The Final Alaska Post:the route and how we lived in a van for 2 weeks

First of all, I know that many of you will think I am absolutely nuts to agree to live out of (or actually in ) a mini van for two weeks. Some of you have voiced your shock and horror the thought of going on vacation without room service, a spa, heated pool, and gym at your immediate disposal. Let me assure you that none of that was missed. There were days when I was tired of cold, damp weather and wished for it to be about 10 degrees warmer, but I was never uncomfortable, miserable, or sorry. I did not feel that I was missing out on anything by not being on a luxury cruise. When I go to a new place, I am more interested in exploring the area, learning about the local culture and seeing the sights than I am about staying in a swanky hotel that could be in just about any city in the world. I want to be immersed in the locale.  All I need is a clean environment with a comfortable bed. If I am at a conference that is being paid for by someone else I am more than happy to stay in high class digs. A special anniversary trip may warrant more upscale accommodations than usual too.Those who travel in the same style as we do will understand this. Others never will. Just know that staying in a van allowed us to be on our own time schedule, eliminated the need for making reservations, and gave us the opportunity to spend more time in Alaska than we could have afforded if we had gone on a fancier trip. We saw far more wildlife than we would have seen if we had to spend time looking for a hotel every night. They are not abundant in the smaller villages. Alaska is very accommodating to campers. They realize that civilization can be many miles apart and it is safer to let people camp at pull offs, gravel pits, etc than to have people driving tired. More about our HOW (home on wheels) later.


Alaska was my dream destination. It was at the top of my bucket list. Eagle Eye had invited us to visit him, and we had been talking about it for a while. We considered taking a trip there for our 30th wedding anniversary. My husband decided to shock the heck out of me by planning the trip as a surprise for our 29th anniversary instead. He made the plans with Eagle Eye, purchased the plane tickets, arranged for our daughter to dog sit, and presented me with a card that revealed the date and location. 


Prior to the trip, we had a meeting or two with our friend Eagle Eye to discuss our packing list, plans, etc. He has a home near us as well as a home in Wasilla and spends part of the year in each place. His schedule basically is dictated by hunting seasons. It was Eagle Eye's idea to rent the mini van. He had traveled Alaska this way before he had his house and told us that it worked out great for him. Now he sleeps in the back of his huge pick up truck. He offered to let us use his camping gear so we wouldn't have to bring all that on the plane with us. All we needed was our clothes and personal items.



If you have been reading this blog from the beginning, you will recognize the names of all of the places that I have already described. I won't go back over them again. I wouldn't want you to start snoring! Hopefully you will pull up a map of Alaska and trace our route as I list it. 


In the beginning of June, 2010, my husband and I flew from RDU Airport and eventually landed in Anchorage, Alaska. We picked up our rented Toyota Sienna mini van at the airport and drove to Eagle Eye's (Mike) house in Wasilla. By the time we got there is was 10:00pm Alaska time, but way past bedtime in the east, where we are from. It was still daylight though.  After some visiting, we retired to the room that Mike had set up for us in his house. 


The next morning was spent checking out the neighborhood, gawking at the 2 mountain ranges visible from his house, studying maps, and getting the van ready.
The middle row of seats was removed and stored in Mike's garage. The third row folded down. This left us with 2 seats in the front and a long flat area behind. We took a ride to a few stores and stocked up on food, water, etc. We carried a case of one gallon water jugs with us. Each of us borrowed two of those hard, foam camping pads and a sleeping bag. We each had a camping pillow case to stuff our jackets into so we would have a makeshift pillow. It would also keep our jackets warm and toasty for the chilly mornings. Mike loaned us a double wide folding chair. We used large Rubbermaid containers to store our cooking supplies and non perishable foods. A large cooler held our other food. The van had mesh sunshades on the side windows. Front curtains were made by hanging towels in the visors. 


Once we got the car packed, we ate some ribs that Mike heated up in the oven for us, and the three of us set out for our journey. We didn't realize that Mike was going to be with us for the first night, but we were glad he was there to take us "bear hunting" and teach us how to use a firearm to ward off wild animals in case we needed it. He was excited for us to discover Alaska and we were so grateful for the opportunity. 


We headed north on Parks Hwy to Denali State Park (not NP). This was the night we did our "bear hunting" and spent the night in the gravel pit.( Temps were in the 60's.) The next day Mike took off on a hunting trip and left us with a list of suggested places to visit. We continued north, stopping for ice and stamps in a little store in Cantwell. We drove a short way down Denali Hwy and back to Parks Hwy, continuing north. (rainy, foggy, 45 degrees). We stopped to camp at Denali National Park for 2 nights. 
Once again we headed north, stopping for gas in Healy. 59 degrees at 11:30 am. Stopped at Visitor Center in Nenana and continued on to Fairbanks. Fairbanks was a big enough city to have big box stores. By then we needed to make our little bed on wheels a bit more cushy, so we bought $5 pillows and an eggcrate mattress cover. They made a world of difference. We turned onto Chena Hot Springs Rd, which was where the tourist trap was. Back down the same road to Fairbanks. Next, we turned onto Rt. 2 toward Fox. This is where we encountered the Howling Dog Saloon that I wrote about in my first entry. It is at the intersection of Elliott Hwy (rt 2) and Steese Hwy (rt 6). 
Driving up the Elliott Hwy about 30 miles, we stopped at the Wickersham Dome Trailhead and set up camp.  Some guy that was obviously high as a kite decided to camp there as well. After being awakened by him dancing around and singing to his dogs, we packed up and drove back 5 or 10 miles to a pull off and camped the rest of the night. I can still hear him saying to his dog, "Oh, Molly Olly, I love you". 


The next morning we drove back down toward Fox and turned onto the Steese Hwy. We drove just passed where the pavement ends. Spectacular views. This is where we found the FE Gold Mine camp. We drove back past Fox and Fairbanks to North Pole. If it seems like we did a bit of backtracking, you are correct. Sometimes the roads didn't really lead to anywhere that we wanted to go, or they weren't paved, so we would just drive on them for a while and see what was there. 
From North Pole, we dove down the Richardson Hwy  (rt 2) toward Delta Junction. Not much to see there. We did finally get a long distance glimpse of Mt McKinley (Denali) at and overlook there though. We headed south toward Paxson. The mountains were getting bigger and  more jagged as we drove. The Richardson Hwy follows the Tanana and Delta Rivers. Along here, we saw many, many views of the famous Alaska pipeline. We also finally saw some caribou.
We turned off the Richarson Hwy at Denali Hwy (the other end of the road that we went on the first day). We drove to the end of the paved portion and camped at Tangle Lakes Campground. That's where it snowed overnight. After our trek down the snowy road, we turned around and drove back to the Richardson Hwy. That was when we stopped at the place for a hot breakfast. We drove south along the Richardson  toward Glen Allen, stopping along the way to look at old road houses and campgrounds (yes, dreaming of our next visit!). We stopped at a roadhouse in Sourdough for a soda and a break. Gotta love that name! 






