We arrived at Ketchikan in the morning and were there most of the day. One must study the ferry schedule to figure out how long they dock where, as we were there only briefly on the trip up. Ketchikan is the fifth largest "city" in Alaska with a population of around 14,000. Their economy is based on fishing and tourism. We took a bus into town and found a tourist trap area much like we found in Juneau. We walked into a store and were confronted by a woman selling trips on a tour bus. The price was a bit high but she promised we would get the history and view of Ketchikan from a local, not a canned speech from an import bus driver. I fell for it and signed up. David and I were the only passengers on a small bus. The driver was a cute girl around David's age. She was nice, and we had good conversation, but she did not mention much local information at all, and when I asked her how Ketchikan got it's name, she had no idea. (It came from the name of a local creek which was named by the Tlingit natives.) Our destination was Totem Heritage Center,with Tlingit native totem poles, an antique gun collection, and antique autos. It was raining when we got there, and we learned a bit about it, but I found myself listening to the canned talks from other groups as I got more information that way. My thought is that the large groups may be from cruise ships, but the leader learns the information more than the small local tour people.
We saw more sea planes at Ketchikan in one place than anywhere else. There were docks with ramps with sea planes run up on them, and they were pulled up everywhere and in the air.
Remember the Alaskan "Bridge to Nowhere"? Well it was to be built at Ketchikan, from the town to the new International Airport on an island. Look at my photos and you will see it across the water from where we were. It would have been a short bridge, but due to the huge cruise ships that would pass under it, it would have to have been very high up. The flat island that they had to put the airport on also houses several hundred folks most of whom work in Ketchikan, and the ferry across is 12 bucks each way. (According to our bus driver, it seems that Sarah Palin wanted most of the money for it used in Wacilla, so she canceled the project, and folks in Ketchikan don't like her very much.) Ketchikan has the highest number zip code in the US, 99950 if you are interested...
We visited Hawaii in 2002, and one goal I had on this trip was to compare two relatively rare events in an average persons life, a trip to Hawaii or Alaska and decide which was the best as a first choice or if only one can be afforded. Well, no real comparison can be made... In my opinion the type of person which makes each trip is different. Hawaii is for the person who likes comfort first and is willing to pay to get it. Yes, one can climb Diamond Head, hike trails to water falls, etc. However most of Hawaii is about attending luau, beaches, and great hotels. That can not compare with the harsh life of Alaska. That calls for the mountain man (or woman) type individual. However for the comfort loving person, there are the 3 to 4 daily cruise ships that arrive in some of the cities. Those folks have fine rooms, few waves from the open ocean, heated pools and a party atmosphere. They arrive at towns and cities which have tourist trap after gift shop, but little of what makes Alaska. They do see a great view of the shore of Alaska which is impressive, and get some locak tours, but meet few Alaskans, as the shops are full of summer help from the lower 48. So for the above reasons the hearty type and the luxury type can find something for themselves at both destinations, but they are not the same at all. Hawaii is a year round destination, Alaska is 90% summer only. Those who go in the winter are the really mountain man mentality who want to see the Northern Lights, ride snowmobiles, or really rough it in the cold. Even many Alaskans move to Juneau or Anchorage in the winter to escape the extreme weather in the central and northern parts of Alaska. When the seasonal workers go home to the lower 48, many of the central Alaskans go to south or southeast Alaska to work for the winter, as did the owner of the camping cabin we stayed in at Denali.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Last Couple Days in Alaska
We will catch the ferry back to Bellingham, Washington tomorrow and arrive there the morning of the 25th. It is about 80 degrees here in Haines today and in Alaska one can sunbathe for about 15 hours as some have been in and out of he sun since about 7 AM this morning. We slept in the truck last night due to not doing enough homework when we planned our dates. It seems that there is an international bike relay race every year about Fathers Day from Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada to Haines, Alaska. It is a 240 kilometer event, which is 150 miles. We followed or passed bicycles for almost the entire way. Then when we got to the border it was a two hour wait as we inched toward the customs checkpoint. We assumed that the race passing the border is what clogged it up, as well as everyone who left from Tok that morning was arriving about the same time, however it was not like that on the way up, so it was probably the bike race alone causing the bottleneck. The participants book rooms and campgrounds a year in advance and all were full including the fairgrounds and a park. We drove 12 miles out to a state park and they had a primitive camp ground that was very scenic and private, however they had strict fines if they found any cooler, food item, or grill left out to invite bears. We could not have put everything inside the truck, and David thought it looked like bears could be everywhere, so we drove back to town and slept in the truck at a picnic area on the bay that had outdoor restrooms. Virtually every rest area in Alaska and Canada had either porta potties or similar permanent facilities.
One difference between the USofA and Canada is that in the US there are signs warning of a fine if one litters the highway, in Canada they have a bear proof container by the road at a pullout about every 20 miles. One provides a way to dispose of trash, the other a fine but not necessarily a place to drop off trash.
I am so glad that we decided to leave the camper in Washington. After talking to folks that had made the trip before, I figured it was the best decision. After watching trailers bounce all over the place at very slow speeds, and having to pass them time and time again, the trailer would have never been the same again, and it would have taken twice as long to see less. David talked me into the ferry, and taking the fifth wheel on it would have cost several thousand dollars round trip, so leaving it was a good decision for us. For others with more time and patience, pulling one through Canada and Alaska may be a great idea.
The roads in Canada and Alaska are an enigma, some stretches are fantastic, as good as ever seen, and then suddenly worse than a nightmare. I drove 80 at times and other times 30 was too fast and bouncing all over the place. The stretches of gravel were some of the smoothest we saw as they keep road graders and rollers to keep those places smooth. The asphalt was either better or much worse. I mentioned this before but I can see several possible reasons for this. Obviously the extreme weather in the 7 month winter is a reason to break up the road. There are no concrete roads at all here, probably due to the weather. Another reason for wavey roads is the lack of clay here, there is a bit of top soil and then mostly volcanic or other rock, so the road beds we saw being established to widen a road is topsoil mixed with cedar chunks. Many cedars have died here in recent years, so that may be why they are chopping them up and using in the road bed. And lastly a contributor may be the super size trucks they run in Canada and Alaska. They haul two full size trailers, both tanker or full size standard trailer with large tractors pulling them. They seem to run at high speed even over the worst roads, so I assume that the cabs have springs and shocks in them too. Their tires have white stripes across them, but I have no idea what the stipe tires means yet. The RVs that are here have mostly Canadian or Alaskan tags on them and many are rentals. The big bus looking rigs seem to make the journey well from the lower 48, and many fifth wheels too, but those folks must have lots of time to pull them over the slow rough roads. I suspect that most visiting here are for the whole summer and have no required time to get back, or foreigners and others who fly here and rent cars or campers. (We taked to A German couple that spoke little English. I let them send their daughter a message with my Email, and David was able to discuss a bit of the trip with them as some of his German came back to him.) Lastly there are those on cruise ships who only visit the coast and go ashore at several places and them reboard for the next stop or back home.
