Trip to Hallibut Cove

Here we were waiting for the Danny J. The rain didn't dampen our spirits....just put on the rain suits and keep going.
This is a view of Hallibut Cove as we come into their harbor.
Another beautiful view of the harbor
That huge piece of sand jutting out into the Kemchak Bay (I'm sure I spelled that wrong....but don't feel like looking it up right now) is what they call the Homer SPIT. Real touresty. This view is when we were comming over the pass on the way down to Homer
And here is the Danny J; the trusty little boat that got us to Hallibut Cove through wind and storm
Y Yup....that guy doubled over is freezing....
And here is the hourdourv that I had. Isn't it beautiful; it's salmon pate'
And this is the terrace, or whatever, that we ate on. It was wonderful in front of the fire.

July 16, 2008

The day at Anchor Point began at 54 degrees, cloudy & windy. It was misty all day; not a great day for doing stuff. We knocked around most of the day until 4 p.m. when we drove back down to the Homer Spit for our trip on the Danny J out to Hallibut Cove. We got to the “Spit” early so that we could find a camping spot. Turned out that it was about a mile from the dock that the Danny J was to leave from. The day continued to be positively yucky, weather-wise…but nice, relaxed & fun in the long run.
The Danny J left port on time; the trip to the Hallibut Cove was windy, rainy and cold. We had been advised by the person at the visitor center to make reservations for the 6 p.m. seating at the Saltry, the only restaurant on the island. A funny thing I noted when I got off the boat, was that a dog, a dingo, that we had seen on the dock in Homer Spit, had not come on our boat, but yet met us at the dock in Hallibut Cove. (Go figure....) So, we proceeded to cuddle down at the outdoor fire-pit at the restaurant and enjoy meal, which is noted for being totally home made from scratch, even down to the dishes made by the local artists. The entrées were even garnished with fresh nasturtiums from the deck. I will have pictures of these on the blog; they were beautiful. I must have looked stupid taking pictures of everything we ate (lol).
After dinner we took a walk on the boardwalk…not to be deterred by the continuing rain. We saw some kids out in the bay, in wet suits, paddling around on a surfboard, took pictures of flowers and the surroundings. It was loads of fun. There are about 20 people who live year round on the island.
The return trip to the “Spit” was just as cold and wet as the trip to the island…just not quite as windy. We saw Gull Island up close (a mound of rock in the Bay totally inhabited by thousands of sea gulls (!), saw some bald eagles, puffins, loons….and perhaps a spare bird or two….
The walk back to the camper was long and wet. We rocked & rolled all night because of the gale winds and we didn’t put the legs of the camper down. I thought it felt like being rocked to bed on a boat.

Wednesday, July 17; leaving the Kenai

We left the rain and clouds of the Kenai and drove to Wasilla again…only to find out that the whole state is being rained on…It’s raining in Anchorage and Wasilla, too. A short pit stop to shower and wash cloths at our friends home; a wonderful dinner of halibut that Chris caught and John cooked on charcoal. Yuuuummmmmy. Tomorrow we head for Copper River. There, at some point we will meet Chris’s two sisters there.

So, until we “connect” again…

July 16; Fishing for Hallibut

Saw these little cuties just after we arrived. Their girls have been trying to get some of their chickens to set on eggs....no luck; they didn't even know that this one made a nest in the horse corral and was setting on her own nest....until out she came yesterday strutting her little brood.
Then here's the goat that thinks he should live in the house since that's where he lived his first few months.
Hi knocks on the back door and wants some treats; turns his nose up at Fritos....just likes Doritos!

Chris wants you to believe that this is his....what do you think? The young lady in the group, never fished before got this one. Would ya believe??? Chris is holding one of his.
Another view similar to the one I put up last time from Oceanview Campground. Isn't this rough looking at this when you wake up in the morning? Sure wish I could give you some pictures with the beautiful blue sky with the mountains....but blue sky is in short supply here in Homer. Locals are telling us that it is unusually cool here. (How's that for global warming???) But this weather suits me just fine (except for wanting to take some pics of the mountains w/ blue sky behind them). It's about 52 today and drizzly.