We drove down the Glen Hwy, in and out of rain (temps in the 40's and 50's). We camped at Caribou Creek State Rec site campground at milepost 106 that was empty except for us and whatever big hairy beasts were in the woods. This is where we saw a moose print as big as our hands. 
The next day, cold and drizzly with temps in the 50's, we drove to Matanuska Glacier. Weather cleared. We checked out Matanuska Glacier State Rec campground and ate lunch at an overlook. Continuing down Glen Hwy, we came to Weiner and Long Lakes and that weird little place with the llamas. 
We drove through Palmer and turned back north toward Wasilla. 


We had been gone about a week. The trek up to this point was basically a big loop with some side trips.  Our mid trip break was to spend the night at Mike's house in Wasilla. We showered, restocked our supplies, did laundry, and went out for Mexican food at Jalepenos. It was fine, but very expensive as far as Mexican food goes. At least twice what we would pay at home. Mike was out salmon fishing when we arrived, and he came home around midnight with a great big fish.


The next day we all left for Cooper Landing, where we went salmon fishing and had the campsite visit from the grizzly. From there we drove to Seward and camped in a city campground on the shore of Resurrection Bay. After that we drove to Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords NP. We hiked some easy trails to the glacier and then headed back north to Cooper Landing. Chris had one more try at salmon fishing. Still no luck. We drove back down Sterling Hwy to Seward Hwy and turned off onto Hope Hwy. That's where we visited the town of Hope and camped at Coeur d'Alene in the Chugach National Forest. You may remember that as the place where we grilled our fresh caught salmon over the wood fire and ate our dinner sitting in the back of our home on wheels.


We left there and drove back to the Seward Hwy and onto Whittier via the Portage Glacier Access Rd/Whittier Access Rd. Whittier is where we went on the boat ride and saw all those whales. After Whittier we went back to Wasilla for our last night.Once again, we did a deformed loop.  We visited, packed up, and left for Anchorage the next night. 


The way we packed the van allowed us to set up camp in about 10 minutes. While driving, we had the bedding folded up, and the cooler, water jugs, Rubbermaid containers, chair and our duffel bags behind the seats. Upon arrival, the chair and water jugs were placed outside. When we were ready to call it a night, we stacked the containers on top of each other up against the back of the seats. We placed our bags on the front seats and kept personal items in the back with us. We had book lights for night reading. Our clothing was laid out for the next day so we could dress in the warmth of our sleeping bags when we woke up. Very simple.


This is the last of the Alaska entries. It was the trip of a lifetime. Mike has graciously invited us back and we intend to go. There is still so much more to see. I hope you have enjoyed following our journey and maybe have become interested in a trip of your own. My next entry will be much less glamorous, but I have had a request to cover someplace closer to home. Stay tuned for Cafe Duo, Greenville, NC

Whittier, Whales and Wildlife Viewing Boardwalk

Inside the Anton- Anderson Memorial Tunnel

Whittier is a tiny village located on the Northeast side of the Kenai Peninsula on the Passage Canal. By land it is reached via the Anton -Anderson Memorial Tunnel along the Portage-Glacier Hwy. On the way there, we stopped at the Begich-Boggs Visitor Center. I love Visitor Centers. So many of them have unique exhibits. Begich-Boggs has a clear tunnel that looks out at Portage Lake. The water has icebergs floating in it. They are formed when Portage Glacier the far end of the lake calves. The center also has exhibits on the Arctic environment. It's worth a stop.
Continuing on, we reached the tunnel. I have driven and ridden through plenty of tunnels, but none like this one. It is about two and a half miles long, and is quite unique. It tunnels through the Maynard Mountain. The inside of it has bare rock walls that are wet. It is one lane wide, has a concrete driving surface and has railroad tracks right in the roadway. It feels slippery and uneven. Very eery.I have to admit that we were both a little creeped out by the experience. The tunnel opens for 15 minutes to allow cars going in one direction to proceed through. It then closes for 15 minutes to allow vehicles to clear out, and reopens for 15 minutes for cars going in the opposite direction. If a train needs to pass through, all traffic must wait. You definitely have to plan ahead if you are going to visit this place. After passing through the tunnel, we made it to Whittier. The downside was that we had to go back through it to leave.
 Whittier consists of a few shops and cafe's, a harbor for small boats and a harbor for cargo ships and day cruises. It looks like a movie set. There really isn't much to see in the town but for some reason it was still kind of neat. Maybe it was the isolation or the effort it takes to get there.
 We opted to take a 5 hour cruise with Major Marine Tours. We paid extra for the fresh Alaskan salmon and prime rib lunch served on board. They sold hot drinks on the boat so we indulged. It was the perfect day for a hot toddy--rainy and chilly. I ordered a Hot Otter and Chris got a Kenai Kicker. Mine was hot chocolate with liquors in it, and Chris' was coffee with liquors. Both were topped with whipped cream. If you are picturing a fancy day cruise, think again! We were in our camping clothes, which smelled like campfire. Since it was rainy, everyone on board was sporting some type of weatherproof outfit. Some were more interesting than others. We were among the youngest people on the ship. Everyone lined up like cattle to go through the food line. Despite the weather, the cruise turned out to be fantastic. There was a United States Forest Service Ranger on board and he was a wealth of information about the area, the wildlife, history, etc. He did his spiel but it wasn't one of those boring old people talks. He kept an eye out for any signs of animals in the water or nearby shoreline and would point them out for us. He hung out on the deck for long periods of time to help us watch for whales. We were told that they normally see 2-3 whales per week in this particular area. We saw five that day! I couldn't have been happier. They were kind enough to give us some good tail flips, which resulted in a whole bunch of very excited passengers. Everyone started running around the boat, taking pictures and making new friends with whomever was standing beside them. Funny how the site of a big animal in the water can change the whole atmosphere. The hot toddies probably helped too. We also saw sea otters, harbor seals, Kittiwakes, and a bald eagle. Sea otters are really interesting to watch. First of all, they are bigger than I realized at five feet long and over 100 pounds. They were hanging out in the water floating on their backs or lying on big chunks of ice that came off of the glaciers. They were swimming in frigid water but they looked like they were lounging in a tropical ocean. Two different times the captain stopped the boat within an eighth of a mile of glaciers and cut the engine. There were huge chunks of ice in the water. I felt like I was on a mini Titanic. We got to see both of the glaciers calve several times. All of the passengers erupted in cheers every time. In case you don't know what it means when a glacier calves, let me explain. In a nutshell, it is when huge sections of ice crack and fall off of a glacier and essentially become icebergs. The sound is very loud, and once the ice hits the water it causes waves. Those waves eventually hit the boat causing it to rock. It was amazing to see. We passed by a number of other glaciers as we cruised. At one point we passed a large group of kayakers in the water. They were participants in a study on the impact of use on the land and were sent out there to camp near the water. Not a bad job! After we disembarked and made it back through the scary tunnel, we headed back toward Eagle Eye's house in Wasilla.
 We took In some great views at our second pass by Turnagain Arm. Along the way there was this unusual looking area that had many, many wooden boardwalks. We pulled in to what turned out to be Potter's Marsh Wildlife Viewing Boardwalk. Huge wooden walkways had been built through wetlands teaming with wildlife. We saw a young male moose, a bald eagle, and a family of geese. This was our last day of sightseeing and it was a great one.
We got back to Eagle Eye's house and shared photos of the two week trip. The next day consisted of packing, souvenir shopping, and dinner with Eagle Eye. He cooked fresh salmon, bear, and rabbit. We are not hunters or game eaters but we tasted what was on the table. My husband liked the bear but had a hard time eating the rabbit. I disliked both, but disliked the rabbit less. The fish was delicious. We left for the airport with hundreds of photos and as many memories.
 The next post will be the last Alaska post. I will give an overview of our route so you can follow it on a map. After that, I will move across the country to some off the beaten path places that we have enjoyed. At some point I will head back across to the West coast to tell you about some places that we enjoyed in Washington, Oregon, and California.

