"Can I get 3 feet of tin foil? That's all I need"

Today's ridiculous question from one of the campers. (Ever here of a grocery store?) I guess because we are the campground "Hosts" we are also expected by some to be the local convenience store, medical supplier, local bank, and provider of mechanical tools.

We have been asked for $5,00, $10.00, a box, neosporin, cold medicine, an extra chair, 6 paper plates, tin foil, cork screw, can opener, ice, hammer, grease gun, screwdriver, wrench, scissors, the use of our computer, printer....Yup. I think that's about it.

This weekend begins the real 'craziness' as vendors will arrive for the fair. We are completely exhausted with all of it. If we could just make it through one night with no disruptions, it would help. Friday night was 'domestic disturbance' in Site "C". Saturday night was LOUD talking in the middle of the night by some woman not even staying here. And last night was just the typical campers who sleep all day, but are UP all night. We figure we may have to buy a new door for our 5th wheel trailer, because ours has been knocked on so many times and opened and closed several hundred more, that it will be worn out by September.

Ahh, the life of a campground manager. And they have invited us to come back next year! No thanks.

My 'Bloomin' Roof"!

The campground office complete
with 'hobbit door' and flowering roof
(click images to enlarge)

A closeup of the roof
(wildflowers)

Finally, the wildflowers are blooming on the roof! And....the Carni's are coming! Fair time is just 2 weeks away and the carnival people are beginning to arrive. The campground is adjacent to the fairgrounds and we have been warned about how crazy things will get. Can it get any crazier? Oh my goodness! Hope I'm ready for it.
Between selling Arctic Circle tours, Dri Wash 'n Guard and running the campground, this summer has been nuts.

Motorcyle MotorHome?

This interesting vehicle pulled in to the campground last night as we returned from the wedding. A 'homemade' motorcycle/motorhome combination. Pretty cool!

Great weekend!

Tyler & Amanda (my baby girl)
(click on pictures to enlarge)

Alicen (my granddaughter) and me

Tyler & Alicen being silly


The kids came up from Anchorage, and we celebrated our daughter's 20th Birthday, attended my niece's wedding, and had brunch at Pike's, served by my nephew.

It was a fantastic but flying two days! We taught Tyler how to play "oh heck", and managed to squeeze in a few games. They had brought a bottle of Greek wine, some Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio with them; so we drank some wine, ate Rum cake and Viennese Torte, and Amanda opened her gifts.

The weather cooperated for the wedding last night, so all went well with that. The bride was beautiful!

Stuck in Prudhoe Bay

Well, Henry's day trip to Prudhoe has turned in to a two day trip. As is common for Prudhoe Bay, the clouds and fog roll in, and the planes can't roll out. He won't be back until Tuesday!
What next?

BlackJack and Stuart....

BlackJack on the left..Stuart on the right
Stuart was the Schnauzer we had when we lived
in Anchorage. We had given him to my brother and
his family in Fairbanks. He looks great!

Caden and Stuart. (how cute!)

Exciting Travels?

As our summer is flying by, we feel our fulltime lifestyle has been put on hold untill we leave Alaska.

Working too hard and not playing at all best describes our day to day routines for now.
For example, Henry flew out early this morning, after getting up at 5 a.m. (no one should have to awake at 5:00 a.m. for anything). He flies from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay, then boards a bus for a one hour ride to catch a helicopter that will take him to an island northwest of Prudhoe.

I will stay here and run the campground, cleaning out firepits, collecting money, and hopefully booking more tours. The tours have proved to be worth my time. For every tour, whether it's to the Arctic Circle, Chena Hot Springs or Manley Hot Springs, I receive 20% in cash, on the day I book the tour. The Arctic Cirlce tour is everyones preference and earns me some decent money for very little work and time. Talk it up, take their $$, and watch my 20% grow. Far more rewarding than being the campground host'ess'.

