Day 52

Saturday 7/12/03
We are home!!!
We said goodbye to Onalaska at 7:30 A.M. and headed toward Appleton. At Tomah, Wisconsin, we turned onto the familiar Route 21, which we have traveled many times visiting Mike while he was at Ft. McCoy awaiting deployment to Iraq. We celebrated our last day with breakfast at the Perkins Restaurant there and continued on to Oshkosh and up to Appleton. We gassed up and arrived home at 836 S. Christine St. at 12:30 p.m. We had mixed emotions, happy to be home, yet sad that our trip was over. Simba told Cali and Minou about her trip in cat language which seemed to include a lot of hissing.
With the additional 175 miles today, we had traveled a total of 10124 miles since we left our home on May 22.

Day 51

Friday 7/11/03
We woke up to sunny skies. After a breakfast of pancakes and eggs, we left Orchard.
Today the landscape gradually changed from cattle ranches in western Iowa to lush fields of corn and soybeans in eastern Iowa and Minnesota.
At LeMars, Iowa, we serendipitously discovered the “Ice Cream Capitol of the World”. Simba likes ice cream but was sleeping at the time and consequently missed our brief stay. It is the home of Wells Blue Bunny. We toured the Ice Cream Museum and watched two short films about ice cream. Afterward, we had ice cream cones for lunch and continued on our way into Minnesota. Crossing Minnesota we soon began seeing more and more of the familiar red and white Wisconsin license plates. As we neared Wisconsin we made one more rest stop. Our little Scamp looked even smaller, parked among the big trucks.
We finally entered Wisconsin by crossing the Mississippi River at Lacrosse.


We gassed up and dry camped for our last night at a Wal-Mart in Onalaska, Wisconsin.
435 miles today; 9949 total

Day 50

Thursday 7/10/03

After leaving our campsite in Rapid City S.D., we visited Wall Drug in Wall, S.D. We had been there before about 15 years ago and we were surprised to see how much more that they had added. After browsing for about two hours and buying a few gifts we continued east on I-90. We decided to leave the interstate in favor of the back roads. We headed south at Murdo on Rt. 83 to Nebraska Route 20. We traveled through South Dakota and Nebraska wheat farms and ranches. We took some pictures of the ranches and rolling hills. Simba likes cattle but only after they are ground up into hamburger. At 7:30 p.m., we found a nice little municipal park with two RV campsites in Orchard, Nebraska.
The park has electric and sewer hook-up but no water all for a $10.00 donation. Simba didn’t care if there was a sewer hookup, preferring instead to use her litter box.
345 miles today; 9514 total

Day 49

Wednesday 7/09/03
We happily left Gillette at 8:30 a.m. after a night of high winds and tornado watch. We left I-90 for a time and drove north to visit Devils Tower National Monument. It is an impressive sight to see this giant obelisk rising out of the surrounding prairie. When we drove in, we noticed a Scamp 16 in the parking area so we parked near it. Teddy took the 2-mile hike around the circumference of the tower. I declined to accompany her and instead spent the time talking with other travelers. On her hike, she met the owner of the other Scamp, Jeanne Raimond from the southern California city of Santee. She had purchased it on July 1 in Backus, MN and was on her way back to California. On the way out of the monument park, we stopped at a turnout adjacent to a prairie dog town.


While there met Bonnie and Richard Hanssard, full timers from Texas. They just started full-timing on June 1. They have a 34’ Holiday Rambler Presidential 5th wheel pulled by an F 450. They said that they researched the move for nine months and then either sold or gave away everything that they didn’t need, including their house and bought their rig. He ultimately decided on the exact 5th wheel that he wanted and then sent bid offers to a dozen dealers around the U.S. Low bid was from a dealer in Indiana. We returned to I-90 and continued on into South Dakota. At the South Dakota welcome center I talked to Bob Gadd who is a member of the South Dakota Brand Board. He explained how brands are registered and what the requirements are to obtain a registered brand. We continued on and dry camped in Rapid City at a Flying J.
192 miles today; 9169 total

Day 48

Tuesday 7/08/03
We left Billings under sunny skies. At 8 a.m. continued through the plains desert looking at the rolling hills and sagebrush. We stopped at The Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. The ranger there gave a very good talk about the battle. We took a six-mile drive through the various sections of the battlefield. Simba slept, as she isn’t interested in history.
We continued on through eastern Montana into Wyoming and dry camped for the night in Gillette, WY at a Flying J.
241 miles today; 8977 total

