The End of the Road, part Deux

Recall earlier in the trip we stayed with Phil Johnson at his End of the Road shangri-la in Carmel Valley, CA.

We experienced another end of the road during our all day shuttle bus tour of Denali.

Now Phils end of the road is at the terminus of a 1/4 mile stretch of asphalt and the end of the Denali Park road comes at the end of 92 miles of winding, dusty, washboard, narrow road that climbs steep grades negotiating tight curves - all in a school bus jammed (every seat was taken) with picture clicking, gum snapping and jaw yapping tourists - for 12 hours. Sounds great, doesn't it?

The ladies awaiting a 12 hour tour, a twelve hour tour......

Normally this is not my cup of tea by a damn sight but let me tell you, one of the most incredible rides I've ever been on.

Let me try to capture this for you. This trip had it all - people watching, observations of social interactions between strangers in tight quarters, trying to determine the 18 different languages we heard, seeing what other people eat for lunch, watching folks with $10,000 worth of camera gear trying to figure out all the knobs and functions, seeing 70 year old couples with huge backpacks like they were going to climb Denali wrestle with their gear for an all day bus ride, youngsters showing great frustration in not being able to text/update their social media due to no cell coverage anywhere in the park, listening to the 50's something man explain to his 30's something wife why it was imperative for him to bring his bear spray on a bus trip (clipped to his belt in a holster like fashion no less) - I was loving it. Debbie, errr, not so much. My sister Sue was somewhere in the middle. Whoo boy, as I say, you can't make this stuff up.


The bus and driver Barr..

Now to the tasty bits....heart stopping wildlife sightings - we watched a grizzly working a caribou carcass, he was there on our way in and 8 hours later on our way out still ripping and clawing at that kill; saw majestic views of Denali - bus driver/knowledgable guide Barr said it was the best view she had seen of Denali in a long while; witnessed dramatic landscapes - the colors, oh man, the colors of this place!
















Stopped at the informative Eilson Center and snapped a couple of nice shots of Denali in all her great one glory....


Finally made it to the end of the road.....

Returned to our campsite and it was really nice to get off of the bus. We were the only ones getting off at Tek campground and it was a good feeling to not have to endure another long 90 minutes to return to the park entrance like all of the others.

But, all things considered we enjoyed the day immensely and got to see just about all of the park that you can get to without hiking/biking.

We did do a fair amount of hiking/biking....more on that in the next post.
This may be the end of the Denali road but it certainly is not the end of the road, we have much more to experience and share with you all.


As I said to my sister Sue, hey you've got 10 more days of this! She is over the moon with the trip so far and so are we.
Adieux mes amis.....

Welcome to the Hotel California

I have struggled a bit with how to digest and tell the story of our 5 days in Denali. We have done so much, seen so much and met so many interesting people that I have decided to break the experience into a couple of different posts. Each post will cover a different theme and I hope will give you guys a more complete picture of the most incredible place I have ever seen. Let's get started and see how it goes.
The current post theme, the Hotel California.....where you can check in anytime you want...but you can never leave.

Seems we have ended up at Teklanika Campground within the unforgettable Denali National Park where you can check in but you can never leave. Let me explain...when you book a reservation at this campground you MUST stay for the duration of your reserved dates (4 night minimum, 14 night maximum) and not leave. Of course you can leave aanytime but you will not be allowed back in. They do this to hold down on the number of vehicles using the park access road which is a 92 mile beauty traveresed only by shuttle buses, no personal vehicles allowed beyond the 15 mile mark. I'll do a seperate post on our 12 hour bus ride covering this 92 mile long route.
You are also not permitted to drive your vehicle anywhere during your stay so the campground stayed nice and calm without people cruising around kicking up dust and making noise. It was all very peaceful and most refreshing.

Tek campground is at mile 33 and we received special permission to drive the motorhome (not the towed Fit, had to leave that at a parking lot near the park entrance) one way in to the campground on Monday and one way, and only one way out when our reservation ends Friday morning.
This was the only campground reservation we made for this entire trip and we did it back on December first of last year because this thing fills up fast for the summer months.

Now all of this may seem very rigid and overbearing, which I will agree with you loyal followers to a point. My concern is this...we are loving our National Parks to death. I talked with a park ranger here today who spent two summers at Yosemeti NP and he said they have 500 armed rangers there during the peak summer months! That is basically the size of a police force to cover a large US city.
So how do you strike that delicate balance between public access - this land is your land, this land is my land - and resource conversation so we have something to share with our future generations. Very tough call that requires expert management - sometimes the National Park Service (NPS) gets it right, sometimes they don't, in my opinion.

Here at Denali, they have this just right. Perhaps the best managed and well run National Park I have visited.

The Tek campground we stayed at is ideally situated 30 miles into the park so it is the furthest camp into the Park which allows motorhomes and RV's. Tent camps are situated further in but you must pack everything in by shuttle bus and pack everything out including your trash. Bear cannisters are required for all food and trash. One of the campgrounds, Savage River, was closed due to a bear attack a couple of weeks ago where a young woman was attacked inside of her tent during the night. She was ripped up pretty good but fortunately survived. In talking with a park ranger seems she left some food in her tent without using a bear cannister. NPS has made the decision to close the campground, locate the bear and euthanize it...very sad situation for both the woman and bear. Ranger asked me how I felt about this and I asked if the bear could be relocated to another part of the park and he said that was a difficult question to answer. Seems a bear will always find his way back and this guy is now a marked bear having shown aggressive behavior towards humans. Bottom line is a human fed bear is a dead bear. They are extremely strict on food and trash storage here. If you leave a cooler (even ones just filled with canned sodas), a grill (must be put away immediately after use), trash (even a candy wrapper or empty beer can) out on your site unattended you will receive an automatic $400 fine, the offending material will be confiscated and you will be quickly escorted out of the park - no questions asked.



