(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 20)

After nearly four weeks on the Kenai Peninsula, it was time to move on.  The summer was more than half over and there’s lots more Alaska to see. On to Valdez!

^{Views at Anchor Point – Mt Redoubt Volcano from our campsite; North America’s most western highway point}

Anchor Point

We stopped for the night at Anchor Point, 30 minutes north of Homer.  Anchor Point has the distinction of being North America’s most westerly highway point.

We camped in Kyllonen’s RV Park, the same campground we enjoyed in 2018.   Our campsite overlooked a broad expanse of low bushes and small trees bordered by the Anchor River and snowy Mt Redoubt volcano across the Cook Inlet.  Imagine my surprise to see a mama moose and her calf grazing their way across the thicket as the sun was setting.  It was after 10:30 pm and I watched them for nearly an hour!

Bound for Valdez, our route took us past Soldotna, Williwaw, Turnagain Arm and Anchorage, earlier stops on our travels.  We took our time, camping several nights before we neared our destination. 

^{Thompson Pass views near Valdez – Blueberry Lake and Worthington Glacier}

Valdez

The highway crosses 2678-foot Thompson Pass as it descends to Valdez.  We camped at Blueberry Lake, a small campground near the pass surrounded by the rugged Chugach Mountains. Our hikes in the area were fruitless – there were no blueberries to be found!

^{Beautiful mountains frame Valdez; a distant black bear seen during a hike}

^{Alaska Oil pipeline and oil terminal across from Valdez}

Valdez is a small town of around 2000 persons with a number of interesting distinctives:  the town was moved several miles to is current location after being destroyed by the 1964 Alaska earthquake, it is near the end of the 800-mile long Trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, and area fishing and wildlife rival those found in Seward and Homer.

^{Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery; a seagull seems to comment on a sea lion’s fresh salmon catch}

Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery

Across the bay from Valdez, we visited Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery, the largest single-species salmon hatchery in North America, where millions of pink and Coho salmon are incubated and released each year.  As the salmon return each July and August, some swim up a fish ladder to renew the incubation cycle. Many more are feasted upon by sea lions, seals and bears. 

We watched as several rotund sea lions near the fish ladder dipped their heads underwater and pulled up wriggling salmon.  Nearby, seagulls picked up fish pieces from the beach.  Only the bears were absent.

^{Carts with halibut and rock fish at the Valdez Marina; FedEx will even ship fish (hopefully on time)!}

One evening we walked to the Valdez marina where we saw a large crowd watching fisherman wheel carts full of halibut, salmon and other fish to metal tables, where they were cleaned and filleted.  It is amazing how many large fish were part of the day’s catch.

A Day on the Lu-Lu Belle

In 2018 we enjoyed a wildlife and glacier cruise in Seward with our son, Phil.  Several people told us about a similar, not-to-be-missed cruise in Valdez on the Lu-Lu Belle.

^{The Lu-Lu Belle; Captain Fred at the helm}

Captain Fred Rodolf and his crew greeted us as we boarded the boat on a sunny, pleasant Sunday morning.   It was actually our second time on the Lu-Lu Belle – we attended a Chapel of the Sea church service on the boat earlier that day.

^{We saw otters in Valdez Bay – a sign of a healthy environment; beached seal lions a few miles away were active and noisy!}

^{Captain Fred piloted the nose of the Lu-Lu Belle into rocky alcoves in search of nesting puffins}

We were soon underway on the nearly 10-hour cruise.    Captain Fred provided continuous commentary as he guided the boat past seals, fishing boats pulling in nets full of salmon, a beach crowded with hundreds of barking sea lions, and several narrow cliff alcoves with nesting puffins.  We later followed a pair of orcas for nearly an hour as they surfaced, flipped their tails and even dove under the boat.

^{An Orca whale surfaces as we followed for more than an hour; mountain goat seen near Columbia Glacier}

^{The cold didn’t seem to bother harbor seals that were riding on floating ice chunks near the glacier}

That afternoon Captain Fred piloted the Lu-Lu Belle to Columbia Glacier, the second largest tidewater glacier in America.  A few small icebergs gave way to more numerous and much larger icebergs, some bigger than a bus. 

As the Lu-Lu Belle zig-zagged between the ice obstacles, the 84-year-old captain pointed out how far the glacier extended when he first started the glacier and wildlife cruises in the late 1970s.  The Columbia Glacier has retreated more than ten miles up the bay in the last 45 years. 

^{Views as we approached Columbia Glacier}

^{Captain Fred guides the Lu-Lu Belle through ice filled waters as we approached the glacier}

^{A helicopter gives scale to the glacier face; Pat with a glacier souvenir}

^{Carefully cruising near the face of the glacier}

We stopped about a quarter mile from the glacier, surrounded by large and small chucks of ice.  We were a Lu-Lu Belle slushie of sorts.  As we watched, a huge chunk of ice calved from the face of the glacier, producing a big splash and mini tsunami.

We dozed a bit during our late evening return to Valdez, tired from the long day seeing amazing wildlife and the immense Columbia Glacier.  We were thankful for the knowledge and skills of the captain and his crew.

Cinnamon Bun Review

Valdez is a cinnamon bun desert – no suitable buns to review this week!

Critter Count

Salmon – lots (alive and eaten)
Harbor seals and otters – hundreds
Sea lions – 500+ noisy barkers, zero quiet ones
Eagles – 24
Moose – 2
Weasel – 2
Swans – 10
Black bear – 1
Dall sheep – 2
Puffins – more than a dozen
Mountain goats – 15
Orca whales – 4
Ducks and ducklings, seagulls – many

Next Week:

Our first of four experiences in the Alaska wild: Copper River and the Kennecott Copper Mine

  

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 19)

Before moving on to Homer, here is a little geography information about the ‘Kenai.’   The various references to Kenai can be confusing.

Kenai Peninsula? Town? River? Lake? Yes!

The Kenai Peninsula extends south of Anchorage.  It is approximately 90 miles top to bottom and 70 miles wide.  It is rather mountainous, with big mountains extending southwest across the peninsula. 

