Alaska 2022

  We left Red Rock Canyon in the wonderful cooling rain on a hunt for Betsy, who had taken the Jeep to get an early geocache. As we drove into Panguitch I called to see where she was. To our surprise she new where we were and was on us if a flash. We connected the Jeep and hit the road.  Today turned out to be a fairly boring, but productive day of driving. Mostly the skies were wet and the pavement dry to make for decent travel conditions. We ended the day in Idaho Falls after stops at two Costcos for cheaper gas and several rest stops for geocaches.  Unfortunately   Betsy didn’t fair so well. At the first rest stop she tripped on a fence and scraped elbows and knees. She’ll be okay, but I found the next geocaches for her.  We ended the day at a riverside camp area in Idaho Falls occupied by a wide variety of foreign visitors and seemingly homeless (although able to buy gas for a very loud generator). As night falls there are loud percussions nearby, but no fir...

7:00 am sharp I drove the coach to the front gate with Betsy already waiting to connect the Jeep. Larry was just a minute behind. We departed Ponderosa Shadows right on time and made fast progress toward our first major turn and Betsy’s first geocache just outside of Holbrook. Tre got a walk and Larry and I got to Walk the Dog while we waited for Betsy to complete her quest. Then it was down the road to Flagstaff and up 79 toward Cameron, our first refueling stop. Larry did the research to find the best places to fuel up, and I’m glad he did. Prices along the way varied from 4.99 to 5.69, which can be significant when you’re talking about a 55 gallon tank.  We made a brief stop along the Vermillion Cliffs to get a little lunch and then it was a long climb up to Jacob Lake. I pointed out the Arizona Trail where it crossed 89A on our way to Jacob Lake. Fond memories of hiking the AZT in  2018.  Next was a stop for, you guessed it, another geocache or two. The last one was a...

 Monday, June 27, 2022 and all preparations are done and we’re ready to go, sorta…. Betsy’s dermatology appointment went well and she’s cleared to travel. We left Tucson before 11 and had an uneventful drive to Show Low until the amazing downpour as we hit the 8 mile sign. Nevertheless we made it unscathed.  Only a few items left to do: restock the fridge, put air in the left front tire, pack the Wally, drain and fill the water tank, get more bottles of water, and “Oh Sh_t!”, register the coach with MVD!  3:45 pm Larry is observing me efficiently completing my remaining tasks and happens to notice that the tags on my RV plates have expired. Did I have the new registration? Oh, hell no! Of course not! 4:06pm We pile into the Jeep and head to the Show Low office of Arizona Motor Vehicle Division, which closes at 5:00, and proceed to bring my October 2021 registration up to date. $1536 later I ask about my other vehicles. Turns out the Jeep will expire while we’re gone (but ...

  Heading to Alaska 2022 Once again Betsy and I are joining Larry Nolen along with our cats Stormy and Stella and Larry's dog Tre, on a driving adventure into the Alaskan experience. The picture above of the Salmon Glacier outside Hyder, Alaska came toward the end of our previous trip in 2019. I'm hoping to see the same sight toward the start of our journey. I will try to keep this site updated as we travel, but you all should know that cell service is spotty and wifi is almost non-existent where we'll be going. Today is Sunday, June 26th. We'll be departing Ponderosa Shadows on Tuesday morning. You can follow our progress on my companion site http://share.garmin.com/hikingsoloAlaska .