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One of the advantages of staying in a fixed location for an extended period of time is it affords me time to do some additional modifications to the trailer which we have wanted to do. Recently I found a YouTube video of a bathroom sink midification I wanted to incorporate in our rig. The original bathroom sink is 9 inches by 12 inches and is recessed below the countertop. It has never been very usable. It reminded me of the small sink bowl used in the dentist's office to spit into when you rinsed out your mouth after a cleaning. Because the toilet is just behind you, when you stand at the counter you cannot backup enough to get your head down to the sink to wash your face. And when you use it to wash your hands, water ultimately sprayed out over the countertop. In the video I found, the owners replaced the old sink with a ceramic bowl that sits on top of the counter and they replaced the standard water faucet with a waterfall fixture. The finished installation looked pretty impressive. It was a real upscale look without giving up much counter space. The new ceramic bowl measures 13 inches by 16 inches, a marked size improvement. The bowl being on the top of the counter increase the height of the sink to a more comfortable and usable level. I was sold on the idea and Karen was already dreaming of a new sink like this!. I was able to purchase everything I needed from Amazon. All of the items arrived over Labor Day weekend, so on Labor Day I labored to install our new sink bowl and plumbing. Now in the video it took about two hours to complete the project, but I anticipated the project would take me longer. Removing the old sink fixture and water faucet took about 20 minutes and was relatively straightforward with the video procedures they used. The real challenge is reaching this confined space under the sink counter and moving around. I took off the right cabinet door to make room for my legs while sitting on the floor between the toilet and sink cabinet. It's a real tight fit for someone my size. Once the existing items were removed I placed the new sink bowl over the original hole in the countertop. This is where it gets interesting. The hole is too small to fit the new bowl fixture so the opening has to be enlarged. In the video they used a router to expand the opening larger and moved the opening slightly towards the front of the countertop. With the bowl on top of the countertop I traced where I needed to remove the countertop material to make the bowl fit properly. This was the messy part of the job. The routering took the longest because I needed to check the fit a dozen or more times as I removed material. Fine sawdust was everywhere from the process but eventually the opening was the right size and we cleaned up the bathroom for the next step. The waterfall faucet was test fitted with the bowl. I needed to move the faucet back about a 1/2 inch to clear the back of the bowl. I used the recommended rubber window seal as a liner between the bowl and the inside of the countertop hole. This effectively seated the bowl in the opening and added additional cushioning between the ceramic material and the wooden countertop surface. Once the bowl was seated, I measured around the bowl to level it, added the new drain plug and connected all the pumping fixtures. Now was the moment of truth. Would it work without any leaks? Well, it worked but I spent the next couple of hours tweeking the pumping in the faucet to address a small leak on one of the hoses. At present it works and I'm still addressing the small leak. The real test will come when we drive the fifth-wheel down the road and submit the entire project to the typical vibration and bouncing associated with traveling from place to place. Fortunately we have a few more days here on Camano Island to let the caulking dry and the plumbing to seat before the next leg of our journey. As a precaution I will shut off the two water lines under the sink before we leave. I also have a water alarm for under the sink cabinet to alert us if anything changes while we're using the new fixtures. As you can see, It's a lovely addition to the trailer's bathroom and makes the sink much more usable all the way around. Now I just need a few days for my body to recover from all the unexpected yoga moves I had to do to get the project completed. Thank goodness for Aleve!

Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susan and Davis Slough to the east. This is where Karen has family we like to visit whenever we are in the Northwest. The island has one road connection to the mainland, via State Route 532 over the Camano Gateway Bridge at the northeast end of the island, connecting to the city of Stanwood. The island has a total area of 39.77 square miles, making it one of the largest in the state of Washington. Karen's cousins Creigh and Rick Agnew have a beach cabin that the extended family has enjoyed over the years, and many gather together in the summer time for holidays like the 4th of July and Labor Day. The Agnews bought a home up the hill from the beach and are now living on the island full-time. The beach cabin is a wonderful place to stay and visit. It is right on the Saratoga Passage and offers a 180º view of the water and the Cascade Mountains to the east. On a clear day you get incredible views of Mount Baker to the northeast and Mount Rainer to the southeast. The Agnews own the neighboring property to the south and store many of the water toys, boat and Personal Water Craft (PWC) on that lot. It is where we park our RV when we come to visit. We get the privilege of our rear picture window facing the majestic scenery to the east. We are so fortunate and appreciative of their hospitality and fellowship whenever we've asked to park by the beach cabin. Thursday, On August 29 we arrived around 12:30 PM and pulled into the space provided next to the water toys. Rick was working at their new home up the hill and Creigh came down to meet us. We set up and later drove up to Creigh and Rick's new home for the tour. Their new permanent residence is at the top of the hill above the beach cabin with an even more spectacular view to the east. It is a beautiful home conveniently located near shopping and other resources, but in an ideal rural setting. Thursday evening we all returned to the beach cabin to enjoy barbecued steaks, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and a fresh salad. Creigh kept on insisting it was a simple meal, but honestly it was another excellent feast at the beach cabin. Emmett, their eldest son came by to spend some time with all of us. He also lives on the island, just south of the beach cabin on his 1.75 acre "gentleman's farm", as the family refers to it. Karen and I were only been here a little over 24 hours and already reached our total relaxed mode. Over the long weekend we're looking forward to seeing some of the other local cousins to enjoy quality time with extended family. Emmett took the small boat out on Thursday night and set two crab pots out; on Friday he recovered the traps with 4 Dungeness Crab for a future dinner. Friday night some of the local Iverson Beach neighbors came over for dinner and a rousing game of Bingo. During the day I've been continuing the exterior cleaning, waxing and maintenance projects on the trailer. Karen has been working on the inside cleaning. There's plenty of time to do these projects as well as read, nap and generally relax between visiting and working.

