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  • Kay's Travels

Alaska

Off for and RV trip to Alaska for 6-7 weeks. Traveling with friend Alice who owns the RV. En savoir plus
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  • Début du voyage
    7 juillet 2019
    Kay's TravelsAlaskaVoyageur

    Alaska Day 1

    7 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    Off to Alaska!! Left Bodega Bay at 8:15AM. Destination Klamath Falls, OR, about 400 miles. Getting accustomed to riding in a motorhome van takes some getting used to. Alice plans on doing all the driving so my jobs are navigator, cook and clean up. Lovely ride up route 5, past Mt. Shasta still covered with snow to the ground. No California drought this year.
    Worked on reservations for tonight and settled on a place about 20 miles north of Klamath Falls, OR. Weather great – around 80 at our destination – the Waterwheel Campground and RV Park. Nice to get away from the city already on our first night out. Campground is on the Williamson River, a fly fisherperson – did not see him catch a thing.
    Kay’s tutoring session on how to hook up the electricity, sewer and water. Will see what I remember tomorrow night. Cocktail hour outside our RV and a walk along the river before dinner of steak salad. Cooking facilitites very adequate however could not get the microwave to work. Alice had some work done before this trip and she thinks they did not plug it back in as everything else electric is working. Downtime after dinner and an early bedtime. Planning on Crater Lake tomorrow.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 2 Crater Lake!

    8 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ 🌙 61 °F

    Good night’s sleep the first night in the RV!!! Up and out by 10 after a breakfast of ham and eggs. Takes awhile to get all the hook ups undone and stowed away. My tutorial of how to do all of this continues.
    Another beautiful day. Off to Crater Lake, only about 30 miles from our RV site. Could not ask for better weather, mid 70’s and almost a cloudless sky. A stop at the visitor’s center for the movie on the making of Crater Lake. Fascinating story and amazing that we have managed to keep it this pristine all of these years. The blue is so deep and beautiful, Alice said that it is amazing that there has not been a watercolor paint named Crater Lake blue. We spent several hours there walking a couple miles along the rim of the Lake, surprisingly not very crowded. Still snow at the Rim Village (7210 feet). When I was here in late May they had had 6 inches of snow the night before and snow was piled feet deep everywhere. Mother Nature at her best!!! Note: The 3rd and 4th pictures below are similar views of Wizard Island and Crater Lake taken in July (3rd) and May (4th) :-)
    On our way North to Bend, we drove through the Crater Lake National Park and out the North end to Diamond Lake. John and I had been there over 40 years ago and I had never been back. A beautiful lake with Mt Thielson as the back drop. Still a beautiful spot but a resort there now instead of just a sleepy lodge. Progress???? ☹ Good lunch and on to Bend.
    Spent the afternoon getting some business done with a few RV maintenance issues that got resolved pretty easily and for just $40. Found an RV park right in Bend. After getting all hooked up, we left to take the RV to someone about 15 miles away to fix the microwave. Then to SunRiver Brewing Company for a microbrew and dinner. A lively Bend spot where I had been to in May with a good vibe and excellent food. Back to RV park to hook up again (in the dark) and now to bed.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 3 Bend, OR

    9 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Last night’s “home” was an RV park, Scandia, in South Bend, OR. I have always loved Bend as we used to have Stodd family reunions there for many years. I still have relatives here. Bend has truly “grown up” over the years but I think the City (pop now ~100,000) has done a great job in keeping up the beauty of the City. Lots of parks, flowers everywhere and the Deschutes river that runs through downtown.
    After chasing down an RV issue that required an oil change, we set off to explore Bend. A walk through Riverbend Park and a short way on the Deschutes River Trail (DRT) led to watching lots of ways to “float” down the river – clearly a popular summer pastime here. Paddle boards, inner tubes, kayaks, and canoes enjoying the great outdoors. The DRT goes for about 3 miles on each side of the river. When I was here in May, Mandie, niece, and I did the entire trail and it is a lovely easy walk. Lunch in the Old Mill District with lots of restaurants and shops right on the river.
    Then off to Sisters, OR, only 20 miles away for the night. Had to “dry” camp tonight. I now know what that means 😊 no hook ups to electricity, sewer and water. It also means less work when you come and go !! Enjoy a 4 minute shower ($1.00 per minute) and a relaxed cocktail hour in the park with nice weather. (Alice sketching and painting, Kay on the computer) Could walk to downtown Sisters and found a place for a light dinner. Nice day and a break from driving.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 4 Sisters, OR

