Alaska Summer

We left home June 17 and traveled to Sanilac County Park at Forester, Michigan for the Fulton, Hobbs annual reunion, Jeannette’s family.  After enjoying the company of about 27 first cousins and their kids and grandkids, we left Monday, June 19 and headed west.  Our first stop was an impromptu stop at Amana Colonies RV park in Iowa.  That left us about two hours out of Des Moines where we met our grandson, Zack, for lunch.  He is interning with John Deere there this summer.  From there we headed west to the Missouri river and then north to Fargo, ND where we overnighted in a WalMart/Sams parking lot.  Lots of good looking corn and beans in our Great Plains.  From Fargo, we turned west and headed for Fort Peck Dam in Montana.  We deviated from the planned route and visited the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP in North Dakota and then to Fort Union Trading Post on the state line and on the Missouri River, just upriver from the confluence of th...

With June 1 tomorrow, the time is winding down to get everything in order for our trip.  The camper is ready mechanically so just need to load it for the trip and hitch up.  The truck will get a final service Friday before the trip but is ready to go.  The tubs for the truck bed are pretty well ready except for some of the heavier clothes that will be put in them as well as the boots and extra shoes.  We have procured some repair parts for the camper and truck just in case. We have our Canada Parks Pass and the Alaska State Parks pass sticker on the windshield.  Passports are in items to load.  Reservations are made at Waterton-Lakes, Alberta and Denali, Riley Creek CG.  Other places are mostly first come choices so we just have to be flexible enough to move on to the next park or find a boondocking spot, Walmart, Pilot, Flying J, etc.  Being pretty well self contained, we have that option and will plan on those choices in several instances. Hav...

Spring has arrived and plans are in place for our driving trip to Alaska.  Several things left to do, but camper mods have been made and itinerary is in place, tho open to change. Changes we have made to the camper include, putting on a 2 1/2 inch lift kit so tires are not rubbing on the wheel wells on rough roads, repair of the holding tank drain that was broken out with a blowout last fall, install of a solar panel for charging the batteries for long term boondocking and upgrade of the tow vehicle to a Ford F150.  This last change also expands storage room.   As the time to hitch up grows closer, there will be times when we will wonder if we will be ready.  But the day will come to leave and we will ready to hit the road.  Start date is June 17, after grandson Colby's graduation and the 50th reunion of Jeannette's nursing school graduation.  First stop will be at Sanilac County Campground near Forester, MI for Jeannette's family reunion weekend.  The...