July 28th - August 3, 2024 Travel to Anchorage and Friends

(NOTE:  Apologies - I am so far behind in the blog.  As you know, I take lots of pictures and it does take time to go thru and pick what to publish - plus do some research.   

We did so much in Seward and I will post that later as I get caught up.  But for now I am trying to be near real time so I don't forget - easy to do now a days..LOL!)

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July 28th, 2024

We woke to a cloudy day, stopped by the dump to empty our tanks and away we went:

The drive out of Seward into the mountains is beautiful.  Sadly, the pictures do not do it justice!  We went past many glacial streams:

And beautiful waterfalls:

Clouds in the mountains:

The train!:

I don't think we have any fear right now:

I love the way the clouds hang on the mountain tops:

This lake is still reflecting:

WOW!

And another WOW - we are near the Turnagain Arm area.  This area sank 8 - 12 feet during the 1964 earthquake.  Cannot even imagine the flooding!

Starting up the Seward Highway by Turnagain Arm:

This area of the Seward Highway is considered one of the most scenic drives in Alaska and one of the most dangerous highways.  It hugs the mountains on the one side and the water on the other side, with the road and railroad in between.  The scenery is dramatic and my pictures do not do it justice.  (On another note - there are so many beautiful and scenic roads that it would be hard to pick my favorite - not only in Alaska but all of the U.S.)

Anchorage in the distant and the Alaska Range in the far distance:

We made our way to the Golden Nugget RV Park where we will be for the week.

July 31, 2024

The highlight of our week was to see our friends, Jack and Rita, who are living here. We met them in Benson Arizona in 2009.  They were so great to us and have been throughout the years.  They are now off the road so it was great to see them and get caught up. Thank you Jack and Rita.

I have to give a shout out to their story.  They homesteaded in Alaska before it was a state and have written books about it.  (Their books can be found on Amazon - search for Jack Stoudt Alaska. Very interesting!)

July 28-August 3, 2024

We did not do any sightseeing for our week in Anchorage.  We spent time doing some maintenance, fixing some things, cleaning, shopping, planning and relaxing.  I have been touristed out!  I know that is not a word and I need to explain.  There is so much to see and do here and much of the scenery and experiences are incredible.  But sometimes, I get sensory overload and then do not really enjoy what I am seeing.  So, hence, the break.

Our plans for the next few weeks are Palmer, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks.  I am very surprised I got a place in Denali for 5 nights - Hope to see the mountain.

Tomorrow we head to Palmer so stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 128 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Alaska:  Ballaine Bvd; Seward Highway AK-3; E. 15th Avenue/ Debarr Street; Hoyt Street

July 24th, 2024 Travel to Seward

We woke to a beautiful bluebird day and headed south to Seward.

Wildflowers along the way:

The lush greenery - Oh My!:

Beautiful lakes and reflections:

And, of course, some construction:

Breathtaking colors:

And so much greenery heading into Seward:

We made out way to the city dump because we needed to dump out tanks and fill with water.

Afterwards, we made our way to Resurrection Campground South, where we had reservations, and set up.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 82 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Alaska: Portage Glacier Road; Seward Highway AK-3; Third Avenue; Ballaine Bvd; Jefferson St.

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We (I) mostly write about the good stuff!  But today was not one of those days - SO I am going to be real here and tell you how our day REALLY WENT!

We got everything ready to go in Portage and our slide went in to about 6 inches from where it was supposed and then QUIT!   It just stopped - we could not bring it in or out.  So we are now in a dilemma.  We have no cell service and do not know what we are going to do!

We do decided to leave and go to a parking area for the Alaskan Railroad (about 4 miles)  where we know we have service.  We are 40 miles from Anchorage and feel that there may be some places that will help us there.

We parked and make our calls.  WELL!  there are many folks that have problems and we will get a call back, if not today, maybe tomorrow.     Oh No!

Andy says, we met a gentleman in Tok who was mobile, lets give him a call.  We did and left a message.

So what to do...We decided to head to Seward with our forward slide sticking out 6 inches from our RV, - but it was not passed our mirrors...!

We arrived in Seward and the mobile tech we called, called us back.  He was sick but gave us things to try and sent us a few videos.  I have to do a shout out - THANK YOU NICK!

We watched the videos, went to the local hardware store for the tools, and can you believe it!  Fixed the slide.  Now we do have some issues and will be contacting NEXUS for an appointment to really FIX the issue.

OK.. so in the middle of this, we had an issue with our propane tank and our stove.  Halfway thru our slide fix, the glass top of our stove EXPLODES and we have a FIRE in the RV.  OMG!!

We get the fire out, stop the smoke detector that is Howling, clean the glass from the floor (cause I am worried about the cats) and continue with our slide fix.