Glacier just after calving

The Old F.E. Gold Mine Camp, North Pole, Delta Junction

Steese Highway runs between Alaska routes 2 and 6, connecting Fairbanks with Circle. It is 161 miles long. Forty percent of it is paved, sixty percent is gravel. We drove from Fairbanks to just past where the paved part of the road ends.  The mountains along this road were more rounded than the others that we had seen, and there were a number of rivers along the way. Just like the rest of what we've seen of Alaska, the views were breathtaking. 

We came across the old F.E. Gold Mine Camp. It was used to house the workers of the Chatanika Gold Mine from 1927-1957. It was built in 1927, restored in the 1970's, changed hands several times and is now owned by the daughters of the original owner. They have turned it into a restaurant and hostel. Housed in the original mess hall, the restaurant still has some of the original tables. We were not there at meal time, so we didn't sample the food, but we did check out the menu. I would definitely have eaten there. Much of the old camp remained, including the school house, living quarters, gold dredge and mining equipment. Its a fun place to spend a little time imagining what life was like for those men who worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.


After stopping for lunch at a very peaceful spot along the way, we pulled into the Cripple Creek BLM campground. Very nice. A definite possibility if you were looking for a place to camp along the Steese Hwy.

Our next stop was North Pole, Alaska. It is a very kitschy town with streetlights shaped like candy canes. If you are traveling with kids, it would be a great place to entertain them for a while. Make that a short while. It is so over the top commercial! The streets have names like "Santa Claus Lane". There is a huge tourist trap of a store called Santa Claus House. They actually had some very nice merchandise. Santa was walking around inside, their were live reindeer outside, giant Santa statues and sleds for those Kodak moments. I have to admit that there were some nice homes in town.  I confess to drinking hot chocolate at McDonalds so  I could say that I met Santa and drank hot chocolate at the North Pole. Its not THE North Pole, but its North Pole. Close enough.

From North Pole, we drove toward Delta Junction, spotting a huge bull moose along the way. We also finally got a glimpse of Mt. McKinley from an overlook on the way. We were on Rt. 2, aka Richardson Hwy, which is a long way from Denali but we could still see it towering over the other mountains. There isn't much to see in Delta Junction, so we drove on to Paxson.

There are so many great places to visit in Alaska! I hope you will get on the internet or look at books and check out some of the places that I have described. One of my favorite places and greatest experiences is still to come in a future post.

Denali: stay off the beaten path

 After our bear hunting extravaganza, we packed up and drove to the Coal Creek Trail head. Over a cold breakfast, Eagle Eye made some suggestions of places that we might like to visit. He headed back to Wasilla, leaving us to experience Alaska on our own.  It was 45 degrees outside. Yes, it was June.  We stopped in the small town of Cantwell for ice and stamps. I'm not sure if the town actually had anything else in it other than the store.  After a short drive down Denali Hwy, we headed back to Parks Hwy going north. It was rainy and foggy, but the scenery was still unbelievable. We drove to Denali National Park. Okay, so Denali is not really off the beaten path. It is a very popular NP. However, it is so incredibly beautiful that we couldn't miss it. It is best to have reservations if you plan to camp at Denali. Since we didn't really know where we were headed until that day, we didn't have reservations. They keep some campsites open for people like us. We were able to secure a nice site in the Bear Loop of the Riley Creek Campground. It was not full tourist season yet, so we lucked out. I wouldn't chance it much later than mid June. The camp sites consist of a picnic table and fire ring. Ours was surrounded by beautiful white birch trees. It was very private. Due to the wildlife, we didn't see many people camping in tents. There were quite a few RV's, mostly rentals. The loop had a bath house with toilets and sinks (if I remember correctly). On the outside was a sink for dish washing. The headquarters building had a general store with camping supplies, sundries, souvenirs, ice cream and some groceries. Across a concrete patio area was a bath house with hot showers. Ahhhh!

Somewhere along the way the weather cleared up.  Once we were settled in, we went to the area of the park where the sled dogs are housed and trained. Denali is so big and undeveloped that they actually patrol the park via dog sled in the winter. We were able to see the dogs up close, hear about their food, care, training, etc. and view a demonstration of the dogs pulling a sled along the road. Of course there was no snow. The dogs were smaller than I expected but full of energy. They couldn't wait to pull that sled. We left there and took a drive on the park road to the Savage River. This is the end of where you are permitted to drive. If you want to go beyond this point, you must go by bus. Of course WE wanted to go beyond this point. That was our goal for the next day. We went back to our campsite for the night and took advantage of the fire ring by cooking all of our meat. That meant that the next few days only required that we reheat it or add it to some other tasty ingredients in a one pot meal. This would be a real help if the weather was nasty.

The next morning we visited the Wilderness Access Center and purchased bus tickets. There are various options for the bus ride. One main road leads deep into the park. You must decide how far you want to go before you get on the bus. Tickets are priced accordingly. We opted for the 4 hour ride to Eielson Visitor Center. There were several scheduled stops along the way where we could get out and stretch, use the "facilities", and gawk at the scenery. The driver explained that we were allowed to get on and off the buses as often as we wished. All we had to do was ask him to stop and let us off. We could got hiking for as long as we wanted to, and then stand on the side of the road and wait for another bus to come along. Buses would pass by about every 30 minutes. Cool! Why not get on and off several times along the way and go for some short hikes? We had backpacks filled with rain gear, food, water, pocket knives, first aid kits, etc. This sounded like a great plan. We were so naive.

Shortly after beginning our bus ride, a lynx ran across the road in front of the bus. It disappeared into the brush. The driver told us that it was fairly rare to see one. We were lucky. Dall sheep and caribou were visible through binoculars. Then came the event that changed our plans. We saw a mother grizzly and her cub. They were just hanging out not far from the road. We were told that if we decided to go hiking, we should NOT take the trails that wove through the tall grass. Those were made and used by the bears. The grass was beaten down by their huge bodies walking on it. We were to avoid them. Our decision was swift and firm. There was no way were getting off that bus until we were at a rest area or the end of the route. We then saw a mother and 2 cubs, and farther down the road, 2 young bears. All of the bears that we saw were grizzlies. That's 7 grizzlies visible from the bus. In Alaska, they are referred to as brown bears or brownies. Their coats range from blonde to dark brown. They are bigger and meaner than black bears.

