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.