Garry and Linda's Travels

We are in Kelowna, British Columbia for 3 days. We found a lovely RV park nestled on the mountain in an orchard.

We actually picked some apples yesterday and made frozen apple pie filling (can't take any fresh fruit across the U.S. border). Kelowna is in the middle of Okanagan valley, situated along the Okanagan Lake. It reminds me a lot of a cross between McCall, Idaho and Napa Valley! I know, an interesting combination, but you have to be here to appreciate it.
Today we went to an artisan Goat cheese farm. We tasted all the varieties of goat cheese and had a yummy cup of goat milk gelato. Everything was quite tasty.

We spent 2 nights at the Wells Gray Provincial Park, about and hour north of Kelowna. It is 1.4 million acres of lakes, rivers, waterfalls. It is known as the waterfall park in Canada. We drove to 3 of the falls in the park. Here is a picture of Helmcken Falls, which is the best known waterfall in the park.

We have cable here in the RV park, so yesterday we were able to watch the BSU/Oregon State game on CBS. When they showed the aerial view of Boise and the BSU stadium, I must admit, I was homesick!!! It was really good to see that blue football field! That is hard for a Vandal fan to state!

We will be leaving the area on Tuesday and spend a night with friends we met in Alaska. Then we will be on our way home. This will be my last entry because we won't have WiFi again till we get home. It has been an amazing experience serving as camphosts in Alaska. We met some wonderful people we will never forget and always consider friends.

I will always have a special place in my heart for Alaska. Alaska is a place that gets in your soul. The high peaked, glacier covered mountains are so majestic that I can't take my eyes away from them. The rivers come in every size and colors from gray to turquoise blue. There are so many lakes, you can't even begin to remember them all. They can be huge and fed from the glaciers; or small like Johnson Lake, covered with blooming water lilies. It is simply a treat to see wildlife wherever you may be. I never get enough of watching the Brown Bears! And, of course, the 'world class' fishing. Maybe fishing wasn't the best this year but it still beats any fishing I've ever experienced in Idaho.
So, will I come back? I hope so some day. But I will come back often in my memories, recalling the sights, sounds and soul of Alaska.

We arrived in Whitehorse this afternoon. The weather has been fantastic. Garry says we are traveling in the "bubble"; good weather all the way home!! Each day has been blue skies and pleasant temperatures of 65 degrees. The nights have been cool, though. This morning we woke up to 28 degrees; close to 40 degrees in the camper! Brrrrrr.

The fall colors have been spectacular. If we were a week later, the leaves would be gone.
Views from Glen Highway



Matanuska glacier in September

We spent a night at Lake Louise State Park of the Glenn Highway. It is a pretty lake, but does not compare to the Lake Louise of British Columbia.
Driving to Lake Louise

Lake Louise

The next morning we drove the scenic by-way, up to Delta Junction. We stayed the night at the Fielding State Park. There were a lot of moose hunters parked along the highway. View of Alaska Range, looking across Delta River, along Richardson highway

The next day we made a long drive through the Canadian border, on to Lake Creek campground in the Yukon. That got us halfway through the bad road. The frost heaves are pretty bad from close to the US/Canada border, for about 100 miles. We finished the frost heaves this morning, and drove on in to Whitehorse. We will stay here one night. Next WiFi will most likely be in Dawson Creek.

We did see a grizzly bear eating grass along the highway between the border and Lake Creek. He certainly wasn't afraid of us.

We've had absolutely beautiful weather the last few days here in Alaska. Sunny skies and hardly any clouds. The temperature has been in the mid and high 60's. Where was this weather when we were fishing on the Kenai??

On the last day in Seward, my sister and I hiked up to the edge of Exit glacier. The fall colors were spectacular and, of course, the glacier was awesome. It was worth the effort, hiking up the trail. I highly recommend this hike to anyone visiting Seward.

Scene of Exit Glacier valley

We then drove to Portage valley and camped under the glaciers. Where else in the world can you camp and gaze up at glaciers. We drove under the tunnel to Whittier. We were hoping to catch some silvers, but no such luck. However, we did pick about 2 gallons of yummy blueberries.

We also visited the Alaska Wildlife Preservation Center, where they do wildlife research and rehabilitate injured animals.

On the way into Anchorage, we stopped to view the beluga whales. This was one experience I was hoping to have! I was not able to get pictures of the whales, but I did take one of Turnagin Arm.

We were able to see Denali from Earthquake Park in Anchorage. It was a clear day and one of the days that the mountain was clear of any clouds. What a sight!!

