A Few More Thoughts on Alaska

We’re still hanging out around the motor home.  It’s a sure sign we’re ready to get out and about again when we drag out the maps and tour guides.  Over breakfast we discussed all the things we want to do while in Winnipeg.  We’ll get started on that Friday. In the meantime here are a few more of our thoughts concerning the trip to Alaska.

When planning for the 2004 trip as well as this one, we noticed that most people included one or more what we call megabuck trips either on small planes or boats.  Often these excursions are remembered as the highlights of the Alaska trip. In 2004 we did a few of these trips and even though I might not say they were all the highlights of our trip they were all very good and we definitely recommend them.  Although this might not be considered a “megabuck” trip, we really liked the Riverboat Discovery cruise in Fairbanks.  In Seward we did a dinner cruise around Kenai Fjords which was excellent.  For the marine wildlife, I’d say this was the highlight of the 2004 trip.  This year we did the glacier dinner cruise out of Whitier.  The glacier was much more impressive, but it was lean on wildlife.  We were very lucky to have seen the humpback whale.

In 2004, we took the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Haines to Skagway.  Not only did that save us many miles of driving around, but it also offered us the different perspective by being on the water.  We had looked forward to that, but as it turned out the ferry was many hours late and it was dark at the time of our crossing and we saw nothing at all.

We also took a cruise from Skagway to Juneau along with a bus tour of Juneau.  That was also a worthwhile trip.

While we’re discussing the coastal towns, I might as well throw in a few tidbits about the inside passage.  This is something we have not done and it remains on our list of things to do.  We know many people who have done the big cruise ship thing and they all, without exception, rave about the scenery along the inside passage.  A cheaper alternative to the cruise is to take the Alaska ferry system.  Many RVers do this either coming or going and drive the other way.  The ferry charges by the foot, so size does matter, after all.  Travelers are not allowed to stay in their RVs onboard ship, but pets can.  There are scheduled times when owners may go down and tend to pets.  You may stop for as long as you want at any port city and continue your journey when ready.  We probably will do this someday.  Since we’ve already been to Haines, Skagway, and Juneau, we would just visit the southern ports.

Our friends, Tony and Diana, came to mainland Alaska by way of the inside passage on the Ferry.  They were planning to drive home via the Cassiar Highway, but loved the voyage so much they are returning home by ferry.  I’m anxious for them to get back to Washington so I can find out if they preferred the scenery of early June or late August.  I’ll pass that information along.

When mentioning a trip to Alaska to those who’ve never been, almost without fail something is said about road conditions, flat tires, or the inability to find fuel.  This fear and trembling is unnecessary.  What used to be an issue is just no longer a problem. For the most part, the Alaska Highway is in good condition.  It’s a paved road like any in the lower 48.  I-40 through Oklahoma was worse.

On this trip we noticed a lot of the wayside businesses (those with campgrounds, rooms for rent, restaurants, and fuel) along the Alaska Highway were closed.  Still, we didn’t have any trouble finding fuel or campgrounds along the way.

The road has some rough spots; there’s no question about that.  The secret is to pay close attention for frost heaves and drive slowly.  Many times, a rough area is marked with a red or orange flag.  We did not encounter as many areas of construction as we did in 2004.  In construction zones, you may have to wait for the pilot car and your rig is probably gonna get dirty, but they usually don’t last for very many miles.  We have heard of a flat tire in a construction zone. Cool Judy and Luke had a flat on their toad as they were driving through the construction on Tok cut-off.

The dirt highways are a whole different matter, of course.  There are several around, but our experience is with the Dempster and Top of the World.  The Dempster Highway is the road that runs between Dawson City, Yukon and Inuvik, NWT.  It’s 400 miles of dirt and gravel.  Flat tires here are common and we had one.  They put stuff down to cut down on the dust.  That stuff makes your car filthy and it’s not good for the paint.  It is what it is and if you want to go down that road, that’s what you get.

Our opinion is this--The Dempster is not worth the difficulty and risks of the road unless you have a great desire to go to the Arctic Circle.  The first hundred miles are the most scenic.  If you go to Dawson City anyway, I would recommend driving the Dempster to Tombstone Territorial Park Interpretative Center.  The Center is nice, but the scenery is also beautiful around there.  If you have your heart set on going to the Arctic Circle, but don’t want to drive, there are bus tours from Fairbanks which go up the Dalton Highway.

