Hatcher Pass (08-06-14)

We made a short overnight stop in Anchorage again on our way north.  Aside from a leisurely brunch with Tony and Marguerite, we spent a stressful day dealing with eyeglasses.  I had had a tough two days- a splitting headache that wouldn't quit, and then I dropped both my new camera and my glasses.  The camera survived fine, the glasses didn't. 

There are numerous scratches in my field of vision. I thought I was so smart, bringing Paul’s spare glasses, just in case ( he being the driver and all), but I figured the chances of my breaking my glasses was slim, so I didn't bring my spares.  Mistake! 

So, off to Costco we went.  They were awesome, but can’t get me new glasses for two weeks.  So, off to Lenscrafter, who could get me glasses in an hour, at more than twice the price of Costco, but if I want anti-reflective, which I do, its a special order and takes 10 days. Apparently anti-reflective is not available anywhere in the state of Alaska. 

Ugh.  Back to Costco. Since we don’t plan to be in Anchorage for 2 weeks, the woman offered to hold the glasses when they arrive until I tell them where to ship them.  Awesome!  Love Costco customer service!

We were now free to leave  Anchorage, and we zigged over to Hatcher Pass, a scenic road that passes by Independence Mine, a historic landmark.

This is one of those wonderful scenic drives that everyone says to make sure you drive on a clear day.  We didn't have time to wait.

Only the first few miles are paved-It soon turns into a windy dirt road that we wouldn't have wanted to tow our trailer on.

The weather actually did eventually clear somewhat and the views were pretty spectacular.  We took the guided tour of Independence mine, which does not include a trip into the actual mine itself. Independence was a mine that operated during the 1930s and 1940s. In it’s heyday, 200 workers lived and worked in this small village.

After World War II, the price of gold was controlled by the government and the extraction costs were too high to keep the mine open.  Eventually the land and buildings were sold to the state of Alaska.

I always wanted to see what gold looks like when its embedded in quartz, just so when Paul and I are hiking in gold laden areas we know what to look for!

Many of the side roads in Alaska have numerous places to pull off and spend the night. We found a good one on Hatcher Pass and had a creek side campsite all to ourselves.






While sitting around the campfire for the last few days, we've been putting together our “exit strategy” for Alaska.  Many of the campgrounds close at the end of August, when the weather here starts to change. It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over!

St. John, New Brunswick Canada! (06-25-13)

I did some research before crossing the border into Canada, and as a result, we crossed with no produce in the trailer at all-  It was tough to get a straight answer on what is allowed, so I figured it was easier to say we don’t have any. Of course I made sure I had the cat’s papers available, as well as our passports.  We have to declare all meats, so I made sure they were all in the original package, and we ate whatever wasn’t, before we entered Canada. We are only allowed to bring 2 liters of alcohol, so we had to drink that all up too. I stressed a fair amount over it all, and I am sure Paul thought I was a little nuts, but then the day we crossed, I was totally calm, because I had done everything I could to follow the rules, so if there was a problem, so be it. 
It turns out they asked us where we live (fulltime in the trailer) which led to “do you have any firearms”?  Answer: No. She was very skeptical and asked several more, related questions, such as “You fulltime RV with no weapon??”  Yup.  “Do you have a concealed weapon permit?” Nope.  After several questions about where we had lived before our retirement, and when we were last in Canada, she told us to have a nice vacation.   She didn’t even glance at the cat, or the back of the truck.

Once we were “in”, we could relax and focus on learning all things metric while we drove the 92 kilometers to St. John, New Brunswick. At least the exchange rate for the dollar is about even, so we don’t have to do math when see a price for something, unless it’s priced per fill in the blank.

Great fuel prices, eh? (just practicing my “eh”).  Not really too great when you realize it’s priced per liter and there are about 3.78 liters in a gallon.  hmmm. Almost $5 a gallon for diesel.

All of the signs are in French and English, although luckily, in this province, English seems to be the preferred language.










We got a few hundred dollars in Canadian currency while at the duty free shop at the border because they only charge $1 fee for the transaction.  My uncle told us that’s the best place to exchange money.  When we use our credit card here, we get charged a 3% fee.  I called the banks for the cards we use to let them know we’ll be in Canada for a few months.  I also called Chase, which is where we have our checking account, so we could use the debit card at the Costco, which is where we headed as soon as we checked in at the campground.  We got some of the produce we needed there, plus a few other things.  We had stocked up on canned goods and staples in Maine before crossing the border. 

I guess I wasn’t quite specific enough with Chase because when we tried to use the debit card, it was declined.  Nothing would make it work, so we paid cash.  When I called Chase again, they were confused as well, because everything seemed in order- then she read off the card number to me.  Nope, wrong number.  Apparently I activated my card, but of course, we used Paul’s and his was not “flagged” to be in Canada. 

Costco doesn’t carry liquor up here, so our next stop needed to be a liquor store.  I asked where the nearest one is and got directions.  I started to walk away, then turned back and said, “Oh yeah, what’s the name of the store”?  The poor guy looked at me like I was daft and said “Um… New Brunswick Liquor”.   I had to explain that I was fresh off the boat, so to speak and didn’t know the liquor stores are run by the province.


We sure were in for some sticker shock at NB Liquors.  Sam Adams Summer sells for $16 for a six pack, the tequila we usually buy is double the highest price we’ve ever paid, and Paul’s favorite -Smirnoff Ice- sells for $3.40 each.  Paul left me contemplating beers and went to check out the wine selection.  He returned pale and empty handed, so I didn’t ask any questions.  We did buy the Smirnoff Ice though, because in Canada it’s not a malt beverage, it’s actually made with Smirnoff Vodka so he wanted to try it- he likes it better, of course.








I’m sure there’ll be more things we’ll have to figure out as we travel around, but all in all it’s going pretty well so far. It is a strange feeling to realize that are in a foreign country, and we’ll be out of the United States for a couple of months.

Dozer is definitely ready to explore!










The Bay of Fundy:

Part of the reason we chose St. John as a first destination is because I was anxious to get my first glimpse of the Bay of Fundy.

With a peak tidal range of 50 feet in some areas, the Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world.  We got a chance to see some of that dramatic change as we drove along the coastline.

 

  Fundy Trail Parkway follows the coast and gives opportunities to  hike, bike and drive along the seashore.  The parkway starts in the small town of St. Martins and travels north.  It’s still being developed, and will eventually end in Fundy National Park.

Although it was a little hazy, I am thinking that fog may be a pretty common phenomenon, so I felt lucky that we could see as far as we could.  At one point the haze cleared enough that we could see across the bay to Nova Scotia.






Tomorrow we leave for Prince Edward Island but we’ll come back to this area to explore more before we head further west.