Alaska 2014 – Day 13 June 26

Transition day. We woke up to a steady rain again this morning and it is exactly what I was expecting. So we ate, packed, and said our goodbyes to our host at the B&B. I actually talked to him about coming back March 2015 so we could witness the Northern lights. I’m going to consider this highly and I imagine I will make it happen. He told us he got married last January outside on a sunny day and the temperature was 10 degrees. These pure breed Alaskans are crazy.

Today we left Fairbanks by 9:30am and drove the entire 370 miles without a lunch break. We did have a snack or two in the car and we did take one gas break, among other things. :) We didn’t take but six pictures because for the most part we couldn’t see anything. Lori saw her moose run across the yard at the B&B, so our trip is complete.

Tonight when we went to eat at a Greek restaurant, the woman who greeted us to seat us did something that I’ve never in my 53 years of life seen. She actually greeted us both with a hug, smile, and a welcome before seating us. She had to be 70 or more. Great waitress and after dinner, she even gave both of us a hug goodbye. Even if the food was terrible, wouldn’t that make you feel great to be greeted that way? It wasn’t creepy at all. It was like my mother greeting us. I had Lasagna and Lori had Calzone and even though mine was a little bland, everything else was yummy. The bread was really good. Pizza Olympia was the place and if you fly into Anchorage, put it on your list if you need a hug and Greek/Italian food. :)

Tomorrow we plan on getting a slow start, checkout, and then roam around Anchorage all day until it is time to head to the airport. Out flight lifts off for Chicago at 10:06pm. Touchdown at Dulles around 11:30am. So I should have a day and half to get back in sync with east coast time.

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 12 June 25

I knew before I woke up this morning that I had a plan for rain and a plan for sunshine. I also knew that I had a 100% chance of rain, so the plan for rain won. So with it raining, there was no great hurry to get our day started, because the museums didn’t open until 9 and 11am. So we got ready, ate breakfast and then hit the road for the first museum around 9:30.

The University of Alaska of the North was first on the list and it was basically a museum that broke the state up in pieces and then showed the people, history, animals, and artifacts from different eras. One of the best items to see was the Grizzly that stood 8 foot tall and the estimated weight was 1400 pounds. It was stuffed and dead, so no close encounters happened. The next item was the mummified Bison that was dated back 36,000 years. This was also pretty cool because even though it was likely killed by a predator, the Bison’s body survived for some reason and was frozen until found some years later. Lot’s of years. After this part of the museum came the paintings or art stuff and I’m not really into that, so we kind of blew through that part. There are a lot of talented people out there, but I’ve just never been into paintings.

The next museum though was right up my alley. The Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum was packed with old cars from 1898 to 1938. Every car on the floor ran, except 3, and was driven at least once a year to ensure that it is running and functional. What a gem! If you ever make it to Fairbanks this is a must see even if you're not really into old cars, the craftsmanship of these automobiles were incredible. Things we think today are new, are just rehashed ideas from days gone by. They had three electric cars on the floor built in the 10’s and 20’s that could be driven 70 miles on a single charge. Hell, even the modern cars today can’t hardly do that, with the exception of the Tesla. They had a Stanley Steamer on the floor. So how many miles to the gallon of water did they get? Any guesses? 1 mile per gallon of water. There was so much to see and so much to drool over that it was sensory overload. I did wonder, but didn’t ask, what was the value of all the cars together on the floor ?

Ok, so after these two museums, we called it a day and came back to the B&B to watch the final game between UVA and Vanderbilt. It was a very tight game and very well played for the most part, but UVA came up 1 run short. Tip your hat to Vandy on the win and maybe next year will be UVA’s turn.

