Alaska Trip – Page 9 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

Day 4 July 9 Into the British Columbia desert!

Somehow I never knew that there was a huge part of south central British Columbia that is arid sage country. The southern part of the Okanogan Valley only receives about 12 inches of rain a year, and the shrub/grassland community is referred to as Canada’s “pocket desert”. It is a beautiful region, filled with wildlife, wine, rivers, and wildflowers, and I would love to come back and spend some extended time exploring. Today, however, we have other goals. We are saving most of the exploring for the northern parts of the province, for the Yukon, and for Alaska.

We were up early with the light, and were on the road by 8:30 or so after a lovely walk with Abby along the beautiful Lake Osoyoos. We didn’t bother hooking up right away, since the gas station was right at the entrance of the park. We filled the MoHo again, at 3.79 per gallon and 123 bucks, but it was only half full, not empty. Sure am glad we aren’t filling an empty tank! I guess it all works out in the end anyway. A quick hook up right there in the gas station was easy since no one was coming in behind us, and we were off for our entry into Canada.

The border is barely five miles north of Oroville, and we were ready for our crossing, with passports, registrations, animal health certificates, and rehearsed answers. Where are we going? “Fort Richardson, near Anchorage, Alaska”. The customs officer was a tiny woman with a serious face. No silly comments, Sue, just keep your mouth shut and don’t offer anything. Let Mo do the talking. Fine. Of course, it was as simple for us as most folks, with a few questions, and not a single comment about the country of origin of our animal food, no questions about wasp spray (yes we carry it instead of pepper spray), and no questions about food except what produce we had. At that point I piped up with “Five pounds of potatoes, some onions, a bag of carrots, and 2 bags of packaged coleslaw”. Somehow that answer seemed to satisfy all her other questions and she said, “OK, go on”.

Osoyoos is right at the border and has an excellent information center. We pulled in immediately, and the guides there were really helpful, insisting that we should drive all the way north on 97. I looked again at our map, and thought, “no, that isn’t the plan” and we turned west on Highway 3 toward Princeton. It was a great drive, leading us through the beautiful, fertile valley of the Similkameen River, lush and filled with orchards and organic farms, wineries and fruit stands. We stopped so I could add some good produce to my limited supply for crossing the border and I got some ripe, soft, very red tomatoes, and fresh crisp pickle cukes that were perfect for our supper salad.

We stopped to take photos of the wildflowers, and the roads were in excellent condition for most of the day. We circumvented Kamloops and the major part of the Okanogan Valley with this route, but also skipped a lot of traffic and congestion that we got a little taste of as we passed through Merritt. I turned off my phone since I don’t want to pay the huge fees for a data plan, so couldn’t use the gas buddy app to figure out where we would get the cheapest gas. We filled up again in Merritt, and figuring in the exchange of 1.04, and 3.75 liters per US gallon, it cost a whopping $5.34 per gallon and $156.52 to fill the half full tank one more time. We laughed and said that maybe we need to sit a day or two so our daily cost can drop a bit! I am using a Capital One credit card while in Canada since, as advertised on TV, they really don’t charge that exchange fee that some other cards do. I also called them before traveling so hopefully I won’t get denied at the pumps. So far so good.

Emerging from Highway 8, which was perfectly fine to travel, to TransCanada 1, we followed along the huge and very full Thompson River. The mountains seemed so much like the dry parts of Montana that I was really surprised, and then we would round a curve and there were deeply eroded badlands that looked ever so much like landscapes I have seen in Wyoming or Utah. Once we were on Highway 97 however, the landscape started to change, with pines showing up, and then suddenly we were back in lush green fir country, and we arrived at the small town of Clinton, BC.

