North to Alaska!! The Last Frontier

We went on an Alaskan cruise in 2011 and knew we wanted to come back and see more of the state.
We wanted to see bears, eagles, moose and inland scenery.  So off to Alaska we went.

We decided to not drive our coach up to Alaska.  Too much wear and tear and dirt!  Walt would be driven nuts with the condition of his RV and toad.  So we rented a smaller Class C RV out of Anchorage for 3 weeks.
Our friends Patty and Kent drove their coach up.  They left in early June and we met up in Anchorage in early July.  We picked up our RV early in the am and headed the Palmer Elks to join up with the Kirby's.  

We wanted to see most of southern Alaska, the main seaports and rivers in that area; Valdez, Homer and Seward. In order to get to Valdez you travel on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Highway.  There is only one way there and same way out.  While driving, the pipeline is only visible occasionally. 

Beautiful, beautiful!  Glacial rivers (cloudy in color), glaciers, waterfalls and wild flowers.  We learned that if the river is clear, it is not fed by a glacier.  There are pink wild flowers everywhere.   They are called Fireweed because they are the first plant to grow after wildfires.

To get to Valdez we had to go over the Thompson pass.  It isn't that high but it gets a average annual snowfall of 551 inches and in 1952 it broke the record with 974 inches; 62 inches in one 24 hour period!  The most snow in all of Alaska. The Worthington glacier is on the right side of the road near Thompson pass. 

The port city of Valdez was the entry way for the gold miners in 1898.  They arrived by boat in Valdez and then had to climb over the glacier field on their way to the Klondike gold fields.  No roads until 1913.
Valdez and several other towns and villages were wiped out by a tsunami following the 1964 Good Friday earthquake measuring 9.2.   We just hoped we would not be there (at sea level) when another big quake hit.  Nowhere to run!
We stayed in a nice RV park called Eagles Rest and we could walk to town and to the harbor.    The owner hosted a salmon barbeque on the night we arrived.   Guests just needed to bring a side and a big appetite.  Yum!      

The pink salmon were running and we saw them in the hundreds trying to return to the hatchery where they were born to spawn.  


Stellar seal lions were gobbling them up.  Bears sometime appear too but we didn't get to see any.

We took a boat cruise to the Colombia Glacier.

 

It was a 7 hour trip out and back.  We saw otters, humpback whales and seals.  Since the pink salmon were "running",  the salmon boats were numerous and they we catching the salmon with nets and then hauling them aboard.   We lucked out and had wonderful sunny weather.

 

Humpback Whale in Prince William Sound. The boat docks were filled with fishing boats and lots of charters returning in the afternoon with fish.  Halibut, pink, silver and occasional king (coho) salmon.

Halibut

Now on to Seward we go. 

Just like Valdez, one way in to Seward and you must take the same way out.  Gives us a second chance to view the scenery and not miss a thing.   We stopped in Girdwood on the way to Seward. Two things we wanted to see here:

1.  Portage Glacier/Lake and the Port of Whittier.    Interesting town Whittier.   Most of the 300 year round residents live in one building!  They don't need to leave at all.  Click on this link to read an interesting article about this housing complex.

Portage Lake and Glacier

2. The Wildlife Conservations Center in Girdwood.   We reserved tickets for a "behind the scenes" tour of this wildlife preserve.  Just the 4 of us were given a VIP tour that allowed us to go in the pens with the babies. 

 

The caribou were fascinating.  Their antlers are huge and they shed them every year.  Each spring they start growing again and can grow an inch a day.  The growth process saps the animal of much of its calcium that they must replenish it before winter. 

We got to pet and play with 2 one month old musk ox's.  Cute, cute, cute.  They sucked on your fingers and loved attention. 

We also got to pet and play with 2 one month old moose.  Even at this young age they are really tall.    They were really friendly too.

Ever pet a porcupine?  Well we did and you do it very carefully.  Snickers is a really old porcupine and we got to feed her lunch and carefully stroke her quills. 


Everyone knows bears like fish; but how about corn on the cob, dog kibble and frozen berry treats?  We got to stand above the bear enclosure and feed black and brown (grizzly) bears.  Here ia a couple a funny video.

This ended up being one of the best things we did in Alaska.   If you ever get the chance go for the VIP tour.

