Captain’s Log

September 4, 2026 - Day 96 - Coming up on day 100! Crazy. Who’d have thought we’d make it this long!? Today we took our bikes for a walk. Unfortunately, the way we went into town this morning, the first mile or so, bikes were not allowed on the trail, so we had to walk them. After we got to a point where we could ride, we hit a huge hill that required more walking of the bikes. We rode/walked our bikes from the campsite to Strathcona, a suburb of Edmonton and then we got to ride on The High Level Bridge Streetcar. The HLB uses a fleet of vintage streetcars that have been restored. Some of the streetcars are from as far away as Osaka, Japan and Melbourne, Australia. The streetcar crosses the North Saskatchewan River and is the highest river streetcar crossing in the world, sitting at 156 feet above the water level. After that harrowing ride, we walked around downtown Edmonton and down to Rogers Place, home of the Edmonton Oilers. We HAD to visit the team giftshop and get a few souvenirs (even though we’re really Montreal fans). I guess it’s not a bad team to have for a second favorite. I mean, Gretzky played for them for almost 10 years. After downtown, we took the streetcar back and, unfortunately, due to me not being able to read a map well, we walked 1.5 more miles to an all-Canada souvenir shop so we could get a sticker and some post cards. It took us in the wrong direction of where we had locked up our bikes, so we had to walk almost 2.5 miles back to our bikes and then a 6ish mile ride back to the camper. Tomorrow is laundry day once again and time to supply up for our next three weeks on the road. By the end of the month, we should be getting into Calgary, but we’ve got a few stops between now and then.

September 3, 2026 - Day 95 - Today we hit William with another surprise. After school, we drove over to the West Edmonton Mall. Once the largest mall in the world, prior to Mall of America, this mall has mini golf, a pirate ship, aquarium, sea lion show, an amusement park and a huge, indoor waterpark. As a surprise and since it was an item on his trip bucket list, we went to the waterpark today. All the fun of a waterpark but without the sunburn! And if you know me, I am very fair skinned and, in the sun, I go from white, to red and back to white. I’ve never been able to maintain a tan. Anyway, William did great and did almost all of the intense slides. We hit up the food court for dinner and ended the day with some ice cream! But now we have swimmer’s lung and need to sleep it off. Tomorrow is a long bike riding day into downtown Edmonton.

September 2, 2026 - Day 94 - Today we visited Fort Edmonton Park after a little home schooling. It’s a local heritage park with a recreated fort from 1885, and streets from 1905 and 1920 along with a 1920s style carnival with carnival games and midway rides. William had a blast and Jamie once again kicked our butts at mini golf. For dinner, Jamie had booked a riverboat cruise with buffet. The cruise itself was kind of a bust because, due to low river levels, the boat sailed maybe a total of a quarter mile before using the river current to float back to the dock. The food was really good, but by the time we docked, we were ready to get off and get back to the campsite, take a shower and hit the hay.

September 1, 2026 - Day 93 - Time to start the Burrrrrr (Ber) months. Get it, Septemburrr, etc. Watching other travelers in Denali and Anchorage, about a month behind us, they are seeing snow already. Means we are just ahead of the season. Told you the other day that the trees were changing colors already, so we’ve headed south. Not necessarily going to keep us out of snow, but it’s helping. Today we rolled into Edmonton like we were new at this driving in traffic thing. True, it’s been a few weeks now since I’ve driven on more than a two lane highway, but due to the fact that we’re driving a 14,000 pound monster, people tend to get out of the way! Nice to be in a city and we’ve got lots of fun stuff planned. Mostly to entertain the small child, but Jamie and I are excited to do some fun stuff too. We’ve (i.e. Jamie) has been doing an awesome job educating the boy and getting a good head start this week. Tomorrow we have a buffet and cruise to go on and a bigger surprise for William for Thursday. For now, I’m going ot try and edit a couple 360 videos and get them into a blog.

August 31, 2026 - Day 92 - Ugh, we haven’t driven this long since Day 1. Almost 500 miles of driving after getting out of Hay River at 11AM. It’s 659 miles from Hay River to our next campground in Edmonton. Where we stopped is only 183 miles left to get there. We use an app called iOverlander to try and find cheap (usually free) camping sites on our routes. The stops today were few and far between and unverified in a long time, which meant that they were usually found overgrown and muddy rutted roads into the woods off the main highway. As it got darker, those roads looked less and less appealing. We were able to get gas in Red Earth and trucked all the way to Lesser Slave Lake and found a campsite for just under $40 for the night. Helps to have electricity and bathrooms that don’t require a shovel and a large tree to brace yourself against. We did manage to add another bear to the Bear Tracker as the sun went down. Tomorrow, we’ll be back in a big city. We won’t have been in a city this big since Vancouver (Day 10ish).

August 30, 2026 - Day 91 - Here we are at the end of August, on our way into September. There are more camp fires and the smell in the air reminds me of old times at my grandparents cabin up in Munds Park as the season got closer to winter. Between the smell of smoke and the pine trees, it really takes me back. The sun finally came out again, so we took a walk over to the Great Slave Lake to see one of the largest lakes in Canada. I got to do two more loads of laundry and everything in the camper is finally clean. The skies appear to be clear for the most part tonight so I’m hoping for some good luck on the 360 camera. Tomorrow we are packing up and heading south some more to Edmonton. Should take us two days to get there barring any bad roads or any other inconveniences.

August 29, 2026 - Day 90 - It appears that I have officially lost my earbuds. Possibly left at the laundromat in Fairbanks, but I have been unsuccessful at locating them. Today was laundry day in Hay River. After we went into town to get some local eats at the Saturday Fisherman’s Wharf “farmer’s market”, I spent most of the afternoon doing laundry while William and Jamie plugged away at school! After last night’s downpour, it’s mostly a mist of rain today but likely no chance of seeing the northern lights tonight. Better luck tomorrow.

August 28, 2026 - Day 89 - Coming up on our first 100 days on the road. We’ll see if we’ve made good achievements. As usual, it was raining while we packed up and we had rain for most of the 300-mile trip to Hay River. Hay River is on the south side of the Great Slave Lake so we are still in the area where we should see northern lights. Rain is expected all day tomorrow and clearing up by evening so fingers are crossed that we can have a clear night! As we were driving out of Yellowknife, I noticed that the trees are already starting to change colors from green to the yellows and oranges and reds of Fall. Not used to seeing that since it’s still in the 110s back home. The yellowing of trees there is usually caused by heat stroke. Up here, it’s a sign that winter is right around the corner and it’s our turn to start migrating south. Leaving today was our last spike to the north on this trip. Mother nature is pushing us back toward home.

August 27, 2026 - Day 88 - Today we did the touristy thing and drove through the old town of Yellowknife and hit up the souvenir shops. Really trying our luck to find an authentic, decommissioned NW Territory license plate. So far, no luck, but if someone in the NW Territory reports a stolen license plate, it wasn’t us! Rain moving in tonight so the chance of seeing the Aurora tonight is super slim, but we’ll see what the 360camera captures. Tomorrow we’re packing up and heading to Hay River. Jamie is feeling much better and looking forward to hopefully a clear night to see the northern lights.

August 26, 2026 - Day 87 - Jamie still being under the weather, we made it a pretty chill day. William had a substitute teacher (me), and we knocked out some math, social studies and science. I had the 360 camera up last night and did capture some Aurora activity, so we’re going to set an alarm for tonight and try to see some in person. Hope to have the video on Facebook and Instagram soon! The camera is actively recording tonight so we’ll see if we can get a repeat of last night’s awesomeness.

August 25, 2026 - Day 86 - We made it to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, only accessible by one road. The road got worse and Jamie wasn’t feeling great today so we kept it slow and rolled into town around 3PM today. We did a little grocery shopping to get us to Edmonton and are checked in at the campsite. Jamie getting some needed rest and I’m going to try and set up the 360 cam tonight on a time lapse to see if we can capture the Aurora. The sky is pretty clear other than some of the BC wildfire smoke that is blowing up this way. Fires are out of control around here! Posted a new blog post about the Dempster vs. the Dalton highways. Go check it out!