Seward is on the southeast side of the range, Homer, Soldotna and the town of Kenai are on the west side.   The Kenai River, with its multitude of fisherman, runs from Kenai Lake in the center of the peninsula westward past Soldotna and the town of Kenai, before flowing into the Cook Inlet. 

^{Volcanoes along Cook Inlet: Mt Redoubt and Mt Iliamna}

Volcanoes and Views

From the town of Kenai and Soldotna, we drove south toward Homer.  Homer has its own fishing frenzy – for salmon AND halibut.  In fact, Homer claims to be the Halibut Capital of the World. 

The highway runs along the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, where there are amazing views of the Cook Inlet and three volcanoes – Mt Redoubt, Mt Iliamna and Mt Spurr.  Mt Redoubt, the tallest at 10197 ft, last erupted with steam and ash clouds in 2009.

^{Homer welcome sign; View of Kenai Mountains, Kachemak Bay and Homer Spit}

As we neared Homer, we stopped to view the Cook Inlet, Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Mountains.  We could also see Homer Spit, a narrow sliver of land that extends about five miles into the bay toward the mountains.  This is where a lot of the fishing takes place.

Home, Home on the (Homer) Spit

The spit was our home for three nights.  Our campsite overlooked the Fishing Hole, a sizeable tidal lagoon where dozens of persons could be seen salmon fishing just about any time of the day or night.  The fishing was surprisingly good, as evidenced by stringers of 18+ inch fish being carried up to a fish cleaning shed not far from where were camped.

The shed was busy.   Salmon, rockfish and halibut caught on boats and salmon from the lagoon were placed on metal tables, where they were deftly cleaned, fileted and stored in coolers.  Fish carcasses were dumped into a tall blue bin, where they would eventually be hauled away and made into fertilizer.     

I met Jeff as he cleaned an assortment of fish caught that morning from his boat.  Originally from Soldotna, he, his wife and teenaged children fly from Minnesota for two weeks each summer to visit family and to fish.  He skillfully filleted several large halibut, starting with the white underside and continuing with the gray-brown top of the fish.  I found it interesting that both eyes of mature halibut are on the top side of the fish!

Jeff freezes the fillets, and when the family flies home, they are packed in coolers and sent as checked ‘baggage.’

As Jeff worked, we talked about a variety of things.  I learned that he works in construction and his wife is a school psychologist.  They are Christians who homeschool their children.  I encouraged him to be steadfast as the spiritual leader of his home and to value their family times in Alaska each summer.  Time flies quickly and their Alaska fishing trips will all-to-soon be treasured memories.      

Riding the Spit  

The days were sunny and pleasant, and we explored the spit on our bikes. We rode past a large marina, several seafood processing buildings and the Alaska Maritime auto ferry dock, where drivers can ferry to Kodiak or all the way to Washington state.  There were halibut fishing charter boats and water taxis that cross the bay to Kachemak Bay State Park and the small town of Seldovia.  In 2018, we crossed the bay for an interesting day hike to Grewingk Glacier. 

^{Pat cooked a phenomenal birthday dinner – pan-seared salmon and chocolate frosted cake}

The spit also has numerous small tourist shops and restaurants.  Our plans were to try halibut and chips while on the spit, but when a camping neighbor from Oregon gave us a fresh salmon filet, Pat pan-seared it with a wonderful butter, soy and lemon sauce.  She also baked a small cake in Pap’s oven.  These were a delicious way to celebrate my birthday!

^{Vegetables and Alaska weather rocks for sale at the Homer Farmers Market}

A Trip into Homer

One morning we drove into town, where we visited the Homer Farmers Market.  Locally grown vegetables, such as lettuce, carrots, radishes and green onions, were for sale, along with jams and jellies, baked goods, soaps and crafts, and even Alaskan weather rocks.

We stopped at Two Sisters Bakery to try a cinnamon bun and coffee. The bakery was recommended to us by Brad, the fellow traveler we met at several different stops earlier this trip (see 2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 17).   Check out our bun review below.

^{Views of the beach in Homer}

From the bakery, we walked a short distance to the beach.  The tide was out and we carefully crossed a shallow inlet to the water’s edge.  The wind was blowing fog across the beach and, just like that, the fog lifted and it was clear!

We visited the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center where we learned about the history and conservation projects in the Aleutian Islands, and before returning to our campsite, we watched several float planes take off and land.

Homer is the furthest that we will be from home – nearly 4900 miles.  When we left we were essentially heading home. 

But the LONG ROAD beckons with lots of new RabbiTRAILS as our travels continue.    

Cinnamon Bun Review

The pastry part of our Two Sisters cinnamon bun was amazing – fresh, flaky and flavorful.  However, the icing was okay. 

Better iced, we would have given the bun a perfect 5.0 score.  Bun score – a solid 4.5 out of 5.

Critter Count

Otters – 2
Eagles – 1
Seagulls – lots
Salmon, rockfish and halibut – lots, most being ‘processed’

Next week

We stop at Anchor Point for a night and then continue to Valdez, a town with scenic mountains, a beautiful seashore and the end point of the Alaska oil pipeline.

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 18)

From Williwaw and Whittier, we drove 90 miles to the west side of the Kenai Peninsula.  The route took us through lush, green valleys between rugged mountains that were topped with remains of winter snows, and along swift flowing rivers turquoise with glacial silt.

We learned what most everyone was up to in Soldotna and Kenai.  It is best summarized by one obvious word.     

It is obvious along the Kenai River, where aluminum walkways extend more than a mile along the river.  

It is obvious in the large sporting goods departments in Walmart, Fred Meyer and other area stores.

It is obvious along the Russian River, one of the Kenai’s major tributaries.

It is obvious by all the traffic and vehicles carrying an assortment of equipment, and by campgrounds packed with tents and RVs.

The word?  FISHING!

