http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Coconuts/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Coconuts en-us Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:22:43 +0000 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:22:43 +0000 We did not have high expectations before our visit. Heavy smoke from area wildfires caused poor visibility and our eyes noses and throats felt it. Later that day the road was closed. We considered cutting our visit short and getting the heck out of there. However we stuck it out for a few days and were glad we did. Rain came a day later and helped the firefighters. The air cleared somewh http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Fairbanks/blog-435961.html This park is truly a national treasure. At 6 million acres it is larger than the state of Massachusetts. Only one road goes into the park and it stops after 90 miles by design. Only park buses can travel the entire length of the road so if you want to go in on the ground you take the bus and ride for hoursmdashbut what a ride Many people opt for flightseeing tours it is so magnificen http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Denali/blog-431100.html After a few great weeks on the Kenai Peninsula we headed north. We stayed at two great state park campgrounds one in the Portage Valley and one in Eagle River just north of Anchorage. The Portage Lakes area has six glaciers one of which we could view from our campsite along the Trail of Blue Ice. We stopped at the Begich Boggs Visitor Center which was very nice but in the middle of nowh http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/blog-429321.html I so wanted to catch a fish in Alaska. Patti and Bill obliged by taking me out twice and loaning me all the fishing gear I could ever want. The first time we tried lake fishing for trout. Donning full bib waders boots and carrying all the paraphernalia we trudged down a path to Rainbow Lake. It was an overcast cloudy day and peacefully quiet until a dad and little boy came back from the l http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/blog-426741.html The Kenai Peninsula is known as Alaskarsquos Playgroundmdashhome to the Chugach National Forest Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Kenai Fjords National Park. There is something for everyone from salmon and halibut fishing clam digging whale watching and glacier cruising to hiking biking kayaking and everything in between.From Seward we hiked to Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National P http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Kenai/blog-426631.html Glenn Highway was bumpier than we would have liked. Frost heaves caused ldquoroller coasterrdquo conditions in some areas and had to be taken slowly to avoid damage to the bus as well as damage to our stomachs. The sky was quite hazy due to a couple of wildfires so we missed some great views along the way. Hopefully we'll make up for it later on. Almost half the statersquos populatio http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Anchorage/blog-421160.html Valdez approx. population 5000 sits at the mouth of Prince William Sound and is home to the Alyeska Marine Terminal where oil from Prudhoe Bay travels nearly 800 miles through the TransAlaska Oil Pipe Line and is loaded onto tankersmdashover a million barrels each day. The bay is surprisingly icefree but Valdez is billed as the snow capital of Alaska due to its record accumulations. The http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Valdez/blog-420239.html On June 28 we finally reached the Alaska border crossing only to see the height clearance was marked 13 feetmdashat least 6 inches too short What were we to do The highclearance RV lane was closed for construction. The commercialtruck lane which had no canopy was blocked by cones from the lane we occupied. A sign clearly stated that travelers should NOT get out of their vehicles unles http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Alaskan-Highway/blog-420234.html The ALCAN Alaska Canadian Highway is a long laborious sometimes tedious sometimes gravel always exciting adventure. The road bumps twists and grinds through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory beginning at Mile Marker 01 Dawson Creek. Along the way unbelievable vistas jump at one from every new bend in the highway. Massive mountains sharp peaks flat expanses pristine untouched http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Alaskan-Highway/blog-415257.html On June 24 we entered the Yukon Territory in far northwestern Canada. We stopped overnight in Watson Lake home of the famed Signpost Forest where people traveling through from all over the world post a sign from their hometown. Itrsquos fun to look for familiar and notsofamiliar places.About this time we thought it would be a good idea to install our ldquorock shieldrdquo on the fron http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Yukon/blog-415254.html On June 22 two in our group set out ahead of the rest for Muncho Lake. Along the way we spotted black bear moose deer and stone sheep. We drove right through the Rockies again with lots of steep grades up and down the passes. The Alaska Highway so far has been a pretty good road two lanes with little traffic. Sometimes there are wide shoulders but sometimes there are none. Even so it http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/blog-412374.html All six coaches gathered in Cochrane Alberta just west of Calgary. On June 18 we headed to Banff National Park. We spent two nights in the park campground had a couple of happy hours and a pot luck dinner together and everyone got to know each other a little better. The Banff area is just gorgeous with huge mountains glacial lakes and lots of evergreen forests. We saw elk and a black bear http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/blog-412014.html We spent time in Buffalo WY for medical visits to wash and wax the bus and to get things ready for our Alaska trip. A great local find was the Winchester Steak House where Diane ordered prime rib. It was so big and so good that we shared leftovers for dinner the next evening. One day another Prevost bus rolled into the campground. We didnrsquot pay much attention until the next day http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Buffalo/blog-407798.html In late March we visited the Magic Kingdom with Mark Heidi and Alex and went to Epcot by ourselves. We got to keep Alex for a few days while mom and dad had another adult getaway. We loved our baby fix especially when he said ldquoGrandmamardquo OK manmama which made Diane beam. In April we were back on the road. We stopped at a Casino RV park in Louisiana or should I say Trai http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-401749.html What can I say about Riverbend Motorcoach Resort In a beautifully landscaped setting along the Caloosahatchee River there are three clubhouses pool hot tubs tennis courts and a whole host of activities to keep you as busy as yoursquod like. We rode our bikes almost every day and Diane joined the ladies exercise group. This season marked the beginning of the Riverbend and SW Florida Rai http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Florida/blog-382051.html Staying at the Marathon service center near Tampa put a dent in our wallet. The hookups were free but maintenance and service costshelliphellipouch Oh well it is important to keep the bus in tiptop shape. Located 45 minutes from Dianersquos parents in Leesburg and 45 minutes from Alanrsquos son daughterinlaw and grandson in Tampa the service center was well situated for our nee http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Florida/blog-381707.html Leaving Traverse City we drove through Ontario and headed east to Lake George in the Adirondacks where Ken and Ellie rejoined us for a few days. They graciously returned 9 bottles of wine that we didn't want to carry across Ontario due to Canada's alcohol tax. Of course we thanked them by sharing a bottle or two or three. We then headed south to spend time with Andy and Kay who joined http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/Adirondacks/blog-381703.html After 6 months and over 3000 miles we thought wersquod finally update you on our travels. Even though the date above is September we're writing this in Marchshame on us.Leaving South Dakota in late August we headed for MinneapolisSt. Paul. A casino RV park was home for a week and we were pleasantly surprised to find an enclosed RV wash bay at our disposal. Itrsquos extremely rare http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Minnesota/blog-381695.html We were pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the Black Hills. National forests granite mountains Mount Rushmore Crazy Horse and the stunningly beautiful Custer State Park are found along with the usual tacky tourist attractions motels campgrounds and gift shops. Everyonersquos seen photos of Mt. Rushmore but itrsquos quite a treat to visit in person and learn the story of how thi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/South-Dakota/Black-Hills-National-Forest/blog-329005.html We spent a great week in a Breckenridge condo with Mark Heidi and first grandson Alex from Florida. All had a good time especially Alex who exhibited what we called the Breckenridge facemdashhe would scrunch up his little face raise his hands and give everyone a big toothy smilemdashapparently he hasnrsquot done the same thing since leaving Colorado. We then headed for Denver to ho http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Colorado/blog-315392.html