tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74958738233865036482011-11-27T16:34:37.585-08:00Touring the Northern Hemisphere in our Rock Star RVDonny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.comBlogger201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-62141805209652078332008-11-08T06:15:00.000-08:002008-11-08T06:15:00.800-08:00

From Custer, we headed to the badlands. They got their names from the travelers and trappers who, when they saw them, discovered that they were "Bad lands" to cross. We passed through Interior (pop 38) and Scenic (pop 10). At one point as we were driving along the road, we saw a lump. When we stopped, we discovered a rattler, getting some sun. Another day, we took a hike. When we stopped, we

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-50543484652748375192008-11-06T05:48:00.000-08:002008-11-06T05:48:00.679-08:00

On Monday, we went to the Custer State Park buffalo roundup. This is an event where they bring about 1500 animals into pens over a period of 4 or 5 days. Once inside, the buffalo are vaccinated and branded and some young ones culled out of the herd to be sold to breeders and to keep the herd at about 1000 head. The cowboys and cowgirls who want to wrangle the buffalo put their names into a

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-47577591659918786452008-11-04T05:10:00.000-08:002008-11-04T05:10:00.328-08:00

After leaving Yellowstone, we headed to Cody, WY. The roadside was littered with hoodoo's, vertical stones standing in the rough and rugged hills.From Cody, we drove up the Bighorn Pass to 9033'. There was a lot of open range and we had to watch for cattle on the road. We stayed in a lovely National Forest campground. Our drive up the pass gave us 3.6 mpg but we made up for it on the way down

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-49168796825738025152008-09-26T06:56:00.000-07:002008-09-27T07:07:07.103-07:00

Another trip had us watching a lone buffalo leading a line of cars up a hill. When we stopped to let him pass, he looked in our window and came close enough to the car for me to pet him. Another feature was the downed trees. The Park Service lets nature take its own course. The Park has had some major fires in the past 50 years and if a tree falls, it stays where it falls. Finally, the color

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-29951693596884058062008-09-26T06:27:00.000-07:002008-09-26T07:26:48.766-07:00

We left Hyder and are beginning our trip back to the lower 48 and Yellowstone National Park. We will pass through Jasper National Park in Prince George, British Columbia and Banff National Park in Calgary, Alberta. Even though it is the end of August, we are still seeing snow on the mountain tops. We are also still seeing bears on the side of the road. Our lunch stop was at 6750'. Once we

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We left Haines, Ak., for Hyder, Ak., about a 340 mile trip south, passing through Canada. Nostalgia is setting in as we realize our Alaska adventure is coming to an end. We also noticed that the mountains had less snow and the days were getting darker earlier. On our way north, we had stopped at Muck Luck Annies for a salmon bake and it was so good that we stopped again. However, we were

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-78279832589532515432008-09-09T06:29:00.000-07:002008-09-09T07:25:17.989-07:00

After we left Valdez, we headed toward Haines, Ak. The first night we we stayed at a roadside and were treated to a lovely rainbow.We had to go back into Canada, where we stayed at Million Dollar Falls at a spot on a river for 3 nights. The first day we took time to go bear watching and we spent about 1 ½ hours watching a black bear gorge himself on berries on the side of the road. We were

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-11099818522283603502008-09-02T07:49:00.000-07:002008-09-03T06:57:11.259-07:00

Our next stop was Valdez (pronounced Valdeez according to the natives). Valdez was struck by the 1964 earthquake which wiped out the town. The town had been built on mud flats and it slid into the ocean. The new town was moved 3 miles to higher ground and rebuilt where it stands today. It is also where the famous Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred a few years later. Without bad luck, these poor

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-70516927180932404732008-08-27T19:36:00.000-07:002008-08-27T20:04:45.487-07:00

We left Homer in good weather and headed back down the Seward Hwy. We stumbled onto a spot off the highway, under a bridge next to a fast flowing river. We watched 100's of salmon swimming upstream. The next day, we went to Portage Glacier and Jill got close to Smoky. Later we visited the Animal Rehabilitation Center and watched an eagle, moose, bears and other animals being brought back to

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-61619281762685279162008-08-25T08:51:00.000-07:002008-08-27T06:43:40.542-07:00

The next stop after Seward was Homer. We stayed on the beach again in Homer Spit on Cook's Inlet. One of our day trips was to Kenai Peninsula, where we watched the Alaskan residents engage in subsistence netting (combat netting). The netters wear waders and stand in 30 degree water up to their chest and close enough to each other to touch. They hold a 5' diameter net on the end of a 15' – 20'

