We decided to spend two nights in a hotel in Inuvik for many reasons: we wanted to financially support the community; we really wanted to have a bit more space; we really really needed showers; and we really really really wanted a break from the hordes of mosquitoes at north country campgrounds.

We left our comfy and spacious accommodations a few times to wander about town and eat at one of the two local restaurants. One of the highlights of our walking tour was visiting the community garden, which is housed in the old hockey arena. All kinds of vegetables are grown and the northernmost apple tree bears fruit.

We also enjoyed chatting with the locals and learning more about life up north, where the sun shines 24 hours each day for 56 straight days in the summer. In the winter they experience 30 days of complete darkness before celebrating the return of the sun in January. Pa adapted fairly well to the endless daylight; tween and I stayed awake until ridiculous hours. After a sleepless night we learned that the previous night there had been a community baseball game that began at midnight. Had we known, we would have loved to have been there!

Next up is the 90 mile drive to Tuktoyaktuk, where the road ends and we get to the Arctic Ocean!

Jay started the fire using just a flint & steel (and a little bit of toilet paper)! No matches, no lighter! We celebrated with roasted (veggie) hotdogs for dinner.

After a great overnight ferry ride, we arrived in Ketchikan under blue skies. The forecast for the rest of our time there was for ugly weather (heavy rain, high winds, low temperatures) so we made the most of our one beautiful day.

We kicked things off with a hike at Settler’s Cove. We enjoyed exploring the lush rainforest and rocky beach.

After finishing our hike, we made our way downtown. At the waterfront we gawked at the huge cruise ships and the thousands of passengers. Our walking tour included all the Ketchikan high points: Creek Street, the Waterfront Promenade, Totem Poles, etc.

The next day was wet, windy and cold as predicted and so as a birthday treat we checked into a nice hotel where we luxuriated in the extra space and warmth and appreciated the wifi. Jay donned the hotel robe and declared that he felt like a king.

The next day we celebrated Jay’s 12th birthday! After presents and far too much junk food and screen time, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to the aquatic center. The birthday boy had a great time joining the other kids for swimming, jumping off the diving board and whooshing down the water slide.

We ended the day at the Great Alaska Lumberjack show, where we all hooted and hollered as we cheered for the competing lumberjacks. Jay even won an autographed postcard for being one of the most enthusiastic audience members. Fun for all!

Next up is the three hour ferry ride to Prince of Wales Island, where we will explore for a week. As Jay says, “new island, new adventures!”

Tomorrow we board the ferry in Bellingham, Washington for our three-day cruise to Sitka, Alaska.

Our drive up the coast to get here has been long and, fortunately, uneventful. At times the scenery was breathtaking (Mt Shasta!); at times the scenery was monotonous (the Central Valley).

After leaving Disney, we braved the Los Angeles traffic and headed towards Davis, California.

En route we stopped at REI for Andy to replace his lost hat (unsurprisingly they did not have an XXXL available, so Andy crammed his freakishly large head into an XXL) and for Jay and I to grab some extra fleece.

In Davis we spent three wonderful days with Grandma Helen, enjoying delicious vegetarian meals and recovering from the Disney whirlwind. One day we mustered up enough energy to visit UC Davis, where we explored the arboretum and visited the farm animals.

From Davis we continued north to Oregon where we camped for two nights along the Willamette River at Black Canyon Campground. The weather gods smiled upon us and we enjoyed lots of sunshine and relatively warm temperatures.

Our last long driving day took us from our campground just outside of Eugene, Oregon to Bay View State Park near Bellingham. We all enjoyed exploring the rock beach and Andy and I celebrated 22 years of marriage (whodathunk?!).

Tomorrow morning we will do our last bit of provisioning (food, fuel) before boarding the ferry to head north to Alaska and then the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Hard to believe after a lot of dreaming and planning we are finally on our way!

Sadly, it is time to head back to Tucson. School starts August 8 (Becca is off to seventh grade and Jay will be starting Kindergarten), and we want to give the kids a week at home to settle in before heading off to school.

Since it is difficult to find campsites on the weekend without a reservation, we decided to leave Oregon on a Wednesday and find a lovely campground enroute to spend the weekend, and then complete the drive to Tucson on Sunday and Monday.

Our first driving day was a long one …. thirteen hours! The kids did great, in part due to the ‘flying snack incentive program’. Before leaving Oregon we loaded up on lots of yummy snacks – things we do not normally buy. As we were driving, we would periodically toss the kids treats if they were behaving (i.e. no whining, no bickering).

We were hoping to find a camping spot in Lake Tahoe … but when we arrived there it was a zoo! Not only were there no camping spots, there were tons of people and cars parked everywhere. We reset the GPS and headed up to Mammoth Lakes, high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We anticipated cool temps and uncrowded mid-week campgrounds. We found neither. Pulling into town we went by several campgrounds that were full, before finally finding a spot at Old Shady Rest Campground for just one night. We settled in for a too warm night and then headed out in the Jetta in the morning to find a camping spot for the next three days. We visited five campgrounds and all were full. Back at our campground there was a spot available for two nights, and we appealed to the campground host to let us stay for three. We were apparently convincing enough (or more likely pathetic enough) that she agreed to let us take the spot until Sunday.

Our days at Shady Rest were lazy. Our only outings were to a great playground located half a mile away, with a paved bike path to get there. The kids had fun playing there and Becca was able to convince her brother to try some bicycle stunts in the skate park.

Sunday we got on the road at 6:00 a.m. After ten long hours of driving through the desert, and chucking snacks at the well behaved children, we arrived in Blythe. We camped at Mayflower County Park, and spent all of our time in the RV with the air conditioning set at max cooling.

Monday was another early start, but fortunately a shorter driving day. Even after being rerouted because of the closure of I-10, due to an accident, we still arrived home shortly after noon.

And here we are …

Until next time …..