After a year or more at sea, huge numbers of salmon return each summer to the Kenai River and its tributaries to spawn before they die.  Five types of Alaskan salmon arrive at different times, joining other fish, like steelhead and trout, already in the waterways.

Considerable efforts are spent catching all those fish!

Combat Fishing on the Kenai

In Soldotna, we followed a boardwalk from the packed city campground to the Kenai River.  It had rained the previous day, the roads had huge potholes and the mosquitoes were hungry!

Along the water’s edge fishermen (and fisherwomen) cast into the swift flowing river, some using fiberglass rods with open-faced reels and others using fly rods.  They reeled in their lines attempting to ‘catch’ salmon by snagging the fish in their mouths. Those snagged in a fin or elsewhere had to be thrown back.

With fishermen often less than 10 feet apart, crossed lines and tangles were inevitable.  Some waded into the river while others fished from the aluminum walkways. Fish were cleaned and fileted on large metal tables along the river and waste parts were thrown back into the river.

_{Kenai’s Burger Bus; Pat places her order and our lunchtime feast!}

Burger Bus

All that fishing made us hungry, so we decided to have lunch at the Burger Bus in Kenai. One of our favorite lunch stops from our trip in 2018, burgers, sandwiches and other items are cooked in a converted school bus and eaten on picnic tables outside.   It was cold and rainy so we decided to eat inside Pap.  Pat ordered a bus burger with cheese.  My order?  Fish and chips, of course!   

^{Dip-netting at the mouth of the Kenai River}

Dip-netting

Later, we visited the mouth of the Kenai River where hundreds of people were camped on both sides of the river.  They waded into the river, extending 10+ foot long poles with netted aluminum hoops at the ends into the water. Salmon caught in the 4 to 5-foot diameter dip-nets were quickly dragged onto the beach. 

We watched as one woman carried a 24-inch salmon to a friend. The fish was quickly ‘processed’ and placed in a cooler.  Fish remains were collected in a bucket and returned to the water.  Hundreds of nearby seagulls were having a feast.

Kenai dip-netting only lasts a few weeks each summer as salmon start their trip upstream.   Such fishing is open only to Alaska citizens with limits on the numbers of fish that can be caught.  We learned the fish are an important source of protein during the long Alaskan winter.

A Different Kind of Fishing

A short distance up the beach, Alaska Missions and Retreats was giving away free hot dogs and water.  The strategy of this local ministry is to break down walls so people can turn from apathy to curiosity about Christ and find HIM irresistible.  We met two young volunteers from Hawaii and Texas helping with the ministry’s Salmon Frenzy outreach. 

They were engaged in a different kind of fishing.

Tsunami Warning!

One evening while camping near Kenai we were almost asleep when a loud emergency alert sounded on my phone.  The alert was like lost person alerts you might have received.

I found my phone and the message abruptly woke me up. It was a tsunami warning. A magnitude 7.2 earthquake had occurred several minutes earlier about 70 miles south of Sand Point, AK and evacuation was advised from low lying areas along the Cook Inlet.

Questions raced through my mind:  Where is Sand Point?  (it is on a Aleutian island, about 650 miles from Kenai)  Were we in an area that should evacuate?  (no, we were more than a mile inland)  Assured that we would not have to sleep with life jackets, we eventually went to sleep. 

We were thankful a tsunami did not strike the coast.          

Cinnamon Bun Review

When we couldn’t find a suitable coffee shop in Soldotna or Kenai, we made our own cinnamon buns.  Pat baked a batch of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls.  The freshly baked buns were basically canned biscuits with small pieces of cinnamon on top.  The icing was pretty good, however.  Bun score:  2.5 out of 5. 

Critter Count:

Eagles – 1

Salmon and seagulls – LOTS!

Next week:                        

Homer, Halibut Capital of the World

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 17)

From Denali State Park where we viewed the Great One, we continued to Anchorage, Alaska’s biggest city.  Anchorage has a typical big city feel, with multiple lane highways, urban sprawl, tall downtown buildings, shopping districts with the same chain stores found in the lower 48, and a sizeable homeless population.

Anchorage also has wonderful parks and bike trails, and a beautiful backdrop of tall mountains in Chugach State Park. 

^{Patriotic 4th of July at Anchorage’s Delaney Park}

We spent July 4^th in the city, opting to visit the patriotic celebration at Delaney Park.  While kilted bagpipers performed in a field of American flags and suited dignitaries gave speeches, the sizeable crowd enjoyed carnival rides and festival foods that included several types of salmon, halibut and chips, and reindeer sausage. 

Unlike the sunny and very warm (80s) July 4^th celebration we attended in 2018, this year’s event was overcast and sweatshirt cool.  We enjoyed the festivities but decided not to come back for the fireworks.   They were scheduled at midnight after the (very) late evening sunset in Anchorage.    

^{A view across Turnagain Arm showing broad low tide mud flats; tidal bore wave as the sea rapidly flowed up Bird Creek}

Turnagain Arm     

We left the city for the Kenai Peninsula and our route took us along Turnagain Arm, a 40-mile-long bay southeast of Anchorage with 30-foot tidal fluctuations.   Broad mudflats and deep mud canyons are revealed at low tide. 

We walked a half mile from our campsite at Bird Creek SP and watched the tidal bore come up Bird Creek.  The wave, at times several feet tall, moved quickly.

^{Kenai Views: hiking above Summit Lake and a shoreside view of turquoise Kenai Lake}

^{Norwegian Spirit departing the Seward Harbor; at first, fog and low clouds blocked the view from our campsite}

Waterfront Camping in Seward

We drove on to Seward, a small town on the Prince William Sound.  From Seward, cruise ship passengers can journey by train to Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks.  Others take day trips to Kenai Fjords National Park to see tidewater glaciers, whales, seals and sea lions, and a variety of coastal birds.  Many go on fishing charter boats as well. 

We camped at a city campground on the waterfront.  It was raining when we arrived and the mountains that surround the town were shrouded in fog and rain.  The weather slowly cleared over the next day and a half. By mid-day thick morning fog burned off and we could see the bottom half of the mountains across the inlet.  Finally, the entire mountains were visible the next morning, framed by the beautiful sky.  The wait was worth it!

