Unhitching in Haines

Haines Small Boat Harbor

Bumpy, dirty, dusty and the worse road we encountered this time around, that was our drive after leaving Tok.   It was one long miserable stretch of construction once we passed the Canadian border till we hit Destruction Bay.   It was relief to stop for the night at Cottonwood RV Park on the enchanting Lake Kluane.  

On the way to Haines

The next morning the autumn season had arrived!  The temperatures had dropped and the wind was cold and fierce, a vivid reminder that the summer season was ending and winter was coming soon to the great North.  Although the road improved greatly, Jack struggled with strong headwinds most of the way to Haines.  Still it was a magnificently beautiful drive with some of the trees starting to put their fall colors on for show. Two very stressful days of driving for Jack, we were ready for a rest!

Haines is one of my favorite small coastal towns in Alaska.  It is located in a spot accessible by both a road and the Alaska Marine Highway.  It is a short ferry ride from Skagway but a world of difference between the two towns. Skagway catering to the cruise ships and tourist industry, and Haines being more authentic in character with only one smaller cruise ship stopping each week.   We stayed at the Haines Hitch-up RV Park and enjoyed the next two weeks resting and waiting for our ship to arrive.  We had finally decided in favor of taking the ferry to Prince Rupert, BC and thus avoiding a significant amount of backtracking. Only problem there was only one sailing two weeks away that had enough room for the Biff, she is a total of 57 feet when hitched to the truck.  We broke it up into two parts, sailing to Juneau first and staying there for a few days and then catching the ferry to Prince Rupert on September 7.  More about Juneau and the ferry trip in a later post.

The area around Haines is spectacular.  Haines has a long history being the ancestral home of the powerful Chilkat  tribe and later becoming the first military base in Alaska.  There are a few museums, a historical fort, an eagle sanctuary along with a few restaurants and obligatory gift shops required for cruise ship ports. We did a few drives in the area.  Jack and I took some nice walks around town and short hikes on nearby trails. Plenty to keep us occupied. Let’s not forget about bear watching.  Every evening around dinner time the local stars were a mom and her two cubs.   Everyone came out to watch the antics (from a safe distance!) of the two cubs while mom did the fishing.

Mama Bear Fishing

Baby Bears  Fighting

Snow on the Pass

Wilderness Cabin

The weather was a pattern, a few sunny days followed by a few of cold rain. One morning the peaks surrounding Haines definitely had fresh snow.  We heard it was already snowing up north in Tok and on the road we took from Haines Junction. We decided to drive up to the pass and see for ourselves.  And yes there was a light dusting of snow!  It was quiet, eerily lonesome and beautiful but so cold up on that pass!  We found a small survival cabin and understood the need for these safe havens against the elements. We were thinking maybe it was good thing we were taking the ferry and avoiding the long drive back through the Yukon and BC with  the now very real possibility of snow. The day for the ferry trip to Juneau arrived! The boat sailed at 5:00pm on one of those sunny days.  It was a pleasant sunset cruise and very dark when we pulled into the Juneau harbor at 9:00 pm.  The daylight hours were significantly shortening since we arrived in Haines.  One more sign it was time to start heading south.

North Enough

North to Fairbanks!  This is the furthest north we were planning on going this trip. We headed up the Al-Can to its end in Delta Junction and then continued onto the Richardson Highway to Fairbanks.We did not stop at Delta Junction on the way up but we did on the way back to Tok ( Yes Tok again!).  I thought I would talk about it first.  This is the point where the Al-Can ends and connects with the Richardson Highway.  There is a little museum and exhibit to commemorate the massive undertaking of the building of the Al-Can highway.  It was truly an amazing joint effort between the US and Canada to build this road across the cold frosty wilderness. It’s original WWII wartime purpose an inland route to get supplies to Alaska in the event of invasion from Japan.  Now we RV’ers get to drive it for the sense of adventure you cannot get on any other road. Yes, we complain about the condition and constant road construction but none the less it is an amazing feat just to say you have driven this road - all 1422 (more or less) miles of it!

