Walmart: An RVers Best Friend?

My ideals seem to have left me. My long-standing boycott of Walmart has completely ended. I no longer get upset that small mom-and-pop stores are going out of business. I don’t allow myself to think about the exploited workers or Walmart’s disdain of unions. I now find that I get excited when we approach a town or city large enough to have a Walmart. I know we are near because I’ve even purchased map books that tell just where all the Walmarts are located in each state or Canadian province.

Even before we started the trip, we learned that Walmart is an RVers friend. Most stores have an entire section of RV supplies at almost half the price of dedicated RV stores. Plus, we learned that most Walmarts allow RVers to camp in the parking lots for free. We assume that Walmart hopes we will purchase all our food, clothing, and camping equipment from them.

When I started seeing the cost of food at small grocery stores near state and national parks, I started to panic. How can they charge $6.99 for a box of cereal that HEB and Walmart sell for $2.50? I started getting angry when I saw their prices. So, off to Walmart I go when I get the chance. I stock up on anything that will keep. I’ve started purchasing lots of frozen and canned food. Adolfo has now taken to shopping with me to curtail my spending at Walmarts.

Adolfo and I have yet to camp at a Walmart. In Fairbanks we drove up to the Walmart and Adolfo’s jaw dropped. “Are all those people freeloading?” The parking lot was full of RVs.

Then, we both saw poles beside each parking space. On the top of the poles were electrical plug-ins. “Is that what I think it is?” Adolfo asked as he started to reach into his wallet to tear up his KOA membership card. We looked around, and none of the RVs were hooked up. Meanwhile, cars with Alaska plates all had electrical cords hanging from the front of the cars. But why? Is Alaska way more progressive than the rest of the nation in electric car use?

No, these were normal gas-guzzling vehicles. Alaskans have to plug in their cars to keep them warm in –40 or –50 degree temperatures when the anti-freeze actually freezes. Walmart, wanting to be sure that its customers spend plenty of time in the store without worrying about their cars, provides the hook-ups. Wow! They are not only friends to RVers; they also support the average shopper.

Here in Denali we met another couple who are full-timing. We explained that we had no income and were just surviving on savings. When we explain this to others, we generally get comments about bank robbing or rich relatives. Instead, this couple asked, “You’re not paying for camping, are you?”

Looks like we will be camping at Walmart once we get to Anchorage.

When we finally settle down and start earning incomes, perhaps I can return to my righteous boycott of Walmart.

Keep the Alaska Highway Weird!

“This country ain’t nothing but
miles and miles of miles and miles
of nothing.”
--Worker on the Alaskan Highway, 1942

I beg to differ with the above quote. After six long days (the days are really long up here) we have finished driving the 1422 miles of the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska. Along the route, we have seen many beautiful sights, and a few weird ones. I’ll dedicate this post to the weird.

1. Although Canadians seem to be fairly progressive when it comes to their First Nations people, this business proudly displayed this wooden statue of a stereotypical “Indian.”



2. Honestly, I have no idea what these plastic igloos are for.



3. For some reason, this oilfield in British Columbia decided to pride itself on being Redneck.



4. There are regular wildlife crossing signs along the road, but three odd ones were: Sasquatch Crossing, bison and RV collision, and men chasing balls. Humm?





5. Alaska Highway graffiti is the most progressive I’ve seen. People write their messages with rocks. This is not necessarily weird, but it's worth mentioning. Perhaps it will catch on in other places.




6. The few churches we saw along the highway looked like makeshift warehouses.



7. Some of the buildings have a very odd look as well.





8. Folks in Watson Lake, Yukon appear to be very lost.



9. Cautious Airstream owners protect their trailers from rocks by covering them with bubble wrap and aluminum foil. Perhaps they were more intelligent than us; we have a few dings.



10. Speed is enforced by cardboard cops.

A Scampering Apple?

As I checked out our campsite at Deadman Lake, I saw what appeared to be a huge red apple scurrying toward me. I thought these long days were getting to me, so I did a double-take. At closer look, I realized it was a squirrel carrying an apple. The apple was so big that it obscured the squirrel.

When the squirrel spotted me, it panicked. Both legs spread, and it dropped the apple. But only for a second. It grabbed hold of the apple again and moved to the left where it could hide behind some shrubs and work on the apple. Just then, a gray jay spotted the squirrel and landed on a branch nearby. According to the wildlife info. in the campground, the gray jays are “camping thieves,” and I think the squirrel knew this because he kept a firm grasp on that apple. Another gray jay showed up a few seconds later.