Seward is a lot like Valdez.  It is a fishing port but has a railway link to Anchorage.  
Our objectives for Seward were:

1.  Seavey's Iditarod tour: Mitch Seavey won the Iditarod once and his son has won it at least two more times.  The race originally started in Seward and ended in Nome.  Now it starts in Anchorage because the dogs would have to run on railroad tracts or roads from Seward to Anchorage.  The race is 1000+ miles and they do it in 7 days!   
We heard how they train, what type of dogs they use, etc.  They let us play with pups and took us on a ride pulled by 12 sled dogs.  Alaskan huskies are not the dogs they use.  The Huskies look pretty but wouldn't be able to do the work.   Their sled dogs are lean and look like pound dogs.

Our sled dog ride

2.  Alaska Sea Center:  Very nice place.  Great bird exhibit where we got up close to puffins and eiders.

King Eider

Horned Puffin

3.  Exit Glacier: Just outside of Seward is a glacier that you could walk up to. 

 

We did not see any moose or bears on the walk.  They tell you to what to do if you meet a black bear versus brown bear (grizzly).  Fight the black bear and roll up in a ball for a grizzly. 
Only fight a grizzly is he starts to eat you!.........First you have to figure out what type it is!  We'd be dead by then.








4. More SeaFood!!!
We have eaten Halibut, Salmon, Scallops and King Crab.  When I say "we" I don't mean Patty.  She is not the fish/seafood type.

On to Cooper Landing and a quiet ride down the Kenai river.  Tons of fishermen fishing on drift boats and off the shore for the silver salmon that are now running.
Took a leisurely raft ride down the Kenai river. 

Fashion Statement

Saw many, many eagles.

The were cities of Soldatna and Kenai where next.
Objectives:
1. Fishwalk: Downtown Soldatna has a community pier where anyone can fish from.  The must use non barb hooks and no salmon eggs.  Most fishermen use only green yarn as bait.  This mimics the green grass that the fish are feeding on.
2. Moose is Loose: This bakery is very well known.  Famous for its apple fritters and cinnamon roles.  Our friends the Meesters' made sure we went there for those delicacies.
3. Russian Orthodox Church: The old city of Kenai has a Russian Orthodox church that dates back to 1895.  It is in the process of being restored.
4. Dip Netting in Kenai River: Only Alaskans can "dip net" for salmon.  This dates back to when fishing was for subsistence; not for sport.  The head of household can catch 25 and each family member 10 salmon for the season.


Dip Netting on the Kenai River

5. Food and local brews:  We were always on the lookout for food and brews.  Soldatna didn't disappoint us.  Found out the local Elks had a nice campground and good beer too.

Homer Bound

Homer was our last southerly destination.  Another southern seaport that has the distinction of being the  "Halibut Capital of the World".

Objectives:
1. Food and brews:  Alaskan White and Free ride were our favorites.  We visited the Salty Dog, dined at Captain Patties and found two more restaurants that were fantastic.  AJ's steak house and Fat Olives.  Be sure to go there if you have the chance to visit Homer.  Are you getting the idea we ate our way across Alaska? True!
2. Homer spit:
Homer is beautiful.  We arrived on a sunny day and pulled into our campground with its great view of the Kachemak Bay and the Homer spit.  Ocean View campground was its name and it sure had one. 








We got a wonderful treat.  The Homer Elks was just a block away and had fantastic views and cheap beer too!

3.  Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center: This place was great. Free and quite informative.  They gave a lecture on the history of the Japanese invasion of Attu Island in the Aleutians during WWII.  Did you know we were invaded?  Extra treat was a mama moose and two babies decided to eat right at the front entrance.  They stayed their for at least 30 minutes and we stayed away!

4. Seldovia:  There is a little town you can visit by plane or boat that was founded by the Russians in 1787.  It is now owned by an Alaskan Indian tribe.  We took the trip over and had a delightful day. 

4. Anchor Point: This is a small town just north of Homer.  It is another fishing destination and does not have a traditional boat harbor to launch boats from.  Instead, it launches and retrieves fishing boats by tractor.  Big tractors back into the surf and the boats drive up on the trailers.  Quite something to see.

  

It also is the most "westerly road in north America".

Time to Head to Anchorage and go home.

We must turn in our little RV and fly home.  While in Homer, other campers told us about the Whale Fat Follies in Anchorage.  It is a lot like SF's Beach Blank Babylon.  Music, satire and comedy show based on the local Alaska politics.  Lots of Sara Palin jokes.  Good time. 

On our last day we had a 5.3 earthquake. Glad it didn't happen while we were down at sea level.

We left Patty and Kent in Homer. 

Their two boys will join them in a couple of days.   Check out their blog.  They drove up and back from Alaska in their RV.  They will have lots to tell you about that journey.

Their blog address is: http://kruisinwiththekirbys.blogspot.com/


Miles: 1179 (not counting air miles). 
Days: 22