Again, David and I are quite satisfied with what we saw and did. Both of us would like to return and do a bit more but this trip was very satisfying and fun. Our trip to Denali could not be equaled, much less improved on, but there may be other things we missed, glaciers and fishing, etc. Those will be future decisions to be made.
Tomorrow we leave the lynx, moose, and bears and move back to where the whales, porpoises, and more eagles are seen. Back to where things are less harsh, and more familiar...
One difference between the USofA and Canada is that in the US there are signs warning of a fine if one litters the highway, in Canada they have a bear proof container by the road at a pullout about every 20 miles. One provides a way to dispose of trash, the other a fine but not necessarily a place to drop off trash.
I am so glad that we decided to leave the camper in Washington. After talking to folks that had made the trip before, I figured it was the best decision. After watching trailers bounce all over the place at very slow speeds, and having to pass them time and time again, the trailer would have never been the same again, and it would have taken twice as long to see less. David talked me into the ferry, and taking the fifth wheel on it would have cost several thousand dollars round trip, so leaving it was a good decision for us. For others with more time and patience, pulling one through Canada and Alaska may be a great idea.
The roads in Canada and Alaska are an enigma, some stretches are fantastic, as good as ever seen, and then suddenly worse than a nightmare. I drove 80 at times and other times 30 was too fast and bouncing all over the place. The stretches of gravel were some of the smoothest we saw as they keep road graders and rollers to keep those places smooth. The asphalt was either better or much worse. I mentioned this before but I can see several possible reasons for this. Obviously the extreme weather in the 7 month winter is a reason to break up the road. There are no concrete roads at all here, probably due to the weather. Another reason for wavey roads is the lack of clay here, there is a bit of top soil and then mostly volcanic or other rock, so the road beds we saw being established to widen a road is topsoil mixed with cedar chunks. Many cedars have died here in recent years, so that may be why they are chopping them up and using in the road bed. And lastly a contributor may be the super size trucks they run in Canada and Alaska. They haul two full size trailers, both tanker or full size standard trailer with large tractors pulling them. They seem to run at high speed even over the worst roads, so I assume that the cabs have springs and shocks in them too. Their tires have white stripes across them, but I have no idea what the stipe tires means yet. The RVs that are here have mostly Canadian or Alaskan tags on them and many are rentals. The big bus looking rigs seem to make the journey well from the lower 48, and many fifth wheels too, but those folks must have lots of time to pull them over the slow rough roads. I suspect that most visiting here are for the whole summer and have no required time to get back, or foreigners and others who fly here and rent cars or campers. (We taked to A German couple that spoke little English. I let them send their daughter a message with my Email, and David was able to discuss a bit of the trip with them as some of his German came back to him.) Lastly there are those on cruise ships who only visit the coast and go ashore at several places and them reboard for the next stop or back home.
Again, David and I are quite satisfied with what we saw and did. Both of us would like to return and do a bit more but this trip was very satisfying and fun. Our trip to Denali could not be equaled, much less improved on, but there may be other things we missed, glaciers and fishing, etc. Those will be future decisions to be made.
Tomorrow we leave the lynx, moose, and bears and move back to where the whales, porpoises, and more eagles are seen. Back to where things are less harsh, and more familiar...
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wow, what a day! (4 glaciers seen in one day...)
Today started out pretty slow. We had Pop Tarts for breakfast indicating what was expected to be a day with few plans. David has bought some hip boots for the purpose of fording an Exit Glacier stream to try and actually touch a glacier. The day before, a ranger said that they could not recommend such an attempt as the glacier and snow was melting faster as the weather warmed up. (High 50s during the day, and high 40s at night.) We thought that with hip boots he could make it across, and if so he was going to throw the boots back to me and I would try it too. As it turned out, he got across the first fork, but the next he could almost get across in several places but the fast moving water had carved out a channel in the bed that was just too deep for the boots. Pushing it may have caused the current to take him off his feet or fill the boots. It was good that he is cautious and the one trying this, as had I been the first I would have forced the issue and got wet and very cold, as I have other times in my life. Caution is not a common Heise trait but one David has acquired by listening to stories of near misses.
Two rangers were present in the latter stages of the attempt and one interviewed David as to the possibility of crossing the streams, and when he heard of the attempts and failure, he asked us if we thought it was doable by the general public, and of course we said no. Since others were watching from above, David assumed that others were asking to try. Anyway, he radioed back to strongly advise others not to try it, however they do not have the right to stop anyone. They can stop you from entering areas where they are trying to reintroduce plant growth, or to protect animal life or dens, but not from trying to kill yourself! David was quite satisfied that he had walked a couple of miles trying to make it happen, and with his best shot, was satisfied to leave without touching a glacier.
We started up the highway back to Anchorage, with no other plans other than to spend the night at Elmendorf AFB again on the way back and to begin the journey to Washington and the rest of the trip home, by way of Glacier National Park and a trip into Canada where more great glaciers are. I called base billeting and they informed me that all rooms were booked, so we decided that since we were carrying camping equipment, we would tent camp there as they have a very nice family camp on base, with hookups as we have an electric heater with us.
David fell asleep as we traveled and I saw a sign for Portage Glacier. We had heard that it was only accessible from water. Earlier when we saw it on the way down, David had said that they probably rented kayaks to get to it and it was a bit cold for that. Regardless, we had some time to kill, so I turned off the road toward Portage Glacier. When we got there, David was awake, and the boat to get to the glacier was a large closed in heated boat with the top open for outdoor viewing from above. We bought tickets just as it was preparing to leave. They gave us more information on glaciers, most of which we had already heard, but it was a fun trip and we saw small icebergs out in the water with 10% if it sticking above water, and 90% below and they had an aquarium tank with glacier ice in it to demonstrate the rule. David took a photo of it as my memory card had just maxed out. Today was very drizzly and overcast so we couldn't see the glacier to the top, but got a good look at it near the waters edge. A large chunk of it broke off during an earlier trip out today which produced the bergs. Nearby was another glacier which no longer reached the waters edge, but we took photos of it too. We were also told of a glacier nearby that you could walk out on, however the trail was closed due to avalanche risks near it. Once we got back to land and had bought some post cards, the girl at the counter said that they did not tell her that the other glacier was closed today, so we decided to check it out. The trail had no indication of being closed so we started up it. This walk fulfilled David's day and trip. We got to the glacier and were able to walk out onto it. It was still covered with snow in the area we walked out on, however David walked a long way up it. One could see indications that we were on the glacier, but the snow was several feet deep. This alone would more than make our day, but more was waiting for us at the Emendorf AFB campground.