August 24, 2026 - Day 85 - As we get closer to Yellowknife, the frost heaves are getting more prevalent, requiring a little slower on the speedometer. We had to keep it around 50mph most of the time. We did manage to get within 150 miles of Yellowknife and plan to arrive early tomorrow. Tonight we found a secluded spot off the highway, next to a pond and I’m sitting here watching a beautiful sunset.

August 23, 2026 - Day 84 - Today we put ourselves 300 miles closer to Yellowknife as we go on the hunt for the elusive Aurora Borealis. I’m reluctant to add another bear sighting to the tracker on the home page. We saw our first bear “sleeping” on the side of the highway. It was highly debated on whether this one should be added to the counter or not. But we are adding it anyway. As we got deeper into the drive, we saw a wild bobcat and possibly another fox or coyote. Lots of cows and horses because we are in the agricultural belt of Alberta. We tried one camping spot before ending up where we are now but before we could even get out of the truck, mosquitoes the size of small airplanes had swarmed us trying to say hello. It made me think of the seagulls in Finding Nemo. We decided that I wouldn’t survive getting out of the truck to get the camper ready. We drove through High Level, Alberta and made our way to a golf course that also doubles as an RV park. For $25, we get power and get to stay the night. Another 300 miles tomorrow to get us close to Yellowknife. Hopefully no more sleeping bears!

August 22, 2026 - Day 83 - Turned out to be an easy fix! Looks like the Dempster Highway shook a couple mounting bolts loose on the blower motor. Once reinstalled, the AC ran like “new”. Today we walked to mile 0 on the highway and I’m sure we were looked at funny because today was considered very hot to the locals. It was 89ish, which, I admit, is warm, but nothing like the 113 at home. We wouldn’t be caught dead walking outside in that! William got a few postcards for friends and stocked up on his stickers for his travel log. Tomorrow, we pack up and start driving to Yellowknife. Time for a needed shower and some sleep!

August 21, 2026 - Day 82 - Added another bear to the counter as we saw one just on the other side of the highway guard rail. It was a shorter drive but felt longer. We arrived at Mile 0 campground in Dawson Creek and hit up Walmart to restock on some goods and get some items for William’s school science experiments. Vinegar and baking soda … wonder what we’re making!? A lot warmer here than we’ve grown accustomed to. It’s about 85 degrees today and, one more item to add to the fix list: Air conditioner not running. Hope it’s an easy fix!

August 20, 2026 - Day 81 - Got another 350 miles closer to Dawson Creek. Should arrive tomorrow barring any complications. Complication of today was getting the new bike rack back on the truck, but I think we figured it out. might have to tweak it a few more times to get it right though. It was a drive through zoo today on the Alaska Highway. We came across a single bison and Jamie didn’t get a photo, so she hoped we saw another one. Well about 2 miles down the road, we came across the herd. Probably 100 or so head of bison! We saw a deer, we saw caribou and we saw another bear! Takes us up to 16 bears on this journey. Eventually we’ll jump out and pet one. Should make for good social media. Found an old abandoned camp area and are tucked in for the night.

August 19, 2026 - Day 80 - Got the camper back on the truck and as I lowered it, there was a loud snap (which was the metal strap breaking that holds the poo pipe to the truck and now the poo pipe is leaking the black tank without me wanting it to. We drained the tanks and I’ll take a look at it tomorrow AM while Jamie and William are doing school. Hopefully not a big deal but I think I’ll be getting my hands dirty. We left Whitehorse and waved goodbye to the Yukon Territory since we will not be going back on this journey. We finally saw a bear again and updated the counter to 15 bears on this trip now. At Watson Lake, we checked out the Road Sign Forest and are now camped out at a rest stop as we make our way to Dawson Creek. Time for sleep and hopefully get another 350ish miles behind us tomorrow!

August 18, 2026 - Day 79 - Today started with a run out to the laundromat to get everything cleaned prior to our departure tomorrow toward Dawson Creek (No, not Dawson’s Creek, but if Katie Holmes is around …). After laundry, I went over to get the truck washed and was going to spring for the full-service car wash, but once I got to the bay, I walked into the office to inquire about the full service and he said he was the only employee on duty today so full service is just another self-service. So, I got to power wash and wax the truck, just in time to put the dirty camper back on it tomorrow. For the afternoon, the family went grocery shopping, got our Starbucks fix and we got showered up for the road tomorrow, since it may be a few days again before we see a shower. We have yet to use the outdoor shower or the sun bags. Spending this evening updating some of the galleries, since I’m sooooo far behind!

August 17, 2026 - Day 78 - While Jamie and William did school, I ran into Whitehorse to get some errands complete. Got a new bike rack for two bikes, and we’ll carry William’s bike inside the camper while driving. Spent most of the day getting a few odd jobs here and there done like taking some of the extra gas cans off the roof and putting them in the truck. No need to carry extra gas anymore, except for the generator. I got William’s bike cleaned up for storing in the camper while driving but he’s worn down his back brakes, so I’ll need to run back into town tomorrow and get brake pads while I’m doing laundry and getting the truck washed. Maybe the inside of the truck will see a vacuum! Scary!

August 16, 2026 - Day 77 - Lucky day. Day 77, the PSI on all the tires was showing 77 and we headed to Silver City for our glacier flight. It was fun getting back into a small plane and remembering how much fun it was. I may have to pick up the hobby again after all this travelling is done. The flight was good, but due to overcast skies and some weather system moving in, we were unsuccessful at landing on the glacier, but it was still hecka cool and William and Jamie loved it as well! Got some good video to put on the Facebook page and Insta. Tomorrow is chores day and William is back to school. We’re doing a science lab about chemical reactions and hopefully I don’t blow anything up!

August 15, 2026 - Day 76 - Today we had some schooling in the morning for William and as it started raining, we packed up the rig, put the bikes back on the janky bike rack and pulled out of Dawson City heading for Whitehorse again. Other than Summer construction and some major frost heaves, it was an uneventful drive. We made it into Whitehorse in the evening and there were already some Amazon packages waiting in the office for our arrival. A new trailer hitch for the soon to be, new bike rack we’re putting on the truck. Third time’s the charm, we hope. Tomorrow, we’re driving down to Silver City for a glacier flight where there’s a good chance we’ll be able to land and walk around on a glacier!

August 14, 2026 - Day 75 - Well, the bikes were clean enough to allow for a bike ride but after two trips down dusty and muddy roads, the bikes are squeaking and grinding in places they shouldn’t. Today we rode into Dawson City and stopped at the Jack London museum, where William got a stamped copy of Jack London’s Call of The Wild and White Fang. Looking forward to some good reading time. Once we got back to camp, river engineer William completed his bridge over the creek behind the camp with a little bit of help from his father, diverting part of the river. For the evening we went back into town for dinner and the famous Sourtoe Shot which is a shot of Yukon Jack whiskey with and actual, real mummified toe in the glass. “You can drink it fast or you can drink it slow, but your lips must touch that gnarly toe!” And it briefly did touch my lip. Watching out for any side effects. William was ready to try the shot with some Shirley Temple but we didn’t ask.

August 13, 2026 - Day 74 - We set the alarm last night for 9AM, allowing us to get some needed rest. After hitting the snooze a few times, it was 11AM and I guess time to get up. Everyone slept in and apparently it was needed! Today was laundry day. Seven days of no showers makes for a pile of dirty clothing. I also needed to get the bikes cleaned up for tomorrow so we can ride into Dawson City after William’s math test! Wish him good luck!