    10 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Awoke to a sky of sun and clouds. Perfect summer weather. We decided to walk to town for breakfast this AM. Some perusing of a few shops in Sisters, no purchases. My favorite was in one of the pictures below, the computer tool. Sistes, OR is named for the Three Sisters mountains nearby, part of the Cascade mountain chain. Locale is forested and dotted with lakes, mountains, and rivers – a paradise for paddlers, fisherpeople, birders, skiers (Mr. Bachelor in Bend) and riders.
    Our destination today is the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Washington. We found a campground on the Washington side of the river in Stevenson, WA. Made it to Hood River, OR and a stop for lunch at a local café Off to our campground after our late lunch and about 25 miles down the road, Kay realized she left her purse in the restaurant!!! ☹ So back we went to claim the purse – lucky!! A grocery store stop for dinner fare as our campground is a bit remote and no walking to dinner at a restaurant.
    Spectacular campground – Timberlake. In the woods, space between the campsites and walking paths throughout the camp. Just lovely, green and trees everywhere, my kind of campground. Hooked up, and had a lengthy cocktail hour catching up with friends and family. Alice painting while I make pasta for dinner. Lovely evening.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 5 Columbia River Gorge, OR

    11 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Slept in a bit this AM as up late with a relative in surgery and information going back and forth with the family. As of this AM, outlook is brighter on that front. Showers, unhooking, and breakfast in our “home” – then off to explore the Columbia River gorge. Loved this campground, next time will stay longer.
    First stop at Rooster Rock state park to catch a shuttle to Multnomah Falls, the most well-known of all the waterfalls in the area. Alice and I had been here previously about 7-8 years ago. Lots of changes with the falls – minimal parking there and shuttles bringing folk in. Really helps the congestion. Still a spectacular site, graceful and mesmerizing. A walk about and pictures.
    Destination today – Gig Harbor, WA to spend some time on Puget Sound. An uneventful trip up Interstate 5 - boring but fast. Across Puget Sound on the Tacoma Narrows bridge and a short drive to Gig Harbor to find our campsite. A stop at Target for a poison oak remedy for Kay and a new universal remote for Alice. Some of the campgrounds have cable TV but our remote is not working so will try a new one. Kay still nursing an outbreak of poison oak from a hike a week ago on the streets of San Francisco - go figure.
    Walked about 1/2 mile from our campsite to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Food not great but lovely outside seating area and very relaxing. Back to work on the TV with some success -and bed.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 6 Gig Harbor, WA

    12 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Big camp breakfast today to eat up the food in the fridge before catching the ferry tomorrow. Decided to go for a ride up the east side of Puget Sound from Gig Harbor. Found a super Walmart for a few essentials, food for a picnic and dinner. Beautiful water scenery by the Sound. Made our picnic lunch and found a park in downtown Gig Harbor at the Marina. Lovely spot with lots of water craft to watch going in and out. Amazing number of yachts in the Marina along with kayaks, canoes and motorboats. An ice cream stop and on our way to our "home: for the night - Larrabee State Park, WA.

    The park is on Puget Sound south of Bellingham. A really pretty spot however our drive there was horrendous. We only had about 120 miles to drive and it took over 4 hours!! Friday afternoon traffic through Seattle on Interstate 5 was a disaster due to crashes and construction. The GPS kept rerouting us, we thought we would never get there. Arrived at campsite at 7PM. Quick hook ups and lots of wine. Fortunately days are longer here. Good steaks for dinner and to bed. Ready to catch the ferry for Alaska in Bellingham tomorrow afternoon.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 7 Bellingham, WA

    13 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Note: For this entire trip, internet will be intermittent. I am finding that I can do the text but need more power than most of the campgrounds have to edit and load pictures and videos. So lots of times, I will be entering the text but the pictures may come later.