We arrived at the campground around 6 PM, and checked out the showers then started looking for a suitable site. David said, "there's a moose". I answered OK and kept going, since we had seen moose before. He said he wasn't kidding there were two moose. So I stopped and across the road were a he and she moose, he was young with only the start of antlers. We took photos as I had my other memory card in the camera now, and again started looking at sites for the tent. We passed an RV and there was a black bear. We are on a military installation which is totally fenced in. How did moose get in here, and now a bear? Seems that the base is so big that when they built it, there was no way to remove all the game, so some remained inside the fence and has its own habitat. They are more human friendly than most, however as I took a picture of the bear as it was moving away from us, a military police lady pulled up and was watching the bear move away. She told us that a child in the housing area had been bitten by a bear and they were watching them. That totally ended the tent camping for David, which ended it for me to. I suggested that he could sleep in the shower stall, but no way were we staying on the base with the friendly animals... Therefore we are eating a pizza in a motel about 30 miles from the base, in a safe upstairs room. Caution in deep streams is a good thing but fearing a nice cute bear is another. I got a photo of it, the huge moose was OK, but not a little bear. Tomorrow we journey back to Tok, then the next day through Canada on to Haines again. Reporting that may be sporadic, but today was a good day in every way, except for staying in a motel tonight. We hiked several miles today and a good bear free night may be in order...
Two rangers were present in the latter stages of the attempt and one interviewed David as to the possibility of crossing the streams, and when he heard of the attempts and failure, he asked us if we thought it was doable by the general public, and of course we said no. Since others were watching from above, David assumed that others were asking to try. Anyway, he radioed back to strongly advise others not to try it, however they do not have the right to stop anyone. They can stop you from entering areas where they are trying to reintroduce plant growth, or to protect animal life or dens, but not from trying to kill yourself! David was quite satisfied that he had walked a couple of miles trying to make it happen, and with his best shot, was satisfied to leave without touching a glacier.
We started up the highway back to Anchorage, with no other plans other than to spend the night at Elmendorf AFB again on the way back and to begin the journey to Washington and the rest of the trip home, by way of Glacier National Park and a trip into Canada where more great glaciers are. I called base billeting and they informed me that all rooms were booked, so we decided that since we were carrying camping equipment, we would tent camp there as they have a very nice family camp on base, with hookups as we have an electric heater with us.
David fell asleep as we traveled and I saw a sign for Portage Glacier. We had heard that it was only accessible from water. Earlier when we saw it on the way down, David had said that they probably rented kayaks to get to it and it was a bit cold for that. Regardless, we had some time to kill, so I turned off the road toward Portage Glacier. When we got there, David was awake, and the boat to get to the glacier was a large closed in heated boat with the top open for outdoor viewing from above. We bought tickets just as it was preparing to leave. They gave us more information on glaciers, most of which we had already heard, but it was a fun trip and we saw small icebergs out in the water with 10% if it sticking above water, and 90% below and they had an aquarium tank with glacier ice in it to demonstrate the rule. David took a photo of it as my memory card had just maxed out. Today was very drizzly and overcast so we couldn't see the glacier to the top, but got a good look at it near the waters edge. A large chunk of it broke off during an earlier trip out today which produced the bergs. Nearby was another glacier which no longer reached the waters edge, but we took photos of it too. We were also told of a glacier nearby that you could walk out on, however the trail was closed due to avalanche risks near it. Once we got back to land and had bought some post cards, the girl at the counter said that they did not tell her that the other glacier was closed today, so we decided to check it out. The trail had no indication of being closed so we started up it. This walk fulfilled David's day and trip. We got to the glacier and were able to walk out onto it. It was still covered with snow in the area we walked out on, however David walked a long way up it. One could see indications that we were on the glacier, but the snow was several feet deep. This alone would more than make our day, but more was waiting for us at the Emendorf AFB campground.
We arrived at the campground around 6 PM, and checked out the showers then started looking for a suitable site. David said, "there's a moose". I answered OK and kept going, since we had seen moose before. He said he wasn't kidding there were two moose. So I stopped and across the road were a he and she moose, he was young with only the start of antlers. We took photos as I had my other memory card in the camera now, and again started looking at sites for the tent. We passed an RV and there was a black bear. We are on a military installation which is totally fenced in. How did moose get in here, and now a bear? Seems that the base is so big that when they built it, there was no way to remove all the game, so some remained inside the fence and has its own habitat. They are more human friendly than most, however as I took a picture of the bear as it was moving away from us, a military police lady pulled up and was watching the bear move away. She told us that a child in the housing area had been bitten by a bear and they were watching them. That totally ended the tent camping for David, which ended it for me to. I suggested that he could sleep in the shower stall, but no way were we staying on the base with the friendly animals... Therefore we are eating a pizza in a motel about 30 miles from the base, in a safe upstairs room. Caution in deep streams is a good thing but fearing a nice cute bear is another. I got a photo of it, the huge moose was OK, but not a little bear. Tomorrow we journey back to Tok, then the next day through Canada on to Haines again. Reporting that may be sporadic, but today was a good day in every way, except for staying in a motel tonight. We hiked several miles today and a good bear free night may be in order...
South to Seward
We are at an equal distance from home by road miles as were were at Denali. Tomorrow we head back toward Anchorage, after David fords a fast glacier stream to "touch a glacier". We tried at Mendenhall Glacier and hiked a long way to fail due to a wrong turn, late in the day, and mosquitoes that tried to carry us home for dinner. We visited the Exit Glacier today and we talked to park rangers about the best way for us to touch a glacier or walk on one, and of all the options, it seems that buying hip boots and crossing the melting ice stream to get to the bottom of Exit Glacier is the fastest, easiest, way to touch a glacier of all the many glaciers which are hard to get to. Mendenhall was dangerous at the bottom due to breaking off into a lake. Exit Glacier is no longer calving and is easy to walk up to once one crosses the ice cold stream. David bought hip boots today to try it in the morning. I am not obsessed with touching a glacier like he is, but he wants to toss me the boots once across for me to freeze like him. Then he wants photos so we will risk my camera to get across, as his is too good for such a risk.
Why the name Exit Glacier ? Harding Ice Field is over 300 sq miles in total, but if you count its 40 glaciers that it supports, then it is over 1000 square miles. When scientists were studying the Harding Ice Field, most of the glaciers it provides for are too dangerous to climb or leave from, but one glacier was short and compact which made it a safe exit. Therefore the name of Exit Glacier is still on it.
As time runs down on the Alaska portion of this adventure, I realize just how much priorities have changed for both of us, and in some ways merged. David's goal was to go to Alaska and see as much on the way there as he could. My goal was to see Mt McKinley and to go salmon fishing. Now salmon fishing is off the list for several reasons. One, fresh salmon tastes about like the frozen salmon we get at home. Two, if we caught a salmon, what would we do with it? We couldn't carry it all the way home frozen, nor did we really want to clean one even if it is similar to cleaning a trout. We wouldn't want to eat it all at once, and most of all, the most popular way to catch them is to snag them. When they "run" they don't chase bait, they just keep going. When the "fishermen" see salmon they throw a line with a large triple hook over them and when they snag one, they pull until it is in, as to let any slack will let it get away. To us this is a way to get food or fish to eat, but not a sporting way to do it. Therefore we will not snag salmon on this trip, but again try to fish for trout when we get home again. That will keep us from having to clean and eat a fish in a very short period of time. We could hire a guide to maybe do it differently for about 250 each, but we would still have to deal with any fish caught. Maybe on a future trip here or in the lower 48, but no salmon on this trip other than what we had for dinner tonight! The king crab was good also, but not worth the price it brings even here. Snow crab is just as good if harder to get to.