We left Ferndale, Washington on Monday, August 26 and headed south of Bellingham to a small town called Sedro-Woolley. It is located in Skagit County, Washington and part of the Mount Vernon–Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of about 12,000. Incorporated on December 19, 1898, Sedro-Woolley was formed from neighboring rival towns of Sedro (once known as Bug) and Woolley in Skagit County, northwestern Washington, 25 miles inland from the Puget Sound, 40 miles south of the border with Canada and 65 miles north of Seattle. Here's a fun fact from Wikipedia: Four British bachelors, led by David Batey, homesteaded the area in 1878, the time logjam obstructions were cleared downriver at the site of Mount Vernon. In 1884–85, Batey built a store and home for the Mortimer Cook family from Santa Barbara, California where Cook had been mayor for two terms. Cook intended to name his new Pacific Northwest town Bug due to the number of mosquitos present, but his wife protested along with a handful of other local wives. Cook was already the namesake for the town Cook's Ferry on the Thompson River in British Columbia. With "Bug" being so unpopular, Cook derived a town name from Spanish; knowing "cedro" was the word for cedar, he replaced one letter to make the name unique, settling on "Sedro". The town has a wonderful riverfront park that sits on approximately 35 acres of city owned land on the banks of the Skagit River. The property was developed by the city and the Sedro-Woolley Rotary Club and was dedicated in 1984. The park includes the Sedro-Woolley Off Leash Dog Park (Bark Park), several sports fields, and an RV Park. When we arrived we checked in and met the hostess who was very friendly and had all the information we needed. There is a 5 night limit. We told her we would like to stay for three nights and were told that the park has been quiet, so she wasn't expecting many other visitors. They have 30 amp and water available; no sewer but there's a dump station at the city treatment facility down the road for no charge. I asked if they had a policy of no washing or working on your rig while we were in the park. She told me that was not a problem at all. Karen has been busy on her computer working remotely for Total Concepts. I have been busy repairing and conditioning the rubber seals around the slide outs, removing tar stains on the front of the trailer, washing and waxing. Alaska travel is hard on any vehicle so Trinity is getting some much needed TLC. There are only three rigs in the park, so we have plenty of room to spread out. I've been able to park our truck in an empty RV space next door to our site. It is busy during the day with folks using the dog park and kids playing on the playground equipment. At night the park host closes the two gates to prevent random drive through activity. If we go out at night we just open the gate to get in and out at our leisure. The nights are lovely and have been quiet. This park was a great find and a definite place to stop over if you're traveling to Canada on the west coast. Every Wednesday in Sedro-Woolley there is a Farmer's Market downtown. We're going to ride our E- bikes there to check out the activities, hangout with the locals, pick up some local veggies and get some more photographs. We are departing tomorrow for an 11 AM appointment at Discount Tire in Burlington. The right front RV tire's shoulder tread is worn down, so that tire needs to be replaced. From our appointment in Burlington, it's only a 45 minute drive to Camano Island where we will spend about 10 days visiting Hilen cousins over the Labor Day weekend and following week.

We departed White Swan Park Municipal Campground in Fraser Lake on Thursday morning and continued the journey east towards Prince George. Our plan was to only stop for a Costco run and eat lunch before continuing south to Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park for the night. We drove the 164 miles in about three hours and arrived at the park to find plenty of available sites to set up in. This was our first real test of the new leveling jack since the test in the shop back in Houston BC, so we were a bit apprehensive. No technician here to help us out if it wasn't working right. Just yours truly. As you can see in the photograph above, it worked just like it was supposed to work! We detached the truck, got the slides out and set up the rig for one night. We ran into the town of Quesnel, British Columbia to get fuel and drive the truck without a trailer hooked on. It had been 16 days since the jack had broken, so it was nice for Rambo to get on the road and navigate a service station without a 35 foot long tail! This campground is another example of fine British Columbia Provincial park facilities. It is clean, spacious and impeccably appointed with beautiful picnic tables, groomed gravel parking and an empty, clean steel fire ring. The washrooms were spotless; the showers were clean and free of charge. The British Columbia Parks and Recreation Department knows how to do it right when it comes to taking care of the camping public. Friday morning, August 23 we departed this gorgeous venue and headed to Gold Trail RV Park in Clinton, BC, about 183 miles south. The RV park is owned by a Mr. Michael Dier and his wife Anna. The Gold Trail RV Park isn't as nice and classy as the provincial and municipal parks we have visited. No, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Michael, or Sir Michael as he would correct me, was a character of the first order. The owner, Michael, is a hoot. He's outspoken and could rub some people the wrong way, but he's got a good heart and is also an excellent cook.. He had a smart remark or retort for just about any question or comment. He advertises the park as the cheapest in Canada, according to Sir Michael and is also known for its "Roadkill Grill. His little restaurant serves an All-U-Can-Eat Barbecue Buffet that's tasty (especially check out the dessert made with local berries). One of his returning customers asked, "Where would you like us to sit?" His response, "On your ass!" He was all show, acting like a gruff smart ass, (the Canadian version of Don Rickles in the RV park world) but a harmless showman none the less.. He would give Karen a constant hard time then look at me and "wink and grin" just to make sure we knew he was kidding. We both had his "Marmot ribs" for dinner. We laughed the entire time we ate and were glad others came in to be his verbal targets of opportunity. The park is old and run down, but the water and electricity worked just fine Our campsite was a large back-in so we tried unhitching a second time for practice. It was a relatively flat pull-through site large enough for our truck and 35 foot rig. Good water pressure and 30 amp. No problems as long as your neighbor doesn't accidentally disconnect your power in the shared power pedestal when they arrive. Karen did a load of laundry before the rain got serious and we went to bed. Our last day in Canada was planned for Saturday, August 24, 2024. We got on the road before 9:30 AM and drove all day through sometimes heavy rain. south of Clinton; this high desert area of BC is referred to as the "Arizona of