The other dirt road, Top of the World Highway, from Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska then to reconnect with the Alaska Highway, is worse than the Dempster.  That statement probably needs some clarification.  Top of the World is not all dirt.  The Canadian side was once paved.  The pavement is now past its prime and literally falling apart.  Generally, there are flags to mark where pavement turns to gravel.  On the US side between the border and Chicken, the road is dirt.  We drove it in rain and it was a mess.  From Chicken to the Alaska Highway is paved, with a few rough spots, but a real sweet ride compared to the rest of the road.  A real hazard on Top of the World Highway are the shoulders.  They’re too soft to support an RV and we have heard numerous tales of drivers pulling too far onto the shoulder and toppling over.

This is how we feel now about the Top of the World Highway.  Dawson City is worth a visit.  Considering the price of fuel, the distance involved (about 300 miles from Whitehorse), and the drive over Top of the World Highway, we wouldn’t do it.  Chicken is an easy day trip from Tok.  We’d just drive up there in the car, have lunch, and drive back to our rig in Tok, all on paved road.

This would, of course, only be possible if you had a car.  Well, should you take a car or not.  We researched this some before we left although it really didn’t matter much.  We were going to be gone so long we wanted our car.  The opinions we found were split.  Those who had their cars were glad; those who didn’t were glad.  Gene found on one of the caravan websites a question and answer thread.  The caravan director made this statement--”those who take their cars are glad and those who don’t wish they had.”  Only you know what’s best for you and your style of travel.

We were very glad to have our car in places like Banff National Park, Denali National Park, Whitehorse, Dawson City, Fairbanks, Wasilla, and Homer.  Basically, that’s any place where we stayed for several days.  Of course, there were times when we didn’t unhitch the car for several days in a row.  The fact that we’ve put over 3,000 miles on the car this trip obviously says we’ve used it.

Most of the towns are small enough that walking is an easy way to get around and nearly everywhere there are bike lanes.  It would be possible to get along just fine without a car.

Phone and internet.  Isn’t it amazing how dependent we are on these things that didn’t even exist just a few years ago.  We have Verizon for both our phone and air card (MiFi).  We extended our phone coverage to include Canada, but not the air card coverage.  It seems like it was easier to find campgrounds with WiFi along the Alaska highway than it has been along Highway 16 since we left Edmonton.  Of course, anytime we boondocked in Canada we were without internet.  Our phone coverage in Canada has been great except for the Yukon.  Only in Whitehorse were we able to get phone service there.  We didn’t have complete service in Alaska, but we did more than we didn’t.  The worst place was at Denali National Park.  We had service at Riley Campground, but just barely.  We didn’t have any coverage while in the backcountry or anywhere away from the main Visitor Center.  The rest of Alaska was pretty good, especially in all the little towns.

Well, this has gone on and on again, but I think that wraps it up.  We’re continuing to keep data on campground fees, fuel prices, and milage.  When we get back to Nashville, we’ll have a final accounting on those things.  These thoughts have been primarily about Alaska.  I do have a few thoughts about Canada.  I’ll get to those in a few days.  Boy, do I have a border crossing tale to tell that I heard this morning.  Although I try to make it sound like everything has run smoothly and according to plan, it hasn’t.  I’ll get to all those things that went wrong in the next few weeks.

When I read over this summary, I feel like I’m leaving a negative impression.  I don’t mean to do that.  We had a wonderful trip and, like I have mentioned previously our primary interest, not just in Alaska, but anywhere we travel is the area’s natural beauty and wildlife.  Few places in North America are as rich in wildlife and natural beauty as Alaska.

So, there you have it for today. Thanks for tagging along.

Thoughts, Opinions, and Reflections on Alaska

We are now in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in yet another Wal-Mart.  We got an earlier start this morning, but stopped just 2 miles into our trip at the Saskatchewan Welcome Center.  While there, we learned they had free WiFi and were able to log on from inside our rig out in the parking lot.  I took the time to post the blog, but that’s all.

Since before we arrived in Edmonton the terrain has been pretty flat and the scenery huge fields of crops--wheat or canola or whatever.  We’ve seen the farmers out cutting, raking, and baling hay.  All across Alberta and Saskatchewan we’ve seen lots of small ponds.  It’s really quite pretty.  Except for the ponds, it reminds me of driving across Kansas.  I guess Alberta and Saskatchewan are Canada’s breadbasket.

We don’t have much hope of seeing any more bear of moose, but we have been on the lookout for deer and antelope.  So far we haven’t had any luck sighting either of those critters.  Too many fences, I guess.

