From Clipper to Dipper – A New Direction
In a move that to some is ill-conceived and inconsiderate, we have decided to put Penelope up on the block. Not the headsman’s block, or even the auction block, but the “For Sale” block. It’s not that we don’t love her, but that we have a sort of self-imposed monogamist ideal for vehicles of the recreational sort, and we have decided that in order to truly enjoy Homer, we are going to need something that will carry us across bodies of water, which Penelope is just not very good at.
As I said in the Craigslist ad: ”We need the money to buy a boat.” But it’s not just any boat – this is a boat we would not have trouble lavishing our attentions on, unlike your typical, run-of-the-mill fiberglass or aluminum vessels, which are certainly much more affordable! We didn’t mean to find a “special” boat so soon, as we are not yet financially recovered from the move, and we keep doing projects here that use up more money more quicker than we anticipated.
This boat is a Devlin “Dipper”, Devlin being Sam Devlin, the boat designer/builder in Olympia who actually built this very one, “Dipper” being the model, and her name is Chakewha, which is Nepali for little bird. I’ve spoken to Sam, as well as the prior owner, who sailed her out of Resurrection Bay (Seward) for about seven years, and I enjoyed to talking to both gentlemen, as well as the very amicable current owner, who had to move from Homer due to work reasons. Sam Devlin’s boat designs are exquisite, and if you have any love for watercraft, I recommend you visit his site, http://www.devlinboat.com .
But that is all really another story, for another time, and there is much yet to tell about Penelope. Since we arrived here in Homer, we have been busy, but also have found time to take some time out, and get to know the area, which, as it turns out, is simply fantabulous!
On two of these occasions, Penelope played a leading role … I mean, how could she not? She’s very pretty, shiny, and 34 feet long…..she kinda steals the show!
You’ll forgive me if this post is very long, and somewhat rambling. Life has been such that even when we’ve slowed down enough to do what amounts to nothing, it is hard to turn away from facing this brisk breeze of the present long enough to write the experiences out and post them, except for the occasional email to an inquisitive friend who asks how things are going in a specific enough way that their queries can be answered in less than a week of typing.
So I’ll talk a bit about the two outings we had with Penelope, then figure out a way to post her current condition for those prospective buyers who have enough curiosity to read through all this blather to figure out just what it is that they are looking to buy! We are hoping to find a buyer for Penelope before the snow flies, as not only would that mean she is likely ours for the rest of the long winter, but that the seller of Chakewha would have by then sold her to another, or paid to have her shipped to her new home.
Later tonight, and over the weekend, I will be posting more data, so make sure to check back for new posts!
Gene
Michele’s Photos
My photo galleries are finally online! There are links to them on the right, and also below:
Gene is still working on his photos, but will get them up eventually. It was a wonderful trip, and I look forward to going back to many places when we have more time. Meanwhile, we will enjoy exploring the beautiful area around Homer! – Michele
A Moment of Repose
Not so much for us, but for Penelope is this post titled, although we have had a moment here and there. Our Penelope rests in the drive, her load being lightened significantly each day. What amazes us is the amount of stuff we managed to jam in there, and how much it must have weighed! Penelope certainly did accomplish a lot when considering this. Pulling a fully-loaded Toyota 4×4 up endless steep grades, it is no wonder we had overheating issues! We were asking an awful lot of that engine, and it will be VERY interesting to see how she performs without tons of cargo. I think that as a bus, which she never was, but IF she was a bus, she would be asked to carry 29 passengers and driver, so let’s say 30 people, say an average of 150 lbs. each, for a total of 4500 lbs, plus their luggage, which I can only guess at…let’s say 1000 lbs, which brings us up to 5500, then the weight of the seats themselves, add another 1000 lbs, since I am guessing still, although we can take that away, as it is weight otherwise now used by the interior appointments, so disregard that… and for grins let’s add another 500, since there are always other things to consider, and we end up with 6000 pounds. This is my rough guess at the payload of this coach, but I think we may have exceeded it.
We will never know, however, because she is mostly unloaded, we were not interested enough to weigh and log each time we exited the bus with a load, and I was too chicken to stop at a weigh station because I feared they might find that we were overweight, and force us to offload part of our cargo onto a Uhaul or some such. Oh well. Suffice it to say that it was a huge amount of work that Penelope performed for us, and she has our thanks, although the cost was high. Very high.
About the stuff. It was not our intent to end up here with so much of it, and we are surprised that it made the many “cuts” we made throughout the year as we culled our possessions. When we first arrived, we were, and had been, existing on very little, and were happier for it. The simplicity made life easier, and more rich somehow. As the boxes and tubs and bags get unpacked, and as the many nooks and crannies of Penelope’s cabinetry are unloaded, we feel ourselves weighted down in an emotional and psychic sense, and all we can say now is “It’s gonna be one humdinger of a yard sale!”
