Alaska Trips

Collegedale, TN to Avon Park, FL

2009-10-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

We were gone a few days short of five months. The motorhome registered 18,355 miles. The flight from Anchorage to Barrow was 1,525 miles round trip. We sailed on five ferries between Haines, AK and Prince Rupert, BC, for a total 645 miles. We also took three sightseeing cruises but have no idea the miles covered. Home was a very welcome sight! Our son and his family had kept the yard manicured, and everything look so very nice.

2009-10-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 7, was a travel day to Collegedale, TN. We parked our unit at the home of our friends, Bob and Clymera Lorren and also visited with Cliff and Rachel Myers, former friends from Avon Park.

2009-10-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

On October 2 we arrived at Hot Springs, AK and stayed there through October 6. While there we visited with his sister, Betty Montgomery, and sister-in-law, Faye Palsgrove.

Georgie

2009-10-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we left Forest City and arrived today at St. Joseph, MO. Our stop here is to pick up Georgie. He is a Havanese puppy. This picture was taken when he was about three months old. However, we didn't pick him up until he was four months old. We had purchased him when we were in Alaska, and the breeder kindly held him for us. He is the most loving dog and won't let at least one of us out of his sight. When we move from room to room he trots after us. While I am typing this, he is on the floor beside me. We are actually posting this narrative on December 13. This breed comes from Cuba. They do not shed and are hypoallergenic. He gets along with our cat, Oreo, and loves to chase a ball. He seems to prefer to hang out with John, but he shares himself with Carol at times. Below is a more recent picture. His fur is so soft and fluffy. They are sometimes called Havana silk dogs. In this picture he is all tired out from chasing his ball down the driveway.

Forest City, IA

2009-09-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

We were in Forest City from 9/25 until 9/29. The reason being our motorhome was sideswiped while we were parked in Anchorage. We came to Winnebago's factory to have it repaired. It appeared to be caused by a rental motorhome that had been parked next to it, and it was gone when we returned. Evidently the driver turned as he was backing, causing the bumper to scrape the side. There was about $3,000 worth of damage and our insurance covered all but $400.

Carrington, ND to Mitchell, SD

2009-09-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

We had never been to Mitchell, South Dakota to see the Corn Palace. These are some scenes taken both outside and inside. The theme for 2009 was Americas destinations. The pictures depicted many places we had been, like Mt. Rushmore, Lincoln Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial.

The picture above is a close-up to give you an idea of how the natural materials are used. We read that there are about a dozen different colors of corn that are grown for this project.

The 2010 theme is transporation. They have completed this train and car, and you can see they are constructing another scene. You can't tell by the picture because of equipment blocking the view, but it is a 4-wheeler.

The picture above is of the very first Corn Palace built in 1892. We liked the picture below because it shows a parade passing and the Statue of Liberty in "center stage." It was from the early '20's.

The next two pictures each contained twelve different years of designs.

Below are two very colorful designs.

On the road to Carrington, ND

2009-09-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

We thought these highway markers were very appropriate. Someone had added the angel and flowers. Many were decorated with flowers. Printed on the back side was the word, "Think." Some other states in our travels had white crosses. These certainly encourage you to drive safely.

This is Carrington's water tower.

The reason for stopping in Carrington was to visit our friend, Ginger Unruh. Her family lived in Avon Park in the late '60's, and our children played together. We camped with their family in Yellowstone about 1977, after they moved west. We have only seen her one time since. She lost her husband a few years ago.

Theodore Roosevelt NP to Carrington, ND

2009-09-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

Before continuing our trip to Carrington, we went back into the park for a couple hours and took more pictures.

Teddy Rosevelt National Park, ND

2009-09-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

This was our first visit to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. There are actually two units, located 70 miles apart. The terrain reminded us of South Dakota's Badlands. Theodore Roosevelt was enchanted by the wildlife and landscape. He stated he would never have been president had it not been for his experience in North Dakota. He was known as the conservation president and had a great impact on the national park system. This buffalo was the first animal we encountered after we entered the park.

Below are some scenes of the park. The big ball is called a cannonball. They wash out of the formations and roll down to ground level.

These are a few of the wild horses found in the park. It was almost dark when we came up on them standing in the road. You can see the guardrail on the one side, and there was an embankment on the other; so they had no place to go.

Custer NFCG to Theodore Rosevelt NP, ND

2009-09-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

We spent the previous night at Custer National Forest Campground. There were very few campgrounds along this area of rolling hills and flat land. We had located this place on our map, but it was already very dark (no moonlight at all) when we arrived at the turnoff. We drove over five miles on dirt roads. There were not adequate signs, so we wondered if we would find the campground. Walking around the area this morning, we found this horse and other sandstone carvings. We also discovered there were a few other campers that we were unable to see in the dark.

There was a fairly deep canyon just next to our campsite.

Last night we knew the road was bad, but this morning it was confirmed. This picture doesn't do it justice. Many of the rutted areas were much worse!

It was a surprise to see large rock formations and hills scattered around the area.

The above picture was our first view of Theodore Rosevelt NP. It is taken from a rest area on the I94 near the park entrance.

Hill City to Custer NFCG

2009-09-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

A statue of Wild Bill Hickcock, a person of importance in the American Old West. He was ultimately killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood.

Mt. Rushmore is located in this area of the state. Last year we visited this park in the late afternoon and evening so were limited as to what we saw. We highly recommend being there for the evening lighting ceremony. A ranger gives a talk and recognizes the veterans in the audience by having them come on stage and give their name and branch of service.

This year we had time to walk to the base of the mountain, where we visited the sculptor's studio and got this close-up picture.

The center of the United States formerly was located in Kansas; but with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii in 1959, the center moved to an anonymous spread of pasture 20 miles north of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. However, because of the area's inaccessibility, the geographic monument was placed next to the Belle Fourche Visitor Center. The picture doesn't show the 50 state flags flying around its perimeter.

Hill City, SD, Custer State Park

2009-09-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Custer State Park is just a few miles south of Hill City. We spent most of the day driving the many roads in the park and having fun watching and taking pictures of the animals.

They have a large bison herd. During the fall roundup the new arrivals are branded and some of the older animals are designated for auction. The herd is kept at a number which the park can support without overgrazing.

There are also quite a few wild donkeys.

And we saw several of this year's additions.

This mule was a real surprise. It reminded us of a paint horse our son and his family have on our property.

This male pronghorn antelope had a good-sized harem.

Just a few of the turkeys that were in a flock near the road.

This mule deer made a nice pose for us.

On the way back to the campground we passed near Mt. Rushmore and saw this view of George.

Hill City, SD

2009-09-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

We stayed at Hill City last year ago and really liked the campground. Also, it is located near a number of attractions in the Black Hills. This was a rainy day, so we decided to just stay put and work on our blog since we had good internet.

Hardin, MT to Hill City, SD

2009-09-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

We saw these interesting tepees along the road, at a tourist trap.

We did not have a stop at Little Bighorn in our schedule. However, we discovered we would be driving right by the gate. John had purchased and just finished reading a book, The Killing of Custer; so we decided to take a tour. This was the military cemetery at Little Bighorn National Monument, also known as Custer's Last Stand, in southeastern Montana,

There were many small tombstones scattered around the hilly area of the park.

The Little Bighorn River ran through the park

Another view of some of the many tombstones scattered around the area. A brochure stated that each stone is located on the actual spot where a soldier fell.

Cut Bank, MT to Hardin, MT

2009-09-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Cut Bank, Montana is considered the coldest spot in the US, not because it has had the lowest temperature but because it had the most extreme drop in temperature in a 24-hour period. We seem to remember that the drop was 100 degrees.

This is an old, wooden grain silo. The newer ones are metal, and we have seen a few made of cement.