July 14; tooling around Homer; East End Road

It was 60 degrees and overcast when we launched out at 8:45 am. We took a road called the East End Road to an absolutely stunning view of the mountains across the Kachemack Bay. We went high on the bluffs over the bay. Then went down to the “spit” again to see where our Danny J. Tour to Hallibut Cove leaves on Wednesday evening. Half looked for a camp site on the way, but decided to wait until we get off the boat at 10 p.m. to see where the spirit moves us. Tommy will sleep the whole time, no matter where she is.
We then headed down to Ninilchik where Chris has his halibut charter tomorrow. Stopped for beautiful views of where the gold rush began, Anchor Point. Nice view across the Cook Inlet active volcano that erupted last in 1953. We could see, but it was way to cloudy and overcast to take pictures. Sure wish we had some blue sky sometime (!) so that we could get some good mountain pictures. Took a walk on the beach; noted that this whole town makes its livelihood from fishing charters; or else they are tourists fishing; or subsistence fishing (living on fishing for personal food). We stopped by King’s Run Charters to confirm tomorrow’s charter. Today’s charter was just getting in and each guy got about 20-25# of filets. Not bad!
We are spending the night in the yard of the charter owner. He takes his boat out of the water each day (they all do). He has a yellow lab that was defending his “turf” and Tommy had the fright of her life….yelped for 10 minutes; thought she had a chunk out of her….but was just scared to death. I guess we spoiled her. After that she looks both ways before jumping out of the camper….

July 15; Hallibut fishing charter; Ninilchik, AK

Chris was up bright and early for the 6:30 departure time. Before I awoke I heard the crowing of the rooster, and some clomping on wood. A few hours later, I saw the goat walking around on the porch of the house. Yup, she was trying to go in the front door before anybody was awake. They told me that the goat was raised from a baby in the house. She still thinks that she should be in there.
The fishing group left right on time. Sipping my coffee as they left, Larry’s wife, Susan, invited me in for another cup of coffee. We sat there for quite a while chatting about families, home schooling that she does with her daughters, and other cosmic matters of the universe. Time flew. What a great place to raise young folks. A goat that tries to invade the house, a mother hen and her seven chicks pecking about the yard horses in the corral…then I see Susan outside with her shotgun! Is she after theH bear that was here two nights ago???? No, she’s out after the magpies that will attack the little chicks! Nobody to be messed with, I surmise.
The guys got back from fishing around 2:30; cleaned & packaged the fish. We were on the road at 4 p.m. & stopped by the processing plant to have them frozen & shipped. Chris shipped 13# of fish. We then drove to Anchor Point (about 20 miles) and set camp in a State campground. Very pretty; most of the campers here are down on the river fishing for salmon that are running right now.

July 16; back to Homer

We left Anchor Point campground this am about 9:30. I even saw a bald eagle while I was walking Tommy; of course, no camera with me. Tonight is our 1 hour long cruise to Hallibut Cove, a small island. It has no streets, just an artist community and one restaurant. We have dinner reservations and will return about 10 p.m. It should be pretty cold out on the water today....brrrrr.

So, until we "connect" again....

July 13; Homer, Halibut capitol of Alaska

How's this for a view out our window???? It's the view we have from the Oceanview RV Park. We could never get used to views like this....it's stunning.

This is a glacier, also across the Kachemak Bay...Wosnesenski Glacier. Is that a Russian or Polish glacier? Just try to say it fast 10 times.

This may be the only moose we will see. People keep telling us that they see dozens; they positively guarantee it! We've seen a handfull, and most of them are on the yellow signs that say "MOOSE CROSSING"

This sign was in the village of Kenai, at the lake. I hope it shows up so you can read it. But it is the nicest way I've ever seen to tell people to pick up after themselves....

Kenai Lake....isn't it beautiful

Another view of Kenai Lake....could never get enough of this.

This is Petersen Lake....we camped here. Awesome view; no trout.

July 11;

left Hope at 11 a.m. It was overcast and 56 degrees. We had met some folks from Ohio who had son in Granger, IN. If ya talk to enough people, you always meet somebody who knows somebody….right?
Heading towards Homer on the Sterling Hwy, which cuts across the Kenai. Awesome vistas, mountains, rivers & lakes; Chris saw a moose calf. Couldn’t get enough of the view. Kenai Lake gave me some beautiful pictures; I’ll post some of them. Then we followed the Kenai River for a while and considered some of the campsites. We finally camped, after a whopping 73 miles today and 3 hours traveling with lots of stops to take pictures, on Peterson Lake, a little out of the way public campground about half way across the Sterling Hwy to Soldotna. Chris tried to land some trout for dinner…no luck. And I was just itching to grill them.
And, now that we are further south, it’s now starting to get “dark-ish” at night now….I do like that.

