Ok, back to Alaska and my adventures therein. Since it has not only warmed up and snow melted, but things are starting to green-up, I have already gotten out on several hikes. I haven't brought my camera on each hike, but I'll try to be better about that so I can better document my adventures. Here are two recent hikes I went on... the first is near the Glen Alps trail head... a great "easy" trail due east of Anchorage. This hike was May 16th.
The second hike is one that is also in the Chugach Mountains (and Chugach State Park)... this one is the Turnagain Arm Trail, and it's a few miles south of Anchorage. It has been pretty windy in the afternoons through Turnagain Arm, so we weren't sure how windy our trail was going to be. It turned out to be breezy but very comfortable overall. It sprinkled on us throughout the hike (which was from about 8:30pm to 10:30pm... with plenty of daylight), even though there was blue sky above us. The showers were more over the mountains... but the wind carried the raindrops to where we were.
We saw one couple on the trail, and they told us that they saw a female black bear and her cubs about a half mile up the trail. We proceeded carefully with bear spray in hand and talking... you see, we both wanted to see a bear, but we didn't necessarily need to SCARE a bear. Especially one with cubs. Well, we saw some very fresh scat along the trail, and saw some other indications that the bears had moved on down the hill. We never did spot a bear during our hike, fortunately and unfortunately. :)
Anyway, here are some pictures from that hike. This hike was May 22nd.
I bet this would be a great trail to snowshoe also... I'll have to remember that for next winter!
The mountains on the west side of Turnagain Arm
Another view of the same area... closer to sunset (probably 10:15pm or so)
There are some peeks at mountain views along the way... so pretty!
A view looking southwest from Potter Marsh
There were a couple great little waterfalls along the way... we even had a nice, refreshing drink from one of them! Gotta love glacier water.
There was a great rainbow over the hills to the east as we drove to the hiking spot... and it was still around when we were driving home so we decided to stop and get a couple pictures of it. I didn't use all the preferred camera equipment to get an awesome shot, but it is a rainbow photo nonetheless. This photo was taken from Potter Marsh... just a couple miles north of our trail head.
Many, many more hikes are to come... along with many other Alaska outdoor adventures this summer. I can't wait to experience it... AND write about it!
I'd like to take a moment to make a post about trains. My father, an eternal child, is building a train layout in his basement. He says it's for the grandchildren (especially the grandsons), but I know there's an element of returning to his own childhood in there too. :)
It's not all done yet, but there's already great progress. Most of the trains, track, and extra elements are cleaned up and refurbished Lionel pieces from a long... long time ago. Well, actually I don't know exactly when they are from, but they're not new. It's great to see my dad get into a hobby like this again. He has talked about it for many years, and now he gets to enjoy designing the layout, cleaning the different parts and pieces, and building it all. In his words, it's not about getting it done, it's about the process of building, and that has been a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the progress as I saw it when I was visiting at the end of April.
Part of the layout....
The OTHER part of the train layout.
The control panel (not everything is there... but you get the idea)
The BIG picture!
New additions to the train collection... the Alaska Railroad!
Another view of the layout (to the right of the control panel)
This one shoots missiles
Shoveling ice into the ice car...
Another Alaska Railroad car... this one exemplifying the awesome customer service that still exists all over Alaska.
Loading culvert pipes...
Another view of the icing station... loading ice into the train car.
I know there is more progress to be made, but knowing all the layout building from scratch, electrical planning and wiring that needed to be done, and meticulous cleaning of every piece of this layout, I can already appreciate how much has been accomplished. Hopefully you can too! It's much more fun to see it all in action though...
Braving the gusty winds at Point Woronzof was completely worth it to be able to see and photograph the Northern Lights tonight! What a surreal experience, especially when it was very vivid and dancing, changing colors, and taking different shapes in the sky. I saw my first real Northern Lights about a week ago, but it was nothing like this. I can only imagine what it looked like north of the city where there is no light polution!
The lights were in front of me, over my head, behind me... seemingly everywhere in the sky. It was hard to keep up with where the best display was at any given moment... it was all so amazing! Considering I've only been in Alaska for 5 months, I'm so thankful to have seen something like this so quickly. You know the comments people make when watching a fireworks display on July 4th? Well, the group of us there watching and photographing the aurora were doing the same thing... but it was even more awesome than the greatest fireworks display you've ever seen. I was playing around with the camera settings while taking pictures tonight (since I really don't have any experience photographing the Northern Lights) as well as trying to steady the tripod in the wind, but these are my favorite shots that I got. I know you'll find it shocking that I would say such a thing, but these photos don't even do the experience justice. With that said... enjoy the photos!
After the experience last weekend with the sled dogs, I decided to learn a little more. So... today, I got to be a sled dog musher. Kind of.
What a view!
Yup, I'm a musher!
Must... cool... down!