Typical of many campgrounds in Alaska, our campground was a gravel parking lot with deep potholes everywhere. There were few amenities. Other campers were just a few feet away. 

Despite these shortcomings, the location was amazing.  We enjoyed magnificent mountain views, rode our bikes throughout the town, and discussed our Alaska experiences with other campers. 

We met a dad, mom and teenaged son from Bend, Oregon camped in a small teardrop camper next to us.  Dad was between jobs and mom, a schoolteacher, was free for the summer.  They were excited to visit Alaska for the first time.

Brad, another camper from Washington, stopped by to say hello.  It was the fourth time we met during this trip.   He, his wife and two golden retrievers were camping at a Yukon Provincial Park in June when we first met.  We later connected at Whitehorse and Tok.  It’s very possible we may meet again!              

The next morning, we visited Kenai Fjords NP, a few miles outside Seward.  Our hike up a short trail to view the base of Exit Glacier was delayed 30 minutes as we endured a Moose Encounter of the Kenai Kind (photos below).

The restless moose wandered around the parking lot and nature center, while park staff kept visitors at a safe distance. She snacked on grass and tree branches, and even examined the center activity board before knocking it over. When she finally wandered into the woods, we were able to continue our hike.

From a viewpoint at the end of the trail, we could see the blue ice of the glacier well above the valley floor.  It extends downward from the massive Harding Ice Field at the top of the mountains.  We later explored the broad rocky outwash plain below the glacier, where we were amazed at how much meltwater continually flows from the glacier and icefield.

Williwaw and Whittier

The weather was clear when we left Seward after three days.  We decided to detour a few miles to visit Williwaw Campground and Portage Glacier, and to drive to Whittier via a 2.5-mile tunnel.  We endured heavy rains in 2018 at both stops and were looking forward to clearer weather this time.

From the campground, we rode our bikes to Portage Glacier Visitor Center.  Located on a beautiful lake beneath the glacier, the center has interesting natural history and geology exhibits.  Outside, it was clear, breezy and cool, and after eating a sack lunch, we secured our bikes and hiked to Byron Glacier.  Like most of the glaciers in the region, the melting glacier is quickly retreating up the valley.

^{Narrow entrance to 2.5 mile single lane tunnel to Whittier; trains and vehicles share the tunnel}

That afternoon we drove through the long and narrow tunnel to Whittier.

^{Views of Whittier and Begich Towers; exploring the abandoned Buckner Building nearby}

Whittier is a working town, with stacks of cargo containers, loading cranes, ships and a railroad yard.  Many of Whittier’s residences, business offices and city services are housed in Begich Towers, a 14-story building that overlooks the port area. 

The Buckner Building, an abandoned military ‘city under one roof’ is nearby. It was completed in 1949 and abandoned in 1966. There is also a cruise ship dock, along with a few restaurants and souvenir shops.  All are situated along a narrow fjord that is surrounded by tall mountains.

Our 2023 tour of Whittier was much better than the rainy and cold visit in 2018. It took two visits for us to finally agree with local expression: “Things are prettier in Whittier!“

Bun Report: Lazy Otter Cafe

While in Whittier, we stopped at Lazy Otter Café for coffee and a cinnamon bun.  The warmed bun, baked earlier that day, had a familiar taste and appearance.  We think it was a grocery store Grands cinnamon roll!   Although the bun tasted good and was nicely iced, it was nothing remarkable.  Our bun score: 3.5 out of 5.   

       

Critter count

^{A curious moose checks the daily activity board at Exit Glacier Nature Center before knocking it over}

Next week:

Find out what one word best describes the Kenai River and Soldotna!

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 16)

With repairs completed on our leaking tire and frayed wires, we left Tok for Fairbanks. 

The roads were very good, unlike those near the US-Canada border that had frost heaves, potholes and road construction.   We were thankful for the smoother ride.

^{Monument marking end of Alaska Highway; Alaska-sized mosquitoes}

Midway between Tok and Fairbanks we visited Delta Junction, the original ending of the 1390-mile Alaska Highway (the highway was originally 1422 miles).  From there, the highway continues northwest to Fairbanks or south toward Anchorage.  We drove past broad, swift-flowing rivers filled with snowmelt from distant mountains. A strong, chilly wind rocked Percy and Pap as the skies cleared.

We ‘wallydocked’ (overnighted) at the Fairbanks Walmart, where we replenished our supplies.   Sleep was a challenge – the sun rose before 3 am and set after 12:30 am. And after the sun set, it never really got DARK.

We visited Creamer’s Dairy, a one-time dairy farm that is now a migrating bird sanctuary.  Hundreds of sandhill cranes foraged in the fields along with many other birds. 

Other stops in the Fairbanks area include Pioneer Park, an amusement park with interesting historical and cultural displays, the Museum of the North, a natural history museum at the University of Alaska, and the Alaska oil pipeline. We visited these during our 2018 trip to Alaska.

At the recommendation of a friend, we drove two hours from Fairbanks to visit Chena Hot Springs. 

We hoped to camp a night or two on the way to the springs but our plans quickly changed when we stopped for a short hike.  The cool, wet weather had resulted in an outbreak of hungry Alaska mosquitoes that descended on us in thick swarms.  We were reminded of the mosquito-infested hardwood hammocks in the Florida Everglades.

We decided to continue to the springs, where we enjoyed an early morning soak in a warm outdoor pool.  Chena is an interesting destination, with a lodge, campground and hiking, biking and ATV trails.  Hot water from deep wells in the area is used to generate electricity and heat large greenhouses where tomatoes, lettuce and other vegetables are grown all year round. 

^{Chena greenhouses use geothermal energy to produce vegetables}

^{Ice museum exterior along with an elevated DC6 (future hotel); Pat wore a heavy parka to keep warm; inside the ice museum}

Chilling in the Chena Ice Museum

We donned heavy parkas to see sculptures in the Chena Ice Museum.  The museum includes an altar for wedding ceremonies and rooms where the brave of heart can spend the night. 

