Alaska Trip 2019

Took an opportunity on this day off of touring to play a round of golf at the Palmer Golf Course.  Best score ever, 104!  The views were spectacular, although still a little hazy. After golf, Dianne and I drove out 25 miles or so to Hatcher Pass, and visited the Independence Mine, way up in the mountains northeast of Palmer.  The mine is a state historic park, and many of the buildings have been restored.  On Hatcher Pass, there were many brave souls para-sailing.  It was easy to get an updraft, as the wind was blowing from the west up towards the pass. Then, back to the RV Park for margaritas and chips with the group.

Uneventful drive from Seward up the Seward Highway, back through Anchorage, and a detour through Wasilla to visit my dad's cousin, Becky Usry, and her family.   We met at the Denali Family Restaurant in Wasilla, and met Becky, Greg, and Daisy for the first time ever.  After a very nice visit over lunch, we were back on our way for a short 15 mile drive to Palmer.  The skies were smoky, so the views were disappointing.  On a clear day, they would have been impressive! No photos today.  😞

First full day in Seward, we went to the Alaska Sea Life Center, and had an exclusive Puffin Experience, where a facility employee gave a powerpoint presentation (and live birds) on the Puffins.  It was extremely interesting, and I left the experience well-informed on the life, breeding, and feeding of the Puffin family. After the Sea Life Center and Puffin experience, my cousin-in-law, Chris Swain, met us at the campground.  He lives in Kenai, and came from Anchorage on his way home, more than an hour out of his way.   Great visit with Chris!  We smoked a tri-tip, but unfortunately, the meat thermometer malfunctioned, and told us that it was done before its time.  So, we had very rare tri-tip - unusual for me! On a more positive note, Chris came back the next day with some smoked salmon, since the stuff we served the previous day, purchased in Homer, was not good at all.  We stowed the salmon in the refrigerator, and took Chris to dinner in Seward at a...

Retraced our route back up the Sterling Highway, through Soldotna, then turned right onto the Seward Highway.  We stopped briefly in Soldotna to take a look at the Kenai River, which was fast flowing, turquoise in color.   Once on the bridge, Clancy panicked due to the noise of the vehicles crossing the expansion joint.  Then he realized that the bridge was swaying, and that it was a long way down to the ground below (we weren't even over the river yet).   He was struggling at the end of his leash, so I had to get down to his level and calm him down, and wound up carrying him off the bridge.  Even after that, he wanted nothing more than to get into his safe space in the truck, so he tugged and pulled on his leash all the way back, about half a mile.   I was concerned that his leash or collar might fail, and then he would be out in the traffic, so I carried him some more.  Poor poodle! The rest of the ride was uneventful, except for the smoke from ...

Wet, rainy day on Tuesday, July 16.   Aside from a quick trip into town and some more browsing on the boardwalk, it was a pretty quiet day.   We had lunch at Captain Pattie's, then returned to the campground, where it really started raining.   The rain came and went, so in between sqaws, we ran Clancy on the beach.  Smoked a tri-tip starting at about 3:30 p.m., but then had to pull in the awning because there was too much wind, which left me in the rain when checking the meat.   Fortunately, I was checking often, as the fire went out due to the pellets not feeding correctly.  Added more pellets, and we were on our way.   Final product took about three hours, whereas it normally takes two.  The cold and the rain slowed it down! On Wednesday, July 17, we took a drive on the East End Road, which is actually on the west side of Kachemak Bay.  We were able to see multiple glaciers across the bay.   These glaciers are all in Kachemak Bay Sta...

Ugh - feeling miserable, but okay enough to drive.  I think the fever finally broke yesterday evening.   Beautiful drive down the Sterling Highway to Homer, following the Cook Inlet for many miles, crossing some beautiful rivers, including the Kenai River.  We arrived ahead of the wagonmasters, so we waited almost an hour for them to arrive.  I could have just parked the trailer in one of the empty spots assigned to our group, but I deferred to the Wagonmaster to put us where he wanted us.   Walked around some of the shops on the boardwalk, and spent more time recovering from this cold/flu.  Turns out there are about eight people in our group who are sick with this thing.  My theory is that we caught it on the bus trip in Denali, where everyone is using the handrails to assist embarking and disembarking.   Without washing hands, we all ate our snacks on the bus, as we could not take any food off the bus, lest the bears and other animals find the...

Dropped off Clancy at a local dog groomer this morning, then Dianne and I visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  This is the second native heritage center that we have visited on this trip - neither are very impressive.  Not a lot of displays, but they did have a dance group demonstrating the native Alaskan dances. Clancy was not finished at the groomer until after 1600, more than six hours.  I had to give a poor review on Yelp due to the lack of time management and the condition of the place (it was in the garage at her home, but what a mess!) Somewhat of a rainy, cold day.   Aside from the brief visit at the heritage center, I stayed indoors all day, and skipped the evening meeting.   Dianne took good notes!

Departed Denali at 0855.   Woke up with a terrible chest cold this morning.  We had planned on stopping in Wasilla to visit Becky Usry and her family, but I had to call her and postpone our visit until we pass that way again, on July 21.  I certainly do not want anyone else to catch this!   Stopped at the Alaska Veterans Memorial, but did not take any photos.  Pulled into Anchorage at about 1400, and rested for the remainder of the day.  

Wednesday, July 10, the group took the bus tour of Denali, an 8 hour ride into the heart of the park.  The driver/guide, Cassie Sears, was outstanding.  It takes a special skill to navigate these roads, where only park busses are allowed, especially when passing an oncoming buss on blind curves and narrow, cliff-hanging dirt roads.   We saw several caribou, ptarmigans, and even grizzly bears.  We did not see Denali, though.   Less than 30% of visitors to Denali actually get to see the mountain.  For us, it was the smoke from the fires that obliterated the view.  For most, it is the weather. Thursday, July 11, we chilled most of the day, then went zip-lining late in the afternoon.  Quite an experience.   There were seven lines that we traversed, and several swinging bridges (those were worse on my senses than the ziplines!) Friday, July 12 was a quiet, wet, rainy day.  I started coming down with a chest cold today (at first I thought ...

Short drive today, fortunately.  Still a lot of smoke in the air, so no Denali sightings.   This evening we had dinner at the Cabin Night  dinner theater.  The dinner and show were phenomenal!  The actors and actresses were also the servers for the dinner.  One of the actors performed "The Cremation of Sam McGee" while we were all waiting outside.  He gave the best rendition of it that I have ever seen/heard!   I was truly impressed.  During the show, the performers acted out "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and sang "Spell of the Yukon."  Wonderful evening!