When we reached the visitor's center, we ate a picnic lunch and went inside to check out the trail maps. The visitor's center was in the tundra, which means that we could see for miles around us. There were enough people around that we felt safe hiking there. There were no brown bears visible.  We hiked from the Eielson Visitor Center to the top of a mountain on the other side of the road. The elevation changed 1,000 feet in about one mile. It took a little over an hour to hike up; less to hike down. On the way up, we saw Dall sheep hanging out doing what sheep do. We viewed them from a safe distance. There were low growing wild flowers along the way. They stood out brilliantly against the brown soil and rocks. Every now and then we would stop to look back at the Visitor's Center to see how far we'd come. Oh yeah, and to catch our breath. When we were nearing the top, a big storm cloud seemed to come out of nowhere and we heard thunder. We were like sitting ducks out there in the open. A decision had to be made. Do we try to go back down, or continue up?  Getting struck by lightening was not in the plans. After watching the cloud, we decided to head up. When we reached the summit, it was cold and windy. We had to hold on the the rocks to keep from being blown off of the mountain. The view was spectacular. Snow covered mountains were everywhere. The visitor's center looked very far away. We hiked back down, boarded the bus for the 4 hour ride back to the Wilderness Access Center.

Along the way, we saw all of the grizzlies again. This time however, the mother with the 2 cubs was walking down the road! A bus going in the opposite direction from us was stopped on the road. The passengers were hanging out of the windows taking pictures. Our driver was furious and adamant that we not place any body parts outside of the bus. The mother grizzly was big enough to take a swipe at us if she got up on 2 legs. If you've never seen a picture of a grizzly paw, believe me, you do NOT want a grizzly taking a swipe at you. Our driver stopped the bus and allowed us to open the windows and take photos as long as we followed the rules. The picture above is taken from my seat. At one point, she was directly below me! Later, we passed the other set of two young bears again and watched them running through the grass. I can't tell you how exciting it was to see all of these animals in their natural habitat. As we continued down the road, someone on the bus asked about the possibility of seeing a rainbow. The driver told us that it was very rare to see a rainbow in Denali. About 10 minutes later, someone shouted out,"rainbow!", and we all looked out the window and saw a beautiful rainbow! On one day trip we saw 2 rare sights- a lynx and a rainbow.

Once we got back, we ate dinner and enjoyed hot showers. I felt so blessed to have seen so many animals, but just a tiny bit disappointed that I had not seen any moose. Remember, this is the beginning of our trip. Just as we pulled into Bear Loop, we saw the mother and calf that I blogged about in an earlier post. It was such an incredible day. This trip was a dream come true.

We never did see Denali, or Mt. McKinley as it it commonly known, while we were in the park. It showed itself the next morning, but because we were in the woods, we couldn't see it. The summit is so high up in the clouds that you can only see it if you happen to be looking when the clouds part or if it is a very clear day. We did get to see it another day from very far away.

If you decide to visit Denali NP, keep this in mind. The animals here are wild. They are not tame, and no matter how cute and cuddly they look, they WILL eat you, stomp you, kick you, etc. STAY OFF THE BEATEN PATH!!!

                                                        Looking back from the summit.

Bear "hunting"

As I have stated, I am not describing this trip in order. I will share our route in the last blog about the trip. I also make no promises about proper grammar. This is just for fun. Backing up to our first full day in Alaska, we spent the morning at Eagle Eye's house in Wasilla, gathering camping equipment and planning our route. Eagle Eye graciously supplied us with sleeping bags, cooking gear, and a folding love seat. We took a trip to Wal-mart for food and essentials. Yes, they do have Wal-mart in the wilds of Alaska, but only in the cities. A rented Toyota minivan would be our home on wheels for the next 2 weeks. We took the middle row of seats out and folded the third row down. Our bed consisted of double layers of those hard, blue foam camping pads with an egg crate mattress on top. The sleeping bags went on top of the egg crate. Five dollar pillows from Wal-mart served their purpose nicely. All of our food and cooking supplies were in plastic containers and a cooler. A case of gallon jugs of water rounded out our necessities.  We repacked some of the clothes from our suitcases into smaller duffel bags.

 We spent some time visiting Eagle Eye and enjoying the view from his house. The large front windows look out on a gorgeous mountain range. The back windows look out on a different mountain range. He is a big hunter and the living room rug was adorned with a bear skin rug. The way it was positioned reminded me of the way our big black dog sprawls out. I did more than one double take that day when I entered the room. After eating a late lunch, the three of us set out on our adventure. 

We drove north on Parks Hwy to Denali State Park (different from Denali National Park). We stopped along the way at a crazy little store called Wal-Mike's. He had all kinds of interesting things sitting out front, including statues made from tree branches of men in various stages of "excitement". I will leave it at that. You will have to take a trip there if you want more information than that. We were in our  minivan, following Eagle Eye in his big truck. He pulled down a long gravel road to an abandoned gravel pit. Eagle Eye informed us it was time for us to learn to shoot a shot gun. He gave us lessons on a 22 gauge shot gun that he insisted we carry from then on. It scared me to death to have that thing in the van with us, but Eagle Eye insisted that we really needed to have protection from the wildlife in case of an attack. Okie dokie. This was not going to be a typical vacation! I was very grateful to have someone with us to let us know what to do to survive and enjoy this journey. Lesson over, we continued on our trip.

Our next stop was at a trail head leading to Byers Creek. To find the trail head, you could probably stop any guy with a gun in his truck and ask for directions. In Alaska, that means pretty much any guy.  I thought, "Oh goody, we are going hiking!!" What a dummy.  If you are prepared to hike in bear country, this is a beautiful spot. Take note of the "if" in that sentence. You could also get really lost here so you either need a friend that knows the area or you need to know how to use a map and compass or gps. The vegetation in Alaska grows very large. It has a short growing season but  takes full advantage of it. If you step off of the trail, you could become disoriented rapidly because the plants grow so lush that you can't really retrace your steps. Fortunately, we were hiking with Eagle Eye, who is like being in the woods with a cross between Grizzly Adams and Survivor Man. I've never met anyone more in tune with nature.

We hiked the trail to a lovely little lake, climbing through a forest of Alder trees, giant fern, false hellebore, blueberry bushes and other plants foreign to my husband and myself. Eagle Eye could name many of them and knew which ones were edible. I ate some fern and fire weed. It tasted like grass but it was nice to know that if we got lost we would have something to eat. Eagle Eye pointed out various plants that would produce edible berries later in the season. He also showed us the spot where he once shot a bear. A bear? My heart started beating a little faster. Wasn't this supposed to be just a little nature hike?

 Now, when I say we hiked, this was like no other hike I had ever been on. I have hiked a jungle in Argentina, the Rockies, the Cascades, Smokies, Appalachians, Catskills, and others but never with a tour guide like this guy. The three of us hiked single file. Eagle Eye was in front, carrying a large rifle. He held it up high, with one hand. That sucker was really heavy. I don't know how he did that. Around his waste was a belt with all kinds of outdoor paraphernalia. Some of it would be revealed along the way. I was next, carrying a can of bear mace. Not being the most coordinated person, I secretly prayed that I would not have to use it. My husband brought up the rear, carrying the 22 gauge shot gun. We crept along as silently as we could. It didn't turn out to be very silent because there were dry leaves on the trail. Nothing makes me want to giggle more than someone telling me that I have to be quiet. Along the way, Eagle Eye stopped to examine various piles of animal excrement. Lets just call it poop from now on. There were four piles of bear poop, a pile of moose poop, pile of grouse poop, and one pile that came from either a wolf or a coyote. Okay, so the shooting lesson was beginning to make sense at that point.  At each pile, Eagle Eye informed us not only of what animal it had come from, but what it ate, how big it was, and how long the pile had been there. The first time he bent down to examine one, I thought maybe he'd lost his mind. Were we deep in the woods with a crazy man? A crazy man carrying a big gun? A crazy man that knew how to use the big gun? Now I realize that I was in the woods with a very competent outdoors-man. There is a science to tracking animals. This was the first time that hunting made any sense at all to me. I still don't like it, but I was beginning to understand some of the allure.

