Wandering from Tennessee to Alaska, and back, 2023

[aigheadish]

The past few days of your reports look especially neat! 

[barbender]

 Those pulp rollers...I've seen them in old videos before. Don't worry about putting the load on neat, just swing over to the rollers and straighten the load out😊

 I'm loving your pictures, what a great trip!

[Andries]

Thanks for the photos Machinebuilder, most of the last two instalments look very familiar.
Those pulp rollers are surprisingly, full of rocks. That gives them the mass and un-crushable nature that forces a sloppy pulp load into a neat and tidy load. There's some heavy duty bearing and foundation steel in there. They're found closer to active cutting areas.

[Stephen1]

Great pictures and thanks for the tour. I spent 2 months in Gimli Manitoba on the Air Force base in 1979. It was the training grounds for Canadian Nation Railway Locomotive Engineers. They had the 2 locomotive simulators. They were one of a kind at the time.  In fact the Smithsonian Institute bought one when they finally closed the facility in the late 80's. 

[DbltreeBelgians]

This is looking like a great trip. Enjoy your retirement. Ya only live once. Be safe,

Brent

[Machinebuilder]

I made it into Saskatchewan yesterday 

I had to argue with my bank for too long Wednesday/Thursday  the had locked my online access and I wasn't able to reset my password. I had to call my branch at home and explain several times where I was before he went through what I couldn't and get it reset. 
This is an issue when you're not sure how much is coming out so to exchange rates and foreign bank fees

Fortunately it is working now. 

Coming north through Riding Mountain NP. I saw 6 bears and 1 red fox along the road. The bear jams were Europeans that had not seen bears before. 

I try to get some more pictures up in the next couple days

[Old Greenhorn]

Well, there are bound to be a few bumps in the road, glad you got it worked out. I surely am enjoying travailing along with you. I never heard the term 'bear jam' before. Gotta remember that one. I chased a black bear out of my backyard in the middle of the afternoon yesterday. Medium sized guy maybe 2 years old.
 Keep on truckin'!

[barbender]

Bear and other wildlife "jams" are very common in Yellowstone and other parks I've been to our west. One time, a couple of young buffalo bulls were walking down the road in a canyon, and they had traffic backed up for about 3 miles behind them. I was chuckling when we finally got up to where they were walking down the road and passed them, they had hundreds of cars backed up and driving around them, and not a care in the world. I told the kids they probably walked up to the end of the canyon, turned around and walked back down the other way, just doing it for fun😂

[Machinebuilder]

5-25

I went north through Riding Mountain NP to Dauphin, I saw 6 bears and a fox along the road.



 



 

Not much there now, it was the last mill operating in the park



 



 



 

After Dauphin I went to Duck Mountain PP

Baldy Mt, the highest point in Manitoba.



 

Gabby went up the tower with me



 

Sox didn't and cried at the bottom



 

I camped at the park

[Walnut Beast]

Great pictures!! 

[Machinebuilder]

5-26

it was a rainy day, i made it to Swan River and stopped at there heritage museum

Lots of pioneer, farming, and some lumber industry.



 



 



 



 

I made it into Saskatchewan and stopped in Love for the night



 


I saw several fields with these little tents, I had to ask what the are for and they are for cutter bees, brought in for polinazation



 

[Machinebuilder]

5-27/28

Prince Albert NP



 



 



 



 

I liked my camp at Sandy Lake enough to spend the day there yesterday

[Stephen1]

Sometimes it's just nice to sit and relax. Great pictures.

[Machinebuilder]

I realized I didn't mention a couple things. 

While in camp at sandy lake  Prince Albert np
I saw a fox run through my camp. The dogs were already in bed. Then a beaver swimming in the lake

The second night I was cleaning up after dinner when Sox went berserk, I found out that someone had just seen a mamma bear with 2 cubs minutes before along the road. We presume Sox saw it. 

My bear alarm works. 

