Week 142 - Pete and Ellen's REALLY Big Adventure - 05-03-2009

Updates from Up There!

We have had amazing adventures the last three years. But according to the dozens of RVers that we have spoken with, our greatest adventure is just beginning. This week we traveled from Burien (near Seattle), to Bellingham, Washington. We have been making final preparations to head through British Columbia, Canada to Alaska.

Final prep for the Mothership included:

New front tires (last January)
New wiper blades.
Spare serpentine belt.
New fuel and fuel/water separator filters.
New AGM chassis batteries.
Fix a water leak over the driver's window.
Purchase The Milepost, the official road guide to Northwest Canada and Alaska
New tires for the scooter.
New hiking boots.
Bear repellent spray and bug spray.

We predict that we will cruise through Canada for four weeks, 2200 miles.
Be in Alaska for June and July and back through Canada in August.

So what do we expect? From our online research, The Milepost and our RV friends, we expect:
Bears and lots of them. We saw a couple black bears and one grizzly in Yellowstone, but we expect more.
Beauty, endless beauty. We have been told that every picture will be a "postcard".
Lots of trees, greenery and lots of water. Great kayaking. Lots of wildlife besides the bears.
Friendly folks along the way. Canadians, Alaskans and fellow travelers.

Lots of remote and dry camping. Other campgrounds with limited facilities.
Cool temperatures and many propane refills.
No Jack-in-the-Boxes, but all kinds of great fish meals.
Lunch or dinner at Muck Luck Annies. Big soak at Liard Hot Springs, BC.
High prices in Canada: campgrounds, food, fuel and wine.
No suntans but lots of mosquitoes and other flying pests.

While this will be quite an adventure, it is nothing compared to those who did this trek 10, 20 and 30 years ago.
It is our understanding that the main roads are all paved. However, there is constant maintenance, so there will be gravel.
Trucks fly by and spray you with gravel until the Moho looks like a teenager with acne.
Frost heaves constantly break up the road and if hit hard, you can break things. Hopefully we see them all first.
A broken windshield to break up the monotony of endless bug guts.
More paint chips to add to the dozens we already have.

Well, that's about it. It will be fun to see how it turns out. Here is our projected path for the next month.

Love, Petellen (back together again).

Photos from May 2009