July 2nd day 3 Monsons

  Sunday morning started off beautifully. Early start. Good night's sleep. Easy driving. What could go wrong?  (Insert dramatic music here).

About an hour outside of Edmonton the rain started coming down pretty heavily, but no worries The Armada was doing great.  Monson special fix on the wheel bearings (I believe various forms of duct tape and sheer will) seem to be holding. Erik pulled off to tinkle in the rain and then jump back in the car cursing. Uh-oh.

 We quickly pulled off and began about a 4-hour round of research and calling with extremely slow data to secure towing and a mechanic. We didn't realize that not only was it Sunday and nothing was open but it was in the middle of a 3-day weekend for Canadians (Happy Canada Day eh!). Everything would be closed on Monday as well. With a lot of anxiety brewing, we came to some decisions and here are some of the takeaways.

1. Canadians are extremely polite people. Numerous people stopped to ask if we were okay and if we needed help. No one could really assist with the burnt up axle issues but several  gave advice on what town to head towards. 

2. Pay the extra Good Sam/auto insurance coverage for towing. You may never need it but that one time you do it's worth it. We were able to get our rig towed to a town 3 hours away. 

3. In the middle of a crisis when your anxiety gets you thinking about everything that might not happen in the next week God is telling you to stop, take a breath, and just take the next step.

Through one of many many phone calls Erik found a truck and trailer repair place that wasn't open but had an off hours mechanic. He was able to talk through with Aaron the issues. And we got it towed to the town of Grande Prairie, Alberta. A little bit out of our way but not by much.

Aaron started working on building and installing a new axle about 8:00 last night called Eric at the hotel about 2:00 in the morning. Eric went and picked it up. We slept a little bit longer and then we're off the next morning. Crossing fingers and praying we have smooth sails the rest of our way. One step at a time.

CA Travel day 2, to Edmonton Alberta

  Time change can be tough to remember at 4:45 a.m. .  Accidentally waking up the wife and son 1 hour extra early at 5:30, does not win you any wife or father points.  I have verified this today, when Luke said it's NOT 630 :-). 

Making coffee and good breakfast burritos are somewhat redeeming.

Luke out for his 5mile morning run:

The trailer bearing issue didn't hold us back today, as we have crossed into Alberta now!

Everything besides big stores seem to be closed for the Canada day holiday today and then probably closed for Sunday tomorrow :-(

 I rigged the cap fit with gorilla tape on the slightly small grease cap and it appears to be holding Grease so far and our trailer axle is cool and behaving. 

Fingers crossed as we go to Edmonton today....

CA Travel day 1, to Regina Saskatchewan

   Isn't car travel great fun? :-)  The Monson's have about 54 hours of it to do across Canada this week.  We crossed the Canadian border easy today from North Dakota with no firearms, no fireworks, and Lilly's good looks :-) 

Now we've made it into the great white north in Regina,  but appear to have a trailer bearing cap issue to take care of the next morning :-( 

I've heard there is a pot of gold behind every tree in Saskatchewan but you will still be a poor man trying to find a tree :-)  It's pretty flat boring farmland through here.  Nice people, but this looks to be Canada flyover country.

I have just posted both our Armada SUV and the R-pod trailer for sale on Anchorage Facebook. Then immediately had to raise the trailer price by 50% because I'm getting barraged with messages of "I'll buy it today, cash in hand!". 

This Will be a good problem to have later, when they both hopefully sell in Anchorage before our flight on 7/30 :-)

Happy Canada Day tomorrow..... Eh :-)

Gakona Day 2

 Because the reds are in, and because there isnt much else to do in Gakona....

I (shane) went back to Copper Center and fished the Klutina for reds.  I probably fished 6-7 hours today and hooked 2 fish, landing one.  I did get to meet a nice couple from Georgia today.  Deanna mostly sat in the car, or on a cooler, watching me fish. Less fun for her. 

We had another 1/3 of that first red again for dinner tonight and it was easily just as good as last nights meal. 

Tomorrow, we move to a "glamping" tent in Glacier View.  I'm quite doubtful the tent will have 110V or wifi, so dont expect much of an update until we get to Talkeetna on 7/3. I'm very hopeful that Deanna will write the Glacier View, AK glamping tent update for yall. :)  I get to sleep a couple weeks per year in tents like this, but this will be a first for her. 

Erik and Lilly are trekking across Saskatchewan right now and report no vehicle issues as of yet. 

Looking forward to seeing them + the kids on 7/6. 

- shane

2. Gakona

Have you ever heard of the famed Copper River for sockeyes or kings?  Well, I have. 

Today, while en route to Gakona (not even a whole hole in the wall in rural AK), we stopped at Copper Center.  This town is at the confluence of the Copper and Klutina Rivers.  Red (sockeye) salmon are coming up the Klutina, so we stopped and fished for about 4 hours.  

Fishing for reds really isnt fishing. They get their food by filtering planton out of the water with their gills.  So they dont hit normal lures- cause they dont eat big stuff.  You cant snag them in freshwater (legally) but you can "flyfish" for them. 

