ALASKA TRIP, PART 13

When we disembarked from the Fjord Express, a bus was waiting to take us to Mendenhall Glacier. We walked to where the glacier viewpoint was (didn't get to see this glacier calving, although there were small icebergs in the water), toured the visitors center, and then walked over to where we could watch spawning salmon.

Mendenhall Glacier:

Spawning Salmon:











We then climbed back on the bus and the driver took us for a quick tour of Juneau and dropped us off at the Juneau Harbor where we could tour shops, eat lunch, and take a trip up Mt. Roberts in the tram.

View of Juneau from tram:

Cruise ship in harbor:











It would take several days to fully explore Juneau -- we got just a small sample. We'll definitely have to come back someday and stay longer.

About 4:00 PM, the bus driver picked us up and drove us back out to Auke Bay where we boarded the boat for our trip back to Haines.

Juneau & Coast Mountains

More magnificent scenery!











Seal sunning on a buoy:

Hey guys, it's my turn!











On Friday, we walked over to the Elks Club and had a hamburger dinner -- they were really delicious! Then, on Saturday, we went back to the Elks Club for steak dinner -- again really good, although Earl and I had to wait and wait for our steak to be cooked. Apparently, the slip of paper with our name on it had been misplaced and by the time we'd received our steaks, Bill and Gisela were done with theirs.

Saturday afternoon, we walked over to the Southeast Alaska State Fair. The fair had some animals (pigs, goats, chickens, and rabbits), some vegetable and flower exhibits (although by Saturday, they were past their prime), and some trade booths. The best fun, however, was had at the logging events -- lots of macho guys sawing logs with chain saws, running over logs and throwing a big chain around a log and securing it (there's a name for this event, but I don't remember what it is), ax throwing, etc.

On Sunday, when it was time to leave Haines, we didn't want to leave, so we decided to move over to the Elks Club so we could wash our vehicles which had gotten filthy driving through the construction on the Alaska Highway east of Kluane Lake. We hadn't been able to wash them at the RV park because they didn't allow anything other than using Windex on windshields. We could understand them not wanting us to wash our rigs at the site -- a lot of RV parks have that restriction; however, it was beyond us why we couldn't have used our waterless wash since it would have used none of their water nor would anything have gotten on their precious grass.

After two days at the Elks Club, we still didn't want to leave, so we moved to Salmon Run RV Park on Lutak Road out past the ferry terminal. There is no electricity past the ferry terminal, hence this park has no hookups. However, it has an absolutely beautiful view of Lutak Inlet and the mountains. We could also watch the ferry come and go and, in the evening, watch the cruise boats heading out of Lynn Canal from Skagway. That was quite a site, especially when it got dark -- the cruise ships were lit up like Christmas trees.

Ferry coming into terminal:

View from our campsite:











Maxx doing his high wire act:

Takin' it easy:











The guys bought fishing licenses and did some fishing at Chilkoot Lake. All told, they caught 7 Dolly Vardens. This is the first time we'd had Dolly Vardens and they were quite good -- better, we thought, than trout.

We finally forced ourselves to leave Haines on Thursday, August 16. We drove 104 miles to the Million Dollar Falls Yukon Government Campground, stopping along the way to admire the view:

Haines Highway view:

More magnificent views:











And even more views!











Yukon's government campground are really very nice -- all of them we've been to have big, level spaces, and usually have firewood available to burn in the fire rings. This particular campground is located along the Takhanne River and has a boardwalk trail and viewing platform of the falls and rapids (unfortunately, there is no good vantage point from which to take a picture of the falls -- although you can see them from the viewing platform, the picture would be taken from straight above). From some places in the park, one can catch a glimpse of the St. Elias Mountains. The park ranger who came along to take our money later came back to point out the mountain behind us -- the sun was setting and it was lit up like it was made of gold.

Million Dollar Falls rapids:

Sunset on the mountain:











The next day, we drove 154 miles back to Takhini Hot Springs near Whitehorse, Yukon where we'd stayed on June 13. Since we didn't have hookups, Earl and I went into town on Saturday to do laundry, grocery shopping, and fill the truck up with fuel.

On Sunday, August 19, we drove 122 miles to Mukluk Annie's. We'd stayed here on June 10 on our way to Alaska. We had their salmon bake again, but were disappointed to learn that they would not be open on Monday for breakfast due to it being Discovery Day, a Yukon holiday. Their blueberry pancakes were the main reason we'd stopped here again.

