Tok, Alaska

After a beautiful stay at Kluane Lake, Yukon, we headed toward Tok on a horrible stretch of the Alaskan Highway.  Permafrost heaving and car swallowing pot holes made for some erratic driving.  About an hour or so into this leg of the trip, we pulled into a rest area where we could possibly see bears in the river.  Chris got out of the truck and asked if the trailer always made a noise when we stopped.  I kinda looked at her quizzically and got out to hear the ominous hissing of air leaving a tire.  Yep, the rear drivers side tire was going flat.  Got out the jack and tire wrench that Doug insisted that I take and Don got the trailer jacked up and with extraordinary strength got the lug nuts loose.  I'm not sure I could have loosen them by myself.  Anyway, the tire was changed in about an hour and off we went.  The tire has a screw in it but thank goodness I listened to wiser folk than I and bought new tires including a spare for the truck and trailer.  We did not ruin the tire due to magical appearance of a scenic photo op!  Does somebody out there know how to transfer my pics from my iPhone to my iPad so I can include them with this boring narrative?  Email instructions to Katiekinney4@gmail.com
We r planning a day trip to Chicken today if we can get the jeep okay for travel and the flat fixed.  More later

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

It was a long drive from Watson Lake to Whitehorse but uneventful.  We saw a deer and a ptarmigan- no caribou, sheep, bears, moose.  For the past few days we have been in and out of phone service and wi-fi but in Whitehorse, we found a larger city!  2 McDonalds, 2 Starbucks, and a WalMart. Yee haw!  The Yukon river runs thru here and it's a mighty big river.  No thought about trying to fish it or even dabble the toes in it.  Chris is going to visit some hot springs while I try to find a fishing hole, then we are off to 50 miles past Haines Junction and the last day in Canada for a while.  Alaska here we come!

Saturday July 27

We r at Watson Lake, Yukon Territory after a rainy days drive from Muncho lake.  At Muncho, most went to the Liard Hot Springs but I chose fishing.  I had a nice afternoon catching nothing but fishing was good.  The hot springs folks were relaxed.  On the drive yesterday, we saw 2 black bears, 1 grizzly bear, 1 deer, and many bull bison.  The bison are smaller than ours in the states but otherwise look the same.  Again pics to follow when I get them transferred   You might want to follow my sisters blog at Strollingthecanyon.blogspot.com  she includes many pictures with her story.  Last night they attended a program about the Northern Lights which Chris found very interesting. Hopefully the atmosphere comes together with everything else and we can see the lights in Alaska..  Perhaps tomorrow I wil have time to attempt to download all the pics I have taken. Later

Lake Louise and Jasper

Monday, July 22.  We r in jasper doing laundry which seems like a waste of time but it must be done.    We drove the Icefield Parkway yesterday and saw many rivers, glaciers and waterfalls. Pics to follow when I can get them uploaded.  We will leave for Dawson Creek tomorrow early because it is a long, winding drive bur I'm sure the scenery will be beautiful.  Getting tired of Canada's high prices but somebody has to pay foe their healthcare.  Hope they thank us yanks a lot.  Time to go for now but will s check in later.  The largest cosmos flower I have ever seen!

Day 2 Alaska Or Bust

Left Brigham City, Utah, and headed to Promontory Point historical site.  Railroad buffs probably know the history but we didn't.  Luck was on our side as we arrived - we could see the steam locomotive ,Jupiter, leaving the engine house en route to the visitor center.  We ran thru the station to catch the program and get a close up of the engine.  Then as luck would have it, engine #119 left the engine house and proceeded to the visitor center and stopped nose to nose with Jupiter. The west met the east at that point.

Here is a picture of 119

I will read "Nothing Like It In The World" by Stephen Ambrose.  Then I will know the whole story.

We had a great time and then headed to Boise and then McCall, Idaho

Katie Standard Time

I told my sister that we would leave at 8:00 a.m. She said that would be great, but she quietly said to herself "Not happening." How do I know what she said? She is typing this. Anyway, we finally got away at 11:00 - we had much more to do than anticipated. The joke was on my sister. We didn't arrive too much later than she did . . . and we had farther to drive. So there! Spent the night in Brigham City, Utah. End of Day 1. Not a lot of excitement . . . but we are on our way.

Getting Ready for Alaska Or Bust

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, Testing (or testy, depending upon who is typing this.) Sign on if you can get it!