6/21/17
Seem to be still on Eastern time waking again as 4:30. up at 5:00. The roar of the Boulder River was great to wake up to. Tidying up the the camper bags that go into the cab… a bowl of cereal and off I went back to Big Timber to hop back on I-90. As usual what I thought would be the day’s events turned out about 50% right. Montana is big. Drove to Missoula (3 hours) and got a coffee as I was fading. Was there in 1998 for the BMWMOA Rally. Luann and I drove two up on the R100 (1991)… don’t think I would want to do that again as we did five long days as well and those are exhausting on a bike. Still glad I did it while I could.
As per the advice I received about the passes, three in Montana and 2 in Idaho, there was some white knuckle driving. A heavy truck handles very differently on a steep on a steep incline. Wild up and down thousands of feet through countless curves with 75-80 mph speed limits. The “plan” was to stop at Cabelas on the Idaho/Washington border to get some bear pepper spray and some practice canisters to get the feel for using it… don’t think I’d have time to read the directions one more time if Griz wants to eat me. As always coming into the American strip shopping miles is not too much unlike a feeding frenzy I’ve seen on the Paranå River in Paraguay. I got in and out and was happy to get back up in the hills.
Decided to try a spot to boondock (dispersed) camp about an hour and a half off I-90… this proved to not to be a good idea as I ended up on the far side, the wrong side of a wetland an hour out in the ‘moors’ of Eastern Washington… ending at a chained gate on public land … a tangible dichotomy if there ever was one. As my Irish family would say “you are stuck in the arse-end of nowhere without a clue” and indeed I was. Technically my truck was on public land so I was tempted to stay where I was (it had taken a long ride in on gravel) but as there were numerous shell casings on the ground and a couple live rounds, Even though I had already clocked 10 hours driving, I thought perhaps I’d try elsewhere. I found a BLM site and put that into Google maps after getting out to the main road… it brought me 30 minutes later to another dead end road with the Google announcement “you have arrived at your destination!” … not bloody likely. Trying another time with another GPS Maps.ME app ( I downloaded all state maps before leaving so I could be offline with routing on GPS). This Got me to where I am now, at a BLM campsite at Roosevelt Lake (way above the Grand Coulee Dam). Free. The wind is wild up here off the water and the cottonwoods are suffering limbs loss. It was another unplanned 11 hour drive. Strangely enough though tired, I spent a lot of time laughing at circumstance … why not… I was safe with food water and a place to sleep no matter where I ended up at dark.
Tomorrow’s “plan” is to find some National Park as close to Bellevue Washington where on Thursday morning I have a scheduled service appointment for the truck …fresh oil and filter for AK. With the miles we will be putting on I brought a complete oil/filter change with me for latter as Dexos 2 is hard to find. I also brought a sealable oil drain pan to drop off at some auto place when full. Lots of details

6/22/17 Middle Forks of the Snoqualmie River, in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest sitting in a beautiful grove of tall evergreens with deep moss and fern beneath. Tiredness is creeping up as the end of the first leg of the trip approaches. Of course par for the course there was a big sign that said “Road Closed” but I ignored it and kept going until I was to be physically stopped. I am only 100 miles away from Seattle. I got to this camp area at noon and had a nice hour and half walk, The mountains here go straight up and the river is cold, fast and clear. Stumps of trees logged off years ago are on average  6-8 feet diameter some monsters even bigger. They must have towered over these that are ‘only’ 100 feet tall. Wished they had left a few standing. 

Here’s a heads up: Just so you know…. spend long enough behind the wheel of a truck packed to the gills and you can be certain to loose something everyday. But! I know where all the stuff goes. If you can’t find something it is always stuck way down between the console and the seat. I have found myself there once too. You’d think they’d make it an inch wider so your hand doesn’t go into spasm trying to fish whatever was lost out. Reminds me of John Candy in ‘Planes Trains and Automobiles’…  

The dead bugs are 1/2” thick on the front of the truck and camper. I have been told to wear them as a badge, I believe this to be good advice since one will need a sandblaster to get them off anyway why bother… it is only going to keep happening. My concern is the weight gain!

Forgot the other event yesterday when lost in the ‘moors’ and a tad punchy after confronting   the chained gate just when I was thinking of sleep…. back on the road! After a few miles of washboard vibration that could loosen your molars, I looked in the rearview mirror which offers a view through the camper and out the back door. Funny,,,,, I can’t seem to see anything…. let’s see what could be blocking the back window? *&&#@! !!!! The fridge door is open! I stopped and opened the camper rear door …what was supposed to be on the inside wasn’t and the fridge door was jammed so I could not get inside the camper… hmmmm. Some more hand spasms later, you’ll be relieved to know that not one can of beer was damaged! (and luckily the juice and milk containers though battered didn’t spill). 

After all those miles If that is the worst of it I think I can thank my lucky stars.

