Review of Visit,, 45 days in Ak: After a fun summer of ball games, lots of play, birthdays, in state travel and field trips it is time to go home We are driving back but taking the ferry out of Haines, Ak as we did on the way up, to avoid any western Canada complications. Pat celebrated her 70 birthday on June 27, a family birthday party and lots of best wishes from friends and relatives. Dinner at the Crow’s Nest rounded off celebration. Dean celebrated his 7th birthday on June 8, party in the park with lion birthday cake. Quinn led us on various field trips to museum, zoo and hiking. A weekend in Ninilchik with family in a VBRO, set on top of a bluff overlooking Cook Inlet and Iliamna volcano; a side trip to Homer, Cooper Landing Princess Lodge for lunch and new Cooper Landing brewery. Chuck and Pat took the 21 glacier tour out of Whitter, saw lots of tidal glaciers, a whale and seals. They also went to the Scottish Highland games at the Ak State Fairgrounds where they entered the spurtle porridge stirring contest. Didn’t win but walked away with spurtle and bag of oatmeal. Also went to the Ak Native Heritage Center in Anchorage for a film festival, viewing a new release from Sundance film festival, Fancy Dance. Drove up to Hatcher Pass for gold mining tour and the Lodge for refreshment. Stopped at Eklutna Lake, where Anchorage gets its water supply; beautiful glacial lake and big black bear on the side of the road. A trip down to Seward, saw Dall Sheep along the road, visited shops and had dinner at Ray’s. Ate a Jack Spratt in Girdwood, excellent. We even managed to get in two meals at Lake Hood patio with float plane activity. Chuck golfed one day, either too busy or too rainy. It is a rainy cool summer, just a few hit and miss days of full sun, but that doesn’t stop us! Sad to leave, but Brenna and family following us a week after we get home, so travel across US and prep for visitors! Exciting times. Pictures inserted with this review on the blog.
Day 1:
Return to Ohio
Anchorage to
Tok, 6 ½ hrs. 333 miles
Began
organizing trip home packing a week ago, today all into the car. We still seem to fill it. Left Anchorage at 9AM in heavy rain, it
continued with low hanging clouds until we passed Matanuska Glacier for a pit
stop and another look at the magnificent site.
The Fire Weed bike race is happening this weekend, we pass bikes working
hard to travel Eureka Summit to Valdez. Sun and not too cold, but they are fighting
high winds. It’s so different returning
this way after the scary blizzard trip we took earlier. All green and no low snow but still some on
mountains, the volcanoes are only part way visible and the creeks are
swollen. It’s a beautiful drive but road
heave demands attention. We stop briefly
at the Wrangell-St Elias National Park Station.
There are only two roads that barely touch the interior of the gigantic
park, the one today must be tread carefully as is the one to Kennecott Glacier
which we have traveled. This is extreme
wilderness and the limited access makes it more so. We arrive in Tok and have to stay at the
Golden Bear motel and campground. Our
previous cabin was not available. It’s
very rustic but they have made improvements so comfortable. The Alaska Gift Shop is open, we have never
been since they have a short season.
What a delightful surprise. One
of the workers grows flowers from seeds and today at least 50 pots of glorious
color greet us. It is a large log cabin,
very sophisticated inside with wide range of gift items and historic relics and
an info film playing and taxidermy displays.
And they make homemade fudge. But
the real topper is the amount of burled wood used in the construction. The most we have seen anywhere. The building is its own work of art. We return to Fast Eddie’s for early dinner,
food is good. Back at the room we work
on this blog to get it restarted for trip home.
Tomorrow Haines Junction at the same place we have been before. Working our way to the Haines ferry day
after.
Time for
sleep, hundreds of miles tomorrow, crossing the border and heaved remote road.
Nighty
Night.
