On our way to Anchorage, AK. Driving time is 126 miles. It was an easy day of driving. Quite two days. Fantasy had a cook out in the evening. I was introduced to peanut butter whiskey. I have a bottle in my possession for anyone who would like to try it! Pictures below are from a pull out we stopped at. Walked out onto the silt bed of a river. It’s like being on a different planet. Interesting experience.

We are on our way to Seward, AK. Driving time is 170 miles. Just an fyi it rained the entire three days. We went on a boat tour of Resurrection Bay with a dinner on Fox Island. The weather was not conducive to sightseeing. But there was lots of comradely among us so it was still good fun. I am happy to say that once again Alan was not seasick. Yeah! The beach was interesting as it is noted for the smooth rocks perfect for rock skipping. PS, I failed rock skipping 101 but got an A for effort. The next day we went to the Sea Life museum. Spent almost three hours there. Came back and just relaxed for awhile. A bit later went out to eat. Alan had a hankering for Italian. I had a dish of prawns which were quite tasty. It’s amazing how short staffed so many places still are. Where we camped there was an eagle’s nest right in the middle of the campground. Pretty cool but definitely could not let Big Al and Roxie run loose.

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We are off to Kenai, AK. Driving time is 198 miles. This was a pretty road but would have been stunning if it wasn’t pouring and the cloud cover wasn’t so low. It is my understanding that we will travel this road again on the way back. Alan and 3 others finally had a chance to go fishing. Please note there are no pictures. It is my understanding that the reason being they are not locals so they were not allowed to keep their catch. Hmmmm. I also heard through the grape vine that fish were actually swimming through their legs at one point. Again, hmmmmmm. Nice campground. Family owned. Had a nice funky vibe to it. They put on a great dinner for us. Lot’s of things from her garden. She even had homemade jam for the homemade biscuits. Went moose hunting. Saw two of them. Mom and baby. Actually saw baby nursing. Pretty cool. Also was finally able to have the dogs groomed. I don’t think they have ever been that dirty.

We are on our way to Palmer, AK. Driving time will be 260 miles. It will be a “free day”. So we booked a half day of 4 wheel atv. Then we visited a reindeer farm and a musk ox farm. End of day went to a brewery. Our new friends enjoy tasting the local beers. Alan and I have enjoyed going with them. I had a blueberry mule. Delicious. What a great day. Can’t take pictures of everything but beautiful country, new experiences. Life is very good.

The “reindeer farm” had turkeys, chickens, a pig, a pigmy pig, a lonesome bison, a moose and some reindeer. I think a few animals were taken in and then it grew from there. The moose was adopted because mom was hit by a car. I actually thought it seemed like a rather rundown, sad place. People trying to make a living I guess.

We then went to the musk ox farm. Our guide was clearly knowledgeable about these animals. They were smaller than I thought they would be. Also, they are raised for their undercoat of hair which is naturally shed, not their meat. Clearly, a well run organization.

Our new destination is Valdez, AK. 254 miles. The drive was a bit long because raining all day. When we arrived everything was fogged in. Got up in the morning and OMG beautiful mountains all around us that were invisible when we arrived. We had a free day. Did not do much of anything. Alan took a long nap. Went to a brewery. Wednesday was a. day long boat tour. The boat tour was great. Served us a nice chicken on rice dinner. The ride was smooth enough that Alan was able to eat. Wasn’t sea sick at all. Hard to describe the day. Saw sea lions, seals, dolphins, two killer whales. It was just about a perfect day.

Today our destination is Tok, AK. Only a 77 mile drive. Wasn’t much going on today. Washed the first layers of mud off the RV and the truck. Then went to the local brewery and relaxed. Rained all day.

Our destination is Chicken, AK today. We will only be driving 107 miles. We were given a tour of a dredge and given a lesson on how to pan for gold. Very interesting as Alan and I are fans of the tv show Gold Rush. We passed a sign for Porcupine Creek. I wonder if it was the same one mentioned in the show. We took the ferry across the Yukon River then traveled the Top of The World Highway . The is a bumpy, full of pot holes dirt road. At times we were driving 11 miles an hour. But this road is considered the highest road in North America. We then celebrated that night with a cookout and champagne toasts provided by our guides.

Our longest travel day to date was the 334 miles to Dawson City, YT. The day was long and tiring because there was lots of construction going on. We had three different construction sites where we had to be escorted by pilot cars. One delay was almost 45 minutes. We started out at 8 am and did not arrive until 6:30 pm. We did make a stop for cinnamon buns. They are “the biggest buns in the Yukon”.

Dawson City is an interesting and historical town. Enjoyed a walking tour with Gaberala who was both knowledgeable and entertaining. We toured an original bank, a bar restored based on a historical photo and the original post office.

Later we went to Gertie’s Gambling Hall and Can Can Show. Good clean fun enhanced by plenty of drinking!

We also toured their fire truck museum. It is quite impressive the money they have raised to restore the old steam operated pump wagons. They are currently raising $400,000.00 for their latest project. A pumper that is only 1 of 2 known to exist. AND, all funds for these projects have been privately raised in little Dawson. The picture does not do the pumper justice and does not show the intricate details. I would consider it a work of art that has been saved for others to enjoy.

We are off to Whitehorse, YT today. The travel will be 266 miles. A tour bus took us on a tour of Whitehorse and a fish ladder. Then we met up to tour the SS Klondike.

So the tour of the town was Zzzzzzzzz! The fish ladder was only interesting because it’s the longest wooden fish ladder in the world. And I am always interested in how mankind tries to fix what they messed up. The first salmon of the season arrived just before we got there so there was lots of excitement among the staff. Especially because it was a wild salmon instead of hatchery raised. They can tell that it was wild because the ones from the hatchery have one of their fins notched. They look very plain jane when arriving at the fish ladder.

The same evening we went out to a Mexican restaurant and had a great time

The next day we went for a tour of MukTuk Sled Dog Kennels. Can’t go for a ride this time of year because it’s too hot for the dogs. He had 110 dogs in his yard. Although they are well tended to I was sadden to see them all on short chains. I had no idea that most of them are mixed breeds. He also had several rescue dogs. The owner said the dogs get a lot of attention from tour groups. They are put in exercise pens twice a day and also get brushed every other day. His presentation on the sport of dog sledding was interesting. As he said several times if you don’t take care of your dogs you won’t be racing. I was surprised how often before, during and after a race the dogs had to be checked by a vet. We were then served a very nice lunch.