(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 28)

We hope you are enjoying our roadtrip RabbiTRAILS.  They helped make the long trip home fun and interesting.  Apart from Matchstick Marvels below, all of the places we visited were free. 

A good source of information to plan your own roadtrip to uniquely odd tourist attractions is the Roadside America website.

Matchsticks by the Millions

When I was (much) younger, I shaved the heads off matches and packed them into a copper tube with a flattened end to make a rocket engine of sorts.  After a few (very) low orbit flights of my not-quite-SpaceX booster, I was challenged with what to do with the headless matchsticks. 

We’re not sure if Iowa artist Patrick Acton got his start shaving matchsticks to fuel homemade rockets, but he definitely found a use for matchsticks.

Millions of them.

We stopped at Matchstick Marvels, a small museum in Gladbrook, Iowa.  There, we were amazed by the detailed scale models Acton has created using millions of two-inch-long matchsticks over the last 44+ years.

There was an amazing lighted model of the US Capitol and an intricate model of Notre Dame Cathedral.  A huge Apollo 11 complete with the Saturn V rocket engine and command module soared above us. 

A variety of models are on display in the small museum, from a Space Shuttle poised for takeoff and the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier, along with other ships, several types of planes, dinosaurs and other animals.  

^{A model of Hill Valley from Back to the Future even included a time traveling DeLorean}

A particularly interesting creation was of Hill Valley, the fictional town from the Back to the Future trilogy. The matchstick town was complete with various buildings, courthouse, clock tower and even a DeLorean.

Acton’s creations can be seen in a number of Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Museums throughout North America, Europe and Asia.  They have been featured on numerous television programs and in various publications.

Plowing the Prairie and Feeding the World

As we drove along the gently rolling hills of Minnesota and Iowa, Pat and I were fascinated by rugged farm machinery plowing fields and harvesting crops.  Quite often the equipment was green and yellow and emblazed with the well-known John Deere logo.

We visited the John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum to learn about the history and products of the John Deere company.  The museum includes dozens of restored tractors and other farm machines, various artifacts, and hands-on exhibits.

Farming equipment on display ranged from plows and early tractors to an ultramodern air-conditioned tractor with a GPS guidance system.    

What an impact John Deere and other farm machinery manufacturers have had on producing food for a hungry world!

We Get Spammed

As we prepare for RabbiTRAILS journeys we often purchase a can of SPAM in case we are somewhere where groceries aren’t available. 

Pat claims SPAM is most palatable when thinly sliced and cooked until crispy. We’ve tried various flavors, including hickory smoke, maple, hot and spicy, and bacon. They pretty much taste the same. Suffice it to say SPAM is not our favorite menu choice.  

Although we had already satisfied our ‘one can of SPAM per trip’ allotment, we stopped at Hormel’s SPAM Museum in Austin MN, to learn all about SPAM!

Introduced in 1937 as an affordable source of protein during the Great Depression and way to sell pork shoulder, SPAM was named by the brother of a Hormel Foods executive, allegedly the contraction of ‘spiced ham.’  More than 150 million pounds of the pink stuff were consumed by US soldiers during World War II.  They also used SPAM grease to lubricate their guns and waterproof their boots!

SPAM has been celebrated and maligned over the years as ‘specially processed American meat’, ‘spoiled ham’, ‘stuff posing as meat’, and ‘scientifically processed animal matter’.  Who can forget the Monty Python skit with Vikings chanting ‘SPAM, SPAM, SPAM… ‘, that eventually became the source of the word ‘spam’ to describe unwanted emails.

Fifteen flavors of SPAM are currently sold in more than 44 countries.  There are international SPAM-related cultural displays and recipes, including exhibits from the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong, where the canned meat is particularly popular. 

Overall, the US consumes the most SPAM.  Hawaiians have the highest per capita consumption in the US, averaging more than five cans a year per person.  SPAM is even available in many McDonald’s locations in the Aloha state.

205 Years from Now

Earlier in our trip we visited Vasquez Rocks Natural Area near Los Angeles (2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 7), where several episodes of Star Trek were filmed. Last week, we blogged (Ep 27) about our visit to Vulcan, Alberta, home of a Star Trek tourist center and numerous Star Trek and Spock-themed displays around the small town.