We probably saw over 100 Pronghorn Antelope.

They are making hay while the sun shines. We saw thousands of bales of hay.

We saw many wind farms in this part of the country. Click on the triangle to see one in action.

Glacier NP to Cut Bank, MT

2009-09-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

There are two large lakes in Glacier National Park. This is Lake McDonald on the west of the park.

During the summer, they had shuttle buses to transport visitors around the park. However, they discontinued this service after Labor Day. Our only way to travel the Going to the Sun Highway was to take a tour on one of these buses. It was fun riding in this bus with the top rolled back. They were first used during the '30's and in recent years reconditioned by Ford Motor Company and returned to use in Glacier and some of the other national parks. Our driver and tour guide was most interesting. He has been giving tours for about 7 years. He lives north of the park, near the Canadian border, away from electricity and other conveniences. His mailbox is a mile from his house, which he built from trees on his property. He was very knowledgeable about all aspects of the park.

You can see the road in the distance that we traveled (the horizontal line less that halfway down the picture.)

We passed mile after mile of farmland and saw hundreds of grain silos. Most of the newer silos were made of steel and a few of concrete. Occasionally you would see an ancient wooden one. Farmers prefer to store their grain until prices are better.

West Glacier, MT to Glacier NP, MT

2009-09-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

Here are two waterfalls we saw today in Glacier National Park.

Iceland Parkway to West Glacier, MT

2009-09-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

This was our fourth time to Lake Louise and the first time it was cloud free. Here are two of the many pictures we took.

This was another mountain reflection we viewed from Highway 93 south of Lake Louise.

We also liked this view.

On the outskirts of Radium Hot Springs we saw this momma mountain goat and her youngster on the side of the mountain.

Radium Hot Springs had flowers everywhere.

Carol spotted this mountain of hoodoo formations.

We will end today with a colorful evening sky.

Prince George, BC to Iceland Parkway

2009-09-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

Some more beautiful scenery as we traveled toward Jasper and Banff.

This was one of the Bighorn Sheep we encountered.

Hazelton, BC to Prince George, BC

2009-09-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

As we drove the Yellowhead Highway toward Prince George, we passed this mountain scene.

We remember hearing about Terry Fox, a young Canadian man who developed cancer at the age of 18. He was told his left leg would have to be amputated below the knee. While in the hospital he saw the pain and despair of others who had CA and decided to do something to help. He planned to run from one coast to the other and asked Canadians to contribute $1 each, which would have amounted to $24,000,000. He was half way to his home in British Columbia when he was forced to stop his run because the CA had spread to his lungs. He passed away just before hie 23rd birthday. However, many millions of dollars has been raised for CA research. A mountain along the Yellowhead Highway has been named for him, but clouds obscured it, so we could not get a picture.

Hyder, AK to Hazelton, BC

2009-09-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Before we left, we returned to the bear viewing area. Even though we did not see any bears, we did find these Common Merganser Ducks.

As we drove the road from Hyder, AK/Stewart, BC we passed the Bear Glacier.

Hyder, Alaska

2009-09-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

We had such a special time two years ago when we visited Hyder that we decided to go out of our way to again see the bears eating the spawning salmon. However, it seems the salmon spawned earlier this year. Since it was raining and the bears were few, we only stayed one day.

While we were waiting for bears to come, John heard a bird singing and spotted this Townsend's Warbler.

They had some interesting cartoons regarding how to act when bears are near.

Prince Rupert, British Columbia

2009-09-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

As we approached Prince Rupert, British Columbia, we saw a lot of activity in the port. Ships were being loaded with containers--we figured with goods for China. Carol thought the yellow boats were eye catching. They are pilot boats used to guide the ships in and out of the harbor.

Ketchican

2009-09-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

Big bear was catching salmon, biting out the brains and throwing the remains into the pool. What a waste. Bears like brains and eggs and will often discard the rest when fish are plentiful.

Big bear finally walked away and these younger bears now had their turn. The bear on the left was here first. The second bear is trying to take the salmon.

There is a little argument going on here.

It gets a little more aggressive.

The second bear gives up and goes and finds it's own fish in the pool where the big bear had discarded them.

We found this unusual rain thermometer on the wall of the Ketchikan Visitor Center.

Ketchican

2009-09-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

These four totems are at Saxman Totem Park south of Ketchikan. There are 30 totems and a clan house at that location. The figure at the top of the second totem is a pretty good likeness of Abraham Lincoln. The next to the last totem has a character squatting with its finger stuck in the mouth of the bottom character on the pole.

The above three pictures were taken in the afternoon when we took a cruise out to Misty Fj0rds National Monument. We thought the pink starfish were quite unusual. The last picture shows the coloring we saw on the face of many of the cliffs and how trees grow on the walls.

Ketchican

2009-09-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

There was a small stream next to our campsite. These salmon were spawning. The noise was loud enough for us to hear it where we were parked.

A forest ranger told us where we could find a waterfall that quite often had bears near it fishing for salmon. Soon after we reached the platform, a local couple arrived and told us to turn around and look up in the tree. It seems this bear quite often perches in this "nest." He was asleep when we first saw him. We made some noise which caused the bear to sit up. Then he proceeded to slide down the tree and disappear. It wasn't long before we found him staring us down from the end of the little trail that led to the platform. The man stood up on the bench to make himself look big and made noise. In a little while the bear ambled off. We really weren't scared, but it could have been a problem. If there had been, John had bear spray.

Both of us are intrigued with totem poles so took way too many pictures. The above community house and totems were at Totem Bight State Historical Park. Carol likes the picture of the large bird flying by the totem bird.

We thought this Alaska information was interesting.

Petersburg to Ketchikan

2009-09-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

We found this interesting vehicle when we lined up to board the ferry for Ketchikan. John later talked to the driver and found out he was working for Google. He had been traveling around Alaska taking the street pictures with this 350-degree camera. We saw him again on the next ferry and found out he probably filmed our motorhome the previous morning when he drove by the area where we had camped beside the road. In a few months we are going to see if we can locate our RV, after Google has put it on line.

Leaving Petersburg the ship had to negotiate the Wrangell Narrows. The ship ran at reduced speed with a lookout at the bow. This was the most dangerous part of our trip.

We met or overtook a number of tugs with their payload. This one was pulling a big barge of containers. It looked top heavy.

Ketchikan was spread out for a number of miles. This was one of our first views, before we reached the harbor.

Petersburg

2009-09-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

This picture helps you understand why Alaskan people love their state so much. This picture was taken from the main street in Petersburg, and most of the towns have similar views.

Petersburg is known as "Little Norway," since many Norwegians settled here at the turn of the century. This is a replica of the Norwegian ship, Valhalla; and many buildings in town are decorated with Norwegian tole painting.

This boat in the harbor must have been in this "slip" for many years, judging by the algae and other growth. It really looked out of place amongst the nicer boats around it. However, this must be the Alaskan way of life. It is the same with motor vehicles. You see them abandoned all over the state. They do not have a good means of disposing of them.

We took a 30-mile scenic trip on a gravel road outside Petersburg. This is one of the beautiful scenes we saw along the road.

Sitka to Petersburg

2009-08-31T20:27:00.000-07:00

On the way from Sitka to Petersburg, the high-speed ferry passed us going the opposite direction. This is the ferry we took from Juneau to Sitka. It is a catamaran and travels twice as fast as the other ferries. We actually traveled on four different ferries--one of them twice. The sailing times varied from 4 1/2 to 11 1/2 hours. Often we went out on the deck to take pictures. Some of the areas on each ferry had lounge seats, and we even napped a couple times. All of the ferrys had cafeterias that served good food.

