Travels with Magpie

 

With  a significant degree of sadness we traded in Smalls and Gigi for more indoor space and towing ability.  Did I cry when we dropped Gigi off?  No I did not.  Did I cry when we went back to pick up Maggie (aka Magpie) and I saw Gigi on the lot of Pontiac RV.  Yes, yes I did.  I loved travelling in that little teardrop..,and teardrops she brought as we said goodbye.

We decided to revisit the Shawnee National Forest with our new digs this week.  The weather was not perfect for camping but we hiked in misty conditions two days.  Heron Pond has a fascinating cypress swamp

Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge’s Grassy Creek hike was sheltered by trees so we stayed dry

But by far the best day of the week was today.  Sunny.  Upper 50s.  And we made it to Garden of the Goddess…er..of the Gods to walk the Observation Trail and a bit of the Wilderness Trail

It’s likely we won’t camp in Maggie again until 

next spring.  But next summer we have a big adventure planned for Got Bliss!

Will the Circle Be Unbroken

 

Today it is exactly 7 weeks from the day we left on this trip.  We ended today pulling into the same campsite at the same Minnesota State Park where we started (site 1E at Myre-Big Island).  

Other than this we repeated very little on our trip.  Our route only duplicated a small bit of the Al-Can highway between Tok and Watson Lake.  Even on that route we stayed in different campgrounds on our way up and back

But it feels like time to close the circle as we head home  tomorrow.   By and by all good things come to an end.  Until our next trip Got Bliss bids everyone who followed along a sweet farewell and see you down the road!

3 Day Vacation from our Fabulous Vacation!

 After leaving Washington State we headed to Coeur d’Alene Idaho to visit a friend I hadn’t seen in years and her wife.  

We had a wonderful time with them. We ate very well, drank good wine, took a nice hike, and spent a day on the lake in their boat

We left this morning promising to get together sooner this time.  We drove to a private campground in Montana where we definitely feel we’ve “come down” in the world

Tomorrow it’s on to South Dakota as we make our way home 

Worried I Would See A Grizzly. Then Worried I Would Not

 Spoiler alert:  I did not.

After leaving Stewart/Hyder where we saw a black bear (again) we decided to spend one night at Meziadin Lake Provincial Park where we read they don’t even allow tents due to so many grizzlies in the area.  We heard from another camper he had just been there 3 days and saw some every day.  The rangers told us definitely grizzlies in the park in recent days  

We walked down to the lake 3 times and drove down before leaving the park.  Not. A. Bear. In. Sight.

On then to Beaumont Provincial Park for a night where we snacked on wild saskatoons (serviceberries!) which were delicious

After that we travelled down the road to Green Lake Provincial Park we saw a large group of loons (known as as an asylum, cry, loomery, raft or water dance.).  They were diving and calling to their loony hearts’ content!

Today we crossed back into the US (welcome back our agent said!) and are camping in a gravel lot at a golf course.  Free showers and a decent restaurant.  Not a bad re-entry experience!

Just Another Day in Paradise

 

After boondocking two nights we took a side trip to Stewart British Columbia.  That short drive had the most amazing scenery of our trip.  I don’t have any pictures that can do it justice.  I’ll just say it overwhelmed the part of my brain where beautiful images are stored and a little leaked out of my eyes

Here we are in a private campground surrounded by mountains.  Our Boondocking friends are here too.  And we have run into our bicycling friends again too while we were driving to Salmon Glacier

Salmon Glacier is the largest glacier accessible by road in North America!

But I’ve gotten ahead of myself!!   To get to Salmon Glacier you must first cross the border back into Alaska!

In Hyder, Alaska you can buy gifts and fudge at the Boundary Gallery, eat excellent fish and chips if you are willing to wait an hour for your food to be prepared (worth the wait!), walk along a boardwalk over Fish Creek to see the salmon swimming upstream (and if you are lucky see a bear in the stream from a safe spot.)

So I got to visit Alaska again after all!  But at the end of the day we headed back to our fabulous Bear River campground in Stewart BC. 

In Stewart you can walk on a boardwalk in an estuary, eat the best Mexican food ever (right??) and try to get the owner to give you a tour of his private Toaster Museum. (We didn’t find him to ask…yet)

Are there any more surprises in store for Got Bliss?  Stay tuned to this station to find out for certain 

Oh wait!!  There IS more.  The Boondocking and bicycling club got together for one last meal tonight!   

Down in the Boondocks

We left Alaska and spent 2 nights enjoying the Yukon’s provincial parks.  Both Congden Creek and Teslin Lake parks were beautiful, well maintained, and they offered free firewood.  (You just have to split it yourself or get someone to do it for you!)

We had campfires both nights after being unable have them in Alaska due to the burn ban.  

I

We then headed south into Beautiful British Columbia along the Cassiar Highway.  The scenery there is stunning to say the least.

  

Our first night on the Cassiar we could not get a camping site at the park where we had hoped to stay.  First time all trip we had that issue. Fortunately we pulled off into a turnout at the side of the road where we were introduced to Boondocking by a lovely couple from Colorado.  Boondocking is fun—you pull over on gravel turnout on the side of the road and spend the night    But first happy hour and snacks. Our new friends have a huge RV home on wheels.  We have a bed on wheels so yours truly was peeing in the bushes while our friends were showered and coiffed and creating fabulous snack trays.  But then we had so much fun we met up down the road to do it again the next night.  This time we were joined by a young couple from Switzerland who are biking from Anchorage to Mexico and camping along the way.  We

had a great time together!

To be continued…with a little twist at the end!!

Do I REALLY Have to Leave Alaska??

 Tomorrow we begin our return trip.  I am feeling sad about that.  It’s been amazing on ALL the levels.   

Our last full day in Alaska we hiked a 2.6 mile hike up and back down to the Tok River Outlook at Eagle Trail State Recreation Area 

View from the top!

Me happy I made it!!

Me sad we’re leaving tomorrow.  We have other great places to visit on our way home but I do love Alaska even more after this trip here