Day 47

Monday 7/07/03
We are at the Flying J in Billings, Mt. We got here at about 7 p.m. after a long drive from Spokane. We left Spokane at 6 a.m. because a gas tanker pulled in at 5 a.m. and we were sitting over the fill pipes so they woke us up and asked us to move. As long as we were up anyway we had coffee and pulled out. We crossed the Continental Divide today at over 6,000 feet and are now on the eastern side of the Rockies. The Rocky Mountains are well named; large rocks abound. The weather was sunny and warm today. The temperature hovered in the 80s. We saw two eagle nests with adult eagles perched a top. Also, saw Prairie Dogs and Antelope. Simba thinks that any animal with dog in its name is contemptible.
536 miles today; 8736 total

Day 46

Sunday 7/06/03
We left Abbotsford at 8:00 a.m. and quickly cleared customs into the U.S. at Suma, Washington. We celebrated our return to the lower 48 by having breakfast at a McDonalds in Bellingham. Simba stayed in the trailer and had some more tuna flavored Friskies. We drove to Seattle on I- 5 and picked-up I- 90 east. At noon, we stopped at Roslyn, Washington where the TV series “Northern Exposure” was filmed. We had lunch at “The Brick”. The Brick is a tavern, which was featured prominently in the series. After wandering around town and taking some pictures, we continued east on I-90. The landscape soon turned into a treeless semi-desert /which was lined with trees. The desert continued until we were about 40 miles from Spokane where it abruptly change to a lush long needle pine forest within the space of about one or two miles. We crossed the Columbia River at Vantage, WA.
At the top of the hill on the east side of the Columbia we stopped and took this photo of the Columbia valley below us as well as the famous wild horse sculpture titled “Grandfather Cuts Loose the Ponies”. We continued on and dry camped at a Flying J in Spokane, Washington.

404 miles today; 8200 total

Day 45

Saturday 7/05/03
We rose at 7 a.m. had breakfast and headed down Highway 97 south. The highway took us through pine and spruce forests and we saw many mule deer including three males in full velvet. Then at Cache Creek what was up to then a rather ho-hum drive turned spectacular. From Cache Creek to Hope, Rt. 97 parallels the Thompson and Frasier Rivers, which run in deep canyons adjacent to the road. It was one of the most picturesque drives of our entire trip. We took several pictures but as we have found out before, pictures cannot do justice to scenery like this. We dry camped again at a Wal-Mart in Abbotsford, B.C. about three miles from the U.S. border.
441 miles today 7792 total

Day 44

Friday 7/04/03 Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!
We left Smithers at about 10:30 a.m. after stopping at the local SafeWay for a few groceries. It rained off and on all day. Along the way today, we saw two black bear, a mule deer, and a beaver. We had one long wait for road construction. We listened to the conclusion of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” We dry camped at the Wal-Mart in Prince George. After a spaghetti dinner, we had a strawberry croissant in honor of my 66th birthday. Simba gave me a lick on the nose for my birthday; her breath smelled like fish. Called and talked to Lyle and Kathy.
225 miles today 7351 total

Day 43

Thursday 7/03/04
Woke up to rain this morning. Started down the Cassiar Highway at 7 a.m. The Cassiar is mostly paved with occasional stretches of gravel. It rained off and on all day so the gravel sections were very muddy. We didn’t mind because we saw a lot of wild life; six black bear, one moose, one fox, two mountain goats, and a lot of birds including swan and ptarmigan. In between, we listened to more of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” on CD. We made it a long day and finally camped in a Municipal Camp Ground at Smithers, B. C. The Scamp and truck were both covered with mud and Teddy used the opportunity to wash both. Simba used the opportunity to hack up a hairball.

