The 2nd Half Lazzies

I've come to realize that about halfway through a trip, I tend to lose all discipline and go from daily, to 2-3 day, to weekly and then never finish the trip blog.  (The winter Florida trip STILL isn't done.)

Well, today's post is a catch up of the past week, which has covered a lot of miles.

The first day was a 268 run from Valdez to Wasilla where the closest tire store was located.  In Valdez, I did buy a junk tire from "Mark" who had several shipping containers of used tires out in back of Mark's Auto Repair, the only "repair shop" in 268 miles too.  (I've had two trips over the years where we had 2 flats at the same time, in the middle of nowhere, and that is NO fun.)

We'll spare everyone the reverse view of all the photos we took on the way into Valdez on the last blog.  (Excluding the below shots which were pretty decent.)

On arrival Wasilla we had to stop at one of the 8-10 quilt shops from a list some nice lady had given Val down in Valdez.  Alaskans are Sooooo friendly.  THEN we got our new tire.

Another quilt shop in Talkeetna.  (Dirt streets and me and the dog relegated to the front stoop.)

Bet you've never seen a John Deere ice cream maker before.

Also bet you've never had birch tree syrup either.  Porcupines and moose probably love it.

From Talkeetna we continued north to Denali Nat'l Park with the tallest mountain in the US at 20,000 feet and change..  

A sneak peek at Denali, which is notoriously elusive.  We waited around for about an hour to see just this momentary view of it.

We also found out that moose are like the squirrels in the Geico commercials.  They just love to come charging out of the trees just to scare the #$^%#^ out of you.  This same moose did it twice, once on the way in and again on the way out of the park.

Vanessa - Is THIS close enough??

Aside from the mountain itself, the most impressive aspect of Denali NP is the sheer immensity of the place at over 6 million acres of pure wilderness with a single dirt road running 92 miles into it and then back out the way you came in.  No private vehicles and a 12 hour bus ride. (OH, my butt.)

 On our walks, she kept telling me to go out in front so she could take pictures of her handsome husband.

And then periodically whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

Though not as much as we'd hoped for, we did see 5 grizzlies during our visit.

And no, it's not a ground squirrel, it's a long distance caribou.

Then an afternoon hike in the rain.

 

Notice who's still in the lead?

Finally, some commanding views of the mountain... like a huge white space ship rising from beyond the surrounding hills.

After three days in Denali, we backtrack to Anchorage then further south to Portage where tomorrow we hope to take a boat ride to Portage Glacier and a hike to Byron Glacier.

View from the campground.

Good Night from Willawa CG, near Portage AK.

Brad & Val

Note - Portage is actually no more.  It got swallowed up in the 1964 earthquake.

The Perils of Gloating

1. gloat

   
   

   glōt/

   verb

   1. 1.

      contemplate or dwell on one's own success or another's misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.

      "his enemies gloated over his death"

      synonyms:

      delight, relish, take great pleasure, revel, rejoice, glory, exult, triumph,crow; More

   We have a time honored tradition in our family that periodically when Val and I are somewhere enjoying a Funmobile trip, we will call Jess, (who is probably working}, or Blaine, (who is likely shuttling 5-7 teens or pre-teens from one place to another), and describe to them what magnificent scene is in front or our very eyes.  This is NOT INTENDED to be mean or spiteful, but may be perceived to be, and negative Karma may result.  

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Such was the case on our 2-day run from Fairbanks (A) to Valdez (D) where the scenery can be quite stunning.

   
   

   After a call to our children to 

   remind them how wonderful life can be....

   
   

   
   

   

   
   
   The unthinkable happens!
   
   

   

   
   

   Now changing a tire on a 10,000 lb RV (which lug nuts were last put on by an 800 lb gorilla), is not quite the same as your average car.  That is why I have special RV roadside assist insurance.

   
   

   However, the location of the flat (C) is approximately equidistant from the last point of civilization (B), and arguably the next point of civilization (D).and at a point where there are no bars (cell OR beverage).

   
   

   

   
   

   As I was preparing to tackle the job myself, Val's huge reserve of GOOD karma takes over and brings us a local road warrior  who insists on doing all the heavy lifting.  "I do this all the time for tourists."

   
   

   

   
   

   The end of this part of the story is that even Valdez does not have a tire store so tomorrow we head for the closest source of tires, 358 miles away in Wasilla, home of Sarah Palin).

   
   

   Anyway the following is a collection of the scenery along the way from (C) to Valdez (E).  I will say that this is probably the most stunning landscape I've ever been through.

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   Valdez has the dubious honor of being the terminus of the Alaska Pipeline.  Although it (the pipeline) is visible in a few places, all-in-all it is not particularly obtrusive.

   
   

   The town, having been completely destroyed in 1964 by the largest earthquake ever recorded in the US, is relatively new and is a active sport and commercial fishing center.

   
   

   

   Tonight's Dinner?
   (For somebody)

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   Goodnight from Valdez AK, home port of the Exxon Valdez.

   
   

   Brad & Val

   
   

We've ARRIVED!! (Another 3-day post)

We covered some ground the past three days going from Dawson City across the Top of the World Highway then crossing the border at Poker Creek Alaska.  then on to Chicken, Tok, North Pole and finally arriving at Fairanks.





Sat 7/5  -  Hung out a second day in Dawson shopping, gassing up, taking on water.  Took a hike in the afternoon along the banks of the Yukon river to the "stern wheeler graveyard" where the hulks of several of the 1890's vintage vessels were abandoned after the were no longer needed to serve the gold rush.

What's left of the stern wheeler Julia B.

Sunday (7/6) morning we set off bright and early, (Honest!   It was about 7 am), for the Top of the World Highway.  Although not particularly high in elevation, (a bit over 6,000 ft),  you were above the tree line and the valley floor was some 4,000 feet below.  For almost 75 miles, the gravel road mostly follows the ridge line with sweeping views of the surrounding wilderness.  The photo's don't do it justice.

This was the last chance for her to take the money and run.

US/Canada Border Crossing

Not sure WHO you had to P-Off to get this customs posting.

Finally  -  Civilization

The Chicken Gold Dredge

She would'a dumped me for the guy
with the GOLD
(Except for the beard)

Moon Lake CG near Tok Alaska.
(about 10:30 pm on a cloudy night)

Monday 7/7  -  On the final leg to Fairbanks.  The Wrangle Mountains in a distance and four moose before lunch.  Passed through North Pole Alaska, but no photos as Santa was in Cabo on vacation.

Made Fairbanks by mid-day.  Laying up in a Holiday Inn tonight to do the blog and figure out how to kill a few days until our Denali reservations on next Sunday.

Good night from Fairbanks.

Brad & Val