AND IN CONCLUSION!!

Before we put this blog to bed, as we say in the business, a final observation or two might be in order.

One is, the next time you're in Anchorage, be sure to visit the side lobby of the Captain Cook Hotel. I wouldn't get a room there. They're way overpriced. But you MUST go into the side lobby just to sit in the couch or one of the overstuffed chairs. The stuffing takes you in like a long lost child, and the surface gives the phrase " rich Corynthian leather" a whole new meaning.

Speaking of fine lodging, we spent a night at the airport La Quinta Inn in Seattle before our final flight back to Illinois. We mention this because our brother-in-law, Bruce Roberts, recently did some research on the origins of the phrase "la Quinta."  He unearthed that it comes from an ancient and nearly extinct Spanish dialect, and, roughly translated, means, "next to Denny's."

And guess what our La Quinta was right next door to? Yep, you guessed it, and it wasn't the International House of Pancakes.

                                           END OF BLOG


If you enjoyed this blog, you could look for other blogs by the same authors. You could, but you wouldn't find any. Some people have better things to do.

And by the way, if you're a mama, we'd advise you to don't let yer babies grow up to be bloggers. Let 'em be Cowboys and drifters and such. Let 'em like smoky old poolrooms and clear mountain mornin's.    They'll thank you for it later.

ALASKAN BACHELORS

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS 

Turn out the lights, the party's over.  Just shipped camping and fishing gear back home and returned rental car to Hertz.  And it hertz a little to do it.

At one of our motels back in Seward, we heard another motel guest say to the proprietor that he and his peeps had driven 1400 miles touring Alaska. Now they were going home because, he said, "we've seen everything there is to see."  

We drove even farther, 2,536 miles to be precise. And yet I don't feel like we've even begun to see all there is to see.  

Still got an afternoon and Eve in Anchorage  before flying to Seattle tomorrow.

Today's Amazing Alaska fact: Alaska has the highest proportion of men to women of any sate or territory. This has lead to the publication of such magazines as "MEN OF ALASKA," Bringing you Alaskan Bachelors Since 1987"

SHEEPISH

Great hike yesterday in Chugach State Park. Went up to a high mountain pass. Saw about thirty Dall Sheep.  Well, mostly Dalls.  Some were probably Guys.  Heh heh, that's a good one: Guys and Dalls.

Fished for an hour in morning. A river we were told "guaranteed " to have silver salmon. No doubt there were some somewhere. It's a long River.  'Twas still fun despite lack of bites.

Shipping fishing and camping gear back home today.

WHAT, THE RAIN STOP?

Today's amazing Alaska fact:  Alaskans consume more ice cream per citizen than any other state, Puerto Rico, or American Samoa.

'Twas still raining hard yesterday morning in Seward as we awoke and wondered if Lanky ever got home with his takeout dinner.

So we went to a kind of aquarium/sea museum called the Alaska Sealife Center. They had just doubled their size this year and were doing a brisk business. You could easily spend two or three hours there watching seals swim in circles or puffins performing or watching films about ocean life. We did.

Just to prove we didn't waste our time, we now are aware that bowhead whales can live to 200 years old.  It's all about diet and exercise.

We then drove inland and northward to Anchorage, where we're duly anchored in a downtown motel. The rain finally stopped about a half hour inland from Seward.

LANKY FORGETS TO GO HOME

After our cruise last evening we walked over to a restaurant called Ray's. The tables were full, so we found two seats at the bar, (where, incidentally, the Yankees -Rays baseball game was on the telly).

A guy sitting next to Regina soon proved entertaining. He was about our age, tallish and lanky, with angular features. He laughed easily, and was clearly the kind of guy who makes friends easily.

We never got his name, so let's call him Lanky. He got to talking with Regina and told her, among other things, that he used to drink pretty heavily, but was done with all that. He did have a couple glasses of wine, but seemed to be employing the moderation he claimed to have adopted.

He then ordered a dinner to go for he and his wife. It sat there on the bar for a while as Lanky chatted with old friends and made new ones. When Regina asked him if it might be getting cold, he said, "aw, we got a microwave." This became his motto as events proceeded.

It happened there was a large group of fellows across the u- shaped bar from Lanky who all worked for some mining equipment company and had just been to some kind of workshop. They were celebrating the end of the workshop with shots of whiskey and tequila. Pretty soon one of them rang a bell hanging over the bar, which by tradition announces you are buying a drink for everyone.  

Lanky was among the first to claim his free drink and pretty soon was bantering across the bar with the mining guys. Then another mining guy rang the bell, and Lanky happily accepted That second generous offer.  

Not too much later, Lanky himself rang the bell, so he was buying yet another round and not forgetting himself.

When Regina and I left, Lanky was over amid the mining guys, wrapping an arm around their shoulders and posing for selfies with them. The styrofoam boxes with his dinner were still sitting there on the bar and it didn't look like they were heading for Lanky's microwave any time soon.

Hi-YO, ....SILVERS!!!!!!!

We lucked out finding the lodging we have because people have been coming in from all over for the annual Silver Salmon Fishing Derby here in Seward.  It starts today and goes for eight days.