    Destination today: Board the Ferry in Bellingham, WA at 3PM for a 6PM departure. We are ferrying from Bellingham WA to Whittier AK - the port for Anchorage. Breakfast in our "home" and then cleaning out the refrigerator as we will have minimal access to the RV during the 4 day ferry ride. Campground last night did not have laundry facilities, nor does the ferry so first stop today is a laundromat. Quite the place here, huge - must have 50 washers and dryers, internet, store to buy all the laundry supplies and an attendant. Great connection so catching up with all the pictures for the past few days.
    To the ferry. A short drive and we arrived around 2 PM. At out first check in spot they wanted us to turn off the propane in the RV. Alice was unsure how to do that so one of the gals from the ferry crew offered to help and proceeded to break the mechanism that held the door on. 😫. Lots of drama ensued but the ship people were very responsive. The fellow went to a local hardware store to get the part!
    As I looked around I did not see many cars lined up for boarding the ferry. The ferry hold 499 passengers plus crew. We asked one is the staff and were told that there are only 138 passengers leaving today! This was quite a pleasant surprise as we had expected it to be quite crowded.
    We boarded and found our cabin. We had reserved a 4 bed cabin on the outside as they were the only ones that had inside bathrooms. I am too old to be finding my way down a dark corridor in the middle of the night looking for the bathroom. 😖
    Our cabin is great for the 2 of us. Bunk beds, and a nice large porthole window. I cannot imagine 4 people in this room. We sat outside in the sunshine as we sailed. A really beautiful site. Wine and dinner. Made a new friend, Diane, who joined us for dinner. We are on our way!    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 8 At Sea Day #1

    14 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Up and about early. The ferry motion is mesmerizing and conducive to sleep for me. At sea all day today, no ferry stops, so time to find entertainment. 😃. A 2.5 mile walk around the deck. Got pretty dizzy as one lap took 3 minutes 😂. Breakfast in the cafeteria and out to one of the lounge areas. Kay “working” to catch up on the blog and our itinerary for our first week after we get off the ferry. Alice sketching and painting post cards. Throughout the afternoon there were movies that we attended. One about Ketchikan which will be our first stop tomorrow AM. Lots of room on the ferry with it only being about 1/4 full.
    The scenery is amazing. We are motoring up the inside passage and there is nothing but thousands of tree covered islands. Sky is overcast with glimpses of sunshine in the afternoon. Every once in a while there is a lighthouse or some kind of structure it not many signs of civilization. The captain announces when there are whale or porpoise sightings. We left our binoculars in the RV so need to get them in the AM. The ferry has specific hours when you can access the vehicles. 🚗.
    Dinner of Alaskan halibut, tea and biscotti after dinner. We started watching the Season 1 of Absentia that I had downloaded at home.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 9 Ketchikan AK

    15 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Summary
    Docked early AM in Ketchikan
    Breakfast at a local restaurant
    Explored the town known for its totems
    Lovely setting with boardwalks and water running through it
    A visit to the Totem Heritage Center museum
    Back to the ferry by 1PM.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 10 Juneau, AK

    16 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Day 3 on the ferry. Up and out early this AM. Our new friend Diane had done some research on what to do in Juneau. Juneau is the capital of Alaska with ~35,000 people. We had almost 5 hours in port. We decided to go to the Mendenhall Glacier, a well known tourist stop in this part of the world. We took a cab to the glacier about 5 miles from town. What a beautiful spot! A National Park in a spectacular setting and well designed for tourists with lots of space. Felt so good just to be outside and off the ship for awhile. Spent a very enjoyable 3 hours exploring the viewing areas for the Glacier, the visitor center and a nice walk to Nugget Falls, a waterfall near the glacier. Round trip 2 miles though a beautiful wooded area. Did see 2 porcupines, one up close and personal. Lots of pictures and back to the ferry. Good outing.

    Lunch and the afternoon spent catching up on the blog and significant time and frustration on a jig saw puzzle 🧩 we have started. Goal was to get it done by Whittier, thinking that is not going to happen unless there are some insomniacs that work on it all night.
    Dinner with Diane, a very interesting gal from Salt Lake City. She wrote 19 books about camping and cooking while camping. One would think, a niche market. 😂. She has traveled extensively and is now retired and still traveling. Fun to share travel stories. Another episode of Absentia and to bed.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 11 Yakatat, AK

