Anxious in Anchorage (Day 30)

We've been in Anchorage for two days and are getting a little restless and ready to move on.  It's a little too busy for us here and we need more wide-open spaces.  After Bill's dentist appointment tomorrow morning, we'll be heading towards Denali Park where we'll have more room again.  We checked out some of the local sites of Anchorage and since it was a nice, comfortable day, we decided to go to the Anchorage Zoo.  It was a very nice zoo with larger areas that gave the animals some space to move about.  

   

Icebergs Ahead! (Days 28-29)

We saw in our travel book pictures of Portage Lake with icebergs in it.  We never expected to see them on the shoreline when we drove into the Visitor center.  It was unbelievable!  The color of them is the same as the glacier that was coming down the side of the mountain.

I bet these are something to see...crashing into the water!

Did a little kayaking....what happened to Bill?

There he is..."Bill gone tour guide!" :-)

The town of Whittier is on the other side of this mountain.  During World War II, a military base was built and the only way to get there was by boat because it is near the ocean.  A railroad was built to transport supplies and oil by land.  In the 1960's people could get there by land if they paid to put their vehicles on the train flatbed.  Finally...in 2000 they made it possible for cars to go through the tunnel.  It cost $20 to go through and since there is only one lane...you have to take turns with the trains that uses the same tunnel.   The little fishing village of Whitter has now turned into a tourist town with shops and restaurants.  Not only can it now be visited by land, there are yachts, cruise ships and ferries that line its shores.

The weather in Alaska is like the weather in Wisconsin sometimes....one minute it is sunny, the next it is raining.  One day it's 70, the next it is 50.  We have had two days of that kind of weather; but can't complain because most of our trip it's been pretty nice weather.  Haven't pulled out the winter

coats and gloves .....yet!

Camped at a beautiful National Forest.  Now that I have a Golden Card...all National Parks, campgrounds, and sites are half price or free.  Hey...I found another nice thing about getting older:-)

If you look on the banks of this crystal, clear river...you will see white splotches.  Those white splotches are the remains of salmon that the bear have eaten.  I wish I could have seen the bears splashing in this stream, catching fish; but it's not the season.  I needed to see some wildlife so we went to a Wildlife Conservation Center....

We hated to resort to this but.....I wanted to see more than bunnies, roadkill or stuffed animals at the Visitor Centers!  One of the caribou were close enough to the fence for me to touch their antlers.  They look velvety and they feel the same way.  I know the rules are......

"Don't Touch the Animals!" but...you know how hard it is not to touch things that look soft.

These Kodiak cubs were abandoned last November on Kodiak Island.  Since Kodiak cubs spend the first 3 years of their lives learning how to survive from their mother, they would not have been able to fend for themselves.  The caretaker said that humans are unable to teach them those skills so they will be fenced in the rest of their lives.  That was kind of sad to hear.  They were 55 lbs. when they were found, now weigh about 150 and can reach up to 1500 full-grown!  When mature, standing upright, they can be 13 feet tall!  Being this close...glad they were behind the fence.

  All the animals looked a little mangy

...they were shedding their winter coats.

Hey....winter's over....come on out!

I was wondering why so many of the tree looked dead.  The sign said that in 1964 when the big earthquake struck the Anchorage area, (only 50 miles away) the lifting of the earth made this area flood

with the ocean salt water which killed the trees.

As the sign states...the town of Portage was destroyed by the earthquake. If this cabin was part of the original site of the town in 1964...they were a little behind in style and development :-)

Yes...We Have No Belugas... We Have No Belugas Today. (Day 27)

Lazy day today.  We have to stay somewhere not too far from Anchorage because of Bill's dentist appointment on Tuesday.  That's okay, we will take shorter trips to different places and do some site-seeing.  There are lots of little towns on the inlet with some interesting things to see.  Today we stopped in Kenai, which is about 160 miles south of Anchorage.  The campground is called Beluga Outlook which is on Cook's Inlet.  I didn't see any Beluga Whales though.  I talked with a man that said he hasn't seen any of them for two weeks. :-(  "FOILED AGAIN!"  I did see another moose and eagles on the way here though, so I did see some wildlife today.

Closest we got to a Beluga Whale.

Took a neat walk down to the beach.

I checked the shells and rocks along the shoreline.

Bill check out what looked like an old engine to something

lying in the tall grasses.

I think Alaska is just teasing us...

we keep finding only "traces" of that wildlife!

There is still evidence of the Russia culture in Kenai.  In 1791 this area was an important fur trading settlement of Russia.  This  Russian Orthodox Church was built 1895 and served the community then and is still an operating church today.  We met the priest inside and he gave us some very interesting history of the church and how it came to be.  Inside are beautiful paintings and religious books brought from Russia.  The priest said that besides being in Alaska, he served at a Russian Orthodox Church in

 Kenosha, Wisconsin......small world! 

