covid break

 there have not been any posts recently as a result of covid isolation.  hopefully will be back on track to offer some other photos and comments soon.

Alaska grand tour 2021

fish

Our original plans were to haul our fifth wheel trailer up to Alaska and then spend some time traveling around the state and finally on our return take the Trans Canada Highway east toward home in Virginia. Covid 19 interfered and we were blocked by Canadian laws preventing entrance. 

our plan B was to fly to Anchorage, rent an RV and then travel the stated. which is what we did. we were ont eh road for a total of 23 days and traveled over 1800 miles on the loop of state highways with side trips to interesting places. the following photos are sort in order of our trip and will hopefully give you a brief view of what we saw.  

13 hours in the air traveling from Virginia to Phoenix and onto Anchorage. our arrival was just before midnight.  And yes, the land of the midnight sun delivered for us. 

We rented from the Great Alaskan Holiday RV company which did a very good job of providing us with a fully equipped unit for our travels. 24' is okay for two but you really need to be very good friends! this option of renting a class c motor home for travel is a very popular vacation. our first night was spent in a park near the rental location. 

our first visit was to Denali National Park. this park is primarily wilderness area with limited access. we camped in the park itself which meant we dry camped without any hook up to utilities.  not a real problem because we had easy access to water and waste disposal in the park. on our way to the park clouds parted and gave  us a brief window where we could see the mountain and its snow cap. the persistent haze was a barrier to getting a very clear photo.

 our camp site in Denali

we did a bus tour of the outback area which allowed us to see some wildlife and awesome land areas. 

this is the bridge over the Yukon River. unique because it has a wooden roadway. wood apparently survives the harsh winters best.

This caribou wandered right next to our bus. the large antlers are shed and replaced every year. based on the size I believe you could probably watch them grow if the animal would stand still.

the glaciers are melting. this one is about half its original size from what the guide told us.

The interior of the park is expansive and magnificent. as one of the early rangers to the park noted we need wilderness to renew ourselves and our purpose. 

many of the roads we drove on were just like this; straight and not well traveled.  a big issue withthe roads is the permafrost. during the summer months the ground will thaw and then freeze again in te winter causing expansion and what is called "jacking" which moves the road surface into undulating mounds that make driving difficult.

our tour bus operated by the National Park service

end of the road facilities.

this is the Ptarmigan, the state bird of Alaska

This ranger cabin is used year around by the employees who monitor and service the park properties.the rangers will use dog sleds to get here in the winter. 

the summer is the rest period for the huskies who pull the sleds.  this one seemed to be well aware of that.

Each dog has its own house with a leash long enough to allow access to top and inside but not so long as to allow contact with other dogs.

these handsome huskies were watching the ranger hoping that it was time to take the summer sled for a spin around the kennel area. 

 Some of the dogs will permit petting as Linda shows.

this is one of the sleds used by the park to access the outback in the winter. the summer one is similar but with wheels and a place for weights so that the dogs can maintain their fitness. The chief musher (that is what the dog handlers are called) told us that it takes about 7 years for a husky to be very good in a dog team.  The dog kennel is an underrated attraction at Denali.

 

Fairbanks, Alaska is noted as the land of the Aurora Borealis as well as a gateway to the arctic circle. our tour to the Arctic Circle took about 13 hours in a bus. we traveled on the Dalton Highway stopping a couple times at historic locals. 

this grizzly bear was foraging for berries to help sustain it through the winter. 

because of the high iron content in some of the land the hillsides look like they are rusted.

a couple of photos to prove we were there. the piece of red carpet in front of the sign was brought by the tour driver so that everyone could "cross the Arctic Circle"  thought-full fellow he was.

 

 

 

 

  The trans Alaska pipeline was begun in March 1975 and completed in May 1977. a controversial project it was nonetheless an engineering and logistical nightmare. Permafrost, weather extremes, native land issues and getting supplies for construction as well as supplying the workers were just some of the problems confronting the builder.  this support de vice was designed to keep the warm pipe full of oil from thawing the permafrost  while allowing for the thermal expansion and contraction of the steel.

Expansive views of the tundra inside the park area

in the early days there were a few hardy souls who would venture out to set up businesses that would offer service to those who traveled the roads into the heart of the Alaskan outback.  one such entrepreneur set up this Lemonade stand and then expanded to include other food and supplies  at the Wildwood Store.   Joe and Nancy Carson raised 8 of their own and 12 adopted children here while offering aid and goods to travelers of the Elliot highway in an aptly named town of Joy

 

 this boat design seems to be the standard based on the number that we saw in yards and on the water. Fishing during salmon season is the reason some businesses shut down to allow employees their time on the rivers and bays. 

