There are Strange Things Done in the Midnight Sun . . .

“There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold,” wrote Robert Service during the Klondike Rush.  And although the gold rush is over, we have seen (or been around) more interesting, odd, and scary things than normal travelers would.

1.  It began with the Brake Buddy.  Designed to help with braking, it is installed in the Jeep before every jaunt.  But it wouldn’t work – just the way we started our trip in 2013!  It was a source of frustration for several days until Don decided NOT to follow the instructions and connect it in reverse order. Voila!  It worked, and has not missed a beat since.

2.  And then there is Katie.  The first day we were with her, we picked her up at her RV park outside Missoula.  But she had a problem.  Her hitch had slipped and her fifth-wheel had fallen into the tailgate of her truck – her fairly new truck.  Oops - maybe we could get a large vinyl bandaid to go over it!  At first we thought it was going to be a major problem, but with some help from some of the people in the park, she was able to get her hitch working, and we did not have another problem until she and we were both broken down in Anchorage . . . stay tuned.

3.  We drove up the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park.  There were warnings about rock slides and falling rocks, but we didn’t think much of it.  Until a few days after we were there, a seven-year-old boy was killed when a rock crashed through his family’s car and crushed him.  How does that happen?  I ache for that family.

4.  On our way to Hinton, Alberta, emergency vehicles suddenly overcome us.  They flew by us, and one was towing a jet ski – we feared someone had drowned in the river nearby.  When traffic was held up for about 45 minutes, we thought maybe it was a car accident and the jet-ski was just part of their emergency runs.  When we finally drove past, however, we saw that a small plane had taken off from the Jasper Airport and had crashed into the river.  We were hoping everyone was all right, but unfortunately, the passenger passed away before the emergency equipment arrived.

5.  As we were leaving Hinton for Whitehorse, the Willie suddenly went into “limp-home” mode. It had done this just two weeks before we left, as we were heading to KC one last time before our trip.  Luckily this time it happened near a GMC dealership, and we were able to park in the visitor center lot for four days (but you have read about this before).  It took us a few days to catch up, but we did.

6.  In Valdez, many people kayak in the lake at the bottom of the Valdez Glacier.  It is common for people to paddle around at their leisure.  Imagine the situation a guide found himself in when he and his party arrived at the lake, only to find the lake full of icebergs and three kayakers killed, one thrown on top of one of the icebergs.  Although no one knows for sure what happened, it was probably one of two things:  either the glacier calved and the impact of the iceberg on the water put up such a wave that it swamped to three German tourists, or they had gotten too close to the mouth of the glacier and it calved upon them.  We believe the first is the most likely, but no one will ever know for sure.

7.  Also in Valdez, we noticed that the Willie was growling - really growling - and we knew from past experience that a "doughnut" in the exhaust system was coming loose.  Luckily, Don had brought an extra and after a few trips to the hardware store, he had it fixed.  Took most of the morning, but he did it, and Willie was happy.

Then, as we were preparing to leave, Katie tried to pull in her big slide . . . but to no avail.  It wouldn’t move. That was not good, since Rhonda and Jerri were going to be arriving soon.  It took everything Chuck and Bart had to get it pushed back into place . . . and then Katie dared not open it again.  Of course, Rhonda and Jerri arrived at midnight, and Rhonda had to sleep on the couch which could not be opened up.  Katie had called one RV dealer who could fix it in a week . . . and then she found a dealer who had the part in stock and could fix it the next day.  So while Don, Rhonda, Jerri and I went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and on to Quartz Creek, Katie got her slide fixed.  She arrived at Quartz Creek not long after we did, and the slide has worked flawlessly since.  But we should have known we were not done!

8.  As we were leaving Quartz Creek, the Willie acted up again.  This time we could not get the problem rectified so we called a tow truck.  And we had a $1300 tow (that our roadside assistance paid for) all the way back to Anchorage. We spent four nights in the Cabela’s parking lot, Willie spent a few more nights in the shop while we went to Homer, and then we came back and picked him up.  At the same time, the Jeep’s transmission went out. Since it would take the dealership 3 weeks to get to it, we went to Shifty’s Transmission, who had it ready in two days!  While we were in Anchorage, Katie’s hitch broke completely.  So we had an RV, a hitch, and a Jeep all in the shop at the same time.  Freightliner took care of her, however, since they had a hitch in stock, and within a day, she was up and going!