We thought it fitting to make another with Star Trek-related RabbiTRAIL stop, this time at the future birthplace of Star Trek’s James T. Kirk in Riverside, Iowa. The Enterprise captain will start his life trek on Saturday, March 22, 2228. 

Riverside, a small town in southeast Iowa near the Amana Colonies and Amish community of Kolona, has erected a monument that establishes the town as Kirk’s future birthplace.  Banners on light poles throughout the town proclaim the town is “Where the Trek Begins.”

^{Star Trek-themed banners seen throughout the town; we wondered if the Enterprise obeyed the posted speed limit}

^{A Star Trek museum wouldn’t be complete without Gorn; the future Captain Kirk even has his own bronze statue}

We stepped inside the Voyage Home History Center just around the corner from the plaque to peruse their Star Trek displays and memorabilia. We learned during the last weekend of June next year the town will host their 39^th Trekfest, celebrating all things Star Trek with special guest speakers, costume contests, sports events, a large parade, fireworks and more.

One of Riverside’s taverns used to claim to be the location where Captain Kirk was conceived.  Guess we won’t know for sure for another 205 years.

Cinnamon Bun Review/Critter Count

None to report this week. Check back in the next RabbiTRAILS episode!

Next Week

After many miles and several mid-west roadtrip RabbiTRAILS, we visit two National Parks as we near completion of our 2023 Alaska Revisited travels.

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 27)

It’s been a while since the last RabbTRAILS update. 

Since getting home four weeks ago, we’ve been playing catchup after six months of Alaska Revisited travels:  deep cleaning Percy and Pap, maintaining our home including some minor repairs to plumbing and sprinkler heads, reconnecting with family and friends, and visiting doctors, dentists and barbers.

Over the next several weeks we will wrap up our 2023 Alaska Revisited blog.

The LONG Long Roadtrip Home

As we left the majestic mountains, roaring rivers and wonderful wildlife of Banff and Jasper NP, we faced the daunting reality that we were more than 2700 miles from home! 

To make the trip a bit more interesting, we decided to visit fun and often kitschy roadside attractions on the way home. 

We hope you enjoy our roadtrip rambles as much as we did!

Live Long and Prosper

As we headed east, the Canadian Rockies gave way to gently rolling corn and wheat fields that extended to the horizon.  Several hours later we arrived at Canada’s Start Trek capital: Vulcan, Alberta.  

Our stop in Vulcan was a follow up to an earlier visit to Vasquez Rocks near Los Angeles, where several original Star Trek episodes were filmed (see RabbiTRAILS 2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 7).

At the edge of town, we admired a large model of the Starship Enterprise and then visited the Vulcan Tourism and Trek Station, the town’s Star Trek-themed visitor center that includes an extensive, curated memorabilia collection, interactive costume displays on the holodeck and a gift shop filled with vintage Star Trek items.

The town has a fun and interesting Star Trek-related identity, from Enterprise models on light poles to crosswalks painted with Star Trek emblems.  On Vulcan Street, you can stay at the Vulcan Inn, buy groceries at the Vulcan Market, and even eat at the Vulcan Sushi Restaurant, before visiting a bronze bust of Spock and Leonard Nimoy handprint, and a variety of Star Trek-themed murals that adorn the town.

_{Vulcan’s interesting street murals, including doctors on various Star Trek shows and a Spock-themed ice cream shop!}

Pat stepped into a streetside transporter, hoping to shorten the trip home.   Although it didn’t work for her, you might want to beam into town in 2024 for a weekend of Star Trek events during the town’s VULCON convention next July! 

A Palace of Corn?

Perhaps you’ve heard of Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. 

Originally built in 1892, the façade of the palace is decorated with murals made from different types of naturally colored corn, grains and native grasses.  The murals reflect a different theme chosen each year and are made by cutting ears of corn in half lengthwise and nailing them in place.  It costs $130,000 to decorate the Palace each year!

Inside, we were expecting an agriculture museum of some sort, with lots of information about corn and various farm implements.   

Instead, the palace is a sports and entertainment facility, with bleachers, foldaway basketball nets and an open floor area for graduations, concerts and other events.  It is the home of the Dakota Wesleyan University Tiger and Mitchel High School Kernel basketball teams.

