Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
OFF TO THE KENAI PENINSULA...
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| Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel |
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| Portage Glacier |
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| Hope, AK |
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| Billy Miller |
Note: There are three choices for RV camping in Hope. Alaska
Dacha with full hook-ups just before town, the in-town campground at the mouth
of the Resurrection creek with electricity only and the Porcupine USFS
campground at the end of the Hope Highway for dry-camping and incredible views. If we return, Porcupine would be our choice
for a few days here.
Then it’s on to Seward past the Exit Glacier and into town
on the shore of the Resurrection Bay.
Here we stay at the Waterfront Park Municipal Campground. Spaces are
self-register-first-come-first-serve some are dry camping and some have water
and electricity. The place is a zoo as
folks scramble for the best spots along the waterfront. Check out time here is 4:00 PM (as opposed to
11:00 AM in most other RV Parks) so timing is also part of the equation. There is one spot open on the landside of the
front row and we pull in. We have water
and electricity, no ocean view from the gaucho deck but it’s OK.
Most of the attractions in Seward revolve around fishing charters
and glacier tours. For us, fishing is
stopping at Captain Jacks to pick up some ‘catch of the day’ fresh halibut for
dinner and the freezer and we’ve pretty much done our share of glacier tours.
So we’re content to walk around the harbor and town and enjoy just hanging out.
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| One of twenty Murals |
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| Dead Art in Seward |
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| Up Close with a Sea Lion |
Seward claims to have a bit of everything that Alaska has to
offer: Glaciers, wildlife, mountains,
forests, sea life, museums, etc… If you could only choose one town to visit,
Seward would be a good choice. (Like the ‘cliff notes’ version of the state.)
Now it’s time to move on and check out the rest of the Kenai
Peninsula…
Monday, July 22, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
DEAD BEAR WALKING AND A TALE OF TWO TOURS…
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| View From Bear Paw |
The drive over Thompson Pass into Valdez is stunning. Waterfalls cascade down the canyon walls and
the Thompson Glacier sparkles in the distance.
Arriving in Valdez we check into the Bear Paw RV Park. This park has two sections, one nondescript
parking lot across from the harbor and the Adult Park along the waterfront. We opt for the waterfront. From here we watch the fishing boats go in
and out of the harbor, framed by the municipal wharf and the Alyeska Oil tanksat the Pipeline Terminal on the far side of the bay. The facilities are clean
and the Wi-Fi good. Instead of a centrally located dumpster for refuse, there
are 50 gallon plastic trashcans conveniently located around the park. BUT,
there is a note on the laundry room door stating that, there is a bear in the area and please don’t put your trash out
overnight because we don’t want to have to shoot him! I talked to the maintenance man and he told me
that the bear had been coming around and getting into the garbage, but they
bear-sprayed him a few days ago and was hoping that he would not return.
Forging in Valdez is good. There is a newer Safeway for
basic provisions and the Peter Pan Fish Marketplace for seafood. Peter Pan is a
large processor of fish in the Pacific Northwest and we pick up some halibut
fillets and spotted prawns for about half the cost of retail fish markets.
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| Purse Seiners |
We book a tour with the Lu-Lu Belle to visit the ColumbiaGlacier. This tour was recommended by a
few folks that we met during our travels and has many positive reviews on-line.
The Lu-Lu Belle is a lovely boat. It’s small with lots of wood and faux
oriental rugs but it feels a bit cramped as we are traveling at near full
capacity and there are not enough indoor seats for everyone during the
mandatory safety orientation. The weather is perfect and we head out of the
harbor. The captain starts his
commentary on the area and seems to end every topic with an off the wall
comment. Just past the municipal wharf, we are treated to a couple of rafts of
sea otters. They are obviously used to
the boat traffic and just float on their backs as we slowly circle them. Further out the purse seining fishing boats
are laying out the nets and we watch a nice haul of pink salmon loaded into the
hold. Continuing down the sound, the
captain draws the boat right up to the shore (we’re talking a couple of feet
here) of an island with steep vertical cliffs.
