June 18th, 2000
 

Since John is going to enter my letter into our web site, I thought I would take the opportunity  share some personal thoughts with you. We feel very blessed to be able to retire at our age and to embark upon our full timing adventure. We have also been blessed with good health and three wonderful children that understand not only our desire for adventure and travel, but they are truly happy for us as well. When our children were growing up we traveled as much as possible, so we would all have an appreciation for how very beautiful this land is. It is difficult to be apart from our family for long periods of time, but our reunions will be great fun. When our grandchildren are older, we hope to take them on some short excursions, parents willing.

When we travel we don't just look at the scenery, we really see it. While talking to a couple one day that said they had been to the Grand Canyon, we asked them how they liked it. The gentleman said it was just a big hole and he was disappointed. By total contrast, when John took me to the Grand Canyon I was emotionally moved as the canyon came into view and my eyes filled with tears. I couldn't even talk. To me it was and is a masterful work of art. Now you know what I mean by looking and really seeing what is there.

I worked with a man by the name of Bill in Fort Lauderdale who was also emotionally moved by the wonders of Alaska. He told me that he and his wife had hiked with a guide to the top of a mountain (I don't remember where or the elevation) and when he reached the top and looked around him he was overcome with emotion at the indescribable beauty before him. He told me that he felt if he had lifted his arm and reached for the sky he would have touched the hand of God. He not only saw the splendor that was there but he felt it in his heart and soul. We had not been to Alaska when he described his feeling to me. We now know what he felt.

I guess I better get on with our travel update. All descriptions are from my heart and are only limited by adjectives that seem so inadequate, based on what we are actually seeing and experiencing. I hope you enjoy our travels along with us.

I forgot to tell you something in my last letter. On Sunday, June 4th, just prior to crossing into Alaska we had lunch at a very small place called the Pine Valley Cafe. The owners paid $20,000 to get one telephone line. I thought you might find the cost  interesting.

June 5, 2000 --  We arrived yesterday, so this makes our first full day in Tok,  which has a population of 1,214. We expected Tok to actually have more buildings in town than it does. Many of the businesses operate out of log cabins that are really nice. John and I have always liked log cabins and we are seeing a variety of  them on this trip. Friends of ours had recommended Fast Eddy's restaurant. It is within walking distance, so we had supper there. It is a large log structure and as you enter there is a glass sculpture on the wall of an Alaskan scene with wildlife. Very nice. The restaurant was crowded and the food was excellent. I heard the cashier tell a guy that they know when it is summer by the number of motor homes coming into town.

I think there are almost as many campgrounds here as all other businesses combined. We will pick up our mail today in Tok and go to the visitors center for information on the areas we plan to explore next.

By the way, we think the drive through British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska is far more enjoyable than the cruise and land trip we took in '97. We have seen so much more this way and we have the freedom to make spontaneous decisions on where we want to go. Because of our solar power and inverter we have chosen to camp without facilities a few times and have truly enjoyed it, not to mention it is cheaper. We have only used the generator once to heat something real quick. We plan to camp this way some more along the way.

I Just thought I would take a few minutes to share some facts about Alaska that we have picked up along the way and that we have discovered at the visitor centers.

-  Alaska has more than 5,000 glaciers and there are more active glaciers and ice fields in Alaska than in the rest of the inhabited world. The Malaspina Glacier alone covers 1,500 square miles, an area larger than Rhode Island.
-  Nine of the 16 highest peaks on the continent have been forced up in Alaska. Mount Logan at 19,850 feet stands as the second highest peak on the continent, rising only about 500 feet short of Mount Mckinley (Denali, the Native American name means "The Great One"), which is the highest peak in North America.
-  There are huge volcanoes: Mount Blackburn 16,390 ft.; Mount Sanford at 16,237 ft.; Mount Wrangell at 14,163 ft. ; and Mount Drum at 12,010 ft. We are hoping they remain dormant. We don't need that type of excitement.
- The fishing is some of the best in the world and we plan to test the waters. For fun here are some of Alaska's sport fishing records: Halibut, 459 pounds; King Salmon (Kenai River) , 97 pounds 4 ounces; Red Salmon, 16 pounds; Silver Salmon, 26 pounds; Steelhead, 42 pounds 3 oz.; and Dolly Varden, 19 pounds.
The Kenai Peninsula supports about 40 % of the recreational fishing and much is centered in the Homer area. Guess what? We are definitely going to spend some time in Homer.
-  There are approximately 3 million lakes in Alaska.
-  Alaska is 1/5 the size of the lower 48 States and there is one human for every square mile.

