The Mountain was out today!!!!! Mt. McKinley, at over 20,000 feet, is the tallest peak in all of North America! Usually you can’t see it due to clouds, today how it was crystal clear and as the locals put it “The Mountain is out.”
My aunt Kim and Uncle Jason, who live in San Francisco but used to live in Anchorage, called us this morning to tell us about it…they saw it on the web cam!!!!! We piled into the car and just as we rounded the Cummins Truck Repair building where we were “camped” we saw The Mountain in all her splendor. “Camp Cummins” was more scenic than we’d thought!
We drove to Elderberry Park at the end of a street to check it out! Absolutely amazing! The Mountain is about 250 miles from Anchorage, so we could see the whole thing! There are several other impressive peaks as well. It was a challenge to photography because it is so big and would get washed out in the blue sky (it’s covered with snow!), however I did get some good ones!
Late this afternoon the motor home got fixed!!!! Since we were “cleared for take off”, I took off heading for Talkeetna, about halfway from Anchorage to Denali. Mom and Dad were going to finish a few things and follow.
It was a lovely drive up here, the mountain would occasionally show herself through the trees and it was sunny and warm! I arrived in Talkeetna about 7:00 and got us a campground then explored the little town. Most of the stuff was closed but it was a nice walk. I walked down to the river and saw the mountain again, only here we are so close you can’t see the whole range, just McKinley. On my way back I strolled through the residential section, Talkeetna is a cool little town – kinda Alaska meets West Virginia!
Mom and Dad just called and will be here soon – the campground has public WiFi so I need to post this so I’ll be ready when they get here! This connection is lighting fast compared to the cell phone card...maybe I'll post so pics later tonight.
Tomorrow it’s Denali National Park!
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Today's post
Blogger is being especially uncopoartive tonight and there's lots to tell....I already went as briefly as I could but Blogger would only post it in small chunks so I divided it up into 3 posts...be sure to check all 3 for the full story of today's adventure....
Breakdown - Part 1
Woke up to sunshine in Seward!!!! The mountains all around us revealed themselves to us in all their splendor and the sky was bright blue. Awesome.
Today was a travel day – we were headed back to Anchorage to do some errands before going on to Denali – so we “made ready”, dumped the RVs and headed off down the stunning Seward Highway under crystal clear skies! Soon we reached Turnagian Arm and while windy it was a stunning day – bright sunshine and puffy cumulus clouds!
Just after we passed Girdwood we pulled over for lunch at the Bird Creek access point – which had a large parking lot with plenty of room and a great view. We had a lovely lunch and about 2:00 decided to continue on our way to Anchorage, about 28 miles away.
Today was a travel day – we were headed back to Anchorage to do some errands before going on to Denali – so we “made ready”, dumped the RVs and headed off down the stunning Seward Highway under crystal clear skies! Soon we reached Turnagian Arm and while windy it was a stunning day – bright sunshine and puffy cumulus clouds!
Just after we passed Girdwood we pulled over for lunch at the Bird Creek access point – which had a large parking lot with plenty of room and a great view. We had a lovely lunch and about 2:00 decided to continue on our way to Anchorage, about 28 miles away.
Breakdown - Part 2
Dad was in the lead in the big motor home. He pulled out of the parking area and I had to wait my turn as a few cars passed then pulled out into traffic. Just as I did the walkie talkie squawked to life – it was mom with a stern “Cool it a second”. I looked up and there on the side of the road was the Country Coach, stopped. I pulled in behind and put on my four-ways to await further instruction.
The coach had simply stopped and would not start again. After a few calls to numerous people who know about these things and my dad’s knowledge of how it all works it was determined that most likely we’d had a fuel pump part failure and would go no further. We had to be towed.
For those of you who don’t know my parents MH is a 36 ft “diesel pusher” – it looks like a tour bus. Towing something that big is a challenge. We found someone who could do it, and waited for them to arrive.
The coach had simply stopped and would not start again. After a few calls to numerous people who know about these things and my dad’s knowledge of how it all works it was determined that most likely we’d had a fuel pump part failure and would go no further. We had to be towed.
For those of you who don’t know my parents MH is a 36 ft “diesel pusher” – it looks like a tour bus. Towing something that big is a challenge. We found someone who could do it, and waited for them to arrive.
Breakdown - Part 3
Now, if one’s motor home is going to breakdown, Turnagain Arm is a damn good place. Since we were right in the middle of the Chugach State Park I decided to go for a walk. There were folks “combat fishing” in Bird Creek, a nice bike path with awesome views, and I even found a hike that I could have taken had we been there longer.
The tow truck arrived and they got the motor home secured. Dad had to drive it up on the truck! He thought that was cool. Mom didn’t. We decided that it would be best for me to head to the Fred Myer in Anchorage while they went to the Cummins dealer (MH has a Cummins engine like a truck) to get the coach down and parked and to see if there’s room for me to “camp” there or not.
They just called and it looks like we are all “camping” at the scenic Cummins Engine Repair yard. They’ll look at the MH tomorrow and see what the issue is and then decided how to proceed.
The tow truck arrived and they got the motor home secured. Dad had to drive it up on the truck! He thought that was cool. Mom didn’t. We decided that it would be best for me to head to the Fred Myer in Anchorage while they went to the Cummins dealer (MH has a Cummins engine like a truck) to get the coach down and parked and to see if there’s room for me to “camp” there or not.
They just called and it looks like we are all “camping” at the scenic Cummins Engine Repair yard. They’ll look at the MH tomorrow and see what the issue is and then decided how to proceed.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Alaska Sea Life Center & Caines Head State Park
This morning it wasn't raining!!!! Cloudy but no rain. We did some "indoor activities" - seemed appropriate after spending the two rainy days doing outdoor activities!
We went to the Alaska Sea Life Center, it was good. They had a neat exhibt of shorebirds - had a viewing area where you could see the birds dive! I got some awesome pictures of puffins! It's way easier to get good pictures when you are standing on solid ground!