Overall this country is wild and fresh, but harsh to live in year round. Summers are exciting and full of adventure. Winters are hard, long, and dark. The northern lights (aurora borealis) is better seen in the states in the summer time as it gets dark there, here the only time to see it is in the winter when it is almost always dark.
Why the name Exit Glacier ? Harding Ice Field is over 300 sq miles in total, but if you count its 40 glaciers that it supports, then it is over 1000 square miles. When scientists were studying the Harding Ice Field, most of the glaciers it provides for are too dangerous to climb or leave from, but one glacier was short and compact which made it a safe exit. Therefore the name of Exit Glacier is still on it.
As time runs down on the Alaska portion of this adventure, I realize just how much priorities have changed for both of us, and in some ways merged. David's goal was to go to Alaska and see as much on the way there as he could. My goal was to see Mt McKinley and to go salmon fishing. Now salmon fishing is off the list for several reasons. One, fresh salmon tastes about like the frozen salmon we get at home. Two, if we caught a salmon, what would we do with it? We couldn't carry it all the way home frozen, nor did we really want to clean one even if it is similar to cleaning a trout. We wouldn't want to eat it all at once, and most of all, the most popular way to catch them is to snag them. When they "run" they don't chase bait, they just keep going. When the "fishermen" see salmon they throw a line with a large triple hook over them and when they snag one, they pull until it is in, as to let any slack will let it get away. To us this is a way to get food or fish to eat, but not a sporting way to do it. Therefore we will not snag salmon on this trip, but again try to fish for trout when we get home again. That will keep us from having to clean and eat a fish in a very short period of time. We could hire a guide to maybe do it differently for about 250 each, but we would still have to deal with any fish caught. Maybe on a future trip here or in the lower 48, but no salmon on this trip other than what we had for dinner tonight! The king crab was good also, but not worth the price it brings even here. Snow crab is just as good if harder to get to.
Overall this country is wild and fresh, but harsh to live in year round. Summers are exciting and full of adventure. Winters are hard, long, and dark. The northern lights (aurora borealis) is better seen in the states in the summer time as it gets dark there, here the only time to see it is in the winter when it is almost always dark.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Denali Back to Wasilla, AK (Previous updated also)
(Note to self; when you get up at 4:30 AM to get someplace to catch a bus for a 12 hour day of sightseeing and walking, go to bed early! Before and after.) We were up till near midnight the evening before Denali, as it is hard to go to sleep with the sun still up, then after the long day, David stayed up till 11 PM and I to 12:30 AM working on the blog. We had no reason to set an alarm this morning and we both woke up and looked at the time at exactly the same time, 10 AM. (Neither of us has done anything like that up to now.) Check out time was 11 AM. We scrambled around and in a disorderly manner got out of the cabin at 10:50. Then we took a shower and got ready for the day in the campground showers.
We drove back toward Anchorage, but got tired around 5 PM and stopped in Wasilla. (Home of Sara Palen.) When we got in the area prior to Anchorage, I went out of the way to go through Wasilla just to see if you can see Russia from here. (You can't, but they have T-shirts saying you can, however they say from Alaska, not from Wasilla, or Sara's front porch.) Then I later learned that we had to go through Wasilla on the way to Denali, and we are back here to spend the night tonight.
I stopped at a small cafe in a gas station along the road south from Denali, which David didn't think was a very good idea, but I told him we needed to sample some local ambiance. We had breakfast at 2 PM which they were happy to fix and it was quite good and the burgers we saw others with looked real tasty too. When I asked "Mom", the owner if they closed or moved south in the winter, she said no, that they were open year 'round. She said that most other places closed so she got a lot of business from winter tourists and locals from miles around with no place else to get away to. I suppose that when it is dark almost all day, one wants to go out and eat once in a while. I can't even image how it would be, dark all the time, however it isn't really fun with it light all the time either. One place told us that kids would be out all "night" but had to be quiet so others could sleep. The folks that stay in central Alaska say that the roads are maintained passable in the winter. To them that means with chains, or snow mobile. In places there are poles about 15 ft. high and 50 feet apart that are like a tall 7. The horizontal end is at the edge of the road with reflectors on it. I ask a local what they were for, as I could not see a reason for them. He said that there were areas where the snow drifts constantly, even when not snowing, to six feet or more. The reflectors tell the road crews where the road is, to clean it and others where the road is to travel. The reflectors are because it is always dark in the winter. I saw pickups and SUVs with light bars on the bumpers and across the top and they said that it takes that to see the reflector poles, and the "road" when all is white.
It seems that most of the "summer" businesses here use workers from the lower 48 states. We met a young lady right out of high school from Utah who couldn't afford to go to college yet, so she came to Alaska because she had always wanted to. She took a job in the very first town that she came to out of Canada, (Tok). Tok is flourishing because it is the first town out of Canada which is a day's drive, and because it is a days drive from the next place on the return trip. With the roads so poor and the damage to windshields and RVs, the town is full of motels, campgrounds, RV repair shops, and windshield repair and replacement shops. We met a lady from San Diego that is a school teacher there in the winter, but has worked for a store in Alaska for 8 years in the summers. Meeting folks here is fascinating and we don't have to start the conversation. As soon as we open our mouths for any reason, we are asked where we are from. I told one young lady to guess, and she had no idea. I told her to think about any place as she couldn't hurt our feelings right or wrong. She said Tennessee. That was all she could think of in the south she said. Other Southerners we have met, say I don't have a southern accent, so I suppose it is all in relation to where one is from themselves.
We have no plans for tomorrow, so will decide that when we wake up. When we make plans we change them, and we left Tennessee with the idea that without plans we would do what we wanted as we wanted. That has slowed us down some, and we are getting a bit homesick, but we started this journey to see Alaska first, and there have been many detours which have broadened our horizons, and shown us new places and opportunities for the future if ever needed. This has been an educational, emotional, fun experience, with some downturns thrown in for a wake up call. I am older, but wiser for the trip. David has had his eyes opened as to the adventure that one can have for a lifetime if one plans his life and career for such travel.
We drove back toward Anchorage, but got tired around 5 PM and stopped in Wasilla. (Home of Sara Palen.) When we got in the area prior to Anchorage, I went out of the way to go through Wasilla just to see if you can see Russia from here. (You can't, but they have T-shirts saying you can, however they say from Alaska, not from Wasilla, or Sara's front porch.) Then I later learned that we had to go through Wasilla on the way to Denali, and we are back here to spend the night tonight.