August 12, 2026 - Day 73 - Sweet day, we made it to level ground! As the dust got worse, we got closer and closer to salvation! 100 miles left felt good, 50 miles left felt better. Then the final count down from 10 miles felt like an eternity. But we made it and we got back into Dawson City in the early afternoon. We went straight to a car wash (which was really just a power washer) and spent around $30 to knock as much dust and mud and dirt off the camper as we could. Once in the RV park, cleaning moved to the inside (mostly Jamie in there). After seven days of no showers, we finally got to take our $2 for 5 minute showers! I’m no longer tan looking and back to my pale and pasty white! Doing some minor fixes on the camper and I convinced the family that ordering pizza would be the best idea. And it was!

August 11, 2026 - Day 72 - Damn this Dempster Highway! No wonder some locals refer to it as the Dumpster. Took us an extra hour at the ferry to get from one side of the river to the other as we had to get off at one stop, make a U-turn and get back in line for the ferry again, where we missed the boat by one car (ours). Once back on track, it was slow going. Washboards that will rattle your teeth and potholes that will eat the truck whole. Today we gassed up in Eagle Plains and continued our journey toward asphalt. We got it to under 200 miles to go as we stopped at the Ogilvie Ridge rest area. I’m starting to miss the rain because the dryer the road gets, the more dust is getting kicked up

August 10, 2026 - Day 71 - Here we are, over ten weeks on the road! Mother nature was not being kind this morning, so the polar plunge in the Arctic Ocean didn’t happen. Honestly though, it sounded too friggin cold to me and I’d likely have this ‘man cold’ turn into ‘man pneumonia’. We did get to play super hero today to a truck that had gotten itself stuck off the side of the road. Being new to a four-wheel drive vehicle, I had to get the navigator’s help to Google if I put the truck into 4up or 4down. And then even when I did that, I didn’t realize that I had to shift into neutral before the four-wheel drive kicked in. Once we figured that out, it was easy to pull the work truck out of the ditch and get them back on the road. Sorry fellas, I’m new at this big truck driving thing. We’re southbound again and we stopped at the first ferry location of Tsiighetchic. Tomorrow, we’ll be putting 200 miles more behind us as we travel the Dempster. Unfortunately, as we get close to that 200 mile mark, we run into the crappy road again. Two more days on this road until we get to Dawson City again and we get showers and laundry. Yeah, we haven’t showered for a few days. Don’t stand so close to us!

August 9, 2026 - Day 70 - After a good night of sleep, yesterday is far behind us. The ‘man cold’ still rages and a pinch in my back is making me feel like these are my last days, but maybe a dunk in the Arctic will do the trick. After another day of driving, we arrived in Tuktoyaktuk. It’s definitely tundra land with no trees and high winds. We watched the temperature drop from the upper 50s when we left this morning to currently 44 degrees and a wind chill taking it down to 34 degrees. Arctic is churning like mad, so the polar plunge will have to wait til tomorrow! We tried checking in at the visitor’s center, but it was closed. We’ll try again in the morning so we can pay for tonight’s stay on the spit. Hopefully tomorrow will be a warm 95 degrees and the water will be close to 80!

August 8, 2026 - Day 69 - Well it’s been a day. A shitting outside kind of day. The morning started out as any other. Pack up load up … notice the bikes are sagging again on this brand new hitch. Awesome. Strap it to the ladder and push on. This part of the Dempster was literally where all the potholes come to die! We averaged about 20 miles per hour. Every time I thought we were getting close to our destination for the night, it would be another 59 miles. We hit the top of the Ogilvie mountain range and stopped for a pee break and noticed that the bikes we about to be dragging again. The new hitch that I bought, claiming to be able to hold a 500-pound tongue weight is buckling under the constant bouncing of the bikes through these god forsaken potholes! The bikes have once again been relocated to the inside of the camper. A rough enough day for all of us and bringing us to tears! We made it the rest of the way to Fort McPherson, grilled up some hot dogs and corn in the mosquito clouds and turned in. It’s also not helpful that I have a ‘man cold’! Going to try and sleep this day off!

August 7, 2026 - Day 68 - We left Chicken in the morning and everything went well. We got to ride the ferry across the Yukon River into Dawson City. We cruised through town without stopping because we knew we were to be back in a week or so. Today’s goal was to start our trek up the Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk. Another chance to polar plunge into the Arctic Ocean. We stopped a few hours in on this rough and tumble road for the night at a rock pile campsite. I checked all the tires and we’re good to push on!

August 6th, 2026 - Day 67 - Yeah, it’s day 6 - 7! (Doing the stupid hand motions). Today was pack up and go! We left Fairbanks, got a picture in the North Pole and are on the road again, On our way to the Canadian side of the Arctic Ocean. We made it from Fairbanks to Chicken, Alaska. Had an Alaskan Amber at the Chicken Saloon. I feel it’s only appropriate to have an “Alaskan” beer in Alaska before we leave it behind. It’d be like having a Fosters in Australia, although I’ve heard Fosters is crap beer over there. Even though their “top shelf” tequila is Jose Cuervo … I learned from experience and knew also that their shots are practically thimbles. “That’s not a shot …” My best Mick Dundee impression. But here we are, camped out in Chicken, on our way up to Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territory. Tomorrow, we enter the Dempster (aka Dumpster) Highway!

August 5, 2026 - Day 66 - William and I got our first haircuts of the trip! And we were looking a bit worse for wear at this point. Today was, prep for the road day. Getting everything is up on the roof and tied down. We ordered a new hitch for the bikes after the pre-Dalton Highway incident, so I’m hoping that works once we get the camper back on the truck tomorrow! Temps are getting up toward 80 degrees and I think the native Alaskans are not happy about it, but it finally feels like summer!

August 4, 2026 - Day 65 - Well into nine weeks on the road and life is becoming routine. The mornings, mom and William go to school, I get to work on things around the camper. Today, I got the oil changed (finally) and the tires rotated. Although, they rotated my shiny chrome tires into the inside of the dually wheels, so I may have to take a look at that. This afternoon, we went on a paddle boat ride down the Chena River. It was pretty awesome. We got to watch a float plane take-off and land and we saw a dog sledding team and went to a recreation of a native Alaskan village. Catered to the cruise demographic, but still awesome. For dinner, we hit up another salmon bake, which had potential, but again, the cruise crowd got to the good stuff first. Oh well! Tomorrow, William and I need a haircut!

August 3, 2026 - Day 64 - First day of Seventh Grade for Mr. William and his new teacher, Jamie! It was deemed best that I am not around the camper for the morning, so I took the dirty clothes to the laundromat. Dropped off the truck to get an oil change and tire rotation, but after doing all the laundry and leaving the truck at the shop for 2 hours, they had not even started working on it yet. Better luck tomorrow. After school, we took a ride to the North Pole (actually a city just southeast of Fairbanks where it is Christmas every day! Fed some “reindeer” (really caribou), but it was very cool. Rained off and on most of the day, but when have we not seen rain, am I right!? Going to be working on updating the galleries and getting some videos up. I’m a bit behind! But if the seventh-grade class needs me out of the way, I need to kill some time one way or another!

August 2, 2026 - Day 63 - Sleepy headed William stayed in bed for most of the morning, being his last day of summer break. Homeschooling starts tomorrow AM. William made a new campground friend and we then went to the Museum of the North to discover Alaskan cultures, natural wonders and about the wildlife, without the threat of being eaten! I think we had our first official fast food stop for dinner tonight too! Had a third leak in the roof present itself while we were up in Deadhorse, so I tackled that project today and a few other repairs. Said goodbye to the bike hitch that broke a few days ago. Sadly, I don’t know any good welders. Tomorrow is laundry day!

August 1, 2026 - Day 62 - Had a delicious breakfast at Coldfoot Camp and then hit the road for the remainder of the Dalton Highway going south into Fairbanks. Happy to get back to warmer temperatures. Went from being in the low 30s last night to mid/upper 60s in Fairbanks. Today marks the third month of our journey and I’m thankful that we’ve had any major issues so far! It’ll be good to be back in city life for a few days. As soon as we got to the campsite, we fired up the onsite car wash and took about 100 pounds of mud off the truck and camper. Need to get some errands done this week and an oil change so I don’t have to do it myself!

