Across the Middle

I wanted to drive across Alaska on the Denali highway, and so did Dennis and Carol, so we rolled out of Seward and headed back up the Glenn highway. Our goal is the road that used to be the only way to get to Denali National Park. It’s still there, and is mostly unpaved, but now everybody travels the Parks highway to Denali. Hey, ’the road less travelled’, sounds good!

We rolled up to Anchorage, and Dennis got me onto the base. We stayed at the Fam-Camp one night, and did all that not-so-interesting stuff, like laundry, groceries, fuel, etc. The next day we headed towards Paxson, where the old Denali highway starts. It’s a nice day, and I got some good photos.

     

Along the Glenn hwy, you get some great views of the Matanuska glacier. it’s the only glacier with direct access by road, at least , that’s what it says in this here tourist brochure.

  

OK, I’m game! I find the access road, and am confronted by this set of signs.

  

Well, what the Hell. I start down the road anyway, since it says it’s “open”. By the time I get to the river, I decide maybe I shouldn’t be driving my house into such forbidding territory and bail on the whole Idea. Maybe I'll come back and take the bike down that road another time,

  

Turns out that the confusing barrage of signs is all part of a neighborly (or un-neighborly) dispute about road rights, you can read about it here. I didn’t see any naked people.

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-su/2017/05/14/a-legal-battle-between-neighbors-leads-to-confusion-along-road-to-popular-alaska-glacier/

Moving right along, I catch up with D&C at a gravel pit just below Paxson. It’s a good place to boondock, but the mosquitos are thick! We stay there anyway, and have fun playing zap the skeeters with some electric bug zapper doo-dads. Rainbow the cat is not amused.

     

The Denali highway is paved for the first 20 miles or so, and we climb up above 3000 feet and are suddenly above the tree line. The views are amazing!

     

The road turns to gravel, and we start looking for a really scenic place to stop. I think we found one! The day starts off sunny and warm,and we sit out and look for animals and enjoy the serenity. Then storm clouds roll in, and it starts raining late in the day.

        

The rest of the trip is cold, wet, and socked in. The drive is challenging, and there’s not much to see. I’m glad to get back to pavement again!

     

I’ll try to come back again late in the fall to see the tundra turn all the awesome fall colors, but for now, let’s roll on to the next place. 

To Hope and Back

The plan is: lets all go to Hope, Alaska! It’s just a tiny little town on the Turnagain arm, and it’s lotsa fun, in a funky sort of way. Unfortunately, a whole bunch of other folks had the same Idea, and when we pulled into Hope on Saturday morning, the place was full! No RV sites available. Hey, we’re Loosey Goosey, so everyone landed somewhere else for a couple of days, and then we went to Hope.

Dennis, Carol, and I stayed at Williwaw, it’s a campground on the way to Whittier. It too was pretty full, so we doubled up on a site. Beer was drunk, cigars smoked, and the world’s problems were discussed. I don’t think we solved anything, but we had a good time.

One morning, we took off on a hike, and strolled around the campground afterward. Talking and singing to scare the bears away, we followed a very rough trail and were rewarded with a nice view of a waterfall. Pictures were taken.

     

On Monday, we rolled into Hope and found many available RV sites. Mostly because the entire town shuts down on Monday and Tuesday. Everything was closed, even the bar! Damn! I’ll come back to Hope again, when it’s open and fun, but for now, we’ll all just meet up at Porcupine campground, just down the road a few miles. We hook up with Ed and Sandy, and Jon and Sue. Campfires are sat by, and happy hours are here again. Porcupine is a nice forest service campground with big sites and some nice views. I got my own site! Yay!

One evening around the campfire, I took out my camera,turned it on, and handed it around. Everyone took turns snapping photos. The results were interesting, to say the least. however, it’s a candid look into what it’s like to be in Alaska for the summer with friends. Pretty damn great!

     

We all saddled up and headed back to Seward, to fish and play. We parked in a group along the shore, and enjoyed whale watching, and eagle watching, and otter watching, etc. We also caught up with Bob and Tammi. I am really starting to feel at home in Seward!

  

Ed, Dennis and I go out on a half day fishing charter, and it’s about as nice as it gets in Seward! Calm, glassy smooth and almost sunny…. almost. If I hadn’t had to get up at 5am for it, it’d been even better. We have a great half day catching rockfish and salmon with a group of four folks who started out as strangers, but became fishing friends.

        

We wind up with an impressive pile of rockfish and salmon! A great day fishing, and I hope to return in the fall and go out with the same boat captain for a try at trophy halibut.

  

After a shower and a nap, we went to the Alaska Sea Life center in town. I’d been wanting to check it out, and it’s a really neat place. It’s a very nicely done aquarium, but it is also an active center for rescuing injured and lost aquatic animals, returning them to health, and releasing them into the wild.

  

They had some great art on the walls, and I couldn’t resist this black bear portrait. How’d you like to open your eyes in the morning and see that? Wow!

  

They had this amazing bird area,really a complete sea habitat, and I finally got some good pix of puffins. Puffins are cool!

     

You can view the animals from topside, and then go below to watch them in the water. Some you can even touch!

  

These pens are for holding animals that have been rescued and are almost ready to go back into the wild. Some are seals or sea lions that have been injured, some are young animals that have been abandoned or lost. They have intensive care rooms where they care for sick or injured sea life, with the goal of releasing them healthy and ready to live in the wild. I think that’s pretty noble work!

  

Here’s a few more pix, including one of a rockfish just like the ones we caught this morning!

  

We have some unfinished business with those rockfish! Fish is prepped, beer batter mixed, and oil heated.

  

We have a kick-ass fish fry, and let me tell you, that rockfish was amazing! Damn near as good as halibut! We stuff ourselves with fish, and fall comatose into our chairs, and shortly thereafter into our beds. Thus ends another day in Seward. We’ll all be moving on tomorrow, to find some new adventures, but for now, here’s a nice fishing pic. See you soon!