Tomorrow we pack our bags and drive back to Anchorage to setup for Friday’s departure. So I doubt I will have many pictures tomorrow unless something comes up out of the blue. The other sad part is that it is forecast to rain from Fairbanks to Anchorage, so that will also make traveling fun. Friday we will tour around Anchorage all day and then catch a flight out at 10:06pm Alaska time or 2:06am east coast time. I bet we will be a couple of tired puppies when we touch down at Dulles at 11:30am Saturday morning. Temperature wise it will also be a body shock for us. I actually bought me a short sleeve shirt here just for the flight home because all I have with me is long sleeve cold gear made by Under Armor.

That’s it for now with the exception that right at this moment in time I feel like I’m trying to come down with a cold. Err, this will not make me happy. I will know for sure in the morning, but let’s just hope it’s allergies.

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 11 June 24

Today we awoke to overcast skies and temps around 60 degrees. The forecast was 60-70% chance of rain, but this was not going to slow us down. So we showered and then trotted over to the main cabin or lodge and ate our breakfast fixed by our host. They did not disappoint. Scrambled egg casserole with at least green peppers and onions baked in, bacon, and large variety of fruits and breads. The lodge was beautiful inside and was built and decorated with their personalities. The view out the windows was of the Denali National Park, which was at least 100 miles away. Still very visible.

The main objective for today was to reach Chena Hot Springs and checkout the springs. At first I wasn’t really thrilled about the idea of jumping in the springs, but after walking around the back of the building where you paid and then got dressed, we decided to give it a shot. It was a lot warmer than I expected. The sulphur smell in the area was there but not overbearing. We stayed in the water for a total of maybe 30 to 40 minutes, not continuous, but no more than a total of 5 minutes out of the water and I think we got a little overheated. It did feel incredibly wonderful, but I would not recommend staying in the water more than 20-30 minutes at a time. After sitting out for about 15 minutes I felt fine, but I could tell that the body temperature was higher than normal which makes you feel a little weird. Come to find out, the day before passed out in the pool because they became dehydrated and a bit overheated. No harm was done, but it was a little bizarre to hear that it happened. The picture below is an overhead shot that I got from the web. The place is worth seeing and checking out, but I think it would be better to see in the winter time.

  

After we did the pool thing, we moseyed over to the resort restaurant. I had my first Salmon BLT with fries. It was yummy. Lori had a Salmon burger and she seemed happy with her choice also. The highlight of lunch though was watching a squirrel race inside the restaurant, grab tissues out of the trash can, and then rush back outside to store stolen item in his or her nest.

The rest of the day was spent traveling back to Fairbanks just see what there was to see. Nothing really exciting on the drive by of the town, but I do have a couple of cute stories.

First, I decided to pull into a manual carwash and finally get the dirt and grim out of the rims, and also knock some of the dirt off the SUV so you wouldn’t get your hands dirty every time you reached for the door handle. If you brushed up against the SUV, you were guaranteed to get dirty. But before I started to clean, I walked over to the other bay and started a conversation with a dual sport rider. He was knocking all the dirt off the bike from driving partially up the haul road. I asked if he ran the entire 1000 mile round trip and he said no. He only made it to the Arctic circle, which was nothing. That’s only 400 mile round trip. Wimp!! :) I talked to this guy for a good 20 minutes and Lori was about to send out Search and Rescue, when I finally bid him ado, and walked back to my bay. I get lost in the conversation when you start talking motorcycles and adventure. Add a Dual Sport to the conversation, and I’m there for a hour at least.

Ok, so I basically just power washed the SUV and wheels with clear water and when I was done, it looked much better. Problem!! When we reached a speed 40mph of greater, the entire SUV started shaking rather uncomfortably. Lori thought we had a flat, but I knew what it was. Back to the carwash we go. So I put Lori in the driver seat, and I started power washing the rims again. Once I was happy, I had her put it in gear and roll forward until the wheels rolled 180 degrees. Then I power washed them again. Problem solved !! So much mud and muck was left behind the first power wash that they were thrown out of balance.

Those were my cute stories. Now the silly thing we did, was make sure we were back to the B&B in time to watch UVA beat Vanderbilt in the College World Series, game 2 of 3. They are now both 1-1, so tomorrows game decides the winner of the Series. Pretty cool stuff for both these teams because neither one has ever won the CWS. Of course I have to pulling for the home state team. Go UVA !!

