Charlie and Mary's Alaska Adventures

Adventures in Wiseman, Alaska

2011-10-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

August 30 and 31

We continued down the Dalton Highway to Coldfoot and Wiseman, Alaska.

Lots of beautiful fall trees on this trip.

It was cloudy at times and we saw several rainbows.

We needed a break from the tent on the truck, so stayed at this Bed and Breakfast in Wiseman, AK.

It had no electricity, but had a gas hot water heater and lighting. The wood burning stove was plenty of heat as we slept in the loft.

The owner, named "Clutch" woke us up around 1 am so we could see the Northern Lights.

WOW!

They were unbelievable!
They moved over the entire sky, we just stood and watched in every direction in AMAZEMENT!

My camera couldn't even begin to copy what we saw. So I bought a photo that is as close as I could find. Isn't this awesome??

We are so grateful that God gave us such a fantastic show!

The next morning we were served biscuits and gravy. Charlie calls them 'Oklahoma Puddin' and they were terrific. Cooked by a friend of Clutch's, so you can tell this was quite an adventure! Clutch had two barber chairs that we sat in as his quests for breakfast. I am so sorry that I failed to get photos of all of this adventure.

After breakfast we hiked up this trail and visited the Wiseman Cemetery. Very interesting and special for this small community.

On the way to the cemetery is this 'beer monument' almost full of beer cans!

This is Clutch and he was doing some final gold panning before closing everything up and going to Fairbanks for the winter. Charlie is looking for nuggets.

He did find one small nugget and a few tiny ones. How lucky am I, Clutch gave them to me! They will have special meaning and remind us of such an adventure!

Coldfoot is only a few miles south of Wiseman and we stopped there as we left to check it out.

Then we went to the Visitor's Center for more interesting information.

Stopped at the Arctic Circle again as we left and this time it wasn't raining!

We traveled back down the Dalton Highway, crossed the Yukon River, and on to Fairbanks.

University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

Beautiful campus and they say on a clear day you can see

Mt. McKinley from the University.

Fairbanks to Arctic Circle

2011-09-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

August 27th and 28th

From Denali National Park, we drove north to Fairbanks. On the drive north we could see Mt. McKinley as we looked back.

In Fairbanks, we went to the Sandhill Crane Festival. Lots of cranes, geese, and ducks in one area. They were everywhere!

The next morning we stopped here to learn about the Alaska Pipeline before going north onto the Dalton Highway!

A great picture of where the pipeline goes across Alaska!

We are headed for Coldfoot, Alaska, half way to the Arctic Ocean. We simply did not have enough time to go on to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean.

Charlie used to launch and catch the pig when he worked for Cities Service Gas Company.

You can definitely see the zig-zag in the pipeline as you travel down the Dalton Highway!

The Dalton highway followed along with the pipeline!
Or was it the pipeline that followed along the highway????

The road is also called "the Haul Highway" because so many trucks are hauling freight, mostly for the oil field. Same road as seen on the ICE ROAD TRUCKERS SHOW.

The Yukon River has so much history and many people have traveled down it over the years!

The pipeline was very high across the Yukon!

Saw this moose as we traveled down the Dalton Highway.

A landmark for travelers in this area over many years!

We saw so many beautiful rainbows and awesome clouds as we traveled!

It was raining on us when we first arrived at the Arctic Circle!

Trip North

2011-09-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

August 23 to 31, 2011

First blog for this trip.

We took another trip using our truck tent and left our trailer at Kenai.

Beluga whales in Cook Inlet on our way to Anchorage!

Wonderful beginning for this trip!

Had a great breakfast at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna, AK. Did some shopping and went to the museum there.

Saw this John Deere Ice Cream Freezer in front of a shop.

Charlie's kind of ice cream freezer for sure!

At the museum, a Forest Ranger did a program about climbing Mt. McKinley. The display showed the route to take and we all pretended to be on a team of mountain climbers. It was very interesting. We learned that the time to climb Mt. Mckinley is May and June. In July the ice becomes soft and too dangerous for climbing.

Notice the bucket on the Ranger's right side.

Human waste is not left on the mountain!

We got a great view of a red fox and as we watched him he took off across the road.

We had a short tour of this plant where they made syrup. Have never before seen them take the sap from the trees.

Camping on our
49th Wedding Anniversary!!!

The Alaska Veterans Memorial is just south of Denali National Park.

We got to Denali on a cloudy, rainy day.

Mt. McKinley was showing some with clouds covering the peak.

Then the next day, August 26, 2011 was a beautiful day of sunshine!

Thank you, God for such a view!!

MT. MCKINLEY 20,320 FEET

THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN NORTH AMERICA!

This is the side that mountain climbers would go up.
You can almost see where the camps would be along the trail to the peak.

Yes, we were there and are so very grateful for such an awesome scene!

Wow! The trees were gorgeous as the fall colors were starting.

Driving back to Denali Park, the train was on this bridge.

There are other mountains around Denali National Park that are worth a photo!

Valdez to Whittier

2011-09-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is the last of four blogs on our trip taken August 7th to 12th.

Valdez has so much history! It was totally destroyed by the earthquake in 1964. The epicenter was 45 miles away. The town was rebuilt four miles away on more stable ground. After becoming the southern terminus (next two photos) of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline in 1973, the population soared. Then in 1989 the tanker Exxon Valdez struck the Bligh reef and caused the large oil spill about 25 miles away.
Valdez gets 300 inches of snow annually.

This was the time for the silver and pink salmon to return home to splawn. It was interesting but a bit sad to watch all these fish trying so hard to go up the stream.

