Prince William Sound

Prince William Sound
September 8, 2010

Today started with a bus ride from Anchorage to Whittier. We had a bus driver, Ed, who had lived here since 1956 and watched the town grow from 35,000 to over 250,000. He experienced the 1964 earthquake and told us how he had just picked up his car from the repair shop that day and was preparing to take it back because it was driving funny. As he prepared to turn around, the whole world started moving in huge swell-like waves! Needless to say, his car had been repaired; it was the earthquake that he had felt!
Anyway, we traveled along the Seward Highway, skirting the waters edge. We looked long and hard for the large white whales called Beluga Whales - it was a prime area to see them - but it was not to be. This area has its own subspecies of Beluga's and they do not interbreed with other Belugas. I would have really liked to have seen some.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the bus trip was the tunnel we had to take to get to Whittier. As tunnels do, this one goes through a mountain but it is only one lane! On one side of the tunnel, cars go through on the hour, every hour, for 15 minutes. Then that side is shut down and the other side gets its turn. They get the half hour mark every hour for 15 minutes. The extra 15 minutes on each side are to allow the cars to get all the way out of the tunnel. The really tricky part is trains also share this tunnel. In fact the cars going through are essentially driving on the railroad tracks. To fit the trains into this schedule, trains take precedence. When you drive through the tunnel, it is very narrow and you can touch the walls on either side (only if you were an idiot and opened your window and stuck out your arm!). The tunnel itself is 2.2 miles long so it's a little ways before "you see the light at the end of the tunnel!"

Whittier is a small town formed in 1942 by the US army. It's one of only 2 year-round ice-free ports in Alaska so it is a strategic town. there's not much here. One grocery store that has barely any bare necessities and one liquor store named 'Liquor Store' for Arthur and Lee and  one Salmon Store because they can salmon here. You can see the town in 10 minutes. However our cruise left from here to tour Prince William Sound. Also the ferry leaves for here to go to Juneau as well as other ports.
The cruise gave us a true taste of cold Alaska. Of course, we're going to see glaciers so what else would you expect? There were quite a few people on board, including a tour group of Japanese. All of the information our captain gave us, was also given in Japanese! No, my first and only lesson with Rosetta Stone Japanese lessons did not help me. We saw many glaciers. Even watched 'Surprise Glacier' calve before we had to leave.

We visited a fish hatchery where they take and fertilize salmon eggs. We also watched Steller Seals outside the hatchery catch and eat salmon that were still hanging around. Their 'snap the fish's back' routine was a little on the vicious side but it have us a show.

Lots of gulls around, but the best wildlife seen was the dozens of Sea Otters on their backs eating clams and crabs. We had to be extremely quiet as they are shy creatures, but to see them floating on their backs, sometimes in large groups or rafts, watching  you with their black shoe-button eyes is quite an experience. We all were really hoping for whale sightings but alas that was not to be (taking a line from my daughter). We did get extremely cold but it was well worth it. And it only took 2 hours to warm back up with the help of hot chocolate. We had a four hour wait for the ferry there in Whittier. As I already told you, there's not much to do. So we visited that grocery store (which is how I know it was 'bare') and visited with people. Watched the cars, RVs and people arrive for the ferry. We finally were able to board and after watching the ship leave port, went to bed.

Next Stop: Anchorage

Here we are at the Alaska Railroad again. This time to go 223 miles south. Our new seats were in the first dome car at the very front. I thought,"Oh, great view! I'll see everything as the train approaches!" Wrong again folks. This time it was the weather that messed me up. As you can see from my first photo, we started out pretty good...but then the rain started coming and all you could see out the front was rain drops. Quite a change from yesterday's glorious sunshine!

 We also had a number of people in our car who were very loud, and very obnoxious. They were the kind of people that give Americans a bad name. Unfortunately we were stuck with them for 223 miles - about 7 1/2 hours. Oh well, you can't always choose your train neighbors. The train ride itself was fairly uneventful. The fog, clouds, and rain managed to sock everything in so we couldn't even tell we were traveling through mountains. Without much scenery, and desperately trying to ignore the people directly behind us, snoozing seemed to me to be the only way, (apart from eating).

Ok, there were some nice shots - especially with the fall colors, and also with the fog. But we couldn't help thinking about those poor people taking the backcountry tour today. No chance of seeing the great mountain, or most of the other mountains either! It made us feel that much luckier today.

We went by a few interesting places. Many of these places had to do with gold mining. Some, like Wasilla, are places of interest in themselves. Wasilla is the headquarters of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Yes, you could see some of the mushers' dogs through the woods, with their doghouses and chains. There was also Matanuska which is a river whose name is native for "fire". It is named that because the waters look like they are boiling from heat. I took a picture but it didn't quite turn out. The waters, which are glacial melt, do indeed look like they're at a simmer in a cook pot. There were wildlife areas where we saw several pairs of Trumpeter Swans. One pair even had a large offspring with them. No pics, it's very difficult to see something, turn your camera on, aim, focus and shoot before the train takes you out of the shot. One last picture is from the top of the bridge at Hurricane Gulch. The bridge spans 918 ft and is 296 feet above Susitna River. Dinner on the train, into Anchorage at 8:00 and bed . Tomorrow is a very full day going to see Prince William Sound and then on a ferry bound for Juneau.