Silvers are one of the five kinds of Pacific salmon. It's hard enough for the neophyte to remember them, but it's even harder because they all have at least two common names. In any case they have the derby in mid-August because that's when the "silver run" occurs. That is, that they come in from the ocean to the bay's and freshwater rivers to spawn.

There's been a little bit of concern because the silver run seems a bit late this year.  But they should be appearing in large numbers any day now.

There are of course, various prizes in various categories. But we kind of like this one the best:
Whoever catches the FORTY-NINTH largest silver wins a thousand dollars, in honor, no doubt of Alaska being the 49th state.

MAMMALS AND GLACIERS

Continuing from below, things seen on boat cruise out of Seward:

Mammals:

Humpback whales

Stellar sea lions

Harbor seals

Sea otters

Lastly, the captain took us to a spot where a glacier feeds into the sea. This particular one is called the Aialik Glacier. What you see from ocean level is a massive wall of blueish-colored

 ice .  It doesn't exactly look like ice as much as old frozen snow, which, come to think of it, is what it is.  It also resembles, perhaps, a mass of blue styrofoam with a very irregular surface.  

We did see and hear a little bit of the "calving" these glaciers are famous for. You first hear a loud explosion or deep rumble like thunder, and then a piece of the glacier falls off and tumbles into the water. These are old glaciers , but they're active old glaciers.

SEWARD, ALASKA 

The next time you go fishing, try not taking any bananas along. Or banana bread, or even any banana-colored clothing. It's an ancient and firm belief around here that bananas are bad luck aboard a fishing boat.

ITS NOW BEEN  raining  almost nonstop for three and a close to four days. When it does "stop" it simply drizzles lightly. So we changed our strategy and slept in a motel here the last two nights. 

The fog and mist lifted enough as we drove into Seward two days ago to allow us to witness yet another scenic phenomenon. Much like Homer, Seward is at the head of a long and narrow inlet and is thus surrounded by rugged mountains on three sides. It is quite interesting in this weather to watch the mists constantly swirling around them and thus constantly changing the view.

We took a six hour boat tour yesterday of Kenai Fjords National Park. Fjords, as you know, are the long and deep inlets we've been describing. They were carved out by glaciers, the remains of which are still not far away. Anyhow, here's a list of some of the things spied by the ever alert Captain and his crew:

Birds:

Puffins, tufted and horned

Arctic loons

Cormorants

Eagles

Common murre (can dive up to 600 feet below ocean surface)

AWESOME FEATS OF RECORD-BREAKING TOURISM, AND OTHER ASTONISHING REPORTS

Rained all night and well into the morning. Our tent held up swimmingly, you might say. We were camped near the mouth of the Anchor River, near a little one-horse town called Anchor Point. 

Which brings us to today's amazing Alaska fact.  Anchor Point is the farthest west that any U.S. Highway goes.  And to think we were there!  Not only that, but we were also at the farthest north Denny's, which is in Fairbanks. True, we didn't eat there, but we WERE there.

The records just keep on falling.

Speaking of Homer, it has a sand spit extending out about four miles into the bay. It's very narrow and clearly reinforced by rip-Rap and other feats of modern engineering.  And it's crowded with all manner of seafood restaurants, little harbors, campsites, curio shops, and even condominiums. The whole thing looks like it ought to tumble into the sea during the next hard storm. But it seems everybody trusts it will all hold together. It's a bit reminiscent of Ocean City, Maryland, or maybe the boardwalk in Atlantic City before gambling -- or rather, gaming,excuse us -- ruined everything there. Fortunately, no Trumpian gambling casinos have yet moved into Homer to suck them dry.

HOMERIC ADVENTURES

HOMERIC ADVENTURES

Left beautiful Soldotna yesterday and made the Homeric journey to Homer, Alaska.  High and white cone-shaped mountains off to our right (west) as we drove. They are across the Cook Inlet, on the mainland end of the Alaska Peninsula, and they are on the eastern end of a long chain of volcanoes known as the Aleutian Chain.  The impressive mountains  we saw are still active volcanoes.

Homer is also partially surrounded, on its other side, across yet another long, fjord-like inlet called Kachemak Bay, by the Kenai Mountains. They are merely ordinary Alaska spectacular.  

Today's amazing Alaska fact:  the city of Homer is named after a guy who started a gold mining business here, failed miserably, and left after two months.  Homer Something-or-Other.  Homer Simpson would have been a more inspiring exemplar.

Jim went out yesterday with a fly fishing guide and a guy from Texas who looked and talked like the reptilian politician Lindsay Graham. Fortunately this guy was not reptilian. The guide, one Bruce, was great. In his sixties, wiry, and just as excited about fly fishing the Anchor River as when he started here some 30years ago.  He showed us a spot where salmon stack up, and he told us how to present flies to them, and he gave us a variety of the most likely flies to try.

Yes, our guide did everything a guide should do, and more. Including telling a joke. This one has been around but he told it well. The gist is a guy gets busted for shooting an endangered peregrine falcon. He tells the judge he was lost and starving, or would never have done it. Judge sympathizes, gives him just a $50 fine. But judge is curious. "So what did that perigrine falcon taste like,"he asks the guy as he's leaving.