Canada" and certainly was not dry on this day. The highway route follows the Canadian National (CN) railway lines along the Thompson and Fraser River valleys. We encountered small rocks on the road surface next to the steep rocky walls along the route. The Thompson River joins the Fraser River at Lytton, the capital of river rafting. The river canyons, known as the Dry Belt region of British Columbia, are world famous for whitewater rafting, kayaking, sport fishing, outdoor adventures and very hot summers. As one of the biggest volume rafting rivers in British Columbia, the Thompson (near Lytton, BC) is famous for its Class II through IV rapids. One of the features of this route is Hells Gate, an abrupt narrowing of British Columbia's Fraser River, located immediately downstream of Boston Bar in the southern Fraser Canyon. The towering rock walls of the Fraser River plunge toward each other forcing the waters through a passage only 115 feet wide. The name Hells Gate was derived from the journal of explorer Simon Fraser, who in 1808 described this narrow passage as "a place where no human should venture, for surely these are the gates of Hell." Some five hours later, we finally arrived in Abbotford, British Columbia just east of the city of Vancouver, BC. This is where we decided to cross back into the USA at 4 PM just north of the small town of Sumas, Washington. Our stop at the US Border Protection was a little longer than expected. They wanted to check our refrigerator for possible unapproved agricultural products. We found out that Canadian eggs are a no, no. We had to surrender a dozen eggs to the BPS inspector to get back into the US. With the US safe from the possible Canadian egg threat, we proceeded to the Silver Reef Casino Resort, an Indian casino and resort in Ferndale, Washington. It is owned and operated by the Lummi Nation and they allow RVs to park for free in their south parking lot. After we arrived, we both got our "Players cards" at registration and checked in with their casino security for a two night stay. We then patronized one of the casino restaurants for dinner before hitting those slot machines. Each players card had a complimentary $5 for the casino slot machines. Karen and I are not into gambling, so guess how long the $5 lasted? After a great dinner we returned back to the RV for the night.

The two nights we stayed in Terrace, British Columbia were with electricity so we had air conditioning available. It got to 85ºF on Sunday so we needed to cool down the trailer. Care had to be exercised in the usage because we only had 30 Amps of power here. We kept the refrigerator on propane and avoided using the high wattage appliances with the A/C on. Terrace is a city in the Skeena region of west central British Columbia, Canada. This regional hub lies east of the confluence of the Kitsumkalum River into the Skeena River. On BC Highway 16, junctions branch northward for the Nisga'a Highway (BC Highway 113) to the west and southward for the Stewart–Cassiar Highway (BC Highway 37) to the east. By road the locality is about 127 miles southwest of Smithers and 89 miles east of Prince Rupert. Thankfully, we got a site long enough at Ferry Island Municipal Park for the combined length of the RV still connected to the truck. We're hoping our broken jack issue gets resolved soon at our appointment on Wednesday, August 21 in Houston. Monday morning I called SMP RV to confirm that the parts are ordered and they have us scheduled for repairs Wednesday afternoon. I'm arranging for the truck to be serviced at the same time so we can replace the fuel filters and have the truck brakes serviced. That should take care of us for a while. Monday afternoon Karen and I rode our E-bikes into Terrace so she could swim laps at the community aquatic center. I went to Starbucks at the local Safeway to get coffee and a couple of donuts. I then rode down to the other end of town to the only local RV dealership to try and find some parts for the rig. I got to the dealership only to find them closed. Well, at least I got some exercise on the 5 mile ride. Karen and I rode back to the RV after her swim and I added some additional screws to the inside window valance covers. They have been loose since we drove the ALCAN and I didn't want the whole valance and retractable shade to fall off. Slowly but surely I'm addressing the little repairs needed. Tuesday morning, August 20 we got an early 9:30 AM start as we headed for Smithers, BC, about 2 plus hours closer to Houston. Smithers is a town in northwestern British Columbia, approximately halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert. With a population of 5,378 in 2021, Smithers provides service coverage for most of the Bulkley Valley. We were able to get an unserviced campsite for one night at the Riverside Municipal RV Park & Campground right on the Bulkley River. We originally arrived at noon, but check in isn't until 1 PM. So we drove to the local Canadian Tire Store to get some propane, DEF and fresh water filled. This store also had a complimentary sanitation dump station that we took advantage of and emptied both gray and black tanks before heading back to check in to the campground. Got site number 29 facing the river for only $33 Canadian dollars ($24 US) per night.. Wednesday, August 21 was the all important repair day for our trailer's broken left jack leg. We got an early start and headed to Houston. Two miles out of Houston we got a call from Mike at SMP RV to inform us our part had been delivered early. We arrived five minutes later and had our trailer in one of their garage bays for the needed work at 11:30AM. We disconnect the truck after lifting the trailer and they started the repair process immediately. I had made an appointment at the neighboring SMP car dealership to have them check our truck brakes and replace our two fuel filters while the trailer was in the shop across the street. After Karen and I dropped off the truck for the service appointment .we walked down the street to the local Tim Horton's for lunch. At 1:30 PM Mike called and said the repairs on the trailer were completed so we walked back to check the work. Everything was perfect! We paid the bill and walked across the street to check on the status of the truck. Kim at Sullivan Motor Products (SMP) told us the new filters were installed and the brake pads still have about 25% remaining, so they're good for the trip back to the states. We paid that bill and waited 20 more minutes while they washed to truck for us. The overall experience at both SMP facilities was awesome. They were friendly, efficient, and the price was reasonable for all the services they provided. We got lovely parting gifts too.: a ball cap for me, a grocery bag for Karen and a truck wash for Rambo! By 2:30 PM we were back on the road again. All in all, a very fruitful day! Our destination for the evening was White Swan Park RV Campground in Fraser Lake, British Columbia, about an hour and a half away. We arrived after 4 PM and got a beautiful pull-through site next to the lake for FREE. The facilities of the provincial and municipal parks here are wonderful and make it easy to say, "I just love British Columbia, Canada!"