Tomorrow we will visit at least 2 museums and if we have time, 3. Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, University of Alaska Museum of the North, and Morris Thompson Cultural  & Visitor Center . This will also be our last full day in Fairbanks.

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 10 June 23rd

  What a beautiful morning that greeted us today. The skies were clear and the temperature was right at 60 degrees. So after we ate breakfast, packed the SUV, we headed back to Denali National Park just to drive back to mile 15 and enjoy the views one more time. Who knows if we will ever make it back up to Alaska again. The only unfortunate part was that someone, me, forgot to charge the camera over night. So no new pictures from the park with the exception of a massive rock formation that I took with my Iphone. Denali, the mountain, was standing clear and tall this morning and I felt sad that I didn’t have a camera that was capable of zooming in a little better. From my position, Denali was 75 miles away, so the Iphone did it no justice.

Leaving the park, I was quickly re-introduced to Alaskan road repairs. Unlike the lower states, Alaska does a couple of things different. They will put up stop lights for long run repair work and you will sometimes sit for 10-15 minutes at a time. The other is the escorted with a pilot truck that normally runs 1-3 miles. So wait times can be very long. We ran into 3 stop lights and 3 pilot trucks along are travels to Fairbanks today. Also when they repair a road, they repair a road. They completely strip it down to the dirt, smooth, pack and resurface. Checkout some of the dual sport motorcycles I caught in picture today. Like good dirt bike riders, they were standing up. Good boys! I found myself a week or so ago, standing on the pegs of the Goldwing riding through 50 yard dirt patch. It worked.

The highlight today was food. We stop at a bar/hamburger joint on the side of the road that we almost didn’t see. It was off the path. Monderosa, checkout the reviews but do not follow the directions. The directions missed by some 5 miles. The cheeseburger I order was awesome. Juices and parts of the burger were dripping and falling out everywhere, plus it was about 6 inches around. This thing was huge, but I finished that burger. The fries? Not so much, but Lori helped finish those off. No dinner required tonight. What a gem to find out in the middle of nowhere.

So after lunch, we made an uneventful ride to the North Pole, Alaska so Lori could go to the Santa House. This is where they have to much stuff and all of it’s overpriced. Well, that’s my point of view. I turned the corner on one aisle and all I saw were  eyes and people everywhere staring at me. Dolls out the ying-yang. Check out the pictures. Ok, luckily, I escaped the Santa House without Lori spending the remanding vacation cash on hand. 

Lastly, we drove the last 12 miles to our B&B and setup roost for the next 2 days. It is very cute and private. We have working wifi that doesn’t work like dialup. Yea!! We even have our own kitchen if we dare think about cooking anything. I doubt that happens, but at least coffee and tea can be had at a whim. So here we sit on 230 plus acres, overlooking Fairbanks and the Denali Mountains. Oh, it’s also 71 degrees and sunny.

Tomorrow I scarcely have a plan, but we are going to drive to Chena Hot Springs and maybe take a dip in the pool. That’s a big maybe. Afterwards we will head back to Fairbanks and find a museum to see. I’m sure that I will find something for us to do and see. Basically, I’m here to relax, so that is the plan for the most part. Still undecided if I drag Lori out to Arctic Circle just so she can say she has been there. I will ponder that drive.

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 9 June 22th

Well I’m sure most of you know, but yesterday, June 22nd was my 53rd birthday. It was also my oldest sons 28th birthday. Wow, I still feel 25, so where does all the time go? Don’t blink, you’ll be looking downhill Christopher just as I am at you today. Whew!

Today after we ate breakfast and donned our coats for the 46 degree wakeup call, we drove over to Denali National Park. There we walked through the Visitor Center and looked at all the displays and watched their 18 minutes movie on the wild landscape of Denali. After that we made are way down to the buses and got ready for our 8 hour journey back and forth through the Park.

