Ferry to Ketchikan

I boarded ferry about 2am. As I deposited my hazardous gas cans into the paint locker, I headed up to the purser's counter to get the cabin. MV Columbia, my ferry boat for this leg of the trip is older than MV Kennicott and little more luxurious. Same type of the cabin, roomette, was 100% better on Columbia vs. Kennicott. I had my own private bathroom and sink as well as clothing rack with hangers and power outlets. I went immediately to sleep. Little after noon we arrived to our first stop, Sitka. Sitka used to be the capital city of Alaska before Juneau existed and was cultural center in the Russian days.

Juneau Days

I got to Juneau on Saturday afternoon of the Memorial Day weekend. It was raining so I decided to get shopping out of the way and hope for drier weather in days to come so I can visit attractions around the town. Sunday was also rainy. I had to do something else than shopping so I looked for indoors attractions, like museums and churches. I visited Juneau Douglas City Museum and St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church. Douglas is a town on the island across from Juneau connected by the bridge. I have no idea why they even bothered making a different city, I'd just call it West Juneau. That was a short lived excursion, so I went for a drive. There are not that many roads you can take so I headed to north end. I went as far as the road can take me, unpaved as well, to the Echo Lake. This is a heaven for ATV, crossers, campers and outdoors enthusiasts. FJ Cruiser was the smallest truck in the parking lot. Every single vehicle was largest possible pickup truck you can imagine, many lifted. Reason? They carry ATVs in the bed of the pickup truck, sometimes making platforms so they can carry two at the time. Anyway, this was not a place for me, so I headed back all the way south. In the end I ended up at the coffee shop, reading book for the rest of the day. On Monday they predicted only 20% chance for precipitation, so this was my attractions day.

Mendenhall Glacier is only 5 miles north of downtown Juneau. I did my standard touring stuff. First I visited the visitor center, where I got to see 11 minute video on Mendenhall Glacier. Then I walked around the exhibition to read up on history and other interesting facts. Lastly I headed up to the photo viewpoint to snap couple of pictures. To the left of the Mendenhall Glacier is a waterfall. That waterfall at one point was depositing its water into the glacier creating caves. With the glacier retreating over the years waterfall is now visible in its entirety. You should check out the photo album for week five for pictures and more details on the glacier.
Glacier used to stretch past todays visitor center back in 1930s. I trekked to the waterfall so I can get closer look of it and the glacier. It looked like a short hike but it was almost mile and half. I know that is short as well but I was trying to convey the message that it was a deception I was faced with. Anyway, waterfall is massive up close and loud. On my trek back to the parking lot something interesting happened. Piece of the glacier broke off. You can see which piece broke off because of the blue color of the glacier. Ice formations of the glacier trap all other colors of the spectrum except for blue. As you can see fairly large piece broke off. While in the 1990 glacier retreated only about 80 feet per year, in last five it has been more like 220 feet per year. Soon this glacier will be no more :(

Alaskan Brewery Tour - Brewery is in the industrial park for the obvious reason, space. They offer narrative tour and sampling of the different beers but have no food. State law prohibits food serving where large amounts of beer are produced and Alaskan Brewery is not a micro brewery. Of all the beers they make, I liked Smoked Porter and Oatmeal Stout the best. Their ESB (Extra Special Bitter Ale), Summer Ale, IPA (India Pale Ale), Pale and Amber were also excellent. Winter Ale was not in season, imagine that :) Beer is only distributed throughout the western United States. You can find out more at their official web site. Since the brewery was between the downtown and my motel, I stopped by couple of times for free samplings.

Mt. Roberts Tram - This is a must do attraction while in Juneau. You have couple of options depending on the time of the year. You can buy round trip tickets for the tram, or you can hike up the mountain trails and purchase $5 ticket to get back down. Also, if you spend more than certain amount of money at the restaurant or in gift shops they will waive the $5 fee. However, trails were not open this early in the season, since Mt. Roberts is at above 1500 feet and Juneau well at sea level. I took round trip ticket and hiked the available portions of the trails. I also stopped by the Juneau Raptor Center, which is a volunteer organization dedicated to the conservation of birds of prey (raptors). They offer rehabilitation to the injured birds and as well as educational programs to school groups and other community organizations. Currently they were caring for bald eagle which was found shot through the wing and is blind on one eye. I also had lunch at the restaurant and got probably the best seat in the house with wonderful vistas. I could see tram, downtown Juneau, all the cruise ships, whole of Douglas and Douglas bridge.

That pretty much wraps up my Juneau stay. If it did not rain as much I would probably have hiked couple of trails. Trails are abundant and seemed challenging with mountains so close to the coast, vertical gains are big and terrain is beautiful. Early in the morning I caught ferry to Ketchikan.