A Jolly Green Ho, ho, Ho

He’s the purveyor of canned cream corn and squishy little green peas. Hands are on his huge green hips, his sly grin seems to imply, “You can’t have dessert until you finish your vegetables.” 

Suppressing childhood memories of holding my nose and trying not to gag, I was favorably impressed by the tall Jolly Green Giant that stands along I-90 in Blue Earth, MN.  Built in 1978, the 55 ½ foot tall fiberglass statue is the symbol of the B&G foods and vegetable farmers in the area. 

We visited the Green Giant Welcome Center and Museum, a mere 10 giant steps across the parking lot.  The museum has an interesting collection of Green Giant memorabilia and displays about the company’s history.

About that dessert…isn’t there a place with cinnamon buns coming up?

They Say It’s The World’s Largest Truck Stop

If Buc-ee’s was a truck stop, The Iowa 80, World’s Largest Truck Stop is what the result would be.  The truck stop is 75 acres big, with 150 fuel pumps and parking for more than 900 semi-trucks, dozens of RVs and plenty of cars.  

After setting up at our asphalt campsite (er, parking lot) next to other RVs, we made our way to the truck stop retail building.  The building has a large area with general tourist type items (t-shirts, magnets and the like) and a separate floor with trucker gear.  There is also a food-court area with several fast food restaurants and a separate sit down restaurant. 

^{The truck stop has more than two acres of retail space}

Need to get a haircut, take a shower or have your back adjusted?  No problem!  Those services are offered on upper floors of the truck stop.  You can also watch a movie, visit a dentist, wash your dirty laundry and more!   You won’t find those services at Buc-ee’s.

That night we were serenaded by the growls of semis coming and going from the truck stop. We missed the quiet solitude of Alaska!

Critter Count

Gorn – 1
Jolly Green Giant – 1
Sprout – 1

Cinnamon Bun Review

There were no cinnamon buns to be found after we left the Canadian Rockies. 

We were desperate. 

When we came across cinnamon roll-flavored popcorn at the Corn Palace, we HAD to give it a try.  The crunchy popcorn had the cinnamony, sweet taste of breakfast buns.  We didn’t down the exploded kernels with coffee, however!

Bun score – 1 out of 5 (great taste but nothing beats a REAL cinnamon bun!)

Next Week

We get spammed, visit another Star Trek attraction and more, as our roadtrip rambles continue.

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 24)

Were we crazy? 

1000+ miles of dust and mud on a remote bone-jarring, tire-grinding dirt roads.  Just to dip our toes in the Arctic Ocean.

You betcha! 

This journey was a RabbiTRAIL of a lifetime.  For us, anyway.   

Drive to the Arctic?

There are two roads to the Arctic Ocean in North America. 

The Dalton Highway, constructed in the 1970s for the Alaska Oil Pipeline, runs 414 miles from Livengood (north of Fairbanks) to Prudhoe Bay.  It follows the oil pipeline as it crosses several mountain ranges and a wide expanse of the Arctic tundra. 

2018 – Our First Arctic Opportunity

In August 2018, we left Pancake in Fairbanks and followed the Dalton northward across the Yukon River, past the Arctic Circle, and camped in the back of Max at a BLM campground a few miles north of Coldfoot.   It was a cold night.  The tops of the nearby mountains were dusted with snow when we awoke the next morning.  

Our overnight stop was still 230 rugged miles from Prudhoe Bay, and special arrangements were needed to visit the Arctic Ocean due to security at the oil production facilities.  So, we decided to turn back to Fairbanks. 

By the end of the trip Max was covered with thick mud from the slushy (mostly) gravel highway. We’re pretty sure several pounds of Dalton Highway mud were still imbedded in the truck when we sold it earlier this year!

2023 – A Second Chance!

This year we had another chance to visit the Arctic Ocean – this time via Canada’s Dempster Highway. 

The 500+ mile dirt road starts a few miles from Dawson City as it goes north through Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories.  Although the Dempster officially ends at Inuvik, there is an extension to Tuktoyaktuk (Tuk), a small town on the Arctic Ocean.   

^{Views along the Dempster near Tombstone Territorial Park}

We camped the first night at Tombstone Territorial Park (mile 46).  The gravel road wasn’t too bad, but we could see what was ahead. 