July 31, 2026 - Day 61 - Due to being so cold last night, I chickened out from the full polar plunge into the 37-degree Arctic Ocean, but Jamie, William and I did go in up to our knees. At least four people did actually go fully under water. Maybe when we get to Tuk, I’ll try again. After the tour, we drove out of Deadhorse and are now back in Coldfoot where we ate at the Trucker’s Cafe and since William pulled an “all nighter” last night, the family is hitting the pillows early. Tomorrow back to Fairbanks where we have some truck repair to deal with including the bike rack. I’m surprised with all the horror stories about the highway, that we didn’t have any issues so far!

July 30, 2026 - Day 60 - We made it to Deadhorse and got stuck in traffic literally behind a couple caribou! Visited the general store, got a t-shirt and we were actually surprised by how stocked this store was! We parked across the street from the tour company for tomorrow morning and we’re freezing our tails off. It’s 33 degrees at the end of July! I set up the 360 camera to see if we could track the sun as it didn’t set for very long before rising again but I fear it is going to be blocked by fog. I managed to do a little more cleaning on the camper so we could at least watch the caribou before bed! Tour tomorrow, full swan dive or am I going to chicken out!?

July 29, 2026 - Day 59 - Another day on the Dalton Highway and when I thought that there was no rain in the forecast, I was wrong. We woke up to clouds and then the rain started just as we pulled out of the camping spot. We stopped for gas in Coldfoot and there were threats of snow as we crossed the Atigun Pass. Needless to say, the truck and camper became a muddy mess. We stopped about 95 miles from Prudhoe Bay for the night alongside the Sagvanirktok River where I used some of the river water to wash the mud off the truck! We also saw a wild red fox! All the way to the top tomorrow!

July 28, 2026 - Day 58 - So the thing I feared would happen, happened. The bike rack, that had been showing signs of wear, finally broke on our way out of Fairbanks toward the Dalton Highway. We drug the bike rack behind the truck for a good amount of time before noticing that we were tail dragging. Used to mean something different when I flew planes. For the full story and pictures, see our Facebook page. As for the rest of the trip, we’ve started up the Dalton and made it to the Arctic Circle. As I type this, it’s 11:00PM and the sun is still up! Sunset is 11:59, but it’ll never get dark. Hoping to shoot a time lapse video with the 360-camera once we get up to Deadhorse for all to see. Long day, more dirt road driving tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be another 200+ miles closer to Prudhoe Bay! We also saw a bear today! Finally!

July 27, 2026 - Day 57 - So I once again waited until the last minute and I’m getting burnt for it. Actually, cold and wet. It’s raining again today but I need to put a protective film over the headlights to prevent rock damage as we start up the Dalton Highway tomorrow, which is mostly dirt road. So here I am, after we went shopping at the little shops outside the camp site, in the rain, trying to cut plastic sheets to cover the headlights. And then barbecuing in the rain again. Good news is there’s a hot shower in store! Tomorrow is the big trip north!

July 26, 2026 - Day 56 - We took a short two-mile hike around the visitor center again today and we then had a 5ish hour bus tour that takes us to Mile post 42 of the Denali Park Road. You have to stop at 42 due to an ever-increasing landslide that blocks the old road, but they’re constructing a bridge. Beautiful tour and we highly recommend, just for the snacks! No, but really, we got to see Golden Eagles, Dall Sheep, caribou, and a moose. We “saw” a grizzly bear, but he was a good mile or two away, so he was a brown dot on the horizon, and we are not counting him on our bear tracker!

July 25, 2026 - Day 55 - Probably the clearest day we’ve seen in a long time. We rode our bikes to the Visitor Center for Denali State Park and paid our park fees and were able to jump on a bus that takes you closer to the mountain and we got some awesome clear views of the North and South peaks of Denali! We took a short little river hike along a river at mile marker 15 and then rode the bus back to the visitor center and biked our way back to the campground. Excited for our bus ride tomorrow that takes us out to mile 42. Hopefully it’ll be a clear day also! No bear sightings in a couple weeks.

July 24, 2026 - Day 54 - We snoozed a few times but managed to get out of Anchorage at a descent hour (10ish). We made a very fun pitstop in Talkeetna, who is just getting over the huge amounts of rain they’ve been seeing, and the river overflowed its banks. Seems to be a semi regular occurrence but still, never fun. We hit up The Salmon Spot for some tasty salmon cakes, and we also snacked on some coffee rubbed elk skewers, pickle bombs and cheese curds! Couldn’t find any Talkeetna posts cards and we battled more gusty winds as we made it to Denali State Park for the next four nights. Pretty impressive mountain. I’m sure we could hike to the top in a day, but we’re going to do the tourist thing and mainly stay near the base. Kidding! I would die trying to climb that thing! It’s the tallest friggin mountain in North America!

July 23, 2026 - Day 53 - They weren’t lying about the wind. We woke up this morning, and it was howling! The 30’ American flag across the street from the campground was fully out and bending the flagpole. We took it slow and steady and made it safely out of Homer. By the time we got near Whittier, the wind calmed down and we made it safely into Anchorage. The next whirlwind was us doing eight loads of laundry in the short amount of time we had. Needed a clean restock before we start heading north. Tomorrow, we head into Denali for a couple days and we’ll be a week from taking a dip into the Arctic Ocean! Burrrrrrrr but WeirbackOnTrack!

July 22, 2026 - Day 52 - Hard to believe it’s been almost two months since this adventure started! Today was a rainy day and there is a gale warning issued for overnight into tomorrow with high winds forecasted. I just Googled how strong of a crosswind a truck camper can take, and we’ll be around the upper limit of 40mph. Two hands on the wheel! Today was a calmer day and a day to sleep in. We took a short drive but with the weather, the pictures weren’t spectacular!

July 21, 2026 - Day 51 - We took a water taxi across the bay this morning to hike to the Grewingk Glacier. Along the way, we took a spur off trail to a man powered tram that crossed the river. Jamie and William crossed the whole way and let me tell you, it was a workout to get them across. Once we got to the glacier, weather began to move in. Wind picked up and it got chilly quick. Mother nature figured we had it too nice yesterday so for the last 2 miles of our seven-mile hike, it rained. Rained all the way back to the water taxi, and back to the camper where I BBQed some chicken in the cold pouring rain. Hopefully nicer weather tomorrow!

July 20, 2026 - Day 50 - Rumors were true and there was no rain today. We got off to a later start than usual, but we were able to bike the 6 miles off the spit, take a walk on the beach during low tide and William and I walked in the ocean. Yeah, it was a bit cold! Preparing myself for the polar plunge up in Prudhoe Bay. Homer has a bunch of cute curio stores and a darn good ice cream shop. Jamie found a local fish market, so we are cooking some Sockeye Salmon for dinner with some dill and lemon. More rain tomorrow. Hope we can get through our hike before we get soaked.

July 19, 2026 - Day 49 - Today was the drive to Homer, AK and, of course, it was raining. Another soggy pack up and departure for a short, two-and-a-half-hour drive to Homer. We were able to book a campsite at the end of the Homer Spit (a four-mile-long narrow jetty (almost) that stretches out into the Kachemak Bay. It is also the end of the road for the Alaska 1 which comes to an end about 100 yards from where the camper is now. Rumor has it that tomorrow there may not be any rain! We’re going to use that to our advantage and go for a bike ride along the spit!

July 18, 2026 - Day 48 - Time to start packing up before the atmospheric river flows over our heads. Turns out we have 2+ inches in the forecast for tomorrow while we are heading to Homer. Today we actually got a good patch of NO RAIN, and we drove into Cooper Landing to hike to the Russian River falls where we finally got to see salmon running! It’s crazy to think that these fish are born in a river, live in that river for their first year and then head for the ocean for a couple years and then swim back to the very same river they were born in, to make more salmon and then … die. Tomorrow, we head to Homer and it’s starting to sprinkle right now so please pray that we don’t have any new (or old) leaks in the camper!

