Year Four - Day Sixty-Four

Summer's View

We drove back to Girdwood to hike the Winner Creek trail, which is a popular hike.  We only hiked about 2 ½ miles, but it crossed a river with a beautiful gorge area.  The unique feature of this hike is a river crossing area using a hand operated tram car!  Sam and I thought it was a treat, but Jim thought it was also a workout. J  Buster came along, too, and he enjoyed the hike a lot!

Another good meal at the Silvertip Grill on the way home – we are almost regulars there!

 

 

Year Four - Day Sixty-Three

Summer's View

Today was a lazy day, but we went downtown for a one hour trolley bus ride to tour Anchorage. It was pretty cool, and we learned a little about the history of the town.  We stopped at one point because the driver had caught a glimpse of Mt. McKinley earlier in the day, but it was under cloud cover again when we arrived.

Probably the coolest part of the tour was driving around Lake Hood, which is the largest and busiest floatplane base in the world. There were floatplanes everywhere!

 

Jim and Sam went fishing for a couple of hours later in the afternoon, but no bites. We finally cooked up the trout Jim caught the other day, though, and it was delicious!

Year Four - Day Sixty-Two

Summer's View

Today we drove out to Crow Creek Mine near Girdwood to do some gold panning!  It is a cool little mine setting, and they actually have weddings there all the time because of the scenery. There was one today, as well!

We geared up, got our boots and rain gear on (because it was raining off and on, as usual in Girdwood) and took our shovels, pans, and a sluice box to the river!  We spent the whole afternoon there, and Sam worked really hard – he loved it!  We actually found some gold, too! I was surprised! We finished up the day by stopping at the Silvertip Grill in town for a meal before driving home.

 

 

 

Year Four - Day Sixty-One

Summer's View

We drove along Turnagain Arm today to see the beautiful scenery and stop to watch the bore tide as it came in. Along the way, we stopped at Potter’s Marsh to walk the boardwalks and bird watch. I added two more birds to my list!

At a stream coming into the marsh, there were chum salmon humpback salmon doing a run – Sam was fascinated!  I think he could have stood there all day watching them.

We stopped a pullout called Bird Point to watch the bore tide arrive, and Jim and Sam walked out to a point on the rocky outcropping to see it up close. I stayed up on the lookout point to watch it from above. It was amazing to watch the wave coming into the bay, all in a long string. You could hear the water rushing!

 

Afterwards, we drove down to Girdwood, and ate dinner at a little place called Silvertip Grill. Good beer, and great chicken fingers for Sam!

Year Four - Day Sixty

Summer's View

I opted for a stay at home day to do laundry and paperwork, so Jim and Sam went to the Imaginarium at the Anchorage Museum.  Sam spent a couple of fun hours learning and playing.

Later, they went down to Ship Creek to try a little fishing.

 

Year Four - Day Fifty-Nine

Summer's View

Today we left Talkeetna and drove down to Anchorage, where we will spend about 10 days. The drive was only about 100 miles, so it was a short driving day.

The campground where we are staying is right in town, close to Ship Creek, which is a shipping lane for goods. It is also a popular fishing spot. We drove down to check out the fish ladders to see if any salmon were running, but we didn’t see any.

We drove downtown to check it out and stopped in at the Visitor Center to stock up on brochures and ideas for our stay in the Anchorage area. This is where they start the Iditarod every year.

Year Four - Day Fifty-Eight

Summer's View

It was rainy and cold today, so I opted to stay indoors, but Jim and Sam went to Christianson Lake to go canoeing and fishing. They had a good time, even though it was rainy.

They were gone for a while, but they came back with a 3 ½ pound trout! Jim said it is the largest freshwater fish he ever caught! J

 

Year Four - Day Fifty-Seven

Summer's View

We went on a jeboat tour today of the Susitna River, with Mahay Jetboat Tours. This is an all day adventure, as we will be on the boat for about 5 ½ hours. The tour takes us 65 miles upriver to Devil’s Canyon, where we will enjoy some class IV and class IV rapids!

Not too long after we started the trip, we saw a black bear crossing the river! He was jumping out of the water onto the bank to get away from us – cool!

 

The tour guide was very informative about the area, pointing out homes and telling about how some of the people along the river live off the grid. Some of the homes are only accessible by boat and by the Alaska Railroad, which runs along the river. His family came to Talkeetna in the 1970’s to homestead some land, and they never left.

When we reached the rapids, Sam was super excited! This was his favorite part of the trip!  We rode up the rapids, and the boat stopped in front of a class VI rapid! The boat operator held the boat in position while everyone took photos – awesome!

During the trip, we also saw another black bear walking along the shore. He was watching us closely to make sure we didn’t come after him! We also saw a moose swimming through the river, along with four different bald eagle sightings.