The Tek campground was stellar with lush vegetation surrounding us with tons of privacy and as I said earlier - peace and quiet. After long days of hiking, exploring, biking and doing things it was great to return to a relaxing hang and enjoy each others company - most recommended.















Debbie and Sue enjoying the expansive veranda at Tek campground...

Oh, here's the best part - my sister Sue used her geezer pass to get us free admission to the park and the campsite for $10 per nite! These geezer passes are the deal, if you're aged 62 or older you can get a pass that allows you and 3 others in your vehicle free admission to ALL national parks and half off of camping fees and great discounts on special tours. Also covers all national forests, landmarks, Army Corps of Engineer lakes, etc. It costs a one time $10 processing fee and is good for the rest of your blessed life. If you're 62 or older, get one!

So thanks to Sue our wonderful 5 days in Denali cost us all of $40. Well, better add in the delicious food, liquor, wine and beer and other assorted hidden costs - no, on second thought don't think I'll do that!
So when Friday came around we definitely did not want to leave but checked out we did, rather reluctantly though. Next post I'll hit the highlights of our 12 hour bus ride - man, what a ride it was and what a ride this trip has been.

Later good folks.....here's some teaser shots for the next post...

A Caribou enjoying the fine day near Tek campground.........

The Great One framed nicely by a Great Rack..........

North to Our Future

I thought this would make a snappy little title for todays post loyal followers.
You see the AK state motto is North to the Future so I thought it appropo to customize it a bit to suit our journey as we are headed north to Denali, the Great One, no - not Wayne Gretzky, but the most massive mountain in the world.
We left the Centennial campground in Anchorage early last Saturday morning (July 9th) and drove a couple of hours north to the funky little town of Talkeetna which explodes with tourists during the summer season. We pull in with the motorhome and towing the Fit (40' plus of Detroit/Yamamoto machinery) looking for a parking space in a jam packed little town. I drop the girls off at the Denali Brewing Company to get a table and I headed off to park. I scored on the parking and while walking over to the brewpub I notice a K2 Aviation shack advertising tour flights around Denali.


Now this is a most spectacular day and we could see the Great One from town so I saunter in to learn more about this K2 Aviation outfit.
Well, after watching their flight video I was convinced we HAD to do this. In fact, I never took my eyes off of the video as I handed her my Amex card and never even knew the price. There are some things in life where you have to just simply lay down the credit card and do it.

Funny as we were all discussing the pros and cons of doing a flight earlier and I said let's just go have lunch and we'll discuss further and make a decision. All this time Debbie and Sue had been worried that I was struggling in finding a parking space and would return in a bad mood. Imagine their happiness when I showed up at the table, laid down the glitzy K2 brochure on the table and said - it's settled, we're booked for three adults at four today. Sue cried and Debbie was shocked - this is not my usual way of doing things.
It was great!
We all fell in love with the pilot Daniel and had an excellent 90 minutes viewing the most spectacular scenery imaginable on a very nice day.

Check out some pics from the flight.......

The Great One, somewhat cloud obscured...

After the flight we secured a perfect boondock spot outside of town, unhooked the Fit and rambled up to the very plush Talkeetna Lodge for cocktails and light appetizers for dinner.

Sunday morning Sue and I rolled into Talkeetna early to view Denali from the Susitna river bank and find some coffee and pastries at the Flying Squirrel Bakery.



Sue LOVED this joint, I liked it pretty well too....I have to get her a proper Virgina TECH sweatshirt though, maybe this Christmas.

We also visited the NPS Talkeetna Ranger Station where every Denali climber must register and get briefed on the rules and regulations concerning the climb. As we were sitting there, it occured to me that EVERY world class mountain climber has been thru these doors. I reasoned that to be considered a world class mountain climber you must climb the largest peaks on each of the continents and Denali is the pinnacle of North America, also considered the toughest by many because of the duration (it takes the best 3 weeks to summit) and the ever changing condidions where it could go from sunny and calm in July to 80 MPH winds, white out snow and freezing air temps. Plus you start at elevation 7000 and summit at nearly 21,000 so you climb more mountain and need time at 2000' vertical intervals to acclimate - very tough climb indeed.


We watched a video on the climb and talked with Michael the ranger on duty and he filled us in on the current climbers and conditions, very interesting.


Click on the photo to check out the climbing stats for this climbing season (May and June only). Climbers were mostly off of the mountain by now and climbing season was closed until next May.
This is Michael, the guy who checks them in and gives them the once over to make sure they can handle it.
Also notice how nearby Mt. Foraker is a MUCH tougher climb and had fewer climbers as a result.

Pulled out of the Talkeetna boondock spot around 10 am and headed north to Byers Lake inside of Denali STATE Park about an hours drive south of the Denali NATIONAL Park entrance. The State Park is actually much closer to Denali Mountain than the National Park. It also served our purposes quite nicely in being a beautiful spot to camp next to a gorgeous alpine lake with handsome views of Denali and a convenient launching point for entering the National Park the next morning.

I am going to close this one out for now because I know you guys have been looking for a blog update and wanted to get this out to let you all know that we are in most fine shape and having a ball. Updates have been slow due to lack of cell coverage and the fact that we were so busy having a grand time in Denali NP.

I will update our last few days in Denali NP later on as there is just too much to cover in this one.

I am posting this Friday nite July 15th and we just had dinner with Mark, Kim and Blake and we are SO happy to have all of these wonderful people here with us.

