Prince William Sound

This is going to be very quick today.

It is so amazing how quickly the weather can change from sunny and warm to cold and windy.  Today, weather-wise, was not the best day for a cruise around Prince William Sound.  However, we did get to see a humpback whale which is apparently not very common in this area, and, because we didn’t have the harsh afternoon sunlight, the blue ice of the glaciers was spectacular.  On the other hand, because we had heavy, low clouds, we missed the awesome scenery of the mountains against the water.

Surprise Glacier

I’ve chosen just a few photos to represent our day.  On another day when I’m not so tired, I’ll write a more complete account of our trip.

Gathered around the salmon hatchery

Until then, enjoy this little bit. Thanks for tagging along.

Williwaw and Portage Glacier

I have hot water!!  Life is soooo good!!!

We have been without hot water since I can’t remember when.  Gene had changed all the fuses and done everything he knew how.  Turned out to be the circuit board.  The folks at Valley RV did a splendid job and had us out of there within a couple hours.

We made our way through Anchorage, the largest city we’ve been in since I can’t remember when.  We had heavy traffic for about 40 miles and it seemed to take forever.  There is no interstate, but both Alaska 3 and Alaska 1 are three lanes in each direction.  You had the feel of interstate with the high speeds and millions of motorists.  Once we reached the city limits of Anchorage, we had traffic lights.  We both had our eyes open for merging traffic, passing traffic, and abrupt turns and traffic signals.  We got through it unscathed.

On the south side of town, we had a pleasant drive with Turn Again Arm to our right and the mountains to our left.  I made a few pictures, but they just didn’t turn out well.  The sun was too bright causing a harsh glare on the water and there was also quite a bit of haze hanging over the mountains.  Not so pretty.

We are now settled at Williwaw Campground in Chugach National Forest on the road to Whittier.  What a wonderful campground.  The interior roads are paved as well as the sites.  This is almost unheard of in a National Forest campground.  We were expecting gravel.  The sites are large, of course, and we have a fantastic view of Middle Glacier out our dining window.

Portage Lake with Burns Glacier in the background

Because the sun was shining this afternoon and weather can change so quickly here, we drove over to the Information Center at Portage Glacier to make a few photos.  Portage Glacier has receded so much over the past several years, that it is no longer visible without taking one of the cruises on the lake.  However, in the lake there are a few pieces of the glacier which have calved off and are floating freely.

This seems like one of those places where we might like to hang out for a few days.  We’ll see what happens.  It is so very peaceful here.  There are a few trails between our campground, Black Bear campground, the other day use areas and the Portage Glacier Information center.  Those would also be fun to investigate.

Portage Creek

Tomorrow, we have reservations for a cruise around Prince William Sound from Whittier.  Definitely looking forward to that.

So, I think that covers it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

The Iditarod and Independence Mine

This has been a busy day.  Almost the first thing this morning, we moved to the other side of the campground to a full hook-up site.  Water and electric have been good, but a sewer connection to flush our tanks conveniently and easily is also good.  After we got moved and hooked up again, we went to investigate the Iditarod Headquarters.

The Iditarod has been called the “Last Great Race On Earth”.  This high profile winter sporting event pits musher and dog team against nature--the terrain and weather.  Whichever team crosses the finish line 1150 miles down the trail first takes home the prize.  The trail between Anchorage and Nome evolved from the original supply route which served the mining camps.

The Iditarod Headquarters is located in Wasilla.  I’m not sure exactly what my expectations were, but I was a little disappointed in what we found.  There were a few old dogsleds and photos of all the winners down through the years.  There were old newspaper articles and a couple stuffed dogs.  More than anything, it was gift shop.  There is a 20-minute movie.  The film we saw was a series of interview snippets with the top contenders in the 2009 race.  I would liked to have seen something on the training of the dogs, the rigors of the race, or even a history of the Iditarod.  I was disappointed.  At least it was free.

