Cruising

Valdez, Alaska.  On the Prince William Sound.  Probably the most famous (notorious) Alaskan body of water in this generation. Here I w as, and there it was, so I just had to find a way to get out there. There is so much to explore on the water. So after some research, I found a 6 ½ hour cruise on the sound to Columbia Glacier and signed up. About 30 or 40 people were waiting to board along with me, and it was a good sized boat, so there would be plenty of room to move around and to see the sights.I even met a woman who was also by herself, and we spent the day together -- always fun to share experiences with someone, even if it is a brand new friend!

And what sights they were! It started with a good look back at the Valdez harbor, with the mountains almost all in view (there was a layer of clouds at the top of the mountains that never did clear up, but mostly it was a nice day). What a sight – all those boats, and the town behind it. And the mountains, so majestic coming up right out of the water.  My favorite part is those little islands that are scattered all along the coast – they are so picturesque.

Valdez

First up was the porpoises, who came to play right under the bow of the boat. It seems they love to ride there – the captain and guide described it as riding downhill on your bicycle!  Every once in a while they would leap to the side and out of the water (maybe putting on the brakes a little?!!) then back they would go. Talk about hanging over the side – I had my arms around the railing so that I wouldn't go farther than was safe, but managed a few good photos. 

A little further along, we came upon a sea lion haul out – a place where they go to rest a bit. These looked more like meal worms to me than seals, but on closer look, it was more obvious. Plus, the sounds they made were just amazing; groans, moans, barks…and they kept trying to push each other out of the way. One of them looked to me just like Jabba the Hut from Star Wars – I'm sure that's where George Lucas got his inspiration for that character!

As we got into Columbia Bay, you could see lots of floating ice; some of it was pretty big, and they were often close together. The bigger pieces are hung up on moraine, which is below the water line. That tells you how big those suckers are, because only 10% of the ice is showing above the water. We got closer and closer, and the ice pieces got thicker and thicker, and finally the captain said that was enough – so we turned around to go back. We were still about 5 miles from the mouth of the glacier, but there was too much ice for safety.  Even so, as we moved along you could hear the ice hitting the hull of the boat.

Columbia Glacier

ON the way back, we passed this group of Stellar sea lions resting on a navigation aid. It was so funny to watch them, and the ones in the water who wanted a place on the buoy. You could almost hear them whining "please, if you just move over a little there will be room for me", or "it's my turn, you've been there for a long time"!!

All in all, a most successful day, made even more so because I decided that I was just too tired to cook, and went out for dinner (only the second time on this whole trip) and had halibut!!  Oh, my, that is good fish. I'm going to have to try to find some and learn how to cook it, because it is truly delicious! The perfect end to a really good day!!

That's me, a very happy camper!!

Chicken, or not...

       

Remember those mountains I showed you yesterday?  When I said Mt. Drum was the second highest mountain in Alaska?  I was wrong. That's what happens when you get your information from a highway flagger and don't check it out!  My bad…  I don't know what the second highest mountain is, but when I find out, I'll post it. Anyway, I had wondered what the mountains I admired really looked like with no clouds, and this morning I found out. 

Sometimes you have to make decisions that are opposite what you really want to do.  That happened today. Today's plan was to drive the gravel road to McCarthy, get a shuttle into Kennecott, and really see the place where those great books I have devoured for the past 8-10 years are set. (The author is Dana Stabenow, and it's the Kate Shugak mystery series.) So I got to Chitina, where the gravel road starts, and discovered, much to my horror, that it was 60 miles of gravel road, flat tires are "not uncommon," and it is strongly recommended that you have a spare tire, not a donut tire, when you attempt it. OK – I have my minivan, with a donut spare, that I don't even know how to get out from underneath the car by myself (at least I've never done it – I'm sure I could learn, but that's why I have Triple A). I took a look around town, realized there was no Triple A garage here, and even if there was, my phone wouldn't work to call them anyway. So do I head heedlessly to McCarthy or swallow my disappointment (and lack of thorough preparation) and turn back? Was I chicken, or was I going to be smart?

Looking at the map a little more closely, I saw that one part I really wanted to see – the Copper River, where all that fabulous salmon comes from – was just a mile down the road and there was a bridge across the river that would give me a really good view. OK, I'll just go that far. I even saw some fish wheels on the river, although I don't think they were working, but at least I saw them. I even got close to what looked like a fish camp, although I soon realized that I was trespassing on private land and quickly turned around and left.

Fish camp

Copper River from Chitina

So, on to Valdez, since the weather was beautiful and was supposed to stay that way for a few more days. Oh, my; I thought the south end of Kluane Lake was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen, but the road from Copper Center into Valdez wins hands down. I was constantly pulling over to the side of the road just to look and drink in all those beautiful mountains.  Pictures simply don't do it justice. But here are a few…

Along the side of the road.