While in downtown Seward we went to an outfitter store. After yesterday's hike both Dad and I decided that new rain gear was in order so we both got new "The North Face" 100% waterproof rain jackets. We decided that now it prob won't rain anymore. We are calling it our "rain insurance". Sure enough by the time we returned to our motor home the clouds had broken and there was blue sky. A few minutes later the sun came out. We took pictures, it was so exciting!
Late this evening Dad and I decided to go hike at Caines Head State Park - it was a 3 mile hike and was actually fairly easy. This hike went through a rain forest and was totally different from yesterday's alpine hike. Throughout the hike we saw peeks of sun and blue sky! We got back around 9:30 (and it was still bright daylight) and had a late dinner.
The clouds have lifed some and the mountains are beginning to reveal themselves to us! Amazing. Although as quickly as they come out they are esconsned in fog again.
Tomorrow we head back to Anchorage to do some "chores", then it's on to Denali!!!!!!
We went to the Alaska Sea Life Center, it was good. They had a neat exhibt of shorebirds - had a viewing area where you could see the birds dive! I got some awesome pictures of puffins! It's way easier to get good pictures when you are standing on solid ground!
While in downtown Seward we went to an outfitter store. After yesterday's hike both Dad and I decided that new rain gear was in order so we both got new "The North Face" 100% waterproof rain jackets. We decided that now it prob won't rain anymore. We are calling it our "rain insurance". Sure enough by the time we returned to our motor home the clouds had broken and there was blue sky. A few minutes later the sun came out. We took pictures, it was so exciting!
Late this evening Dad and I decided to go hike at Caines Head State Park - it was a 3 mile hike and was actually fairly easy. This hike went through a rain forest and was totally different from yesterday's alpine hike. Throughout the hike we saw peeks of sun and blue sky! We got back around 9:30 (and it was still bright daylight) and had a late dinner.
The clouds have lifed some and the mountains are beginning to reveal themselves to us! Amazing. Although as quickly as they come out they are esconsned in fog again.
Tomorrow we head back to Anchorage to do some "chores", then it's on to Denali!!!!!!
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Harding Ice Field Hike
Today Dad and I hiked to the Harding Ice field. This is also in Kenai Fjords National Park.
The hike was great, very difficult though - 3000 feet of elevation gain/loss, lots of steep rock faces to scramble up, and it was raining – the whole day. However there were excellent views of Exit Glacier! There was also tons of lush vegetation – probably thrives on all the rain. The trail in most places was just beautiful, but limited views and very wet.
Going up the trail wasn’t so bad – the climb made us warm and the scenery was great! The trip down however, sucked. It was very cold, windy and wet at the top so the 1st mile or some coming down was miserable. I hate hiking downhill, especially scrambling down the wet rocks.
We finally reached the end and I was quite happy to have my motor home right there so I could change in dry clothes right away! (We’d left the Jeep so mom could do laundry and stuff!)
Time to head to bed….I’m sore from the hike so it’s gonna be hard to get in and out of my “cab over” bed in my RV!!!! Tomorrow is the Alaska Sea Life center and possibly driving back to Anchorage.
The hike was great, very difficult though - 3000 feet of elevation gain/loss, lots of steep rock faces to scramble up, and it was raining – the whole day. However there were excellent views of Exit Glacier! There was also tons of lush vegetation – probably thrives on all the rain. The trail in most places was just beautiful, but limited views and very wet.
Going up the trail wasn’t so bad – the climb made us warm and the scenery was great! The trip down however, sucked. It was very cold, windy and wet at the top so the 1st mile or some coming down was miserable. I hate hiking downhill, especially scrambling down the wet rocks.
We finally reached the end and I was quite happy to have my motor home right there so I could change in dry clothes right away! (We’d left the Jeep so mom could do laundry and stuff!)
Time to head to bed….I’m sore from the hike so it’s gonna be hard to get in and out of my “cab over” bed in my RV!!!! Tomorrow is the Alaska Sea Life center and possibly driving back to Anchorage.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Deadliest Catch
Our connection is painfully slow (but it's better than nothing), blogger can only post a little at a time before the connection times out - that's why I have been so brief with my updates (as most of you know, this is hard for me!)...this didn't fit in my post from today but I wanted to share it...
Our captain today used to be a crab fisherman in the Bering Sea! My now extensive knowledge of 2 out of 3 seasons of Deadlist Catch was very important! He used to own and pilot a sister ship to the Maverick, and he says Sig Hansen and the Northwestern are the best crab fishermen on the sea!
Our captain today used to be a crab fisherman in the Bering Sea! My now extensive knowledge of 2 out of 3 seasons of Deadlist Catch was very important! He used to own and pilot a sister ship to the Maverick, and he says Sig Hansen and the Northwestern are the best crab fishermen on the sea!
Kenai Fjords National Park - Wildlife cruise
Woke up to no rain! It was however very cloudy, foggy, misty, cold, and generally unpleasant though. Our plans for today were to go on a 9 hour wildlife & photography oriented boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. I donned all my cold weather and rain gear and headed out!
The cruise was great! We were on a small boat with 16 people. We saw so much a bald eagle, a huge pod of orcas (Shamu), harbor seals, puffins (so darn cute!), sea lions, and Dall Porpoises.
The mountains were supposedly beautiful, but they were hemmed in with dense fog – you could hardly see 50 feet. We did go to a glacier that came right down to the water and was cracking and calving (when chunks of ice fall off).
Despite hardly getting to see the landscape, Kenai Fjord’s is a pretty awesome place! I’ll have to come back on a sunny day to see the mountains, although I think the only time it’s not raining in Seward is when it’s snowing!
Tomorrow dad and I are hiking to the Harding Ice Field near Exit Glacier. It’s supposedly the best hike around – though quite strenuous.
The cruise was great! We were on a small boat with 16 people. We saw so much a bald eagle, a huge pod of orcas (Shamu), harbor seals, puffins (so darn cute!), sea lions, and Dall Porpoises.