Alaska Marine Highway, to Juneau

Whittier to Juneau - In the morning I tried to spend some time around Anchorage but decided to wrap it up quickly and head to Whittier. I got just in time for the tunnel crossing. Anton Anderson tunnel connects Portage with Whittier. Whittier used to be solely Naval port, but after cold war ended they closed it down and turned it into new AMHS hub. It is closer to Anchorage than Seward, so they transferred most of the traffic from Seward to Whittier. Whittier is called strangest little town in Alaska. All people that work live in one building. That's it. There are no private homes. There are few shops and restaurants, most smaller that Manhattan size studio apartments. There is also one motel, Anchor Inn. It hosts a weirdest little museum I have seen so far. It is one room filled with memorabilia from colonial voyages, WWII, Cold War era and other significant weird Alaskan history stuff. Later that night I boarded MV Kennicott ferry. I got my cabin and went to sleep. Next day we arrived in Yakutat, about midway point to Juneau. I left the ferry to walk around Yakutat, and found that there is one pub and one general store. I stopped at each for different reasons, of course. Ten minutes later I was back on the ferry. Shortly afterwards we moved on to Juneau. I got to see some Orcas, spot some kind of whale in the far far distance and other than that it rained. I spent good deal of the ferry ride reading book and drinking beer. AMHS runs special on Alaska Brewery beers, $2.50 for bottle or tap (12 glass).

Kenai Peninsula, Day 2

It was still raining when I woke up, so I decided to bundle up and head back north. I decided to stop again in Kenai, thinking I should get past Nikiski and into some state park, but half-way into Nikiski I turned back. It reminded me to much of Elizabeth, NJ or Richmond, CA, same type of deal, oil refineries and too industrial for my trip. As I was leaving Kenai, I spotted a restaurant with funky name and bunch of pickups parked up front. Ah, workers on the lunch break. Place is Little Ski-Mo's Burger-N-Brew. While lunching there on the burger n' beer, a moose-calf ran in the front lawn. It ran over the street and into the near by woods. Workers were rooting it on, "Run Forrest Run". Moose vs. car traffic 1-0. Elsewhere on the Kenai Peninsula result was not so favorable for Mr. & Mrs. Moose with total of 264 deaths since the beginning of the calendar year. After lunch I quickly zoomed through Soldotna, Sterling, Cooper Landing, past Kenai Lake, and I reach Hope, AK; the best preserved gold mining town in Alaska. With the size and all tour was quick and I moved north towards Whittier. I found out the schedule for the tunnel and went to Anchorage for the night. Yes, it is still raining. Interestingly enough I got mistaken for Alaska number of time while I was on Kenai Peninsula. I decided it might have something to do with my unkempt looks. I have not shaved in 10 days and I was looking little Alaskan with that beard (sorry excuse for the beard), baseball hat and glasses. Right then I decided also that at some point I should get rid of the beard. :))

Kenai Peninsula, Day 1

Seward looked little bit depressed to me, so I took off after a short ride around town. I pass through the village of Moose Pass. I hit the Sterling around lunch time. Here is where I applied my proven way to find decent place in town to eat. Drive around until you find the place with most cars parked in front of the place. I have applied this method many times during this trip and ... it did not fail me yet. So, I stopped and Suzie's and got Captain's Seafood Platter. Yummie!!! Remember this will work in places where you can reach all 5 corners of the place within 2 minutes of driving and principality has no more than 5 places to eat :))) I passed over Kenai River, then Russian River and got to Soldotna, then headed north to city of Kenai. I stopped by the visitor center and found out that the second oldest Russian Orthodox church is near by. I went to see it and got to chat with priest there.

After the repast, I moved south towards Homer. City of Homer in itself is nothing special, but Homer Spit is remarkable. It is the 2nd longest Spit in the world I was told by locals. After some friendly talk with a local owner of some art gallery, I was told that one place, one bar that is a must see in Homer, is of course Salty Dawg Saloon. So, I parked the FJ Cruiser and found Salty Dawg near by and went in. Nice bar, good local booze. They brew it and package it in used SoBe iced tea bottles. 20oz bottle for $8, good deal and good brew. I tried their Bitter first, then Wheat. Since the heavy rain started while I was at the Dawg I decided to bunk up at Bidarka Inn (Best Western) to upload photos and blog a little.

To Kenai Peninsula

Straight from the Salmon Bake Bar I went back to the campground and packed up the tent. I decided that I would not get much sleep and I had to be out by 11 so, I continued south on Parks Hwy towards Anchorage. I stopped at Trappers Creek to have a breakfast and load up on the coffee I needed badly. After I loaded up on the coffee, I decide that it would be fun to ride another 4x4 high clearance trail. Northwest of Trapper's Creek is road to Petersville, miners town back in the days. Road is about 28 miles long and crosses many creeks, canyons and valleys. However, I did not make it to Petersville. At about mile 22 I hit a mud patch which I did not wish to cross. I have crossed couple of mud patches already, and I had to stop for each one and walk it first to make sure I could traverse it. Since I did not install the winch there would be no way for me to pull the FJ Cruiser out if I did get stuck. And since there was nobody else on this trail, I had to turn around and head back. Oh, I so wished I spent another 2G on the winch :)