Then....Why is it so difficult to find good help anymore? They want the money, but don't want to earn it. The couple I have cleaning the bathrooms receive their site for free plus laundry allowance, yet they take the laundry allowance and buy alcohol with it, drink all night, sleep all day, and from one day to the next, I never know if they will show up to clean. The young people today want it all without working for it, and expect everything to be handed to them. We have created a lazy, 'give me' generation. However, I am SO proud of my own kids! Brian is the head title officer with his OWN office...Amanda is a clinical services coordinator for several audiologists; they both show up for work and are proof that not all kids today are lazy.

On an even brighter side, Amanda and Tyler will be up next weekend for my niece's wedding. I am so excited about seeing them, as her 20th birthday is on the 17th, so we will celebrate while they are here. She wants both my rum cake and viennese torte for her birthday cake...so I've got some baking to do! Can't wait!

Happy 4th of July!

85 degrees in Fairbanks today! Clear sky, lots of sun and hot. I love it! Campground is completely full and my overflow lot is filling up quickly. The minute I sit down, somebody needs quarters for laundry while another is pulling in looking for a site. We have tried putting a sign on the door of our trailer, 'Host-Not On Duty' at 9:00 p.m., but have learned that either people don't read, or more than likely, they truly just don't care....because sign or no sign, they WILL knock on our door. At 7:00 a.m., 1:15 a.m., 11:00 p.m...doesn't matter. We have learned to accept that we pretty much do not have a personal life this summer. Not to say none of it is enjoyable, because some of it is. We've met some really nice people from all over the globe, and it's fun to listen to them talk about where they're from.

We have the tadpole boys staying here, the butterfly man, the bird guys, the taxi drivers, the freeloaders, the down on their luck couples, and last, but not least, the tourists.

Since arriving here, we have been given a case of latex gloves (from the bird guys), a 5 gallon gas can (from the butterfly man), a roll of bubble wrap (from ?), a book about women that travel, halibut, salmon, and a crank for the extensions on a motorhome.

Good help is hard to find! We are on the second set of people to clean the bathrooms and laundry room. The first one I fired, because she simply was not cleaning. The second one is completely undependable. They do a great job when they show up, but are they going to show up today??
Time to go. Gotta run some more.

It's Snowing......cotton

Oh, it's summer in Fairbanks. I actually think I had forgotten some of the telltale signs. Such as the sticky sappy things in May, to the blowing cotton in June...all from the cottonwood trees. It all makes such a mess of everything. To catch a clear blue sky with the sun shining, you have to be up at 5:00 a.m. and up again at midnight. Every time in between is pretty much cloudy, and when it's cloudy, it's chilly. I think today's temperature is 72 degrees, but feels like 65 to me.

We are not experiencing smoky air like Anchorage....no fires close enough, yet.

Today was my first day of having my own wheels to actually leave the campground. So, I ran a couple errands, drove through downtown Fairbanks, and now I'm satisfied that Fairbanks really hasn't changed at all. Some of the streets downtown used to be one way streets and are now two way, and the visitors center is filled with tourists and hanging baskets of flowers. But, other than that, it's still Fairbanks. We did have dinner at the Turtle Club Sunday night with friends that came up for the summer. It was nice visiting with them and hearing their stories of the Alaska Highway and all they've been doing here in Fairbanks. They went to Chena Hot Springs and enjoyed the $15.00 Appletini served in a glass made of ice! Guess I need to check that one out!
Gotta run....got incoming motorhomes.

Harley Davidson Rally

Father's Day weekend was filled with Harley Davidson motorcycles. I don't know how many exactly, but may have been close to 300. Needless to say, it was loud around here. Those bikes do roar! There were some beautiful bikes and from all over...as far away as Florida that we heard.

By the middle of this week and through the weekend this campground will be full of about 100 soccer kids and their families. The activity doesn't stop around here. From dawn to dusk, we are running. Speaking of which, gotta run for now....

Middle of June

Here we are, it's mid June, we've both been working many more hours each day than we had anticipated, and I'm afraid summer in Alaska is going to fly by and leave us asking where it went.