The mountains were supposedly beautiful, but they were hemmed in with dense fog – you could hardly see 50 feet. We did go to a glacier that came right down to the water and was cracking and calving (when chunks of ice fall off).
Despite hardly getting to see the landscape, Kenai Fjord’s is a pretty awesome place! I’ll have to come back on a sunny day to see the mountains, although I think the only time it’s not raining in Seward is when it’s snowing!
Tomorrow dad and I are hiking to the Harding Ice Field near Exit Glacier. It’s supposedly the best hike around – though quite strenuous.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Travel - Homer to Seward
I woke up this morning to the pitter pat of rain on the roof of the motor home. Ugh. It had been predicted, but I’d hoped they were wrong. The forecast for the next 5 days is rain. Ugh. Did I mention that it’s 50 degrees. Yeah cold and wet. But it beats the 95 degree weather in Washington right now!!!! I’d much rather have this!!!
Our 1st task was to dump my motor home’s waste holding tanks and fill up with fresh water. Not a fun job, but must be done. This was my 1st time emptying the tanks so doing it in the rain was really no fun, but it was quick and soon we were on our way down the road.
The drive from Homer to Seward is about 170 miles and it went fast. I’m getting better at driving the RV so it’s more comfortable and easier. Today I even backed up a few times all by myself! I even backed myself into my campsite! Mom was going to help but I decided I could just do it myself!
Seward seems like a nice town. It’s bigger and more populated than Homer, lots more tourists and shops and such. We are camped by Resurrection Bay in a City campground. We don’t have a beach view though. L When we were driving after dinner we saw a porpoise/dolphin (not sure of the difference) in the harbor!
Tomorrow we are going on an all day wildlife photography tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. It’s on a small boat so we are promised to see lots of animals and get close. Because it’s raining and cold and damp I decided I needed some synthetic long underwear – I cannot even believe I considered bringing them but left them at home – luckily there is a Helly/Hansen store in Homer where I obtained so cool pastel pink polypropylene long underwear! They are actually much better than the pair I have at home!
Today won’t be my favorite day of my trip, however a bad day in AK is still way better than a good day at home!
Our 1st task was to dump my motor home’s waste holding tanks and fill up with fresh water. Not a fun job, but must be done. This was my 1st time emptying the tanks so doing it in the rain was really no fun, but it was quick and soon we were on our way down the road.
The drive from Homer to Seward is about 170 miles and it went fast. I’m getting better at driving the RV so it’s more comfortable and easier. Today I even backed up a few times all by myself! I even backed myself into my campsite! Mom was going to help but I decided I could just do it myself!
Seward seems like a nice town. It’s bigger and more populated than Homer, lots more tourists and shops and such. We are camped by Resurrection Bay in a City campground. We don’t have a beach view though. L When we were driving after dinner we saw a porpoise/dolphin (not sure of the difference) in the harbor!
Tomorrow we are going on an all day wildlife photography tour of Kenai Fjords National Park. It’s on a small boat so we are promised to see lots of animals and get close. Because it’s raining and cold and damp I decided I needed some synthetic long underwear – I cannot even believe I considered bringing them but left them at home – luckily there is a Helly/Hansen store in Homer where I obtained so cool pastel pink polypropylene long underwear! They are actually much better than the pair I have at home!
Today won’t be my favorite day of my trip, however a bad day in AK is still way better than a good day at home!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Halibut Cove and Wildlife Sightings
This morning there were 2 eagles right outside our motor homes! They were feeding in the tide pools at low tide! I got some great shots!
We took a small ferry boat to a tiny little town on the other side of the bay called Halibut Cove. The boat ride took about an hour and we stopped at Gull Island – a huge bird rookery! There were hundreds of birds – all types! Mostly gulls. We saw a few tufted puffins and some horned puffins in the water! They are really cool birds! We also saw several sea otters in the water, and a black bear cub on a beach!
Halibut Cove is a quaint little artist community. All the houses are up on stilts to accommodate the huge tides. There are boardwalks that connect everything. We ate lunch at The Saltry, the only restaurant in the town. It was very good! All the food is made from scratch and all the dishes were hand made! It was a really cool experience.
After we ate we had about an hour to explore. Dad and I hiked up a steep hill to the top of a bluff that had views of the bay on one side and view of the town on the other.
When we got back, it was high tide so the bay was at our doorstep. There was a seal hunting for food a few hundred feet out in the bay! Because it was freezing outside (55 with wind and clouds) we sat in the front of Mom and Dad’s motor home and watched him – he would surface every few minutes and he didn’t seem to be moving much. Better than TV!
Tomorrow we are leaving Homer and heading to Seward. We get to go back the same way we came so hopefully by the time we get back to the really pretty parts I’ll be more comfortable driving and can pay attention to the scenery!
We took a small ferry boat to a tiny little town on the other side of the bay called Halibut Cove. The boat ride took about an hour and we stopped at Gull Island – a huge bird rookery! There were hundreds of birds – all types! Mostly gulls. We saw a few tufted puffins and some horned puffins in the water! They are really cool birds! We also saw several sea otters in the water, and a black bear cub on a beach!
Halibut Cove is a quaint little artist community. All the houses are up on stilts to accommodate the huge tides. There are boardwalks that connect everything. We ate lunch at The Saltry, the only restaurant in the town. It was very good! All the food is made from scratch and all the dishes were hand made! It was a really cool experience.
After we ate we had about an hour to explore. Dad and I hiked up a steep hill to the top of a bluff that had views of the bay on one side and view of the town on the other.
When we got back, it was high tide so the bay was at our doorstep. There was a seal hunting for food a few hundred feet out in the bay! Because it was freezing outside (55 with wind and clouds) we sat in the front of Mom and Dad’s motor home and watched him – he would surface every few minutes and he didn’t seem to be moving much. Better than TV!
Tomorrow we are leaving Homer and heading to Seward. We get to go back the same way we came so hopefully by the time we get back to the really pretty parts I’ll be more comfortable driving and can pay attention to the scenery!