"Well," says the poacher,, "it's not great. Kind of a cross between bald eagle and spotted owl."

And under our jocular guide's tutelage we caught ... None.  We saw large salmon jumping and rolling all around us, but apparently the fish had already eaten.

And then suddenly, Jim had one!  It was clearly big ( they all are) and extremely uneager to come to shore. It turned out the beast was actually hooked in the back of the neck.  And eventually she came unhooked. But it was the kind of thing that could easily make a salmon fishing addict out of someone less disciplined.

So Jim thought about salmon all night, and was back at it pretty early this morning, certain that he could quit any time  he wanted. This time withoutBruce  but with new knowledge. 

We found a spot, again on the Anchor River, where Salmon were lined up. At firstthey look like brick colored rocks in the water, but then you notice they move around. great  spot.  We got one to bite, and she leaped out of the water and spit the hook.  Again, it's lucky that Jim has the iron fortitude to resist becoming salmon obsessed.

THE OTTER TRUTH

Today's moment of science: Of all creatures, Alaskan sea otters have the most desirable skin and fur to keep you warm and dry.  They don't just have fur, they have a "fur system."  Overlapping layers of fur trap a layer of DRY air against their skin.  

That's why they were nearly hunted to extinction by the 1900s. Happily, they've made a comeback.

OMISSIONS 

A little catchup.  Stopped two days ago at Hope, Alaska, a tiny cluster of cabins and a couple of cafes and gift shops.  It's right on the water, across the inlet (Turnagain Arm) from Anchorage.

Very quaint, with a coffee house named, inevitably, "grounds for Hope."  

Also, several days ago, back at Denali State Park, we took a five mile loop hike around a lake that was fairly eventful. Saw a pair of loons, a pair of nesting trumpeter swans, and several pink salmon that were post-spawn. They were starting to decay even while still swimming around. The flesh around their eyes and mouths was turning whitish.

A trail bridge three quarters of the way around was not usable, so we bravely forded the stream  the bridge would have crossed.  Water (cold!) almost to the waist. Very refreshing and adventurous. We're seniors but we're active seniors.

Also in Hope, enjoyed watching an eight-year-old fly fisherman gamely and persistently casting for silver salmon.

ELVIRA

In the lobby of our motel, The Best Western King Salmon Inn, there's a story in photographs about a locally well known moose named Elvira. Elvira lost her mother in a car crash in 1987, right  in the center of town when she was just a young calf. Elvira was hit by the car too. She survived but was badly injured. The owner of our motel, Kearly Wright, treated the injuries and fed Elvira wheat bread, lettuce, and water. Later, he found her sick in the woods and had a veterinarian give her an antibiotic.

Elvira started hanging around all winter, and they fed her from the back of the inn's restaurant.  In the spring she went back to the woods.

Around next Thanksgiving, she showed up again, looking for food.  By now she would eat out of several people's hands, especially Kearly's. She hung around again all winter, then disappeared come spring.

The next Thanksgiving, she showed up again, this time with two calves, who also soon learned the benefits of hanging around the hotel.

She kept coming around for a total of thirteen winters, including at least one more time with calves. Around 2001, she stopped. She had probably met her end that year, as moose don't live much beyond 15 years.  But thanks to the staff at our motel, she had a good run.

It rained all morning today and well into the afternoon. We're staying here two nights, so Regina wrote and mailed about 30 of them out while Jim did other things.

Finally took a 3-mile hike in the wildlife refuge pretty much right here in town (Soldotna). Saw a youngish moose along the trail. Probably one of Elvira's grandkids.

ACTUALLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

HOW TO DEODORIZE A HORSEBLANKET

While we were doing laundry a week or more ago, the woman who ran the laundromat taught us how to deodorize a horse blanket. She'd worked that laundromat for something like eight years and was highly conversant in the art of cleaning fabrics.  Her default position on many of the most difficult problems was this: vinegar and Oxi-clean. Works even on horse blankets, many of which she has cleaned, de-smelled, and personally hand-delivered to many a satisfied customer. The key is in the proportions, and here's her formula:  one teaspoon of Oxy per quarter cup of vinegar, in a load of wash. To JUST DEODORIZE, add the Oxy and vinegar to enough water to fill a common spray bottle, then spray it, then air it.

Try this on yer next smelly horse blanket. We think you'll be pleased. Incidentally, that laundromat lady gives lessons every Saturday afternoon. 

It's been raining nearly nonstop for several days now.  So we spent Saturday night at the glamorous Mooseberry Inn, near Willow, which is near Wasilla, which is near Anchorage.  The Mooseberry was tricky to find. We got the reservation via Expedia, but kept losing the cellular connection to write down the address or phone number. Drove up and down through Willow several times, thinking it had to be within sight, as virtually all motels are, of the main highway ( and Willow is TINY).

Anyway, long story short, we finally found a spot with cellular reception, got the address (Buckingham Palace Road, not lying), and phone number. Called the motel, got directions.  Still couldn't find it because it turned out to be a bed and breakfast place inside a regular looking house.  