John Redington, Sr.  Father of the Iditarod

After lunch, we drove up to Independence Mine State Historical Park high in the Talkeetna Mountains about 10 miles from Wasilla.  Much of this old mining community is dilapidated and falling down.  Other parts have been saved and are in some state of restoration.  There are guided tours, but we just walked about on our own.

Unlike gold panning and dredge mining, at Independence gold was mined from the rock.  The first claim was staked by a man named Hatcher in 1906, but it was too expensive and too difficult for an individual to extract gold from underground veins.  Large companies with the funds to hire miners and purchase the equipment bought up these individual claims.  During the peak year of 1941 over a million dollars worth of gold was dug out of the mountain.   The mine was closed during WWII and, even though it reopened in 1946, never recovered and was shut down completely in 1951.

The mining stuff is interesting, but the best part of going up there is the scenery, I think.  I just love the high mountains.  We were inspired by the beauty of the area when we first visited the Mine in 2004.  We liked it so well then that we returned a second time before leaving the area.  You know it’s special if we went back today for a third time.

The road to Independence Mine is a paved, 2-lane road with several large pullouts for admiring the views.  It’s a good road and entirely suitable for a small RV.  We would not hesitate to take our class C, but would think twice about a large class A and wouldn’t take a 5th wheel.  There is RV parking at Independence Mine.  The mine is free, but there is a parking fee of $5 per vehicle.

Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with the RV dealer to get our hot water tank fixed.  Hopefully, that won’t take too long and we will be on our way toward Portage Glacier south of Anchorage.

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

Settled at Big Bear RV Park

We had a good night at Wal-Mart.  This happens to be the largest Wal-Mart in the state.  Of course, there’s not one on very corner like in other states, but it is still an impressive store.  It may actually be the largest Wal-Mart I’ve ever been in.  It also has the distinction of being the Wal-Mart to sell more duct tape than anyone during the second quarter of 2002.  Who knew they were even counting?

We were anxious to get to our campground.  The check out time is not until noon, so it was a long wait.  We have a reservation for tonight, but we didn’t want to come too early because we wanted a site with the most hook-ups as possible. We got one with water and electric and will move tomorrow to a full hook-up site.  This is the first time we have not had reservations for a major holiday weekend.  We won’t let this happen again.

This is a small campground just off Parks Highway and only a couple miles from Wal-Mart.  It is also convenient to Valley RV where we are scheduled to have our water heater looked at on Wednesday.

So far we are very happy with Big Bear RV Park.  They have been very helpful trying to get us in even though we called at the last minute of a holiday weekend.  They also were happy to let us come and hangout this morning so we could use their WiFi.  We didn’t, but it was a nice offer.

This is a full-service campground with laundry and free WiFi. They don’t have cable TV, but we can get the major networks over the air.  Even the showers are free, which is a rare thing in the area.  The nightly rate is also very reasonable at $27 for full hook-ups.

Since we got here, I’ve been working in the kitchen getting a little ahead on my cooking and getting that mess of groceries organized.  Yesterday may have been the largest single expenditure on groceries in 10 years.  We were really low on food, but we also bought ahead in anticipation of higher prices and less selection down in Homer.

Gene has spent the afternoon with the campground book, the federal lands map, the internet, and the list of things we want to do while on the Kenai Peninsula.  He made some headway, but it’s still a work in progress.

Yesterday, I forgot to include the GAS REPORT.  I’m not sure why I forgot because we were so excited about the price--$3.97 for gas ($4.35 for diesel). This is the lowest price we’ve paid since Montana.  This was at the Tesora station at the corner of Parks Highway and Talkeetna Spur Road.  Now, in Wasilla $3.97 is what we’re seeing almost everywhere.

There really isn’t much to report today.  The photos posted are some taken around Talkeetna mostly.  There are a couple taken some weeks ago, but I’ve forgotten where.

Thanks for tagging along.

Happy Birthday, America

We left the rough and tumbled village of Talkeetna this afternoon.  Really hated to leave, but whatcha gonna do?  We’ve been in just about every public building in town, some of them twice.  Not much else to do.  And besides, Homer is calling my name.

