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Rocky & Bullwinkle Tour

augustus - september 2017
Een 38-daags avontuur van Beth Meer informatie
  • 49Footprints
  • 4landen
  • 38dagen
  • 228foto’s
  • 0video’s
  • 43,5kkilometer
  • 35,1kkilometer
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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 10

    If it's Friday, i must be in...?

    11 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C

    A very early start his morning to drop off our rental car at 6 am, we headed to the airport in Jackson, Wyoming for the first leg of our jaunt today. A two hour flight to LAX, and on arrival we picked up a rental car for a day's explore. We headed up to Griffith Observatory to get a 360 degree panorama of this big city. Big mistake, it seems, as every darn person in LA wanted to go up there today. Anyway, Cathy & I jumped out of the car, while Paul tried to find parking. As it was, we had to walk about a kilometre up a dusty hill. Paul was unable to find a parking space, and Cathy and I wandered around. Frankly needn't have bothered - LA is a very uninspiring, smog bound city thanks to the coastal proximity to the hills, and the car culture of the inhabitants.

    Anyway, we decided to head to Santa Monica, which is always lovely. Again, busy, busy,busy. Cathy and I got dropped off at Venice Beach for an entertaining walk, but after a kilometer of wandering, we decided if we stayed much longer, we wouldn't pass the drug screen, should we be lucky enough to get selected before our next flight.

    We battled the traffic to head back to the airport for our next flight to Phoenix. It is a sweltering 37C in Phoenix tonight! We've just collected our next rental car, and now we are heading to Flagstaff to hit the Canyon tomorrow...

    Pics of the day to follow tomorrow    Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 11

    The Canyon? She was very grand...

    12 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today was a visit to the Grand Canyon. The last time is saw it was 2009, in mid-winter after a fresh deep snowfall. It was quite different now. We walked the majority of the South Rim, and took some magnificent pictures. The morning dawned cool, but the sun shined bright...til about half way on our walk. The black clouds loomed, hastening our steps. Arriving at the Bright Angel trailhead, the winds picked up, and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. Time to hit the trail...on our way out of the park, we found a herds of elk. Paul pushed me from the car, telling me to go further, closer!!! This was as close as I cared to get...Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 13

    Vegas

    14 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Two nigjts in a great apartment in Vegas, and we were able to recharge a little after our hectic schedule.

    The first night we headed to the Rio resort to see Penn & Teller. They were great, as expected. Dinner was late, after the show...and filling as always.

    The next day, we had a very relaxed morning, then headed for The Stratosphere to go up the tower for some good views of this big city. We were going to walk the strip, but at 41°C, it was just too hot! We did a little select stops, and I've never seen the fountain at the Bellagio so deserted - it was just too hot to stand in the sun.

    We wandered througj a few casinos, picked up some Mets sock for Ben, and heafed back to the apartment, to make ourselves beautiful for dinner and a show.

    We headed out to the M resort for what was billed as the best buffet in Vegas. It is very popular and we had to queue for half an hour to get in. Wow, the food was plentiful and varied. It was seafood night, and i was astonished at the volume of crab that was served and consumed!

    After dinner, we heafed back to the Mandalay Bay to go to see a Cirque du Soleil show, Michael Jackson's One. What an amazing tribute. The show was fabulous, and i highly recommend it if you get to Vegas.

    Today we leave Vegas, heading back to LA to start our trip to Alaska, via Seattle.

    Stay tuned! I'll post some more pics later...    Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    2
    Dag 14

    North, to Alaska!

    15 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Up this morning we walked around downtown Juneau. This city, the capital of Alaska has only about 31,500 people. The economy seems to entirely revolve around the cruise ship industry. Today, there were four ships in dock, and this occurs every day! There are a heaps of tourist shops on the dock area, and hundreds of people frequenting them.

    Cathy needed some time to do some school marking, so Paul and I caught the local bus out the the Mendenhall Valley, and took a very pleasant walk to the Glacier. We saw red salmon in a stream, and the glacier was impressive. On the way back, through the drizzly rain, we saw a mother bear and her three cubs... very special. We took a 4 km walk through the forest, which was gorgeous. It was raining, but I think it is a rare day that it does not rain here.

    Tomorrow we catch a ferry to Glacier Bay and Gustavus.    Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 15

    On the slow boat to Gustavus...

    16 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Today we are on a ferry heading to Gustavus and Glacier Bay. It's a four and a half hour journey and the weather is foggy and wet. Wet is normal for Juneau. They have a rain festival that goes from January 1 to December 31. Serious - saw the t-shirt, it must be true.

    We will be picked up at Gustavus and taken to our lodge...imaginatively named Glacier Bay Lodge.

    I'll add some pics on this journey as we go, if we can see anything through the fog!

    Ciao!    Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 16

    Ice and Teddies

    17 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Another early start, we had a great buffet breakfast at 6 am, before boarding our catamaran to explore 65 miles up Glacier Bay. We first headed for South Marble island, where dozens of Stellar Sea Lions lazed. No sun today, a constant cold drizzle made life a bit difficult. We saw dozens of Sea Otters, which are much bigger than you would expect, floating on their backs with shellfish on their bellies and stones and to crack them.

