Home Sweet Home!

Home Sweet Home!  What am I saying?  Home is where we park it!  Tonight, home is Olympia, WA.
But when we crossed that border into the lower 48 from Canada, I felt overcome with emotion.  More familiar territory?  Closer to the kids?  Relief to be back safe and sound?  I don't know what it was, but I felt like crying.  I don't think it was the letdown that the trip we dreamed of is over.  I think it was just  being grateful for this wonderful country in which we live.  And the opportunity to realize just what a vast land it is. And we just got to see some of the most beautiful parts of it!

This is my last entry for this blog "Trek to Alaska".  Blogging has been a great way for us to remember our trip to Alaska.  I would highly recommend it for anyone wishing to jot  down memories.  You can add some favorite photos and it makes a story for you to go back and re-read.

As we travel the Northwest, I think I will start a new blog, focusing on this part of the country.  We have about 2 more months of opportunity, God willing, and the creek don't rise too high, and the forest fires don't get too big!   Think we'll rest here a day or two in Olympia before we move on.  Maybe go to the farmer's market here tomorrow.....

The last 1000 miles to Sumas border crossing

The last 1000 miles to the Sumas border crossing were some of the hardest miles to travel.  We were finishing a  journey which we had dreamed of making for a long time.  A lot of mixed feelings.  Gratitude, first and foremost, for the opportunity.  Sadness, knowing that we probably will never return.  Relief, knowing we made the journey with RV, car, and ourselves in good shape.  Glad to be able to connect with everyone more easily. And, some natural letdown from living an exciting adventure the past two months.

After leaving Hyder, it seemed the miles covered in Canada the next couple of days were kinda blah. I'm sure that part of it was being tired, and partly from the letdown that our Alaska trip was ending.  However, to our delight, the third and final day of travel before crossing the border into Washington yielded these beautiful sights in the Fraser river canyon:

Hyder, Alaska

Hyder Alaska is the southernmost town in Alaska, accessible by vehicle only thru Stewart, BC.  We arrived in a downpour and it had been raining for days/weeks in this lush rainforest area.  The waterfalls along the roadway were magnificent even in the rain/fog.  Two and three waterfalls off cliffs, spouting water like no tomorrow.  The campground was near flooded but we did manage to find a high spot to call home for a couple of nights.  I really wanted to see Hyder because the salmon were running at Fish Creek and the forest service has an observation area where you can see bear, black and grizzly, catching salmon.  And it was on my list to see just that, if I could.  Well, it had been raining so hard and the creek was so muddy and deep that the bear were not frequenting the area very much.

But the guy at the campground said that when it stopped raining, it would drain off in a hurry.  And lucky for us, it did stop raining the day after we arrived.  Fish Creek cleared overnight  and was barely deep enough to cover the fins of the spawning salmon.  I had watched many people fish for salmon all over Alaska, but never was I close enough to actually see them spawning.  It was a sight to behold!  No wonder those fish are so haggard by the process.  The females fight each other for the desired spots to lay their eggs; the males fight each other for the females.  They stay all stirred up in those spawning grounds and they are just inches apart in the water.  Thousands of them coming to a relatively small body of water.  After they reproduce, they die in those creeks.  I learned that the stench of decaying fish permeates the area, but that it is really good for the ecological process, as they fertilize the area at the completion of their life cycle.

Well, I didn't see a lot of bear catching salmon - I think they were further up the creek from the sounds of it.  They were a lot of people in this very small town, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear.
But I did see one black bear cross the road, saunter down into the creek off the bridge, walk along the shore picking berries, and then - plucked him a salmon right out of the water and took it off to the wooded area to eat.  I was ecstatic!  I wished for about 50 more; but after hours of waiting, that was the only one.  It was worth the side-trip, however!

Must have been a hundred salmon in this small area - large chum

salmon !

Grocery store in Hyder  - very colorful shopping carts on roof

Marv- supporting a local rock sale!  Industrious kids visiting Grandma from San Francisco

And, glaciers have become so common a site over the past few months, that I almost forgot to post this visit to Salmon Glacier in Hyder, a beautiful site about 15 miles up some rugged road:

After this final stop in Hyder, we really did say goodbye to Alaska.  We still have some major travel to do before reaching the lower 48.  It is really hard to leave, knowing that we probably will not return again to this great wilderness.  We sure loved our visit and it will be memories we shall not forget. 

