Going Home - Day 2

Monday June 30^th 2014

Beaver Creek, YT – Haines, AK

329 miles, 7 hours 16 minutes

352 miles, 7:21 am – 2:37 pm (both Alaska times)

Light drizzle in the morning. Eat some breakfast and leave. For probably 65 miles there was a road construction. Annoyingly slow speed, bumpy, gravel, and one waiting for the pilot car. Unpleasant at best. Between 8:40 am and 9:40 am we saw along the road THREE BEARS. We were probably less than twenty yards away (safely in our car). Two bears (black and brown) were just sitting by the road eating their vegetables (some flowers and grass). We stopped (after turning around), watched them, and took plenty of pictures (bears were fine with that). Third bear was a bit farther and leaving the area. There were several cars stopped and people were out of their vehicles taking pictures (they should be eaten by that bear, they would deserve it). Few stops along the way to view the country – so much different from the time we drove it in March. Really pretty – as pretty, or even prettier then Alaska, yet there is not so much “hype” about Yukon as there is about Alaska : strange and interesting. Kluane park – driving along it. Kluane lake (I think). Haines Junction - quick stop, gasoline. Another 140 miles to Haines, Alaska. This road was actually incredibly scenic and interesting. Weather was changing every ten minutes (sunny, cloudy, heavy rain, drizzle) and it made the drive even more interesting. One more bear along the way: walking and eating. Four bears for one day, not bad. We also crossed the highest point on the highway (at about 1050 meters). Moose mother and moose baby in the river bank. The moose baby was separated from the mother by the river. Bald Eagle preserve: few eagles flying around, I was though expecting bunch of them sitting close to the road and in the river. Town of Haines: small, and kind of pretty. Few stores, visitor center, and drive about 9 miles south to the state park. Great views, few glaciers (one of them was “leaking” - there were two visible waterfalls coming from the glacier). Really beautiful country. Back to the town, “historic” fort area – not much left. Dinner sandwiches and preparation of the bag for the ferry. Drive to ferry terminal on the north side of the town. Rain on and off.

Monday June 30^th 2014

Haines, AK – Juneau, AK (Alaska ferry)

8:15 pm – 12:45 am (Tuesday)

It was about six o'clock when we got to the ferry terminal. Checked in. Parked in the line. A bit of walking around the terminal (small one) and the parking lot. Nothing (almost) to see. Wait, wait, and … (wait for it) … wait. M/V (whatever that means) Columbia that sails to Bellingham, Washington state. It really took forever to get checked and later loaded onto the boat (8:06 pm). Shortly after the ferry left the town. Cloudy. Drizzle on and off. Two outside areas with some tents and recliners (plastic ones). Three areas with tables, chairs, and recliners for the “poor” passengers. There are cabins on board as well (though their number is quite limited). It is 9:44 and it is quite pleasant sail, the sky is still cloudy but it makes the area more atmospheric. Small island with working lighthouse (might be the first working lighthouse we saw from the boat). Rainbow. We read, played cards, and enjoyed the scenery. Nice experience.

Going Home - Day 1

Sunday June 29^th 2014

Anchorage, AK – Beaver Creek, YT

427 miles, 8 hours 41 minutes

438 miles, 8:15 am – 4:38 pm (Alaska time)

About an hour and half of last packing, moving, and cleaning. Breakfast. Nice and pleasant morning with sunshine. Gasoline at Costco (last reasonably priced gas for a while). And … surprisingly … drive, drive, and drive. We already drove this route (on our first drive to Anchorage). Full summer season … I guess. Not much to start with … leave Anchorage, drive along Palmer, and Glenn Highway … felt more curvy then we remembered. No wildlife for whole day (what is going on???). First real stop at the viewpoint for Matanuska glacier. Greener and nicer, great view of the glacier (much better then in winter when everything is covered with snow). About four hours behind us when we got to Glennalen junction. The gas station (priced at 4.58) had lines for all its pump (there is not much around that area). Another 100 miles or so to Tok – we almost took a wrong turn (well, we did but turned around immediately). Another … surprisingly … endless drive. Nice and green scenery, pretty good views of Wrangell mountains. Tok – gasoline. 90 more miles to Canadian border – this part of the road was really bad in winter, this time it was patched and pretty good. Still, very long and tedious drive. Border crossing – nothing special, asked about guns, money, alcohol, and tobacco. Twenty more miles to Beaver Creek (small border settlement). The room for 90 dollars, it was few small cottages, restaurant, and bar. Named after the owner, who apparently checked us in, and looked like tired and overworked. Sunny. The tiny cottage got pretty warm. Tired. Read, eat, watch television, go to sleep.

Anchorage - Week 14

June 23^rd – June 28^th 2014

WRITTEN AND POSTED ON OUR LAST DAY IN ALASKA.

OUR LAST WEEK IN ALASKA.

SUNDAY (29^th) WE START OUR TRIP HOME.

Monday: return from Homer, half of our visitors leaving for Michigan (via Phoenix).

Tuesday: downtown, Ulu factory, Thunderbird Falls, Moose's Tooth Pizza, the rest of our visitors leaving for Michigan (via Seattle and Minneapolis).