The room was fine, and the hostess, one Maggie with a thick German accent, was most hospitable and did whip us up a four -star brekky. Strawberry yogurt, spinach and bacon omelette, pancakes, orange juice, coffee, tea, and Maggie's life story were all presented in generous portions. 

Maggie still goes back to Germany annually to see her "mudder," as she pronounces it.  Owns three different B & Bs  in Alaska, all several hundred miles from each other. Two. Grown kids, a grandchild or two, and a husband who is an "all-around handyman" currently supervising "above ground " operations at a gold mine somewhere.

Also fished for a half hour or so that evening, at a nearby pond. Caught nothing.

Love for the Kenai

Also on Sunday, after leaving Maggie (see above) we had a scenic drive down through Anchorage, then back into Alaska again, and down into the Kenai (KEEN - eye) peninsula. That's mainly north to south, if you're keeping score.

The Kenai is something like 15,000 square miles, so it's a bit bigger than Maryland but not as big as West Virginia.  It's about bout A quarter to a fifth the size of Illinois.  And it's about five times bigger than Yellowstone N.P.  

So why all this size info? It's because the Kenai Peninsula FEELS like it's one big wild park with just one or two paved roads going through it. Technically it's not all one park. But upwards of 90 per cent, maybe, is federal property pretty much left to its own devices. If you're interested, it consists mainly of one enormous national wildlife refuge, a large national forest, and a national park.

The Kenia also has two of the worlds very best pacific salmon rivers, and an elaborate hiking trails system. And there are plenty of the usual wildlife suspects: griz, wolves, moose, mountain Sheep, mountain goats, caribou, and others.  

So if someone were going to Alaska, with limited time or budget, and mainly wanted to fish or backcountry hike, I would might recommend the Kenai even over some of the other spectacular regions.


We're holed up in a motel in a little town called Soldotna, on the Kenai River. Waiting to see if the rain will stop, though we'll eventually go outside even if it doesn't.

REINDEER GAMES

We're getting behind so will try here to catch up.

Today's Moment of Science has to do with caribou and reindeer.  Reindeer are either a  sub-species of caribou or an extremely close cousin, take your pick.  Scientists, using gene mapping, still don't quite agree on that.

The reindeer, in any case, are smaller and stockier and much less nomadic. They were domesticated many centuries ago by a group of Scandinavian indigenous people called Sami, also known as Laplanders. The Sami used them both for meat and to pull sleds.

Sometime between then and now, a mysterious philanthropist named St. Nikolai taught some of them to fly, a landmark moment in the shipping business.

Today, in Alaska, there are several herds of wild caribou who migrate huge distance as they forage for plant food. And their is, apparently, a pretty successful reindeer farming industry.

Caribou and reindeer are unique in another interesting way. They are the only "ungulates" -- that is, hoofed mammals -- in which both males and females both grow antlers. You might say they are ALL transgendered.

Okay, one more thing: antlers vs. horns.  Antlers are shed every fall and begun anew every spring. Famous antler growers include caribou, elk, and deer. Horns, on the other hand, are never shed, but keep growing bigger.  Horn growers include bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and bison.

We're getting behind so will try here to catch up.

Today's Moment of Science has to do with caribou and reindeer.  Reindeer are either a  sub-species of caribou or an extremely close cousin, take your pick.  Scientists, using gene mapping, still don't quite agree on that.

The reindeer, in any case, are smaller and stockier and much less nomadic. They were domesticated many centuries ago by a group of Scandinavian indigenous people called Sami, also known as Laplanders. The Sami used them both for meat and to pull sleds.

Sometime between then and now, a mysterious philanthropist named St. Nikolai taught some of them to fly, a landmark moment in the shipping business.

Today, in Alaska, there are several herds of wild caribou who migrate huge distance as they forage for plant food. And their is, apparently, a pretty successful reindeer farming industry.

Caribou and reindeer are unique in another interesting way. They are the only "ungulates" -- that is, hoofed mammals -- in which both males and females both grow antlers. You might say they are ALL transgendered.

Okay, one more thing: antlers vs. horns.  Antlers are shed every fall and begun anew every spring. Famous antler growers include caribou, elk, and deer. Horns, on the other hand, are never shed, but keep growing bigger.  Horn growers include bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and bison.

ACTUALLY SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

HOW TO DEODORIZE A HORSEBLANKET

While we were doing laundry a week or more ago, the woman who ran the laundromat taught us how to deodorize a horse blanket. She'd worked that laundromat for something like eight years and was highly conversant in the art of cleaning fabrics.  Her default position on many of the most difficult problems was this: vinegar and Oxi-clean. Works even on horse blankets, many of which she has cleaned, de-smelled, and personally hand-delivered to many a satisfied customer. The key is in the proportions, and here's her formula:  one teaspoon of Oxy per quarter cup of vinegar, in a load of wash. To JUST DEODORIZE, add the Oxy and vinegar to enough water to fill a common spray bottle, then spray it, then air it.

