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Alaska

July - August 2019
Off for and RV trip to Alaska for 6-7 weeks. Traveling with friend Alice who owns the RV. Read more
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  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 21

    Alaska Day 21 Anchorage

    July 27, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 22

    Alaska Day 22 Anchorage

    July 28, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 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. 👎    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    1
    Day 23

    Alaska Day 23 Anchorage Day Trip

    July 29, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 24

    Alaska Day 24 Anchorage to Talkeetna

    July 30, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 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.Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 25

    Alaska Day 25 Talkeenta

    July 31, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 26

    Alaska Day 26 Talkeetna to Denali

    August 1, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Weather turning rainy this AM and weather at Denali not looking great - wet and cold. 😆. We had an RV breakfast and buttoned up the vehicle for travel. We are getting synchronized with the proces and it does not take long anymore. Destination is Denali Park entrance about 130 miles away. Stopped at a Birch (tree) products store, got gas and groceries and on our way out of Talkeetna.
    One stop at a Denali Viewing point however weather increasingly lousy so one had to have a good imagination to see the mountain. Arrived at Park entrance in the rain around 3:30. Learned our way around, picked up some brochures and watched 2 movies on Denali. One was on backpacking. Backpacking here is a whole different experience than I ever thought of backpacking. The park is 6 million acres!! Experienced backpackers just takes off from the one road (or fly in). There are no trails and wild animals everywhere. Navigational skills are critical. Amazing! Lots of hard core hikers around.
    Found our campground a mile from the Park entrance. A tourist area with hotels, restaurants, and shops. We checked out some shops, had dinner "in", watched the final episode of Absentia and to bed,.    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 27

    Alaska Day 27 Denali National Park

    August 2, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 50 °F

    Another rainy day but we have made reservations for the 11AM bus tour of Denali. It goes rain or shine. Breakfast, shower ($5)!! and out to get a lunch to take on the bus. First in line for the bus so we got good seats. There is only one road in Denali, it goes for 90 miles. Again, this Park is 6 million acres!!! Cars are only allowed for the first 15 miles. We chose the bus tour that goes to the 66 mile point. Scheduled for 8 hours! Primarily it is information, looking for wildlife, and, of course, views of Denali. No way to see Denali today in this weather. 🙃. Denali is the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 ft. Mountaineers come from all over the world to climb the mountain. 1200+ climbers summited Denali in their climbing season this year which is in May and June. The park exists to conserve the natural state of the environment. Protection of the animals is of utmost importance. The most prominent wildlife are bears - grizzly and black -, moose, caribou, wolves, and dall sheep. Our first wildlife sighting was a moose in the trees not far from the road. Mountain all socked in and hard to see very far. Did see quite a few caribou. Several stops along the way for stretching legs, bathrooms and always something different to see. Got to the end of our line - mile 66 - the Eielson Visitors center. A lovely new building built into the landscape. We had a half hour break there, raining so watched a movie on the climbing of Denali. When we got out, the rain has stopped and weather had started to clear. Large viewing spot for Denali and one could almost make out the lower slopes.
    On out return we had much better weather and lots more wildlife. Saw lots of caribou, another moose and finally I got to see the bears. We saw 2 different sets of them - both grizzlys - albeit a ways away. Could see quite well with the binoculars. Amazing how fast they can move!
    Back by 7 PM and glad to get off the bus but would recommend the ride to anyone. Spectacular scenery in every direction - even with the rain. Home for soup and salad dinnerand an early bedtime.    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 28

