On the Rhoad with Rhonda, Day Three, June 17, 2010

If I were in charge of the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry timetable, I would not schedule a departure that required drivers, passengers and their vehicles to be queued up at the dock at the indecent hour of 7am for a 9am departure. I would change the departure to at least 11am so we wouldn't have to show up at the dock until 9. That way, Rhonda and I would not have had to get up at 5:00 in the morning....I really don't care if the sun has been up for hours. I should actually rephrase that. I would not have had Rhonda telling me at 5 in the morning that I need to get up and get into the shower :-( We had to get checked in at the ferry terminal early so we could make the "latte call" at Mountain Market at 7:00 a.m. to procure our highly coveted caffeine fix. With perfectly mastered lattes in hand, Rhonda and I decided to do one last quick tour of Haines. We were amazed at all the early-risers out walking their dogs! We commented on many of the structures of the downtown area, the sleepy little 'hoods and then greatly lamented the loss of touring one of the greatest attractions to be found in the hamlet of Haines lying along the Lynn Canal. The one and only highly coveted The Hammer Museum. A must see that we will definitely add to our Bucket List!

Driving with Rhonda for the last two days was more fun than I have had with her in quite awhile. We shared lots of stories and laughs along the way. She is easy to travel with and easy to love. It was with heavy heart when we bumped onto the ramp and into the belly of the ferry. This was it. Like Rhonda has said all along on this trip, "Once the door to the airplane is closed, there is no getting off". We lugged our reading materials, word puzzles and my ever-present 50lb laptop all over the ferry trying to find a perfect spot to set up. Rhonda went one way and I continued to meander through the halls and cubbies looking for the ever-elusive signal. The route was beautiful. We saw Orca and Humpback whales breaching, two picturesque lighthouses and listened to the Park Service rep as she told us the differences between black and brown bears...... We snacked, talked, compared puzzles and walked the decks. The day grew sunnier (always a good sign) and the temperature inched higher. Auke Bay came into view. Rhonda became quiet and walked up to the bow to watch the ferry dock. I looked at her and marveled at her courage to start again at the age of 60+. I have felt good about her decision and felt even more comfortable as we drove off the ferry. She pointed out familiar sights and talked about old friends and times gone by in her earlier days in Juneau. We hooked up with her good friend, Donica, and she patiently drove us from one public bulletin board to another. The next mission is to find a new, but temporary home, for our dear friend, Rhonda Sleighter, Squirrel Slayer.

On the Rhoad with Rhonda; Day Two, June 16, 2010

The day dawned with what seemed to be the promise of a little sun in Tok and after fueling up with both gasoline and two 16 oz cups of coffee, we were on our way. We had hoped to be on the road by 9am with an ETA of 4pm in Haines, AK. However, I ended up wandering around the hotel lobby and parking lot with an open laptop trying to pick up a strong enough signal to post Tuesday's blog. Rhonda patiently paced around waiting for me to get the darn thing posted AND then finally we were off ....... already 30 minutes behind schedule.......this did not bode well.....

We hadn't been on the road long when we began to encounter areas of road construction complete with flagmen and pilot cars. We pulled off at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Center to walk around a bit and take a "break". The visitor center was very informative and the views from the observation deck were fabulous. This also happened to be an area where traffic was being stopped for road construction. I was busy snapping pictures and doing the obligatory ooooiinnggg and ahhhinnnngg when I heard what was going to be a familiar refrain, "Hurry up Debi, we have to get ahead of all these RVs."

We were meticulous with our legal and proper documents and had ingested all forbidden fruits just before we sailed through the Canadian border into the Yukon Territory of Canada. Thank goodness we weren't asked about plants and quantity of wine......The road, for about 20 minutes, promised to be an improvement over what we had experienced up to the border. NOT! There were no construction/repair delays.......Canada just didn't seem to have road repairs at the top of their priority list. Stewart rocked from side to side and leaped over frost heaves as we made our way down the road. The reward for the rocky ride was to come upon a family of Trumpeter Swans on Highway Lake. As we discussed the awesomeness of this site we passed an unusual church.

