Alaska with the Brewer's 06

[Lorna]

Today Ned and I drove down to Anchorage from Denali.  It rained pretty hard for about 50 miles and then weather was still bad and it rained more later.  We did get to see a black bear as he was sticking his head out along the road, but took one look at the RV and ducked into the woods and no chance for a picture   We are at the Golden Nugget where Russ is for the next week.  Tonight the weather seems to be clearing so hopefully the rain will stop for a few days.  Didn't get to see Mt Mckinley, too many clouds covering it   Phone reception between here and Denali isn't good because we tried calling Betty and Terry several times and end up getting their voice mail.  The highway between here and Denali is pretty good, there are a few spots that are rough.

 

[Jim Dick]

Hi Terry & Betty,

A belated Happy Anniversary to you!!! Sorry it's a little late. At least this year we remembered our grandson's 16th birthday. He's the one we forgot the day you were married!!! ;D

 

[Betty Brewer]

Phone reception between here and Denali isn't good because we tried calling Betty and Terry several times and end up getting their voice mail.?

Hi Lorna,
Terry's new phone came via RoadRunner express at 7:15 this morning.  (Recall the Verizon snafu) They actually brought him BOTH packages.  We left Riverside RV park which was 100% full with a Caravan of 24 rigs from Camping World. The clouds are breaking up so we elected to stop in Talkeetna for the night.  Free wifi.  Nice little  park under tall birch trees and will do the  jet boat ride this afternoon.  Maybe, just maybe McKinley will peek out.

Will head to Ship Creek RV  Park in Anchorage tomorrow.
Betty

 

[Lorna]

Hi Betty

I totally forgot about Terry not having a phone and didn't think about it until this afternoon.  We had your # too, but didn't think to call that one.  Sorry about that, but it sounds like everything is working out ok.

 

[Betty Brewer]

July 5, 2006  Day 43    Denali

We waited all day today for a package to arrive. A week ago, Verizon decided to ?update? Terry?s  cell phone and asked that he call *228 to activate the change they had made in the wee hours of the morning.  When he tried, nothing happened and a call to tech support told him he had to be in a Verizon service area to get ?fixed.?  Since we are going to be in Alaska a long time, he was going to be without a phone all of this time, as there is no Verizon area in Alaska.

He protested and they finally offered to send him a new phone with the programming already in it.  This would have been a good solution if you have an address and/or know where you are going to be. We waited 6 days for the phone to arrive at the Riverside RV Park in Denali and lots of snafu?s with UPS. Ironically our motorhome faced the highway and we watched as the big truck transferred the package to Fairbanks and back to Anchorage and back again, unable to locate our RV Park.  Finally they contracted with Roadrunners a private delivery service, who promised delivery early in the morning.  We shall see.
No tourist news today.

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven: 0 
Wildlife sightings: 0
Temps:  High 67        Low 51    0.08 inches of rain
Camping Costs: $18

 

[Betty Brewer]

July 6, 2006  Day 44    Talkeetna, AK 

Can you believe it?  Package with Terry?s phone arrived at 7:15 am this morning just as promised.  But it did not work! After a good long hold on my cell phone to tech support they worked their magic and Terry has phone service again. We headed down the road for Anchorage but as the sky cleared up we decided to stop at Talkeetna.  It is so nice to travel with the flexibility of no schedule. We stopped at the Russ, Chet and Paul from UK tourist spot marking the Mt McKinly viewpoint.  As you can see from the photo, I?d better buy a postcard for this shot. This huge mountain makes it?s own weather, which keeps it, pretty much in the clouds and out of view.
However we trek on and turn off the Parks Highway on to the 14- mile Spur Road to Talkeetna.  This village is situated on the confluence of 3 glacially fed rivers and is home to mountain climbing schools and climbers must get permit to make the climb here.  Everyone in town looked rugged and like an adventurer to me. (Except for the busloads of passengers from Princess Cruise lines!)