Wednesday: Rainy, cloudy, and gray. Some more sorting, packing, cleaning, and planning. Well, we had to clean after our family left and the landlord was showing the place to some other people as well. Few phone calls about J.'s job options. Hospital, town, store, home. Really not much – the rain was annoying. Relaxed afternoon. J. went out to meet some friends from work – time to say good bye. Fare well. Auf wiedersehen.

Thursday: More rain. Pretty much nothing – some errands and getting ready for our departure.

Friday: Somewhat cloudy and gray but not really raining (great). Some phone calls and other “monkey business” for J.'s Michigan job (she will be driving to Ann Arbor). Breakfast. Final decision to spend some more money on the train ride to the glacier (the train is called Glacier explorer). Drive to Portage (an hour). Train tickets. Wait some. 1.25 – 5.15: train trip. About 20 minutes ride through really nice country, Whistle stop: walk towards the lake with the glacier. Six more people and the ranger. Incredible view of the lake with huge chunks of ice and the glacier in the back. Decent weather. Walk back. Drive back. To pack between the seats in the car.

Saturday: OUR LAST DAY IN ALASKA. Georges weather (sunny and warm). Breakfast with J.'s friend K (really nice person). Native Heritage Center – some presentation about lands and people. Presentation of native sports (kicking ball, jumping, etc.). It was quite remarkable. Small exhibit hall with few artifacts and bunch of information about people and their history. The loop outside presenting six dwellings of native people (some of them had guides in them – the same young people who were showing different sports – very versatile people. Really nice day. More cleaning and packing. We still have to cancel and return internet (modem). Finish as much packing as possible and leave at about 8:01 am. It is really happening. It was really nice end of our adventure in Alaska.

Homer

Homer

Saturday June 21^st – Monday June 23^rd 2014

Three days. Seven people. Two cars. 225 miles = 4 ½ hours. Weather: mixed, unreliable, and goofy. Wildlife Conservation Center near Portage Valley (nice surroundings, bunch of baby animals, bears). Several small stops. One car lost – stayed on the road to Seward for few miles. Soldotna – visitor center and quick walk to the Kenai river. Many people fishing – no fish seen. Slow drive. Homer – dinner – house: 8:17 pm. Sunday: two groups. Sleeping in, winery, town shopping, relaxing. Charter boat: fishing (5:00 am – 9:00 pm = 16 hours on a small boat). Fishing: legal limit of king salmon, halibut, and rock fish. Nice scenery, calm ocean, wildlife (whales, sea otters, jumping salmon fish, eagles). Seldovia (across the bay from Homer) – evening stop for fish cleaning. Monday – slow start. Rain. Sun. Rain. Sun. Etc. Oceans and Lands visitor center. Breakfast in Homer. Few stops along the way – slower drive. Anchorage – dinner – house: 9:31 pm. Half of the visiting party leaving Alaska at 1:40 am. Good visit.

Anchorage - Week 13

June 16^th – June 22^nd 2014

Monday, work day, prepare for family arrival.

Tuesday, work day – LAST DAY OF WORK, pick up family, the city, Ulu factory, Ship Creek (salmon fishing), dinner.

Wednesday, switch day, we left for Eagle River nature center. Road construction. WE SAW A BEAR running across the road (my third bear). Young moose standing by the parking lot. 3 mile loop – nice view, good weather, pretty pleasant. BBQ lunch. Home. Slow and quiet and lazy couple hours. Some monkey business in the evening.

Thursday, family day. Portage Glacier Lake – visitor center, hike (1.6 mile) to one of the glaciers – nice. Good weather. Girdwood – lunch (good one). Slow drive back home. Detour to Flattop Mountain trail head: great views of Anchorage. Back home. Get rental car and the rest of the family, quiet evening.

Saturday + Sunday: Homer (whole family). Described above (or coming) – depending when you read this.

Anchorage - Week 12

June 9^th – June 15^th 2014

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – work and switch days, nothing special. Weather kind of gray, sad, rainy, cloudy, and moody. Some errands, small car repair, bookstore, walk, school work done for our trip home, packing, planning, and some doing nothing. Getting close to our departure day. On Thursday we did (second try) our Kenai Fjords National Park cruise (described below). It was really great experience. http://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm Friday the 13^th (June, 2014). Nothing horrible or scary really happened. The work on the car was done. I dropped the car on the rainy morning (8:00 am) and walked home (about 2.5 miles). In small wooded area between the hospital and college campuses there was pile of crap – it was very likely left by a bear. Crossing the UAA campus I found a temporary sign informing about “bear sighting” in the area. J. actually got work email saying that there was bear sighting near the hospital. We also saw on the television news that in the middle of the day the bear with two cubs was seen crossing busy street. We want to see a real bear but it looks like we are just being teased. About noon I went to pick the car up (there is a picture that has J.'s description of the events written down) and asked J. to come with me – she did not want to. I crossed one of the busy roads (Northern Lights Boulevard from Bragaw street) and saw a bear by the garbage bin about twenty yards from me. If I would not pay attention I would almost walk into him. After few seconds I called J. to tell her about that. For few minutes (standing back) I was watching the bear walking around, digging in the garbage and then slowly leaving into the park. I SAW A REAL BEAR (and I was really close)!!! We can go home now, I saw a bear. The rest of the day was fine, relaxed, and peaceful. Saturday and Sunday: not much. J. has her last 4 days of work, her family is already in Alaska (still enjoying the cruise itinerary), and we are slowly packing and getting ready to leave. Weather is a bit strange: clouds,rain, sun, one never knows how it is going to look like in few hours. Life is good.

