Review of Past Week

I am not good at posting every day.  I get tired.  

Here is a review of what we did last week when John came to visit.

1.  Local Breweries - BB and I find that local breweries usually have good food.  They are also a good place to go when you need to sit, relax and gather yourself for the next round of activities.   We visited:

   49th State Brewing - both locations (Anchorage and Healy)
   Anchorage Brewing 
   King Street Brewing
   Ravens Ring Brewing
   Denali Brewing
   Girdwood Brewing

2.  Hot Dogs - John continued his search for the perfect hot dog.  Read about it on his blog ( https://tourdefrankhotdogs.blogspot.com/?m=1).

3. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center - I LOVE this place.  We got a family pass that is good for a year.   It allows us to bring four guests with us.  Realize that if you come visit us you will end up visiting the Center.  My highlight this trip was the Moose Encounter.  We got to feed a moose!  Reading about the Wood Bison Restoration Project was also interesting to me as we saw Wood Bison on the Alaska Highway in Canada.  The Wood Bison at the Center are descendants from Wood Bison brought to the Center from Canada.

4. Alaska State Fair - A great all day event!  Weather forecast was for all day rain.  It was a drizzly morning but that stopped mid-day.  The food was a hit, also looking at the veggies, animals and the arts and crafts.  BB nixed me getting a goat; but I tell you baby goats are just too cute!  We saw quilts that were amazingly beautiful.  No way should they end up on a bed.   We went to the Amazing Raptor Exhibit and learned about hawks, falcons and owls.  John got a hotdog.  We checked out the rides but didn't take any.

5.  Denali National Park - Can't really get into the park without taking a bus tour.   We took the 6-hour Denali Tundra Wilderness Tour.   The hope was we would see animals...and we did!  We saw BIG animals:
   4 grizzly bears
   6 bull moose (with impressive antlers!)
   1 female moose
     caribou - multiple sightings: singles, groups, and a herd sky lined on top of a ridge
     Dall Sheep - multiple sightings
And LITTLE animals:
   1 squirrel
   2 ptarmigans
   1 grouse
And beautiful scenery.  Fall is starting here so there was lots of color.
We did not see THE mountain (Denali) while in the park.  We did catch glimpses of pieces of it on the drive back to Anchorage.

Not the best pictures; however, look closely and you should see a moose and a bear:

I think Denali is in these:

6.  Husky Homestead - I LOVE this place!  Here is another warning that if you visit us you will likely end up here.  This is where four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King raises and trains his sled dogs.  You step out of your car and are handed a puppy!  You meet Jeff King!  You learn how he trains his dogs (the wheel and the treadmill) and hear Jeff tell adventures encountered running the Iditarod.  His book, Cold Hands Warm Heart, is an interesting and amusing read.

Hard to tell from the picture, but the dogs are on a treadmill:

7.  Lake Hood Seaplane Base - It is fun to watch the planes take off and land on the water.  It is also a nice parklike setting.

  Talk to you later, 

Sal

Alaska State Fair

Friday we drove an hour to Palmer, home of Alaska’s largest event, the State Fair.  It’s biggest attraction for me turned out to be a disappointment.  I had read about the giant vegetables grown in the Matanuska Valley.  (See interesting, I think, historical note below.). Eighteen hours of summer sunshine have produced a 2,051 pound pumpkin, a 25 pound mushroom, an almost 6 foot long carrot and a 138 pound cabbage in previous years.  I wanted to see those, but, sadly, no record breakers this year.  I did see a 15 pound mushroom and a 50 pound cabbage.   Yawn.  The vegetables apparently don’t taste the best and are donated after the fair to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where we went Thursday.

We did have a really fun time.  It rained, of course, but not heavy rain and not all day.  We ate, and everything was sooo good.  Talkeetna spinach bread had been recommended to us by the Yeti Dogs team, and they were our first food stop.  Yum, yum, yum.  Next door were Russian pierogis; I think that was my favorite.  We had dumplings, a reindeer dog and cream puffs.  Everything was split and shared, except, after some debate, we each got a cream puff to end the day.  A large cream puff with caramel.  👍

The animals were a hoot.  There was a cow named Carl’s Jr.  How funny is that?  Poor cow.  Also a June and Johnny Cash.  Sal now wants a goat, they were so adorable.  We spent a lot of time with the bunnies.  So pretty, soft and cuddly-looking.  I can see getting a bunny before a goat.  