We stopped on the trip back at a small island they had setup to demonstrate some native Alaskan camping and living conditions. The other tour guide, a young woman who was also born and raised in Talkeetna, accompanied us on this portion of the tour, carrying a 12 gauge shotgun over her shoulder. She said it is bear country, and they never go in the woods without being armed, just in case!

 

This was a great day spent on the river, and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Talkeetna!

Year Four - Day Fifty-Six

Summer's View

Today we moved further south down the road to the small town of Talkeetna.  It is about 120 miles from Cantwell. The day was mostly sunny again, and the temperatures were in the low 70’s.

Talkeetna is a quaint little tourist town, primarily setup as a stop for the tour busses that are part of the cruise ship industry.  A street filled with different restaurants and local artisans shops, it is very woodsy and cute. Our campground is only ½  mile from town, so I walked to town to check it out, and stopped for a view of the Sustina River.  Jim and Sam went fishing nearby for a couple of hours. The train depot for the Alaska Railroad is right behind the campground.

 

Year Four - Day Fifty-Five

Summer's View

We took the shuttle bus in Denali National Park today to Eielson Visitor Center, which is about 67 miles into the park on the one and only road. Private vehicles are only allowed to go about 14 miles into the park, so this is the way to see the park’s wildlife and beauty.

It was a gorgeous sunny day, for a BIG change, and the animals were happy to see some sun! We saw 12 Dall Sheep hanging out on the mountainside, 45 caribou at several different locations, and two grizzly bears! One of the bears was rolling around in the grass enjoying the sunny day!

 

The caribou are strange acting creatures, and they HATE the pesky flies and insects that plague all deer. Every one we saw up close was busy trying to rid itself of the bugs. On the way out of the park, one male caribou with a HUGE rack of antlers was walking along the road, and we had to follow him for about 15 minutes until he finally stepped off the side to eat for a while. He kept stopping to look over his shoulder at us along the way – it was funny! The animals are so used to the park busses that they ignore them almost completely.

 

At Eielson Visitor Center, we caught a glimpse of some of Mt. McKinley. Only about 30% of park visitors are so lucky, and hardly any ever see the entire mountain, because clouds hang around it constantly.

It was a great wildlife viewing day!

 

 

Year Four - Day Fifty-Four

Summer's View

Another rainy and cold day, but it cleared off a little in the afternoon. We drove up to the Denali National Park Visitor Center to check it out and get Sam’s park pass book stamped. They had some cool displays on the different wildlife located throughout the park.

We also took their bus down to the kennels to see the sled dog demonstration. This is the only national park that has a working sled dog team, so we learned about some of their routine and missions they complete each year. The dogs run between 3000 and 4000 miles every year on their patrols. Pretty amazing!  Sam loved petting the sled dogs.

 

 

We were planning to hike the trails around the entrance today, but it is raw and cold and rainy, with the temps in the 40’s and wind chills even lower, so we headed back to the warm RV.

 

Year Four - Day Fifty-Three

Summer's View

It is a rainy and cold day, so we are going to drive the Denali Park Highway and check out the sights. This road is 135 miles long, but we are only going to drive about 50 miles in and turn around. It is a gravel road, so the car will be pretty dirty when we get back!

 

 

Although we didn’t see any wildlife, the area is still wild and beautiful. We caught a break in the rain for a few minutes and took a little walk to an overlook with some beautiful ponds and small lakes below. You could see the fish jumping out of the water catching insects!

Sam and Buster enjoyed romping on the mossy ground, and we also caught sight of a Bohemian Waxwing just sitting in a treetop like he was posing for us. The mountain landscape was glorious, as usual.

Year Four - Day Fifty-Two

Summer's View

We moved down the road about 35 miles south to Cantwell RV Park because this one is sold out for the next few nights. This park is remote, at least 30 miles from anywhere. It is right on Denali Road though, so we can drive this road one day just to look for wildlife and stop and hike.

As we were driving here, a huge female moose jumped out on the road and crossed over in front of the RV! Luckily, Jim saw her before she got in the road. We were also watching to see if she had a calf, as most of them do, but she was alone.

Jim and Sam went down the road to do some fishing this afternoon.

Year Four - Day Fifty-One

Summer's View

This afternoon we went on an ATV tour. We rented a three seater. The weather was much better in the afternoon, and the sun actually came out for a while! We rode through some old coal mine property on the edge of Denali National Park, and we had a good time, driving through lots of rocks and pot holes filled with water. We rode through a creek for a while on the way back.

Before leaving the area, we decided to eat the Propector’s Pizzeria again – it was basically the only choice unless you wanted to drive down the road and fight the road construction. Again, food and beer was excellent, service was still slow, but a little better.

Year Four - Day Fifty

Summer's View

Whitewater rafting – enough said? Even though it was windy and cold, we had a lot of fun. They make you wear a dry suit, which is sort of a cross between a wetsuit and overalls. They were uncomfortable and way oversized, but they kept us dry. I would rather go rafting in warmer water and warmer weather so I can move around a little more, but it was still awesome.