    We had a great guide on the boat, Ranger Jenny, who was very enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. The glaciers, there are multiple, are spectacular, and at the Margerie Glacier, we watched as the Glacier cracked and called, dropping huge chunks into the sea with a loud rumble and crash. Even as we watched, the sounds of the glacier cracking and groaning could be heard...quite remarkable. The bay, really a fjord, was littered with bit bergs (small ice bergs also known as growlers, for the noise they make when they collide).

    Along the way, we were lucky enough to see two brown bears...the first was fishing, then came up the beach with a fish...the second was climbing up a rock wall, having flushed already. He posed for us beautifully, seeming to enjoy the attention.

    We stopped on the return journey to drop off 8 kayakers, who with loads of gear, were spending three days in the wilderness, kayaking the bay. Madness in our opinion, given the waters are ice filled, and the temperature is below freezing at night...but, good luck to them!

    This afternoon, we are due to fly to Anchorage, which may be problematic, as the airport has been a bit fog bound the last few days, and apparently flights have been cancelled... Fingers crossed, as we don't have delays scheduled into our travel plans!!!

    Photos to follow!    Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 18

    Anchorage to Denali

    19 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    No witty title today, too tired! We luckily were able to get out of Gustavus by budgie jet ( thanks Chrissy C) and take a 14 minute flight to Juneau (yes, 14!). Most of the budgie unloaded, but we stayed aboard while they loaded up the remaining passengers due for Anchorage.

    We arrived at Anchorage early (amazingly, we were quite concerned as the flight had been cancelled the previous 2 days due to dense fog!), and were collected by our hotel.

    We had a wonderful, and entertaining dinner cooked by some Bulgarians, who thought us drunk as we laughed profusely at a visual joke (see previous note re budgie jet), and the bar an, Doug, an Alaskan with a great love for Aussies, a hatred for Germans, and an amusement for Kiwis ("sheepshaggers" - he obviously has been educated by Aussies in the past). Doug gave us some very useful tour info, and where to shop advice, which we will follow on our return to Anchorage in a few days time.

    Today we headed to Denali National Park, passing by Mount McKinley (or Denali in indigenous parlance), the tallest peak in North America. Unfortunately , we are unable to share pics, as the Mount was entirely fog/cloud bound all 238 miles...we did get some other nice pics though, of fast river rapids and lesser peaks. And, we finally sighted Mrs Bullwinkle and Junior. No pics though,but I did find a rather cute Jack Rabbit!

    Finally, we arrived at our lodgings in Denali. Our very helpful Albanian Hotel Receptionist told us if we were lucky, we would see the Northern Lights, which he photographed two days ago. At 3 am...

    As we have to be up at 5 am to get to our 12 hour tour to Kantishna with a NPS Ranger, I do not think we'll be up at 3 am...damn...however, with the dense cloud cover, I doubt the lights would be out for us anyway...    Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 18

    Kantishna - Back of beyond, Alaska style

    19 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    Today we had a very early start, as our tour bus left the Denali Wilderness Centre at 6:15 am. The day was again bleak, drizzly cold and foggy, but when we met with our tour guide, John, he was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and we knew we would have a good day.

    We had a small group of 15 for this tour - it is the longest tour in Denali National Park (you can only go in there with NPS tours), and we were set to see right to the end of the 92.5 miles of road. We piled into what looked like an old school bus (see pic!) and set off. John explained the history of the park, and many interesting facts. Unfortunately, Mount McKinley (20000 feet high) was nowhere to be seen, as it was totally cloud covered, but we learned that only 30% of visitors to the area ever get to see it, due to the cloud making that comes off it.

    However, there was still much to be seen, and with John's expert eyes along with the eager eyes of the passengers we saw all manner of wildlife: moose cow and calves, many bears, lots of caribou, ground squirrels, eagles, ravens, and all other sorts of bird life.

    The road was quite narrow over treacherous cliffs, and Cathy was quite nervous at times, but our driver John was very capable, and we felt very safe.

    At 87 miles in, we hit Wonder Lake, and there at the Ranger Station, we picked up Ranger Doris, who regaled us with stories of early inhabitants of the area, and giving us insight into how difficult it must have been. Doris walked us through what berries and plants can be eaten, and medicinal plants as well... At the 92.5 mile point, we hit the end of the road. There is an airstrip here, as people in tiny single engine planes fly in to hike. It was a long trip, 12 hours all up, and we met some nice people. (The first Aussies we have met on the whole trip on this bus of 15 came from Baulkham Hills...haha)

    At the end of day, we had to drive 100 miles to Wasilla, about 40 miles from Anchorage for a good nights sleep.    Meer informatie

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  • Beth VogelzangRocky & Bullwinkle Tour
    Dag 20

    Leaving Anchorage

    21 augustus 2017, Verenigde Staten ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Today we leave Anchorage travelling 100 miles to Seward.... To join our Norwegian Cruise Ship, to sail the Inside Passage...

    It's another miserable day, and we are on a shuttle to the dock...

    I would kill for coffee! 😎☕☕☕Meer informatie

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