All of these fish provide lots of food for the bears.
We spotted this Black Bear with three cubs.

The terminal for the Marine Highway.

Here is our truck on the ferry. Below we watched as other vehicles drove onto the ferry.

The Ferry was quite fast and left a huge wake!

We watched fishermen catch a few fish from this dock as we waited for the Ferry to leave.

Toad, Charlie, and I are headed to Whittier and on home!

Views from the ferry. Below are Stellar Sea Lions.

Coming into Whittier on the Marine Highway of Alaska!

Chenega, our ferry has brought us across the Prince William Sound into Whittier!

It is a short drive home to Kenai!

Worthington Glacier

2011-09-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

On the way to Valdez, we stopped off at the Worthington Glacier!

We hiked up to the base of the glacier.

Charlie and Toad are ready to hike up to where we could actually touch the glacier ice!

There were ice hikers on the top of the glacier. Looked a bit scary to us!

There were a group of piled stones on our hike to the glacier. If they were in the likeness of a human, they are called 'inukshuk'. You see them in many places in Alaska. Toad added a few of his own!

AN AWESOME DRIVE TO VALDEZ!

Coming into Valdez, notice the oil storage on the hill.

This is the terminal of the Alaska Pipeline!

Kennecott Copper Mine

2011-09-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Looking from the footbridge, this is the whole area of the Kennecott mine.

This area had one of the richest copper deposits ever found. They brought mining equipment in by dog sled, horse and steamship before the railroad was completed. An entire steamship was hauled in over the mountains, piece by piece, to be reassembled on the Copper River. The first train left Kennecott in 1911 filled with $250,000 worth of copper. They built their own power plant for electricity.

We learned that all the piles of dirt around this area were not mine tailings, but actually the Kennecott Glacier. You can see the ice under all the sediment.
The mine tailings were all used on roads and a ball diamond for the community.

Ice could be seen calving at the bottom of the Kennecott Glacier.

We took a tour of the 14 story mill building by hiking to the top and coming in from the back.

After getting our hard hats, Charlie and Toad had to pose!

The tour guide told many stories as we walked through all the levels of the building.

These are shaker tables used to move extra rocks and sand away from the heavy copper.

Very interesting place to experience. It closed in 1938. Many wonderful stories have been written by the children, called Kennecott Kids, who grew up here during this time period! They were looked after and cared for by the whole community!

These cleated boot covers, called crampons, are used to climb the ice in the area. They were spotted at a local outfitter.
We decided against that excursion!

KENNECOTT GLACIER

Scenes as we drove out of the Kennecott and McCarthy area.

Trip to McCarthy, Alaska

2011-09-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

August 8, 2011

We are headed for McCarthy, Alaska, camping in our truck tent.
Darius Martin, aka Toad, went along on this five day trip. He slept in the back seat of the truck.

First stop, the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska. This is the world's only domestic musk-oxen farm.
Here are the babies.

Darius got to feed them through the fence.

The animals are combed for the 'quiviut', which is hand knit by Eskimos in isolated villiages. It is extremely warm and expensive!

One of the farms favorite male ox. Below is a truck that got stalled inside a pasture and this is what it looked like the next day. Don't want to mess with these guys!

SCENES ALONG THE WAY! Notice the fireweed on the side of the road!

Darius knew where to stop and pick wild blueberries along the highway. We climbed up the hill and picked a few for snacking. Wonderful taste!

Wow! Two rainbows and looks like there must be a

'pot of gold' right on the highway! No such luck!

We headed down the McCarthy road, 60 miles of road on the railroad track.

Lots of potholes and washboard. Very slow driving!

Along the Copper River, fishwheels were working.

Can you imagine these bridges being built in 1910??

Sixty miles of dirt road and the truck looked like this!
It was still raining and we just couldn't deal with the tent in the rain. Most of the rooms in the area were already full.

We found this cabin a few miles away and were so grateful for a real roof over us and a great bed and bathroom!

Beautiful mountains and glacier!

This was the footbridge into McCarthy. You had to walk one-fourth of a mile or take a shuttle bus to get to town. We walked over to the grocery store, which had little selection!

Below is the river flowing under the footbridge!

Kennecott Copper Mine is on tomorrow's agenda!

More Happenings at Diamond M Ranch Resort

2011-08-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

B.E.A.C.H.M. FISHERY TOUR

We went to their beach to learn about the unique industry of

harvesting wild Alaskan salmon.

We watched from this bluff which was covered with beautiful lupine flowers.

The view was wonderful!

This is what the nets look like at low tide with buoys holding them in the water.

This family has a permit for 12 nets. Strong winds and currents help move the fish closer to shore. This creates more production, but also means the job is tougher and less safe!

Notice Mt. Redoubt, an active volcano, in the background.

CHAINSAW CARVING

Derrick Stanton came to Diamond M Ranch RV Park and demonstrated how he carves with his chainsaw.

Some finished products!

HOMESTEAD CABIN

This is one of the cabins at Diamond M Ranch Resort. See the fireweed growing on the sod roof.

Here is the garden at our campground. Part of my job has been to pick rhubarb every Saturday and make "rhubarb crisp" for our pot luck dinners each week.

SO MANY INTERESTING ADVENTURES AT
DIAMOND M RANCH RESORT!

Seward and Exit Glacier

2011-08-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

On the way to Seward, we stopped at this campground for the night. Notice the fireweed next to the sign. It is still beautiful, but fading quickly.
Saw this young moose along the road.

Our first camping with the tent on the back of the truck. Great campground and the tent worked great!

We stopped to check out the Exit Glacier just before arriving in Seward.

Along the road there were dates posted to let you know how far

this glacier receded over the years.

