A Household Divided then Reunited

I’m going to write this account in three sections: 1) Bear’s and my journey; 2) Katrina’s, Jeff’s and Molli’s adventure; and 3) reunification.

First: Bear’s and my journey:

The first thing that one needs to accomplish leaving Dawson City is to cross the Yukon River on a ferry. We had heard that this could take hours in season. Good thing we were a bit ahead of the curve. Here are some pictures of Bear’s and my crossing:

It was very scary pulling onto the little ferry with the huge Busse Bus flying solo. I fit on with four other cars. Just imagine a RV Caravan with 25 rigs trying to cross at the same time. Yikes.

Once we successfully drove off the ferry we hit the “Top of the World Highway” which is a gravel road until you hit the US/Canada border, about 1.5 hours. As I bumped along the road I got glimpses of the beautiful mountainous scenery. It really feels like you are on the top of the world! Sorry, no pictures as I could not hold onto the steering wheel with both hands ;).

Crossing the border was easy except I was carrying firewood which I had to dump there. It’s a no no to bring wood across country lines in order to keep the trees safe from bores. I did see a pair of Caribou but didn’t get a picture. I was fooled by the good ole USA in thinking that the US roads were better as they were paved for about 20 miles. After that they turned in gravel and dust as I traversed my way down from the mountain ridges on switchbacks. I averaged about 24 miles an hour until I reached the town of Chicken. Not much of a town so I pushed forward. From there the roads became “paved” with a lot of patching caused by the frost heaves. A lot of ups and downs with slow going. I finally made it to Tok and back onto the Alaska Highway. Total drive was 172 miles and it took me five hours. The Busse Bus and our truck were covered mud, dust and pebbles.

I continued my journey to Delta Junction where I stayed at the Snowed Inn campground.

An ok place where I was able to keep the truck attached which made life easier. The campground allowed me to wash the bugs and guck off the front of the coach. I actually continued down the coach to wash the majority of the thicker mud off the bottom of both the coach and the truck.

Before retiring for the evening, while I was walking Bear we got to see a moose in the distance.

The next morning Bear and I headed out to get to the H&H Service Center in Fairbanks so that they could diagnose our issue(s). It was about an hour and a half drive where Bear and I encountered road construction where a pilot car had to take the waiting cars across the bad areas. I made it to my destination a little after 10am. About 12:15pm they finally looked at our hydraulic issue and agreed that the pump was blown. I quickly got on the phone with Newmar and ordered a replacement. Yikes – $1,947, and I had to place the order as Newmar was closing (Eastern time) within six minutes. With them shipping the part overnight (today is Thursday) the part should arrive on Monday. What can you expect when you are 1000’s of miles away from civilization!

Look at this great sign in Fairbanks welcoming you:

I got a spot at the Fairbanks / Chena River KOA located in the town of North Pole, AK.

Bear loved being by the river:

Katrina and I had stayed at the same place six years ago when we traveled here. I immediately took the truck over to the wash area and gave it a much needed bath. The rock guard that we installed between the coach and the truck saved our windshield and paint; however the protective coating on our bumper was covered with pock marks and looks terrible.

I spent the next day cleaning the coach’s exterior: wash, wax, bays, and windows and the interior: dust, counters, mirrors, windows, and floor. I can tell you that I felt like Ralph Machhio in the Karate Kid – wax on, wax off….

While I was waiting for the rest of our group to catch up to me, I was able to catch up with some family and friends, watched a movie, and made it out for dinner one night at Banks Alehouse. I received good news on Saturday when Katrina, Jeff, and Molli decided to push all the way through to meet me.

Second: Katrina’s, Jeff’s and Molli’s Adventure:

They left Dawson City shortly after I did and got on the Dempster Highway heading up to the Arctic Ocean.

Between Dawson City and the town of Eagle Plains the scenery was beautiful:

They had planned on spending the night there but since it was early and daylight they grabbed lunch instead and pushed onto the Arctic Circle:

After leaving there they headed all the way up to Inuvik

where they stopped for the night. Crossed into the Northwest Territories:

The motel wasn’t the best of places, but they made do. Eleven hours of driving on a gravel road.

The next morning they continued north to reach the Arctic Ocean in the town of Tuktoyaktuk, or Tuk for short, which is the end of the road.