The Gold Trail RV Park here seems to be a popular stop, and it was our choice because we wanted full hookups before we continue north to the Provincial Parks. It also has our CampClub USA discount, and even on a Saturday night, there was an opening for us. As I mentioned earlier, we decided to travel as much as possible without reservations, and so far it is working. Gold Trail Park has an interesting vibe, maybe you could call it “down home”? The owner in “interesting”, and very friendly, and he joked with us a lot while showing us to our site. Full hookups, and surprisingly level, for $17. Canadian. (I did use the ATM and my no fee debit card to get some Canadian cash back at the visitor center). For another 3 bucks in Canadian change I have darn fast WiFi to actually upload photos and catch up on blog posting!

There is a big bbq buffet here every night, fairly cheap at 9.95, but Mo and I didn’t really want an all you can eat thing, and decided instead to grill some Alaska cod from the freezer accompanied by the yummy salad from the Similkameen Valley. (Now I have to go to the internet to look up how to pronounce that name, since who has a clue which syllable get’s the emphasis!) OK, I can’t believe I never knew this, but if you type in “pronounce Similkameen” into the google search bar you will get this. Love it!

After supper we walked the extent of the town down one side and up the other in the evening light. Right on the Cariboo Highway, the town actually has an interesting history. Even though it was Saturday night and the museum was closed, the village has great signs throughout with historic photographs of the enterprises that once occupied the empty blocks taken from the same vantage point. The villagers have pride in their little community as well, with a town notice for clean up day to get ready for the town flower judges who will pass through later this month. Summer flowers or not, I can’t quite imagine living here through a long, dreary, icy winter.

The skies have been brilliantly blue so far throughout our trip, but this evening there are some clouds hovering to the north and the forecast may include rain as we continue. This evening has been quiet and gorgeous, the vistas are all brand new, the faces and people are all different, even the cars don’t look the same. I’m definitely on a long-distance road trip at last.

Distance driven today: about 255 miles

The rest of the photos for this day are linked here.

Day 3 July 8 Toppenish to the Okanogan Wine Country

It’s easy to be inspired this evening as I sit here looking out over the Okanogan River from our picnic table. This is our third night out, with no reservations, a Friday night at that, and so far it has been great. Tonight we are at the Osoyoos Lake State Park in Oroville, Washington, less than five miles from the Canadian border. The state of Washington turned over this park to the city of Oroville in 2010, so it is technically no longer a state park, but it is lovely nonetheless.

We have no hookups, but it isn’t really boondocking, since we paid for a site on the river and are in a campground. There are no hookups here at all, but there is a dump station, fresh water, a boat launch and lovely facilities if you need them. After driving a good portion of the day we thought it would be smart to relax with a bottle of wine and a good night’s sleep before we cross the border in the morning. The bottle of wine was a treat, provided by the small, intimate tasting room for Okanogan wines right in the little town of Oroville.

When we arrived at the park, the sign was up saying “campground full” , but we thought we would check anyway, and sure enough there had been cancellations and there was a perfect space waiting for us. Without hookups, setting up consisted of setting the parking brake, lowering the semi automatic levelers, and deploying the slide. Within minutes we were headed back to town to the winery looking for a good bottle of red to celebrate before we entered Canada. We weren’t disappointed, with a lovely 2006 blended red called Bench Rock, and a bottle of crisp dry Riesling to travel with us tomorrow.

There were some lovely folks in the small tasting room from Canada, who helped us better understand the Imperial Ounce and Liter requirements for bringing alcoholic beverages into the country. Two bottles of wine or 24 bottles of beer each, or one bottle of wine and 12 beers. What we hadn’t realized is that is for each person, so we could buy a bottle of wine for supper and still take another into the country to travel with us across the wilderness.

Our morning started with a bang, with no turn signals on the tow car. Mo scratched a bit at the terminals, and then we pulled into the casino across the street from our campground and dug out the owner’s manual. Mo has a nice little box with a gazillion different fuses, and with the diagram and the box of fuses we were fixed in no time. Just a blown fuse, but that can be a nightmare if you don’t have a clue where it goes.