My sister and I at Earthquake Park, Anchorage in the background.

Tonight we will take my sister Cathy to the airport and then in the morning we will drive to Lake Louise, off the Glenn Allen Highway. It is one of the state parks. We plan to stay two days and do some fishing for trout and grayling. I will post the next time I have WiFi.

Well, the summer has definately ended here. Actually, summer ended before Labor Day around here. A lot of the busninesses, RV parks, tourist attractions have shut down for the summer. Even the fish have shut down for the summer! We only caught one additional silver this weekend and a pink, that was beyond being eatible! So after we are finished with the laundry and Bella is finished with her bath and grooming we are heading down the road towards Seward for a few days and then on to Anchorage.

My sister, Cathy, flew in on August 30 and will be flying out on September 14. We are showing her some of the sights and trying to have her catch some salmon (with no luck!). We did spend a couple of days in Homer before Labor Day. We camped right along the Kachemack Bay on the Homer Spit. I believe I took one of my best eagle photos. What do you think?


We made some final sightseeing stops, such as the western most point of the USA highway system at Anchor Point.

We took the ferry over to Seldovia, a quiet little village on the other side of the bay from Homer. The trip over was quite beautiful, observing the various islands along the way. We had lunch and then walked around the small town. The highlight was watching a black bear walking down the street, to a yard sale???
Elephant Rock on Kachmack Bay

Seldovia Harbour
Cathy and Linda
Garry and Linda
Historical Seldovia Boardwalk

We took Cathy fishing for Silvers on the Kenai River. The fishing was great, the catching was not good at all. I think we can write off this year in Alaska as generally poor fishing.

Today we are in Seward. The weather is blustery; typical fall weather. We plan to walk up to the face of Exit Glacier either this afternoon or tomorrow, depending on the wind. We were able to pick about 2 quarts of blueberriers yesterday and hope to find more while we are here.
Last night we witnessed a beautiful sunset on the mountains across the bay.

We also found a good buy on a boat!

Fall is definately here. The leaves are turning; many of the birds have started their journey south. We stopped at Tern Lake on the Seward highway and found no birds, but beautiful fall colors.

We will stay here in Seward another day and then plan to head to Anchorage.
I will write more at the next WiFi stop!

Unbeliebable. We've had 3 days of sunshine. We have had the displeasure of experiencing the record breaking 34 days in a row of rain in the Anchorage and Kenai area! I am making all efforts to enjoy this sunshine because rain is forecast once again of Sunday.

Garry and I have gone silver fishing a couple of times. The silvers are maintaining the 2 week delay similar to the reds. They are just starting to catch some at Centennial Park, but it is very slow fishing. However, I must admit...it is my type of fishing. You throw out your line, let it set, sit down in a comfortable chair, get your book out and read; while waiting for the salmon to come along and take a bite from your bait offering! I better get my selection of reading prepared for this lazy, relaxing fishing. I did catch a very nice Dolly Varden the other day.

Garry trying to patient while fishing for silvers. It is not easy for him, because he doesn't have much patience. I say all you need is a good book and a bell on the rod!

While we were fishing, one of the women hooked on to a King salmon. It must have been a monster; bigger than her. She had it on for over 20 minutes; could hardly turn her reel. Just as she was finally getting it close to shore, the line broke. Since the King season is closed, she would have had to release it. But it would have been fun to see her bring it all the way in!

Little lady with a King on.

I judged 4-H foods at the Kenai Penninsula State Fair on August 19. It is a small community fair, reminding me much of the Valley County fair days in Cascade. Garry and went back to the fair on Saturday and enjoyed the auction and some good fair food.

We are getting ready for the trip home. Yesterday Garry took down the mosquito screen tent and the storage tent. My sister, Cathy, is arriving on the 30th for 2 weeks. We will take her around the area for some sightseeing and fishing and then leave our Johnson Lake summer home site after Labor Day.

I just don't know how Bella will take leaving our Johnson Lake home. The rabbits are a bumper crop this year, so she spends all her time sitting on the couch, looking out the window for 'wabbits'. There are baby rabbits all over the place; one managed to eat most of the lettuce crop! When Bella sees a rabbit, she can only hold it in for a few seconds....then watch out!!
She barks, running from one window of the camper to the next, trying to find a way to get to the rabbit. I am very concerned that she will be so bored after all this rabbit excitement. We are beginning to think we need to buy her a 'real' rabbit for our back yard so she can have fun watching it! Or catching it!!