Before our farewell, we walked down to the Roadhouse for breakfast.  Gene wanted Rudy in a Parka--reindeer sausage all wrapped up in a soft, white yeast bread with a little cheese thrown in to make it even more yummy.  Of all the historic buildings in Talkeetna, we like the Roadhouse best.  It still rents out rooms and seating is family style at long tables. Most of the other buildings, with the exception of Nagley’s General Store, are gift shops and boutiques for the tourists.  Nagley’s and the Roadhouse have changed little over the years and thus seem more authentic somehow.

Gene also stopped by the Talkeetna Historic Museum.  It turned out to be Talkeetna’s attic, but Gene said it was well presented.  I skipped this outing, opting for a little rest and reading instead.

After a quick sandwich, we headed south to Wasilla.  We’re hanging out at the Wal-Mart, the largest one in the state, tonight.  It was so good to go to the grocery.  Our food supplies were getting pretty low.  There are signs posted all over everywhere “no overnight parking”, but there must be ten rigs scattered about the parking lot.  Gene called before we came down here to be sure we could park overnight.  Manager said it was fine, so here we are.

Tomorrow, we’ll move over to our campground as soon as all the weekenders are gone and stay there at least two nights, maybe three.  We have an appointment at an RV dealership on Wednesday morning.  We’re hoping to get the hot water heater fixed.

I think that’s all I have for today.  Hope everyone is enjoying the 4th of July.

Thanks for tagging along.

A Walk Around Talkeetna

Well, we had to move out of Talkeetna Camper Park this morning.  We weren’t ready to leave, so we asked the owner to give us a call if he had a cancellation.  We drove about the village and found a place to park on the street across from the Talkeetna Ranger Station.  The street is very wide even though it’s just a dirt road.  Cars are parked every which way all about town, so we felt like this would be fine, at least for the day.  In our walking around, we stopped at the Talkeetna Visitor Center and asked if it would be all right to park here overnight.  It would be fine and her only word of caution was that it might be noisy from all the young people in town for the holiday weekend.  We also asked at the Ranger Station if it would be okay to park on the street overnight and they also said it would be fine.  Sooooo, here we are.

It was a rainy day, but that didn’t stop us from our walk about town.  Our first stop was to attend the ranger program.  I think I mentioned in a previous post that Talkeetna is the staging area for the Mt McKinley climbers.  Since the mountain is within the National Park, the Park Service is responsible for interviewing climbers, issuing permits, and search and rescue.  The ranger program, naturally, was about climbing Mt McKinley.  The ranger doing the presentation was an older gentleman--a seasoned ranger--and he did an outstanding job.  It was, by far, the best presentation we’ve heard in a very long time.

Although there are many other mountains that are higher in elevation, McKinley, because of its location so far north of the equator, is a very difficult mountain to climb.  Cold temperatures and high winds assault the climbers.  This year nine climbers have lost their lives on the mountain, one of them just yesterday.  There are about 1200 attempts at the summit each year and only about 50 percent reach the top.  The average time to reach the summit is 18 days.  Many of those days are built in “rest” days to allow the body time to adjust to the altitude, but there are usually days when climbers are just waiting for the weather to be favorable.

After the presentation, our next stop was the Saturday Market.  Usually, I think of fresh vegetables when I see “Saturday Market” advertised.  This was a craft market of local artists.  There were several booths offering hand painted clothing, scarves, and socks, almost anything you might want from picture frames to door handles made of caribou and moose antlers, and nature photographs. There was one booth offering porcupine quill earrings.  The majority of the booths were beautifully crafted jewelry of silver or glass beads.  I had bought a pair of earrings at Denali, but sort of wish I’d waited. These were just gorgeous.

The rest of the day we strolled around town stepping into first one shop then another.  Gene was finally successful in finding the fleece vest he’s been looking for.