Vehicles starting the trip, like ours, were just a little dirty.  Those finishing were COVERED with dust and mud.

The Dempster can be very dusty or very muddy, depending on the weather. It was BOTH for us!

A Welcome Stop at Eagle Plains   

The next morning, we drove along a creek with unusual pumpkin orange water.  It was Engineer Creek (mile 107).

We thought it might be some sort of industrial runoff.  The water was totally natural, however, rust colored from surface iron deposits upstream.

The road continued to Eagle Plains (mile 227), first services on the highway that included gas at $6.03 a gallon, a garage, restaurant, motel and campground.   We were grateful they allowed us to connect to their wifi to check on things back home.     

A few miles north, we took a selfie at the Arctic Circle marker (mile 251).   We were surrounded by valleys and distant mountains covered with short yellow bushes. It was a sign that fall had arrived.    

^{More views along the Dempster: wet and windy road through the mountains; we slowed often for large trucks hauling fuel and supplies to Inuvik and Tuk}

The next morning we endured 40 miles of the roughest roads thus far, often driving at less than 20 mph to dodge potholes and rough washboard. 

Fortunately, when we crossed into Northwest Territory (mile 290), road conditions improved.  We were told and it was evident that NWT spends more to maintain their portion of the Dempster.

At mile 337, we crossed the Peel River on a small cable-guided ferry and continued until our first major hurdle of our Dempster trip – a flat tire. 

A Roadside Tire Swap and Unexpected Connection

We hastily stopped on the side of the narrow gravel road, thankful Percy’s TPMS alerted us before the hissing tire went flat. 

We performed the previously rehearsed tire swap routine with one big change (emphasis added): raise the camper, loosen the tire lugs, jack up the truck, lower and install the spare, and CAREFULLY lower the camper ensuring the connecting wire is not underneath!

Passing drivers stopped to offer help. One driver noticed the ‘In God We Trust’ slogan on our Florida license tag.  We learned he was a Christ-follower from Edmonton working on a government fiber project along the road.  What a neat and unexpected way to connect with another believer!

Tire replaced, we continued, checking the TPMS often for additional tire leaks.   

A few miles later we crossed the broad Mackenzie River on a second ferry (mile 380) and spent the night in Inuvik (mile 456), the largest community along the Dempster.

We discovered most businesses in Inuvik are closed on Sunday, so we had to wait until Monday to have our flat repaired.  We attended Lighthouse Community Church where we were warmly greeted by the pastor and his wife.  The service included heartfelt testimonies from several teenagers who just returned from a church camp on Vancouver Island.   We were reminded of the many fond memories we have of Camp Cedarbrook.

---

We wondered whether our tires could handle the rough gravel roads ahead.  This was our second flat of this trip.  New tires would be very expensive and might take a week or more to be delivered if not available in Inuvik.  We prayed for wisdom and patience. 

On Monday, the tire was repaired and we learned the flat was caused by a four-inch-long metal tube the diameter of a drinking straw.  The repairman said the tires were fine, otherwise.  Praises and thanks!

On to the Arctic

From Inuvik, it was still 90 miles to Tuk and the Arctic Ocean. We opted to leave Pap at the campground and drive the round trip to Tuk on Tuesday. 

The next morning we drove along the tundra, past dozens of lakes. Eventually we had a treeless view to the horizon. The roads were the worst of the trip and it took more than three hours to reach Tuk.  

Land of the Pingos

Nearing Tuk, we noticed a number of unusual hills in the distance. They appeared to be about 100-foot tall and several hundred yards in diameter. 

The hills were pingos, ice-cored mounds pushed up from the permafrost. 

In Tuk, we climbed to the top of a pingo for an elevated view of the small town and distant Arctic Ocean.

^{Sitting in red Canada Parc chairs and a sign welcoming visitors to Tuk – both with a pingo in the background}

We drove to the end of the road where a large blue sign informed us we had arrived at the Arctic Ocean.  The skies were overcast and the surprisingly calm ocean was gray. 

We walked along the stony shoreline, took off our shoes and socks, and carefully waded into the water.  It was windy and cold, so we didn’t linger.

