Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sunday, June 27, 2010 Destruction Bay, Yukon Territory

This morning we left Tok and we were back on the Alaska Highway. After we passed the turn off to Chicken we were on a section of the Alcan that we had not been on when we went up to Alaska. We left that highway when we went to Whitehorse and on to Dawson City. This section of the highway is indeed the roughest- many frost heaves, gravel areasand pot holes. It was tough driving today. We had to travel about 8miles at one point in a construction zone following a pilot car. The scenery is beautiful but it's hard to enjoy when you need to concentrate on the road conditions. We left Alaska and are now in the Yukon Territory.
From Alaska 2010-06-27
Going through customs did not cause any problems but this was the first time we have been asked to show the records on Travis. We stopped at an old store to eat our lunch in the large parking lot. We went into the store after eating. The owners, an older couple, have quite a collection of rocks and other "stuff". They were entertaining with their stories and jokes. We passed through a small town, Destruction Bay, and the began seeing the beautiful blue water of Kluane Lake surrounded with equally beautiful mountains. We are staying at a campground, Cottonwood RV Park, that is on the banks of Kluane Lake. Tom and I had stayed here 8 years ago. It is a gorgeous location.
From Alaska 2010-06-27
Tomorrow we hope to be back in Alaska in Haines, another coastal town.

Saturday, June 26, 2010 Tok

This morning we left the Chitina and traveled north to Tok.  The roads were the worst we have had to deal with up to this time.  Many dips in the road due to frost heaves and then areas of gravel.  The scenery was pretty but if the clouds had not been so low hanging on the mountains it would have been nicer.  After getting into Tok and arranging for campsites, Tom and Larry  went to an RV maintenance shop to have the motorhome and truck lubed and oil changed.   Returning to the campground, the clouds became really dark and soon we were having a thunderstorm complete with hail.  We went over to Fast Eddie’s restaurant for dinner to celebrate Larry’s 70th birthday.

We have completed the circle  starting in Tok and now ending in Tok.  Tomorrow we will be heading south back into Yukon Territory of Canada.  This is not the end of our travels in Alaska.  We will be back in Alaska again in a day or 2 as we are headed for Haines.

Friday, June 25, 2010 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

This morning we awoke to cloudy skies but we drove into the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park on the McCarthy Road.  This is a 60 mile road- all dirt, wash boards and pot holes.  But the scenery is spectacular-mountains, rivers,and lakes.  The road ends just before entering McCarthy.  Larry, the driver of the day, parked his truck and we then walked across a foot bridge and waited for a shuttle ($5.00 one way per person) to pick us up to go to McCarthy or Kennecott. 

From Alaska 2010-06-25
Being lunchtime we went into Kennecott and Had a nice lunch at the Kennicott Glacier Hotel.  
From Alaska 2010-06-25
The Kennicott Glacier was seen from the hotel but unfortunately there were lots of low clouds.  The Kennicott glacier and river are spelt with an i but the town and mill are spelt with an e (Kennecott).  As we finished eating it began to rain steadily and we had not come prepared for rain.  Kennecott  Copper Corporation had built a mill for the mining of copper and tours are available. 
From Alaska 2010-06-25
Because of the rain we opted to return to the parking lot to start our return trip.

While in Valdez we had met up with a woman that had encouraged us to visit this area as she and her husband lived here and had a “Bed and Breakfast”.  She had also talked to us about diamond willow walking sticks.  Diamond willow grows in this area and we had thought we might be able to get some to make our own walking sticks.  Well, we looked but unsure of what we were really looking for.  We had seen the road into her house on the way to McCarthy because of the sign about the “Halfway House B & B” so we decided to drive back into her place. 