July 12; Saturday; Clam Gulch State Park

We drove a whoppin’ 50 miles today. We got started about 10 a.m., to a beautiful partly cloudy day of 53 degrees. We drove to Soldatna, where Karen Lynn’s daughter, Paige, had her corgi dog in agility competition. That was loads of fun to watch. I saw an Italian greyhound that just loved me and jumped right up on my lap. Needless to say she won my heart.
When Paige was done with her competition we left and started out again toward Homer. Beautiful day that it is, we didn’t want to spend it driving…and stopped in an hour or so at Clam Gulch State Park….right on the Cook Inlet. Don’t especially want to clam, OR clean them, but we have the most beautiful view of the Inlet right out our door. Would be an awesome place for a picture window in a house!??? Took a walk down on the water front; lots of people w/ shacks or trailers there. Definitely didn’t look like over-night camping. They were fishing with big nets. We think that they are living by “subsistence”; something you can apply for if you want to “live off the land” like do all your food with fishing and hunting.

July 13, Homer, Alaska
We were on the road by 7:45 am and it was 61degrees; rainy. We went to bed early last night…consequently we woke up early. Ain’t it rough?
Got to Ninilchik, an old community that begun when Russia still owned Alaska. Drove out to see the Russian Orthodox Church. Wasn’t comfortable to go inside because it had a sign on the gate : “If you have relatives here (i.e. in the cemetery) you are welcome.” I kind of felt that we might not be.
Stopped and got an espresso at a drive-through (one of hundreds that dot Alaska everywhere!). They are about the size of a van and you can find them anywhere. Alaskans drink more coffee than any other state. I kind of surmise it’s because when they have their 24 hours of sun, they need the coffee to keep themselves going…because they are very active till quite late…like I heard stories of some folks mowing their lawn at 11
p.m., forgetting that it was too late to mow lawn. Then in the 22+ hours of darkness in the winter, they must need the coffee to get themselves going when their body says it’s night. Really must mess up the rhythm of the body…
We had looked for a Catholic Church on our Garmen…nowhere close. Then just 100 feet down the road, presto, there was a church. And of course people were still driving in. Skidded in to a very nice little church. They didn’t have a priest there today, but they had a Communion Service. Place was packed.
Then on down the road toward. Shopped a little. Loads of campers and people. Very many more than we saw in Seward.
We are camping right on Katchemak Bay (note another Russian name?). Awesome view of the Bay; AND there are showers here J
Raining again. Has been drippy all day. Stopped in a restaurant for a halibut dinner for lunch. Of course, one never has room for dessert when you go out for dinner…so we decided to go out for dessert instead of supper. Works for me!
After lunch we went to the “Alaska Islands & Ocean Visitor Center”. Saw a lot about the largest seabird refuge in the world…along the Aleutian Islands…very interesting…
Chris has his charter to go halibut fishing on Tuesday out of Ninilchek; he’s looking forward to that.So, until we “connect” again…

July 10….”On the Road Again”

Dean, this one's for you....
Down town hope campground w/ bar where the "jam" was in the background
John & Karen, our hosts....had such fun!
Turnagain Arm (strange name?)
Yup....Hope on the banks of Resurrection Creek
Social Hall