I just took a quick poll of the LD occupants Sue and Debbie - it was a unanimous "I'm so happy right now"...enough said gentle readers.

Off to Kenai (pronounced Keen-eye) Peninsula tomorrow AM.

Stay tuned for some epic stories from Denali....let's leave it at this - we had 4 incredibly clear days with picture perfect conditions of Denali. All of the guides/rangers we spoke to said they couldn't remember a better stretch of 4 days in a row at Denali. It was unbelievable, I'll leave you with these couple of shots as a teaser for the next update.
Later good folks and thanks for following along.


We made it!

Where we camped, 30 miles into the park...stellar


Lovin' the nice halo over the great one.......by the way this shot was from about 45 miles away, that is one big mo-fo of a mountain my friend.


America the beautiful.....indeed.

Glaciers, a Ski Resort Recon Mission and Another Laundromat

Portage/Girdwood, AK has all three my friends and oh yeh, Wi-Fi at the laundromat to boot. Exactly the four ingredients we were looking for to make the day (Wednesday July 6th) a complete success.
Just 40 miles south of the Anchorage airport lies Alyeska Ski Resort a place I've been wanting to check out since seeing it on a Warren Miller movie some years back.


Granted this is not ski season but I'm doing some recon for perhaps a return visit to AK for a couple of weeks in the wintertime. It'd be great I think - take in a few days at Alyeska, maybe do some heli skiing, do some snow machining (don't dare call it a snowmobile up here), a bit of ice fishing, catch a segment of the Iditarod, hit some great restaurants and breweries around Anchorage - who's ready to join me? RT airfare on Alaska Air from SD is about $400, about the same to fly to the resorts in Colorado, Utah or BC (maybe even less).

The ski resort looked just fine and the little town of Girdwood is your classic laid back, hippy, artsy, ski bum type of an affair - overall a pretty nice town and one that I could easily see myself having a good time in while skiing for a few days. The resort/lodge is first rate and lift tickets are, get this, $65 a day - a far cry from the $110 we pay at Mammoth Mountain in CA and even more at some of the CO resorts like Aspen, Vail, etc.

We needed to get laundry done as we will be out in the boonies the next week or so at Denali so we hauled our smelly ass clothes with us in hopes of finding a laundromat along the way.
Girdwood delivers!

Check out the fine Girdwood Laundromall (combining my two favorite destinations, a laundromat and a mall, into one name) voted America's #1 laundromat and world renown (sic), who knew?


Chatted with the owner Danny for quite awhile, nice man probably in his 70's who also co-owns the weed shop next door. Moved out here from Philly in 1979, bought the land and built this center in 2000 and hasn't looked back. Spends his winters on the Big Island and is loving life.

He explained the bureacratic maze he and his attorney partner have gone thru to get the cannabis store licensed, approved, operators/owners certifications, the labyrinth of taxing structure from local municipal, county and State - sounded like a very complicated and expensive procedure. He's not sure if it was worth it, but he's hopeful business will grow. I kinda think it will Danny, hang in there. Also, owning a laundromat and a weed shop, both heavy cash only businesses with discreet/anonymous customers, I'm guessing your tax woes won't be so bad - if you get my drift gentle readers.

Also talked with his buddy and customer Rick who moved to Girdwood in 1960 as a young teenager right when Alyeska opened. Competitive skiier all his life, combat medic in Vietnam and now enjoying retirement in his hometown. Both nice men who gave us some great tips on sights for us to see along the way. Thanks Danny and Rick, nice to meet you guys and we enjoyed the talk.

Yes, it's settled, I've now made my mind up - I'm coming back here during the winter.

Laundry all fresh and clean and stories with two nice locals completed we made a short drive from Girdwood to view the eye candy that is the Porter Glacier.

Porter is a rapidly receding glacier so it is constantly calving off huge chunks of ice into the glacial lake around it. Interesting, as we have seen several glaciers up here that are advancing, like the Worthington Glacier I reported on back in Valdez, AK. It is all very dependent upon the glaciers orientation towards the sun - south facing glaciers are generally receding, north facing are mostly advancing - and also dependent on the amount of snow received in an average year with the glaciers nearer the coast getting more snow which is wetter and more dense. This glaciology stuff is starting to really pique my interest, fascinating subject.

While driving around the area we came upon a most excellent boondock spot in the Chugach National Forest located next to a glacial lake with mountains/glaciers surrounding it. Think we'll head there tomorrow and set up for the night.

Campsite is located at the trailhead to the 5 mile Trail of Blue Ice which is supposed to be a knockout, must do trail - think I'll traverse it on my bike. The trail ends at the magnificent Begich Boggs Nature Center focusing on glaciers and run by the US Forest Service. Named in honor of Louisiana Congressman Hale Boggs and AK Congressman Nick Begich who were killed in an airplane accident in 1972. Now at the time Congressman Boggs was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, kind of a big deal guy to go missing. Every air, sea and land force was mobilized to find the missing flight from Juneau to Anchorage for 90 days but as far as I know the wreckage and remains were never found. You can imagine the effort expended to find the person who was fourth, maybe third(?) in line to the Presidency.

OK so post update dear followers.....
Everything we wanted to happen today did happen, except for the boondock spot. I had a gut feeling it was going to be taken before we arrived and sure enough we roll in and there are 3 tents, a trailer AND an RV parked in our scoped out boondock spot. But all things happen for a reason, sorry to get Zen like on you all, but I have to chalk it up to something. If we had secured the boondock spot we would have missed the 10:30 AM Portage Glacier sailing which turned out to be, weatherwise, the best time of this season to view the glacier (according to the Park Service ranger on board).