It was an amazing ride through some of the most pristine land that I have ever seen. First thing to note that caught my eye was no garbage anywhere to been seen. I mean nothing. I was impressed because we humans are a disgusting bunch when you boil it down. I have been through many clean parks, but always somewhere along the ride you see where someone always makes our parks their personal garbage can. The other thing that was unusual was that after the 15th mile into the park, unless you were on a bus, you do not pass here. There are exceptions, but I do not know all the rules for passage. One of the big ones is if you are hiking. They will drop you off in the park and you can hike as long as you like and they will give you ride out when you are ready as long as the buses are running.

Seeing all the wild life was also right up there. We saw Grizzles, Caribou, and Sheep. We also saw something like a Prairie Dog, but they were calling it something else. Last thing to see and hope to see is Denali, (The Native name), or Mt McKinley. In most cases, with the winds pushing in from the south and the colder air on the northern slope, you rarely get to see the mountain fully.  Today we got to see the mountain. It was an impressive sight. In case you do not know, Denali is 20,322 feet tall and the highest peak in North America. The ride back and forth took 9 hours with many stops for breaks, pictures, bathroom, scenery, and animals. Some of the riding was right on the edge of the road with 1,000 feet drop-offs and no guard rails. Lori just looked the other way, like that was going to save her if we fell off the edge. To me the most impressive thing about watching the driving was when two buses meet in a corner with the large drop off. You could hear the gasps and oh’s! To funny.

That was our day in Denali and well worth the ride inside on a National Park Tour bus. Tomorrow we are back on the road and heading to Fairbanks to roost for three nights in a Bed & Breakfast named, “A Taste of Alaska”. Seems fitting to me. Enjoy the pictures.

Picture of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 8 June 21th

Today was time to move on and leave McCarthy’s for Denali National Park. Mother nature showed up last night and it poured rain all night making a muddy mess throughout the town.That 60 miles of dirt we had to travel to get out of McCarthy’s, was going to be fun. The second thing that I noticed was that from about 5000 feet and above there was fresh blanket of snow spread on top of all the mountains in view. It was a very pretty view.

The one thing thing that I didn’t mention, was that last night before bed, I met a fellow motorcycle rider from Reno, NV that just made his way to Alaska. We talked about Dual Sport riding, equipment, and Alaska. We talked until 12:30 am and I finally had to call it quits so I could hit the bed. First thing in the morning, I shook Dan’s hand and wished him well on his adventure.

Leaving McCarthy’s the roads were wet and muddy. 60 miles of dirt and crap being thrown up on this new SUV. She is a mess. I will be taking her to a carwash before I return it to the rental company. I’m sure if they saw it at this moment in time, they would not be happy. You can’t even lift the rear hatch without having to go wash your hands afterwards. You also definitely do not want to lean up against it either.

So we ran 60 miles of dirt to get out of McCarthy’s and then when we arrived at Paxson, we ran another 134 miles of dirt to reach Cantwell. It is one dirty SUV. Watching Lori open the door and get in and out it is kind of funny. The windshield wiper on the back sounds like it is grinding sand paper on wood when you activate it. As far as the ride over to Denali today, it was a very disappointing ride. Good news was this time, Highway 8 was open unlike last summer, but even though it was open, it rained and it was foggy. So there wasn’t much to see and the wild life I hoped to see was also missing in action. The only excitement was trying to avoid potholes that were lined up in series while doing 70 mph.

So here we sit just outside the Denali National Park and the weather forecast tomorrow is only 10% chance of rain with partly cloudy skies. My goal is to drive back into the park the 15 miles that they allow and then maybe a little fun. I’m thinking it might be time to return some ATV’s or All terrain vehicles that have 6 wheels. Hmm, should I tell her before hand? Nah! Let’s see what happens.  Lastly, it is currently 12:15am and it looks like it is 5:00pm in the afternoon. So weird!