We spent our final full day in Stewart, BC on August 14 riding our electric bikes. This was the first time since leaving the states we took them off the storage rack from the rear of the RV. They were filthy with road dust from the ALCAN up and back, so they got a wash down before we took off. We rode through the back streets of Stewart to the boardwalk over the neighboring flat marshland to the road leading to Hyder, Alaska. Our plan was to cross the border one more time, but this time on bicycles. We had no intention of riding out to the bear viewing platform 4.5 miles up the road from the village of Hyder, But, I had my bear spray on me just in case we had an unplanned encounter. The destination today was a small trailer in Hyder, Alaska were we could get some homemade fish and chips prepared by Diana. She is known to have a line waiting and, true to form, we waited an hour for our order because she was once again busy. Overall, not the best I'd ever had but still a fun and novel small town experience. We had fun sharing a picnic table with Keith and Rhonda, a couple we met while waiting for lunch. They recently sold their home in British Columbia and are now traveling full time in their RV. They plan on driving south to Washington, Oregon and eventually wintering in Arizona on the first leg of their journey. We loved sharing stories and encouraging them to continue pursuing their travel dreams. On our return to the campground, we stopped to buy fudge before the Canadian border checkpoint; nothing to declare but bear spray and fudge. We left Alaska on our E-bikes for the last time, really...honest! Riding back to camp to use the internet and phones, we anticipated finding a repair facility for our broken leveling jack leg. We were able to contact a shop in, of all places, Houston, British Columbia about four hours away. I spoke to Mike at SMP RV. He got hold of Lippert Components, the manufacturer of the leveling system, and was able to order a replacement jack for us. He told us that it's expected arrival date would be on Wednesday, August 21 and they would need about two hour to do the installation. Okay, that's taken care of for now. We used the rest of the afternoon to do some needed cleaning, inside and out, and started the familiar process of getting ready to depart the next morning. We spent the evening with Mike and Mary one last time playing 5 up/5 down, a favorite card game. Thursday, August 15 was our departure day from Bear River RV Park. Okay, where do we go to kill some time between Stewart and Houston? Karen talked to Natalie, the owner of Bear River, and asked her about Prince Rupert as a place to visit. Natalie said that's her "go to" place and recommended it. To get there we would drive Highway 37A about 30 miles then head south on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway and connect with the Trans-Canada Highway 16 west (the Yellowhead Highway), to Prince Rupert. The port is approximately 258 miles west of Houston and 429 miles west of Prince George. We drove to Kitwanga River RV Park for one night, about 132 miles south on Highway 37 before the junction with Highway 16.  Leaving the next morning, at the junction with 37 and 16, we were greeted by the "the Seven Sisters" mountain peaks to the west. All along the valley are steep granite face cliffs and the swift flowing Skeena River. Seven Sisters Park is named for the spectacular set of peaks visible from Highway 16 between Hazelton and Terrace. We later stopped in Terrace, British Columbia on the Skeena River to do some needed shopping at the local Walmart and eat lunch before driving the rest of the way to Prince Rupert. The drive down the Yellowhead Highway is like a three hour drive through the Yosemite Valley. Spectacular scenery everywhere you look along the entire route. A brief side trip took us to a first nation village with numerous totem poles. Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Its location is on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and about 60 miles south of Ketchikan on the Alaskan panhandle. Prince Rupert has an oceanic climate and is also located in a temperate rain forest. Prince Rupert is known as "The City of Rainbows", as it is Canada's wettest city, with 103 inches of annual precipitation on average, of which 100 inches is rain. In addition, 240 days per year receive at least some measurable precipitation, and there are only 1230 hours of sunshine per year, so it is regarded as the municipality in Canada that receives the lowest amount of sunshine annually. Tourist brochures boast about Prince Rupert's "100 days of sunshine". However, Stewart, British Columbia, receives even less sunshine, at 985 sunshine hours per year. We arrived in "sunny" Prince Rupert and initially parked in the Walmart parking lot at their mall, but decided later to move on. However, while at the mall Karen went in and got a manicure and pedicure she'd been eager to get done while I worked on the blog. We decided to drive down to the restaurant at the Crest Hotel on the waterfront for a dinner out. It was recommended by our host at the Bear River RV Park as one of her favorite places to enjoy a meal and the view. She didn't lead us astray. Karen enjoyed Halibut cheeks and shrimp with ancient grains and vegetables. I went for the Alberta Angus Striploin with Peppercorn sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables. We really treated ourselves before driving to the Prince Rupert RV Park for the night. Saturday, August 17 we got up and rode our bikes again to do errands. haircuts, and coffee at Tim Hortons (a Canadian institution, Eh?) It was then to Bob's on the Rocks for lunch and more fish (Halibut) and chips. We took walk down the Rushbrook Trail to enjoy the waterfront, ending at the salt marsh and then back again as we worked off lunch. We found some beautiful Foxgloves blooming on the trail I had to get an image of up close. Prince Rupert has a winding system of roads and is a very hilly city, so the E-bikes saved us a challenging ride back to our campground. All in all, it was about 7 or 8 miles of riding. Got back just in time for a nap before dinner. Sunday morning, 11 AM we departed Prince Rupert for Ferry Island Municipal Campground in Terrace, British Columbia for two days. This 150-acre park is situated 3.5 km east of downtown Terrace on Highway 16. It boasts 103 campsites serviced with picnic tables, fire grates, municipal water, and outhouses. There is a caretaker on duty overnight.