Today was truly a travel day and there isn’t much else to report.  This seems like as good a time as any to impart a few thoughts about our Alaska Trip.  It was our topic of discussion over many miles both yesterday and today.

Our first thought when thinking of this trip is how long it is.  Tomorrow morning we’ll be rolling over the 9,000 mile mark.  Unless you’re starting from somewhere in the Northwest, you’ve gotta be prepared for a long drive.  Perhaps it seems longer for us because we started out so early.  We left Nashville in March headed west and it seems like forever ago.

I guess there are a couple options for a trip like this.  We started early and did short mile days and a non-travel day about every third or fourth day.  Some might prefer to start later and do big mile days and travel many days in a row.  I think for us, we did what suits our travel style best.  We all get too grumpy (Peanut included) when we’ve spent too many hours of the day driving.  Nor do we like to travel too many days in a row.

We also had a very long list of things we wanted to see and do as we “passed by”.  We visited several National Parks, state capitols, and high points before we ever crossed the border into Canada.  For our return trip we wanted to take the time and opportunity to drive across Canada.  We’re glad we made those choices, but it has made the trip to Alaska much longer than necessary.

When we went to Alaska in 2004, we were in awe of the grandeur, vastness, wildness, and magnificent beauty of both Western Canada and Alaska.  It was our first time to see a grizzly bear, to see a glacier calve, to see whales, to see Mt McKinley.  We’ve dreamed of seeing all those things again and when we did they were great, but you can only have the “first time” once.  We were thrilled with seeing these things again, but they just weren’t as special as that first time.

Our favorite parts of Alaska--Denali National Park and Resurrection Bay in Seward.  We really enjoyed Homer and being parked on the Spit, but the beauty of the high mountains on Resurrection Bay and the feeling of being enveloped in this magnificent place was more pronounced in Seward.  Homer was the place for fishing, drinking beer, and browsing through the shops admiring the fine workmanship of the local artists.  The wildlife of Denali is its appeal for us.  Even though we saw bear, even grizzlies, and moose more often in other places, at Denali we felt like we were visiting their space rather than the other way around.  We are also very fond of Talkeetna.  I’m not really sure why.  Talkeetna is a stop for the tour buses and trains, but somehow, if the tourists weren’t there, this village seems to fit my vision of what Alaska is like in the off season with its dirt roads and wooden sidewalks.  I also have a vague connection to the climbing mentality.  We may have to return to these places some day.  Basically, the best of Alaska for us is its abundant wildlife and natural beauty.

Much of the interior of Alaska--Anchorage, Fairbanks, Tok--we don’t care to ever go back to.  There are some nice things to see and some fun stuff to do, but to make a trip to Alaska for these cities is not for us.  There are many cities in the lower 48 that have more appeal than these.

A trip like this has a price tag, of course.  We knew it would be expensive, especially the gasoline.  We’ve tried hard to stay within the budget and have succeeded in some areas, but not all.  We won’t have the final budget figures until the end of the month, so will wait until then to discuss specifics.  For now, I’ll just say that we found everything more expensive in British Columbia than anywhere else.  We tried to camp for free as often as possible and we’ve discovered we rather like boondocking although Wal-Mart parking lots are not my favorite places.  When planning the trip, we chose a couple “megabuck” items to include.  One was the trip to the Inuvik and the other was a trip to Katmai National Park.  As it turned out, we drove ourselves to the Arctic Circle instead of taking the tour.  It was a little more stressful, well, a whole lot more stressful, and we didn’t get all the way to Inuvik, but we saved hundreds of bucks and Peanut didn’t have to stay in a kennel.  And what an adventure it was.  We ditched the Katmai thing because it turned out to be way more expensive than we thought and picked up the glacier dinner cruise out of Whitier instead which was a wonderful experience. We chose to eat in rather than out to save a few extra dollars, but we generally do that anyway.  It was very expensive to get to Alaska, it was expensive to be there, and it is expensive to get home.  But over all, I think we both feel it was worth the cost.

Weather can make or break a trip.  Alaska has a wet climate and we had a few days of rain, but for the most part our weather was very good.  We were ten days in Denali and had rain only the last couple days.  We were about ten days on the Homer Spit and I don’t think it rained much there.  We were in Seward for several days with beautiful blue skies every day.  Sure, we had some rainy days, sometimes several days in a row, but we really can’t complain about the little rain we had in a place that is known for its wet climate.

There are many other things I want to mention--the Dempster and Top of the World highways, whether to take a car or not, what went wrong, and where to find the best views, but this has gone on long enough for now.  We’ll get to those other things in a day or two.