Aware of the threat, the squirrel sunk his teeth deeper in that apple and headed up a tree. He had to do some extra dancing to get that huge prize up the tree, but he was an acrobat. Although at a loss of sight, he scrambled up that tree in no time and then jumped across to another tree, escaping from my view.

Boondocking Without a Gun

RVs camping for free along the road

After complaining about camping costs, Adolfo and I finally decided to follow the smart crowd and stay overnight on the side of the road. I’ve been nagging Adolfo for days to do this. After all, everyone else on the road seems to be avoiding the $35.00 RV parking lot costs to stay in overview pullouts with mountain-, river-, or lake-views. Adolfo was concerned that it might be illegal, immoral, or unsafe. For me, frugality always seems to win out over silly concerns such as safety.

So, this evening as we drove beside the Yukon’s biggest lake, Kluane, I mentioned that we should pull over and take some pictures. We got out, took pictures, talked with another couple making the trip on a motorcycle, and got very comfortable. Again, I nagged, “Geez, Adolfo, this might be a nice place to spend the night.”

Our gorgeous free camp site!

“I would if there was another trailer doing it” Adolfo stated, trying to sound willing, “but it just seems too unsafe by ourselves.” We rested some more. After about thirty minutes, I saw a motor home pull in. I watched carefully for signs that they were planning to stay.

Nothing for a while. I gave up waiting for signs, and when a man came out of the trailer, I walked over and started general conversation. “Where are you from?” “Where are you headed?” He answered and then asked me if we were staying over night. Bingo.

“I think so. How about you?” I asked.

“We’ll stay if you do,” he responded. “My wife was concerned it might not be safe unless someone else were here, too.”

“We’re in the same boat,” I admitted, “We’ll stay” I promised without consulting Adolfo.

A while later, while we were chatting with the couple, another rig pulled in. A man in camo came over and began chatting with us while his grand children took out bikes and started riding around the area.

In a short time the two men started discussing border regulations and guns. The man in camo described how he used to hide his guns so border agents wouldn’t find them.

“I feel naked without a gun” he claimed.

“I’m sure glad you’re staying here with us” the other suggested.

At some point in the conversation, the man in camo explained that passing guns over the border isn’t a big issue, you just have to fill out some paperwork.

“I’m gonna buy a gun in Fairbanks” the first guy exclaimed.

I thought about it a bit this evening. With all the terrible warnings about bears, and signs like this one, I have to admit that these two men are far more likely to survive in this area of the world than I am.

Still, I think I’ll skip the gun shopping in Fairbanks.

Hot Springs Go Green

You may have noticed that I’m a sucker for hot springs, so when I heard about Liard Hot Springs along the Alaska Highway, I was determined to go.

Each of our hot springs experiences has differed considerably from the last(Hot Springs, Arkansas; and Bozeman Hot Springs, Montana). This visit was absolutely the best. These springs are part of a provincial park in Northern British Columbia. We drove in and found our campsite—there were very few left and we arrived early in the day. The campsites were gorgeous with lots of greenery to give you privacy from the other campers. I miss this since most RV parks are more like parking lots.

We set up camp, rested, and headed to the hot springs at about 5pm. The walk to the springs was fairly short along a wooden walkway weaving through a very green forest of ferns, wild roses, and trees.

The springs were natural except for the boardwalk and steps down into the springs. We rested on logs and rocks as we relaxed in the water. It was nice to sit and talk with other visitors from all over the world.

This morning, Adolfo and I made a final visit to the hot springs for photos. We found a number of workers in the water cleaning out algae—no wonder the rocks, logs, and bottom didn’t feel slimy. I stopped to chat with a few of the guys. Several of them live in this area year round. I cannot imagine living in a place where the temperature falls 50 degrees below 0 Celsius. However, the idea of swimming in the hot springs in cold weather sounds great. They agreed that it is the perfect place to be in winter. In fact, they said that it is customary to celebrate New Years at the springs. Plus, there isn’t the fear of bears in winter, and you have the pool to yourself most of the time.

This didn’t convince me to move to the area, but I have to admit that a trip in the fall did sound tempting.

Alaska or Bust

Alaska Highway Mile '0' Post

We have arrived at Dawson Creek, British Columbia, mile '0' of the Alaskan Highway. The town milks the reputation—and why not if you only have two months of tourism to base your economy on. To be fair, though, everyone there was very helpful and most museums and information is gratis or given for a donation.