9.  As we left the Kenai for Anchorage and Denali, suddenly fires sprung up all around us.  The winds were like those in Kansas, and the spread of the fires went quickly.  Seward was surrounded by smoke and we drove to Anchorage in fire as thick as that when the Flint Hills are burning.  Then a fire north of Anchorage took hold and actually closed the road.  We were afraid we would not be able to get to Talkeetna, but because our vehicle problems had changed our itinerary by a day, we only had to wait about 45 minutes for the pilot car.  Fire was on both sides of the road, and the devastation was enormous.  At least 50 structures were destroyed, and they did not have the first completely out by the time we left Denali, though some much-needed rains were on the way.

Sheep Creek's remains - devastating

9.  As we began our trip home from Fairbanks, the road was very rough.  When we arrived at our campground, Don started to put out our big slide, and because of the rough road, something had jarred it so that it slipped a cog.  So we cannot open it . . . Bart’s slide also had difficulty, and he cannot open his.  Katie’s, too, but she managed to get hers going after a day or two.  Thank goodness we do not have to have the slide out . . . it is a bit cramped but we are managing.

10.  The weather has been highly unusual.  Anchorage has not received rain since late June (so it looked like a dry Kansas summer), and northern Alaska has received much more than normal. Denali had 4” just before we arrived, and as we were headed to Haines, we were told the road was closed due to mud slides (see my previous post on Haines.)  Anchorage has had record heat, and several days were warmer than expected . . . yet in Dease Lake, just before we arrived, they had 3 feet of snow!

11.  In Haines, a woman was parked in one of our reserved spots and had not yet checked out.  The manager of the park asked her to move her rig, which she gladly did . .  but she forgot to pull in her awning.  She slowly drove through the parking lot, and we all thought she was just moving.  But then she drove to the exit, only to hit the sign at the RV park and bend her awning.  Her rig was only a year old, and it was an expensive Mercedes one.  Thank goodness the remainder of her rig was unharmed . . . 

12. Then, as we were coming into our campground at Dease Lake, Willie had his same problem.  The next morning, after 6 “events,” we decided to unhook the Jeep and have me drive it.  That seemed to solve the problem, but it looks as if I may be driving the Jeep back the whole way.  We have 6 CDs in it – two Shania Twain, one Willie Nelson, one Gordon Lightfoot, one Garth Brooks, and one Brooks and Dunn.  I like them all, but 1800 miles of it?  Yikes!  One day I listened to CBC radio (as I moved through areas, I always found a station that carried it) and learned a lot, including the names of two books I plan to read.  Today I figured out how to listen to Heartland by Sarah Smarsh – remember this Jeep is a 2003, and at the time, iPhones did not even exist and a 6-CD changer was pretty deluxe. Anyway, we hope we can begin to tow, but we are pretty certain the issue has to do with rain water on the road . . . and we have had a little rain every day.

13.  When we were going through Hinton, Katie realized she needed a new fuel filter on her truck. Luckily, the same GMC dealer we went to was able to get her right in and out.  So, we arrived in Edmonton in great shape . . . or so we thought. Our RV park was lovely, there was a Starbucks just down the street, the dog park was amazing, we had a nice dinner.  What could go wrong? Well . . . now Katie’s hitch was acting up.  A nut and bolt were out of place, and Don and Bart could not get it back in, so she found an RV dealer who was able to fix it in less than an hour!

14.  OK, we arrived at the four lane – let’s go.  Or not.  We made it to Red Deer, and when we left, suddenly Willie decided to act up again.  There is no water on the road, so that can’t be it . . . but the day was warm so maybe that caused the problem.  We are stranded on the side of Highway 2, 43 miles from Calgary.  The Willie quit at about 3:30, we finally got a tow truck call by 5:00, and . . . it did not arrive because it got too dark.  Finally at 8:00 in the morning the truck arrived, after a long night of trucks whizzing by our bedroom. Why does this always happen on a Friday - all three breakdowns caused us to have to stay over a weekend in Hinton, Anchorage, and Calgary.  It has given us time to learn about some new towns, I guess.

15.  And perhaps the craziest of all, I have already written about meeting the Independent family at the top of the Edith Cavell glacier walk . . .  who would have thought!

We usually have chance encounters with people, or find people who know people, but we have never come across such a wide array of interesting (and tragic) events.  This is another reason people should travel . . . they meet great people, learn to overcome difficulties, and appreciate how other people live!