Miles & Miles of Road

So far on this journey, we've driven 9,720.9 miles.  That's a LOT!  We've backtracked a fair amount, but there's just so much to see.  We've driven about every highway in Alaska, except for the Dalton Hwy (road to Prudhoe Bay & the Arctic Circle) and the road to Eagle (way too rough & rocky).  Every mile, even those dusty, frost heaved ones, has been worth it!  The views are just indescribable.  We will certainly miss all those mountain vistas!

Some of the roads we've backtracked have been in search of the elusive sockeye salmon, which just didn't run as predictably as usual.  We have ONE, and that is because a really nice young gentleman in line at the fish processing/shipping place told us to take one from his giant catch from a fish wheel.  We do have several pinks and plan to smoke and/or can them.

We heard the fish were running in Hope, and it was on our way anyway so stopped there and ended up staying 2 nights.  The fishing was good, the campground neighbors were all fun, and we were right on the bay.  When we left, our freezer was about as full as it could be so we were sort of on our way home, and a friend we met texted us to join him in Valdez where the pinks were running.  He and Randy caught their limit of fish (6 each) in about 10 minutes!  We enjoyed a nice visit and yesterday started back on our journey to the "Lower 48" as they call it around here.  We're taking a different route home down the Cassiar Highway with new scenery to see & new sights and smells for Annie to investigate.  She has been a great traveler and especially enjoyed many romps at the Soldotna 3 Friends Dog Park.

We are in Tok, AK and will cross into Canada tomorrow morning.  I'll try & update the next time we have internet connection.

Note:  I tried to publish this a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't work so it's a little old.

Campground view in Hope

Finally some salmon!

Cute little campground in Valdez--beautiful flowers all over

Randy & Greg with their catch of the day

Thompson Pass just outside of Valdez--not as much snow as when we were there in early June

Fish weir at the hatchery in Valdez

Blueberry Lake campground by Valdez
(There was still 3 ft of snow over the entrance when we were
there in early June so couldn't stay there.  I'm glad we got to go
back & see it before we left.)

WE'RE BACK!

Sorry for the long absence, but we've been internet free for awhile.  We picked up our son Michael & grandson Finnegan at the Anchorage airport on June 26 and spent 10 fun days with them.  Randy & Michael went on a halibut charter fishing trip out of Seward one day while Finn and I visited the Alaska Sealife Center, walked around town, and then met the guys at the harbor and watched the fish being cleaned.  It didn't take too long as they had a less than spectacular day fishing (but had fun!).  Finn celebrated his 6th birthday on 6/29 with a trip to Whittier through a 2.5 mile tunnel, lunch at the pier, and back to Seward for birthday cake & candles.

On a beautiful day with great weather we took a 5 hour wildlife tour boat ride in the Resurrection Bay where we saw whales, porpoises, puffins, Stellar sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and various other birds and glaciers.  On the boat we enjoyed a salmon & prime rib buffet.  When we got back to the camper, we grilled fresh fish for dinner.

There are many mountains around Seward, and one is Mount Marathon.  On the 4th of July every year, they have a race where people run to the top and back down again.  I think the record time is 44 minutes.  Michael saw that mountain and had to climb it, so he did on Sunday.  It took longer than 44 minutes, but he wasn't racing & had fun. 

After our Seward tour, we went to Soldotna for a day, then to Talkeetna where we had reservations for a few days.  Talkeetna is the cutest little town, very touristy, with lots of old buildings used for shops and restaurants.  We attended the 4th of July parade (down the street to the end, turned around and came back again).  There weren't any bands, but there was a guy dressed in patriotic colors playing The Star Spangled Banner on his electric guitar in the middle of the street to start the parade.  Our campground was in walking distance of everything there was to see/do so we got to be vehicle-free for a few days.  On Thursday, we took the train from Talkeetna to Hurricane, a whistle-stop train where people can get on/off when they choose (hikers, cabin owners, rafters, etc.).  It was about 6 1/2 hours and Finn said it was his favorite part of the trip.

On Friday we drove back to the airport & dropped off our traveling companions.  :-(  This Grandma always hates when her people leave.  Since then, we went to Palmer for vehicle maintenance, Denali State Park, Denali National Park (better views of Mt. Denali from Talkeetna), Fairbanks (Pioneer Park, antique car museum, University of Alaska museum), and drove the 130 mile Denali Highway (mostly dirt & gravel but some of the best views we've seen).  We're back in Soldotna searching for the elusive red salmon, and it looks like we'll be here for a few days at least.

(I have some great pictures on my phone from the week the boys were here, but for some reason they won't download.  Another thing to try & figure out!)