Off in the distance, by a small pond swimming with Chum Salmon, we spotted a solitary brown bear sitting and grooming. Another initial long distance observation on the other side of the viewing platform. We waited... Our bear sighting improved when this awesome creature decided to forge the pond in our general direction. This afforded us a better view as he crossed the water towards the creek that fed this pond. He walked towards us and then disappeared shortly after walking up the creek and out of view. We all thought, okay that's it, happy to have seen at least one bear relatively up close. We patiently waited again and, low and behold, it showed up on the other side of the raised walkway and across the road from us! Now this is close, really close. I had to zoom back my telephoto lens to capture the bear in full frame format! The rangers are extra vigilant when the bears are this close, but it strolled by and down the asphalt road to disappear again through the brush on the opposite side of the road surface and viewing area. Okay, that was an unexpected extra. WOW! But wait...there's more! I positioned myself with a clear view on the viewing platform where the creek passes under the road bridge leading to where the bear entered the brush just hoping it might keep walking to where the fish were in the stream. All this walking must have made our new friend hungry. Our new brown bear friend was now in the main stream with the Salmon and was definitely fishing. It seemed generally relaxed with all the watchful eyes, binoculars and cameras of every shape and size. I had brought my Nikon D750 full-frame digital SLR with a 80-200mm telephoto lens for this occasion. I had no reason to rush or worry about getting a good vantage point. Everyone was happy to have so much time to watch and enjoy the show the bear was putting on for us. How to tell a brown bear from a grizzly bear? While grizzly bears are indeed a subset of brown bears, several key differences set them apart: Habitat and Diet. Grizzlies thrive inland and lack access to marine-based food sources like fish and salmon, distinguishing them from coastal brown bears. After almost an hour I had over 115 still images of this magnificent creature. The venue was incredible for this wonderful wildlife experience. We had talked to others who had spent hundreds of dollars to fly in to see these animals in other parts of Alaska and we did it for a mere $10 per ticket to the viewing platform. As the last light of the day approached, our friendly brown bear retreated back to the woods and our Alaska experience was now complete.

Situated at the end of the 90-mile-long Portland Canal, surrounded by majestic forestry and the Cambria Icefields, resides the small town of Stewart. Founded in 1902 by Robert M and John W Stewart, Stewart has been a mineral exploration icon since the early years of the 20th century. By 1910 Stewart and Hyder (then known as Portland City) were joined by a two mile long “road” made from pilings across the tide flats. The area then hosted close to 10,000 people who were still residing in tents, waiting for buildings to be built on the pilings much like the “road” between Stewart and Hyder. Some of these buildings and pilings can still be seen on the tide flats today. Along the 40 miles drive from Meziadin into Stewart, many beautiful glaciers can be seen from Highway 37A. Descending towards Strohn Lake and Bear River Pass is the Bear Glacier. Ice once reached across the road to the rock face, but once it started receding in the 1940’s, it created what is now called Strohn Lake. Stop at this viewing point and take in the breathtaking views of the glacier and the rich forestry surrounding it! We stayed at the Bear River RV Park from Monday, August 12 to Thursday morning, August 15. It is a good sized Campground (70 +/- sites) close to downtown Stewart & Hyder; it has new owners, new gravel sites, new gravel access roads, new electric hookups (30A) & new water hookups. The sites all have shared (full) hookups, essentially making them “buddy sites” - a few spots will function as pull throughs until they fill up. This continues to be a work in progress, with the new owners stepping up to make this the best RV campground in the area. Why Stewart you might ask? Just 5.9 miles from the Stewart Visitors Centre is the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site (Bear Viewing Platform) in Hyder, AK. The US Forest Service and The Alaska Department of Fish and Game make sure to offer a safe environment for our wildlife and people. In July and August, tourists make their way up and down this platform to watch the salmon run and bears hunt the salmon. Tuesday morning at 7AM we hitched a ride with our new friends, Mike and Mary from Redding, California, in their truck and crossed the border, yet again into Alaska to get to the viewing platform early. We stuck around for about two hours but unfortunately there were no bear sightings. There ar plenty of Chum Salmon swimming up the river to spawn and die, and plenty of Seagulls getting in on an easy meal, but no bears. We then drove up the dirt road, passed the viewing platform, to the Salmon Glacier. Located on the Canadian side of the border beyond Hyder, AK about 23 miles, you come to the summit of the magnificent Salmon Glacier. The unpaved road leads you up to 4000’ elevation, journeying through rich forestry and old mine sites. On the way back we stopped at the bear viewing platform for another try. No luck again so we drove back over the Canadian border to Stewart to eat some lunch, take a nap and try again at 7PM. Tuesday night proved to be the big payoff. When we first arrived there was no activity, however the rangers were very animated. We knew something was coming soon. We did notice one brown bear at the far end of the platform moving away and really too far to photograph but we took what we got, not know anything else might happen that evening. Boy, did we get a wonderful surprise! Stay tuned for the next episode.