  

 

 the harbor at Homer 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda stood by this fisherman's catch to show the relative size of these halibut. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halibut were a  rare catch while we were there but salmon were plentiful as shown by the 

cleaners table and the waiting tote full of the days limit catch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

not all fishermen used boats as shown by these anglers aiming to catch the spawning salmon.

 

 

Native  Alaskans use a clever device to catch the spawning salmon. this fish wheel rotates in a clockwise (in this photo) manner to scoop up the fish. the fishermen would pull their catch from the rotating baskets and toss them to their families who would prepare the fish for drying.  these dried fish along with killed animals would be the food supply during the winter.

spawning salmon can be seen in many small rivers and creeks.

 

 

 

Because of the remote nature of most of Alaska airplanes are almost as common as cars. Many of them are fitted with pontoons to permit landing on the many lakes around in the state. Alaska, we were told, has over 25% of all small aircraft (registered and unregistered) in the USA. and based on the number we saw at the various airports this could well be true.   Anchorage Private airfield pictured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we found a couple of  establishments that warranted exploration. the Salty Dawg Sloon in Homer

 

 

 

 a real waterfront dive with dollar bills stuck to the ceiling, each carrying a message for the ages. Yes, I did pin one with an appropriate message. curious? go to Homer and look on the rear wall near the center beam.

 

 

 

 

 the F street Saloon and eatery was originally just a saloon but the demand for its  fried halibut  allowed it to expand next door.  the ceiling and the walls are  pasted with  business cards and other identifiers of businesses and military visitors.               

  

   

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            

 The Oyster house in Homer has total seating for a maximum of  about 12 (14 if some are really good friends). we waited over 45 minutes for a seat at the bar where we had very fresh oysters, clams and wine.

 

 

   Homer is a commercial seaport as well as a small boat harbor and they have this memorial to the sailors who have lost their lives at sea.

Valdez is the terminus of the trans alaskan pipeline. the large storage tanks are adjacent to the docks where tankers are loaded with the crude oil.  the wreck of the tanker Valdez caused a change of the procedures for handling large ships into and our of the port.  Tankers are no longer allowed to steam into port but are now towed by tugboats guided by experienced pilots both directions.

  

 

 

Moose are an everpresent danger ot motorists and you will see numerous signs warning to be alert. this one was    on the roadside at Earthquake Park in Anchorage.  Earthuake park is a place that showes the undulation of the earth which occured in the 1964 earthquake of magnitude 9.2. 

if a moose is killed in a road accident, the driver involved does not get to keep the dead animal. the stte has a clean up crew that will rapidly respond to salvage the road kill and deliver it to selected food banks for distribution to the needy.

   

Homer is referred to as a hippie town. it has some of the attributes including an artist community with accompanying group of unique features, such as this outflow of fishing floats from the art center.

 

       this decorated and operational (licensed) bus is in fact home to a delightful couple who start up and  leave whenthe weather gets too bad.

    the bays and fjords are home to several glaciers whose calves, the sections of the glaciers which breakoff and fall into the waters, float on them. on our tour of the glaciers it was possible to hear the noises of the ice as it attempted to slide down from the mountains.

   

The blue line in this berg is where the snow has melted and then frozen to form a layer of clearer ice.

  the ship we were on is the large white one. The captain was a woman who has lived in the area her entire life and had many informative stories about the area and the bays.

Fireweed is very prevalent in all of Alaska. it is the first plant to apear after a fire.

  

I suspect that hyroponically grown crops are popular because of the long winters.

One of our side trips was to the town of Chitina. this town has a population of perhaps 20 and asise from the National Park service ranger and info center has only a fishing and hunting guide along with a small hotel, now a B&B, an art center and a closed emporium building.  the warning sign at the end of the paved road is enough to scare off the unprepared.

one of the foods that seems very popular, maybe only with tourists, is reindeer sauage. we had sausages as well as reindeer pizza, which i did not find that different from regular sausage pizza. interesting note is that caribou and reindeer are the same animal. if running wild they are caribou and if herded and contained the are reindeer. 

Glaciers are abundant in Alaska but their size is and number are smaller than jsut a few years ago. the warming temperature is tking its toll on these creations of nature.  the haze in the photos is a result of fog mist and the gaseous emmissions from both spruce and fir trees.