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-81417622681556688992008-08-25T08:34:00.000-07:002008-08-25T08:50:14.809-07:00

This week we headed to Seward. It also started the famous Alaska rainy season. The natives aren't sure which they hate worse, the rain or the mosquitoes, because once either one gets started, they stay around for a while and are bothersome. In Seward, we stayed on the front row of a city park on the beach on Resurrection Bay. One of the things we noticed at the entrance to the park was the

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-90029029595344796822008-08-16T18:02:00.000-07:002008-08-16T18:29:51.830-07:00

After leaving Dinali and heading south, we stopped at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna and had the best blueberry pie ever. The berries were huge and so juicy, the juice ran down your chin. The crust was just like mother used to make. You can order the pie and have it shipped. Stayed at the Sheeps Creek boat landing. We took a hike in the woods down by the river and saw a huge pile of bear scat on

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-7640011675730290512008-08-10T09:09:00.000-07:002008-08-11T05:18:51.433-07:00

As you can see, signup form was added to this blog (right margin).When you sign up for their list using the form, you will be automatically notified whenever they post an article here.There are some things you need to do to make it work easily:1. Sign up using the form2. You will receive a confirmation email3. click on the confirmation link in the email and you will be added to Don &

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-51032053470593928832008-08-08T14:56:00.000-07:002008-08-08T16:28:55.525-07:00

We arrived at Dinali National Park! After we checked out the visitor center, we found that we could drive our personal vehicle 15 miles into the park for free before we needed a permit. As we came to one of many viewing areas, we looked to the left and saw all 20,320' of Mt. McKinley, 60 miles away. It took my breath away and it was very emotional. One of the people we talked to told us that

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-57126604516825417792008-08-08T12:35:00.000-07:002008-08-10T08:33:07.472-07:00

After Tok, the next stop was North Pole, Alaska. The car and coach were dirtier than you can imagine so we stopped at Santa Land Campground and they had a wash rack. 3 hours later, the outside was fairly clean but the first time we turned on the fan in the car, dust blew all over the inside. Since we are retired, we took the time to clean it.North Pole is only 12 miles from Fairbanks, Ak.

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-29657941623537361042008-08-07T11:17:00.000-07:002008-08-07T11:49:23.953-07:00

The Taylor Hwy goes past Beautiful Downtown Chicken, population 13. Chicken has 1 building which contains a gift shop, liquor store, saloon with thousands of hats and a tiny restaurant with blueberry pies that made the stop worthwhile. It also has a 3 hole "Chicken Poop" and a 1 legged dog named Tucker. Even though tourists stop here, this is how the 13 people actually live. Much different

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-66029854006719342962008-08-07T09:36:00.000-07:002008-08-08T12:00:21.105-07:00

We left Skagway, heading to Dawson City. This was the final destination of all the stampeeders and their ton of gear. The sidewalks are still boards and the streets are not paved. We stayed 2 days and took a National Park Service walking tour. We rode the ferry across the Klondike river, the only way to cross since the road dead ends in Dawson. Once across the river, the road is called Top

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-59042506856074106692008-07-30T05:25:00.000-07:002008-08-08T12:04:23.759-07:00

Found another wifi spot. Thanks to the Chamber of Commerce. After Watson Lake came Muck Luck Annie's, where we dined on grilled salmon. The portions were so large that there was enough for supper the next day. The meal included a pontoon boat ride on Lake Teslin, where we fed the gulls. The next day brought us to Whitehorse for a couple of days rest and than on the Skagway, USA. We saw

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-7919576265850901442008-07-27T07:26:00.000-07:002008-08-08T12:17:43.083-07:00

It is amazing how little cell phone or e mail contact there is on the road. We have to find wifi so we can communicate. The last posting had us at Dawson Creek. We left there and headed for Toad River Lodge, British Columbia. We had a large lake in our back yard and got some beautiful pictures of some moose and 2 beavers.The next day we headed to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. On the way there we

Donny Boy & Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04573953302779990434noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7495873823386503648.post-45111365915596321522008-07-27T07:15:00.000-07:002008-07-27T07:19:35.846-07:00

In an effort to help Don & Jill show us what a great time they are having while traveling in their Rock Star RV, I helped create this Blog. Don sent an email out with pictures and was having trouble posting due to sporadic cell service and the scarcity of wifi spots. I am going to take the liberty of making the first post with the pictures he sent me so we can all start to follow along on their

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