Shortly after I passed through Willow, Houston and Wasilla. I got to Anchorage in the early afternoon. I stopped by Toyota dealership but they were overbooked and could not take in next 3 days. Yeah right, like I have time to wait. So I washed the truck at the self wash. I found local Jiffy Lube and 10 minute oil change took 2 hours. Price was a bargain, twice what it costs in NYC. Welcome to Alaska! I did some quick shopping and continued towards Kenai Peninsula. As soon as I got on the highway I noticed that car was rattling at speeds over 50 mph. For some reason my wheels were out of balance. I decided to head back and got consultation from experts at Sears. After another 2 hour wait, I was ashamed by the local repairman. After the test drive he inspected the wheels and found the problem. He pulled me over and under the truck to show me. MUD and ROCKS. Apparently when I washed the FJ Cruiser I did lousy job and wash the outside of the tires only. So, I went back and did another car wash, this time, I did it proper. With wheels clean and no rattle, Kenai here I come. I decided that I could make it to Seward just before midnight. I did, day over, sleep time. Read on...

Denali National Park

DNP Day 1 - From Fairbanks I took (George) Parks Highway south towards Denali National Park. After the bumpy ride of Dalton Highway, Parks Hwy felt like Formula 1 GP track. I could even open the windows down, for there was no dust! As you leave Fairbanks, road heads straight through the mountains. First valley leads straight into Nenana. About 5 miles north of Denali NP entrance I took a Stampede Road. It heads northwest-west over the valley's north of Denali NP for a beautiful view of northern ridges. Of the 23 miles only first five were paved, rest was labeled as 4x4 vehicles with high clearance. It was a nice drive by the lakes across ridges and by the rivers.

I decided to have lunch at Rose's Cafe, small diner just before NP. There I had their infamous Grizzly Burger, 1 lbs. of beef, topped with fried egg, bacon, cheddar and swiss cheese, and large portion of French fries. They take your picture before you start eating. If you finish it all, including fries, they post picture on their web site as well as printed copy on the wall in diner.

I checked into the Riley Creek Campground (inside of Denali NP) and setup my tent for the night. After that I drove 14.8 miles into National Park. That is as far as you can get in your own vehicle. Rest of the road (unpaved) is only accessible by Shuttle and Tour buses, except for workers and rangers.

DNP Day 2 - I started the day two with Shuttle bus tour. Tolkat Shuttle bus takes you to the Tolkat River, 53.4 miles into the park. It is not a tour bus, so the driver does not have a script to narrate. However, I got lucky and got the loud mouth. Mr. Gary Borenstein has been the driver for last 14 years and worked in Park last 30+ years. He lives about 8 miles south of the Park and claims to be a walking encyclopedia on DNP. Regardless to say he talked to much. Shuttle bus stops every time some notices an animal. 6 hours ride turned out to be about 8+ hours. Eventually even Gary stopped talking and drove without stopping. It was getting late. I did not get to see much more than that I have not seen already. Dalton Highway has spoiled DNP for me. I have seen most of the wild animals already. Well except, brown bear - grizzly. And they were really far far away.

I finished of the night at Salmon Bake Bar and Restaurant. They had live music for the most of the night. Band named Denali Cooks, was formed of the former Denali area cooks, hence the name. Music was nice mixture of blues, jazz, bluegrass and classic rock. I closed the bar around 4am.

Haul Road aka Dalton Highway

More than 80% of my trip preparations of the FJ Cruiser and other equipment I brought with me was spent for this part of the trip. I had to be able to survive this 900 mile trek to the Arctic Ocean and back. This is the story I will expand upon as impression settle in.

Day 1 from Fairbanks to Coldfoot. From Fairbanks I took paved portion of Elliot Hwy to the junction with Dalton Hwy. Weather was nice, sunny day with temperature around 60F. As I entered the Dalton Hwy, I stopped to take a picture of the sign and I got approached by the local highway repairman. We talked almost for an hour. He told me his story about how he got to Alaska, why and how much he loves it up here. Then I told him my story and we continued off into classic topics such as family, kids, politics, religion and such. I am sure that it was nice for him to talk to another fellow human being after long winter :) I finally had to break off the conversation and get back to the adventure ahead. Before I took off he parted with few words of wisdom about driving on the Haul Road. Use CB radio, talk to truckers and always stop for them, that is if I wished to keep the windshield intact and dents to a minimum. As you enter Dalton Highway road turns into gravel and dirt.

After about an hour and half I arrived to Yukon Crossing. Yukon River Camp was built to support building of the Yukon river bridge in 1975. It was closed as well as the visitor center across the highway, so I kept driving. Around the crossing I overheard truckers talk about an Asian on yellow bicycle. Since I have heard truckers refer to autos as 4-wheelers, I thought they are joking and making fun of my truck. Yellow, Toyota made in Japan. Oh boy! But as I passed an Asian on mountain bicycle about 2 miles north I started laughing. I was too slow on getting the camera, so that one got away from me, like many other wonders of the north. I hit Finger Mountain after another hour of driving. Winds were very gusty at the mountain, which was bare of vegetation.