Try this on yer next smelly horse blanket. We think you'll be pleased. Incidentally, that laundromat lady gives lessons every Saturday afternoon. 

It's been raining nearly nonstop for several days now.  So we spent Saturday night at the glamorous Mooseberry Inn, near Willow, which is near Wasilla, which is near Anchorage.  The Mooseberry was tricky to find. We got the reservation via Expedia, but kept losing the cellular connection to write down the address or phone number. Drove up and down through Willow several times, thinking it had to be within sight, as virtually all motels are, of the main highway ( and Willow is TINY).

Anyway, long story short, we finally found a spot with cellular reception, got the address (Buckingham Palace Road, not lying), and phone number. Called the motel, got directions.  Still couldn't find it because it turned out to be a bed and breakfast place inside a regular looking house.  

The room was fine, and the hostess, one Maggie with a thick German accent, was most hospitable and did whip us up a four -star brekky. Strawberry yogurt, spinach and bacon omelette, pancakes, orange juice, coffee, tea, and Maggie's life story were all presented in generous portions. 

Maggie still goes back to Germany annually to see her "mudder," as she pronounces it.  Owns three different B & Bs  in Alaska, all several hundred miles from each other. Two. Grown kids, a grandchild or two, and a husband who is an "all-around handyman" currently supervising "above ground " operations at a gold mine somewhere.

Also fished for a half hour or so that evening, at a nearby pond. Caught nothing.

Denial in Denali

ACTUALLY THURSDAY, AUG 4

DENIAL IN DENALI

These Alaskans can't let go of their "biggest this, biggest that" obsession. They're almost as bad as Texans, though not nearly as obnoxious. Not satisfied with being the biggest state, having the highest peak, and so forth, they had to create the World's Largest City besides.  Not in terms of population, of course, but acreage.  The CITY of Sitka, in Southeast Alaska, is 2,873.3 square MILES. 

We went to the famous Denali National Park today, but didn't see much of it.  Everything was fogged in.  Also we arrived there too late to catch one of the shuttle buses that take you into the park and from which tHousands of tourists each year enjoy viewing Grizzlies, caribou, and moose. Fortunately for us, we had been on that little tour 29 years before, so we didn't mind missing it too much.

Did see one caribou while driving in on the short distance of road that autos are allowed on. And took a pleasant one-hour hike on the tundra along a river called the Savage.

We then drove down to Denali STATE park to get a campsite. Jim had determined, through vigorous and painstaking research, that this camping spot was right across the main road from the Denali NATIONAL park. He was only off by 90 miles. So it was pretty late by the time we got to the state park campsite. And also raining. So we set  up our little blue tent and heated up a pre-cooked chicken and rice dish, went to bed and heard raindrops thunk against the tent fly all night. 

BETTER HOMES IN GARDENS

And now let's pause for a moment of science.  Our readers who work  -- or have worked -- in the building trades may find this especially fascinating, if not humbling.  There's a little mammal up here called the Hoary Marmot, cousin of the more common Groundhog of weather prediction fame. 

Despite what it's name might suggest, Hoary Marmots are quite civilized. When they construct their homes, which are underground burrows, they always include a separate room which is basically a bathroom. When nature calls, they go in there to take care of business, thus keeping the main chamber, the living and dining area, clean and fresh.

A big danger In the blogging game is that you can get bogged down in tedious descriptions of meals and restaurants.  So we'll just say in that regard that we are conducting something of a survey of clam or fish chowders in the region.  Had a great one last night at an upscale (for Fairbanks) eatery called the Chena Alaskan Grill.

The rivers up here are swollen silly from all the rain. This is Jim's excuse for catching no fish so far in a place where it's not easy to not catch fish. I did catch one several days ago at a little stream on a private campground. It must have been upwards of three inches. Some kind of trout, but too small to tell exactly what kind.

More exciting fishing reports to follow so keep it right here.

Let sleeping bears lie

WED, AUG 3

As you know, it's legal to hunt bears in Alaska. 

But it's illegal to wake a sleeping bear to take its picture.

We're holed up in a Super 8 in Fairbanks after a longish and very wet hike to some more funny rock formations. This one was through some pretty wild feeling terrain, including some super-soggy tundra-like bog at first and then upwards through some wet young aspens whose wet leaves deposited water all over us as we brushed them aside.  Also, it was raining.  And yet, still fun in an adventurous, sick, demented kind of way.

Saw a lot of moose droppings along the trail, but, alas, no bears, sleeping or otherwise.

OMISSIONS AND ERRORS 

A few things we previously got wrong or forgot to mention:

-- Wrangell St Elias National Park is only six times bigger than Yellowstone, not ten.  To better picture this, that's roughly a third the size of New York or 40 percent of Illinois.  And about equal to the size of Spain.

A few things we left out before:

-- seen four moose thus far crossing roads.

--In Seattle, there's a tent city for homeless persons on the lawn of the county health services building.  There's a lot of tents, and they are all pretty new, so thre must be a public program to make them available.

Tutu Tootsie, Goodbye!