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Kayaking in Katchemak Bay State Park
I woke up this morning and it was so light in the MH I panicked! I thought I’d overslept and it was 10:00 or something! I looked at my clock and it was 4:59. I did a serious double take – couldn’t believe it was that light that early!
The kayak trip was great! We took a boat ride across the bay to Yukon Island where our outfitter had a base camp with all the kayaks, life jackets and other gear we’d need. Just as we were getting ready to get in the kayaks, a strong wind whipped up! Out on the water it was sooooo windy! That made it very hard to steer the kayak and paddle the kayak. We paddled to Elephant Rock – a large rock island shaped exactly like an elephant! We saw a seal pop his head out of the water right in front of us! Also saw an immature bald eagle and a river otter.
After the trip we came back and got cleaned up and went to the Homestead Resteraunt for dinner. After dinner we drove out East End Road – it sits on the bluff above Homer and the Homer Spit and has amazing views of the bay, the mountains, and the glaciers!
Cool thing about Homer: it has 20 ft tides! This is huge, it’s the 2nd highest tide in North America (the Bay of Fundy being the 1st). When we went to the water taxi this morning, almost exactly at low tide, the ramp to get to the boat dock was at nearly a 45 degree angle! When we returned, at almost exactly high tide, the ramp was almost level! Very little slant to it. The entire dock in the Homer Harbor is floating and rises and falls with the tide.
Better get my pictures uploaded and then get myself to bed! Tomorrow we are doing a lunch cruise to Halibut Cove and then spending some time there.
The kayak trip was great! We took a boat ride across the bay to Yukon Island where our outfitter had a base camp with all the kayaks, life jackets and other gear we’d need. Just as we were getting ready to get in the kayaks, a strong wind whipped up! Out on the water it was sooooo windy! That made it very hard to steer the kayak and paddle the kayak. We paddled to Elephant Rock – a large rock island shaped exactly like an elephant! We saw a seal pop his head out of the water right in front of us! Also saw an immature bald eagle and a river otter.
After the trip we came back and got cleaned up and went to the Homestead Resteraunt for dinner. After dinner we drove out East End Road – it sits on the bluff above Homer and the Homer Spit and has amazing views of the bay, the mountains, and the glaciers!
Cool thing about Homer: it has 20 ft tides! This is huge, it’s the 2nd highest tide in North America (the Bay of Fundy being the 1st). When we went to the water taxi this morning, almost exactly at low tide, the ramp to get to the boat dock was at nearly a 45 degree angle! When we returned, at almost exactly high tide, the ramp was almost level! Very little slant to it. The entire dock in the Homer Harbor is floating and rises and falls with the tide.
Better get my pictures uploaded and then get myself to bed! Tomorrow we are doing a lunch cruise to Halibut Cove and then spending some time there.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Portage Lake, Drive, Homer
This morning we drove 1 mile up the road to Portage Lake which has a very nice visitor center with a great movie about the glaciers and the ice – very well done! After the visitor center we hiked up to Byron Glacier. It was a ¾ mile hike – however we started a the visitor center parking area so it was ¾ mile road walk added in. I didn’t care, the scenery was great and the traffic wasn’t so bad. Mom and Dad weren’t as thrilled. The glacier was really neat. You could see the deep blue color changing as the light changed. It was also quite chilly – the wind coming off the glacier was freezing! Nature’s AC!
After the walk we had lunch in the visitor center parking area, then started the drive to Homer. Homer, AK is on the Kenai Penisula – it’s all the way down! Jeff Corwin says that it’s the Westernmost spot in the US that you can drive to – sounds good to me!
It was about 150 miles and it took a long time – about 4 hours. The road was 2 lanes and windy. At one point the speed limit was 65!!!! I couldn’t even make my MH go 65! When I did get up to speed I hit a “frost heave” – it’s when the road freezes and thaws and it buckles the asphalt – anyway the MH was shaking in about 6 directions at once. It was then that I decided I would go 60 and everyone could deal with it. At the beginning of the drive the scenery was magnificent! It was so hard to watch the road and the mountains! I’m glad we get to go back that way, maybe I’ll be more comfortable with driving then and can enjoy a bit more. By the end the road was a bit less scenic, and I was finally feeling comfortable behind the wheel of this thing!
We arrived in Homer around 6:00. Just before we entered Homer there was an overlook where you could see the Homer spit way out into Katchemack Bay! We stopped there for a while for pictures then came into town. We secured a campsite right on the beach! It’s a really cool beach – rocky, not sandy. The water is frigid so no one swims, and it’s a bay so the water is calm, no big waves. It is a tidal bay though so the water goes in and out with the tides. There are snow capped mountains all around. We have seen at least one bald eagle, apparently there are many more.
One really cool thing about Homer is that you can really see the motion of the sun and why it doesn’t really get dark. When we arrived the sun was straight out from my MH – which given how late in the day it was, I would have assumed that was west. As the evening went on though the sun sank off to the right and finally “set” about 10:30 pm behind the mountain. It’s still not dark (I’m writing this at 11:30pm) and the sky behind the mountains is pink and yellow and orange from the sunset! In the morning, the sun will come up behind me. It’s so open here that you can really trace the movement!
Better get to bed,….the sun will be up in a few hours! Tomorrow Dad and I are going Kayaking in Katechmak Bay for part of the day, then we’ll explore the shops on Homer Spit.
After the walk we had lunch in the visitor center parking area, then started the drive to Homer. Homer, AK is on the Kenai Penisula – it’s all the way down! Jeff Corwin says that it’s the Westernmost spot in the US that you can drive to – sounds good to me!
It was about 150 miles and it took a long time – about 4 hours. The road was 2 lanes and windy. At one point the speed limit was 65!!!! I couldn’t even make my MH go 65! When I did get up to speed I hit a “frost heave” – it’s when the road freezes and thaws and it buckles the asphalt – anyway the MH was shaking in about 6 directions at once. It was then that I decided I would go 60 and everyone could deal with it. At the beginning of the drive the scenery was magnificent! It was so hard to watch the road and the mountains! I’m glad we get to go back that way, maybe I’ll be more comfortable with driving then and can enjoy a bit more. By the end the road was a bit less scenic, and I was finally feeling comfortable behind the wheel of this thing!
