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From Napa to AnchorageHey, so we live in Anchorage, Alaska now. These are photos and a few words about the trip up and the place we live. The pewter monkey was a gift from the truly great people in the reference department at the Napa Library. I thought I should share his experience as well. Our new contact info is available at www.grundstufe.com/contact. There were so many sites along the way to photograph that it could have taken three weeks. Also, there was rarely a good place to stop for photos. Anyway, hope you enjoy what's here.
Jeff and Jennifer |
Friday, August 12, 2005
Napa, California to Roseburg, Oregon (500 miles) |
Jeff
(no entry) | Jennifer
Finally left Napa at 5:00pm. Arrived in Roseburg at 2:30am. Stayed at Motel 6.
Way Cool Stuff: (1)Jeff was an amazing driver of the truck. He had no fear.
Total Bummers: (1)We did not yet have a good system for the Kila Cat, so she wet her carrier linens twice. (2)It was unbearably hot. (3)We, of course, sat in 1.5 hours of I-80 traffic through Sacramento without taillights on the tow dolly, thanks to U-Haul.
(For those of you who did not hear, we had a U-Haul fiasco: We reserved our U-Haul truck and tow dolly two months in advance. We were to receive a phone call before 5:30 pm on the evening prior to our pickup date, which we did not receive. So we called U-Haul. The man with whom we spoke said that someone would call us by 7:30 am the following morning. No call, so again we called U-Haul. The man with whom we spoke said that our equipment was ready for pickup at the Napa location any time after 9:30 am. We arrived at 10:00 am. The Napa location had no record of our reservation and had no truck for us. After a 45-minute wait, the clerk said that she would work on the situation and call us. We were able to go back to the pick up location at 1:00 pm. A truck was there for us, but when we opened the back door, the entire truck area was covered in BBQ sauce and cooking grease. The clerk mopped it out for us, but we later had to take the truck to a car wash to really get the grease out. In addition, she did not have a tow dolly for us. She said that she would drive to Sonoma to pick one up for us. Trying to save time, we decided to go get it ourselves. In Sonoma, a gentleman found the tow dolly at the very back of the lot, and once we got it hooked up to the truck, we realized that the electrical did not work. The driver's side taillight was held in place with a paper bag, and the total plastic cover was cracked in various locations. We went back into the office and requested another tow dolly. We were told that we could drive to Santa Rosa to PAY to have the tow dolly repaired because there were no other tow dollys available. After another 45 minutes, we decided to take the available tow dolly without taillight functionality. We were able to start packing the U-Haul at 5:00pm, 7 hours later than we had scheduled.) |
 The place is clean, let's go! |  Last photo at 529 Brown Street, Napa |  Kila doesn't like the hotel room |  Or the weird-ass reference monkey |
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Roseburg, Oregon to Lynden, Washington (440 miles) |
Jeff
It's Saturday, August 13. I've only slept 3 hours since the 11th, I'm tired. The monkey wants his book. | Jennifer
Left Roseburg at 7:00am. Arrived in Lynden at 7:00pm. Stayed at a KOA Campground.
Way Cool Stuff: (1)Got to finally see the city of Seattle even if it was from the highway. (2)Lynden is a disconcertingly perfect town (perfect neighborhoods with perfect lawns and perfect quietness and a church on every block), and Lynden's KOA was certainly a no-vacancy, all-white community of all ages who gather to play Bingo on a KOA lawn and play KOA volleyball. It was the cult experience of a lifetime. (3)Kila LOVED being in the tent.
Total Bummers: (1)Driving through another urban area without taillights was scary. (2)It was still debilitatingly hot. |
 Reference monkey reading at a rest stop near Portland, Oregon |  |  |  The monkey gets into the cultish feel of the KOA campground. |
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Border Crossing: Lynden, Washington to Quesnel, British Columbia (400 miles) |
Jeff
So, Wednesday we were to pick-up the U-haul. Finally happened late (2:00). We had to drive to Sonoma to get the trailer. PITA (Pain In The Ass). Thursday was packing and boxing. Getting nervous about space in the truck. Thursday morning we went to do laundry. The electricity went out during the dry cycle. Friday was moving day @ 10:00 AM. But, we were a day behind because of the trailer situation. Friday @ 5:00 PM, we left Napa. We arrived in Roseburg, OR @ 2:45 AM. After a double of some power/energy drink, I was pissing neon streams. Saturday, woke @ 6:00 to detach tail pipes from the bug since they were dragging. Off and through Portland, OR and Seattle, WA (beautiful city). We camped at a KOA in Lynden, WA. When we arrived, about 150 people were out on the lawn - playing bingo! KOA campgrounds are seriously weird. It's like someone cleared the underbrush in a forest and put signs with numbers in random places for people to pitch a tent. Oh, trash pick-up, with an official KOA trash truck (most likely decommissioned from the spotless city of Lynden, is at sundown (or 9:00 PM) on Saturday evenings. We got up at 6:00 and left @ 8:00 am. Hopefully, we'll have a better system tomorrow.