I stopped at a small cafe in a gas station along the road south from Denali, which David didn't think was a very good idea, but I told him we needed to sample some local ambiance. We had breakfast at 2 PM which they were happy to fix and it was quite good and the burgers we saw others with looked real tasty too. When I asked "Mom", the owner if they closed or moved south in the winter, she said no, that they were open year 'round. She said that most other places closed so she got a lot of business from winter tourists and locals from miles around with no place else to get away to. I suppose that when it is dark almost all day, one wants to go out and eat once in a while. I can't even image how it would be, dark all the time, however it isn't really fun with it light all the time either. One place told us that kids would be out all "night" but had to be quiet so others could sleep. The folks that stay in central Alaska say that the roads are maintained passable in the winter. To them that means with chains, or snow mobile. In places there are poles about 15 ft. high and 50 feet apart that are like a tall 7. The horizontal end is at the edge of the road with reflectors on it. I ask a local what they were for, as I could not see a reason for them. He said that there were areas where the snow drifts constantly, even when not snowing, to six feet or more. The reflectors tell the road crews where the road is, to clean it and others where the road is to travel. The reflectors are because it is always dark in the winter. I saw pickups and SUVs with light bars on the bumpers and across the top and they said that it takes that to see the reflector poles, and the "road" when all is white.
It seems that most of the "summer" businesses here use workers from the lower 48 states. We met a young lady right out of high school from Utah who couldn't afford to go to college yet, so she came to Alaska because she had always wanted to. She took a job in the very first town that she came to out of Canada, (Tok). Tok is flourishing because it is the first town out of Canada which is a day's drive, and because it is a days drive from the next place on the return trip. With the roads so poor and the damage to windshields and RVs, the town is full of motels, campgrounds, RV repair shops, and windshield repair and replacement shops. We met a lady from San Diego that is a school teacher there in the winter, but has worked for a store in Alaska for 8 years in the summers. Meeting folks here is fascinating and we don't have to start the conversation. As soon as we open our mouths for any reason, we are asked where we are from. I told one young lady to guess, and she had no idea. I told her to think about any place as she couldn't hurt our feelings right or wrong. She said Tennessee. That was all she could think of in the south she said. Other Southerners we have met, say I don't have a southern accent, so I suppose it is all in relation to where one is from themselves.
We have no plans for tomorrow, so will decide that when we wake up. When we make plans we change them, and we left Tennessee with the idea that without plans we would do what we wanted as we wanted. That has slowed us down some, and we are getting a bit homesick, but we started this journey to see Alaska first, and there have been many detours which have broadened our horizons, and shown us new places and opportunities for the future if ever needed. This has been an educational, emotional, fun experience, with some downturns thrown in for a wake up call. I am older, but wiser for the trip. David has had his eyes opened as to the adventure that one can have for a lifetime if one plans his life and career for such travel.
Anchorage to Denali National Park (Detail added)
We left Anchorage planning to drive to Denali National Park and Preserve and then on to Fairbanks, but after talking to folks before and during this leg of the trip, we decided today that there is more to do in the Anchorage area than in going north to Fairbanks, so we will return to Anchorage. The reason we left Anchorage before being finished there was due to weather forecasts. On average, Denali, (the big one or high one in native language) or you may know it better as Mount McKinley, is only visible on average four days a month. The weather predicted today to be clear, but only for Monday, today. We saw the mountain all day from base to top. Our guide said it is even more rare to see it all day as it often gets covered up by lower clouds most days when it is visible. So we made a good decision to get here when we did. The photos did not do justice to just how big and high it really is. While Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on earth above sea level, it is further south in latitude than Denali, or Mt. McKinley, with less wind. Mt. McKinley is taller from it's base than Everest is. Therefore they both claim to be the tallest mountain along with another in Hawaii.
This day may have been the best yet for both David and me. We saw a fantastic mountain which almost looked like a ghost. We saw 10 bears in 16 different sightings during the day, which were too far away to get good photos. We saw two wolves, again pretty far away, a lynx up close, golden eagles, ground squirrels, and two different moose, or meese, or whatever with their calf! We saw the second pair up close and personal. I decided to get a closer look as the mom was lying down, with the calf standing next to her. As I moved closer, maybe 15 ft. I zoomed in for a photo and she heard my camera and first turned her ear, then her head to look at me. I slowly backpedaled and decided I been close enough! It was a fun eventful day.
We are staying at a fascinating place also, it was originally home steaded in the fifties, however they allowed it into the 70s. They no longer allow home steading, but may open it back up in the future as new roads are built. The current operator of the campground and cabins, the third generation went to the lower 48 to go to school and to get a mate. The place was nice and well kept, but we went walking and found some "strange" things, including a place that looked like it was out of a James Bond movie with a tall privacy fence and a huge metal building all closed up and locked. We decided not to look further as it was posted to keep out and secured by the "owners right to bear arms". There was a windmill generator and old junk cars and other interesting things there too. I did learn that the place produced its own power for years, but now is on public utilities. When I asked about what we had seen, the owner said that it is private property. When I asked again in a different way, he again said that it was private property. Later he said that they lived back there, however it was obvious that they lived in and behind the office, so I decided to not mention it again.
We are just 15 miles from where Chris McCandless (Into the Wild) died in the Denali windneress. We saw and crossed the river that is small in the Spring, but gets wild when the glacier and snows melt later in the summer, which kept him from escaping. That along with not knowing there was a bridge nearby nor what plants of the Alaskan wild are edible is why he died.
I will post more details when I am out of the area and have more time. More to come as I remember it, as today we were worn out with a 12 hour trip and seeing so much.
This day may have been the best yet for both David and me. We saw a fantastic mountain which almost looked like a ghost. We saw 10 bears in 16 different sightings during the day, which were too far away to get good photos. We saw two wolves, again pretty far away, a lynx up close, golden eagles, ground squirrels, and two different moose, or meese, or whatever with their calf! We saw the second pair up close and personal. I decided to get a closer look as the mom was lying down, with the calf standing next to her. As I moved closer, maybe 15 ft. I zoomed in for a photo and she heard my camera and first turned her ear, then her head to look at me. I slowly backpedaled and decided I been close enough! It was a fun eventful day.
We are staying at a fascinating place also, it was originally home steaded in the fifties, however they allowed it into the 70s. They no longer allow home steading, but may open it back up in the future as new roads are built. The current operator of the campground and cabins, the third generation went to the lower 48 to go to school and to get a mate. The place was nice and well kept, but we went walking and found some "strange" things, including a place that looked like it was out of a James Bond movie with a tall privacy fence and a huge metal building all closed up and locked. We decided not to look further as it was posted to keep out and secured by the "owners right to bear arms". There was a windmill generator and old junk cars and other interesting things there too. I did learn that the place produced its own power for years, but now is on public utilities. When I asked about what we had seen, the owner said that it is private property. When I asked again in a different way, he again said that it was private property. Later he said that they lived back there, however it was obvious that they lived in and behind the office, so I decided to not mention it again.