And we shopped.  We each got something nice that we’ll have as a souvenir of the fair. We were there six hours and I’m definitely going back next year.  We’re already talking about the food we had to pass on this year that we want to try in 2023.

Historical Note—-

We are heading north to learn about mushing.  Need to go, so please read for yourselves.  I do think it’s interesting.

https://explorenorth.com/alaska/matanuska_colony.html

Lake Hood Seaplane Base

 

Lake Hood Seaplane Base is located three miles southwest of downtown Anchorage next to Ted Stevens International Airport.  It is the busiest seaplane base in the world, averaging 190 flights a day.   When the lake freezes in the winter the frozen lake surface is maintained for ski-equipped airplanes.

Our family has a history with airplanes.  Both Dad and our brother had private pilot licenses, flying single engine planes for pleasure.  Dad would spend every Saturday afternoon at the airport, either getting in flying hours or hanging with his pilot friends.  As kids I'd say we attended one if not two airshows a year.  One year we even went to "The Big One" in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  

All this to say that while BB and I never learned to fly, we have been exposed to many things aviation related and have an appreciation for the knowledge and skill needed to handle an aircraft.

BB and I have gone twice to watch the float places take off and land on the lake.  We went once when we were here in June looking for housing.  We went again this week. 

We both agree that anyone coming to visit us in Anchorage has to visit Lake Hood!  You won't have seen anything like it.   Aircraft (to taxi) and autos share the road; but aircraft have the right of way.  Listen for a plane engine throttling up, then spot it and watch it move down the lake and into the air!  It doesn't hurt that Lake Hood is in a beautiful setting, parklike with mountains in the background.  

I look forward to taking you and a picnic lunch to Lake Hood,  eating our sandwiches and watching the planes.

Take Off!:

Keep off the lake:

Aircraft rule:

Sal

John’s Coming

 What?

That big, yellow Sydney thing that eats my food, drinks my water, gets my aunt’s hugs, and sleeps on my bed.  Makes herself at home in my space!!!  She coming, too?

OK.  Good.  

I love you,  John ❤️

Glad YOU are coming.

Anchorage Parks and Trails: Campbell Creek

There is no shortage of green space in Anchorage.  The city has 223 municipal parks and 250 miles of trails.  Both people and animals enjoy the parks and trails.

When I say animals enjoy the parks and trails, I don't just mean squirrels and pigeons.  On my first outing I was warned to watch out for moose and bear.  

According to Anchorage's last annual moose count (performed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in late winter), around 300 moose consider Anchorage their winter home.  Other sources estimate that 1,500 moose make Anchorage their home.  My guess is that more moose come to visit Anchorage in the summer.   However they are counted, Anchorage is considered to have one of the highest populations of moose and humans living together in the world.

The information I found on bears in Anchorage is several years old.  There are between 200 and 300 black bears living in the city and approximately 36 grizzly bears.

Our apartment is about .7 of a mile from where the Campbell Creek Trail crosses Lake Otis Parkway.  It seemed logical that my exploration of the city's trails starts with Campbell Creek.

Campbell Creek Trail is a 7.4 mile long, paved trail that follows along (you guessed it!) Campbell Creek.  It is basically flat.  The trail guide says there is a 554 foot elevation gain, however I never noticed it.  Maybe there was a hill on the portion of the trail that I did not walk.

BB dropped me off at the parking lot at Taku Lake, which is located at mile 2 from the western end of the trail.  I walked from Taku Lake to the Campbell Park playground at Lake Otis Parkway at mile 5.5.   My walk on the trail was 3.5 miles.  Add the .7 down Lake Otis to home and I walked a little over 4 miles.  (Note for my hiking friends:  I was not going for mileage...this was a fact-finding mission!).

Didn't see any moose or bear.  Did see other walkers, dog walkers, joggers, cyclists, people fishing and one skate boarder.  Lots of pretty views of the creek.  Saw several homes with views of the creek that I wouldn't have minded living in.