The Visitor Center is located at the center of all four highways going in and out of town. It is also Alaska Highway museum, wildlife museum, railroad museum, art gallery, and photograph central where you can get photos beside the Alaska Highway sign or the mile zero sign or the metal man pointing to the highway statue. As one worker commented, working in the visitor center made him “busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.” Not sure what this means, but it sounded busy.

From the museums and brochures I learned some interesting history of the town such as:

The town wasn’t always at this location; it moved five times. It came to this location when the Northern Alberta Railway purchased land and came through here. People put their houses on rolling logs and hauled them here with horses. Interestingly, people like us and hundreds of other Alaska-going folks still haul their wheeled homes to or through Dawson Creek.

Dawson Creek Art Gallery, Visitor Center, Railroad Museum...etc.When the railroad came to the area, a bunch of grain elevators were built in the area. One of these remains and is used at the art gallery where residents sell their art and crafts to tourists.

The town was named after a disabled botanist, geologist, paleontologist, surveyor, anthropologist, and photographer George Mercer Dawson. Father of Canadian Anthropology, this talented man explored British Columbia and the Yukon, photographing and documenting information about the First Nations people of the area.

Vicky at Dawson Creek Mile '0' Sign

After Pearl Harbor was attacked in Hawaii, the U.S. believed the Japanese would attack Alaska and move down into mainland U.S. Determined to get military supplies to Alaska before the Japanese got theirs to us, the army sent tens of thousands of troops to Dawson Creek to build a 1500 mile highway in less than a year. The initial highway was finished 8 months later.

Adolfo at beginning of Alaska Highway

Tomorrow we will start up the highway. We’re told it is in good condition with only a few construction projects. Let’s hope so.

Confederates Stake Claim to Jasper Lake

As we drive around Banff and Jasper National Park in Canada, I’ve enjoyed watching people and their activities.

After visiting Lake Louise, Adolfo and I started a hike up to Mirror Lake. I huffed and puffed my way up the steep trail, but gave up after a while and told Adolfo to go on. On my way back down I met two older Australian women. They were happy to have escaped their tour group to take the tough hike to Mirror Lake and farther to another lake. As we walked down together, I felt like a wimp since I hadn’t even finished the shorter hike.

The long drive from Banff to Jasper is amazingly. Breathtakingly beautiful snow covered mountains tower over the highway. People crowd into the turnouts to take pictures of the gorgeous scenes. In one of these vista points a woman stood with an easel, painting the scene. I stood behind her and watched how her brush strokes were transformed into a mirror of the scene before her.

Athabasca Falls in Jasper create a deep gorge. Interestingly, the waters abandoned an older gorge allowing the park service to create a stairway so that people can walk down the gorge and admire how the water sculpted the sides.

There, we looked down on the river below. It was the starting point for a river rafting company. Four boats were ready to take off. Guides were instructing people on how to paddle. It was fun to see how difficult it was for people to coordinate their paddles and move the boats forward. I was jealous that I wasn’t in one of those boats as it headed for rapids down the river.

On our way back from Athabasca Falls, we stopped at Horseshoe Lake. As we entered, the lake didn’t look like much but a large puddle. We could hear teenagers yelling and splashing off to the left, though. I think Adolfo was about to turn around (he doesn’t appreciate screaming teens), but a park ranger caught his attention. I think he wanted to see the teens get busted, so we headed toward the noise. There we found a beautiful lake that wound through tall rocks. A teenage girl stood atop a cliff, pacing back and forth as others yelled for her to jump. The park ranger walked around the back toward an ice chest. He pulled several boys away and ticketed them for having open liquor. $300. Adolfo smiled.

Meanwhile, the girl continued to debate whether she should jump or not. This lasted for about a half hour before a large group of boys showed up, one of the boys jumped. That did the trick, the girl jumped, too. Both screamed in shock as they hit the frigid glacier water. The dive wasn’t nearly as scary as the water temperature, they agreed when they surfaced.

Jasper Lake was our final destination in the two parks. Along the lake were families swimming and wading in the water. The lake wasn’t as pretty as the others, so we didn’t stop. However, a group caught our attention at the end of the lake. They sat together, perhaps at a picnic. A large confederate flag waved in the wind beside them. “What the &($@!,” I exclaimed. Was this a group of American Southerners who gave up on the U.S. and decided to claim Canada? Was it a group of Canadians who were tired of the cold and wanted to be Southerners in the U.S? Adolfo and I tried to figure it out as we drove down the road.