As we came down from the glacier, Charlie did some rock skipping. We knew that just a few weeks earlier, Sawyer was here skipping rocks, probably his Dad too!

Beautiful flowers everywhere!

Interesting store front at one of the shops in Seward!

Fun trip shopping, enjoying Exit Glacier and camping!

Hope, Alaska

2011-08-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Downtown in Hope, Alaska!

The view from Hope and the river with a fish cleaning station provided by the community.

We went through a very interesting Museum in Hope!

This is the restored original school.

The teacher lived in this room as well as taught there.

Thought some of you teachers would enjoy the rules of the times!

Here is the Hope school from 1938 to 1986.

This is Billy, the man responsible for salvaging most of the historical things in this museum. He also restored most of it as well. He has so much history in his head!
He is holding an oven and below is a larger one.

Horses had spikes on their shoes to walk in snow and ice.

Hope you can see this in the photo. Sawing the log in half with a man

down in the hole and one on top to run the saw.

WE REALLY ENJOYED THIS MUSEUM!

Special Events

2011-08-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

Since we have been at Diamond M Ranch,
several special events have happened!

Another llama has been born, the first week of July. His name is Snickers!

Below is Lenny, the Llama, born soon after we arrived. They are both growing so much. I will get some up to date photos for a later blog.

A colt was born this summer on the ranch. The mother is Rose and she has a

one year old named Petal. This colt hasn't been named yet.

Notice the nest above while there were three young eagles in it. The nest broke off and one eagle fell to the ground with part of the nest. His picture is below on the fence post. The two eagles left in the nest hardly have room to sit!

Practicing for flights in the future or is he about to fall out of the nest??

This is a photo of the jacket of Rod Perry. He was in the very first Iditarod Dog Sled Race in 1973 and had a part in founding the race.

Below Rod Perry is telling wonderful adventures about the Iditarod. Of course we had to buy his book of stories called "Trail Breakers, Pioneering Alaska's Iditarod".

Everyone is enjoying s'mores around the campfire as we listen.

ANOTHER EXPERIENCE IN THE CAMPGROUND!

Dipnetting and Fishing

2011-08-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Alaska residents have a dipnetting season July 10-31. That means they can catch salmon with huge nets. As the sockeyes, also known as reds, swim from the Cook Inlet up into the Kenai River, they swim into the nets. This is for substinence for the Alaska residents. Notice the photo below where the tide has gone out farther. These photos were taken 2-3 hours apart.

This is the line waiting for their turn at the fish cleaning station. Our trailer is right next to the chevy truck.

The sockeye salmon run was huge this year. Fillets were frozen, canned, and smoked for several weeks here at Diamond M Ranch Resort!

This photo shows combat fishing along the Kenai River. Charlie is trying his best to bring home the catch. Combat fishing, at its busiest, means the fishermen are closer to each other all along the river.

It takes two to land the fish!

Charlie and Rich, fellow workamper, got their limit of six sockeye salmon this day!

The fish cleaning station is the best place to do the filleting!

OUR FREEZER IS ALMOST FULL!

Vacation is over

2011-07-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

July 7, 2011

Time to take the tent down, Justin and Amy's home away from home.

Last minute photos before leaving for Anchorage!

We will miss these new friends, at both places.

CELEBRATING MIRANDA'S 12TH BIRTHDAY!!
WE WILL BE SO SAD TO MISS HER PARTY!

BEAUTIFUL

12 YEAR OLD!!!

On our way to the airport, leaving Diamond M Ranch!

I had never seen a rainbow around the sun before. This was fantastic, on our way to Anchorage.

At the Anchorage airport, using that last energy before flying home!

WE WILL MISS THEM SO VERY MUCH!
SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE!

Fireweed is blooming in Anchorage on our way home!

Made it back to our RV around midnight!

OTHER ACTIVITIES

2011-07-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Diamond M Ranch RV Park has been fun in lots of ways!

There's biking, basketball, and just playing with new friends!!

Sawyer, A.J., Justin, and Josiah had a great game going!

What an awesome pool and waterslide in the small town of Nikiski, north of Kenai.

Granny took Miranda and Sawyer, and their friends, Sonora and Darius a.k.a. Toad.

The waterslide was so much fun, we all had a great time!!

Justin's photos around the campground!!

THE TIME HAS GONE VERY FAST!!

Fishing along the Shore

2011-07-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

July 1, 2011

The next day I went to watch as Justin, Amy, Miranda, and Sawyer fished along the Kenai River!

Justin helps Sawyer get his tackle all ready!

We will see who catches one first, Mom or me!

Getting Miranda all ready to cast her line!

Smiles should bring those fish to my line!

Awe! Finally my turn!

Great rocks for sitting and watching as well as fishing!

Granny enjoys just being with the family on such a beautiful day!

Our wildlife sighting for the day!

Almost no one on the river was catching anything that day!

This small catch felt good!

A DAY OF FISHING!

2011-07-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

June 30, 2011

Charlie, Justin, Amy, and Sawyer went fishing on the Kasilof River.

Here is the guide, Dave getting everyone ready. Justin is taking all the pictures,

so you won't see him in any of them.

IS THIS YOUNG MAN EXCITED OR WHAT??

W0W! GRAMPS CATCHES THE FIRST FISH!

A 35 POUND KING SALMON!

The day gets long when you are waiting for the fish to bite!

A little excitment comes with even a tiny fish! Let's keep trying!!

FANTASTIC!!!!
SAWYER AND HIS KING SALMON!!

Learning to take care of the fish before holding it!

A PROUD MOMENT!!
FOR EVERYONE!