We are looking for puffins that don’t seem to be around.
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| Stellar Seals |
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| Puffin |
The topic changes to the Stellar Sea Lions.
Pulling the boat around the bend we come to a narrow beach teaming with these
huge creatures. The boat is only a few
yards from the shore and some of the sea lions are a bit agitated by our close
proximity. It is apparent that the
captain has no love for these creatures or their southern cousins the
California Sea Lions because in his opinion: they eat too much of the salmon, they
stink and should not be classified as an endangered species. Once we pull away
from the island we see the puffins cruising on the water and flying about. More
skewed commentary as we pass the site of the Exon Valdez oil spill with
emphasis on the cost of the safety measures now mandated because of it.
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| Columbia Glacier |
As we approach the Columbia Glacier the
captain circles a mother otter holding her baby, the mother dives down and
vanishes from sight. Then we continue on
and pick our way through the ice. It’s
the only time the captain is quiet. The
glacier calves a bit and we head back to Valdez. The boat has a small snack bar. Chris gets a nasty hot dog and I have a
watery bowl of tasteless clam chowder.
YUK! On the return trip the
captain takes the opportunity to share his misogynistic opinions on: government
regulations, unions, the environment and foreign ownership of American based
businesses with his captive audience.
There are speakers everywhere on the boat and we cannot escape his
ramblings. It’s like watching a Nat Geo
show with a Rush Limbaugh commentary. We now have headaches and we just want
him to STFU! Once we dock, we can’t get off the boat fast enough. Despite the
glowing recommendations, this was certainly not the tour for us.
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| Otter |
We book a second tour.
This time, it’s with the Stan Stephens Tours on the Valdez Spirit to the
Meares Glacier. This boat is a 82 ft.
catamaran we are at about 60% capacity, but there are enough indoor seats with
huge windows for a full house and it is much more comfortable than the previous
tour boat. Again the weather is perfect.
Our Captain Amanda Bauer begins the tour with much of the same dialogue on the
history of the area (without snarky editorial comments.) She is articulate and very
knowledgeable about her topics. She
explains how the Alaska pipeline and the oil tanks were designed for a
thirty-year lifespan. It’s now been thirty-eight years. With maintenance and improvements they may be
used for about fifty years. We pass the
rafts of otters, the purse seiners and Bligh Reef the site of the Exon Valdez
oil spill where she tells us about the event, how unprepared anyone was for a
disaster of this magnitude, how there is still cleanup going on in Kodiak and
the Aleutian Islands, and some species of sea life have not recovered. Now
there are improvements, processes and special equipment in place to help
prevent this type of disaster and mitigate the destruction if a spill were to
occur. Passing the entrance to the
Columbia Glacier, Amanda explains that the Columbia is a retreating glacier and
the Meares is one of the few advancing glaciers. At this point we feast on a lovely lunch of
chicken with Alfredo sauce on a bed of rice with steamed vegetables, rolls and
butter and Oreo cookies for desert.
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| Happy Humpback |
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| Meares Glacier Calving |
Heading
toward the Meares, we spot a mother otter with her baby, the boat veers to the
side away from the otters because baby otters do not know how to dive and if
the mother dives too fast to get away from the boat, the baby can drown. At the
base of the Meares, we sit in silence and watch spectacular calving as two huge
chunks of ice, fall from the face of the glacier into the sea. On the return trip we cruise by the epicenter
of the 1964, 9.2 magnitude earthquake. Amanda
spots some Dalls Porpoises but they seem more intent on heading away and don’t
stick around to play. And then someone
spies a whale spout. Our captain heads
the boat in the direction and soon a 40 ft. humpback breaches off the bow. We slowly circle the area and are treated to
a real show. This whale is breaching then
swimming on his back with his large pectoral fins waiving in the air and then
diving and breaching. This goes on and
on over and over, waiving pectorals, rolling, diving and breaching. Everyone watches in silence and awe. We finally have to leave and Amanda states
that this is the first time she has ever had to leave a frolicking humpback
before it’s done. We cruise around past
the Stellar Sea Lion Colony and observe them from a distance. Amanda explains
that although the colony in the Prince William Sound is stable, they are
endangered because all of their other colonies are in decline. Then we head off to watch the puffins doing
their puffin thing. Before returning to port, we have a lovely bowl of clam
chowder that’s tasty and full of goodies. It’s a beautiful relaxing ride back
into port and we wish the day could go on forever.