WED AUG 17:  Posting this blog from our campground near Winnipeg.  We’ll be here for several days so I’ll have a chance to catch up.

Thanks for tagging along.

Haines and Skagway

Monday was an exciting day along the Alaska Highway.

Just before we left this morning, Gene went out and made some photos of what is left of an abandoned lodge which offered food, gas, and souvenirs to travelers from 1976 to 1989.  We spent the night in front of what used to be the gas pumps.  The only building left standing is the small “office” for the service station.  Everything else has fallen down.  We’ve seen so many businesses which are closed along the highway that I wouldn’t be surprised if, in 20 or 30 years, we found nothing left of them either.

Our first stop this morning was Watson Lake for fuel and internet.  Fuel we got, but, unfortunately, internet was not available.

As we were leaving Watson Lake we noticed a young couple hitchhiking.  We had seen them a couple times yesterday and passed them by.  Today we stopped and picked them up.  We were very glad we did.  Raphael and Bettina are young university students from Switzerland touring Canada after their 3-month English Language course in Vancouver.  They were headed to Liard Hot Springs which was our destination for the night.  We were happy to give them a lift.

We are parked for this evening at a large rest area right across the street from the entrance to the Hot Springs.  Decided not to pay the high price for this provincial park just for a soak in the hot springs.

I wanted to just mention Haines and Skagway for those thinking about a trip to Alaska.  We didn’t go to either of those towns this trip because we had been previously and they are several miles out of the way.  We’re trying to save those gas dollars, you know.

Not wild, but free range

Haines has a couple things we enjoyed.  If you enjoy old Forts, there is a walking tour of Fort William H. Seward established about 1900 as the first post in the territory.  The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve is in Haines and naturally there are a lot of eagles here.  Summer is not the time for the huge population of eagles, but there are always some around.  Haines is on the coast, so you have the coastal view, but I don’t think it is as pretty as Seward’s view of Resurrection Bay.

When we visited in 2004, we took the Alaska ferry from Haines to Skagway and did not make that long drive around.  As far as the town is concerned, we liked Haines better than Skagway, but the drive out of Skagway is absolutely drop dead gorgeous.  I would go there just for that drive.  If you’re not taking the ferry to Skagway, the road is from Whitehorse.  The Red Onion Saloon in Skagway is popular.  We went there, but it was on a day when the cruise ships were in town and we had a very long wait, shared a table with another couple, and felt rushed to get out of the way of the next group.

Our favorite thing in Skagway was the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park with it’s excellent displays and movie about the gold rush miners along the Chilkoot Trail.  We also took a day cruise to Juneau from Skagway which we really liked.  The cruise included a sightseeing bus tour of Juneau and Mendenhall Glacier.  If I remember correctly, the cruise was with Fjord Express.

CRITTER COUNT: This has been the day for wildlife.  First off this morning we pulled into a rest area just to take a picture of the view.  When I snapped the picture I realized there were moose in the pond below.  Just past Watson Lake we started seeing bears.  We saw 8 total with one trying to get into the garbage container at the Liard Hot Springs Rest Area where we’re parked for the night.  We also saw the bison heard sprawled out on both sides of the road.  A big day for wildlife.

GAS REPORT:  Gas at Watson Lake Tempo was $5.16 (diesel $5.32).  There was a station just as we were leaving town that was a couple cents cheaper.  We had stopped at Tempo because we were hoping for internet.  Oh well.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Back on the Alaska Highway

Thursday, we pulled out of our campground in Tok and were soon back on the Alaska Highway.  But we weren’t in a big rush, that’s for sure.

Our first stop was at the Chevron station on the corner of Tok Cutoff and Alaska Highway.  We wanted to wish Cool Judy, Luke, Frank, and Gloria safe travels.  They were heading toward Canada, as well.  They all pulled out ahead of us.  Gene went in the Chevron to get a cup of coffee, so we didn’t see them again.  Perhaps our paths will cross again on down the highway before they turn south and head for the US border.  It was sure nice getting to know them.

The first few miles of the road out of Tok was fine, but it wasn’t long before we ran into some rough patches which lasted almost to the Canadian border.

We stopped for the night at a scenic pullout overlooking Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge.  I still had some fresh vegetables, fruit, milk, and cheese.  Call me stingy, but I didn’t want to relinquish those things to the border patrol.  Thursday was a big fruit and vegetable day and we washed it all down with milk, so that by Friday morning after breakfast just about all was gone.  What was left, I wasn’t going to worry about.  As it turned out, the only thing we would have lost would have been the apples.

