We're back in Haines Junction now and the trailer was just fine parked here for the past week. Gerry took the jeep out because he needed to re-arrange the stuff on the shelf in the trailer. The harsh roads to get here did some re-arranging he didn't like. This also gave Gerry a chance to put some Lucas oil additive in, trying to help the oil pressure which is still low. It seemed to work, but time will tell. He also changed the starter, but is concerned about the fly-wheel needing to be replaced. Back to my laundry.

In the morning, we headed out, thinking we would go the glacier visitor center and then hit the tram to get above town. When we saw the hordes of people at the visitor center, we braved it anyways and took the dogs to a couple overlooks. There were at least 10 busloads of people and we decided that on this clear sunny day, the crowds at the tram would be unbearable. A change of plans took us north out of town towards the wilderness. We had a delightful day with bears, eagles, seals, gulls, salmon, and small birds along the coast north of Juneau.

We settled into a campground where we're the only guests and are nestling up to a great fire after a walk and homemade burgers on hard rolls for dinner. The dogs like it here. There are lots of big trees and rotten stumps to dig around. Bernie is starting to explore more and there is plenty for them to reach on their 20 foot ropes. Once it gets cooler they'll come curl up in their beds. Each of them had a chair by the fire with their beds from the truck in it. They sleep in blankets at night and their beds go back in the truck before we go to bed.

We awoke to sun-showers this morning and it looks to be a beautiful day for a boat ride. The ferry is starting to load and it looks like we will get on today. We are due to return in only 2 days, so we are going to change out tickets to a later return after we arrive in Juneau. I am glad the clouds lifted for our trip, so we can see the gorgeous scenery.

We're going to try to have a good day despite the anger we feel. I am angry not for missing the ferry, but for the way we were treated when the error was realized. Since no one would listen to our suggestions to keep this from happening to someone else, we decided to write a letter to those in charge of the ferry system. We used the computers at the public library to get their contact information, type the letter, and send the emails. I hope it helps the "system". Now to enjoy the rest of our day the best we can.

We don't have ferry tickets or reservations yet, but we are still hoping to get on one tomorrow. If not, we may have to wait a while. Hopefully there won't be any problems. Gerry is trying to call the 800 number now, but can't get through.

Breakfast was so good that I had to pick more blueberries before we left. Gerry did the dishes and packed up while I took Honey blueberry gathering. I am going to freeze these ones so we can have more blueberry pancakes down the road. The berries are at their peak here, so we should be able to find more as we head south. We will be in Canada today and head towards Haines tomorrow. I looked at the ferry schedule and am going to call today for prices and reservations.

It's raining steadily today, making it a good day for driving. Our tires are real good in the rain, the only disturbance is the rough road with frost heaves. The holes are all patched, but the heaves can really set the truck to bouncing along and I feel like I'm trapped inside a basketball at a Harlem Globe-Trotters exhibition. Okay, not quite that wild, but very difficult to write in. I hope I can read this later to type it into the computer. Well, back to staring out the window.

Gerry cooked dinner in our camp oven over the fire. the oven is collapsable Coleman metal to go on the stove, or in this cae the fire. Gerry made pork chops, baked potato, and brussel sprouts. It was very good with a glass of Wente chardonay. We walked around the lake and explored the river before heading back to chat by the fire. Bernie and Honey did really well today and they played a little in the tall grass. Tomorrow we head to Valdez.

Our campsite was peaceful and wooded next to the Little Nelchina River at a state recreation area. There was no sign off the highway and this no-fee area had no water and a pit toilet. It was perfect for us and I took the dogs for a few walks around the campground while Gerry worked on the trailer wiring. Bernie is just getting used to walking on a leash and did back flips a couple of times trying to get the monkey off his back. Eventually he followed along out front. Gerry finished his wiring and we stoked the campfire before the four of us headed out for a walk. We went through the campground and up a steep hill overlooking gorgeous mountains and valleys. The sun had set behind the mountain and the sky was turning pink. We walked into the woods to find blueberries galore. Honey loves blueberries and soon learned to pick her own while Gerry and I gathered some for breakfast. Honey was so cute, grabbing the blueberries with her tongue and gulping them down. Bernie kept watching her and trying to imitate her, but he didn't get the blueberry thing and just bit at the leaves. We kept a sharp eye out for bears and fortunately didn't see any. We hiked back to camp as it was getting dark and sat by the fire, Gerry and I each with a dog on our laps. The night went well and the dogs slept most of the night. Gerry took them out at 1am and they both went potty before heading back to their beds. Neither made a peep the rest of the night. The blueberries were delicious on our cereal and we hit the road after a walk around the campground.