We hiked on, stopping at the top of a gorge that overlooked Byers Creek. It was like a scene from a show on the Discovery Channel. This was the Alaska I came to see. Brilliant green undergrowth, huge trees, pristine water, and a family of bears!! Yes!! A mother black bear and  at least two cubs. The plants were so tall that the cubs would often disappear from site. Eagle Eye removed several pieces of equipment from his bag. One was a range finder. According to it, we were 600 yards from the bears. We were also way up high on the gorge. I felt like we were safe from them but I did realize that there could be a bear standing right behind us at any moment. It was exhilarating! If Eagle Eye hadn't been with us, it would have been terrifying. Being with a life long hunter gave me piece of mind. The other instrument was one of those miniature telescopes. I'm sure it has an actual name, but I have no idea what it is. Range finder was a new one on me too.  We hung out there for a long time, just watching the bears. It was such a special treat to observe them in their natural habitat. They were free and happy.

It was getting late and the sun would be setting soon. Time to go. It never actually got completely dark while we were in Alaska, but it would get darker than I'd like it to be while hiking. We quietly hiked back out with Eagle Eye and his rifle leading the way. Once we were safely back to our vehicles, Eagle Eye threw his head back and let out his Count Chocula laugh. "You just went bear hunting!", he exclaimed.  I did? Holy cow!!

Onward we drove up Parks Hwy. Eagle Eye pulled off near mile marker 159.There was another long gravel road leading to an abandoned gravel pit. To find it, just look for a gravel road on the right just past the mile marker. It is not marked. We learned that there are many of these in Alaska. You are allowed to camp in them unless there is a sign stating otherwise. This one had some type of low growing plant covering the ground. It was soft to walk on and kept the glacier dust off of our boots. There was a fabulous view  from there. Eagle Eye had been there many times. There was evidence that others camped there too. He named it Moose Camp because he saw a moose there once. My husband went to answer the call of nature. He walked down the road for privacy. Eagle Eye told me that he once saw a man down that way. It looked as if he was living down there. He hadn't seen him in a while. Just as my husband disappeared behind a tree, we saw the guy!! My husband was too far away to hear us if we shouted.  We thought the guy was harmless,, but the two of us kept watch until my husband returned. For some odd reason, later that night we found this very funny. We set up camp, built a fire, and relaxed to the sounds of nature. Eventually, we crawled into the minivan and went to sleep. The shotgun was within reach in case of wild animals or humans. What an awesome first day!

Seward, Exit Glacier, Hope, Coeur d'Alene

Alaska is spectacular. Many people don't have it on their bucket list of places to explore because they think of expensive cruise ships, bus rides, and train trips. There are other ways to see Alaska. If you don't plan to make it one of your destinations, then please see it through my eyes. It is not to be missed. I will get off the subject and on to closer locations eventually. For now, I will continue describing this wonderland. Once again, please forgive any grammatical errors. I intend for this to be conversational in nature. I am not describing this trip in the order that we actually visited the sites. That may come later. It is my intention that you will find a map of Alaska and locate these places, then search the web for information and pictures of them. Hopefully you will find your own path to take. Keep in mind that you may have many rainy days or none at all. We had quite a few.

After leaving Cooper Creek, we drove south to Seward. We camped in a city owned campground along the shore of Resurrection Bay. The sites were pretty open and not the greatest, but it was steps away from the water. There were flush toilets, picnic tables and a fire ring. The shoreline consisted of gray rocks. Many of them were flat. My husband is a master at skipping rocks, so there was plenty of free entertainment at our fingertips. As we looked across the bay, clouds hovered and  the mountains rose up out of the water..  The nearby marina had coin operated showers, so we relished in the nice hot water. It cost $2 for 7 minutes. We walked the port town and the Chinook waterfront area, stopping in the Alaskan Brewing Company for a beer and halibut cheeks. I don't think I have ever heard of such a thing before, but they were delicious. The fact that our table overlooked the marina didn't hurt either.

The next day we drove through the Chugach National Forest and crossed Resurrection River on our way to Exit Glacier. Exit Glacier is in the Kenai Fjords National Park. We hiked some of the nature trails and viewed the glacier. Stunning. Glacier blue is the most beautiful color!

We headed back north and turned off  for one last attempt at fishing on the Cooper River. I had given up, but my husband gave it a shot. Still nothing. We drove down Sterling Hwy to Seward Hwy and turned off onto Hope Hwy. The scenery along the coastline on the Kenai Penninsula is gorgeous. We drove to the very end of Hope Hwy to check out Porcupine Campground. It was a pretty drive and the campground is very nice. I would recommend it as a nice "off the beaten path" destination. We didn't stay there because we weren't ready to stop for the night yet. Our next goal was to visit the town of Hope. My mother-in-law goes by the name Hope, so we felt that we couldn't be this close to the town and NOT visit it. There is also a great view of Turnagain Arm from that area. Turnagain arm is breathtaking. The town of Hope turned out to be a bit small. By small I mean tiny. By tiny I mean minute. There were a few preserved buildings from the mining days and  an RV park off to the side. We took a few pictures in front of the sign so that we could show them to my mother-in-law. It was definitely off the beaten path.

Coeur d'Alene was our next destination. We had a bit of trouble finding it, but we finally found the road leading to the campground. It was in the Chugach National Forest, seven miles up a narrow, winding, unpaved road that climbed into the mountains.We saw a huge moose along the way. There were about a half dozen campsites beside a small, clear, rushing river. Beautiful. There is a latrine, but no potable water. No problem. We carried plenty. Once again, we had the whole place to ourselves. We built a nice fire and cooked the fresh salmon that Eagle Eye had given us. There we were, all by ourselves, next to a river, deep in bear country and we were cooking salmon on the campfire. We could almost feel eyes staring at us through the trees. We decided that the best thing to do was to stay together at all times. We even walked each other to the latrine. We each carried a can of bear mace. We took the shotgun that Eagle Eye has supplied us with and placed it on the picnic table. Eagle Eye taught us how to load and shoot it. Neither of us wanted to be in a position to actually use that training but we were glad to have some protection.  It started raining just as the salmon was finished cooking. We cleared a spot in the back of the van and turned it into our dining facility. I felt so lucky to be sitting there. The surroundings were stunning, the sounds of the river and rain were soothing, and we were dining on fresh caught Alaskan salmon. A five star restaurant has nothing on that atmosphere.  After dinner we drove up about a mile or so past the camp. As we climbed in elevation the plant material got smaller and the season seemed to change to early spring. The mountains got closer and suddenly the road was covered in snow.  We turned around and drove back to camp. The snow turned back to rain and got heavier and heavier.  When we woke up the next morning we could see fresh snow on the mountain tops. As we were driving back toward Hope we saw a young black bear walking on the road. I was very happy that the bears decided not to make an appearance while we were camping the night before.