It is about one year ago that we first decided to make this move. The earliest mention of it as far as I can see looking in our old emails was a real estate link I sent to Michele. It was dated June 22nd, 2009. We got the idea that we wanted an Alaskan experience from watching Survivorman and his episode in the fjords near Seward, and within a day or two, we were perusing real estate ads. So this project…the move, that is…took us one year. Not bad! Now…how long will it take us to recover from it, both financially, psychically, and with regard to time? We both have seemingly endless projects lined up, and those are just the obvious! Several of mine, I can see, will take until the end of the summer at least!
This is part of the reason I now write this short post … it is hard to sit down long enough to write posts! During brief moments of rest, it is much nicer to stare out across the hills to the active volcano (Mt. Redoubt) that is in our view to the northwest. Especially during the looooong evenings, with the clouds and sun creating intense textures on the tapestry of the sky, an expansive view we are as yet unused to, having lived so long in canyons and under trees, it is intriguing to watch the cloud of steam fluctuate above the peak.
Our DSL will not be working until Monday, and until then, it is next to impossible to ask anything of the Internet….the wireless service we now have is way too dang slow. I mean really. . . really. . . slow. So, if you are anxiously awaiting those picture galleries, videos, and updates I promised, you may have to exercise more patience! Combined with our workload creating a new life for ourselves and the difficulty getting things done online, it will be a little bit.
Also, it is important to make the distinction between our new life and “Travels of Penelope”. It is most likely that we will start a new blog with which to keep account of our doings and adventures here in Homer, and another blog to express the ideas and work that will be done to Penelope. This latter will probably be called “Penelope’s Progress” titled after an old book we’ve yet to read. The links to these forthcoming blogs will be posted here, or you can make a request for them by email. Furthermore, if you would like notification of updates to this blog, which will be ongoing, albeit sporadically, email would be the best way to go.
The email address is mizamook at gee mail dot com. You have to make that into computer speak. I don’t like spam!
Anyway, that’s about it for now. I will go look for another moose walking through the yard, look for eagles and bear, and get back to work!
Gene
Moose, Eagles, a Hill, and a House
So much for lollygagging. We tried to lollygag, but because of our lack of experience with the area and the risks involved when maneuvering a rig of this nature around in unfamiliar territory, we ended up giving up on it, as the special spots seemed to want to continue eluding us.
Not that we didn’t try.
Normally, we eschew fried food, but halibut and chips seemed like an excellent choice for lunch today. Any form of fish and chips would have done, but contrary to what you might think, finding anything resembling fish so close to a coastline renowned for its fisheries was a bit much to ask, so today we had cheese and vegetable sandwiches for lunch.
Again.
Not that I mind these sandwiches…they are in fact my favorite heavy-duty, all-around lunch substance, especially when chased by an amber ale, augmented by chips and salsa or nuts, and followed by an apple or such. Can’t beat it. But today, we wanted fish and chips.
We were hoping to eat our fish and chips that turned into a cheese sandwich on some promontory overlooking the Cook Inlet, but this was not to be the case. We ate our cheese and veggies and bread in a parking lot by a bland, windy beach of mud, surrounded by houses and No Trespassing signs.
Undaunted, we attempted to add a little spice to our lives by navigating a loop that was supposedly scenic, based on information garnered from a tourist brochure of the Kenai (“kee nigh” accent on 1st syllable) area. This brochure, however, was more poorly written than my latest posts, and the information therein was obviously based on the point of view of someone who already knew where all the places to go were to be found.
What we did find, shortly after the wretchedly-creased pavement ended, was that the beach at the end of the dead-end road we were on was not only preceded by a narrow parking lot just BARELY wide enough to turn a 34′ bus around in, but was chock-full of parked cars and trucks, as well as their curious owners. More were arriving by the minute.
This was going to be fun.
Needless to say, I could never have turned around with the toad attached, regardless of the amount of other cars. I wasted no time bemoaning the time lost, and set about the re-installation of the Toyota’s drive shaft, and the de-coupling of the two vehicles. In no time at all, I had both of them turned around, but it was a bit hairy for a moment, as I needed all of the space allotted to me by the happenstance openings provided by people who just left. There were no nice people from Vancouver this time, and the feeling I got was that I really just wanted to leave.
We reconnected in the parking lot of a curious little food shack where, by the signage, you could procure fresh roadkill, smoked, on a roll, or whatever….interesting. The fun thing about this place was that part of the shack (attached) was a Flxible van “Flxette”. I took a picture. So did Michele. After we get better internet, we’ll post them in our galleries.