We had some beautiful sunsets, so I made a point to get some pictures. Mt. Redoubt at sunset
Cook Inlet sunset, with Mt. Redout in background.

On the way to Sterling, there is a place where the guy makes diamond willow and wood burl items. He is also a collector of old saws, and other things. I found this 'saw tree' interesting.

We have a new camper in the campground. Garry and I think we will downsize to it; easier to haul, low upkeep, and definately a conversation piece!

I finally caught a silver on the Kenai river! I had just sat down in my comfortable chair and made a crazy, sideways cast. Once the lure hit the water, the fish hit it. It was around 10 pounds. Very nice fish!

We had a final potluck with our camphost friends on Thursday night. It was sort of sad, because we don't know when or if we will ever see these nice people again. We have met some really nice peope.

We are still here in Alaska. I know it has been awhile since I last updated the blog. Since my last posting much has happened.
Alaska night at Johnson Lake State Park.

First, the reds finally arrived on the Kenai. One day over 65,000 fish came up the river. That day was a great day of fishing. Garry got his limit in 25 minutes and I got mine in 40 minutes! The fish are big and very tasty. The freezers are almost full.

On July 24, I flew to Seattle for the Ward family reunion. We spent 4 days on the Oregon coast at Lincoln City. We had a great time enjoying the beach and the sights. Cathy, Cindy, Brenda, Faith and Hana at the beach.

Faith and I playing on the beach.
Ronald, Carla, Cathy and I went to a glass studio and made some beautiful glass pieces. I made a bowl and the others made glass floats and paperweights. I sent my bowl home with Cathy. I did bring down 2 whole salmon for a yummy salmon barbque.

It has been raining steadily for the last 3 weeks. Since the fishing has slowed down and the freezer is almost full, Garry and I have decided to stay 'home' in the camper on the rainiest days.
We did go fishing with a friend from Idaho, Pat Momont. I worked with Pat at the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension. It was fun seeing him be outfished by his daughter, Kathleen! Especially when she asked for his fishing rod to show how it was done and she immediately caught a salmon, 1st cast!!!

Pat Momont with FISH ON!

Pat's daughter Kathleen caught this nice Sockeye, while showing dad how to do it!! Way to go, Kathleen!

Yesterday, Garry and I gather fireweed blossoms and I made a batch of Fireweed jelly. Here is Garry gathering the fireweed blossoms. You can find fireweed almost everywhere along the highway and in the campground. The blossoms make a beautiful hot pink jelly. The lowbush cranberries are just starting to ripen, so those are next on the agenda for picking. I am getting a good recipe for alaska cranberry relish....sounds really good.

We are planning to do some silver fishing once the fish come in. Shouldn't be too long from now.

Well, it is about time! Ron insisted that Debra experience midnight fishing in Alaska on their last night. Debra would have preferred going to bed, but she went along. Garry and I stayed at the camp; we were too exhausted to go out at midnight. They went to a fishing spot we had heard about on the Kenai river. It didn't take long before Debra had one on. They forgot to take the net, so it was a challenge bringing the fish to the bank. Debra lost 2 fish from the bank! I guess Ron was about to dive for the fish! Both of them came home around 3 a.m. with one fish apiece. What a way to end the trip to Alaska.

Debra and Ron with their sockeye salmon catch!

This is the Kenai River where Debra and Ron caught their fish. I took this picture when we first tried out this spot, with no luck.

Debra was the most 'stylish' fisherman on the river. She had on her Alice in Chains sweatshirt, the new Time Bandit hat, and of course, the hip boots!

In the small amount of spare time from fishing, we tried to get Debra and Ron to some of the beautiful sights in Alaska. Debra stopped for a wade in the icy cold waters of Portage lake, fed by the glacier in the background. It was a cool, rainy day!
We took a tour of a family commercial fishing business on the Cook Inlet. It was quite informative. We learned about the challenges a family must go through just to pay for the costs of fishing. It is definately a way of life they must love, because there is not a lot of money in it! We bought fish from the family business to send home with Deb and Ron. Their visit was not complete without a trip to Skilak lake, one of my favorite spots in Alaska.

Garry and I are now resting after all the company. The second run of sockeye is just starting and we plan to go fishing tonight. There is also a huge low tide this week, so we plan to do some clamming with the camphosts at Deep Creek.

