Check our BJ's blog at THIS LINK!
We have enjoyed and continue to enjoy this adventure, but that does not mean we have not had some downsides! We did not expect really comfortable temperatures, e/g. 95 degrees or better but we did not expect our drinks to freeze if we left them outside overnight! It is supposed to be Summer!
Well today Summer may have arrived at last!. It is the first day I have been able to wear shorts and short sleeve shirt relatively comfortable all day! I tried it a week or so ago and could not be stay outside for more then 30 minutes so changed into my uniform de-jour for the last 2+ months, genes and sweat shirts.
Well anyway, we are in Anchorage for a few days then will start moving toward Tok and the exit route! We are actually ahead of schedule but we have not been focused on that. We have done and seen what we wanted and plan on continuing to do so.
But, I will be gl;ad to be getting back to WARM WEATHER in Florida in October!!
Always at home, no matter where we are!!
23 July 2014
22 July 2014
Parting
Check our BJ's blog atTHIS LINK!
Well, my brother Gary and his wife, Floy, have left us and started back toward the lower 48! They well be visiting friends in CA and along the way back to Jacksonville FL.
We have really enjoyed travelling with them this Summer. It has made a nice trip and great trip in many aspects. We called him "The Finder" as he was very good at ferreting out places to stay and things to do that BJ and I may not have found!
This trip was his victory tour as he was reclassified this year from being a pancreatic cancer patient to being a pancreatic cancer survivor - it has been 5 years. Along that line one of the highlights of the trip was meeting a couple he had met on-line on the Pancreatic Cancer Network (aka PanCan). They had a family member with pancreatic cancer and we met them for dinner in Homer. They were real Alaskans, versus the Summer Alaskans like us! We enjoyed a great visit and dinner with them both!
While we are certainly going to continue the trip, it is not going to be the same.
Safe Travels. Bro!
Always at home, no matter where we are!!
Well, my brother Gary and his wife, Floy, have left us and started back toward the lower 48! They well be visiting friends in CA and along the way back to Jacksonville FL.
We have really enjoyed travelling with them this Summer. It has made a nice trip and great trip in many aspects. We called him "The Finder" as he was very good at ferreting out places to stay and things to do that BJ and I may not have found!
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| Our first day after they joined us in Muncho Lake, BC in early June |
This trip was his victory tour as he was reclassified this year from being a pancreatic cancer patient to being a pancreatic cancer survivor - it has been 5 years. Along that line one of the highlights of the trip was meeting a couple he had met on-line on the Pancreatic Cancer Network (aka PanCan). They had a family member with pancreatic cancer and we met them for dinner in Homer. They were real Alaskans, versus the Summer Alaskans like us! We enjoyed a great visit and dinner with them both!
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| Washing the rigs at Watson Lake |
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| Warming up at last in Laird Hot Springs |
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| Which way out of this maze, Bro?? |
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| Cruising the Kenai River |
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| My brother, the big fisherman! |
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| It's Happy Hour! |
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| Our final evening together in AK! |
While we are certainly going to continue the trip, it is not going to be the same.
Safe Travels. Bro!
Always at home, no matter where we are!!
21 July 2014
Homer Alaska
Check our BJ's blog at this link!
Homer is at the end Kenai Peninsula and a major fishing port for both commercial and sport fishing! A unique characteristic of Homer is "The Spit". This is a spit of land created several thousand years ago where the currents of Kachemak Bay meet those of Cooks Inlet. It is about 4 miles long and a mix of tourist attractions and marine industry! There are at least 3 RV parks on the spit, but we opted for one in town with full hook-ups.
BJ & Gary were anxious to go halibut fishing but the weather was a little iffy most of the time we were there so BJ made to with posing with a salmon instead.
Gary on the other hand took his chances and went out on one of the boats and came back with some good halibut we cooked and enjoyed!
BJ and I enjoyed a visit and hike to a nature center up behind and above Homer. It gave us some spectacular views.
