Rivers, Museums, and Cinnamon Buns

We got away from Whitehorse this morning even though there was some talk of taking a zero day.  I’m glad we left; it was a beautiful day for driving.

We didn’t go very far, only about 189 miles, but we made several stops along the way so it took us most of the day.  Our first stop was at the bridge over the Yukon River a few miles south of Whitehorse.  I don’t think there’s anything too special about the bridge, but its blue color over the clear waters of the Yukon and Marsh Lake make it something special to look at.  Just as we were walking toward the bridge we spotted an eagle flying low over the river with wings spread and head and tail gleaming in the sunlight.  What a magnificent bird.

The Yukon River is 2000 miles long beginning at the Yukon/British Columbia border and flows Northwest through Alaska to eventually empty into the Bering Sea.

Wouldn’t you know, right about lunch time, we were at Johnson’s Crossing.  This is the place we stopped as we were inbound to sample the cinnamon bun.  I was thinking Johnson’s Crossing won the contest with the best cinnamon bun.  Gene says it tied for first place.  I don’t know; all I know is we stopped to get another one today.  While Gene went in to purchase said bun, I prepared our lunch sandwiches.  We shared the bun for dessert and it was very fine indeed and right from the oven.  Yummy.

Teslin River at Johnson's Crossing

Johnson’s Crossing, the name the locals use when speaking of the bridge over the Teslin River, is the location of one of the original lodges on the Alaska Highway.  Before the highway was built, all goods and supplies for Teslin traveled this river from Whitehorse.

On down the road at the town of Teslin, we stopped to visit the George Johnston Museum.  Actually, Gene went in and I sat this one out.  He gave me a good report when he got back to the motor home.  The museum is basically a Tlingit Heritage museum with George Johnston as the main attraction.  

George was a Tlingit living near Teslin.  He was a trapper and maybe a little eccentric.  He was the first person in the community to buy a car which he used for winter trapping on the frozen river.  He painted the car white to blend in with the snow and ice.  It was so cold he had to drain the water from the radiator and he kept the water in a pan on the stove.  When he saw an animal walking on or near the river, he poured the water back in the radiator and off to the river he went.

Swift River

Other items in the museum included traditional Tlingit household items and ceremonial clothing, animal hides, stuffed animals, and a replica of a trapper’s cabin.  This is not an art gallery and the items displayed were made for home use and well worn--precisely the kind of museum Gene likes.  He felt it was well worth the $4 admission.

We stopped for the night at a pullout near Rancheria Falls.

CRITTER COUNT:  Just after we crossed the bridge over the Teslin River at Johnson’s Crossing we spotted two black bear cubs.  I’m sure mom was somewhere close by, but we didn’t see her.  Even though we’ve seen many eagles, so many that I’ve quit counting, I’m going to count the one we saw today because his low flight across the river was breathtaking.

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

Kluane National Park

We’ve had one round of excitement after another today.  Some good; some not so good.

My day starts pretty early with the Peanut wanting his breakfast at 5 AM.  This morning I got to sleep almost an extra hour since Peanut hadn’t switched his internal clock from Alaska time to Pacific time.  That part was not just good; it was great.

However, when I put my foot down on the floor as I got out of bed, I discovered the carpet was wet.  It had rained hard most of the night and we apparently have a leak somewhere around our bedroom slide.  The bedroom carpet was soaked and a puddle was forming in the bathroom.  A corner of the bedspread was touching the floor and had wicked water all the way up and gotten the rest of the bed covers wet on that corner.

We’ve spent much of our time today trying to soak up the water with towels and now we have a small electric heater blowing on the carpet.  With only a brief inspection, the most likely spot for a leak seems to be at one of the lower corners of the slide where the rubber gasket feels a little loose.  Our first priority now is to get the carpet dry and we’ll try to find the leak during the next rain.

As we were sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee and trying to unravel the mystery of the leak, a grizzly bear walked right into our campsite, stood up on hind legs to give himself a good back scratching on the tree, then proceeded on to the next site.  I grabbed on camera and Gene grabbed the other.  What a treat.  Almost made me forget about the leak.  The bear was close; only about 10 feet away.  I didn’t dare open a window, so you’ll just have to look around the rain drops and dirt that were on windows.

We hung around longer than we planned before heading out this morning.  We were hoping the bear would come back, but he didn’t.  We finally got going about 9 AM.