We arrived in Homer around 6:00. Just before we entered Homer there was an overlook where you could see the Homer spit way out into Katchemack Bay! We stopped there for a while for pictures then came into town. We secured a campsite right on the beach! It’s a really cool beach – rocky, not sandy. The water is frigid so no one swims, and it’s a bay so the water is calm, no big waves. It is a tidal bay though so the water goes in and out with the tides. There are snow capped mountains all around. We have seen at least one bald eagle, apparently there are many more.
One really cool thing about Homer is that you can really see the motion of the sun and why it doesn’t really get dark. When we arrived the sun was straight out from my MH – which given how late in the day it was, I would have assumed that was west. As the evening went on though the sun sank off to the right and finally “set” about 10:30 pm behind the mountain. It’s still not dark (I’m writing this at 11:30pm) and the sky behind the mountains is pink and yellow and orange from the sunset! In the morning, the sun will come up behind me. It’s so open here that you can really trace the movement!
Better get to bed,….the sun will be up in a few hours! Tomorrow Dad and I are going Kayaking in Katechmak Bay for part of the day, then we’ll explore the shops on Homer Spit.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Getting the RV, Turnagain Arm, Glaciers
While my dad’s wifi card does work, the connection is unstable and very slow! I’m hoping to be able to post this in the morning (Mon, 8/30). I’m not going to be able to post pictures till I get home, unless I can find a faster connection. Hard to believe we are "camping" when we have our own little "hot spot" and all 3 of us have laptop comptuers! Ahhh technolgy! :)
Alaska is pretty amazing! We are on the Turnagin Arm headed to the Kenai Penisula. It looks like the Alps! There’s water and mountains and glaciers and all kinds of really cool stuff! The campground we are staying in has a glacier right above it. The glacier is quite cool, it changes color! This afternoon, when the sun was shining brightly, it was glistening white, however this evening with a blanket of clouds touching it, it was a deep blue color. My pictures don’t do it justice!
Turnagain Arm is a tidal bay that reaches very far inland. When the settlers first came to Alaska they thought it went all the way through. However, it didn’t and they had to “turn again”! Hence the name.
We picked up the motorhome from Great Alaskan Holidays mid-afternoon. They provided a brief orientation video - not really enough if you don't know anything about motohomes but good enough for me! My parents asked a thousand questions - some of which stumped the management! They have probably not rented to a compulsive RV owner before! Overall Great Alaskan folks were really nice and they seem to running a 1st class operation!
My motorhome is quite cute! It’s tiny. I could not imagine being in it with 5 other people (supposedly it sleeps 6! HA!) Driving it isn’t too hard – hard to see what’s around you, but otherwise it drives real nice. Hard to get used to the “rear view mirror” only providing you with a view of the bathroom door! It has big mirrors though so I can see all around me. Inside is nice, but it has a lot of little "quirks" that my parents motorhome doesn't have.
We are staying at the Williwaw camp ground; it’s a National Forest Service campground in the Chugach National Forest. After dinner we went for a walk here at the campground. Just about 2 miles on a flat trail around some ponds and streams – had great views of 2 glaciers. We started at 7:50 pm and finished ay 9:20 – it’s was still broad daylight! In fact it’s 10:30 as I write this and I don’t have any lights on in my RV! It is slowly getting darker so I’d better get to bed!
Tomorrow it’s on to Homer!
Alaska is pretty amazing! We are on the Turnagin Arm headed to the Kenai Penisula. It looks like the Alps! There’s water and mountains and glaciers and all kinds of really cool stuff! The campground we are staying in has a glacier right above it. The glacier is quite cool, it changes color! This afternoon, when the sun was shining brightly, it was glistening white, however this evening with a blanket of clouds touching it, it was a deep blue color. My pictures don’t do it justice!
Turnagain Arm is a tidal bay that reaches very far inland. When the settlers first came to Alaska they thought it went all the way through. However, it didn’t and they had to “turn again”! Hence the name.
We picked up the motorhome from Great Alaskan Holidays mid-afternoon. They provided a brief orientation video - not really enough if you don't know anything about motohomes but good enough for me! My parents asked a thousand questions - some of which stumped the management! They have probably not rented to a compulsive RV owner before! Overall Great Alaskan folks were really nice and they seem to running a 1st class operation!
My motorhome is quite cute! It’s tiny. I could not imagine being in it with 5 other people (supposedly it sleeps 6! HA!) Driving it isn’t too hard – hard to see what’s around you, but otherwise it drives real nice. Hard to get used to the “rear view mirror” only providing you with a view of the bathroom door! It has big mirrors though so I can see all around me. Inside is nice, but it has a lot of little "quirks" that my parents motorhome doesn't have.
We are staying at the Williwaw camp ground; it’s a National Forest Service campground in the Chugach National Forest. After dinner we went for a walk here at the campground. Just about 2 miles on a flat trail around some ponds and streams – had great views of 2 glaciers. We started at 7:50 pm and finished ay 9:20 – it’s was still broad daylight! In fact it’s 10:30 as I write this and I don’t have any lights on in my RV! It is slowly getting darker so I’d better get to bed!
Tomorrow it’s on to Homer!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Arrived In Anchorage!
After a very long day I have arrived in Anchorage! I am not writing this from my parents motorhome in Centennial Park Campground in Anchorage. It's probably 65 - 70 degrees with no humidity! It's sunny and cool and breezy! My parents have told me that there is a resident mamma moose and her baby who frequently stroll right by the motorhome! I can't wait to see them! :)
My flight left Dulles at 7:30 AM which meant that I needed to be there by 6:00 am to get through security and whatnot. My "favorite cousin" Lisa was quite generous in agreeing to take me to the airport at this ungodly hour of a Saturday and allow me to park my car at her house for the two weeks therefore avoiding paying parking at the airport! i was up at 3:45 and left by 5:00 - I arrived in Anchorage at 2:00 local time (6:00pm EDT) after a stopover in Salt Lake City.