July 17, 2026 - Day 47 - OMG I want an Alaskan Husky puppy! Today, we went to a dog sledding location known for raising Iditarod winning teams of sled dogs! And we got to hold puppies! A team of 14 male huskies, with William (and our guide) at the wheel, pulled us around in a golf cart! It was amazing and then we got to hang out with the dogs, while they were wet and dirty, so yes, as predicted yesterday, we smell like wet dogs. Jamie was smart enough to take her gloves off but William and I have stinky gloves now. After the sled racing, we hiked up to the Exit Glacier, which is another glacier on the retreat due to global warming. It has retreated miles from where it was in 2005. After the hike, we went to the Salmon Bake and back to camp. Oh, and we got more rain!

July 16, 2026 - Day 46 - Today, we drove through Seward, AK and did a hike to a black sand beach called Tonsina Beach. And, once again, it was rainy, but we came prepared with our ponchos! We also discovered that a poncho over a jacket makes for a very sweaty hike, even if it’s 55 degrees out. After the hike, we stopped at the Alaska Sea Life center and got to watch some harbor seals and a sea lion that was just showing off how cool he is. We walked the main strip of Seward and ate dinner in a school bus! Please rain, go away, we are planning some dog sledding tomorrow and I don’t want to smell like wet dog!

July 15, 2026 - Day 45 - We got a good head start packing up yesterday before the rain came down again all night. Today, the skies opened up and we actually saw sunshine again. We stopped for a quick hike at the Byron Glacier and got a better view of the Portage Glacier which had a hand in carving out the area that is now Whittier. We are camped out in Moose Pass and are going into Seward tomorrow. Time for a good night of rest!

July 14, 2026 - Day 44 - Today is our last day in Anchorage on this trip so we’re stocking up our supplies, getting our last showers in and getting one more load of laundry done. Tomorrow we’re heading to Seward and our accommodations are lacking some of the essentials, like water hookups and places to dump tanks. Yes, those tanks. and we’re going to go a few days without showers. Probably don’t want to be within ten feet of us by Sunday. Hoping to get showers again once we get to Homer.

July 13, 2026 - Day 43 - It’s prettier in Whittier … when it’s not foggy and rainy that is. Today we took the 2.5-mile tunnel through a mountain to get to Whittier, Alaska. Awesome drive from Anchorage, about an hour and a half along the Kenai Peninsula. A recently updated cruise port, the town is starting to grow again. Once a strategic position during the Cold War, now a cute little fishing town where everyone basically lives in one apartment building together. We got a few trinkets and had some coffee and clam chowder. Still looking for a good fish place with local fish.

July 12, 2026 - Day 42 - Rain. It’s rained pretty much all day but that’s not a bad thing. Our plan for the day included laundry which went better than expected and William and I ran some errands to Home Depot, Costco and Best Buy (to get Jamie a new screen protector). Tonight is a riveting game of Farkle and then off to bed. Tomorrow WeirbackOnTrack is going to Whittier.

July 11, 2026 - Day 41 - It’s shocking to me when i think about it that we’ll be seven weeks into our adventure by Monday. Tomorrow is laundry day but today was (in the grand scheme of previous bike rides) one of the coolest and easiest bike rides we’ve done. It was thirty miles in total but overall, there were very few hills and my legs and rear are thankful. Anchorage is one of the busiest travel hubs for large planes coming in from overseas. We were able to stand right off the end of the runway as huge 747s were landing. Even got to watch one go around due to heavy crosswinds. Super cool.

July 10, 2026 - Day 40 - Our first day in Anchorage and we are putting a hike on the agenda because today and part of tomorrow are the only two days not forecasting rain. Today we did a hike up Flat Top Mountain, which is supposedly one of the best views of the city and on a good clear day, you can see all the way to Mt. Denali. But … it was foggy and at the top of the mountain, we could only see about 50 yards out. About halfway down the mountain though, the weather gods cleared the view and if we had been at the top, we’re guessing it would have been beautiful. Better luck tomorrow on the bikes.

July 9, 2026 - Day 39 - Hate to say it but getting tired of the cloudy and rainy weather at the moment. By no means does this make us want to be in the 100+ weather back in Phoenix, but this morning it had to be raining of course while we pack up and get the rig ready to move to Anchorage. The five-hour drive turned into a seven-hour drive due to some stops on the way, construction and an accident on the highway right before we got to camp. No, not us in the accident and no, I haven’t lost any other items on the road. Although, the bikes look like they are hanging lower and lower now that the bumpy roads are taking over. Seems like Alaska has two seasons, snow and construction fixing potholes. Safely at camp and we had Costco pizza for dinner. Time for some rest. Big hike tomorrow and it’s almost laundry day!

July 8, 2026 - Day 38 - Getting ready to post a Q & A session in the blog about our first 30 days on the road. What we like, what we don’t and maybe even find out what we brought that should have stayed at home (it’s the telescope, because it never gets dark up here!). Today we did a few hikes around Valdez, bought some postcards for family and friends back home and made sure William restocked his candy reserves. Tomorrow, we pack up and roll out for Anchorage! WeirbackOnTrack now!

July 7, 2026 - Day 37 - When, and if, reincarnation happens, I think I want to come back as a sea otter. They just swim around, living their best lives. Turns out that they are not a favorite food of orcas due to lack of body fat, so they just float along, eating shellfish with their favorite rock that they tuck under their armpits. Today we did a glacier cruise and saw many rafts (as they are called) of sea otters and a good half dozen or so humpback whales. We saw a couple harbor seals and lots of icebergs. Luckily, we didn’t have to man the lifeboats, it was all part of the cruise. Weather was cold and cloudy, but a beautiful day if you ask me.

July 6, 2026 - Day 36 - One of our shortest drives lately. Today we travelled from Tok to Valdez. What a beautiful community nestled in the mountains of south Alaska! The drive was a lot easier as the upheaved roads were at a minimum. Looking forward to a good night’s rest. Tomorrow, we have a glacier cruise and likely 1,000 images to add to the gallery!

July 5, 2026 - Day 35 - Driving all day. We pushed to make it across the US border and are officially in Alaska! We might have touched the tip down at Salmon Glacier but today was full penetration! Got new storage boxes for the roof and strapped them down with three ratcheting straps. Not losing these guys anymore. It was a good thing too because today’s road was a true test. Due to freezing temperatures, potholes and dirt roads kept us to about a 45 MPH speed, which meant slow going. 400 miles of driving today took about 9 hours. We did see our first grizzly bear though, so that was cool. Made it to Tok, AK and onward to Valdez tomorrow. Shorter drive (I hope). WeirbackOnTrack

July 4, 2026 - Day 34 - Happy to be in Whitehorse for the night, but what a day! You’ll have to check out the full story on Facebook but we had a heck of a time recovering some lost cargo on this trip! New site has way less mosquitoes and I’m grateful for that! Happy Independence Day everyone!

July 3, 2026 - Day 33 - I follow a lot of other adventurers that are miles ahead of us and they have reported that the mosquitoes are taking over the world in Alaska. I think it should be declared a state of emergency. We’re about 10 miles or so south of Jade City, BC with our intent to be to Whitehorse tomorrow at this time. I’m sitting here, in the camper, watching a river flow by and wanting to be sitting outside, but we are being held hostage by mosquitoes already. It’s pretty bad and I assume the Raid warehouse is nowhere near here. looking up at the ceiling vent right now there are probably 20 blood suckers trying to enter. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! Making me itchy just looking at them. We bought these no-see-um, mosquito head nets and I was rocking my long pants, jacket, hands in pockets with my head net on and my hood on. I looked like a horror movie beekeeper. But it beats the day to day from before we launched this trip. Really feels like WeirbackOnTrack!