At 8:22 am, we arrived at the Canadian border. We were asked the same question about firearms three different ways and we pulled away after showing passports, at 8:24 am. By 9:00 we had fuel and we're off. It's amazing how, just over the border, we saw mountains and then very soon were in the mountains. It was beautiful travelling through the valley and then over the mountains. It was like Southern Colorado. Very little anything but mountains, rocks, and a river. At Cache Creek I talked with a man about the difference between a '71 and a '73 Superbeetle. He asked if it was the automatic - I didn't tell him that wasn't until 1974.
From there it was lakes and rolling hills until Quesnel. It is pronounced kwa-nell, but I usually said kwez-nel just because I'm that way. We stopped at an Extra Foods which was about 5 acres of boxed carbohydrates. No beer. 10-mile Lake campground is beautiful - the folks running the campground are great. We got the info on the loonies from a Canadian couple who both agreed emphatically that Alaska is more beautiful than BC, we'll see.
We decided, since it was still so hot, that we wouldn't bother with the rain fly. We'll at 2:00 am we scurried around putting it on - it rained hard. That was the end of keeping the tent clean for this trip. | Jennifer
Camped at Ten Mile Lake Provincial Park off of Highway 97 (The Cariboo Gold Rush Trail), which was a little bit north of Quesnel.
Way Cool Stuff: (1)The Canadian border was a piece of cake. (2)BC was immediately more beautiful than Oregon and Washington. (3)Thunder, lightening, and rain at 2:00am. (4)Canadians loved the VW towing behind the U-Haul--they kept calling it "hunch-bug" or "hutch-bug" or something???
Total Bummers: (1)Visible deforestation. Silence between Jeff & I for hundreds of miles as we processed the extent of human impact on our planet. (2)Still hot. F-ing tired of the heat. (3)Jeff couldn't swim in the lake at the campground because of potential "Swimmer's Itch" (locals warned that ducks living on the lake caused this human impediment). (4)Thought Kila Cat was going to die--she did not move for the three hours prior to putting her into the tent. |
 10-Mile Lake park outside of Quesnel |  |  |  Kila the camping cat. Finally safe in the tent. |
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Monday, August 15, 2005
Quesnel, BC to Fort St. John, BC (385 miles) |
Jeff
It's cold in Fort St. John! We're at Lake Charlie Provincial Park with only 3 other campers. We ate at "RESTAURANT" and had fries, onion rings, and a salad. Still no beer. We drove through a ravine today and at the bottom was a beautiful lake - like a story. I cried, we took photos. | Jennifer
Camped at Charlie Lake Provincial Park, 10 km N of Fort St. John
Way Cool Stuff: (1)Wonderfully COLD. (2)At a gas station at Chetwynd, we finally asked a woman what Canadians are calling the VW: "Punch-bug!" she exclaimed. (3)Drove through Prince George, which is a pretty big town with a Tim Hortons (A Tim Hortons is on every corner in southern BC, and we got so tired of seeing them that we stopped in one to see what they offered...doughnuts, of course. Their slogan is "Always Fresh. Always There." Well, we can vouch for the "always there" part.). (4)Stayed at a campground with only 2 other visitors--heavenly quiet. (5)Saw our first animal: a deer at the campsite. (6)Overall, Canada was totally clean and friendly. We endured quite a bit of roadwork, but the Canadians have it all systematized. We didn't see any trash along the roadways. (7)Met some cool Canadians who say "Eh?" (8)Lots and lots of water.