    17 juillet 2019, Gulf of Alaska ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    A very early start to the day. Ferry was supposed to dock at 5 AM however we had some rough seas last night and were about an hour behind schedule. Yakatat is a tiny, sleepy fishing village, population ~600 with it’s claim to fame of Fat Grandma’s Cafe for breakfast. So off we went to find Fat Grandma’s. A short walk in a forested area, so green and “clean” smelling. Had rained last night. Quite the eclectic store cafe - combination eatery, general store, curio shop and lending library. 😂. Alice and Diane drank coffee while I went for a walk. Found the post office and the Glassdoor Bar, and the Liquor Store, both in the same building for convenience. Short outing as we had arrived late and back on the sea by 8:30. Last stop until our final destination tomorrow AM, Whittier, AK
    Breakfast and back to the puzzle for the morning. Alice has a short attention span for the puzzle and decided to paint. Pic #1 below is one of her products.
    A real change in scenery today. The forested hills have become snow covered mountains as we travel North and get closer to our destination. More of Mother Nature’s best.
    Had to take the puzzle down about 2/3 finished. 😱. Dinner and prep for leaving at 6 AM tomorrow. I am ready to get off this ferry! 😂😂😂    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 12 Whittier to Seward AK

    18 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Up early for 6AM departure from ferry! Alaska greeted us with sunshine and clear skies. Temp around 60. Perfect! Off the boat by 6:30 and on our way. Whittier is a small town basically the port town for Anchorage about 60 miles away. There is a 6 mile one lane tunnel to get to the main road to Anchorage or Seward. Had controlled traffic for the tunnel so had to wait there until 7AM.
    Our destination today is Seward AK on the Kenai peninsula, only about 80 miles away. The “bible” I have for navigation is The Milepost - a highly comprehensive publication that literally has information mile by mile for every road in Alaska. Finding that I can’t read the information fast enough before the sites come up. 😂. First stop is the Kenai Peninsula Visitor center however they do not open until 9 so off to look for breakfast. Found an “authentic” locals place in Girdwood - The Girdwood Picnic Table. Interesting folk about, lots of blue and pink hair. 😂

    Then to the Visitors center and a very helpful guy - Larry. Got tons of information and some good tips - a worthwhile stop. Out first tourist spot in Alaska was just down the road, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. This Center is a drive through Wildlife park focusing on the rescue and rehabilitation of large animals. You could walk and drive around your leisure and it was very interesting. Numerous spices of wildlife, lots of movies filmed here - Into the Wild - being the most popular. We went to a ranger presentation on the bears and saw several up close and personal. The park was many acres and each of the types of animals has its own section. Besides the bears, Caribou, lynx, porcupine, sitka deer, elk, moose and their biggest project - bison. Over a period of 20 years they have raised an entire herd of bison that had become almost extinct in Alaska. Just recently they released the first group of bison that they had raised. A very good gift shop and onward to Seward.
    Both of us tired today and Alice needed a power nap. I am envious of her ability to do this. We pulled off in a large turnoff and she can put her had back, close her eyes and go to sleep!!! 🙃. Luckily I spotted a trail going off into the woods as we pulled off. So I decided on my first short hike in Alaska. I was rewarded with a trailhead right across a marsh. It was a wonderful, easy path through the woods with lots of up and down but nothing difficult. (I am babying my knee on this trip). I am learning that there hiking trails almost everywhere in Alaska - a hikers paradise.
    A lovely drive to Seward with outstanding scenery, rushing rivers, quiet lakes, green trees and low mountains as well as snowy majestic mountains. Amazing. Arrived in Seward around 3 and found a campsite in an RV Park right downtown on Resurrection Bay. To the grocery store (Safeway), camp set up and some much deserved wine. Dinner at Apollo’s, Greek and Italian, good pasta. To bed early to catch up on some sleep.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 13 Seward, AK

    19 juillet 2019, Gulf of Alaska ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    A leisurely AM with some catch up on “life”as we do not have to be to the boat for our tour today until 11:30. Decided to do a Wildlife and Glacier boat trip in Kenai Fjords National Park. Cannot believe that I just got off a boat yesterday and back on a 6 hour cruise today! 😱. However we wanted to take advantage of the good weather figuring it would be a lot more enjoyable to do this trip in the sunshine.
    A very informational trip due to a Park Ranger on board for all kinds of history and detail information about the wildlife and glaciers. We left from the marina in Seward, through Resurrection Bay, out into the Gulf of Alaska and from there into Aialek (Surprise) Bay to the Holgate Glacier. Seas were calm with hazy sun and mostly clouds.
    The Holgate Glacier comes out of the Harding Ice Field which is one of the largest ice fields in the world and spawns many glaciers. We were able to get very close so some pretty good pictures.
    Then the real search for sealife. A long ride to Day Bay - not somewhere the tour was scheduled to go. However whales had been seen there the previous day. We were so very fortunate to find a pod of whales. We followed about 9 different Orca's for close to an hour. They were all around the boat and even one with a mom and baby who was practicing jumping out of the water. Really great fun. On the way back to the harbor, we got a closer look at harbor seals, sea otters and birds, puffins, kittiwakes, and common mergansers. (Mers - ducks). No eagles yet.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 14 Seward, AK