Ok, the real story is that I set up the sled dog tour a couple weeks ago with Dario Martinez. He's an Italian who moved to Alaska, having never heard about mushing. That was 24 years ago... he seems pretty comfortable around it all now! We had a personal tour (as everyone does with Dario)... very cool. With temperatures in the low 20s (and the sun high enough in the sky now to definitely be felt), it was very comfortable to be outside for the whole time. Dario told us (and showed us after we went for a short ride) that it was actually a hot day for these dogs. As soon as we stopped, they laid down on their bellies and started eating snow.
We started out meeting the dogs, and then we got a few rides on the sled. There was a spot to sit on the sled, and a spot to sit or stand. We switched spots each time Dario stopped the sled, and both agreed that sitting is a lot bumpier. Standing gave us an idea how it feels to be a musher, which was pretty neat. Those dogs are very smart... and definitely love running and pulling us around!
Dario Martinez and a couple of his sled dogs
On the Trail
At one point during our tour, Dario brought us over to see his kennel and to meet his other dogs and his puppies. Who can resist some puppies?
6 month old sled dog puppy
Dario told me at the end I can call myself a musher. We won't discuss WHY he said that... :) (You'll have to ask me if you want the rest of that story). The whole experience was awesome... one of those Alaska experiences I would not want to miss. I meant to take a video of the experience, but I forgot. I'm not used to having video capabilities yet! I'll work on that for the next Alaska experience.
Today I got to see my first sled dog race here in Alaska. The Fur Rondy Sled Dog Championship that runs through the city of Anchorage. It was.... quiet. Surprisingly quiet. I was standing along the trail, a few miles into the race, in a spot where the dogs and mushers make a sharp "haw" or left turn before going down a hill. I found a good spot just after the turn, up on the hill right next to the trail, and had my camera(s) ready. The volunteers at that part of the trail used whistles to signal that a dog team was in sight. That was very helpful to know when to have the camera "at the ready"! Especially since it's so quiet otherwise.
Rounding the corner...
The first team comes over the bridge and around the corner... those dogs are so focused and happy! I'm used to seeing/hearing the dogs barking excitedly at the start of a race, but this is the first time I've seen them along the trail. Unfortunately, I was having battery problems in the cold weather, but fortunately, I had a total of 3 still cameras and a video camera with me. :)
So focused!
I still maintain that anyone who thinks hooking up a bunch of dogs to a sled and making them pull them for miles is torture is completely naive. These dogs live for running, and are so sad if they're not chosen to be part of a team for any particular run. The dogs are so happy, I can't help but be happy when I'm around them. This race was a sprint for these dogs, and it was fun to see them goin' for it!
Winter is setting in here, and it's even more beautiful than I expected. We've had 2 decent (more than a couple inches) snowfalls in Anchorage so far, and I find myself staring out the window as the snow falls so gently to the ground. Even though it snows in every location I've lived so far, there are a few differences I've noticed here:
1. The snow falls straight down. In the past several years, I've only seen snow "falling" sideways, piling up in one area and leaving another area with bare ground as the wind blows strongly from the north. It's a true "gently falling snow" here. Every snowfall might not be like this, but at least some of them are!
South of Anchorage International Airport
2. I don't know if it's really true, but the snow sure looks whiter here. Maybe it's a lack of dirt and pollutants mixed in? Whatever it is, it looks so pure and beautiful.
3. Overall, people were anxiously awaiting the first real snowfall, were excited to "finally" see the first snowfall in early November, and only want more. I'm finally in my element! Snow means people can take advantage of the many winter outdoor opportunities, like skiing (cross country and downhill), snowshoeing, and snow machining. It's a welcome feature of winter.
After an unusual freezing rain storm earlier this week that left many roads ice covered, it snowed all day in Anchorage on Thanksgiving. It added up to almost 7 inches near the airport. Snow accumulated on tree branches and just about anything else that had any sort of horizontal surface. Anchorage has a great trail system throughout the city, with mushing trails, cross country ski trails, and multi-use trails. I was able to get out and go for a walk on one of the trails (my only currently available means of using these trails) in Far North Bicentennial Park today, and it was so nice to see so many other people out enjoying the beautiful weather and fresh snowfall. I can't wait to explore more trails this winter!
For those that have requested it or might be interested, here's a link to a Google map of our drive. Hopefully this will help visualize where we were and what we were seeing.
Also, I (Foxpup) plan to keep this blog going at least while I'm in Alaska, so keep checking back! It might be a little bit before I'm settled and have some adventures to write about, but I'm sure it won't take long.