 

The first half was a lazy river area, just watching the scenery. The second half we met up with some more people and encountered some class 2 and class 3 rapids. We definitely got wet, on the outside only, though. It was a blast!  We met a great couple who own an exotic zoo in TX, so we have to go visit them next time we are through the area!

Sam is really hooked on rafting – he may want to be an outdoor adventurer when he gets older. He has met a lot of people here that come for the season and work in the industry, and they all love it.

Year Four - Day Forty-Nine

Summer's View

Today we left Fairbanks and headed south to stay at Denali RV Park and Motel, near Denali National Park. Sam was sad to leave his new friend, Joseph, but they exchanged emails and skype names so they can stay in touch. We never got to play that free game of mini golf, so Sam gave it to Joseph.

It took about three hours to go about 120 miles because of heavy road construction, but we finally made it!  Nice little small park, with great wifi! Yay!  We drove down the road about seven miles to check out the place we are meeting in the morning – whitewater rafting down the Nenana River!

After we found it and touched base, we decided to eat at Prospector’s Pizzeria. Great food and great local beer – service was SLOW.  After waiting 15 minutes for our second beer, we had to track down the waiter and let him know we were finished eating.  He then brought the beer, so we had to stay a while longer to finish them. He was nice, but I think the place needed some better management of the personnel. Great setting though!

Year Four - Day Forty-Eight

Summer's View

I opted to stay home today, as it is raining, windy, and in the high 40’s to low 50’s outside. Jim and Sam drove up the road to do some gold panning. Even though they had a slow start and raw weather day, they enjoyed it. Sam has gold fever. I believe he would stay out all day panning for gold.  They didn’t find any, but it didn’t deter them from trying again later.

Better watch out, Parker on Gold Rush, you’ve got competition heading your way!  J

Year Four - Day Forty-Seven

Summer's View

We drove about an hour NE of Fairbanks to visit Chena Hot Springs Resort. It is one of only a few natural hot springs in AK, and we are ready for a dip!  On the drive in, we saw a moose!

The resort is very remote, with a hotel setup and some cabins. They also have an RV park onsite, but we opted to stay in town closer to attractions. They have horses, and the hot springs rock pool, along with some hot tubs and an indoor heated pool. No kids were allowed in the natural rock pool (poor Sam) but he got to enjoy the rest. He met some other boys who were about his age and equally displeased with the age restriction, but they soon forgot about it and spent the next couple of hours playing in the pool and hot tubs.

Also on the property was the Ice Hotel and Museum. It actually has four “rooms” where guests can pay to spend the night. It was made entirely of ice, and filled with ice sculptures, as well as an ice bar with stools, along with the rooms. The temperature inside was 25 degrees – BRRR! The sculptor was onsite, making martini glasses from ice. It was really “cool,” but I think someone would have to be nuts to try to sleep in there!

 

 

On the drive home we saw four more moose, two separate sightings of a mother and calf.  One of them was right next to the road, and we got some great pics!

 

 

Year Four - Day Forty-Six

Summer's View

Today we went to Pioneer Park, which is just down the road from us.  It is a free attraction a lot like Heritage Village in Largo, FL with original houses from the area to look at. These are mostly log cabins that were built around the turn of the 20^th century, and all had signs describing their histories. There was also a riverboat to tour, along with a train that traveled around the park, with a guide to describe the attractions. Some gold dredge equipment, several small museums, and an aviation museum, along with playgrounds, and snack stands and gift shops were also on the property. We enjoyed the aviation museum.

There was a mini golf course, so we played. I won, of course. LOL  At the end, they have a setup where you win a free game if you get a hole in one, and Jim did it!

On the edge of the property was the Alaska Salmon Bake, so we ate dinner there. All you can eat wood fired salmon, prime rib, crab legs, cod, and salad bar with hot dogs for kids (like Sam who don’t know what good food is!).  Yum!  I could barely walk out of there I was so stuffed!

 

Year Four - Day Forty-Five

Summer's View

We were going to have to move to another campground today, but they had openings here at the last minute, so we are now staying put until Tuesday. That made Sam really happy because he gets to spend more time with his new friend! They have been playing at the river and fishing a lot.

Today was a quiet day around the camp, just relaxing and doing bookwork.

Year Four - Day Forty-Four

Summer's  View

We lazed around the camp all morning. Sam has made a friend with another 11 year old boy here at the campground named Joseph. His family is here from Tennessee and they are moving to Fairbanks.

In the afternoon, we rented a canoe and took a two hour trip down the Chena River to the Pumphouse Restaurant, where we waited to be picked up with our canoe and kayak. Sam got his own kayak and loved it! Woo hoo! He even had to eat while we were waiting, because he worked up an appetite! J