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Alaska or bust!

Started by iffy, March 18, 2013, 03:25:15 PM

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Den Socling

When I read old post I often wonder what happened to old members. Furby is one. Does he still post? Maybe in boards I don't read often. Good to see he is still around.

Shotgun

You can easily look people on the FF up, and see/read their latest posts.  This lasts pretty much forever, unless they're been banned.
Joined The Forestry Forum 5 days before 9/11.

Magicman

Furby is around.  He may not post, but it is nice to have a "bird" looking over your shoulder.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

SwampDonkey

Glad everyone could meet up in their travels. That indeed is a land road trip, both ways. ;)

Yes, Furby is around the forum. He's kinda behind the scenes. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Chuck White

Sounds like a really wonderful trip.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Magicman

Quote from: iffy on July 06, 2013, 01:32:47 PM
Had a great lunch with Warbird and his family today. I looked up the restaurant online and it said the outdoor dining area was open from April until the start of Moose season in the fall. Only in Alaska.
My first thought was that you were at the Pump House Restaurant on the Chena River.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Warbird

The Pump House was the first place I wanted them to try out.  They aren't serving lunch anymore, so we went to Pike's Landing instead.  It turned into a beautiful day!

iffy

Haven't been close to wifi long enough to post until today. Warbird, thanks for the tip on the Denali Highway over to Paxson. After we left Denali park we took that route. It is about 130 mi and gravel except for the first 5 and last 20 miles. About 30-40 mph was all we could handle because of washboard, but beautiful drive. Last mile was just as pretty as the first mile.  Went down to Valdez and the scenery was awesome there also. Headed back up the Richardson highway to Glenn highway and headed towards Anchorage. At Palmer decided to take a side trip to the old abandoned Independence mine. Lo and behold, there is Furby and family! I got a candid shot of the "Furby overland train" in the parking lot.


 
Talked to Furby and family for awhile as they were making their fortune panning for gold. I think he found some color, but miners are pretty secretive so not sure. Got a picture there while he wasn't looking also. 

 
Both of us are heading in the general direction of Homer tomorrow, so may meet up again.

Magicman

I am glad that you are also giving some updates on Furby.  He and I had exchanged many PM's before he left.  It is good to see that his "overland train" is holding up well.

Thanks also for your updates.  Makes me wanna go back.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

iffy

Quote from: beenthere on June 28, 2013, 01:46:15 PM
iffy
Your answers to the border guard could easily have led to being pulled aside and your car completely ransacked (from what I've heard from others who have such an experience). I saw it happen to the car ahead of me that turned out to be someone going to the same meeting.
beenthere. you are spot on with that advice. Fortunately in my old age I have learned to pick my battles and that one was unwinnable, and I shut up in time. Now for the scary part: when we got to our first campsite in Canada I got the camper set up then got out my wife's brand new reclining camp chair. As I dumped it out of the bag a .22 cartridge fell out. The chair had only been out of the bag once in our living room to make sure it worked and then put away until we left. No idea how the .22 got in the bag. If I had continued with my smart answers and gotten ransacked it is hard telling how long we would have been at the border while they looked for whatever it fit. Whew!! I gave it to a responsible individual in the Yukon.

Magicman

What many folks from the USA don't seem to realize is that you are entering another country.  They have their laws, rules and pride.  You visit there at their discretion and you are just that....a visitor.

Going both ways, you answer border questions as asked and add nothing other than the answer.  They are professionals that know their job and are doing it.   
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Klicker

I travel to the US 3 or 4 times a year. They ask the same thing to us going in if they don't like your answer they can strip your car or just send you back. They have questions that need an answer they don't care if you are there for a week or two they just have to show you do not plan on staying.
2006 LT 40 HD

iffy

Well, our paths cross yet again. Ran into Furby in Seward today at (where else) the NAPA store. I was replacing a battery and he was repairing the park brake.

iffy

Looks like Furby and I need to buy lottery tickets. We ran into each other once again on the took cutoff road. That's 4 times in Alaska and only the first one was kinda sorta planned. What are the odds?

Mooseherder

As big as Alaska is that is amazing.
Sounds like everyone is enjoying the journey. :)

Magicman

Yes, but you also have to realize how many highways that Alaska has.  That plus the same destinations are on everyone's list.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

sandhills

Magic you nailed it, as rural as I grew up, Alaska is still a whole other world and I only got to see a very small part of it, where I was there you lived at different mile points along any major road.  I could easily handle that, just not sure I could take their hot summers  ;D.