I can sat back and relax now! Let others have a turn!

Helping Dave row into shore!

GRAMPS AND SAWYER AFTER A TERRIFIC DAY!!

Dave fillets the salmon and then the next chores!

The seagulls take care of the rest of the fish!

Wonderful Flight!

2011-07-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

June 29, 2011

Granny & Miranda were headed on a special flight! The plane had extra room and all six of us got to go on this terrific journey!

Special Blessings!

Sawyer got to sit in the co-pilots seat!
HOW EXCITING!!

Miranda sat there on our return trip.

GRANNY AND HER FAVORITES!

WHAT A SMILE!

This is looking down the K-Beach Highway north of Kenai along the Cook Inlet.

VIEWS FROM THE PLANE!
Below is SPUR MOUNTAIN!

Our plane had taken a small group out for close-up bear viewing and we came back to pick up the return passengers off of Wolverine Creek. The other plane was full of fishermen.

We flew right on top of this glacier.

Lots of close ups below!

Got some great photos of "blue ice".

We saw several groups of seals along the Cook Inlet.

Got this photo of a Brown Bear which is what they call a grizzley in Alaska.

MOUNT REDOUBT

This is the Kenai River flowing into the Cook Inlet. Lots of fishing takes place here as the salmon swim from the salt water into the river. They are compelled to return to the stream of their birth to spawn for the next generation.

Lots of boat fishing on the Kenai River!

Our RV Park is about the center of this picture. We drive across the bridge into Kenai and the other direction to go into Soldotna.

AWESOME VIEWS FROM THE AIR!!

Hike to the Russian River Falls

2011-07-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

June 28, 2011

Fun day of hiking with friends from the campground.
A.J., Sawyer, Sonora, Miranda, and Darius a.k.a. Toad.

Must have a little bug spray before hitting the trail!

All the kids and Gramps and Granny on the bridge headed for the falls.

RUSSIAN RIVER FALLS

Fish were trying to get up the falls and were backed up at the bottom. We watched them make great efforts to make it up the river!
Below, a bypass has been made to help the salmon find their way up the Russian River. Don't know how many actually make it!

Almost to the end of the hike!

We are so grateful for the time with our family!

One more stop on the way home, interesting Moose!

TOMORROW, OUR EXCITING FLIGHT!

Skilak Lake Lookout Trail

2011-07-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

June 26, 2011

We headed out to do a little hiking!

Beautiful View from Lookout Trail over Skilak Lake!

And everywhere are awesome mountains!!

Justin's photos again!

ANOTHER FANTASTIC FAMILY PHOTO!!

Mother and daughter checking out the walkway along the Kenai River in Soldotna.

We went to a Family Festival to see a friend of Justin and Amy's who lives in Soldotna.

Sawyer played in the bounce house and we watched some people fishing along the river.

Miranda and her Dad had some great competition, can't tell who is winning!

Special fun for Father and daughter!

THE DAYS ARE GOING BY QUICKLY!!

Trip to HOMER, ALASKA

2011-07-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

June 24, 2011

We made a stop at a park on the Cook Inlet on our way to Homer.

Sawyer always loves skipping rocks!

A lighthouse on the hill above all the RV campers at this park.

Wow! What photos!
Compliments of Justin and his great zoom lense!

Saw this Mama moose and two babies as we drove.

Too many trees for a great picture of both babies.

This was a great scenic parking area just before we drove into Homer.

Got some wonderful family pictures!

Gramps and Miranda have a fun time horsing around!

HOW BLESSED WE ARE!!

More photos by Justin taken from the Homer Spit!

A VIEW OF THE SPIT AS WE LEAVE HOMER!

THANK YOU LORD FOR A WONDERFUL DAY!!

THEY FINALLY ARRIVED!!

2011-07-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Waiting at the Anchorage Airport seemed long as we were so anxious to see our SPECIAL ONES!!

And maybe they were anxious to see us too!

After picking up Justin, Sawyer, Miranda, and Amy at 1:19 am and driving back to Soldotna, we had breakfast and went home for a nap at 7 am!

First on the agenda, get acquainted with the campground and area around it. This is on the ranch and Sawyer is making a new friend!

Notice the eagle in the top of the tree! There are two babies in the nest right below!

Also, saw these geese charging across the grass!

Gramps and Miranda dancing around the firepit as everyone has s'mores and is enjoying the music!

Sawyer and new friend Darius, a.k.a. Toad, riding bikes around the campground!

We all hiked to the Kenai River from the campground!

MIRANDA AND SAWYER
ARE GLAD TO BE IN ALASKA!!!

AND GRAMPS & GRANNY ARE GLAD THE WHOLE FAMILY IS HERE!

HAPPENINGS at Diamond M Ranch Resort

2011-07-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are "living the dream"! We are also working hard three days a week in between all of these fun activities!

We enjoy working with the Martin Family here at the Diamond M Ranch Campground!

Pot luck dinners on Saturday nights! Notice the Diamond M brand in the corner of the picture!

Sometimes there is music or maybe Alaska stories told by Moosejaw!

A new baby llama has been born since we have been here at Diamond M!

He thinks he is 'hot stuff' and he is!

June 21, 2011
Summer Solstice Music Festival at Diamond M Ranch Resort!

Free BBQ to all who attend!

Wonderful music until midnight!
"Diamonds in the Rough" and lots of other bands played.

Contra dancing during the evening, enjoying the time before Midnight!

There are lots of activities at Diamond M every week!

Next, OUR KIDS ARE COMING!!!