Little while later I came upon Arctic Circle. This is the point where most people turn around and head back. Here I met two guys from Kentucky on BWM crosser bikes. They had RV parked in Fairbanks and this was a day trip for them. However, they underestimated the mileages and were short on gas. Since I had 15 gallons extra I spared 2.5 gallons to each one. They wanted to pay me, but I refused, so they gave me a t-shirt. One guy was professor at Morehead State University, so the t-shirt is a classic "I (heart) Morehead". Another 60 miles of the paved road and I hit Coldfoot. I got my room, had nice dinner and then I watched some Sci-Fi Twilight Zone episodes in the lobby.

Day 2 from Coldfoot to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay). After a good hearty breakfast I got on the road. First stop, Wiseman. Oh well that was scary. I wish I was a wise man, and skipped Wiseman. Town was pretty much like most things this time of year, closed. Second stop, Atigun Pass. I almost ran over some Dall sheep, and some trucks almost ran over me. Anyway, after few snapshots I continued further north. Around Franklin Bluffs I noticed first batch of birds. There was probably about 300-400 of them gacking. I got out and took few shots. After about a mile I got to another batch. Another stop, few shots and moving on. After a while I stopped stopping to take pictures of birds. It was so many of them.

It was the same case with caribou. There were many herds that I lost interest in taking pictures unless they were in my way. Just before Deadhorse I ran into red fox. Little before sunset I strolled into Prudhoe Bay!!! Ha ha, got yah! Sun does not set here you silly folks. Temperature was 18F as I checked into the motel. Dinner was on the house. I also found out that because of the weather they had to cancel my tour. Well, that and I was the only tourist in town at this time. They were surprised I drove up. I also found out that workers here come for their 3-week-12-hour-a-day shifts from many different parts of Alaska. They are either flown in, or they drive up with truck drivers. They work 3 weeks, then they have 3 weeks off.

Day 3 from Deadhorse to Arctic Circle. Since there was nothing to do up here and Arctic ocean was closed to me, I started back down. Driving south was going a lot faster. You know how it is. First time you drive up certain road you drive more carefully. Second time you, especially if it is the day after and road is fresh in your mind, you relax more and drive faster. Plus I did not stop as much to take pictures. So I zoomed by fairly quickly, relatively speaking. I decided to pass up Coldfoot on the way back and camp at the Arctic Circle. I setup the camp, read the book till my eyes were so heavy that I could fall asleep even with lights on (read sun is up!). I was the only person at this undeveloped campground.

Day 4 from Arctic Circle to Fairbanks. I woke up to the noise in the bushes around my tent. I crawled out the tent with my 12" Yakima pipe in hand. I looked around and what did I see? Almost 10 snowshoe hares running around in all directions. I ran to the truck to grab the camera but they were faster. I still got to capture couple of good shots. I packed up the tent with bunnies hopping around, then hit the road further south. Rest of the ride back to Fairbanks was fairly uneventful. I did got stuck couple of times behind 18-wheeler which were kicking up so much dust I had to pull over and let them get ahead of me. When I got to Fairbanks I washed the truck again. It took me almost a full hour to get all the dirt off.

Fairbanks Days

This was my mini vacation from vacation. I have been driving most of the time since I left and I needed to take a break. I spent 3 days around Fairbanks, mostly doing same things people usually do on weekends: laundry, washed the rig, sleep in late, read the book, watch some TV and take short excursion trips around town. I have to explain the RIG word. Everyone here north refers to the SUV trucks, pickups and other large vehicles as rigs. I always thought that was reserved for the 18-wheelers, monster trucks and road equipment like bulldozers. I felt like FJ Cruiser might be a mini-rig, but I never corrected them :) Anyone else has better explanation for the definition of the rig?

The end of Alaska Highway

After a hearty breakfast at Fast Eddy's joint, to drove the last leg of the Alaska Highway, from Tok to Delta Junction. Delta Junction is exactly that, a junction, a crossroad. I stopped by the Milepost 1422, the end of Alaska Highway, bought some souvenirs, took some photos and headed for North Pole.

In North Pole, AK I had to stop by the Santa's House and get some gifts for my niece and nephew. It was an amazing little store, well not so little. And you have to pick up on the northern humor as well. I cannot explain it, you just have to see it. Bye bye Santa, till Christmas.

I headed past Fairbanks towards Chena River Hot Springs. I got there late, so I pitched the tent (for the first time on this trip) and fell asleep.

Alaska Highway, Day #3

Since I rolled into Whitehorse late, I decided to sleep in. I got out of hotel just before checkout time and rolled over to Java Connection. After I got properly caffeinated I checked out the visitor center, watched the movie on Yukon Territories which was total BS (they showed you 2 fabulous months of the year). I stopped by NAPA store bought some octane boosters (many gas stations only sell 87 and my darn truck likes premium). I also rearranged my gas cans, now that they are actually full of gasoline, laying down position was not an option, spillage was imminent.

Since Dawson City ferry was out of business while the ice chucks disappear I headed towards US via Beaver Creek instead. 1st stop Haines Junction, YT. Btw, if the road ever takes you this part of the world stop by the Village Bakery across from the visitor center (closed at the time). I had amazing meat pie with corn crusting, and cheese and herbs puff. I took Nanaimo Bar, Two-Tone Brownie, Cinnamon Roll and Cinnamon/Apple Puff for the road. I was about 20 miles out when I tried Nanaimo Bar and I wished I got more, it was soooooooooooooo good. Two-tone brownie was as good as Little Debbie's.