We are just 15 miles from where Chris McCandless (Into the Wild) died in the Denali windneress. We saw and crossed the river that is small in the Spring, but gets wild when the glacier and snows melt later in the summer, which kept him from escaping. That along with not knowing there was a bridge nearby nor what plants of the Alaskan wild are edible is why he died.
I will post more details when I am out of the area and have more time. More to come as I remember it, as today we were worn out with a 12 hour trip and seeing so much.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
From Haines to Anchorage, AK
Folks, I seem to have a problem... I am trying to be the objective reporter, writing a journal of mine and David's trip to Alaska, however I seem to come across as "not excited to be here", or "things are not going as well as I had planned". Now I guess I have to face the facts that no trip of this magnitude can possibly all go as planned, but since we have intentionally from the outset, made no plans, then I have to say that things are going exactly as not planned! As for excitement, if something excites me, I take a picture of it, so don't listen to my boring words, look at my photos! I review my photos over and over, but I only do a brief proof read of what I write, so all I can do is apologize for my 64 year old mind's inability to infuse excitement into my words and for the grammatical and spelling errors. Accuracy and hitting the highlights is my goal, and to add my goosebumps would only make this longer than it already is... The excitement is in making the trip at all, not in the day to day events! Talk actually became action, and that is the real exciting thing.
From Juneau, the tourist capital city of 31,000 folks, we ferried to Haines, AK about 80 nautical miles Northwest. It is a quaint small town. My highlight was visiting the American Bald Eagle Foundation. The live owl and the many displays were only part of my delight! When I was a young manager at Sears Southland Mall, in Memphis, I had a younger Memphis State University student working for me as a camera salesman. We went water skiing and canoeing together and had a bit of an accident with the canoe that caused Mike to fall in the water and get caught in a tree and finally pop up downstream after I was in a panic. He went on to become a PHD professor of marine biology at Auburn University in Alabama. Here in Alaska were a professor and three students from Auburn U that either knew him or had classes under him. I have not seen him in years and only had a few email contacts over the years! Now that is exciting to me, but I have no pictures to show my goosebumps... sorry...
Then the story goes south again, but I have to report the facts, the road from Haines into Canada for about 400 miles and then back into Alaska are the worst I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life. The reports I had from other campers is part of why I listened to David explain how the ferry over the Alaskan Marine Highway made sense. We were in a strong truck and got bounced all over the place. If we had done this from Washington with the fifth wheel, we may have destroyed the truck and trailer. The road was like ocean waves with deep pot holes and trenches in them. I was dodging things on both sides of the road. I had heard about the gravel and trucks throwing rocks and breaking windshields, but the gravel parts were the only smooth places in the entire road. We got stopped at the Canadian border and they found a few pieces of firewood in the back of the truck, and we had to turn around and take the firewood back to the US of A as it was not allowed into Canada. Once we got back into Alaska, the roads were no better for a long way. My guess, based on what the naturalist told us on the ferry, that they have only a bit of top soil on top of the rock which causes the trees to be short and have wide root systems rather than deep ones, is that they have no clay to pack before they put the asphalt down, so over time the roads become wavy and broken. Anyway, we finally after 6 hours of Canada, and back into Alaska, arrived in a small town called TOK. (Pronounced like toke, taken from the intitals of the founder.) The main business in Tok is either RV repair, or windshield fixing or replacenment. Most of the motels were booked full, but we found a really nice one and got a good nights sleep. The desk clerk was a young lady out of high school from St. George, in southern Utah who had always wanted to visit Alaska, and came here and Tok was the first town she came to, so got a job. She is saving money to go to go home to college while here... (a bit of the American dream?)
From Tok, the roads varied from good, to bad, to worse. They would be really great in places, and really bad in others, and in other places winding and steep up or down. We saw several glaciers which still facinate me as they are frozen rivers, often in places where there is no snow or ice otherwise. Anchorage is busy, with all the chain restaurants we did not see elsewhere in the state so far. Tonight we are in a beautiful suite on Elemdorph AFB connected with Fort Richardson for a bit less than a cheap room here would cost.
These are the facts, the road was bad, the food is good, and I am "excited" to be here! Good food and friends and family make me glad whereever I happen to be. (When you are a Heise, anyone you meet who will talk to you and better yet, listen to you, is a friend!)
From Juneau, the tourist capital city of 31,000 folks, we ferried to Haines, AK about 80 nautical miles Northwest. It is a quaint small town. My highlight was visiting the American Bald Eagle Foundation. The live owl and the many displays were only part of my delight! When I was a young manager at Sears Southland Mall, in Memphis, I had a younger Memphis State University student working for me as a camera salesman. We went water skiing and canoeing together and had a bit of an accident with the canoe that caused Mike to fall in the water and get caught in a tree and finally pop up downstream after I was in a panic. He went on to become a PHD professor of marine biology at Auburn University in Alabama. Here in Alaska were a professor and three students from Auburn U that either knew him or had classes under him. I have not seen him in years and only had a few email contacts over the years! Now that is exciting to me, but I have no pictures to show my goosebumps... sorry...
Then the story goes south again, but I have to report the facts, the road from Haines into Canada for about 400 miles and then back into Alaska are the worst I have ever seen anywhere in my entire life. The reports I had from other campers is part of why I listened to David explain how the ferry over the Alaskan Marine Highway made sense. We were in a strong truck and got bounced all over the place. If we had done this from Washington with the fifth wheel, we may have destroyed the truck and trailer. The road was like ocean waves with deep pot holes and trenches in them. I was dodging things on both sides of the road. I had heard about the gravel and trucks throwing rocks and breaking windshields, but the gravel parts were the only smooth places in the entire road. We got stopped at the Canadian border and they found a few pieces of firewood in the back of the truck, and we had to turn around and take the firewood back to the US of A as it was not allowed into Canada. Once we got back into Alaska, the roads were no better for a long way. My guess, based on what the naturalist told us on the ferry, that they have only a bit of top soil on top of the rock which causes the trees to be short and have wide root systems rather than deep ones, is that they have no clay to pack before they put the asphalt down, so over time the roads become wavy and broken. Anyway, we finally after 6 hours of Canada, and back into Alaska, arrived in a small town called TOK. (Pronounced like toke, taken from the intitals of the founder.) The main business in Tok is either RV repair, or windshield fixing or replacenment. Most of the motels were booked full, but we found a really nice one and got a good nights sleep. The desk clerk was a young lady out of high school from St. George, in southern Utah who had always wanted to visit Alaska, and came here and Tok was the first town she came to, so got a job. She is saving money to go to go home to college while here... (a bit of the American dream?)