We departed our friends about 10 a.m. after pictures, plenty of coffee, more laughs, and filling our water tank with nice, fresh mountain water. We made a couple grocery stops and then set our Garmen for Hope, Alaska. It is supposed to be one of the best preserved gold mining towns in southern Alaska. It was 56 degrees and overcast. We stopped for some beautiful pictures along Turnagain Arm. Strange name for a long body of water on the north side of the Kenai, between the Kenai and Anchorage. It looks like it empties into or gets water from the Cook Inlet. Anyway, the pictures turned out beautiful, but the water did not have the reflection of the mountains from the other side, like I saw yesterday. Perhaps on our way back.
We arrived in Hope about 4 p.m. after driving around in it…all of it…in about 10 minutes. Beautiful, quaint, log cabins. In the museum (all of these old towns seem to have a museum to document their interesting pasts) the lady told me that the town SANK 10-15 feet (!!) after the Good Friday, 1964 earthquake, so the tide came right up on main street and people had to take to boats. This town is on Resurrection Creek, which is only a matter of 40 feet from Turnagain Arm, which just happens to have one of the world’s most remarkably high tides. The lead of the tide (“bore” they call it) moving rapidly through a constricted opening like the Turnagain Arm from the Cook Inlet, can cause a foaming wall of water possibly reaching a height of 6 feet surging down Turnagain Arm. John & Karen told us that it is really a sight to see. Now I know when the low tide is in Anchorage, add 2 hours 15 min. + minutes to travel south and I’ll watch for it this morning! (writing this blog on Fri. am, July 10)
Turning again to Hope. It has its school which last year had 7 students in it. The Board of Education says that if they don’t have 10 students this year they will close the school. L The town has a still used social hall (c. 1902) and, of course, the usual restaurant and bar…which had a jam night last night. This little burg was really hopping (we’re right next to the bar camping); nice country and rock music. AND the street was lined with cars; can’t imagine where they all came from.
Until we "connect" again...

July 9; Day Trip To Seward

Today we decided, while still visiting our friends in Wasilla, to take a day trip to Seward on the Kenai Penninsula. It was about a 3 hour trip, after we got our iced coffee drink....the scenery was beautiful, even stupendous, but Chris wanted me to take a lot of the pictures tomorrow when we launch out again on our own to the Kenai, Seward, and Homer. (I waited, so you'll have to wait too. Don't know what happened with the underlining, but can't seem to get rid of it.) This first picture actually goes later down the blog, but I missed it.....so here it is and you can see we're having fun.
If you look real hard at this picture, you will see a white spot up towards the top of the rock. That's a Dal Sheep that we saw on the way to Seward. This picture is of a sea otter eating while floating on his back. It's not very close....but it's the best I can do.

After walking the ENTIRE length of Seward, we had to have hallibut chips and topped off by some ice cream cones. The day was beautiful; about 53 degrees and breezy. We loved every minute. This is a good picture of Karen Lynn, my friend. Known her since before we were married. She even gave Chris the idea of what kind of wedding ring to go buy for me. That means we go waaaaaaay back.

I'm told that the tourism is so way off in Homer because of the gas prices. She told us that it would be totally packed with people on an ordinary summer day; we saw sparce people, saw many boats for sale, not lots of tour buses. Kind of sad to see what's happening to ordinary people.

Seward is the beginning of the Iditarod....wow

would that be fun to watch!

Tomorrow Chris and I are leaving our 1 week respite visiting Karen Lynn, John, Paige & Lyle (her daughter & son-in-law) and the grandkids. The clothes are clean, camper floor and rug washed, fresh water in the tank, the remnants of the blood bath from the mosquito attacks are washed from the walls. And once again, don't know when we'll be in touch again with internet. But I will post as soon as we have internet.

So, until we "connect" again...

Just Chillin'....July 7; Wasilla, Alaska

We arrived here last Thursday, after driving all the way from the Denali Hwy, about 240 miles. This home is in the town just north of Anchorage (actually takes about 1 hr. to get to Anchcorage from here). Our friend Karen Lynn and her friend, John Sumrall live here; they built it 2 yrs. ago. This house has a unique location in that many folks in this area own planes, and have their plans right in their in hangars in their yards ....and taxi right down the road to the airstrip. At the end of the road, upon approach to our friends home, there is a big caution sign saying "AIRCRAFT CROSSING"....on this road???? Yup. Well, this is Alaska, and planes have the right of way on ANY road. We've been hanging out here for a few days, doing a lot of gabbing, washing our clothes, cleaning out the camper, sleeping in a real bed, taking showers every morning (!!!) and just regrouping for our venture to the Kenai Penninsula. Karen and us have loads to catch up on; haven't seen her in 34 years!
Chris & John chillin' in the back yard.