So the technique goes like this- tie a ~1 oz weight on, then add a 18-24" leader with a decent sized hook on it, and tie a piece of yarn on above it.  Act like you're flyfishing while you drag this thing thru the water, flipping it upstream, let it bounce downstream, and once it gets to the end of your line (you leave out about 10-15' of line, and never reel in), pop the line, lift, and "roll cast" - repeat.  You can do this sequence about 6 times per minute.  I managed to catch one fish in those 4 hours - so about 6x60x4=1440 casts for one fish. Totally worth it. 

Erik will be happy to know I paid $3 for that net in Valdez at a thrift store.  Bargain!

My fish was probably 4-6 # red.  Not huge, not tiny and nothing special, unless you got to eat on it.  

Deanna and I grilled about a third of it for dinner tonight and if it turns out to be my last meal, I'm satisfied. 

Gakona is completely out in the boonies on the Glenn Highway.  There is nothing to do but fish, so I plan to do more of that tomorrow. Deanna plans to hang around the AirBnB and research stuff to do in Glacier View, our next stop the day after tomorrow.  

I heard it was 112F in TX today. Sorry fellow Texans! I wasnt wearing a jacket, but I thought about it. :)

Also, Happy 29th birthday to Deanna. :)  She's still a spring chicken. 

Stop 1 - Valdez

 Deanna and I flew to Anchorage on Saturday and spent the night there.  

Sunday, we left town on the 6hr drive up and over to Valdez.  Views on this route are pretty awesome, like most of AK. 

On arrival in Valdez, I was very sad to discover that the salmon usually dont arrive this early, and will be a week or so late this year because of all the snow/ice buildup over this better-precip-than-average winter.  We ate at the "Potato", which offers somewhat famous garlic french fries with rosemary. 

Our lodging in Valdez was a "tiny house".  Indeed.  it's an "efficiency" if there ever was one.  I'm guessing it's about 10' wide and 12' long.  Really, just a "built out" shed, but it works if you keep your stuff put up.  Left to right on the back wall are: toilet, shower, washer/dryer, stove, sink. Very efficient. Good news is..... I can lay in bed and watch Deanna shower.  Bad news is, she can lay in bed and watch me deuce. 

I woke up early on Monday, then fished the harbor for a while (no luck) before heading to the local outfitters supply and getting good fishing counsel from Joshua, a local kid.  I then spent pretty well all day fishing off the ferry dock catching polluck, which fillet okay. While doing that, I also made new friends in Wayne + Amber Miller from Florida.  They are both avid fishermen and were happy to borrow a spare rod and fish with me.  After just 10-15 minutes of trying, Amber caught a small halibut.  Very nice.  By the end of our fishing outing, Wayne insisted that they take Deanna and I to dinner, and eventually, they invited us to come visit them in Florida.  I love the people on trips like this. 

On Tuesday, Deanna and I went back up the Richardson Hwy (4) and viewed a "drive up" glacier.  Easy viewing, and then we visited Blueberry Hill lake.  Then we came back towards town and visited the original town site of Valdez, which got wiped out in the 1964 tsunami after the famed Alaska earthquake.  After that I cooked Deanna "fish and chips" using the polluck I'd caught the day before.  

Wednesday was our last full day here.  On our way to town, Deanna spotted a bear.  After further inspection..... it turned out to be a momma bear with two cubs.  The cubs spent most of their time up in a tree while momma grazed on grasses in the ditch. We watched the 3 of them for a full hour, before heading on into town. Unfortunately, a ferry boat was in which means all the stores were pretty jammed, and I couldn't fish off the ferry terminal, either.  So we went on a long hike up to Solomon Lake, just south of Valdez Bay.  After our hike, I convinced Deanna to head to Mikes (restaurant) so I could BUY a salmon meal.  

Tomorrow, we leave for Gakona.  I sure hope I can fish for reds on the Copper River. Rumor has it they are "in".  Stay tuned. 

 

We're getting the band back together, Elwood - 2023

Durn skippy we are.  

6 summers after our "famous" 2017 trip, we're hitting the road (and air) to fish, hike, see, eat, etc again.  

This trip hasn't seen NEAR the planning the prior one did, because we know more about what's required.  

Erik and Luke launched on 6/17 headed north.  They are "swinging by" Minnesota for a bit of kayaking at the Boundary Waters with their local Boy Scout group.  Once that trip completes, they'll pick up Lilly at Minneapolis Airport and start a road adventure headed across northern US/southern CA "eh". :) 

Side note - no part of Minnesota is "on the way" to Alaska from Texas.  

As a bonus, they'll get to see the glories of North Dakota.  hold it.....what?

They'll also get to see Saskatchewan.  Pretty cool. 

Deanna and I (Shane) leave TX on 6/24 via miracle of air travel.  

The next updates should include pictures of Texans wearing jackets in June. Maybe shades, too. :)

buckle your transmissions folks, it's about to be gametime. 

- shane