Water and Rock

Lake Louise of Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

I have always been amazed by the beauty of water and rocks. In Austin I decorated my garden with rocks, but I didn’t like the limestone I dug up in my backyard—too jagged. Instead, I bought river rocks. I like the way the water made them round and smooth. I also insisted on having a variety of colors. When I watered the lawn, I was sure to spray the rocks to brighten them up.

So, it is not surprising that I search out creeks, lakes, and waterfalls in the parks we visit. While Adolfo takes photos, I sit and watch the movement of the water. I like to see how the water sculpts the rocks. I walk around the lakes in search for rocks with good color and patterns. Then, I carefully set those rocks in the water to reveal their rich colors. It always gives me a little thrill.

Falling Water

Last time I visited Glacier National Park it was September and someone mentioned that the waterfalls weren’t as pretty as they would be earlier in the summer. So, this time we arrived in the early summer, and I was ready for some beautiful waterfalls.

We drove into the park on a cloudy day. Humm. Last time we were here we could see the a lot more of the mountains. Maybe it will be nicer tomorrow, I thought. We set up camp and headed for Going to the Sun Road. Sure enough, water was trickling down the rocks onto the road. We continued, heading for Logan Pass. What? The road was blocked off--closed well before Logan Pass. Upset at the closure, we returned to St. Mary’s where we comforted ourselves with coffee and a nice piece of berry pie at The Park Café.

After studying some maps, we returned to Saint Mary’s Lake the following day. Although it was raining, we decided to take the trail to St. Mary Falls and Virginia Falls. Both were gorgeous. St. Mary’s was rushing with water, pouring both from the top and the side. Virginia Falls was tall and powerful. What we didn’t expect to find was two other waterfalls. Again, they were very strong and beautiful. They flowed over red and green rocks. Along the sides grew fuzzy green moss.

It cleared up a bit on our third day, but the wind was fierce. Realizing we were not going to get perfect weather, we headed back into Going to the Sun Road. Along the way we saw stairs climbing up a steep mountainside. We decided to follow them. A good decision. The stairs led to Sunrift Gorge where water surged through rock. A small trail wound around the side of the gorge and up the mountain, so we followed it to see what was on the other side of the gorge. The wind was fierce, so we had to watch ourselves. Adolfo nearly lost his camera and tripod in the wind. I had difficulty staying on my feet, so I decided to sit down on the trail at several points to keep the wind from sweeping me off my feet. Still, we forged on.

Behind the gorge was a heavily flowing creek that had sculpted the red rock into smooth curves. The hillsides in front of us were amazing, too. Water wept, tumbled, and blew off mountains everywhere we looked. The wind created a unique sight that appeared to be steam rising from the cliffs. The trail itself had become a stream as the water took every available route to fall off the mountains. Luckily Adolfo and I both have new waterproof hiking boots. We followed the trail/stream until the water pressure became too dangerous to continue.

Blackfeet Country

Babb and Browning, Montana

Last night was horrible. Strong winds and rain made the trailer feel like a boat. We rocked all night while listening to the menacing sound of wind roaring through the mountains.

In the morning we decided to stay away from the windy park, so we headed to the nearby towns of Babb and Browning. Both towns are on a Blackfeet reservation. Babb borders Glacier, so much of what we saw there catered to tourists. Browning was different.

As we entered Browning we began to see signs reading Vote for Cheryl Little Dog or Vote for Timothy “Tim” Sure Chief. Most of the signs were hand-painted ether with stencils or freehand. It was refreshing to see that somewhere in the United States elections seemed authentic and people didn’t spend millions of dollars in printing costs. The names on the signs were great, too. Roger “Sassy” Running Crane sounded like a winner to me.

On a mission to find a new seat cover for the driver’s seat of the truck, Adolfo stopped at an auto parts store. We both walked in to lots of stares. We obviously were not from Browning. The store was too small to carry seat covers, so we gave up the search and headed down the street. We turned at an Espresso shop shaped like a teepee.

Still farther down the road we passed a trading post. Adolfo wanted to know what a trading post was. I was quite certain it would be a tourist gift shop, but didn’t want to tell Adolfo for fear he would not stop. The shop did have some tourist stuff, but I was surprised to find that it had jeans, shoes, and jewelry supplies. It was more for residents of the area than for tourists. Cool. I bought some beads for yet another craft project, after all, I have finished Jane’s baby quilt.

On the way out of town we passed murals and messages on walls including one that read Obama for Blackfeet Country.

Our trip back to Glacier ended with another campaign sign, VOTE OLDPERSON.