Summer Dog Sled Ride - June 20

2011-06-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

These are the dogs of

Mitch Seavey, the

2004 Iditarod Champion. We got to pet them as the mushers prepared the dogs to pull the sled. All the dogs barked and jumped around hoping it was their turn to pull the sled!

As soon as the sled left, they all quit barking and settled down.

While waiting for our turn to ride the sled, we played with the puppies and learned about all the equipment used for the Ididarod Race!

The workampers of Diamond M Ranch Resort enjoying the summer sled ride. The sled dogs had to take a rest several times during our ride.

We walked through a beautiful rainforest as we left the sled dogs and headed back to the parking lot.

Wilderness Hike

2011-06-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

June 13, 2011

LOOKOUT TRAIL on SKILAK LAKE

Charlie went fishing with a group today, so I went hiking with some of the Martin Family and a few campers.
The beautiful purple flowers along the trail are 'lupines'!

Our group made it to the top and this was the awesome view!

This is called watermelon plant! When there is a touch of red at the top of the bloom, it has a touch of watermelon taste! We tried a few on the hike!!

Raft Trip

2011-06-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2011

We had a great trip rafting down the Kenai River. It sprinkled a little so we put on raingear, but it turned out to be a beautiful day!

This is Gabe our guide. He was fun and we enjoyed learning about the area as we floated down the river!

While floating under the bridge above, we saw several people gold panning along the river.

Above is where the Russian River merges into the Kenai River. This is a great fishing area when the red salmon head up the Russian River. They call it 'combat fishing' with so many fisherman lined up along the river. Maybe I will have a picture of that later. The ferry below takes fisherman across the river so they can fish from both sides.

Ducks along the river!

We saw this bear at the very end of the raft trip. He never turned around to get a good picture!

What a relaxing and enjoyable day!

Prince William Sound Glacier Cruise

2011-06-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

June 7, 2011

Major Marine Tours from Whittier, Alaska

A tunnel through the mountain! We had to wait our turn to drive through and arrive in Whittier on the other side!

Coming out of the tunnel, you can see the railroad track that the cars drive over as well!

Emerald Sea, the boat we took for our cruise.

Below are the workampers from Diamond M Ranch Resort! Another wonderful experience!

We have entered Blackstone Bay! One of the first glaciers we saw was Tebenkof Glacier.
This is a hanging glacier because it does not come down to meet the water.

SEA OTTERS, such special creatures in this part of the country!

This is Beloit Glacier and is called a Tidewater Glacier because it goes into the water!

Mother Nature's glorious ice sculptures!!

These icebergs are 15% above the water and 85% under water! You can partially see this amazing fact!

We spotted lots of Harbor Seals on the ice near the glaciers.

We listened to the Blackstone Glacier crack and groan! Then sections of ice would calve off and splash into the bay!
Waited and watched, with the camera ready!

More animal life, sea kayakers and a stellar sea lion!

The tunnel allows vehicles to go through one direction on the hour and the other direction on the half hour.

Sometimes there is a delay because trains get to go first!!

The end of the day completes another fantastic adventure!!

Clamming

2011-06-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

June 1, 2011

CLAM GULCH - Our first experience at digging for clams!

Charlie, Rich, and Steve headed out to dig for clams!

I didn't get a fish license so I walked and hunted for the dimples in the sand. Then Charlie dug as quickly as possible!
Fun Day!

Razor

Clams

must be

cleaned!

We made clam chowder

and fried some!

Excellent!

Our first experience at cleaning and eating clams!

Don't want to dig too many, they are a lot of work!

Can you believe the trees behind our trailer have an eagle nest and we see the bald eagle soaring in the wind overhead??

It's true and Charlie took these pictures to show you!

TWO SYMBOLS OF OUR BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!!!!

May 31, 2011

2011-06-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Seward Wildlife Cruise in Resurrection Bay

and into the Gulf of Alaska

Our boat was "Star of the Northwest" with Major Marine Tours!

Here's the crew from Diamond M Ranch Resort!

We will boat down a waterway called a fjord.

A fjord is a glacial valley that has been filled by sea water.

The Kenai National Park Ranger gave lots of information about the area as we traveled. She is holding Marty, the Llama, mascot to Diamond M Ranch Resort!

As we headed out of the port, we spotted a sea otter!

The Captain moved the boat slowly to the rock edge until a small waterfall fell right on the people in front!

The Ranger had an experiment for kids to represent how the blubber keeps the seals warm in such cold water.

We cruised around several islands as we headed back to Seward!

We are watching the water spouts of whales and waiting to see the tail or the back.

I was lucky to get the picture below of a humpback whale. I saw a tail once, but didn't get a picture.

Above is a bird sanctuary! Steller Sea Lions sharing the space!

This is an eagle landing on top of the mountain!

Yes, we are having a terrific time!!!!

Bear Glacier is above, with an island of trees in front of it.

We saw more beautiful mountains as we cruised in Resurrection Bay!

Notice the baby Mountain Goat behind the momma!

Departing the boat at the end of a full day!

How grateful we are for all of the tours and experiences!!

Memorial Weekend at Diamond M Ranch Resort

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A little sports on the lawn of Diamond M.

Charlie got photos of this moose at the end of the deck one morning!

Saturday Night Pot Luck Dinner on the viewing deck.
Charlie and Blair the owner have been sharing the cooking of the salmon. The other specialty is rhubarb crisp which they grow in the garden!

Yummy! Yummy!

These girls are "Diamonds in the Rough"! Wonderful bluegrass music as well as other types!

Contra Dancing! Whatever that is, anyway, we all had lots of fun learning!

Memorial Day we watched some shows on TV. Our hearts are so very grateful to our Veterans and our Active Military for all of the Freedoms we enjoy daily!