We decided to hightail it for Homer, and so away we went.
And here we are.
We made it. Penelope made it. We made Penelope make it, whether she wanted to or not.
The last climb was the worst of the entire trip, and I’m not really sure why I did it. I was sure asking for it, and we are both glad that we didn’t break the crankshaft, melt some valves, warp the head, or throw a rod. That was some hill. Thanks to the patient locals who were caught behind us as we ascended East Hill Road in 1st gear. Barely! There was another route, but at the last minute, I decided to go for the steep one. Whoops.
Then we got to our new house, and looked around for a long while before unhitching the Toyota for the last time and moving Penelope into the driveway in front of the house.
Where her tires promptly sank approximately 8 inches into the soft ground.
Um….
OSB and plywood scraps are now keeping the wheels from sinking, and the unpacking has begun. The mess is incredible, and the amount of work to be done is overwhelming. But we’ll take it one day at a time. Kind of like that sitcom from the 80′s, but without the graces of Valerie Bertinelli. There’s so much to do, and we are so far from the headspace required to deal with it all that we may have to go fishing or something.
It is hard taking things out of Penelope. She’s been our home for just over a month, and we really really like her a lot. We are looking forward to the road trip days of the future, when we are on the road again.
So this is not the end of Travels of Penelope. Not even close. We have yet to post relevant stories as we recall them, offer photos we dredge up from the millions of shots taken, edit and share the video captured, and that is before we begin the customization of this old coach into something we can be mobile, comfortable, and secure in, for the long haul.
No, it is not over. With the end of this 3300-mile trip is only the beginning of a far greater story.
But first, we must needs find a source of some local smoked salmon with which to augment our celebratory dinner. It is apparently easier and cheaper to get smoked salmon in California, where the wild salmon are dying in droves due to pollution, dams, overfishing, and fish depression. They are becoming scarce here, too, those salmon. Will humans respond fast enough this time, having learned from the mistakes made in the southern coastal areas, or will we demolish all the wildness here, too?
Either way, it is surprising to find that it is expensive and difficult to find smoked fish here in Homer. Maybe we’ll have better luck locating some fish and chips for lunch.
In the meantime, we are busying ourselves with unpacking and home-making.
Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to Sally, our neighbor, who without a moment’s hesitation drove over to our place to get the meter number for us so that the HEA could begin the cumbersome process of beginning to turn the wheels that would set in motion the necessary cogs required to activate our electricity….sometime next week. It is wonderful to have neighbors who cheerfully step up to help despite the blatant rudeness of starting a relationship with someone by asking for something! We’ll make good on it, I swear!
In later posts, there will be photos, but the internet here is barely enough to keep the connection alive.
During our drive from Kenai to Kasilof (cass ee loff, accent on the second syllable), we saw three moose….those things are really big! If I hit one in our bus, it is entirely possible that the windshield would be compromised by its head! Ouch. Something to avoid.
Michele approves of Homer. She was awed by the spectacle of the mountains across the Kachemak Bay, and the well-kept gardens, and lush natural springtime vegetation. The layout and look of the town appeal to her. “I will like living here” she says. Good deal!
I think it is about time for me to sign off. It is late….12:54 a.m. and still light enough to see without artificial light, although stumbling over the happy cats is not a good thing to keep doing.
Gene
A Glimmer of Hope
It was too good to be true. Here at Hope Road Junction, where we parked in a fairly level, open spot out of sight of the highway, yet close to a nice bathroom and several trails which would have been nicer to explore if it wasn’t raining, there was nary a soul to be seen. Until just now, when I started this, my second post of the day. Two lumbering behemoths intruded upon our wooded view, and instead of doing as I willed them to do, which was to go away, they appear to be taking up residence … they would not engage the auto-leveling devices on their plastic road palaces unless they intended to remain in our view. Will the relative silence now be sullied by generators?
Maybe I’m still a little miffed by the very recent failure of Penelope to climb the Turnagain Pass without overheating or spending too much time in second gear. Yes, we did have to pull over, and I spent a good amount of time in the warmth of the engine room, glowering at the big blue thorn in my side that has successfully albeit reluctantly propelled us at least 3100 miles in the last month.
Yes, it’s been a month … a month and a day, in fact, since we departed our Happy Camp property. Except for the constant duck mess, it’s been great to be on the road for so long, and it gives us a taste of what it will be like later on, when we decide to hit the road for real, with no specific destination, no schedule, and no goals, except to fulfill our urges to be anywhere but where we are at the time.