Across the bay is the Solomon Falls Gulch Fish Hatchery. They incubate and release the Pink (Humpback)
Salmon that are currently being caught in the sound. We visit the hatchery twice but the salmon
are not running yet and there are no tours offered here. However, there are some salmon nearby as
indicated by the seals, that surface occasionally with a fat salmon in their
mouths.
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| Old Valdez |
We also drive out to the Old Valdez Site. The city was rendered uninhabitable by the
1964 earthquake and accompanying tsunami. It was relocated two and a half years
later to the present site. All that’s
left of Old Valdez are decaying pier pilings. The salvageable buildings were
moved to current Valdez and the rest were burned. Now the earth is slowly
reclaiming the city site.
The Valdez Museum Society has two locations. The Museum Annex
near the ferry terminal is dedicated to Old Valdez, with artifacts, a scale
model of the entire town and short film about the area, the destruction and the
relocation. A few blocks away, the
Valdez Museum is a wonderful place to learn the history of both Old and New
Valdez. They have some wonderful exhibits
including the beautifully restored original fire wagon. We watch a short film about the history of
the city from the native fishing villages to the boom and bust cycles: as the
gateway to Yukon gold, the destruction and relocation after the 1964
earthquake, the building of the Alaska Pipeline and the current economy of oil,
fishing and tourism.
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| Dead Bear Walking |
On our last morning the Bear has returned. He has systematically turned every trashcan
over and gone through the contents. A
park employee arrives and chases the bear off, but the bear lets him get pretty
close before running away. I can’t help but wonder why the park uses plastic
trashcans and not bear-proof receptacles? They know that bears come into the
area for the salmon, why make it easy for them to stay for the garbage? This bear is back, he has no fear of people,
and he will become dangerous if allowed to continue this behavior. He’s a dead bear walking.
We head to the terminal to catch the ferry to Wittier. On
the ferry we meet a couple from Valdez, they tell us that on their way to the
ferry they saw trash cans by the post office turned over by the bear. I show
them the photo I took earlier. We talk
about bears and they mention that last year, thirteen problem bears were shot
in Valdez. Thinking back I don’t recall
seeing bear-proof trashcans around Valdez.
OK, so obviously bullets are cheaper than bear-proof trashcans… but WTF?
k
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
DESPERATELY SEEKING SALMON…
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| Alaska Scenery |
We head down the Tok Cut off. It’s a patchwork of good highway going bad –
frost heaves, damaged pavement and some improved sections. We keep an eye out for wildlife and see a
couple of moose and a lot of spectacular Alaskan scenery. Sixty-five miles outside of Tok, we turn up
Nabesna Road and pull into the Hart D Ranch, a wonderful B&B lodge and RV
park with a fine arts gallery. Owner/
Bronze Sculptor Mary Francis De Hart greets us at the door. Mary is a beautiful older woman with a quick
smile and a sparkle in her eyes. She gives us a quick tour of the immaculate facilities,
gives us the 411 on the Wi-Fi and lets us know that she will be out in the back
mowing if we need anything. Since the
place is empty we have our pick of spots.
We choose one that backs up to the forest. All of the spaces have a picnic table and
metal chimera style fire pits. Colorful
rainbow heart flags flutter from poles around the lodge. Lots of Mosquitoes - but no problem – We have
ThermaCELLs!