It was another gorgeous day – in the 60s, which is a real treat in western Canada this time of year. Today we actually got onto the Alaska Highway, which starts in Watson Creek, BC. This road is still the only option for people who want to drive through Western Canada into Alaska. It was built in 1942, is a total of 1,390 miles long from Dawson Creek, BC to Fairbanks, AK (we didn’t take it all the way to Fairbanks… we split off in Tok, AK to head to Anchorage), and was completed in a grand total of 7 1/2 months - a major accomplishment! To give you an idea of what the road is like, it’s generally a 2-lane road, and there are places to stop periodically along the way – outlined very nicely for people in the
The MILEPOST®: Legendary Alaska trip planner and Alaska travel guide to the highways, lodgings, services, etc. along the Alaska Highway.
There is a little planning required to survive the Alaska Highway, as services are only provided every so often. There are a few “bigger” towns along the road (pop > 500 people), but a lot of what we saw were stops that contain an entity that provides one-stop shopping including gas, food, lodging, general store, etc. The rule is that if you see an open gas station and have less than half a tank of gas, you stop and fill up. I found the road with its little one-man towns quite appealing, but I’m sure lots of people would feel uncomfortable with so little available to them as they drive along thousands of miles of rural towns.
As we drove out of British Columbia and into Yukon Territory, we caught our first glimpses of the snow-capped mountains and saw lots of evergreen and birch trees. In places it looks like a carpet of green, in others we saw lots of bare trees as we get further north.
Snow Caps in the Yukon Territory
The cats have all been dealing with the stress of being on the road exceptionally well and we’re both impressed. They’ve started to get into a routine in the car – Smokey is little and has adopted the spot between the seats that has the 2 cup holders. Sami seems to like being on the passenger’s lap or on top of the large carrier, behind the driver’s seat. Kimba gravitates toward the arm rest between the seats, on top of the cargo watching out the back windows, or on the floor on the passenger’s side.
Since we are both quilters, our one concession on our long drive was to try to stop in 1 quilt shop in each state/province and today we stopped in 2… the second (Ye Olde Quilt Shop in Yukon Territory) being a real gem! I got moose/bear/wolf batik, which is not something I’ve ever seen before. I’ll tell you though, when you bring a bolt of fabric up to the cutting table in Canada and ask for a yard, your cover is instantly blown and they know that you’re American.
My fancy wild animal batik
The road got a lot more windy today as we got into the mountains. There are definite differences between American roads and Canadian roads (at least this Canadian road). A lot of stretches of this road are paved with loose gravel, don’t have any lane markings, and don’t have any guardrails. In some areas there are steep drops, so you best pay attention! As darkness started to set in this evening the wild animals started making an appearance. In total, we saw 1 black bear, 2 moose, 1 caribou, 1 sheep, 8 wild horses, and a few heard of buffalo. Kimba, who previously believed he was the biggest game in town, stood stock still on high alert when he saw the first buffalo we passed… they were huge!
Sharing the road with buffalo
Just to add some interest to our dark evening driving, we got stopped by 6 cops who were standing in the middle of the road and must have been looking for something. Undoubtedly, when they found out we were 2 girls from Kansas and New Jersey, they realized we weren’t the people they were looking for. I was driving at the time, and they asked for my license and of course under pressure of being interrogated on a dark lonely road, in a strange country, after a long day of driving, I couldn’t remember where I had last put it. Luckily, he finally said, “That’s okay, just have it out for the next time.” Ummm, okay, sure, for the next time I’m stopped by 6 Canadian police officers who are standing in the middle of the road after dark and stop me and ask for my license. Our final resting spot for tonight will be Watson Creek, Yukon Territory.
Day 6 (Sat, October 2, 2010)
Today we spent the whole day in YT. I love the road here – very enjoyable for the time I spent driving. Last night was a late night and we’re on hold posting the blog because Fox Pup’s computer seems to have picked yesterday as the day it would “crap the bed”.
We did get to see the SignpostForest on our way out of WatsonLake this morning. Very cool – it was started in 1942 by a homesick U.S. Army G.I. who was working on the Alaska Highway. To help lift his spirits he put up a signpost pointing the way and stating the mileage to his hometown in Illinois. It has been mimicked around the world, and today has more than 10,000 signs from around the world. There are even signs for other planets. We only spent a few minutes there, but you could easily spend an hour or more just walking around. The forest is also home to some of the original equipment that was used to build the road back in 1942.
The Signpost Forest
It was sunny most of today, with a few dark clouds that sprinkled on us here and there. The road was just windy enough to keep our attention, but still allow us to maintain the comfortable 100 km/h speed limit.
The kitties seem to have adopted a schedule of sleeping all day so they stay up and play all night. When we get into the hotel room at night all we want to do is get some sleep, but apparently kitties just want to run around, play, knock things over, and generally make as much noise as they possibly can.
This was a short day, so we stopped in Whitehorse, YT (the capital) and that was a neat town – they have lots to offer and we went to their local quilt shop and took a walk around. We also went into a gift shop and were told by the locals that they got, “a good shmack” of snow last week and yesterday was back to being, “just like a summer day”… and I’m thinking to myself… “it was 44 deg F!”.
