We met Stubbs, the cat who is the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, when we were browsing in one of the shops in Talkeetna in July, 2013. Stubbs was adapted by the manager of Nagley’s General Store in 1997 and has served as honorary Mayor for 16 years.
Stubbs lives at Nagley’s Store in downtown Talkeetna, Alaska
Stubbs is now recovering from a dog attack that occurred on August 31. We found out about the attack by accident when Henry came across an article in the Wall Street Journal from October 15 about Stubbs.
After the attack Stubbs spent nine days in a veterinary hospital and is now recuperating in a room above the general store. People from all over the world have donated money to help pay for his hospital bills.
After reading the article in the Wall Street Journal, I did a search and found other articles about the attack in USA Today, Time and the Anchorage Daily News.
One of the things we enjoy most about traveling by RV is meeting so many wonderful people along the way. On this trip we met people from all over the U.S. and Canada and from far away countries like Australia and Switzerland.
What really amazed us though was how many people from Georgia we met along the way and how many of them were Georgia Bulldog fans. We heard “Go Dawgs!” in some very unexpected places!
When we travel there is no doubt where we are from. With our Georgia license plates on both the truck and fifth wheel, our big red Georgia G on the front of the truck and another big G on the back window of the fifth wheel our Georgia allegiance is easy to recognize. And we both often wear Georgia hats and shirts when we are out exploring.
When you are several thousand miles from home, it’s always nice to connect with someone from your home state. Here are just a few of our favorite encounters with other travelers from Georgia:
Meeting two sisters in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada on their way to Alaska who are from the same county where we live.
Hearing “Go Dawgs! as we sat by our campfire in Liard River Hot Springs, Yukon.
Having someone from near our hometown knock on our door just to say hi in Liard River Hot Springs, Yukon.
Meeting a recent graduate of the University of Georgia wearing a Georgia sweatshirt.in Skagway, Alaska, who was living in Alaska and working on a cruise ship.
Having a woman in a Georgia t-shirt walk over to our campsite in Skagway to take a picture of our Georgia truck because she couldn’t believe there was someone who drove all the way from Georgia to Alaska.
Hearing “I’ve eaten there before” when Henry was wearing his Crab Shack t-shirt in Skagway. The young man was in the Coast Guard and had just finished being stationed in Valdez and was on his way to his next station close to his home in Georgia.
Meeting a young woman in Haines, Alaska who was a graduate of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. She studied marine biology and was now living in Haines working as a mate on a fishing boat and singing in a band.
Talking to the woman working at the Visitor’s Center in North Pole who had moved to North Pole from Georgia.
Wearing our Georgia hats, having one of the drivers on one of the floats in the July 4th Parade in North Pole yell “Go Dawgs!” as he went by.
Being helped by a woman from Georgia at the transportation center in Denali National Park.
Hearing “Go Dawgs!” while stopped for road construction in Denali National Park.
Meeting a grandfather and his two granddaughters from Georgia at Teklanika Campground in Denali National Park.
Halibut fishing in Ninilchik, Alaska with a young couple living in Anchorage who were originally from Atlanta and North Carolina.
Having a woman from Georgia stop by our campsite in Homer, Alaska because she saw the Georgia G on the back of the fifth wheel.
There were many others but these are the ones that stand out. However, the one that stands out the most was the Canadian border crossing guard in Beaver Creek, Yukon who asked us if we were heading home to Georgia before he even looked at our passports. He must have seen the Georgia G on the front of the truck! He was a huge American college football fan and discussed football with Henry for a few minutes before getting down to the business of checking our passports and asking the required questions before letting us enter Canada.
Although we left Tok, Alaska almost a month ago, our memories of Alaska will never leave us. Here, in no particular order, are a few photos of some of our favorite places and adventures.
Our favorite place was Oceanside RV Park in Haines, Alaska where we could sit and watch for whales, watch eagles fly by, and watch the ferries and cruise ships sail by.
Cocktail hour whale watching with Ted and Ruthy
Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Deadliest Catch!
