May 7, 2009 – Happy Anniversary and Geocaching

Happy Anniversary to us!!! – 21 years – WOW!   And we both surprised the other with a card.  (Let me tell you how hard it is to go shopping alone – :-))

We decided to try our hand at geocaching.  I checked the internet for sites close to us and we found both – Yippee!!!   In the process we found that our GPS unit is pretty accurate.  So we signed our names but didn’t leave or take anything.  Looking forward to doing more of this in the places we go.

On our way to and from, we came across a caribou herd.  How about this:

 

Did you know that both female and male caribou have antlers?  The males start growing theirs in the spring and lose in the late fall.  The females start to grow late spring and lose in the winter.  And did you know that reindeer are actually domesticated caribou?   So given that info, most of Santa’s reindeer were female – :-)  (Maybe Rudolph was a late bloomer – LOL!!)

The one you see in the above picture is male (look closer and you can tell – LOL).  The females in the group are just starting to grow their antlers.  Hard to see in the pictures but close up, the little knobs are there.

One of the things we did see and wish we did not was on the paths to both finds -caribou carcasses all torn apart.  The one looked real old but the other still had some meat on it – gruesome I know – so we hurried out of there!!!

To celebrate our anniversary, we had some great buffalo steaks on the grill – MMMMMMMM.

Tomorrow we head to Fairbanks so stay tuned…

 

May 5-6, 2009 – Just Hanging Out

Not much to report folks.  We have just been hanging out, watching TV, movies, playing on the computer, reading, and beading.  We did walk into town both days – 4 miles round trip – so at least we did get some exercise.

The weather has turned cloudy and colder – BRRR.  We have had some rain off and on but all should end tomorrow – Yea!!

The Yukon River has been causing a lot of flooding up north – the town of Eagle is underwater.  The news pictures are incredible and Thank God everyone is safe (although some people have lost everything…)

Tomorrow will be our last day here and then we head up the road.  So until then..

 

May 4, 2009 – Part of the Richardson Highway

Today, we took a journey down the Richardson Highway to Paxson and then a few miles on the Denali Highway…  My, oh my, what wonders!!  The mountains you see in the following pictures is the Alaskan Range.  As we got closer and into the mountains, there is still a lot of snow and most of the lakes are frozen.   Some of the rivers are starting to flow but wait until you see how thick the ice is yet on these rivers. 

      

 

  

The pipeline follows this road all the way to Valdez.

 

Heat pipes:

Where the pipeline goes underground in thaw unstable ground, heat pipes are inserted into the ground to remove heat and prevent thaw.

The pipeline at the Denali Fault line:

The pipeline here was built so that it could withstand an 8.5 earthquake with ground displacement up to 22 feet horizontally and 5 feet vertically – WOW!

We saw LOTs of caribou.  At first we thought they were moose but, well, you decide – :-).  On our way down, we came across one couple and then a few miles further we came to another couple.  On the way home, we saw a whole herd.  Some of our pictures (and those who know me, know that for every one here, there is another 15 on my computer – :-)):

 

Isn’t this incredible!!!!  When we were here in 2007, we did not travel this part of the Richardson Highway – just not enough time….  So it was great to see it today.  We did check out a couple State Parks and Recreation Areas in case we decide to come back this way.

The weather here is still warm which is causing problems for those along the rivers (melting too fast).  We are seeing pictures of ice jams, flooding, etc. on the news.  Keep all those people in your prayers.

We also confirmed today that we will be moving to Creamer’s Field in Fairbanks on Friday (8th).  Our official start date is the 15th but this will give us time to get set up, time for training, and time to get to know the area – can’t wait.

Until tomorrow.

May 2-3, 2009 – Just Taking It Easy

Saturday morning we took a walk down to the Delta River State Park and then over to the Valley:

A really nice walk!  We saw this little fellow on our way back:

(He is starting to loose his white fur for the summer.)

The rest of the day and Sunday was spent working on the computer, beading, reading, taking walks, and chatting with the neighbors and the campground manager.  Andy spent some time helping out 2 of the neighbors with different issues – what a good man!!!  :-))

Tomorrow we may take a ride to Paxson and check out the BLM lands and the Alaska Range so stay tuned.

May 1, 2009 – The Official End Of The Highway

The days and nights continue to be beautiful!!!  We wake to blue skies and snow.  The official daylight has now surpassed 17 hours – how about that!