There were information boards along the way explaining how the greenways work to keep the creek clean, wildlife in the area, etc.  Effort was also made to beautify and add interest to the underpasses that take the trail under major roads.

All together a great introduction to the city's trails!

Lots of information signs:

Lots of pretty views:

 

At one of the underpasses:

And a creative gardener:

Sal

Farmers’ Market and Sunshine!!!

Saturday we went to one of the many farmers’ markets in Anchorage.  It was drizzling, as has been the norm (the paper says it’s the fifth wettest July and August on record, so far), and there weren’t too many people there.  I was hoping to see vegetables, but this market was mostly crafts, and nothing wrong with that.  We’ll see vegetables at the state fair on Friday.  

I bought a jar of sweet pickles from a vendor (peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, don’t knock them if you haven’t tried them) and saw two small green cloth baskets that I didn’t buy then but did when I was back in the area on Sunday to drop Sally off for her hike.  One houses our TV remote and one is a catch-all by the sofa.  It is currently filled with slips of paper listing possible activities for when John comes, which is today!!  Yay!  I just realized yesterday that his plane ETA of 9:55 this evening will actually be 1:55 am Tuesday morning, his time.  He will be one tired guy.  Bet he’ll be up in time for a hot dog lunch, though.

And speaking of lunch, Sally and I shared a good halibut burrito for lunch at the farmers’ market.

On our way home, the sun started to come out!  Glory be!  And it warmed up!  Hallelujah!  Sunday was mostly nice, too.  Sally’s sunglasses were put to the test out on our balcony.

Today we are just piddling, straightening up a bit and washing towels, getting ready for John.  We are happy with our apartment, an assortment of Amazon, thrift store and Target items.  We’ve got beds and chairs.  We’re looking forward to honing our hosting/tour guide skills on John, and we hope others will be visiting throughout the year.

It's Been Rainy

It's been rainy,  overcast and cool since we arrived in Anchorage last Friday.  

We were up and out early this morning to make an 8:00am appointment for the Palisade to have its oil changed.   The mountains were visible then.  It was damp but not raining.  Now,  early afternoon, it's drizzling and the clouds have come down over the mountains.  Temperature is in the mid'50s.

I've been waiting for a pretty day to restart a daily walking program.  This morning, after a week of rainy days,  I decided the "Alaskan" thing to do is to just go!  There is a US Post Office 0.7 miles down the road.  I had letters to mail.  I put on my rain jacket, put the letters in my pocket and headed out the door.

The route to the PO took me by  a Sara Lee / Hostess Bakery Outlet.  I went in on my way back to the apartment.  There were lots bread, bagels, donuts etc. and they looked tasty!  I think we will be making frequent visits!

So what is the weather like on an average day in August?  The average high is 61°; average low is 53°.  Average rain for the month is 2.8 inches. Average daylight is 16 hours.

Sunrise this morning was at 6:19; sunset at 9:45pm. The forecast calls for .5 inch of rain.

Today's reminder:  don't wait for good weather!

The puddle in front of our apartment:

Sal

10 Universal Values from the Alaska Native Knowledge Network ❤️❤️❤️

 

Love these.

Nathan Jackson, Alaskan Artist

Tuesday we played.  We had a great day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  At the entrance was a totem pole by Nathan Jackson, one of the most important Alaskan artists.  And we have some history.

In 2016, Sal and I went to Alaska.  We flew into Anchorage, rented a car and drove around for a week.  Then we took a Princess cruise from Valdez to Vancouver, with Ketchikan being one of our stops along the Inside Passage.  We had arranged a tour of the town with Lois Munch of Classic Tours.  Riding through Ketchikan in her ‘55 Chevy, she was greeted with waves and shouts from so many people.  She seemingly knew almost everyone in the town of 8,000.

She took us to Saxman, a Tlingit Indian village and home to the Totem Heritage Center.  There she introduced Sal and me to Nathan Jackson, the Tlingit artist who has a workshop there.  Mr. Jackson has carved more than 50 totem poles which are displayed in museums in the US, Europe and Japan.  We got to watch him work and chat a bit.  We learned that one of his totem poles was in the Smithsonian. 

