We left Seward and our great campsite on a bright sunny morning knowing that we needed to top off the groceries, fuel, and propane tank. And then we noticed that our motorhome steps would not retract. Well, you can’t drive like that.
Our steps had been a little flakey before, although the issue had been that they would not extend when we opened the door sometimes. Opa had tightened and adjusted some electrical connections which eventually seemed to at least temporarily resolve the issue. But having the steps not retract was a bigger problem.
So Opa crawled under the motorhome to see if he could see anything wrong. After a lot of checking, reading manuals, searching the internet, phone calls to the manufacturers and puttsing around under there, the stairs started working.
We had wanted to check out Exit Glacier and stopped at a turnout for pictures and found that the steps were out again. (They had extended while we were driving. They are automatic, and they are supposed to retract when the door is closed or the engine is in gear.) The road was excellent, so we cautiously continued to Exit Glacier hoping for cell service or wifi but there was none. We took a quick hike, since we were there, and left in search of cell service closer to the highway.
We found a roomy turnout with a cell signal. All Opa wanted at this point was to disconnect the motor from the steps so that we could operate them manually. Unfortunately, none of the information provided on the internet or by his calls to the manufacturer applied to our model of step.
The manufacturers were closed by now (we’re 3-4 timezones west of them), but after 25 minutes with a tech from our emergency road service company, Opa got the information on what was required to completely remove the motor from the steps. Once removed, we used a bungee cord to hold them up so that we could leave and find a proper place to stay for the night.
Shortly after we got back on the road, we came upon the moose pond again. This time there were three moose out. Once again, we felt very lucky at our sighting and had to watch these spectacular animals for a little while.
Then we headed 20 miles up the road to River Trail Forest Service CG just south of Moose Pass. This campground has many sites and even a fantastic day use area. When we got there, there were lots of sites available, so we got one and settled in for the evening.
In the morning, the two best sites that I had been eyeing had vacated and because we were tired and it was beautiful, we just moved into one of them. I had a great view of Kenai Lake and nearly my own private beach. I enjoyed spending a lot of time on the beach with my dog.
Day 58 (Day 24 in Alaska)
Miles: 42*
Driving time:
Roads: Seward Highway (AK-9), side roads
Road conditions: Good (excellent road to Exit Glacier)
Overnight: Trail River National Forest CG
Weather: Sunny (51/74)
Total miles in Alaska: 5,006*
Total miles since crossing Canadian border: 3,438*
Total miles: 878*
Day 59 (Day 25 in Alaska)
Miles: 1*
Driving time: 5 minutes
Roads: Campground
Road conditions: Fair dirt/gravel road
Overnight: Trail River National Forest CG
Weather: Sunny and windy (49/59)
Total miles in Alaska: 5,007*
Total miles since crossing Canadian border: 3,439*
Total miles: 879*
* Since our motorhome is our only vehicle, mileage includes side trips.
