...fuel-less in Whitehorse

We just arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada...to this.  The Alaska Highway is closed and the nearest fuel truck is five hours away.  It can't move.  Neither can we.  More later.  For now we are...fuel-less in Whitehorse.

...stuck in the Yukon

The Hufford girls enter the Yukon!

Emily posing next to the boundary marker.

Laura sits on a bench that straddles the Alaska and Yukon border.  Her right side is in Alaska and her left side is in the Yukon.

Look closely and you can see a narrow swath cut through the trees in the center of this photo.  It is the Alaska/Yukon border which they keep cleared for the length of the border.

Welcome to Canada!

Yes, we are stuck in the Yukon.  Mudslides have closed the Alaska Highway reportedly for the next five days.  Presently we are camping on the shores of Kluane Lake near Destruction Bay.  It's a beautiful place with rugged mountains on one side and the beautifully huge Kluane Lake on the other.  So, we're good, but delayed.

Tomorrow we will go to Whitehorse and monitor the situation from there.  Then if the highway opens earlier than expected we will be poised to go.  We also have to check in with the Ford dealer as the 'check engine' light came on this afternoon as we were driving through the frost heaves between Beaver Creek and Destruction Bay.  You can only imagine how happy I was about that after the pounding I was taking driving through the frost heaves.  And the frost heaves were gnarly.  At times I had to slow to 20 miles-an-hour in order to save the rig from being jostled off the road.  It's supposed to be better from here on out.

We should have plenty of access to the Internet in Whitehorse, so I will try to post from there.  Until then, we remain...stuck in the Yukon.

...downtown Glennallen

The Hufford girls somewhere on the Glenn Highway near the Matanuska Glacier.

The sign in front of the Northern Nights RV Park.

This is the station where we checked in.

The Boehme family gave me these fortune cookies at the end of the school year.  I saved them so we could eat them for dessert on the first night of our trip for good fortune.  Thanks Boehme family!

When we left Nikiski this morning the Trip A odometer read 0.0 miles.

It's a beautiful evening here in Glennallen.  It's sunny and warm.  We are staying at an RV Park called Northern Nights which is pleasant and quiet.  The drive from Nikiski to here went well.  We were bounced around by frost heaves in between Eureka and Glennallen.  We're looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.  We hope to cross the border and enter Canada around lunch time.  Hopefully we will be in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory tomorrow evening.

But, for now we are happy to be spending the evening in...downtown Glennalllen.

...let's go to Montana!

Ready to hit the open road!

We had to find places to put all this food.

The last time I drove the Alaska Highway was 26 years ago.  I was just out of graduate school and about to begin living my North to the Future dream.

Early one morning my dad and I left Riverton, Wyoming, and drove pretty much straight through until we landed in Nikiski five days later.  We didn't stop for much except fuel.  About all I remember were miles and miles of incredibly beautiful landscapes with a few roadside wild animal sightings sprinkled in here and there.

I've always wanted to repeat that trip at a slower pace.  You know, the whole 'the journey is the destination' thing.  So I decided this summer would be as good as any.  But this trip won't be about getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

This trip will be different.  This trip I will be traveling with the Hufford girls in an RV.  We will be taking our time to relish what is one of the greatest road trips I can imagine.  We're going to stop frequently to see what we can see along the way, including small towns, historical sites, scenic vistas and national parks.  We're going to visit with fellow travelers, friends, and family.  We're going to do some hiking and biking.  We're going to take photographs.  We're probably going to get lost a few times.  We're probably going to get on each others nerves.  But, in the end it will all be good.  We will talk about this trip for the rest of our lives.  In the fondest terms.  I hope.

Meanwhile, you, dear reader, can follow all our adventures here at BASECAMP NIKISKI.  I will be updating this blog as often as I am able and I'm certain there will be plenty to write about.  Of course, entries may be sporadic due to limited Internet access, motivation, technical difficulties, and so on.  So check back frequently and I will try to keep things as current as possible.  Which will be really cool.  Because the last time I drove the Alaska Highway I had never heard the words 'Internet, 'blog,' 'laptop,' or 'cell phone.'

As for the itinerary.  The trip is shaping up something like this:

The first segment of our journey involves driving the Alaska Highway from Nikiski to Billings, Montana, where we will spend several days visiting my sister, brother-in-law, niece, cousins, and former Alaskan friends.  Along the way we plan to stop for a couple of hikes and bike rides in Banff and Glacier National Parks.