In 2004, when the Smithsonian opened a new museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, his totem pole was relocated into that building, along with a new, second totem pole by another Alaskan carver.  Lois let us know that Mr. Jackson was curious about the placement of his totem pole; which artist’s work had the better location in the new Museum?  No worries, we said.  We lived close to Washington DC and would check it out.

Several months later, we did visit the National Museum of the American Indian and found the two totem poles.  Maybe the newer totem pole had a bit more prominent space, but Mr. Jackson’s was still located were many would see it.  We look pictures and sent them to Lois.  We were so surprised when she called us a month later.  Mr. Jackson was pleased, she said, and sent his thanks.  

It was a treat for us to meet him six years ago, and we get a small thrill whenever we see his work.  

The Alaska Native Heritage Center

BB and I spent the day at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  

We arrived just as a demonstration of Alaska Native Games was beginning. We watched four young men demonstrate three games requiring power, balance and focus.  I don't think I can do justice describing them so I have attached links to YouTube videos for two of them:

Alaskan High Kick

https://youtu.be/YBzsFd7sOws

One Foot High Kick

https://youtu.be/bAehvp7SdcA

The third was called Athabascan Hopscotch.  The first player starts with a stick in his hand.  Then the player jumps forward on both feet, then immediately jumps again landing on one foot.  While balancing on one foot the player places the stick on the ground to mark his spot.  The next player takes his turn.  Second player jumps, hopefully farther, picks up the stick and moves it forward.  The object of the game is to jump the farthest as noted by the placeholder stick.  A player looses a turn if he looses his balance or allows any part of his body besides his two feet on the first jump or one foot on the second jump to touch the ground.

The young men really seemed to be enjoying themselves.  We could hear them encouraging each other and offering each other advice.  BB spoke to two of them after the demonstration and found out they had competed in the World Eskimo Indian Olympics (WEIO).  BB and I hope to attend the WEIO next summer.

After the games demo we listed to a talk on the different Native tribes in Alaska.  There are 231 federally recognized tribes in Alaska grouped into eleven major cultural groups.  For each cultural group we learned the location of its native lands, which native language is spoken and the basic cultural differences between the groups.

And of course we couldn't miss a dance demonstration!  The dancers performed several dances from two different tribes.  In-between dances the dancers told us about their native dress and the musicians told us about the instruments they were playing.

The Center is in a beautiful location beside a small lake.  Along the lake are six traditional Native dwellings representing the eleven cultural groups.  A tour of the dwellings and a walk around the lake wound up our visit.

It is on our list to visit the Heritage Center again!

Sal

My thoughts on the Alaskan Highway

 First, after 2 days here, I am quite pleased.  We still need to manage our clothes (I know I brought way too many clothes), but we have washed linens, dishes, and pots and are finding a good home for things.  I needed scissors a minute ago and went to the right drawer first try!  We went out this afternoon and Sal got us back home without having to use google maps!  Both positive signs.  And the cable/internet guy hooked us up today.  Yay, internet!!  (Grey is out of the closet now.)

Beds are on the way, but we are really quite cozy mostly living in the living room for now.  Kind of like a studio apartment with two bathrooms and two large clothes sorting areas.

The Alaska Highway was much better then I expected, and very different from what I expected.  Like Sal said earlier, the road was mostly pretty good.  We were conscious of gas and got it frequently, but it mostly timed with bathroom stops.  At no point did we worry about finding gas.  I had thought it might be a problem.  Getting gas was different.  Very rarely did we just swipe our card and pump.  The stations seemed to me like 1950s gas stations.  Often times they were kind of rough looking and might have two pumps.  Once they took only cash.  Canadian cash, which we didn’t have, so we had to pass.  Once I had to pump and take a picture of the liters gotten and cost and go in and show the picture to the worker.  And another time I gave my drivers license to the worker, went out and pumped my gas, went back in, paid, then collected my license.  I can’t even use the term cashier.  Cashier brings to my mind a different image than the people working most of these stations.  I can’t really describe it.

Most towns we went through had a gas station, maybe a combination gas/restaurant/lodging building.  Many places had fewer than 100 people living there.  There would be gravel turnoffs from the highway.  Until the last day, we never saw homes where people might live.  I don’t know where people lived.  

