10 Days of Alaska, 70 More to Go

Today we bid farewell to Valdez, and headed back along the Richardson Highway from whence we came three days ago.  Again, we took our time, enjoyed the scenery, and put up with the bumpy portions of the highway which reminded us of driving in East St. Louis back in 2012, or the many times I drove between Pine Bluff Arkansas and Little Rock, or the many drives along U.S. 99 in Central California.

We thought for sure that we would see a moose, a bear, anything … but so far since we have been in Alaska we have struck out.  Even with our trip to Skagway, when we saw a bear it was in Canada. One would think that we would see Smokey the Bear or Bullwinkle J. Moose in Alaska…but so far, it has not happened…perhaps they have been right there in front of us and we have not seen them due to the spectacular beauty of Alaska?

So with the trip up here and ten days of Alaska under our belts, here is a list of things to struck us enough to mention to others who might contemplate this type of trip (assuming that one already has done basic research on the trip):

-- Yes, it is very beautiful, and if you are thinking of doing the trip, it really is worth every minute on the road, every bump, even every bruise in Marcia’s case after her little misstep the other day.

-- Nothing worth crying about if you get scrutinized at the border.  Just tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.  Once scrutinized, it will be stuck in your record for future crossings, you will be asked about it again. 

-- When you have a plan like Amazon Prime, and you expect to download movies to watch…remember that you cannot download them in Canada unless you are using your American Aircard.  So download all you can from a free WiFi BEFORE you enter into Canada.  Since our 40 Gigs of Aircard is nearly used up each month, in Skagway I purchased 7 Gigs of WiFi time for $18.95 with AP&T  (yes “P”), which had numerous towers in Skagway, and one in Tok.  With that, I was able to download a dozen movies and used up 6.9 gigs.

-- Yes, the roads “CAN” be as bad as everyone says.  On the other hand, the roads are in good shape for most of the trip.  Of the 1,250 miles from Dawson Creek to Tok, 1,000 miles of the road is in real good shape.  Another 150+ miles are in fair shape, as long as you slow down at the road markers showing frost heave damage, you can handle that real well.  About 100 miles are under construction, of which 60 of those 100 miles are the worse roads you have ever driven on, and the other 40 are pretty bad.   So when you look at it from that perspective, the roads are not that bad.  So far in Alaska, the roads have ranged from very good, to fair, with minor spots being poor.

-- The weather needs to be closely watched. It can snow anytime up in parts of British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska.  We had snow in the Toad Creek area before Muncho Lake, but it did not stick along the roadway.  But just four days later they had 4-6 inches fall, grinding many travelers to a halt right alongside the roadway. 

-- Yes, the mosquitoes can be a problem.  But a little spray with DEET, and some bug spray to go around the doorway, and a good old fashion fly swatter will do the trick.  No we have not experienced any of the no-see-ums as of yet.  Frankly, so far, we only had bad mosquitoes in the Glennallen area, and we are back there again tonight and the problem is not as bad, but still a problem.

-- We choose to not purchase a cell phone plan for Canada.  With both of us using dumb phones, we would have had to upgrade, or buy a phone with minutes at a Canadian Walmart or convenience store.  Once in Alaska, we have not had a problem other than travel day … then it is hit or miss.  With our Verizon plan, we did activate the $1 per day for use in Canada option, which only kicks in on days you use it, for our Aircard.  We have stayed in cities or locations where I knew we would have a signal, so we could use the aircard every night and every morning.  Only 2 or 3 RV parks had adequate WiFi, with Eagles Rest in Valdez having the best WiFi so far.

-- Did I mention how spectacular the scenery can be?  Worth a second mention, that’s for sure.  It does not mean that the entire trip is full of spectacular scenery…but when you get to certain areas, it is jaw dropping, eye popping, absolutely spectacular stuff.

From here we head to the Palmer / Wasilla area for three nights, and if we need another, then we will boondook at Cabela's for a night or two.  Then it is off to Seward…and when we are tired of Seward, we will head over to Homer where we have reservations for the 4th of July weekend.  From there…only time will tell...I figure we won't be crossing into Canada for 65-70 days from now, and even then we have to cross back into Alaska to see Haines and later,  Hyder.

Fly Like an Eagle, Slipping on a Step

Today I verified something which I had read about the eagles in Valdez…that there is one guy who has a license to feed them in May and June, and he does so across the street from this RV Park over at the Bayside RV Park.  Not very many people have this license, and some say he is the last in Alaska with a license...but I cannot be sure about that.