Last night we had our first bear report in the campground. Around 1 a.m. an alarmed camper came to our site to report that a brown bear had run right through their camping site. We got out of bed and drove around the campground, alerting the campers who were still up that there was a bear in the campground. We did not have a chance to see the bear. We haven't seen a brown bear yet this year, so maybe we will get to see this one after he tears into food and garbage that has been left out! We have far to many campers who leave food out, so I am very surprised that this bear didn't linger to taste all the goodies left out! Maybe he was more interested in the fish on the Kasilof!

Well, we sent Sterling and my brother Kevin home without them catching any fish. Now we have Debra and Ron here. Yesterday they went out halibut fishing with Garry and brought home 55 pounds of beautiful filets. Today we went to the Kenai and Russian river.....not a single fish caught. I hooked one for just a few seconds; that was the extent of any fishing excitement.

Here are a few pictures from the last few days.

We took Sterling over to Seward before heading to Anchorage airport. We visited the Edge Glacier. The foilage along the trail was quite lush.

I took Kevin and Sterling to Homer one day, since the fishing was so poor. We visited the Russian Orthodox church and graveyard.

Mouth of the Kasilof River during dip net season.

The dip net season opened on the Kasilof River. Only Alaska residents can do this type of fishing. It is fun watching these families bring in their salmon for the year.

The mama moose made a visit to the park so Debra could snap a picture.

Russian river fishing on July 5. We didn't catch anything, but the river is lovely.

Debra and Ron at Skilak Lake.

It is a good thing that we have all summer to try to catch our year's supply of salmon. Everything is about 2 weeks late. The King and Sockeye fishing has been really slow, with very low numbers being reported. I am staying positive; I've heard that when the rivers rise a bit more and the water temperature goes up, then the fish will start coming up the rivers. Today we went to the Kenai, Russian River confluence and had no luck at all. We saw a few people catch fish, but it was nothing like last year. Oh well, another day!

Our friend, Sterling Hlll from Cascade, Idaho is visiting with us for 2 weeks. We have taken him fishing several times but since it has been so poor, we have done a bit more sight seeing. We made the drive to Homer on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and we were able to see the Aluetian Mountain Range across Cook Inlet. However, it was partly cloudy in Homer so the Kachemak mountains weren't quite as spectacular.

The farthest west of any North American Highway, near Deep Creek, Alaska. Across Cook Inlet is the Mnt. Illiania

View of the beach at Deep Creek after low tide. Skidders launch the boats out in the inlet. Quite a sight to see; boat trailers down the beach as far as you can see.

Checking out just a few of the 71 volcanoes along the Aluetian islands.

That is Mnt. Augustine way in the background. It is one of the active volcanoes.

Welcome to Homer, a small town with a 'fishing' problem!

Money, money, money at the Salty Dawg on the Homer Spit.

Garry and Sterling in front of the Salty Dawg. This is one of the landmarks on the Homer Spit.

Sterling is hoping to catch a King just like this one (Oh, by the way...this one IS FAKE!)

We've been having rain the last 2 days here on the Kenai. But that is OK, because it was getting very dusty and dry in the campground. Now the dust is settled but the mosquitos have come out! Well, I guess we can't have everything perfect!

Drift boats on the Kasilof River

Garry and I have walked down to the Kasilof River at Crooked Creek several times. We finally bought our King tags and tried our luck. The luck isn't so good right now. I did hook into a wild Jack, about 19 inches long; but had to release it since the river is closed for any wild Kings. Friends of ours from Garden Valley, Idaho (Paul and Kyle Sheppard) were lucky and caught 4 'keepers' in two days. 'Keepers' are the hatchery Kings returning up to the Crooked Creek. We plan on going fishing today....maybe the luck will improve. I heard that someone caught at 35 pound king yesterday! I really want to catch at least one King this year....my fishing goal for the summer.

The baby moose are growing so fast and they are so cute! I have yet to get a picture of the twins. We think there are at least 3 mama moose around the park. They keep to themselves quite a bit, but do come into the park area to browse every few days.

I was able to get some close-up shots of this particular mama and baby. Bella was in the camper, so she didn't frighten them into the woods.

Tomorrow we will be picking up Sterling Hill, a Cascade friend, at Kenai. He will be staying with us for 2 weeks. Hopefully, the next posting will be all about fish stories and pictures....and I will have accomplished my summer goal!

That is the question Garry asks about every day! The 'reds' are just starting to come up the rivers, but not in any great numbers yet. Just a few days ago the Fish and Game closed the Kenai river to all King fishing. There are other closures on the rivers south of Kenai. The counts are extremely low, so there doesn't look like we will be doing any King fishing soon. However, that does not mean that the sockeye runs will be low. We are just counting the days till we can go to the Kenai river for the opening on June 12. Watch for pictures and more blog additions after that date.