From Tok, the roads varied from good, to bad, to worse. They would be really great in places, and really bad in others, and in other places winding and steep up or down. We saw several glaciers which still facinate me as they are frozen rivers, often in places where there is no snow or ice otherwise. Anchorage is busy, with all the chain restaurants we did not see elsewhere in the state so far. Tonight we are in a beautiful suite on Elemdorph AFB connected with Fort Richardson for a bit less than a cheap room here would cost.
These are the facts, the road was bad, the food is good, and I am "excited" to be here! Good food and friends and family make me glad whereever I happen to be. (When you are a Heise, anyone you meet who will talk to you and better yet, listen to you, is a friend!)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Juneau, AK (3rd post made on Wed. 6/9/2010)
We arrived in Juneau two hours late, again due to a sister ferry occupying the only landing spot. We got up at 4:00 AM on Monday morning to pack up to leave the boat at the scheduled time of 4:45, however we actually got off at 7:00 AM. Once one is fully awake, one cannot just go back to sleep, especially when everyone else is up too. At one point the captain made a large circle just kill time like an aircraft circling an airport. We took a "shortcut" in the inland passage that cruise ships have to go 200 miles further to get to the same place. The 40 mile stretch averages 150' wide and 24' deep. Our ship had a draft of thirteen feet so it was passable for us, but difficult to pass if meeting another ferry which did not happen to us.
We had read and heard so much about Juneau and it was a major stop for us, however when expectations run high, one is easily disappointed. I can not say that we were let down, but the three days we planned was too many. Last evening, we had visited all we wanted to see. If Melissa had been along, she would have found plenty of other things to do, but we two guys are not very creative. First thing on Monday we went to visit Mendenhall Glacier and that was fantastic as we had not seen a glacier before. It looked like a wild river flowing frozen in time. It has receded 1.7 miles since 1958, which left a lake at the bottom of it now. Since temperatures have been rising since the last Alaskan mini-ice age ended 250 years ago (yes, 250 years ago ago!) it is expected to continue to recede slowly. However it also moves forward at about 40 plus feet a year, and with increasing snowfall recently it could actually move forward a bit in the future. It is the most accessible glacier in Alaska and one of the most visited in the world. The ice in a glacier is hard and crystal clear due to the pressure of snow sitting up to a mile thick in places. This clear glacial ice only passes blue light and reflects the longer wavelengths. Glaciers form when there is snow trapped deep in mountains and when it overflows it descends like a river and digs deep u shaped trenches. Amy, the naturalist said that glaciers formed the inland waterway which is up to 2200 feet deep in places.
After the glacier the rest of Juneau is a bit like a tourist trap. Almost every morning three cruise ships dock and immediately become the tallest buildings in town. They leave in the evening around 9 PM and then another set arrives the next moring. Juneau has a year round population of 31,000 and also has no roads in or out, so air and water are the only ways to get here. When the cruise ships arrive, they also become a large segment of the total population. Then main drag runs down the harbor and is very narrow as all the roads in town are. There is a tram up the side of the mountain which hems the city in at the ocean. David didn't want to ride it but there is a restaurant and trails at the top. There are photos of it on the Website. The shops are small tourist trap types with pricey souvenirs. Also there are county fair type eating booths and restaurants which too are over priced. We quickly learned that the way to tell Alaskans from tourists is that Alaskans were wearing shorts and halter tops or T shirts, the tourists were wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts. (The days have averaged around 65 degrees, and the nights 50 degrees or so.) We found a good Asian restaurant out on the edge of town and ate there twice. After cruising the strip, we went to the Alaska Brewing Company and sampled some basic beers and exotic experiments. (They are working on a breakfast beer made with bacon, maple syrup, and oatmeal.) I was glad it was not available yet. On Tue. we drove to the state capital building and visited an ancient Russian Orthodox Church. Then we were out of things to do, so we took a hike... An 8 mile hike on the west side of the glacier to be exact. It climbed 1300' in a steep up and down manor above the glacier. We took a wrong turn and didn't realize it until we were above the trail to the glacier, that allowed you to walk out onto it. By the time we could look down and see the line of the glacier path, it was getting late in the afternoon and the mosquitoes were as large a horse flies, so we decided to go back, hiking approximately 5 miles total. We had a good meal and went to bed. Today we visited a museum of Alaskan history, then went to McDonald's for lunch and spent the afternoon catching up the blog. Tonight we board the ferry at 1:30 AM to Haines to continue our journey likely moving on toward Anchorage which will require about 400 miles through Yukon, Canada.
We had read and heard so much about Juneau and it was a major stop for us, however when expectations run high, one is easily disappointed. I can not say that we were let down, but the three days we planned was too many. Last evening, we had visited all we wanted to see. If Melissa had been along, she would have found plenty of other things to do, but we two guys are not very creative. First thing on Monday we went to visit Mendenhall Glacier and that was fantastic as we had not seen a glacier before. It looked like a wild river flowing frozen in time. It has receded 1.7 miles since 1958, which left a lake at the bottom of it now. Since temperatures have been rising since the last Alaskan mini-ice age ended 250 years ago (yes, 250 years ago ago!) it is expected to continue to recede slowly. However it also moves forward at about 40 plus feet a year, and with increasing snowfall recently it could actually move forward a bit in the future. It is the most accessible glacier in Alaska and one of the most visited in the world. The ice in a glacier is hard and crystal clear due to the pressure of snow sitting up to a mile thick in places. This clear glacial ice only passes blue light and reflects the longer wavelengths. Glaciers form when there is snow trapped deep in mountains and when it overflows it descends like a river and digs deep u shaped trenches. Amy, the naturalist said that glaciers formed the inland waterway which is up to 2200 feet deep in places.
After the glacier the rest of Juneau is a bit like a tourist trap. Almost every morning three cruise ships dock and immediately become the tallest buildings in town. They leave in the evening around 9 PM and then another set arrives the next moring. Juneau has a year round population of 31,000 and also has no roads in or out, so air and water are the only ways to get here. When the cruise ships arrive, they also become a large segment of the total population. Then main drag runs down the harbor and is very narrow as all the roads in town are. There is a tram up the side of the mountain which hems the city in at the ocean. David didn't want to ride it but there is a restaurant and trails at the top. There are photos of it on the Website. The shops are small tourist trap types with pricey souvenirs. Also there are county fair type eating booths and restaurants which too are over priced. We quickly learned that the way to tell Alaskans from tourists is that Alaskans were wearing shorts and halter tops or T shirts, the tourists were wearing jeans and long sleeve shirts. (The days have averaged around 65 degrees, and the nights 50 degrees or so.) We found a good Asian restaurant out on the edge of town and ate there twice. After cruising the strip, we went to the Alaska Brewing Company and sampled some basic beers and exotic experiments. (They are working on a breakfast beer made with bacon, maple syrup, and oatmeal.) I was glad it was not available yet. On Tue. we drove to the state capital building and visited an ancient Russian Orthodox Church. Then we were out of things to do, so we took a hike... An 8 mile hike on the west side of the glacier to be exact. It climbed 1300' in a steep up and down manor above the glacier. We took a wrong turn and didn't realize it until we were above the trail to the glacier, that allowed you to walk out onto it. By the time we could look down and see the line of the glacier path, it was getting late in the afternoon and the mosquitoes were as large a horse flies, so we decided to go back, hiking approximately 5 miles total. We had a good meal and went to bed. Today we visited a museum of Alaskan history, then went to McDonald's for lunch and spent the afternoon catching up the blog. Tonight we board the ferry at 1:30 AM to Haines to continue our journey likely moving on toward Anchorage which will require about 400 miles through Yukon, Canada.