510 miles today 7126 total

Day 42

Wednesday 7/02/03
Checked out of the Haines-Hitch-Up at 9 a.m. We had some time to kill before the State Ferry, so we drove north of town to a glacier fed lake called Mud Lake because of all the glacier silt. We drove to the ferry, checked in and got into the loading queue. I had to back the Scamp down the loading ramp and then 90-degree turn inside the ship. A ferryman walked me down and guided me so it was not as difficult as it sounds. Simba decided to stay in the trailer. We had lunch on the ferry of turkey noodle soup, which was delicious. We docked in Skagway at 1:45 p.m. and then drove up the highway to Carcross and then took the cutoff to Jakes Corners on the Alaskan Highway. We drove until 8:30 p.m. and dry camped at the intersection of the Cassiar Highway and the Alcan.
310 miles today 6616 total

Day 41

Tuesday 7/01/03
A most glorious day!!! When we got up at 6:30 a.m., the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky! I went outside to have a cup of coffee at the picnic table next to our trailer, and three moose ran through the park, a cow, a yearling, and a baby. We left at 8 a.m. to go on our Fjord Express tour to Juneau. The trip was spectacular! The tour consisted of a trip to Juneau and back on a catamaran and a tour of Juneau by bus as well as a stop at the Mendenhall Glacier. We, also, had free time in downtown Juneau. The catamaran is owned and operated by a husband and wife team, Glen and Alison Jacobson. While at sea, we saw humpback whales, orca whales, a sea lion rookery, dolphins, harbor seals, eagles, surf scoters, marbled murrelet, and a short eared owl. During our free time, we ate lunch in a downtown park in Juneau where amateur astronomer had telescopes with special filters and other instruments for viewing the sun and looking at sunspots. He invited anyone interested to look through his instruments. It was quite interesting. We visited many gift shops, ate our lunch, and bought an ice cream. We then re-boarded our bus for a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier before returning to the boat. We finally got back to the Haines Hitch-Up Campground at about 8:30 p.m. TIRED AND HAPPY!!
We visited for a while with some other campers—showered and off to bed. Simba took a cat bath, which consisted of a lot of licking.
4 miles today; 6310 total

Day 40

Monday 6/30/03
We explored Haines today but first we drove back to the State Ferry Terminal to see if any space had opened up for Wednesday. We were lucky and were able to change our reservation to Wednesday.

We then continued on past the terminal NW along the Chilkoot River to Chilkoot Lake. There were many fishermen in the river fishing for salmon. Simba was more interested in the salmon than the fishermen. At the lake, we met Mary Ellen Spoerke from Madison, Wisconsin. We chatted for a long time and took pictures of each other, each promising to e-mail them to the other.




On the way back, we stopped and took pictures of the Salmon fishermen. We visited Fort Seward and finally returned to the campground.
23 miles today 6306 total

Day 39

Sunday 6/29/03
Today we continued on from Haines Junction, YK to Haines, AK. On the way we saw two grizzly bears by the side of the road. They were about 30 feet from the truck on the passenger side. I got some good pictures of them through the rolled down window. Simba wisely stayed on the floor and used her litter box instead. She thinks watching bears is silly.We checked into the Haines Hitch-Up RV Park and made reservations for a boat trip and bus tour of Juneau on Tuesday. We leave here at 9:00 a.m. and return at 7:30 p.m. We drove around Haines and bought groceries at the local IGA. I took some more photos and then drove to the State Ferry Terminal and made tentative reservations for the State Ferry for the Scamp and us to Skagway on Thursday. No space was available for Wednesday, but they said to check back Monday as space sometimes opens up. It will save us about 300 miles of driving. Teddy did laundry. It rained most of the day. About 5 p.m. the sun came out. We phoned Lyle & Kathy and Fred & Deborah. Before retiring,, Teddy set up the bread machine for bread. This is the second time for making bread on our trip.
162 miles today; 6283 total

Day 38

Saturday 6/28/03
Drove from Tok to Haines Junction. Saw a 2 year old black bear on the way. We rounded a corner and he was in the middle of the road. When he saw us, he ran off into the bush. It rained lightly on and off for most of the day and there was a lot of construction which resulted in a lot of mud and dust. We camped with a very dirty truck and trailer at Kluane RV Kampground in Haines Junction.
288 miles today; 6121 total

Day 37

Friday 6/27/03
After gassing up at a Valdez Tesoro station, we headed up the Richardson highway for Tok. We stopped at Worthington Glacier and took pictures. After the Tok Cutoff from the Richardson highway, there was a lot of road repair from the winter frost heaves. Arriving in Tok we checked into Tok RV Village Campground just in time to attend a complimentary show given by Dave Stancliff, a local folk singer. He performed his own original songs on an Alaskan theme interspersed with stories and poems about Alaska. He was very good and afterward we purchased his CD.
We chatted with other campers including Pat and Wayne Long who we had met when we first passed through Tok three weeks ago. They are full timers, working here as campground hosts. We got to bed late; at 12:30 am with the sun still streaming through our windows.
253 miles today; 5833 total