Our last stop of the afternoon was in the bar at Negley’s Store or was it West Rib Cafe.  We went into Negley’s.  At the back of the store was a door opening which led to the bar, but I really think we were in West Rib Cafe at that point.  Kinda hard to say.   Behind the bar there were two tap handles of interest.  One was an ice axe used by prominent McKinley guide, Ray Genet.  The other was a real moose jaw (with teeth) which dispensed Kassik Moose Point Porter.  I don’t know what all that means, exactly, but it was interesting to see.

The history of Negley’s store is interesting, too.  It was built about 1918 at Susitna Station which was just a little place on the river where supplies were shipped in for the miners.  It was disassembled and rebuilt near the river in Talkeetna.  In 1945, it was moved up to its present location on Main Street.  For the last move, it was placed on log rollers and actually stayed open for business during the three days it took to move up the street.

It’s still raining.  We’re tucked in snug as bugs in our home across from the Talkeetna Ranger Station.  Life is so good.  Hope you’re having as much fun on this 4th of July weekend as we are.

Thanks for tagging along.

Talkeetna, Alaska

It was kinda sad packing up and leaving this morning.  Denali is such a beautiful place.  When we were here in 2004 we only spent about 3 days at Denali and wished we’d had the time to stay longer.  Denali was one of the primary reasons for returning.   In a place as large as Alaska with so many awesome sites to see, spending ten days in one location is extravagant with precious time.  The past ten days have seemed like a vacation.  It’s been wonderful.

We also hated to leave our friends, Tony and Diana. They are headed in the same direction we are, however, so we’ll bump into to them again down the road.  So we gave them a hug and headed out in the rain.

The road between Denali and Talkeetna had a few rough spots and a few frost heaves, but all in all it was in pretty good shape.  Traffic was light and we had a pleasant drive.  There are several pull outs along the way with great views of Mt McKinley, weather permitting.  Today was not the day--too cloudy.

We are spending the night at Talkeetna Camper Park.  We stayed here in 2004, although we had forgotten that until we pulled in.  This is a small park and very crowded, especially this weekend.  Gene called a couple weeks ago and they only had one site available for tonight.  They’re full tonight and for the rest of the weekend.  Not sure what we’ll do or where we’ll go.  Playing that by ear.

I really like Talkeetna.  It was one of my favorite places from our previous visit and that is the reason why I insisted we not just drive by this time.  Some think Talkeetna was the model for the town in the TV series Northern Exposure.  That should give you a pretty good idea of what it’s like.  It is located 13 miles off the Parks Highway and some Alaska travelers don’t feel it has enough appeal to justify taking the time to come down here.  I like it for just that reason.

There are about 800 people who call Talkeetna home.  Many of them are artists and there are several galleries around town and locally crafted items for sell in many of the stores.

Denali Ranger Station

This is also the staging area for the mountain climbers.  The Denali National Park Ranger station for climbing permits is located here.  Because the climbers have to get to the mountain by air, there are several air taxi companies based at the Talkeetna Airport.  These air taxis also offer flightseeing trips for tourists.  While here, you can always tell when the mountain is out because there are a zillion little planes in the air.

We got parked and settled in Talkeetna Camper Park.  It’s a cozy little place with only about 35 sites.  The owner has made use of every little space and there are rigs parked in every direction.  It’s a tight fit and now that we’re in, we’re wondering how we’re gonna get out.  We’re paying $32 per night for a short back-in site with water and electric.  There are some longer back-ins and some pull-thru, but everybody has just water and electric.  There is a dump station somewhere in this mess.  The property backs up to the railroad track and the depot is just a stones throw away.  We’ve heard two trains so far.  Hope they don’t run all night.

The mountain is out--70 miles away

After dinner we did a little walk about town.  We heard the planes taking off so figured the mountain might be out.  There is a nice view down by the river, so we headed in that direction.  Yes, the mountain was out, but there was also a bald eagle perched in a tree.  He got more of my attention than the mountain.

I think that does it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.