We’ve had more than one modern RVer mention to us that they thought we were “having a little trouble” back there on those hills…did they think we were sad that we had not the power that they did? Well, they can have it, although we will, too, one day. But we have style, and they don’t. (I know…it’s an eye of the beholder thing – forgive me, I’m a snob) Of course, they have showers, washers and dryers, auto-leveling devices, furnaces, AC, Dachshunds, entertainment systems, and all the comforts of home (and more, generally…)
We will take steps to set up Penelope for greater comfort and speed, (and efficiency!!!) but I will take great pains to avoid detracting from her present allure. I will do things to enhance her maneuverability, as we hope to take her places most motorhomes would not dare to go. Yesterday, when getting into the place where we camped, the turn was extremely sharp, and I had to blast up onto the side edge of the sand/dirt track, run over a few saplings, and clamber up the narrow little road and over a steep little gravel lip onto the parking area. This was great fun – felt just like “backroadbussing.” The Toyota was not so much a problem then as it was able to be forced backwards as I jockeyed the bus into a good position…the gravel offered little resistance to the jackknifed toad. Earlier yesterday, this was not the case.
We were looking for a rest stop with bathrooms, and a bit of level ground so that I could check all Penelope’s vital fluids with some accuracy, and we passed several that were obviously not meant for larger vehicles. One, however, looked inviting, as it was not only on the top of a hill as opposed to the bottom (accelerating Penelope uphill is akin to watching the second hand in second grade, 32 minutes before lunch, or waiting for the queue at the busy fuel station restroom, and it had been a while…) but there were two RV’s visible along the edge of the upper area which was up a short steep drive to … you guessed it … a small, narrow lot, with almost exactly the amount of space required for me to get Penelope and her little red, greasy follower situated perfectly perpendicular across the path of any and all who may want to enter or exit this wonderful little spot.
How embarassing! Attempts to have Michele steer the Toyota ended up being in vain, and there was naught for it but to disengage the Toyota’s hitch, and reposition both vehicles separately. For those of you who have not done it, or may not know, when flat-towing another vehicle, or using a tow dolly, using reverse is a BAD IDEA! Although it can be done in a straight line, or for very short movements, it is really not considered a “doable” thing. It puts tremendous pressure on the hitch points on both vehicles, the towing apparatus, and makes real neat black marks on pavement, while stressing out the motive system of the towing vehicle, as well as the steering and suspension of the towed (toad).
But I did it anyway, because I was in a jam. In order to get out of it, I had to disconnect, which was difficult, given that there was so much tension on the system. To relieve this tension, I would have to re-connect the Toyota’s drive-shaft, which is not that big of a deal, except for the fact that there would surely be more onlookers who might be miffed at not being able to drive to the bathrooms. More witnesses? Not my idea of a good time.
Luckily, a nice man from Vancouver came over to help us out, and did so in a manner that made me feel not so alone in my idiocy. He helped us disconnect the ‘Yota and push it out of the way, then reconnect it once I had Penelope re-situated. It’s nice to have people like that in the world. I hope I am one. I know I do try to help where I can, but I’m not so sure I’m adept enough at making people in bad situations feel comfortable.
He asked the standard questions about Penelope, which usually begin with “What year is it?” The other questions have to do with the make, the engine, the fuel economy, how and when it was made into a motorhome, how long we had it, how much time/money it took to restore, where we come from, where we are going, and why, whether those are real ducks or not, and why do we have them, whether it is OK for the bus to be rolling away with no-one at the wheel, and do we know anyone named Jack?
Life in a fish bowl. That’s what we’ve termed this part of the experience. Oh, and yes, I made that question up…the one about the rolling away bit. That has not happened. Back to the fish bowl. When we are parked, having lunch, discussing routes, or mechanical issues, or getting up in the morning … anywhere there are people, there is interest. Usually. Of course there is! What a strange thing to see being driven around! We’ve gotten used to it, and we find that we do meet a lot of interesting characters by luring them in with our strange choice of a vehicle. Then we absorb their stories and their friendly energy, and send them away bemused, or at least confused. Hopefully they have strange thoughts the rest of the day.
I started this post to try to jog my memory about the things I wanted to relate. 
I didn’t mean to talk about modern RV’s, and how they are seemingly infesting the highways of the north. They are everywhere in the spring and summer, no? I didn’t mean to talk about moose droppings either. We saw on our walk just now that they resemble nothing so much as chocolate easter eggs…you know the kind…the little ones wrapped individually in colored foil? These have no foil, and I doubt they taste as good.
I also wanted to post a few more photos, which I’ll get to now, before we lapse into sleep.
The RV’ers are quiet and are really not a problem.
Did you know that ducks drool? Slobber, really. Pleasant.
