SEWARD, ALASKA

Linda talking with her Mom from our MH site on Resurrection Bay in Seward

We arrived in Seward, Ak. five days ago and plan on being here for 14 days before driving back to Cooper Landing.  The city recreation department manages hundreds of sites on Resurrection Bay but only a few of them have electricity and water, none have sewage at the site.  The location on the water is beautiful, the water is crystal blue with the snowcapped mountains in the background..  We were very fortunate to obtain a site up front facing the water.  The first night we got to Seward, we stayed 6 miles from town at Stoney Creek campground that had full service (50 amp) and drove into Seward the next morning at 7:30 am in our jeep waiting for someone to pull out.  Fortunately, Linda walked down the sidewalk on the waterfront and ran into Donna, whom we had met in Palmer.  Donna and her friend are from Florida and she asked Linda if we were looking for a spot and that they were leaving that day.  We went to the check-in and paid for the site nd put it on the post of their site.  Mission accomplished and we moved the Motorcoach in about 11 am.  This place is extremely crowded and will be more so on the July 4th weekend due to a big festival and an International Race up a mountain that is in clear view behind our Motorcoach.


Site of Race

There is lots to do and see in Seward but this is the most expensive place we have been in Alaska.  Restaurants are primarily sandwiches with a grilled cheese costing $9 and a peanut butter and Jam at $6.A dinner consist of steak, or Salmon or Halibut.  Expect to spend over $40 per person with a drink.  Fuel prices are over $3.00 here where other places are between 2.36 & 2.81 per gallon.  Fishing boats are going out every morning and coming in with very large catches of Halibut and Rockfish.


  Men are fishing for Reds along the shore across from us on Resurrection Bay.  Every day there are sea otters that play in front of our coach.  Most days that we have been here we have spotted Humpback Whales feeding into the Bay and then moving back out into the ocean. The Bay is 18 miles before you reach the ocean.  Our first day here we went to Exit Glacier in the Kenai National Forest.  We attended services on Sunday at Resurrection Bay Baptist Church.  The second person to greet us was from Evergreen, Al.

Exit Glacier



Sea Otter

Tail of the Humpback



Humpback

Start of the Iditarod

1906 Hotel

Movie Theatre



Humpback
 

  

COOPER LANDING, ALASKA

Russian River Ferry taking fishermen across River

We have been in Cooper Landing for four days and it would be easy to stay longer if I was a devout fisherman.  The Salmon are running now and fishermen are everywhere.  We are staying at the Kenai Princess RV Park which is operated by the Princess Cruise lines. 

Princess Lodge

The RV park is here because the company has a Lodge where they bring people from Cruise Ships that port at Whittier.  They run tours into the interior of Alaska from the Lodge.  It has all the amenities of any resort, a fitness center, a spa, and great restaurants.  We traveled the area, going 18 miles up a gravel road that followed the Kenai River deeper into a most desolated area.   The scenery was beautiful, we saw a moose and calf, a man that was dredging for gold in a pool at the base of a waterfall. 

Mining for Gold

The road ended and we drove off a side road to what we discovered was Cooper Lake.  There we met George "Bubba" Hunt and his wife Lynn.

Bubba Hunt

  He was a true Alaskan and is a famous Bear and Moose hunter from Soldotna.  As a matter of fact, he had shot a Black Bear the day before on the hillside beside the Lake.  When I returned to our RV I googled him and read about his exploits.  He was also a 3 time world champion moose caller.  Bubba has stage 4 lung cancer and he asked for our prayers,  We all hugged each other and while his wife, Lynn, came to tears we prayed over and for him.  Linda and I both felt this was a divine appointment because there were many times we talked of turning back.  We talked with him about being prepared for what is to come and whether he is a Christian.  Lynn and he both are!

On Sunday we went to the Kenai Lake Baptist Church for services.  We felt right at home!  Since it was fathers day, they had dinner on the ground after the service with BBQ ribs and grilled Salmon.  Of course we stayed and it was delicious.


Dinner on the Grounds

The pastor gave me several Russian River flys to go salmon fishing with.  After church we went back to visit with Bubba and Lynn on the Lake, sitting around their fire, just talking about life.

On Monday we drove to the Russian River campground and hiked 2.5 miles deep into the forest to the Russian River Falls.  Linda was nervous about the hike because it was into Bear Country and the Salmon were running up the river and trying to jump the Falls.

Salmon Jumping

In the last 2 weeks there have been 2 bear attacks with one person killed this past weekend, but she braved the trip in and out for a total of 5 miles.   We saw no bears but we saw salmon running and trying to get up river at the falls.

Moose with Calf

After walking out we drove to a point on the river that was covered up with fishermen.  It is interesting to watch the technique they call flossing.  Today we start making our way to Seward.