    20 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Third day in Seward. I like this town. Quiet but with all the amenities. Spent the AM cleaning up the RV and ourselves. Showering on this trip seems to be a “ project “. 😆. Off to the Alaska Sealife Center, a museum just down the road, highly recommended from several friends who have been here recently. The museum was established for the scientific study for the sustainability of sea life. They have done many well known studies and were being filmed by National Geographic when we were there. Exhibits included very interesting studies of their many projects as well as 10-15 aquariums with a range of sea life. Huge inside and outside water features with sea lions, otters and sea birds that they are rehabilitating. Lots of the exhibits were geared to kids and, since this was a Saturday, lots of them around.
    A cruise around town to check out the murals on many buildings that were highly touted and worth seeing. A stop at a very cute coffee house in a small old church. Very homey atmosphere, lots of art and things for sale, a fun find. A lunch stop at a restaurant right on the bay with outdoor seating, lovely spot.
    Spent the afternoon doing a lot of planning for the rest of our trip. As luck would have it, out next door neighbor, Tim, was a talkative soul but had been RVing 5 times around Alaska and was a font of knowledge of where to go and places to stay. Out to dinner to a restaurant we had read about and had come recommended by friends, The Cookery. Had a wait as they did not take reservations and found close by as saloon that was a fun place to wait. The food at the Cookery was great! 😊👍 Kay started to enjoy the local oysters. Soooooo good. We both had scallops which were terrific! A lazy, fun, day of tourism.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 15 Seward to Homer

    21 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    There was one more thing we wanted to do before leaving Seward, the Seward Dog Sled Training Center. We scheduled this early so we could do the dog sled ride and still get to Homer where we will be for the next 3-4 days.
    The Iditerod dog sled race is held annually the first Saturday in March. The race is 1000 miles from Anchorage to Nome, AK. Just outside of Seward is a place where they train dogs for this race. The tour was fascinating and included a 45 minute ride through the forest pulled by 14 dogs! Great fun. The information about the Iditerod, the preparation of these dogs and the mushers was fascinating. The fellow who runs this training camp for the dogs and mushers has won the Iditarod 3 times, last in 2017. We got to see and play with some of the new puppies as well. Lots of movie filming done here as well. A really fun morning.
    Off to Homer, AK about 160 miles from Seward. Beautiful scenery the entire way. We traveled from one side of the Kenai penensula to the other. Several stops along the way. First a pottery place in the potter's home shortly out of Seward. Lovely setting and some very different pottery. Kay bought a piece. Next a stop at Moose Pass, a quirky little village with an old time general store and a trading post with a talking moose. 😂. Light lunch and on our way. A couple afternoon rest stops for Alice's power nap and Kay out for a walk. Seems like wherever you pull off the road there is some kind of hiking trail. My kind of place. 😀
    Pulled into our Homer campground around 6:30 PM. We are on the Homer spit, a long skinny peninsula that juts into the Gulf of Alaska. We are at a beachfront campground with water on both sides of us. Quite the spectacular place. A part of the spit is quite touristy in an Alaskan way. Tons of charter boats, fishing and ferry docks along with shops, saloons, and restaurants. Fun place to walk around. We had our cocktail hour in the RV and then to a restaurant on the spit for dinner. More very good local oysters.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 16 Homer & Seldovia, AK

