We stayed at Trapper Creek for several days, waiting out the rains that seem to be daily and non stop. The low hanging clouds made it almost impossible to see the mountains. Nestled in the cotton woods we endured and waited as there was little we could do to change the weather. While we dodged the rain drops and waded thru the puddles that seem to be in our path of walk, perhaps a short day trip would bring a smile. We searched the Mile Post Book to see what was near. The small town of Talkeetna was a 30 mile drive from our present location. We would venture that way for lunch and the afternoon. What a charming and delightful place it was, small but larger than most places along our route. It was said to be a town lost in time and at the same time on the edge of a growth spurt. It was nestled between two rivers, lots of activity along the banks as well as a train depot and the road ending at the towns edge. From here you could take the train south to Anchorage or go north to Denali and Fairbanks. There were lots of small planes and flights to glaciers or sightseeing Denali. We were delighted to find a pizza shop and wolfed down a 15" pie. Dang it was good and we were more than ready as we'd not had one in weeks, almost two months I reckoned. After lunch we walked around and enjoyed the brief sunshine that appeared suddenly and was sure to give way to more dark clouds. We enjoyed the small shops and made several purchases of items not needed. As we departed and headed back to our campsite at Trapper Creek we made a stop at the rail road depot. A train had just pulled in, headed to Denali and north. Passengers were getting off and on so we waived goodbye and wished the travelers a safe and enjoyable journey. We knew none of them but that made little or no difference to us or them. It was a gesture made in the true Alaskan spirit. On the way back it rained and continued thru out the night.
I almost expected to see a Hobbit come rushing out to greet us, his big hairy feet splashing thru the puddles, haha.
The two lane paved road ended at town's edge.
Sightseeing services for hire.
Lots of float planes docked along the river and lakes of this area.
We enjoyed pizza at the Mountain High Pizza Pie Restaurant. It was cool and damp so we dinned inside.
A view looking down main street and several of the small shops.
The boats had been pulled out of the rivers due to the heavy rains. Afraid they'd be damaged in the rising waters, washed upon the rocky banks or break away and be swept down river in the strong currents.
Our last stop before going back to the campground was at the railroad depot.
After four days locked up inside our 8' x 25' fiberglass domain on wheels, we ventured onward once again. The rains had stopped and the early morning fog was lifting. As we pulled from our cover under the canopy of cotton wood trees and turned left we could see Denali, standing proud above thin wispy clouds to our right. All 20, 328 feet of it, divided by a layer of thin clouds. It's not often you get to see the mountain in all it's glory, this was a rare opportunity for us. I turned right instead of left as was the direction of our days travel. Kathie startled by my sudden change of direction, asked if everything was ok and if I made the wrong turn? From where we were it was hard to get a real good picture and I knew a better spot was just a couple miles back in the wrong direction. After we took several pictures of Denali (Mt McKinley), I made a U-turn and we were headed south once again. We saw on the local news a day after we had detoured and skipped our stop in Denali. The Park road washed out, trapping guests and campers inside the Park. Again we were ahead of the floods.
This is as close as we'd get to seeing Denali (Mt. McKinley) for now. If time allowed, we'd make a stop on our return and exit route, weather permitting.
Our plans for the day was a little iffy. The rains promised to again be over us and we may have to change our plans as to where we'd be staying the next couple of days. My first thoughts were of Wasilla, there was a park right along Lake Louise. Hey that's where Sarah Palin lives, maybe we could have lunch with her and the family. Sure I know the odds of that not happening is far greater than the one in a million chance it would happen. As it turned out Wasilla was so bogged down with traffic when we arrived we were in shock and couldn't escape fast enough. For weeks we had been void of traffic congestion, grid locks and the presence of traffic jams in general. We had enjoyed low volumes of travelers and pretty much been alone on the roads. Now we were faced with hundreds of drivers all on the roads and driving like they were escaping or part of a Nascar road race. What the heck, where did all these people come from? Wasilla has a population of 7,800 and they all must have been out of milk or cigarettes. Plus there was road construction to boot. What a busy place Wasilla, Alaska is. We weren't expecting such a welcome. The town has a Walmart, Mall, Lowes, several new car dealerships, Target, Red Robin, Harley Davidson Dealership, and a list of hundreds of other brand name stores and small one of a kind businesses. The four lane roads were a big surprise as well. We just didn't expect a town this size with all the people. I was uneasy and couldn't get out of town fast enough. Driving to Palmer for a couple of days and a much needed rest, now that just makes good sense.
Before arriving in Wasilla we made a stop at a Post Office to mail some post cards to family back home. A lot of the small community postal offices are located in a building housing several other businesses. The Post Office here was in the back of the hardware section of this store.
The small area map shows the Mat-Su Valley, Wasilla, Palmer and Anchorage are located within this valley area.
