Man plans, God laughs. Those are the words that went through my head as we turned around on our trip to Fairbanks to visit Barb’s cousin. AND for the first time ever I posted a map of where we WERE planning to go before we actually got there. Here is where we were planning to go this week.
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In the end, we turned around an hour outside of Anchorage and headed east. Both of them heartbroken it would be at least another year or two until they see each other. The mornings and evenings are the worst, she actually feels halfway decent during the day. Halfway decent is decent enough to still do a few things along the way.
What did we do in Anchorage you ask? Well, let me tell you what we did before Anchorage first. On our what through Cooper Landing, we stopped by the Cooper Landing Brewing Company. Nice place, nice brews, worth the stop.
In Anchorage, we visited The Anchorage Distilling Company of course! Being connoisseurs of all things alcohol we know what is good and what is bad (at least to our taste) when it comes to distilled spirits. Their Vodka and Gin are very good. Their flavored vodka’s, not so much. Except their Ghost Pepper Vodka, Barb loved it! Too hot for me. Their whiskey is good, but it is a blend, so it is hard to give them a rating on that. Overall, it was a good visit.
Now, a stop in Anchorage is not complete without a stop at Dino’s
Donuts for one of their infamous Dino Bones. I just could not get myself to do
it, but Barb did. She said it was okay, but she’s had bigger and better. I stuck to the
normal donuts without a friend's name associated with them.
Once we had turned around on our way to Fairbanks, we were
kind of discouraged and pointed the truck towards home. The GPS said we were
only 50 hours, just over 3,000 miles away, so away we went!
7 hours later we found ourselves at a wayside rest near Northway, just before the Canadian border. We spent the night at a rest area, just us a few other rigs.
The border crossing early the next morning was a breeze, and we were on our way. It was a series of long drives; 400–500-mile days. As the song goes; we saw fire and we saw rain, we saw sunny days we thought would never end..... We also saw some beautiful days, some fireweed which was blooming everywhere and smoke, lots and lots of smoke outside Fort Nelson. Our overnights were in Northway one in Whitehorse, another in Toad River and Dawson Creek.
I know we are not going to get any sympathy from those of you in the heat down south, but it got hot! We hadn't even seen 70 in a few weeks, now it is in the upper 80's! We stayed in campgrounds so we could run the air conditioner.
We were done sightseeing; Barb was still under the weather. Although she was sad not to see her cousin, the next few days confirmed that she made the right decision. I have never mentioned it before, but she has a white blood cell issue, it's been dropping over the last year or so. So far, the doctors are baffled, but we need to figure this out.
We did get out for one mini hike in Whitehorse, walking the
dogs really, but it was a nice walk up a sandy embankment over the lake.
So, we are carrying on, headed south and east. As we are driving, we have started a list. A list of projects that we want to get done when we get home. With luck, our next post will include a picture of us pulling into our driveway where it will feel oh so good to be home! But, we will hit the ground running, so much to do in the next few weeks before it is time to head to the farm for fall harvest!
You certainly had a good run exploring Alaska. Fingers crossed that the doctors get Barb sorted out. Scary stuff not knowing what is causing her white blood cell count to go down. Hard to fight infections. Safe travels the rest of your way home. BC seems to be "firing up" with forest fires so hopefully they do not impact your travel.
ReplyDeleteShe has an appointment for 8/7, so hopefully they will be able to look into it a little more. It looks like we are in the clear the rest of the way from a fire aspect. Still a lot of smoke though.
DeleteWhat an awesome trip you have had! I am so sorry to read Barb didn’t have the planned visit with her cousin…especially because she isn’t feeling well. I love road shots…safe travels home.
ReplyDeleteWe don't do a lot of road shots, mainly because we have to many other ones and our windshield is so dirty. The rig is going to need a good cleaning when we get home!
DeleteUnfortunately according to firesmoke.ca looks like you guys will be in it for awhile. Looks like somebody else takes lots of selfies! 🤣 Sorry to hear Barb hasn’t been feeling well…definitely got to get a handle on that. Take care and safe travels!
ReplyDeleteI got me a new selfie stick, you would be so proud of me! It has bluetooth, also doubles as a tripod!
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry Barb is not feeling well and you had to cancel your visit with the cousin.
It is sad to shorten your trip too, but it is always nice to come home. Loved the scenic views and the wildflowers. Safe travels, sending Barb well wishes for a speedy recovery. Take care, have a wonderful week!