The lighting was breathtaking and ever changing - as the boat slowly moved next to the glacier the colors and shadows changed every second to give it a kaleidoscope effect. And a kaleidoscope is a good reference point - you remember as a kid looking thru your first kaleidoscope? You looked thru, hey that was cool looking and then you turned the dial and said - wow, that was way cooler than the last thing I saw! Well, as the boat SLOWLY meandered by the glacier I was thinking of my first experience with a kaleidoscope and I will never forget the ever changing blue and white majesty of Porter Galcier on a fine July morning, I had no idea the color white has so many different shades and looks. It was the most visually jaw dropping experience of my life, no doubt.


I did ride the Trail of Blue Ice and it was magnificent. I dragged my Giant mountain bike some 4000 miles just for this trail - totally worth it!

The Avenue of the Giants in CA redwood country was an epic ride but this one is right up there. I mean, hell, riding your bike thru a glacial valley surrounded by blue ice is pretty tough to beat.  By the way, I have a gnarly midnight ride planned for Denali next week, pics and report to follow.

Posted up at Williwaw Campground tonite with a huge hanging glacier gracing our view.  I swear I could look at this sight every night for the rest of my life and die with a huge ass smile on my face. That's no bullshit either.

Here's the shot of Midnight Alpenglow taken above our campsite at Williwaw....


Off to Anchorage tomorrow Friday the 8th to meet up with my sister Sue, hooray!

Post script - I'm posting this from the Centennial Campground in Anchorage Saturday morning July 9th. We leave later on for Denali.
Sue arrived safe and sound last night, we enjoyed a lovely dinner in downtown Anchorage, hit the Fred Meyer for a week of groceries and sat around camp BS'ing and catching up - it is SO good to see her, we're gonna have a ball.
Incidentally, yesterday was the nicest day we've seen yet in AK. It was so clear you could see Mt. Denali 150 miles away from downtown Anchorage which is a pretty rare event. I talked to one guy who said he spent 10 days in Denali NP and never saw the mountain...and our dear old Sclo sees it w/in the first 10 minutes of arriving. Great way to start her trip for sure...good omen of good things to come methinks! Pics to follow...
We'll be out of cell contact until Thursday so you guys take care and we'll catch up after Denali.

Sunday July 3rd, we took a day trip out to Knik (pronounced Ka-nick), AK to view the Knik Arm which is a body of water lying a bit north of Anchorage alongside the Turnagain Arm - combined, these two bodies of water surround Anchorage proper.

Knik/Wasilla is big time dog sled territory and many of the famous mushers and dog teams reside, work and train in this area. It is also home to the Iditarod dog sled race headquarters and about a mile from Todd and Sarah Palin's palatial manse out on Lucille Lake.

The Iditarod (the Rod) is a dog sled race held each February that covers some 1100 miles from Anchorage to Nome, AK and is considered the Boston Marathon of dog sled races - if you win this baby, hell if you even finish this baby, consider yourself a true musher.
The race follows the old Iditarod trail that brought gold miners from Seward up to Nome, AK back in the day.
In 1925 the village of Nome had a diptheria outbreak and the life critical serum could not get delivered due to horrible weather conditions. Teams of very brave dog sleds headed out from Anchorage in unspeakable conditions following the Iditarod Trail in darkness, sub zero temps and white out blizzards to bring the fragile and temperature sensitive serum to Nome thereby saving the day and countless lives.

We checked out the Iditarod Race HQ and spoke with the docent at the front counter. She gave us the layout and general info on the place - explained the museum, gift shop, movies that were showing and described the grounds. Then, her eyes got as big as pancakes and whispered to me, you know we have a legendary musher on the grounds today. Really, who would that be and where can I find him?
Why his name is Raymie Redington, the son of the Iditarod race founder Joe Redington, Jr. and veteran of 14 races dating back to the inaugural race in the late 70's. Alrighty then kind docent lady - screw the movies, the hell with the gift shop, forget the museum and artifacts - I gotta go meet Raymie post haste.

The Rod HQ in Knik/Wasilla, AK....

There were only a few people around as the cruise ship day tour buses had just left so it gave us a chance to chat with Raymie for a good 30 minutes or so. What an interesting and fun discussion we had and man could he talk! Very matter of fact, down to earth with a lot of home spun humor, he spoke on all topics - politics, the economy, Brexit, oil in Alaska, the lame Alaska reality TV shows, and mushing - we enjoyed it tremendously. He showed us the sled - explained how it functions, introduced us to his dogs - all very beautiful and well groomed and told some Iditarod tales - all fascinating and from a very experienced heart, there was no bullshit coming from this fine gentleman.
Here's Debbie in the foreground with Raymie at the helm in the background..
..

We were firing questions at him and he was very patient and thorough with his responses. Have you ever won the race? No, but I tried 14 times and got very close a couple of times but I always finished. So your Dad founded this event? Yes, I never had a chance, was going to be a musher from the day I was born - kind of like being the son of a farmer I guess. By the way, his Dad in 1979 at age 62 mushed a dog sled team to the 20,340 foot summit of Mt. McKinley 'just to show the world what a dog sled team could do'. I'm betting the coming down part was the most difficult aspect - stone cold stud right there!
Click on the photo to peruse this man's resume...a man's man for sure.