This was one of our long days. We saw a number of humpback whales and dolphins. The whales were in the distance and never breached--all we saw were backs and tails. However, the dolphins swam alongside and seemed as though they were racing us. They appeared to be having a great time.

Sitka

2009-08-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Sitka National Historic Park has a number of totem poles situated on its main trail that borders the water.

Every carving on a totem is part of a story. It can be the symbol of a tribe, clan, family or individual. Native Eskimo tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides along their journey.

The Marine Highway has few lighthouses along its length. There is no longer much need for lighthouses. The ones that are active are automated. Sitka is where Alaska changed hands from Russia to the US in 1867. It is also the home for the Alaska Raptor Center where injured raptors, from all over the state, are brought for treatment. We found this center most interesting.

Sitka

2009-08-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

From Juneau, we sailed to Sitka. John scheduled all our sailings to be during daylight hours because we wanted to see the scenery along the way. This was our first view of Sitka. All of the towns along the marine highway have quaint harbors.

Sitka is a fisherman's village.

We had heard of snow caves but never seen one. This is a small one that occurred after the snow had piled up during the winter, and the small waterfall had flowed through the snow bank and left this cave.

Juneau

2009-08-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a walking day. Our first stop was at Alaska's State Capitol. From the picture you can see that it doesn't look like capitol buildings we are used to--there is no rounded top. Another surprise was the fact that there were no metal detectors to pass through. A young girl gave us a tour, and we even went to the floor where the governor's office was located. Of course, he (this was after Sarah had resigned) wasn't in Juneau at the time; but we understand that had he been there it would have made no difference.

This count-down clock is above the entrance to the governor's office. Sarah had it installed when she began her four years. It shows how much time is left for the term of office. We had heard about this clock before we arrived in Juneau and wondered what it was like.

This is the governor's mansion. There is no fence around it, nor any visible security. We could have walked right up to the front door.

Juneau

2009-08-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

We spent the night at a RV site on the harbor. In the morning a lady came by and told us to go down to the waterfront because two adult seals were on a log along with two babies. However, a boat went by about that time. So when we reached the bank, only one adult was on the log; and the young seals were in the water.

Before we left Avon Park we discovered that our friends, Bob and Kathi Foll and Hannah Eppel, were going to be on an Alaskan cruise and would be in Juneau one of the days we would be there. So we made plans to meet them and take them out to Mendenhall Glacier.

Juneau

2009-08-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

It was raining when we woke up today, so we decided to do some grocery shopping. When we came out of the Fred Meyer store, the sun was shining. Since it was pretty, we decided to ride the tramway to the top of Mt. Roberts. This is downtown Juneau. We walked one of the trails at the top of the mountain before going down..

Juneau, Alaska

2009-08-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today was our 52nd wedding anniversary; and we were in Juneau, the capitol of Alaska. This area of Alaska is considered a rain forest. It averages 220 days of rain per year, with 90 inches of annual rainfall and melted snow downtown. It was not a very pretty day, with light rain all day long. There is a road that extends 40 miles north from downtown Juneau, so we decided to drive to the end. Not many people live along the road, but it is a scenic drive. We had read about the Shrine of St. Therese, and we passed it's sign going out. On the way back Carol asked John to stop, even though it was raining. He decided to stay in the motorhome, so she wandered out on her own. There were some buildings on the mainland. A causeway led out to a very small island. She was so surprised to find this chapel nestled among the trees. It reminded her of a Thomas Kincade painting. When she got back to the mainland, she followed a trail to the Columbarium Gardens, a beautiful garden where there were vaults for burying those who had died. None of this was visible where John had to park, and he did get a little concerned when she was gone so long.

Alaska Marine Highway, Haines to Juneau

2009-08-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

After we posted yesterday's blog, we drove out to Chilkoot Lake State Park. It wasn't long before we saw the first bear fishing for his dinner. We saw a total of four at various spots along the river that flows out of the lake and another crossing the road in the camping area. This morning we got up early, hoping to see more bears before we had to board the Alaska marine ferry that would take us to Juneau. We were rewarded with two sightings. One bear was acting crazy, according to the park "host." It appeared to be swimming down middle of the river. Of course, we do not know how deep the water was. The bear in the picture caught the largest fish we have seen a bear catch and took it up on the bank to enjoy his breakfast.

This is a picture of the Malaspina, a 499-passenger/88-vehicle ferry. It even had cabins, but we didn't need to rent one because the trip only lasted 4 1/2 hours. A National Park Service worker gave a couple lectures in one of the passenger lounges. Movies were shown in another location. The water was calm, but it continued to rain throughout the trip. The rains we have been having have been gentle rains--no wind or lightning.

Haines, AK

2009-08-23T01:08:00.001-07:00

This is another rainy day. Will it ever stop? At least it is a soft rain. You don't get as wet as fast. We are doing the laundry today and then going out to the state park where we saw the bear yesterday. We will spend the night there, as it is near to the ferry terminal; and there is road construction between town and the terminal. There could be long delays in the morning, and we need to be at the terminal by 8:00 AM.

Haines, AK

2009-08-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Chilkat Valley is famous for its eagles. Each November as many as 3,500 bald eagles gather in the valley, the largest congregation in the world. They come here for the salmon run. During the three days we have been here, we have only seen two.

This is a fish wheel, and it has three "baskets." It is powered by the flow of water. This one is being used by state wildlife officers to catch and tag fish that are swimming upstream to spawn, so they can track them.

A fish has been tagged and is being thrown back into the river.

This video shows how the wheel works. We saw it catch three fish before we got the cameras ready. Of course, once we were ready no fish were caught. The fish are picked up and then slide down one side or the other and are funneled into a box under water where they stay until the men come to tag and release them. This was taken through the windshield. The diagonal bubble you will see is from the rain.

This bear was fishing in the Chilkoot River. It passed within 25 feet of the front of our motorhome.

Driving out to Chilkoot River we passed this massive group of ducks swimming in the cove, and this is only part of them. Our first sighting of them was a long, wide, dark line. Carol said she thought it was birds, but John had a hard time believing the mass was birds--thought it was trash. When we got them in our camera sight, we could see it was a species of duck. Perhaps they had gathered here for a flight south.

Along the highway north of town someone had decorated this tree. This is the second tree we have seen . This one had artificial flowers on it. The other one contained Christmas ornaments, but we weren't able to stop for a picture. /...Looks as if the farmer and his wife are scaring the birds away 24 hours a day.

Haines, AK

2009-08-21T01:06:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain go away nothing going on today.

Haines Highway

2009-08-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today we drove from north of Haines Junction, Yukon Territory to Haines, Alaska.

Ahead of us on the highway we saw a wolf cross the road and start up the bank. When it saw us, it recrossed the highway and disappeared into some trees.

Along the way there were many ponds and four of them had Trumpeter Swans. We were thrilled to find this pair with four signets. We wondered if the others had lost their babies to predators. These young birds will soon be as large as their parents and ready to fly south.

It wasn't often we found a spectacular mountain with such a nice, green valley to complete the picture.

This display of antlers was in the yard of an outfitter's cabin in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory.

Alaska Highway, Yukon

2009-08-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

This monument indicates the division between Alaska, USA and the Yukon, Canada. If you look closely at the tip of the monument, you can see a small cleared area. This is actually a 10-to 15-foot wide area that goes on for miles, marking the division between the two countries.

This is one of the pictures Carol took through the windshield. She thought the cloud formations were so beautiful.

We thought this shot was unusual--one head, two bodies.

Bet the gold seekers of the past would have gotten richer faster had they had this pan!