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church was originally one of three missions on the north Alaska Highway (the other two are in Burwash Landing and Haines Junction). Lady of Grace was built in 1961 from a salvaged Quonset hut left over from the highway constructions days. A note taped to the door directed visitors across the highway to the RV park to get a key if they wanted to go inside the quaint little church. Rhonda and I were in deep discussion about this little church, the family of swans, the condition of the road for the next several miles when I decided to see if I had any "signal" for my cell phone as I was taking a drink of water. Where was the cell phone. PANIC!!!!! Did I drop it to the ground in my haste to exit Stewart to get a picture of the church? Rhonda looked over at me in her all-assuming manner and stated firmly to me as she maneuvered Stewart to the questionable shoulder of the road, "Debi, I want you to dump everything out of your purse to look for your phone BEFORE I turn around and retrace the last 30 minutes of this drive." If any of you have spent more than 24 hours with Rhonda, you know by the tone of her voice when she means business. I obediently dumped out my purse while clutching water bottle, sunglasses and jacket. Ah-ha! Score! There it was, in my purse....just not in its regular spot! I was expressing relief and gratitude for her patience when she blasted me with "Get in the car! Here come those RVs!" I gathered everything as quickly as I could as she rammed Stewart into drive and hit the gas. I put the contents back in my purse, set it on the floor and tossed my jacket in the back. I picked up purse only to discover water dripping from the bottom. Oh sh** where is the water bottle? Naturally, as my luck would have it, the water bottle was on the floor......empty as my feet sat in a puddle of water.......

Kluane Lake is a favorite part of the Alaska Highway for many repeat travelers. We looked forward to seeing this huge lake once again. As we expected, it was as fantastic as ever. Kluane Lake covers 248 square miles and is 43 miles long, The Alaska Highway follows most of Kluane Lake's southern border, and the drive offers many spectacular views of the lake. The Yukon communities of Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay are located on the southern shore of the lake.

Another little known lake which lies along the Haines Highway is the Dezadeash Lake. While not as large as Kluane Lake, it is equal in beauty and splendor.

As we came through Chilkat Pass at 3,510 ft, the snow was more abundant and up close and personal....not to mention the temperature had dropped to 45 degrees with the wind whipping. I wanted to get a picture of this area so Rhonda pulled over. It was late in the day. We had already been on the road 2.5 hours longer than we had planned. I strategically placed myself in front of the car as I snapped the pictures as I did not want her to abandon me along side the road in her never-ending quest to "stay ahead of those RVs".

Ahhhhhhhhh.....Haines at last! We checked into the Eagle's Nest Motel and called Rhonda's niece's mother-in-law, Deborah Davis, to let her know we had arrived. She joined us for a late dinner at the Lighthouse Restaurant. We spent about two hours chatting while getting to know each other better. As our luck would have it, she was the barista scheduled at the Mountain Market Thursday morning. She promised us excellent lattes if we stopped in on our way to the ferry dock the next day.

On the Rhoad with Rhonda Day 1; Tuesday, June 15, 2010

True to form, Rhonda showed up on time and we were Juneau bound at noon. She wanted to be in Tok by 6pm. We arrived at 6:02. I checked the weather early this morning. Tok promised to be partly sunny and 65 degrees. The thermometer never left 53 degrees during the entire drive. Never saw the sun or even a strip of blue sky. Obviously shorts were not the right attire for this day. Rhonda mentioned that her Honda CRV was not big enough for everything she wanted to bring. But by my estimation she had plenty of room for more. I was not encouraged when the first words out of her mouth when she came in the door this morning were, “If you weren't coming, I could have brought my three African Violets and Ivy plant.” Great! This is going to be fun.

First Stop, Tok

One posting I had on Facebook was wondering how many things Rhonda would say she forgot. It happened! Just as we were leaving Grand View with a latte in hand, she said “I hope I brought my fan. It might still be on the floor in my bedroom”. Of course my thought was why on earth would she worry about a fan while living in Juneau? I think it is a record if the temp gets into the 70's and stays there for days on end during the summer.

The perfect ending to a perfect day is walking into the Tok Westmark Lobby to find it all decked out in a Valentine's Day theme. How lucky for us.... it is their annual “Love Week”. Unfortunately we were not the chosen “Love Couple of the day” so our room was not in theme with red satin sheets and bedspread, rose pedals, balloons and chocolate roses. Inquiring minds want to know so Rhonda asked about all the red hearts, cupids and garland decorations and we were told it is because they are closed in the winter, so Valentine's Day and Christmas are celebrated during the summer. So if you want to visit Tok, come the third week in July. That's when they celebrate “Christmas in July”!

Every time I travel the Glenn towards Valdez, I swear Matanuska Glacier is smaller and smaller. Rhonda agreed that it doesn't seem as massive as it did many years ago. However, it is still breath taking....even on a very cloudy day. The mountainside just north of Sheep Mtn was beautiful. The Copper River threaded its way along the route and is still impressive even on a drizzly day.