Not us however – we opted for our nice warm camper instead!

^{One of several elaborate ice sculptures in the museum; interesting items in ice}

Nenana

Leaving Chena and Fairbanks, we turned south toward Anchorage on the Parks Highway. 

At Nenana, a small town on the Alaska railway where the train and cruise buses stop, we toured the original train station that houses an interesting assortment of train relics. It’s the kind of place Pat’s dad would have really enjoyed.

Nenana is known for the Nenana Ice Classic, said by some to be Alaska’s best guessing game. 

Each winter since 1917 a tall wooden structure has been placed on the frozen Tanana River adjacent to the town. Ticket purchasers predict when the structure will fall through the ice during the spring thaw and the person whose prediction is closest to the actual fall receives a sizeable jackpot. 

The 2023 prize was $222,101 and the winning time was 4:01 PM AST on May 8.  Money raised by the event is used to fund college scholarships for local students.

Views of The Great One

The Parks Highway took us past the entrance to Denali National Park. We plan to return in August for five nights of camping and hiking in the park. 

A few miles further we visited Denali State Park, where we were rewarded with a spectacular view of Denali early the next morning. The Great One is North America’s tallest mountain at 20,310 ft. Later that day we hiked a steep trail for a better view of Denali and the Alaska Range.

Denali is often covered with clouds and only 1 in 3 visitors see the mountain.  We were thankful for clear weather and the great view.

Mary Carey’s Cinnamon Buns   

Mary Carey’s McKinley View Lodge near Denali State Park offers a phenomenal view of Denali from their back patio. When we learned the lodge sells cinnamon buns using Mary’s recipe from nearly 50 years ago, we had to try one. 

Warmed in the microwave, the pillowy bun had a nice cinnamon flavor. It was topped with thick, sweet icing dusted with additional cinnamon.

It was the best bun so far in our travels. We’d give it a bun score of 4 out of 5.

Critter Count

Moose – 4  (cows and babies, no bulls)

Grizzly bears – 2

Sandhill cranes – many

Swans (8), eagles (4) and other birds

^{Sandhill cranes at Creamer’s Dairy in Fairbanks; a watchful mama moose and her baby}

Next week: 

We visit Alaska’s biggest city, Anchorage, and continue to the scenic Kenai peninsula.         

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 15)

Last week’s RabbiTRAILS included a photo of the sign that welcomed us to Alaska.  There is a nearby stone marker that is on the actual border with Canada.  We found it interesting that there is a wide cleared area that extends to the north and south from the marker showing where the border is.  We wondered if the clearing extends for the thousands of miles of border between the US and Canada. 

^{Ed is in Canada, Pat is in the US; the border clearing extends to the horizon (and beyond!)}

A few miles further, we stopped at the border checkpoint for entry into the US.   The checkpoint is remote – 20 miles from Beaver Creek in the Yukon and 100 miles from Tok, Alaska.    

We pulled up to the checkpoint and handed the border control agent our passports.  She asked the standard questions:  where are you from (Florida), why are you traveling to Alaska (vacation), do you have any firearms (no) or illegal substances (no).   We’ve heard they sometimes ask about and confiscate food (eggs and produce mainly) and some travelers have even been detained while their vehicles were searched.   I guess we look like we are honest or we don’t pose a threat.  We were cleared to proceed with no issues.

Well almost. 

As we pulled away Pat pointed out a message on Percy’s dashboard.  A TPMS alert indicated the front passenger tire was at 41 lbs PSI, not the normal 65 lbs.   We pulled into a parking spot just past the checkpoint, presumably where vehicles are searched.   I inspected the tire, verified the PSI, and used our tire inflator to add air.

We continued on, keeping an eye on the TPMS.  Almost immediately the pressure started dropping – it was clear we had a leak.  At the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 20 miles from the border, the pressure had fallen by nearly 10 psi.  We decided to put on the spare.

Calling for roadside assistance wasn’t an option – we were outside the cell service area (not uncommon on the Alaska Highway) and even if we were able to reach someone, it could have been hours before they arrived to swap the tire.  So we let a ranger at the visitor center know we would be swapping our tire in their parking lot. 

Such an endeavor is a challenge with a truck camper.  We raised the camper a few inches off the bed of the truck to lessen the weight on the jack. Then we lowered the spare from under the back of the truck, loosened the lug nuts, jacked up the right front, removed the tire, put on the spare and finally stowed the bad tire back under the truck.   In case you are wondering, an 18-in truck tire is heavy!

Spare tire installed, we lowered the camper back onto the truck.  It was at this point we made a BIG MISTAKE.  We did not notice we lowered the camper on the wire that connects the camper to the truck.

We arrived in Tok and as we were setting up for the evening, we noticed there was no power in the camper.  I started troubleshooting.  After unplugging the camper from the truck, I verified the camper battery.  It was OK, so I thought perhaps there was a blown fuse or flipped breaker. 

It was late afternoon, so we decided to connect the camper to shore power, hoping it would work, and to troubleshoot the power problem later.

Shore power worked – everything powered on as normal.  So, I disconnected shore power and everything still worked!  Hmmm, perhaps there was some sort of power transfer/relay issue.

The next morning, we were preparing to leave and to have our tire checked out at a nearby garage.  When I plugged camper into the truck I heard an arcing noise and noticed a cloud of smoke at the rear of the camper. 

THAT WAS NOT GOOD!  I quickly disconnected the camper plug. 

Pat and I discussed what might be going on. We realized that when we lowered the camper after swapping the tire, we didn’t check the location of the connection wire.  We raised the camper and it was obvious we had lowered the camper on top of the wire. Several of the wires were rubbed bare and there was a silver dollar-sized hole melted into the rubber mat under the camper.

^{Frayed wires (and nerves); repaired wires, almost as good as new}

Although Tok is a very small, remote town, they have a NAPA auto parts store.  We purchased some wire connectors and sleeves, and after removing the frayed portions, we repaired and tested the wires.