Total Bummers: (1)Gas is REALLY expensive. |
 Parks of the Peace Region |  |  |  |
 |  Peace River Dam and Bridge |  |  |
 Hey Tracy, what kind of bird is this? |  |  Lake Charlie campground | |
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Fort St. John, BC to Liard River Hot Springs, BC (362 miles) |
Jeff
It's 9:30 PM and the sun is still up.
"The Day of Extremes"
The first 100 miles today through the plateau from Fort St. John, through Pink Mountain, until Summit Lake was all 20 year old forest. It was obvious that ALL the trees had been cleared at one time. This will take a while to digest. Then, just passed Summit Lake, we crossed into the Northern Rockies. Rivers, trees, and huge mountains - no more plateau. It was breath-taking. Then Muncho Lake - its ultra-blue water contrasting with the grey mountians. Finally arrived at Liard River Hot Springs after about 40 miles of dirt highway. We arrived at 5:30, set-up camp, got Kila situated, and went and sat in the hot springs. It was really great. To top it off, I ordered veggy burgers to at "Restaurant" across the Alaska-Canada Highway from the campground. These were the only signs of humans, other than the gravel highway, for miles.
Liard River Hot Springs was a highlight of the trip. There's no way to explain how refreshing it is to be somewhere like the springs. After the hours and hours of deforestation and thinking of all the new neighborhoods going up all over the United States, it was nice to be somewhere that is reasonably preserved.
| Jennifer
Camped at Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park
Way Cool Stuff: (1)The hot spring pools! Wow, the most exciting part of the trip, for sure. We soaked in the hot springs once in the evening and once before we left in the morning. (2)The Northern Rockies are by far the most shocking beauty I've ever seen. (3)Saw animals: Caribou, two kinds of sheep, herds of buffalo, a swan, and a gopher! No birds, yet. Where are all the birds, Tracy? (4)Kila Cat got the travel thing down. She hated the driving, but she figured out a system that worked for her.
Total Bummers: (1)Hungry. No real grocery stores nor restaurants. (2)Serious roadwork spots in the drive caused very slow driving conditions. |
 Aspen groves at Lake Charlie |  |  |  |
 Pink Mountain: town, post office, store |  country church |  Nearing the summit. So, we saw this sign all over BC. Had to take a photo. |  |
 |  |  at the summit |  |
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 |  Liard River Hot Springs |  |  |
 the hot springs |  |  |  |
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Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Liard River Hot Springs, BC to Haines Junction, Yukon (442 miles, but actually 500) |
Jeff
The air here is soft. That's the only way to describe it. We're in Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada. We went for a soak in the hot springs at 5:30 this morning. The man that would most likely be a Napa Library regular (was chanting and doing yoga poses in the springs yesterday which was alright) was there again this morning with two glass bottles (circa 1985), a key ring (with no keys on it), an axe, and a long skinny pink floating device. He was at the bottom of the falls where the water was cooler. We soaked for a few minutes and walked back to camp and left at 7:25! Really great time getting out, but the fog was thick and the pot holes (gravel highway again) were deep. Yesterday was caribou, today it was buffalo - two separate herds of 15-20 each. Later we passed a solo bull that was eye-level with us in the U-Haul truck. It was strange and wonderful to slow down for buffalo on the highway. The drive was more plateau for awhile and several acres of oats along the way. And then we were obviously in "The" Rockies. More huge lakes and we entered Yukon. Oh, there were also gophers and a grouse. I think we ran over a gopher, and the grouse. The gopher is a slow moving animal that would run four paces and then hop once, and then run, and then hop. Oddly, gas in Yukon is less expensive than in BC. At the recommendation of the odd and unique Scottish park ranger at Liard River Hot Springs, we stopped for gas at Contact Creek. This is where the North and South teams met in September of 1942 when work began on the AL-CAN highway. There a lot of lakes and small, cozy resorts in Yukon. We crossed the Continental Divide and because of a map or math error, drove 500 miles today. We're in the Alcan Motor Inn and off to dinner and laundry. We're charging the phone but have no service.