The Long Return Trip to Smoother Roads

We returned to Inuvik and began driving the 500+ mile LONG ROAD south the next morning. 

Our return was uneventful.

We camped alongside the road near the Arctic Circle where we carefully walked through the tundra and picked more blueberries.  Near Engineer Creek, a grizzly bear was walking on the road.  We stopped and the large sandy-brown bear passed within a dozen feet of us!        

Dempster Reflections

Reflecting on our eight day LONG ROAD trip to the Arctic Ocean, Pat and I marvel at the remoteness and beauty of the Dempster, and give thanks for safe travels and blessings of the various amazing experiences that culminated with dipping our toes into the Arctic Ocean.  We especially appreciate the numerous kind people we met who helped make the trip interesting, positive and fun.

And finally, like others before us, our truck and camper were covered with mud and dirt, distinctions of the long and interesting Dempster RabbiTRAIL!

Critter Count

Grizzly bears – 1
Coyote – 1
Porcupine – 1
Canada geese – many
Grouse – 26+
Eagles, Owls – 1 each
Grouse – 26+
Swans – 45+
Sandhill canes – 15+
Open range horses – many

Cinnamon Bun Review

Cinnamon buns weren’t to be found along the Dempster.   

So we tried thinking outside the bun. We tried some cinnamon bun-flavored Oreos from a small store in Inuvik.  Each crunchy cookie had a sweet cinnamon-flavored center. 

Bun score – 0 out of 5.  Oreo score – 5 out of 5!

Fortunately, we didn’t abandon our bun quest.

After completing the Dempster, we continued south to Whitehorse (on paved roads, yeah!).  A few miles from our destination, we stopped at Braeburn Lodge to try one of their famous cinnamon buns. 

The Braeburn bun is not a snack – it’s an experience! 

The owner brought a fresh-baked bun from the kitchen where the magic happens and placed it in front of Pat.  We were awestruck by the the paper-plate-sized bun. Its pillowy soft coils were layered with gooey cinnamon and raisins, and drizzled with a generous amount of white icing. Oh my!

We struggled to finish the four-person bun (someone had to do it!), washing down the delicious bites with fresh coffee. 

Cinnamon buns don’t get better than this!

Bun score: 5+ out of 5  

Next week:

Bears and bison on the Alaska highway

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 23)

A visit to the Yukon wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Dawson City, location of the historic Klondike Gold Rush.  Before leaving Alaska, we stopped at quirky Chicken, and then continued to Dawson City via the Top of the World Highway.

Chicken, Alaska

Chicken is a surviving Alaska gold rush town with a year-round population of 17.  There’s a historic gold dredge, gas station, campground, a couple gift shops, café and saloon, and, of course, a large chicken statue. 

In 1902, town founders planned to name the community Ptarmigan. However, due to disagreement on the spelling, they named it Chicken instead.

After walking around the town and checking out the gift shops (which didn’t take long), we stopped in the café for, you guessed it, a cinnamon bun and coffee.  See our cinnamon bun review below to find out the results.

Crossing into Canada at the Top of the World

We continued on the Top of the World Highway, a 106-mile winding, gravel road between Chicken and Dawson City.   Trees became more and more scarce as the road climbed to over 4500 feet, and by the time we crossed the border into Canada at mile 40, there were amazing treeless views in all directions.  We were reminded of similar views along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

Dawson City

We camped along the Yukon River across from Dawson City.   A 10-minute ferry ride brought us across the swift flowing river into the town.  Most of the town consists of gold-rush era buildings and aside from the paved main street, all other streets are dusty/muddy dirt with wooden sidewalks throughout.

After looking through several shops and eating lunch at Sourdough Joe’s, we visited the small Jack London Heritage Museum. 

Several of London’s best known short stories (To Know Fire) and novels (Call of the Wild, White Fang) are based on his experiences during the Klondike gold rush in 1897, when he spent a year in the Yukon.  The museum includes a replica of a cabin he lived in while in the Yukon, built with half of the logs from his original cabin.  The other half are in a museum in Oakland, CA, London’s hometown.      

^{Recreated Jack London cabin}

Can-cans and sourtoes:  not our thing!