The most exciting and most memorable experience of the entire trip was the South Face McKinley flight-seeing tour and landing on Ruth Glacier with Talkeetna Air Taxi.
We went really close to Mt. McKinley
Loving every minute of our time on Ruth glacier
We loved all of the boat trips we took.
Whale Pectoral Fin on day trip to Juneau
Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau
Seeing ice calving on Aialik Glacier on the Kenai Fjords trip from Seward
A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez
Driving to the Coldfoot, sixty miles north of the Artic Circle was a drive to remember.
Wandering Dawgs at the Arctic Circle
Catching Halibut and watching the sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska.
Four of these fish are ours!
Mount Redoubt Sunset
Denali National Park.
Moose beside the road on the way out of the park
Lukor liked it on top of his house
Beautiful green valley at Polychrome Overlook
Another group of Caribou up on a ridge
Driving the Top of the World Highway, panning for gold, going for a train ride on the Alaska Railroad, watching for wildlife on the side of the road, seeing the Fireweed blooming everywhere, seeing glaciers off in the distance and up close are all highlights of the trip we will never forget.
Every day was memorable, every day was special, every day we saw something spectacular.
On day 106 of our incredible Alaska journey, after driving 4,644 miles in 23 days from Tok, Alaska, the Titanium was set up in its home in Central Georgia. One day later we were back at our home in Coastal Georgia.
This was truly the trip of a lifetime. Alaska is a very special place and I am so happy we were able to spend so much time exploring there. Stay tuned for some final thoughts on our trip in a later post.
Even though we have taken other cross country RV trips, this was by far the longest we have ever been away from our home in 30 years. While we were gone I didn’t realize how much I missed it until we drove the final miles across the salt marsh to our home.
Here are some final statistics from the trip.
Number of nights on the road
105
Number of nights in Alaska
50
Total miles driven
14,454
Number of different campgrounds
54
Number of States where we camped
17
Number of Provinces and Territories where we camped
Day 102: Sunday, August 25, 2013. Currently in Blue Springs Missouri.
Fort Caspar, Wyoming
After leaving Sheridan we drove through the high plains where we saw ranches, several herds of pronghorn antelope, and prairie dogs beside the road. We spent a night in Casper, Wyoming at Ft. Caspar RV Park where we visited Fort Caspar on the North Platte River.
Relaxing at our campsite by the Big Thompson River in Loveland, CO
Before heading into the plains of Kansas we stopped for two nights at Riverview RV Park in Loveland, Colorado where we had a campsite right on the Big Thompson River. Kicking back and listening to the river was pure heaven.
The next day we drove about 30 miles to the entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park to make the drive along Trail Ridge Road. On our visit to the park Memorial Day weekend in 2011 we attempted the drive but had to stop near the beginning of the road because of snow on the road. The drive was beautiful and we saw plenty of wildlife. We went over the highest point of the Trail Ridge Road. At 12,183 feet, it was the highest elevation we have been to on this entire trip.
Rocky Mountain National ParkBig Horn Sheep on Trail Ridge RoadBig Horn Sheep on Trail Ridge RoadElk in Rocky Mountain National ParkA marmot basking in the sun on top of the rockWild Turkey in Rocky Mountain National Park
The drive from Loveland to our next stop at the Wakeeney KOA in Kansas took us through cattle country. We drove by stockyards with more cattle than I have ever seen. The winds were strong all day and Henry was fighting a strong headwind for much of the day. We passed by huge wind farms in Colorado and Kansas. After driving almost 400 miles we stopped in Wakeeney, Kansas for the night to rest up before another long day of driving through Kansas.
The next morning we continued our trek east through Kansas where we continued to see cattle and fields of corn, wheat, and other grains. Wild sunflowers grew beside the highway. We started hitting city traffic in Topeka and drove through Kansas City, the biggest city in Missouri. Going through the city was a lot like going through downtown Atlanta – not fun. We spent the night in Blue Springs Campground, a nice, quiet county park in Blue Springs, Missouri. Our wildlife sighting of the day was two deer in the park.