I asked him what's the toughest obstacle to overcome in order to finish or win this race? He thought long and hard on this one, thought maybe I had stumped ole Raymie - sleep deprivation, yep, lack of sleep, that's it for sure. Lack of sleep for the musher or the dogs? The dogs are fine it's the musher that gets tired, lose concentration for a brief second and your race (and maybe your life) is over. So how much sleep do you get during the race? We do 10 hours on the sled and 2 hours to eat/feed the dogs/rest and we cover about 60 miles a day - rinse and repeat non stop for 18 long days! It is also extremely cold with about 4 hours of daylight at that time of the year, incredible. I'd say Raymie looked to be a spry early 70's so I asked how has the race changed from the early days. He said that unfortunately, like all challenge events these days, it's become kind of a bucket list item for rich folks so the big money has prevented a lot of local teams from no longer being able to compete. How so, Raymie? Well, lets take dog feed for example. I go thru 40 pounds of feed a day all year long and twice that much in race season. The winner of the Iditarod got $75K last year for first prize which, he said, would almost cover the annual expenses for a mid level competitive sled team. Now of course there's always gonna be some guy out there who will shell out the big bucks to get specially formulated feed which costs 3 times as much and will produce stronger dogs with more stamina than others. Throw on top of that the expenses he can easily cover for expert dog trainers, groomers, high dollar vets and competitive dog sledding gets to be out of reach for many. He said, hell if some guy claimed that feeding the dogs Cheerios worked then some of these bucket listers would immediately start feeding their dogs Cheerios 4 times a day and not even think about the cost. Oh, now I see, that kind of sucks Raymie - he shook his head, looked down at his feet and said I really miss the good ole days. Me too, Raymie. And good on you for coming out and keeping the old memories alive for the next generation, your Dad would be proud of you and perhaps the good ole days may return someday soon. Maybe after some of these bucket listers have kicked the bucket.

After a most interesting and fun time amongst the mushers we needed to quench our thirst - you would be correct, another brewery visit. This time to the excellent Bear Paw Brewery in Wasilla which has been in business for only 7 months but their beers were delicious! We got the sampler and both of their IPA's were damn near perfect for my taste and Debbie really enjoyed the Milk Stout. Our vote is these guys run a very close second to Midnight Sun in Anchorage but only by a hair. They leave the other Wasilla brewery we tried the other day, Last Frontier, way in the dust. Talked to the owner and brewer and they have the right idea, I wish them all the best with their new venture because they make some damn fine tasting beers.
As we were driving around we noticed signs advertising the City's annual 4th of July fireworks show and we were very interested. That was until we noticed that the fireworks show BEGINS at midnight July 3rd - it never gets dark enough for fireworks but their best chance for viewing is well after midnight. Too late for us, we passed. We did however enjoy a nice campfire that evening with neighbors Andy and Jackie, a young couple visiting from Zurich, Switzerland who rented an RV for 3 weeks and are just starting their trip. I noticed him struggling with his fire - the firewood up here is not for amateurs, this I have learned from some very smokey and frustrating campfire experiences on this trip. This stuff MUST be split into pieces that we would consider kindling in order to burn. Once they get going you've got a fire that will burn hotter than hell and all night, but you cannot put anything bigger than kindling sized wood into the fire for the whole night or it will smoke and go out, no joke I've never seen anything like it. I'm guessing its because there is no real time to dry the wood due to the climate because the wood is wet and a little on the green side. So I head over, introduce myself and present my recently purchased long handled, heavy duty maul axe. Later on he and Jackie came over to return the axe and we sat and talked/shared beers/listened to some tunes for a couple of hours, very nice people. I told him my Little Wrangell line about Switzerland and he damned near fell out of the camp chair laughing. It's true, it's true (in a very heavy Swiss German accent) is about all he could say between fits of laughter. A good time was had by all and it was fun to hang out with them. We may see them again in Denali next week as they will be there at the same time as us. Interesting, they stayed at the same game preserve in South Africa (Dale and Shannon's Rhino River Lodge) as we did on our trip back a couple of years ago. For travelling thru such a huge expanse of land on this trip sometimes the world can be pretty small - weird, huh?
We spent Monday just being lazy around camp watching young families pack up to head back home after the holiday. We reminisced on how many going home pack ups we did from camping/Baja/beach/lagoon trips with the kids when they were growing up.  We cherish every memory from those days but it really is quite a lot of fun to sit back and watch others go thru it. Went for a hike and a spin on the two wheeler around the lake and grilled up some brats for dinner.
Earlier went on a hike up to Thunderbird Falls near the campground. Very nice walk.
Also checked out the nearby Russian Orthodox Church built way back in time.
















They had some interesting graves in the cemetary.
I really liked the one on the far right fashioned to look like a very comfortable 2 story home complete with decking. Notice all of the window blinds are drawn...guessing someone won't be down for breakfast.








Tuesday July 5th we move on to just south of Anchorage for 2 nites to visit some sights down that way and chores to take care of in Anchorage.
Here's our homestead for the next couple of days at Bird Creek SP right off the Seward Highway about 25 miles south of Anchorage.

Tuesday morning before leaving Eklutna Lake I went outside for a stretch and coffee and noticed this gal grazing next to our campsite. Reports were that she has been in the area with her calf but I did not see the calf, which had me concerned. A mother moose with a calf is certainly nothing to fool around with, she will stomp the ever living crap out of you if she thinks her calf is being threatened - many locals say much more dangerous than any bear. All it takes is to accidently get between her and her calf and its on brother and its all over in about 6 seconds. So I kept my distance to an arms length away from the motorhome door handle and as a result the photos were not the best. But I didn't get the living crap stomped out of me either so thats a good thing. Hey, I'll only go so far for you loyal followers. I do have my limits, hope you understand. Great way to start the day though - waking up to find a beautiful girl in your campsite, not too bad.