How easy or difficult would it be to reconnect the RV to the Truck? Well, Thursday August 8 was the day we would do the deed or at least make the attempt. The morning was slow; we slept in and enjoyed the campground. Later in the morning we drove to Carcross to use the internet, make more calls and eat lunch at the local bistro. I was able to find some scrap lumber at a construction site in the village. I told the job supervisor I needed some for cribbing to lift up our trailer and he offered whatever we could use from the free wood pile. I found enough 2x6 lumber to do the trick. We returned to the campsite and I cut the lumber to make blocks I could stack up under the bottle jack I would use to raise the left side of the RV. We added additional tire chocks to all four tires and started the process slowly and methodically. Karen was on the leveling control panel raising the right leveling jack while I lifted the left side with the bottle jack under the frame behind the broken jack. Slowly we raised the trailer high enough to back the truck under the hitch ball in the bed of the truck....kind of! The alignment was off slightly and we tried to correct the centering of the ball but we were still off. I thought we were close enough to try connecting, The scary part is the lack of lowering control using two different systems that are not synchronized together. Karen started retracting the right side at my direction and I released the pressure on the bottle jack as close to simultaneously as possible. BOOM! The trailer goose-neck hitch slipped onto the hitch ball in the truck's bed with a little more energy than I would have preferred. But, good news....we were back together again. Thank you Jesus! We thought about staying the third night, but honestly I just wanted to get back on the road and somewhere we had cell phone service or wi-fi. We had already paid for a third night when the ranger came by to check on our situation. He took pity on us and understood our desire to get back on the road; so much so that he retrieved our payment envelope and returned our money for that one night. It was a really nice gesture that we both appreciated. Everything was packed up; we drove up the hill back to the Klondike Highway, through Carcross and 95 miles back on the ALCAN until it got late enough to pull over at a rest stop for the night. It turns out that Teslin Territorial campground was next to the rest stop; we found a nice long back-in site that was level and settled in at the campground.. Driving on Friday, August 9 we covered 150 more miles in under three hours to Baby Nugget RV Park just outside of Watson Lake, Yukon. Joe at the office set us up with a site that had a slight downhill slope to accommodate our nose high configuration staying connected to the truck. Just east of the RV park is the junction south to the Stewart-Cassiar Highway 37. This was our planned route south through British Columbia. For those traveling to the Yukon and/or Alaska, Highway 16 / 37 offers an alternate route from the Alaska Highway. Much less used than the Alaska Highway, it offers very different scenery (not better or worse, just different), making it perfect as part of a circle route. The Cassiar Highway was completed in 1972, and is asphalt-surfaced with the exception of a short gravel break through the Stikine River valley. The highway passes through hilly and mountainous, mostly wooded wilderness regions where services are found in sparsely populated communities and far from each other. We planned on returning this way, but would the hitch situation make that route problematic? What the heck, we decided we wanted to see new scenery and eventually camp in Stewart, BC before going on to Prince George. So Saturday, August 10 we departed Baby Nuggett RV Park and turned onto Highway 37 heading south. On the Stewart-Cassiar we stopped in Jade City, BC to check it out. Jade City is a settlement in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, near the Yukon, located on Highway 37, west of Good Hope Lake and close to Cassiar, in the Cassiar Highlands. The region around Jade City is rich with serpentinite (a jade precursor), greenstone (jade look-a-likes), and Nephrite jade. Jade City is by road about 19 hours north of Greater Vancouver, and 1 hour south of the Yukon border. As of 2015, it had a population of about 30 people. While we were stopped in Jade City, another Alliance Avenue 32RLS rolled in. We met their owners, Gary and Mickey Vander Veen from Holland, Michigan. They were headed south like us to Lake Kinaskan Provincial Park and eventually Bear River RV Park in Stewart, so we talked about getting together for a future visit and dinner together. We drove 223 miles over four hours and found Lake Kinaskan Provincial Park in Iskut, British Columbia. What a gem! We backed into a lake side spot for only $15 anight! After setting up our campsite we discovered the water pump no longer worked, but fortunately I had purchased a new pump while we were in Florida earlier in the year anticipating the need to replace it eventually. That had day arrived. Day two at the lake was spent replacing the water pump and repairing some of the rubber trim seals around the slide outs. We could have stayed here for a week without blinking. Just an INCREDIBLE location!!!!