Stellar Sea Lions

Glacier in Resurrection Bay

Michael & Finnegan at Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier--can you see the boys?? (enlarge)

Finn with his Jr. Ranger badge at Kenai Fjords National Park

Hurricane Gulch--view from the train bridge

Leaving the campground at Talkeetna

Moose crossing a river on the way to Denali

View from Richardson Hwy.

Summit Lake on Richardson Hwy.

View of Mt. Denali from Denali Hwy.

Seward

Good morning!  It's nice to see some sunshine today, as we've been in rain for several days now.  Welcome to summer in Alaska!  We spent a few days in Seward...a wonderful town on Resurrection Bay in the Gulf of Alaska...and we'll be back there again later today and again next week.  There are city-run campgrounds all along the water front, and you need to get there at check-out time to get a front row seat.  Most things around are in walking distance from the campsites, and there's lots of things going on all the time with cruise ships coming in, lots of fishing boats in and out, and tour boats all around.  On our first rainy day in Seward, we decided it was a good time to do laundry.  It was funny watching people walking to the laundromat with their suitcases rolling along beside them.  Many were just off a week on a cruise ship, were doing their laundry, and then taking the train to Anchorage for more sight-seeing excursions. 

Our son Michael and his son Finnegan will be joining us next week for about 10 days, so we got some arrangements made for while they're here.  The big guys will go on a halibut fishing charter while Finn and I tour the Alaskan Sea Life Center and do other fun things.  Finn will celebrate his 6th birthday on the 29th, so we'll have to find some exciting things to do to celebrate!  The 30th we're all taking a 5 hour Kenai Fjords Wildlife Cruise. 

We were trying to escape the rain so headed to Cooper Landing and stayed at Quartz Creek US forest service campground.  Salmon fishing is closed in this whole area until July 1 due to poor King Salmon returns, so there are lots of disappointed fishermen, including Randy.  Some campgrounds are even closed until the fishing begins again. 

We're back in Soldotna today (stayed in a Fred Meyer's parking lot last night) to get groceries, hair appointment for me, etc., then back towards Cooper Landing.  This whole non-fishing thing is putting a crimp in our plans, but we're still having fun!

Moose & her twins

Caribou

Clouds over Resurrection Bay

Tern Lake

Kite flying on Resurrection Bay

Annie's favorite viewing spot

Resurrection Bay

Iditarod campground on Resurrection Bay--we've finally found Annie's calling!

View from inside the camper at Iditarod campground

We're going to try this restaurant next week.  It's on the road to Exit Glacier.

View from our campsite at Quartz Creek

No words necessary. :-) 

Summer in Soldotna

Hi folks!  It's been awhile since we've had internet, so this blog may be heavy with pictures.  We're still traveling about and having a great time.  The scenery is still amazing no matter which way you turn, and we're not tired of any of it!  Since the post, we've put on lots of miles.  From Valdez we went to Palmer, visited with a friend who is also traveling about this summer, and walked around town and their Colony Days--amazing food booths, etc.  From Palmer, we took a ride up Hatcher Pass to the Independence Mine.  The road wasn't open all the way to the mine due to snow, but the scenery along the way following a rushing creek was beautiful. 

From Hatcher Pass, we went to Wasilla to the 3 Rivers Bait & Tackle which is owned by an acquaintance of Randy.  He got some bait, tackle, and good fishing suggestions!  We made a little detour to another quilt shop (our truck seems to turn whenever we spot one!), and then headed down the road to the cutest little touristy town of Talkeetna.  We looked around there and made reservations for camping over the 4th of July when Michael & Finnegan will be joining us.

The next morning, we headed down through Anchorage and spent the night at a National Forest Campground in Hope.  We'll definitely go back and spend more time there!  Then on to Soldotna, a town with the Kenai River flowing through & lots of fishing, but it's not quite the season yet as the salmon are barely running.  Fishing for salmon is closed on the lower part of the Kenai until July 15 due to poor returns of King Salmon. 

We spent a day in Kenai, AK and drove to the end of the road which stopped at Captain Cook State Park and the Gulf of Alaska.  More stunning views there & gigantic mosquitoes!  We ended up spending the night at the nicest Walmart I've ever been to.  We were newbies at this parking lot camping thing, but they had a section just for RVs.  There was a nice park nearby for Annie to get in her daily walk & a swim, so she went to bed a happy, yet stinky, pup.

