Alaska Trip

[Ustabslim]

We are in Cooper Center fishing for sockeye salmon. Only have phone service when we run to Glenallen for food. Will stay here until next week then head home with stops in Skagway etc. Ferry from Haines to Skagway would cost us over $400 for a one hour ride...nope..not going to do that. Will be meeting my sister in Skagway for a few nights as she is on the way up as we're headed back.
Limit went up yesterday to 6 on the salmon. Fires to our west so hopefully out of danger now. Lots of devastation, homes burned. Added unnecessary adventure to our trip.

Our lake is up over 50 feet so this is waiting for us when we get home.
After almost 4 years of no water.

[alaskahofferts]

Originally Posted by Ustabslim

We are in Cooper Center fishing for sockeye salmon. Only have phone service when we run to Glenallen for food. Will stay here until next week then head home with stops in Skagway etc. Ferry from Haines to Skagway would cost us over $400 for a one hour ride...nope..not going to do that. Will be meeting my sister in Skagway for a few nights as she is on the way up as we're headed back.
Limit went up yesterday to 6 on the salmon. Fires to our west so hopefully out of danger now. Lots of devastation, homes burned. Added unnecessary adventure to our trip.

Our lake is up over 50 feet so this is waiting for us when we get home.
After almost 4 years of no water.

How's the fishing on the Klutina? We will be heading to Valdez on the 4th and are going to spend a day there.

[Ustabslim]

Fishing comes in spurts. We do have a freezer full oh filets. About 30 pounds. Wife really happy. Kings start here 7-1.
Leaving here Tuesday for the ride home. Have river front RV spot... Awesome.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Ustabslim

We are in Cooper Center fishing for sockeye salmon. Only have phone service when we run to Glenallen for food. Will stay here until next week then head home with stops in Skagway etc. Ferry from Haines to Skagway would cost us over $400 for a one hour ride...nope..not going to do that. Will be meeting my sister in Skagway for a few nights as she is on the way up as we're headed back.
Limit went up yesterday to 6 on the salmon. Fires to our west so hopefully out of danger now. Lots of devastation, homes burned. Added unnecessary adventure to our trip.

Our lake is up over 50 feet so this is waiting for us when we get home.
After almost 4 years of no water.

You missed all the good weather down here! Flash flooding, T-storm warnings, weeks of rain. Good news is all the lakes are filling up! Canyon has had to let record amounts of water out, Medina is getting back into shape. I wonder if the island by the dam on Travis is still there? I remember back when it wasn't, and I watched it grow over the years. The other downside is a lot of the state parks were hit pretty hard with flood damage; they're fixing it, but I looked at a park yesterday (can't remember which one) that's closed to overnight camping until Sept. 30th!

[Ustabslim]

Freezer full of sockeye salmon. Headed back toward home in the AM.

[Ustabslim]

Where were camped. Water front

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Ustabslim

Freezer full of sockeye salmon. Headed back toward home in the AM.

Are they going to give you grief over that crossing borders on the way home?

[tugboat95]

Valid question. I sailed a boat to the Caribbean and stayed for six months. When we came back customs made up throw away anything containing meat fresh veggies and fruit. 22 large bags of grub. Even the canned porknbean cause it had bacon in it. And it was stamped canned in Chicago. Anything with meat and the storage areas and fridge had to be emptied and disinfected to his satisfaction. Took us 8 hours. Food had to be incinerated at an approved facility. And transported by approved vendors. Customs is a stickler for that.

[RedHorse1]

A friend went to AK to fish and shipped his catch home. Not sure how to set that up but I'd cry like a baby if I had to toss all that beautiful salmon.

[Old Blue]

My Inlaws went to Alaska twice and brought home frozen Fish had small frezer in back of truck and home canned fish and clams and never had any issues but I would check to make sure.

[tugboat95]

Hopefully there's some kind if arrangement for transporting for this type of stuff from America to America. Thru Canada is a unique deal. My case the food was bought in St Maarten. Although it was shipped there from the US.

[DMRGMC]

We were camping on Vancouver Island last season at Alder Bay Resort. It is a fishing camp that has a large number of Americans fishing, freezing, canning etc their catch and returning to USA. Apparently have been for many years. It was explained to us that there are limits for each species, species had to be identified by leaving some whole. So if you are leaving Alaska via Canada your best bet is to check with both border authorities to prevent tossing any or fines. Good luck.

[Ustabslim]

Border agents on both sides say no problem.
Still catching.

[Ustabslim]

Whrm we crossed the boarder they made us take all our $$ out and count them...I told we had less than $6000 each Canadian. They made us count as one and had to declare it.