The Eagles anticipate the feeding, gathering in trees nearby.  Yesterday, with the cruddy weather, he did not seem to do a feeding.  He feeds them cut fish, what looks like the portion near the tail along with heads.  He does not seem to do it the same time each day, and it probably depends upon what time the catch comes in each day.  It looked to me like very few boat went out yesterday…but today was a bright sunny day, and the catch must have been good because he had lots of fish to feed them.

It sure makes for good picture taking, that’s for sure.

 

       

Before they settle down in the trees, they fly all over the skies.  These targets are harder to get…but persistence and many bad pictures will produce a number of keepers.

Today’s feeding show gathered two dozen people or so.  I counted at least 20 different eagles, and numerous seagulls.  The guy in blue to the left in the crowd is the feeder.

 

In the three pictures above, you can see the Eagle in the first picture headed for the fish part, in the second it is grabbing it, and in the third it is flying away with it clutched in its claw.   The bird on the ground is an immature Bald Eagle…there was two of them, both on the ground, for most of the feeding.  Sometimes the feeder tosses the fish up in the air, and an eagle will catch it before it hits the ground, but I could not get a picture of that.

Sometimes even an adult will land and eat its share…but normally the adults will fly off and eat while they are flying.

So that’s our story about “Flying like an Eagle”, now for the “Slipping on a Step” portion of our story…

Yes, one of us slipped and fell getting out of the motorhome yesterday on our way to do laundry.  Well, the hospital bed is empty, so that is pretty good news…

Yes, Marcia took a fall…put her foot down on our step, her foot slips right out and she falls on the steps on her butt…but it was her arm, which was holding onto the outside handle of the motorhome, that took the hurt.  She thought she might have torn a rotator cuff…but thank goodness the good doctor said that she probably just pulled it, perhaps a small tear.  They had a physical therapist come in and give her a crash course on exercising it out, and by 11 a.m. we were on our way back to the motorhome.  Sore, yes, butt it could have been worse (no, I did not misspell that word).

- The End -

Valdez Alaska—Mountains, Waterfalls & Eagles

As you reach the summit (Thompson Pass) headed to Valdez, you come upon one of the most spectacular mountain scene.  Thompson Pass is a 2,805 foot-high gap in the Chugach Mountains.  I was telling Marcia that one of the things that I find fascinating here in Alaska is the High Alpine type of scenery you see, yet you are really not at that high of an elevation.  The type of scene above can be seen in Colorado, for instance, but you are typically sitting at 6,000 feet or higher, with mountain peaks in the 14,000 feet range.  The highest point of the Chugach Mountains is Mount Marcus Baker, at 13,094 feet, but with an average elevation of 4,006 feet, most of its summits are not especially high…and you cannot see Mount Marcus Baker along the road to Valdez.

This is Bridal Veil Falls, less than 20 miles from Valdez, right along the Richardson Highway in Keystone Canyon.  At an elevation of 300 feet, the canyon walls raise nearly perpendicular, and the canyon is from 100 to 500 feet wide.  There are many temporary waterfalls along the route, but Bridal Veil Falls (above) and Horsetail Falls (below) are most prominent waterfalls in the Canyon.

We have driven many scenic routes during my lifetime…and now two new routes, the highway to Skagway and the highway to Valdez are now in the top tier of drives that I have done. 

Now we did not even have to leave our home in Florida to see Bald Eagles…however, I have never seen so many Bald Eagles in one place.  I took this shot while sitting inside the motorhome, parked in Valdez, from my lounge chair.  In one shot, (below), I have four distinct Bald Eagles in the frame, with one more probable far off in the distance.  I don’t like the quality of the picture, but getting four Bald Eagles in one frame is something I could not pass up sharing…especially since I was just sitting in my chair looking out the window.

We are staying three nights here at Valdez.  We have already eaten at Old Town Burgers, and it was real good.  I highly recommend the Clam Chowder Bread Bowl, and the Mushroom Bacon Swiss Burger…yes, had both, did not have lunch, and I am so stuffed!  Marcia ordered a burger and bread bowl too…all of her burger came home!    

For the rest of today’s travels, I will tell the story of today’s travels through pictures..

The sun, though 10 am in the morning, is still low on the horizon, playing havoc on the lens, so Black and White looks better than color.