This is part two of my trip notes to Alaska and back. We awoke in Valdez, Alaska with low-lying clouds and mist surrounding the harbor as we headed to breakfast at the TotemInn restaurant.
The menu included eggs, sourdough pancakes, and reindeer sausage which were consumed along with a few cups of coffee. Then it was out into the sunshine to behold the beauty of the boat harbor at Valdez and to watch the eager tourists line up to go fishing with their guides.
We spent some of the morning doing our laundry and chatting with another hotel guest who was getting ready to take his boat out and John Tobias invited me to ride along. His sidekick, Butch Kelly, was also there. Butch worked on the tugboat in the harbor and lived in Bellingham, WA and knew of my cousin who had been in politics there. We spent about two hours on the water as John was shaking down his 24 foot boat for a trip up Prince William Sound the next week. I was glad that the water was as smooth as glass. In the evening, we managed to have dinner together as he was a "refugee from Louisiana."
Also, in the afternoon, I located the Valdez Ferry Terminal and got my tickets for the trip on June 26th to Whittier. Basically, it was a day of leisure and just watching all the activity around the small boat harbor. Went to bed early as it began to rain about 6 p.m. making sight-seeing not too enjoyable. Cool rain, wind and 50 degrees is not really comfortable.
We only drove 9 miles today ... for the fewest miles per day so far on the trip.
Day dawned about 2 a.m., actually, it never got dark. Had coffee at 5a.m. at "Knot Bad Coffee" hole in the wall and contributed to Kelly's college fund. Kelly was a 3rd year student at University of Alaska and came back to Valdez to work for the summer. It was coffee with a strong caffeine punch. After breakfast, ran into Butch Kelly and he was headed to the Valdez Airport. I offered to drive him as I wondered about the difficulty pilots might have flying into the box canyon. On the way back drove by the Valdez container port. The Valdez oil terminal is located on the other side of the harbor. Then to Eagle Foods for supplies. Filled up with gas at Tesoro Petroleum for $3.24/gallon.
We then headed down to the Valdez Ferry Terminal to line up at 10:30 a.m. for the M/V Aurora trip to Whittier, a three hour ride that left Valdez at 12:15.
Visited briefly with a tour group of older travelers from Ohio and they were concerned about the economy and how their children and grandchildren would be able to live with the terrible deficits that the Obama administration were creating.
Right on time, we arrived at Whittier with no signs of seasickness but only the memory of a glorious trip on a fabulous day. The Forest Service guide on board the M/V Aurora said that we were very lucky since it was only the second trip in June that had been as clear as today. The passengers were able to spot seals, dolphins, whales and many icebergs.
After disembarking at Whittier, we headed to the Whittier tunnel which is one way. Traffic flows each way for about 30 minutes unless a train is scheduled then the train takes precedence. We arrived at 3:35 p.m. and had to wait until 4 before the traffic flow reversed. After traversing the tunnel, it was then a 2 1/2 hour drive down to Seward, Alaska and the BreezeInn motel.
June 26th was a long day but one that will be remembered for the scenery through Prince William Sound and the drive down to Seward, Alaska. As we arrived in Seward, the harbor was alive with tourists off the two large cruise ships. Fortunately, they departed during the evening hours.
Since we were on the ferry from Valdez to Whittier, our driving miles were only 101.
With daylight almost full-time, we were up early and took a tour of Seward. After an excellent night's rest as the Breeze Inn was sound-proof and had heavy blackout curtains, we were up bright and early the next morning for breakfast and to sightsee around Seward. It only took a few minutes to go downtown and find the Visitor Center which we visited. After driving out of Seward down the bay as far as the gravel road would allow, we turned around and headed back to the boat harbor. After watching the first wave of fishing boats return to port about 11 a.m. with their catches, we decided to head out to tour Exit Glacier about 10 miles out of town and get some exercise walking up to the glacier.
It took us about three hours to visit Exit Glacier with the hike up to the glacier taking about 2 hours. Sure felt good to get out of the car and do some walking. Then it was back to Seward for a light dinner as a thunderstorm began to show its fury against the windshield wipers. It was amazing how fast the storm came up. Today we only drove 33 miles.
After breakfast at the BreezeInn and another walk down and around the small boat harbor, we noticed that another cruise ship had pulled in overnight and the passengers were rushing around trying to get to their boat tours out to see the Kenai fjords and the whales. It was time to leave Seward and head on down to Homer, Alaska. The salmon were running throughout the Kenai although the papers were lamenting that the salmon run appeared to be down.
We left Seward about 8:00 a.m. and soon found we were driving in fog and turned on the GMC pickup fog lights. Shortly, we arrived at Moose Bay in time for church at 9:00 at the small Methodist Church which had twelve attendees including me. Located a Piper Cub on floats at the Moose Inn. Then it was on to the turnoff to Homer. About noon, we suddenly arrived in Soldanota where we found a good-sized Fred Meyer store including a Starbucks along with a Taco Bell and a McDonald's.
Headed towards Homer, we came upon the fishing for salmon at the Russian River.