Monday, end of the day, s'mores around the campfire with Ronna and Blair Martin! How awesome is that??

May 22

2011-05-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

You must get up very early in Alaska to see a sunrise!

Today Charlie and our workamper friend Rich are going on a Charter Fishing Trip!

Deb and I are going to HOMER, AK with them to find our own advernture and hopefully to bring fish home for cooking! We left at 3 am and watched as these pictures came on the sunrise!

CHARLIE
AND RICH PREPARING TO LEAVE FOR THE DAY!

IS THIS ALL I AM GOING TO CATCH??????

HALIBUT! JUST THE REASON WE CAME !!

RICH CAUGHT A KING SALMON AS WELL AS HAILBUT. THANKS FOR SHARING THE MEAT WITH US!

Halibut everywhere! Each person had a limit of two!

Our two halibut are fillets in the freezer now and will be many meals!

Deb and I had breakfast after the guys left and then enjoyed this visitor center. It had wonderful exhibits and films to watch. There was a walkway in the back that took you down to the water.
We also found a great bakery in Homer!

As we walked down to the Homer spit, we enjoyed watching this juvenile eagle with his catch! He was so busy eating and watching, I was able to get quite close to him for pictures!

Then back to Kenai and to our campsite for a day or two of rest!

Olivia, the potbelly pig decided to make her home our front yard for a day. She has only been by to say hello since then!

These goats are around the ranch and get petted as tours of kids come! The white momma is a little more shy for petting.

This is OBAMA the LLAMA, interacting with Cali the dog. Trying to make a new friend!

This week we have had a few days of rest and a few days of work and learning!

IT IS GOING TO BE A FUN SUMMER!

May 19 & 20

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Coastal Classic Train - Anchorage to Seward

May 19
Station at the
Alaska Railroad
Train left 6:45 am
Return 10:15 pm

WE HAD A FULL DAY!

This early in the year the train was not crowded. Our seats were on the lower level, but we were able to move to the upper dome car which made our viewing so much better. The Railroad staff were fun and full of information along the way!

There was a light rain all the way on the train ride to Seward, so you can see that with most of my pictures.
Below is a glacier we could see from the train.

We did see a moose with two very young babies! Sorry, I was on the wrong

side of the train and simply was not fast enough to get a picture!

The railroad track is divided into blocks. There was a sign to begin and another to end each block. Only one train can be traveling within a block at one time. This is for safety purposes!

Alaska Sealife Center
Seward, Alaska

Terrific Place!

Can you believe the performance of this Sea Lion?? Next 3 photos!

Our friends and fellow Workampers, Rich and Deb.

We are getting acquainted and having a great dinner on the train!

The food was fantastic and everyone in the dining car was so friendly!

Highline poles are still there for part of this trip. Many still have the glass insulators on them. The wire has all been taken down and sold - copper wire worth a lot. You can see by the insulators, there were a lot of strings of wire! Plans were to take the poles down, but seems there is no money in them.

This building houses a cannon to shoot into the snow and to create a controlled avalanche.

These trees are dead because of the 1964 earthquate in Alaska. Sea water came into this area and killed the trees.
The locals say the ground shook for a full 15 minutes!

May 20 We are now finally headed, with our RV, to Kenai, Alaska!

OUR DESTINATION! WE MADE IT! YAHOO!!!!

Then the next part of our adventure!

Charlie backed us in and forgot that he was not in that Chevy truck with the long wheel base. This short wheel base Ford just can not do a 90 degree turn from the fifth wheel. The trailer hit the back window and it shattered with the sound of a gun shot! We all jumped, but no one was hurt! Will get a new window next week.

Our campsite next to the fish cleaning station.
Notice the crash wrap on the back window. Feels like we are driving with saran wrap on the back!

THE WELCOME MAT IS OUT! COME ON OVER!

WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU!

May 17 -18

2011-05-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

WE ARE ALMOST THERE!

We stayed here at the
Red Eagle Lodge between

Tok and Glennallen.
Had a great breakfast here on
Tuesday morning before leaving.

The best part about Red Eagle was the people. Here's Judy and her helper, Walker. It is like her ad in the Milepost says, "What guests remember is the spirit of the Roadhouse - meals served by the fire, stories shared with fellow travelers, and a good night's sleep for tomorrow's adventure".
We felt that attitude!
Thank you,
Judy and Walker

Watched this snowshoe rabbit play around our trailer that night!

This is it for the wildlife today!

The view on the way to Anchorage! OK, you may be tired

of these pictures, but I simply couldn't choose one or two!

Do notice the clouds as well as the mountains!

These two pictures are trying to show the difference in how green everything has gotten as we near Anchorage. We watched for 2-3 days everything become green!

While in Anchorage we visited the ALASKA NATIVE HERITAGE CENTER. It was fantastic and we learned so very much about the native Alaskans! Here are two of our guides.

This is where food was stored away from animals.

One of the Native Cultures had houses like this. The large one in the back was for the men and boys older than five. The smaller houses were the women and young children.

These whale bones were placed near the opening of the underground (or under ice) homes of one of the Alaskan cultures. Since all was snow and white, it would show the hunters the location of the home.

The white outline on this native dress are buttons.

Alaska's Native people are divided into eleven distinct cultures, speaking 21 different languages.

The Heritage Center showed the diversity of five different cultures in the way they lived and in different areas of Alaska.
Below shows where we walked around this lake to visit an example of each different cultures homes.

TOMORROW IS THE TRAIN RIDE!

May 16 NORTH TO ALASKA IS HERE!!!

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More gorgeous mountains and beautiful lakes
and rivers.

