Monthly Archives: May 2013

Nine Days and Counting…

Traverse City, Michigan to Edmonton, Alberta - Nine Days Traverse City, Michigan to Edmonton, Alberta – Nine Days[/caption]

As the old saying goes “Getting there is half the fun”. The miles are clicking off, the “on the road” routine is falling into place and Traverse City is becoming a distant memory. After leaving Michigan we have crossed Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and half of Alberta. We have logged about 2,000 miles in nine days and seen some great scenery (photos to follow). Successful traveling in a RV is about logistics and tactical planning which seems to consume much of the off the road time. However, the character of the trip is about to change from being a road trip to a sightseeing adventure experience. Our route was around the top of the Lake Superior connecting with the Yellowhead Highway in Winnipeg, Manitoba then ending in Edmonton, Alberta. The Trans-Canadian Highway also follows the Yellowhead section that we took. The Yellowhead trail is named after Métis guide Pierre Bostaonais known as “Tete Jaune” which translates to Yellowhead. It is dubbed the “Park to Park” highway which crosses 4 Canadian provinces, five national parks and 90 provincial parks. It was easy to find lots of literature that promotes the route to help find the worthwhile points of interest along the way.

Heading West from Wawa

Heading West from Wawa

The road around Lake Superior

The road around Lake Superior

Rain, Rain and More Rain along Lake Superior

Rain, Rain and More Rain along Lake Superior

As you can see from the pictures we experienced more than our share of rain around Lake Superior. This is a great drive if you can see the water. We stopped in Wawa to take pictures beside the Canada Goose.

The weather cleared up as we came into Thunder Bay with a stop at the Terry Fox Memorial. (Terry Fox was a cancer victim who ran across Canada and raised millions for Cancer research). This is the third time we had been there…uplifting experience.

04. Around Lake Superior

05.Thunder Bay

Campground in Richer, Manitoba

Campground in Richer, Manitoba

It has been easy to find campgrounds. Of course some are better than others…the smiley face was taken at a park that might have been mistaken for Sanford and Son’s backyard. Private parks have been the order of the day so far. It is our hope to find more provincial/territory parks as we head north.

The Canadian experience is interesting and fun. Great place to visit if it was not so expensive. The provincial parks in Ontario are almost twice the cost of private parks. We will not talk about fuel prices. The landscape is breath taking and the cities are interesting. On this route we hit Winnipeg, MB; Saskatoon, SK; and Edmonton, AB. We did not get to spend any time in Winnipeg which looks like an interesting city.

Saskatchewan River with Saskatoon in the background

Saskatchewan River with Saskatoon in the background

Saskatchewan River with the University of Saskatchewan in the Background

Saskatchewan River with the University of Saskatchewan in the Background

Today’s agenda includes exploring Edmonton. The two days spent in Saskatoon was a nice relief from being behind the wheel all day. We were able to take advantage of the river walk along the Saskatchewan River. This was a nice half day adventure (with lunch along the trail). We were able to take in the University of Saskatchewan Campus and explored part of the city. You can see the University in the background from pictures taken from the railroad bridge over the river. You can see the city across the river from where we had lunch on the trail.

Canadian Prairies seem to go forever along the Trans-Canada Hwy

Canadian Prairies seem to go forever along the Trans-Canada Hwy

Trans-Canada Hwy nearing Edmonton, Alberta

Trans-Canada Hwy nearing Edmonton, Alberta

Nice spot near Edmonton just outside Spruce Cove, Alberta

Nice spot near Edmonton just outside Spruce Cove, Alberta

Now the Prairie will give way to more mountainous terrain as we leave the more developed Trans-Canadian Highway. The theme for the Edmonton stop is to prep for a drive through the wilderness in the Northwest Territory. The next leg of the trip about 1,200 miles over 10 days will take us from Edmonton to The Alaska Highway at Fort Nelson in British Columbia. The experience will include a trip to Yellowknife (Capital of NWT), 250 miles of gravel road, lot of lakes-waterfalls-rivers all with long distances between refueling opportunities.

Getting ready to move on…

Larry and Jan

PS: This did not get posted yesterday due to a dysfunctional internet connect. Today did not go as planned due to an adventure with the truck and an auto repair service. We also found out there was a major washout on the loop road in the Northwest Territory and the strong recommendation is not to try it towing an RV. The road is expected to be in full service by August…so tonight is regrouping to see if a fall back plan can be created.