After Whitehorse we headed on our way to Haines Jct, YT, where we stopped for the night. The drive into Haines Jct was stunning – jaw-dropping snow-capped mountain peaks that we took lots of pics of. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous behind those mountains!
Day 7 (Sun, October 3, 2010)
Kluane Lake - I loved driving around this!
We left Haines Jct, YT this morning a little before and it was right around freezing. It seems to start to get bright a little before 8am out here. We got even more pics on our absolutely beautiful drive out of Haines Jct and around KluaneLake. We crossed the border back into the US about 12:30pm Alaska time (the time changes right before the border). It was a very quiet border crossing. We got to stop and take pics, there was no line at the patrol station, and there was a young male and female agent who questioned Fox Pup, opened the tailgate, checked things out, and let us through. Apparently the male agent is from Sussex County, NJ!
We made it back into the US!!!
As soon as we drove into the US we could see and feel the difference in the road. On this side it’s paved and lined. We stopped in Tok for a bit, but because it was Sunday a lot of places were closed. Tok is where we had to make our turn away from Fairbanks and toward Anchorage so we made our turn onto the Glenn Highway and spent the night about an hour SW of Tok in our own little log cabin in a town called Chistochina, AK. Our little cabin in Red Eagle Lodge was a gem! It was a restored homestead cabin that housed a whole family, was about 12’ x 18’ and had a full size bed, a twin bed (both beautifully outfitted in woodsy quilts over down comforters, with fur-like throws folded at their foot), a glider, wood-burning stove, fridge, microwave, and table with bench. There were braided rugs on the floor and books and magazines on the nightstand between the beds, and 3 walls had windows in them. An awesome place and we both really loved it!
Day 8 (Mon., October 4, 2010)
Snow caps in Alaska as we get closer to Anchorage
We left Red Eagle Lodge this morning after a delicious B&B-type breakfast and great stories from some campers on their way to move their daughter and her BF to Wasilla, AK. We hit the road about and saw lots of frost heaves and little rural roadside towns… and, of course, a beautiful backdrop of mountains. At lunch time we stopped at a restaurant that had a beautiful view of the Matanuska glacier. I never saw a glacier like that and it was neat the way it was all smunched up as it was making its way through the valley.
Matanuska Glacier
We arrived in Anchorage about today. The roads got bigger as we got closer and by the time we were pulling into town we were on a road not unlike Rt. 78 or 287 in NJ. A couple of observations at the end of our trip: not to be gross, but we saw evidence of road kill in many places, but no bodies… that was a nice change. We were sharing the road with a lot of tractor trailers – many of them tandem trailers with 2 full-length trailers attached to the tractor. Big, big trucks – and we saw a lot of drivers who looked like they were in their early 20s! We also passed many wide loads, including some transporting windmill blades, which, if you have ever been near a wind farm, you will understand that to say that each of these blades are ENORMOUS is a severe understatement. I never ONCE saw a driver swerve across the line into our lane, 6” off my bumper, cutting me off, driving while talking/texting, etc., I found it to be a true delight to drive this road. I would not want to do this trip alone, but with the awesome company I had, it was a tremendous experience.
Downtown Anchorage
We had about 5 mins of rain as we got into town, but then the sun came out and it closed as a beautiful day. Fox Pup’s temporary housing is beautiful and she’ll be very comfortable there until she finds a house. She is apparently far from alone in moving out to Anchorage – apparently there are lots of others doing the same thing. While it sounds as if the rest of Alaska is a different story, Anchorage itself is very similar to any city in the lower 48. It has all the retail establishments we’re all used to (Kohl’s, Home Depot, PetSmart, Michaels, etc), so I believe any of us would feel comfortable living there. I did notice a very large Eskimo population there and felt very much in the minority, but it was nice to see another ethnic group thriving. I look forward to returning for a visit – this time via plane, though, so I can maximize my time in Alaska.
So, in total it took us 8 days to drive the 4,000 miles from Wichita, KS to Anchorage, AK. We drove through 7 states (KS, NE, WY, UT, ID, MT, AK) and 3 provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon Territory) and hit 8 quilt shops (in every state/province but KS and NE). Every day except today was sunny and beautiful, and today wasn’t bad, just a little overcast with a quick shower. We had 2 cameras, and on mine alone we took over 500 photos and 50 videos.This was a trip-of-a-lifetime for me and I am so glad I had a chance to share it with my sister. I have a treasure trove of fond memories and beautiful pictures to keep forever. I hope you have enjoyed reading our blog. If I wasn’t given the idea to do this, I undoubtedly would not have taken as many pics, and probably wouldn’t have taken any video, so thank you to everyone who expressed an interest in hearing about our trip. It was nice to have you along for the ride J