    22 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    Up and out to catch the ferry from the Homer spit for Seldovia at 11AM. Seldovia is a village across Kachemak Bay, a 45 minute ferry ride and has been recommended by several friends. Wonderful weather today, sunshine and a high of 65. My type of weather. Arrived by noon and started a walk around the town, a small community park, a boardwalk with shops and restaurants and flowers in bloom everywhere. So pretty. Did a bit of shopping in great nursery (think plants) and eclectic gift shop. Then a leisurely lunch on a hotel deck with water views in every direction. After lunch, Kay off for a short real hike and Alice to paint. A trail at the end of town was marked as intermediate on the map. Trail went 1.5 miles across a beautiful wooded area to Bay on the other side of this peninsula. It was a lovely hike, quite a few people on the well marked trail. Also a good test to see how my knee will hold up with some real up and down. Loved being out on my own for awhile, not much alone time in an RV. 🙃. Did about 3.5 miles, knee held up well, will see what tonight brings. Met Alice and we walked to a small Russian Orthodox church, a bit more around town and back to the ferry for a 4:30 departure. A really good afternoon.
    Lots of recommendations to go to the Salty Dog Saloon in Homer. We were ready for a beer after our ferry ride so off we went. What a fun place!! Money (bills) hanging all over the bar. Amazing. Pics do not do it credit. We got a seat at the bar and enjoyed the "vibe". Picked up some fish and chips (salmon) and took home for dinner. An early evening and to bed.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 17 Homer

    23 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    A short note today. A "work" day and a day off from tourism. We decided to stay another 2 nights here as there is a lot to see and do and we need a "day off". Did all the maintenance stuff today. Cleaned the RV, did laundry, went to the grocery, got gas, and went to the ATM. I said tonight when we were putting everything away, "everything is clean but us". No time for a shower. 😆. Special dinner tonight. Fresh halibut from the dock. Homer is the Halibut capital of the world! Pictures today are some from other days for "catch up".En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 18

    24 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    A day to explore Homer. First off to the Oceans and Islands Visitor Center. Much more than the usual visitors center - a mini museum, nature walks, lectures, etc. Enjoyable several hours. Then to check out Old Town Homer. Not to much there except a well publicized bakery - Two Sisters. A fun stop for lunch - great baked goods and good sandwiches. Onward to checkout a winery - Bear Creek. All of their wines made from berries. Tasting for 8 wines - $5. 😂. They had 2 types of wines - those blended with grapes and those just berries. Alcohol content from 8-17%. Wines OK. I would consider all as a desert wine. Bought a bottle of my favorite, Black Current. Alice bought a bottle of Port.
    Then a ride to checkout the hills around the town. The fireweed is in full bloom. And sooooo beautiful. A friend of a friend of Alice's told her about the hills on the other side of the mountain. Spectacular scenery with the fireweed covering the hillsides. Next off to the Pratt Museum, a local museum to Alaskan art and culture. I begged off of this one for a nap instead. ( Missed some sleep last night). Alice enjoyed. And one more stop at the Farmers Market which was just closing down and we did not see much.
    So a full-day of tourism, back to campground. Had had some rain last night but cleared this after noon and now sunshine at 9:30PM. Have gotten used to the many hours of daylight. Love the long days. Just wear a sleep mask at night.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 19 Homer to Skilak Lake

    25 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Leaving Homer today with good memories but ready for a new adventure. Destination today is somewhere around Soldotna, about half way to Anchorage. We do not have reservations all I called said first come, first serve so off we go. If worst comes to worst, there are always Target parking lots.
    Sightseeing today - 2 planned stops. Anchor Point and Ninilchik - both small villages along the coast. Anchor Point first. This whole area is fishing, all kinds of salmon, steelhead and trout. Rivers and lakes everywhere. At Anchor Point we looked for the sign, "the most Westerly highway in the US". Found it, picture below. Out to the beach t and watched the fishing boats in and out for awhile. On our way back to the RV we found our first geocache of the trip!! Easy to find - really always amazes me that you can play that game anywhere in the world. Then saw a gal taking a picture of something up in a tree. And there were 2 bald eagles!! Have been looking for them, saw one in Homer but at a distance. These were very close and content to stay put through all of our picture taking. A fun stop.
    On to Ninilchik. The draw here is an old Russian Orthodox Church. The church was on a lovely bluff overlooking the sea with a volcanic ridge of mountains across the cove. Just beautiful! This area was first settled by the Athabascan native Americans. They were booted out, first by the Russians there for the fur trading, and later by the Americans. A lot of native Russian interbreeding resulted in a mixed race of which there are still folk living in the area today. There are several Russian Orthodox churchs in the area still used today. Then a quick trip through "old Ninilchik" - mostly abandoned homes in a beautiful setting.
    A stop at a cute coffee shop and on to find a place for the night. We tried at a large campground in Soldotna but we did not like it. So we took a chance on campgrounds around a large lake about 40 miles away. Lake Skilak. And after 7 miles of gravel road, here we are! Have a wonderful spot - all the sites are separated from the others. And they are free!!! I am a very happy camper tonight. I now know what "dry" camping. No hook ups for water, sewer, or electricity. Alice's RV can do all that without hook ups. The days are so long we seldom need lights anyway. Back to civilization tomorrow - next stop Anchorage.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 20 Skilak Lake to Anchorage