We spent the next few days in Fairbanks. We visited Pioneer Park that showcases the history of the area steeped in gold mining and aviation lore.  We visited and mailed a birthday card to my daughter from the town of North Pole's post-office. Santa says you better be good boys and girls!  One day we drove to the Chena Hot Springs Resort.  This drive is a good place to see moose and sure enough we were not disappointed. We toured the Ice Palace on the grounds too.  A bit of a tourist trap but fun!  A little too early in the day for us to have an appletini served in an ice martini glass but it sure was fun watching them make the glasses!   There is also a nice restaurant lodge where the salads are freshly picked from the thermal warmed hot houses on the grounds.  The waiter told us the high season is winter where folks come to soak in the hot springs and see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. The Japanese especially find it fortuitous to conceive their progeny under the lights. 

Making Martini Gasses

It's Huge!

Let’s not forget that other engineering marvel the Alaskan Pipeline.   Fairbanks has an exposed and accessible section of the pipeline. It is huge!  Next it was back to Tok for one more overnight stay. A fellow RV’er recommended visiting the local gold shops. One shop in particular was noted for having a large gold nugget. If they find you trust worthy they will even let you hold it! Wow! Guess we looked honest. Jack also let me pick out my birthday present too, a beautiful raw gold nugget and diamond necklace. I struck it rich with my honey!

Beautiful Backtracking

Worthington Glacier

There are not many roads in Alaska so at some point you find yourself backtracking.  We left Homer backtracking along the  Kenai Peninsula spending the night in Portage and the next night backtracking on the  Glenn Highway and spending the night near the Glennallen junction.   Our destination this time was beautiful Valdez.  The drive from the Glennallen  to Valdez is one of the most scenic in Alaska. We decided to stop at a roadhouse along the Copper River valley area for a late breakfast.  It was run by a gold miner, trapper, innkeeper, cook and bottle washer combined into one colorful character! His little gift shop had the fruits of his labor including gold nuggets and animal pelts. I wanted to get his picture but thought better of the idea,  I got the impression he was someone you should stay on the good side.  Continuing the drive you cross over Thompson Pass noted for having highest recorded snowfall in Alaska and  pass Worthington Glacier.  Just spectacular! Typically, if we think an area may be crowded we call ahead a few days beforehand and make a reservation.  We were thinking this would not be necessary for Valdez but we were wrong.  We arrived in Valdez on a big fishing tournament weekend.  We barely got a spot and our neighbor was on the cranky side.  It was close quarters, what Jack and I call a sardine park. 

Valdez is a small town but it has a beautiful harbor located on the majestic Prince William Sound.  It has an interesting history. The original town was wiped out in the epic 1964 Good Friday Earthquake and moved to its current location. You can visit the site of the original town.  It is also known for the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill.  The museums in the town our worth checking out on one of those rainy days you will inevitably run into during your stay.  Last time we did one of the boat excursions in the Prince William and I highly recommend, we saw a lot of ocean wild life including harbor seals, otters and whales.  This time we opted out since we had just done the boat trip out of Whittier.

Allison Point

The fish hatchery on Allison Point attracts a lot of eagle and bear action.  We took a drive almost every day to the hatchery but we kept missing all the bear sightings. Dang!  Last time we saw plenty and we were disappointed that we did not see any this time. There are plenty of scenic drives and glaciers to see and fishing too if that is your thing.  We stayed a week in Valdez enjoying the beauty of the area.  (Click here for previous post on Valdez.)

Solomon Gulch Hatchery

 It was time for us to go and backtrack yet again finding ourselves in Tok for the night. Decision time do we skip going further north to Fairbanks or head east towards Haines?

                               

Feeling at Home in Homer

Kachemak Bay

The last time we visited the Kenai Peninsula we stayed in Seward and never saw the sun once. So much rain you really could not do anything. We wanted to get to dry land and skipped going to Homer.  This time it was our destination.  We left Portage on a bright sunny day, turns out half  of Anchorage was doing the same.   It was high season for salmon dip net fishing along the Russian and Kenai rivers.  The towns of Seldotna and Kenai were crazy and packed with fisher people.  We were having serious doubts about going to Homer.  I am happy we persevered, once we made it through Seldotna the traffic thinned out. We made it to the Baycrest RV Park with a sigh of breathtaking views.  We went back and forth on whether we should stay on the “Spit” or up on the bluff.  We chose the bluff and we were very happy we did.   The Spit can be exciting but it is also lot more crowded.   The pier is busy with lots of fishing charters, after all Homer is noted for its halibut fishing.  Jack and I felt at times that we were the only two folks in the state of Alaska that did not fish.