The roads became much worse in this area of Canada before driving into the US.
The glacier soil these roads are built on are simply not suitable for road embankments. Even the newer road construction has the same frost heaves as the older roads. The US and Canada are working together to find better ways to deal with the permafrost!

Next stop Beaver Creek with another great visitor's center!

ONE FOOT IN ALASKA AND ONE IN CANADA!

AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT FOR CHARLIE AS HIS DREAM COMES TRUE!!

The Alaska Highway from the Canadian border to Delta Junction, AK is designated the "Purple Heart Trail" in honor of our veterans and their sacrifice!

The roads did get a lot better when we entered the USA, but the frost heaves were still there and the research is going on in several places.

Some people love to write messages in the sand. This was gray ash looking sand on the slopes along the highway! This is for my sister Judy!! Can you believe with all the writing that I got a picture of this message??

Grandeur! Magnificent! Majestic!

The St. Elias and Wrangell Mountain Ranges!

Mount Sanford 16,237 feet

We almost missed it behind the clouds at first!

Below is Mount Drum, 12,010 feet

The mountain ranges in this large area include 9 of the 16 highest peaks in the US!

Canada has been full of wonderful people, mountains, and views, BUT

it is really good to be in OUR COUNTRY, with OUR MONEY,

OUR PHONE SERVICE, and OUR MILES!!

May 13 - 15

2011-05-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

May 13 This was our day to see lots of animals!

Notice the baby bison laying in the grass.

And here is our first bear. Saw another one in the edge of the trees later in the day, but didn't get a good picture of it.

Saw these two fox somewhat close to the road. We were able to stop and wait in the truck for them to sit up and move around.

Entered Yukon Territory, Canada and stopped in Watson Lake to see the sights!

More beautiful mountains and a herd of caribou along our drive!

This bridge was at Teslin, Yukon Territory.

There was also a great wildlife exhibit at the RV Park there.

Made it to Whitehorse late and stayed two nights at an RV Park with no water

available yet. Had electric and wifi, the important things!

May 14

Had a day of rest and took a walk along the Yukon River in Whitehorse.

May 15 Headed for Haines Junction, YT

An old bridge restored to a historical view!

It's obvious why this is called "the muffin"!

Someone's idea of art, I suppose!

There was a great visitors center and we had lunch at the village bakery!

This is the view from the Haines Junction Visitor Center! Wow!

The Alaska Highway took us all the way around this huge Kluane Lake.

The dall sheep were on the mountain as we drove around the lake.

We stayed in a small campground just past Burwash Landing, called Pine Valley Campground. It was old, with 15 amp electric, but we enjoyed the couple from

France who owned it. Her cooking was terrific and it was a quiet area!

The roads began to slow us down with many frost heaves.

They actually got a lot worse than this!

And the next day we CROSS INTO ALASKA!!

May 12, 2011

2011-05-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Another day of Adventure!!!!

As we left Fort Nelson, it was rainy, but soon began to snow. We got a little worried as the road was covered with snow.

It was a beautiful drive but our anxious thoughts turned to the 6-8% grades on two summits we had to pass. At the top of a summit everything was snow covered and Charlie talked to 2 truckers about the roads ahead.
He decided to keep going and all went well. The roads were clearer on the down side and we had no problems.

With prayer each day, God gave Charlie common sense and wisdom about the driving and pulling the trailer. He did use the 4-wheel drive on the new truck over part of the road. Driving in snow and slush for 2 hours takes a little out of you, but we were so grateful to be SAFE! PTL

The first caribou we have ever seen in the wild. Saw a group of caribou on another day.

At Toad River Lodge, the ceiling was covered with caps in 2 different rooms. Their current count is 7911.

We had great chili and clam chowder with homemade bread. Great place for lunch! Ate with another couple we had met back down the road a bit.

The first moose we have seen on this trip.

We had a great book that all Alaska travelers use called the

MILEPOST, of course. It gives details of everything along the highway.

There were Mile markers, Kilometer markers, and historical markers!

Canadian Alaska Highway Milepost with Kilometer 700!

Stone sheep were very close to the road along this mountain.

Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park.

We dry camped here and hiked a short distance to the Hot Springs.

What a wonderful relaxing way to end the day!!

May 8-11, 2011

2011-05-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

The last blog seemed to disappear, so I republished it last night.

We have been without wifi or phone service for the last 2 days.

It may be like that again down the road. Should be back in the

USA in a couple more days.

The view from the KOA Campground in Hinton, Alberta. We stayed here 2 nights and we enjoyed a steak dinner for Mother's Day. Hope yours was 'special'! We had a very friendly waitness who was from Lebanon. So far it seems that Canada is very diverse like the US and all the people so very nice & friendly!

Left Hinton and headed for Dawson Creek, British Columbia on May 9.

The mountain above had a mining operation going and

we saw lots of mills with loads of logs and lumber!

Beaverlodge, Alberta

couldn't mistake this town!

Made it to Dawson Creek

and the Museum of the Alaska Highway!

On May 11, we left Dawson Creek and saw more flat valleys with

lush farmland along the Peace River.

This lake was 'special' as it was "Charlie Lake".

Wonowon means Historical Mile Marker 101 from '0' at Dawson Creek!

There was lots of oil & gas work going on in this area and this was some of the housing. Had a lot in common with parts of Oklahoma.

Between here and Ft Nelson, we had to have a few gallons of diesel which we

paid $7.00 a gallon, the highest on all the trip so far. It has mostly been $5.20 to $5.50.

Was raining on us when we drove into Fort Nelson and rained the rest of the day while we camped.