    26 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Our first rainy day, not heavy just "dripping" on and off all day. Loved our "in the woods by the lake" campground. Left early in search of a good breakfast. Ended up at Coopers Landing - great food and Kay appreciated - no cooking and no dishes. 👍 😂
    Destination today is Anchorage about 100 miles. First stop along the way is a little "off the beaten track" village - Hope, AK. Hope was one of the original Alaskan gold rush towns in the 1800's. However gold mining was short lived there as the Klondike rush was much more lucrative. Now Hope is an historic town with many well preserved tiny houses (now B & B's). Wildflowers abound. Also the same number of dilapidated buildings to add character. As we have seen in most of Alaska, the big sport in the town is fishing. A river flows into the Turnagain Arm of the Gulf of Alaska and the shores were teeming with fisher people. We found out later that the catch is pink salmon. Fishing was good. We watched several being caught just standing there for 10 minutes. An interesting find and away from the tourist trail.
    On to Anchorage with stops for gas (gas really not too expensive - by California standards - has always been under $3/gallon), the Visitor's Center for some more tourist information about the area for which we are heading.
    Arrived at our campground in Anchorage around 6PM. We are camped in Centennial Park, with a large forest all around with walking paths. 😀👍. A walk in the woods before cocktail hour, dinner "in" and to bed.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 21 Anchorage

    27 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Up and out for the most important thing of the day - nails! 🤣. After much research we found a place near to us. Nails at California prices but not as good. Then a quick stop at Target - we broke Alice's French Press coffee maker and trying to replace. No luck.
    Tourism next - went to 2 Saturday markets - one very close to where we are staying - interesting as it was all Vietnamese farmers, tons of great looking green vegetables. Lots of good smelling Vietnamese food as well. The second market had some crafts as well as one artist we both liked. Alice bought some gift cards. Growing season is short here so fresh markets are well attended. All have flowers, especially peonies. Then to downtown Anchorage to take the Trolley tour around the city. Walked around the center of the city area - the usual tourist shops, restaurants (quite a few breweries) and flowers everywhere! Really lovely hanging baskets on the many of the streets. Stopped for a good lunch at a lively bar/pub - F Station. Kay had a salmon salad with a very large portion of salmon. Alice, the halibut sandwich. The Trolley tour was great, a very knowledgeable driver, lots of Alaskan history. Much rhetoric about the 1964 earthquake which was a 9.2 !!! Also the WWII history, especially in the Aleutian islands.
    Back "home" - a walk in the woods for Kay and an attempt to find a geocache without success. Back to get Alice to help find another one which we did! 👍. Second geocache of the trip. Minimal dinner tonight as we had a big late lunch. Internet, another episode of Absentia and bed.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 22 Anchorage

    28 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    Beginning the fourth week of our trip.
    First stop today was the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Definitely a worthwhile visit. A different type of museum. Exhibits were 6 different full size different native tribe houses built around a lake. Each had someone to explain the building and the differences in the cultures. In the main building there were performances going on on continuously. We watched 2 of them - one on native sports and one on native dance, both most interesting. Also in an auditorium, movies played each 1/2 hour about some aspect of native life. In addition they had lecturers leading tours of the homes talking about different aspects of each culture. In another area vendors with all types of native crafts; jewelry,art,woven goods, ulu knives, etc. An interesting couple hours.
    A lovely botanical garden rounded out our activities for the day. A large area broken up into smaller gardens with different themes. Interesting art as well. We meandered through the paths and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Met another couple from Salt lake City who knew the gal, Diane, we met on the cruise!! Small world.
    Out for Thai food tonight, wrong restaurant choice. 👎    En savoir plus

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  • Kay's TravelsAlaskaVoyageur
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    Alaska Day 23 Anchorage Day Trip