 

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 7 June 20th

Today was a no plan day for us, so anything we came up with was going to be ok with me. I just didn’t want to feel like I had to be somewhere at a certain time or felt like I had to see something. So we got up, showered, found breakfast and then we say around talking to other tourist. That was actually quite fun and I wasted to much time running my mouth. That never happens, right?

Ok, so we decided that we were going to shuttle back over to Kennecott and tour the open buildings that the tour didn’t cover. The first thing we hit was the restored Kennecott Lodge. Inside that the lodge, that was very well restored, was artifacts that had been recovered from the surrounding property inside and out. We also decided to eat lunch at the lodge and I order my first Buffalo hamburger. To be honest, I couldn’t tell the difference from cow meat versus buffalo meat. Even the texture of the meat was the same. How would I rate the Kennecott Lodge over the Ma Johnson Hotel? They are just different but I like them both equally. The Kennecott looks like it more modern items inside and they did offer wifi. I guess having Internet in this day and age would be nice, but I survived it. I will say that it does feel different being almost totally out of touch with the outside world.

So after lunch we hit the rest of the open buildings and took some very nice pictures of the old structures, some restored and some not so much. The buildings not restored the put them in a state so they would not decay further. Not sure how they do that.

After we covered the buildings we took off on a 4 mile round trip hike out to the Root of the Glacier. Nothing spectacular, but the exercise was good for both of us. I injured my left knee playing racquetball 2 weeks before this trip, so I was a little worried I was not going to able to hike. All is good and it feels like it is getting stronger by the day. Below I will have my normal picture of the day link, but I do want to point out just a few. Also tomorrow, we leave the no contact zone and return to the world. So the rest of my blogs will be on time.

I so wanted to drive this Duce, but they wouldn’t let me. Damn it!!

This is our Hotel, very cute and it is a living museum.

 

More buildings inside this very little dirt road town of McCarthy.

My first macro picture of a flower with the new camera. Pretty awesome.

Ok, back on the road tomorrow and if all goes well, we will end up in the Denali National Park.

Pictures of the day

Alaska 2014 – Day 6 June 19th

Let’s Fly !!

What you see above was our tour guide for 90 minutes over the Wrangell St. Elias Park. That’s 22 million acres of glaciers, mountains, and rivers. What a sight to see from 2 – 11,500 feet. I believe the highest peak we saw was just over 18,000 feet. I’m pretty sure our little Cessna wasn’t going to clear that peak, but no worries he just flew through the valleys and between lower peaks. We had almost perfect skies for flying. It’s also the first time I saw a mosquito at 11,500, but in fairness, he was just a passenger who didn’t pay and one I squished for none payment. :)

I’m going to fore warn you, there is a 190 pictures to look through but what an amazing sight and one I hope that each and everyone of you have a chance to see in your life time. It is a bucket list item for sure.

So after our morning flight we decided to take the van down to Kennecott where the Copper Mine was built in 1907 and ran until 1935. It’s a very long story how it all went down and made for a very interesting story. But in today’s dollars they made about 5.8 billion dollars from just this one mine. It still remains the richest mine every found to this date. To me the most fascinating part, considering the era, was the engineering it took to pull off what they did in such harsh climate. They we so good at extracting copper from the earth that they were able to shift and sort 98% of the copper from the earth. Of course the man that was digging, smashing, freezing, breaking bones, and dying survived but didn’t get rich. Their was only a few that got 95% of the riches from the land and once again prove that American Greed runs deep and long in her history. Some say that’s what makes her great, but do we always have to put the thumb on the little guy? How much money do you need to be called rich and why can’t they at least let a little trickle down to the masses.  Ok, done with the rant.

Finally came dinner. Who would have thought staying in the middle of nowhere, no electricity in our room, no wifi, no cell service, that we could find a restaurant that would serve us a gourmet dinner? Don’t ask me the name of the dish, but this country boy can tell you it was a yard bird, chicken, with some veggies and fancy sauce. Damn good and a little pricey. But hey, Lori is paying so what the hell. What? She doesn’t have a job that pays, so I guess I’m footing this also.