Ferry route  http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/routes.shtml

Overland description of Waterway  

https://expeditionportal.com/overland-alaska-the-alaska-marine-highway/

Vessel tracking   http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/map.shtml

June 23, 

Picked up Luann from the Seattle airport and drove up the coast to Edmonds WA. where we stayed with her friends (and now mine) from the years teaching in Rio de Janeiro. They are now living here. Enjoyed the hospitality and walks along the coast. A fine way to regroup and relax. 

June 24

Truck/camper on the MV Kennicott ferry bound for the Alaska Marine Highway . Our first 24 hours of a five night four day trip as I type this has been warn and sunny but very windy on deck if not sheltered. We have a 5’x8’ room-ette with 2 bunks and fine for having a place to store things and sleep and otherwise we are on one of the many vantage points …constantly changing ship’s sides fearing we might miss something. This boat is wonderful, the food great and relatively cheap and the facilities clean and like new. The views get more and more spectacular with Orca and Minke whales breaching off the side of the ship and mountains straight up out of the water. Very much looking like the trip through southern Chile in 1979 on that old freighter ...though the Andes were a lot bigger. 

June 25

Today was the first in the last 11 days that I have not had to drive the truck… Doncha wanna take me on sea cruise! u-wee baby. 

June 26

Arrived at Ketchikan for a couple hour stop then on to Juneau. I have to say this boat, services and crew are great…friendly people and super clean and comfortable throughout. 

This is down time… first day felt like I was running around the boat soaking it all in and have since settled in to just relaxing for the first time since I hit the road 11 days ago... no responsibilities… this is a vacation… repeat …. this is a vacation…. it is just sinking in… shouldn’t use that word on a boat though. Luann is ‘shedding’ her school year in fine form… sky’s the limit! Smiling ear to ear.

Onto the ferry in Bellingham Washington. 6/26/17

6/26/17 Watching out the front windows with clouds low and sea flat.... just chugging along where the scenery stays almost frozen at this speed. Bigger water and grey skies.

I shouldn’t do a comparison but memories of my couple years in South America 1979-1981 have been coming back. On the reverse season schedule I traveled in the summers (Dec-Feb) to many places. Twice to Chile as it was a remarkable place. The first trip I crossed northern Argentina from Paraguay and over the Andes to Santiago. From there north and then west back over the Andes through the Atacama Desert on what was the old British built railway from Antofagasta Chile to Bolivia ….I kept going north through Santa Cruz,  La Paz, Bolivia. Puno, Cusco Huancayo, Ayacucho Peru and over the Andes again in the world’s highest railway (over 18,000 ft) and down to Lima: Up to Chan Chan and into Ecuador…. back down to Arequipa, Peru then home to Paraguay.

The second ‘summer’ trip was back to Chile… This time with a letter from the Embassy stating I was a scientist needing passage to Tierra del Fuego for research. This ruse was needed as there was still hostilities between Chile and Argentina and it was not long after the Allende coup. Needless to say military ran everything. Travel was restricted and there was no travel past Puerto Montt (being the last place with a road or rail) south. The only way south for the last third of the country to Puntarenas on the Strait of Magellan was by freighter (the other place I wanted to get to was the Torres de Paine). I presented my letter to the shipping owner in Santiago and was granted a free berth south on a freighter. Nothing like using the South American system at the time to advantage. 

This does get back to the ferry trip but all this out the window has me traveling ‘upstairs’ as well in memories. The Chilean archipelago south is nothing other than magnificent. Andes thousands of feet high going straight into the ocean… the freighter sailing a hundred feet off shore. Waterfalls, glaciers, porpoises, giant king crab…. it is all so similar to what I see out the window now. I am in the lap of luxury now compared to that trip. The storms in the southern Pacific once the boat left the safety of the passage where …. ‘highly unpleasant’.

Having seen the route of this ferry I invested in a box of a few Bonine pills. (I surely wish I had had them back then) and use them once so far when we went across Pacific open water where the swells and my inner ear came in conflict. I will use them again without shame after leaving Juneau. Memories of “driving the porcelain bus”  for three days makes it an immediate command decision. 

Fun Facts 6/27/17

Double click to enlarge

6/29/17 We were skirting a number of islands I did not think this boat could get through. Scale here is different, I keep having to readjust, like crossing the prairie for days seeing mountains ahead that don’t seem to come closer. Out of the kindness of the captain we slipped into an inlet so the evening meal could be had without spillage. This was very wise and kind as we later went out into the Gulf of Alaska for the leg to Yakutat. This is where I would love to spend some time…being the Steel Head (trout) capital of the world… 20 pounds …can you imagine that on your line and you not smiling? I have fished pretty much everywhere I have traveled to. Chile still stands out as best but I think it will get its run for the money. 