From Alaska 2010-06-25
She (Kayane James, as we learned today) was in the yard and seemed glad to see us.  When we mentioned that we were looking for diamond willow she invited us to walk back into the wooded area and help us to find some willow for the sticks.
From Alaska 2010-06-25
It was not raining in this area at this time.   Kayane and her trusty dog, Mack,
From Alaska 2010-06-25
along with the 4 of us trudged into the woods and got the willow needed for the sticks.  She showed us around the property and into the guests areas and then invited us into her house so she could give us a quick lesson in finishing the willow sticks- peeling off the bark carefully, cleaning the diamond areas and then finishing with sand paper and lacquer.  These walking sticks are pretty pieces of wood when done well- sure hope we can do a good job.  Kayane and her husband have lived here for 3 years.  Living in Michigan, her husband lost his job when the automobile industry went sour.  So they eventually were able to sell their house and make the move to Alaska to start a new life.  Her husband works during the summertime but wintertime, both, she and her husband run trap lines which they attend on snowshoes taking 4 to 6 hours.  We had such a nice visit with this woman.  I feel certain that anyone staying as B & B guests would be given super treatment.

On our travels today we did see some wildlife.  This morning before getting into the town of Chitina there were 2 moose calves near the side of the road eating.  

From Alaska 2010-06-25
Then on the McCarthy Road this morning we saw a black bear in the road and then quickly climbed up the wooded side of a hill.

Thursday, June 24, 2010 Chitina

This morning we left Valdez driving north on the Richardson road.   Tom and I each drove a vehicle (Tom the Motorhome and I the car) the first 25 or so miles.  There is a 7.5 mile steep climb out of Valdez  up through Thompson’s Pass that we thought it would be easier than the motorhome pulling the car that distance.   Once over the Pass we pulled into a turnout and hooked the car up to the motorhome for the remainder of today’s trip.  Clouds were with us from Valdez until we got over the mountain ridge and then we had mostly sunshine the rest of the way.  We turned onto the Edgerton Road to go back toward Chitina.  This road was continuous frost heaves and patched areas.  A few miles from Chitina we came to the Wrangell View RV Park where we parked our RVs.  This is a self serve campground- find your site, fill out information on an envelope provided, put your money in the envelope and deposit in a slot in a metal tube.  We were surprised to find full hook-ups, including 50 amp. electric, at this area and the price at $20.00 per night is one of the best we have encountered.  The views from the campground are wonderful and it is so quiet here.

From Alaska 2010-06-24

After lunch we rode through the town of Chitina and down along the water of the Copper River.  Numerous fish wheels are set up on the river but the fish are a little slow today.   There are a multitude of types of fish wheels from basic old Indian style wooden to a more modern metal but they all have the same purpose of scooping up the fish as the fish come up the river. 

From Alaska 2010-06-24
Talking to a fisherman, it is expected that in a couple of days the red salmon will be moving up the river.  The red salmon from the Copper River is considered one of the best tasting salmon.  Several boats were on the river with dip nets. 
From Alaska 2010-06-24
They would motor upstream and then drift down stream with the nets in the water and were catching some salmon in the nets.  These boaters were not allowed to go below the bridge so they would drift to the bridge and then motor back up stream.   Very interesting!

For dinner tonight we had red salmon from the Copper River.  We had bought a filet in Valdez at a fish market.  The red salmon meat is a bright red color and we thought that it was very good eating.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Valdez

This morning we awoke to clouds and some light rain but before too long the rain stopped and the clouds lightened up a little.  Joanne and I wanted to get our hair cut but we were unable to find a shop that could fit us in today so our hair will continue to grow.  We, all, went to the ferry terminal to inquire about taking the ferry down the Inside Passage.  We then sat down and made the decision to not use that route of travel because we were concerned about leaving Sadie and Travis in the RVs while on the ferries,  we didn’t want to be traveling at all hours of the night and the cost, while not as bad as we thought, is still quite an expense.

We had been told yesterday by a woman working in the campground office that we should come to the Senior Center for lunch that was only $5.00 a person.  So we found the Center and went in for lunch- Chicken rice soup, salad, Taco salad, corn, Spanish rice and a brownie.  A good deal for Alaska!  The woman from the campground office was there eating and asked us to join her at her table.  She has lived here for over 30 years.  Her husband and she came up from Massachusetts to work on the pipeline.  Her husband is no longer living but she continues to stay here in the summer and then to Yuma, Az. for the winter. 

