This “equipment” should keep us on track. You saw the laptop that we already acquired for our blog, for e-mails, and for paying bills. These added items should compliment the computer. All truckstops have internet these days, so that is a place for us to stop and log in. This book, the National Truckstop Directory, lists all the truckstops in north America, and the services available at each. (other places have WiFi access also.)
The Good Sam Club has its own little perks. But the biggest of which is the “2008 Trailer Life Directory Campground Navigator”. Besides locating all the campgrounds & services provided,it has maps of the U.S. & Canada for trip planning…but, tah dah…it has the capability of linking our Garmen to it. Then we can see a bigger map of where we actually are! (and not on the 2” Garmen screen!) and we won’t even need the internet for this feature. This is a super biggie to have along! Especially because our wonderful OnStar has been deactivated because it is analog and now they are only digital. And for once it would really be nice to have the OnStar…and can’t have it. (Kind of burned us when this happened Jan 1st of this year.) We obviously have all the hard maps, too. And if the truth be known, there aren’t that many possibilities of taking the wrong road when one is in the Canadian British Columbia, for example. Take a look at the map…not that many roads to begin with! So, we shouldn’t really get lost….but it’s always nice to have the “big picture”….gives me some kind of security.
AND, although you are not aware of a test I just accomplished....it worked well. I just wrote this blog on Word, that copied and pasted it into this blog on line. That proves that I can write the blog at any time on our trek, then post it when I have internet access. This is a good thing.
So long till later...

Tommy, the Traveling Beagle, is ready to go, too!

"Never leave home without it." Can't remember where that saying came from....but it sure applies to Tommy, the soon-to-be, international traveler. We have been taking all the necessary

steps to make sure she is ready for D-Day (departure day). We got her a new fleece bed for the back seat of the truck, so that she is nice and comfy. You see her perched on it in the pic. We got her some new smaller food bowls....not like we use in the house, which could hold enough food for a mastif! There's also the screw-in-the-ground short tie-up for her when we are camped. They had a huge one for "up to 50# dog"...I can't see her enjoying that at all; she's never on a tie-up. So we got one that was for a 10# dog (she's about 23#) because we won't be walking away and stressing her anyway. She'll be walking with us or in the camper or truck. So, that problem solved. Not pictured is a hunting collar, that has up to a 1 mi. radius. We'll be using that, when appropriate, to let her get some running in. (and thanks to our new little Honda generator) we'll be able to recharge it as needed. We'll only be using the hunting collar when we're also watching. She would be good bear-bait....and that would be aweful! Truth-be-told, she doesn't even wear that hunting/training collar when she is bunny hunting any more because she listens to Chris so well. He can even call her off of a hot rabbit trail. That's one good dog! But way up in Alaska & Canada....don't want to take any chances. That collar also has our name, address and phone number on it. We have to get another name tag for her pink dress-up collar. (That was her Christmas present)

In May we have to stop in at the vet to get her annual check-up and be up to date on her rabies shots. We have to take all that documentation along, too.

Ready for Anything....I hope

Well, here's our latest little addition to our Alaskan Trek. We researched little generators, and the one that seems to be the best, hands down, is the little Honda. This is fairly light weight (47#), and very quiet (59 db). It will enable us to use lights, etc. inside the camper. But also, it has an inverter, that makes it very safe for use with high tech electronics, like our computer.

In addition, this little red baby has an extra cable that we purchased ($12) that will charge the truck battery if needed (but we plan on getting a new battery before we leave)....but ya never know. We aim to be ready.

Our "ready for anything" attitude has prompted us to have two spare tires, since the Dalton Hwy to Prudeau Bay is 440 miles of gravel road. And of course, what travels up that road, must return....on 440 miles of gravel road. We've been told that road service is pricey up there. And, we shouldn't need it. Will show you that one when it gets mounted on the grill guard in front of the truck.

Which Way Do We Go???

This is the absolute bible for anybody planning on traveling in western Canada and Alaska. An ooooooooooold friend of ours, Jerry Ross, whom Chris has known most of his life, told us that the book is an absolute MUST. Jerry lives in Brooklyn, MI (right accross from Michigan International Speedway ). He and his wife, Del, drove to Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada once, and another time to Alaska. (Inuvek is on the Arctic Ocean; brrrrrr)

This book is the size of a telephone book....not the Waterloo telephone book. More like the Chicago telephone book white pages! It's huge! AND they put a new one out each year. It comes out in March and is update annually. The main information is the same, but incidentals, like road work places, etc. are updated. The folks who put out the Milepost drive EVERY road each year, and note the changes. The whole thing is written in some kind of shorthand, that one needs to get accustomed to to read it. It tells what is at each mile of the roads. It tells how far you are from the next big city, and how far you came from the last one, where there are gas stations, telephone service, WiFi, camping, good fishing, etc. It gives the history of different places, towns, etc.

I've read loads of this book already, and it gets me more and more excited to leave on our trip. It tells what to expect at each mile along the Alaskan Highway (formerly known as the AlCan Highway). You will have to read this summer when we write about the mountains, hot springs, fishing and much, much more! Can't wait!