JohnM

Quote from: iffy on July 11, 2013, 12:52:53 AM
Warbird, thanks for the tip on the Denali Highway over to Paxson. After we left Denali park we took that route. It is about 130 mi and gravel except for the first 5 and last 20 miles. About 30-40 mph was all we could handle because of washboard, but beautiful drive. Last mile was just as pretty as the first mile. 
When my friend and I were up there we hitched a ride going the opposite way, Paxson to Cantwell.  Our ride was not as leisurely. :(  The guy was trying to get to Denali to meet his gf and her parents ASAP and if we dropped below 60mph I'd be surprised. :o  White knuckled and pale faced is NOT the way to see that area!  In hindsight I wish we had had him drop us off half way across so we could have taken in the sites.  Ended up camped in a gravel pit outside of Cantwell instead. ::) :D

Sounds like a great trip so far, it's an amazing place, no doubt!

JM
Lucas 830 w/ slabber; Kubota L3710; Wallenstein logging winch; Split-fire splitter; Stihl 036; Jonsered 2150

SwampDonkey

Quote from: sandhills on July 21, 2013, 11:42:38 PM
as rural as I grew up, Alaska is still a whole other world and I only got to see a very small part of it,

Pretty much like that when you go 300 or 400 miles north of the border, you have the north end of all the large provinces and above the prairie lands and then all the northern territories and all them Islands, many bigger than many European countries. :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

sandhills

I'm sure it is, I'd love to see that country too, I barely got into southern Canada and Alaska, still some breathtaking scenery though.

SwampDonkey

There seems to be an attraction to climb those ice mountains on Baffin Island. I suppose they take pictures of polar bears while they're at it. I think the polar bear thing is on some type of bus with tracks and maybe more near Inuit settlements on the mainland.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

iffy

OK, almost done. Hanging up in Colorado for a couple of days with family before heading back to the Kansas heat. 9,000 miles so far. Several observations:

Hospitality - Virtually everyone we met in both Canada and Alaska were very friendly and helpful. (with the exception of one border guard, but in hindsight he could have  been much worse)

Fuel - Of course fuel was much higher than in the lower 48. In Canada Diesel is cheaper than gas. We paid between $1.30 and $2.00 per liter in Canada. Alaska was $4.50 to $6.00. First time I saw a sign for "Gas Bar" in Canada I wondered aloud if it was a saloon that offered pickled eggs but turned out it was just a filling station.

Environmental awareness - I felt the level of awareness in both Canada and Alaska was much higher than the lower 48. There are recycling bins everywhere. The grocery store charged us a nickel apiece for bags, which is not much, but even that is enough incentive to stuff as much as you can in each bag. It annoys the heck out of me in the US when I go to a large grocery or department store and the bagger puts about 3 or 4 items in each bag, and would never put flashlight batteries or shaving cream in with groceries. That's why I usually go thru self check and bag them myself.

Campground Showers - Most of the Canadian and some of the Alaskan campgrounds charged for showers. Again, at first blush, it was annoying, but when you look deeper it really discourages long showers that use up resources.

Roadkill - Hardly any. I don't know if it is because there are fewer roads for the critters to get killed on or if they are smarter critters up there.

Roads - As a general rule, you are not going to cover the same amount of miles per day you would in the lower 48, as many roads suffer from frost heave, and you will run into a lot of construction and repair being done. With such a short window of time in which to make repairs, this is to be expected. Just learn to kill the engine and enjoy the scenery while you are waiting on the pilot car.

Attractions - Pay attention to signs. I don't know how many attractions that we didn't see in milepost and we would not have visited if we didn't happen to see a sign pointing to a road.

Will probably think of many more things later, but these are my observations for now.

Magicman

Reading your list brings back memories.  Fond memories. 

The "old saying" is that once you go to Alaska, you never come all of the way back home.   :)

Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

iffy

One other thing:  if I heard it once, I must have heard it a dozen times. When people saw our license plate "you're not in Kansas any more"  :D

Vance in AK

Hey Iffy.
Glad you made it home safely & sorry we didn't get to hook up!  Next time, ;)

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