We’ve decided to play it fairly loosely with the HEA and the electrickery situation. If we don’t get it, big deal, right? What’s a few more days? That’s why we are still not on the road right now, making for Kenai.
The result of my thinking back there just shy of cresting the Turnagain Pass was that I topped up the radiator with Marvel Mystery Oil. I wonder why that seemed to actually work? We’ll see….
Gene
Oh, and my wonderful map-less Navigon GPS STILL indicates that we are headed toward Cotton Valley. It is now to the south, whereas before it was to the north! I wonder… is this some kind of Shangri-La?
Homer Stretch
Michele and I are sitting on the side of the road on the Turnagain Arm, waiting for the traffic to die down a bit so we can enjoy the drive. We just talked to Homer Electric, and found out that we might have to wait 3-5 business days for them to get around to turning on the power, and that they need our meter number because they don’t know how to use a computer to access records based on an address.
I’ll take my roll of red tape in the office with me – we’ll see if they are sensitive to the sarcasm.
We had a hard day, but things are well. Many hills were found to be in our way, both up and down. The ups made the engine hot, and the downs made the brakes hot. The signs around here for dangerous, long, curvy, and steep grades may or may not say any more than “Hill”, with a truck on an incline. No indication of grade or length. Useful. I’ve shifted down for short, steep curves with a straightaway leading to another hill, and also failed to shift down for real serious inclines.
We saw a lot of cool mountains with glaciers and snowcapped, jagged peaks. The light was not at its best, however, so the photography was mostly a failure. Rest assured, the story will not end once we get to Homer, and many of the images we’ve yet to sift through will be shared then. 
For now, though, it’s about time to hit the road again, to do the Turnagain Arm Run, which is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. We will likely get as close to the town of Kenai as possible, so that we can storm the Homer Electric Ass. first thing in an effort to get our power turned on. Then we can enjoy a scenic loop drive back to the Sterling Highway, and mosey on south toward Homer.
We are only about 200 miles from our destination, and the journey’s end will be both triumphant and sad. Life is like that. I can only hope that I remember the three or four things I’ve been wanting to talk about in these posts while I am still posting regularly. Hmmm….
More later,
Gene
Alaska!
Prepare for a longish post…this being the result of several days’ travel …
14-Jun-10, Monday
The wind tries to rip us off the bluff as I now write, waiting for my supper, which is coming forthwith. Beyond the edge there lies but rocks and cliff, with frigid, choppy water below. We’re at Kluane Lake, easily one of my favorite locations along this route, and it is in fine form, with evening sunlight slanting through the dust kicked up by the wind, traveling over the water in a spectral fog, Penelope buffeted by the crooning gusts.
It never fails. Buy one can of clam chowder of an unknown brand and quality, and it will turn out to be some of the best (canned) you’ve ever tasted. Buy two or more, however, and it’s almost guaranteed to be the worst, or at least so insipid as to be not worth existing.
This stuff doesn’t hold a candle to Michele’s homemade clam chowder, but it will do, especially with a nice salad, toasted bread, and the last of the best cheap wine Canadian stores have to offer, ironically from California.
Sad, but true. The state of affairs concerning alcoholic beverages in Canada is another topic, complete within itself, that I care not to get into too much here, but besides the goofy laws and exaggerated taxation, this particular issue is the final factor in deciding NOT to move here! Of course we have our own problems here in the States, and even the most financially-challenged Canadians I’ve met seem to be generally happy, so maybe it’s not such an issue.
It is now eighteen minutes after ten o’clock, and the light persists. It is doubly strange in effect, as we are not only traveling to northern latitudes, where the summer sun lingers long, 
but we are approaching the summer solstice - the longest day of the year. Together, these contribute to very lengthy days, and it’s a little difficult to get used to, especially for those who live not by the clock, but by the sun.
Driving through the Yukon Territory is a wonderful thing to do, especially when one has the excuse of having a 63-year-old vehicle with which to plague those who have busier and better things to do than watch our rounded behind as we creep up the long hills in 2nd gear. Things DO look better at 42 mph, though. I recommend it.
Back in Kitwanga, at the free camping at Centennial Park, just across from the garage “Dollops” where we performed the last radiator flush, Michele talked at length to the editors of The Milepost, the annual publication that is recommended for travelers through Canada and Alaska. This large periodical contains many many advertisements for lodges, restaurants, garages, tour services, etc., but amidst all that is a mile-by-mile accounting of points of interest, historical data, turnouts and rest stops, grades both up and down, and other valuable information for the traveling motorist. These nice folk happen to live in Homer, and were very generous and kind. They were on their recon mission for the next issue. What a job! As a parting gift, they presented Michele with a copy of the previous issue, and this helped us enormously.