Ketchikan and Wrangall, Alaska
The scenery was only nature in the northern parts of Canada shoreline, however once we entered Alaskan water, then the shore started showing some signs of habitation with houses here and there. Some had boats only out front, some had sea planes or pontoon planes.
Ketchikan was our first stop. It is the first town located within the 16 million acre Tongass National Forest which is a temperate rain forest. Ketchikan is on three islands, and requires a boat to visit the entire town. We left the boat but did not have time to see much as a sister ship was in our way of docking which delayed us and the stop was shortened to stay on schedule. On the way back we hope to have more time to look around. http://www.visit-ketchican.com/
Somewhere I read that Wrangell was the first town in Alaska, but I do not remember if it was first American town, or Russian town, however Russia is a long ways from Wrangell. It was probably the first incorporated American town. It is where we saw the first large group of bald eagles. They were flying around and landing on roofs and sitting in trees. (We have driven to Reelfoot Lake in NW Tennessee to see one or two sitting in trees, and here they are everywhere.) Wrangell has a bear and wildlife observatory and is close to glaciers. It has great salmon fishing for sockeye (red) or pink salmon. There is also sea fishing available as Halibut is the other great Alaskan fish. http://www.wrangall.com
Ketchikan was our first stop. It is the first town located within the 16 million acre Tongass National Forest which is a temperate rain forest. Ketchikan is on three islands, and requires a boat to visit the entire town. We left the boat but did not have time to see much as a sister ship was in our way of docking which delayed us and the stop was shortened to stay on schedule. On the way back we hope to have more time to look around. http://www.visit-ketchican.com/
Somewhere I read that Wrangell was the first town in Alaska, but I do not remember if it was first American town, or Russian town, however Russia is a long ways from Wrangell. It was probably the first incorporated American town. It is where we saw the first large group of bald eagles. They were flying around and landing on roofs and sitting in trees. (We have driven to Reelfoot Lake in NW Tennessee to see one or two sitting in trees, and here they are everywhere.) Wrangell has a bear and wildlife observatory and is close to glaciers. It has great salmon fishing for sockeye (red) or pink salmon. There is also sea fishing available as Halibut is the other great Alaskan fish. http://www.wrangall.com
North to Alaska
After much deliberation, we finally decided to save time and maybe a bit of money by taking the the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry up the inside passage to Alaska rather than pull the trailer up a very long mountain highway that is not even paved in long sections with huge trucks roaring past at high rates of speed. Our best source of information this entire journey has been from other travelers in the camp grounds. We were told that the trip was scenic but difficult and hard on the vehicles. The "poor man's cruise ship" was a much more restful trip, we were told. We booked a round trip and I got to ride free as they have a "driver rides free" special on right now if one books a mirror image round trip. We chose a three week round trip to and from Juneau that can be moved backward for 10.00 if we decide to stay longer.
We traveled for two days up the coast of Canada. Some trips stop in Prince Rupert, Canada however this trip skipped that stop. We were in open ocean twice for a bit over an hour each on this trip, and the ship rocked from side to side, and from front to back as we crossed the large spaced out diagonal swells. Had the trip been all open ocean, it would not have gone well for me. I didn't get sick but got to feeling a bit queasy. Had it all been that way, I may have become sea sick.
Our first stop was Ketchikan, AK. We got off the boat for a while as folks got on and off. We were there for close to two hours. The folks not concerned with costs, booked their trip from stop to stop and stayed at each place for a day or two. None of the towns we stopped at had roads in or out of them, as they are only accessible by air or water. We saw many small planes sitting at the docks and some in the air. I thought Hawaii was a small place to have to live, but these towns were isolated other than visits by the weekly ferry or cruise ships that stop. Each is about a half day or more from the next by boat. There were light houses along the way that used to be staffed by a four person team that kept them working, however they now don't require any human staff, but some have folks living in the old lighthouse houses. I don't know if they pay rent, or if they were able to purchase the houses.
The ship had Amy, a Park Ranger Naturalist on board and she gave three talks each day on the history, foliage, animal, and marine life of Alaska, and the glacier activity. I did not attend all of them, but David did attend most. Several were totally interrupted as someone would spot a whale or a porpoise, or the captain would announce seeing one and the talk was over until the activity was past, then she would pick up her talk again. We saw both humpback and orcas on the trip. I put one photo of a "splash" on the Net and some porpoise fins. My camera is too slow reacting to get a shot of a whale on the surface or blowing. I hope David got a shot of one, but he has not downloaded his photo's in a while. I will update the photos later if he got any good shots I missed.
We traveled for two days up the coast of Canada. Some trips stop in Prince Rupert, Canada however this trip skipped that stop. We were in open ocean twice for a bit over an hour each on this trip, and the ship rocked from side to side, and from front to back as we crossed the large spaced out diagonal swells. Had the trip been all open ocean, it would not have gone well for me. I didn't get sick but got to feeling a bit queasy. Had it all been that way, I may have become sea sick.
Our first stop was Ketchikan, AK. We got off the boat for a while as folks got on and off. We were there for close to two hours. The folks not concerned with costs, booked their trip from stop to stop and stayed at each place for a day or two. None of the towns we stopped at had roads in or out of them, as they are only accessible by air or water. We saw many small planes sitting at the docks and some in the air. I thought Hawaii was a small place to have to live, but these towns were isolated other than visits by the weekly ferry or cruise ships that stop. Each is about a half day or more from the next by boat. There were light houses along the way that used to be staffed by a four person team that kept them working, however they now don't require any human staff, but some have folks living in the old lighthouse houses. I don't know if they pay rent, or if they were able to purchase the houses.
The ship had Amy, a Park Ranger Naturalist on board and she gave three talks each day on the history, foliage, animal, and marine life of Alaska, and the glacier activity. I did not attend all of them, but David did attend most. Several were totally interrupted as someone would spot a whale or a porpoise, or the captain would announce seeing one and the talk was over until the activity was past, then she would pick up her talk again. We saw both humpback and orcas on the trip. I put one photo of a "splash" on the Net and some porpoise fins. My camera is too slow reacting to get a shot of a whale on the surface or blowing. I hope David got a shot of one, but he has not downloaded his photo's in a while. I will update the photos later if he got any good shots I missed.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)