June 6, Tuesday, We left Tok via the Tok cutoff Highway and quickly entered the Tanana Valley State Forest. This forest encompasses 1.81 million acres and lies almost entirely within the Tamana River Basin. Almost 90% is forested, with the remainder as shrub land, chiefly willow. Lavender wildflowers are in abundance along the road and the snow capped Wrangell Mountain Range is to the southeast. It is 76 degrees with clear skies and plenty of sunshine. Another simply gorgeous day.

We entered an area where the Mentasta Mountains rise on each side of the highway to 6,000 feet. This mountain range is 40 miles long and 25 miles wide, bounded on the north by the Alaska Range.

We drove a little further and came around a curve to a sight that just took our breath away. Mount Sanford appeared before us in all her glory, with snow and ice glimmering from the spotlights of sunshine touching her surface. This mountain is a  masterful work of art and appears to float with no connection whatsoever to land. It is a massive dormant volcano soaring to an elevation of 16,237 feet. The pinnacles of Capital Mountain can be seen against Mount Sanford's lower slopes. Mount Jarvis at an elevation of 13,421 is visible to the south and just behind Mount Sanford; Tanada Peak rising to 9,240 feet is to the south. We can see all of these very clearly and there are many lakes below them. It is a stunning view that overcomes you with emotion. Words nor photos can capture the beauty. When John saw Mount Sanford he said " when you think you can't be impressed any more then you think WOW look at that !" We continue to be totally amazed at what we are seeing and experiencing.

A little further down the road another dormant volcano came into view, Mount Drum, at an elevation of 12,010. The shape of this volcano is just beautiful. It is blanketed in snow and the volcanic dome is easily visible. Again, it is such an impressive sight. Waterfalls are plentiful and quite beautiful.

Our first glimpse of the Alaska Pipeline came into view. The pipeline is 48 inches in diameter and 800 miles long. Because of varying soil conditions along its route, the pipeline is both above and below the ground.

We followed a steep grade down Tousina Hill over a river and we could see the Wrangell-St Elias mountains Park and Preserve. I have mentioned the Wrangell Mountains before. They, with the St Elias Mountains, appear as an unbroken chain as far as you can see. Very nice. Mount Wrangell is an active volcano and last erupted in 1912. In this same area we saw old beaver dams that can rise to a height of 15 feet and they can be up to hundreds of feet long. We are so close to the mountains it looks like we can reach out and touch them.

Directly in front of us is the 27 mile glacier (27 miles from Valdez). We are now seeing waterfall after waterfall and they are robust. We are seeing all sizes and shapes on both sides of the road.
A couple of more curves and the Worthington Glacier presented itself. This glacier is the most visited site in the Copper River Basin. The glacier, which heads on Girls Mountain (6,134 elevation) is accessible via a short road. The glaciers come right down to the road. This is truly cool stuff (literally).

We then climbed to the Thompson Pass at 2,678 feet, which is above the timber line. The outside temperature dropped from 72 degrees to 56 degrees very quickly. The road is clear, but this place is snow, ice, soaring mountains and glaciers (some to the road). The snow records here are as follows: 1952-1953 , 974 inches; just one month in 1953 (February) 298 inches; one 24 hour period in 1955, 62 inches.

Just 15 miles from Valdez we drove through the Keystone Canyon. We saw waterfalls just about everywhere, but three were especially large and impressive and right by the road with pull outs, so you could stop and enjoy them. The Lowe River passes through the canyon and it is fast moving and rough. It is a gray color due to the glacial silt run off. They do have white water trips up here and it makes me wonder if they tackle this river.