The list of restricted items, when you can find one, is very vague.  I’ve seen more than one list and the items are different.  What’s up with that?  At every border crossing, they’ve always asked us about fresh fruit and vegetables, so I knew that was a problem.  However, today, when we started listing all the stuff we had, the guard asked specifically for anything with a pit or a core.  Now, that’s a real guideline.  Why don’t they just say that to start with and print it on the lists?

Friday morning, before crossing into Yukon, we stopped at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.  This is a very nice facility with displays, a small gift shop, a movie, and free coffee.  We wandered around there for about 30 minutes before heading back onto the highway.

We had heard the section of road in the Yukon to Haines Junction was in very bad shape.  We hadn’t looked forward to driving it.  We missed this portion of the highway on our inbound trip because we went to Dawson City from Whitehorse.  There was no going around this time.  We rolled off the pavement at the Alaska/Yukon border onto dirt road that was nearly as bad as Top of the World Highway.  Then there was the sign announcing road construction for the next 186 km.  We were both dismayed.  However, the dirt didn’t last long.  We were soon back on pavement, but I’m not so sure it was much of an improvement over the dirt.  The pavement had some pretty bad frost heaves and pot holes.  The “improved” areas were gravel and were some better than the pavement, but the seams where the gravel met the pavement were very rough.  It was a long, slow 100 miles.  Our average speed was 35 mph.

Shortly after the border crossing we stopped at Beaver Creek, the westernmost community in Canada.  We stopped in the Yukon Visitor Center and asked about the road conditions.  To our surprise, the gentleman said that most of the construction had been completed.  That was good news.  As bad as it was today, I hate to think how bad it was at the beginning of summer.  No wonder we heard such horror stories.

While in Beaver Creek, we walked over to Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church.  This is one of the three or four Quonsit hut churches along the Alaska Highway.  After the road was built, the Quonset huts and most everything else used during construction was abandon.  Locals used what they could for various things and the rest is still sitting along the highway, especially old jeeps and army trucks.  Our Lady of Grace is still being used for services twice a month.

Another stop today was at Burwash Landing.  Gene wanted a cup of coffee, but the building he went into turned out to be a museum.  He had to make his own coffee in the rig.

After a long day of hard driving, although not so many miles, we finally parked by Kluane Lake at Cottonwood RV Park.  We stayed here in 2004 and liked it so much we had to come back.  It’s expensive, but a very nice campground and the sites on the water are just gorgeous.  We’re in a site without any hook-ups, on the water for $32.

GAS REPORT:  Before crossing the border into Canada, we filled up the gas tank.  Gas at Border City was 4.34 and diesel was 4.72.

CRITTER COUNT:  We saw a black bear today.  I was so excited.  That was the first bear we’ve seen since Denali.  We’re back on the Alcan in Canada.  That’s where we saw them all before.  We also saw 7 swans.

That’s it for today.  Hoping to post this in Whitehorse.  Thanks for tagging along.

Back in Tok

If you drive to or from Alaska, you have to pass through Tok.  So here we are--again.

We had an unusual experience last night--sad, really.  We had parked at a small roadside park near Glennallen.  We got ourselves settled in for the night and were relaxing after dinner.  We had noticed there were several teenagers hanging around one of the picnic tables down by the river, but really thought nothing of them except to notice they had evidently walked there because there wasn’t a car in the parking lot.  They stayed over by themselves until about 8 PM when we noticed two of them were almost carrying one of the girls to the restroom.  The closer they got the clearer it became that she could hardly walk on her own.  As they were assisting her across the parking lot, the whiskey bottle was making its rounds from hand to hand.  We decided it wasn’t the place for us, especially for the night.  We moved on up the road a couple miles to another pullout.  Here we found an older couple traveling in a small Class C relaxing after dinner.  Ahh, our kind of people.  We had a very peaceful and restful night.

For today’s drive, we continued north on Richardson Highway for a few miles to Tok Cut-Off Highway.  We had high hopes for Tok Cut-Off, but soon discovered it was going to be another bad road day.  Unlike yesterday, the road surface was bad plus you really had to watch for frost heaves.  During the first few miles, we had small areas that had been resurfaced with gravel.  It wasn’t long before we came to the sign announcing 24 miles of road construction.  For that 24 miles, the road surface had been completely removed and the road crew was preparing to repave.  We got to follow the Pilot Car again after a wait of about 15 minutes.