Drove to Tok, Alaska

2009-08-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

The fireweed plant has lost it's beautiful blossoms. Earlier in our blog, August 4, we showed a field of fireweed. This plant predicts the coming of winter. The blossoms start at the bottom of the stalk and the ones below drop off as the flowers continue to open. When all the blossoms are gone, there are red spires left. The last stage is when the spires burst open and a fluff appears, similar to what happens to dandelions after they bloom. The seeds are contained in the fluff. When all this has transpired, winter is not far away; and we have begun our journey south. Hope to be home the middle of October.
Along the way we passed glaciers and many beautiful mountains. It was cloudy and overcast all day, so many of our pictures are not as pretty as we would like. We have posted pictures of mountains with snow on them, but there are pretty mountains that do not have snow on them.

Mat-Su Valley

2009-08-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

A few folks have asked us if we have seen Sarah yet. We tried, but this is the closest we could get. She lives behind all those trees. That is her plane.

John liked this view, and it is even more special because of the old boat that was left high and dry there a number of years ago. We were told it has been the subject of many pictures. In fact, the Mat-Su Valley's visitor's guide contains a similar picture.

Carol can't seem to get her fill of sled dogs. This one had beautiful blue eyes. They would have given the puppy to her, but Florida is not a good place for huskies.

We visited a couple John meet on a web site for Navion/View motorhomes, and they took us to a "poor man's" sled-dog kennel.

Palmer and Wasilla are part of the Mat-Su Valley. The glacial soil and long hours of sunlight consistently produce world-class vegetables. The Alaska State Fair is held near Palmer, and two years ago we attended and were able to see huge cabbages and other unusually large veggies.

Wasilla

2009-08-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Carol's laptop computer malfunctioned, so we spent the day shopping for a new one. Ended up going back to Anchorage, 35 miles away, to shop. John was able to purchase an external USB hard drive enclosure kit that enabled him to take the hard drive out of the laptop, install it in the enclosure and recover her pictures. We ended up buying an Acer Aspire One netbook. It is about 1/2 the size of a normal laptop. The size is more convenient in the motorhome. The only things we can see that are negative about it are the smaller screen and keyboard.

Wasilla Church

2009-08-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is the Wasilla Seventh-day Adventist Church. We attended Sabbath school and church, plus we enjoyed their fellowship dinner. Our motivation for picking this church was to get some pictures for Carol's sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Jim Leeper. In 1995 Judy coordinated a mission trip for the Roseville, CA church, where they were members. Wasilla was in the process of building this new church. The Roseville pastor's brother was treasurer of the Alaska Conference so this was suggested as a mission project. Judy remembers they helped "wrap" the church, install windows and work on the roof.

Big Bear RV Park, Wasilla

2009-08-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

It was raining, and we needed to do the laundry; so we decided to take the day off and stay put. The Big Bear RV Park has one of the nicest laundry facilities we have found. We have done our laundry there twice this summer.

From Anchorage to Wasilla

2009-08-13T10:18:00.001-07:00

At the Eagle River Nature Center, north of Anchorage, we strolled a path that led to a stream where sockeye salmon (also called red salmon) were spawning.

These beautiful red berries are in abundance right now. We can't find them in our wildflower book that also contains berry plants, so we don't know if they are edible.
John calls these the three mushrooms--p0ppa, momma and baby.

Prince William Sound

2009-08-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

This sea lion seems to be the "king of the mountain." We think he must be telling the "lazy bones" that it is time to wake up. These are just a few that we saw on our cruise in Prince William Sound out of Whittier.

John says this little seal is "sun bathing" on an iceburg.

This was a train tunnel that has been converted into a train/auto tunnel. Carol wanted John to stop so she could get a picture. He said he didn't think a picture would turn out but did stop, even though he didn't think he should. Later he saw a sign stating no stopping was allowed. When he stopped strobe lights started flashing, and when he proceeded they stopped. Nothing was said when we reached the end.

Alyeska Resort at Girdwood, south of Anchorage, has a tram to the top of a mountain.

Some of the flowers at the Alyeska Resort.

Barrow Continued

2009-08-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

This is the humble home of our Eskimo guide. We did not go inside, but he told us he has a TV and a microwave oven. The truck with big tires belongs to the tour company.
This is an example of what we saw all over town. They have no way of disposing of their large junk. It seemed that every residence had at least one snow machine and a four-wheeler. We even saw a Lexus automobile and a Cadillac Escalade.
Many of the natives live on what they call subsistance, meaning they live off the land. This family had recently been caribou hunting. The meat is outside drying. They only kill what they need and also share with their family and neighbors. They especially take care of the "elders," who can no longer hunt.
This picture shows seal meat drying.
When a family member dies, the whole family helps dig the grave. They were using a portable air compressor and jackhammer.

A lady from Florida saw a TV program that showed students playing football on a gravel field. She decided they needed something better and raised funds for artificial turf. She came to Barrow for the dedication of this beautiful field.
The children have very nice equipment at their playgrounds, but the surface isn't too great because grass does not grow. It is a fine gravel. We saw a number of children wearing shorts, and it was like winter to us .
We were shocked to find Lake Placid, Florida listed on their milepost, along with many large cities around the world. Maybe someone moved here from Lake Placid!
Our return flight was on a 19-passenger Beachcraft 1900D.

Flew to Barrow, the Most Northern City in the US

2009-08-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

This was our most exciting day thus far. We left Anchorage on a deHavaland Dash 8 plane mid morning and arrived soon after 1:30. This is a 37-passenger aircraft. After a 3 1/2 hour flight, by way of Fairbanks, we arrived at Barrow. Previously we had arranged for a day tour, which they allowed us to take over a two-day period. We have decided to include more picture than usual because Barrow is so different and interesting.
We flew east of Mt. McKinley at 23,000 ft. We were unable to get the base of the mountain because of the clouds. Barrow's welcome to it visitors.
The Airport Inn is where we stayed the one night. A back view was taken because we wanted to show you the only air conditioner we saw in the entire town. It is in the manager's apartment. We cannot imagine when it would be needed.
John was interested in the plumbing around town. The piping you see is insulated, and it contains both the fresh water and sewer lines. It goes into an insulated tunnel that is several feet below the surface.
This was the highest temperature we experienced. There is only a few degrees variance between the lows and highs at this time of the year.
This picture is to prove we waded in the Arctic Ocean at the most northern point of the United States. Carol stayed in the water longer because John took additional pictures. Her feet were so numb that she had difficulty getting her socks and shoes back on.

Shopping in Anchorage

2009-08-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. It was a rainy day. What else was there to do?

O'Malley Road Hillside Church

2009-08-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Sabbath we attended services at the O'Malley Seventh-day Adventist Church. Their pastor was out of town, so an Adventist Air Force chaplain, from a nearby base, had a very special message. Their fellowship meal was a treat. In the afternoon we went looking for moose. They usually can be found near the airport. Today, as usual, they hid from us. We did meet a couple who also visited church that day. He was a pastor from Ohio. We were doing our visiting just off the end of a runway, and planes were taking off almost over our heads. There were FedEx, UPS, cargo and passenger planes. A lot of the cargo planes were from China. We understand that Anchorage probably has more cargo planes depart than any other US airport.,
Places to moor float planes around Lake Hood have little sheds for storage. Here is one of the more interesting ones.

Russian River to Anchorage Golden Nugget

2009-08-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

Driving back to Anchorage we saw this boat high and dry on the mud flats with the tide out. Men were using a piece of machinery to cut a ditch in the mud. Carol went into a visitor center a few miles later to get some information and also asked about this. They are putting in a communication cable.

Also, along the way we visited Portage Glacier. It calves into a small inland lake. There is a small cruise boat that provides an hour trip out to view it. The dark lines are called a median moraine. This is gravel that has been ground up as the glaciers move. A median moraine is formed when two glaciers merge.
This is a closeup of the glacier surface.