We then entered Valdez and we were impressed still again by beauty that we can not accurately describe and we know that we cannot capture in photos. We could try a panoramic camera, but I don't think that would even do it justice. Let me put it this way. While I type this I am looking at two waterfalls just across the campground with snow covered peaks above. What a sight. Behind me there is the Valdez port that backs up to and meets sharp snow covered peaks as far as we can see. Oh what a life! I don't think I will forget our drive from Tok to Valdez as long as I live.

Valdez (population 4,164) is situated in a majestic fjord, where the 5,000 foot tall Chugach Mountains rise from Prince William Sound. Valdez is often called Alaska's  "Little Switzerland and is the second oldest settlement on the mainland of Alaska. Only Kenai is older. Valdez was established in 1897-1898 as a port of entry for gold seekers bound for the Klondike gold fields.
So far, this is the most picturesque community we have visited. You can ride bikes to any where you want to go without the threat of  heavy traffic. The sights of the Valdez harbor and the towering summits encircling the community will be in our memories for a very long time.

We decided to take a 6 hour cruise of Prince William Sound via the Glacier Classic, which is docked here in Valdez. It is actually advertised as the Columbia Glacier Cruise. Since we had already experienced glaciers up close on our cruise in 1997 to Glacier Bay, we mainly wanted to go for the scenery, for wildlife and for a chance to see Orcas. John really wants to see an Orca this time, because the last time we only saw gray whales. We had a light drizzle most of the cruise, but it no way did it dampen the experience. The shoreline is so beautifully shaped and carved by the tide, snow and ice. In some areas we saw inlets of varying sizes and shapes that were protective coves. We only saw houses near Valdez as we entered or exited the bay. When there are no houses and no commercialization, just wilderness, it has such an impact on you. The peacefulness cannot be described. The air is so clean and the water ranges from a very deep blue to aqua.

We saw sea otter first. They are just adorable. They have the sweetest faces and there were 13 to 15 in each group. They were very close to the boat. Cruise personnel told us that they weigh about 90 pounds each and they dive up to 300 feet for shell fish. They have the heaviest coat of any mammal, with about 650,000 hairs per square inch. I don't know who actually counted the individual hairs, but it was probably a winter resident that needed something to do. The otter generally live to 15 years, but can live to 25 years of age.

Guess who spotted the first Orca we saw? John that's who and he alerted the other passengers. We ended up seeing at least 20 next to the boat or very near. Oh, was this a thrill. Some even jumped for us. We have only seen them on the Discovery channel. We saw others a little farther out. They told us that there are 3 Orca pods living in the area, with 24 whales in each. There were 3 to 6 in each group and they were swimming quite close together. They were absolutely beautiful.

We made it to the Columbia Glacier and had to maneuver through very large ice bergs. We never made it to the wall of the glacier, because of the density of the ice bergs. It was extremely cold. We wore turtlenecks, sweatshirts and our warm Alaska jackets and we were not overdressed. John describes the feeling of  like being an olive in a martini glass. The ice was a beautiful blue color. The face of the glacier rises 250 feet from the sea  and spans three miles across the bay. This river of ice flows to the sea from the Chugach Mountains and blankets an area over 400 square miles. It is the largest tidewater glacier in south-central Alaska. As we left there we passed glacier carved fjords draped with cascading waterfalls and spectacular alpine glaciers. We saw 5 and 6 waterfalls together. It was as if the mountains had sprung leaks.

There are two other glaciers closer to Valdez; the Anderson Glacier and the Shoup Glacier. Kayak trips also leave from Valdez for the glaciers. The water temperature is 51 degrees now and it will reach a whopping 56 degrees later in the summer. White water excursions are also enjoyed in this area, but the rivers are 34 degrees right now. I imagine that they don't warm up too much.

We also saw two sea lion resting themselves on a buoy. One was huge and the other was a small female. The large one was having great difficulty staying on the buoy and the buoy base was a good size. He finally gave up and took to the water.

Thursday the 8th we went on a 2 hour tour of the oil pipeline terminus, which is located across the bay from the city of Valdez. The bay area is 800 feet deep with about 1,000 feet of silt as its base. We learned many things about the construction of the pipeline, the people involved and how the system is managed and protected today. The operations are quite high tech and we were impressed with the safety practices in place. They told us that 70,000 people worked on the pipeline during construction and the project cost 8 billion dollars.