We met some folks in the throes of traveling from Florida to Alaska. By pickup. Some of their observations were interesting, especially regarding the state of the Canadian motor lodges. And the Yukon rest stop facilities, in which “updraft” is an issue. I’ll not go into details, but you can imagine some of the sights and scents we endured. The man from Florida had an issue with the tissue….wafting back up, uninvited and unwelcome. Lovely, eh?
Today’s driving was largely good, with awesome scenery to keep us occupied between moments of overheating. In general, things went well, and we had no real problem cruising along at low speeds, as it allowed most of the bugs time to veer away from the windshields, and us time to frame better photos. Our arrival at Kluane Lake came none-too-soon, as Penelope’s beleaguered engine decided to go into one of those sullen “I don’t want to go any more, can we stop now?” phases. I figured it was a suddenly-clogged filter, and we putt-putted around the west end of the lake to where we now sit. I’ll fix it tomorrow. I was just glad that it hadn’t totally melted while crawling up that grade out of Haines Junction. Talk about punishing!
We hiked a bit up the trail overlooking the pullout where we camped, finding that the walk was refreshing, and that the trail we were walking was part of the old Alcan Highway. I’m not sure of the exact details, but we did get to hear a recording of the commencement ceremony from 1942, at this spot, where they officially announced the opening of the famed military supply route known as the Alcan. I could have recorded it and posted it here, but figured that if you really want to hear it, come on up!
No bears leapt out of hiding to eat us.
I can’t wait to see the video shot Michele hiked for. Back some ways before Haines Junction, I stopped, and had Michele head out on foot. When I saw her disappear over the horizon, I waited a few more minutes, and then, signaling her with the airhorn, I got Penelope up to speed, and zoomed past Michele. I stopped as soon as I could. It still took Michele several minutes just to get back to the bus!
After dinner was over, and this writing done, it was 12:15….yes, fifteen minutes past midnight when I last looked at my timepiece, and I was just settling down into sleep. But it was still light outside….
It’s also hard to sleep when there are warmth-seeking cats all over you.
*********************************************************************
15-Jun-10, Tuesday
Slept late on purpose … and why not? Things were going well, and the border was just around the corner, relatively speaking. I checked and topped up the oil, water, and transmission fluid, swapped out a fuel filter that didn’t look too bad, and then went for a walk with Michele. We headed up the old trail again, this time in the other direction, specifically to get a video shot of the bus down below (with all the other RV’s gone). Naturally, as we got to the good vantage, a carload of boisterous leaping male humans showed up and spent the next ten minutes exhibiting the standard “Hey look, it’s a weird old bus” behavior, and hopping about in astonishingly ape-like manner for the lens wielded by their buddies. As they did this, numerous other vehicles came and went, but eventually I got the shot. We’ll see how it looks later, as we will see how the flower shots, and the numerous other road shots from today came out.
And so it was, at about 10:00, we settled into our driving positions for another day on the road. The engine took some trying to get started, as it was cold, the choke was disabled, and, well, it was not fixed. Something was still broken from the night before, and the fuel filter wasn’t it.
Dangit.
So I tried the easy stuff first: Changing out the fuel pump. It HAD to be a fuel delivery problem, right? Not so easy to diagnose. Then came the removal and disassembly of the distributor, which then turned into a series of frustrations as I tried to identify the correct position in which it was supposed to be, as something changed …. Some of you may know all too well what I was up against. But I figured it out, and moved on to the next item: The carburetor. I took it all apart, and cleaned what I could as best I could. I really was hoping to find a problem to fix, as that would indicate to me that SOMETHING was getting done! I found nothing, until I went to re-install the carb. The butterfly plates for the governor were almost totally closed! Somehow or another, the linkage got jammed up beyond its normal range of motion, and stuck there, 
kind of like that bad face you make that your mother warns you will stick there forever. I’m not sure how this situation came to pass, but there it was….easily fixed, too.
Of course by now the timing was all screwed up, and I was faced once again with the challenge of finding the sweet spot, but that was OK – at least we were on the road again, albeit 4 hours later than the day’s first attempt. The running was good…a little too good, and I started to suspect timing too far advanced. The temp gauge confirmed this, but in the meantime, it was great fun driving for once.
Kluane Lake had stilled somewhat during the hiatus, and the astonishing blue had come forth. The surroundings otherworldly and stark, it was strange in that it was the middle of the day, yet dreamlike in quality.
“The Sun was shining on the Sea
He shone with all his might,
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright.