My friend friend Kristen sold me on the vitrues of TiVo. I got my TiVo in October and don't know how I ever lived without it. One really cool thing about TiVo is that with a wireless adapter your TiVo can connect with your home wireless network and this then allows you to transfer anything you have TiVoed to your laptop and take it with you anywhere! I downloaded a whole bunch of stuff before I left and have over 13 hours of my favorite TV right in my computer! This was so nice during the last hour of the flight when I'd finished my book (my 3rd for the challenge and one of 4 I brought with me - too bad it's a library book, I have to haul it home!), the movie (Premonition - not bad, hard to follow though, kinda weird) and had all the snacks and beverages they were going to serve me so was getting antsy...I pulled out the computer and had my pick of my favorite shows! I love TiVo!!!!! :)
Am meeting my friend John from OK and his family for dinner. The wireless network seems to work so I should be able to blog a lot! :)
My flight left Dulles at 7:30 AM which meant that I needed to be there by 6:00 am to get through security and whatnot. My "favorite cousin" Lisa was quite generous in agreeing to take me to the airport at this ungodly hour of a Saturday and allow me to park my car at her house for the two weeks therefore avoiding paying parking at the airport! i was up at 3:45 and left by 5:00 - I arrived in Anchorage at 2:00 local time (6:00pm EDT) after a stopover in Salt Lake City.
My friend friend Kristen sold me on the vitrues of TiVo. I got my TiVo in October and don't know how I ever lived without it. One really cool thing about TiVo is that with a wireless adapter your TiVo can connect with your home wireless network and this then allows you to transfer anything you have TiVoed to your laptop and take it with you anywhere! I downloaded a whole bunch of stuff before I left and have over 13 hours of my favorite TV right in my computer! This was so nice during the last hour of the flight when I'd finished my book (my 3rd for the challenge and one of 4 I brought with me - too bad it's a library book, I have to haul it home!), the movie (Premonition - not bad, hard to follow though, kinda weird) and had all the snacks and beverages they were going to serve me so was getting antsy...I pulled out the computer and had my pick of my favorite shows! I love TiVo!!!!! :)
Am meeting my friend John from OK and his family for dinner. The wireless network seems to work so I should be able to blog a lot! :)
Friday, July 27, 2007
Great Alaskan Motorhome Adventure
As many of you know tomorrow at the crack of pre-dawn I am heading out on a big adventure! A few years ago my parents decided to retire as Gypsies. After much research they purchased a large diesel motorhome and have been doing a lot of traveling. Last summer they toured the Canadian Maritimes with a caravan group. This year they decided to drive the Alaskan Highway, and I'm going with them - well for 2 weeks anyway.
While their motorhome is 36 ft long and for a vehichle it's huge, there simply isn't enough living space for the three of us. We are all rather set in our ways and we need our space. We have done it but it really is cramped. In order to solve this issue, I am renting my own motorhome! I have rented a "class C" motorhome from Great Alaskan Holidays in Anchorage. A class C motorhome is your typical "camper" with a truck cab and a bed over the cab. The one I rented is 22 ft long and claims it sleeps up to 6. I can't even imagine living with 5 other people in such a small space! I'm quite happy that I will have it all to myself. I have never driven a motorhome before, but I have driven trucks and vans that are similar. They rent these things to any Tom, Dick, or Harry that comes along so how hard can it be? Come back on Sun and hopefully I'll let you know!
I'm really excited about trying out RVing! I have always wanted to like camping but being out in a tent has never really worked out for me. I get scared when I can't see what's outside and I hate being in a tent in a thunderstorm. The motorhome is differnt because it's hard sided - it would be hard for an animal to get in! Also it's hard sided and a bit safer during a thunderstorm - unless a tree falls on it or a tornado comes along! It's also nice because there is a bathroom (no shoes and a flashlight!) and a kitchen so no worries about starting a fire or using a camping stove. If all goes well on the trip, I might consider investing in a small RV, I could go out to Shenandoah National Park and hike then spend the night and hike the next day, I could go visit friends and stay in their driveway, I could go on short trips up and down the east coast - it sounds like an exciting possibility.
Here's a loose itinerary so you can follow along on a map if you so choose:
Week 1
Saturday July 28 - Saturday Aug 4
Arrive in Anchorage
Visit with John and his family
Check out John's airplane!
Turnagin Arm
Cook Inlet
Chugach National Forest
Portage Glacier
Homer, AK
Sea Kayaking
Hiking in Ketchamak Bay State Park
Kenai Fijords National Park
Seward, AK
Nature Photography boat ride class
Hiking to Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield
Week 2
Sunday August 5 - Sunday August 12
Denali National Park
Hiking near the visitor center
Ranger lead hikes
Mt. McKinley? (here's hoping it's clear!)
Denali Highway - we may or may not drive the full 127 mile length, it's not paved and quite rugged, sounds like fun to me but might be too much for the MHs)
Denali NP sled dog kennel
Talkeetna
Wal-Mikes
Glenn Highway?
Copper Center?
Wrangall St. Elias National Park and Preserve?
The adventure begins tomorrow! I hope you'll join me! I plan to blog when I can and post pictures from the day so check back often! My dad has a card for his cell phone that makes it a wifi hotspot so hopefully I can get on frequently.
It's an early morning tomorrow to get to the airport so I'm heading to bed - gotta get used to going to sleep while it's still daylight anyway! :)
While their motorhome is 36 ft long and for a vehichle it's huge, there simply isn't enough living space for the three of us. We are all rather set in our ways and we need our space. We have done it but it really is cramped. In order to solve this issue, I am renting my own motorhome! I have rented a "class C" motorhome from Great Alaskan Holidays in Anchorage. A class C motorhome is your typical "camper" with a truck cab and a bed over the cab. The one I rented is 22 ft long and claims it sleeps up to 6. I can't even imagine living with 5 other people in such a small space! I'm quite happy that I will have it all to myself. I have never driven a motorhome before, but I have driven trucks and vans that are similar. They rent these things to any Tom, Dick, or Harry that comes along so how hard can it be? Come back on Sun and hopefully I'll let you know!