Russian River to near Whittier Rd

2009-08-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

At the Russian River campground, we took a round-trip hike of seven miles to the falls. Bears are often seen fishing in this river. We were disappointed that no bears were feeding when we were there. Salmon were jumping the falls on their way to spawn. If you look closely, you will see a salmon jumping up the falls. Double click on this picture, or any other picture for a larger view.

Soldotna to Russian River

2009-08-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

On our way from Soldatna to Russian River, we stopped to watch wood carving done with a chain saw. Two years ago we purchased a two-foot-high bear that holds a welcome sign. It greets guests as they arrive at our home. We were so intrigued with the carvings we decided to stop again. Pictured are a couple of the larger carvings that are done by the two artists.

This is the carver who made the eagle we purchased this year as a gift. The one we picked is not the one pictured. We failed to take pictures of their carousel. However, the animals are not the usual horses but are a variety of animals found in Alaska, like a caribou and eagle.

We took an evening float trip on the Kenai River. Half way through the 13-mile float it started to rain. Had it not been for the rain gear we were wearing, we would have been soaked. The only wildlife we saw were a couple of eagles and one bear. Near the end of the trip we saw lots of fishermen on the banks.

Anchor Point to Soldotna

2009-08-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

At the suggestion of John's cousin, JoNell, we drove a few miles off the highway to the Russian settlement of Nikolaevsk. The ancestors of these settlers left Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and first settled in Oregon. Then some came to Alaska in 1967. Along the road we found this field of beautiful fireweed flowers and just had to stop and take a picture. The purpose of the side trip was to visit the Russian "Samovar" Cafe. Nina, who owns and operates this restaurant, has a degree in electrical engineering from Russia. She came over a few years ago for a visit and married one of the local men. She has developed quite a reputation as an entrepreneur. She did her best to sell us more than we wanted, and then insisted we dress up, so she could take our picture.

Homer to Anchor Point

2009-08-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

It was raining at Homer. Since we could not enjoy the beautiful scenery we had seen two years ago, we decided one day there was enough. Anchor Point was a few miles north, and we had read that eagles feed on the beach after fishermen have cleaned their catch. There were a lot of fish remains on the beach. Along with many gulls and ravens, there were several eagles feasting. There was a little rivalry between some of the juvenile and adult eagles. The juveniles are actually a little larger than the adults and seemed to dominate. An adult eagle would pick up a piece of fish and take it to a sandbar. A juvenile would fly up and take over. As you can see by the sign, Anchor Point is the most western highway point of North America. That means you can drive there without riding on a ferry. We were interested to see how they launched fishing boats. They use a big piece of equipment with a hitch and would hook onto a boat trailer and back right out into the surf. We only saw them recover boats, as it was near the end of the day when we were there.

Kenai

2009-08-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

We drove from Captain Cook State Park to Homer and stopped in the the small town of Kenai to visit an old Russian Church. The priest was there, and he gave us a little history of the church.

Captain Cook State Park

2009-08-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

We had our DVD church service and then went down and walked the rocky beach. A few minutes before sundown it looked as though there would be a photo opportunity, and we were not disappointed. We walked over to the bluff above the Cook Inlet. A was lady there taking pictures. We discovered she was from Bradenton, and her husband was born in Avon Park. They had flown up with their two sons and rented a car because they had brought a tent and camping equipment. The husband and older son are Eagle Scouts, and the younger son soon will be one.

Soldotna, Thursday & Friday

2009-07-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

The weather in Soldotna was no better, so we spent Thursday in the Fred Meyer parking lot. We use their parking lots like we use the WalMart "resorts." This Fred Meyer even has a dump station and fresh water for their RV guests. Friday we visited the Soldotna and Kenai Visitor Centers. The two towns are near each other and both have interesting visitor centers. The one in Soldotna is on the bank of the Kenai River. They have a walkway along the river, and we were able to watch both men women fishing for salmon. A few of them were successful while we were there. However, the most successful was a woman. At the Kenai visitor center we watched a documentary on Alaska. The picture is an infamous Kenai River snag. It contains about 2,500 lost lures. Someone was successful in removing it from the river. The picture was taken through glass, so there is some glare. We spent Friday night at Captian Cook State Park.

Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward

2009-07-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the SeaLife Center was lots of fun. Carol, especially, fell in love with the Tufted Puffins when we were here in 2007. She purchased a souvenir stuffed Puffin, which has been riding on our dashboard. In the above picture the puffins have been trained to step on the scale to measure their weight, and they are rewarded with food. There were two sea lions. This was the larger one. He also would perform for food. The Center rehabilitates sea life, in addition to doing research. It had been rainy all day and the forecast was for more rain. We decided to drive to Soldotna.

Anchorage to Seward

2009-07-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

We left Anchorage about noon to travel the 125 miles to Seward. A few miles south of Anchorage is the Alaska Wildlife Sanctuary. They rescue orphaned animals. Some they can release, like the four baby moose. They were single births and were all six to eight weeks old. We got to see them bottle fed. The bears cannot be released, due to their becoming habituated to humans and would not have enough fear of man. They would then be very dangerous. The three brown/grizzly bears were a lot of fun to watch. One was playing in the water with the leg bone of a moose. Often highway kill is taken to the refuge for the animals to eat.

Rainy day in Anchorage

2009-07-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Since it was raining today, we didn't move the motorhome the early part of the day but spent our time updating the blog. In the afternoon we drove to the Wild Berry Park and Theater. Soon after we arrived, we found an attendant "walking" this reindeer the way we would walk a dog on a leash. She said that her name was Hungry and certainly demonstrated her name as she ate the shrubbery. According to the girl, Hungry is real tame and a very special pet. The feature film we saw was "Alaska: The Land Beyond."

alaska,

Earthquake Park & Lake Hood

2009-07-26T01:37:00.000-07:00

Two years ago we saw a large bull moose in Earthquake Park, so we went back moose hunting. We had about given up seeing one, when a man told Carol that there was one just down the road. We were elated to see a mother with a calf. While we were watching, the mother crossed the road; and shortly thereafter the calf followed her. Some of our pictures are better of each of them separately, but this is our best of both of them together. Earthquake Park is a memorial to the 1964 earthquake that devastated Anchorage. Some streets dropped as much as 15 feet.

The airport is nearby. One section, Lake Hood, is devoted to seaplanes. The above movie is actually a sequence of still pictures that John took as a seaplane took off. Lake Hood is the world's busiest seaplane base with as many as 800 takeoffs and landings per day during the summer. There are 781 seaplanes based here. Alaska has several times more private aircraft than any other state.

Thursday, Friday and Sabbath

2009-07-25T01:02:00.000-07:00

Not much to report for these days. We did the laundry in Wasilla and then drove south to the O'Malley Seventh-day Adventist Church and office of the Alaska Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, which are next to each other in Anchorage. The conference office has excellent WiFi, and they have allowed us to use it. This is helping us get caught up on our blog. We dry-camped in their parking lot for the last 3 nights and plan to stay until Tuesday. Sabbath we attended church and stayed for the fellowship dinner. Since it was raining in the afternoon, we just stayed put.

Travel from Fairbanks to Sarah's town, Wasilla

2009-07-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

Before we reached Nenana, we saw an interesting sight on the hillside. These couches and stuffed animals were also there in 2007. We wonder what happens to them in the winter. Nenana had 2 forest fires burning nearby, so we saw many helicopters flying back and forth. Some had water buckets hanging from them. The smoke smell was very strong.

Fairbanks, El Dorado Gold Mine & Georgeson Botanical Garden

2009-07-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the El Dorado Gold Mine. The small train traveled through the original gold fields that once were part of Alaska's richest mining district on record. Vonda and Dexter Clark demonstrated how to pan. Then they, and two helpers, dipped their pans in the sluice trough. The picture shows the combined gold they panned. Each tourist was given a cloth poke filled with pay dirt. We went to an area where they had long troughs filled with water and were able to pan our own gold. We had it weighed, and the total value was $34.