    29 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Off today for an outing we have been wanting to do since our first day here. We are taking a train to a glacier and then raft down the lake and river created by the glacier. Drove about an hour south of Anchorage with a couple stop along the way. First the Beluga viewing point along Turnagain Arm (AKA) Pacific Ocean, viewing area is there for seeing Beluga (white) whales. However it was low tide and if there were whales around, they were far away. 😖. Then a quick stop at Indian Valley meats where they process fresh meat (caribou, buffalo, elk, venison, moose, etc) and fish and have it for sale as well as the obligatory gift shop. We left with some buffalo sausage and caribou jerky. Oh yes, and one more stop for a speeding ticket as we were rushing to get to the train on time. :-(

    Arrived at the train station which is also the visitors center for these parts. Tall rubber boots provided for all. (All too big 😀). Train ride through the beautiful wilderness about 25 minutes and we arrived at the Chugach National Forest, Spencer Glacier stop. We took a couple mile bus ride from there to the trail head for the Spencer Glacier. An awesome sight, lots of icebergs in the lake in front of the glacier made it seem almost surreal. After our safety briefing (what to do if you fall into the 34 degree water - answer: most likely die 😂) 8 in each of 4 rafts. We spent about 30 minutes on Spencer lake and then another hour and a half down the Placer River. Absolutely stunning. Incredible scenery for 2 hours! 🌲💧🌊. Peaceful and serene. Not much in the way of rapids, a few that might have reached class 2 - primarily a meandering river and a skillful gal rower. Pulled into a spot just by the rail lines and were picked up. Wonderful afternoon.
    Back to Anchorage; pasta for dinner.    En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 24 Anchorage to Talkeetna

    30 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    A lazy AM, getting ready to move today. Destination: Talkneeta about 100 miles North and half way to Denali. Alice has been having problems with the accessory batteries of the RV not holding a charge. So off to an RV repair place in Anchorage. Turned out to be quite the big deal. Two of four of the batteries had not been replaced as requested a few months ago. 🤬 For lunch I went into the RV, got some ham, cheeses and bread and we ate our "picnic lunch" in the parts department. 🤣. While waiting in the afternoon, I went for walk - as usual in Alaska - a walking/biking path across the street. Trail ran along Ship Creek and was full of salmon swimming up stream!). Amazing - all kinds f salmon, King, pink and sockeye. Second picture below is the salmon in the water (Look closely). After 6 hours, we were on our way to Talkeenta - fortunately only about 100 miles away. About 50 miles up the road we are stopped at a stoplight and some fellow is beeping his horn at us on the driver's side. He hollered to Alice that we had lost a hub cap, he had retrieved it and asked us to pull aside to give it to us !!!!! Can you believe it ? However the RV has 4 tires in the back and from the hub cap coming loose it had broken the extender on the air valve between the 2 tires an both were going flat! The fellow know of a tire place nearby, looked it up for us and said they closed at 6PM. It was 5:50. We arrived at 5:56. The fellow worked overtime to get us going by putting air in the tires and new valves in both tires. AND did not charge us anything!!! Amazing. Needless to say we were highly grateful and back on the road by 6:45. Arrived at our campground in Talkeenta at 7:45 and wine never tasted so good🤣. Heated up some soup and bed. What a day.En savoir plus

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    Alaska Day 25 Talkeenta

    31 juillet 2019, États Unis ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Out to spend our day checking out Talkeetna. Breakfast out this AM in the Talkeenta Roadhouse - a place we had read about where mountaineers from all over the world congregate when preparing to tackle the climbing of Denali. Talkeetna is called the Gateway to Denali. Restaurant was family style dining and we ate with a fun family from Utah and Colorado. They had previously lived for 2 years in Barrow, AK. Pic below is that family. After breakfast we walked about town for several hours checking out shops, the Cannibis store 🤣 (no purchases). Several large rivers converge at the end of town and form the major river of the area - the Susitna. Spent some time at a coffee house working on our planning for Denali and beyond. We do not have reservations at Denali so will do first come, first served. However so as not to have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there - about 130 miles away - we made a reservation at a campground right outside the park for tomorrow night.
    Back to campground - Alice doing laundry and Kay going for a short hike. A 3+ mile walk on a trail that followed one of the rivers. A nice brisk walk, no hills. Have been wanting to try out my knee on some hills, that will need to wait until Denali.
    Lots of restaurant choices here, chose the Wildflower, and it was very good. Lots of outside seating and live music. Ran into our 'family" from breakfast at the ice cream place after dinner. It's a small town.    En savoir plus

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