Our driving day was beautiful, passing over the Yakima valley and crossing the mountains down into Ellensburg and back up Blewett Pass toward Wenatchee. Blewett Pass was gorgeous, with clouds darkening the skies and temperatures in the 50’s. Mo and I still had on shorts and light tops from the 85 degree morning in Toppenish! As we dropped down from the pass into Cashmere, and then Wenatchee, the temperatures again began to warm up. Deanna and Keith lived in Wenatchee for many years and raised their boys there. I visited often, and it was fun to see the city again, even though we only drove past on the north side of town via Highway 2. I also just realized that this is the same Highway 2 that Mo and I drove across the northern part of the country last year all the way to Wisconsin! I couldn’t believe just how much traffic there was buzzing around Wenatchee. It had become a big city now, or at least it thinks it is, and at least has the traffic for one.

Continuing north from Wenatchee along the Columbia River was enchanting. The landscape is somewhat arid, but the terraces along the river are rich alluvial soils that support more orchards and fruit than I have seen anywhere. Miles and miles of apples, ripe cherries, apricots, and pears lined the road on both sides of the river punctuated by fruit stands every mile or so. The area from Wenatchee to Yakima is one of the major fruit baskets of the United States.

We had full hookups last night, and this morning Mo opened up the sewer all the way and did a long and complete backflush. We aren’t sure if the mouse has just dried up or if the sewer was contributing to the odor, but it seems to be gone. This morning our drive was uneventful until we landed in Omak, home of the famous Suicide Race and the Omak Stampede.

American Propane was on the highway and looked easy to navigate so we turned around and pulled in. A nice young man filled our tank, and then Mo thought she could make the turnaround, but oops, guess not. The Tracker was angled so tightly that we couldn’t back it and the only solution was to unhook. Of course, the sharp angle made that a bit challenging, but in a moment it came apart and we just pulled out and hooked up the toad after Mo got turned around. Haven’t had to do that since we were back in Ohio,last year on some podunk tiny road, but we were glad the problem was easily solved. Of course, it’s a bit embarrassing to have to unhook and rehook when you know the guys inside the shop are all watching and probably just laughing at us. We paid them 3.35 per gallon for the propane thinking it was going to be much more expensive if we had to fill it up in Canada.

After we settled in to the park, we put the kayaks on the river and paddled downstream a bit with the current before turning around and going back north to the lake. On the lake, the water was a bit rough, but it was lovely and warm, and wonderful to be out in the boats again.

We drove 254 miles today on good two lane roads most of the day except for a tiny bit of the I-90 as we approached Ellensburg. For us, that is a nice distance to drive in a day, and we still have time to relax in the afternoon and not feel rushed. We chose to travel US highway 97 for our entire route across Oregon and Washington, and by choosing this route we avoided all the hassle and traffic of the coastal route through Portland, Seattle, and the busy crossing at Bellingham. Everyone says this is an easy crossing, and I guess we will find out tomorrow morning when we finally enter British Columbia.

It still doesn’t feel like the “trip” yet, and I suppose that won’t happen until we are past Prince George heading west toward the Cassiar. For the moment, however, it’s perfect. The skies are clear, the temperatures warm, the breezes crisp, and the water is lapping at our footsteps.

The rest of the photos for today are linked here

Tomorrow: Osoyoos to Clinton, BC

Day 2 July 7 A Short Drive to Toppenish

We woke to another gorgeous morning on the river and walked up to the beach to let Abby take in a morning swim. I was excited about the day ahead. We had only little more than an hour’s drive north on 97 to reach the town of Toppenish, Washington, not far from where my daughter and her husband are doing some home time. They have a big rig and haul jet engines around the country, but spend home time every few months with his mom in Mabton, a short jaunt from Toppenish. Since much of their hauling is on the east side of the country, or to Alaska and Canada, I don’t get to see her very often.

Mount Adams to the west of Highway 97

The Yakama Nation has a casino and a great RV park in the small town of Toppenish, and we easily snagged a nice spot at the edge of the park with full hookups and a tree shading the grass if not the motorhome.

By 11 AM, Deanna drove up to visit, and we hugged and laughed and decided that the two of us should go check out the town while Mo relaxed in the cool shad with the animals.

