More fun in the valley!

Today we started out in the rain/mist. Another cold, wet day. It sure has been a bad winter weather-wise for us down here in the valley, but we cannot complain, when Jim and Luanne came from 90 inches of snow with the promise of more snow and sub-zero temperatures before they get home.

We took them on a tour of the newer Martin parks so they could see how those looked. Then we headed toward Edinburg to the Museum of South Texas. We spent a couple hours there. It was one place we had always thought about going to, but had never gone. It was really good. It's not real big, but it is laid out well in chronological order and just enough reading to lay out the history without bogging you down. There were many rooms and lots of displays as well as the timeline of how the Rio Grande Valley was developed and populated. I would recommend it to anyone here in the RGV who would like to learn a bit about the area.

Once we left there, we went to Rudy's BBQ for lunch. It was very good and we all enjoyed our meal and conversation. Once we got back to the park, we visited more, then we played some cards.

Another great day!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Tok to Beaver Creek

We left Tok this morning and traveled to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory. We had to cross the border into Canada, so we got out our “border documents” folder and were good to go.

When we started east on the Alaskan Highway, we could see smoke in the distance from the wildfires burning. When we were down in Valdez, it rained the entire time, but it hasn't rained up north and it is sunny and breezy. Not good for the firefighters.

We made a couple stops along the way to look at scenery. The road was good, then bad, then worse, then back to bad, then worst. It makes it hard to make any time at all because we slow way down in order to not damage any of the coach. Other people must not care because people passed us. Like yesterday, we saw rigs bottoming out on the roadway. It's a wonder some of them make it to their destination. Some areas of road construction were so long they require a pilot car.

Once we passed through Canadian customs we got into Beaver Creek, our destination for the night. We had decided to stay here because a friend of ours on the RV.net forum, Sue.T. Is from here. She had told us about the Beaver Creek Rendevous theater and their stage show. We decided to get in early enough we would try to get tickets and go. It is a dinner theater and we were in luck. They had tickets available and they even said they would accommodate my gluten free request!

We crossed the street and went to the Visitor's Center and met the staff there. We were greeted with a handshake and pleasant conversation from “Sid.” He asked where we were from and how we happened to stop in Beaver Creek. I mentioned my friend Sue and said that I knew her Dad had built the airport. Well, Sid knew exactly who I was talking about and before I knew it, we had an invitation to go with him and explore his “private” museum at his home. He took us down the block and stepped back in time in his little corner of the world. He is an interesting man and he collects “stuff” from anywhere he can get it. He salvages items mostly that have been cast off by others. He has built many buildings and has created a look of a small town complete with boardwalk. He has compiled items and grouped like items together. For instance he has one building which is a general store with an authentic look, stocking the shelves with actual cans and goods from a by-gone era. He has a “bathhouse” and a couple other rooms which have the look of a laundry room and even a tool shop. It was an interesting conversation with Sid and we enjoyed his hospitality which included a tour of his home he built from materials he salvaged from buildings that were not longer used. I asked him if “American Pickers” had expressed an interest in him. He said, “No, but I understand the Canadian pickers might be thinking about it.”

Since we still had time before the show, we went and got our laundry and got it done while we used their wifi. The wifi worked well, but you had to use it in their building, so everyone kind of congregated there. The atmosphere in this place is very relaxed and the employees are very nice. Once the laundry was done and put away, we got ready to go to dinner and enjoy the show.

I was told that when I got there, I was to ask Officer Friendly to make me a “gluten-free” s'more. Officer Friendly was a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman or least in that uniform. I asked him about the special s'more and he said he would make me one. The dinner theater is round and there is a giant firepit in the center. The roof is open at the top for the smoke to rise and people gathered around the pit and roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Officer Friendly brought me my s'more which was a large marshmallow toasted to perfection. The middle was indented and chocolate shavings filled the “cup.” What a neat idea. No graham cracker because of the gluten. Hence a “gluten-free” s'more. It was delicious.

Dinner was excellent. The main dish was a meat stew with a bread which is a traditional bread perhaps of the Natives. Also on the menu was a dinner salad, roast chicken and rice pilaf. My gluten free dish was chicken stir fry which was very good. For dessert, baked Alaska, which looked delicious. I had a fruit cup, which include several kinds of fruit. Also very good.