Before I knew I was in Beaver Creek, YT. I kind of expected little more for the border town, so I moved on to the US Custom's hoping other side would be better. Naye! Border City is trailer park Tuesday so I kept driving. Now, to make things clear this part of the journey from Beaver Creek on is just plain BORING. Flatlands, surrounded by water infested mosquitoes, burned out trees, for miles and miles and miles. I stopped in Tok, AK to grab some food. Fast Eddy's Restaurant looked like busiest place on the strip so I checked in. Food was regular dinner stuff which was great for this part of country!!! They had motel adjacent to it, so I grabbed to room, and hooked myself up to the internet. I calculated the time differences and decided to call into my parents and let them know I am okay.

Alaska Highway, Day #2

Night at the Northern Rockies Lodge was peaceful. I left Muncho Lake and headed north on Alaska Highway towards Liard River Hot Springs. Entrance to the springs is free this time of year, so I grabbed the towel and swim-shorts and headed for the springs. I changed quickly and hopped in. I stayed in for about 3h, until my hands were so wrinkled I thought skin would fall off. I was boiled to perfection :) Coming out was lot harder than getting in. Water temperature was between 40C-49C (104F-120F), outside was about 40F.

An hour or two later I passed through Watson Lake. It's the place with all the post signs. Amazing what one homesick soldier started. Soon after I stopped at Rancheria Lodge for a late-late lunch (7pm). I have to explain this again I guess. As you travel north, days get longer, so when you drive and you look at the sun, you go, ohh I have another 2-3 hours of daylight, then you look at the clock and it's 7pm. Well, this place was right out of the South Park. The mum, the superb Canadian son which ends every sentence with 'ehh', the cheesy food, three legged dog, ohh just to name the few. I rolled into Whitehorse as the sun was setting around 11pm.

Ohh ohh I almost forgot, just before Whitehorse there is Lucky Lake Recreational Park, I stopped to take few shots when this native Indian runs up to me and says: "Yoh man, you got some toilet paper I can buy?". The alcohol on this breath was extreme, so I decided to share some of my finest Scotts roll with him. Bugger grabbed the whole thing stuffed $5 into my hand and ran off, toward portables. Bizarre as it was I proceeded to the lake area. On my way back a Indian woman walks up to me and wants to return the roll to me, half used up. I politely declined and ran for my truck before who knows what happened next. I heard behind me, Indian-man-voice: "Yoh man, stop hitting on my woman", Indian-woman-voice: "I am not your woman, you drunk...", FJ-Cruiser-tires-voice: squickkkkkkkkk, wrooooooooooooommm.

Alaska Highway, Day #1

I started out of Fort St. John and actually headed south first, because in my driving need I skipped a place of importance. Hence I back-trekked couple of miles and visited one of many parts of Old Alaska Hwy. This little 10 mile detour took me through Kiskatinow Provincial Park and over Kiskatinow bridge. Significance? It is a last standing and used original bridge built by U.S. Army. After I crossed it couple of times just for the good measure, I continued north to Fort Nelson. Little after I passed Fort St. John landscape started to change for prairie to forests, green mile upon mile of green forest. I stopped to breathe in the fresh, dustless air many times.

Short break in Fort Nelson to fill up the tummy and I continued. Once I passed Steamboat Unincorporated (common thing here in Canada is to have unincorporated communities) road became narrow path through mountains, across the creeks and rivers. It was a good fun drive. Another side note, if I did not mention it before is about establishments being licensed. If the establishment is fully licensed it means they can serve alcohol. At first I was kind of eerie about it, until a local waitress explained it to me. Like, how can you have business if you are not licensed? Canadian, ehh! And they do say it often, ehh! Some restaurants have funky stuff where they can serve you alcohol only with food.

All the lakes along the road were still cover with ice and rivers have big chunks of ice floating down. It is a tow month. Near Summit Lake I encountered snowfall, which turned into rain as I descended into valley below. I passed by other interesting places such as Suicide Hill, Toad River and Muncho Lake. Suicide Hill got the name because so many army trucks have overturned at it that after a while they had to level it off. I spent the night at the wonderful Northern Rockies Lodge at Muncho Lake. They had the husky dog sitting outside named Muncho after the lake :)

This portion of the road was where I finally started seeing numerous wild life they have been talking about. I crossed the road with mama black bear with her two subs, spotted moose, caribou, stone sheep, deer and numerous birds. It also took me some time to get used to the quietness of the place. Hearing the river pass by, with birds chirping and nothing else. I would probably pass by another car every 20 minutes or so.

To Alaska Highway

Finally! I have reached Mile 0 today. Just around 3pm I arrived in Dawson Creek, BC. I stopped by the visitor center and got to see the movie on making of the Alaskan Highway. I also got to procure valuable information on what to do and see along the way. This information should compliment my existing guides and Milepost publication.