And this was odd, because you see,
It was the middle of the night”
Excerpt from “The Walrus and the Carpenter”, Lewis Carroll: “Through the Looking Glass”
We were finally starting to experience the infamous “frost heaves.” These chaotic undulations in the road’s surface are caused by freezing, swelling, subsidence, and poor highway design and maintenance. They are great fun. What an awesome way to limber up one’s suspension, and to maintain interest in an otherwise drab section of highway! Penelope’s aged spring suspension handled the cracks, 
bumps, ridges, creases, and ruts fairly well….especially since we were going slowly anyway. The old bias-ply tires gave excellent tactile feedback, punctuated by the knocking and rumbling of loose kingpins. Fun stuff! It was amusing to watch the folks who could go faster hit those rough sections of road. The behemoth RV’s tipped, bounced, and bobbled – two going through at the same time would create a sort of manic dance. The northbound people seemed to do worse, as they had not quite “gotten it” and kept smashing into the road rapids way too fast; in general, the southbound folk had had enough, and reduced their velocity accordingly upon approaching the little orange flags lovingly planted at each section, with more flags on the side where the bumps were worse. Sometimes those flags meant little, but others meant the difference between maintaining un-spilled coffee and becoming briefly airborne.
I had retarded the timing twice during this run, and whether it was due to these changes, or the fact that the air was becoming decidedly more cool, she was doing well. It didn’t feel as nice as when I had the timing advanced too much, but I did not want to risk melting a piston!
We had several swan sightings. They are apparently nesting now, and look like marshmallows with necks. There was also a nice moose sighting, (Nice moose!) I’m surely forgetting something that flew, crawled, or walked, but I’ll fill you in if it seems interesting.
At a pullout, Michele got to swim the ducks in a small pond. They were happy about this. Ducks need water to keep clean, and ideas for an in-bus pond remained only ideas, so it is hard on the poor fowl.
The border crossing was largely uneventful, largely because there was no reason for events to occur, and also because we had our ducks in a row. The paperwork, that is. The officials there were really nice, and asked the standard questions, then had us go into the office to fill out some forms and present our permits and such. One guy had a story about a duck that cohabitated so well with their dog it must have thought it was a dog, snuggled up with it when sleeping, eating the same food, and both of them running up to greet them when they returned home in their truck. The nice woman who was working with us on the paperwork had a story of a truckload of mallards being imported for use as bird-dog training accessories. She felt bad about it and was tempted to confiscate them to set them free. Poor birds!
After about another 40 miles of driving, during which Penelope ran strong and cool, we camped at another pullout, this time just off the side of the road, but with a nice view of the Wrangell Range off to the west beyond miles and miles and miles of spruce-infested lake land. No wild mushrooms were to be found, however.
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16-Jun-10
Now we are in Tok, Alaska, where we fueled up, and are now parked in a large lot by the visitor’s center. Many characters have stopped by, and it will be long before we leave this town. One of the visitors has another ’47 Flxible Clipper here, and we will likely stop by to see it. Everyone seems really cool, and interesting. Our leaving time will likely be delayed by a visit with a classic car enthusiast named Duke, who we learned of back in Kitwanga – a friend of his stopped by to talk of our bus, and insisted that we contact him on our way through.
Tonight, we plan to be in the mountains, and we may or may not have reception for our modem. When we stop, I’ll check out the epoxy putty “fix” on the exhaust gasket leaks, and maybe add some JB Weld to the bodge. Whatever works at this time….
Michele is about to walk the ducks in the grass, and she just got back from photographing a van festooned with plastic eagles and other bits of wackiness. “The Eagle Has Landed”
I should stop writing, and start inserting some of the billions of photos into this post. (Update: It is a really slow connection, so not as many pics here as I’d like. We’ll be posting galleries fairly soon though, so sit tight!)
Until we connect again, be well!
Gene
A Gray Day in Whitehorse
This will be short since we have not found free internet in Whitehorse…No problems to report though! Penelope is running fine and our worries are confined to trying to make it over the Alaskan border before our pet health certificates expire and hoping to somehow connect with my good friend Renee in Haines on the way without driving the bus there since we are out of time and not yet mechanically confident.
Posting billions of photos will have to wait, but we will catch up eventually! Now on to stocking up on supplies and exploring Whitehorse a bit on foot. – Michele
The Ups and Downs
If you looked into the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, you’d find several instances of it being considered “not hilly.”
Eh?
Not hilly? It was hilly. It doesn’t take much of a hill to slow us down either, now that we are towing again (and even not towing), so I can tell you that we spent a lot of time in first and second gear. The first half of the road was rainy and gloomy, with inexplicable overheating, whether we were towing or not, despite yet another cooling system flush, putting the hoses back where they belonged, and removing and inspecting the water pump.
But later yesterday, it all came back … the cooling system was cooling, the engine was pushing us, and I stopped worrying about a blown head gasket. Again.