Once the slide is fixed or at least we now know what we need to do, we clean up the glass and fire reside!

By then it is 6 PM!  I am NOT making supper.  They have a great American Legion in town which is where we went - We both needed a drink.  And they had food available.   What a great place.

Have to say, we both slept good that night..

I post this because... we all see posts where everything is unicorns and rainbows and mostly it is.  BUT. there are times that it is not.  And this is one of them...

On another side note... the RV repair shops in Anchorage do not have an opening until late August.  God bless those folks who really need a repair quickly and say a prayer for them.

July 5, 2009 – The Whales

Our plans today were to do some things around the MH (I needed to do the bills), and then take a ride to Bear Road and explore that area.  As I was finishing up my stuff, three whales came into the Bay – oh my.  And that is what we spent the rest of the day doing – whale watching.  They came in and out of the Bay 4 times – there were 3 – 2 adults and a baby – :-)).

Thar she blows:

Here they are:

REALLY CLOSE to this boat:

 

And LOTS of Breaching – what a treat for me to get pictures of this!!!

 

       

 

AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, AWESOME, AND WOW!!!

The sightings continued into the evening while we sat around the campfire with our neighbors, Howard and Marlys.   Tomorrow we are heading north again so stay tuned.

July 4, 2009 – Seward and Mount Marathon Race

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

 

 And let us thank all those who have kept us independent and free.

Lots of festivities here in Seward so this morning we checked some of it out. 

First a stop at the Iditarod Marker.  The Iditarod Trail was a major mail trail in Alaska and it started here in Seward.   Note – this is not to be confused with the Iditarod Race.

Today was the Mount Marathon race.  “It started out as a bar bet about 90 years ago, according to local lore, and has become one of Alaska's oldest foot races and North America's toughest endurance marathon.  The first race was run in 1908 on an informal bet between a local bartender and a geologist. The bartender's challenge was to run from that spot, to the top of — what was then Mount Isabelle — and back, in under an hour. His finishing time of 62 minutes didn't win him the compass and map he'd wagered for, but they carved his name on the wall and challenged anyone in town to beat him.

The race begins downtown, on Fourth and Jefferson, in front of the First National Bank, and ends a block south of where it began, on Fourth and Adams. The halfway point is a stone marker atop Mount Marathon, 3022 feet above sea level, and a mile and a half from the finish line. The total race course distance is about 3.1 miles (5 kilometers). Leading racers will typically reach the peak from the starting line in 33–40 minutes, and reach the finish line from the peak in 10–15 minutes. Average speed uphill is 2 mph. Average speed downhill is 12 mph.”

And it is impressive to watch.  Here is the mountain:

If you look real close, you can see people in the center of the photo right at the tree line:

I hung around town and waited for the first few women to make it to the finish line – WOW!  How courageous and fit.   And on my way back found Andy checking them out with the binoculars – LOL!!

 

The men’s race was held in the afternoon and we watched that from our space in front of the MH.  In the picture below you can see all the dust from the individuals coming down the mountain – they were booking!!!

We went to the Legion for supper and had RIBS – MMMMMM.   And enjoyed another campfire with our neighbors, Howard and Marlys.

Hope you all had a great holiday.

July 3, 2009 – Exit Glacier

This morning found us taking a walk to Exit Glacier.

This glacier is 3 miles long and comes from the Harding Ice Field above it.  The Ice Field is a remnant of the Great Ice Age.  Currently it is 50 miles long, 30 miles wide, and no one is sure how thick it is.  About 150 – 200 inches of snow fall on the field yearly but then it is compressed into ice and continues to build.

Here is our first view of the glacier – it is impressive:

 

We decided to do the hike to the side of the glacier first:

 

The blue coloring – oh my!

 

The designs and layers – another oh my!

From there we decided to walk to the toe of the glacier.  When we were here two years ago, we could not get close because of the river but this year…..

This is looking at the toe from the side of the glacier:

To get there we had to cross some of the streams coming from the glacier:

Andy did well – I unfortunately got wet – LOL!  And let me tell you – it was COLD!!!!

Up close and personal with water that may be THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD:

More of the toe:

Look at that blue and the designs – Mother Nature at its best:

The melting waters from the glacier:

Our last look:

We took the nature trail back – what a beautiful walk.

It turned out to be a beautiful day here at the Bay:

 

And even seals came out to play:

We went to the Legion for supper – Steak Night – MMMMMM and had a great time talking with the locals and visitors.  Back at the MH, we had a campfire and waited for the fireworks display at midnight.  Our neighbors in the back joined us – and here is a picture of the beach at around 9 PM:

 

We watched a cruise ship leave:

And the fireworks at midnight – yes, it is still light – :-)

To all:

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!