Good news. Gerry's pills came by fed-ex today. It's only a 30-day supply, though, so it looks like we'll get to have this fun again in a couple of weeks. Can't wait.

We hope to leave to continue our journey soon. The jeep is loaded in the trailer and we have the next leg of our trip planned out. We are playing the waiting game for a package. Gerry has been trying to get prescriptions from his on-line pharmacy since we got to Alaska two months ago. The first batch of pills we had sent to general delivery at the air force base near Fairbanks. This order was placed when we first arrived and the shipment was confirmed before we headed up north to Deadhorse. When we returned, there wasn't a package waiting, so Gerry called and indeed it had been shipped via the postal service. We have heard the postal service can be extremely slow, so we took the phone number for general delivery at the base and headed south to Wasilla, assuming we would have the package forwarded to us once it arrived. The package didn't come, so Gerry had another one sent to our friend's house in Wasilla, care of the friend. Again this was sent via postal service. In the meantime, a fellow called from North Pole, Alaska (near the air force base) and said he had Gerry's pills. He volunteered to send them to Gerry here in Wasilla. We waited a week and neither package had arrived. Given the slow mail here in Alaska, we were not overly concerned (just frustrated) and headed down to the Kenai peninsula for a week, assuming one or both packages would arrive while we were gone. We arrived back in Wasilla to find that no pills had arrived. Gerry then called the on-line pharmacy again and lo-and-behold, the last package was shipped back to them. This has us baffled and we can only surmise that the "in-care-of" instructions were either not followed on the package address, or the post office ignored it. Alas, now it is Wednesday and we have a tracking number for a fed-ex package that should arrive tomorrow. We've decided that it may be easier to use a pharmacy like Walmart or Safeway, as they tend to be around the country. Normally the on-line pharmacy is easier because new pills just arrive as needed and there is no waiting in line at the store. And I have heard negative reports on Walmart pharmacy service with long lines, poor estimates on time to fulfill orders, and lots of sick people crowding around waiting. I would just as soon avoid that, so if this fed-ex package really arrives tomorrow, we'll give this on-line pharmacy another shot.

If our package does arrive tomorrow, then we'll head out through Palmer on the Glenn Highway towards Valdez. I plan to stop along the highway at a small campground the first night and then head down the Richardson Highway the following day. There is a town of McCarthy on a side-spur that we plan to go to. We'll take the whole trailer and rig down to a campground part way to McCarthy where we'll make a base camp and then go jeeping from there. Then we'll camp again on the way to Valdez and make the trip into town without the trailer. We might get some berry picking in along the way. We hope to be on our way Friday morning.

Honey played with a bunch of chihuahuas today. Cammy, who helps with the horses during the week, had about ten of them over here and Honey had a lot of fun. She had a hard time getting them to play with her, though. Probably because of all the growling and barring of teeth she's done with them in the past. She wanted them to chase her around the yard. They did a little bit and then I got Honey's ball out so she could have something to chase. One of the boy dogs was really funny with Honey today. He is usually very stand-offish and wants to be with his owner all the time. Today he came over to Honey when she was by the camper and started playing with her and sniffing her. It didn't last very long, but Honey seemed to like him. I am very happy to see her starting to be more social with other dogs.