Today, she ran pretty great excepting the time when the fuel filters clogged. The last third of the Cassiar was driven to the tune of the slightly defunct heat alarm bell going off, which was finally attributed to the bare wire grounding intermittantly on the generator chassis. I’ll put that sound up later…I’m sure a few of you will get a chuckle, as it sounded like a mad typist pecking away (clicking and tapping) with the occasional carriage return “ding!”. Picture driving for hours like that!
Speaking of the generator, I let some of the smoke out of it yesterday when messing with the regulator. The generator warning light had come on, and I decided the regulator was at fault. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. But it all is working now.
We were getting a little hot when we passed the walker on that last hill approaching Teslin. I was in 2nd gear…he was on foot. I was going to talk to him some more, but I think he got really hungry, and is refueling. I overheard him tell someone that he walked from Vancouver.
We are feeling kind of like we need to press on, but will try to prepare some all-inclusive posts for you to enjoy later. It was nice to see such responses, and feel the sense of support that we are getting. There were some times when we were seriously reconsidering our sanity, but the sun has wiped away that darkness, and despite the fierce headwind, we will press on in good spirits.
When I go to start the engine, I won’t swear even softly if the starter needs another tap with the hammer, and going up hills in 1st gear doesn’t bug me either, as long as I am not watching the temp gauge climb. I’ve learned to shift better, too, but that is mainly a result of being a little angry. “A little” may be the understatement of the year, but what I learned was that forceful, powerful movements work better than trying to edge it into each gear. Gotta show that tranny who’s boss! With only four gears, each about 1000 rpm apart from each other, it’s a little challenging yet, but I’m getting it.
We still don’t know our fuel mileage. It’s horrible, to be sure, especially towing up steep hills. It’s worth it, though, as Michele can ride in style and comfort, and be with me and the ducks and cats. I was told by a friendly station guy that you can’t count on not being cheated at fuel stations due to the lack of regulation, so that kind of explains the wildly varying numbers. The odometer/speedometer was working a little with the new cable I made for it in Prince George, but it oscillated a lot, and was definitely not accurate. The cable has broken again, apparently, and the odometer is frozen just as it is on the cusp of 43000 miles.
As for wildlife, we’ve seen a few things. Eight bears, including one griz, a mouse, a rabbit, a moose that Michele missed (she was holding on because I was braking hard), a fox, some muttering ravens, a hawk and an eagle, and a jumping fish. We got two of the bears on video, as well as still photos, and we’ll post those later. We’re getting lots of beautiful scenery shots and video, and we’ll share those when we have more time. The clouds are really something!
The worst situation with the bus right now is the leaking transmission. The oil leaks are now down to an acceptable level, and the water consumption/expulsion is tolerable, as it’s not getting as hot. I will say one thing: For those of you who still think antifreeze cools better than water, it ain’t so. I’m pretty sure most of the green stuff we put in back in Kitwanga is gone, and now it’s only slightly green-tinged water that is cooling the engine. I hope it continues to do so!
Soon, we will be navigating the infamous frost heaves. This will make for some great video!
It’s about time to head out. When I did this trip in the VW last autumn, I drove from this town of Teslin all the way to Tok, Alaska, in one long day. I did stop a few times, lengthy stops each, but I was traveling much faster in general. I think we can be across the border tomorrow. Now that things are going well, I am feeling regretful about getting nearer to the end, so I might have to sabotage a system here or there to prolong the experience.
Just kidding. But I do recall telling Michele, in response to her query regarding the approximate expected duration of this trip, that given the relative slowness of our vehicle, and the fact that we will want to stop and sight-see frequently, that it may take us between 10-15 days to get from Happy Camp to Homer.
That was 27 days ago….
Gene
p.s. Thanks to Randy, and the City of Prince George, for the understanding, patience, and forbearance during our stay!
Going Strong! (Relatively)
No cell reception or free internet on the Cassiar Hwy or parts of the Alaskan Hwy, so we will have a lot of catching up to do! I will 
go into the gory details later if Gene doesn’t get to it. We just pulled into Teslin in the Yukon and get ‘free’ Wi-Fi with our expensive gas, which is a relief since the cell phone service seems to be out. Penelope ran great today (after fixing three minor problems) and the cooling system seems to be working again. Hurray! The Cassiar Hwy was completely awesome and is my new favorite road. Breathtaking mountain views, lakes, rivers, a back road feel, very few people, great free camping spots, and a lot of wildlife. We need to come back with kayaks and more time to hike and explore. I am in my element in this country! It has that sense of vast wilderness that is sadly lacking elsewhere we have traveled. More later… – Michele