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| Trumpeter Swan |
Nabesna Road is the Northern Entrance to the Wrangle-St. Elias National Park and one of the only two roads into the park. This park is the largest National Park in the
nation (Six times the size of Yellowstone!) and mostly undeveloped. Nabesna
road is a mix of paved and unpaved but is a pretty easy drive. At 27 miles we
check out the Kendesnii campground. It’s
a beautiful site at Twin Lake. It’s new with spaces for tents and smaller RVs
and it’s FREE! We chat with a couple of
rangers and they inform us that the road may not be drivable in another few
miles. We continue on and sure enough
the road is washed out at the 30-mile mark.
So we turn around and head back. On
the return trip we see some Trumpeter Swans and just enjoy the scenery.
The next morning we head back to the Tok Cut Off. We stop at the Wrangle-St. Elias visitor
center and watch a film about the area.
We also catch a Ranger talk about lichen. It its informative and we now have a better
appreciation for the importance of this fungus-algae complex. Yep you could say, “we be liken the lichen.” (Sorry bout that LOL)
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| Red Eagle Cabin |
We continue on to the Red Eagle Lodge. This is a quaint 1920’s Roadhouse
establishment with upscale amenities.
Richard and Judy Dennis are wonderful hosts and we feel right at home.
There are no specified RV spots but they provide electricity for RVs and places
for tent campers. We find a level spot and run a power cord from the bathhouse
over to Dimples. They have a collection
of original 100 year-old log cabins decorated to reflect the original period,
but outfitted with high quality bedding and upscale amenities. Some of the cabins have full baths and there
is a beautiful bathhouse (for campers and the single room cabins) with a modern
laundry facility. There is also lovely a glamper tent and they have plans to
add a few more. For guests who prefer
arriving by small plane rather than road bound vehicles, there is a landing
strip. Richard’s own plane sits near the
runway. They use this for personal touring
and flying to Anchorage to pick up supplies for the lodge. Breakfast is offered for a minimal price of
$5.00 so we opt to let Judy cook for us the next morning. At 2:00 AM the power goes out in the entire
area and stays off until after we leave.
No hot breakfast, but they heat water on their wood burning stove.
Although it’s only instant coffee and yogurt, we enjoy great conversation with
our hosts and a fascinating Aleut couple from Barrow (the northern most point
in the state.) We are invited back for the 4th of July if we can’t
find a spot further down the road. They
are expecting a full house, but can always make room for Dimples. This lodge is
a true gem.
Then we’re off down the Richardson highway with a brief stop
for diesel in Glennallen. We pass by the HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) facility and we catch
glimpses of the Alaska Pipeline through the spruce trees.
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| Early Morning Catch |
We end up on the Copper Center Loop and stop to inquire
about space availability at the Klutina Salmon Charters located on the Klutina
River. (The Klutina feeds into the Copper River - source of the world famous
Copper River Salmon.) They have one space left.
It’s near the office and the Wi-Fi works great at our site. This is a true fishing camp. Sites are provided with electricity, a community
water faucet to fill tanks and a dump station.
Most of the folks come here for the entire salmon season. Just about everyone is fishing and we chat
with a couple of anglers and learn about the techniques used to catch salmon. The Red (AKA Sockeye) Salmon are currently
running and they’re biting… actually they don’t feed while heading upstream and
are caught by casting a hook perpendicular to the shore, the fish catch the
line in their open mouths and the hook snags the mouth from the outside. Since the fish swim near the shore there are
lots-o-salmon ending up in the possession of the anglers. We’d like to stay
longer and maybe try some salmon fishing, but they are booked solid over the
holiday so we have to move on. But no problems… In anticipation of not being
able to stay we left a message with the Wrangell View RV Park about
availability and there is a message on our cell. Looks like we have a place to park over the 4th
of July holiday (WHEW!)
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| Edgerton Hwy |
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| Copper River Fish Wheel |
So it’s off to the Edgerton Highway toward the town of Chitna.