Then we will drive to California where we will visit Mrs. Huffy's parents.  Plans include a trip to San Francisco and a sunny California beach.  There will also be more hiking and biking.

From there we will drive north through the redwoods, along the Oregon coast and up to Vancouver, British Columbia, before reconnecting with the Alaska Highway and driving back to Nikiski in time for dipnetting. 

There you have it.

So, enough dreaming, talking, and planning.  Let's get this show on the road.  Let's get this adventure moving...let's go to Montana!

...camping at Quartz Creek

Hauling two bundles of firewood back to the campsite on my fatbike.

Mandatory fatbike and campground sign photo.  Crescent Creek Campground is three miles up the road from Quartz Creek Campground.

Should be okay to cross.

The fatbike about to hit the beach at Kenai Lake.

Beach riding along the shore of Kenai Lake.

The map of a little ride I took.

Mrs. Huffy cruising through Quartz Creek Campground.

Emily was riding her bike, too.

It was a chilly camping trip.  Fresh snow covered the mountain tops every morning.  But, we kept active and stood around warm campfires to fend off the cold while we spent two nights at Quartz Creek Campground in Cooper Landing.  It was our kick-off to the summer camping season and it was swell.  We spent our time biking, walking with Gabby and throwing sticks, lots of sticks, for her to retrieve.  Emily spent hours working on her color by numbers pictures and Laura texted us frequently from New Orleans where she is helping build houses for the St Bernard's Project (we can't wait for her to return and fill us in on all the details of her trip).  It was a great way to start summer and we can't to do some more...camping at Quartz Creek.

...Parsons Lake fatbike loop

THE ROUTE:  Basecamp>Island Lake Road>Pipeline Road>Holt-Lamplight Road>Parsons Ave>Bastien Road>Island Lake Road back to Basecamp.
TERRAIN:  Gravel road, pavement, hardpack, some mud.
DISTANCE: 9.3 miles

Rode this little loop early one morning for exercise.  Saw newborn twin moose calves on Pipeline Road.

...Northwoods fatbike loop

THE ROUTE:  Bishop Creek parking area>Kenai Spur Hwy>Jeep Trail>pipeline>Northwoods St>Kenai Spur Hwy back to parking area.
TERRAIN:  Pavement, four-wheeler trail, grass, mud, hard pack.
DISTANCE:  4.1 miles

A muddy four-wheeler path.

Fatbike and pipeline sign.

The fatbike rolls up to the edge of Bishop Creek.  There is a pipeline marker on the other side of the creek.

Looking back down the pipeline toward Bishop Creek.

Trying not to look suspicious.

The fatbike at the intersection of Northwoods Street and the Kenai Spur Hwy.

I thought this would be an easy loop ride on an early Saturday morning.  Out, around, and back.  No muss.  No fuss.  And, it was.  Until I got to Bishop Creek.

As I rode up to the edge of the creek I was thinking I would have to abandon any thoughts of making this ride a loop.  I thought I would have to turn around and backtrack my route back to the truck. I thought the creek was simply too wide and deep with a soft, muddy bottom that I would sink into if I tried to cross. 

So I stood at the edge of the water for awhile and looked things over.  Just taking it all in before I went back.  Then I walked downstream a ways and that's when I saw what appeared a mound of gravel in the middle of the creek.  Perfect!  The water seemed shallow enough and the gravel would make the bottom firm enough that I could cross the creek.

I went and got the fatbike, put it on my shoulder and waded into the current--which turned out to be forceful.  But I was committed to the crossing so I regained my balance and went farther into the stream which was getting deeper and deeper.  Soon it was above my knees and that's when I remembered my cell phone was in my pocket which the water line was closing in on. My hands were full with the bike so I couldn't do anything but lift my shoulders hoping that would in turn elevate the waist of my pants enough to keep my phone from getting soaked.  I also stood on my tip-toes.  So there I was in middle of Bishop Creek stretched out as much as I could be stretched out, walking on my toes with a fatbike on my shoulder in a current that would send me downstream if I made one mis-step.

And, I have to admit, it was fun.

When I got close to the bank on the other side I tossed the bike ashore and waded out of the water.  I immediately pulled my cell phone out and was relieved to find it totally dry.  All good.  I hopped on the bike and pedalled the remainder of the pipeline to Northwoods Street and back to the truck.  Before I knew it, I was happily back home telling Mr. Huffy about my stream crossing adventure on the...Northwoods fatbike loop.