Cooper Creek Campground and Salmon Fishing on the Kenai River

If you have been to Alaska to fish for salmon, you may be familiar with the Russian River and the Kenai River. If you are like most people, you have not been to Alaska to fish for salmon. These rivers are probably as foreign to you as they were to me. For that reason, I include them among places that I consider off the beaten path. In fact, for most people, all of Alaska is off the beaten path. Most people that have an opportunity to go there do so via cruise ship. Many also board the train to view the heavenly scenery. Fisherman head to one of the rivers during salmon season. I am not a fisherman but I was in Alaska at the start of salmon season. How could I resist the opportunity? As usual, we trusted our friend to tell us where to go and to teach us the ropes.

From our friend's house in Wasilla, we headed south toward Cooper Landing. It is located on the Kenai Peninsula.  First we had to stop and purchase a fishing rod and fishing license. The license was pricey but all we could think about was all the salmon we were going to reel in. The sporting goods store had a big sign that listed all of the rivers and the fishing conditions for the day. Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, its off to the river we go. Along the way, our friend pulled over on the shoulder and jumped out of his truck with his telescope. There were Dall sheep way up on a mountain. Through the telescope they were beautiful. Most of us would have assumed they were mountain goats. With the naked eye, they just looked like specs of white. We would have driven right by. I wondered how in the world he noticed them. He admitted that he had been by there many times and knew that they frequented that area. Good to know that we weren't as oblivious as we thought. Farther down the road, he pulled over again. He said something looked "amiss" up on one of the mountains. I looked up. My husband looked up. We both saw a brown mountain. Nothing looked "amiss" to us. Our very astute buddy pointed out a small patch way up high that looked a little different from the surrounding area. Holy cow! Really? I think I should call him Eagle Eye! He took a good long look through his telescope and determined that all was well. Onward toward the salmon!

We drove to the Cooper Creek Campground and secured a spot for the night. There was a grill, picnic table, and latrine. Okay, so its not the Ritz, but that's more than some of our campsites offered. We drove on to the Russian River Campground parking lot. They offer day parking for a fee to people who are there to fish but are not camping there. These campgrounds get pretty crowded during salmon season, so we felt lucky to get both a campsite for the night and a parking place for the evening. If you plan to go there it might be worth calling ahead for a report of availability from the rangers.

It was now early evening. We hiked to the Russian  river. There was a very, very, long wooden walkway that ran along the river bank. It was built to keep people from treading on the vegetation. Every so often was a set of steps leading down into the river. The walkway must have been a mile or more in length. They take their fishing seriously up there! We learned that the salmon had not yet made it to the Russian river. We kept walking, and walking, and walking. We were all wearing waders and carrying fishing gear, assorted bags and backpacks. I am about a foot shorter than our friend, so I was getting a workout. Eagle Eye decided that it would be best if we crossed the river so that we could walk over to the Kenai River. Reports stated that the salmon were starting to come into the Kenai. The two rivers merge, and the salmon swim up the Kenai to the Russian. Crossing the river is easier said than done. My husband and I were wearing hip boots. Our friend was wearing waders that were chest high. The river was shallow in places, but the current was extremely strong. The water was frigid. If we were to fall in, we would have to turn around and go back to camp. It was too cold to stay outside in wet clothing. If we fell in and the water was able to get inside of our boots, we could easily drown. It would make our boots so heavy that we would not be able to stand up. We saw a man fall in. He was able to stand up but he had to get out and hike back to camp. He had not even begun to fish. We decided not to risk crossing where he and his friends tried to cross. Every so often  Eagle Eye would wade out to check the depth of the water before my husband and I attempted to cross. He found a spot that he thought would be safe. We carefully and slowly crossed the river. Eagle Eye took all of my gear and held it above his head. He gave me his huge fishing net and I used the pole as a walking stick. I gingerly placed it in front of me to test each spot before I took a step. We made it safely across. On we hiked toward the Kenai. We finally got to the place where the rivers merged. The Kenai was an odd but glorious blue-green color. The Russian was clear. Where they merged, the river looked partly clear and partly blue-green. Stunning!  Let me just back up and tell you that all along the walkway and hiking path were signs warning us that we were bear country. Some of the signs told us that the bears were watching us, some told us that the bears were everywhere. It was dusk. I would have really been freaking out except that I knew that Eagle Eye was armed, and that he is an avid hunter. Earlier in our trip he insisted that we both learn to shoot so that we could protect ourselves from wild animals if the need arose. We arrived at the spot that Eagle Eye had in mind. I felt like I was taking part in a photo shoot for an outdoor clothing catalog. I thought we were in the middle of nowhere, and BAM, the path opens up and I see about 100 people out there fishing! The were all lined up along the shore, standing in the shallow water. Some were decked out in brand name clothing, obviously brand new. Others were in thrift store castoffs. It was easy to see which ones were the tourists and which were Alaskans. I was wearing 7 layers of clothing. I probably looked like a nut.

It was now 9:30 pm. We fished for several hours. We caught NOTHING!!! Eagle Eye patiently taught us the proper way to cast our rods. We practiced, getting better with time. I am not a patient fisherman (fisherwoman?) If I don't have anything on my hook in about 15 minutes, I start to get bored. This was my big trip to Alaska, and I was determined to stand there with the best of them. After about 30 minutes, my feet were so cold that they were starting to get numb. I took a break. I ate a snack. I took pictures. I tried again. It get windy out. It started raining. I didn't even see one stupid salmon swimming by. Finally, I felt something on my hook, then something jumped out of the water. It was a salmon!! By the time I realized what it was, it was free and heading upstream. I think I heard it laughing. The man standing next to me said that it was on my hook at one point, so it was fair for me to claim that I had hooked a salmon. I kept trying. The rain and wind continued. I took a seat on the shore. I took a walk on the shore. Finally, the guys gave up for the night. We hiked all the way back to the car. It was after midnight. The sun was setting.  I kept wondering if a bear would suddenly appear on the path. We crossed the river again. By the time we got back to camp it was after 1:30 am. It was still raining it was dark. This was the first time we actually saw darkness in Alaska.

When we woke up the next morning it was still raining so we stayed in bed for awhile. Someone in another campsite hit the panic button on their car key. We got up and started getting dressed. Of course my husband was dressed and outside in about 2 minutes flat. Eagle Eye was outside cooking oatmeal on his little camp stove. The stove was perched on the open tail gate of his pick up truck, which had also served as his bed for the night. It was parked right behind our hotel on wheels (Toyota minivan). He adds all kinds of yummy things to his oatmeal, and it smells great. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks so. I heard Eagle Eye yell my husband's name several times. I knew in my gut that something really was "amiss" this time. I also knew by the tone of his voice that it was a grizzly. The windows of the mini van were tinted and had mesh shades on them, so from the inside I couldn't see where the bear was. I took a chance and opened the door on the side of the van where my husband was standing. I thought he might need to jump in to escape from the bear. Just then I heard Eagle Eye say "scat!" and stomp his foot several times. The bear ran off. My husband was shaking. The bear had been on the other side of the van. I never saw the darn thing! Typical. I crawled out and we ate breakfast. Eagle Eye explained that when he heard the car horn going off at the other campsite he knew that someone had seen a bear. The person had pressed it as a warning signal and to scare the bear. You learn something every day! Our friend was concerned that it may have scared me pretty badly. In actuality, I was really mad that I missed seeing it. He is a joker, so he kept trying to scare me the rest of the morning by pretending that he saw a bear. He laughs like Count Chocula, so being the butt of his joke was worth it just to hear him laugh.