Our first stop of the day was at Sheep Mountain Information Center.  This is part of Kluane National Park and serves as a backcountry office and information center for hikers as well as an interpretative center for Sheep Mountain.  The high mountains behind the center are home to the largest concentration of Dall Sheep in the world.  We saw no sheep today because at this time of the year they are all on the other side of the mountain out of view.  Even if they’d been there, we probably wouldn’t have been able to see them due to the low cloud cover.

About 40 miles further down the road is Haines Junction which was our next stop.  The Visitor Center for Kluane National Park is here and we stopped in for a few minutes to look at the displays and see the movie. Kluane National Park along with Wrangell-St Elias and Glacier Bay National Parks in Alaska together are designated a World Heritage Site.  Within Kluane National Park is Mt. Logan--Canada’s highest peak and the second highest peak in North America.

Across the street from the Visitor Center is Village Bakery.  It was so easy to just walk across the street and get a muffin.  Well, Gene got a muffin and I got a cranberry scone.  My scone was better than his muffin, but he disagrees with that assessment.  In any case, they were both excellent.

I think the drive from Haines Junction to Kluane Lake is just about the most scenic along the Alaska Highway.  I’m sorry the clouds were so low and thick that they blocked the view of the high peaks.  Perhaps we’ll be by this way again someday.

We arrived in Whitehorse about mid-afternoon.  The first thing on Gene’s list was to take that spare tire back.  Remember when we were here in June and Gene talked the salesman at the tire store into selling him a full-sized tire on a rim for the Honda to take on the Dempster highway with a promise to take the tire back and give us a refund if it wasn’t used.  Even though we had a flat on the Dempster, we used our donut spare to get us back to the service center and had the flat repaired.  We never used the tire Gene bought in Whitehorse and it was still wrapped in plastic.  We really didn’t figure the salesman would remember that discussion and agreement, but he did and Gene got all the money back except what the shop charged for mounting the tire on the rim.  Yea!!!

We are again staying at High Country RV Park in Whitehorse.  This time we have only an electric (20 amp) and water site.  It’s a little cheaper ($28.50) than a full-hookup site and there is a dump station here which is convenient.  All I really wanted was electricity and WiFi anyway.

GAS REPORT:  We filled up as we came into town and paid $5.05 (US) for gas.  Diesel was $5.13 (US) a gallon.  A little better than when we were here in June, but almost a dollar more than what we were  paying in Alaska.

CRITTER COUNT:  one fine grizzly bear.

That’s it for today.  Sunday morning we’ll hit the road again.  Probably no opportunity for WiFi again until Watson Lake.

Til then--thanks for tagging along.

Kluane National Park

We’ve had one round of excitement after another today.  Some good; some not so good.

My day starts pretty early with the Peanut wanting his breakfast at 5 AM.  This morning I got to sleep almost an extra hour since Peanut hadn’t switched his internal clock from Alaska time to Pacific time.  That part was not just good; it was great.

However, when I put my foot down on the floor as I got out of bed, I discovered the carpet was wet.  It had rained hard most of the night and we apparently have a leak somewhere around our bedroom slide.  The bedroom carpet was soaked and a puddle was forming in the bathroom.  A corner of the bedspread was touching the floor and had wicked water all the way up and gotten the rest of the bed covers wet on that corner.

We’ve spent much of our time today trying to soak up the water with towels and now we have a small electric heater blowing on the carpet.  With only a brief inspection, the most likely spot for a leak seems to be at one of the lower corners of the slide where the rubber gasket feels a little loose.  Our first priority now is to get the carpet dry and we’ll try to find the leak during the next rain.

As we were sitting on the sofa drinking a cup of coffee and trying to unravel the mystery of the leak, a grizzly bear walked right into our campsite, stood up on hind legs to give himself a good back scratching on the tree, then proceeded on to the next site.  I grabbed on camera and Gene grabbed the other.  What a treat.  Almost made me forget about the leak.  The bear was close; only about 10 feet away.  I didn’t dare open a window, so you’ll just have to look around the rain drops and dirt that were on windows.

We hung around longer than we planned before heading out this morning.  We were hoping the bear would come back, but he didn’t.  We finally got going about 9 AM.

Our first stop of the day was at Sheep Mountain Information Center.  This is part of Kluane National Park and serves as a backcountry office and information center for hikers as well as an interpretative center for Sheep Mountain.  The high mountains behind the center are home to the largest concentration of Dall Sheep in the world.  We saw no sheep today because at this time of the year they are all on the other side of the mountain out of view.  Even if they’d been there, we probably wouldn’t have been able to see them due to the low cloud cover.