During our bus tour we started to turn the corner for our last incline toward the visitors view point and a black bear came into view. It was a beautiful large male and he was most accommodating posing for us. He was very close to the bus and seemed undisturbed by our presence. This is the first black bear sighting in Alaska for us. All of the others were in the Yukon.
What a thrill it was to see him. It just made the tour for us.

Friday morning about 4:00 we felt a tremor. I did not feel the RV move, but John did. The rattle of the pocket door woke me up. John said "Do you know what that was?" I said "Yes a tremor" and then we both went back to sleep. I really thought we would feel one in California, but we didn't. It was no big deal. It just added a little excitement or drama to our adventures. It depends on how you look at it.

Valdez tugged at us as we pulled away from her hold. We will really miss this place. The surroundings are rugged, picturesque, and totally captivating. We plan to stay about a week the next time and go to the Worthington Glacier and to visit Cordova as well, which is accessible by ferry.

We reversed our route into Valdez and headed for Glennallen and the Glenn Highway that would take us to Palmer and then Anchorage. At first we just saw small towns. Grass, shrubs and trees along the road were trying their best to release the grip of winter. As we drove along several glaciers were clearly visible such as the Tazlina, the Nelchina, and the Matanusta. Because the Chugach Mountain range is so long and massive it felt like it traveled along with us for a good deal of the way. The range is very rugged, with one peak after another in a very tight row standing at attention in all their glory. The sunlight makes the snow and ice just glow. It is a magnificent sight for sure.

We approached The Eureka Summit that was only at 3,322 feet but it was above the tree line. The lake in Eureka was covered in ice. Gunsight Mountain came into view just in front of us at an elevation of 6,441 feet. The mountain's top has a similar shape of a gun sight, so that is why they named it that. When Lion Head Mountain revealed itself to us we understood the name. It definitely looks similar to the head of a lion and the shape of its back. We immediately climbed to 5,000 feet via a very narrow winding road with no guard rails at a place called Fortress Ridge. I asked John if he wanted me to tell him what was ahead and he said no. Either he wanted it to all be a surprise or he was a little leery of what treat was just around the next curve. We laughed about it.

Not long after we arrived in Palmer (4,151) at The Homestead RV Park for the evening. We are only 35 miles from Anchorage, but we are ready to stop. The city of Palmer is the home of those huge Alaska cabbages that have been featured on The Learning Channel. The local farmers grow giant vegetables and they have contests during the Alaska Fair in August for the largest in different categories like carrots, squash, cabbage, cucumber etc. The hours of sunlight each day prolongs the growth time and that contributes to the size.

You would not believe the view we have. There is a mountain range just across a very small valley directly in front and to the north of us that we just can't take our eyes off of. About two thirds of the mountain range is green with tree and shrub growth and the remainder to the top is covered in snow. The crevices have retained snow and ice and they look like graceful veins making this wonderful design against the dark rock. We will never get tired of these mountains. It is 77 degrees now, with bright sunshine at 9:40 PM.

We left Palmer the morning of June 10th with a short drive ahead of us to Anchorage. On the outskirts of Palmer we entered the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, reported as the most heavily utilized waterfowl hunting area in Alaska. Moose winter in this area as well.

We only had about 35 miles to drive and we entered Anchorage. We went directly to the Fred Meyer store, because someone had told John or he had read that the parking spaces were actually marked as to what size motor home to park in that space. They weren't and the parking lot was small and in a part of town that was not the best area to be in. Fred Meyer was very nice and diesel was priced at 147.9 a gallon, which was good after the outrageous price in Whitehorse. Fred Meyer is on the Seward Highway that leads out of Anchorage toward the Kenai. We decided to go to Walmart and stay there one evening, since we had never done that. When we arrived at the Walmart on Old Seward Highway, we saw about 50 other RV's in the outer parking area.