July 2, 2026 - Day 32 - Salmon Glacier. Today we headed back into the US for a short period in Hyder, Alaska. Hyder is a small community just southwest of Stewart, BC. We stopped at a Wildlife Observation Site where in just a few weeks, the river will be full of spawning salmon and the bears that eat the salmon. Today, there were no salmon and no bears. Once through Hyder, it’s a dirt road for 16 or so miles to the Salmon Glacier. Salmon Glacier forms an ice dam for Summit Lake at the top of the glacier. Around mid-July, the ice dam breaks causing the salmon river (under the glacier) to rise by 4-5 feet. On our way back to Canada, one of my extension valves for the dually decided it was time to fail and indicated that my PSI went from 80 pounds down to 34 pounds. Luckily, and yet unluckily, it was just the valve extension and only took about an hour to fix. I’m getting so much better at getting the camper back on the truck since it took me about 10 minutes in total to get it raised, centered and lowered on the truck. Tomorrow we are heading north. Our goal is to make it to Jade City where we will be boondocking for the first time since camping out in the Pilot parking lots.

July 1, 2026 - Day 31 - We had a spot of rain last night so it was a good thing I put the tarp over the repair I did on the roof. We did not, however, cover any of the fabric chairs, rugs or anything else that likes to get wet and now they are all wet. It’s kind of throwing off our moods this morning. We did make some bacon and egg bagels off the Blackstone and that improved our quality of life. We did some grocery shopping where William and Jamie got their Starbucks fix (me I get Monsters as my fix) and we headed 0ff to Stewart BC. What an amazing drive! If you get the chance to drive into Stewart, I highly recommend it. The mountains, glaciers and rivers are amazing! Pictures do not do it justice. The bear counter today jumped from three to seven! As we checked in, the manager at the RV park even said that there is a grizzly bear just on the other side of the RV park. Maybe not something we want to check out but I really want to check it out. We were treated to a marathon fireworks extravaganza at midnight as well in honor of Canada Day. Didn’t get to see them, but they sure woke Jamie up! I started the WeirbackOnTrack Facebook page today so I can use that to dump photos into along with the website once I figure out how to get galleries to work! We’re getting a lot closer now!

June 30, 2026 - Day 30 - The last day of our first month! We arrived in Prince Rupert at 1:30AM and it was a short 10 minute drive to the RV park. Once plugged in for water and electricity, it was time for some more rest. Turned out that 17 hours on a ferry did not give much time for sleeping. We managed to get about an hour of sleep or so before we arrived. Once we got plugged in and I was able to unwind a little, it was 3AM and time for some sleep. Once awake, it was repair day for the roof that I put a bandaid on in Port Hardy and laundry day, including all bedsheets, jackets and towels. We never left the RV park and we had some pork chops for dinner. Happy to be done with ferries for a while! WeirbackOnTrack now! Tomorrow we’re going to drive up to Stewart, BC, right on the border of Alaska! Woohoo!

June 29, 2026 - Day 29 - The Boat Incident - We booked this ferry ride back in January way before we even kicked off this trip. June 29, 7:30AM sailing time, have to arrive in the boarding window to get on board. Ok, we need to get up early. The ferry in Vancouver had a check in time an hour before sailing and we were not allowed to check in prior to that time, so I ASSUMED that this was similar and we’d check in by 6:30 and be in good shape. I should have paid a little more attention to the email. Anyway, we set the alarm for 5:30AM. Buzzer went off and I jumped out of bed. Jamie and I had been tossing and turning anyway since a little after 5 concerned that we’d miss the alarm and just anticipating the day. The night before, I had put the camper back on the truck, untarped the roof and had everything ready to go into the camper and get on the road as soon as possible. Jamie picked our RV park specifically because of its proximity to the ferry terminal (10 minute drive away). Boom, packed and on our way to get to the boat. 6:20ish we arrived at the ferry terminal and we were at the back of a 10 or so long line of slow moving cars being checked in. We got up to being next in line and the car in front of us handed over a small packet of paperwork to the check in desk. I made a comment along the lines of “someone who doesn’t know how to read the email and have their bar code ready.” I had my barcode and our IDs ready. I even asked one of the employees in line if we needed our passports or if our driver’s licenses would work. He assured me that DLs would work just fine. As the car in front of us checked in, I overheard the employee say something along the lines of “because you are late, you are going to have to wait in the standby line.” I said to Jamie “they must not have a reservation like us and have to wait and see if there’s room.” They were directed over to a lonely lane where they sat by themselves. Our turn…

I pulled up to the window, driver’s licenses and the bar code ready for check in. Where is the ID for the child? Um, in the camper on the back of this truck and (unbeknownst to her) buried in a secret compartment on the camper that requires some remodeling to get to. “I’m going to need some form of ID for the child.” $#it… I jump out of the driver’s seat and dive into the back of the camper like a bear that found a jar of peanut butter and tear it apart to find our passports. Boom, got ‘em. “Just so you know, you arrived late for check in. I’m going to ticket you, but you are going to have to sit in standby to see if there’s room for you to board the boat.” Um, what? We were here an hour early just like the last ferry we got on. Well, dumb me. If I had read the email for this particular cruise, you needed to arrive 2 hours early and the check in window closes 90 minutes prior to departure time! WTF?! She continues by saying “If you don’t make this ferry we will discuss options with you. You could always walk on and leave your vehicle here.” LOL, I can only imagine Jamie’s thoughts at that remark, “Sure, I’ll leave my deceased husband with the vehicle too, that would be very convenient, thanks.” Yeah, that’s not going to work for us. I try not to let my panic show, but Jamie is reeling! As the optimist, I’m always in the mindset of “this will work out for the best” and Jamie is the opposite to the point of “we’re screwed, we’re going to have to reschedule this whole trip! We’re losing days, what are we gonna do!?” and I can see it written across her face and I can feel the air thicken in the vehicle. I do my best to try not to make eye contact, I play the nice guy card and just do what the check in lady says and swing the truck to the standby “prepare to be in big trouble” line.

While all other vehicles are boarding and I’m putting the camper back together after getting the passports, another lady came over to the truck to take our tickets. Jamie told her we were on standby, but she said if we have tickets we aren’t on standby. Since Jamie had no answers, she radioed the first lady and asked her what was going on. Over the radio Jamie hears “yes, those cars were late, just leave them there.” Second lady shrugs her shoulders and says, “I guess I’ll leave you for now.” So, we wait … we see someone waking toward the car in front of us and at this point I’m guessing they’ll have enough room for that car but not us. My pessimist is leaking out! The person waves both of us to get on board! Halleluiah, we’re saved! Turned out you could have fit us and like 4 or five tour busses behind us. I think the check in person just wanted to see me sweat in 50-degree weather. Thankfully WeirbackOnTrack and we’re on this boat for the next 17 hours on our way to Prince Rupert!

June 28, 2026 - Day 28 - Our last full day on Vancouver Island. Tomorrow, we catch the ferry that will take us closer to Alaska. We’ll be on the boat for like 17 hours and we got a room, so we’ll be able to get some good proper showers and some needed rest. Today we went to Telegraph Cove, which looks like one of those towns you’d see on a postcard. We then went into Port McNeill and took a ferry (no truck this time) over to Alert Bay. Which, since it was Sunday and a little rainy, appeared to be closed for the day. We had to piece together a lunch picnic at a small grocery store. Alert Bay claims to have the WORLD’S largest totem pole, so of course we had to check it out… but it was hardly even worth taking a photo of. A bit of a disappointment really. Jamie noted that it didn’t even have a sign or marker! After we found a place to get a power wash on the truck (just a power wash, no soap) and made it look a little more respectable before driving it onto the boat tomorrow.

June 27, 2026 - Day 27 - Hard to believe it’s been almost a month already. Since we’re constantly on the move, it still has a vacation feel but it’s beginning to feel more normal. Today, we drove out to Cape Scott (yes, I have a cape named after me). We arrived a little before low tide, which has been described as the best time to go. After a 45-minute hike through the forest, we popped out on the most amazing beach we’ve seen so far. San Josef Bay, known for its white sand and the big sea stacks (rock towers). It’s not exactly beach weather though. A bit on the cold side, but I’ll take this over the 105 degrees back home anytime! The truck on the other hand, after 3 hours of dirt road driving, needs a bath!