Later in the day we went to The Georgeson Botanical Garden. The wind was a nuisance, and we had difficulty getting nice pictures. About the time we were ready to snap a picture, the wind would blow and destroy the picture.

Moose Video taken on Chena Hot Springs Road

2009-07-20T09:12:00.000-07:00

We drove out to Chena Hot Springs, a resort about 60 miles from Fairbanks. We understood there could be wildlife to view along the scenic route. We did not see anything on the way out. It started to rain just before we got there, and the pavement stopped at the gate to the resort. The parking lot was very muddy, so we just turned around and headed back to Fairbanks. On the way, we spotted these two moose in a pond. What we saw was worth the trip. We had seen moose before but never when they were feeding under water. Can you imagine eating with your head under water!

Above is the home of Mary Shields, the first female to finish the Iditarod. She has participated in many races and also made a dog-sled trip across Siberia. During our visit, Mary told us a lot about the races she has participated in and answered our questions. Although generally there are more visitors there, it was special to be the only ones that evening. We also met her dogs and be able to mingle with them. Her home is a log cabin she and her former husband built. It is real neat. She served us raspberries that had grown on her roof.

Fairbanks

2009-07-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to the Fairbanks visitor center to watch a video on the Brooks Mountain Range, in the far north of Alaska. It is between Fairbanks and the north-slope oil wells. We visited the Yukon Quest sled-dog race headquarters. The Yukon Quest is a two week dog-sled race in February. Mushers race over 1,000 miles through winter wilderness between Fairbanks, AK and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. There were five-week-old husky puppies, eight total, piled up together. At the ice museum we saw some of the smaller ice carvings from the annual World Ice Art Championships. They also had a very special film in the evening of the aurora borealis. See ice art web site: http://www.icealaska.com/09/09sculptureindex.html

Fairbanks

2009-07-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

We attended the Fairbanks church again, and they had a fellowship dinner for guests. In the afternoon we visited Creamers Field for the second time--see June 27. We took a three-mile nature walk out into the fields and the boreal forest. The only wildlife we saw were the Sandhill Cranes we had seen the last time we were here and mosquitoes in the forest. They had a nice little garden that represented a garden the wife of the original owner of the property put out each year. We like the little signs they use to identify each type of vegetable plant.

World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, July 15-17

2009-07-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

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These games are probably unlike anything you have seen before. We had wanted to attend them in 2007. John's cousin, JoNell, had recommended them. They had always been held in Fairbanks. However, in 2007 they were held in Anchorage. We missed seeing them because we failed to research WEIO so were not at the right place at the right time. We did see a 30-minute video in Fairbanks and knew we wanted to see the competition in person. Before we left home, we had WEIO in our schedule for this year. Above is the women's blanket toss. The natives do this to spot game over the horizon.

This girl is doing the kneel jump. The practicality of this event comes from the quickness and balance one has to have when out on moving ice during break up. Her parents sat in front of us. They told us she is a pre-med student. She won first place.

This activity is the two-foot high kick. The winner was able to kick the suspended ball at 96 inches with both feet at the same time and land on both feet at the same time. Years ago in the coastal whaling villages, the people of the town learned of a successful hunt when an approaching messenger would jump and kick both feet into the air while running.

This is the one-foot high kick. The contestant balances on one hand and one foot. He then springs up on one hand, kicks the suspended ball and comes down in control. He cannot let any part of his body touch the floor, except the hand and foot which touched the ball. This boy broke the record at 8 feet. He practiced at home touching the ceiling which was that height. This gave a message that help was needed because a whale had been taken or a caribou was nearby.

Other competitions included four-man carry, ear pull, knuckle hop, arm pull, greased pole walk, stick pull, fish cutting and seal skinning. They also had a native baby and Miss WEIO contests. Every evening natives from some of the remote villages demonstrated their native dances.

If you would like more information and see more videos, you can check out the WEIO website:
http://www.weio.org/mm_videos/index.php?VidCat=2008

July 10 to July 14, Denali National Park

2009-07-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

On July 10 we drove to Denali National Park from Wasilla, and on July 14 we left the park and headed to Fairbanks. We camped Friday through Monday nights at Teklanika River Campground, at mile 29 of the park road. Private vehicles are not allowed to travel beyond mile 15, unless they have a camping permit. Campers are only allowed to drive in and out one time with their permit. All travel beyond mile 15 is done by shuttle bus. We rode the buses three days. Most are comparable to school buses. Two days we went to mile 85 and one day to mile 66, where there is a new visitor center that was just finished last year. It was under construction when we were there in 2007. We prayed that we would be able to see Mt. McKinley one of the days we were there. As you can see, our prayer was answered on the first day. After that it was obscured by smoke and clouds. Alaska presently has 70 forest fires, and there are a number in the Denali area, causing a lot of smoke. Driving north to Fairbanks from Denali it was particularly thick and completely obscured the sun.
This momma Grizzly and her two cubs were busy eating vegetation. She had just disciplined one by giving it a couple of good swats which we missed catching on camera.

Look at the hind legs on this snowshoe hare. This is the animal we saw the most often in the park.

Denali is patrolled in the winter using dog teams. They are more reliable than snowmobiles. They don't have to worry about a part breaking down in a remote area. They use a sled with wheels for this demonstration.

We saw a number of fox along the roadway. This one posed for us for a long time.

Momma grizzly and her cub were just waking up as we drove by.

It isn't every day that a wolf is sited. We felt fortunate. It was walking up the road in front of the bus early in the morning.

In some places the road is only one lane wide and winds around the often, very steep mountains. It is much worse than it appears in this picture.

In the Polychrome area the mountains are brilliantly colored.

Caribou were not abundant. We saw one or two each day.

We saw golden eagles soaring in the park. This is an immature. Bald eagles are not common, as they prefer a fish diet; and there is not an abundance of fish in Denali. We did see one.

Alaska Zoo in Anchorage

2009-07-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Alaska Zoo. The Muskox had a baby, but it was located where we could not get a good picture. This zoo features animals that live in the northern, colder climates. A large number of the animals were animals that had been rescued--injured or orphaned.
There were some Alpacas. One had been sheered and the other had not.
The grizzly bear was quite active.
This coyote had been serenading us with it's howling as we walked up. Of course, when John was ready to take a picture, it quit.
There were beautiful flower beds and hanging baskets throughout the zoo.

Tuesday and Wednesday

2009-07-08T23:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was not a sightseeing day. We drove down to Anchorage and went to Costco to replenish some of our groceries and also ate at Golden Corral. During our vacation we have not eaten out much; but we have bought Subways occasionally, when we are in a hurry and they are available--not often on the Alaska Highway. We are dry camping at the Adventist Church parking lot where we stayed for a week back in 2007.

Wednesday we stayed put all day in the parking lot. Carol was not feeling her usual self and wanted to rest. We had planned to visit the zoo which is just down the street about a mile, so that is on the schedule for Thursday. The WiFi here is excellent--one of the best we have had. Since the Alaska Conference is next to the church parking lot and they have an open-guest network, they have given us permission to use it.