We went Duck Pond Park, a rare salt marsh, and walked the trail through the park.  We encountered a woman with her dog and got into a conversation with her about areas in the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park.  This woman and her husband relocated to that area from Michigan several years ago, have a bed and breakfast with an area for camping although we would be unable to take our RVs there due to their size.  She did tell us where we might be able to camp and how we could travel to areas in the park.  She was very helpful and give us so good information.  We are now planning to go to that area tomorrow.

This evening it was warm enough outside that we were able to sit outside comfortably and watch the eagle feeding in the campground.  Afterwards, we all went to a grocery store for a few things and then stopped for ice cream cones.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Valdez

This morning we ate breakfast at the Grand View Campground restaurant before getting on the road. We traveled further east to the town of Glenallen and then south on the Richardson Road to Valdez. The roads today were not the best as there were numerous frost heaves and damaged areas on the roads. Shortly after turning south we stopped at the Wrangell-St.Elias National Park Visitor Center.
From Alaska 2010-06-22
This National Park is America's largest park at 13.2 million acres (that equals 6 Yellowstone Parks). The Malaspina Glacier in the park is larger than the state of Rhode Island. There are just a few roads in the park- most areas are accessible by hiking or by planes. It is mostly wilderness. We watched a movie about the park with beautiful scenery.
As we moved on south the Alaskan pipeline was visible from the highway. About 30 miles from Valdez we were able to see the Worthington Glacier
From Alaska 2010-06-22
and then we passed through Thompson Pass at 2678 feet. Thompson Pass is known for its snowfall extremes. Deep snow was at this time on the mountainsides. From this point we descended for a little more than 7 miles through the Keystone Canyon, a beautiful green canyon with tall waterfalls.
From Alaska 2010-06-22
Then we entered Valdez a town that seems to be surrounded with snow covered mountains. We got campsites in the Bay View RV Park facing the bay area. The ladies in this RV park office were extremely friendly and helpful. Later in the day, a woman and a young man lured bald eagles with fish. The fish were thrown a distance and the eagles would swoop in, picking the fish up with their talons.
From Alaska 2010-06-22
From Alaska 2010-06-22
From Alaska 2010-06-22
Supposedly, this is an every evening event.