Deanna did professional wedding and portrait photography for a time, and has some very serious lenses and equipment in her collection. She brought a couple along to share with me and we spent much of the day playing with my new camera and testing out my lenses and then using some of hers on my camera. Yup. I am taking HER lenses to Alaska. There is no comparison. My lens is a Nikkor, but made in China. Hers is three times as heavy, twice as big, and was made in Japan. She has a monopod to hold up the lens, and we spent a lot of time fiddling around with the process of changes lenses, using the monopod, using my tripod, and fiddling with settings.

I had no idea that the town of Toppenish had murals, much less that it was famous for them. Mo and I enjoyed the murals of Eureka, but you had to have a map to find them. In Toppenish they are everywhere! All you need to do is walk down the street and look in any direction and there they are. The quality is amazing, truly beautiful art. Here is a link to the many photos I took of The Murals of Toppenish.

Deanna and I punctuated our hot afternoon walk with a visit to the local soda fountain, complete with a bar and stools. The root beer floats were made with truly good root beer and hard vanilla ice cream, served with an extra small glass of root beer to add as you wanted. Amazing.

After exploring the town we drove back to camp to pick up Mo for a drive east to Mabton where Deanna’s husband Keith was ready with the bbq going. It was a treat to see Keith’s mom, Ruth, 89 years young and fit as a fiddle. Ruth was raised in this valley, and Deanna drove us past the old farm that belonged to Ruth’s grandfather who relocated here from Iowa. Keith was raised here as well, and it was a good childhood, filled with rivers and frogs and farm chores in the summers at Grandpa’s farm.

It was interesting to hear some of the issues that are plaguing the valley now, with gang activity and shootings and such. Driving through the placid agricultural land, there was no indication of any of this unless you looked closely at bridges to see the tagging on every surface. Sad. Many people live here, the Yakama people are here, many immigrants and migrants working the extensive fields, and farmers like Deanna’s in-laws who have been in this valley for more than 100 years. It’s a rich mix of cultures, with some clashes of course.

We sat in Ruth’s front yard enjoying the stiff breezes while trying to keep our hamburger buns from blowing away and laughing and telling family stories. Deanna and I had so much fun playing again with the cameras, and Keith and Ruth and Mo were patient and long suffering as we ran around the yard laughing and snapping long into the evening. Hopefully all the practice will serve me well as I travel north. Keith also had several thoughts on our trip. He lived in Alaska working for the park at Denali for several months as a young man, and he and Deanna have driven the highway several times in their big truck. Of course, they did it in the winter on ice and in early May when the tourists were few and far between. I have my own version of an ice road trucker! My tiny sweet daughter!!

Mo and I drove back to camp in the setting sun: (explain to me why we are always driving due west at sunset??!!) Jeremy was happy to see us return. He was waiting in the front window watching for the car. He is sooo funny. The minute we get home he jumps up and eats and then uses the potty. I often wonder if he eats or drinks at all when we are gone.

Next: Day 3 July 8 North to Oroville WA

A link to the rest of the photos is here

Day 1 July 6 Crossing Oregon

No matter what the destination, you have to cross familiar territory in the beginning. It was that way for us this morning as we completed the final check of all the lists, hooked up the Tracker, and drove down Easy Street toward Alaska. The morning was incredibly brilliant, clear blue skies reflected on the still surface of the wildlife refuge bordering Rocky Point Road. The temperature read a balmy 62*, the warmest morning yet since some time last year.

Making notes, writing down the mileage, plugging in the details to my favorite little iPhone app that we use to keep track of our trip expenses, I barely had time to get settled before the freezer door flew open food started sliding out onto the floor. UhOh. Our clip on the freezer latch broke off some time last year, but the suction usually keeps it tightly closed. With the cost of food in Alaska, I had that baby crammed full, too full. After some rearranging the latch held tight again. Guess we will have to replace that one. A couple of years ago we had to replace the one on the refrigerator door as well. Cheap little plastic thingys, that sure don’t seem to hold up well considering the cost and quality of the big Dometic fridge.