June 26, 2026 - Day 26 - You’ll have to excuse the tardiness of this latest update. This morning I made my way into Port Hardy for the hardware store and I’m starting to realize that “ish” takes on a new meaning up here. When they say that the department that sells the tarps opens at 9ish, it usually means a little after 9. It’s definitely different than what I’ve been used to. When I worked at the bank, I’d get scolded for opening the doors five minutes early but up here, you have to wait until they are ready to open for you. Anyway, I found the hardware/hobby/camping store this morning and invested in a new tarp, some new bungee cords and three no-see-um head covers. Sounds like, from people already up there, that the bug situation is getting worse the further north we go. Keep ya posted. And no Alex, Port Hardy is not where Tom Hardy lives!

June 25, 2026 - Day 25 - Moving Day! Today we’re heading to the furthest north spot of Vancouver Island, Port Hardy. Mother nature is moving in, and it looks like it’s going to be a wet drive. Rain is expected for the next two days. Before leaving Campbell River, we surprised William with a visit to the city aquarium. Very small aquarium with a cool catch, habilitate and release non-profit aquarium. There they had one of the most active Pacific Giant Octopuses we’ve ever seen. It was super cool to see. The drive did turn wet and it was coming down as we arrived at the new RV park. Got the camper back off the truck and we started putting the place together again when Jamie spotted some water in the bathroom. Fortunately, it’s a wet bathroom but unfortunately it means our home/basecamp has a leak in it. So, here’s me on the roof of the camper, in a poncho, in the rain with an umbrella and a can of roof sealant, trying to put a piece of bubble gum on a leaking dam. I disassembled the skylight in the bathroom and found that it’s seeping under the top cover and into the bathroom. Wet wood in a camper, can ruin a camper FOREVER. I was able to patch it with some silicone and the little bit of sealant I put on the roof, but this is going to need a better fix once the weather gets better. I hope this town has a hardware store. Need to fix it to get BackOnTrack.

June 24, 2026 - Day 24 - Dear butt, I’m sorry about this but it’s once again time for another bike ride. I promise that there are not going to be any intense up hills or downhills or bumpy roads (ok, there’s probably some bumps in the roads). If you can manage this 20ish mile or so bike ride, I promise to treat you to some ice cream! Sincerely apologetic, me. Back to the bikes we went as we rode around Campbell River. We found out that we crossed the 50th parallel and are one degree closer to the top of the continent. We had ice cream and I ate it and did not apply it to my rear. Tomorrow is another moving day so today the camper went back on the truck and we’re geared up to get BackOnTrack!

June 23, 2026 - Day 23 - Today we did a little bit of off roading on our wat to the small fishing village of Tahsis. Similar road as yesterday except as we got out of Gold River, the road turned to dirt which made the old triangle roads look like smooth sailing. Had to keep the truck to about 30 miles per hour for about an hour. Roads we’re going to have to get used to if we’re going all the way to the northern part of the continent. We saw our very first bear of the trip! Jamie was a bit hesitant to take a picture with the window down because it appeared to be a young bear and they don’t usually stray too far from their mother. Luckily, we’re in the truck today and I don’t have to rely on my trusty Leatherman today. I get to add spelunker to my resume as we explored the Upana Caves. Had lunch at Uptown Cappuccino in Gold River where I highly recommend the grilled cheese and a chocolate shake! We got to Tahsis and had a great dinner at the Margaritaville themed Westview Marina. On our way back to Campbell River, we saw the same bear in the same place and still no mom but we decided it would be best not to adopt it (to my chagrin). Once back at camp we got to see the cruise ships sailing past including the Disney Magic! Another great day!

June 22, 2026 - Day 22 - We are three weeks into this trip already! There are times when it feels like it’s going so fast and then other times that it has felt like an eternity since we left, but it’s nice to be BackOnTrack! Today we drove out to Buttle Lake (haha Butt) and did a little bit of hiking in Strathcona Provincial Park. The park is a 250,000 hectare (about 1000 mi²) area of protected land with forests, rivers, ocean, and greenland for exploring. The further west you go, you get into small villages like Gold River and Tahsis, which are spots we are visiting on tomorrow’s drive and some off-road action. Our day started out with the Elk Falls Suspension Bridge and then we stopped for lunch at Lupin Falls. After that we checked out another trail that was highly recommended on iOverlander called the Karst Creek Trail. We decided to ignore the “closed” sign mainly because it wasn’t a CLOSED sign but more a sign that read that a bridge had been washed out and to proceed with caution. So, we proceeded. It should have been a clue that finding the trailhead was hard, but we proceeded. And we were probably the first humans to have been on this trail for a long time. It was overgrown and it became our priority to keep the child between the adults so when a bear tries to take us out … I get to be the appetizer, Jamie the entree and William the dessert, because we aren’t carrying bear spray, a bear bell or a bear horn. I have a Leatherman and a bear is built with at least four “Leathermen” on each paw. Never bring a knife to a paw fight! And I’ve already sliced my hand with my own knife trying to show off! We did manage to find the trail, finished it, gave it three thumbs WAY down and moved on to Lower Myra Falls, which definitely made up for the bad hike. WeirbackOnTrack!

June 21, 2026 - Day 21 - Today is Father’s Day. I received a couple cards from the wife and child as we packed up camp and headed to our next destination. Our drive today took us to Campbell River which is halfway up the western side of Vancouver Island. It’s a port city with enough population to have a Walmart and a Home Depot. Once we got to the RV park, we put the legs down on the camper, removed the bike rack and got the braces under the camper. We were able to ask at the front desk and found a local fish market that closed just as we got there (Yes, we are those kinds of customers). We bought the last five salmon steaks and came back to camp and grilled them up on the Blackstone. Delish! Tomorrow we are heading into Strathcona Provincial Park to check out some waterfalls and some forest trails.

June 18, 2026 - Day 18 - Today was sightseeing day in the area of Ucluelet and surrounding towns. Tomorrow will be the bike trip into Ucluelet, but for today we went back through the mountain passes to check out the forests and the lakes, rivers and tadpoles. Yup, we saw tadpoles today in some tidepools along the river. Hiking was a short trip compared to our more recent hikes, so that was a welcome rest for my feet. We drove a good two hours or so back toward where we came from yesterday and visited the MacMillan Provincial Park and Cathedral Grove. The park is home to some 800+-year-old Douglas Firs, featuring a tree that is 9-meters-wide! For the Star Wars fans, this park was used for Episode VI as the backdrop for the forest moon of Endor. But we didn’t see Wicket or any of the other Ewoks, so don’t ask. *Edit - the movie had actually never been filmed in Canada and the moon of Endor is actually the redwood forests of California, but the towering trees and ancient old growth in this area have been compared to the moon of Endor. So again, no Ewoks as they would have been about 1000 miles south of us in California. On the drive back, we shot the drive with the 360-camera so hopefully I’ll have a video up on Insta and or YouTube soon. We also found a local candy shop, so we absolutely needed to get our chocolate fix on. Now WeirbackOnTrack!

June 17, 2026 - Day 17 - Moving Day. Today we travelled out of Victoria and are about a third of the way up the west coast of Vancouver Island, near a town called Ucluelet. Overall drive took about 4 hours thanks to a small side quest to rescue the soap box that we lost two days ago. For the full story of that, you’ll want to check out my Facebook page (scott.weirback). To summarize the tale, just know that I’m a friggin superhero! Got ourselves situated at Surf Junction RV Park and we’re looking forward to a few nice days here. Took the camper off the truck as soon as we got here because tomorrow, we’re driving back up the road we came in on to check out some trails and get some nice pictures of the mountains. Until then, I can safely say WeirbackOnTrack!

