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 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
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
Longing to be back on the bus, but making the best of it
As I write this, I am sitting on my camp chair in a meadow listening to birdsong. The ducks are tethered nearby snapping at bugs and browsing in dandelions and clover. Although it was sad to leave Gene, Penelope and the cats behind, driving off in the Toyota sure lifted my spirits. At the time, I thought we would only be separated for a few days…
Traffic was light on Hwy 16 as I passed green rolling hills interspersed with forest and occasional patches of beetle-killed trees. Locals spoke of much milder winters which makes for happy beetles. The Lake District (Frazier Lake, Burns Lake) was scenic with enticing lakeside cabin rentals, but I was headed for the cheapest campground I could find on the internet, the Cantaline Motel and RV Park in South Hazelton. Five bucks a night with showers and laundry!
Near Telkwa t
he mountain views became majestic and even more grand near Smithers with an upscale alpine resort feel. I pressed on for the Hazeltons hoping for the best, and was relieved to find tall mountains still in view as I pulled into the lot of my chosen establishment, which proved to be darn near perfect for my current situation.
The proprietress is totally wonderful and reminds me of a West Sonoma County ex-hippie. It turns out she is an avid world traveler and who has been to India, Nepal, Turkey, China, Japan, Australia and more with good stories to share. Travel books and mementos are scattered around the cluttered office. This place is rustic and funky-cool with a book lending box, handwritten signs, a recycling area that includes ‘compost’, and a free line dry laundry option. I had a good feeling about it from the start, and it helps that the ducks are completely welcome. They have had visitors with horses, sh
eep and rabbits before but these are the first ducks. When giving change for the washer, Canadian money was kindly explained to me. Dollars are goldish coins called ‘Loonies’ since they use to have a loon on them but now can have other things. ‘Toonies’ are silver with a gold center, and are two Loonies. The rest seems the same, but Canadian bills are more interesting.
I parked my truck in the meadow near a picnic table with a view of the Roche Deboule mountains on one side and a birch grove on the other, thankful for finding this frugal traveler’s dream. The ensuing news about frustrating part acquisition delays would have been much more disturbing if I was still in the industrial alley trying to care for ducks without grass nearby.
Exploring a new area is always exhilaration, and the Hazeltons are full of promising distractions. There is an old town, a native museum, native art galleries, many totem poles, one of the highest suspension bridges, water falls, hiking trails, lakes and two huge rivers. Highlight so far include seeing three bald eagles eating a two foot long dead salmon on the Skeena river beach in the Anderson Flats Provincial Park, watching wild ducks on Seely lake, walking around a row of old totem poles on a windy day in Kispiox with no other people in sight, and hearing coyotes howl at Ross lake. The views are stunning, the vegetation lush, and the forests are diverse with birch, poplars, aspen, hemlock, fir, pine and cedar. Wildflowers are in full bloom now with abundant red columbine, wild roses, vetch, lupine and many others. I keep taking pictures of those beautiful mountain. There are no crowds and not much traffic, and people are friendly. It would be the perfect vacation if Gene was here, the giant mosquitoes were not, Penelope was fixed, and I had a kayak and a fishing pole.
Camping with the ducks has been, well, interesting…My plan was to sleep on the bench seat in my truck with the ducks on the floor, but ducks are stubborn and refused to stay put. Now Phoebe perches on the top of the seat, and Finnegan lays on top of me, shifting when I roll over. When I am in camp during the day they can be out in the grass on leashes, and there is even a small pond (water leak).
It is hard to get Wi-Fi and charge my computer without driving around inverting so this will probably be my last post until I am back on the bus. Hopefully sooner rather than later. – Michele
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
For the past few days I have been contemplating a change of scenery…Not that this industrial alley isn’t wonderful, but I am intrigued by the scenic road ahead. The timing belt is available but is being shipped from California, so will not arrive until tomorrow which will put Penelope back on the road on Friday. Gene has been busy doing all sorts of other maintenance things which he will surely expound upon in great detail with full color pictures soon, but I am getting listless. I have thoroughly explored this city and am ready for a change. Today I will head out with the ducks in the truck for Hwy 16. I found some cheap motels on the internet, but if the weather is good I can try camping. This will give me time to explore the little towns along the way and enjoy some beautiful scenery before meeting back up with Gene near the start of the Cassiar Highway. I will take a lot of pictures! – Michele
Going With the Flow (Not Going)
As I write this, our traveling home is parked in the alley behind Victoria Auto Tune in the older section of Prince George, B.C., an awesome shop recommended as being good with old engines. On the phone, the owner expressed great enthusiasm about seeing the bus, a relief after the tentative reluctance expressed by others Gene called. This place is a perfect fit; the guys love the bus and are even letting Gene help to save time and money. They started working on the carburetor, and after fixing that made the disturbing discovery that the timing chain is hosed. That will likely keep us here until Monday when we can get a new one, but it could be worse… It is not a three day weekend here as it is in the states. There is no problem with us camping in the bus and we have power, are getting free Wi-Fi, and are already stocked up with organic groceries.