August 6th was our 29th wedding anniversary which we spent traveling, shopping, setting up camp at Conrad and exploring the small town of Carcross. We celebrated with a delicious dinner at The Bistro in Carcross. When the young ladies at the restaurant found out it was a special occasion, they treated us to a delicious dessert on the house; such a kind gesture and a blessing for us! The Conrad Campground is off the Klondike Highway 10 miles south of Carcross and is very close to the border shared between the Yukon Territory and Bristish Columbia. As you drive Highway 2 south into British Columbia you're traversing a famous and historic route from Skagway, Alaska over the White Pass to Whitehorse, Yukon. White Pass, also known as the Dead Horse Trail (elevation 2,864 ft) and is the mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the border of the U.S. state of Alaska and the province of British Columbia, Canada. It leads from Skagway, Alaska to the chain of ribbon lakes at the headwaters of the Yukon River (Crater Lake, Lake Lindeman, and Bennett Lake). The White Pass trail was one of the two main passes used by prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass was an easier route to Lake Bennett than the Chilkoot Trail a few miles to the west, but it harbored a criminal element that preyed on the cheechakos (newcomers to the Klondike). These con artists were believed to be members of the infamous Soapy Smith gang from Skagway, Alaska. In 1898, Smith was killed at the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf and his gang were run out of Skagway and the White Pass. So many horses died during the gold rush, the trail became known as the "Dead Horse Trail". The trail ended at Lake Bennett, where the prospectors built or purchased rafts or boats to float down the Yukon River to the Klondike gold fields near Dawson City. Our ultimate destination for our Wednesday, August 7 day trip into Alaska was the historic town of Skagway. We had booked tickets on the famous White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad for the 2:30 PM trip up to the White Pass summit and back. The White Pass and Yukon Route (W.P. & Y.R.) is a narrow-gauge railroad original built between 1898 and 1900 through White Pass. Today, tourists from all over the world book trips on the W.P. & Y.R. to see the historic route from the Klondike Gold Rush era. Before our train ride we walked the Broadway of Skagway. Four cruise ships were in port so the town was awash with tourists. After walking around a bit we stop in a bakery/coffee shop. We got hold of Alliance RV back in Elkhart, Indiana to try and determine the best course of action for the broken leveling jack. Customer service was extremely helpful and we now have a plan to execute when we get back to the rig. But for now, it's time to enjoy a beautiful sun soaked Alaskan port of call. We took the WHITE PASS SUMMIT EXCURSION to experience this unique railroad that symbolizes accomplishments in adventure and pioneering – of triumph over challenge. We relaxed in a vintage passenger coach and retraced the original route to the White Pass Summit, passing Bridal Veil Falls, Inspiration Point and Dead Horse Gulch. We enjoyed a breathtaking panorama of mountains, glaciers, gorges, waterfalls, tunnels, trestles and historic sites. From the train we could see the original Klondike Trail of ‘98 worn into the rocks, a permanent tribute to the thousands of souls who passed this way in search of fortune. The train ride was spectacular and we finished the experience with a wonderful seafood dinner on the Skagway waterfront before returning to the truck and driving back to Canada back up the Klondike Highway. The day in Skagway gave us a chance to decompress and enjoy ourselves. Tomorrow we'll get the trailer reconnected to the truck.

Without cell service or internet connectivity, keeping up with posting the journey is difficult. I've resorted to writing our daily trip down in an Apple Pages document, then cutting and pasting to the blog when we get service. The last two weeks have been tough for posting due to the remoteness of our camping sites. From our rest area stop for the night outside Tok, Alaska on Saturday, August 3rd we drove most of Sunday on the ALCAN to the international border back into the Yukon, Canada. Having experienced the ALCAN already on the trip north we knew what to expect. We dropped our traveling speed during this entire section and took the frost heaves and damaged road surface considerably slower than when we drove up. Even still, every now and then, a surprise was waiting for even the most vigilant. At one safety stop to check the interior of the rig, we discovered yet another open cabinet and a broken book shelf behind the TV. After almost three hours and 158 miles of ALCAN treatment, we were ready to rest up. We stopped for the night in Beaver Creek, Yukon at the Discovery Yukon Lodgings where we dry camped. Monday morning, August 5th we continued trekking another 207 miles on to a rest stop near Stony Creek Camp, Yukon just outside Whitehorse. It was another long driving day, almost four hours worth, but Karen is now sharing the driving duties. And do tell, she even confessed enjoying the experience. When we arrived at this rest stop we encountered a fellow traveler in distress. It turned out that their  Class C towing a boat had a flat on the dually rear tire on the passenger side. Not the outside tire, no...the INSIDE tire and the owner was a without a long enough ratchet extension to get the tire off. This was an ordained opportunity to lend a hand because I had everything he needed. He got the tire off, changed it, and was back on the road headed for the local lake extremely appreciative. I told him we were meant to minister to his circumstances and I blessed his journey as we parted. It was a short 45 minute drive into Whitehorse to the Walmart, Canadian Tire and Save-On grocery store. We got the needed groceries, DEF and truck fuel before leaving town for Conrad campground outside of Carcross, Yukon which was another hour away and our home for the next three days...we thought! The south end of the Tagish Road is in Carcross, Yukon. Carcross is also on the White Pass and Yukon Route railway between Whitehorse and Skagway. Carcross is mainly known for its world class mountain biking on the near-by Montana Mountain, and for the nearby Carcross Desert, often referred to as the "world's smallest desert." Carcross was originally called “Caribou Crossing” because of the large number of woodland caribou that migrated through the region. About ten miles south of Carcross, is a territorial campground on the shores of Tagish Lake near the now-abandoned town of Conrad City that supported the Venus silver mine in the early 1900s. We found a perfect site, long enough, level enough and near enough to the pit toilets and "bear proof" garbage containers to suit our needs. However, in the process of disconnecting from the truck, we encountered a problem lowering the left-front jack. I could tell the motor was laboring to lift the trailer and before it was up high enough to detach from the truck it stopped raising the trailer. I had to lower the front of the trailer to add more leveling blocks and tried again. We got the trailer up high enough to disconnect and pulled the truck away to start the leveling process. As we were lowering the front jacks together, the left jack suddenly collapsed 3 to 4 inches to the adjustable pin stop. Scared the "you know what" out of me. After some very careful maneuvering I was about to lower both jacks down with enough shoring material to make the rig stable. When I went to try and raise the front jack and test the two together one more time, only the right jack would engage and lift the trailer. Bottom line - we had a broken left jack leveling leg assembly. And well, that stinks....right? Nothing like being in a remote location with no cell service, internet, electricity, water or sewer services with a broken trailer leveling jack disconnected from your tow vehicle. Does this sound familiar? Time for SEMPER GUMBY and to work the problem. Let's look at what was good. First, no one got hurt! Second, we have plenty of solar power and sun, a back-up generator with fuel, enough water on board and empty black and gray tanks. Third, I have a 7-ton hydraulic bottle jack on board to lift the left side of the trailer. And finally, the trailer is almost level (a few degrees low in the front) with chocked tires and a solid foundation. What I will need to reconnect eventually is more wood blocks for cribbing the left side of the trailer frame. Enough for now. We drove into Carcross to do some sightseeing, including the "world's smallest desert" and the Emerald Lake, known as “Rainbow Lake” by the First Nations. Emerald Lake offers a breathtaking view on its truly emerald-green water surrounded by Surprise Mountain and Mt Gilliam and is located along the Klondike Highway, 7 miles north of Carcross. We enjoyed the local sights and planned a day trip to Skagway, Alaska to ride the White Pass and Yukon Railroad the next day. The jack problem will wait.

