Saturday, June 21, 2014

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.

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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

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