 

 Plan for the next couple of weeks is to meet my sister Sue on Friday in Anchorage and take 2 days to travel the 200 miles or so to Denali NP. Thinking we'll camp mid way Saturday nite in Denali State Park (not the NP) which actually is much closer to Mt. Denali for the best viewing we hear. Then drive closer to Denali NP on Sunday and camp somewhere near the entrance to Denali NP that nite and check into Teklanika Camp 35 miles w/in the NP first thing Monday morning. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday nites in Denali NP and we return to Anchorage to meet my brother Mark and his family, pick up their rental RV and all take off for the Kenai Peninsula Saturday morning for a week.
This is going to be two fantastic weeks, spent with great people whom we love dearly - we can not wait!
We'll as always keep you guys updated and close to our hearts, take care all.

Hatching a Plan for the Day

Writing this on Thursday June 30th and not sure when I'll be able to post it so this report may be a day or two old - no cell or data coverage here at the majestic Eklutna Lake within the Chugach State Park about 30 clicks from downtown Anchorage.

So what to do with the day today? Let's head off to Hatcher Pass per the recomendation of the pleasant park ranger here at Eklutna Lake, but more on that later.

We were planning to stay at the Eagle River park which is only 15 miles or so from downtown but my guy at the Palmer Quickie Lube said if it were him he would head to Eklutna, so we did. Haven't seen Eagle River (perhaps we'll cruise thru to check it out) but this place is fabulous.
We have a great site, spacious, knockout views of the snow covered Chugach range, no adjoining sites next to us (good, because I think this place will be rockin over the upcoming July 4th holiday) with reasonably close proximity to Anchorage for re supply and miscellaneous big city errands. We've decided to hunker down here thru the 4th, do some day trips out to see the numerous sights in the area and then move nearer to Anchorage next week to meet my sister Sue who flies in from Boston next Friday - we can't wait to see her!

We pulled in here on Tuesday and spent the day checking out the park which included a very scenic hike around a portion of the lake - this lake is the largest in the Chugach measuring 7 miles in length and about 2 miles in width and serves as a primary drinking water source for the City of Anchorage.

After set up and stroll we moseyed on down the road about a mile to Rochelles, famous for her ice cream. So on a bright sunny day I enjoyed a sweet scoop of blueberry and Debbie had the Denali Moose - the server said to Debbie 'you know, this Denali Moose is loaded with chocolate, is that OK?' - uh, you bet Rochelle, that'll be just fine, thanks.


Yesterday we had an annoying camper across the street from us who played his music WAY too loud. I normally don't mind loud music and noise in general but the only music this cat had was the Beegees and ACDC. After the fourth playing of "Stayin' Alive" (no exaggeration, I was counting) I consulted the map to find the nearest railroad line so I could go there and lay my head down on the tracks to await the next train.
Fortunately for us and the rest of the campers in the loop he moved on this morning and we are now all enjoying the peace without "Stayin' Alive" blaring 24/7.

Yesterday I was on a quest of epic proportions - find some mosquito netting to wrap around our 10' square pop up shade. Figured in the land of mosquitoes how hard could this be, probably sell these things at any 7-11 up here, right? Well, you would be incorrect kind reader! Lowes - nope, the Deeps - nada, REI (where I bought the damn shade to begin with) - sorry sir, maybe try Bass Pro Shops, huh? - Bass Pro - didn't even understand what I was looking for.

Finally we altered our quest into a search for a smooth refreshing beer and salad. That we had no trouble finding with a quick and easy stop at Midnight Sun Brewing Company in Anchorage. Great beer - really liked their Sockeye Red and Debbie liked the Pleasure Town IPA and the salad was fresh, local and very delicious. Mission accomplished, I then figured it was time to man up and start acting like a real Alaskan - the hell with the mosquito netting.

Today we drove up to the incredible Hatcher Pass and hiked the Gold Cord Lake Trail. Without a doubt the BEST hike I've taken on the trip so far. Winding your way up thru alpine tundra in an ancient glaciated valley and you summit at a colorful, mirrored lake surrounded by snow covered/green/rocky mountains. The green plant life on the mountains gave it a tropical look and reminded me very much of the big island in Hawaii. Throw a little snow on it, add in some volcanic loam and then cover it with wildflowers and you've got yourself one satisfying walk.

Check out the reflections....smooth, 'eh?

Are we on the big island brah?


Noice reflections here...beautiful spot, heaven on earth I tell you.

Worked up a bit of a thirst so on the way back to camp we stopped in at the The Last Frontier Brewery in Wasilla, AK to try them out. Beer was OK, had a quick Amber which wasn't bad and Debbie tried their IPA which was not that good. Hit the ATM and trucked on back to camp.


All in all a very fine day and glad we checked out Hatcher Pass, one of the prettiest spots on the trip so far and just a short 40 minute drive from downtown Anchorage.

Started raining around 5 PM and poured all night long with a smattering of lightning and thunder. Now I'm beginning to see why everything up here is so green. We stayed toasty and cozy in the LD reading, had a light meal and called it an early night.