    Alaska Day 28 Denali to Fairbanks

    August 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    Yes!!!! Crossed another one off my bucket list! Hiked in Denali today! Overcast morning but not raining. A short hike but to a beautiful area near the entrance to the park - Horseshoe Lake. The bus driver yesterday touted this area as a place for waterfowl, moose and beavers. Alice left me off and went to paint while I hiked. An easy 3 mile walk in the woods to a beautiful lake. See pics. Only wildlife I saw was a snow hare, we had seen one yesterday and the bus driver corrected me when I called it a rabbit!! 🙃. But the best site was a spectacular beaver dam. Amazing architecture!
    So then this happened........ I walked back to where Alice was parked in the RV. As I am taking the big step up into the cab, I had my bear spray in the pocket of my jacket and I advertently hit the lever which set it off!!! 🤬👎🤪. That stuff is really vile! Alice got a strong inhale of it and could not breathe right away. Both of us coughing like crazy - we were quite the site for the other folks in the parking lot. After we aired everything out for awhile, I cleaned up the van and bagged my clothes, then it started to be pretty funny. My best comment was. " Never a dull moment!"
    Off for Fairbanks. 130 miles North. The rain really started to come down and we just drove until we were about 5 miles from Fairbanks. Had seen a write up on a jewelry designer - Judie Gumm - whose studio was really off the beaten path. A brief visit, lovely jewelry but not to my taste. Lots of animals/birds. But her studio was in a lovely setting in the woods
    Arrived at the campground which we really like. 👍. Space between sites, grass and trees, and all of the amenities that I have come to think of as necessities in RV travel. Dinner of pasta "in", a walk along the river right out out door and some planning for the next phase of our trip.    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 29

    Alaska Day 29 Fairbanks

    August 4, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Starting the 5th week of our trip. After Fairbanks, everything will bring us closer to home. (Now about 3,000 miles away) 😅. Plan today was to do to the State Fair however we woke up to rain so will put that off for awhile. Off to the highly recommended Morris Cultural and Visitors Center. A great stop, much more than a visitor center. Tons of information, knowledgeable staff, excellent exhibits on the different native tribes of Alaska and an excellent movie on bears. Lots of art, sculptures in a very modern building. We spent a couple hours there.
    A stop for lunch at the Fudge Pot, weather has cleared so off to the Tanana Valley State Fair.
    What fun! A midway with all of the usual games and stuffed teddies to win. All kinds of food and tons of exhibits. We went to a "fahion show" which was hilarious. It was a sewing competition divided into age groups. The first 11 year old had made a skirt for her sister who was the model. (About 6). The judges went thru the whole routine, quarter turns, deliberation, and the final vote. The sister got the blue ribbon!! She was ecstatic, jumping up and down. 😂. Then they said, that was the only entry in this age group!!! 🤣🤣🤣. Hoping someone tells her that story when she is 21.
    Gave up on the fair and home for cocktail hour and a walk to a restaurant nearby for dinner. Excellent King crab cakes, maybe the best I have ever had. Alice had stroganoff and liked hers as well. Another good day.    Read more

  • TravelerAlaska
    Day 30

    Alaska Day 30 Fairbanks

    August 5, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 59 °F

    Out this AM to get the tire air valves replaced and hub cap put back on. Done relatively easily before noon. And less than $50 ! Then to Starbucks for some planning time for the remainder of our trip. We have changed our minds several times and now again. We have heard many people talk about Valdez so have decided to go there next. But first we are going to do one more day in this area, going to some highly touted hot springs about 60 miles NE of Fairbanks. Should be fun. We splurged for a hotel room as well!! First night out of the RV. Then to Valdez about 700 miles south on the coast. After that Haines, maybe Skagway, and then wander home. Currently thinking we might go "the log way" down thru Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff. Will see how the timing goes. Nice to be able to make changes as we go.
    Our tourism choice for today was the Creamers Field - A Migratory waterfowl refuge. On first appearance it is a very large open space with some big birds in the fields. However lots more going on here. We stopped in the visitor center to check out what was going on. We were lucky enough to run into one of the fellows who leads the guided tours in the mornings - Bud. Bud wanted to go back out to check on the sandhill cranes, (the big birds), and invited us to go along. So we had our own personal tour of the entire place. Essentially there are open fields and forest that are a refuge for all types of waterfowl. Bud took us on a mile and a half walk through the fields and forest with a running commentary for an hour and a half! Very interesting! Lots about the types of waterfowl and wildlife but even more about the forest and the land, how the permafrost affects the ground, etc. We learned a lot and enjoyed it. We saw several dozen sandhill cranes, all at a distance. They just started to arrive last week. By the end of the month they will have about 4,000 cranes there for about a month. They plant fields just to feed them and have a festival as well. Who knew?
    A much needed grocery run and back to the RV for dinner in.    Read more

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