May 7

2011-05-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Jasper National Park

Alberta, Canada

Here we are at Icefield Centre, Alberta, which is one building with a hotel & restaurant and a few stores. On the left of the building are stairs to the parking lot. Notice our Rig in the bottom left corner. From there we took the Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure!

We rode a bus from the building out to the edge of the glacier. Notice these trees with branches on only one side. This was done by wind picking up sand and blasting the trees. The larger the trees grow, the more sturdy they become.

This huge snow blower made a road on the glacier before the bus drove on it. Below are the buses that take groups of people onto the glacier. Notice the huge tires, bigger than tractor tires. The yellow bus below is one of the first buses to go out onto the glacier.

Pictures taken while standing on the

Columbia Icefield Glacier!!

We were the first group in the morning and there were only 5 of us and the driver.

Really good!

Notice the road coming up next the bus drivers head. It is a 32% grade! Lots of retired people and college kids drive these buses. They live in a dorm for the season.

Athabasca Falls!

Another wonderful experience and like nothing we have ever seen before!

Pictures driving from Jasper through the National Park to Hinton, Alberta.

Just before leaving Jasper National Park, we stopped at the Miette Hot Springs and enjoyed the mineral springs with a Rocky Mountain View!

Walked on a Glacier in the morning and

went swimming in a Hot Springs Pool in the evening!

What a Day!!

We are living the DREAM for sure!!

May 6, 2011

2011-05-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

Entering Kootenay National Park, BC.
What a spectacular drive! We crossed the Continental Divide and proceded into Alberta and the Banff National Park. The Canadian Rockies are unbelieable! We had no idea!

Next stop:

Lake Louise, Alberta.

The Lake is covered with ice and people are hiking across the Lake. Imagine this place during the summber!

We walked through "The Fairmont Chateau, Lake Louise" and agreed it's the place to stay in the summer. Special now - only $699 a night! I can envision the lake and the mountains with no snow!

Watch out Charlie, that snow will fall on you!

After leaving Lake Louise, we entered "the Icefields Parkway" highway. Banff National Park gave us a map with names for each mountain along the drive! Saw a few glaciers along the way.

WOW! AWESOME!

OH MY GOSH!

We used these words hundreds of times over 170 miles. This drive was like driving in the Tetons all day! After looking at the pictures, I think "these are not even close to the real views"! GOD'S Creation is truly AMAZING!

Charlie figured I took 1.7 pictures per mile during that 170 miles. Think about how much time I spent getting those pictures down to a few for this blog. That is why I am a few days behind and also have not had good internet connections.

Finally made it to Icefield Centre. The National Park assured us there was an RV park with no hook-ups. Yes, there was a parking lot that sloped downhill everywhere. We did get level enough to park and run the generator until bedtime. Got the trailer as warm as we could and turned off the generator. It couldn't have been a quieter rest, but Charlie didn't sleep - worried about freezing-up and furnace working properly.

And tomorrow is another terrific day!

May 4th & 5th

2011-05-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Our trip continues through some beautiful country in

Montana.

Last town in the USA was Eureka, Montana. Could see their ski slopes - now, where did we leave our boots & skis????

As we prepared to leave Our Country didn’t know what to expect at the border. From the stories we had heard, decided to make all our fruit into fruit salad.

The Canadian border was NO problem! They ask lots of questions about us and where we were going. Never opened the door of the trailer, and we were happy to have fruit salad for several days.

Next stop was Radium Hot Springs, BC just at the edge of the Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. Stayed in a gorgeous campground down in a canyon. Very few campers yet.

Radium Hot Springs had a helpful visitors center with lots of mountain goats around.

We celebrated our Easter by walking through the Stations of the Cross on a

mountain behind a church. Thank You, Jesus for giving your life for us!

Thought about Sawyer, knowing he gave his heart to Jesus, walking through the Stations of the Cross! And Miranda

who was baptized on Easter! We are so grateful they are both Your Children, Lord!!

"North to Alaska" is finally happening!

2011-05-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

We left California March 4th and have spent some terrific times with lots of Family and friends from Texas to Oklahoma to Kansas. In Oklahoma we began having problems with the Chevy truck and ended up trading for a 2010 Ford 250.

After leaving Kansas, we spent a few days at Teton Valley Campground where we worked last summer. We had two beautiful snows while we were there and enjoyed spending time with our friend Gary.

A beautiful view of the Grande Teton with table mountain in front covered with snow. We enjoyed this view so much last summer, had to drive over past Driggs to see it again before leaving the area.

We left Victor, ID and headed for Montana on Friday, April 29, one of the back springs on the trailer broke. We sat in the truck along the road and watched the blowing snow for several hours. It was hard to drive behind this tow truck and watch the trailer bounce around on this flatbed trailer. The wind was blowing and it looked like it would go over the side at anytime. We finally made it to Idaho Falls and camped in the RV Dealers parking lot until Monday when they were able to get parts and repair the trailer.

So, there we were in Idaho Falls for the week end and had the time to do the tourist thing. Here is the falls that gives Idaho Falls its name. Can't believe we never went there last summer as it was impressive!

Found a great church to visit on Sunday morning and met Marva, an 80 year old who had traveled the country in an RV for many years. She & her husband had settled in Idaho Falls near their daughter. A divine appointment! Praise God!

If you have the book "God Calling", please read May 1. "Delay is not Denial ...it is the opportunity for God to work out our problems & accomplish our desires in the most wonderful way possible for us." WOW!

Also went to the Museum of Idaho Falls and saw this "Bodies Exhibition". Very interesting!

Left Idaho Falls on Tuesday May 3 for Missoula, Montana!

Four new springs and the money to pay for them! We have an awesome God!