September 1, 1999 - We finally walked on a glacier!!! - Along the Glenn Highway on our way to Valdez we spotted glacier in the distance. The glacier turned out to be very close to the road and for a small fee we were able to drive to within a 1000 feet of it. We still didn't get to do our glacier cruise but

August 29, 1999 - A glacier flight - Having failed to hike to a glacier the day before, we hired a pilot to fly us over one!!! (first class tickets baby!!!) The glaciers had a textures like I would not have thought, simply an awesome experience to see one up close (even if it was 500 feet away).

August 28, 1999 - Back to Denali - Not satisfied with our first experience at Denali we went back. We planned a day hike to a glacier that was supposed to start at 6:30AM. However the Winnebaigis has a slight electrical problem that messes up the clock, thus causing us to start the hike at 10:30AM!!! We never made it to the glacier but we did see an awesome view of Mt McKinley. The day hike was filled with some up close wildlife (caribou and bear).

August 26, 1999 - Sightseeing in the Fairbanks area - Today was a veg day. We spent a few hours at the University of Alaska Museum, next we drove to the Alaska Pipeline, and finally  Alaskaland (this had a neat air museum, sorry not pics though).

August 24, 1999 - The Denali Backcountry and the weather kicked our ass - The original schedule called for 4 days of backcountry hiking, we managed 36 hours!!!

August 22/23, 1999 - Bear sightings - Some pictures of the Denali grizzly. 

August 21, 1999 - We a glimpse of Mount McKinley - Though this seems like nothing special, it is to me. Mt McKinley is usually hidden behind the clouds almost 70 percent of the year. Many visitors to Alaska never get to see the largest Mountain in North America.

August 19, 1999 - The breakdown along the Denali Highway -We pulled over to take some video of ducks feeding in a pond and the Winnebaigis wouldn't restart!

August 18, 1999 - We started down the Denali Highway - Well as highways go in Alaska it seems fine (dirt/gravel). The highway winds along the borders of a glacier field, so we should get  some awesome pictures.

August 18, 1999 - First tire repair - The outer left rear tire took a liking to a screw, so much so it became attached. The screw caused a slow leak, when we found the leak the tire had about 15 lbs of air pressure.

August 18, 1999 - Updates will be decreasing - Over the next week and a half updates will be less frequent. We're not going to be at campsites for the few days that we cross the Denali Highway and 4 days next week we will be backpacking. Hopefully we can get an update this Saturday and next Saturday. 

August 17, 1999 - Winnebaigis breaks another alternator belt - Hmmmm... maybe leaving the original belt on when we got the new one wasn't such a good idea!!! LOL However, we did break down right outside a state park where we took a nice hike that climbed a ridge to a scenic overlook.

August 16, 1999 - We're in Alaska!!! - It was wet and foggy when we arrived in Alaska. The roads were mud (yes we traveled about 70 miles on a "dirt" road) and the view not so spectacular. As a matter of fact at times during the day you could not even see a car in front of you!!! I'm sure had it been a clear day the scenery would have been awesome.

August 15, 1999 - Greg has a bed wetting problem - Like any difficult problem, it took two tries to fix the problem (we hope). If anyone ever buys an RV, you should look into a lifetime supply of duct tape and silicone sealant, as RV's seem to require a lot of both. 

August 14, 1999 - Roadside repair - About 210 miles into today's journey the alternator belt wrapped itself around the fan. One might fault us for an improper installation of the belt when we repaired the alternator.

August 13, 1999 - Rebuilt the alternator on the Winnebaigis - It was a rainy day so we did only a small bit of sight seeing in Whitehorse. The morning was spent fixing our electrical problem, thoughts at the moment are it was a malfunctioning alternator. 

August 12, 1999 - The Winnebaigis Tour page has been updated to include some new footage of the more recent lived in variety. We also send out apologies for missing a few days of updates, this was due to technical difficulties (aka no phone connectivity... we had to use a public library phone line!!!)

August 12, 1999 - The refrigerator is freezing everything!!! -It seems as though refrigerator works much better than we ever anticipated... Daily I have been turning the temperature to a warmer setting, however it has not helped the problem. Thus far it has frozen carrots, a head of lettuce, a jug of iced tea, a tossed salad, most likely the eggs (we haven't checked them yet), lunchmeat, and a bottle of gatorade. The refrigerator may be the best functioning component of the entire RV. (can anyone else make ice cubes in their refrigerator?) 

August 11, 1999 - An action packed day - The first half of the day was filled with breathtaking scenery and many attractions so check out the major attractions link (Alaska Highway Day Two, Muncho Lake, Folded Mountain and Wild Animals) . We had a minor breakdown... for some reason our spark plug was sparking on the from the outside of the spark plug wire to the engine block!!!