We decided to pass on a couple of well known Dawson City attractions:  Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Gambling Hall, a small casino with bawdy can-can shows each evening, and the sourtoe cocktail at the Downtown Hotel.  The toe-tally bizarre cocktail features a shot of Yukon Jack whiskey garnished with a dehydrated human toe.   Yuck!

Klondike Gold Fever       

^{Outside and inside views of Gold Dredge #4}

Later that day we drove several miles out of town through an active gold mining area to Historic Gold Dredge #4, a Canada National Parks National Historic Site.   The dredge and others like it scooped up and filtered tons of dirt and rocks to extract millions of dollars of gold.  An unfortunate result of such mining are the rocky tailing mounds throughout the area.

There’s a public-accessible gold mining claim not far from the dredge where Pat and I panned for gold, seeking our fortunes or at least enough to pay for our next cinnamon bun.  Using pans borrowed from the Dawson City visitor center, we crouched by an icy creek where we added water to a small scoop of dirt in each of our pans.  We pulled out larger rocks and swirled away sand and finer grit, hoping to find yellow flakes glistening at the bottom of our pans.  The result?  A few specs of something, perhaps gold or (more likely) pyrite, otherwise known as fool’s gold.

Midnight Dome

The next day we visited Midnight Dome, a lookout atop a 2911-foot mountain above the town.  People gather on the dome on the summer solstice (June 21) to watch the sun drop below the horizon and rise a few minutes later.   The sun didn’t set during our daytime visit, but we did see the town far below, as well as where the winding Klondike River flows into the Yukon.  The Ogilvie Mountains, where we drove the Top of the World Highway several days before, was visible in the distance.

Paddlewheel Graveyard

^{Riverboat relics in the Paddlewheel Graveyard}

On our final evening we walked a half-mile along the banks of the Yukon River to explore the paddlewheel graveyard.  There we saw the collapsed and decaying hulls and paddlewheels of several boats, once the primary method of transportation on the Yukon and other rivers in the area.  As air transport became more common and the road connecting Dawson City to Whitehorse was completed in 1953, the need for such boats diminished and several were drydocked along the river.                    

Critter Count

One severed toe (which we didn’t actually see and will spare you a picture of)
All of the other critters were hiding this week

Cinnamon Bun Review

Who would think a tiny café in a remote Alaska town would have amazing cinnamon buns! 

We stepped into the small Chicken Creek Café and there they were, cinnamon buns fresh from the oven and lined up on the counter, ready for us to consume and review!

^{Fresh baked cinnamon buns (and more) in the Chicken Creek Cafe}

Each pillowy bun was the size of two fists, golden brown, and covered with a thick layer of icing.  We cut our bun into smaller pieces, and washed down the cinnamony, sweet morsels with fresh brewed coffee.  The cream cheese icing was unusually good.   

Our tummies were bloated when we finished. It was the best bun thus far in our trip. 

Bun score – 5 out of 5  

Next Week:

1000 miles of dirt road and the Arctic Ocean.  

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 22)

Experiencing Denali, or the Great One, is high on the bucket list of many Alaska visitors.  It was high on ours as well, so we experienced Denali in three ways.

Experience 1: Camping in Denali National Park

After touring Alaska for more than six weeks we arrived at Denali NP, anticipating camping four days in the park.  Our first night was at Riley Campground, at the park entrance, where we caught up on laundry, filled Pap’s fresh water tank and dumped our gray and black tanks.  We were ready for a three-day stay at Teklanika (Tek) Campground.

Before continuing, here’s some information about Denali NP.    The park was established as Mt McKinley NP in 1917 to protect a dwindling dal sheep population.  It wasn’t until 1980 that the park was enlarged to include Denali, the mountain, and renamed to Denali NP.

Much of the park is remote and rarely visited.  From the entrance, there is a 92-mile road (see map above) that extends east-west into the park to Kantishna, a historical gold mining area.  After a major landslide in 2021, the road is now open only to mile 43. 

The first 15 miles of the road are paved and can be driven by visitors.  After mile 15, the road is dirt and visitors must take a bus to get to the temporary end at mile 43.  Those camping at Tek can drive to mile 29. They must stay a minimum of three days and cannot drive further into the park or back to the park entrance until they leave.  That’s three days with no electricity, limited fresh water, no way to dump tanks and no cell service.