Below is local road construction as we entered Wasilla. A boom town by all accounts. The most traffic we had encountered in the last two months of travel.
Leaving Wasilla above, we just couldn't get over all the traffic. It was like being back in the lower 48.
Entering Palmer you quickly notice all the mountains that surround the town, everywhere you look are mountain views. What a picturesque place to live.
Our first campground stay was at the county park, right across from the airport. I enjoyed watching all the small general aviation planes come and go.
Below Kathie enjoys a day of sunshine. The following day was guess what?
We had a beautiful view below of the mountains. I never tire of seeing the splendor and majesty of the tall peaks of Alaska's mountains.
That evening while talking over our travel direction and destinations. Kathie pointed out an error I had made in my initial planning. I was thinking we'd be able to visit Valdez from Homer on a day trip. Not the case by road, only if we took a plane. I started to rethink about Valdez and how we'd manage to work it into the over all plans. No problem just cut our Palmer stay short and head off in another opposite direction. After two days that's just what we did.
It was Monday and raining of course. What difference should that make to us. We had plenty of driving time in the rains that seem to be a daily occurrence over the last several weeks. We'd just make the best of it. The distance from Palmer to Valdez was 225 miles, once again in the opposite direction of our intended travel. That was ok because we were ahead of our initial travel itinerary, having had to bypass Denali. We had time to spare and as I said in the beginning of this post, "we have the luxury of plenty of time."
Our route of travel would be, taking the Glenn highway east to Glennallen, then turning south on the Richardson Highway to Valdez. It was a days travel thru more beautiful mountains and landscape, stopping for pictures along the way. One of Alaska's many glaciers is located on Glenn Highway at mile post 102. It's the largest of the valley glaciers, 27 miles long and 4 miles wide. The Matanuska Glacier is one large piece of ice. There are some 2,000 glaciers in Alaska with only about 200 having names. As we arrived at the glacier for pictures, the rain stopped and the sunshine came out. For the rest of the day we'd have sun and rain, just part of Alaska's daily weather pattern.
Above Kathie and I are pictured with the massive glacier in the background. Due to time we'd not get any closer. The Glacier Park does have a campground with no facilities for $15.00 a night. Most all the State Parks charge the same.
This glacier is accessible by automobile.
In the picture above I noticed two teams of three climbers when I downloaded the photo. What I couldn't see with my eye I did capture with the zoom of the camera's lens. My purpose for the close up was to show you the deep crevasses and splits in the ice, making a glacier a very dangerous place to walk on. I have had my share of time on glaciers, mountain peaks and rivers. During my service days in the early 70's I attended Black Rapids Alaska Glacier and Mountaineering Course. Training on Glaciers, Mountains and swift rivers I was part of the Army's High Altitude Rescue Unit stationed at Fort Richardson Army Post in Anchorage, AK. I know much about these large land icebergs.
The Glenn Highway to Glennallen was a winding and twisty road, up and down the mountains. Passing thru Sheep Mountain we noticed the brown patches of mountain terrain. That is the color made by iron deposits in the soil. It does make for some pretty colors amidst the rock and greenery of the vegetation.
The picture below is of Sheep Mountain Lodge. Sheep Mountain is closed to sheep hunting. The lodge is a gathering place for hunters and guest, both during summer and winter. You can't see it but there is a small runway for the bush pilots to fly in and out.
These next pictures are of the flat valley adjacent to Sheep Mountain, great place for moose hunting.
The valley floor stretches for 50 miles or better in each direction.
By the time we arrived in Glennallen it was once again raining. The last gas station before Valdez was a mere $4.76 a gallon for diesel. Last we bought in Palmer was $4.12 a gallon. Believing it would be cheaper in Valdez I'd wait, I had 1/2 a tank and only about 90 miles to go. The clouds hung low and not a lot to see as we traveled south towards Valdez. The highlight of the trip was the wide load we'd meet traveling north as we were going south. I think it was a large boat, 25' wide. The transport was taking up both lanes on the mountain grade.
The load so heavy, two semi trucks were behind helping to push the hauler up the 6 percent grade.
Our destination would end at mile post 24, on the southern slope of Thompson Pass. A small State Campground with only 12 campsites called Blueberry Lake. Named rightly due to all the blueberry bushes and nothing else but blueberry bushes. The campground held a small lake, stocked with fish. The mountains were all around and the clouds would over time give us some breathtaking views.
For now we'd just have to be happy to have a great campsite and dry lodging from the weather. The rain set in and remained so all thru the night.
The next day one of the locals was out enjoying a meal of water grasses and plankton off the lake bottom.
This appeared to be a very old moose cow. Not sure if she will survive another winter. For now she was doing what was needed to stay alive. Nature is cruel here and only the strong survive.