We had planned to stop in Williams Lake yesterday to visit a radiator shop but Penelope was doing much better so we decided to press on. About 20 minutes after that decision was made, the problems returned but we made it to the larger city of Prince George late last night after frequent stops to cool down. Gene rose early this morning to fix the distributor in our parking lot camp, but wanted professional help before we set out towards the Cassiar Hwy which is reputed to be rough, wild, and scenic with gravel sections and miles between services. The engine runs good, but loses power and keeps overheating. Good thing we didn’t waste time and money with the radiator!
At first I was peeved and frustrated by all the delays and problems and was questioning our sanity at even attempting this journey in such a vehicle, but finally decided to let go and enjoy the ride. Being stopped gives me time to explore places on foot that we would normally whiz by, and time to talk to the inquisitive locals that are drawn in by the ducks or the bus. I really enjoyed our stop at 108 Mile Ranch the night before last. The trail by the lake was scenic, and I heard what I think was a loon calling as sunset was turning the clouds purplish and fish were jumping. Yesterday I walked through a wonderful museum and restored buildings from the 1860′s era before we headed out.
Today I explored the older section of Prince George and found interesting street art, an art gallery, more thrift shops, and a used book store. The sound of native drums resonated from a tribal center as I walked by. Much more interesting and colorful than the generic section we were in last night. Parts of Canada look just like anyplace U.S.A. with the store chains and urban sprawl but I am glad we are stopped in someplace different.
We are getting use to the speed signs in kilometers, gas in liters, different food brands with French next to the English on the labels. It is easier to pay for things we need with a card, although most places will take American money but give Canadian change. The people are friendly and talkative, and I sure love the accent, eh? I don’t mind having more time to explore the area, and am confident that we will finally be able to fix this old engine and get back on the road at the beginning of next week. It is all part of the experience! – Michele
Across the Border
This will be short since it is expensive to use our Verizon internet access in Canada…We will look for Wi-Fi in the next big town. In a nutshell, the border crossing was way too easy and they didn’t even ask about the vehicle title (which is lost in the postal system) or the pets! They only asked about fruit or vegetables, looked at our passports and sent us on our way. All that worry for nothing…We saw some beautiful scenery near Hope B.C., camped out at a rest stop and are about to head on our way. Pictures and more details to follow! – Michele
On The Road Again
Warning: Reading this post title will put a catchy Willie Nelson song in your head…Too late! This will be short since it is 1 in the morning and we are tired but finally stopped for the night. Our rear bearing seals/brakes are now repaired, and we drove away from Medford around 6:00 pm. The guys at the shop worked late and hard to get us going again, and we really appreciate it! We were planning to have me drive the truck up steep hills and tow it otherwise but ended up just towing it. Although it is very slow up hills, it was fine. We are slow anyway, and just creep along in the slow lane with our flashers on. The bus was great on flat terrain though, and we even got to 60 mph once! More tomorrow, and probably some pictures too.
Traveling with Ducks & Cats
Not that we are actually traveling at the moment, but finding ways to deal with our two pet ducks and three cats on the road has been challenging. The cats just roam around the bus, and we have set up various hiding places with blankets to make them feel secure. The interior is big enough that they coping better than expected.
For the ducks, we have a large tub lined with straw in a cage inside the bus. We purchased special diaper harnesses for them so they can roam around the bus part of the time, and th
ere is a place to clip on a leash so we can safely take them outside. I took them for a walk in a park for the first time yesterday, and it worked pretty well although sometimes they were straining at the leash and other times they refused to move. At least I can sit on the grass and read while they roam around. Hopefully we will find a park with a small pond along the way since they really miss swimming!
Phoebe gives us an egg a day, so we can have eggs for breakfast once a week. Finnegan is the most affectionate, and climbs into my lap and nuzzles his head under my armpit. We had to jump through a lot of hoops to get a permit to take them through Canada and had to get blood tests and health certificates to get them into Alaska but it is worth it!
On to Plan B
We just got word that the seals ordered next day from Kentucky didn’t fit! On to Plan B which involves machining a sleeve to fit inside the hub so a standard seal will work. The bad thing is that it is Friday, so if all this doesn’t happen today and work, we will be here in this parking lot over the weekend. An unusually cold storm is coming in, with rain expected snow levels down to 2,000 ft. If we are still here, at least we have a small electric heater!
