August 29, 2012: Back to Star Valley

We left Declo, Idaho, about eight thirty in the morning and continued to follow the Snake River. Potato fields and more potato fields,all grown in land watered by melting snows from the mountains of Wyoming. Lava fields and columnar jointing along with great examples of reverse topography came and went,(reverse topography is when lava flows on older rock and eventually erosion removes the surrounding landscape leaving the lava as a cap rock on a butte).

Reaching the Grand Canyon of the Snake it wasn't bad as the road climbed gradually alongside the river and its a pretty drive. We reached Palisades Reservoir and it was surprising how far it had been drawn down. It was nearly full when we left in early June and now the boat ramps and shore were high and dry.

Crossing the border into Wyoming we neared Alpine and luckily Game and Fish wasn't checking boats so we didn't have to stop and show our canoe documentation. We had it anyway but its one of the hassles with all the invasive species).
Passing through Alpine we saw the Local Art Shop where our work is sold and thought of Barbara. She grew up in Homer and had told us tales of when her Dad mined for gold. Renita thought she saw Mike and Loretta's truck. Later, after we set up, they stopped by and they are staying here for another week so we invited them over for a salmon barbecue and time to trade Alaska stories.

It was a pleasant surprise to see them as we had written about their sign at the sign forest and here they were, at the same resort. We set up on our place and we are not moving for a whole month! A beautiful sunset came as the smoke from the fires bent refracted light into a beautiful shades of orange.

I am so reminded of the book, The Hobbit or There and Back Again.  You never know where the road will take you, once you start down it, this time it was Alaska. We traveled to a place that was beyond our expectations. Clear skies.

August 27, 2012:From Sunnyside to Baker City and then into Idaho

August 27

Its a pretty drive from Sunnyside to Baker City Oregon. Prairie mostly, or more correctly steppe, with the occasional mountain sticking up. Huge anticlines dot the landscape and the numerous lava flows makes themselves known with their columnar jointing.
Its really amazing when one crosses the Columbia River as its such a grand river in such a dry environment. The locks and dam were something I knew about but had kind of forgot. There are really quite a few things we would like to do here but for now we must get back to Wyoming.

So no digging for sunstones, this trip, or panning for star garnets. (I did purchase some star garnet rough on ebay and we will have it shipped to Wyoming). Our truck made it up and over Deadmans Pass so it should be ok for the rest of the trip.

August 28 

We left Baker City and headed east on Interstate 84. Our goal was to drive to somewhere in eastern Idaho and only have a 200 mile day tomorrow. The first part was clear but then the smoke increased and by the time we got to Boise visibility was really bad.

My allergies started to be bothersome but luckily we drove out of the smoke and the miles flew by. You forget how good the US interstate system is until you have spent time up north. We basically followed the Snake River up stream and it was easy driving until we climbed out of Boise. There we had turned on the air conditioning and we overheated a little. Turning the air off the engine cooled and we were able to finish the hot drive to east of Burley,(it reached 92 and its the hottest temperature we have seen this summer).
There we stayed at a Passport America park, Village of Trees and its one of the nicest parks we have stayed in. In fact we stayed here three years ago on our way to Mono Lake and Alan and Sharon.
So tomorrow we should finish our Alaskan Adventure and I can get started on the repairs from the eight thousand plus mile odyssey. Clear skies

August 27, 2012: Whats Really Important

I feel foolish writing about our travels when our hearts are in Louisiana and Florida as people we love prepare for Hurricane Issac. Our daughter works tonight and so we will call her tomorrow and my sister and her husband have evacuated to Thiboudoux.
Jenny's apartment is a ground floor bungalow about three feet above sea level. She took all her valuables to her boyfriends house and moved everything else up from the floor. It sounds like maybe the worst passed west. She was going to find out if they were going to evacuate her hospital in which case she would have gone with her patients so we will have to wait.
Connie and Gary evacuated from Grand Isle and are planning to stay in Thiboudox until everything clears. People who live on the coast have such a beautiful lifestyle, at times, and pay for it when a big one rolls in.
We have been blessed to meet many of their island friends and I am sure some have refused to evacuate. Anyway ours prayers and thoughts are with our family and Gulf Coast friends.

August 25-26, 2012: Lynden and then Southeast to Sunnyside

We decided to rest in Lynden for a couple of nights before heading on the last leg to Wyoming. I was tired of driving and we needed to buy some meat as we are kind of tired of fish. We also wanted to contact our daughter who lives in/near Tampa Bay and is preparing for Hurricane Issack.
So we called her and of course she has everything pretty much under control. I don't know where she gets her planning abilities from, probably from both of us as we have always insisted that one should have a plan.
So today we headed out. The sky was crystal clear on Saturday and we could see Mount Baker, but today the haze had moved in and Rainer was obscured. So we drove to Seattle and then headed east on Interstae 90. The roads here are so much better then up north but there are lots more people and more tax money to fix them.

Lots of trees and lots of traffic. The road climbed up Snoqualmie Pass and of course the truck got hot. It cooled off, after we crested out and I thought we were ok until the low coolant light came on. So we pulled over and let it cool off and I was able to add some more coolant,(there is not sign of any leak anywhere).
Continuing on everything was ok for quite a while and then the low coolant light came on again. The temperatures were all fine and so we kept on . We did a few more hills and then the light went off!! Totally confused but thats the way it has been since Homer.