We don’t see a lot of wildlife, but there is a herd of Yak… WTF? The Wrangell View RV Park is a tribal park
with a self-service pay station, full hookups and no other amenities. The park
is mostly gravel, but half of the spaces back up to the forest. Since there is only one other unit parked
here we pretty much have our choice of spots and our view out the back is
lovely. There is talk about a bear and
her two cubs in the area, so we keep an eye out for her but she never shows
while we are looking. From here it’s a
short drive into Chitna. We check out
the fish wheels along the river and chat with the owner of a fish wheel who
comes all the way from Wasilla to fish the Copper River. It looks like pretty easy fishing, letting
the wheel do all of the work, but you still have to clean and process a lot of
Salmon. There is also dip net fishing
along the river.
We stop at the Hotel Chitna for hotdogs and burgers. Only it’s a really tasty reindeer sausage and
a Yak Burger (provided by the Yak farm we passed along the highway) that is
also quite delicious.
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| Glad we don't have to drive on this! |
For the forth of July it’s off to the towns of Kennicott and
McCarthy. The Edgerton Highway ends at
the town of Chitna and the McCarthy Road begins with a narrow single lane cut
in the rock and continues over the McCarthy Bridge. This is the only other
entrance into the Wrangell & St. Elias National Park. The gravel road was built
along the CR&NW (Copper River and North Western, or the local translation
of the acronym: Can’t Run and Never Will) railway bed. We’ve heard horror
stories about this road and many of the few businesses along this road offer
tire repair. So we start out slow and after
a few miles we discover that the road has been recently graded and is actually
in better condition that many of the main highways we’ve been on recently. The
scenery is spectacular, alpine meadows dotted with wildflowers, pine forests,
marshes and ponds with swans and beaver dens, and along the horizon; the
Wrangell Mountains covered with snow. A bull moose darts across the road and
we’re reminded that although the road is in good condition it’s prudent to keep
our speed down. After about 17 miles we
come to the Kuskulana Bridge. This 525
ft. long one lane bridge, originally built in 1910 crosses 238 feet above the
river. It’s a narrow 3-span steel
railway bridge retrofitted with new wood decking and guardrails. Before the bridge was rehabilitated in 1988
many of the bridge planks were missing and motorists could glimpse the river
below through the planks. It’s not as scary as back then, but it’s still a
thrill to cross the river here. The road
continues on up and over steep grades and at one point we see another bridge in
the distance, this one looks really scary.
Fortunately it has been abandoned and we only look up and marvel, rather
than cross the canyon on that rickety derelict.
After 58 miles of gravel adventure the road ends at the footbridge over
the Kennicott River to McCarthy and Kennicott. Parking at the bridge costs $5
but we opt to park in the free spaces at the small visitor center about a
half-mile away and walk to the bridge.
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| Kennecott |
Once across the bridge we catch the shuttle to take us the
five miles to the Kennecott National Historic Landmark. We hope to take a mine tour, but it’s the
forth of July and tours are cancelled due to the parade and festivities in
nearby McCarthy. After stopping at the
visitor center and catching a short film about the history of the Kennecott
mines we hike around the Concentration Mine buildings and walk around the town taking
tons of photos. We finish our tour of
Kennicott with a really tasty elk sausage pizza from Tailor Made Pizzas that
operates out of a converted bus and then head over to McCarthy.
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| Serious Egg Tossers |
The town of McCarthy is best described as quaint and
vintage. Most of the buildings are
original, restored and maintained. Generators
provide electricity and there is no trash service so residents have to haul out
their refuse. We stop first at the town museum and see artifacts left by the inhabitants
when the mine closed. Seems that, when
the mine closed the workers and other residents were given 2 hours notice that
the last train was leaving so they had to pack up whatever they could carry and
everything else was left behind. In addition to the trappings of daily life,
there is a display of handbills and memorabilia from early forth of July
festivities. There were cash prizes for
events such as: The Fat Man Fifty Yard Dash, Women’s Nail Pounding and the
ever-popular Egg Toss. We head over to
the main part of town to join in the festivities. Modern times have added some different events
like: a Slow Bicycle Race, Hula-Hoops and Paper Airplane Flying but the real
crowd pleaser is the EGG TOSS. There are
some really skilled egg tossers and catchers in this town! For a region inhabited by less that 30 folks
in a thirty square mile area they really know how to put on a great 4th
of July celebration.