We left the base today and headed back to Wasilla. Gary and Gerry are working under the jeep to get the main bearings in. Gary picked up a jeep the other day to use for parts for another jeep he's putting together. He wanted it for the engine, which is the same buick 225 engine Gerry has in his jeep. He's giving Gerry the tire & gas can rack off the back because Gerry thinks it will work the his jeep. We've been wanting a rack to keep the gas cans and spare tire. Currently we run without a spare tire and a gas can resides inside the jeep.

We plan to stay here a day or two before heading out to the southeastern part of Alaska. On our agenda major stopping points are: Valdez, Skagway, and Juneau. After that we'll head down through Canada, Washington, Oregon, and California.

When we were at the RV store, Gerry and I decided to look around at a couple of the toy-box trailers in the large fenced in yard. Honey didn't want to go inside, so I let her off the leash, assuming she was safe inside the fence. Well, she immediately caught scent of a rabbit and soon thereafter caught sight of it. The rabbit led her all over the yard and up against the far edge in the trees. Her occasional barks of frustration led us to her ever-changing location. It would have taken Honey a while to find the holes in the fence, but the bunny knew exactly where they were and led Honey right through the fence, across the street, and into another yard. She paid no attention to our calls. I ran out the main gate and around the yard to the other yard where a couple of guys were working. To Honey's surprise, there was a whole bunch of bunnies running around this yard. These yards must have been about a half acre each and there were about 30 rabbits in this second yard. They darted every which way out from under piles of wood, between rows of trailers, and around vast i-beams of steel. Honey was momentarily confused by the massive selection of prey, so I cornered her while she was in her daze. She ran a couple feet away, but when I barked "no", she crouched down and reluctantly let me catch her. She was panting heavily and eagerly scanning the yard for rabbits, barking each time she saw one. I took my prize firmly under my arm and headed back toward the RV lot when Gerry drove up in the truck and ushered us away from bunny-haven.

We moved campsites this afternoon after our walk. Our campsite was great last night, but when the people on the end left, we jumped at the chance for a more remote spot. The three sites next to us are empty and there are only two campers further down. Very lovely and peaceful and free. We burned a lot of our wood last night, but I found more at the abandoned sites. This new site had a hot firepit, so Gerry started a fire, even though it is only mid-afternoon. The crackling of the fire behind us as we face the lake and sun is comforting and I don't worry about a creature sneaking up on us. The only things that could make this spot better would be for us to have a boat and fishing license. It would be fun to explore around the lake and maybe get some excersize with a canoe or kayak.

The people before us must have spit gum out on the ground because Gerry just stepped in it with his bare foot and it's gooey all over. He went to the camper to get butter to take it off. Honey is laying in the shade behind my chair with an ear out for any critters that might need chasing.

I wonder what it is like for the rodents in the fire. Do the squirrels run away or hide in the holes in the ground? The young critters most likely perish, as they cannot flee on their own. The birds could just fly away, but would they leave their nest and young in time to escape unharmed? Large mammals like bears, deer, moose, wolves, and wolverines should have better chances of escaping, given their mobility. Even if they get trapped by the flames, they may be able to swim away in the lake. It would be interesting to chat with a smoke jumper who fights the wilderness fires on the ground, or perhaps a helicopter drop pilot who may see the behavior of animals and birds from the air. Some ash floated ashore from the lake, but I doubt it is enough to do any harm to the fish. It would take a real thick layers, like volcanic ash, to disturb the fish.

I am getting hot in the sun and will try a quick dip in the frigid lake. We washed up in the water yesterday and it is quite cold. The sign at the boat ramp warns of cold water. Along the shore it doesn't seem that cold, but cold enough to keep swimmers at bay. If I had a float, I would try drifting around on the water for a while.

We left camp around 11am and drove down to Homer. We plan to camp out here for 2-3 nights before heading back to Anchorage and Wasilla. The skies are clear and there is a steady breeze off the water.

We came out in Whittier to a low-cloud, misty morning on the Prince William Sound. There is a cruise ship in the port here and many fishing boars either in the water or on trailers on the land. There was a hiking trail marked on the map, but the road into it was closed for construction, so we elected not to go. Instead, we went to a little walk along the river by the campground. We are going to eat lunch and then head back out on the noon tunnel openning.