Let me give you a couple of observations and interactions I had yesterday morning (Friday July 1), you guys will get a kick out of these, as I did. Needed a haircut so I motored on down to Chugiak to hit up the Great Clips and do some grocery shopping at the Fred Meyer next door. On the way out of the campground I stopped by Rochelles for a cuppa cuppa. I pull up to the gravel parking lot - mind you this place is in the middle of no where - with no other cars in the lot and no one else around except for two of Rochelles employees - sweet, this should take all of 30 seconds, in and out as they say. I walk up to two 'order here' windows spaced about 4 feet apart. Window number one to my left is manned by a gnarly looking mid 40's dude with methy teeth donning a black T shirt that says 'Don't Dial 911, I'm Just Starting to Have Fun'...greasy. Window number two to my right is being held down by a young high school boy. Both windows are in the same room so the two employees are about 4 feet apart. 911 dude opens his window screen as if to take my order, we exchange good mornings and I say I'd like a cup of coffee with cream and a little sugar. He says, oh you need to order that at the next window. OK, I take a single stride to my right and high school kid says, can I help you sir? Yes please, I'd like a cup of coffee. Would you like cream or sugar with that?

Now I'm immediately thinking they were just messing with me and I was on board, nice gag, probably something I would do to a tourist too (actually I did in high school with summer tourists at Mount Vernon, VA)...but as I watched these two numb skulls struggle for 10 minutes over a simple coffee order I concluded that that level of humor was way more advanced than they could ever imagine.

Coffee now secured I slide on into the Great Clips and the gal asks, did you make an online reservation, no I did not. Whats your phone number - I have been to GC's before in SD so gave her my home number. Oh, I'm sorry sir your name is not coming up in our system. Does that mean I can't get my haircut? I don't know, I have to get my manager. Manager comes over and says we'll need to set you up as a new customer, whats your address? I don't have an address and all I really have right now is hair that needs to be cut and $15 to match your listed price for a haircut, will all of that be sufficient to complete this transaction? An old fart customer sitting next to all of this was laughing his ass off and commiserating with me, seems he had just gone thru the same song and dance. Finally got 'em all cut and the hell out of there.

I tell you, dear followers, everything up here is an adventure...right down to getting a morning cup of coffee and a haircut.

Now I tell these stories not to belittle or make fun of people but geezus you just can't make this stuff up. They are not stupid or lazy, they just have a slower, more relaxed lifestyle with a very laid back attitude - a lot like Baja and other parts of Mexico we've visited. Fine with us as we are in no hurry and love a hilarious interaction but the glaciers around here move faster than some of the people we've encountered.
I was going to add more to this but we came upon a Wi-Fi connection quite unexpectedly so I want to get this off.
More later, take care.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

OK, so this trip has been one hell of a great ride so far and we appreciate all of you nice folks joining along - it really has made our trip that much more rewarding in reading your nice, thoughtful comments - thanks to all of you, we love and miss you and wish you were here with us!

We left San Diego May 1st and by mid June have traveled nearly 3500 miles to the Alaskan border. It will now take us about 3 weeks to make the remaining 250 miles to Anchorage - kinda feels like we dropped the anchor somewhere after entering AK. That's alright though, time well spent getting adjusted to this wild and indescribable place. First off, our sleep patterns have been turned completely upside down. We turn in around 11 PM and the sun is still at about the 6 PM summer position in San Diego. It's pretty weird sitting around the campfire with my shirt off bagging the rays and stoking the logs, but an evening fire is essential in keeping the mosquitoes away - bulletproof, better than any repellant, those guys hate the smoke.

So, to bed by 11 PM and before you know it the sun is up at 4 AM! I usually arise at 6 AM and get the day started while Debbie can manage (don't ask me how she does it) another 3 hours or so. But 6 AM till 11 PM makes for a long day - listen to me whine, didn't mention my standard 2 hour afternoon nap!

Let's catch up since Valdez, shan't we?

Left Valdez and picked out a nice boondock spot right next to a small lake near Lake Louise.
Debbie grabbed this nice photo of a Mama Moose trying to enjoy an evening graze until we came along and spoiled her meal. She's a big'n, huh?


Interestingly enough this was the first full on Moose sighting of the trip. We caught a brief glimpse of one running away a few days ago but nothing like this. What's interesting is that we have been seeing roadway signs cautioning drivers to be alert for Moose since the State of Washington. I was beginning to think it was a conspiracy promulgated by the Friends of Moose just to F with us. Seriously, not a single Moose sighting until a few days ago and then again today.

Better watch my karma here, our next Moose sighting might be into the front grill of the motorhome at 65 MPH! Careful what you wish for, right?

Went over to the Lake Louise Lodge to have a look around. Very nice lodge, open all year with ice fishing, 80 miles of snowmobile trails, cross country skiing and a great, huge bluewater lake for summer boating, fishing and water skiing. Place is for sale if you're interested. Seems like every place we see up here is for sale, that's gotta tell you something, right?

The next day, Saturday, we were dawdling along headed for Anchorage and we stopped at a roadside turnout - these things are everywhere, usually paved and double ended so it's easy to get in and out of - this one was at the highest point on the Glenn Highway and supposedly had a great viewing venue for the Dall Sheep. We have been dying to see a Dall Sheep - I made a brief reference to them in a previous post from Teslin Lake - they are very similar to the Bighorn Sheep we see in the southern CA deserts. They like rocky terrain and thrive in these parts. So we stop and deploy the binoculars and find nothing. But wait, what is this I see down in the valley? I see a couple of folks boondocking in their motorhomes and I say, why not us? We tool on down and post up in a valley which seemed like a huge caldera from an ancient volcanic eruption and spread out surrounded by volcanic crags, glaciers and alpine lakes - breathtaking. It turns out we were in the valley created by the receding Matanuska Glacier and it could not have been better.


Chilling in the rain at the Matanuska Glacier Viewing area....

Later on the skies cleared and turned into a beautiful warm summer day. Just sitting outside from 1 PM until 11 PM soaking up the sun, listening to some nice music and stoking a small but blazing campfire. Geezus, this is very nice, and trust me - it was!

