We Made It!

Ok, we might be motorhome-less but OMG, people! It's 65 degrees, the sun is shining and a light ocean breeze is blowing. Life is GREAT!

Leaving Las Vegas

Yep, we left Las Vegas...but a whole lot lighter than when we arrived because our motorhome didn't leave with us! Ok, before I get into that, let me catch you up to date on our travels so far. As Erik mentioned in the last post, we escaped Ketchikan on October 28th in the midst of a big storm (we're talking 50 mph wind gusts and driving rain). It was so bad that the ferry was 3 hours late and they were threatening to cancel the darn thing. But, our luck held and we made it to Prince Rupert the next morning...only to find that the storm that was dumping rain in Ketchikan dumped a good foot of snow across Northern British Columbia. Great! What made it so bad was that the snow caught Canada's road maintenance workers by surprise and most towns hadn't even pulled their snowplows out yet. Thus, the roads were akin to Lookout Pass after a good dumping. We took a deep breath and white-knuckled our way to Southern BC, swerving around a wayward moose and a rock slide along the way and nursing an increasingly sputtering RV (more on that later) and eventually made it to glorious sunshine and dry, clear roads.

We spent Halloween night in a tiny mountain town called Grand Forks located in Southern BC along the Crows Nest Highway. The moon was full, the sky was clear, trick-or-treaters were out in force and the beer was frothy at the local pub. It was heaven!The next day we rolled into Missoula like the Beverly Hillbillies with our motorhome sputtering and coughing and 3 dogs with tongues lolling and their heads sticking out the van windows. Thank god our friends, Kay and Terry, ignored the spectacle and welcomed us with open arms. Thank you, thank you, Kay and Terry!

And, geez, was it nice to be home! We spent our few precious days on doctor, vet and RV appointments with a bit of socializing thrown in. We thought we had the RV issues solved (after an additional day delay to finish up the work) and then hit the road again, heading to Arizona to spend some time with my dad before continuing on to California.

And that's where this little tale takes a bit of a turn. The RV's sputtering and coughing returned with a vengeance and it was on a hill outside of Vegas that it finally gave up the ghost. Hmm, our option was to limp into Searchlight and try to find a mechanic or coast back to Vegas where we were sure to find some help and I bet you can guess what we decided!

Yep, we coasted back to Vegas, planted ourselves at the Sam's Town RV Park and, after realizing we were going to be stuck there a few days, decided to enjoy the enforced break. Having a pool and hot tub stumbling distance away and the Vegas Strip nearby to take our minds off our RV woes certainly made it a lot easier! Let me just say, I walked into Sephora and really thought twice about ever leaving again. Ahh, civilization! I'm embarassed to admit it but, heck, I missed it!


After the retail therapy, we took a drive to check out Hoover Dam and Boulder City which really is something to see. They're busy building a new bridge to bypass the dam crossing and just looking at it made me dizzy. I can't imagine how the contruction workers manage to work on it day after day! Check out the pictures to the left if Art Deco and dizzying architecture is your thing.


By Wednesday, the vacation was over. We needed to get back to business and get this show back on the road. So, we dropped our RV off, piled a few articles of clothing and dog toys into the van and headed south towards Prescott, AZ.



And that's where we sit now. The RV is still in the shop, the van is in the shop (air-conditioning issue) but we had a great visit with my dad and Uncle Hugh and we're getting ready to head back to Vegas. Whether the RV is ready or not is still in question so, if not, we need to grab some clothes and our camping gear because Erik is due at work on Monday and the beach is calling my name. Did I mention we were on a Grand Adventure?

Ketchikan Top 10 List

So everyone has been telling us that we need to update our blog, so while we are STRANDED in Las Vegas, Nevada I guess that I have no excuse. Las Vegas will surely be Susan's post later this week!

So we headed South the night of October 28th, after I finished my last shift at Ketchikan General Hospital and after filling up on Mexican at the Oceanview. We have started a tradition over the past two assignments to list our top 10 (or so) favorite things about where we were for the past few months. And as we were eating, this is what we came up with for our time spent in Ketchikan.

10) Relaxing at the New York Cafe: I think this was the first place that we went into and it felt so comfortable. The New York had great food, live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and the patrons were always very friendly.



9) Mushrooming and Berry Picking: Wow, talk about abundance! We have always been berry pickers, but the shrooms here in Southeast are to die for (figuratively speaking.) Our friend, Sandy showed us the ropes of how to pick'em, cook'em and eat'em without having a bad trip. And the salmon berries, raspberries, huckleberries, and blueberries were a great treat while out hiking. Right Riley?



8) Hiking the Lunch Creek and Salvage Trails: We took weekly hikes to both of these picturesque trails. They were awesome trails for the pooches and Salvage was the site of Susan's infamous (and successful) bear whisperer tactics.

7) Chocolate Malts at the Dockside Galley: Okay people, notice how the post-hike reward lists above the actual hike. Well this was our little slice of sin, our treat for hiking in the heat, or the mud, or the storms, or maybe just because. We really didn't need a reason to head to the Galley for the best malts West of the Rockies!




6) Sandy and Shep's Place: So we were in need of a new perch because the Clover Pass Resort, aka the Walmart parking lot, was going to be closing at the end of September and Sandy made us an offer we couldn't refuse: stay on their property (with full hook ups), eat her AMAZING food, learn how to mushroom pick and not to mention, wake up and go to sleep in paradise. We had to sign on for that one! Sandy and her husband Shep were so kind to welcome us into their home and become our "host family" for our last two months on the island. Thanks guys!




5) Kayaking the Clover Passage: OMG. We lived in a kayaker's heaven for about 5 months. How about sailing the protected waters of the inside passage from island to island, be followed by sea lions and get to take in the wilderness that is Southeast Alaska?




4) Fishing Ward Creek: So there may only be a few fly-fishable locations in Ketchikan, but Ward Creek lived up to my expectations of Alaska fishing. I purchased a yearly, non-resident fishing license for about $150 and probably averaged less than 50 cents a fish...you do the math.




3) Full Circle Farm: So how do the locals get their fresh produce? Full Circle Farm, of course! Talk about fun. Each week we would receive a box of fresh, organic produce from a co-op in Washington state. We received lots of veggies and recipes that were new to us and we looked forward to our weekly shipments like kids waiting for the Easter Bunny. Thanks to my supervisor, Joanna, for turning us on to this. Support community supported agriculture (CSA) y'all.

2) Bar Harbor Restaurant: This was our favorite dinner spot. Great atmosphere, staff and food. It was a real local's restaurant and had a Missoula feel to it. We loved hanging out on the deck in the summer and inside, by the fireplace, when the weather turned cold. We took both Nadia and Susan's brother, Tom, here. We always had a great time.

1) All of Our New Found Friends: Ketchikan was no different than any other small town that we lived in. The locals were great! We were welcomed into their community and felt like locals ourselves by the time we left. We will remember everyone we met and became good friends with for a long, long time. Thanks for being so kind.

So there you have it. Ketchikan has so much more to it than this top 10 list, like the eagles and the ravens, the totems and the salmon, or the hordes of tourists coming off of the cruise ships. It's what makes this place unique and gives it, its character. Susan and I are glad we had this experience and will have fond memories of our time in Ketchikan.