BC Hwy 37 - Cassiar Highway

I am playing catch-up on this blogging about Alaska, because we were not able to get data coverage to upload photos or post online.  I really prefer to blog right away when memory is fresher and photos are easily found.
We took a less traveled highway from Whitehorse to Prince George, the Cassiar Highway and then the Yellowhead Highway into Prince George.  While the northern part of the road was kinda rough, it was easily traveled as there was not much traffic.  We went thru some burn areas, and the fireweed rebound was spendid.  From this Highway, we were able to easily travel to Stewart, BC and Hyder Alaska.  Hyder is the southern-most town in the state of Alasks, accessible only thru Canada by vehicle.  More about Stewart and Hyder later.  We did enjoy this road trip, as it was a little more on the wild side and we saw three black bear on the way.

Whitehorse-Skagway

I thought Marv wanted to go to Skagway; he actually wanted to go to Haines. He agreed to Skagway instead because he thought I wanted to go to Skagway.  I picked a train ride in Skagway, because I thought Marv would like it.  Well Skagway was okay, but by far, not our favorite place in Alaska.  We booked a train ride that we thought was from Whitehorse to Skagway.  In actuality, we ended up taking a bus to Fraser and there got a 1-2 hour train ride to Skagway.  The train ride was nice - no complaints there.  But with the 2 hour overlay in Skagway and taking the bus with multiple stops on the way back - we basically spent the whole day taking this trip.  Poor Arlo - a ten hour nap in his crate!

Skagway is the essence of  "tourist" Alaska.  It had 4-5 cruise ships in the harbor, which certainly detracted from any appreciation of the harbor area.  The streets were packed with people off the trains, off the ships.  Of course, Alaskan crafts could be purchased, as in any populated area of Alaska ( it is how they spend those long winter days).  And lots of packed restaurants if you wanted to eat lunch there. Luckily, I packed our lunches so we didn't have to pay high prices in overcrowded restaurants, wondering if we'd get served in time to make our bus connection.  I'm not crazy about crowds or crowded buses; so it wasn't a real relaxing day.

I was happy that we had decided to take a side trip to Hyder Alaska from Canada before entering the US mainland.  Because I would hate for Skagway to have been our last taste of Alaska.

Trainride was cool:

But this is not the kind of scenery I care about seeing:

I guess I am just a nature kind of gal.  But I really don't like tourist hotspots.  But, I am not diss-ing cruise ships.  With just a week or so to travel, it would be the way to go.  I wouldn't miss the opportunity to see Alaska again - even on a cruise ship!  It's beautiful!  Go....any way you can get there!

July 27 -  Traveling from Valdez to Whitehorse -  had to take a few more pics before leaving Alaska.

Alaska is so beautiful in so many places - it is just a joy to travel the roads -  can't stop taking photos - and the photos look like postcards that have been retouched even when shooting them while traveling the roads.

 

Leaving Alaska Soon

I'm sure Linda will have a few more posts before we leave Alaska, a place I lived for 23 years, the longest I lived anywhere in my 72 1/2 years.  I lived in Anchorage but at one time orthe other I visited most of the rest of the state, missing only the tourist Alaska most people see (Juneau and the inside passage.)  Anchorage is my favorite city.  With 10, 946 acres of parkland, 23 city parks, 250 miles of trails, 135 miles are paved trails,  In the winter who cares about paving?  Its snow covered anyway.  A city of 300,000 and the real heart of Alaska,   With winter festivals, Iditirod, Fur Rondy, and a festival somewhere in the state almost every week, plus ongoing fishing contests for biggest halibut or tagged salmon during the summer,  there is always something going on.  And let's not forget the Nenena Ice Classic,  Date and time of when the ice breaks up on the river and starts to move.  A tripod set on the ice and tied to a clock to record the exact time.

Well, good bye Alaska, I loved you well,  but its time to leave.  So long to the Great Land I'll probably never see again.

From Talkeetna to Valdez - city displaced 4 miles by 1964 earthquake and termination of Alaska pipeline

Polychrome mountains - gypsum, not copper

On to Valdez - stayed overnight at Copper Center - camping right next to Klutina River.  Fishermen up and down the banks.  Trip thus far has been beautiful, passing snow covered mountains and the Matanuska glacier.  It's amazing the beauty in Alaska, just traveling along the road.  Very few roads - I can see the difficulty they could have building roads.  Just a few mountains, glaciers, rivers, lakes in the way.

