The Trip Back to the South

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What a summer. We did enjoy ourselves in Alaska once again. Thanks Ken for being such a good manager. Thanks to our co-workers,CJ and Monie and Bob and Carole. Thanks also to the crew at Denali Park Motel for our two pot lucks. Thanks to the crowds who recieved us so well on our open mic nights. Thanks to mother nature for giving us so many looks at Denali and the wild life surrounding it. But now we take to the highway.
Fairbanks is is a close 120 miles. We stopped there to stock up on provisions. No alcohol, we learned our lesson the first time into Canada this year.

Roasted Marshmallows and Tom's guitar playing at Tok

We drove to Tok our first day. We stayed at a park that sold chili made with reindeer sausage. It was good chili, but not worth the price. We had purchased reindeer sausage earlier in the summer (and again as we passed Delta Junction on the way out.) Maybe next time well try breakfast. The campground normally has entertainment, but the singers did not show due to illness. Tom played a little guitar around the campfire. We did not do so well in the pancake toss. You throw day old pancakes at a bucket to win a free breakfast. Good fun and a chance to meet the other campground residents.

Back into Canada

We had everything in order as we crossed the border into Canada on day two. They asked us for our passports and sent us on our way. It is a little surprising after being searched on our way up to Alaska, but it helped us to make good time. We stayed in the Walmart parking lot (with about 25 other RV's) in Whitehorse. We bought a couple of items there (a new electric kettle, for example). Sally saw a car with a Calhoun County (AL) license plate - didn't meet the owners, though.

Sure sign of fall - the fireweed's gone to seed!

Kluane Lake on a gorgeous day!

Decorated canoes at the Tlingkit Heritage Center

The third day we stayed at the only "required" stop on our journey, Liard Hot Springs. We soaked both evening and morning. We like LHS (a lot). Before we arrived at the hot springs, we stopped by to visit one of our two signs at Watson Lake. We were only 2740 miles from grandson Grady.

On the way to Grady's house

Stone sheep on the roadside

We had a very long day for the fourth of our trip. Dawson creek is the start of the Al-Can Highway (or the finish if you are headed home.) We purchased a map of Alberta and Manatoba. We decided to stray from the known and go in search of new adventure. The mountains faded and we drove east along the great prairie of Canada. We stopped for our fifth night at Slave Lake (the lesser). The Great Slave Lake is one of the routes for the Ice Road Truckers on TV. This is not that lake. Tom went into the lake and reported it as cold. Sally took a ranger lead trip about the lake (not around it, it is over 100 kilometers long).

Tom (the little black dot) in the middle of the Lesser Slave Lake

We stopped for our sixth night in Edmonton, AB. Sally had done some work there several years ago. It is a nice town. We went to a sports bar to watch the NASCAR race. We learned that Brett Farve had signed with the Vikings after he said he was not going to come back this year. Say one thing, do another. Oh, well.

Gas is expensive in Canada

Our next day was spent traveling to Lloydminister. On the way we took a detour to Mundare to take pictures of the large sausage statue (and buy some sausage). It is an area settle by Ukrainians. The sausage factory started in the 1920's as a store that just grew into a sausage capital of Canada. We did sample the wares, and they are delicious.

Saskatchewan icon - each town had a grain elevator

We drove on through the day past Saskatoon and stopped at a little town called Davidson. It, like most small towns in Saskatchewan, has a city run RV Park. As we drove in, we saw a stage set up for a concert right next to the exit. We sort of reached our limit and went to the motor home to sleep. Seven days and halfway home.

Mundare Sausage

The "planned day off" saw us drive only 200 miles. We stopped in the resort town of Moose Jaw, SK. It is rumored (touted) as the escape site ofr Al Capone when things got too hot in Chicago. We took two tours, one was on Capone and the other on how the Chinese were treated in Canada.Both we enjoyable. We also took in an afternoon of relaxation at the mineral pools. We travled around Regina. The city was hosting an AC/DC concert. It was a large event for the town. Even the country music station was talking about the show. We stopped in a small town called Grenfell for a the evening.

Temple Garden mineral springs spa in Moose Jaw

... and the Moose himself

Winnipeg is a bustling city. We stopped there for the next night. It is a town on two rivers. It has a lot of history that we have not studied up on We took a boat tour of the city highlights. We are sure we need to visit this city again. Night 9 was our last day in Canada.

Acres of sunflowers in Manitoba

Winnipeg downtown skyline

The 10th day was spent crossing the border into the US. We had a small agriculture inspection. We were carrying sausages (reindeer and other) so it had to be checked for lamb/mutton casings. Lamb and sheep products are not allowed to be brought by individuals. I guess we should have read up on this before coming across. Luckily none of our meat was a problem.

After we crossed the border, we updated our air card so we could get back on the internet on our on. We stayed the 11th night in the parking lot of a casino at exit 1 in North Dakota. (No, we did not go in a place any bets, we just bought soft drinks. We feel you need to invest a little in places that provide something for you.)

Salvaged cargo from sunken riverboat (over 100 years old!)

We drove into Iowa and stopped at the visitor center. It is a paddle wheel boat decomissioned from the Corps of Engineers. It has a nice museum with displays showing how the river and area has changed over the years. We drove into Nebraska and visited a national wildlife refuge. It is a quiet part of the year for them, but they have a great musuem.

The Missouri River (border between MO and NB)

Oval office reproduction in the Truman Library

We stayed night 12 at a rest area near Rockport MO. Rockport is not far from Kansas City and Independence. We stopped to tour the Truman Library. We tell you now, do not think you can see it all in two hours. We will have to return.

The famous sign from Truman's desk

After the tour, we headed to Springfield MO to spend the night. It is not far from Branson. We did not go to Branson, we were tired. It was nice to go to bed early. The next day we made a stop at the the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, where she wrote her famous "Little House" books. It was interesting to see how she lived, and a good complement to our stop at her homes in South Dakota a couple years ago.

Laura Ingalls Wilder home

We drove hard again and got through Memphis that afternoon. We stayed in a rest area north of Jackson for night 13. The next day we drove into New Orleans. 14 days and 4501 miles later we are back in the south again.

We are finding it difficult to adjust to the time change (3 times zones) and the fact we worked late while we were in AK. We are enjoying seeing the Miles and Murphy families, but that is for another time. Keep tuning in for the next segment.