SOME INFORMATION FROM ALASKA'S DNR ABOUT LIVING WITH BEARS:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=livingwithbears.main

THIS IS AN EMAIL J. GOT AT WORK (ABOUT BEAR SIGHTING):

From: E-Mail BulletinsSent: Monday, June 09, 2014 11:52 AMTo: _ANMC HospitalSubject: Bear Sighting on Campus - Monday 6/9Please be bear aware around campus

A black bear with two cubs was recently spotted on the ANMC campus behind the Inuit going toward University Lake.  Please do not approach the bears and exercise caution when traveling on foot or bike around campus.

If you see a bear on or around campus, please contact ANMC Security at x2915. They will report the sighting to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

According to the Department of Fish and Game, black bears do not pose a huge threat to humans but here are a few safety tips:
Do not run from the bear, stand your ground, wave your arms and talk sternly (not yelling). Bears are predators and a running object indicates a food source.

• Give the animal plenty of room. Do not try to follow, corral or corner the animal.

If the animal returns, contact Fish and Game (267-2185) during weekdays or Alaska State Trooper dispatch on weekends (907-352-5401). The quicker the call is initiated the better chance they have at locating it.

More useful information can be found at the Department of Fish and Game website: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=livingwithbears.main. 

Kenai Fjords N.P.

KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK

Thursday June 12^th 2014

Less than two weeks ago we had to reschedule the cruise to Kenai Fjords (it was raining, the sea was wild and there was a chance the captain could turn the boat around). It was about 123 miles one way but … what the hell. It is really nice drive there, it is the same drive back but that drive is just long and tedious. Partly cloudy morning, it was possible the day could go either way. We left at 8:20 am and were heading to Seward (fifth or sixth time on this road). More traffic. Nothing really special – same drive, pretty but we saw all this several times. 123 miles and almost 2 hours and 30 minutes. Some drizzle along the way but it never (luckily) lasted. Seward. Parked. Walked to the tour office/store to check in. Almost 11:00 am (time to start boarding). Two story boat, top was already occupied. Stayed on the main level by the windows. And … wait, wait, and wait (till departure of 11:30 am). I saw some small fishes. Weather stayed more less the same – overcast, no rain, no sun. Small lunch. Narration from the captain – informative, nice, and good. Relatively smooth sea – there were some bumps but nothing really bad. Apparently we went out of the way to see some Orca whales. We were quite close and it was really incredible to watch those animals swim along the way.

Wildlife seen:

Stellar Sea Lion

Sea Otter

Harbor Seal

Dall's Porpoise

Humpback Whale

Orca Whale

Fin Whale

Bald Eagle

Common Murre

Horned Puffin

Tufted Puffin

Dall Sheep

It was a lot of going in and out of the cabin. It was windy and cold outside. At one point the boat was surrounded by bunch of Dall's Porpoises and they were playing in the boat's waves. It was really great. The captain was saying that it was great weather for the wildlife viewing and she was right. Apparently we saw a lot of animals. Some glaciers along the way. Well, again it is hard to describe the whole trip without actually experiencing it. The mountains around us were mostly visible, even though there was fog and clouds. The boat slowed or even stopped to watch the animals. Aialik Bay with Aialik glacier was the aim of our cruise. Our boat was named Aialik Voyager. More glaciers along the bay, some more animals, and calmer sea. At the end of the bay was huge blue glacier, bunch of ice pieces in the ocean – hitting the boat, and also bunch of animals – mostly in the distance. There was one seal sleeping on the ice and floating in the sea. The boat stayed next to the glacier for quite a while (almost half an hour). We even saw several pieces of glacier to fall down into the ocean – it is apparently called glacier calving. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_calving It was really great. The ride back was more laid back and there was plenty of people who fell asleep or were taking quick naps (I think I fell asleep for a minute or two as well). We saw some more animals and even stopped for Fin Whale – apparently those are quite rare to see. Some islands with tons and tons of birds – it was pretty cool. Some more whales, birds, and even some bald eagles – the captain was saying that it was like National Geographic. The islands were nice and green, and on one of them we even saw two dall sheep. One of those islands had some structures on the top – second war military post. Back in Seward. We just drove home. We were quite tired – we did not do nothing but we were so tired. As I said before, the landscape is really pretty but to see it again during the same day – quite hard to be really excited about it. After arriving to Anchorage we stopped by BBQ place for late dinner. J. got (they did not do it right first time) big container of fried pickles. I had half slab of baby back ribs – coleslaw was subpar, cornbread really good, and ribs were really great. It was good day with good end.