Monaco Larry

Our 3 coaches are currently in Palmer. We had spent 4 days in Denali and had a great view of the mountain. Not very many animals on the park tour. We have been pretty lucky with the weather and lack of smoke. For all of the bloggers on FB Alaska 2019, I'm surprised we don't have more commenting on this site.

Our 3 rigs arrived in Dawson City today. Plan to be here for 5 nights before moving on.

After a 9 day breakdown we were able to be back on the road today. We left Grande Prairie at 3:30 and pulled into Fort Nelson at 9PM. Only saw one black bear on the whole trip but got plenty of rain to wash the bugs off of the windshield. On to Watson Lake tomorrow and Saturday we should catch up with our other 2 rigs in Whitehorse.

We have fallen behind schedule. On Tuesday 8/4, our transmission went out on our motor home. Low bedded back to Fort St. John to a repair facility. The next morning they informed me they were closing their facility that day and we needed to be low bedded to Grande Prairie which was 3 hours East and in Alberta. They thought they repaired the transmission, re-installed it and we still had no forward gears. Dropped the transmission again and I carried the 500 lb transmission in our Honda to Edmonton which was 290 miles and 4 1/2 hours away. Just completed the 10 hour, 600 mile round trip. They hope to have it repaired and back to Grande Prairie by Friday. Meanwhile the 2 rigs were were leading to Alaska have continued on. Hope we can catch them in Dawson City next week.

Arrived at the Northern Lights Campground in Dawson Creek. No smoke, a little drizzle. Staying through the weekend to show our friends the start of the Alaskan Highway.

Chetwynd getting some smoke from the East but it isn't too bad. Leave in the morning for a few days in Dawson Creek. We expect more smoke there. Hoping it cools down as it was 82 today. Makes it a little warm for hiking.

Previous post was supposed to have gone on several days ago. Our 3 coach's moved on from Prince George to Chetwynd today. The road became a little rough but we saw several black bear and the rear end of one disappearing moose. Resting for a few nights before moving on to Dawson Creek.

Just spent a day in Kokanee Bay for a breather. Heading for Prince George tomorrow for 3 days of siteseeing. Several rigs pulling in are also headed for Alaska.

3 rigs crossed the border at Sumas today. Staying in Hope, BC for a few days before moving on. Border crossing was a breeze.

Our 3 coaches arrived in Lyndon, Washington this afternoon. Having to stay much longer here than planned due to Canada's major holiday coming up next weekend. It appears we can't find any open campgrounds in BC until the 22nd at the earliest.

We arrived in Keizer, Oregon today and introduced couple #2 to couple #3 who we are leading to Alaska for the summer. Thank goodness they hit it off great.

We go up on the AlCan on our way North and the Cassair on our way out in Sept. We hope to catch Jasper and Banff on our way out if the wild fires don't have the highways closed like in 2017.

We have 2 coach's that left Orange County California on 4/22 headed up the coast. We are currently in Brookings Oregon and expect to enter British Columbia at Sumas around 5/18.

Outtahere, you might want to look at former Alaska blogs for ideas. We participated in the 2009 Alaska blog. There are many possible boon docking stops in British Columbia and Yukon Territory as well as Alaska. We had used a coupon book that year that offered buy one, get one free. The book paid for itself when you take the various offered excursions. I'm sure you have already been told to purchase the current Mile Post. It is required. I recommend you obtain and read James Micheners "Alaska". Do NOT try taking a weapon into Canada. They will allow more alcohol than the web site states, if they are open bottles that you wouldn't be offering for sale. We converted a few hundred dollars into Canadian money as their Provincial Parks require Canadian money. Go through a smaller border station crossing, not one of the big ones. If you take the main highway from Blaine, Washington to the Peace Arch crossing, you have increased the odds of your rig being searched. If you move about 30 miles East to the Sumas crossing, you have significantly reduced the chances of being searched. Try not to plan too far in advance as some small locations end up being worth several days investigation. Make sure your Passport isn't about to expire this year. We will look for your inputs here through the summer and maybe we can meet up along the way.

We have 4 rigs headed for Alaska this year. We have been there twice in our RV (2009 & 2017). We are leading 3 other rigs for their first time. Plan on leaving So. Cal. in late April, entering Canada in late May and Alaska in late June. We love to meet other RVer's and share experiences and travel plans. We hope to post our travels here as we progress, looking forward to meeting other Alaska travelers this year.

I thank all of you for your input. I found it very discouraging to have Charles Schwab boot us out after 14 years with them. I did minimal research after your inputs and have selected Vanguard as the firm to move our accounts to. I'm sure there are others just as reputable but that's where we are headed. I have no idea why Schwab is being so stubborn, but I appreciate all of you giving me options. I'm not sure how to close this string of posts but I thank you all ad do not require any further replies.

Thank you for your input. I phoned Schwab back and explained that my VA and Medicare is OK with my address, how can we resolve this. If I provide them with a statement from our present campground that we are here and paid up and if I include a letter stating this is my current LEGAL address but Livingston is our mailing address, they think that will satisfy their requirement. If not, I guess Vanguard gets a new customer. Thanks again for your prompt responses. Glad to find out there is an alternative.

My wife has had an IRA account with Charles Schwab for the past 13 years. Last week we opened a Joint Tenant Account with them for further investing. When I tried to purchase Mutual Funds today, I was told the account is Restricted due to not having a physical address. I was given a Verification Supervisor who confirmed that we must show a utility bill in our name to establish an address to use the account. When I explained that is impossible for a full time RVer, she suggested we take our money elsewhere. And by the way, your wife's IRA that was originally opened to your previous home address wasn't caught when you changed address's so it will be closed in the next 30 days. Can anyone provide us with a reputable investment firm that has found a way around this?