HYDER, ALASKA & STEWART, BC

Black Bear catching salmon

We traveled from Tok, to Hyder, Alaska & Stewart, BC from July 13 to July 16 traveling some 1269 miles since we left Fairbanks.  From Watson Lake we went over 300 miles down the Cassiars Highway.  This was a beautiful drive but the road was very narrow in places with no shoulders so this was a slow drive.  there were rushing rivers and an area where the largest Jade Mine in the world is located. 

Jade City

This is to be our last destination in Alaska before heading home going by Jasper, Banff and Glacier National Parks.  The main thing to see in Hyder is the bears that come to Fish River when the salmon are running and Salmon Glacier.  Stewart BC and Hyder are separated by the border  Stewart is a Logging community with very little services, no bank, a small market and only one gas station.

Hyder is virtually a ghost town with only one business, a gift and fudge shop.  We spent two nights at a campground in Stewart.  We crossed the border each day to see the salmon and see the bears.  Finally on the second day the salmon began their run and we were there when the first salmon came up the river,

Fish River Observation Deck

Salmon Glacier is the 5th largest glacier in North American.

You could drive up the mountain to the top of the Glacier.  The drive and views were breathtaking.  A long drive into this isolated area but certainly worth the time if you have never been to Hyder.  The ideal time to visit is the end of July to September.

NORTH POLE, ALASKA to STEWART,BC

After leaving Fairbanks, we stopped at North Pole just 22 miles south of town en route to Tok which is 209 miles south.  This will be the first leg of our journey home.  The North Pole had the Christmas store and visitors center and that was it.  We stayed overnight at the same RV park in Tok that we did in May when we entered Alaska.  We had now made a full circle and we were on our way home, but first to Stewart, BC and Hyder Alaska for the Bear Viewing.  This leg of the trip will be 1280 miles.  We made the drive in 3 days of hard driving with overnight stops in Haines Junction and Watson Lake.  The roads from Fairbanks to Whitehorse (over 500 miles) were in as bad condition as they were when we drove up in May.

Road Construction

Digging down to Permafrost in Road



Frost heaves and gravel was the norm.  I had met one gentleman who had his headlamps busted and another that had replaced his windshield in Fairbanks and a week later at Watson Lake was repairing another rock chip on the new windshield.  After Watson Lake we had a 409 mile journey down the Cassiar Highway, which is a very narrow winding road with one lane wooden bridges through the Cassiar Mountain Range.  One stop on the way was Jade City where the largest supply of Jade in the world is mined.

We saw a black bear along the side of the road on this highway but had sighted a moose in the lake the day before. The last 14 miles into Stewart was road construction where they were repaving. We passed by another glacier just a few miles before entering Stewart. 


They had just put fresh gravel on the road and when I pulled into the RV park the host said they heard me coming before they saw me.  I had picked up a piece of gravel in the wheel of the jeep and it was making a loud screeching noise, but in checking where the screeching sound was coming from I discovered grease inside the wheel rim of my right rear tire of the motorhome.  I unhooked the jeep and drove it to determine the screeching was in the jeep, thus the rock.  Removed it and no more screeching and now to have the wheel on the motorhome checked.  Compared to others we have been very fortunate not to have any mishaps until now.

Moose with Ducks

FAIRBANKS, AK, July 10-13, 2017

Dog Mushing

We arrived in Fairbanks and parked at the city's Pioneer Park which is a 45 acre park with all kinds of historical buildings and shops that represent the old Alaska days.  There were no hookups, just boondocking in their parking lot for $12/day.  We plan to be here for 3 days.  The morning after we arrived we took the steamboat Discovery down the Chenata River for a 3hr. trip.

Discovery

The riverboat was huge and was a true paddle boat. Along the way we got a demonstration on Dog Mushing from the daughter of a 4 time female Identarod winner.  We then went up the river to a native village.  Along the way a plane landed on the river and took off as a demonstration.  Along the river we saw a herd of Caribou along the banks near the Native village. 

Caribou

The guides at the Indian village gave us a full tour and history of the natives and how they lived and survived during the harse winters.  They talked about how they lived off the land and made their clothing from the furs as well as a full discussion and demonstration on how they air dryed and smoked the salmon.

Smokehouse

  The following day we rode 7 miles north of Fairbanks to Gold Dredge Mine No. 8 to pan for Gold.

Panning for Gold

They also included a full discussion of the Alaskan Pipeline that runs 800 miles from Nome to Valdez from .  Together, Linda and I panned $46 of Gold in 3 tries.  Tonight we plan on going to a authentic Alaskan Salmon Bake and a comedy revue about life in the Alaskan Frontier in the Pioneer Village.  This will be our last night here and then we head to Hyder tomorrow which is 1281 miles south of here.

DENALI

Mt. Denali

We arrived in Denali in the late afternoon on July 8'  We went to Healy, Ak to view the bus that was in the movie "Into The Wild" which was based upon a journal of a young man who hitchhiked into Alaska and got trapped in the wild and eventually died.  The bus was a replica of the one that the young man was found dead in after eating poison berries.  I won't get into the entire story but you can get the movie on Netflex.