Sal had to tell me many times that old doesn’t mean dirty.  We stayed in one “modern” hotel.  Sal joked that we got the honeymoon room; it had a portable fireplace and a jacuzzi tub.  Other places were like 50’s motels.  We’d park in front of the door and enter from outside.  I think we stayed in some of the nicer places on the route.  I had researched lodging but I was still surprised (shocked, actually) at how different these places were from a Courtyard or Hampton Inn.  But they were clean, although extremely outdated furnishings.  The brown bedspread that had horrified me the first night was kind of standard.  No white duvets, for sure.

This is a typical nice lodging, gas station and restaurant.  There was another restaurant across the street, Buckshot Betty’s, so we had to stop for lunch.  Pretty good sandwiches.

Sal got her love of driving from our dad, I inherited a different gene from “Speedy” Wassom.  When entering Canada and seeing the posted limit was 100, I was excited until I realized that was 62 MPH.  The highest speed I saw in Canada was 110 kilometers, 68 MPH.  Sometimes posted speed was 50 KPH.  Know what that is?  Ridiculous, that’s what it is.  I was glad Sal did the majority of the driving.  When you are on a good road, seeing no one at all for kilometers at a time, and have hundreds of miles to go before you stop, I had a hard time driving that slowly.  And there was very little traffic.  That was another surprise for me.  I thought in summer the road would be more heavily traveled.  No.  We would see cars, trucks, RVs and motorcycles at gas stations, motels and restaurants, but rarely would you see another vehicle in your rear view mirror or come up on one.  They would pass occasionally going the other direction.

The largest town was Whitehorse.  It was a regular town with restaurants and street lights and businesses. Fort Nelson was a large town for the road; it had several streets and an A&W, but they had no root beer floats, the hotel clerk told me.  They had sold their ice cream machine to Jucies down the block.  I went to get us milkshakes because that was the day Sal had to drive an extra two hours.  Jucies made me think of a little candy store out of West Side Story.  But a good milkshake.  There were a couple other towns that had multiple streets, like Haines Junction, but by far, small, small communities.

I’d like to say most people were nice.  Some were.  Some warmed up the more you talked.  Some were not.  Most of the route was not a smile and say hello kind of place.

But the scenery.  Oh, the scenery.  It was a beautiful route.  Rarely in the mountains, but mountains in view most all the time.  Everything was so green.  Beautiful forests, lakes that rivaled the famous Lake Louise and mountains of all types, jagged, snow-topped and forested.  How many times did we say, “Oh, look at that!”  How many pictures can you take of scenery so breathtaking.  I’ll share a few.

We’re finally here.  And we celebrated last night with pizza and beer.  So here’s to adventures!!

I like my new home, but mostly glad to be out of that crate

 I was settling in quite nicely.  This is me yesterday.  Happily taking a bath on the bed.  I was getting used to the different noises and smells.  Enjoying checking out the place, my new home, Mom says.

But then, this morning, when my guard was down, it happened.  A stranger came through the door.  My worst fears came true.  I an now keeping a low profile in the storage closet.  

The man brought a box and now we have TV.  It’s been hours and he hasn’t been back, but I may just hang here a bit longer.

Of course, I’m glad to be out of my crate.  There were some big bumps the last couple days of the trip.  I think I was airborne once.  Mom wanted me to say Sal was driving at that point.

I think I will like it here as long as no more strange men come.  John is coming next week.  I’ll be glad to see him, but don’t tell him that.

Aug 12: Day 10 in a Nutshell

Today brought us to the end of our journey.  We drove from Glenallen, Alaska to Anchorage.

Highlights 

Mountains, Glaciers and Braided Rivers

Today we traveled on the Glenn Highway ( AK1). This road gives views of the Talkeetna and Chugach  mountain ranges and the Knik and Matanuska Glaciers. 

While we have been seeing spectacular scenery every day, this section of highway seems to have more than its fair share.

The drive goes alongside several rivers.  The glacier melt contains glacier flour (finely powdered rock) that makes the water look milky.  Many of the rivers have braided channels.  Rivers with many channels that continuously split and rejoin are called braided rivers.