Karen, her daughter Paige, and granddaughter, Hunter, and I headed into Anchorage to do some shopping and looking at the beautiful flowers. It's amazing the size of the flowers here. They even used parsley as a border for flower beds, and huge cabbages as corner plants. Never saw that before. They can't plant anything until mid June....but they grow amazingly fast because of the 24 hours of sunlight. Last time I saw Paige she was just a little girl, not even in school yet.
This little "hole in the wall" shoppe is turning out to be a regular for us to pick up a totally addicting drink. See that blue newspaper despenser? To the right of that is the extremely narrow drive to the drive-up window....look close....
Ta dah....here it is....a "grenita"; a nice cold coffee type drink. Love it! Karen & Paige are not a good influence on me. We took a delightful ride through Hatcher Pass. Just a few miles from here. There are old gold mines in the hills; some active but private mines; and other people pan for gold in the creeks. This is the Little Susitna river. The locals call it the Little Sue. Isn't it beautiful?
And here is a wonderful picture of a beaver pond. See the beaver dam in the foreground?

Where our friends live looks just like "mainstreet USA"; and then just a few miles away is the limitless beauty of the mountains and rivers. Its been a bit rainy since we arrived. Perhaps the weather will clear so we can make a day trip to Seward.

I have finished, finally, my first book of the trip. Mitch Album's The Five People You Meet in Heaven. A little book....almost ashamed to say that it took me a month to read it, but was good. Thank you, Yvonne, for recommending it. Now I have begun a book from my brother, Jim: Boom, by Tom Brocaw. My brother thinks I was "held captive" during the 60's and he's trying to re-program my brain.

June 28-4th of July; Beautiful Mountains...

This is the Matanuska Glacier....in the Chugach mountains. Almost to Karen Lynn's home in Wasilla, north of Anchorage. Huge!
Isn't this awesome? It is Mt. Sanford and is 16,237 feet tall. And that's only 4,000 feet shorter than Denali! At least we were able to photograph this one.... Us using our 3-legged "friend" to take pics at the Grizzley Bear campground outside of Denali
Not the greatest picture, but it was soooooo far away....this blond colored grizzley in Denali Park
And here it is....what we traveled 5 hours up a steep & windy road to get to see....Mount Denali....and it was shrouded in clouds. It's so big that it has it's own weather. Well, we saw the mountains in the foreground, but there was an etching or chalk line on the window of where the "Great One" would be IF we could see it. I had little hopes of the picture actually turning out. But you can see how big the mountain is....and get the perspective.
The sled dog team just a whooping a storm rearing to get going. This demo was in Denali
A beautiful scene along the Denali Hwy.

just a car we saw next to a gas station
More beautiful mountains
a quaint little 100 yr. old Episcopal Church in Nanana, on the way to Denali Park. Had a gorgeous hand beaded white elk skin altar cloth.
Didn't know that the official end of the Alaska Hwy was mile 1523 in Fairbanks....here's that more beautiful mountains.

June 28; Fairbanks to Denali’s gates

On Saturday we went to China Hot Springs, about 50 miles out of Fairbanks. The hot springs were wonderful and we soaked in it for an hour or so. They rest of the place was so commercialized that we didn’t stay for any of their other tourist-trap stuff.
On the way back to Fairbanks we visited with Rudy Laderach’s daughter, Shawna. She’s an engineer, got her degree here at U. of Alaska and has been here ever since. Far cry from Temperance, MI. The view from her home on the side of a hill/mountain (whatever…it’s all the same to me here) is astounding….you can see the mountains on the other side of Fairbanks…about 50 miles is her guess. It’s very beautiful. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, so much so that we camped last night in “Camp Laderach”. On Sunday morning Shawna made the super-best sourdough pancakes. Fantastic!

Sunday, June 29, 2008; on to Denali National Park

We went to church at Immaculate Conception Church in Fairbanks…that’s the church that was slid across the Chena River about 1911, to a new location. A nice surprise was that the Bishop of Fairbanks, Bishop Kettler, was filling in for the pastor and offered the Mass. Odd concept…the bishop “filling in” for the pastor. He seemed like a nice guy. Also need to remember that this diocese is like a mission diocese with one priest taking care of 3-4 churches many, many miles apart.
Then, on the way south to Denali National Park we stopped in Nanana, a little town with lots of character and a beautiful 104 yr. old Episcopal church, with a hand made & hand beaded white moose hide altar cloth, hand hewn pews. Really beautiful.
The day started out at 59 degrees and overcast. Now, sitting in Denali Grizzly Bear camp, it’s about 45 degrees and getting pretty chilly. We’re going on our 8 hour bus ride through Denali at noon tomorrow. Can’t wait….sure hope we actually get to see Mt. McKinley….Denali….the “great one”. On rainy/cloudy days it gets obscured with clouds.