[Machinebuilder]

5-29

I didn't take any pictures, not much across Saskatchewan 

I stopped for the night in Meadow Lake PP

5-30 Meadow Lake PP  its a place to go fishing, lots of small lakes with little shore access



 



 

And made it into Alberta, Stopped in Lac La Biche and camped in Sir Winston Churchill PP



 





 



 

There is a Fox den under their woodshed



 

5-31 
I then stopped at the mission/residential school



 





I camped at Ghost lake
the dogs didn't like being kept i the camper when a family of beavers where swimming around in the lake
They had stolen a piece of firewood and had it stripped bare by the AM. 3 small ones and 2 big ones



 

[Machinebuilder]

I stopped in Slave Lake and found a nice beach for the dogs to run and chase birds
I had to call them back from swimming after a couple



 



 

I am camped at Smokey River now this is the first camp I've had 5g service at

After looking at road conditions I think I am going to go to Dawson Creek tomorrow verify a few things then backtrack a little, go to Woods Buffalo NP in the NWT and circle back to the Alaskan Highway.
I will save the top of the world highway and Dempster until I am coming home and the roads are not frozen still.

I may be going to Atlin BC, Scagway Ferry ride to Haines and then on to Fairbanks and the rest.

[tule peak timber]

Taking the ferry sounds great! What about walking the dogs onboard? Keep the pics coming! ! 8)

[Machinebuilder]

As I recall the ferry between Skagway and Haines is only 1 1/2 hours, the dogs can stay in the truck that long.

[Machinebuilder]

Well the visitor center in Dawson Creek didn't have much more info than I already had on road conditions.
But the young lady sent me to a fairly decent optician to get my glasses adjusted, they had gotten a bit bent.

There was a line to get your picture at the famous sign.


 

I went to the visitor center and Museum first



 

this was interesting in the museum, home built snowmobile in 1935



 

The Historic Start of the Alaskan Highway



 

[DbltreeBelgians]

Wow this is an awesome trip you are on. And the pictures and narration make a person feel like the next best thing to being there. Keep the pics and stories coming. 
Thanks for bringing us along,

Brent

[Machinebuilder]

From Dawson Creek I backtracked so I can loop up through the Northwest Territories and Woods Buffalo NP

the Next stop was Donvegan, the site of a fur trading post
most of the pictures I took aren't very good, I saw this in the campground



 

 

I have to wonder............How many people tried and fell?

I got a nice picture of the bridge



 

The Day use shelter had some really nice murals



 

I'm going to rant a little
The new method of getting campsites stinks, many of the governmental campgrounds are unmanned now. You are supposed to go online and reserve a site ahead of time, print your receipt to post in camp. When you travel day to day like me and there is minimal or no cell service in many places AND the website doesn't work, you can try to call the phone number and get put on indefinate wait. I have had to skip paying on  a few camps because of this.
A lot of these campgrounds only have sites with electric hookups, I don't even have a drop cord to plug in, I run off my battery and solar.
Rant over

[Machinebuilder]

Thanks Brent

Grimshaw, AB



 

This is what they used before the road was built



 

and I though making a small detour to Fort Vermillion was a good plan

AND I GOT TO RIDE A FERRY

the Le Crete Ferry, its a free ferry across the Mackenzie river.



 


 

As I failed to realize that many things are not open Sunday AM, I missed the Menonite museum in Le Crete and the museum in Fort Vermillion (Very Small)

the Old Bay House, Built by the big wig in the Hudson Bay Store



 

Catholic church from early 1900's



 

[Machinebuilder]

 6-4 I made it to the Northwest territories



 

Twin Falls canyon

Alexandra Falls



 

Louise Falls



 

and over to Woods Buffalo NP and Fort Smith, part of the park is closed due to a fire.
I did see 3 groups of Bison, the first was 6 bulls, the second was a bunch but in the brush, the 3rd was a big bull.
I also saw a fox cross the road and 2 Sandhill Cranes. this is a nesting area for Whooping cranes, but it is a remote place.



 

That's all for now.

[Stephen1]

I agree Brent, I'm glad I found this post and am following along. I can't believe all that you have seen and great pictures to show us. 
Thanks and carry on!

[Machinebuilder]

Thanks for the kind remarks

They inspire me to do this. 

I wish y'all could see the things I don't get pictures of
Lots of logging
Sawmills, pulp mills
Fire areas and the forest regeneration 
Animals
Birds
Farms and equipment 
The old towns
The breathtaking views

I take a lot of pictures and heavily cull what I edit and post. 

I'm happy to know y'all enjoy it too