We broke camp and drove back to the river for more fishing. This time Eagle Eye chose an area that didn't require crossing the river. We just had to hike through lush vegetation and down a bank. We still didn't catch anything. It was still raining and cold. I gave up and went back to the van to read. A short time later my husband joined me. We cooked lunch while Eagle Eye continued to fish. My husband swears that he had a salmon on his line but it got away. I didn't witness it so I have always teased that it probably didn't really happen. After we ate, Eagle Eye comes hiking up the path with a great big beautiful salmon. He deftly cleaned it and presented a good portion of it to us to put in the cooler for our dinner.

I have heard tales of salmon jumping out of the water, leaping onto fish hooks, rivers jammed with them frantically swimming upstream. We saw very few salmon. A few of the other people along the shore caught some, but it was nothing like what I had envisioned. We were there too early in the season. If you want to experience salmon fishing in Alaska, wait a little bit longer than we did. It was still fun, and it is a fond memory. What an adventure!

MOOSE!!!

This entry is mostly for my friend Linda, who is moose crazy! I will back up and tell you about Denali another day, but I will mention that our moose spotting began there. We saw a mother and a calf right in our campground at Denali. Luckily, we were in the car at the time. It was late in the day and we were heading back to our campsite after taking our showers. There they were, just walking along the edge of the woods at the side of the road! Being that close to a moose is intimidating. They are absolutely huge! Getting close to a moose is not a smart idea, especially if she has a calf with her. Of course the temptation was greater than the danger, so there we were, faced with a decision. We compromised by staying in the car, my husband's foot ready to hit the gas, me with the camera out the window, both of us silent. That was probably a run on sentence, but this isn't a grammar essay for English class. We watched as the mother fed on vegetation, reaching for the leaves on trees. The calf was all legs-spindly ones at that. Being a youngster, the calf wandered away from its mother from time to time. When it got more than a few steps away, the mother made noises that were obviously some kind of communication that the baby understood. She seemed to be telling it that danger was near, and it needed to stay close. I took some pictures, trying not to spook them or disturb them. Since they were in the middle of a campground, I figured they were used to people, but sometimes those are the most dangerous of animals. They get very bold when they lose their fear. We did not want to experience a moose kicking us or the rental car. She eventually wandered off into the woods and we continued on our way to the campsite.
The next morning while I was in the wash house and my husband was sitting in the campsite, the same duo walked right through our campsite! Of course I missed it. Typical. He wasn't sure what to do, so my husband stayed still and quiet until she passed through. Little did we know that this was the first of several moose sightings.
We left Denali and headed north. It was a warmer day. At 11:30 am it was 59 degrees. We stopped to get gas in a small town called Healy. When I say small  town, I mean small. These towns seem like they consist of not more than a gas station or general store. We would occasionally detour off of the highway to check out the "neighborhoods". Some of these areas were extremely secluded and rugged. I can't imagine what it is like in the winter. We weren't even way up north in Alaska where the paved roads end but it was pretty isolated. We stopped in a quaint little town called Nenana. It reminded me of the TV show Northern Exposure. It had a few streets and some businesses. If we go back, I would take more time there. They had a great little visitors center. The woman working there gave us very good information, great maps, and showed us a fancy way to fold the pages of our Lonely Planet book. It was a pretty cool little tip. She taught us to fold the page in a certain way that results in the tip of the page sticking out like a little bookmark. Credit for the idea was given to some other travelers that passed through there and stopped for information.  Visitors centers are great places to stop when you are traveling. They usually have local maps and very knowledgeable people staffing them. We make it a point to stop at them no matter where we are traveling. They can usually guide you to little hidden gems that you won't find in tour books. If you are looking for a place to eat, don't just ask where they would recommend that you eat. Ask where they eat. You will usually end up with a more interesting answer.
We continued north to Fairbanks. The city was large enough to contain big box stores, so we stopped to purchase a few things to make our sleeping accommodations more comfortable. Yes, it is possible to make sleeping in the back of a van a comfortable experience.
We turned off onto Chena Hot Springs Road. It was a beautiful drive with fabulous scenery. When we finally reached the springs, we were very disappointed to find a big tourist trap. We did not come to the wilds of Alaska to see a tourist trap. Some of it was probably pretty cool (literally, since they have a building made of ice), but it did not compare to what nature had to offer. They had man made pools that were fed by the hot springs. We took a quick look, but it just grossed me out a bit. It seemed like a bunch of strangers in bathing suits taking a hot bath together. They even rented bathing suits. Can you get more disgusting than that? They had things like rides pulled by sled dogs and other touristy attractions. We spent very little time walking around there. We headed back down the long Chena Hot Springs Rd, happy to be out of there. It was late afternoon by then, so we stopped along a river to take a break and have a snack. As we were sitting there in our folding chairs, two men pulled up in an air boat! Wait, were we in the everglades? Man, that WAS a long road!  No, it turned out to be just two guys out having fun. One was a retired engineer, and the other was a school principal. Turns out they made the boat themselves. It was all my husband could do not to ask for a ride. That would have left me there in the wilderness alone, so he did resist. The principal is in charge of several  K-12 schools that have a total of 32-35 students per school. What a different world.
Okay Linda, here we go. Shortly after we left, we came upon a male moose in a pond. We stayed at a safe distance, keeping the car between us and him, and the doors open. He put his whole head under the water to eat. When he came up, the water would stream down from his antlers. It was spectacular. We stood in silence and watched him for a long time. He could really stay down there for quite a while. Shortly down the road, we spotted a female moose doing the same thing. Then we came upon a female running along the side of the road in the grass. She crossed the road behind us. I was very glad that she didn't decide to cross in front of us.
We were able to get some great pictures of the various moose. When we were out west years ago, we learned that if you see a car pulled off the side of the road, you should slow down and be prepared to stop. Most likely they have spotted some wildlife off to the side. It seems that other people have learned that as well. We usually ended up with some company when we pulled of to watch the moose. Fortunately, there aren't many people around, so it didn't take away from our experience.  We saw more moose during our trip, but I will denote them when I get to their locations.
Some of you probably would have loved the hot springs, but I'll take happy hour by the river and some good moose spotting any day!