I'm really excited about trying out RVing! I have always wanted to like camping but being out in a tent has never really worked out for me. I get scared when I can't see what's outside and I hate being in a tent in a thunderstorm. The motorhome is differnt because it's hard sided - it would be hard for an animal to get in! Also it's hard sided and a bit safer during a thunderstorm - unless a tree falls on it or a tornado comes along! It's also nice because there is a bathroom (no shoes and a flashlight!) and a kitchen so no worries about starting a fire or using a camping stove. If all goes well on the trip, I might consider investing in a small RV, I could go out to Shenandoah National Park and hike then spend the night and hike the next day, I could go visit friends and stay in their driveway, I could go on short trips up and down the east coast - it sounds like an exciting possibility.
Here's a loose itinerary so you can follow along on a map if you so choose:
Week 1
Saturday July 28 - Saturday Aug 4
Arrive in Anchorage
Visit with John and his family
Check out John's airplane!
Turnagin Arm
Cook Inlet
Chugach National Forest
Portage Glacier
Homer, AK
Sea Kayaking
Hiking in Ketchamak Bay State Park
Kenai Fijords National Park
Seward, AK
Nature Photography boat ride class
Hiking to Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield
Week 2
Sunday August 5 - Sunday August 12
Denali National Park
Hiking near the visitor center
Ranger lead hikes
Mt. McKinley? (here's hoping it's clear!)
Denali Highway - we may or may not drive the full 127 mile length, it's not paved and quite rugged, sounds like fun to me but might be too much for the MHs)
Denali NP sled dog kennel
Talkeetna
Wal-Mikes
Glenn Highway?
Copper Center?
Wrangall St. Elias National Park and Preserve?
The adventure begins tomorrow! I hope you'll join me! I plan to blog when I can and post pictures from the day so check back often! My dad has a card for his cell phone that makes it a wifi hotspot so hopefully I can get on frequently.
It's an early morning tomorrow to get to the airport so I'm heading to bed - gotta get used to going to sleep while it's still daylight anyway! :)
Destination Shopping
I love a great grocery store. When I visit my parents or my grandmother I can go visit their Ukrops. A trip to Ukrops is quite exciting! Ukrops is fun because they have all sorts of fun stuff - prepared foods, a very nice produce section with all types of fruits and veggies, a nice salad bar, special products you can't get elsewhere. I thought Ukrops was the greatest. That is until Wegman's opened. That place is amazing! They have everything under the sun. They have a food court! They have a cookie bar where you can pick your cookies and mix and match. They all sorts of prepared-cook-it-yourself foods. They have the best low-fat veggie cream cheese that reminds of the veggie cream cheese from Marx Hot Bagels in Cincinnati. I would go out of my way to go to Wegman's. Then I discovered Whole Foods. I like Whole Foods for all the same reasons as Wegman's, but shopping at Whole Foods feel like I'm buying nutrious food, something about it being super fresh and brightly colored and prepared for me makes it easier.
Until recently though none of these fabulous stores were near me. It was always a field trip to go to the fun stores and it would be an all day affair. So I lived with my little Giant. It might not be as flashy or as bright or sell healthy organic food, but it was cozy and I think I know every checker and manager there! Enter Harris Teeter.
The area where I live is somewhat up and coming. They are building new houses by the dozen and there are more and more people. Out by one of these new developments they built a brand new Harris Teeter. It opened on Wednesday. I have been there twice.
I'm 100% addicted. One of my favorite parts is the salad bar. On Wednesday when I was there I got some spinach salad. It was a yummy combo of fresh spinach, blueberries, raspberries, mandrian oranges and red onions. It was so yummy I needed more. I went back today. They didn't have that spinach salad. This time they had a traditional spinach salad with hard boiled egg, carrots, mushrooms and onions. It looked soooooo good, bright green, and fresh. It was really yummy too! Tonight I got some fruit also - it was the best pineapple I'd had in a long time. Another favorite of mine is the bread slicing station. They have loaves of bakery fresh bread and they pay an employee to stand there and slice what you want. This means I can get backery fresh bread and portion control! If I slice it myself I usually make the slices really big and eat them, pre-sliced I'll only eat 1 or 2 slices. Also, they had mini loaves, so I can buy less.
I'm so thrilled that at long last I have a super grocery store near me to shop at all the time! Rumor has it Wegeman's is coming in 2008...
Until recently though none of these fabulous stores were near me. It was always a field trip to go to the fun stores and it would be an all day affair. So I lived with my little Giant. It might not be as flashy or as bright or sell healthy organic food, but it was cozy and I think I know every checker and manager there! Enter Harris Teeter.
The area where I live is somewhat up and coming. They are building new houses by the dozen and there are more and more people. Out by one of these new developments they built a brand new Harris Teeter. It opened on Wednesday. I have been there twice.
I'm 100% addicted. One of my favorite parts is the salad bar. On Wednesday when I was there I got some spinach salad. It was a yummy combo of fresh spinach, blueberries, raspberries, mandrian oranges and red onions. It was so yummy I needed more. I went back today. They didn't have that spinach salad. This time they had a traditional spinach salad with hard boiled egg, carrots, mushrooms and onions. It looked soooooo good, bright green, and fresh. It was really yummy too! Tonight I got some fruit also - it was the best pineapple I'd had in a long time. Another favorite of mine is the bread slicing station. They have loaves of bakery fresh bread and they pay an employee to stand there and slice what you want. This means I can get backery fresh bread and portion control! If I slice it myself I usually make the slices really big and eat them, pre-sliced I'll only eat 1 or 2 slices. Also, they had mini loaves, so I can buy less.