Bittersweet for sure. We wish we were in Fairbanks right now, but are happy to only be a couple days from home as well!
DeleteFran was down for a few days on our trip. In Whittier! not much to do there.
ReplyDeleteTrust Barb will be feeling better once back home. You crushed your AK adventure even with a few things left for next time.
Safe Travels home.
We are already planning our return trip. Stay tuned for a 2026 Alaskan adventure!
DeleteYou guys took us on quite the ride during this adventure, and we appreciate it. Real sorry Barb is feeling poorly, but hoping she gets squared away soon. Make her some tasty fish chowder and wait on her hand and foot until she dismisses you. Until next time, safe travels.
ReplyDeleteWhat if she never dismisses me? What if I am stuck waiting on her hand and foot the rest of my life? Who will cook for me? So many unanswered questions!
DeleteAw, that is too bad, so near yet so far. It is always great to be home, and I hope Bard will get the care and rest that she requires. I hope that both of you take it a bit easy for a few days, at least.
ReplyDeleteTake is easy for a day or two? I doubt it. I am already thinking of the first couple things I will do when we get back!
DeleteMy favorite day of any vacation is the day we leave for sights unseen and unexplored territories. My next favorite day is the one we get back home and see the house still standing, with a familiar hot shower and comfortable bed waiting.
ReplyDeleteYes! Hot shower, my own bed. So looking forward to both of those. Quiet mornings, just chilling and doing our thing. I am ready!
DeleteWhat a shame sickness kept y'all from your plan, but I'm glad she felt well enough to do some things during the day.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem with heat is what you're used to. 90s are typical here this time of the year, so our 80s is being described as the result of a cold front 🤣 But if you're not used to it... Bummer!
So true. We were driving and when it hit 65, we turned on the AC. When it hit 70, we thought we were going to die. 88 is well beyond our melting temperature!
DeleteMcFamily and some others I know had an off again/on again sickness that lasted a lot of the winter. That might still be going around, too, whatever it was. It wasn't covid. I do hope they figure out why her white blood cell count is low for so long and that she feels better soon. It is always nice to be home when you're sick, for sure. Glad you guys got all your salmon and other fishing in and had such a good time while you were there, though! *hugs from Fargo*
ReplyDeleteWe are confident that it is not covid, none of those symptoms exist. We too were glad we got our trip 90% done with just that little bit left remaining. Next time we are going to go to Fairbanks first so this does not happen again!
DeleteI am so very sorry that Barb is still not feeling well and so sorry that she did not get to visit her cousin. Prayers that she gets some answers and feels better very soon. I know you all have seen so many beautiful places and have throughly enjoyed this trip. I am glad to have found your blog and I've enjoyed keeping up with all the places you have been. Sending prayers for safe travels as you head home.
ReplyDeleteWhen we get home and settled down, I will send you that itinerary that I promised you. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
DeleteLooks like a great adventure! The best to Barb.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenn!
DeleteBetter to be Safe than Sorry. Hopefully Barb's doctor can get her issue under control.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time.
Thanks Rick! Hope is all well with you and Kathy.
DeleteI’m so glad we all fulltimed when we were young. I still love pulling our rig, but starting the big adventure at 65 is an entirely different ballgame than when we were in our 50’s. Take care of my accordionist.
ReplyDeleteAin't that the truth. We were lucky to be able to do what we did when we did it. So many things that we did I don't think we would even attempt now. Building our house is probably the biggest one that comes to mind.
DeleteSame here. I told Diana I had one house left in me and I was right!
DeleteI am loving your adventures and how you make the best of changing directions! What beautiful scenery! Prayers for you to arrive safely home and for your dear Bev...I am adding y'all's names to my prayer book so I will remember to pray for you both.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your many kind comments on my blog - you encourage my heart and I truly appreciate it.
Thank you! Plans always seem to change, especially when you are on the road so you just have to go with whatever life throws at you.
DeleteYour title is profound because my dearly departed Harold had his plans change abruptly as well. Make sure your pretty little wife seeks some medical help. I would hate for her to end up like Harold. Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to Harold that changed his plans so abruptly? Just curious, I want to make sure we avoid any situations we may regret.
DeleteI think that you may be confused on how he passed. He didn't die from a bear attack. He had a close encounter which made him want to move to the safety of Chicago. Where he met his demise. The local police said he died from a local random gang attack. The only clue was that he died with a Spork in his neck. Weird I know. But then I found your blog and someone commented about being tougher than John Wick who killed a guy with a pencil. He killed a guy with a Spork. I'm hunting him now.