After we were back on pavement again, the road surface was rough almost all the way to Tok. The posted speed limit was 45, but we felt we were better off at around 35 mph. The last 30 miles or so was good road with a short portion being brand new.

Mt Drum with her head in the clouds

The road may have been rough, but the scenery was beautiful.  Tok Cut-Off follows the edge of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park for most of the distance to Tok.  Again today, there were plenty of ponds, lakes, and rivers with the Wrangell Mountains towering above.  It was a beautiful drive.

Gakona Lodge built in 1929

We made a couple stops along the way.  Our first stop was at Gakona Lodge and Trading Post.  The building which is still in use today was built in 1929 to replace the original roadhouse built in 1904.  Today, in addition to the lodge, there is a restaurant which serves dinner only, a tavern, and a couple small cabins.  Gakona was just one of several roadhouses spaced about 20 miles apart along the Valdez Trail which offered shelter and supplies for the miners.

Our second stop was at the Wrangell-St. Elias Slana Ranger Station.  This is located just off the Tok Cut-Off on the gravel road that leads about 50 miles into the interior of the park.  There is a small gift shop with mostly books for sale, but otherwise it’s just a station to provide information and registration for folks accessing the backcountry in the park.

We had given some consideration to driving down this road a short way to see what we could see, but then decided not to primarily because the bad road conditions on Tok Cut-Off were taking much more time than we expected today.  When we got to the Ranger Station we found we had to unhitch the car to get turned around.  It’s not an unpleasant job and it doesn’t take too much time, but it was a dirty job today because of the road grime that was all over everything.

We often say this lifestyle requires flexibility and today we wobbled back and forth trying to decide where to spend the night.  Originally, we planned to stop in Tok only briefly, then head on down the road another 50 miles or so for the night.  It took so long to get here we were tired of being on the road.  Cool Judy and her gang are supposed to be in Tok tonight and we pulled into the place where they would be staying.  Ultimately, we decided to just go to a campground instead of dry camping.  Since this will be our last night in Alaska, we needed to make phone calls and send out e-mails before crossing into the Yukon where we’ll have no cell service.  Being in a campground would allow us to recharge our computers afterwards.  Plus, it’s just easier after a hard day on the road and a shower always helps lift our spirits.

Speaking of no cell service, there won’t be any in the Yukon which really means no more MiFi.  No more MiFi until we get back to the US--sometime after Winnipeg.  Oh my!!  I’ll be posting the blog as I can at coffee shops, McDonalds, libraries, etc.  Hopefully, not too many days will pass between posts.

GAS REPORT:  This morning we filled up the motor home in Glennallen at the Tesoro. Gas was $4.29 and diesel was $4.66.

CRITTER COUNT:  After all these ponds and lakes, we finally saw a moose today and she had a calf with her.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Wasilla Again

We are once again in Wasilla.  We only plan to be here two nights.  Of course, that could change if we don’t get everything done that needs to be done.  We’ll see.

Our 90 mile drive from Williwaw this morning was pleasant despite the rain.  It started raining yesterday afternoon and rained all night and most of the day.  We hitched up in the rain. Haven’t done that in a very long time. We left Williwaw early with a mind to get through Anchorage before those that stayed home for the weekend got up and out and before those that went away for the weekend started coming home.  The plan worked and we had very little traffic for the entire trip.

Potter Marsh

I made a couple pictures as we drove past Turnagain Arm.  We’ve made several trips along one side or the other of Turnagain Arm this month and each time the tide has been out leaving large areas of mud flats.  It was no different this morning, so I made pictures anyway.  Not very pretty to look at and what water was there was muddy.

We arrived in Wasilla too early to check into Big Bear RV Park so we went to Walmart for groceries.  Today, we stocked up on enough food and paper products to get us through most of Canada.

Duck Tape Award

This is the Walmart which won the Duck Tape award.  I think it also has the distinction of being the largest Walmart in the state.  It’s a huge store, for sure.  There are things in this store I’ve never seen in a Walmart anywhere else before.  Sorta wish I’d had more time to explore.

Clam shovels

Gene, on the other hand, was ready to get out of there.  He saw the dollars mounting with every item I put in the cart.  I think he must have also been seeing pounds on the motor home axles because he wanted a whole lot of stuff to be stored in the car.