After the two plus hour drive back to Chitna, we stop for
dinner at the Hotel Chitna. This time we
feast on Halibut St. Elias: fresh halibut in a cream sauce with artichoke
hearts and sautéed Copper River Salmon.
Service again is excellent and the meal is a real gastronomical delight.
We decide to stay here a few more days. The weather is a
combination of clouds, rain and sunshine, which is typical for Alaska
Summers. More time to watch the fishwheels and explore the area. There is a
free Wi-Fi spot in Chitna across the street from the hotel so we can check our
email and do some more research about the area.
While we are surfing, a large bull moose wanders by. Then one day we come across some folks
cleaning salmon at their fish wheel. They tell us about a huge King Salmon that
was caught in the wheel next to them that was probably over seventy pounds,
when caught, the fish just jumped out of the basket and swam on up-stream to
pass on it’s DNA for longevity. They
also surprise us by giving us some Red Salmon Fillets and a nice chunk of King.
What a treat! We are really thankful for
a tasty dinner that night, and some for the freezer!
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| Yak Herd |
The Edgerton Highway is dotted with ranches, farms and
parks. So we spend a day along the road, stopping to take photos and just
enjoying being here. At the Circle F YakRanch, we see a sign “Yak Meat For Sale” and some folks standing around a large
black and white yak by the pens. We pull
over, take a few photos of the yaks in the field and go see the man about some
yak meat. Robert Fithian greets us and
introduces us to large really mellow bull yak named Drifter. This yak seems to be content hanging out with
people and being petted. Robert explains about the various breeds and his main
products: meat, wool and breeding stock.
These huge beasts are surprisingly gentle. So gentle, that Robert takes us into the
field with the cows and calves so we can experience them up close and
personal. Some of the beasts are a bit standoffish,
but others come up to be petted and follow us around and the calves are just
too cute! Robert tells us that yaks can
be mean and dangerous if mistreated, but he obviously spends a lot of time with
his herd, every one has a name. He points out each one and tells us a bit about
each animal. Temperaments are as
important as the meat and wool. He pulls
off some of the soft wooly undercoat for us.
It is soft and has no odor, even when wet, unlike wool. In fact there is very little odor here. Yaks
don’t stink and neither do we after petting and mingling with the herd. Since we enjoyed our yak burger at the Hotel
Chitna, we inquire about some meat. Robert’s
wife, Barb gets us a price list and we decide on some yak burger and an
assortment of steaks. Barb also spins
the wool and she shows us some of her knitting. These items are light and soft
much like cashmere… (I am so jonesing for a Yak sweater!) Well enough yakin about
yaks. (OH NO not another bad pun!) Heading back to our home base we stop at
Liberty Falls for some more photo ops.
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| Liberty Falls |
We like being off the beaten path, our little freezer is
full of Copper River Salmon and Yak meat. Most of the folks we meet here are Alaskans,
only a few travelers like us. The roadhouses, fish camps and small towns have
been fun and fascinating. The flip side is the Alaska pipeline and HAARP the
spawns of modern technology and science.
We can’t wait to see what’s around the next curve…
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
AND NOW FOR THE "OTHER" ALASKA...
The last ferry ride of this leg of our journey takes us to
Haines, AK. It’s beautiful cruising
along the inside passage, we see humpback whales spouting off the bow of the
Columbia, a perfect day for a cruise.