Later that morning our leaky tire (caused by a small piece of metal) was repaired and reinstalled, and we were on our way to Fairbanks.

Pat and I praise God for His protection and provision.

• Protection from a remote roadside breakdown or even an accident.   

• Provision for a safe place to swap the tire on a paved, level parking lot and a tire that only needed to be repaired and not replaced. 

• Protection from shorted, frayed wires that could have damaged our camper or truck (or even caused a fire).

• Provision for a relatively simple repair and for the needed parts that were locally available.

One final provision: it was lunchtime as we swapped our tire.  One of the rangers was grilling something on the deck behind the visitor center.  He stopped by the truck to check our tire-swap progress and handed us a plate with grilled halibut and vegetables. 

We thanked the ranger and praised God.  Lunch never tasted so good!   

Next week:

We arrive in Fairbanks, battle mosquitoes on the way to Chena Hot Springs and see The Great One. Critter counts and cinnamon bun reviews will also resume.

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 14)

After adding our sign to the Watson Lake Sign Post Forest, we were ready to continue across the Yukon Territory to Alaska!

Crossing the Yukon

The Yukon Territory is in the far northwest of Canada, extending from the top of British Columbia to the Arctic Ocean. A few roads crisscross the territory, with the Alcan, or Alaska Highway, being the main route to Alaska.

Detailed roadmaps or GPS devices are not essential for directions. The Milepost is essential, however. The thick book provides mile-by-mile (kilometer-by-kilometer?) information about highways in the region with plenty of recommendations for interesting stops along the way.

That night we camped at a scenic lakeside territorial park between Watson Lake and Whitehorse and enjoyed sitting by the campfire.

The next morning, we took a short walk to Rancheria Falls and watched two fly fishermen try their luck on the beautiful river. 

Alcan Cinnamon Buns

Later that morning we stopped at Johnson’s Crossing Lodge for what they claimed to be the world’s best cinnamon buns.  The coffee was hot and the buns were sweet, cinnamon goodness. But they weren’t fresh (baked the previous day) and contained raisins, not our favorite ingredient for such buns. Our eval: good but not the world’s best.  Bun score: 3 out of 5.

(Like Nanaimo Bars on Vancouver Island, fresh coffee and homemade cinnamon buns lure travelers all along the Alaska Highway. Many places claim to have the world’s best cinnamon buns. As a public service, we’ll give them a try and provide our somewhat objective cinnamon bun score!)

On to Whitehorse

Our destination was Whitehorse, the capital and largest town in the territory (population 35,000). A few miles before Whitehorse, however, we stopped to take the photo below.

Whitehorse

Whitehorse was busy, with lots of RVers and others refueling and restocking for the final drive to Alaska.  The town is located on the banks of the broad and swift-flowing Yukon River. 

^{Views of the historic Klondike sternweeler}

We toured the S.S. Klondike, a 210-ft long shallow draft sternwheeler that transported passengers and cargo 500 miles downriver to Dawson City, Yukon until 1950.  More than 250 sternwheelers plied the treacherous 2000-mile-long Yukon from the late-1800s gold rush days until the mid-1950s.  Massive wood lots along the river provided fuel for the steam-powered vessels, with boats like the Klondike using up to a cord of wood an hour.

The next day we rode our bicycles on a five-mile trail along the river, stopping at the Whitehorse Dam, whose hydroelectric generators produce power for the town.  We were fascinated by a wood fish ladder that provides chinook salmon returning more than 2000 miles from the Pacific access to spawning grounds further up the Yukon.  At 1200 feet, it’s the longest wooden fish ladder in the world.

We planned to celebrate Pat’s birthday at the Klondike Ribs and Salmon Restaurant, but were disappointed to learn the restaurant had recently closed.  So we settled for a nice rib-less dinner at the nearby Woodcutter’s Blanket.

Lunch in Haines Junction

After four nights, we left Whitehorse and stopped several hours later for a free lunch of stew and bannock at the Haines Junction Visitor Information Centre.  It was National Indigenous Peoples Day, a celebration of the history, heritage, resilience and diversity of native people across Canada.  We learned a little about the Tlingit and other native people in the area and enjoyed their hospitality.

^{Views of Kluane NP}

Kluane (Rhymes with Suwannee)

That night we camped at Kluane NP.  The park is rugged and beautiful, with snowcapped mountains and glaciers to the west.  When combined with the Wrangell-St Elias NP in the US, the region is the largest international protected area in the world. 

Any references to Kluane (and Alaska as well) should include mention of clouds of large and hungry mosquitoes.  We’ve learned the mosquitoes are having a big year in 2023 unlike our mostly mosquito-free 2018 trip!

After leaving Kluane NP, our route took us back through Haines Junction. We stopped at  Village Bakery for coffee, and learned they, too, had cinnamon buns. The buns were slightly better (a little fresher with great frosting) than those we tried earlier. Bun score: 3.5.

^{The roads were rough between Haines Junction and Tok, Alaska, with numerous construction delays}

Arriving In Alaska (Finally)

After one final night at the same Yukon territorial campground we stayed at in 2018, we reached the Alaska border, almost three months and 11000 miles since leaving home on March 25.

At the border we experienced two challenges that were amazing reminders of God’s protection and provision.  More on these next week as our 2023 Alaska Revisited journeys continue.

Critter Count

Swans – 9
Elk – 2
Grizzly Bears – 2
Black bear – 1
Moose – 1
Rabbits, ducks, jays, eagles – multiple
Mosquitoes – 171,213,667,123 (or more)

Next week:

Working through challenges in Alaska as we make our way to Fairbanks

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 13)

We returned to Washington after a week on Vancouver Island to pick up an Amazon order delivered to our friend’s house and to have a minor upgrade made to Percy’s suspension.  We’re confident that air shocks and overload spring sway stops will improve the ride and safety of our Percy-Pap combination!