Tuesday, AUG 2

Hey, did you know Alaska is the most northern U.S. state?  Of course you did.  Everybody knows that.  

But you didn't know it's the farthest WEST and EAST, did ha?  Yep.  The state's Aleutian Chain of islands extends so far west that it crosses the International Dateline.  So it's as far as you can possibly be both east and west.

We're camped about 40 miles north and east of Fairbanks on a road that ends four miles from here.  Drizzled rain all night and raining hard now, at 5:30 pm.  Not too surprising, since they've had record rains here all spring and summer.  In fact, here were the two front page Headlines from yesterday's Fairbanks paper, The Miner:  

"Record Rain Continues to Drench Fairbanks"    And

"Mud Made up of Ancient Volcanic Ash blocks Denali Road"

It cleared up for most to the day though, so we enjoyed a cool little hike to some rocks overlooking the Chena River valley. A steep uphill haul but only a little less than two miles up, so  our aging bodies weren't abused too badly.

And Regina had a fashion epiphany.  There was an 18 month or so girl hiking on our trail, with (pretty obviously) her parents.  A really cute kid and avid young adventurer.  Her trekking ensemble included calf length rubber hiking boots and a pink and purple tutu.  So Regina is planning to hike in a tutu later this week, if one can be scrounged up.

ACTUALLY STILL SAT, JULY 31

If you're ever in Alaska, don't pick any water lilies or Lilly pads. It' against the law.  The reason: the Lilly pads are critical habitat for an unusual creature known as the Wood Frog. Which brings us to the famous baseball player, TedWilliams.  When Teddy Ballgame died, his son, you might recall, tried to have Ted, or maybe it was just Ted's head, frozen, with a view toward bringing Ted back in some distant future.

Well, the Wood Frog, which needs lily pads, actually freezes during the long Alaskan winter.  Then it more or less returns from the dead in the spring.  So we need these Wood Frogs if for no other reason than maybe we can unlock its cryogenic secrets and thus bring back Ted Williams, or at least his head.

Anyway, took two short hikes this morning after camping near the boundary of Wrangell-st. Elias NP.  First one gently downhill through fir forest on mossy trail to a bluff overlooking a glacier-fed river.  Scenic as always.

The second was to see some Mud Volcanoes.  The mud volcano site, when you first arrive, looks like a round, flat patch of mud about the size of a soccer field.  It contains, however, Little potholes filled with water, and the water constantly bubbles. The bubbles, it seems, are caused by escaping methane gas from a coal seam underneath.

After that, yet another scenic drive (yawn), north toward Fairbanks and directly through the middle of another massive mountain region, the Alaskan Range.  Camped at a state park site fifty miles  or so outside of Fairbanks. Enjoyed a delicious camp dinner of reheated pre-cooked ham, crackers, carrots and cocktails.

Actually July 31:

Today's amazing Alaska fun fact:  in Alaska, it's illegal to whisper in someone's ear while moose hunting.  

Hey, google it.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon (sat, July 30), we drove our rented Chevy Traverse LT from  Anchorage east and north to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. It seems hard to imagine a more scenically spectacular drive.  Great waves of glaciated mountain ranges rolling off into the distance in all directions.

The above-mentioned national park was pretty incomprehensible too.  It's the largest of u.s. Parks, about ten times the acreage of Yellowstone.  The acreage of glaciers within it would cover Connecticut.  It has nine of the highest 16mountains in the u.s.  And so on. It is virtually roadless and trail less, and we didn't quite have the time or equipment or energy to venture very far into it. Even so, quite worth the drive.

Here's just one final amazing thing we learned at this park.  Millions of dead salmon carcasses lay around in the rivers, because they die after swimming sometimes hundreds of miles uphill to spawn. But the carcasses are GOOD for the rivers. Besides providing food for bears and others, their decaying bodies provide a lot of nutrients to the rivers, which would otherwise be pretty sterile.  These nutrients are ingested by tiny life forms, which are eaten by bigger life forms, etc. , including the salmon babies ("fry") .  A most interesting lesson in ecology.

Fun facts

Here's something I bet you didn't know.  Alaska is the ONLY STATE whose name you can type on just one single row of yer keyboard.  It's true, you could look it up.

More great Alaska facts to follow in the ensuing days, so keep it right here.

Here's another semi-fact-slash-joke the locals like to recite. "When yer anywhere in Anchorage, you're only twenty minutes from Alaska."  In other words, Anchorage is a kind of artificial modern world somehow plunked down in the midst of something else. There's a lot of truth to that, as anchorage is a pretty major city and Alaska -- even including Anchorage -- has the fewest number of humans per square mile of the 50 states and by far the most mountains, wilderness, remote islands, reindeer farms, caribou,wild rivers, and old- timey homesteaders.

Anywhooo... We escaped the big city last night and spent the evening in a quaint little motel in the little town of Palmer, about 50minutes north of the big metropolis. 'Twas good to be back in the real Alaska.

Reindeer sausage is big here. Last night Jim had what he thought was going to be a reindeer burger. It turned out to be a thick beef burger PLUS reindeer sausage. A little more hoofed-mammal meat than absolutely necessary.  Good though. Regina was smarter and ordered a personal pizza, though it too proved rather voluminous for one sane person.  So pizza for lunch today.