Road re-construction along the way.  Sharing the dirt road with these big fellas.  Course, they probably feel the same way about us.

Matanuska Glacier in the distance

No pictures of our hike - left our new camera sitting on a rock outside the restrooms.

We took a very nice 3.5 mi hike around Talkeetna Lakes.  All kinds of berries ripening, including high-bush cranberries and rosehips.  Too bad we don't have pictures, as I left our brand new camera sitting outside the bathrooms.  Kickin' myself.  Linda

Flight around Mt McKinley - Words can't describe!

We had the most awesome experience - beautiful weather - clear for us to see all of the beauty of this majestic mountain and surrounding glaciers.  I feel so blessed - to have had such an experience and, to share it with someone I love .  Linda

Marv waiting for the flight - Meanwhile I can't sit still

Tony Knowles Coastal Trail - total ride 15 miles - Anchorage, AK

One of the reasons we returned to Anchorage was to ride this coastal trail.  Most of the trail was in lush forest that followed  the coastline from Kincaid park to downtown Anchorage.  Marv had a great idea for the shuttle to the trailhead We took a people mover from the downtown area to within 4 miles of the trailhead.  The buses have a tote on the front for bicycles.  Then we hopped off at Raspberry Road and Jewel Lake Rd and biked the 4 miles to trailhead.  

The trail was very busy on the weekend, but that sure didn't bother Bullwinkle.  He was just munching and munching right on the edge of the trail.  He didn't come up out of the brush so we could see just how big he was, but his velvety antlers (still growin') said it all. 

• Most of the trail was level or downhill as the elevation of the park was higher than downtown, so it was as easy a ride as 15 miles can be.  We certainly enjoyed it, as did many other people. 

Flattop Mountain-3510 feet- We made it!

Making the hike to Flattop Mountain was on our "must-do" list for Anchorage.  Marv had hiked it several times (the last time about 15 years ago), stating he wasn't sure he would do it this time.  But he did; and, so did I.  And Arlo, well he was up and down to make equivalent of climbing it twice. He is definitely a "mountain dog" and just loves it!  We like hiking, but that dog is happiest when he is on a hike.  His agility skills were definitely at work, without a misstep.  As for Marv and myself, we both landed on our butts several times, due to the loose gravel, in spite of our careful stepping.  However, at least the helicopter, that arrived to rescue a hiker, was not for us!

The panoramic views of Anchorage, the ocean and the mountains made all our effort worthwhile.  It was nice that our frequent rest stops allowed greater appreciation of the view as we climbed higher and higher.  Just as we started our descent, two parasailers came off the mountain.  And when we were about 1/2 way down, a rescue helicopter landed in our pathway to pick up a senior who had fallen on the trail.  

It was about the most strenuous hike Marv and I should be doing at this point in our lives.  A couple of times I questioned our sanity.  But we need to live "on the edge" every now and then.  "Hiking a trail" turned into "rock-climbing" at the summit.  But it was too late to quit then, as we were almost to the top.  A very steep final ascent had me wondering how we were going to get back down.  The loose rock, gravel and dirt was the treacherous part.  But we kept 3-4 point contact at all times and had enough endurance to make it safely.  It took us about 5 hours, including reststops and time at the top.

Anchorage - for one more week

We are back in Anchorage today.  Bought a new little throw-away grill on which to cook our halibut.  Plus we bought a couple of new lawn chairs.  Back to Golden Nugget RV park for a week.  Gonna finish up some activities we didn't get to do last stay.  Tony Knowles trail for biking, and hiking Flattop Mountain.  And of course, a couple of days recovery.  Might hunt for a new little camera also, as the one we have is very outdated and almost obsolete.  My phone takes sharper pictures than our camera.    Linda

Floating down the Kenai river - pretty quickly!

We took a canyon raft ride on the Kenai river for about 6 hours.  Lunch was included and was quite good.  Beautiful blue glacial river - with snow topped mountains in few, and some mildly steep canyon walls.   I spotted a moose on the shore and bald eagles were as common as robins in spring in the midwest.   Katt was our guide.  We were about 2-3 hours on the river and an hour on Skilak Lake.  The river was very high and swift, but not many rapids due to its depth.  The lake was glassy and we could see the glacier in the distance.  Beartiful scenery.  A bunch of people along the upper portion, fishing for the salmon,  Did not see any bear, which surprised me, with the salmon running. Marv got some decent photos on the trip.