Feed and bedding for large animals

Once we got to the RV Park and set up, we’ve spent the rest of the afternoon doing chores.  Gene’s been flushing and dumping waste tanks and I’ve been doing laundry, organizing food, and doing a little cooking ahead in anticipation of many boondocking nights on the way home.

I haven’t quite decided whether I like preparing meals ahead to reduce the amount of water used in prep and clean up when dry camping.  I did that a lot at the beginning of this trip and then decided it wasn’t worth the effort.  Gonna give it a try once again.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we have an appointment to have the oil changed in the motor home.  It’s just routine maintenance and shouldn’t take too long.  At least, that’s what I’m hoping.  After that, we’ll come back to this park for the night.

It hasn’t been a very exciting day, but we’ve gotten a lot of stuff done.

GAS REPORT:  We didn’t buy gas today, but have noticed the prices as we passed through town.  We were excited to see prices below $4.  From Girdwood to Wasilla the going price for gas is $3.87 and diesel is $4.27.

CRITTER COUNT:  Saw another moose this morning.  There were several mountain goats grazing on the high cliffs above Turnagain Arm.  If a couple people hadn’t been out making photos, I would have missed them.

That’s about all I know for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Girdwood, Alaska

About 40 miles south of Anchorage is the small community of Girdwood.  Like many of the small villages and towns in Alaska, Girdwood got its start when someone came to pan for gold.  In this case, it was James Girdwood who came 1896.  Today, Girdwood enjoys tourists during both winter and summer.  Surrounded by Chugach National Forest, hiking trails are numerous, fishing is a favorite, and for bicyclists there is the Bird to Gird biking trail.  In winter, there are plenty of cross-country ski trails as well as downhill skiing from Alyeska Ski Resort.

Girdwood

We spent the morning just wandering around.  Our first stop was the Alyeska Resort Hotel.  The folks staying there are experiencing a whole different Alaska trip from what we’re experiencing.  Ours may cost about the same as their trip, but ours is lasting 3 months instead of a week.  Without question, it was a beautiful place.

The rest of Girdwood

Next, we stopped in at the post office to mail a card and buy stamps.  The post office may have been the largest building in town.  As we were pulling out of the parking lot we noticed a building across the street which had the look of a coffee shop.  We grabbed the Lonely Planet guidebook, but The Grind wasn’t listed.  In we went.  What a cool place; part coffee shop, part internet cafe, part used book store.  We were the only tourists there; everyone else were locals and they all knew each other, of course.

Our other stop in town was Crow Creek Merchantile.  It’s the only grocery around, but by looking at the prices, I’d say you might be better off to drive into Anchorage.  We were hoping for an assortment of food, hardware, sundries, and gifts, but about all we found were groceries and toiletries.

The flowers, even along the roadside, are just beautiful.  The fireweed and daisies have about taken over.  The businesses and townships also decorate with flowers, making an ordinary stroll along the sidewalk a remarkable experience.  I couldn’t resist making a few more pictures.

Alyeska Resort Hotel

We decided to stay at home this afternoon and it turned out to be the best decision. Dark clouds rolled in and it’s been raining for several hours now.  I think we have this to look forward to for the better part of next week.  We can’t complain, though.  Our weather has been perfect for almost two weeks.

Tomorrow, we’re moving up to Wasilla.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Back in Williwaw

Our day started with an absolutely gorgeous sunrise.  It was so much better than the pictures portray.  Since it had just stopped raining, there was also a rainbow.

We said our good-byes to Tony and Diana and we headed toward Anchorage.  We had a couple stops before we could actually get started.  Two tanks needed to be filled--the gas tank and the fresh water tank.

Seward Highway is designated a “scenic byway” and it was a particularly beautiful drive this morning.  The skies were blue, the visibility crisp, and we were driving in the direction which offered the best views of the lakes, rivers, and mountains along the way.

We had a short drive of only 80 miles, but we didn’t dilly-dally.  Our destination was Williwaw campground near Portage Glacier.  This is a popular campground and since this was Friday and the weekend forecast is for great weather, we wanted to get here early to get a site.  Many sites in this campground can be reserved and they were.  We felt lucky to get one of the very few which was open for two nights.  We’re back here for no reason other than because we liked it so well.  It was hard to leave friends, but Williwaw was one of our favorite places and we wanted to visit one more time.

Our short range plans are these.  We’ll stay here for two nights.  Perhaps we’ll drive to Hope or Girdwood or both tomorrow.  Sunday, we’re moving back to Big Bear RV park in Walsilla.  We plan to be there two nights.