The remoteness and wild beauty are what attracted us to Tek. 

From our campsite we walked along the ribboned channels of the Teklanika River, surrounded by beautiful mountains. 

The next day we hopped a park bus for a ride to mile 43. 

The bus groaned as it climbed the narrow, winding road up and down several mountains.   The driver shared interesting facts about the park until someone shouted ‘caribou at 2 o’clock.’  The bus stopped and everyone crowded to the right side to see a large caribou walking on the tundra about 50 yards away.  After a few minutes we continued until the next animal was spotted.

We saw a number of caribou, some with antlers more than three foot long, mama grizzly bears and their cubs, a gangly moose cow, dozens of willow ptarmigan, arctic squirrels and even a couple dal sheep.  Some were on distant hillsides and others were just off the side of the road.

^{There were plenty of animals along the Denali park road}

Later, we asked to be dropped off to walk several miles along the road.  We carried water and snacks, a couple ponchos and bear spray just in case.  We took our time to enjoy views of the mountains and deep valleys. 

A Caribou Encounter of the Denali Kind

We stopped to pick blueberries and noticed a large animal about 100 yards away, walking toward us along the road.  It was a caribou.   On one side of the road there was a steep upward slope and on the other a substantial drop off.  We stood close to the drop off, waved our arms and made loud noises.  Did the animal get the hint and turn aside?  Nope.  He strutted down the middle of the road and didn’t miss a step as he passed less than 15 feet from us!

^{A taste of Denali – we picked enough blueberries to make wild blueberry pancakes!}

^{A hike along the untamed Savage River near the Teklanika Campground}

Our Tek camping experience was one of the highlights of our trip!

Experience 2: Denali By Air

We left the park and drove a couple hours south to Talkeetna for a two-hour flight to see Denali, the mountain, up close.  We flew above immense glaciers and hung on as the pilot made a bumpy landing on Ruth Glacier.  Snow covered mountains towered all around us. After a white-knuckled take off, the pilot flew through several mountain passes and near incredible cliff faces thousands of feet tall.  We saw the base and mid-elevations of Denali, but the peak was hidden by rain clouds and fog.

Experience 3: The Denali Highway

Since 1971, most people visit Denali NP via the Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks (route 3 on above map). Before then, the park could only be reached via the Denali Highway, a remote 135-mile road that goes east-west along the Alaska Mountain Range (route 8 above).

Nearly 100 miles of highway is pot-holed and muddy/dusty, depending on the weather.  We drove slowly and carefully, and after 40 miles, we camped at a pull off with a view of the mountains to the north.  We picked more blueberries, stepping carefully to avoid ankle-deep wet areas in the boggy tundra, and we later hiked up a nearby hill to enjoy a rainbow produced by a passing rain shower. 

It was a nice end to our Denali experience.

Cinnamon Bun Review

Our Denali experiences were nearly cinnamon bun-less.  Stopping for groceries at Three Bears Alaska in Tok, we decided to try a couple of their grocery store cinnamon buns. 

The buns were covered with an enticing thick layer of icing.  The icing was yummy, but the bun was dry with little flavor.

Bun score – 2 out of 5

Lesson learned?   Put enough icing on just about anything (even liver) and it would earn a score of 2!   

^{Three Bears – Alaska’s version of Buc-ees with groceries, hardware and more; a nicely iced cinnamon bun}

Critter Count

Moose – 6
Willow Ptarmigan – 60+
Dal sheep – 2
Vole – 1
Swans – 6
Beavers – 4
Porcupine – 1
Caribou – 18
Grizzlies – 9 (including a mama griz and her three cubs)
Ground squirrels, jays, magpies, seagulls  – lots

Next week: 

Our Alaska journey comes to a close and we continue on to Canada, looking forward to new RabbiTRAILS ahead! 

(2023 Alaska Revisited Ep 21)

As our time in Alaska came to a close, several RabbiTRAILS gave us a sense of how wild and remote the 49th state can be. This week we visit the Kennecott Copper Mines nestled on the western side of the Wrangell Mountains in southeast Alaska. Next week our RabbiTRAILS take us to remote campsites in Denali National Park and along the Denali Highway, where we see amazing sights and wildlife.