Monday, June 30. Hopes to see Denali; the "Great One"

We awoke to a beautiful blue sky w/ no clouds….perhaps we have a chance to see Denali today. We took a taxi to the Park so that we didn’t have to break & set up camp late at night when we return from the tour.
From the first vantage point to see Dinali we only saw clouds. The bus driver told us that he only responds to “Stop!” if someone sees an animal; and then we were to follow with the direction; i.e. clock directions; “stop, bear at 2 o’clock!” On
this drive we saw caribou, Dal sheep, golden eagle flying, a bald eagle flying also. Mew doves kind of hung around at our rest stops; kind of reminded me of pigeons. Some folks saw a grizzley’s butt going through the thicket. Later we had a wonderful view of a grizzley romping down the hill; and later, one sunning on the side of the hill. When we got to the Eilson Visitors center, 65 miles into the park, we had another chance to see Mt. McKinley. Of course the clouds were dark, threatening rain, and we had no hope of seeing the mountain. But, on a picture window inside, there was a great view of the mountain (IF we could see it), and there was a drawing on the window where the upper profile of the mountain would be if we could see it. It was enormously higher than the mountains that we COULD see. I took a picture of what we couldn’t see…and that line showed; so we have a “relative” picture.
Starting back down to the Denali Wilderness Access Center, the road got to be long; we had already been sitting for 4-5 hours. On the way back we saw a red fox up on the slope. It started to rain and we were glad that we had taken a taxi and didn’t have to put our camper up in the rain….it was just waiting for us. Some hot soup tasted good when we got back to camp.

July 1, 2008

We woke to chilly and dreary morning, about 50 degrees; rain threatened. Some fellow travelers had told us that the sled dog demo was well worth our time. So, this is what we set out for today at Denali Park, and we got there just in time for the shuttle bus. The dogs were very friendly and we had plenty of time to scratch their ears and play with them. They didn’t seem to phased by the interaction. Turns out that they get their heads scratched by some 50,000 people each summer. They were all chained individually to their little log doghouses with a “sun deck” on the top. Most of them were chilling on top of their doghouses like Snoopy. The ranger then gave a very interesting talk about the value of the dogs and the dog sled teams. After the park is mostly closed for the winter, one can only drive in the first 3 miles; after that the only access is by dog sled. The rangers use these for less impact (i.e. gas fumes, noise, damage to vegetation, etc.) on the habitat & animals to check out the Park, deliver supplies to people doing ecological or geological studies, to name a few that I can remember.
The ranger talked about the breed of dog they use: Alaskan sled dog. They breed their own dogs, and bring some breeders in from the outside. The training of sled dogs seems to be mostly done by the other dogs! Sounds good to me. The dogs were just quietly chilling; when they started to hitch them up they started yapping and yelping….ready for their FUN! They made a real cacophony in the background; they couldn’t wait to get going. It was awesome to watch. They all had a job they loved. When they get about 9 yrs. Old and don’t seem to be jumping for joy when it’s time to hitch up, it’s time to retire them. They find adoptive homes for them in a cold climate. These dogs are comfy in –20 degrees! And even at 50 degrees today they were kind of warm.
After the dog sleds, we drove the 15 miles of the park that is permitted to be independently driven…just looking for some animals; saw one moose. We then started on the road to Anchorage and at Cantwell we turned onto the Denali Hwy. Until the Parks road between Fairbanks & Anchorage was completed in 1957 this road was the only access to Denali Nat’l Park from Anchorage, then known as Mt. McKinley Nat’l Park. The road is delightful and beautiful; condition-wise it’s just about like the Dalton Hwy: dirt, washboard, dusty if it’s dry; but the view is stupendous. Snow capped mountains; we can see that their was fresh snow on some of them. This road is only going to be about 130 miles long; we then continue down to Karen Lynn’s home in Wasilla, north of Anchorage. We are camped about 40 miles from Cantwell, on a high point of the road, with view of low tundra, boggie area on both sides, with ponds and a river in the distance. Chris believes that we are certain to see moose here tonight. Wouldn’t that be cool????
We took about a mile walk to a beaver pond; saw the beaver and trumpeter swan swimming around. There was a nice dam and hut for Mr. & Mrs. Beaver. There was a Lesser Yellowleg (a kind of a sandpiper) squawking at us and doing circles over our heads, trying to distract us from her nest. We walked through loads of blue berry bushes. I imagine loads of bear sitting in the middle of it munching on blue berries when they are in season (not now). Never saw any moose. They missed a good chance to mosey down to the little pot hole ponds for a cool drink. I got drenched at one point with a quick shower while walking Tommy….saw the rain coming but thought it wasn’t going to get to me….tee hee. “Never leave home without your raincoat” is the lesson I learned.