Monday, June 21, 2010

June 18-21, 2010

Friday, June 18, we left Homer and traveled about 170 miles to Seward. Every travel day in Alaska takes us over beautiful drives and each one is a little different. On this day the weather was gray, misty and foggy but inspite of that it was pretty seeing clouds draped across the mountains. When we got to Seward we went to the city campground that faces Resurrection Bay. We had planned to dry camp here so we were able to get 2 sites next to one another facing the bay.
From Alaska 2010-06-19
There were several bald eagles sitting on the rocks next to the water.
From Alaska 2010-06-18
I had made a pot of vegetable soup Thursday evening in preparation for this day. Larry and Joanne came over with a nice bottle of wine and we all had a nice late lunch. After lunch we road around Seward stopping at the grocery store then we went to a car wash. Larry, Joanne and I were sitting in the car waiting for Tom to get change in order to wash the car when I spied something in the wooded area by the car wash. It was a moose cow with 2 calves.
From Alaska 2010-06-18
She didn't seem to be bothered by the activities in the area as a young man was drying his truck of almost next to the moose family. Our generator decided that now that it was really needed to not run. Tom changed the air filter and the fuel filter, but that did not seem to help. We were able to heat the motorhome with the furnace until bedtime. A cruise ship was in port when we got to Seward but then about 9 pm we watched it sail out Resurrection Bay.
Saturday, June 19, we had arranged to take a Kenai Fjord all day cruise which left the dock at 10am. We had a real nice day even with cloudy, foggy weather. Sea otters, stellar sea lions,
From Alaska 2010-06-19
harbor seals and lots of birds were seen.
From Alaska 2010-06-19
A fin whale was seen but we only saw the spouts of water and Tom saw a small area of his back. We went to the Aialik Glacier and observed several small episodes of calving.
From Alaska 2010-06-19
We were served a lunch on the boat but then we stopped at Fox Island for a baked Salmon and prime rib dinner.
From Alaska 2010-06-19
By 6:15 we were back in Seward. The city campground was fairly full this weekend as there are many Alaskans here for Juneteenth, a summer soltis celebration.
Sunday, June 20, we were up early. The 2 sites, which had electric and water hook-ups, beside us were vacated early and we not having a generator that was working felt we needed to move to a site with electric. (When we had been here 8 years ago there were very few sites with hook-ups but now there was a large number of sites that had hook-ups.) Larry and Joanne wanted to move also so we hurriedly moved our units to these vacated sites and life was a little more comfortable. The sun was shining brightly and the mountains that had been shrouded in clouds the past 2 days were now visible and just beautiful with their snow tops. Exit Glacier is a land glacier near Seward that we went to. We walked about a mile to the glacier.
From Alaska 2010-06-20
It was breezy and the air coming off the glacier was rather chilly. Returning to Seward, we stopped at a bayside restaurant, Ray's, for a Father's Day lunch.
From Alaska 2010-06-20
It was a nice atmosphere watching the marina traffic and viewing the mountains across the bay. Back at the campground the sun was so inviting that we sat along the edge of the bay with hooded jackets(the breeze was cool)drinking a little wine watching sea otters float along on their backs. A coal freighter came into the bay and tied up at the coal dock. A cruise ship had come into port during the overnight and then left this evening.
From Alaska 2010-06-20
While sitting outside Tom and Larry spied groups of people across the bay standing out in the water. So curiosity got the better of us and we all got in the car and drove over to the area to see these folks standing out in the water fishing for salmon.
From Alaska 2010-06-20
Monday, June 21, we left Seward traveling back to Anchorage and the east through the town of Palmer. It was sunny and warm until we got east of Palmer and the we had clouds and some rain. We passed Matanuska Glacier that is visible from the road and the large area of glacial run off in the valley below.
From Alaska 2010-06-21
We stopped at a campground a little past the glacier, Grand View Campground.
From Alaska 2010-06-21
A nice place that even has a restaurant so we had a delicious Aloha Alaska pizza, Canadian bacon and pineapple, for dinner. After dinner Larry, Joanne, Tom and I along with Travis and Sadie walked across a trail that had a good view of the Matanuska Glacier and Lion's Head mountain.
From Alaska 2010-06-21

Friday, June 18, 2010

June 16 & 17, 2010- Homer, Alaska

Wednesday, June 16, 2010, we left the Moose Lodge at Anchorage and moved south to Homer.  What a beautiful trip!—and what trips around Alaska aren’t beautiful.  As we left Anchorage we traveled around Turnagain Arm where the mountains rise up from the sea. 

From Alaska 2010-06-16
The mountains remain snow covered in most areas.  Leaving this area we stopped at the Visitor’s Center at Portage Glacier. 
From Alaska 2010-06-16
After watching a film about glaciers and looking at the exhibits we moved on traveling along rivers- Kenai, Russian- that are colored a milky turquoise from the glacial silt. 
From Alaska 2010-06-16
Just prior to entering Homer we stopped at a turnout to see a view of the area and the snow-covered mountains surrounding the water. 
From Alaska 2010-06-16
It was a rainy raw day.  We had planned to dry camp on the Homer Spit
From Alaska 2010-06-16
but decided because of the raw weather to stay at a campground with hook-ups.  So we stayed at Ocean View campground.

Thursday, June 17, 2010,  Tom and Larry got up early and went halibut fishing on a 6-pack boat.  Instead of 6 on the boat there were just Tom, Larry and one other fisherman along with the boat captain. 