KENAI, ALASKA

We arrived in Kenai on Thursday, June 8 and stayed at the Beluga Overlook until Thursday, June 15.  This was an excellent place to park and rest as well as doing a little fishing from shore.

We had met this couple in Canada on our way up, Joyce and Bernie Minarik, who were from Alaska.  They were there, and as soon as we arrived, Joyce hollered at us and invited us over for a shark sandwich.  Bernie had caught the shark while fishing for Halibut,  I fished with Bernie for three days and did not have any luck, but Bernie caught another shark and a halibut.

Bernie

Of course Joyce invited us over for Halibut and it was great.  We returned the favor with a BBQ lunch and a pancake breakfast with Conecuh sausage later in the week.  It was a very restful week.  Every day Eagles would fly into and lite in the trees in front of our coach on the bluff overlooking the mouth of the Kenai river at the Cook Inlet.

Kenai is an old Russian village with buildings that are still standing from the early 1800s when the Russians were there,  The Russian Orthodox Church of Kenai was a beautiful old building built in the 1845.

Russian Orthodox Church

.  It still has an active attendance of 40-50 people.  Victoria,s

Victorias

was a local diner that was very scenic and old, but very well preserved.  While at Kenai, we went to Nikiski and to Soldotna, both about 15 miles from Kenai, but in opposite directions.  Nikiski is much smaller and more industrialised.  I saw one of the largest fertilizer plants in the world at Nikiski.  It also is where several oil storage facilities are located.  At  the very end of the highway is Captain Cook State Park.
Soldotna is the major city in the area with everything you would want in the way of shopping.  It was a good week and one that I think Linda and I both needed. 


Beluga Overlook

Joyce & Bernie

Russian Orthodox Sanctury

HOMER, ALASKA

We parked at the Maritime City RV park on the Homer Spit. Our site had a beautiful view overlooking the Cook Inlet.   Homer is definitely a Fishing town with hundreds to thousands of boats docked at the Harbor.

The Alusian Islands are off the shore of Homer and stretch for 5000 miles to the Bering Sea.  We arrived before lunch and went to Captain Paddys for a Halibut Lunch and then off to see the town.  The Alaskan Islands and Oceans visitor Center is also the regional office for the Department of Interior,  With an Interactive Museum and a Film, you got a great overview of the wildlife on the Islands.  On the first day in Homer we visited the local Farmers Market and the shops along the Spit.
Since we were not fishing at Homer, we decided that we would head out to Kenai after spending the night.

PORTAGE, WHITTIER, &, GIRDWOOD

RV Park at Portage Valley

After leaving Anchorage we drove south towards the Kenai and stopped at the Portage Valley RV Park for a couple of nights.  This was a good location with the town of Girdwood and Whittier within a few miles of our location. The location is in the wild , nestled among mountains and lakes and creeks back off the beaten path in the Chugach National Forest.  The Chugach is the 2nd largest National Forest in America and is the home of the Portage Glacier.  After getting set up we headed for the Animal Conservation Center near Girdwood.

  You could see every animal that was Alaskan at this one location.  They had Bears, Moose, Wolves, Caribou, Buffalo, Eagles, Elk and Black Deer.
Then we were off to Girdwood,  is a small village with a huge ski resort, the hotel Ayleska.  The next morning we got our bearings at the visitors center of the US Forest Service, they had a very informative video on the area and an interactive museum of Alaska, definitely worth the time.  Then off to Whittier, a small costal town in the Prince William Sound.  To get to Whittier, one must go through a tunnel that is 2.5 miles, the longest dual tunnel (both autos and trains) in the world.

   There was not much to Whittier so we headed back to catch the sightseeing boat to the Portage Glacier.  This was very inexpensive for Glacier cruises, only $39 per person and $13 for children under 12 years.  Our day was nearing the end but wee had one more place we wanted to see back at Girdwood, the Crow Creek Gold Mine  It is on the National Historical Site and it's said that the first claim was filed in1897.  It was a community set up to mine the creek by panning and hydraulics.  There is no record of the total gold taken from Crow Creek since its beginning but since 1922 until WWII, the mine yielded an average of 700 oz. per month, equating to $1,000,000 per month today.  Tomorrow we head to Homer.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Anchorage, Cooks Inlet

We arrived in Anchorage on Friday, June 2, with plans to be here until Monday morning.  We boondocked at the Cabelas store which is an excellent place to park. 

We were fortunate to park adjacent to a grassy island in the rear of the store.  They will allow you to park there free for 48 hours but I got an extended time after talking to the manager.  This an excellent located because it is just 5 minutes  to Walmart, Sams and Costco.  We used this opportunity to stock up.  When we leave in the morning, I will b going to Costco to get fuel which is 30 cents cheaper there than Sams or the local stations.  Saturday we spent the day sightseeing in the town visiting the American Native Heritage Center.