Eh! What the hell. It was good and like my dad use to say, “You can’t take it with you.” So we just enjoyed it.

Tomorrow, we have nothing planned, so will just get up and find some breakfast and wing it. It’ll be our last day off the grid so to speak. It really hasn’t been that bad. The hotel is nice enough and the showers are excellent. The entire atmosphere is different and something everyone should give a go. I will say this, 2 full days is plenty to see the sights here, unless your a serious hiker.  

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 5 June 18th

Today we left Valdez heading to McCarthy Alaska. Based on mileage alone, it was going to be a really short day at 180 miles. I also knew 60 miles of it was going to be on dirt and if you figure at best 30mph, 2 hours of travel on that stretch. As soon as we approached the zone and road that led to dirt, I opted for a 24 mile re-route, or 48 mile round trip, to get gas and lunch. I didn’t see any gas on my remaining route, nor did I see any restaurants, so I put the plan into effect and Glenn Allen here we come.

This was lunch!! A Thai step van parked at a fuel station on the side of the road. Don’t go thinking I was all that brave and would try just anything. I wiped out my handy dandy I-phone, fired up Tripadvisor, searched for food and bam, Tok Thai Food was rated number one! Every meal on the menu was $10. Grab me some Pad Thai and Lori and I split it. Not bad, not bad at all.

Ok, me full, wife full, and car full, I pointed back south and marched toward McCarthy’s. It didn’t take long and the World Wide Wed and all other communication devices were relegated to useless bricks. Ok, besides being a clock, the iphone was useless. I’m typing this blog post and dating it, so I can upload it when I get back to the modern world.

As soon as we turn onto the dirt and start the 60 mile trek, we get greeted by what is the normal mode of transportation, an ATV. So my SUV is considered out of place in these parts. 60 miles of rocks flying and pinging off the bottom of the truck. Bouncing and rattling for almost two hours. Then we had to pay $10 a night to park in a dirt parking lot, walk our suit cases across a 300 yard bridge and wait for a van to pick us up. Hehe, all part of the adventure.

So above is our room with no electricity and no bathroom. There is a sink with running water and the roof doesn’t leak. Yea! The entrance when you walk in is decorated with stuff they found in the area from 1900 to 1935. Pretty cool looking stuff. The hotel has bathrooms and showers, but the must be shared with all the guest of this 20 room hotel. No TV, no cell, no computer, and no coffee or tea, to speak of in this hotel. At $185 a night, what a bargain!! Once again, part of the adventure.

Take a real close look at that picture above. Really study it. If you don’t get it, text me, email, or wait to see me and I’ll point it out to you. I busted out laughing when I saw it.

At my feet is Eddie and I almost decided that he was coming home with us. Very friendly people loving dog. Maybe I’ll Dognap him late.

Tomorrow we fly.

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 4, June 17th

Today the first thing I wanted to see was what our B&B suggested and that was the remnants of an avalanche that happened last spring just two miles from her home. So we jumped in the car and saw how a power snow slide could turn a road totally unusable. Once you hit the hit the picture link below, checkout how small I look compared to the snow bank. I guess the plan at this point, since this particular road is not well traveled is to let it melt and then do minimum repairs.

Speaking of Avalanches, she also told us about the one that blocked the road out of Valdez and created a dam that water built up behind. It took them a week to get that under control and cleared up. Check out the video. This actually happened January 27, 2014

We also made way over Thompson’s pass and crawled around and on top of Worthington’s Glacier. Some pretty incredible pictures of the Glacier melting and the water rushing down the side of the mountain. This was also the warmest and driest part of the day reaching 60 degrees. Very pretty!

Making our way back toward Valdez, the plan was to catch a nature trail in Keystone Canyon, but the rain stopped that adventure. Plan B, which by the way stands for brightside, a Museum.