We decided to take the jet boat ride. It?s in he toursaver .  This was really cool.  We got front seats.  Our captain looked like Gulligan and the Naturalist on board who is a native Alaskan looked just like my niece Allison.  This boat has 3 Cummins engine3, over 1000 horsepower, a ? inch steel bottom only needs 2 feet of water to support her. The Talkeetna River is very swift and wide but e darted out with no problem.  We were shown how much power ice has.  Each of these rivers freezes hard all winter even to the depths of 12 to 14 feet.  In the spring these ice chunks let go and charge down the river taking anything in their way.  Last year was an exceptionally early thaw and ice mowed down and entire island of cottonwood trees that were 50 feet tall. The shoreline showed erosion and cracked trees all done by ice flowing. We stopped to see what Israel, our captain and a native of Talkeetna, thought to be the world?s largest beaver dam.  It is no longer in use as the course of the river changed and waters no longer flow through it.  Anywhere from 10 to 12 beavers can live in a dam.  We were shown their hides and those of a river otter who is a beaver?s dark enemy.  Our guide, Angela, carried a shotgun with her as we trekked out through the tall ferns and plants to see the beaver dam.  There are bears out there and she wanted to be protected. From here someone spotted a bald eagle sitting in a tree.  Angela guessed it was male because it was just sitting there doing nothing!  She took us to a replica of a camp of  Dena?ina Indians.  I learned about another form of refrigeration?.a big hole in ground with Permafrost, cover with willow reeds.  We peeked inside a trapper cabin the size Isreals parents built on their Alaskan 5 acre homestead in 1972. It has a dirt floor and no windows.  Most of us agreed we would not spend a night there! 

We learned about several plants native to the area and of their medicinal qualities.  Seems Moose eat these plants and develop some medicinal qualities of their own.  I?m told if you have chapped lips and spread moose droppings on your lips it may not heal the lips but you won?t want to lick them anymore.  (I was just checking to see who really reads this stuff!) After being served paper plate sized oatmeal raison cookies we turned around on the river and headed for the gorge but the captain informed us that he had lost his #2 engine and we needed to head for home.  He was sorry he could not complete the trip but informed us he would offer us a 50% refund.  Terry thinks if his engines had been CAT this would not have happened.

The town is very cute with touristy shops in historic 1920?, 30?s 40?s s circa mining buildings.  They are all done up hippie style with flowers and beads and a lovely collection of decorated wooden moose in the street.  We will miss the Annual Moose festival this weekend but Costco calls!  This was a terrific stop over.

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven: 154 
Wildlife sightings: 1 bald eagle,
Temps:  High 65      Low 48
Camping Costs: $27.  Talkeetna  Camper Park    Water/Elec.  free wifi
GPS: 62.3179, -150.1035

 

[Terry A. Brewer]

Here are some additional pics.

One with the most toys
Talkeenta moose
Well dressed Talkeenta girl

 

[Chet18013]

Betty,

I had to get up at 5:00AM and drive 15 miles to the obsevation point to get my photos of Mt Mckinley. It was in the clouds by 7:00AM.  You just didn't get up early enough!  You know--Earlybird and all that stuff<<GGG>>.

Chet18013

 

[Betty Brewer]

Betty,I had to get up at 5:00AM and drive 15 miles to the obsevation point to get my photos of Mt Mckinley. It was in the clouds by 7:00AM.? You just didn't get up early enough!? You know--Earlybird and all that stuff.

Chet,
Oh so now you tell me.  Actually it was cloudy  all night this time and mornings are in the clouds too. (so say other tourisrts who wer eup early)  Wouldn't have helped to be up at 5.  But there are lots of postcards! And I have your photos and Pauls.

Betty

 

[Ned]

The ceiling lifted a bit this morning and we could finally see the mountains here in Anchorage.  The current forecast is for some sun on Sunday.

 

[Ron from Big D]

Betty:

    At least they are smart enough up there to use Blue Bird Buses.  They are built to take those conditions.