After an uneventful border crossing back into Canada, we continued north past Vancouver and up the Sea-to-Sky Highway. 

The highway took us past the location of several of the events of the 2010 Winter Olympics and across several mountain passes.  Lush green and heavily forested western slopes gave way to drier, sparse eastern slopes. 

At Lillooet, we stopped for lunch overlooking the Fraser River.  The area is sometimes referred to as the Arizona of Canada because of extreme summer temperatures – during a 2021 heatwave, the temperature in Lillooet reached 116.2 F and temps at five other nearby towns ranged from 113 F – 121.3 F.  We are thankful our visit was a lot more pleasant!

Cassiar Highway

Continuing toward Alaska, we camped at several British Columbia provincial park campgrounds and finally reached the Cassiar Highway, a 450-mile highway that connects central British Columbia to the Alaska Highway in the Yukon Territory.  The highway is remote, somewhat narrow at times, with few services along the way. 

It was rainy and foggy when we drove the Cassiar in 2018 as we returned from our first trip to Alaska. We didn’t see much.  This time was different – beautiful snow-capped mountains, scenic lakes and wildlife were visible all along the route.

A Side Trip to Salmon Glacier (Almost)

We took a side trip to Stewart, a small town near the Pacific Coast and continued to Hyder, Alaska, an even smaller town in a remote corner of Alaska just two miles away.  The Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site is near Hyder, frequented by bears when the salmon are spawning during the late summer.  No salmon this time but there were bears nearby, waiting, perhaps, for the salmon to arrive.

^{Arriving and leaving Hyder, Alaska (note small Canada entry station in second photo)}

In 2018 we drove almost 20 miles from Hyder up a rutted, bumpy road to view the spectacular Salmon Glacier.  This time we hoped to camp at the glacier overlook, but after driving almost 15 miles we discovered the road was covered with snow and could go no further. 

We did have a view of the toe of Salmon Glacier however.

While we took in the view, a massive, earth roamer-style vehicle arrived.   It was being driven by a couple from Switzerland who had been on the road since early January after their vehicle was shipped from Europe to eastern Canada.  We took comfort knowing that even earth roamer vehicles had to turn around! See RabbiTRAILS blog post from 2018 with Salmon Glacier view

Cassiar Lakeside Camping

We spent three nights at several provincial parks along the Cassiar. where we camped just a few feet from the water’s edge of several beautiful lakes.  We enjoyed mountain views and calm, mirror-smooth water each morning.  Loons and their eerie, beautiful calls, as well as bugling elk, could be heard in the distance.  Our peace was interrupted only by clouds of hungry mosquitoes seeking their next meal (us)!

^{Lake camping along the Cassiar Highway}

^{Three beautiful lakes along the Cassiar – Meziadin Lake, Boya Lake and Kinaskan Lake}

Watson Lake and the Sign Post Forest

Our Cassiar drive concluded with a night at Watson Lake, a small town on the Alaska Highway known for its sign post forest.  

During the Alaska Highway Project in 1942, a US soldier was ordered to repair the directional signposts in the town, and while completing the job, he added a sign with the direction and mileage to his hometown.  Others added similar signs, and for 80+ years, travelers from around the world have been posting signs from their hometowns.  Nearly 100,000 signs have been posted, including two RabbiTRAILS signs!

^{Our 2023 and 2018 signs at the Watson Lake Sign Post Forest}

Critter Count

Moose – 1 cow

Black Bear – 5 (including 2 babies)

Highland cattle – 3

Bald eagle – 1

Ducks, swans, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, vole

^{Critters along the Cassiar – momma and baby bears, and a fleeing moose}

Next week: 

We visit Whitehorse, capital of Yukon Territory, camp in Kluane NP and have a memorable arrival in Alaska.

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 12)

From Grand Coulee Dam, our travels took us to North Cascades NP, where we camped before continuing to northwest Washington.

We visited Pat’s cousin in Sedro-Wooley, northeast of Seattle, and a Florida camp friend in nearby Lynden,  ‘moochdocking’ in their driveways for the night.  Their gracious hospitality was very much appreciated.

_{Enjoyable visits with family and friends}

There are large berry farms near Lynden.  It’s too bad we were too early to enjoy the blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and more that will be ripe later in the season. 

Snow-covered Mt. Baker dominates the eastern skyline and our camp friend and her little dog Bentley took us on an afternoon drive a ways up the mountain, where we visited often photographed Picture Lake and attempted a slippery hike on the snow.

Ferry Crossing to Vancouver Island

The next day we rose at 4:30 for early border crossing into Canada and a two-hour ferry to Nanaimo, a town on Vancouver Island.  The island, off the west coast of Canada, is 250 miles long and 50 miles wide, with snow covered mountains, waterfalls and rugged beaches.

Our plans were to explore the island for a week, and we started with a visit with the Burians, also friends from camp.  We spent a day in the Parksville area driving to the scenic Little Mountain Lookout and touring the North Island Wildlife Recovery and Discovery Center. 

All’s Fine in Tofino

From Parksville, we bypassed Victoria, a beautiful city on the southern tip of the island, and instead crossed the island midway to Tofino.  The small town is on the Pacific side of the island and is said to be the surfing capital of Canada. 

We didn’t surf but did enjoy fish and chips at a small boardwalk eatery and a couple Nanaimo bars at a coffee shop.  That evening we camped in Pacific Rim NP where we walked along Long Beach and watched wetsuit-clad surfers ride the waves.

^{A single serving of fish and chips was enough for both of us, but we had to have our own Nanaimo Bars!}

Nanaimo Bars

In case you haven’t heard of them, three-layer Nanaimo bars are a yummy dessert named after the local town.  They have a base of graham crackers and shredded coconut, a middle of butter icing and hardened chocolate on the top.  For those who can’t get enough, more than three dozen Nanaimo businesses serve up their version of the dessert on the Nanaimo Bar Trail!