Denali

All I can say is - what a day! We started quite early in the morning. Shuttle left at 6:00 and by goodness, you better be standing there! We had a full bus and the day's weather looked to be quite promising. Our trusty bus driver, Peter, was a wonderful vat of information. We couldn't have asked for a better narrator.
We went with Denali Backcountry Adventure. This is an excellent way to see Denali if you don't have the time to stay and/or camp overnight. The park is restricted to number of visitors and so they use a bus system. There were day shuttles as well as the day-long tours. Not a Yellowstone or Rocky Mountains! As a result the animals are unafraid of the road and people since people do not congregate in large packs when they see an animal! The colors were absolutely amazing. all our guides say this is the best time of year to come. Fall colors at their peak, no mosquitoes, no family crowds, animals in full winter coats and getting ready for winter (snow should be arriving within the month!). My little camera was smoking with all the pictures I took!

 Those of you who know me well, know I am on point for wildlife. The bus driver is well aware of my kind and warned everyone "this is not Disney Animal Kingdom!" Like Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone, it's really luck as to whether it's your day or not. It turned out to be a very good day! The final count was 3 bull moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and 5 grizzlies! No wolves, foxes, coyotes, lynx, or wolverines. These animals we saw were never real close to the road but we were definitely able to see what they were and take pictures.

Of course the other major reason people come to Denali National Park is to see Mount McKinley, or, Mount Denali as Alaskans say. This mountain is North America's highest at 20,320 feet. Having said that, they say it is easier to see a grizzly than see the mountain due to weather. You have a 95% chance of seeing a grizzly during your stay at Denali and only a 25-30% chance to see Mt Denali. Our tour bus driver said he's only had a day as good as today maybe 3 times all season!!!! So we were very, very lucky. Here Denali is:

There are no words adequate to describe this mountain and Denali National Park. I could fill this blog with pictures but I won't! It was a very long fulfilling day. We went to the end of the road at Kantishna, had lunch,went on a botany hike. I'm ready to go back to my amateur naturalist ways. Berries are all out (have to watch our for the bears though) - blueberries, lingonberries, berries on dogwood (Mom, dogwood grows only 2 inches high!), other ones I can't remember...and the mushrooms. Whooo, so many in this one area. I love taking pictures of mushrooms! I'm very lucky our guide didn't leave me in the woods!

One story I am going to tell you though is, on the way back, we passed next to some cliffs. A few of us shouted that there were Dall sheep to the left of us ( you have to do that so we don't miss animals). So Peter slams on the brakes and we stop to count. There's one young sheep at the top looking for all the world like he was ruling over his domain. As we watch, a golden eagle flies by and tries to push the youngster off the cliff! The eagle is too small to grab them, but they knock them off and feed on them after they die! Anyway, the youngster got off after a couple of missed attempts by the eagle...and all was well (except the eagle was hungry). Even the bus driver was impressed and said again how lucky our group was!!

 The trip back was pretty uneventful after that. We saw one more bull moose but all was pretty quiet except for the buses carrying in people to spend the night. When we got back in town, we ate pizza and grabbed the last shuttle to our cabin. Some of our group got up during the night to check for northern lights but they were unsuccessful. The University of Alaska at Fairbanks puts out a daily forecast for the northern lights and tonight's was 'slim'. We went to bed instead. It had been a long but exciting and successful day.

Train to Denali

Well it's Day 2 and we've traveled some 120 miles south on the Alaska Railroad. We started out the day taking a shuttle to the railroad depot in Fairbanks. We had to check our bags and get boarding passes, just like at an airport! Unlike the airport though, we had to wear a special Goldstar pin. This showed the people who worked on the train that we were allowed in 'first class' - the luxury dome car. That folks, is the way to go! This is a double decker train car with a glass dome roof. The first floor was the dining car, and the second level the seating. Complementary drinks, LOADS of leg room, two seats on each side of the car.We also were in the only train car with an outside viewing deck!

The trip took 4 hours. We were not the speed demons by any means but the ride was so smooth and quiet.Once we got out of Fairbanks, there was mostly trees - black spruce (found growing on the permafrost), poplar, aspen...Actually the leaves are peaking in Denali for fall colors so we started seeing a lot of bright yellow aspen. Also the lower growth shrubs that grew on the swampy areas - such as high bush cranberry, wild blueberries, etc... were turning a deep red color. There were not many people to be found, or roads, or buildings, or anything but nature.

 

Well, having problems with this blog today so we'll just have to wing it. We did pass a few nice old bridges,

both for cars and for the trains. There is the one tripod the people of the town put on the ice in the middle of the river in the winter. Attached to the tripod in a cable/line that runs to shore and is connected to a clock and a horn. When the ice melts in the spring, the tripod falls in, trips the clock and starts the horn blaring in town. That is the official beginning of spring! There are bets taken every year as to when that tripod will fall in...