And Some Business

We (the Royal we - it was really BB)  spent several hours today doing last minute things related to moving into our apartment.  There were phone calls to set up electric and internet service which resulted in applications to complete.  There were also calls to the rental office to ask questions and verify information.  

It was a short drive today on purpose, arriving in Anchorage early afternoon.  We stopped at Costco and Walmart to check on the availability of things like mattresses and futon frames.  Then headed to the apartment for our 4:00pm 'Welcome Meeting.'  Had a tour and then got our keys.  We have a new home!

We visited Fred Meyers to pick up groceries. Fred Meyers is related to Kroger.  My Kroger customer card worked here.

Continued our search for mattresses and futon frames on the internet.  Do you know there are businesses that refuse to ship to Alaska?  Frustrating, but part of the adventure.  BB persevered and we have mattresses and a futon frame scheduled to arrive next week.

Mile's traveled today: 

Driven By Sal: 192.8

Driven By BB: 0.00

Total for day:  192.8

Total Trip:  4,669.7

Sal

Aug 11: Day 9 in a Nutshell

 

Today we traveled from Haines Junction, Yukon to Glennallen, Alaska

Highlights

Potholes and Frost Heaves

OK, I'm starting with full disclosure.  I am a TERRIBLE passenger.  (I LOVE to drive and prefer to drive.).  I confessed it to BB at the start of the trip. BB said she already knew that...that she picked up on it quite a while back.

To my credit I have been working on it. And I believe I made some progress. However, today I was put to the ultimate test.  I failed miserably.

Up until Haines Junction the road has been pretty good.  I would say it was the equivalent of a 2 lane main  highway in Virginia.  It was a different story from Haines Juction, Yukon to Tok, Alaska.We were warned by multiple people that this section of road was in poor condition and were advised to be cautious. There were lots of pot holes and frost heaves.  

The car made loud, resounding thunks whenever we hit a large pot hole. Some of the pot holes could hold a basketball with room left over. 

Frost heaves might be new to you.  Here is a definition off the internet:

Frost heave is a form of frost action, a physical weathering process involving the cyclic freezing and thawing of water in soil or rock. Heave in this context refers to the upward movement of the ground surface that occurs in response to the seasonal formation of ice in the underlying soil.

The frost heaves made dips and swells in the road.  Driving over one at a moderate speed might be like driving over a speed bump a little too fast. Driving over one at a fast speed lifts your butt off the seat and flings your hands in the air!

After the second occasion of this and exclaimning "It's like a roller coaster!"  BB says, "What, am I going too fast? I am only a few miles over the limit."

Well, the speed limit was 55mph.  I mentioned how it is prudent for one to modify speed to accomodate the road conditions.  BB quietly listened. Maybe she slowed down for a few minutes.  However, she was a woman on a mission and wanted to get to our day's destination ASAP.  

I realized my best course of action was to keep my mouth shut and my gaze out the passenger side window.

We switched drivers after lunch in  Beaver Creek, Yukon.  I kept my speed to several miles below the limit.   Made me feel better, not so sure about BB.  To be fair to BB, I also hit several pot holes. We still made our destination by early evening.

And we are still friends!


World's  Largent Gold Pan

Look what we saw as we went through Burwash Landing, Yukon!

Could it be the world's largest gold pan?

Burwash Landing says it is.

However, internet research has the world's largest gold pan also found in Nome, AK and Quesnel, British Columbia.

Perhaps the multiple claims are caused by a timing problem, such as when Mac the Moose lost his title in 2015, or by how 'largest' is defined (heaviest, widest??).

I have seen pictures of each and in my opinion Burwash Landing has the prettiest.

To summarize, we have seen the largest Buffalo, Moose and Beaver statues, the largest gold pan (maybe) and just missed seeing the largest golf ball (used to be here, they took it away a while back).

Entered Alaska!

Mile's traveled today: 

Driven By Sal: 250.7

Driven By BB: 181.9

Total for day:  432.6

Total Trip:  4476.9

Sal

First Morning at Home

 We are enjoying  our morning coffee in our new home.

We moved in late yesterday.  Car contents exploded into the apartment.

We will get organized over the next few days.

Apologies for getting behind on the blog.  We will catch up on the road trip.

Sal