  There are some real nice Visitor Centers in Alaska. 

 Oh...would I like to find one of these!

Nice picnic table at the campground.  It better be in the place they want it because I don't think they can move it!

At the office of our campground...

I'd like to meet the person with the green thumbs!

Think they would miss one so I can hang it on our motor home?



Let's Spit off of the Homer Spit! (Day 26)

Waking up to this view from our motor home isn't hard to take! 

It's amazing how far the tide goes out.

There are glaciers and active volcanoes in the area.

Bill had to make an unexpected visit to the dentist in Homer. Our dentist checked the tooth before we left;  but continued to cause problems.  This dentist made an appointment for him to see a specialist in Anchorage next Tuesday who will probably do a root canal.  Got antibiotics to tide him over. 

Things like this always happen at the wrong time. 

Hopefully,  it's a quick fix and we will be on our  way. 

    We were still able to do some site-seeing.  Homer is on the tip of the Kenai Peninsula. The Homer Spit, as it's called,  is part of the peninsula that juts out into the inlet.  It is a great area for fishing and eating fish!  It seems like every other building is a seafood restaurant and in-between them are some great gift shops.  As I mentioned yesterday...this is called the "Halibut Capital of the World."  Halibut  is very expensive right now.  I don't know why because they are big fish that probably would make hundreds of fillets out of one.  One odd thing that I read about the Halibut is that they are born with one eye on either side of their head; but as they mature...their left eye migrates to the right side of their head!  Yes...they then have 2 eyes on the right side!  The reason....the Halibut lay on the bottom of the ocean on their left (white) side with their camouflaged, right side up.  There is no need to have an eye on the left side that is facing down and more of a need to have 2 eyes on the right side to see better and sneak up on their prey. (makes me have second thoughts about sleeping on my left side all the time :-) 

The oddities of nature! 

Ate... "Cod on a Stick."  Good...but I think I still like the lemon-peppered cod at Smitty's near Tomah. 

 The harbor was filled with beautiful yachts and fishing vessels.  I think these have been in dry-dock for quite some time.

  What stories they could tell!

Had to go to the local museum to see a bear. 

We're thinking of going to the Anchorage Zoo to see some live ones!

This gift shop had about everything under the sun.  Check out the roof...it looks like it has snow on it.  I did find something very interesting in the store that I bought for someone that admires this person. (sarcasm intended)

The carnival came to town but......all the young kids of Homer had a disappointment.  Here sits the Rock-O-Plane, the Swings, the Octopus, and the Wizard and not one of them have moved an inch.  WHY?...because someone stole all the cords that had copper wiring in them!  It's almost like the "Grinch That Stole Christmas!" 

 How low can you go you "Copper Culprits! 

Back to the comfort of our motor home. 

If we can't start the motor home tomorrow...we will know...

the "Copper Culprits" have struck again!

For Sale...Alaska... 2.5 Cents an Acre! (Days 24-25)

Day 24

We passed through Anchorage on our way to Seward, a small town on the ocean.  Do you remember Seward's "Folly" or the term Seward's "Icebox?"  Back in 1867, Russia wanted to get rid of the wasteland we call Alaska today.  William Seward, Secretary of State, suggested that our country purchase this land that is twice the size of Texas.  The treaty was ratified by a single vote and bought for $7.2 million, which comes out to 2.5 cents an acre.  The media criticized such a deal and began referring to the purchase as Seward's "Folly" or Seward's "Icebox."  The public wasn't too thrilled about it either until "GOLD" was found in them thar hills!  Then everybody thought it was a good deal of course! 

 This is one of the fantastic views of Cook Inlet on our way to Seward.  Many of the rivers are grayish in color and look dirty.  I read that it is due to glacier water that has pulverized rock in it known as "glacier flour."  It is clean water;  but because of this dust,  it appears as "muddy water."  The rivers that are further on down the mountain that run through harder rock,  are crystal clear.

This is the actual color of many of the rivers and lakes!

We thought they were fishing at first;  but realized they had nets and they were "Clamming." The buckets & boots should have been clues.

We took a short hike to get some great pictures of this glacier.

Scratch marks from rocks scraping together

 during glacier movement.

The signs with years on them show how far & how long

it took the glaciers to recede.

I'm standing on what use to be a glacier in 1951.

Evidence of wildlife along the trail.  I know it's bigger than a deer!

We stopped here to eat...but it was closed...even though the sign said it was open.  It may have been a good omen.

We actually camped the old-fashion way...in a National Forest with no electricity, no water, and NO WI-FI!  We do have electricity & water aboard; but not an endless supply.  Read & went to bed early.

Day 25

Staying in Homer which is a fishing village with many places

to eat all types of fish.

Campsite right on the inlet that leads to the ocean!  Keeping my eyes open for Beluga Whales (they're the ones with the big head and no dorsal fin)    Oh...saw one moose today!