Loneoak's Alaska Trip

[Loneoak]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Wow,
I wonder how long our lil camper sides would last if that Big Griz wants to get in bad enough ?!?

The bear was quite far away, we were in a shuttle bus and zoomed in to take that picture. So I don't think bears are an issue in the campgrounds.

[johnboytoo]

Understood, just kidding as we are headed for Colorado and the wife read on the parks website that they sell 'bear bells' for your dog - she says I'm walking him

[Papa-T]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Understood, just kidding as we are headed for Colorado and the wife read on the parks website that they sell 'bear bells' for your dog - she says I'm walking him

Sounds more like a dinner bell to me.

[johnboytoo]

True !!!

[Loneoak]

Here are some more pictures. We are in Anchorage and took a drive to Whittier in Prince Rupert Sound. The first picture is a view along the coast. The second picture shows the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. This was first constructed for rail traffic and then changed to allow for highway traffic. Since it is only one lane, the traffic alternates direction every half hour. The tunnel is 2.5 miles long. The next picture is a close-up of the Portage Glacier. The last picture shows that this area is like a rain forest with more vegetation than other parts. It was raining when we were there.

[AbbaZabba]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Understood, just kidding as we are headed for Colorado and the wife read on the parks website that they sell 'bear bells' for your dog - she says I'm walking him

Bears you say?

[Lloyd]

OK guys. You are Hi-jacking Loneoak's Alaska thread.

[Loneoak]

We had an adventure today.

We were about twenty miles east of Palmer, Alaska, and a little over an hour out of Anchorage on the way to Valdez. We were approaching a winding section of road when a car passed both us and the motor home following us. We figured the driver was in a real hurry. Then the car slowed in front of us and was not in a hurry at all.

After a couple of miles, the road straightened, and then the driver of the car slowed more, put on his four way flashers, and drove in the opposing lane. We found this very odd, and then the passenger rolled down her window. Robin, who was driving at the time, did the same. The passenger told us our right rear trailer tire had blown out quite a piece back. We put on our four way flashers and drove slowly until we found a nice little parking lot not very far away. The tire was completely gone – only a few pieces of rubber remained! Luckily there was no damage to the trailer, as so often happens with a tire blow-out.

We are very grateful someone took the time and effort to alert us of the problem.

Robin changed the tire, and then I called Good Sam to ask where we could buy a new one since we did not want to drive around without a spare. We were told to go to Midas, back in Palmer. We called them, they had the correct tire, and we drove back to Palmer and had the new tire installed. We did not have Good Sam come out to change the tire because that might have taken even longer.

Robin had the foresight before we embarked on this trip to put the trailer spare tire in the bed of the pick-up, making it easier to access if we should need it. The tire was very tricky to get off the bottom of the trailer, and a friend we visited near the beginning of trip had figured out how to do that when we were at his place.

We arrived at Valdez at 6:30 p.m.

Today was by far the most beautiful scenery we have seen on this trip. The internet here is pretty good, so I will post pictures when we have downloaded them and sorted them out.

Little adventures like this sometimes happen when you take the time and initiative to go on a long trip like this, but the rewards are many and worth the effort. We make friends along the way, see amazing scenery, see wild animals, and learn so much about other places and other people.

[Loneoak]

Here are some pictures we took today between Anchorage and Valdez. The first picture shows what was left of our tire. The second is a river. All the rivers and creeks in this part of the world seem to be in a real hurry! The next two pictures are examples of some of the views we saw on the way to Valdez, the last one showing a glacier.

[johnboytoo]

Wow. just wow !!! what an adventure you are on !


FYI, given that your remaining tire was carrying the load for two tires for a while, I would consider replacing it (or at least having it looked at closely for any issues)

[Loneoak]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

Wow. just wow !!! what an adventure you are on !


FYI, given that your remaining tire was carrying the load for two tires for a while, I would consider replacing it (or at least having it looked at closely for any issues)

Thanks. My husband checked it carefully and checked the pressure as well. It appears to be o.k.

[mark5w]

Can you tell us what type and size of tire? ST or LT?

Glad you got a new spare and you and the rv are fine.

[Loneoak]

Originally Posted by mark5w

Can you tell us what type and size of tire? ST or LT?

Glad you got a new spare and you and the rv are fine.

We have Goodyear Marathon ST tires 18, 10 ply

[johnboytoo]

good ole' marathons

Goodyear paid for my tire, body repairs, and service call from a 5'ers blowout...

take pics, throw the tire carcass in the pickup bed, and contact goodyear...

[Loneoak]

Originally Posted by johnboytoo

good ole' marathons

Goodyear paid for my tire, body repairs, and service call from a 5'ers blowout...

take pics, throw the tire carcass in the pickup bed, and contact goodyear...

The tire carcass is gone - we did not think to keep it. I do obviously have a picture. The tires are two years old. We have been to Florida twice, the east coast once, Indiana twice, a number of smaller trips, and now all the way to Alaska. It would be difficult to determine the mileage on them. Would that be an issue?

[johnboytoo]

They never asked me how many miles...
I think they just wanted to test the tire and they gave me the check before any testing could have been done...

Send an email to pdct@goodyear.com
with all the particulars - tire info, where it happened, pics, cost, etc...

and they will respond with a form for you to fill out...

good luck !

[Loneoak]

Here are some more pictures. The first one is the Salmon Glacier, near Hyder, Alaska. The second one is an eagle near Hyder. The third one shows signs as you leave Hyder to go to Stewart, BC. The last picture is Bear Canyon on your way into Stewart.

[Papa-T]

Loanoak have you tried any gold mining while you've been there? Please say yes! My dream vacation. Thanks for taking us along with your pictures and post.

[Loneoak]

Originally Posted by Papa-T

Loanoak have you tried any gold mining while you've been there? Please say yes! My dream vacation. Thanks for taking us along with your pictures and post.

Sorry, no. Neither one of us were too interested in leaning over a stream with a pan. A friend of ours (someone we met along the way) did it and got a tiny flake. I noticed in Whitehorse that they sell gold panning pans in the Home Hardware store.

[Papa-T]

Good luck. So how many tires have you gone through. I've always heard to take a spare and two extra.