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| crab feed |
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| Haines Harbor |
After setting up we stroll over to the Lighthouse
Restaurant. We arrive just in time as
they are expecting a busload of French tourists any minute. We get our order of Halibut Fish and Chips
and a Captain’s Platter of: shrimp, halibut, wings and fried mozzarella before
the crowd arrives. Although they are
slammed, the service is friendly and the food perfectly prepared and delicious. Portions are large and we again have
leftovers for some tasty fish tacos the next day.
That night there is a huge storm. Thunder shaking and lightning flashing it’s
pretty exciting, but we don’t know how exciting until the next day, when
everyone in town is enthusiastically talking about the weather. Seems lightening in Haines is rare, so rare
that the locals have never seen lightening like this. One man told us that his 18-year old daughter
had never seen lightening at all, until last night. Had we know, we might have
gone out and shot some photos, but standing outside near a line of metal RVs in
a thunder storm just didn’t seem like a good idea.
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| Ft. Seward |
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| Hammer Museum |
We drive out to Chikoot Lake and hike a bit about the
lake. Mosquitos are rampant but the
ThermaCELLs work perfectly! There is a salmon weir across the river and we
watch the poor ranger wading in the water trying to count the few early
arriving salmon in the area.
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| Haines Highway in Fog |
After three days we head out on the Haines Highway. We have read and heard that this is one of the most scenic highways in Alaska. Unfortunately the road is shrouded in fog and we’ll just have to take their word on this. Not a lot of wild life either, just a couple of picas and a trumpeter swans.
Crossing the Canadian border is a breeze for us. We hand over all
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| Welcome to Canada, eh... |
We arrive at the Kluane RV Kampground in Haines Junction for
a one-night stop. Parking is on dirt;
they have full hookups, OK Wi-Fi, but no trash receptacles so we have to pack
out our trash (weird.)
The list of attractions in Haines Junction is very
short. There’s the village monument at
the junction of the Haines and Alaska Highways is a 24-foot high sculpture with
area wildlife depicted in close to life-size detail on a mountain. It’s nick named “The Muffin” and belongs in
the category of quirky roadside attractions that are just quirky. You can’t
miss this one but there is another attraction that should be on the NOT TO MISS
LIST! The Da Ku “Our House” Culture Center features
Champagne
and Aishihik First Nations cultural exhibits and the Kluane National Park Reserve Visitor Center. This is one of the
finest visitor centers we have ever visited it’s World Class! Tons of hi-tech interactive interpretive
displays keep us busy and stimulated until the center closes. The park is an empire of mountains and ice. Here in a vast international preserve,
are most of the tallest peaks in North America and the largest ice fields
outside the polar caps. Over half the land mass is permanently draped in snow
and ice – the remainder fosters forests and tundra and stable populations of
eagles, grizzlies and other species often at risk elsewhere. We’d like to stay and explore but Alaska
is our goal this summer, so we will make it a point to return and visit this
park in the future.
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| Along the ALCAN |
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| World's largest Gold Pan |
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| Black Bear |
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| Mama & Baby Moose |
(BTW Tok is pronounced “Toke” the “e” is missing)
Everyone driving
into Alaska has to pass through Tok. For
such an important crossroads we note that in peak season, the multiple RV parks
are pretty empty and vacancy signs abound on the hotels. There are multiple gas stations, one well-stocked
grocery store and a few small businesses catering to locals and tourists. They have a fancy visitor center that is a
clearing-house for brochures about anything you can do in the state. Talking with some of the locals they describe
the town as a boom and bust town they also note that this year they are seeing
more large RV’s so they hope that the next boom is on the way. Like the rest of Alaska they are having a
heat wave and for us the smoky air is a déjà vu from last summer.
In Tok we stay
two nights at the Tok RV Village. The
spaces are all full service pull-through and they give us one free hour of
Wi-Fi per day. Since everything is
within walking distance we leave Dave and Dimples hitched.
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| The Alaska Burger |
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| Alaskan Husky |
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| All Clean! |
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