Look at those Fire Trucks completely restored back in working order. One is from 1903 and the other 1907. The detail in the machinery is incredible to look at. I would love to see both in action but that is not possible. The craftsman ship was awesome.

Did you know that in 1964 that there was a 9.2 Earthquake? I didn’t and if I did, I forgot. Check out this video, most of it is original but you can tell they added some bits from dramatic affect. What I also didn’t know is that they decided after the quake to move the town 4 miles west. Devastating stuff to all those that lost their lives in this event, but it is also some very cool history. The woman who is running the B&B, was here in Valdez in 1965 watching her dad operate heavy equipment while they rebuilt the town.

Ok Tomorrow we will pack our bags and head for McCarthy Alaska to stay at McCarthy’s Lodge. We will have no electricity in our room, just a sink with running water. Not even sure there will be hot water. Bathroom will be down the hall and shared by all. This should be fun for Lori. So we drive to McCarthy’s tomorrow the 18th, then the 19th we will fly over the park for 90 minutes, and then 20th hike and tour the area. The 21st we will poke out into the cell world temporarily and then back out most of the day while we transverse Highway 8 from Paxson to Cantrell. So we will be out of touch on this blog from the 18th – 21st. Most likely we will be out of Cell Service during those dates as well. The further north we move, the warmer it should get. The cool temps have been nice, so not complaining. Enjoy the pictures.

Pictures of the day

Alaska 2014 – Day 3, June 16th

Today was all about the drive from Homer to Valdez to the tune of 10 plus hours and 520 miles. Because of the scenery, it just really didn’t seem that long. We were up and ready to roll by 6:30am, so we packed up and then scooted to the top of Homer to get another picture of the spit with the Tide up or High. It looks a bit different with the water filled in around the edges. Then we headed back to the breakfast spot, gorged and left Homer.

We had overcast skies without rain 90% of the trip, but there were occasions that sprinkle would mess up our view and picture taking portal out the front of the car. We took over 130 pictures which I whittled down to a mere 66. Just outside Homer we finally got to see our first moose, 4 to be exact, to which Lori was most pleased. I quote, “That moose just doesn’t look right, I think they have been messing around with the horses.” Who knows, moose faces to me always look a bit like horses, so maybe it’s possible. All I know is that the closer to edge of the road they get, and when your moving and they are moving, there look huge. You do not want to hit one of those big beast.

Pulling into Valdez, I will say that I was a little disappointed that most of the snow had already melted. Come to find out they had a very dry and warm winter in comparison to most. It is also no where near as sunny as when I came through with the motorcycle, lucky me!!

Not much else to tell you today because all we did was drive to setup the next few days. Tomorrow if we do not get rained out, we will do some hiking and exploring of the area. The weather forecast for Valdez, June 17th looks like 100% rain. Yea!

Highlight of today’s trip? How about dinner?

Picture of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 2, June 15th

So today was all about sitting in Homer Alaska, meeting up with Debbie Fanatia and letting her show us around town a bit. But first things first, she suggested the night before that we head over to Duncan House Diner for Blueberry Pancakes and warm maple syrup. That was a very good suggestion and we both had 1 egg, 1 pancake, 2 pieces of bacon and coffee. Tomorrow morning, you can bet we will be back for more before we leave the area.

After breakfast and while waiting for Debbie, Lori and I went down to Bishop’s Beach and drove from one end to the other. Since it was low tide we also walked the beach and went as far out as we could until someone’s shoes started to get wet. We didn’t come prepared with water proof boots to walk in 1 to 2 inches of water. It was also breezy, chilly @ 50, and overcast. But walking on the beach helped get the blood moving and get a little exercise after sitting on our butts for 8 hours the day before. My guess at low tide, you could walk 200 - 300 yards out from the normal shoreline and it gave you the opportunity to take some nice photo’s. Shortly after arriving on the beach, Debbie joined up with us for a short walk with her dogs and then off we went to see some other sights.