Our stay in Wasilla will be for resupply and maintenance.  Monday morning, Gene has an appointment with a dealership to have routine maintenance (oil change, etc) on the motor home done.  Since it is primarily just an oil change, we’re hoping it won’t take too long.  Besides stocking up on groceries, I have mounds of laundry to do, as well.  It promises to be a busy couple of days.

From Wasilla, we’ll be heading for Glennallen then Tok.  We’ll take the Alaska Highway back to Whitehorse, Yukon.  This will be the section we skipped on our inbound trip by going to Dawson City and Chicken via Top of the World Highway.  We’ve heard this section of road is very rough.  We’re not looking forward to the drive especially.  However, it is very scenic as is passes Kluane National Park in British Columbia.

As for our long range plans, we are still committed to traveling across Canada via Highway 16 all the way to Winnipeg and entering the US at the Minnesota/North Dakota state line.  We’re a little uncertain which route we’ll take after that.

So, the trip home will be a little back tracking, but mostly new territory.  It should be fun.  This adventure is not over yet.

That’s all for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

One More Day in Seward

One of the great things about this lifestyle is the freedom we have with our schedule.  Of course, there are always some obligations to be met, but more often than not we are free to come and go as we please.

We awoke to rain Thursday morning, so it was easy for Tony and Diana to persuade us to delay our departure by a day.  And we’re so glad we did because we had a wonderful day.  We didn’t do anything special; mostly just hung around the rig watching the boats in the bay and the people walking by.

The photos tell the story of our day.  Thanks for tagging along.

Our Last Day in Seward

What a beautiful day!! Someone said there are only three days of summer in Alaska.  We have been blessed to have enjoyed all three of them this week as we sat here looking out on Resurrection Bay.

Fish weir

This has been a very lazy day for us.  This morning we went up to the Bear Lake fish weir.  The sockeye are running and we saw several jumping--some successful and some having to try again.  We kept a close eye out for the grizzly which has been seen in the area, but if he was there, we didn’t see him.

This afternoon, we went to the shops around the harbor and then downtown in search of the Christmas gifts.  We’ll call this mission a success.

Since we were out, we just kept going toward the end of the road.  The pavement ended and we kept going.  Finally, we got to a place on Lowell point where we had to turn around--the end of another road. In a way, it’s kinda sad.  When we leave here in the morning we will be starting our long ride home.

Tony and Diana took advantage of the glorious day for their cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park.  They left early and were out all day getting home just in time for dinner.  Gene and I had picked up some fresh halibut while we were out for a last dinner to share with good friends.

Waterfall on the way to Lowell Point

I’ll let that be it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

Exit Glacier

Our weather for the past couple days has been just gorgeous and it promises to be so again today.  With lots of sunshine, bright blue skies, a slight breeze, and temperatures in the low to mid 60s, we couldn’t ask for more.  Add to the perfect weather good friends to spend the day with at a National Park and you have the essence of “life is good”.

Exit Glacier is a tiny part of Kenai Fjords National Park which encompasses much of the area around Seward.  To get an up close and personal view of the National Park you really need to take one of the wildlife cruises offered by several companies.  Two cruise companies, Major Marine and Kenai Fjords, offer cruises accompanied by a park ranger.  On the Major Marine cruise, a ranger is present for the entire trip.  These cruises are expensive, but are well worth the money, especially if using the two for one coupons in the discount book.  Since we did that on our last trip to Alaska, we’ll pass on that adventure this time.

Exit Glacier is about 6 miles from the waterfront in Seward.  We packed our picnic lunch and spent several hours at the Visitor Center and on the trail leading to the Glacier. Exit Glacier is receding rapidly and now the trail which leads to within a few feet of the glacier is about 1.3 miles in length.  After looking at the displays at the Visitor Center we joined a large group on a Ranger led hike to the edge of the glacier.  The ranger was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the glacier; we really enjoyed her hike.  She is also a former RVer so at the end of our hike we spent several minutes chatting with her about that aspect of her life as well as volunteering at a National Park.

For a little relaxing time before dinner, we arranged our lawn chairs in front of our rigs at the water front.  To our delight, and a little surprisingly, a float plane landed right in front of us.  That was pretty exciting.

Another great view from our rig

This morning holds the promise of another beautiful day.  Gene and I will continue our quest for a few more Christmas gifts and some fresh salmon and halibut for our freezer.    I think Tony and Diana will be taking in the Sealife Center which is excellent and perhaps one of the wildlife cruises this afternoon.

That’s it for now.  Thanks for tagging along.