Our first day in Valdez and it was a misty and drizzling rain sort of day. We saw beautiful waterfalls on the way to town and passed by several glaciers. The harbor was full of boats, pleasure crafts, fishing boats and sightseeing vessels as well.
Bridal Veil Falls, cascading waters rushing to bottom from high atop the mountain.
Horsetail Falls
This is a large glacier damming up the waters of the river along side the Richardson Highway.
The small harbor was full of boats
Heavy clouds covering the mountain peaks of Valdez Harbor.
The picture above, looking across the sound to the Valdez Harbor, with a Bald Eagle in flight. That large building is the Peter Pan Fish processing plant.
Above some of the local fishing boats at work, salmon is running and in plentiful supply. These boats are given a quota as to how much salmon they can catch.
Above a fishing boat returning for the day. Perhaps he has his quota and is forced to retire early.
While in Valdez we decided to take a glacier tour, aboard a tour boat for some 9 hours of fun. We decided to wait until the last part of the week and nicer weather. The weather showed promise with high temps in the 70's. We choose the longer of the two tours offered. I won't share the entire 9 hours with you but will tell you we saw humpback whales, sea otters, and harbor seals as well as many species of birds. Our trip would be to the Meares Glacier. There was a shorter trip to the Columbia Glacier, but the Mears was said to be the better of the two.
Our trip would be aboard the 2005 built Valdez Spirit.
The boat was powered by two 800 hp diesels, cruising speed of 27 knots.
The above chart shows our route, red broken line, to and from the Meares Glacier.
Wind blown and cold but still smiling. What does that girl think about, haha.
The day warmed up and was on the hot side when the boat wasn't under power. It was around 40 degree at the glacier and in the 70's sitting in the sun. After the glacier we began to remove layers of clothing.
The Meares Glacier is one large piece of ice . It's actually a younger glacier and it's also growing instead of receding. Contrary to popular belief the blue color of a glacier does not indicate it's coldness. It's due to light, or sunlight. The denser the ice the lower the oxygen within the ice. Light traveling thru the mass is shown as a blue color. Here is a smaller piece of ice, see the blue color as sunlight is able to penetrate thru the mass.
Next time someone tells you that ice sure must be cold because of how blue it is, just smile and go on. That's your science lesson for today, haha.
This body of water is part of Prince William Sound and is home to many animals and mammals alike. We did see some Humpback Whales, not too active but they were feeding and diving.
There were sea otters at play as well.
Above two sea otters float on their backs as if they were enjoying a day at the beach. Sea otters get about 5' in length and can weigh as much as 120 pounds for an adult male, about 90 pounds for an adult female.
Above a group of Harbor Seals float on a large chunk of ice like ship wrecked sailors clinging to a life boat. I watched as another tried to gain access only to be pushed away with every attempt.
Later heading back we encountered a large group of Steller Sea Lions.
Below a fish tender off loads a fishing boats cargo of salmon. The tenders work for the cannery, buys from the fishing boat allowing them to remain fishing and not have to waste time and fuel coming and going to the cannery. The tenders weigh and pay the fishing boats on the spot. It's a win win situation for all. The fish tenders are owned or contracted to the cannery.
The big blue boat is the tender. It has a large vacuum type hose that sucks the fish from the holding tanks of the smaller fishing boat.
On our way back into the port we could see the large tank farms, where the oil pipeline ends. All the oil from the northern slope is pumped here, loaded on tankers and shipped to California and Oregon. Nothing goes over seas we were told. Gas and diesel prices are the highest in the state here. Diesel at $4.76 a gallon.
Valdez is one of the oldest towns in Alaska. It dates back to the 1800's and the gold rush. On March the 27th 1964 it was destroyed by a massive 9.2 earthquake. The town was so damaged that it was rebuilt 4 miles south and the Core of Engineers condemned the old town and gave the residents two years to relocate. Lots of the people of the town died in that event. Fifty of the old towns building were torn down and rebuilt in the new town center. The location of the old town is noted by a sign and a plaque where the old post office stood, also a plaque listing the names of the deceased.
There's not a lot to remind or show you where the old town of Valdez once stood. Just a few cardboard signs on sticks tucked in the tall grass and over grown lots that one was the home or business.
The sign above denotes the location of the first Governor of Alaska. Shows where the house stood in Old Valdez.
The above plaque talks about Old Valdez.
The plaque above names the residents that died in the earthquake of 1964. I found it funny that the town was forced to move but did not relocate their cemetary. Those who died in the earthquake of 64 were still buried in the Old Valdez cemetary. I went on a search of the old burial ground but wasn't able to locate it. Too many years and lack of upkeep allowed the forest to reclaim it. I did manage to find one of the deceased, buried a few miles away in the new cemetary.
Freddie O. Brown is number two on the plaque listing the deceased of the 1964 quake.
Valdez is home to many Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles alike. We also encountered a young brown bear and watched a Steller Sea Lion play among the rocks just off the shoreline.