Monday we drove 159 miles to Junction 37 Services Campground at the junction of the Alaska and Cassiar Highways. We had breakfast at their restaurant the next morning and then headed down the Cassiar to Moose Meadows in Dease Lake, B.C., 96 miles down the road. Our campsites backed up to Cotton Lake where we could hear a loon calling. When we woke up in the morning, we could see that a light dusting of snow had fallen overnight on the nearby mountains.

We set out for Kinaskan Provincial Park -- 131 miles down the road -- and ran into more construction with muddy roads! The views on the Cassiar were wonderful, but we'd had enough of muddy roads.

Cassiar Highway view:

Our rig after the mud:











The picture of our rig, above, doesn't show it at it's worse. In this picture, you can still see the "Not For Hire" written on the side, even though it is somewhat obscured. When we finished going through the construction, we couldn't even tell there was anything there, except we could barely make out the outline of the stickers that spelled out the phrase. And, of course, when we got to the Kinaskan campground, neither of us could get our slides out again!

View from our site:

ALASKA TRIP, PART 12

On Sunday, August 5, we left Kathleen Lake Campground in Yukon and drove 134 miles to the Haines Hitch Up RV Park in Haines, Alaska. After setting up, we went downtown for lunch at the Lighthouse Restaurant and then Gisela and I went grocery shopping while the guys stayed behind to try to get our slide out. By the time we got back, the slide was out which was a big relief since our pantry and television are behind the slide when it is in.

We really enjoyed Haines -- this is definitely a place we'll come back to again. When Earl and I were here in 1998, we only spent 2 or 3 days and didn't really get a chance to explore Haines like we did this time. One day, we drove out to Chilkoot Lake and watched people fishing and eagles flying.

Chilkoot River:











Bald Eagles:












The next day we drove out to Chilkat State Park from which location one can see Rainbow and Davidson Glaciers across the Chilkat Inlet:

Davidson & Rainbow Glaciers:











Davidson Glacier:

Rainbow Glacier:











One night, we had whole Dungeness crab at Fort Seward Lodge, part of old Fort William H. Seward which was established as the first permanent Army post in the territory of Alaska. Until WWII, this was the only U.S. Army post in Alaska. It was deactivated in 1946 and sold in 1947 to a group of veterans. Some of the old officers quarters are now private houses and other building house businesses.

Fort Seward with the Chilkat Mountains in the background:











On Thursday, we took the Fjord Express to Juneau. The weather started out a little cloudy, but by the time we arrived in Juneau, it was clear and the rest of the day remained beautiful.

Haines Small Boat Harbor:

Fjord Express:











Bald Eagle:

Fishing boat:











Eldred Rock Lighthouse:

Herbert Glacier:











Alaska State Ferry:

Stream cascading down mountain:











Coast Mountains:











Humpback Whale sounding
(note tail at left):

Humpback Whales breaching:











Mendenhall Glacier:

Coming into Auke Bay:

ALASKA TRIP, PART 11

Tuesday morning, July 24, we took the fifth wheel in to Alaska Performance RV & Marine to get our refrigerator fixed. The problem turned out to be the thermocouple, an item easily and inexpensively replaced. Afterwards, we went by Sam's Club to do shopping and then met Bill and Gisela at the Wal Mart where we spent the night in the parking lot. We did shopping in Wal Mart and then walked across the street to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner.

Wednesday morning, we stopped by Costco for additional shopping and then left Anchorage and drove 96 miles to Hicks Creek Campground at Milepost A96.6 on the Glenn Highway. We were originally heading for Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site, but we'd stopped at Hicks Creek for a break and decided to spend the night in their campground. Hicks Creek offers horseback trail riding and pack trips and they had some of their horses tied out -- two of them had foals so we enjoyed watching them while we were eating our ice cream.

Snack & nap time
(the foal in the foreground was only 6 days old)











We left Hicks Creek Thursday morning and drove 92 miles to Northern Nights RV Park in Glennallen, stopping first at Matanuska Glacier.

Matanuska Glacier:











According to The Milepost, "Matanuska Glacier heads in the Chugach Mountains and trends northwest 27 miles. Some 18,000 years ago the glacier reached all the way to the Palmer area (some 59 miles). The glacier's average width is 2 miles; at its terminus it is 4 miles wide. The glacier has remained fairly stable the past 400 years. At the glacier terminus meltwater drains into a stream which flows into the Matanuska River."

We had not originally planned on staying in Glennallen; however, my throat was really sore so we stopped at the Cross Road Medical Center in Glennallen where I saw a doctor and was tested for strep throat. Fortunately, it was not strep throat; unfortunately, they couldn't do anything for me so I ended up just purchasing some stronger throat lozenges and tea especially for the throat (it has licorice and Slippery Elm in it).