From Alaska 2010-06-17
From Alaska 2010-06-17
Joanne and I had planned to go out for breakfast.  As Joanne was taking Sadie out the door to the 5th wheel was shut and automatically locked- Joanne and Sadie were locked out.   We tried various keys to open the lock to no avail so we put Sadie in our motorhome with Travis and the Joanne and I went out for breakfast and stopped at a few shops.  Larry and Tom returned with a bag apiece of halibut- 8 filets.  So our freezers are full of halibut.  Later we drove out a easterly road that rose high and overlooked the Homer area, another beautiful area,  and glaciers across the bay were seen. 
From Alaska 2010-06-17
We then went down to the spit for dinner. We saw several sea otters and seals in the water.   The weather has been a little of everything- clouds, sunshine, some showers and temperatures in the 50’s.  It is a cool summer for us.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

June 14 & 15, 2010 Anchorage

Monday, June 14th, we left the Denali area traveling south to Anchorage. Another beautiful drive even in rainy gray weather. The Mat-Su valley is a lush area of trees and rivers with a view of mountains off in the distance. We passed by several small towns. For lunch we made a stop in Houston at Miller's Place for some good hamburgers. We passed through Wasilla but did not see Sarah (Palin).
From Alaska 2010-06-14
In Anchorage we went to the Moose Lodge where electric sites are available for Moose members- $5.00 here sure beat the nearly $50.00 cost of the RV parks in this city and we are parked on blacktop not gravel. We drove about the city searching for a place to eat dinner finally stopping at the Sourdough Mining Company, known for serving local fish dishes. Afterwards we went across the street to the Wild Berry company for some souvenir shopping.
Today, Tuesday, June 15th, we drove downtown Anchorage to the Visitor's Center where we took the Trolley Tour of the City.
From Alaska 2010-06-15
We then went into the Ancorage Alaska Public Lands Information Center and saw 2 short movies about the railroads of Alaska and the 1964 earthquake of Alaska. A little more shopping, a stop at the Ulu Knife factory
From Alaska 2010-06-15
and then a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant with a final stop at Sam's Club. In spite of the cool (50's) rainy weather it was a good day.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

June 12 & 13, 2010- Denali National Park

Saturday, June 12, we left the Fairbanks area and went south to the Denali National Park area. After checking into the Grizzley Bear Campground we went into the Park. We drove about 15 miles into the park which is as far as private vehicles are allowed. We did see a moose in the bushes eating.
From Alaska 2010-06-12
We stopped at the Visitor's Center and watched a movie of beautiful pictures of the Park in all seasons of the year. We purchased tickets for public transportation into the Park on Sunday.
This morning, Sunday,we got up early to get to the transportation center of the park to catch the 8am bus to the Eielson Visitor's Center 66 miles into the park. It was rainy and fog hung on the mountains.
From Alaska 2010-06-13
The windows of the bus were soon covered with road dirt making being able to see out the windows difficult.
From Alaska 2010-06-13
After about 2 hours of travel we stopped at a rest area where squeegees were available so the windows were cleaned, and since the rain had stopped, remained fairly clean for the remainder of the trip. On the way to the Visitor's Center we saw Golden Eagles,
From Alaska 2010-06-13
a Ptarmigan and Dall Sheep. We had hoped to see more. The return trip was better. Shortly after leaving the Visitor Center we saw a Brown (Grizzley) Bear up on a hill beside the road.
From Alaska 2010-06-13
Then we saw a couple of herds of Caribou,
From Alaska 2010-06-13
more Dall Sheep,
From Alaska 2010-06-13
a bull Moose
From Alaska 2010-06-13
and then 3 Brown Bears- a sow with 2 cubs.
From Alaska 2010-06-13
The trip took 8 hours. We packed a lunch as there is no where to get food in the park. After returning to our car and leaving the park we saw another moose along the road. It was a good day for seeing wildlife and, as the weather improved, it was a good day for taking in the beauty of the Park.