We're now headed out to hike and camp.

Preview for tomorrow's entry: How to Deodorize a Horse Blanket.  You won't want to miss it!!

Spectacular Train Ride

Took the train yesterday evening from Whittier to Anchorage, a two and a half hour ride. Clouds lifted at just the right time.  The views were so spectacular that you might have asked yer self, "geeze, why did I ever go anywhere else on vacation!"

Countless mountains in all directions, seemingly going on forever.
All rising abruptly from sea level to several thousands of feet, several with turquoise glaciers in between them, most with shiny white snow fields at their tops.  In two of the rivers we passed over, we watched as a fisherman would pull out a salmon about the length of a yardstick.

It's also a tradition for fishermen and others along the way to wave happily at the train riders gliding by. Winters are so long here that that there There's a pronounced sense of exhilaration when it's summer.

Even Giddier for Whittier

Gonna take back one thing we said earlier about Whittier. The fog lifted briefly yesterday revealing it's even MORE spectacular than we thought. It's surrounded by steep, lush mountains in EVERY direction, including across the narrow inlet of water our boat came in on.

Also, Whittier has an appreciation for high culture. They have, for example,  a creek in town named after the great master of the English language, the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon, the man who revolutionized live theater. That's right: Shakespeare Creek.

And here's another point for Whittier: While waiting for our 6 pm train, we took a little hike in the rain, then had a remarkable lunch at a place called, aptly enough, The Inn at Whittier.  It turned out the Inn at Whittier has gourmet dining. We split an extremely flavorful clam chowder and -- the coup de gras -- The Inn's completely unforgettable Woodshed Whittier Burger. This is no ground-up leftover cow-parts sandwich.  Instead, it's made from a "custom ground combination of short rib and pulled pork brisket."

So let's stop the hating on Whittier. It's gotten a bad rap.  

The Case for Whittier

Whittier, Alaska.  Socked in with fog all day Wednesday the 27th on the boat and still socked in in Whittier this morning.  We're now off the ferry after riding it for 1,629 miles up the western coast of Canada and a chunk of what is called Southeast Alaska. 

Incidentally, there is no SouthWEST Alaska.  Owing to alaska's unusual shape, the part called southeast is a kind of needle-shaped piece that sticks out dramatically from the main part.  To the west of that is nothing but ocean and some islands.  You could probably say that the long Aleutian chain of islands is southwestern Alaska, but it's not known as that.

Anyway enough eighth grade geography.  Yesterday, as mentioned, we were fogged in all day, and it drizzled rain continually.  And, we were out in the more open water of the Gulf of Alaska, so the boat rocked all day long.  So kind of a slow day. Lots of reading, dozing, and game playing. There was one couple that seemed to be playing Yahtze all day and night, with charts of scores and data from, I imagine, their previous games.  They seemed serious enough about it to,earn the nickname The Yahtze Nazis.

We're here in Whittier for about twelve hours, waiting for the 6 pm train up to Anchorage. At least two people had mentioned to us that Whittier is the "armpit of North America" or maybe the world.  I really don't get that. It is tiny, and a good chunk of it is railroad track. But it has a pleasant little harbor, a nice lodge/hotel, a cafe, a fishing charter, and a couple of kayak outfitters. And oh yes, the air may be damp but it's clean. What else do you need?

More importantly, Whittier sits in the middle of a rather breathtaking setting. It's surrounded on two-plus sides by rugged mountains cloaked in rich green forest with snow around their tops, and several narrow waterfalls streaming down to the sea. What's not surrounded by forested mountains looks out onto Prince William Sound.

So I could easily name you a hundred towns that would put Whittier to shame in the category of armpittery. All we are saying is give Whittier a chance.

Tents aboard the Kennicott: you can sleep for free if you want to

Jammed up in Juneau

We are anchored in Juneau , the state capital. We've Now gone over 1000 miles since boarding the H/V Kennicott in Bellingham, Washington three days ago.  

Never really did see Juneau because the actual city is twelve miles up the road from the port.  So we took about a three mile walk in a drizzling rain up the road to another tiny little harbor called Auke Bay.  

Our sleeping quarters are reminiscent of an old "I Love Lucy" bit where Lucy and Ricky have to dance around each other in their tiny sleeper car. There's about room for two people to stand up and even change positions if they work together and practice it a little.  I (Jim) have the top bunk and enjoy the gymnastics of climbing up into it each evening.


What's really spooky though is that there's a couple in the berth next to us who look a lot like Fred and Ethel Mertz.

They show films on the ferry, and the first night was one about how an enormous Boulder was blown up in 1958.  The Boulder was just under the water along our route, which is often called the Inside Passage..  Many lives were lost when ships struck the troublesome rock.  And so the proper authorities put their heads together and blew the thing to smithereens.  It was, we are proudly told, "the biggest non-nuclear explosion in history.!

So that's yet another reason we Americans can and by God should be proud. We own the record for both kinds of enormous explosions, nuclear and non.