Above a large Golden Eagles soars. It's hard to catch these magnificent birds in flight.
This large Bald Eagle posed for the camera. They have no fear of people and allow you to get close up photos. It helps to have a strong zoom lens as you never know when the subject will take flight.
Above a Golden Eagle scans the waters below for a meal.
The tall Hemlocks host perch for the many Eagles that stop to rest before returning to the plentiful catch of salmon in the Valdez Sound.
This small brown bear was out to get his lunch of fresh salmon, a little shy he returned to the safety of the tree line and disappeared within.
A Steller Sea Lion also makes a catch of fresh salmon for his meal.
On the forth of July Kathie and I enjoyed the warmth of a beautiful sun shinny 78 degrees. It was hot as we sun bathed and basked in the delight of clear sky and a slight breeze.
My cute wife armed with a red solo cup and ready to celebrate July the 4th in Valdez AK.
For me, any day without rain in cause for celebration. A cold beer and good cigar is always welcomed as well.
Finally the upper level winds pushed back the clouds to reveal the glory of the mountain. It was funny to see snow with such beautiful warm days. With all the rain, I wondered why the snow was still so plentiful.
July the 5th was moving day for us, we were headed back to Palmer. It started to rain around 10 pm the night before and never let up until around 8 am. When I looked outside I couldn't see the truck less than 10 feet away. The fog made it a complete white out. We were close to 3,000 feet at Thompson Pass, I was afraid the valley below would be a complete wall of white so thick we'd not be able to see a foot in front. As it turned out the lower elevations were clear and beautiful with sun shinning.
On the way back to Palmer we made a quick stop at a Yak Farm. They are something resembling a cross between a goat and a long horn steer.
After getting out to take pictures while my bride stayed in the truck, I couldn't resist the sudden urge of temptation. Getting back into the drivers seat I said to Kathie, "those critters sure make strange noises." "What did they sound like she asked?" "Like a song I replied, they sing she asked?" "Yak de yak don't talk back, haha." Not quite sure she appreciates my humor at times.
We headed back to Palmer to the Mountain View Campground. Our stay at the Blueberry Lake was all boon docking. It was the 5th of July and before reaching Palmer we would again take a two day detour to boon dock along the way back. We had made a stop at a campground and filled our fresh water tank and emptied our black and gray water. Two days would be easy. All along the way we saw boomtown after boomtown of four wheelers. Any wide spot in the road became a campground for these adventure seekers. We decided to infiltrate their masses and set up for the night, the following morning they were packing up and heading home. I decided to remain in place and allow these weekend warriors to get home and off the road before I ventured on. Monday July the 7th Kathie and I were up and ready to join the living once again. Our last two days of boon docking was once again filled with rain. We had planned to reward ourselves and go to a full service CG after 8 total days of boon docking.
Back at Palmer we settled into the Mountain View CG. It was rightly named as the mountains behind it was beautiful, just what we had become accustomed to here in Alaska. We had only planned to be here for four days and then back to boon docking on our way to Seward and then Homer. As it turned out we extended our stay to 8 days to await repairs on our propane heater.
While in Palmer this trip we visited a Muskox Farm and did some gold panning. The Muskox Farm was a disappointment in a small way. I was hoping for a Muskox burger. That wasn't going to happen, at least not at that location. Maybe I can find some on the black market.
These big fellows are left over from the ice age. A cross between a cow and a goat, prized for their fine under hair type wool. It's softer than wool. lighter than wool and is said to be hypoallergenic. They are good climbers and fast runners in spite of their bulky mass.
These are being raised as part of a 501-C, non-profit organization. They are raised for their wool only, at $90.00 a skein.
I still say these young ones would make a mighty tasty burger.
You will see a lot of these type of barns in the Mat-Su Valley. They are Dutch Colonial and were built for dairy farming. Palmer was the dairy section of the state at one time. Not sure about if they are today or not.
Another adventure we have enjoyed is gold panning. Looking to strike it rich We bought pans and set out for the creeks and streams of the Little Susitna River country.
Gold panning is hard work. Bending and reaching, shaking and washing. It's a process that must be repeated over and over again, usually with the same results. Isn't that the definition of an expert? I think we qualify as we are getting the same failing results.
The highlight was the day ending, with me taking a misstep and gaining a cold and wet foot. Gee, that was some cold water!
Day two would show better results. In fear of claim jumpers we won't reveal our claim or it's location. Lets just say that if you want to look for it, bring some bear protection.
Kathie and I spent hours turning over and moving rock to get to the sands and dirt underneath. How did we do you ask?
PERHAPS WE NOW HAVE A NEST EGG.
That's our tale of travel and mining on this blog. Until next time, Dutch and Kathie Lane, two geriatric kids trying to stay one step ahead of the grim reaper.
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