Even their blue bonnets are gorgeous -- taken near Chitina.

One of the attractions on the way to Valdez is Worthington Glacier (Ruth, I thought of your great granddaughter the whole time I was there!!) which comes down close enough that you can walk almost to the mouth. That was a fun walk – cold, but fun.  It's the closest I've been to snow in several years!

Driving on, I went through a canyon that had waterfalls about every 100 feet it seemed – each one more beautiful than the next.

Bridal Veil Falls on the road to Valdez

The end of the road is Valdez, so I spent most of the afternoon wandering around town, and I even booked a glacier cruise for Thursday.  So now I'm headed to the library to see if I can post this blog, and I'll tell you more about Valdez next time. 

Alaska!

I crossed the border this morning about 8:30 AM after questioning by a very nice border guard -- easiest border crossing I think I've ever had! 

The landscape is changing again -- the trees are different and they are shorter, much shorter. I think these are black spruce, and they can't be more than about 15 feet tall.

It was a long way into Tok, the first town you come to of any size, and I stopped here for lunch, at the insistence of my sister Jane. Ever since I first started planning this trip, she said I had to stop there because she and her family had stopped on their trip (in the middle of winter 1991) and liked it so much. So I had my first meal out -- and I must admit, it tasted really good (a chicken ranch burger and onion rings -- and a diet Coke!).

After lunch, I sat in the parking lot for a while, knowing that I had some major decisions to make right now. I need to be in Fairbanks on Saturday to see a friend, but today was only Tuesday.  That meant I had 3 1/2 days to play with. What to do.  So after looking at the map, and remembering a conversation with the campground host from last night (who said the weather for the next few days would be awful in Fairbanks but beautiful in Valdez) I'm on my way to Valdez. On the way, I'll stop at the Kennecott copper mine (the area where many of the mystery novels that were part of the inspiration for this trip are set), then perhaps do a cruise out of Valdez on Thursday. That leaves Friday and part of Saturday to get to Fairbanks!!Seems like a great plan, especially since tonight's campground is an especially beautiful one.

There was some wildlife today, a bear, a couple of moose (one with a baby) but the moose ran from the sound of cars and there was no way to get a photo -- it was funny to see them literally running away!!  Most of all today was mountains.  From the Canadian side, the Wrangel St. Elias National Park is beautiful, but from the Alaskan side, down the road between Tok and Glenallen, it is spectacular. Mount Drum is the second highest mountain in Alaska (Mt. McKinley is tallest), and that and a companion whose name I don't know yet, were the focus of that drive. I took about 100 photos of the mountain -- every few miles I'd pull over to take a picture.

All along, I've been watching for Tundra Swans in the lakes. No luck till this afternoon, when I saw a pair in a lake near the road. They were still pretty far away, so I got out the super duper long lens, and propped it on the edge of the car window, and got these photos. I can't wait to play with the one of the swan extending it's wings. I actually have 2 or 3 of this; glad I was in the right place at the right time with the right equipment!

There's been quite a bit of road construction, and I've been behind several of these -- it's really interesting talking to the sign holders.  They are all quite talkative, and when you get them going, it sure passes the time in a fun way!

Tonight's campground is the most beautiful I've been in. It's about 14 miles out of my way outside of Glenallen, but it looked really nice in the Milepost, and it's just lovely.  I'm listening to the creek just at the back of the camper, and on the ground just behind the van is a pile of moose nuggets -- I wonder if the moose will come by tonight?!! What a place to have dinner!!

Whitehorse

Do you know how you can tell a big town?  It has a McDonalds AND a Walmart! Yes, even in Canada Walmart is in every big town.Whitehorse has both, plus several other good-sized stores, and I was able to get resupplied. I even managed a piece of salmon and asparagus for dinner last night – yumm.

Started the day at church – best place to start a Sunday I think. There was a United Church of Canada in town; that's a combination of Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational. And since I'm a Presbyterian, I went to that service. It was a bit different from ours at Shepherd of the Valley, especially since the service started with an announcement of birthdays for that week, and singing Happy Birthday! The music was all familiar and well-loved, the sermon connected music to the Bible, and at the end, the pianist/organist had something prepared that played automatically on the organ and he went and played the piano making it a piano/organ duet. Amazing!! And as we left the church, the pastor gave everyone a big hug, including me!! She was quite a character….

Since it was a beautiful day, and I knew that I'd be back in Whitehorse later in the summer, I decided to do the outdoor attractions. Who knows, the next time I come through, it might be raining! Miles Canyon is the spot where the Yukon River narrows between two rock walls. It's a beautiful place, and the river is an amazing color of green; it's the same color that I remember from the glaciers in Glacier Bay and around Juneau. I hiked a little along the river at a point where there is a pedestrian bridge. It's a suspension bridge, the kind that really make me nervous because they sway, but I gritted my teeth and crossed it. I'm glad I did, because the view from the middle of the bridge was so worth it. (Ted, I managed it OK, even with another person on it at the same time – memories of the Carbon River Glacier hike….) I also walked a little along the river closer to town, where the river is much wider. I'm wondering if I'll be back there when the salmon reach Whitehorse – about mid-July…..

