Prince Rupert to Alberta - Aug. 1-3, 2014

The ferry stopped for 4 hrs at Ketchikan.  It was only 2 miles from city center (unlike the 14 to Juneau) so it wasn't so stressful.  There was bus service but it only ran every hour so we chose to take a cab.  A curious thing was that it cost $10 dollars to take it in and $12 to come back.  There also was several cruise ships docked right at the town center area but didn't seem so crowded as in Juneau.  Ketchikan has many totem poles in various spots in the area.  We did a walking tour and saw several on them, watched the salmon in the river that runs through the town, and had ice cream before returning to the ferry.

We couldn't decide whether it was worth trying to sleep with the docking time at Prince Rupert so we basically just dozed without actually returning to our room to go to bed.  That may not have been the best decision.  It was 1 a.m. by the time we got off the ferry.  The first stop was just blocks from the dock at a Walmart parking lot to sleep until daylight to begin the journey home.  It turned out to be a long day as we ended up driving almost 600 miles.  It was a Canadian holiday weekend and I don't think a single Canadian stayed home.  There was an unbelievable  number of vehicles in Banff and Jasper National Parks.  Our fuel was getting perilously low so we drove into the town of Banff to find more people in one small area than we have ever seen and back ups at the small gas stations that we couldn't have gotten into with the rig anyway.  It was a relief to get out of there and we made it to the next exit.  We finally found a rv park with space for us and I ask what the holiday was.  Her reply was, "I am not sure, I think it is just for the government workers to have another day off." Lol  It was located at McBride, BC.  In the meantime, we needed more fuel and paid the most we have paid on the whole trip - $2 a liter.

Sun. we got a fairly early start and drove almost 500 miles to Fort McCleod, Alberta.  We called ahead and they said they had one space left.  Four years ago, we hardly ever had to make reservations.  It has been a very different situation this trip so we are assuming there are many more people traveling.

Today, Aug. 4, we crossed the border into the lower 48 and are now at the most expensive RV park we have stayed in.  It is in Billings, MT.  They must be very proud of the park as it cost $72 dollars a night.  You would think for that price, the wifi would be fantastic.  Not so, so I don't think I will even try to load pictures.

This will be my last entry into the blog this trip as tomorrow will be traveling flat none scenic roads.  It has been a fabulous trip and we are still speaking to each other.  Actually enjoying each others company.  I could not love anyone more than I love and enjoy being with Gary.

Thanks for all the readers of this blog.  I hope I haven't bored you too much.  It has been hard for me to determine how many were reading it each day.

   

Ferry to Juneau July 31, 2014

We loaded our rig and ourselves on the Matanuska Ferry at Haines and headed south in the inside passage.  The ferry held many motorcycles, cars, RVs, buses, and even semi trailers.  Talk about tight!  We could barely get between them to get to the passenger deck.  There are three decks for the passengers:  The berths, the cafeteria and observation areas, and the top deck mostly open.  We chose to pay for a room which seemed more like a closet.  It had bunk beds, and a bathroom with a shower.  We needed to "shift" to pass each other.  I chose the top bunk at first, I didn't think I would be able to sleep but I did pretty well.  I woke up once and felt like I might have a little claustrophobic issue but that passed.  We had two stops during the night:  Petersburg , 12:30 to 1:45 and Wrangell 4:50 to 5:30.  I did get up so I could say I had seen Wrangell but not at Petersburg.

There was  quite a diversity of  passengers.  There were young people who obviously were rugged outdoors individuals.  Most of them chose to sleep in tents, sleeping bags, and pool like recliners rather that a room.  It appeared most of them did not spend a lot on their travels and some of them appeared to not have visited a shower for a while.  There were also some from Germany, Switzerland, Japan/China, and other parts of Europe.  It was interesting to visit with those of them who could communicate in English and most of them could.  Then there were those like us and even older if you can believe it.  There were several tour bus groups also.  A few were traveling as a family.

The first stop the ferry made was Juneau.  There was a four hour layover and we wanted to at least see the city.  That proved to be very difficult because the dock was 14 miles from there.  The information said there were buses to take us there then we were told there were no buses. We finally were invited to share a cab with a couple from Canada.  Thirty five dollars later we got to town.  They were riding a tram above the city so we just went along since we didn't have a clue what to do and we were extremely worried that we would get back to the ferry in time since it was so difficult to get a taxi.  As soon as we finished the tram ride we headed back to the ferry.  Another $35 dollars.  There must have been 4 or 5 cruise ships docked in the down town area so you can guess what it was like.  I guess we are pretty chicken but we could just imagine what it would be like for us to be left in Juneau and our RV still on the ferry.

 The ferry ready to load

 Saying good-by to Jeff and Marcella

 Our accommodations

 Gary getting into the laid back life style

 Two of the lighthouses we saw on the way

 High above Juneau

 A tour bus loading behind us

 Scenery and sunset along the way