August 10, 1999 - We started up the "Alaskan Highway" - We made it to Dawson's Creek, mile zero on the Alaskan Highway. The road is not always in the best condition, however the beautiful scenery is worth a few bumps.

August 9, 1999 - Greg cooked while I drove!!! - In an attempt to get a full two days ahead of schedule I drove through lunch while Greg cooked. Well I didn't get hit with any flying pots, so I guess it worked ok. Lunch consisted of some grilled cheese sandwiches and later a bowl of ice cream (yes the freezer keeps the ice cream solid). BTW we are just shy of the two day ahead of schedule goal.

August 9, 1999 - Repaired Air Conditioner cover - The strong winds from Sunday August 8th damaged our roof air conditioner cover, the winds all but ripped the cover off. Nothing some 200mph duct tape and a piece of metal strapping couldn't fix.

August 8, 1999 - Almost broke the digital camera - The drop did temporarily disable the camera, but thanks to some handy screwdriver work, all is well again. (Greg demands that I point out it was a 3 foot drop off an ice cream freezer) The drop jarred the camera's on button, disabling the the switch from making contact... with a quick disassembling/reassembling the camera works like new. However the batteries are dead so I can't take any test shots. It would have been nice if the camera had arrived to me with the lithium batteries and AC adapter that are advertised as part of the camera *hint* *hint* LOL  Maybe the next camera will be drop proof and come with batteries!!! :-) 

August 8, 1999 - We made it to Canada!!! We're staying just north of Calgary at Whispering Spruce Campground. The accommodations aren't the nicest but the Calgary KOA had no vacancies!!! We did pass The Olympic village in Calgary. We are officially ahead of schedule because the Winnebaigis didn't need the maintenance yet!!! hehehe

August 7/8, 1999 - Water heater leak repaired!!! Well after several lost battles with the leaky water heater, it is believed to be fixed. The work was performed on August 7th but we didn't want to celebrate until we went a day without a leak.

August 7, 1999 - The Winnebaigis got a bath!!! Worried about the appearance of our fine cruising machine we decided to remove the 2500 miles worth of insect carnage (they grow everything bigger out here, you should see the size of some of the bees). Along with the insect carnage a disgusting layer of road dirt was removed, you could actually see the BLACK film run down the Winnebaigis as Greg proceeded to bath along with the Winnebaigis.

Fuel mileage note: speed does matter as you can see by today fuel consumption... we were off the interstate today and only traveling about 50-55, look at the mileage go up!!!

August 6, 1999 - Discovered solution to gas mileage wows... Travel slower!!! It seems that gas mileage is inversely proportional to average speed at an amplified rate... At 70+ mph gas mileage dips into the 5's, while at 65 it stays in the low 6's (this would support a theoretical assumption that if we don't move gas mileage will be infinite) One further note, gas prices seem to also fluctuate inversely with mpg, the lower the mpg the higher the price for gas.

August 5, 1999 - The Winnebaigis got a mascot...  It was a hard decision between a moderately sized Eagle and an obnoxiously large Water Buffalo. Since it was going to be placed in the windshield we opted for the Eagle... thought the Buffalo was so cute!!!!

August 4, 1999 - The Winnebaigis got a lift!!! and went though the Badlands!!!

Today was a big day, we had a leaf spring added and the original springs re-arched. The Winnebaigis has been swaying all over the road and sitting a little low... we decided preventative maintenance was a good idea... luckily the timezones are in our favor so we are still on schedule...

August 3, 1999 - No new problems except gas mileage is terrible

It seems the speeds in excess of 70mph definitely drain the fuel mileage!!! our first stint with mileage below 6mpg!!! An attempt was made to repair the water leak... after a few hours of letting it sit, a leak still persists.. Here's a picture of the offending parts...

August 2, 1999 - Water heater leak!!!

During the second gas stop Greg comes around to me and says "I've found problem number three!" Upon closer examination it does not look that serious. Once we get to a Home Depot we should be able to purchase a replacement fitting to repair the leak.

First breakdown!!! Mile 13 August 1, 1999 at 10am

Well for those of you betting, everyone should be pleased to know that we had to make a repair Sunday morning!!! Argh!!! Mile 13 the collector gasket broke on the right side exhaust. We just replaced this on Thursday evening!!! The packaging for the gasket said "Lifetime Collector Gasket, Perhaps the last collector gasket you'll ever have to buy...." Well the heat of the exhaust melted the ultra heavy duty aluminum collector gasket in 13 miles!!! The decision has been made that if the new collector gasket breaks, we are bolting it together without the gasket, we can't afford the time to put a new collector gasket on every 13 miles. 

Second problem!!! Leaky windshield August 1, 1999 at 2pm

Well the Winnebaigis will be squeaky clean inside and out as we take on water from the windshield leak!!! A nasty rainstorm with driving rain seems to wound its way inside the Winnebaigis!!!