including the axle!!

We dragged the trailer into town on 3 wheels (with sparks issuing from the dragging section!) and were directed to an auto repair store, where thankfully the proprietor, Ken, was still around.  He allowed us to spend the night on his property and promised to address the problem in the morning….

We spent several days exploring the history and beauty of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories – and we were not quite prepared to be so charmed by the former and dazzled by the latter….. but that will be the subject of the next post.

In the meantime, we secured accommodations at different venues, including a b&b where Henry expended some energy helping the owner Lisa with some improvements….

Lisa gave us a Chinese good-luck token to help us on the way!

So far it hasn’t worked so well.  Further tragedy ensued – while on a flight-seeing trip over the Great Slave Lake, Henry missjudged the force of the prop blast of a 450 hp De Havilland  Beaver float plane. His cell phone was ripped off its lanyard when he stuck it out the window for a better shot ….. to disappear into the 8th deepest lake in the world!

Wheel structure repaired, we bid farewell to Ken and his wife Emmeline….

 … and set off from Yellowknife toward the province of Alberta.  A pedestrian frantically signaled us less than 1/4 mile from the repair shop….. Smoke was pouring from under the trailer!  The repair had not held; the tire was rubbing against the trailer frame about to burst into flame!!

Alas, a new axle must be ordered and installed…… and we return to town to wait (more or less patiently) for a few more days.

Worse things could happen……

But this beautiful double rainbow encourages us that the worst is over…..

Next post will show the fun parts of our stay here!

What a surprise Yellowknife has been!  Capital of the Northwest Territories, the population is only about 20,000 (total population of NW Territories is 45,000).  Surrounded by boreal forest and tundra, nestled among pristine lakes, it is a magnet for fishing enthusiasts and…. folks seeking the aurora borealis, or northern lights.  Plenty of decent restaurants and shopping, presumably because of its many visitors.  In a nutshell, we like it here.

Located along an inlet on a huge lake, Yellowknife has an interesting houseboat community.  We stayed in one for a couple of days, only accessible by canoe…..

And yes, there was a fabulous northern lights display….  but I can’t show you the photos as they seem to be messing up this posting.   I will try in a different post.

Photos of the day spent exploring the lake by canoe…… are on the phone at the bottom of the lake.  Another day, however, we took a 1956 DeHavilland Beaver for a flight-seeing trip…. fabulous weather and views.

Here’s a video flying over the old town (and houseboat neighborhood)….

Again, beautiful weather and pellucid waters made for gorgeous landscapes.

This is not what we expected when we decided to visit what looked like a lonely point on a map…… more points for the value of wandering!

The last few days were spent in an apartment with still another great view over the inlet….

A new axle has been installed on the trailer, and we are once again planning on departing today, heading south toward Alberta.    More later!

Can’t imagine how these photos interfered with the last post……. 

Here are a few shots of the northern lights from the houseboat.

This weekend is supposed to be quite active for the aurora…..  maybe we will see more from down south!