Road to Dawson Creek took some time, since I decided to take an alternative route. After about 50 miles on Hwy 40, I swerved off the road to Hwy 734, unpaved-truck-logging-dirt-road. I wanted to test out the truck and my skills in driving. I was lucky since the day was warm and ground, well in prime condition. Road was just finishing with drying after all the rains, so dust was not an issue except on couple of spots. I also got to hit couple of muddy parts, but nothing heavy duty. Only one logging truck passed by me in the opposite direction. I ran into bunch of pickup trucks as I got closer to Grande Prairie, with ATVs loaded up in the bed. I guess off-roading is huge up here. Once I got back onto Hwy 40, I check the tires and under body. Looks muddy but okay. Rest of the trip was under heavy gusty winds, blowing in my chest so I had to fight for the control of the vehicle couple of times.

Since it was still light out, I decided to move on to Fort St. John about 45 min. north. Along the way I picked up another hour and am officially in Pacific time zone. Super 8 I am staying tonight is out of this world. This is like a mansion, unlike Super 8-s in US. Anyway, another hard-wire connection and hence I am blogging again.

Cinco de Mayo

Ole! It finally stopped raining. I spent the night in Calgary as you know. In the morning I visited local Nikkon Fast Lube to change the oil in FJ Cruiser. Right next to it was Starbucks so I grabbed a latte while oil was changed. I filled up on gasoline and took off for Canadian Rockies. I stopped by little cute town Canmore and continued off to Banff. In Banff I had lunch in the Irish place where waitress tried to jiff me for $5 change. There goes her tip!

Ride from Banff to Jasper was simply spectacular. Number of peeks, valleys, canyons, glaciers, elks, birds, lakes and rivers I have seen, wow. In 150 mile drive from Banff to Jasper I stopped probably about 40 times, which made my trip longer than I expected. Even with all the stops, when I pulled into Jasper, I had another 2h of daylight so I decided to continue to Hinton, which was another hour north towards Dawson Creek. Here I am reporting at the end of week one. It went by really quickly.

I am also releasing Google Map for week 1. This map might have some items out of order but I am sure you will get the general feeling for the progress I have made in the first week of travels.

Two rainy days

Thursday and Friday were just brutal weather wise. It all started out with rain in Missoula, MT. I turned on CB radio and forecast called for 2-4" of snow in the mountains heading north to Kalispell, MT. Ride was good and FJ Cruiser handled well over the mountains. I had coffee break in Kalispell and moved on towards West Glacier. Again, my timing was off, since road through the Glacier NP is closed until mid-June. Yey!!! So, I drove around the park, and on the Shelby, MT. This part of Montana is washed with heavy gusty winds.

Next morning, while still raining, I crossed into Canada. Alberta here I come. And, it was just like Montana, except flatter, with gustier winds, lower speed limits, more expensive gas and well that Canadian feeling to it :) I reached DPP (Dinosaur Provincial Park) and pleasantly surprised I was not the only person there. Two rednecks from Montana were just as surprised to see City Slicker. Nice thing is that I was able to drive inside of the park. It reminded me of the South Dakota Badlands (DPP is part of Canadian Badlands), except it looked a little different with all the rain, I don't know how else to explain it. It looked like it was eroding right in front my eyes. Another thing I noticed about Alberta is abundant wild life.

Drumheller was short ride north. This is the place hosting largest Dinosaur. You can actually climb inside of it to a platform within the mouth of the Rex and look outside. I got there too late (story of my early trip, early-late-late-early, timing I have to work on), so I snapped picture and drove off into the sunset, towards Calgary. Before you go off into the sunset, check out that photo. FJ can fit into one T-Rex's foot, and it is not the optical illusion, I measured it.

I finished off the night with dinner at Big T's Smokehouse.

Yellowstone... ... ... Not!

In the morning as I headed out towards Yellowstone, from Cody, I noticed shiny sign, East entrance to Yellowstone opens 5/4 call # for further information. So, I called and true enough, road opens in two days. So, I decided to skip Yellowstone and head to Belgrade, MT via some scenic roads. I found Chief Joseph Scenic Byway which would probably offer some nice views. As I took turn onto Byway, another sign popped into view. Oh yeah, Route 212 from the end of Chief Joseph Scenic Byway towards Red Lodge is closed. Along the way to Red Lodge with different route I encountered another two road closures, through which I had to take some good old country roads as detour.

It was midmorning by now and I did not eat breakfast, and along the road came Bearcreek. Little miner's town mostly deserted. Along the road towards Bearcreek I saw signed posted for "World Famous Banana Cream Pie", so I decided to end my hunger with some pie. I entered Hungry Bear Bakery, and met with very nice Midwestern lady. She served with the pie and some coffee. As I ate we started up the conversation (my accent was the kick-off point), and I came to learn that her husband's family came to Montana in late 1880-ties from Montenegro. Last name Kotaric, quickly got turned into simpler version Kotar. She explained to me that in late 1940-ties Bearcreek was booming with over 5,000 residents as mining town. Since then is twiddled down to mere 200+. I was kind of hungry so I had another piece, this time I had coconut cream pie. With pies gone, it was time for me to get back on the road. I said farewell to Dawna Kotar and Bearcreek, MT.