July 2, 2008; Brushkana Creek to Tangle Lakes

Woke up to a beautifully clear blue sky. A bit chilly but a wonderful morning. Found out that we had missed a good view of Denali from this road, but it was (of course!) over cast & cloudy when we began the road yesterday, when we would have had our chance.
Later on our drive today we will see the most rugged and tallest of the Alaska Range of mountains. We left camp about 9 am and it was 57 degrees. We drove slow; saw a marmont in the road eating the sodium chloride in the dirt; he really didn’t seem to mind that we were gawking at him. Talking to another car stopped on the road, found out that we had missed about 8 elk when we crossed a river because we were ooohing and ahing at the mountains (the tallest peaks in the Alaska Range, 12,339 and 11,940 feet!) instead of looking at the river bed. Oh well….can’t win them all. At “50 mile lake" saw 2 trumpeter swans swimming with their 3 signets. There was a huge beaver hut at one end with a new gull on top of it and arctic turns flying around him. A bit later we saw a moose (finally!) grazing a ways from the road. She had a white hump. We camped at 2 pm at the Tangle Lake Campground. It’s beautiful, 67 degrees and we only traveled about 85 miles today. We’re about 20 miles from the end of this hwy. We were thinking of spending another day here…but it really seems to be filling up with campers getting here for the Fourth of July w/ motor boats, air boats, etc. Looks like a noisy day tomorrow, so we will probably move on to a quieter place.

July 3, 2008; Tangle Lakes to Karen Lynn’s home

The campground really filled up last night…gee, I guess people go to these kind of places over the holidays. It’s going to be the 4th of July…duh. We’ve been having one big, huge holiday; so the 4th isn’t some biggie that we’ve been waiting for…get my drift?
We left camp around 10 am. It was warm, sunny and clear blue sky…perfect day to see Mt. Denali…rats, again! We headed toward Anchorage & Wasilla, where Karen & her long time friend, John live.
We came into view of the Chugach Mountains with the tallest peak being Mt. Staford at 16,237 feet. It’s only 4,000 ft. short of Denali and it’s a most clear day and we are relatively close and the mountains are very imposing from this view. There are 3 huge mountains right next to each other; very picturesque and awe-inspiring.
About noonish we called Karen and decided to drive the next 130 miles to her home in Wasilla. The drive on the Glenn Allen Hwy was totally beautiful, winding along a canyon between mountains. Saw lots of folks getting started on their holiday with their 4-wheelers, boats, campers and camps set up. Then got a good view of the Matanuska glacier; got a good picture of that, too.
Driving into her subdivision, which looks nothing like one I’ve seen before, we see a sign “Watch for Air Traffic”. Remember I saw a road gate on the way to Deadhorse saying “closed for air traffic”? What is this Alaska thing….do they land on the streets??? Turns out that everyone here has a plane and landing strip; so I suppose they could be taxy-ing down the road???? Later found out that in Alaska, on ANY , an airplane has the right away! This land is sure different that small town Indiana.
We arrived early afternoon (drove 260 miles) and relaxed with old friends. Karen cooks wonderfully and the conversation was enjoyed by all.

Fourth of July: Hatcher Pass

We took a wonderful ride over Hatcher Pass, saw beautiful rocky rivers, glaciers, varmints, gold mines and on some of the roughest roads I've ever been on. Took lots of pictures of wild flowers; hoping to do a nice scrapbook page of all the pretty colors. Soon we may take a side trip, while staying with our friends, to Seward. We'll be going by ourselves, again, after we take leave of our friends.

I hope you are enjoying my musings, pictures, etc. of our trip. It has been wonderful and I love looking at all the pictures. I can't believe we've been gone for a month already. We have so much yet to do....but I can't believe all we've done already!

So, until we "connect" again....