My days begin by getting up with Henry at 6:00 a.m. From that moment, until about 10:00 p.m., I'm checking people in, taking reservations, answering all kinds of questions, and listening to some 'poor me' stories from those who feel they're entitled to a discounted night or a free night's stay. (How about getting a job?) Granted, it's not 14 straight hours of all of the above, but it is the knock on the door the moment we sit down to have dinner, or Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m.....
And why don't people read the signs? When the sign says "door will be locked at 8:00 p.m.", that probably is a good indicator that 7:55 p.m. would not be the appropriate time to start the laundry"....And, if my husband and I are sitting outside in front of our trailer having a private conversation, what gives the impression we are wanting to have company for the next 2 hours? I am beginning to feel like we never see one another.
Then we have Henry's job, which is the original reason for coming to Alaska for the summer. He is working long hours there, and always ends of coming 'home' to assist someone (who probably does not speak english) with their electrical plug in, show another where the dump station is or help me with the 'rush' of late arrivals. It's no wonder he feels mentally 'whipped'.

Yup, I did sign up for this job, and yes, I still feel it was a good idea.....but, boy oh boy!
I wonder what the rest of Fairbanks looks like and will I ever get to see it?

Memorial Day Weekend

The kids outside of Pioneer Park


My granddaughter, Alicen and me

Amanda and Tyler on the Chena River

Our Memorial Day weekend weather was awesome, and having our daughter, her boyfriend AND our granddaughter her made it all more memorable!

We spent Saturday at Pioneer Park which was lots of fun. The kids seemed to really enjoy all of it. We rode on the train, had 'old time' photos done, and went in all the tiny little shops. Then we went to the Pump House for lunch on the deck, which explains the photo above. The Riverboat Discovery was cruising by as I snapped the photo of Amanda and Tyler.

Sunday was our barbecue day. Steak, hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans. My brother brought over ribs and potatoes later in the evening. A campfire, some roaster marshmallows, a game of Scrabble and a game of Phase 10. Tyler won both games, so I've challenged him for the next time we see them.

We took them for breakfast Monday morning, and off they went back home to Anchorage. The weekend flew by, but we sure enjoyed seeing all of them and getting to know Tyler better. Alicen, our granddaughter, is such the grown up 10 year old, and such fun. Amanda is as she always remains....'our baby girl' but all grown up. We are proud of our kids and grandkids!!!

Gas Prices Hit An All Time High!

(Click on the link above)

Again, the headlines read 'gas prices hit an all time high'. Check out the article above. They say as the Memorial Day weekend approaches, prices have increased .05 cents per gallon nationwide.
The price of gasoline/diesel are not hurting the rich. They can afford the increases.
The only people being hurt are the lower and middle class people. They are the ones cutting back in other areas (such as food), to afford the increase in gasoline prices. Maybe they've taken a second job, or they're not ordering takeout....whatever. The average american family is cutting back somewhere else so they can afford to put gasoline in their car to take them to work, to earn their measly paycheck to pay their mortgage and their 'increased' electric bill.
Meanwhile......
Bottom line: The rich (that would be the regular rich, the oil company employee/employer rich, their families, and third world country employees) get richer and the poor get poorer. As they continue to live their lives with their $80.00 manicures or country club relaxation, the rest of us average american tax paying citizens will forego our next meal 'out' just to compensate for the increase in gasoline prices.

Such is life......??? Guess So.

Beautiful Weather

Every day has been gorgeous so far! Warm, sunny, and getting greener by the minute. The mosquitoes are not out in full force yet, and I know they will be awful, but for the time being, we are enjoying the sunshine.
We have been working hard at cleaning things up to our liking in the campground, and establishing a routine.
We decided to sell snack items after my brother had checked prices on everything from Sams Club. So, by yesterday I was ready to purchase them. Tony picked me up and away we went. Ending up with a couple additional items we thought might sell, we now can open the 'store'.
Henry has been repainting signs, raking leaves, cleaning, cleaning, sprucing everything up. By the time he starts his 'regular' job on Monday, I should be in good shape.
That's it from the campground for now.