Red Lodge was not what I expected and I was filled up on the good homemade pies, so I continued on to Belgrade via I-90. In Belgrade, I visited the Yellowstone - Harley Davidson store and bought some souvenirs, again (I visited this store first time in 2003, on my way to Chicago, from San Francisco). While, buying some parts at Napa store, I asked clerk for lunch suggestion. He asked for direction I was headed into, and suggested place called Sir Scott’s Oasis Steakhouse and Lounge in Manhattan, MT, 9 miles west of Belgrade. If the road ever takes you this part of the country, stop by the place. Food I had was great. Can anyone guess what Finger Steaks are? After lunch I headed west to Missoula, where I am writing you from. Tomorrow, I am headed towards Glacier National Park, MT.

Mt. Rushmore vs. Crazy Horse

From Rapid City I headed south towards Mt. Rushmore. Since I was up little early, breakfast in Keystone, SD sounded like a good idea. Little after 9am I entered Gatzon Borglum Museum in Keystone. I was glad I did. The mp3 guided tour through the museum was enlightening. Like everything else in life, even decisions of which presidents were to be included were political. Gee I think I am onto something here. Ha, ha! After the short ride I parked and entered Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It was amazing sight. I even got a shot of goat.

Next stop was Crazy Horse Memorial, a memorial to all Native American Indian Tribes. When the memorial is finished it will be grand. Whole Mt. Rushmore will be able to fit within the head of the Crazy Horse’s head. Crazy Horse was infamous War Chief. The memorial is solely funded by private parties, ticket and souvenir sales and the Elders have repeatedly refused Federal funding.

I had lunch at Iron Horse Inn in Deadwood. Anyone watching HBO series? I got to see the movie in the chamber of commerce and they made a point that real Deadwood was not as vulgar. Yeah, right! I also stopped by Kevin Costner's place "The Midnight Star", if anyone cares.

Driving down Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway coming from Deadwood/Lead area is easy and relaxing since it is all down the canyon. From Spearfish I took I-90 to Buffalo, WY, and then scenic Route 16 to Cody, WY. Powder River Pass on Route 16 is at 9666 feet. Still some snow-dirt patches left.

Badlands, SD

This afternoon I arrived at the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. After I paid $15 entrance fee (good for 7 days, go figure, who is going to hang around for 7 days, unless you are camping I guess?), I entered the park. I was not sure what to expect, I've heard about Badlands, SD, but I was not prepared for it. It seems today was one of the windier days in the spring. Road through the park, Route 240 or Badlands Loop Road, takes you along the edge of the Wall (60 miles long across), many times going through passes between Lower and Upper plates. For more details see Badlands National Park - NPS site.

I have taken many pictures, I am attaching only few here, rest I am adding to the PicasaWeb album.

Looks like a dog?	Map of Badlands
Aidan's guy working on the rocks	FJ against backdrop of Badlands

Again, I was surprised by the natural beauty, different rock formations, colors, birds and trees.

Day in Chicago

I got to spend some time with my old friends, Nik and Vesna and their dog Max. They are not old per say, I just know them for very long time. Nik I know since high-school. Like always walking Max has become a routine for us. Today, Nik and I took Max to Michigan Lake shore. Weather was in the high 80-ties and clear. Probably one of the best days Chicago will see whole year-round. We took many pictures of Max, I am attaching one to this post. Nik will send me shots from his camera, right Nik!

While waiting for Burek, traditional Balkan cheese and meat pies, we walked around the neighborhood and I am attaching a picture we took from one of the establishments around the corner. Goes without saying we did not make any inquiries at the joint :)

Well, it is almost 4pm and it is time for me to hit the road. Thank you Nik and Vesna for yet another wonderful day in Chicago.

On the road to Chicago

From start to finish, 824.2 miles. I made 4 stops, to fill up on the gasoline, some food and other things you do when you stop while traveling ;-) Each stop was about 15-20 minutes long, or short. All in all it was an interesting drive. East coast is densely populated and it shows on the roads.

Here is the list of some interesting things I have seen, or that happened on the road to Chicago:
- I hit 14 construction sites on route 80. One on entrance to Ohio Turnpike was parking lot for about 30 minutes. Dead stop. It gave me chance to turn on my CB radio and listen in to the truckers talk about what is the problem. They also mentioned four-wheelers many times, and never in a nice way :( It turned out that 3 trucks blocked off lanes across to prevent four-wheelers from squeezing through.
- I noticed only 15 roadkills which is remarkable for such a dense traffic.
- 9 highway patrolmen spotted, with 4 cars pulled over. At one point I spotted 3 HPs together. Apparently, one broke down and other two were protecting it.
- My dad called to wish me safe trip. Nice, very nice.
- Interesting truck pulling other 3 trucks, see picture attached.

My cousins, Aidan and Katarina gave me before I left, a toy each to take along with me on the road. Aidan, gave me one of his "guys" and Katarina gave me a little red-head doll. You will see them many times during this trip. Let me know if you have any funny suggestions on taking pictures with them, and keep it clean, kids will be reading and watching this :)

As you can see I am keeping track of cops, pull-overs, roadkills and construction sites. What else could I track during this trip? By the way, mosquitoes and any other kind of insect hitting my windshield counting, is right out.

