Seward

July 13


We landed in Seward 2 days ago for a 5 night stay.  We're in a park about 5 miles north of the actual town of Seward.  Like most of the RV parks in Alaska it's pretty much just an overpriced field with water and electric hookups.  This park does however have 50 amp service which was a bit of a surprise. The most popular campgrounds are right down on the water and just big parking lots. Important if all you want to do is fish but not for us.

There is plenty to do here and yesterday we spent the day at Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park.  We had beautiful day of weather, hiked a lot.  The ranger told us at the entrance that because of the amount of water in the river we wouldn't be able to get right up to the "toe" of the glacier, so we just followed the trail up to the edge of it for photos.  As we were descending the trail we saw a group of people at the "toe" and figured we could get there too.  So, we found the trail to the outwash area and after stepping through the water on rocks and climbing through a bunch of bushes on a narrow trail along the river we made it out to the "toe" of the glacier.  We both decided that the effort was definitely worth it.  Got some really interesting views of the ice and were able to see the massive amount of water that melts off the glacier.  Amazing!!
 This glacier is just one of many off the Harding icefield, above the glacier and covering the mountain range. Many glaciers reach down to the ocean like tentacles and some you can drive to.

The glaciers that reach to the water are accessed best by boat and that's what we did.  On Sunday, we met up with friends from Tucson and joined them on a 7.5 hour boat tour around Kenai Fjordes National Park.  What a wonderful trip and we saw so many things.  We saw sea otters playing and swimming in the bay and Stellar Sea Lions lounging on the rocks and playing in the water.  We also saw 2 Humpback whales that the onboard NPS
ranger described as a mother and calf and what a show they put on for us.  They swam very close to the boat and a couple of times even breached for us, one time even coming completely out of the water.  WOW!!

The captain took the boat close to the tidewater glaciers and we heard them cracking and saw a couple of them calve off some ice.  Then some of the crew fished a big chunk of the glacial ice out of the water and made drinks with it.  So Gail and I shared a margarita made with ice that was older than us :)  Pretty tasty and the bartender was generous with the tequila.  Woo Hoo!!  We were also treated to a wonderful lunch of prime rib and fresh salmon on the boat.  Overall it was money well spent and a great way to spend the day!

Monday, we spent the day at the Alaskan Sea Life Center.  It's a non profit organization that teaches about the sealife of Alaska as well as rehabilitating injured or orphaned animals.  They have several Stellar Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Birds, Fish, and even a couple of orphaned Sea Otters.  It was fun watching the staff interact with the animals, especially those little otters.  They get fed hourly, then play a while, then they get groomed to include getting their fur blow dried.  They're really cute little guys, who will eventually go to a zoo somewhere, because with the human interaction and missing the teachings of their natural mother they won't be able to hunt for themselves.  Another day well spent!

North to Alaska

July 5, 2013


AND WE FINALLY MADE IT!!  We're now in Tok, Alaska for a day or two before we make our way down towards Anchorage.

The truck and trailer held together and got us here in one piece.  We ran into our worst roads for about the last 400 miles.  Construction, gravel, mud, dips, frost heaves, and places where the road is falling away and sinking in the middle.  A lot of areas of 35 mph, some of 20 mph and a few of 50 mph.  I will admit that I drive slower than most but the way some of these guys drive I'm surprised we didn't see some broken trailer springs along the way.  Oh well, they probably have time constraints and don't suck!

We did come across the aftermath of a couple of accidents though.  First we saw several cars, a motorhome and an ambulance along the road and really didn't know what happened but later heard that someone hit a buffalo calf and that was probably it.  Then yesterday on a gravel stretch we saw a Gold Wing and it's little tow behind trailer  in the ditch and a Mountie doing an accident report.  Hopefully the riders are ok.

Mac is turning into a pretty good little rider but he sure likes the days when we are not moving.  He fusses a bit and tries to hide in the closet when the slides start coming in.  On the day we were in Grande Prairie he stepped on the window button and escaped from the truck while we were in the office getting checked in.  We came out and he was on the ground under the trailer pretty freaked out.  I think he scared himself and hasn't done that again.  We also fashioned a cardboard cover for the window buttons and now turn the truck off too.

Snoozing

July 9, 2013

We've moved on from Tok and have now settled in Palmer for a few days.  Our trip down from Tok was split into 2 travel days so we spent the night half way in Glennallen. (about 145 miles each day)  The shorter drive days are really nice here because you run into bad roads and it is exhausting!  For example, between Tok and Glennallen, we ran into a stretch of about 45 miles where we actually pulled over and discussed whether we really wanted to keep going.  I'm talking broken asphalt, huge areas where the road is caving in in the middle and some generally big frost heaves.  If we get on a stretch where we can do 50 we're doing good.  When you do run into a spot that is under construction you wonder how bad it must have been for them to finally commit the resources to rebuild it.

MOOOOSE!