June 16, 2026 - Day 16 - Camper still off the truck, we opted to leave the bikes at base camp and drove out to a trail that led to the peak of Mt.Finlayson, or as the locals have nicknamed it, ‘Mount Hillimanjaro’. We took the north peak trail which was 4.2km long. As we got out of the truck, I glanced at the first aid kit (which probably jinxed the whole thing) and thought, nah, we haven’t needed Band-Aids for any of these hikes as of yet. Until this time. About 1km into the walk, Mr. “I don’t pick up my fee”, William, took a bad step and went crashing to the ground beneath him. He had been carrying a rock, ‘Rocky’ and it sliced his thumb open pretty well. We thought the hike was over. William thought the worst, “MY THUMB IS BROKEN!!!!” Fortunately, Mommy was able to calm the injured boy down and Daddy, being the hero, walked (and sometimes jogged) back to the truck to grab Band-Aids, alcohol swabs, and the finger splint. By the time I got back, things had calmed down and we were able to complete the hike. Also got to see Victoria’s Niagara Falls and the best of all, we got to have ice cream bars. For the evening, Jamie and William headed off to do laundry while the Captain tackled the task of getting the camper back on the truck. After an hour and a half, I almost got it on there perfectly. I’m about an inch to the driver side but mostly satisfied. Laundry is done, we’re just about all packed up and tomorrow, we ship off to our next destination! It still feels like a vacation and trying to figure out when this will start to feel like the norm. For now, WeirbackOnTrack!

June 15, 2026 - Day 15 - Thankfully, my butt got a rest in the truck today. Taking the camper off the truck is never the problem but as I was taking it off, I did almost ruin everything by not disconnecting the bike rack which would have then pulled the camper over and been a huge mess. Luckily, I caught it just in time. Everything off, we loaded into the truck and headed out. The one thing I did forget to remove from the truck was our outside bar of soap which fit nicely on the sidewall step for the truck bed. Well, it’s now somewhere on the Canada 1 highway and if you find that, I’ll autograph that too! Today we went up through Sooke and out to Port Renfrew. A quiet beach town out on the southwest coast of the island. We did a hiking loop around the area and got to see many awesome sights and more jellyfish in the wild! Without the camper, the truck is very stiff, and you can feel each and every bump straight into your bike seat bruises. We had our first interaction with what we are calling “triangle roads”. In this area, when they want to indicate a bumpy road ahead, they will put out a sign with three triangles on it, indicating that there are bumps ahead. There were a lot of bumps. We hit up Costco for dinner, and I’m obsessed with the fact that the stores up here offer poutine! Delish!

June 14, 2026 - Day 14 - For some of you, do you remember back in the late 80s and early 90s, riding your BMX (Huffy) or your mountain bikes until the streetlights came on and then you knew you had to go home? I recall riding my bike for hours and hours and days upon days in a row … and my ass didn’t hurt at all. Today, we took our bikes on a 20-mile loop around Victoria, and I’m having a hard time sitting at the table right now typing this post. Was it that the seats back then were made better or have I lost my callus from back in those days. It felt like the seat support rod was giving me a colonoscopy, and I should know, I’m apparently at that age where I had to get one. Abnormal heat wave blowing through Victoria at the moment and it was a warm and humid 82 today. Had to unzip the convertible pants and go for the cargo shorts look. But with all the complaints about my bum, the child seemed to be the one complaining the most. I think he’s at that between age where he can still complain, but now, we no longer care. Suck it up kid! Back when I was your age, we made bike ramps out of cinder blocks and plywood and helmets had not been invented yet. We survived the entire ride so we could get to another Beaver Tails location and get our dessert/dinner on! Yes, our new goal is to visit each and every Beaver Tail location in Canada. Bring it on! Tomorrow will be my first time taking the camper off the truck in a campsite. Taking it off will be the easy job, it’s getting the camper back on that might provide the challenge! Jamie and William have been instructed to watch and not to interact. We’re probably going to want to film this one …

June 13, 2026 - Day 13 - William seems to be coming down with a slight cold. Our intent was to bike to Butchart Gardens, but we’ve opted for taking the bus. It was a good thing too because it was mostly uphill and I’m not sure I have my old biker calves like I used to. Hills and me are not friends! The Butchart Gardens are a hot spot in Victoria and considered one of the must-see places if you’re ever on the island. My dad was big on gardens back when I was growing up and we had all kinds of flower beds and rose bushes that would destroy my perfectly good soccer balls ALL THE TIME! You’d think I was no good at soccer with how often I lost my ball into those bushes. But for all the flowers my dad planted, he had nothing on this place. Their summertime flowers were in bloom, and everything was looking spectacular. I took the good camera with me for this one and will get a gallery up soon.

June 12, 2026 - Day 12 - Had an early start this morning but with the help of the entire team, we were able to get the camper ready for departure and we were on our way by 6:15AM. Today was the first trial of the camper getting his sea legs. We drove to Tsawwassen for a ferry ride from Vancouver over to Vancouver Island and now we are established at the Fort Victoria RV Park. Getting on and off the ferry was a lot easier than I had expected. I’ve seen horror stories of truck campers getting on to ferries and not fitting under a pylon or a section of the boat and shaving off the entire top half of the camper. Luckily, that was not us as we were sandwiched between a big rig and a car hauler (both much bigger than we were). New territory for the Weirbacks so we are excited to see downtown Victoria and do some exploring in places we’ve never been. Hamburger Helper tonight for dinner and we’ll see if it still “makes a great meal”!

June 9, 2026 - Day 9 - Rain falling sporadically throughout the day and coming down right now as I type this. Today, we went into downtown Vancouver to check out one of Jamie and William’s favorite spots, Science World. Jamie had been dying to retest her reflexes on the quick hands game. She beat her previous record of 3.96 and completed the test in 3.95 seconds! She’s amazing, as usual. Tomorrow we’re planning on some bike riding if the weather holds out and hopefully some videos coming soon.

June 3, 2026 - Day 3 - WeirbackOnTrack went west to Lompoc (Lohm-poke) to try and catch the SpaceX rocket launch but got fogged out of any view. Took a short hike to a local waterfall and cruised the city streets of Solvang, CA. Solvang and the Central Coast will likely have its own section in the ‘…On Target’ section so I won’t spoil all the details. Launch, lunch and laughter! That’s what getting BackOnTrack is all about. Photos, targeted post and some videos should be adding to the website tomorrow! It’s laundry day before leg #2 of the trip. Map update tomorrow!

May 31, 2026 - T-minus 20ish hours

We’re now in hurry up and wait mode. We’ve got some final packing to do and some left over cleaning to do. Showers, laundry, sleep and then hit the road. William living his best life up there playing video games and I’m waiting for the signal to load up, lock up and lock in.

May 30, 2026 - T-minus 2 days

Fridge is working and staying cold in the 100-degree Phoenix weather. We loaded up the freezer and fridge. We’ve stowed away our clothes, and the truck is 90% packed up. Looking like we’re going to be go for launch on Monday! William has narrowed down his stuffie choices! Just about to be back on track!

May 29, 2026 - T-minus 3 Days

Made the mistake of plugging in the RV to the house and running the air conditioner on the unit and almost burnt the house down twice. Night before last, I plugged in the RV next to the house in hopes of getting the fridge to cool down. Well, due to the slant of the driveway, the fridge did not run, nor get cold overnight … but it did manage to melt the outlet that the camper was plugged into. Smart me decided, well, we’ll level the RV into the driveway, and I’ll plug into the outlet at the front door. Go shopping and when we get back, the A/C is off, and the inverter is trying to restart with no juice going to it. Melted a second outlet and managed to melt the GFCI plug in the garage. Thanks to my neighbor and electrician, Sparky Joe, we got the house working again and decided that the A/C will remain off until we hit the road.

May 26, 2026 - T-minus 6 Days

Getting closer to hitting the road. The camper is not fully packed, the camper is currently off the truck, and the bike rack is uninstalled. Had to take the house plants up to their babysitters while we’re gone. We’re about as far away from “ready” as I’d like to be at this point!