Ron

 

[Betty Brewer]

July 7, 2006 Day 45  Anchorage, AK

This morning, in Talkeeta, I went back to a gift store to return a t-shirt I bought yesterday that didn?t fit.  We were on the road by 10:30 and headed to Anchorage.  We saw a few beautiful mountain ranges and arrived at Ship Creek RV Park by 1:30.  We hooked up to wifi and took a  free shuttle bus ride around town.  We visited Ship Creek to watch for salmon spawning and saw none. Will tour city tomorrow. This RV Park is packed.  There are only 12 inches or so between rigs when they have slides out. Tonight is the first time in weeks we have been able to watch local news.  No loss.

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven: 113   
Wildlife sightings: 0
Temps:  High 61      Low 52
Camping Costs: $28.  full hook ups  Ship Creek RV Park
GPS: 61.22219, -149.87006

 

[Betty Brewer]

Betty:? ? At least they are smart enough up there to use Blue Bird Buses.? They are built to take those conditions.

Ron,
A very astute observation!  And they seem to last forever!

Betty

 

[Betty Brewer]

July 8, 2006    Day  46  Anchorage, AK

Today was a self-induced killer tourist day. We headed to Hilton Hotel to pick up tickets for City bus tour and Sourdough Mining company dinner tonight.  Terrible lack of parking, but Terry found a prime space just along the Hilton Hotel.  It was such a good spot that he decided we would keep it all day and not even return to the motorhome.  We spent 6 hours wandering the streets.  We went to the Saturday Market and looked at the heads of cabbage for $5 each.  Did not buy any.  We looked at the neat carvings done by Alaskans in Alaska. Saw very nice photography for sale.  Bought a tourist hat for Terry to put over his GPS in Motorhome. Ate fish tacos (very fishy ) Rode the town Trolley car.  Went to Alaskan Experience theater and saw movie about 1964 earthquake and devastation it caused. Used free coupon for cup of coffee in town.  Forgot to use 2 for 1 coupon for movie.  Went back, plead ignorant and got a $10 refund.  I love bargains.  Got 2 free souvenir necklaces at trinket shops.  You just gotta buy the Tour Saver book. Finally it was 6 o?clock and we boarded big Grayline bus for a City tour.  We took an interesting look at the Hood Lake and all of the seaplanes.  There is a 10-year wait to get a slip for your float plane.  Alaska has more pilots per capita than any other state.  1 out of 60 Alaskans has a pilot?s license and 1 out of 65 own a plane. There are over 1000 take offs and landing a day here.
They let us off at the Sourdough Mining Company for dinner and we ate halibut. It was very tasty.  We were too tired to stay for the show.  Terry says he has now done enough city tours for the rest of the trip.  Thank god. Tomorrow we will not tour anything except Sam?s Club.

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven: 0    Car fuel  $2.79  per gallon
Wildlife sightings: 0
Temps:  High 63      Low 51  Sunny in afternoon and needed sunglasses at 10M
Camping Costs: $ 27 full  hook ups with  free wifi

 

[rhmahoney]

I did the farmers market 4 yrs ago and had the salmon quesodilla...great and not fishyat all.

 

[Jim Godward]

Betty,

Great trip Log, I'm enjoying it and wishing we were there.  VBG

>>Car fuel  $2.79  per gallon<<

Same price as here in Belgrade!

 

[Tom and Margi]

Betty:

Pam Van Luchene directed us toward New Sagayas Market when we were in Anchorage.  I know you would love shopping there.  They have really nice *fresh* fish and all sorts of unique gadgets, seasonings, and lots of Oriental products.  There is also a lunch buffet which seemed very popular with the local business community.  Their parking lot was so crowded we could barely fit the little Suzuki we pulled at that time into it.

Margi

 

[Betty Brewer]

July 9, 2006  Day 47  Anchorage, Alaska

Halleluiah, Today we saw the sun.  I was beginning to be pretty depressed but today the sky was blue and clouds stayed off in the distance.  We took a long walk back into the down town area today as I figured I needed the exercise.  The bear sculpture I saw yesterday was gone and the one they had left was not for me. We toured the ULU factory and I purchased a cutting block to go with the Ulu Winnie gave me last year for Christmas. We walked back home, called Russ to join us for a 15-mile drive into Eagle River.  Eagle River is the former home of our good friends George and Pam V.  They had a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood and today was a beautiful day to show it off.  Some snow still on the mountains behind them and wow we discovered their home is for sale!  However, we doubt they will consider moving back.  Nor will we consider moving up here!

