RVing – Page 30 – Wandering Dawgs

Day 27: First day on the Alaska Highway

June 15, 2013June 19, 2015Posted in British Columbia, RV Parks, RVingTagged Alaska Highway, Ft. Nelson, Triple G Hideaway

Day 27: Tuesday, June 11, 2013. Triple G Hideaway site 87, Ft. Nelson, BC. 290 miles traveled.

I read this book as we go along to warn Henry of steep grades and to see what is up ahead

Our journey on the Alaska Highway has finally begun! The Milepost is a must have book when you are making a driving trip to Alaska. It warns of steep grades, shows where places of interest are located, and tells where to look for wildlife! It also has the campground phone numbers which makes it useful to call ahead when we have cell service. We haven’t had cell service since we left Dawson Creek.

We drove along looking for moose and bears all day. No luck today.

The only bad part of the drive was a couple of areas with 10% grades. The worst one was a downhill grade on a winding part of the road as we approached the town of Taylor. I could look down into a gorge as we drove.

We passed by several oil fields

More beautiful views along the Alaska Highway

Along the Alaska Highway

Triple G Hideaway Site 87 Ft Nelson, BC

We arrived at the campground about 3:00, got fuel and spent the afternoon watching the RV’s arrive.

One of the most fun things about RVing is meeting people in the campgrounds. Everyone we met was going to Alaska. We were parked between a couple returning to their home in Anchorage from Seattle and a family with two boys who have been traveling the country since February, 2012. We also ran into some people from Savannah we met in Dawson Creek. So far on our journey we have met people from Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, California, and various other states.

Days 2, 3, 4 and 5 – Rainy Days in Southwestern Virginia

May 21, 2013September 13, 2015Posted in Rainy Days, RVing, State Parks, VirginiaTagged Appalachian Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, Claytor Lake, Dublin VA, Floyd Country Store, Southwest Virginia11 Comments

Day 2, Friday May 17: We traveled 113 miles from Statesville, NC to Claytor Lake State Park in Dublin, VA. Claytor Lake is a great state park and an easy drive to our daughter’s house. Her family came to the park on Friday night for burgers, hot dogs and s’mores. We started having sprinkles in the afternoon but the weather cooperated and didn’t start raining until after dinner.

Welcome to Virginia!

Claytor Lake State Park, Dublin, VA Site D22

View out our back window at Claytor Lake State Park, Virginia

Slash pine at Claytor Lake State Park

Many trees displayed their springtime blooms at Claytor Lake State Park

Claytor Lake

Early morning at Claytor Lake

Day 3, Saturday, May 18: We watched the rain come down all day, hoping it would stop in time for our grandson’s soccer game. The game was canceled but they were still able to spend the night with us. I picked up a brick oven pizza from MK’s Gourmet Pizzeria – it was delicious! We watched DVD’s, ate pizza, and made s’mores in a drizzle. What a great night!

Day 4, Sunday, May 19: We woke up to more rain so we decided to take the kids to meet their parents in Floyd, VA. We were hoping to take a hike on the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway but again, the weather didn’t cooperate. As it turned out, I’m glad it rained. We really enjoyed the Sunday Jam Session at the Floyd Country Store.

Floyd Country Store in Floyd, VA

Sunday Jam Session at the Floyd Country Store

Enjoying the music at the Floyd Country Store

Jam Session at Floyd Country Store

These guys could really play!

I never saw a blonde fiddle before

Loved their music!

Listening to a jam session at the Floyd Country Store is a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon in Southwestern Virginia. You can read about our experience on our daughter’s blog entry Indoor Appalachian entertainment at the Floyd Country Store.

Day 5, Monday, May 20: A day of housekeeping, grocery shopping, and a final visit with family. We said our goodbyes after our granddaughter’s swim team practice. We’re going to miss them!

We didn’t let a little rain spoil our fun!

Day 1 – First Day on the Road to Alaska

May 17, 2013January 9, 2018Posted in North Carolina, RV Parks, RVing, WildflowersTagged traveling with dogs5 Comments

Leaving Lil Tybee — Hitched up and ready to go!

Our first day on the road started out great. We got everything packed up, hooked up the the RV and were on our way at 9:04 am. Our hopes for an easy, relaxing day were soon squashed.

Shortly after we turned east onto I-20 I tried to call the park where we wanted to spend the night. A guy named Steve answered the phone. No, this wasn’t the number for the park. I Googled the park on my phone and every web site listed the phone number that I had called. Very strange. We decided to go somewhere else.

We were getting ready to pull off the interstate for lunch when Henry saw that one of his sensors indicated there was water in the diesel. Luckily there was a GMC dealer at the exit and they were able to work on it. We unhitched the RV on the side of the road by the dealer and Henry drove the truck into the service department. After about an hour and a half and about $400 dollars we were on our way again.

Our unexpected stop at the dealer caused us to travel through Charlotte, NC right in the middle of rush hour. Most of you know how much we try to avoid going through cities when traffic is bad.

Wildflowers in the woods

Statesville KOA Site H10

Blondie was in heaven chasing her ball

View out our back window

Wildflowers

Our campground was surrounded by woods

All ended well. We arrived at the KOA in Statesville, NC around 5:00. We were able to relax for a little while before dinner. Blondie is happy – there is a fenced in doggie play area so she can run off leash!

Day 1: 278 miles traveled

2013 Journey to Alaska

March 19, 2013May 18, 2013Posted in RVing6 Comments

We’ve had our fifth wheel for 7 years. Although we’ve traveled thousands of miles in it, and camped in 40 states and 3 Canadian provinces, we’ve never made the ultimate RV trip – Alaska!

This is the year we are going. After planning for over a year, we hope to leave from Georgia around May 15, 2013.

Once we hit the road we will be posting updates when we have WIFI.

If you would like to be notified by email when we add a new post, just enter your email address and click the FOLLOW button on the top right of this page.