Today was finish up the laundry since we have decided to stay here.  And I met more locals and had a great time chatting with them – The laundry is like a meeting place – :-)))).

This afternoon we decided to take a ride in the Tracker with the roof off (and blow the dust out before we vacuumed it – LOL)  How about this:

Another picture of the Alaskan Range:

 

And of course, us at the official end of the Alaskan Highway:

We are enjoying the days and evenings sitting outside but the mosquitoes are here – :-(  (And our ThermaCell really works!)

I will leave you with one more sign:

Until tomorrow.

April 30, 2009 – Fairbanks and Ice Bergs

We decided today to make the trek to Fairbanks and check out campground availability and the availability of water and dump.  So off we went….

We followed the Tanana River Valley:

 

 

The river is flowing here and making it’s own path through the ice.  How about these icebergs:

The mountains in the background are the Alaskan Range  - which we see every day – Beautiful!!

We checked out a number of campgrounds.  We found one in the North Pole (south of Fairbanks) that was open and had what we needed (a little costly for us).  We found one other but they could give us only electric.  So we had a list of places that had dump stations and not one is open.  What was really interesting to us was we were told the ground was frozen and they would open up on May 15th. (This may be sarcastic but does something magical happen that day??? Frozen the 14th and Unfrozen the 15th – Hmmmmmm!).  Oh well!  With no availability of water and dump, the state parks would not be feasible for us.   So we have decided to stay here until the end of next week at least!!

We did some site-seeing around Fairbanks (Ladies, I found a bead store – Yippee!) and then did some grocery shopping before heading home.

Here is the Chena River that goes thru Fairbanks – it is running but there are ice bergs floating down the river – Cool!  :-)

On our way back down, there were different areas where we saw icebergs piling up on top of one another.  One place (Salcha River) there was an ice – jam:

And more icebergs on their way:

 

 We found out that those people that live near the river have been evacuated because of the flooding.  With the weather we are having (70’s – breaking records), they are hoping it lets loose soon.

Looking up the Salcha River:

And the daylight hours continue to expand – :-)

April 29, 2009 – Make Beautiful Day – :-))

Make Beautiful Day!

And that is what we did.  Andy finished cleaning and polishing the outside of the motor home.  I cleaned part of the inside and was able to wash some of the rugs.  The Tracker was washed (inside still needs to be done).

I gave Andy a haircut, I got a haircut in town, and Andy helped me color my hair.  I was going to let it go and see how gray I am but alas, couldn’t do it – maybe next time – LOL!

I did the laundry and met two of the locals and had a great chat (as well as a great chat with the hairdresser).  As most of you know I hate doing laundry but when I can get to met the locals and learn about the area and their stories, it makes it ok!

So that was our day.  Tomorrow we decided we would dry into Fairbanks and check out some campgrounds, the RV dumps, and do some shopping…

Until then, have a great evening and tomorrow.

April 28, 2009 – Delta Junction

The first thing on our agenda tonight was washing the motorhome.  What a difference!!

Andy spent the rest of the morning and afternoon waxing part of it.  I spent the time on the computer – :-) trying to get the blog caught up.  My connection here is very slow..  Email is next. And I also spent time trying to find us a place in Fairbanks for next week.  I found two places open but still looking for water and dump station (everyone has told me that theirs is still frozen – Yikees!)  I am also hoping that this great weather will defrost some of them so they are open next week.

We went to dinner tonight at the Buffalo Center Cafe and had buffalo burgers – MMMMMM!  From there we took a ride to the Tanana River – yes, ice breakup happened here.  Won’t be long now for the official Nenana Ice Classic to end.

The Tanana (notice the iceberg):

 

This is also where the pipeline crosses the Tanana.

 

 

And I am finally caught up with the blogs..  Have a great evening everyone!

April 27, 2009 – The Alaskan Highway – Part 6

Today we reached the official end of the Alaskan Highway!!!  How about that!

We are staying at Smith’s Green Acres Campground in Delta Junction and will be here for a week.

The weather is wonderful – 70’s in the day and 40’s at night (The rivers and the ice will be melting soon):

We spent some time talking with the campground manager, Joe, and also our neighbor, Morris after getting set up. 

We will be doing our usual with the motorhome – cleaning, washing, etc. and getting some sightseeing in so stay tuned..

One last picture.  This is the center of Tok and the mountains are the Alaskan Range:

 

Miles Traveled:  115 Miles

Routes Traveled:

AK: SR-2