I'm so thrilled that at long last I have a super grocery store near me to shop at all the time! Rumor has it Wegeman's is coming in 2008...
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Finished....
Well I finished Harry Potter!!!!! I can't believe I did it so quick - and did two projects for my grad class, went to class all day today, and ran errands all day yesterday...amazing feat! Amazing book. Amazing story. I can't wait now to go back and re-read all 7 in order. It will be awhile though because I need to let this one digest first.
One thing I have been asked a lot today (by non-Harry fans) was if this one was better than the others and which one was my favorite. I can't really say because all 7 come together so nicely. The 7th book was the end of the story, there's nothing about it that makes it any better than the rest. Now that I'm finished I can say with certainity that all 7 books come together to be one unit of literature, now that we have the end of the story the others no longer stand on their own. I'm wondering if that's why I was able to read with such speed, such a desire to know what was going to happen - it was like the end of any good novel when the action picks up and you are about to discover how it all fits together.
My fav part (no spoilers, don't worry) was near the end (I promise no spoilers) when Molly Weasely called another character a bitch. It was totally justified and it fit what was happening perfectly (hell, I would have had some even choicer words...Molly was being nice) But still, I couldn't believe it. There in big bold all caps was the word bitch. In a children's book for crying out loud. I'm surprised no one has banned the book based on that alone.
The blogger seems to have fixed itself. Maybe Peeves is messing with me?
Although I did discover that I'd accidentally pasted my "library thing" as part of my post template, maybe that was screwing stuff up? Or maybe it was Peeves.
One thing I have been asked a lot today (by non-Harry fans) was if this one was better than the others and which one was my favorite. I can't really say because all 7 come together so nicely. The 7th book was the end of the story, there's nothing about it that makes it any better than the rest. Now that I'm finished I can say with certainity that all 7 books come together to be one unit of literature, now that we have the end of the story the others no longer stand on their own. I'm wondering if that's why I was able to read with such speed, such a desire to know what was going to happen - it was like the end of any good novel when the action picks up and you are about to discover how it all fits together.
My fav part (no spoilers, don't worry) was near the end (I promise no spoilers) when Molly Weasely called another character a bitch. It was totally justified and it fit what was happening perfectly (hell, I would have had some even choicer words...Molly was being nice) But still, I couldn't believe it. There in big bold all caps was the word bitch. In a children's book for crying out loud. I'm surprised no one has banned the book based on that alone.
The blogger seems to have fixed itself. Maybe Peeves is messing with me?
Although I did discover that I'd accidentally pasted my "library thing" as part of my post template, maybe that was screwing stuff up? Or maybe it was Peeves.
What's up?
I have been playing with my blog layout! Susan told me today how to make the strikeout text and I fixed up my list of books for the challenge.
One strange thing though is that when I look in the layout editor it shows the challenge picture on top of my list, when I click "preview" from there it shows up correctly. However, when I click "view blog" it has the list on top. What's with this? How do I fix it?
The other issue is line breaks...I like to leave lines between my paragraphs, I think it makes it easier to read. On my post about Drop City I put in line breaks, but they don't show up. Again, they show up when I click "preview" in the layout, but not when I click "view blog". I have gone into settings and did that line break thing...but it doesn't show up. The breaks are written in HTML, but they don't show up. Again...what's with this?
Ok..back to Harry...150 pages left....I have heard the last 100 pgs are the best of the book...can't wait!
One strange thing though is that when I look in the layout editor it shows the challenge picture on top of my list, when I click "preview" from there it shows up correctly. However, when I click "view blog" it has the list on top. What's with this? How do I fix it?
The other issue is line breaks...I like to leave lines between my paragraphs, I think it makes it easier to read. On my post about Drop City I put in line breaks, but they don't show up. Again, they show up when I click "preview" in the layout, but not when I click "view blog". I have gone into settings and did that line break thing...but it doesn't show up. The breaks are written in HTML, but they don't show up. Again...what's with this?
Ok..back to Harry...150 pages left....I have heard the last 100 pgs are the best of the book...can't wait!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Finished My 1st Challenge Book
I finally finished Drop City by T.C. Boyd! This was an interesting book, I enjoyed it, however it was a "chunkster" and the writing was quite dense. While the plot moved along I would find myself egar to keep reading however my brain was too tired!
Basically the book is about drug using, free-loving hippies who move their commune from Southern California to Alaska because of some legal issues. The book begins with 2 different, seemingly unrelated stories, one of a hippie commune and one of a bush-man hunter trapper in the wilds of Alaska. The two stories merge and and become one with both parties learning from each other.
My favorite part truly spoke to why it was a good book for this challenge. At one point one of the characters says to his wife "get your ulu ready." The average reader from the lower 48 wouldn't know what a "ulu" is, thanks to my aunt who lived in Anchorage, I not only know what a ulu is, I own one and use it almost daily! I did get a bit stymied in my comprehension though because in the book they were talking about the garden when they mention the ulu and since I use my ulu mostly to cut veggies I thought they had a huge crop of veggies! I was very wrong, ulu's traditionally are used for prepping game!
I highly recommend this book to just about anyone, it was a good story, well written, fun to read.
Basically the book is about drug using, free-loving hippies who move their commune from Southern California to Alaska because of some legal issues. The book begins with 2 different, seemingly unrelated stories, one of a hippie commune and one of a bush-man hunter trapper in the wilds of Alaska. The two stories merge and and become one with both parties learning from each other.
My favorite part truly spoke to why it was a good book for this challenge. At one point one of the characters says to his wife "get your ulu ready." The average reader from the lower 48 wouldn't know what a "ulu" is, thanks to my aunt who lived in Anchorage, I not only know what a ulu is, I own one and use it almost daily! I did get a bit stymied in my comprehension though because in the book they were talking about the garden when they mention the ulu and since I use my ulu mostly to cut veggies I thought they had a huge crop of veggies! I was very wrong, ulu's traditionally are used for prepping game!
I highly recommend this book to just about anyone, it was a good story, well written, fun to read.
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