Anchorage is located about half way between Tokyo and New York. With a population of 259,351 it has the same problems that most sizable cities do, such as not enough roads to support the traffic. We saw examples of people under stress by their behavior in traffic. People drive very fast and every place is crowded. We believe the north end of town is the nicest, with Ship Creek (Salmon fishing contests) flowing through part of downtown, the visitor center is there and the streets are decorated with old lampposts and huge hanging flower baskets. There are good restaurants in that area and the larger retail stores are there as well. Anchorage is surrounded by water and simply beautiful mountain ranges. When we flew out of Anchorage in 1977 we were treated to a view of snow and ice covered mountains as far as we could see and glacier after glacier. It is incredibly impressive.

On June 11th we left Anchorage we headed south on the Seward Highway toward Homer. We entered the Chuygach State Park and the Turnagain Arm. The Turnagain Arm is known for having one of the world's remarkably high tides, with a range of more than 33 feet. When the tide comes back in it moves so fast that it builds a wall of water reaching to a height of 6 feet and poses a danger to small craft and any one that may have walked out on the exposed land. There are warnings telling people to not go out on the mud flats at low tide, because the glacial silt and water creates a type of quicksand. A number of people have died because they could not be freed from the mud before the tide came in. People go out there because they want to get "free" clams and they just think it is fun to walk out as far as they can from the shore line. The Turnagain Arm area is stunning. We took about 6 photos with two focusing on  clouds with sun beams breaking through and making the water just sparkle. It was just incredibly beautiful.

We passed Beluga Point where on occasion the all white Beluga whale can be viewed. We have never seen them here.

While traveling in the Seward Highway it is very easy to spot glaciers and it is fun to do so. As we turned a corner we saw a sign "Welcome To the Kenai Peninsula". The highway began an ascent to Turnagain Pass southbound. We immediately entered an area with a great deal of snow near the highway. There were low shrubs by the road with a lot of snow up the embankment and surrounding the bases of spruce, hemlock and aspen trees. You couldn't even see animal footprints on the snow. It was so smooth and appeared untouched. As we continued on the Seward Highway, the scenery opened up to mountain meadows, a variety of trees and many streams and creeks creating their space with graceful curves. Waterfalls were on both sides of the highway. There was a six mile paved bike path easily visible from the road that provides a safe route of travel placing the riders much closer to the waterways and directly over the streams via bike bridges. Views must be spectacular from the path.

We then took the Sterling Highway turnoff from the Steward Highway and started driving on an 8 mile stretch of road under construction. It was the worst piece of road that we have ever traveled. John said that it must have been concrete laid in separate pieces, because it had cracked right down the center and it had not been patched. We had to drive over frost heaves, long cracks, pot holes, dips, and bumps with no shoulder. There was very little gravel on the road. Our lowest speed was 10 mph and our highest was 40 mph. At the end of the eight  miles the road was in very good condition.

The Kenai Lake came into view for the next 3 miles. The Kenai River flows for 10 miles alongside the highway. What a beautiful wide river. It is a deep aqua color. We saw people fishing along the banks of the Kenai River and we also saw some rafts. I read somewhere that there are class II and III rapids on this river. It certainly had white caps the day we passed by it. We then came to where the Kenai River and the Russian River come together. There were people fishing there shoulder to shoulder and we again saw white water rafters in this area. The Red (sockeye) salmon run starts mid June. We then saw a huge male moose by the road with a large set of antlers.

We entered the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge has 1.9 million acres set aside to preserve wildlife. We saw another Bullwinkle!

As we drove through a little community of Clam Gulch (population 108) we had our first glance of the Cook Inlet and Mt. Redoubt. Mt. Redoubt is an active volcano with an elevation of 10,197.  It is heavily covered by glaciers with an ice filled summit crater. The last eruption was in 1989. The Augustine volcano is an island volcano in the lower Cook Inlet. Its last eruption was in 1986. Mount Douglas is located at the southwest of Homer at the tip of the Shelikof Strait. Historically inactive, the presence of unglaciated lava flows and active fumaroles indicate some recent activity. It mentioned in a local publication that these white giants slumber peacefully most of the time, but are capable of putting on spectacular displays. Hopefully, we will not be witness to a volcanic display.

We are now in Homer, (actually, Anchor Point, just north of here is the farthest west you can drive, we are a little south and east of there) which is the farthest we can drive in the continental United States. We will be here at least a week. We are going to try our luck at salmon fishing. Wish us luck!

More later..