Miles canyon

River from the bridge.

The dreaded suspension bridge.

The campground where I stayed was a Good Sam park – and although it was crowded, it was really clean and well appointed. That's the second time I've stayed in a Good Sam park, and I think I'll look for them when there is a choice.  My neighbors next door were from Whidbey Island WA, and we got to be friends over the two nights I was there. I don't do campfires, but they had one, and invited me to join them. I'd been planning dinner about 6 PM, finally managed to eat at about 8:30!  Both nights! But it was really fun to talk with Nola and Fred, and they had some good suggestions for side trips, plus Nola is a huge reader and I got some really good suggestions (and downloads) from her.Here are more photos of the river looking back to Whitehorse. 

The little minivan between the bigger rigs!!

I left early Monday morning, planning to camp alongside the Kulane Lake in one of the campgrounds there. I pulled into the one I had chosen, and parked in the place the manager suggested (he said he wouldn't charge me since I didn't need any hookups and nobody else was there).  As I looked around, all I saw were men in what looked like a work camp.  There were no women ,I couldn't find a bathroom, and there was not much else around. I started to get very uneasy¸ and finally just left and found another campground. When I walked into the office of that one, the manager was a woman, and there was another woman sitting at a table in the room sewing on a Bernina. Talk about feeling right at home!!

I had wanted to camp on the lake because Jane told me it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. I have to agree – the south end of the lake as I drove around just took my breath away. There were ranks of tall mountains, glaciers, the lake, and not any traffic.  I can't think of anywhere else I've been that was more beautiful.

South end of Kluane Lake

View from a rest stop

Tonight (Monday) is very windy and cool, and there isn't much of an internet connection – e-mail and banking only the manager told me, so I'm writing now but will post tomorrow.

Tomorrow I cross the border and I'll be back in the USA.  Not sure just where I'm going to go, since I'm a bit early here, but I'm sure I'll find something to occupy me!!

Whitehorse

After 6 days of driving, it was time for a rest day, and Whitehorse seems like the perfect place for it. It's the capitol of the Yukon, its most populous city (67,00) and there's lots here to see. The Yukon river runs through it – an amazing body of water, especially for someone from New Mexico where the Rio Grande flows about 500 feet wide and about 3" deep. The Yukon is a very "Grande" river.

The trip here was long, and somewhat eventful in that I saw lots more animals. First up was another black bear, but I've seen lots of them and didn't take a photo.  A bit further on, I came upon a whole herd of buffalo, on both sides of the road, and as I watched, two of them crossed the road!!  This herd had quite a few babies, as you can see in the photo.

I had been told that the least expensive (??) gas was in a place called Contact Creek – a slightly wider place in the road with a gas station where the guy came out and filled my tank for me.  About 20 minutes before that, I came upon 3 bears on the side of the road, but these looked different. Grizzlies!! The difference was obvious, from the color of their fur to the shape of their back. I was surprised to see 3 of them together, thinking they were loners, but when I asked the man at the gas station about it, he said it was a sow with 2 cubs. Those were mighty big cubs!!  But he said they stay with Mom for 3 years, and that she would be "dumping them in another month and starting all over again."

The first crossing of the Yukon was at the little hamlet of Teslin, but the bridge was huge! And it had the kind of surface that made it hard to keep the car going straight across it. It was some kind of metal grating and I was really glad that there were no other cars on the bridge at the same time.

Right now my car is filthy.  The dust on the road (there were several long gravel patches today) is pretty bad, and mixed with spitting rain, they really mess up a car!  Today I have to find a car wash somewhere, plus I have to get the bugs off the front before I can't see the bumper any more. And maybe I'll find a diet Coke somewhere, too!   Haven't had one for two days now.

It I wanted to tell you a little about gas.  I knew it would be expensive and I was right. I've stopped looking at the price when I fill the car up, because I just don't want to know!!  But when I got ½ tank a couple of days ago (I don't let it get much under ½ tank because stations are few and far between – sometimes 70 miles)it was $66 Canadian – and the dollars are just about even. Whew, glad I don't do this all the time!!

After a day today in Whitehorse, I'm going to drive just a couple of hours to the Kluane Provincial Park and spend some time at Destruction Bay. My sister Jane said she thought it was about the most beautiful place in the world – I'm going to check it out. Then it's on to Fairbanks, hopefully on Friday, and spend Saturday there, and on to Denali next Sunday.