Afterwards we went to the Wilderness Activity Center to pick up our tickets for the 12 hour bus trip 92 miles into the park, an almost 200 mile ride. We got up at 5:30 the next morning to get to the WAC at 7 am.  The morning started out overcast and windy due to  a big rain storm with thunder and lightning the night before.  The day began to clear and we got some beautiful views of Mt Denali.

Denali

  They say that only 30% of the people that come to Denali get a clear view of the Mountain.  The pictures do not do it justice!  The tour provided a box lunch along with snacks and drinks as well as stops along the way for sightseeing and wildlife viewing.  We saw Caribou, Dahl sheep, a Grizzly a bull moose and a moose with 2 calves.

Caribou

Grizzly

Dahl Sheep

Bull Moose

 

 

TALKEETNA, ALASKA July 6-8

Talkeetna

Talkeetna is the base camp for the climbers that attempt climbing Mt. Denali (formerly McKinley).  We spent 2 nights and one full day in this quaint town.  There was an excellent film that related what the climbers had to do to prepare for their climb up Denali.  This year 1100 climbers checked in at the ranger station to climb Denali but only 426 climbers had reached  the Summit.  Weather did not permit a flight to the mountain which was 136 miles away.


River

Shops in Talkeetna

COOPER LANDING. July 5-6, 2017

Floating down the Kenai

We left Seward on Wednesday, July 5, Samuel's 12th Birthday and went to Cooper Landing.  We didn't leave Seward until noon and got to Coopers about 2:30pm.  I had booked a River Float Ride down the Kenai River for Samuel's birthday.  We launched at 6:30 pm for the 12 mile, 3 hour ride down the river.

We were hoping to see wildlife down the river but all we saw was some eagles. 

Add caption

Some fishermen hollered that there was a bear in the area as we went by them.  They had their guns out. The next morning, Tommy had booked a fishing guide to take him and the boys trout fishing.

SEWARD, ALASKA - JULY 1-5, 2017

At he Sea Life Center

It has been several days since I have posted due to several factors including a lack of internet, but mainly due to the days starting early and going late.  Kelly's family arrived in Seward on July 1 and we had 4 full days of packed activity in Seward.  On my birthday, Sunday, July 2, Tommy had chartered a combination Halibut and Salmon fishing trip for his family and me.

Linda stayed back since the boat could only take 6 people other than the captain and the deck hand.  We went out about 9:30 am and did not return until 7:30 pm that night.  Of course there was plenty of daylight since the sun did not set until after 10:30 pm. The day started out raining but as we got further out into the ocean, (45 mile out) the day cleared off and we had smooth waters. We had a great day catching the limit of Halibut along with some silver salmon.

Halibut

Thomas also caught a giant sting ray with Tommy catching a huge Cod.  We actually released more Halibut than we kept hoping to catch that big one.  As it got later in the day, we knew we kept what we caught until we got the limit.  upon returning, Linda had made some Sante Fe Soup and had a birthday cake.  A nice ending for the day.

Monday, July 3rd, we started later and went to Seward's Sea Life Center for the morning. 




Sea Lion

This is a must see while in Seward.  It has all kinds of sea life and is a renown conservation center.  Afterwards we went to Exit Glacier and hiked to the glacier for photo opportunities.  Linda

Exit Glacier

and I had already been there but felt it was something that the others should take the opportunity to see.  Seward is a town of 2500 but on the 4th of July the population increases to over 25,000 because of the International Mountain Race that was to take place the next morning.  The town was buzzing with activity on the 3rd with a festival on the streets downtown.  This was a great local event that people come to participate from several states and countries.  At midnight they had a fireworks display at the harbor.

Midnight Fireworks

We had a fire in front of our Motorhome on the bay and let the boys have Smores and see the fireworks.

Smores Campfire

It was almost 1 am before we got them to bed and we had to get up early to catch a 8 hour wildlife and glacier cruise the next morning.
On July 4th, we took the Major Marine Kenai Fjords wildlife and glacier tour.  Words cannot explain the day that we had and the pictures will not do this trip justice.  The Major marine has a park ranger on board that talks as you are cruising to see wildlife and the glaciers. This particular company also assigns you a seat and you don't have to worry about losing your seat as you move outside for viewing.  WE HAD A BANNER DAY!  We saw two sets of Orka

Humpback

Orka



Humpback

Bald Eagles

Whales, one set on the way out and another on the way back.  There was a huge Bull Orka in the group on the way back.  Also we got into a school of Humpback whales, over 16 of them.  They were in front, on the side and in the back of the boat as we moved.  The captain finally stopped the boat and got on deck to take pictures of the whales, saying he had not seen this many in several seasons.  We saw Puffins, sea otters, and sea lions, a black bear, Eagles
  and harbor seals. After passing the Bear glacier, we stopped at two other glaciers, the Aialik and Holgate Glacier.  The captain cut the engine while getting very close where we could experience the glacier calving. 


Sea Lions