Tall Trees and Goats on the Roof

From Tofino, we drove back across the island and stopped to see Cathedral Grove, a magnificent stand of huge old growth cedar and fir trees, many several hundred feet tall.  From there, we had to stop to see the goats on the grass-topped roof of Old Country Market.  Inside the charming market is an assortment of groceries and gifts, and wonderful fresh donuts!

_{Goats on the roof of the Old Country Market; photo of two old goats}

A Waterfall Suspension Bridge

At Campbell River, a half day north, we camped at Elk Falls Provincial Park. Although no elk were to be seen, we did visit the falls.  The falls plunge 75 feet into a deep pool and can be viewed from a suspension bridge overhead.  The trail also includes a nice view of the bottom of the falls.

_{Elk River Falls (suspension bridge at top of right photo)}

Before leaving Campbell River, we made our first stop of this trip at Tim Horton’s, Canada’s ubiquitous coffee and donut chain.  ‘Timmy H’ brought back tasty memories of our visit to Newfoundland last year.

Our visit concluded with another early morning ferry ride back to the mainland.  We will have fond memories of our time visiting family and friends in the area, and touring Vancouver Island.  

(Since leaving the island, we learned that the road across the island to Tofino has been closed for nearly two weeks due to a forest fire near the Cathedral Grove.  As the only road across the island, Tofino residents and visitors are stranded until the road reopens.  Had we visited a week later, we would probably still be there!  We praise God for the timing of our visit and pray the road will reopen soon!)

Next week: 

North to the Cassiar Highway and the Watson Lake Sign Forest.                           

2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 11

(We’re playing catch up in this week’s RabbiTRAILS.  Like many other blogs, RabbiTRAILS lags behind ‘real’ time.  We’re currently in Stewart, British Columbia near the Cassiar Highway. Later this week we will be in Watson Lake, the location of the famous traveler sign post forest (see our 2018 sign).  Meanwhile, we return to ‘blog time’…)

Oregon Coast

From the towering California redwoods, we continued to the Oregon coast.  We enjoyed the wonderful views and less expensive gas!

At Harris Beach SP, we hiked down a steep rocky trail to where the waves crashed against tall rocks.  Further along, there was a long flat beach where the tide was quickly coming in.  We had to step quickly to avoid getting our shoes wet! 

We ascended a trail to an overlook high above the rugged shoreline to get a better view of the rocks and beach.  What a view!

---

We turned inland from the coast, returning to Portland for a warranty repair on Pap and a suspension upgrade for Percy. 

A Big Wooden Plane

We stopped overnight at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, the home of the famous Hughes Flying Boat, better known as the ‘Spruce Goose.’

The Goose is a huge plane made entirely of wood by Howard Hughes.  It was intended to transport heavy equipment and up to 400 soldiers to Europe during WWII.   With a wingspan of 321 feet (more than a football field) and length of 219 feet, the plane was the largest ever made for many years.  It was completed in 1947, and flown by Hughes for just one 30-second flight in Long Beach, CA before being ‘mothballed.’  With the end WWII, it was no longer needed.

The plane was acquired by Evergreen in 1992 and is now the centerpiece of the museum.  It is surrounded by many other aircraft from early planes to modern miliary jets.  Experimental planes and helicopters are also on display. 

An adjacent space museum has displays from early rocket launches through the Space Shuttle.

The museum is a nice one-day stop on any trip to the area.

---

We arrived in Portland, completed our repairs and camped at Milo McIver SP, just a few miles outside the city.  For the first time on this trip, Pap spent three nights at the campsite while we explored the local area.

Musical Fish

Inside the park, we visited a chinook salmon and steelhead hatchery on a tributary of the Clackamas River.  Dan, a ranger at the hatchery, explained how the Clackamas Hatchery hatches and releases 1.2 million juvenile salmon annually. 

From just a few hundred of the several thousand salmon that return to hatchery each year, eggs are ‘harvested’ and fertilized. The fertilized eggs are transported to another hatchery several miles away where they are hatched and raised.  Young salmon that are two inches or more in length (called fingerlings) are transported back to Milo McIver, where, in two months, they grow to five inches and are released.  In a year or two they return to the hatchery and the cycle is repeated.

Meanwhile, fertilized eggs from the other hatchery are trucked to Milo McIver where they are hatched, raised and eventually returned to the other hatchery where they too are released. 

Confused about the reason for the fish musical chairs?  We were.  Pathogens in the water at Milo McIver harm the developing fish, so they are transported to the other hatchery to give the young fish a better chance of survival.

This is an example of the considerable efforts being taken throughout the Pacific northwest, Alaska and Canada to ensure the various salmon species survive and thrive.

Fish stories aside, we continued northeast through central Washington.  We visited ‘Stonehenge,’ an interesting memorial to WWI veterans on a bluff high above the Columbia River Gorge that resembles the famous stone formation in England.   Talk about a RabbiTRAIL!

Dry Falls, the World’s Largest Waterfall

A few hours away we observed the once largest waterfall in the world, Dry Falls. 

Huh?

In a past ice age, huge ice sheets covered eastern Washington, Montana and southern Canada.  Tremendous flows of melt water raged across the area during a period of warming, carving out a huge waterfall near Coulee City, WA.  The now dry waterfall was the biggest ever in the world at 400 feet tall and 3 1/2 miles wide.  The falls would dwarf today’s 165-foot Niagara Falls.

Although the falls no longer exist, there are several small lakes at the base of Dry Falls with lots of hungry mosquitoes!

Grand Coulee Dam

From Dry Falls we traveled to the site of a ‘man-made’ waterfall, the Grand Coulee Dam.  The dam is 550 feet high and almost a mile long and was completed in 1942.  It is the largest hydroelectric dam in the US, powering more than 4.2 million homes!

The water flow over the dam was impressive, enlarged by the spring snow runoff upriver.

—

While in central Washington, we reached the two month point of our Alaska travels.   Warmer weather meant it was time to begin traveling north through Canada to Alaska. 

Next Week:

We visit Pat’s cousin and several camp friends north of Seattle, and check out Vancouver Island before beginning the final leg of our journey to Alaska.