Turning south on Interstate 82 we had Manastash,(or something like that anyway its a big anticline as are all the ridges), Ridge to climb and it was a repeat of the same things. So we let it cool off a bit and then the low coolant light went off and all was normal,(a weird air lock perhaps). I could see the fluid level was ok so we continued on to Sunnyside, Washington where we found a cheap campground for tweleve bucks a night.
Tomorrow its south to Oregon and then east on Interstate 84. We have about seven hundred miles,(1142 kilometers), until we reach Star Valley, Wy. There we plan on sitting for about a month as we get caught up on stuff we need to do. Clear skies

August 24, 2012: Decision at Cache Creek

So the decision was should we go east from Cache Creek or should we head down Fraser Canyon. Milepost suggested/warned that the Fraser Canyon drive had curvey and narrow roads. So we just about decided to take the easier but longer route east on Highyway 1 to Kamloops and then down the four lane highway to Hope.
Luckily we decided to head down the canyon and if you ever come this way drive the canyon. Milepost should add the following caveat, "If you have driven on the Top of the World Highway go where ever you want to, it will be easier".

So we headed down the beautiful canyon and marveled at the white water rapids. A bighorn sheep appeared alongside the road and the tunnels added their charm to the delightful drive. Renita finally filled her memory card, her total for Alaska is now about four thousand images, and so she grabbed another new one and finally got it in the camera's slot.
I tried to view as much as I could and so I slowed down. It was ok as the road has numerous passing lane segments and no one seemed too concerned. It was busy but still the traffic was pretty light compared to what waited for us at Hope.

The drive was mostly a long long downhill, amybe the longest I have ever been on but it was managable by downshifting and using our good brakes.The tunnels were all named and Renita snapped each ones image as I reminded her to take off her sunglasses.
Soon we reached Hope and then merged onto Trans Canada One West and the joy of the dirve left me. So much traffic and so many trucks and they all took any further fun from traveling down the Gold Rush Road.

Still I would drive the drive again, and I would never drive this way north up the long long pull. Crossing the border we got into an hour long jam that wasn't helped when a waiting car caught on fire. Once we reached the Border Guard he quickly passed us through and Renita found a really nice campground in Lynden.
The plan is to rest here. a couple of days and then head east for Wyoming. Then its time to renew my liscense and make our last doctors appointment for this year. We are both glad to back in the lower forty eight and its time to make our route and how to dodge the forest fires as we head back. Clear skies

August 22, 2012: Brake Repairs and the Drive to Prince George

August 22, 2012: Brake Repairs and the Drive to Prince George

See I know I had the brakes checked before we left Texas so as we were traveling down the Cassier I couldn’t believe it when the trailer brakes stopped working. I mean it didn’t matter if I tried the slide or the pedal, the lights all were apparently working but the trailer brakes weren’t there.

So I drove the rest of the Cassier slowly and used manual gear so I could have help with the engine brake. It was ok, but not great. The closest help was in a city of Smithers where there was a mobile rv repair service. Of course it turned out it was closed and so we drove to a truck repair shop called Truck Pro, hoping for results.

Tim called Robert over to meet us and Robert carefully listened to all I had tried and all that hadn’t worked. It was really nice to be in the hands of an expert and he methodically attacked the problem. He also explained everything he was doing, so if I ever had to work on them again, I would have a better idea.

Three hours later, we pulled out of town with brakes working like brand new and it cost a lot less than we expected. So if you are ever in that part of the world, and need repairs, Truck Pro people are definitely the good guys!

The Yellow head highway is busy, far busier than anything we have driven in the past three months. We had a steep hill to climb and of course the truck heated up but it was ok and we were able to continue on. Houston, Fort Fraser, Vanderhoof all and came and went and we reached Prince George.

Arriving at Prince George, we pulled into an rv park and it was time to rest and relax after a full day of repairs and driving. Tomorrow is the anniversary of when we started full timing and it doesn’t seem possible that we have been at it for five full years. Tomorrow we hope to reach Cache Creek and maybe cross the border on Friday or Saturday, so knock on wood…… Clear skies

August 20, 2012:From Stewart to Smithers

We woke up to clouds and a light rain and we knew it was time to head south. By eight thirty we were on the road and driving up the gentle slope to Merziadan Junction. Of all the roads this is the easiest as it follows an old railroad grade and so is a gentle pull.

Turning south we didn't get far before a car was stopped for a black bear. We actually had some traffic and so I couldn't stop but Renita, ever the resourceful one managed to snap a few images. Further south the Seven Sisters Mountians showed up and we knew we were near the end of the Cassier Highway.
As soon as we turned onto the Yellowhead Highway traffic picked up and two semis were on our rear end. I pulled over and let them pass but soon another convoy formed and so it went. The easy driving of our journey was over and so we fought traffic for the next seventy miles until we reached Smithers.

There we checked into an rv park and tried to get the fifth wheel in for service. No, luck as the one person here who works on rv's is injured and unable to crawl under so I am trying to locate the problem  myself. Bob the rv mechanic, did give me quite a few suggestions so I hope to locate the short in the brake line tomorrow. Clear skies