About 40 miles further down the road is Haines Junction which was our next stop.  The Visitor Center for Kluane National Park is here and we stopped in for a few minutes to look at the displays and see the movie. Kluane National Park along with Wrangell-St Elias and Glacier Bay National Parks in Alaska together are designated a World Heritage Site.  Within Kluane National Park is Mt. Logan--Canada’s highest peak and the second highest peak in North America.

Across the street from the Visitor Center is Village Bakery.  It was so easy to just walk across the street and get a muffin.  Well, Gene got a muffin and I got a cranberry scone.  My scone was better than his muffin, but he disagrees with that assessment.  In any case, they were both excellent.

I think the drive from Haines Junction to Kluane Lake is just about the most scenic along the Alaska Highway.  I’m sorry the clouds were so low and thick that they blocked the view of the high peaks.  Perhaps we’ll be by this way again someday.

We arrived in Whitehorse about mid-afternoon.  The first thing on Gene’s list was to take that spare tire back.  Remember when we were here in June and Gene talked the salesman at the tire store into selling him a full-sized tire on a rim for the Honda to take on the Dempster highway with a promise to take the tire back and give us a refund if it wasn’t used.  Even though we had a flat on the Dempster, we used our donut spare to get us back to the service center and had the flat repaired.  We never used the tire Gene bought in Whitehorse and it was still wrapped in plastic.  We really didn’t figure the salesman would remember that discussion and agreement, but he did and Gene got all the money back except what the shop charged for mounting the tire on the rim.  Yea!!!

We are again staying at High Country RV Park in Whitehorse.  This time we have only an electric (20 amp) and water site.  It’s a little cheaper ($28.50) than a full-hookup site and there is a dump station here which is convenient.  All I really wanted was electricity and WiFi anyway.

GAS REPORT:  We filled up as we came into town and paid $5.05 (US) for gas.  Diesel was $5.13 (US) a gallon.  A little better than when we were here in June, but almost a dollar more than what we were  paying in Alaska.

CRITTER COUNT:  one fine grizzly bear.

That’s it for today.  Sunday morning we’ll hit the road again.  Probably no opportunity for WiFi again until Watson Lake.  Til then--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.

Wrangell St Elias National Park

The rain, which started on Saturday afternoon, continued through most of Monday.  Late  Monday afternoon we began to see some break in the clouds.  The bit of blue sky got our hopes up for better weather for our travel day on Tuesday.

We took the motor home in for service Monday morning.  Other than the oil change, they found nothing else which needed attention.  Always glad to hear that.  This morning we filled up with gas, propane, and fresh water and emptied the waste tanks.  We finally got started about 9:30.

Our destination for the day was Glennallen at the junction of the Glenn Highway and Richardson Highway.  I guess, all things considered, it was a pretty nice drive across the Glenn Highway.  The road was in good condition, although curvy and narrow from Palmer to Sheep Mountain at mile marker 110.  About a third of that first part was excellent on relatively new road with three and sometimes four lanes.

We made a stop at Pinnacle Mountain Cafe, Lodge, and RV Park to look at their collection of antique tractors.  We made a couple of other stops at pullouts to admire the views.  We had excellent views of Matanuska Glacier for several miles.

Matanuska Glacier

Then we ran into road construction for a 9-mile stretch, 2 miles of which we were guided through by a pilot car.  That was a first for this trip.  After the nine miles of construction, we had rough road all the way to Glennallen at mile 189.  The road surface was not so bad, but there were many frost heaves.  Driving was very slow.

Sheep Mountain Area

It was a very scenic drive.  The Sheep Mountain area was gorgeous and we passed many, many lakes and ponds.  We were surprised not to see any moose.

Before stopping for the night, we drove south on the Richardson Highway for about 10 miles to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  This is the largest National Park in the United States.  It is larger than Switzerland and has higher mountains.  The St. Elias mountain range is the highest coastal range in the world.

Portion of Valdez Trail

This is a magnificent park, but accessibility is limited.  There are two gravel roads which lead into the park.  One is off Richardson Highway going about 40 miles into the park to McCarthy and the other is off the Tok Cut-off at Slana.  Otherwise, river access or air taxi is the only way to get into the interior of the park.  Since we’re not up to driving any more gravel roads, all we did today was visit the Visitor Center.  We got there just in time for the movie and afterwards we walked the half mile interpretative trail a portion of which is along the original Valdez Trail which opened as a miner’s trail in 1901.

Tonight we are parked at a pullout on the Richardson Highway just south of Glennallen.  Tomorrow we’ll be back in Tok.

That’s it 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.