At the Homer viewpoint, we again became engaged in conversation with several people from Ohio tour group that we had seen previously on the ferry trip from Valdez. One of them had happened to note that my cap had "KISS + SF!" on it and www.stratinv.net on the back. He had looked up my website while they were in Seward and told me that I was not a "farmer" and would like to talk with me more if I was staying at the Land's End motel in Homer.
Arriving in Homer, we drove down the Homer Spit to the end where the Land's End motel is located and asked about a room. They had plenty and gave me one right on the water. When I entered my room, the Homer yacht race was turning the buoy just out the window. And without a reservation to boot.
As I unpacked and prepared to edit the Musings from the suggestions by Lewis McLain and Hank Mulvihill, I looked out the window of my room and discovered another Alaska Marine ferry headed into the Homer terminal which was located just next door to the Land's End motel. Since I had only had a snack at lunch, I decided that I would have a crab and cheese sandwich on the deck while watching all the boat traffic glide past as charters headed back into the harbor with their day's catch.
As I was eating, the Ohio group came out and asked if I would talk to them about my thoughts on the economy. It is simply amazing to me what happens as I travel. Before we were finished, there were about 30 people listening to me discuss the economy. An hour later, I said I had to leave to finish the Musings.
Today's mileage was 172 miles.
Monday morning dawned bright and clear without a cloud in the sky. We still have not adjusted to the three hour time difference between Dallas and Alaska and with it being light enough to read by, it is sometimes difficult to stay asleep. We got up early at 4 a.m. this morning and took a walk on the beach since the restaurant would not open until 6. Walked over to the small boat harbor on the town side of the ferry terminal and noticed that some of the early-risers were getting ready to head out to the fishing grounds by 5:30 a.m. It was interesting to see them go slowly until they were just past the breakwater and then try to beat each other onto the step to get to the fishing area the fastest. Talked to one charter operator who was worried that the economy might cause him to lose money this year and he just broke even thanks to high fuel prices last year. He thought this year was the worst in the past ten for the charter business.
About 8 a.m. we checked out of the Land's End and headed back up the Kenai Peninsula towards Kenai. On the way, we saw a sign that said Whiskey Gulch boat ramp and turned off the highway to follow it. At the bottom of the 300 foot bluff, we saw a boat being loaded onto a trailer and decided to pull off the road to take a picture.
We should have stayed on the road as we got slightly stuck on the loose gravel and had to have the big buggy pulled us out. The young man on the dune buggy asked if we had missed the sign that said ... "Only four wheel drive vehicles should attempt the descent." Going down was easy but getting back up was a slight struggle. Still the view was well worth the hour up and back.
We were planning on finding a place to stay along the Russian River but discovered that there were no vacancies so we decided to go on to Anchorage for the evening. Stayed at the Fairfield Inn which had only been opened three months. Unfortunately, the swimming pool and the spa had already broken and were not available. Drove 250 miles today from Home to Anchorage.
Spent the day updating the log and handling about two weeks of email's. Repacked the pickup and toured Lake Hood, the seaplane base at Anchorage.
Basically, a day of rest. Found a Mexican restaurant with pretty decent food and a Japanese buffet for dinner. Then it was off to Anchorage International Airport to meet my sister and her husband who were flying from Houston to Anchorage to take a Princess cruise tour.
July 1st found me suffering either from a case of food poisoning or the 24 hour flu as I spent July 1st in bed resting. On July 2nd, I managed to feel somewhat better but little energy. Woke up on the 3rd feeling much better, did laundry while eating breakfast for the first meal in two days and then checked out of the Fairfield Inn to head north towards Wasilla and Trapper Creek. We found a major traffic jam in Wasilla as the traffic lights were untimed. Took 45 minutes to go 2-1/2 miles after lunch as everyone was trying to escape for the 3 day weekend. Finally got to Takeneetna and took many pictures of Mt. McKinley which was visible.
On the way to Trapper Creek, we saw a sign for the McKinley View Bed & Breakfast and managed to find a room there. It was a great stay and the breakfast was outstanding. Quiet, great views and great hosts, Rod and Renee Thomason. I highly recommend it ... Price is better than the major hotels by far and high-speed internet access also.
We stopped for the day about 3 p.m. and spent the rest of the day just enjoying the area around Trapper Creek. Drove only 169 miles.
The McKinley Princess Lodge was just 33 miles from the B&B so I decided to take a side road to Petersville and beyond as Renee Thomason had said that it was a beautiful drive. What she failed to mention was that only the first 6 miles was paved and the rest of the 31.8 miles to the Peters creek bridge was unpaved and the further you went the rougher and narrower the road became. It was a great trip. We headed out about 9 a.m. Sixty two miles in 5 hours and 15 minutes ... not very fast, but we took it a lot slower than some. On the way to the bridge, we saw a lot of wildlife, quite a few campers of various sizes and only a few ATV's. On the way back, we were amazed at how many ATV riders were on the road. Apparently, they liked to ride in a lot of dust. I was glad that all the pickup windows were rolled up tight. The pictures show some of the scenery to and from.
We arrived at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge at 4 p.m. after a great pizza in Trapper Creek prepared by a German refugee. Only drove a total of 104 miles today although it took almost the entire day.