We stopped as usual at one of our favorite little diners for the traditional departure breakfast at the Diamond Lake junction. I have written about this one before, the huge Bigfoot breakfast that we share, and then have enough leftovers to share again. The road was easy, the pavement smooth, the route so familiar, but I enjoyed every minute of the driving time. Mo, on the other hand, wasn’t sure that she liked being the passenger with Jeremy thinking that he needed to get on her lap, claws and all, and she was wearing shorts. Silly driving things that make the trip fun and familiar. We are used to our routines, as are our animals. I guess that is why we love to travel so much. We travel well together, and enjoy the changing pace and getting outside the lovely simple box of our everyday life.

Once beyond Madras, the high plateau of central Oregon becomes dry and barren. This is the southern edge of the Columbia Basalt Plateau, and the soils are thin, some as little as 4 inches over the hard rock, and the precipitation is low. I don’t know why, but this part of Oregon seems more desolate and barren to me than even the dry deserts of Arizona, or the open sage land of eastern Oregon.

In the midst of this barren landscape is the small pioneer town of Shaniko. We decided with the temperatures climbing into the 90’s, it might be time for a Shaniko ice cream cone. Mo waited in the cool rig while I walked around the tiny town taking some photos before I bought of couple of chocolate cones from some very sweet ladies in the well known tourist stop. Perfect lunch.

It wasn’t long before we dropped down the long canyon to Biggs and the Columbia River. The thermometer read 101 when we hit I-84. Another glitch: what in the heck was that awful smell?? With the heat, it seemed to get worse and worse, and we couldn’t identify it. I panicked thinking that maybe the new batteries were heating up, but Mo was pretty sure we had something dead in the guts of the rig somewhere and the heat was making it worse. Ah yes, rigs and mice. That seems to be a fairly common topic among RV’rs. Opening the Fantastic fan and putting it on high seemed to help a bit, and while the smell still isn’t gone, it seems to be getting better. Yeah, that mouse will eventually dry out completely. Ugh. The mouse traps are still set and nothing is in them.

The temperatures were way too high to think about boondocking as planned, we definitely needed the air conditioner. Instead we traveled east toward LePage Park, the COE campground where we often overnight on our way through this area. Without reservations we still got a great spot with a view of the John Day River for only ten bucks with our Golden Age Pass, including electric and water. Perfect and it was only 4:30 or so.

Within ten minutes we were settled in and Abby was in the water for a swim. We decided there was plenty of time for an evening kayak and within a few more minutes we were at the launch site with the kayaks in the water. The winds were up a bit, but we decided that with the winds going upstream we could manage the current coming down. The mighty Columbia River was under the interstate bridge to our left and the John Day River to our right. We paddled upriver with the wind for a time until the waves and wind got too big to manage before we turned around and with the wind and the current, we had some nice quiet time in the doldrums, not moving at all while we relaxed on the river.

Suddenly we saw a fire flare up on the opposite bank, and I pulled the phone out of the dry bag to call 911. Cell reception on the river was great, and 911 answered immediately. They were unconcerned, saying that the fire had been burning for a couple of days and they were letting it go. OK. Fire in the west, on the grasslands along the river is probably a good thing, a natural cleansing of the land. Camped safely on the other side of the river with winds blowing away from us, no one seemed to troubled.

We paddled back downriver toward the bridges and went far enough to technically say that we paddled in the Columbia before we headed back inland. The Columbia is a big, strong, powerful river, and neither one of us wanted to tackle it on a hot afternoon with the famous high winds blowing hard.

Back in camp we got out the new Weber Q100, to try it out with a couple of pork chops and a beer. By the time we settled in to sleep, the evening breezes were strong and cool enough to make sleeping just right.

The end of the beginning, our first day out. Perfect.

A link to the rest of the photos at Picasa is here.

Tomorrow: A short drive to Toppenish