We went to dinner at a Mexican food place. Grocery shopping was done at Carr?s (owned by Safeway) Can you believe I paid $2.43 for a head of lettuce?  Now you know how much I think I need to be on a diet!  Tour guide told us Mr. Carr was a long time Anchorage resident/ businessman and when he died, Safeway bought his store and put up their Safeway sign.  No one shopped there!  Seem those in Anchorage like to be loyal and when the name was changed back (by Safeway) shoppers came again.  Anchorage is a big city full of typical city things. While I enjoy the amenities of a big city for shopping, I prefer the more remote villages for touring. This past weekend the national Veteran Wheelchair games were held here in Anchorage. We saw many men and women in wheelchairs out in the community. I wish I knew more about their events and had had the opportunity to attend.

Pending weather we may drive to Portage Glacier for a boat ride to see glacier tomorrow.

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven: 0   
Wildlife sightings: a seagull note photo carefully.  He fits in with the weekly activities.
Temps:  High 70      Low 56
Camping Costs: $27.  Full hookup weekly rate

 

[Betty Brewer]

July 10, 2006  Day 48  Anchorage, Portage Glacier,  A huge River of Ice

Today we drove  62 miles south to take the Portage Glacier Cruise. It was one of my favorite sights of the trip for the bargain price of only $29.  (We had a tour saver coupon.) We lucked out and there were no tour busses with us so we had lots of room to roam from side to side of the boat to see the best views. Terry found a jacket he wanted while we waited for the ship to sail.  It was drizzly up top where Terry and Lorna wanted to ride for photos.  Russ and I stayed inside  and dry.  When we arrived at the glacier the weather turned perfect and we were able to take photos for about an hour from any vantage point we desired! This glacier is one of 100,000 glaciers that remain in the snow-capped mountains of Alaska.  Do you know the recipe for a glacier?  You need freezing temperature, abundant precipitation, far northern latitude, high elevation and time.  It takes about 10 years for a snowflake buried under layers of new snow to become glacial ice.  The colors today included that intense blue you see in a glacier. There were icebergs floating in the water and the people standing on the on top deck could hear some calving.

After our cruise, we stopped at several viewpoints, watched a movie in the visitor Center and thoroughly loved this scenic day.  The 4 of us oooooohed and awed every time we turned a corner.  The Chugach National Forest, home of this Portage Glacier is a rain forest and the green of the mountains certainly reflects the rainfall.  Everything is so green.  Someone in the car commented that the emerald green-forested mountainsides were capped in fog like a poorly fitting toupee.  We watched the tides go out to expose huge expanses of mud fields.  Anchorage is home to a 38-foot tide.
We took Chet?s suggestion and looked around Girdwood ski resort and scoped out a possible place to camp on our way back from our Kenai Peninsula visit.  We dined at Chair 5 Restaurant, named as the ski resort has chair lifts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8.  Lorna ate an Arctic Burger (Musk Ox).  We all enjoyed our meal!
This was a perfect touring day.  I love seeing things in nature that I?ve never seen before.  I took all of today?s photos.

Statistics:
Motorhome Miles Driven: 0   
Wildlife sightings: Mamma duck with ducklings crossing highway, 1 chipmunk, 1 bald eagle
Temps:  High  70      Low 59
Camping Costs: $27  full hook up

 

[Betty Brewer]

Pam Van Luchene directed us toward New Sagayas Market when we were in Anchorage.? I know you would love shopping there.? They have really nice *fresh* fish and all sorts of unique gadgets, seasonings, and lots of Oriental products.? There is also a lunch buffet which seemed very popular with the local business community.? Their parking lot was so crowded we could barely fit the little Suzuki we pulled at that time into it.

Margi,
This shopping is  now on my list of things to do tomorrow.  I will give you a report when finished.  Thanks for mentioning it as I would have missed it!
Betty