2009-07-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

We moved about five miles to Big Bear RV Park in Wasilla. The previous RV park charged $2 for WiFi, which John refused to pay, because of the principal of the thing. Their nightly charge was more than enough to cover it. We had heard some parks had WiFi charges; but in over 40,000 miles of travel in the past 26 months, this was the first time we encountered it. We had stayed at the Big Bear in 2007. Their rates are lower, WiFi is free, the restrooms and laundry are nicer. The manager of the Homestead Park we left was not very nice when John told him we were leaving because of the WiFi charge. The only thing Homestead has going for it is the location in a pretty grove of trees. Big Bear is out in the open. After getting checked into the park, we drove to Independence Mine. This is an abandoned gold mine that the state has taken over as a state park. There are a number of buildings in pretty good condition; however, most of the mine and some buildings have collapsed. The last 13 miles of the trip was up a pretty stream with a lot of rough water and flowers along the roadside. There was a beaver dam and lodge. Both can be seen in the picture. The evidence indicated it was an active site. The beavers must have been taking a nap or doing indoor housekeeping.

2009-07-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

We drove from Valdez to Palmer and passed some potentially-pretty scenes. However, there are a number of forest fires in Alaska right now; and the pictures are hazy. We have to drive some of the same roads when we leave Alaska and trust the fires are out by then. They have been started by lightning strikes. The fires are allowed to burn unless personal property is in danger. We hope the rain forecast for next week will put most of them out. Carol took the picture of the river to show you what glacier water looks like. It makes the water look milky.

2009-07-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

After another Kenneth Cox DVD for church we rested for a while and then drove around to the other side of the bay. We came to a small pool that had a momma duck with 10 ducklings following her. After spending some time taking pictures of several Bald Eagles, someone told us there was a grizzly out by the bay. It would come into site and then go behind a small hill. After a short time, it went out into the bay and started to romp around trying to catch salmon. It was not having any luck but it was hilarious watching. After some time it started toward some fishermen who were fishing in a stream that ran into the bay. They started toward the parking lot, and the bear spent some time looking around where they had been. It found a good-sized fish and then headed for the parking lot. Everyone was scattering. It went across the parking lot and up into the woods to eat in private. The eagle is an immature Bald Eagle. We counted six different Bald Eagles at one time. This immature eagle is one of them.

2009-07-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today we took a Sam Stephens wildlife and glacier cruise out of Port Valdez. In fact, Mr. Stephens was there the evening before when we purchased our tickets, and we were able to visit with him. When we returned from our cruise, both he and his wife were there. They seem to be a very down-to-earth couple. On the cruise we were served a delicious minestrone soup, and I asked her the name of soup company. Found out they are also vegetarians. Our favorite sea animal is the sea otter. When they are not feeding on clams, they lay on their backs soaking up the sunshine. Sometimes there will be two or three and sometimes there will be a large number. They appear to like to watch the tourists go by. The buoy had two sea lions on it when we came up. One got off but then wanted to get back on. It was fun to watch while it made several attempts before being successful. This is the try that was successful. The one already on the buoy was making quite a ruckus. Maybe some of you have seen the noisy sea lions on the wharf in San Francisco. The real highlight of the trip was to see the glacier calve. This is our third trip to Alaska and the first time to see a glacier calve. Two years ago we went on two glacier tours, and when we did the Princess cruise we stopped at several glaciers. None of them calved except some small chunks of ice falling off. Click on the glacier to see the calving. By the way, in blogspot you can double click on any picture to see it in a larger format.

2009-07-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

This was a stay-put day. We needed to do the laundry and spend some time on our blog. The WiFi in the Sea Otter Campground was better than some we have had. We are camped next to the Port of Valdez. John is quite certain he saw some sea otters, but was not close enough to get pictures. We saw a harbor seal many times but figure it was the same one in different locations because we never saw more than one at a time. Since there is not much in the line of pictures for today, we are posting some of the beautiful wild flowers we have seen along the many roadways.

2009-07-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

A few miles from our campsite this morning we stopped to take this picture of Worthington Glacier. It is the most visited site in this part of Alaska. While there, this man rode up on his bicycle. We have seen a lot of bicyclists with saddle bags on both the front and back wheels. John asked him where he had come from. He said Argentina. We thought he meant he was from Argentina. It turned out he was from Belgium and had flown to southern Argentina and ridden all the way to Alaska. His usual distance is about 30 miles per day. Not only had he ridden all the way up South America, Central America, the west coast of the US, Canada and Alaska; he had taken side trips. He did the trip we had just done to Kennecott. Earlier he had made a 456-mile trip to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. That is 912 miles of gravel road. Carol asked him if he would like a candy bar. He said yes he had run out of food and would not be able to buy more until he reached Valdez which was about another 30 miles. We also gave him a breakfast bar, a bag of almonds, a bottle of drink and Carol made him a sandwich. He kept thanking us over and over again. He is 40 years old. His next project is to fly to Cape Town, South Africa and bike Africa from South to North. He has already done Europe from West to East.

2009-06-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

The next 42 miles had a lot of washboard and pothole sections, but it was considerably better than the first 17 miles. At the parking lot we saw this beautiful glacier, which was not many miles away. We signed up for a mine tour; and while waiting for it to start. we had lunch and spotted this little Wilson's Warbler. It kept flitting around in the tree and chirping. I think it wanted to feed it's young and did not want to go to the nest while it was being watched. After several pictures, we left it alone.
Copper was discovered near Kennecott Glacier in 1900 and was one of the richest copper deposits ever found. It was 1911 before they were able to transport the ore out of this remote location. They had to lay over 100 miles of railroad track through mountains and across streams, where trestles were washed out with the spring breakup of ice. The mine was in operation from 1911 to 1938. The first train out was filled with $250,000 worth of copper. When the mine closed, the workers had mined and concentrated at least $200,000,000 worth of ore. Kennecott had grown into one of the largest mineral companies in the world. Most of the property is now owned by the National Park Service. We visited Kennecott's huge, open-pit copper mine near Salt Lake City last summer.
When we were almost back to the paved road, we had stopped for a possible picture. A van stopped and the lady got out and told us there had just been a landslide between us and the paved road. They were the 20th vehicle that we had met during the 56 miles we had traveled on the way out. They doubted we would be able to get through before the road department came out the next morning to clear it. When we got there, we found a lot of material similar to peat moss with a lot of limbs, rocks and roots covering the road. Behind us was a car with a couple from Germany. John had a small shovel; and with the help of the man from Germany, they were able to clear enough of it to get through. This area was on a high bluff, which isn't evident in the picture.

2009-06-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

Today we paralled the trans-Alaska pipeline on the Richardson Highway. This pipeline carries oil 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic to Port Valdez, where it is loaded on tankers and transported to the lower 48. None of this oil is exported. We left the Richardson Highway to make a side trip to Chitna, McCarthy and Kennicott Mine. The first 33 miles to Chitna were paved, and we saw this Lynx run across the road and up a bank. It turned and watched us until we drove away. John was able to get four pictures before we had to move, as we were stopped on a hill with a double-yellow line. Luckily, no cars came along. From Chitna it is 59 miles of gravel road to McCarthy. It was so bad the first 17 miles that it took over one hour. We stopped at mile 17 to spend the night in a primative campground.

2009-06-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today we drove through Salcha. This is an unincorporated town of 995 residents that extends along the highway for 12 miles. Because there are few interior roads, they construct all their homes and businesses along the highway. Thus the town stretches for many miles. We have encountered a few other towns like it. Salcha was having a fair, and they had signs along the road for 17 miles advertising it. We have not seen many moose. This one tried to hide from us. We also drove into the town of North Pole. This large Santa was outside the Santa Claus house, where they sold all sorts of Christmas items. Santa had the day off, so we didn't get to talk to him. Otherwise we would include a picture of the "real" Santa.

2009-06-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

The Fairbanks Church has outgrown their sanctuary, so they meet in their school gymnasium. Their new pastor was to arrive the following week, so a retired pastor came from Anchorage. They had a fellowship dinner for visitors. The menu for the day was Mexican food. In the afternoon we went to Creamers Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. The main birds in residence
at this time of year are Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese. The large field had an abundance of hese pretty yellow flowers. This time of year beautiful wild flowers are in bloom all over Alaska.