Did you folks in Virginia know they have a Skyline Drive here in Homer? Nothing like what we have in Virginia, but it did raise us up above the town and the Spit that is Homer. What a view and one that was worth seeing. After this we drove down where we could get some closer shots of another Glacier. Debbie then took us the a local cooperative gallery in which she is a member to show us her photographic work that is on display and forsale in the Ptarmigan Arts Gallery. She has a very good eye through the lens.

The last part of the day we drove out on the Spit and had lunch/dinner at the The Little Mermaid. Delicious! I had the local Rock fish sandwich with fries and you have to know, I do not eat fish. But fresh caught fish tasted entirely different to me for some reason. Lori had a fish Taco and Debbie had the Falafel Burger. Google that!!

We had a good with great company and I want to thank Debbie for showing us around Homer.

Enjoy all the shots of the day. Notice in some shots that the tide is out and later in the day, high tide. One of my favorite shots is of the pontoon plane lading in the bay below me a good 1 mile away from my little camera. Also the wood paneled Motorhome was pretty cool to see in person. Tomorrow will be are longest driving distance day at 520 miles and estimated between 8-10 hours. Tomorrow we will be in Valdez and I’m hoping there will still be a fair amount of snow on the ground.

Pictures of the Day

Alaska 2014 – Day 1, June 14th

We woke up this morning to overcast skies with a bit of rain. After breakfast, we made a quick run to Wal-mart and picked up some water and a few snacks in case we got caught out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to eat or drink.

So the first run or objective was Whittier, which I added at the last moment because I wanted to drive through a tunnel that shared by trains and automobiles. At the top of each hour, all traffic flows west and at the half hours, all traffic flows east. How they manage the train times is unknown to me. The tunnel itself is 2.5 miles long. The entire highway and tunnel can be read about by clicking HERE.

After Whittier, we traveled to Seward for lunch at the Chinooks Restaurant. I had a Red Salmon sandwich and Veggie Chili. Lori had some type of Seafood Soup, but I can’t remember what type. It was good and filling. Afterwards we did a little driving around the small community and then headed for Exit Glacier. Here we did a 1.5 mile hike up to and around the Glacier. There was a 16 mile loop that would really give you top down views of the Glacier but we didn’t have the time for a 6-8 hour hike. You can see by the pictures below, when you click the link, that we still had some incredible view. Well worth the hike.

Leaving Exit Glacier it was time to head to Homer for our second nights stay in Alaska. What a beautiful drive from Anchorage, Whittier, Seward, and Homer. Once in Homer and check-in, we went out for dinner at AJ’s for Prime Rib. Mmm.

Shortly after dinner we drove out onto the beach and ran into Debbie Fanatia and her friends visiting from Denver. We chatted for a bit, made some tentative plans for tomorrow and parted ways. From here Lori and I drove the Spit and called it a day.

Even though we had mostly overcast skies and drizzle, it was beautiful as only Alaska can be. Ending the evening in Homer with sunny skies and awesome views, was just the icing on the cake. Enjoy the pictures and tomorrows plan is nothing. Just kidding, Debbie will show us around Homer and what she has learned since moving here. Also we will have lunch and or dinner with her.

Pictures of the Day

Here I go again, except this time it’s we!!

Last year all of you guys tracked me for 6 weeks while I rode a motorcycle from Virginia to Alaska and back. That took me 6 weeks and I covered 16,000 miles. Great trip. This year, I’m flying to Alaska with Lori and we will drive around Alaska in an SUV and stop to see the some of the sites that I saw in a slower, but still rather fast paced adventure. She worried silly over the two nights we will spend in Wrangell St. Elias National Park in the middle of nowhere with no electricity in our room.

Anyways, I will do my best to post some pictures and stories if time permits. Below you will see the basic path that we will be following We leaving today and will not be back until June 28th. Going to be a bit chilly in Anchorage when we arrive. 55 degrees.