Ready to go

Today I moved all my stuff that I am not taking with me to the storage room. Truck is loaded and there are only few more things I will take with me in the morning before I head out. My first stop is Chicago, IL and fabulous home of Vesna, Nik and Max.

Moving from FJMojo to Arcticathon

Some of you have been keeping eye on me at fjmojo blogspot, but in order to better represent this trip I moved completely into new google account especially created for this trip(s). I am in the process of moving stuff over including calendar, documents, blogs, photos and emails. So please be patient.

Still yours,

FJ Mojo

Farewell Drinks

Today I will be saying goodbye to my soon to be ex-co-workers. At 16:59 we are heading to the local bar Snaffu for couple of rounds of drinks and maybe we'll get to shoot some pool. With only four days left before I hit the road, it's hard to accommodate all friends in one outing. Tonight is the co-worker night. I have to tell you having drinks couple of nights in a row can be exhausting. I am not conditioned for it :)

And on the sixth day...

Not every day of preparations is spent on preparing car, maps, travel routes, packing and all that good stuff. Some days it all about worms. Yep, worms! I am sure that we all have fond memories of digging for worms. Katarina actually has pet worms, which had babies, and the result is well, as you can see in the pictures attached...
With so much mess, dirt and mush how can the day go wrong. Kids will be kids. Remember, we used to be too! Kid == freedom, to be silly, and we used to get away with it, too. Aidan proudly watches his sister, show off her prize-winning worms.

Mojo, FJ Mojo is (down to) 007

Ladies and Gents,

The official countdown has started. There are only seven days left before the trip. Today was another productive day. With dedicated help of my brother Milan, I installed locking mechanism, axe/shovel carrier and spare tire carrier for Yakima Mega-Warrior basket. We mounted 2nd spare tire and I tied down 3x5 gallon Scepter Gas Cans as well as medium size shovel. Only things left to install are Hi-Lift jack carrier (next week when the jack arrives), Thule Escape II cargo box (sorry Yakima, but your local selection of cargo bags was non-existent) when I start packing and Cobra CB radio with antenna.

Later on in the afternoon I test drove the load to the local hardware store to grab some locks and lockable chains. Once I had everything securely locked down I took the FJ Cruiser for a spin on the highway to make sure I don't have any flying objects in my tracks. At 70 mph car felt comfortable and noise level none different.

And I finally got to publish online version of what I came to call Arcticathon Inventory 2007, partial list of items I will take with me on this trip.

CB Radio is coming

Finally!! I have a CB radio on the way. WalcottCB has really nice combo (BIGBILLCOMBO) with installation instructions. They were out of Bandi mount for some time, and today finally they got it back into stock. The order should arrive around April 23rd, so I am hoping to have some pictures posted next week about the installation and end result. I am so excited!!! Woo hoo!

Preparations Continue

It's all about preparation (not -H, unless you need it). FJ Cruiser comes pretty much ready for expeditions and driving off-road, if you are not going far, for those short weekend runs. If you are planning anything little more extensive, well you have to modify and prepare the truck.

I probably ran through 15-20 different scenarios on how far should I take modifications of the stock FJ Cruiser and I decided that since this mission will be more of exploratory than climbing rocks, I don't need heavy duty mods just yet. So, I settled for brand new tires Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo P265/70R17, set of 4 (see image above). In order to have 2 full spare tires, I bought steel 17" wheel from Toyota and I mounted one of the original tires on it, other 3 I stored.

Now, anyone driving FJ Cruiser has to complain about how small the tank is, since on average I can get about 220-280 miles per tank without draining it. That is all fine and dandy as I said for short trips when your next gas station is 40 miles away. How do you prepare for distances where your next gas station is 240 miles? In order to make sure I can cover 480 miles (round trip between Coldfoot, AK and Deadhorse, AK aka Prudhoe Bay, AK) I needed to get my hands on couple of Scepter MFC CARB-compliant Jerry style gas cans. And how do I carry all this? Well, since my truck came with roof rack (the first FJ Cruisers were loaded with option packages) I tried to stick with it, and I bought Yakima Mega-Warrior. I found out that I can fit tire and 3 gas cans comfortably (see image to the left and little above).


With some help (thanks Milan and Aidan) I was able to mount Yakima Mega-Warrior onto the front part of the factory roof rack. I had to move crossbars a little back to fit it, but I think it worked out okay in the end. It does look little bulky, hey factory roof is already taller than on most vehicles but when I tried it out on highway, there was practically no noise increase at 70 mph. Here you can see the end result, with Aidan in the shot.

Over all it was a fine Saturday afternoon to do some upgrades on the truck. There are only 10 more days before I leave for the expedition across Northwestern parts of United States and Canada and couple of more modification have to happen. I am expecting locking mechanism for the Mega-Warrior, spare tire carrier, Hi-Lift Jack carrier, shovel carrier as well as new set of snow chains. I am leaving you for now with few more shots of the last weekend preparations.