Yesterday we drove down to Homer & The Spit, had lunch, shopped around some, drove lots, and camped at Anchor Point State Recreation Site.  Randy went on a walk & came back laughing that the campground hosts are from Oulu, WI and are cousins to Dave & Patti Reijo!  It's a very, very small world!  We had a nice visit with them last night.  Today we are back in Soldotna, which is kind of the hub of this area, and are headed to Seward.  We plan on staying there a few days as there is rain in the forecast so we'll catch up with important things such as a pedicure, trip to the beauty shop for new color, and laundry.  A girl can't skip those things just because she's on vacation!! lol 

(Note:  These pictures are not in date order, and I know we skipped some great places, but my computer is not charged, and we are sitting in the truck with it running in a one hour parking spot at the Soldotna Visitor Center.  Randy says this is killing his mileage! lol  We are grateful for all these nice visitor centers who share WiFi with all the tourists.)

Chugach Mountains

End of the road--Cook Inlet

Oil rig by the beach at Nikiski

Russian Orthodox Church near Ninilchik

Kachemak Bay by Homer

Palmer Colony Days--the best fried pies ever!!!  

Seward Highway outside of Anchorage
Gulf of Alaska (didn't see any Beluga whales)

Welcome to Hope!

View from our campsite at Hope

Small stream by the campground at Hope

Burger Bus in Kenai
Great burgers!  Been in operation for 26 years!

Sun over Stariski Campground, Cook Inlet
(This was taken with my cell phone!)
Dave & Patti's cousins get this view every day this summer!

I nearly forgot!!  We drove to Chitina and started up the road to the Kennicott mine, which was a horrible road, the worst yet that we've driven!!  We went less than two miles and were looking down where people were camped and driving on the sand of the riverbed of the Copper River.  There was a large camper that had sunk in the sand, who knows when!  Our friend said he saw it there last year.  We got chicken & turned around and went back the way we came!  Calling a tow truck for a maneuver like that is not in our budget! lol

Don't let this happen to you!

Tok Cutoff, Glenallen Highway to Lake Louise, AK, and Richardson Highway to Valdez

Riding and sightseeing for most of every day has become our new normal.  Even Annie is still willingly getting in the truck each morning and after every stop.  I guess we haven't really been putting on that many miles the last few days, but the roads are very slow with frost heaves, road construction, and pull outs to stop and see the vistas.  Both Canada and Alaska have pull outs/rest areas every few miles, so it makes it easy to stop, walk around, make a sandwich for lunch, and just hang out whenever we feel like it. 

Yesterday morning we left Tok and were headed to Valdez.  Since we don't have a planned itinerary and no reservations anywhere, we can decide last minute to take side trips, which is what happened yesterday afternoon.  Randy was really ready to fish, and I found a campground in The Milepost that looked promising.  So we took the road less traveled and ended up at Lake Louise State Recreation Campground somewhere outside of Glenallen, which wasn't really on our way to Valdez but not too far off the path.  It took us an hour to drive 20 miles on a paved but extremely frost heaved road, and the views along the way were unbelievable!  We saw one large bull moose on the drive in (no picture) and LOTS of moose poop in the campground.  It was a nice, quiet campground with a really large lake.  Once again, Annie got to go for a dip & retrieve sticks, one of her very favorite things to do.  I guess it's worth putting up with a wet, smelly dog to get some of the steam worn out of her.  Randy got skunked fishing...this time.

This morning we hit the road to Valdez.  I just can't believe the scenery that is all around no matter which direction you look.  There is still lots of snow on the mountains in this area, and we could see a few smaller glaciers.  The closer we got to Worthington Glacier, the foggier it became, so we'll stop and visit there on our way back out or in a few weeks when we're back this way.  It was really, really hard to see the road due to the fog, and then we drove out of it & saw Bridal Veil Falls.  We're now at a gravel lot campground in Valdez, which is not usually our style, but it's nice to have electric heat as the weather is much colder here. The campground is very nice, and the owner feeds the eagles every day around 5pm.  It was fun to watch him throw the fish in the air and more and more eagles swooping in for the catch.  It started with 3, and there were probably a dozen or so before he was done for the evening.  Randy and Annie are over at the community campfire checking out who knows where the best fishing spots are while I'm in the camper watching the tide come in to the marshy bird sanctuary area.  There are mountains all around us with clouds/fog hanging down low, and what beauty we have out of every window! 

Tomorrow we plan on walking around Valdez, checking out the tour boat schedules for later this summer, and generally just touristing about.  After that, who knows which road we'll take!  There aren't that many around here from which to choose, but there are fun things on each of them.

Bridal Veil Falls near Valdez

Wrangell Mountains seen from Tok Cutoff Highway

Susitna Glacier visible from Lake Louise Road

Randy standing at the wayside above a river by Glenallen

Chugach Mountains on the way to Valdez

River gorge off Richardson Hwy (Highway 4)

Annie retrieving a stick at Lake Louise site, AK