The Golden Heart City

It's been 6 days since my last post because we made the trip to Fairbanks from Anchorage, spent a day and a half getting set up (we are going to be here for 4 months, so we want everything perfect), then we've been learning about the campground I will be managing for the summer. We definitely have had some busy days, but think we're going to like it here a lot. We can pretty much run it the way we want, and can even sell snack items for example, as long as we purchase the items, we don't have to share the profit with the campground!
It will get extremely busy, and I'll probably not have any days off, but I will meet lots of people, and it should be fun! Luckily, both my kids are planning trips to come see us!
The weather here has been amazing! Warm and sunny, not windy and cold like most everywhere else we'd been.

Again, Life Is Good!

Grandpa and Evan

Walking to the truck

'That was Fun!', he said.

(click on photos to enlarge)

Grandpa asked Evan if he wanted to go for a ride in the 'big' truck. No hesitation whatsoever from Evan....'yes!' So, off they went. He had to check out the refrigerator and whatever else before sitting down and belting up. He thought it was quite the deal! (I think Grandpa did too).

Long day for BlackJack

Taking it easy

an hour later

BlackJack made it to Alaska! Yesterday was a long day, over 400 miles, so as you can see from the pictures, he was a little restless.
We've got one more leg, another almost 400 miles to Fairbanks, then we will be stationary for the summer.

Day 10, May 8th

the route from Tok, Alaska

2 of the 4 Caribou..gorgeous.

Chugach Mountains

WELCOME TO THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN!!

Our plan was to drive from Beaver Creek to Glenallen, but we continued on all the way in to Anchorage. We arrived about 6:00 p.m., just in time to play with the rush hour traffic.
The road out of Tok, Alaska all the way in absolutely rough. The frost heaves are everywhere, and Alaska doesn't do a very good job of marking them like Canada does.
Wildlife Sightings: 1 Swan, 2 Eagles, 4 Caribou, 2 Moose...and 4 Rabbits.............Note: The moose and caribou both, in Alaska, are much larger than the ones in Canada.
Diesel and Gas prices in Alaska: $2.79 unleaded gas
$2.87 diesel
(who says Alaska prices are higher than anywhere else?)

Weather here is beautiful. Sunny, warm, no snow. It's good to be somewhere. We will spend a few days here in Anchorage seeing kids and grandkids and head to Fairbanks on Sunday.

2200 miles from Bellingham to Anchorage, all without incident. Thank God. No chips in the windshield, no flat tires. Actually, the door to the spice cabinet did come open yesterday, and pepper was spilt in a pile on the floor. But, what's a little spilt pepper?

Day 9, May 7th

Whitehorse to Beaver Creek, 268 miles. As we got 130 miles out of Whitehorse, the road became extremely rough, about 8 miles of gravel, washboard, just plain 'ol bumpy road.

Wildlife sightings: 1 Wolf, 1 Moose and 4 Swans! - Seems odd to see swans on this highway when you consider it wilderness.

When we got to Beaver Creek, of course it was raining, so we had dinner at the 1202 motor inn, (pizza and strawberry rhubarb pie), had two games of Scrabble and called it a night.

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Day 8

Kayakers in the Yukon River

Downtown Whitehorse

Miles Canyon

Notice the kayakers in the water

Old Log Church, opened in 1900

Yukon River (looks cold!)
(click on photos to enlarge)

Well, it's snowing in Whitehorse today. We can't seem to escape the weather, or it's following us.

But a little snow is not going to keep us in, so we set out in the jeep to see what Whitehorse is all about. It's a pretty cute little town, population 23,100. There's lots of new buildings going up, so apparently it's growing, but it is definitely geared towards tourism.
We had dinner last night at the Edgewater Hotel, and the food was excellent. I had the halibut, Henry had the steak.

We will be up early tomorrow and on the highway, with plans to arrive in Anchorage sometime on Wednesday.