Now on to the topic of this post...baseball, we're talking ABL (Alaskan Baseball League) action. We get to Palmer, AK about 40 miles outside of Anchorage alongside the OLD Glenn Highway - not to be confused with the Glenn Highway - at the Matanuska River Park, a City owned facility with about 40 campsites situated a mile down the road from the bustling City of Palmer, AK.

Palmer seems to be a full service town with all of the modern amenities like shopping centers, quaint downtown, great Alehouse and, and BASEBALL! The ABL consists of 5 teams - the Anchorage Bucs, the Kenai Peninsula has a team, Fairbanks has a team, the Chugiak/Eagle River Chinooks and the local home team the Mat-Su Miners - how cool is that? The Miners play on a very nice diamond on the Alaska State Fairgrounds just a stones throw south of Palmer. We checked their schedule and they were playing a home game Monday night against the hated cross town rival Chinook squad from Chugiak - this we have to see and provide a full report to all of our loyal followers, right?

It was the first organized baseball game that we have taken in this season and it did not disappoint. The PA announcer also doubled as the between inning entertainment and rolled out some nice tunes - Hendrix, Lynrd Skynrd, and he seemed to have a serious need to get the Led out - I was digging it big time. Also, when a foul ball went over the stands and out of sight from the spectators, right at about the time it would have landed he sparks up the crashing window sound. Got the picture? Classic small town baseball at its finest. OK, let's move on.


Small town baseball in summertime America, at its finest...yes, the grand old game is still alive and well here in AK.

Nice crowd around 1500 patrons and all friendly as all get out and we had a most excellent time. We picked up a program with a roster that listed the hometowns and colleges where all of the ballplayers came from/attended. The ABL scouts and signs NCAA college players right after their college careers are over. Obviously these kids want a shot at the big time so they hustle, they laugh and they play some hardball - really fun to watch. At the games conclusion the homewown players came out to rake the infield, pick up trash and cleaned the place up, cool as hell.

Noticed in the roster a kid playing for the Miners from Vista, CA - Brooks Stotler, 6-1, 190# center fielder - he played his college ball with the fine Long Beach State Dirtbag program.


Number 24 on her lineup card and number one in her heart...here's Brooks with his biggest fan - a very nice guy.

Every time he came up to bat the bunt call was on so we saw him bunt (all 4 of his at-bats he got the bunt signal)  in the most ridiculous situations - lead off, you're bunting (actually not that bad of a call), 2 outs and no one on, kid you're bunting - it was like the coaches didn't trust him to swing away and take some honest cuts at the ball, weird I thought.

Went up to him after the game and found out he played at Rancho Buena Vista HS, grew up with youth baseball in Vista, CA and went off to LBSU. I asked him, so how do you like AK? He said this place is wild as hell and I'm having the time of my life. Right on Brooks, being 22 and spending the summer traveling around AK playing ball - you've hit the big leagues in my book, enjoy the summer and have fun playing some hardball my man. He thanked Debbie for her cheers during the game - Debbie's Go Vista!, Go Dirtbags! - he heard and really appreciated. The nice elderly couple in front of us seemed confused though and kept asking Debbie - what's a dirtbag, what's a Vista? We'll catch some more ABL action as we move on I'm sure.


The friendly confines of the Hermon Brothers Field with the backs of the nice elderly couple in the seats in front of us.

Oh by the way, the Chinooks took it on the chin (couldn't wait to use that line!) with a 5-3 loss to the Miners. Chinooks kept it interesting but the Miners closer shut them down big time in the top of the ninth with runners on the corners and one out to seal the deal. Miners are now in first place by half a game over the Anchorage Bucs with an upcoming 4 game road series in Anchorage over the next several days, we'll see how they do. During the 8th inning went for a beer and chatted with a local diehard Miners fan and the HS baseball coach. He says the Bucs have some tough pitching and will always find a way to win - spoken like a true coach, nice man and definitely knew his ABL baseball stuff. I'll be keeping an eye on the ABL action all summer and will provide Sportscenter like updates to you all - da da da, da da da.


Enjoying some baseball, relaxing and gettin' the Led out.

One other logistical issue that we took care of while here at Matanuska today was some catch up cleaning, vehicle maintenance and yes, more laundry. I headed out early to get the Fit washed, oil changed and necessary fluids refurbished. Debbie went out and tackled the thankless laundromat mission to wash bedding, linens, sleeping bags etc which when getting this huge load washed and dried is basically a full day type of an affair. Just doing everyday laundry is usually a slam dunk but bedding and linens, well now you've stepped into the big leagues, not meant for rank amateurs like me.

Meanwhile, back at the blue whale I cleaned the interior from stem to stern with Murphys Oil Soap (great stuff, by the way) and had it minty fresh in about 3 hours time. I am not joking, there was so much dust that 3 swipes with a clean cloth required rinsing to remove the accumulated debris. Man, it smells and feels like the real deal once again and with fresh sheets, blankets and linens to boot - heaven! Also cleaned and lubed all of the towing equipment we use to tow the Fit which was a major task as it turned out - glad that's over with and hopefully should keep us towing smoothly until we get back to SD.

First thing tomorrow we're out to get the oil changed and front suspension lubed on the blue whale and then on down the Old Glenn Highway for who knows what. I'm posting this using the Wi-Fi at the Quickie Lube joint here in Palmer waiting for them to finish up their work.

Perhaps we'll check out Chugiak, the home of the Chinooks and see if they have any home games scheduled. If so I'll be sure to wear my recently purchased Mat-Su Miners T shirt just to test the attitudes of the home fans.

Stay tuned, will update as note worthy conditions present themselves.