Out the back Window!

We spent the next week enjoying the view and area.  I literally looked out the back window to this view every day. We had a pair of eagles that put on a show for us every day over the rv park.  It was fun to watch them swoop and soar. One night the sun was setting as the blue moon was rising.  Magnificent! We explored the town one day doing all the touristy things on the Spit.We took a few hikes and drives in the area, enjoyed the beaches and local cuisine.  

Boat Harbor on the Spit

One drive was to Anchor Point. It boasts as being the most westerly point in the US that you can drive.   There is a state park that is right on the beach, it had a few sites big enough for an RV but it is dry camping.  Still it would be fun for a night or two.  A lot of the locals fish from this area bringing their boats even thou there is no pier.   A big tractor launches the boats and later pulls them back to shore.  It was a hoot to watch!

Oh, and one more thing. Let’s not forget why Alaska has so many mountains.  It sits on that hot bed of volcanic energy known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.  Jack and I experienced firsthand what that means, we were in Homer when an earthquake of 6.2 magnitudes on the Richter scale hit!  I was taking a yoga class when we felt the whole building shake!  A reminder of the power of Mother Nature and yoga! We had one last campfire and glass of wine watching the sun setting on the mountains across the Kachemak Bay on the Cook Inlet. Tomorrow was moving day,  it was time to head to our next destination Valdez.  Sigh, it was hard to leave.

 

Looking down at the Spit from the mainland shore.

Blue Ice

Looking down on the road to Hatcher Pass

Palmer Airport

The signs of human habitation became evident once we hit the town of Palmer.   Keep in mind these are by Alaskan standards and not those of the lower 48.  Still it was good to see a town that was more than just a gas station and an intersection of two highways.  We stayed in Palmer for a week and let Jack get some rest.  Turns out he had a nasty cold that turned into bronchitis and required a visit to an Urgent Care facility.  Plus he had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic and broke out in a nasty rash. Ouch!  I liked the town of Palmer it is situated in the Matanuska Valley and like almost every other area of Alaska surrounded by glacier capped mountains.  There was a nice bike path into town from the RV park and enough espresso stands to keep me happy and occupied while Jack recuperated. One day I hiked part of the Matanuska trail which was just down the road from the RV park.  The first part of the trail does a significant upward climb, a real heart thump-er even for this New Mexico mountain girl.   Jack and I took a ride up to Hatcher Pass and down Old Glenn Highway.  Palmer is a good balance between urban and wilderness and good alternative to staying in Anchorage.

Along the Turnagain Arm

Fireplace Pavilion

Our next stop was Portage but first you have to drive through Anchorage and along Turnagain Arm.  It is a beautiful drive along the Arm but the traffic is nuts and not very enjoyable pulling the big white whale.   We dry camped at the Williwaw National Campground last time we were in these parts and opted for the Portage RV park (water/electric only)  right next to it this time.  At first I was thinking it was nothing more than a giant gravel parking lot but it is in pretty spot and the sights are large and well spaced.  Every night there is large bonfire in a covered pavilion which is a great way to meet some folks from around the world all traveling through Alaska.  It is also along the Trail of Blue Ice which goes all the way to Portage Glacier.  

Tunnel to Whittier

And out the other side.

  Nearby and down a long, long, long and narrow tunnel is the town of Whittier.    Whittier is mountain and water locked and the only way to visit is via this tunnel, boat, or float-plane.  It is one way and also used by the Alaskan railroad so you have to time your travel to the town.  Whittier is also the hub of for a lot of the boat tours of Prince William Sound which was our goal.  We picked a perfect day too!  So did a lot of other folks the boat was at capacity and the assigned seating was tight but you could hang out anywhere on the decks so not really an issue except for the meal time.   Calving glaciers and waterfalls it was a magnificent day on the water.   The holding tanks were getting full and time for us head down the road to our next destination Homer.

Double Take Along the Way

Our view on Kluane Lake

Some places are magical.  Is it the light? Or is it something more?  I don’t know but magical is the word that comes to mind when staying on the Kluane Lake.  This area is just about one of the most remote places you can drive to in the North American continent.   I fell in love with area the last time we came through and my feelings have not changed.  Cottonwood RV is a small park right on the shores.  Just about the only human establishment except for a small gas station a few miles up the road.  Ask for one of the dry camping sites and you will feel like you are the only folks on the planet and this beautiful place is for you alone.   Rainbows play along the shores all day and the light is at the right angle that this happen more often than you may think.  We had a small campfire and coffee off the fire and watched the lake for hours.  Sigh.  It was hard to leave such a beautiful place.