Ok, so, we just ate dinner at Wang's in Haines Junction, Yukon. We had two really nice beers brewed in the Yukon (didn't get the name), we ate fresh shrimp chow mein, mushroom fried rice, and a green pea egg flower soup. The Chinese man that waited on us is going to study electronic design at the art school in Vancouver, BC. We talked Internet trends and exciting developments with tech and it was much better than being eaten by fleas in the bar we were originally going to eat at. Yes, I sat down and was attached by fleas - in a restaurant. Our dinner was paid for by a couple from Lubbock, Texas that run a tour company. It is a strange and beautiful world. | Jennifer
Stayed at the Alcan Motor Inn in Haines Junction
Way Cool Stuff: (1)Drove for hundreds of miles without seeing other humans and without visible human impact on the environment. (2)Saw another huge herd of buffalo. Literally, the largest male was bigger than Jeff's VW! (3)Met Tom Walters at the Alcan Motor Inn. He owns and drives a tour bus, and he was so inspired by Jeff & my journey that he bought us dinner at the restaurant owned by a Chinese family whose son waited on us and was on his way to Vancouver to study computer design!
Total Bummers: (1)I think we may have run over the only Grouse we saw on the trip. (2)Horrible, terrible road conditions. |
 Watson Lake: Sign Post Forest |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  Continental Divide |
 |  Teslin, Yukon, Canada |  |  |
 Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada |  |  |  |
 Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada |  | | |
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Haines Junction, Yukon to Glennallen, Alaska (443 miles) |
Jeff
Ok, so where the hell did the rest of my journal go? | Jennifer
Camped at Tolsona Wilderness Campground, just south of Glennallen
Way Cool Stuff: (1)Tolsona Wilderness Campground is owned by a man who puts his own energy into making it a special place. (2)Finally got cell phone reception in order to return some phone calls. (3)Again, crossing the border was a piece of cake. (4)Road construction vehicles in Canada are enormous!
Total Bummers: (1)The worst driving conditions yet. We took photos of the complete road construction we drove through. You would not believe the size of the construction vehicles! It was totally like being on a life-size Star Wars set. With the construction and the wavy roads ("frost heaves"), we could not exceed 40 mph the entire day. 111 active Alaskan forest fires make visibility nil--couldn't see any of the mountains we knew were surrounding us. (2)The tow dolly's passenger-side taillight finally fell out of its cracked plastic encasing. We used electrical tape to secure the broken pieces to the dolly, but it took two stops to get it done properly. The taillight held in place by the paper bag at the beginning was still holding strong, which I guess says something for the durability of a good paper bag. (3)It was a very depressing re-entry into the USA: between 1 & 20 bullet holes in every street sign, abandoned buildings everywhere you look, trash along the roadside, serious human impact. |
 Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada |  We weren't sure what this was. It looked like a cupcake with animals on top. It was all foam, and really large. |  |  |
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 the highway along Lake Kluane |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  rest stop off the ALCAN |
 |  |  |  the open road |
 Alaska! |  |  |  |
 Tolsona Wilderness Campground near Glennellen, AK |  |  |  |
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Friday, August 18, 2005
Glennallen, Alaska to Anchorage, AK (217 miles) |
Jeff
Journal pages still missing.
So, frost heaves suck! That's what I primarily remember from the last two days of driving at 35 MPH. Frost heaves cause the highway to buckle. It's kind of like driving through mogols at a ski area. I'm just glad we finally arrived. Anchorage is a big sprawlling town, but it's in the most beautiful landscape. We like living so close to Alaska, it's beautiful. | Jennifer
directly to the property management office to get the key to our apartment.
Way Cool Stuff: (1)A beautiful drive once we got through the smoke from the fires. (2)Good to be back to "miles" instead of "kilometers" and "gallons" instead of "litres" (of course, miles and gallons make no sense whatsoever, but it's just what we're used to).
Total Bummers: (1)Visibility still somewhat affected by the fires. (2)Apartment not ready upon arrival, and then not at all what we expected. (3)Couldn't seem to find a Taqueria, which is what we had been craving for days. |
 I'm tired of rain and mosquitos, let's go! |  back on the highway |  Approaching Anchorage |  |
 |  |  Home? |  |
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 |  |  |  We have an oven! |
Our Place and Space
Anchorage, Alaska: September 2005 |
 On 42nd Avenue |  |  |  |
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 These trails and views are two blocks from our place |  Campbell Creek |  Coastal Trail: used when biking to work |  mountains across the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet |
 Hiking up to Rendevouz Peak. It's about 20 minutes north of Anchorage. These are the mountains you can see in the photos above. |  |  |  |
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