After we had our fill, the show started. The musical performance included Officer Friendly, who played different roles, and a young woman. The theme of the show was a telling through song of the history and development of the Yukon Territory. It included tidbits about bush pilots, the goldrush, dance halls, building the Alaska highway, World War II, etc. The music was excellent and played by an actual pianist, a superb talent. The stars were also extremely talented and never hit a wrong note. We were glad we took the time to stop here and take in the show.

We understand that this performance will end in September. The tour line which has purchased this Inn is closing it down. What a shame. The one performer has been doing the show for 22 years. It truly will be a hardship for this little town. The theater has been a stop on the tour for busses and the audience has enjoyed it for years. We hate to hear it will be gone.

It's late now as the show lasted till almost 10 p.m. But it was a most enjoyable evening.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Valdez back to Tok!

Yesterday we spent a little time wandering around Valdez. It continued to rain, but Valdez still had their parade and other 4th of July activities. We talked to some people who said this was very typical weather for Valdez and they just plan on it. In addition to being rainy, it was cold, probably only in the low 50's or maybe 40's, but not freezing. But Valdez still has snow on the ground! We found this pile of it in town! We also found this trailer across from us to be interesting. It was obviously home built, but very nicely done. The biggest problem, however, is that with all the rain we had, when they wanted to be in out of the rain, their options were their car, or lying down in their trailer.

We took in a shop or two and then the Valdez museum. We had been to the museum annex where we saw a movie about the 1964 earthquake. Today's main museum was about the history or how the town began as a camp and later as prospectors came, others arrived to offer services, etc. It's so hard to comprehend that people took steamships up to Valdez from Washington, then climbed up over the Valdez Glacier to the Klondike goldfields on the other side. A lot of them didn't make it, but most of those who did found there were no gold claims left. It is an interesting history. There was also a stores called Anne's Sugar and Spice which showed free movies of both the earthquake and the building of the pipeline.

The museum also covered the earthquake in 1964 and the building of the pipeline from 1973-76. I found one fact of the pipeline interesting. They buried the pipeline in some places because they found out that the caribou would not go under it, thereby depriving them of being able to relocate to their wintering grounds. So the pipe was buried so the caribou would be able to traverse the areas they needed to. Other animals were not bothered by the pipeline. We have seen more pipeline on the way down to Valdez because the Richardson Highway, the route to Valdez, is the "Pipeline Highway." All the oil taken from the Prudhoe Bay area goes down the pipeline to the terminal at Valdez.

We also learned that cruise ships, long a boon to the local merchants, can no longer come into the port at Valdez. That occurred due to 9-11. My guess is because they consider the Valdez terminal to be a possible terrorist target. Just my opinion.

Today we drove out of a still rainy Valdez. Before we left, however, we took another look at the salmon fish hatchery. The tide was out and we were treated to a very cool view. Sitting on the stumps out in the mud were EAGLES! There was one on every stump. Some were adults, with their white heads and tails, and others were juveniles which look sort of spotted or mottled. Terry got one picture of several sitting on a spit and counted 3 adults and 3 juveniles.  When we left there we drove  up through the Thompson Pass and up the highway. We passed GlennAllen, where we had come in from Anchorage the other day, and proceeded north. We came to the Tok Cutoff which is the name they call the road that goes from the Richardson to Tok.

We did stop at the Worthington Glacier again. This time we got out and walked down the path a bit. You can hike all the way to the glacier and touch it, but we didn't do that. It looked like some rugged climbing and I couldn't do that. But we got some great pictures of the waterfalls and the blue ice in the crevices. Really cool.

We did see some moose again today, none close to the road. That is good, as I sure don't want to hit one, but it really makes photography difficult. Really have to zoom in and then getting a steady shot is harder.

We had a leisurely drive today because we had some bad road. One section on the Tok Cutoff was built on permafrost and it went back and forth from undulating to potholes, to gravel. It means slowing way down in order to keep everything in the cupboards.

We arrived at Three Bears Outpost about 4:30. We were here a few weeks ago on our way down from Chicken and on the way to Fairbanks. We are the ONLY ones in the park.

Tomorrow we head to Beaver Creek after crossing the border into Canada.

Till next time. . .

Dale