The place where the nasty Boulder once did its evil work is still pretty hazardous, however.  A guy in a pilot-looking uniform told me that the water rushes through that narrow pass at up to 20 miles per hour when the tide is going in or out.  This creates all manner of crazy whirlpools that keep ship pilots on their toes.

Speaking of speeds, our ship travels at around 15 to 17 knots.  A knot is actually very close to one mile per hour, so it's easily convertible.  But this does beg the question: why the heck don't they just say "miles per hour"?  I guess it's for the same reason we have to say " port side" for "left side of the ship" and "starboard" for the right side.

If you get caught saying, say, "whales on the right side of the ship," Instead of saying " whales to starboard," you get lashed by theCaptian with a Cat O' Nine-tails, which hurts.

Discipline is key at sea.

Made it all the way to Ketchikan, Alaska. Little shipping town of 12 to15 thousand souls carved into the mountains which come right down to the shore almost vertically.  

Ketchikan gets 12 feet of rain per year. By my math, that's a foot a month, or 3 inches every week, week after week. No wonder the slopes of the mountains are lush with evergreen forest.

Cruise ships stop here too, so you can buy all kinds of items you don't need. ("Kids' alaska socks!")

They let us off  our boat, the Kennicott, for several hours, so we walked the couple of miles into the little downtown area. (It wasn't raining, only overcast.)

One whale spotted yesterday but pretty far from our boat.

Boat was a little rocky yesterday for a few hours when we were exposed to open ocean. We made one friend by supplying a nauseated woman with Dramamine.  

Planes, trains, buses, shuttles, ferries, and automobiles

well, they let us on the ferry today despite our appearances. Pretty soon it'll leave for Alaska and we won't be able to post anything til Monday, July 25.

Maybe by then we'll figure out how to post a pic or two here,  or not to make a bolloxed up post  like the one for Friday, below.

Our room on the ferry is about the size of a two-person coffin.  Nice, though.

Southwest air gets a new motto

Southwest Airlines earned a new motto a few days ago: "Make America Wait Again!"  Their computer went sideways on Wedesday, and they had to cancel 700 flights.  On thursday, the day we flew to Seattle , they had to cancel 300 more.

Lucky for us, we only had an hour delay. But there were some grim faces at the southwest gates.

Also lucky for us, the airport TVs had wall to wall coverage of the walk-through of Donnie Trump's acceptance speech, which he would deliver later that evening to a basketball arena full of silver-haired, pale-faced whooping morons. Time just flew.

The airports, though, are dropping the ball on one thing: they should have casinos in them for people waiting for their flights. Got to be revenue there.

Anyway the flight itself was simply marvelous.  As soon a we flew over Colorado it was announced that they would now be able to have deliver "the cannibas service."  They wheeled out trays of brownies and little candies laced with marijuana (no smoking on the plane, of course.)

We declined, but many of the passengers seemed to enjoy this new innovation. Of course, they had to do it fast, before the plane reached Utah airspace.

Ha Ha!!!  Just kidding about the dope service.

FRIDAY,

Our motel is in Kent, Washington, just outside Seattle. Having a day layover here, we walked to a bus terminal , rode the bus to downtown Seattle, walked around town, caught the light rail train back to Kent,

The people here Are pretty scared. There's a werewolf  warning been issued. It seems there was recently a hairy- handed gent who ran amok here in Kent, and lately he's been overheard inSpokane.  Werewolves of Washington again.

Skedaddle in Seattle We report, you decide.fortunately, the airport televisions were working. Delayed passengers could enjoy wall to wall coverage of Donald trumps walk-throughout of his historical speech to an arena full of war whooping morons later that evening.south

Saw many signs of america's terrible fall from Greatness yesterday.  At McDonald's in Nashville , Illinois, they messed up our oatmeal order. Sure, they were effusively apologetic, but the snafu must have cost us 8 or 9 minutes of precious time.  Would this have happened if Ray Krok were still alive. Well, we report, my our decide.

Even worse, as mentioned below, our plane out of St. Louis was delayed. It turned out Southest airlines had a computer meltdown that caused them to cancel 400 flights the day before and 300 yesterday?  Would this have happened in the good old days, say 1950?has a new motto: " make America late again!"

Skedaddle to Seattle

first phase accomplished. Made it thru security at lambert airport, st.louis.  Plane delayed an hour.

95 in the shade

tuesday, July 19.    Ninety five degrees here in Illinois as we pack stuff for Alaska. Won't do much here at blog central until  we board the ferry in Bellingham , Washington on Saturday, the 23d.

But stay tuned because boy is this gonna get exciting .  We'll be wrestling Grizzlies, getting hopelessly lost in the wilderness, getting chased by hungry wolves, angling for 300 pound marlin, and whatnot.  Maybe you saw that movie,  "The Revenant"?  Guy gets mauled by a griz, gets abandoned by his friends then crawls back to civilization with revenge on his mind? That's gonna seem like backyard picnic compared to the macho stuff we're gonna be getting up to!

And we might even learn how to post pictures here.  Desperate times, desperate measures.

Stay tuned.