Finally the time to move on from Valdez was Tuesday, July 30, 2024 when we travelled to Kenny Lake Mercantile Campground to spend one night. It was just off the road to Chitina, McCarthy and eventually the Kennicott Mines National Historic Landmark. Kennicott Mines is an abandoned mining camp in the Copper River Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska that was the center of activity for several copper mines. It is located beside the Kennicott Glacier, northeast of Valdez, inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The camp and mines are now a National Historic Landmark District administered by the National Park Service. We had hoped to visit but alas the weather wasn't idea for the long trek 60 miles down a rough road to McCarthy. We are making a mental list of things to see on our next vist to Alaska and this was added. Wednesday morning we drove to the Tazlina Trading Post to visit with our friend Laurie Johnson. She met us with our mail forwarded from Texas and gave us a local tour of the Glennallen area where she and Jay now live. We missed Jay, because he and his brother took a road trip to Prudhoe Bay on their motorcycle for the week. After our tour, we took Laurie to lunch at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge. which features spectacular mountain views and breathtaking scenery of Wrangell–St. Elias National Park. The Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge is situated on 200 acres near the junction of the Klutina and Copper Rivers. This premier Princess Alaska Lodge features 85 rooms and a two-level dining area with excellent mountain and valley views. The focal point of the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge is the Wrangell Room with a staircase to the mezzanine level where you can relax and enjoy the majestic scenery provided by a two-story wall of windows. From Glennallen we drove up the Richardson Highway north to stay at the Rest Stop at Mile Post 188 for the night, which is past the Denali Highway turnoff. We had originally planned on stopping to camp at Paxson Lake but couldn't find a suitable site to fit our rig so we just pulled off the highway for the night before finding a camp site for the next two days. We met a departing RV as we arrived and took over their beautiful lake view site. That next day we drove west on the Denali Highway until the pavement ended at Tangle Lake. This BLM-maintained campground sits amid the Tangle Lakes, a series of long, narrow lakes. This is a designated put-in for the 30-mile-long Delta National Wild and Scenic River float trip. There are moose and caribou in the area; many hunters use this as a base camp during the fall hunting season.The Denali Highway is 135 miles long and connects Paxson on the Richardson Highway with Cantwell Junction on the Parks Highway. Only 30 miles of the road surface is paved. We used this as a base to explore more of the Denali Highway route, without the trailer, and more of the Richardson Highway north to Delta Junction through the Alaska Range. This area is where the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) spans Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems. The core pipeline itself, which is commonly called the Alaska pipeline, trans-Alaska pipeline, or Alyeska pipeline, (or The Pipeline as referred to by Alaskan residents), is an 800-mile (1,287 km) long, 48-inch (1.22 m) diameter pipeline that conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay, on Alaska's North Slope, south to Valdez, on the shores of Prince William Sound in southcentral Alaska. The crude oil pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. After two days of on again/off again wet and dreary weather, we concluded that it was indeed time to start thinking about the trip back to the lower forty-eight. We had spent over a month experiencing Alaska and needed to consider the long journey ahead and the travel time to get to Washington state by Labor Day. We didn't want to rush back so we decided on Saturday morning, August 3rd we would depart Tangle Lakes to drive south on the Richardson Higway to the Tok Junction to head north back to the ALCAN. We drove most of that distance and found another pull-out for that night before we reached Tok, Alaska. Another beautiful Alaska summer gone by, marked by fireweed flowers going to seed as salmon runs shift to Coho and start to dwindle. As the saying goes: “when fireweed turns to cotton, summer will soon be forgotten." Our time in Alaska has been memorable and extremely rewarding. We leave with a few disapointments. Not being able to experience Denali Ntional Park was the big one, but overall we had some wonderful adventures with friends. And like most trips to new and faraway places, the idea of returning at some future date is definitely going to be on the table. A future trip to Alaska, done in a different manner, at a future time is already in conversation. But for now, the long road back south begins in earnest. Good bye Alaska...for now.