We learned that there are 9 culture tribes in Alaska that were here before the Russians came.  Some were taken as slaves and their children were taken to be educated in the White Mans ways.  They were treated very harshly.

Ulu Factory

Ships River

Afterwards we went to the Ulu factory and to see the Salmon fishing on Ships River behind the factory. 
We concluded the day by going to Earthquake Park.  This area residential when the 1964 earthquake hit and many of the homes were destroyed and the ground dropped by several feet and much of it slid into Cook Inlet.  We then went to Worondos Park to try and get a view of Mt. McKinley.

From this viewpoint, we got a good view of the city of Anchorage from Cooks Inlet.  Sunday was a day of rest and restocking and cleaning the Motorhome.

PALMER, ALASKA

Yesterday we left Kenny Lake and traveled approximately 167 miles to Palmer, Alaska on the Glenn Highway.  We left the Wrangell Mountain Range behind.  This range has three of the highest peaks in Alaska and one of them is the third highest in America..

Wrangell Mtns

The day was sunny and as we traveled further southwest, the temperature changed drastically.  We went from the 40s to the high 60s by the time we arrived in Palmer.  It certainly was good to see the sunshine.  There were several sightseeing opportunities along the way, the mountain range and three glaciers. 

Nelchina Glacier

We arrived in Palmer which gave us enough time to check things out at the Visitors center.  The town of Palmer is a colony town that was settled during the Great Depression.  Destitute farm families were forced on government relief and the Roosevelt Administration forced a resettlement project as a part of the New Deal.  Because of the fertile land in the Matanuska Valley, in1935, the government relocated 203 farm families from the Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin to farm this area.  Palmer became the trade and cultural center of the colony.  You can learn a lot from the visitors center.  We visited an early colony home that the government built.  It had original furniture and was really a nice home for the day.  Our host was a WWII veteran that lived in this area.  The military was what brought him to Alaska and he settled in the Valley and was a Dairy farmer.

He was really interesting to talk with.  Afterwards we went to a Musk Ox farm in the valley.  The Musk Ox only lives in the extreme cold, such as Siberia, Russia, but a local man decided they could be domesticated and provide a livelihood for the local natives.  The hair is called quivet and is really fine and very expensive.  It is woven and made into scarves, and head pieces. 

Bull Musk Ox

The hair , before processing, sells for $50 for 1 ounce making a neck wrap sell for $200 plus.

 After a good nights sleep, we took care of a few items at the coach, made calls, etc. and then went to the Noisy Goose Restaurant for breakfast.  Linda found it and said the ratings and comments were excellent.  Eating out is very expensive in Alaska, but the Noisy Goose was well worth it and we figured we would be on the ride to Hatcher Pass and would miss Lunch.  Before leaving town we found a bike shop and took our bikes there to get them tuned up.  They really took a beating over the Alaska Highway and all the frost heaves in Alaska.  Linda's bike tire was warped, the mirror off and my seat post had worked lose and needed replacing. Finally we headed out of town to Hatcher Pass.

Little Susitna River

2 mile 8% grade walk

  The drive was beautiful, running along a rapidly moving creek, rippling over boulders in the creek bed.  The day was beautiful with plenty of sunshine.  To our disappointment, the road to the pass was closed at about the 17 mile marker.  It was open to the Independence Mine.  We parked bout 2 miles from the mine and walked the distance up an 8% grade.
Gold was discovered in the Willow Creek valley in September 1906.  Before 1938 two companies existed in Hatcher Patch, the Alaska Free Gold Mine and Independence Mine on Granite Mountain. These two companies merge to pool expenses and resources.  Together they produced 34,416 oz. of Gold.  worth $1,204,560 (17 million today).

The mountain was still covered with snow and the visitors center and building were closed to visitors but that did not stop us from walking around the barricade and walking the two miles up he mountain. 

At the Mine

We then drove to Wasilla, which is quite a metro area.  We tracked down Sarah Palan's home, which is gated and fenced, but we were able to drive around until we got a view from the side outside the fence.

Palan"s Home

Afterwards we ate at a local Mexican restaurant were a couple overheard us speaking and they were from Kentucky.  He had worked in the coal mines at Brilliant, Al. not far from Nauvoo where I was raised.  It is truly a small world!  The next day, Friday, June 2, we visited a local reindeer farm.

Moose Horns

The farm was one of the original colony farm with the barn and house built in 1934.  The farm consisted of 160 reindeer,

Feeding the Reindeer

Baby Moose

elk, and a baby moose.  The tour was interesting and they allowed you to get in the pen with the reindeer and feed them.  We learned that the difference between reindeer and caribou is that one lives inside a fence and the other outside.

Linda feeding a Bull Elk

 Afterwards we left Mountainview RV park and drove 55 miles to Anchorage.