2009-06-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Before leaving Delta Junction, we visited Rika's Roadhouse, one of the best preserved roadhouses in Alaska. It was built in 1910. In 1923 a Swedish emigrant, who had managed it since 1917, purchased the roadhouse and ran it until the late 1940's. She was a remarkable woman. It was interesting to read all she had accomplished. We drove to Fairbanks and spent the night at the Ice Park Campground, where they have ice carving competetions in the winter.

2009-06-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

We crossed the border late yesterday. Tok, population 1,435, was the next town on our route. At Delta Junction we completed the 1,422-mile Alaska Highway. Notice the distance to Miami at the top of the sign. We spent the night at Smith's Green Acres RV Park. The Smiths are an Adventist family. We stayed at their park in 2007. The picture of the trumpeter swans was taken on a previous day. Some of you probably wonder about the highway. Here are two examples. It has all been paved, however, summer is when they do their maintenance. This means they are either patching or replacing. Where they are replacing, there is gravel and dust. As we got farther north we ran into dips, called frost heaves. These are caused due to the permafrost under the road melting causing the road to sink. If a vehicle is traveling too fast when the dips are encountered it can be quite a thrill.

Day Four of the Alaska Highway

2009-06-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

At the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, north of Whitehorse, they offer tours of their 750-acre wildlife park. Mountain goats, woodland caribou, moose, elk, wood bison, mule deer and mountain sheep roam in their natural habitats. We saw Cleo, a five-day old moose, who had been abanboned by her mother along the highway. That is where the mother birthed her, and then momma moose crossed the highway. There was too much traffic, so she did not get back to bond with her baby. It was hard to believe Cleo could have grown so much in only five days.

Whithorse, Yukon

2009-06-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today was another laundry day. We also went to the Yukon Transportation Museum that featured everything from First Nations snowshoes to Alaska Highway army trucks. They even had a White Pass & Yukon train car and a plane, the Queen of the Yukon, which was a sister ship to Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis. Just down the road was an airplane weathervane that was located at the entrance to the Whitehorse International Airport. !

Dawson City back to Whitehorse

2009-06-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

This morning we drove around Dawson City and took pictures. The Jack London Interpretive Center features a cabin built with some of the original logs from the one where he stayed in 1897. The other object is a cache, pronounced "cash." These were used to store food out of reach of animals. In the afternoon we drove back to Whitehorse to continue traveling on the Alaska Highway.

2009-06-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning we were up early to board a boat that would take us roundtrip from Dawson to Eagle, AK. We had driven a horrible road to reach Eagle in '07 and wanted to return but not by car. It was a very relaxing trip. However, we were saddened to see the destruction the little town had suffered when the Yukon River ice broke up during early May. They had a levee, but it did very little good. There was no record of anything like that happening before. Many homes were demolished. It looked like a tornado had hit the town. There are a number of First Nation residents there; and,as a whole, their homes were affected the most.

Yukon River Campground

2009-06-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Sabbath we slept in and then watched a DVD of a Kenneth Cox sermon. In the afternoon we took a long hike. Late in the afternoon the boat we will take tomorrow passed the campground.

Detour from the Alaska Highway

2009-06-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

Friday morning the motorhome got a bath for Sabbath. It really needed cleaning,and then we left for Dawson City,Yukon. We wanted to spend Sabbath at Yukon River Government Park across the Yukon River from Dawson. The Yukon Territory provides a small free ferry to cross the river--guess it is cheaper than building a bridge. We had stayed at this park when we made our 2007 trip to Alaska and knew it would be a wonderful place to spend Sabbath. Dawson Creek has only two churches. So many of the small towns up here do not have Seventh-day Adventist congregations.

Day Three of the Alaska Highway

2009-06-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

This was a travel day. We traveled 212 miles and did not encounter any animals. We stopped at the Teslin Wildlife Gallery to see their outstanding collection of mounted animals and birds. We arrived at Whitehorse,Yukon and did some grocery shopping at Canadian Super Store--similar to WalMart. In the evening we attended "Frantic Follies," a vaudeville revue. It was hilarious.The male star kept us laughing the entire evening. It was unreal how he could distort his face. The whole cast was so very talented.

Day Two of the Alaska Highway

2009-06-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

Our first stop was Liard Hot Springs. It was like a large hot tub. The temperature was just over 100 degrees. Once in it felt really good. Along the way we saw a bison all by himself. This Stone Sheep was up on a cliff above the road and no other was in sight. It seemed to be posing for us. Next we saw a bear alone feeding by the road. The highlight of the day was this momma bear with her twins. The twins were having a romping good time while momma was feeding on the grass. Later in the day we visited Signpost Forest at Watson Lake. It was started in 1942 by an army soldier who was working on the Alaska Highway. There are over 61,000 signs, from all over the world. We located two signs from Frostproof and a sign from Tanglewood, Sebring, Florida.

Day One of the Alaska Highway

2009-06-16T16:09:00.000-07:00

Soon after leaving Dawson Creek, we took a detour to drive a short distance on a section of the 0riginal Alaska Highway which has been rerouted. This was so we could cross the curved wooden Kiskatinaw River Bridge. This 531-foot long structure is the only original timber bridge built along the Alaska Highway that is still in use today. We can't recall ever hearing of a curved bridge before. It is very unique and interesting to see. Since the original military highway was built it has been shortened from 1671 miles to 1422 miles. This was done by taking out curves and straightening the road.

Hinton, Alberta to Dawson Creek, British Columbia

2009-06-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

Another travel day to Dawson Creek where tomorrow we will begin our journey up the Alaska Highway.

Jasper to Hinton, Alberta, CA

2009-06-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

This was a travel day. The highlight was encountering a group of mountain goats along the highway. There were two babies who were running all over the place. They would find one female, and it appeared she wasn't the right mother; so the babies would run to other females. It was hilarious. Here they are standing still, which was not the norm.

Banff & Jasper National Parks, Alberta, CA

2009-06-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

Sabbath morning we had our church service, which was a Kenneth Cox DVD of the Second Coming of Christ. We left our campsite at Lake Louise and drove the Icefields Parkway to Jasper. It is called "Icefields" because of all the glaciers along the route. We took our time and made a number of stops to take pictures. We passed a SUV that had "Bear Guardian" on its sides and also pictures of bears. Volunteers patrol the park's roads to help protect both the bears and bear watchers. A bear just happened to be within sight of the vehicle. There are a number of lakes along the drive. Peyto Lake looked unreal. Had we not known better, we would have thought someone had dumped bottles of blue coloring into it. The blue and green colors of the lakes and rivers are caused by various minerals. A few of the lakes still had ice on the surface. The "Weeping Wall" is created by melting snowfields that find their way through cracks in the mountain wall and emerge as a series of graceful waterfalls--just some of the falls we saw.

Friday, June 12, 2009

2009-06-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

The picture of the white cross was taken in Montana. The state erects these at the locations where people have lost their lives in traffic accidents. We think this is so special. Many of the crosses have flowers or other mementos hanging on them.

Friday was a long, 351-mile day. Our goal was to reach Lake Louise campground in Banff National Park. We had tried to get a reservation there and were told the campground was full but there was an overflow area on a first come, first served basis. We hit Calgary at the evening peak traffic and experienced quite a delay. When we reached the campground around 7:30, we found they had plenty of spaces available. The check-in person said they were not on the reservation system yet because it was too early in the season. I guess the reservation people, who are not on site, assumed it was full.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

2009-06-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today we spent a few hours at a laundromat in the capitol of Montana, Helena, and then drove north to Shelby, which is just south of the border crossing.