Picked up cyclist from Austria that was in trouble just after the boarder, Long story, but we loaded his bike and gear in camper and he had to ride in RZR for 260 miles to Haines a junction. No one else would stop and help him. He loved it.

[bethcb]

When we were in Alaska in 2012, we caught over 350 pounds of salmon and halibut, which was over 150 pounds of filets. At that time our trailer freezer would hold only 17 pounds with no other food in it. We had no issues crossing the borders to come back to the US. The rest of the fish we had shipped. When we had the fish sealed and packaged in Seward, they kept it in their commercial freezer and then sent it to the Anchorage airport the day before my son flew home. At the airport, they had it in a deep freeze and with the fish all packed with dry ice, he claimed it at the airport and took it home. Other fish we had sealed and packaged with dry ice and they received it without incident.
We were told that the salmon was good for about 1 year and the halibut for 18 months. The salmon was good for about 6 months and then got an off flavor. The halibut lasted about 1 year before noticing texture changes. Some of the seals on the packages broke which didn't help either.
It was definitely worth sending the fish home by various means, but it is not that inexpensive, but the fish was better than anything we would buy at home. Made for perfect gifts too.

[RedHorse1]

[QUOTE=Ustabslim;314657]Picked up cyclist from Austria that was in trouble just after the boarder, Long story, but we loaded his bike and gear in camper and he had to ride in RZR for 260 miles to Haines a junction. No one else would stop and help him. He loved it.
[QUOTE]

Easier than peddlin'!
You wound up not selling the RZR, or did you get another one already?

[Ustabslim]

We couldn't wait for three extra days for them to get $$ from bank so brought it home and selling here.

[rick danger]

Cool following this trip from work in NY and now sitting in campground in Fairbanks. How did you like the washboard and potholes after haines junction? I'm going back through Dawson down rt. 2. Got the bike out, heading up the haul road tomorrow. Have a room booked at the Slate Creek Inn in Coldfoot. Tuesday down through anchorage and tool around there on some day trips with the bike. King crab legs cheaper in NY than here. $20 lb on sale in Fred Meyer. jeez. Maybe cheaper in Anchorage area?

[Ustabslim]

We got back home this past Monday and have been totally involved in getting ready for the 4th. Everyone coming to the lake.
We enjoyed the trip. Met my sister at Liard Springs for a night visit. She on the way up and we on the way down. Did 4400 miles in 6 1/2 days. Roads from Alaska Border to Destruction Bay the worst...I mean bad.
Some does and do nots from our view point.
Train trips a waste. You can see everything from the highway.
Plan on 2 nights in Denali...do the cheap $55 bus trip.
Expect to pay double for about everything. Most places only have 4 months to make a profit.
Do do a boat tour in Seward. The 8am 6 hour the best. Other trips with high dollar prime rib and crab a total rip off.
Do plan on spending more time in the coastal towns. Really nice..water front in Seward cheap.
Do plan on a day or two in Telltinkina...that's probably not spelled right. It's half way between Denali and Anchorage.
Anchorage...drive through only. Parking the pits and expensive,
If right time of the year...fishing.
We never had a tire failure or saw any. I found balance very important. I put on new trailer tires in Eagle River, after about 12,000 miles of use, as mine were wearing funny. They weren't balanced. The new ones I had balanced...after 6000 miles they still look new.
The only thing that failed on the trailer was the tri slide shower door. Warranty so no problem.
Forget satellite TV in Alaska and Canada. It did work until we got to far north. You need a BIG dish to make work.
We did pick up a guy from Austria that was riding a bicycle that was in trouble about 30 miles from the Canadian border. Put the bike in the camper and he road to Haines Junction in the RZR. His butt was tore up from the skinny tires on the rough roads. He was 5 days getting there from Anchorage. And he's going to NYC... He had tried for 3-4 hours
And no one would help. After the scare we had we knew what it felt like. Wife rolled down window and he said please please please..we felt at ease with him immediately. Or we would not have picked him up.
Offered to buy us supper and drinks...we were wore out but thanks anyway.

It was a great adventure. We will prolly do it again but with a 30ft toy hauler and take our Can-Am Spyder.
That's another story...my wife had been talking about a Spyder for a couple years...we've never biked...but she really got excited when she saw some on the way back.
We'll..... we bought a new 2015 RT limited and it was delivered yesterday afternoon.
Another adventure begins.

Start planing yours now.

[NVGun40]

Sounds like a great trip. Glad you had a good time.
For the record its spelled:

Talkeetna...