Glen Highway

I will write about places other than Alaska at some point, but I may as well stay on the subject until I finish it. From Paxson, we headed south on the Richardson Hwy toward Glen Allen, stopping along the way at road houses and campgrounds. There was absolutely nothing but road and scenery from Paxon to Sourdough. The scenery in Alaska is spectacular. You can be driving down a road and see green mountains on one side and snow covered mountains on the other. It is more vast than I could ever hope to describe.  There are beautiful clear rivers and rivers with gray glacier water. Sometimes they merge, creating a really cool effect. There are a number of restored road houses along the highways, which are remnants from the gold rush days. We stopped at the Sourdough Roadhouse for a soda. There  was a married couple working there for the summer. They lived in South Carolina the rest of the year. She is a retired engineer for the power company, and he is a project manager turned Presbyterian minister. It sounded like a great life. It is so worthwhile to take the time to talk to people along the way when you travel. After listening to their advice about various campgrounds,  we continued on our way. We discovered a campground in the Caribou Creek State Recreation Mining Area. It was free, empty, had secluded campsites, and plenty of leftover firewood. What a find! There were gorgeous wildflowers, tall rock faces, a river, and mountain views. Paradise! It was obvious that there were many moose in the area by the amount of droppings we saw, and we came across some enormous moose footprints. One thing we learned quickly during our trip to Alaska was that we had to constantly be alert and on the watch for wild animals. After hiking and investigating the area, we built a really big campfire, parked ourselves in the folding chairs, and did some reading and relaxing.
The next morning was another cold and drizzly morning. We packed up and headed for Matanuska Glacier. The weather cleared and the temperature rose into the 50's (yes, it was still June). We hiked around on the Glacier for 2 hours. We didn't spend the money to go with a tour guide and wear crampons, so we carefully picked our way around the less treacherous parts of the glacier. It was awesome! I can really appreciate the color referred to as glacier blue now. In some areas, we had to jump across narrow streams of melting glacier water. At one point, the gray mud was so soft and sticky that we were sinking down to our ankles in it. That was a bit scary for my taste. We made it safely back to the car and continued down Glen Hwy.
Glen Hwy is a gorgeous drive, with beautiful mountain views and plenty of birch to look at. We stopped at a secluded little lake called Wiener Lake, which was right down the road from Long Lake. I am not kidding!  Of course we both reverted to childhood and giggled over the names of the lakes. They were really beautiful. We stopped at a strange little roadside place and had vanilla cream soda. It was like a general store with RV sites on one side, llamas and alpacas out front, chickens and ducks out back, and all kinds of farm equipment on display. Very odd. They sold items that the owner's wife had knitted out of the wool from the animals.
There are just so many cool and unpopulated places along the roads in Alaska. We pulled off to investigate many times a day. Sometimes the trail heads for the trails that we planned to hike seemed to have vanished. We usually found some other cool place instead, so we were never disappointed.

Snow in June and the Tangle River Inn

There are really only a few paved highways in Alaska. If you stay on one of them, you really can't get lost. However, you will miss seeing most of Alaska. Rental car companies ask you to sign a form stating that you will not take the car off of the paved road. This is almost impossible to do. You just have to be very careful and use common sense. Keep in mind that if you venture off onto an unpaved road and you break down or get stuck, you may be in for a very long and lonely wait. There is no cell phone service in some areas. Even if you do have service, the service station may be many miles away. You might be able to flag down a passing motorist, but it may be hours before you see one. There are large wild animals in Alaska. You do not want to be their dinner!  The Denali Highway is paved for part of the way, and then the road continues, but the asphalt stops. We drove south on the Richardson Highway, and turned onto the Denali Highway. It was raining, cold, and night time. We were in the tundra. There would be no trees to tie a tarp to for protection from the rain. Instead of trying to cook dinner, we stopped at an old road house called the Paxson Lodge and each ate a bowl of chili. From there, we drove down the Denali highway until the pavement ended. We carefully continued on until we reached the Tangle Lakes Campground. This is a free campground, run by the Bureau of Land Management. We grabbed a campsite along a clear, rushing river. It also had a view of the lake. Score!! This was in early June, but it was pretty darn chilly outside. We went to sleep to the sound of the river. When we woke up, it sounded more like it was raining outside. The windows of the van in which we were sleeping appeared to be fogged up. My husband, the early riser, went outside and discovered that the van windows were actually covered by a dusting of snow!! When I crawled out of the van I was greeted by a tiny snow man sitting on the picnic table holding a yellow flower. Over the next hour or two it kept changing back and forth from rain to snow. By 9 am, it was 32 degrees and snowing like crazy! Like idiots, we decided to pack up and go driving farther down the unpaved road. We really wanted to see some caribou and this was supposed to be a great place to spot them. The snow kept getting deeper as we drove and the road was getting muddy. Since we were in a rented mini van, not a 4 wheel drive vehicle, we decided to turn back and find someplace to eat a hot breakfast. We were not exactly near a city with many options. We found the Tangle River Inn. It was actually more of a fish camp. There were tiny "cottages" and a main building with some guest rooms and a restaurant. It was warm, dry, and the only place around for miles. The snow turned to rain as we sat and stared out at the lake across the street. We had a huge, hot breakfast. The service was great. It was a typical country style place with wood paneling, cutesy curtains, photos of the family that owned the place, fishing photos, etc. At the next table were two Bureau of Land Management workers. A sure sign of a good breakfast place is one that the local working people eat at. Almost 2 years later, I can't remember what we ate, but I do remember being thrilled that the Tangle River Inn was open for breakfast. I also remember that the food was good. It wasn't a cheap breakfast, but we were quickly finding out that nothing in Alaska is cheap. By the time we reached Paxson there was no sign of snow. We felt like we had experienced a private little winter wonderland.

Howling Dog Saloon

Since I started out with a story about the Howling Dog Saloon, I may as well tell you more about the place. It is at the intersection  of Elliott Hwy (Rt. 2) and Steese Hwy(Rt. 6) in Fox, Alaska. The bar is nothing special, but if you want to get a feel for the local color, its worth a stop. Its kind of dark on the inside, with an area for a band, and a bar that has many, many bras hanging above it. We were there early, so we didn't see anyone lose or donate theirs. There is an outside patio with picnic tables, which is where we hung out during out visit. Unpaved parking lot, a little bit of untended grass.  The clientele consisted of mostly young adults, probably in their 20's and 30's, in various types of dress, from dark goth make up on one girl to t-shirts and jeans. Many tattoos. Very casual. Not a night club atmosphere. Definitely the local dive hangout bar. Based on the conversations that we had, many of these young people were drifting through life, unsure of their path, and just ended up in Alaska. The guy that dubbed us "travelers" was a miner, who worked long, hard hours in the wilderness. He had to take a bush plane to get to work. When he worked, he worked many days and many hours. When he was off, he was off for long periods of time. His earnings sounded good, but when you consider the high rent in the area, and the fact that he had to spread those dollars to last during his off time, it made for a tough life. If you are not afraid to venture into such a place, this is really a great place to go to meet local citizens and hear some stories about life in Alaska.

Why the name?

So, I guess I am now a blogger. First, let me explain the crazy name. My husband and I were traveling around Alaska and we stopped in a bar called the Howling Dog Saloon. We like to travel off the beaten path a bit, preferring to find local haunts to tourist traps. I guess we stuck out from the usual crowd, which was light at this time of the day. One of the regulars struck up a conversation with us.This guy was a bit of a character. He told us that he really liked the fact that we decided to come to the saloon instead of the place across the street. In his esteemed opinion, this choice made us "travelers not tourists". He had a disdain for tourists, but not for travelers. He ended up reviewing the map with us, showing us where he worked, explaining his very difficult trade, his work schedule, etc. It was quite an interesting evening. Apparently the rest of the regulars decided that we were okay too, and we had conversations with several of them. The clientele consisted of some Alaskan born folks, as well as some people who were searching for something in their life and ended up there. We loved Alaska.
During several trips to other locations, we have found some really nice places to visit, and I'd like to share them with anyone who is interested. That is the reason for this blog. I hope you find some places that you would like to check out after reading about them.