Route to Alaska

Route to Alaska

 

The plan is to leave Traverse City the 20th of May and return around the 1st of October.  The schedule is 80% open and we will determine for the most part what is next along the way. We do have some reservations where we expect to have competition for RV sites and related activities. Here is a rough plan of where we will be and when:

  • The route will be through Ontario around the top of Lake Superior.
  • The plan is a Northern Canadian route through Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  Travel will be through Winnipeg and Saskatoon ultimately arriving at Edmonton, Alberta.
  • We are taking a side trip to the Northwest Territories going as far North as Great Slave Lake.  This will be a loop where we end up on the Alaskan Highway (AH).
  • The AH will take us through the Yukon Territory to Alaska.  We will make another side trip on the Klondike Highway from Tok to Dawson City where we will experience “The Top of The World Highway”.  As this highway is not RV friendly will leave it behind for part of this adventure.
  • The target date of June 14th we will arrive in Fairbanks.  The next day we head north to Coldfoot, Deadhorse, and Prudhoe Bay via the Ice Highway.  Again the RV gets to stay behind for a few days.  We get to rough it by staying in Oil Field Camps at Coldfoot and Deadhorse.  The highlight of this journey will be traveling North of the Arctic Circle and getting to wade in the Arctic Ocean.
  • Back to Fairbanks for a week before moving on to Denali for a few days.
  • After Denali we head to Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula for three weeks.
  • We will hit Valdez on our way to Haines where we pick up the ferry (with the RV) to Juneau.  This will take us a couple of weeks.  The ferry reservations are for August 2 and August 11th.
  • We have reservations at Juneau for 10 days.  Three of which we will make a side trip to Sitka, again without the RV.
  • Leaving Juneau we will take the ferry to Skagway for a few days before heading off to the Canadian Rockies (Jasper/Banff).  We will take a week or two to get there and staying a couple of week exploring that part of the world.
  • After that we head home with a target date around the 1st of October.

The route will cover over 11,000 pulling the RV plus many side trips.  We are really looking forward to this adventure.  The plan is to keep everyone posted along the way.  As usual we will take lots of pictures and plan to share them via the web site when we can.

Note the map at the beginning of this post which will give you an idea of where we are going.

Both Jan and I will keep our pictures and a dialog going on line.  Jan’s link is on the front page of this web site.

 

Winter In TC

Winter In TC

The Alaska trip has been in our sights for the last three years and for one reason or another it never became reality. Finally, this year is the right time.  The plan was to take on a Workamping job in Fairbanks which included a nice balance of work and play.  However as winter ended and health issues rose to the top of the priorities, it was determined it was in our best interest to let the gig go.  We had worked hard to find the right position so it was difficult to move past it.  However as time went on it was clear that was the right decision.

 

Off the back deck

Off the back deck

 

The Birch Tree

The Birch Tree

 

We got back to Michigan in April from a winter in Texas.  The original schedule was to be in Fairbanks by the 15th of May.  The lesson learned was not to come back North so early next year.  The warm Texas weather seems much easier to take. The mid-west greeted us with a storm along the way with plenty of snow to remind us what winter is all about.  With so much snow in the driveway, heavy equipment had to be brought in to make way for the RV.  However, Mother Nature redeemed herself by showing off her grandeur as you can see from the “Kodak Moment” capturing the results of a late season snow/Ice storm.

 

Flower Bed in the Spring

Flower Bed in the Spring

Yard Work

Yard Work

Larry at Work

Larry at Work

Bring it all together

Bringing it all together

Cleaning up the RV

Cleaning up the RV

Eventually all the snow went away.  With warmer spring weather (after the winter that would not end) made getting the RV ready for travel and sprucing up the yard to leave much more pleasurable.  Life is looking good as we come into the last week before hitting the road.  The trip which will be over four months covering over 11,000 miles requires very detailed planning at least from the “MBA” perspective side of the partnership.  The main route is in place and the key reservations are made.  You should see the list of things planned.  We wonder if we can work all of them in the next few months.

 

 

Jan-D.H. Day

Jan-D.H. Day

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Dunes Trail

Dunes Trail

Trilliums

Trilliums

It was good being home catching up with folks and local activities.  The Traverse City region is doing a great job with the trail system (TART).  The downside is the call of trail can get in the way of the To Do List. Although not too sure we feel too guilty about the time spent walking and biking there.  The Sleeping Bear National Park (Sand Dunes) is always a pull.  We did manage to get out there for a day to enjoy the new bike trail and do one of our favorite spring hikes. Lots and lots of Trilliums and the views are spectacular.  We were hosts at the D.H. Day Campground last spring.  Going back stirs up a lot of good memories of meeting all the campers and working with the folks at the park. Of course there are pictures…

Our time here is counting down quickly as we plan to leave Monday (May 20th).  We are anxious to get going to realize the dream of heading “North to Alaska” (I think there is a song and movie with that title).  The sunrises over Grand Traverse Bay which we enjoy with our morning coffee will always call us back to Traverse City.  Stay tuned as next I will post more about our planned summer adventure.  There will be updates along the way as well.

Larry and Jan

 

Sunrise Grand Traverse Bay

Sunrise Grand Traverse Bay