From Glennallen to Palmer most of the way was pretty nice and smooth.  The road had been straightened and rebuilt along the Matanuska river.  I imagine it was done because there is an area which would be about 125 miles north of Anchorage that appears to be a real popular spot for riding ATV's.  All along that drive we saw some beautiful vistas and with the new road there were plenty of turn outs.  We also saw our first Alaskan Moose.  I think it was a cow running alongside of us next to the trees.  While I complain a lot about the roads they do keep a wide area on either side of the road between the asphalt and the trees.  That way if you do see an animal you should stand a good chance of seeing it and avoiding it should it decide to cross the road.

Matanuska glacier

We're in a nice park on the outskirts of Palmer.  Pretty much just a big open field with full hookups but the price was decent.  Yesterday we ventured over to the neighboring town of Wasilla who has the nearest Walmart.  Woo Hoo!!  We looked but don't really think we saw Russia :)  We also splurged and saw The Lone Ranger.   Funny


 Tis the season for fishing and we think we've found a fishing guide to take us out for a full day of salmon fishing later in the month.  It's a full day trip for Sockeyes and we've been told that they will probably increase the daily limit from 3 to 6 fish.  That makes it a bit more affordable per pound of fish.  They furnish the fishing equipment but we'll have to find some hip boots or waders.  (Craigs list should provide what we need)  More on that later.

Thursday 7/11 we head toward Seward with a quick stop in Anchorage. Planning some tours on Prince William sound, maybe sea kayaking and brewery sampling!

Into the Yukon

June 30

We’ve moved along and are now about 1/4 of the way along the Al-Can.  We’re spending 2 nights in Laird Hot Springs.  The hot springs are in a Provincial Park but it was full for camping so we’re at a commercial park across the road.  We’ll still be able to access the hot springs but will just have to pay a day use fee.  Aside from a place to park and a small lodge there’s nothing here, not wifi, no TV, no radio, no phone service.  Thank goodness for our collection of DVDs.

We left Ft Nelson yesterday morning. The Milepost (Alaskan highway guide book) advises rough and improved road for the next 138 miles. We have the 2008 version but it was still applicable. Pretty bumpy and uneven road most of the way, several patches done and none of it is smoothly blended. The drive was through mountainous areas, passes and canyons, very scenic. Some of the highlights were a stop at the Cinnamon Bun Center of the Galactic Cluster, Testa River camp, for hot fresh cinnamon buns. In the middle of nowhere, this RV camp and lodge makes fresh bread and cinnamon buns daily and everybody stops. They were very large and extra gooey. We ate 2 there and took 2 to go for another breakfast!

And today for the first time, all the warning signs about wildlife came true. We hit the bonanza on seeing animals. Stone sheep, looks like a mountain goat but somewhat darker, small like a sheep, were all over the road and just eating on the shoulders. A couple of deer along side the road, some caribou and for some reason bison live up here. This is not prairie country so go figure. We saw 1 along the road but then a ranger car herded it, police lights included, across the road and into the woods. We only saw it being chased away.  No doubt making it a safer road for the people in a hurry.   A road sign at our current stop promises animals ahead. But we still want/need to see the moose and more bears.  Actually, we had some excitement in the park as a resident bison sauntered in to munch some grass.  Apparently, we're told, this particular fellow likes to charge people.  So, for excitement we got to get a couple of photos and then the locals started scaring him away with explosives (?)  Actually, it sounded like gun shots but I really don't think anyone was trying to hurt him.  It just seemed funny the way the people were scurrying around trying to protect the tourists. 

Being at the Laird Hot Springs meant we had to take a dip, of course. A 1/4 mile boardwalk took us through the warm water swamps and forest to a pool built around the hot springs. It flows out of the hill like a river and is very hot, about 110. There are two pools so it cools farther downstream. The walk back was a fight with the mosquitoes.

We followed lots of rivers, easiest path for the highway builders to follow, one side of the divide they were very muddy and the other pretty clear, but turquoise. And boy are the mosquitoes out in force, and HUGE. This is good preparation for when we get to Alaska and have to combat the really, really huge ones.  We lather daily now with our special Australian repellent and carry OFF in the car for stops. It’s pretty annoying.

Sign forest Watson Lake

July 1, Happy Canada day

On the road again.  Left Laird this morning at our usual time (10:00 am) and headed toward a campground about half way to Whitehorse.  We really had another animal bonanza today as we saw lots of buffalo and quite a few black bears just hangin' out and munchin' along the road.  It was a good day.

Yukon

I was quite concerned about the condition of the road but so far have  been pleasantly surprised.  Sure, we do run into bad patches where we have to slow down to 35 or so but for the most part the roads are good enough for us to maintain 50-55 (thats miles per hour for our kilometer based friends).   Today, we had a long stretch that was being rebuilt and they had it down to a gravel road base.  We had to follow a pilot car for part of the way and it was very dusty, and of course the dust gets through the slide seals  and all over the inside of the trailer.  A nice white coating. After we got through the dust, we hit a hard rain storm so now we're completely coated with mud.  Hopefully, in Whitehorse, the park will have a wash bay. A thorough inside cleaning will have to wait till we are done.