Haines Anything but Plain

We back tracked over Thompson Pass and started heading towards Tok via the Tok Cutoff. Haines being the final destination. Stayed the night in Tok at the Sourdough RV park. It was raining but it was a fun crowd. Every night they crank up the music and have live entertainment. They had a covered outdoor pavilion and had a roaring fire. Everyone seemed to be regulars or repeat rv goers that come back every year. Jack was feeling little under the weather and stayed back at the homestead. I ran into a British couple that we met on the road back in Valdez ( they had the same truck and Excel so we just had to say "hi"). They gave some tips on where to stay on the way back into Canada. We took their suggestion and stayed at the Cottonwood RV Park near Destruction Bay on the way to Haines.

We were glad to stop. The road from Tok to Destruction Bay was one of the worse we hit excluding the “Top of the World” route from the Canadian/Alaskan border to Chicken. We ended up staying three nights so Jack could rest up, he was feeling progressively worse. I spent one of the days by a fire on the shore and watched the rainbows all day on the Kluane Lake.

This is a really beautiful area and I really enjoyed the stay. Very relaxing. There was a grizzly bear in the area and I had close encounter with him while walking the dogs one morning. Luckily we decided to go our separate ways.

The ride to Haines Junction and on to Haines was another really beautiful drive. Again, the closer we got to the coastal town of Haines the rain started and stayed until we left five days later. Jack ended up seeing a doctor, he lost the battle and the cold turned into a sinus infection (antibiotics to the rescue!) Haines is not a touristy town and we enjoyed exploring the area. The Chilkoot river in Alaska connects the Chilkoot lake to the Lynn Canal. Bears and eagles like to hang around to eat the salmon and have the right of way.

From Haines

We found a little café and bakery (Chilkat) that had the best old fashion doughnuts I have ever had and really good soup too. We decided to take the Alaska Inland Marine Ferry to Skagway instead of back tracking to Haines Junction. That was a fun adventure! Pretty spiffy for a ferry! They have cabins, meals and a bar. You can take the ferry all the way up from Bellingham, WA with Haines to Skagway being the last leg of the trip.

They had a park rangers on board that gave a narrative of the area. He made a statement “you a really not seeing a rain forest unless it is raining”. So true for the South Eastern coast of Alaska. We did a drive by of Skagway which caters to the large cruise ships and tourists. The drive was very foggy over the pass and the landscape reminded me of parts of Nova Scotia, very eerily beautiful. I sure was missing the sun by the time we made it to Whitehorse!

It's Valdeez Please

I really enjoyed the drive from Anchorage towards Valdez along the Glenn Highway. The weather cleared a bit and seeing the sun sure makes everything prettier after spending the last week in the rain and fog. We stopped about halfway near the Matanuska Glacier. We stayed at a pretty little RV park called Grand View. It lived up to its name and we decided to stay an extra day. It was peaceful and relaxing after the tight quarters in Seward. We spent the next day exploring the area and taking a little hike with great views of the glacier.

Next we continued along the Glenn Highway towards Glennallen. The junction for Highway 4 south to Valdez is at Glennallen. The day was sunny and clear and the closer we got to Glennallen we started seeing the Wrangel Mountians on the horizon. Wow! We turned south and on to beautiful Valdez.

The drive was spectacular but the closer we got to the coastal mountains the cloudier the day. The clouds and the rain stayed for next few days. We had decided to stay in Valdez for a week to wait for our mail before heading back into Canada. Our plan was to take a tour of Prince William Sound and Meares Glacier. Very glad we waited until the weather cleared, it was spectacular! We saw all sorts of sea wild life including sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals and even a whale. Meares glacier itself was magnificent and we did get to see some calving.

It was a great day on the water! Jack also got to see an oil tanker being guided into port. This is where the Alaskan oil pipeline ends. Something for everyone! Prince William Sound is where the first really horrendous and infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred before anyone knew how to control and clean the damage. It still upsets me to think about it and the more recent Gulf Oil spill. But glad to say the area has recovered and most of the wild life has returned to healthy numbers. However, it totally wiped out the herring industry in the area and that has not returned. Valdez is a big fishing port for humans and wild life. There is always some type of salmon making a spawning run and consequently the bears and eagles like to hang around and gorge themselves. We even saw one mama bear with three cubs!

It really is something to see all the salmon flapping around in the streams. One day we also took a drive back through Thompson Pass to Worhtingham glacier.

From Valdez

This area is so beautiful please take the time to view all the pictures for this area. One could be lulled into wanting to stay here but be aware - they get more snow and annual precipitation than any other place in the US. A word about the pronunciation of the name “Valdez”. It is not pronounced like one from New Mexico and Wikipedia would think. The town around the time of the Spanish American War decided it was un-American to pronounce the name the Spanish way so the correct way is with a long “e” as in “Valdeez”. Next we’ll be calling French fries American fries.

Hankering down in Anchorage

We left Talkeetna on Wednesday heading towards Anchorage. We saw our first Target store since we left the lower 48. It felt good to be back in a hustling bustling city for a few days. But I have to say the noise factor was a bit of an adjustment. We stayed at the Golden Nugget RV park. Nice place but spaces a little tight but by far the best choice in Anchorage. Plenty to do in this area. We drove down the Turnagain Arm one day which is very scenic. Lots of trails and areas to stop. Be careful this stretch of road on the Seward highway can be busy and dangerous due to traffic. There was an accident with a fatality which closed it for nine hours the day we drove back from Seward on this stretch of road. We luckily just missed it by minutes but heard about it on the news.

Checked out the Portage Glacier area and Williwaw Campground ( dry camp) in the Chugach forest and decided to spend few days there as well. Unfortunately the rains started and did not stop for the next five days. I did take a walk with Zuzu in the rain to the Byron glacier. She was one soggy dog by the time I got back to the homestead. Even still the area is beautiful and right down the road is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. We hit it at just the right time for the baby moose bottle feeding. They guzzled them down in about 30 seconds flat!

From Anchorage Area

We also took the drive to Whittier through the narrow and long famed Anton Anderson tunnel and had lunch at a really good unpretentious fish and chips sorta of place. Wish I could remember the name but it was quite yummy. All of this in the pouring rain. The café at Portage Glacier has very good food as well. Jack said it was one of the best burgers he ever had and the clam chowder was excellent too.
It rained all the way down the Kenai Peninsula to Seward. We stayed on the water front in one of the municipal parks, they have water and electric but no sewer. I never did get to see the bay in all of its glory just too fogged in and rainy. I did get to see my first sea otter and that was very cool, sorry no camera. We took the drive to Exit Glacier one of the days but the road was flooded so we only saw it from a distance.

We drove around a bit and found Lost Lake Trail and took a hike when the rain calmed down to more of drizzle. It was a beautiful lush rain forest. We decided to leave when weather reports said another front was moving in (and our holding tanks were full) and no chance of sun for the next three or four days. Wish the weather was better, I would have loved to have seen more of this area. Next heading toward Valdez. Planning on staying there until the weather clears so we can do one the water glacier tours. I am not leaving Alaska until we do!

From Seward to Matanuska Glacier