Day 36

Thursday 6/26/03
It rained all night and most of the day. Ran out of propane, so switched tanks and took empty one to the Tesoro station for a refill. This is the infamous gas station where the little dog was snatched by an eagle. A reporter witnessed the event and the story was published in the Anchorage newspaper. Apparently the wife was walking the dog off leash when it happened and while she was distraught, unknownst to her, her husband raised his arms in a victory salute. She didn’t see him do it but when the paper came out he was in deep dodo. Simba thought that it was great that there was one less dog in the world, but she decided to not go outdoors in eagle country, as she didn’t know if eagles knew the difference between cats and dogs. After lunch we decided to explore Valdez some more. At a gift shop we watched a film about building of the pipeline and another film about the 1964 earthquake. We also visited the Valdez Museum and looked at all the interesting displays. After that, we drove around and discovered the airport and a salmon cannery. We then drove around the end of the inlet to the pipeline terminal on the other side of the fjord, however, since 9/11 you are not allowed to visit the terminal as this sign attests.Since Simba can’t read she didn’t believe that the sign applied to her. On the way back we stopped and chatted with a lady whose son and husband were shore fishing for salmon. She and her husband had moved to Alaska from California after retiring and live in a house100 miles from Anchorage on the Richardson Highway. They have no wired electricity or phone. They rely on solar and diesel generator power and for communication they use cellular and short wave radio. We then returned to the “Peter Pan” Salmon Cannery and purchased some frozen Halibut filets and some canned salmon for ourselves and for gifts. Simba thinks that she might like canned salmon and hopes that she can try some.
38 miles today; 5580 total

Day 35

Wednesday 6/25/03
Got up at 4:45 a.m. to get an early start. However, 5 miles from where we camped, we came to a road construction site where they close the road between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. We sat in a string of cars and trucks from 5:30 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. We listened to some of the Harry Potter book on CD and napped in the truck. At 7 a.m. we were on the way again. The Glen Highway through the mountains is very scenic. At noon, we stopped at a roadside turnout and were approached by a feature writer from the Seattle Times for an interview about traveling in Alaska. He, also, photographed us and promised to send us a copy of the article and/or picture and sure enough, when we got back to Appleton on July 12, there in the mail was a copy of the picture that he had taken. At Glenallen, we turned onto the Richardson Highway, which leads to Valdez; we were gobsmacked by its beauty, the deep valleys and the cloud-covered mountains.

At Valdez, we checked into the last available full service site. Teddy did laundry and also washed the truck and Scamp while I checked the e-mail and downloaded the days pictures into the I-book. Later in the afternoon, we visited some shops and then walked around the marina looking at all the boats.
220 miles today; 5542 total

Day 34

Tuesday 6/24/03
It rained hard all night and into today. Everything is wet in Seward. After breakfast, we toured all the little shops in downtown Seward. Talked to some folks from the U.P. The wife grew up in Kaukauna. We gassed up and headed north up the Seward Highway. Just north of town, we saw a pick-up towing a 16’ Scamp with Texas plates. We passed them and pulled into a turn-out and they followed. They were an older couple … he is 81, from Ramondville, Texas. They had driven to MN to buy their Scamp. We had a nice roadside visit, examining each other’s trailers and complementing each other on how wise we were to have purchased Scamp trailers.. We continued on through Anchorage and Palmer and finally dry camped in a roadside turnout near Chickaloon, AK. Simba was disappointed to find that there weren’t baby chicks there.

202 miles today; 5322 total

Day 33

Monday 6/23/03
Left Homer at 9:30 a.m. for the 170 nuke drive to Seward. Beautiful scenery along the way. Stopped to take pictures of Mt. Redoubt and Tern Lake.Got to Seward about 3 p.m. After scouting the town, we dry camped in The City RV Park on the beach. There was a big tour boat docked at the marina. In the evening, we walked the beach and saw eagles and sea lions. Talked to some full-timers from North Carolina. Simba was tired after the days drive so she slept all afternoon.
173 miles today 5120 total