We Are Back In The U.S.A.! Reflections On Our Adventure To Western Canada and Alaska

U.S Border (Canada/Montana)

We entered back into the United States on September 25th!  Whew!  It was an adventure of a lifetime. We started in Tampa Florida on January 20th and headed west over 13,000 miles.  We visited ten states, three Canadian Provinces and one Territory along the way. It feels good to be home in the U.S. and we really feel proud to have accomplished this bucket list adventure.

Our route from Tampa Florida to Port Angeles Washington (5900 miles) 

Our route from Port Angeles, Washington to Great Falls Montana (7418 miles)

Highlights of our adventure...

Betty's RV Park
Abbeville, LA

Lost Dutchman State Park

Apache Junction, Arizona

Hearst Castle

San Simeon, California

California Coastline

Fern Canyon Hike

Redwoods State Park

California Redwood Trees

Haystack Rock

Cannon Beach Oregon

Olympia National Park
Washington

Butchart Gardens 

Vancouver Island

Zodiac Boat Trip
Tolfino, Vancouver Island

Peak to Peak Gondola Ride
Whistler, BC

Okanagan Wine Country, BC

Chetwynd Chainsaw Festival, BC 

Liard Hot Springs, BC

Grizzly Bear checking out a fish hut (he eventually got stuck in the window)

Funniest moment

Haines, Alaska

Grizzly Bear eating wildflowers
Destruction Bay, Yukon

Lulu Belle Glacier Cruise
Valdez, Alaska

Our traveling friends (Valdez, Alaska)

Cooking King Crab Legs 
(best meal ever)
Valdez, Alaska

Kenai Fjords Cruise
Seward, Alaska

Watching Game and Fish sort  salmon
Salmon Rodeo
Ninilchik, Alaska

Brown Bear Watching
Ketmai National Park and Preserve


Mt. Denali
Denali National Park

Chicken Alaska

Dempster Highway
Yukon

Salmon Glacier
Hyder, Alaska

Aurora Borealis (we saw it but not photos)
Most awesome experience
Pelly Crossing, Yukon 

K'san Historical Village
Hazelton, BC

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Columbia Icefield, Alberta

Jasper National Park, Alberta

Chateau Lake Louise ,Alberta

A few observations....

The roads in Alaska were in better shape then we had expected

Having campground reservations in advance worked out well. Probably would not have needed them in August and September except in the Canadian Rockies

The Glacier Boat Trips in Valdez and Seward were amazing

The trip to Kenai National Park and Preserve to see the Brown Bears was worth every penny

Gasoline and alcohol in Canada is very expensive 

We saw less wildlife in Alaska then expected

It took longer to drive from one campground to another because you have to drive much slower

Weather was better then expected

Long sleeve shirts and long underwear were worn most of the time

There were very  few mosquitoes

Groceries except in Skagway were reasonable. Finding fresh vegetables was more difficult in Alaska

Hiking the trails is the best way to really appreciate Alaska and Canada

Alaska is so VAST

We loved all the wildflowers growing along the sides of the roads in Alaska 

Did not see the moon or stars due to the midnight sun for several months

Getting used to the almost constant daylight in June and July took some getting used too. Black out shades are a must 

We enjoyed this adventure even more than expected and our expectations were high!!!

More California Wanderings (Central Coast, Wineries, Earthquake, Dinosaurs, and the Beautiful Redwoods

Petaluma, Myers Flat, and Klamath California) 50's, sunny days most of the time)

"The Clearest Way Into the Universe

Is Through a Forest Wilderness"

John Muir

John, me, Evan, and Debbie at Coppola's

We are now in northern Washington, but I wanted to take a moment to catch up with some of our travels. Our friends, Evan and Debbie, noticed on Facebook we were traveling near them and reached out to us. They offered to show us some of their favorite places near San Francisco. We enthusiastically said YES!!! They are Presidents of our Newmar Fulltiming Club and used to live in this area.

Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge

We joined them at the Petaluma Elks Lodge. This involved driving the motorhome over the Golden Gate Bridge. Evan gave us great directions on how to navigate through this busy city.  The Elks Lodge has a great campground with full hookups in a nice neighborhood surrounded by wineries and a great birding area.  Wow!  We had a great time together and the weather was glorious. Here are a few pictures of the places we explored together.






We toured three wineries (Kendall Jackson, Francis Coppola, and one which specialized in port). The wine tastings are more expensive in this area, however, if you buy wine it's oftentimes waived. Our lunch at Coppola's was delicious.

Wine tasting at Francis Coppola winery

Kendall Jackson Winery

Francis Coppola

We spent another wonderful day visiting the coastline and seeing some beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Evan and Debbie told us so much about this area. When Evan was younger he drove tour buses to many of these highlights. It was a wonderful day and it was so great to spend time with them. We would not have been able to see as much if we had traveled here by ourselves.

The coastline here is very rugged and the waves crash and swirl around the rock outcroppings. What a spectacular area and as you can see the weather really cooperated with our visit.

We stopped at Point Reyes National Park to take a short hike to where you can definitely see the San Andres Fault line from the 1906 earthquake.  A section of fence moved 16 feet demonstrating the immense power of the earthquake. It is such a peaceful place now with a very violent history.

Thank you Evan and Debbie for taking the time to show us this beautiful area. We hope to meet you back here again.

We then headed to see the California Redwood State and National Parks. To really see this area well it required staying in two different campgrounds. Our first stay was near the Avenue of the Giants. The forest here is dense and tall and the trees are California Redwoods. Although not as large as the ones in Sequoia they are much taller (on average 350 feet). It was a fairy land of ferns and walking down the trails offered a quiet respite.

We stayed for three nights at the Giant Redwoods RV Park. It did not have the best reviews but the location was good. We took a chance and stayed here. It's under new management now and we found the campground to be much better than expected.

Beautiful gardens and dining area at Loletta

The weather was very rainy so we took a couple of day trips to pretty Victorian towns called Eureka and Ferndale. We enjoyed both of these towns and stopped at a famous cheese factory called Loletta (it has a grilled cheese bar) and picked up pastries from Humboldt Sweets. If you are ever in the area be sure to stop - so delicious. We loved driving by the beautifully restored Victorian homes too. They must be such a labor of love and money.

From here we went to Klamath and explored another park of the Redwood State and National Park. Here the Redwoods had a much denser undergrowth. It is nearer the coast and has a different climate with a different result.

One day we drove out to the Gold Bluff Beach. It's a jeep worthy trip and a deeply rutted road but well worth the effort. What was really special was hiking out to the Fern Canyon. This was the site of one of Jurassic Park movies. You walk down the river bed into a fairyland of ferns and small waterfalls. We loved this hike and is one of our all time favorites. Our pictures do not captures it's real charm.

Our next post will bring us along the Oregon Coast. Be sure to check back soon.