Their plans to jump into the ocean were soon dashed as the water temperature was 35 degrees and the water seemed very dirty. They did however put their toes in it:

Here’s how far away they were from everywhere:

Their original plan was to drive back to Eagle Plains for the night, but they got there earlier than anticipated and ran into some motorcyclists who were looking for a room in the booked motel. They gave up their rooms and didn’t have to pay for the night as they decided to push on through to get back to Dawson City and their coach. Upon arriving back they got to see some wildlife for the first time on their adventure.

Total drive time was 14 hours and with gas around $10/gallon it made for an expensive excursion. That night in Dawson City they had dinner at the Drunken Goat Tavern.

Since they pushed through so much over the past two days they had time in Dawson City to see Dredge #4, a gold mining mechanism which is now a National Landmark.

For dinner they went to the Downtown Saloon and then afterwards had a shot with a human toe in it! Check out these pictures:

It’s a touristy thing to do where you get a certificate of accomplishment!

Since it was the Summer Solstice around 12am Katrina drove up on top of the Midnight Dome to catch the sun setting at midnight:

The following morning they set out on the Top of the World Highway to catch up with me. Here’s their pictures of crossing the Yukon River on the ferry:

Once they crossed the border into the United States

they stopped at a rest area and got these wonderful pictures:

After that they drove down to Tok, passing the town of Chicken, to reach the Alaska Highway. From there their plan was to continue to Delta Junction and spend the night. They changed those plans and continued on to Fairbanks and reunite with me.

Third: Reunited and it feels so good…

Jeff and Molli spent the evening cleaning their coach and their jeep. Both were filthy inside and out just like ours. Unfortunately the rear end of their coach suffered a lot of rock chips:

That evening Katrina and I went to dinner at the Banks Alehouse where I visited by myself. We enjoyed a Ghost Pepper Vodka made at the Anchorage Distillery company. Delish! Then we headed to the Midnight Sun Festival in downtown Fairbanks.

A unique street festival with crafts, food, drinks, and three bandstands.

Loads of yippee like people there. I’m pretty sure that the invention of the “Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder” hasn’t made it up to Fairbanks yet! Just saying…

The next day we relaxed. Molli and Katrina worked out, Jeff ran his first 1/2 marathon, and I got my bike out for a ride. After that we resupplied so that we could have enough as we transverse the lower sections of Alaska. For dinner we decided to try Chena’s Alaskan Grill just for the Halibut! It was good! They also had the ghost peppered vodka!

On the drive back Jeff espied a momma moose and her baby on the Army base:

Back to the coaches for a round of card golf before Jeff and Molli went to the airport to pick up Sheree Evans whom will be traveling with them through Anchorage.

On Monday I waited patiently for my ordered part to come in so we could get the coach fixed. Meanwhile, Katrina found a place to play pickleball:

She said that it was very fun!

Jeff, Molli, and Sheree hit the Christmas store in North Pole.

They stated that it was a bit touristy.

I received notice that our part arrived about 2pm, but unfortunately the service center couldn’t fit us in until 8am Tuesday morning. Hopefully it will fix the issue!

We met up at Lat 65 Brewery to taste their beers:

Then the five of us went to the Pump House for dinner.

Delicious place! I had a bit of a surprise when the bill came because I ordered the King Crab dinner which I thought was $57 (expensive) but it ended up being $125 – ouch! However, it was really good!

Afterwards we headed back to the KOA as we planned on leaving by 7:30am to get to the repair shop.

Arrived for our repairs by our scheduled time of 8am at H&H Service Center. Unfortunately the technician hadn’t come in yet so we had to wait until 10am. The quote stated 4-5 hours to swap out the bad hydraulic pump, motor, and reservoir.

He got the old one out and the new one in by lunchtime and then had to eat for about 45 minutes. Afterwards he filled the reservoir with 17 quarts and then connected the wires. With fingers crossed, we tried to extend the jacks to no avail. Another tech came over and recommended to try it a few times because there could be air in the lines. After a few more tries the jacks extended and then one retracted on its own. More investigation revealed that the toggle switch on one of the solenoids was broken and needed to be repaired. After that the jacks (levelers) worked as designed. Then we checked the full wall slide and after a few tries it worked. With everything working I reluctantly went to pay the bill – $1,490.

We finally left Fairbanks at about 5pm heading to Denali and to catch up with Jeff, Molli, and Sheree.