I am happy to report that I was not too disappointed in last nights travel prediction. As soon as we entered the gulf we were in swells. Big ones. Luann and I had thought ahead when I saw the GPS map of our route. I learn up pretty good …no need to show me twice. Even with the ‘little helpers’ I was struggling to stop trying to anticipate where the ship was going to be on the next step. It is not too unlike walking where one’s foot finds air on the first step and the second lands with the gravity of Jupiter. At least that is the first part. Lucky to have swells which were perpendicular to our route. After a bit though that had to change as we had to follow the coast. What I refer to is the “cork screw” ….up to the right forward …down to the left aft….is added to the elevator effect. Yee-Haw. Not the best time to try to get dressed…or make a hot cup of coffee or any number of things that would be better done bolted down. 

Sitting in the galley with the boat firmly tied up at the pier, coffee in hand and glad to be in Yakutat. Just a couple hour stop and off for the last leg to Whittier where we will once again get in the truck camper. Whittier is a port where the only way out is by sea or rail. A tunnel passes through the mountain and trains and vehicles alternate passing through. Our first step out into the wide open wonderland that we have been dreaming of and planning for for a long time. Even though it feels like I have been moving and covering a lot of ground for a long time it is really just beginning. As a member of the site Wander the West (WTW) who has helped me immensely in the planning stages said “ you ain’t seen nothing yet”. 

I will report a small (I hope) glitch which I hope to correct in Seward. I suspect that the sway bar attachment is loose or perhaps the rear leaf spring. We are carrying a heavy load that the truck is handing fine….except a growing ‘clunk’ when moving slowly and a sudden turn is done. This is why I think it in either the front or rear sway bar. Going over significant bumps makes no sound nor a high speed cornering.  We will see… I would love to have that corrected before heading to the  Arctic Circle or “Top of the World Highway”. 

In this town of Yakutat, there is a geological anomaly (as we are on a vey active volcanic ring) that magnetically interferes with cell and electronic time pieces… funny to watch folks checking their now dumb smart phones…. mechanical time pieces work fine. It is a wet town… either mist, rain ice or snow… again so similar in clime to Chile. There are two sides of the coin when one sees the the license plate state logo: “The Last Frontier”. What have we done to all the others? Having crossed the continent and seen the natural beauty that remains I can only imagine how beautiful this land was before we organized it to suit our survival and in truth mostly greed. The coin has a side that is the struggle to eek out a living in a hard place to be. Doing so is not for the weak of spirit. It can cause real poverty and all it’s ugly offshoots. The other side is that of excess. Those that see it as all theirs to exploit and of the mind that it is their right to do so if they have the means. It is the false definition of ‘freedom’ they use… the one without the thought of their responsibility to the whole. 

It is a place I want to see and know others do too… as the saying goes “This was a great place until people like me came here”. We like to think we are the exception and no matter how hard we try we will eventually alter even a place as big and as rugged as this last frontier.  

It was truly different traveling to far off places before the communication revolution. Remote was remote in all senses of the word. Even though we are in the wild we are now tied with an invisible string. It is good to know I will go to places left still off the electronic map but sad to think it will not be long until there will not be places left like these. I know I know, I made it all maudlin but sometimes I think this world too good for humans. 

Back to the “sunny side of life”!…. we have just left the last port bound for Whittier and have entered a fog bank; looking out the window like staring at a white sheet. That also means (oh joy), it is back to the Bay of Alaska with the pitch and yaw to play with. I was talking to a stewart on the boat who says he has to readjust after a long shore leave to the tiredness caused by how muscles need to be always working on a moving ship. A real isometric workout. 

Our plan when we disembark is to repack/organize the truck/camper just enough for comfort for a day’s travel and one night camp on the Glacial Road which runs from Whittier tunnel northeast; a 3 mile tunnel under the mountain and glacier. We will have time to ‘gear up’ after R&R in Seward! We are looking forward to the reunion with my nephew Mike who calls Alaska home. He lives in both Homer (a log homestead up on the plate) as well in Seward where he and his honey have a coffee shop called the Resurrection Cafe. A mixture of coffee, food, art gallery and community hangout. I can’t wait to see the massive soapstone fireplace/stove he has installed in the once church now cafe to warm the place and the hearts of those by it. We heat our home with a Woodstock soapstone wood-stove and the heat from it is special. The mass of the soapstone delivers the heat in a gentle curve. It radiates long after the coals have died; it just looks good standing there too. 

Dang, very time I look up I see something else. Like saying the word “squirrel” to my dog! Slam up to the window to see an Orca arc up from the water….my their dorsal is huge. Then… there are the tug towed barges…. insanely packed eight or 10 shipping containers high… twenty long and to top the impossibility of what you are seeing is the fact that there are two mobil homes 3 vans and a bulldozer on the top (!) of the stack of containers. Did I mention the swells? How does this work? A cable is maybe 300 feet long attached to the barge and away we go. Somehow physics is ignored here. That not only should not float, it should not do so without tipping over or just plain falling apart losing bits and pieces along the way. I can only imagine a newcomer’s face as their Mercedes Benz perched on top sails away to the assumed depths of oblivion. To my regret I have not photographed one yet as I am too dumbstruck every time I see it (“squirrel!”) I will try if I see another before landing. 

Nope 'only' a pod of Orca.