Weather and road turning bad!

The road and weather turned progressively worse the closer we got to the Alaska border.  It was a long hard drive to Tok on some of the worse roads we encountered so far. Shortly after we crossed the border the rain started.  Cold and dreary and we were hungry. No quaint roadhouse stops along this stretch.  Just endless road and rain, we found a small gas station to stop.  Deep fried takeout food and no place to sit. We snacked on chicken strips standing in one of the aisles.  At least we had a warm dry truck to continue the journey. Not so lucky a drenched couple on motorcycles taking the same refuge in this desolate gas station. They were talking to a third man who was

going to find a new tire for one of the bikes.  A reminder of the remoteness of the area and thoughts of  “Did we make the right decision to come to Alaska?” going through my head. 

Whew! We made it to Tok.  What does one say about Tok?; lot’s of RV parks and not much more.  It is a stopping place for the night on your way to other destinations.  Still, the rain stopped and we were happy to hunker down for night.   The next morning we continued down the road via the Tok Cutoff towards the Glenn Highway.  We stopped at a small roadside coffee stand at the junction of the Richardson Highway and the Cutoff, we talked to the owner Jeannie and her mom for awhile.  Nice folks.  And the sun was out, amazing how that can change your perception of an area.  A little further down the road and we turned west onto the Glenn Highway.  Valdez is to the south, Fairbanks to the north, and Anchorage to the west with Glennallen at the intersection.   We’ll catch Valdez on the way back and skipping Fairbanks this time around.   

The drive down the Glenn Highway is a beautiful one and right about in the middle is the small Grand View RV Park that was the destination for a few days.  It overlooks Sheep Mountain on one side and the Matanuska Glacier on the other.  It is one of my favorite little spots.  You can see Dall sheep on the mountain.  They like to lick the mineral deposits.  One night we saw a mama moose and babies on the glacier side.   It is a beautiful spot and worth stopping for a few days.  See my earlier post on this area, yummy food at the cafe too!   A short drive away is our next stop Palmer. 

View at Grand View

There's Jade in Them Thar Hills

We were in drive mode once we left Stewart.  We planned on getting to Whitehorse as fast as we could.  We needed to stock up on supplies and get the oil changed on the white beast.  However, driving the Cassiar is slow going, a winding twisting road that doesn’t seem to go anywhere. In fact, the road atlas doesn’t even think this part of BC and the whole of the Yukon territory are map worthy.  We did not see as many bears this time around either! We stopped at Dease Lake for the night.  Dease Lake is few homes, gas station and a RV Park and not much of anything else.   Just north of town the mountains are jade green and black in color and it seems fitting that one of the largest jade mines in the world would be located here.  The next morning we did a short stop to visit Jade City.   Interesting to see the raw mined jade and later the jewelry and artifacts made from the gem.  Apparently they are also filming a reality show here for the summer. Hmm, “Mr. DeMille I’m ready for my close-up now.” 

Raw jade

We continued on the Cassiar for what seemed a long time and finally made it out of BC and into the Yukon Territory and on the official Alaskan Highway. We were hoping to stay at a small RV park that had a small restaurant and gift shop we stayed at last time. We were saddened to see that it closed.  It seemed to be the case a lot.  Little places that had been around for years were now closed.  Some say it was due to the fuel prices in Canada others were saying the owners were retired with no one to pass torch to carry on the business.  Hopefully, a new crop of adventurous entrepreneurs will hear the call of the wild and revitalize the roadhouse tradition along the Al-Can. We ended up staying the night in a nice enough crowded sardine type rv park in Teslin.  

Historic trucks from the making of the Alaskan Highway

The next day we made it to Whitehorse and spent the next few days buying groceries, washing clothes and other mundane chores.  We did have a nice anniversary dinner one day, and a nice hike along the Yukon River another day.  I  have a previous post about this area so I won’t spend much more time on the area.  Jack did insist on seeing the airplane on a stick again thou.  Next blog will be about two of my favorite areas so stayed tuned!

Hiking on the Yukon