DeleteThat is a significant clue. I think I can help you find this assassin. Is there a reward? Do you have the skills to take him down yourself? It would not be too difficult, he almost takes himself out on a daily basis.
DeleteNo. He is a wily one. He acts like a bafoon but has the skills of a ninja. He calls himself the cripple guy construction company. Have you heard of him?
DeleteOh, I've heard of him all right, we is legendary across the Midwest!
DeleteLife happens, sickness happens and plans change all one can do is take a breath, turn physically around 360 degrees and carry on. I hope Barb is doing ok. It looks like you had a good time in Anchorage, some damn good photos
ReplyDeleteI am confident that she will turn around in short order once we get home and she has some rest. We will continue to try and have some more fun as we head home, but it will be mostly just driving.
DeleteHope the doctors discover what the problem is and Barb feels better soon. Too bad you had to cut your trip short but it probably was the best decision.
ReplyDeleteIt is/was, it is no fun not feeling well on the road. Nothing like your own bed, some privacy and quiet time when you are not feeling well.
DeleteBeen loving your AK posts! Been making me want to go back! Sorry to hear Barb isn’t feeling well - sending best wishes that the docs quickly get to the bottom of what’s causing her problem.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely go back, you will not regret it. We skipped a lot of the touristy places and stuck to our favorite places.
DeleteWe both have been putting some miles behind us...we are lucky in that no one is sick. My purpose was to get away from the heat-humidity combo commonly found in the south this time of year. Nothing like listening to an air conditioner all night long. Hope Barb feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteWe've run into that heat, but not the humidity. We have started to stay in campgrounds so we took can be lulled asleep by the roar of the AC unit.
DeleteAlthough maybe not as long as you had hoped, you've had a good trip. Safe travels home and hoping that Barb feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great trip and there is a side benefit by crossing back over early that I will talk about in the next post.
DeleteWonderful. Charting out the route on a map is the best part of a trip.
ReplyDeleteThat would be Barb, the ultimate planner!
DeleteSorry to read you are not well Barb, hopefully it will all get sorted out and you find out the reason for the low cells count.
ReplyDeleteIt's a long way home when you are not well.
Enjoyed the photos Jim and your commentary.
We once had to drive home from up north 6,000 km in a very short time. Wasn't due to illness though, we had to wait for a new vehicle and it arrived late.
Those were some long road days for you on that trip! Our longest day was yesterday where we drove 10 hours.
DeleteOh my...that bone might not taste good but it sure does look good.
ReplyDeleteIt was actually not too bad, but we did not want to admit that anything with Dino's name associated with it could be any good.
DeleteSafe travels guys and hope Barb's issues are resolved soon!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, sorry we were not able to meet up!
DeleteWell RATS!! I hate it when plans get changed. You had a good run though ... caught lots of fish. I'm sure Barb won, but would you confirm that for me? Praying she feels better soon and we see more of that smiling face!! And yours ... since you have a nice selfie stick!!!
ReplyDeleteI was just writing the blog recapping everything so you will probably have to wait until Saturday to get the total fish tally. We have not taken a selfies yet this week, but I think we can take care of that in the next few days!
DeleteAwww, that stinks to have to change plans due to sickness. I don´t get to see any of my cousins often so I can imagine how disappointing it was to not get to visit. Safe travels the rest of the way! You sure do get a lot of miles in each day- you have loads of driving patience!!
ReplyDeleteI think Lori is the only cousin we see or communicate with on either side of our families. Hopefully we will see her soon. 3 full days left to travel and we will be home!
DeleteHope you arrived home safe and sound and Barb is going to feel better. I bet you are looking forward to packing all that fish into your home freezer, maybe you have to purchase a bigger one now to fit it all in. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMost of our fish made it home a week or so before us and is tucked in the freezer. I am hoping that we do not have to get a bigger one, we just do not have the room!
DeleteI hope Barb feels much better very soon and the medics can sort out what's wrong - and put it right.
ReplyDeleteHome, sweet home - what a lovely ring that has.
Still a work in progress, we are halfway home and she is still not feeling any better, but she is a trooper and hanging in there!
DeleteI hope Barb feels better soon, I can understand the frustration of not finding an answer to a health issue. Hope you are home by now and resting up from vacation!
ReplyDeleteI sure hope we can figure this out. She had a blood test right before we left and they cleared her to travel, now she has an appointment a couple days after we get back to see how things compare.