Friday morning, we left Glennallen and traveled 93 miles to Blueberry Lake State Recreation Site, about 24 miles north of Valdez. Along the way, we stopped at the Pipeline Interpretive Viewpoint and Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site.

Transalaska Pipeline:

Worthington Glacier:











From The Milepost: "The pipeline runs 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast to the ice-free seaport of Valdez on Prince William Sound. Travel time for crude oil from Prudhoe's Pump Station No. 1 to the Valdez terminal is 8.6 days, with more than 9 million barrels of oil in the pipeline at any given time. During this time, the oil crosses 13 bridges, including a box-girder bridge across the Yukon River, 44 roads, and lands owned by federal, state, borough and city governments, private owners and owner companies. It passes through approximately 579 crossings designed to permit access for large animals, chiefly caribou. It winds through 3 major mountain ranges, with its highest point at Atigun Pass (4,739 ft.), in the Endicott Mountains, 170 miles south of Prudhoe Bay."

Saturday morning, we drove into Valdez for breakfast and then did shopping and site seeing, including a tour through the Valdez Museum where they had a wonderful exhibit of local quilts as well as exhibits explaining the impact of the gold rush, the 1964 earthquake, the construction of the pipeline, and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup. The trip into Valdez takes one through Keystone Canyon where there are some spectacular waterfalls:

Bridal Veil Falls:

Horsetail Falls:













Keystone Canyon:











On Sunday, we took another trip into Valdez, this time driving out to the pipeline terminus. There is a bronze sculpture commemorating the men and women who built the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. It consists of 5 figures representing various crafts and skills employed in the construction project. We also stopped at a turnout beside the Robe River to watch the spawning salmon and a mother duck with one lone chick.

Unfortunately, although we did see a lot of interesting things in Valdez, the scenery wasn't one of them. While not always raining, the weather was overcast all the time and we never did get a good look at the beautiful mountains surrounding the town. And Blueberry Campground, which is at a higher elevation than Valdez, was shrouded in fog and clouds most of the time.

Bronze sculpture:

Spawning Salmon:











Mama duck & chick:

Loon on Blueberry Lake:













On Monday, July 30, we traveled 111 miles to the Gakona Alaska RV Park in Gakona where we spent a couple of days catching up on laundry. On the way to Gakona, we stopped in Copper Center for lunch and then went out to dinner at Gakona Lodge.

Wednesday morning, we left Gakona and drove 118 miles to the Sourdough Campground in Tok where we'd stayed back in June on our way into Alaska. The day had started out foggy and cloudy again; however, the weather did clear up the farther away we got from Valdez and we were able to catch a glimpse of Mt. Drum in the Wrangell Mountains:

Mt. Drum:











Before we got to Tok, we stopped at a turnout along the Tanana River where we could see the Mentasta Mountains. This mountain range, together with the Nutzotin Mountains, form the eastern end of the Alaska Range.

Tanana River and Mentasta Mountains:











Earl and I stopped and washed our rig before setting up at the Tok campground which, as we later learned, was a big waste of time and money. We were warned that the Alaska Highway east of Tok was undergoing repairs and that the road was really rough (we'd missed this section of the highway earlier because we'd gone up to Dawson City and traveled the Top of the World and Taylor Highways into Tok).

On Friday, August 3, we left Tok and traveled 163 miles to the Lake Creek Yukon Government Campground at Milepost DC1118.8 of the Alaska Highway. This is a very nice campground with spaces big enough for our rigs. There was also split wood provided so we were able to have a nice campfire going.

After crossing the border into Yukon, we stopped in Beaver Creek to see Our Lady of Grace mission, built in 1961 from a salvaged Quonset hut left over from highway construction days:

Our Lady of Grace Mission:











We also caught sight of a moose eating in one of the many ponds:














Saturday morning, we left Lake Creek Yukon Government Campground and headed out for Kathleen Lake Campground in Kluane National Park, a distance of 154 miles.

This is where we ran into the construction we'd been told about. And it was a mess -- the worst we'd run into yet, including during our trip in 1998! Southeast of Kluane Lake, we hit mile after mile of MUDDY roads -- and I don't mean just a little bit of mud -- I mean a WHOLE LOT of mud! We were absolutely filthy by the time we got to the campground, and we had so much mud up underneath the fifth wheel that we weren't able to get the slide out. And the mosquitoes were terrible here! All in all, not a good day!