The efforts that humans use to obtain valued resources are amazing.  At the turn of the 20^th century, thousands of fortune-seeking prospectors came to Alaska in search of gold.  In the 1970s, an 800-mile oil pipeline was built from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez to help satisfy America’s need for black gold and energy independence. 

Today’s RabbiTRAIL is about another quest for resources: copper and the Kennecott Mines in a remote area several hours north of Valdez. 

Leaving Valdez

We traveled north from Valdez on the Richardson Highway through scenic mountains and along wide rivers, and turned east on the highway that would take us 92 miles east to McCarthy and the Kennecott Mines.

^{We were surprised to see a herd of yaks as we drove toward Kennecott. They are being raised at the Circle F Ranch}

To the northeast were ghostly silhouettes of the Wrangell Mountains, hard to see due to smoke from fires in central Canada.  Several of the mountains are nearly as tall as Denali, and on a clear day we were told the view is spectacular.

The Wrangell and St Elias mountains are part of America’s largest national park.   During our drive to Alaska in June we visited Canada’s Kluane National Park on the other (eastern) side of these mountains.  Together they make up the largest international protected area in the world. 

The Kennecott Mines are a special historic district within the Wrangell-St Elias NP.

Kennecott Bound

We dry camped at a state park on the banks of the Copper River, about a third of the way to the Kennecott Mines.   Copper River salmon are prized for their distinctive taste.

The highway is not paved past the Copper River Bridge and quite rough and dusty as it follows an old railroad bed.   We were warned that railroad spikes occasionally surface, and not wanting to risk a flat tire, we decided to take a shuttle to the Kennecott instead.

After nearly three hours, we arrived at the Kennicott River where we walked across a narrow footbridge that spans the river.   The Kennecott Mines were still five miles away, so we rode a second shuttle past McCarthy on our way to the mines.

As we neared the mines, we could see the Root Glacier extending from the distant mountains and a  broad area of gravel mounds adjacent to the mining area. Although the gravel piles might appear to be tailings from the mine, they are actually on top of a thick layer of ice, part of the Kennicott Glacier.

The Kennecott Mining District has informative displays that explain the history of the area along with more than two dozen restored and well-preserved buildings, including the prominent concentration mill, machine shops, a general store, living quarters for laborers and skilled workers, several houses for senior staff on a hill overlooking the district (known as Silk Stocking Row), a hospital and more. 

During a two-hour tour we walked through the mining district, where we learned that copper ore was extracted from five mines near the top of the nearby mountains (from 77+ miles of tunnels) and transported via several tramways to the red concentration mill. 

^{Our guide Patrick explains after the copper ore was crushed, it was shaken and sifted on multiple tables like these. Ore with a higher concentration of copper settled to the bottom}

At the top of the 14-story concentration mill, we donned hard hats and descended several sets of steep stairs to various levels where copper ore was crushed, shaken and sifted numerous times and in different ways.   After non-copper particles were removed, the resulting 72+ percent copper mix was put into 140-lb bags and shipped by the Copper River and Northwestern (CR&NW) railroad to Cordova, Alaska.  From there, the ore was transported by ship to Tacoma, Washington, where copper smelting took place. 

The CR&NW railway itself has an interesting history.  Engineers had to overcame significant challenges of rivers, glaciers, canyon crossings and weather.  Each spring portions of the 196-mile railway had to be rebuilt.  Reflecting the impact of the challenges, some referred to the CR&NW as the Can’t Run and Never Will railway. 

By the early 1930s the highest grades of ore at the Kennecott Mines were largely depleted, and open pit mines in Utah and Nevada began to produce more copper at a lower cost.  The last train left Kennecott on November 10, 1938.  

The mines operated from 1909 to 1938, processing over 4.6 billion tons of ore containing nearly 1.2 billion pounds of copper. Total cost of operations was nearly $200 million with a net profit of more than $100 million.   

Cinnamon Bun Review

No cinnamon bun bakeries in the wild. Perhaps next week…

Critter Count

Moose – 3
Yaks – 50+
Coyotes – not seen, but heard in the Chitina Campground
Eagles – 10
Black bear – 1

Next Week:

Remote camping in Denali NP and along the Denali Highway.

(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.