 

Close to the entrance to the park, we got to see a cow moose. She was running alongside the train for a few feet (not my side of the train, drat!) then veered off, swam through some water and out the other side. I frantically tried to get a picture (running over Jacky in the meantime), but everything happened too fast. So I do have a couple a pictures, and in one you can actually tell it's a moose (if you squint real hard). I won't waste your time putting THAT picture up. We also saw a group of Dall Sheep high, high, high on a mountain. Okay, I could tell they were sheep with my naked eyes, but the camera saw little tiny white pin heads and NO ONE can tell what they are on the photo. So, again, I won't waste your time. There were beautiful canyon views after that, everyone was clicking away on their cameras, when the train guy, Andrew, said to sit back down, we were coming into Denali. So, finally, when the view starts looking up, we have to disembark! But don't worry, we'll be back on the train Tuesday to complete the trip down to Anchorage.

  

We spent the afternoon at the visitor center, and the shopping/restaurant area outside the park. We decided to splurge on supper. I could not resist the fresh from the Bering Sea King Crab Legs. Thanks Mom!! They were the absolute largest crab legs I have ever seen. And no, that isn't because I had the Alaska Beer Sampler at the same time....

  

  

Tomorrow is an up before the sun day. Breakfast at 5:30, leave by 6:15. We are taking a BackCountry Tour. It's 95 miles one way into Denali National Park. This is a restricted road. The public can only drive 15 miles in! I'm loaded up with batteries for my camera as well as a new memory card just in case. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get a better shot of a moose and Dall sheep. Maybe a grizzly! Stay tuned...

   

                                                                                                                                                                                 

We're Here!

Well, here we are in the last frontier. We've been in this great state 24 hours and have been busy.Just a quick update - The 5 1/2 hour flight went well. There were 2 movies and 2 snack times! All I needed was a little more leg space. Oh well. Flew over the Yukon Mts. which was different from any other topography I've seen. There were no signs of human habitation and rolling hills/mountains as far as the eye could see. The Fairbanks airport was a lot smaller than the Minneapolis/St.Paul airport and there were so many flowers planted everywhere, that you might have thought you were in Florida except for the lack of palm trees!Otherwise it really reminded us of Soudan, Minnesota. The vegetation was very similar as well as the whole feel of the place - more rustic and frontier-like! Almost like being home again...we'll see.

This morning started bright and early. There was no restaurant open so we went to the gift shop which sold Jimmy Dean sandwiches and had one for the road. Then on it was to Riverboat Adventures. This was a huge paddleboat which paddled down the Chena River. We watched a float plane take off and land right next to our boat. Got some really nice pictures. Next was the kennels of Ititarod champion Susan Butcher. She died a few years ago from leukemia but her husband still races dogs and lives there with their 2 small daughters. Other people run the kennels and they gave us a demonstration of the dogs training by pulling a 4-wheeler. The 3 puppies were awfullly cute too! and no, I did not want to bring one home. 8 dogs is enough by anyone's standard!  

  
Next we saw a meeting of two rivers, the Chena and the Tanana. This area is called "Wedding of the Rivers". There were many sandbars and we had to turn around so we wouldn't get stuck. Supposedly the sandbars and the path of the rivers change all the time - sometimes week to week. From there we went (back) to a recreation of an ancient Athabascan Indian culture. This village had some original buildings and there were tour guides who told us all about this culture.

  
There are salmon who come up the Chena river to spawn so we saw equipment Indians used to trap the fish as well as watching a demonstration of cutting and drying the salmon. Oh yes, and we got to taste some on the boat! never mind that the company was trying to sell their canned salmon (which of course, I bought!)

                                              


      That all happened just in the morning! In the afternoon, the same Riverboat Adventures had a tour of the El Dorado gold mine. First we had to take a shuttle (an old school bus). Along the way we passed the Alaskan Pipe Line. Of course I took pics! Once we got to the parking lot, we took an old train to the mine, passing recreated cabins and mining equipment...and once going through a tunnel that showed the permafrost. At the 'mine' there were more demonstrations and then we all got to pan for gold. Jacky found 3 1/2 grams gold in his which was worth about $14. I got  7 grams in mine, so $28! No big celebrations but mine was one of the upper amounts found on our bus. Still, a very time consuming way to make money (ok, what way isn't time consuming?).
That was all for the Riverboat Adventures. I must say we truely enjoyed the day. We had fantastic narraters both times which educated AND entertained! After we got back, we walked to Geraldos - an Italian restaurant. There wasn't a restaurant open at the resort the whole time we were there. Kindof crazy, even though our rooms included full kitchens. We didn't have a car so there was no way to get groceries either! Anyway, the pizza hit the spot. Tomorrow we leave at 7:00 for the train to Denali. Can't wait! I hope I brought  enough batteries for my camera, already changed them twice today!