DeleteSorry to hear that you had to turn back. I hope Barb's mysterious illness can be found and fixed. In spite of everything you'll no doubt be glad to be home.
ReplyDeleteWe are not home yet, but 3 more 6 hour days and we will be there!
DeleteI'm sure you have made the right decision to return home. Big hugz to Barb, and I hope they soon discover what the matter is and get it fixed. Mxx
ReplyDeleteThe next hug I give her shall be from you!
DeleteBeautiful photos of your trip through Alaska.
ReplyDeleteSorry to read that Barb was unable to make the planned visit to her niece, I wish her a speedy recovery.
Greetings Irma
Even the rainy, cloudy pictures are beautiful, I think it would be hard to take an ugly picture up here!
DeleteToo bad Barb isn't doing well and you couldn't get up to Fairbanks to see her cousin. Life sometimes throws us such hardballs sometimes, doesn't it? Sorry to read you needed to do some trip replanning, and I hope they can find out what's up with Barb. You did have some nice views, and I'd try one of those dino bones. I haven't had a donut in awhile, but donuts are a favorite. Is your next destination home? Safe travels.
ReplyDeleteYup, should be home in just 2 more sleeps!
DeleteI am sorry Barb is not feeling well. I hope they can find out what is wrong with her soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Today is the first day she's said that she feels a little better. Let's hope that trend continues!
DeleteSo sorry to hear your trip ended on such terms. You guys are good at making the right decisions, even when they are difficult! Thats a talent not many enjoy today, I hope Barb recovers fully and you have a safe trip back! You should treat her to a night in a really good hotel on the way back!
ReplyDeleteOur last RV trip ended with me being flown 400 miles in an air ambulance! As you might surmise, I lived, although the hospital bill for a week $30K and ambulance bill of $98K ( yes thats $98000.00) sent me into shock again! I had sepsis! Then a huge sigh of relief when insurance paid all but $40.00!
Holy holy! That is one scary incident. We will breathe a sigh of relief when we cross back into the US.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry the visit was curtailed and for such a not-fun reason. But I will say Barb is the best looking sick person I've seen. That smile would cure anyone's ills and hopefully it helps cure hers, too. (And yes, I bet she's not always smiling either. I'm so sad for you both!)
ReplyDeleteNo, she is not always smiling, and she has been frustrated and maybe a little cranky a time or two this past week, but there is nothing like her smile to light up a room!
DeleteSo sorry you had to cut your trip short but good to know Barb can get home and head to the doctor. I've been wondering because you've mentioned Barb not feeling well for awhile. Sure hope she gets an answer. You did get a lot of fishing in and do have hundreds of pounds of fish waiting for you at home so it was a successful journey. Take care and thinking of Barb:)
ReplyDeleteNext time we will plan it a little differently so we go to Fairbanks first and hit the salmon run at its peak so we are able to experience that.
DeleteBummer about cutting the trip short. In 2005 we were planning our first big trip. We never even left. Sickness delayed us by 10 years. I will be praying doctors find the source of this blood problem. When Barb is all well put her on a plane to Fairbanks! The amount of fish you caught is amazing. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing. I think a flight to Fairbanks may be in order!
DeleteYour trip was successful! And we were just icing on the cake ;-)
ReplyDeleteI hope Barb is feeling much better now!
She is feeling a little better, hopefully just a couple more days.....
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about Barb's relapse. It must have been hard to miss visiting her cousin, but it sounds like you made the right call. Despite the setback, it looks like you had some interesting stops along the way. The distilleries and breweries sound fun, and I admire Barb for trying the Ghost Pepper Vodka!
ReplyDeleteWishing you both safe travels and hope Barb feels better soon. Looking forward to your next update!
One sip of that vodka and I knew I was in trouble! Now she wants to get some ghost peppers and try to make some herself!
DeleteI get one day behind reading blogs and look what you've been up to! I am so worried about Barb. Do keep us posted. Your trip was quite the odyssey and I enjoyed reading every bit of it.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way sometimes. It was hard to keep up on other blogs while traveling, it should be easier now.
DeleteDespite not feeling well, Barb does soldier on and as others have commented, I too hope she will be feeling better once you are home.
ReplyDeleteShe is a trooper that's for sure. Not much slows her down!
DeleteBest wishes to Barb. Sometimes you need to see new doctors to get new approaches.
ReplyDeleteShe has an appointment next week, hopefully she will get some answers.
Delete