No Wildlife, But...

We spent last night in Anchorage,  a reasonably pleasant big city, but it's not the reason we came to Alaska.  On our way out of town, we stopped by Wasilla.  We couldn't find the "there" there.  That's also not the reason we came to Alaska.

THIS is the reason we came to Alaska.

And this...

We drove the Richardson Highway from Glennallen to Valdez.  Jan says it's one of the most beautiful places she's ever seen.  See what you think.

Joe G:  You would love Valdez!

Exit Glacier

For once we had no definite plans for the day.  We had spent two nights in Seward (What?  Two nights in the same city?), known as the gateway to--and surrounded by--Kenai Fjords National Park.

After poking around town, we found our way to the park and the Exit Glacier, which is accessible by trail.  Bob took up the challenge and with his new best friends (Bob and Sue from Ontario) reached the summit in three days*.  Meanwhile, Jan cooled her heels at "base camp" (gift shop--and she spent thousands!).  Exit is the smallest glacier off the Harding Icefield and has retreated several feet a year for at least the last 200 years.

After a lunch of deep-fat fried salmon (Bob), we make the trek back to Anchorage.  Along the way we stopped with fifty other people to view some mountain goats.

* Just kidding!  The ascent took only thiry minutes.  The conversation at the top with his other new best friends (from Holland) consumed another thirty minutes.  Jan only spent hundreds.

Worth the Price of Admission

We spent today on a nine-hour cruise of the Kenai Fjords.  We think ten pictures are worth ten thousand words.

I See You!

Last night we stayed in another cabin.  Ten and a half miles down a dirt road we arrived at an oasis--a Shangri-La.  Manicured, well-watered lawns, lush gardens and two lakes greeted us.  Can this be Alaska?  The bed was comfy, and we slept like logs.  In the morning, Bob stepped out of the shower, looked out the window, and saw a moose looking right back at him!

After the photo sesssion with the moose, we were off.  We'd read about Talkeetna, a small town just minutes away.

It's a funky place, a step back in time to Alaska's pioneer past--dirt streets, narrow  boardwalks, log cabins and clapboard houses.  When Mount McKinley decides to emerge from the clouds, the view from Talkeetna is said to be phenomenal--and it was!

Today's destination was the town of Seward on the Kenai Peninsula.  The one hundred twenty-seven miles of road nestled between the snow-covered Kenai mountains and Prince William Sound is known as the Seward Highway.

At Bird Point, along the highway, we met some volunteers offering looks at a nearby mountain through a very high-powered telescope.  The telescope revealed bears and mountain goats that were completely invisible to the naked eye.  Fascinating!

At sea tomorrow.

May 6, 2012 4:15 p.m.

Our first stop was Nenana, AK, population 553.  First settled in 1902, it prospered as a trading center for natives in the area.  Today it is a hub for the tug boat/barge shipping industry.

But its claim to fame is the Nenana Ice Classic, a sweepstakes held annually since 1917.  The lucky winner receives a cash prize for guessing the date and exact minute of the ice breakup on the Tanana River.  The festivities begin the last week of February with the Tripod Raising Festival and culminate at "break-up time" in late April or early May.  When the surging ice on the river dislodges the tripod, a line attached to the tripod trips a clock.  Recent winners have earned over $300,000.  Our pick is May 6, 2012 at 4:15 p.m.  Keep your fingers crossed.

It was on to Denali National Park, encompassing over 6 million acres of land, bigger than the state of New Hampshire. 

It prides itself on wild landscapes, all kinds of animals and, the star of the show, Mt. McKinley, the tallest peak in North America.  We left the park having enjoyed only the wild landscape.  We were dejected!  In a funk! 

Good news though—the clouds lifted  and we got to see McKinley from the roadside miles down the highway.  Magnificent!

 

Found a charming oasis in the middle of nowhere to spend the night.   More about that later.

It Ain't Disneyland

Imagine stepping back to the time of the Klondike Gold Rush, panning for gold, gambling at Diamond Tooth Gertie's, having a drink at the Sour Dough Saloon, or cruising the Yukon River on a paddlewheeler.  Dawson City, YT, offers all these things right now.  Don't expect a sanitized Disney version of those days.  While the town relies on tourism, Dawson City is a real life, gritty mining community.  A walk through town reveals century-old buildings with fancy facades and signs on businesses expressing solidarity with the placer gold miners.  Jack London thought it was a great place.  We do too.

After crossing the Yukon River on a small ferry, we tackled the Top of the World Highway with trepidation.  This 108-mile narrow, winding road, with some steep grades and few guard rails is mostly gravel.  We had visions of our minivan coming home with a broken windshield and pockmarks all over it from rocks kicked up by massive trucks racing by.  The reality:  although the drive was stressful, we suffered no visible damage to the car.

At the end of the highway lies Beautiful Downtown Chicken, consisting of a cafe, gift shop, saloon, salmon bake, fuel, and liquor to go.  As the owner says, "This is the REAL Alaska!"  Enough said.

Last stop:  Delta Junction, the official Northern terminus of the Alaska Highway.  One goal down, more to go.

Scorecard: 

Ahhh...

GAME OVER!

The Road Less Travelled

We spent the night in Whitehorse, the capital city of the Yukon Territory.  It is a regular working city with some reminders of Gold Rush days.  Took time this morning to check out the SS Klondike, a stern-wheel river boat that once plied the Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City.

Also made a stop at the Whitehorse Fishery.  It is said to be the longest wooden fish ladder in the world.  It enables Chinook salmon to by-pass the Whitehorse Rapids Dam during their migration.

We parted ways with the Alaska Highway and drove north on the Klondike Highway to Dawson City.  This truly is the road less travelled.  We don't think we passed more than a hundred cars all day.

Wildflowers and birch trees lined the road, adding some beauty to the monotony of the 300 mile trip.

Scorecard:  Ravens 3  Porcupine 1