Things have been fairly quiet at the campground that last few weeks. I haven't needed to call out the Troopers, which is a good thing! They are nice guys, but I would rather visit with them on different terms, if you know what I mean!!

We have a mama moose and twins on the campground area. I saw her yesterday from the camper but was unable to get a picture taken. Bella was making such a fuss that Mama and babies did not stick around. We did take Bella down to the beach so she could run free. I hesitate to let her go free in the forest. If she saw a snowshoe hare or moose, she would be GONE!! So the beach offers a safe area for running free. She loves it.

Garry and I went fishing yesterday on the lake.
We took out our raft for the first time. I pretended to fish! I simply enjoyed the scenery and all the birds. Several eagles were flying up high. The loon couples were sending their calls to each other. There is nothing like the call of a loon on a lake! At one point on the southern end of the lake, there is a small group of artic terns nesting. I will have to get pictures the next time!

The weather has been fairly nice. We had a bit of rain a few days but most days the temperature is around 68 and partly cloudy.
Here is a picture of Lower Silak Lake. It is so beautiful there.

Well, the last week has certainly been entertaining and interesting. We’ve been warned that the Johnson Lake State Park has its’ share of problems with drinking, theft, and fights. We managed to experience the realm of disobedient human condition and the effects of alcohol abuse. No, we are not ready to leave, but we do look forward to the end of Memorial Day Weekend (evidently, the busiest and worst weekend at Alaska campgrounds). What could be worse that called the Alaska State Troopers to arrest a drunken, young man who is out of his mind and trying to start fights and intrude in girls tents??? I don’t think I want to find out!

The weather has been absolutely beautiful this last week. The days are sunny, with a few clouds and temperatures are around 65. The forecast is for the weekend to be sunny and warm. We’ve only had a few sprinkles or rain. The roads are actually getting a bit dusty.
Halibut fishing at mouth of Kasilof river

On our days off we explored around the area. Every time we go for a drive we see at least one or 2 moose. The cows are just starting to ‘drop’ their calves. Hopefully, I will soon have pictures of some baby moose! I did manage to get an outstanding photo of an eagle.

May 24 2010 008

We drove down to Homer
The Homer Beach
Looking Across the bay toward the glacier field.
and had lunch and did some exploring. We saw a couple of Kings that we re caught at the Homer spit. Garry is getting anxious to get the poles out and try his luck. The Kachemak Bay is incredible, with the awesome view of the glacier fields across the bay.

Yesterday we drove the Skilak Lake loop. It is a wildlife preserve. We didn't see any wildlife, but heard loons on the lake. I am expecting that the next posting will be about the big King I catch!

We finished our training today. So now we must be official Alaska State Park Camp Hosts!
Today, as we were driving south on the Sterling Highway to Ninilchik for the training, we counted a total of 9 moose just along the highway. Actually, there was one cow moose grazing outside the Senior Center where were having the training. I have to admit that I was paying more attention to the moose than the ranger!

The kings are starting to come into the Kasilof river. Reports so far indicate that the fishermen are just starting to catch some. We will head down to the Crooked Creek campground and try our luck soon.
I will be sure to post pictures of the BIG FISH caught!!

We are now at Johnson Lake State Park. I haven’t been able to post anything since we do not have WiFi at the site. However, I have made an arrangement with the Kasilof RV Park, which is across the road from the park, to use their WiFi. We will also be doing laundry and showers there also. So, here I am today….doing the laundry and catching up on emails and the blog (and also taking a shower, but not at the same time!!)

I am posting a picture of the Wrangle Mountains.

wrangel mountains alaska 005

wrangel mountains alaska 007

wrangel mountains alaska 012

camphosts

Johnson Lake State Park

camp 1 007

Meet Bullwinkle

I was going to send this message this morning at the Starbucks in Whitehorse, but guess what? No Wifi. It is the ONLY Starbucks in Canada that does not have WiFi. So now after a long days drive, we are in Tok, Alaska. We are staying at the Sourdough RV, which has WiFi...no to catch up!

Pictures from Fort Nelson to Watson Lake.

Icy pickup door handle

Pass between Fort Nelson and Whitehorse

AlCan 2010 to Whitehorse 011

AlCan 2010 to Whitehorse 018

Another Black bear

AlCan 2010 to Whitehorse 016

May 7:

AlCan bridge 1

Kluane Lake 2

Dall Sheep - Sheep Mountain