We also took a day trip on the ferry to Seldovia across Kachemak Bay. It has been there for longer then Homer and was a major port and seafood processing center for the area until March 1964. That was the day of the major earthquake in AK - the strongest one ever recorded in North America and the 2nd strongest one ever recorded at 9.2! It devastated the processing plants and they were not rebuilt. Also, in the 1950's a road was finally built from Anchorage to Homer so Homer was a more convenient location for commercial activities. Seldovia like many other Alaskan cities, e.g. the capital Juneau, is only accessible by air or boat. Of course if you have the skill and resources, not to mention the time, you can always take a dog sled in the Winter!
Always at home, no matter where we are!!
Homer is at the end Kenai Peninsula and a major fishing port for both commercial and sport fishing! A unique characteristic of Homer is "The Spit". This is a spit of land created several thousand years ago where the currents of Kachemak Bay meet those of Cooks Inlet. It is about 4 miles long and a mix of tourist attractions and marine industry! There are at least 3 RV parks on the spit, but we opted for one in town with full hook-ups.
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| The Spit into Kachemak Bay |
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| The harbor on the Spit |
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| A favorite tourist spot on the Spit |
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| An interesting mod for an RV on the Spit! |
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| One of the halibut caught that day! |
BJ & Gary were anxious to go halibut fishing but the weather was a little iffy most of the time we were there so BJ made to with posing with a salmon instead.
Gary on the other hand took his chances and went out on one of the boats and came back with some good halibut we cooked and enjoyed!
BJ and I enjoyed a visit and hike to a nature center up behind and above Homer. It gave us some spectacular views.
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| The view across Kachemak Bay |
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| The view across Cooks Inlet |
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| One of the glaciers across Kachemak Bay |
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| A cache house outside of Homer. Used to store food safely away from the bears! |
We also took a day trip on the ferry to Seldovia across Kachemak Bay. It has been there for longer then Homer and was a major port and seafood processing center for the area until March 1964. That was the day of the major earthquake in AK - the strongest one ever recorded in North America and the 2nd strongest one ever recorded at 9.2! It devastated the processing plants and they were not rebuilt. Also, in the 1950's a road was finally built from Anchorage to Homer so Homer was a more convenient location for commercial activities. Seldovia like many other Alaskan cities, e.g. the capital Juneau, is only accessible by air or boat. Of course if you have the skill and resources, not to mention the time, you can always take a dog sled in the Winter!
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| Legend has it that this was where this boat landed after the Good Friday earthquake in 1964! |
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| I guess some Seldovia residents merit special road crossings! |
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| The road to the airport crosses the slough! |
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| A couple of eagles in Seldova |
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| A sea otter at play in the Seldovia harbor |
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| The old cannery row is now home to shops and homes!! |
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| Another view of the new cannery row! |
Always at home, no matter where we are!!
11 July 2014
On the Kenai Peninsula for the 4th of July!
The Kenai Peninsula is south of Anchorage and is a wonderful place that is known as Alaska's Playground. Alaskans flock here year around to enjoy the great outdoors and in the Summer the tourist add to the flow. It is less then a 100 miles from Anchorage to the northern part of the peninsula and the drive is beautiful and over good roads!
We skipped Seward on the way down but will definitely spend some time on the way out. (Which is back thru Anchorage or by boat!)
We visited Soldotna first and spent the 4th of July at an RV park in the town of Kenai on a high bluff overlooking the mouth of the Kenai River where it enters Cook Inlet. We arrived in time to watch the town's 4th of July Parade - what a great experience BJ and I have enjoyed nearly every year in a different place since we started full timing!
The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed walking of the beach about 125 ft below us before we cooked our hamburgers and enjoyed them with the traditional fixings.
However, since there is no night as I described in several posts back there was a real paucity of fireworks displays, even though I did hear Anchorage did have one at 11PM which is well before sunset!
Check out BJ's blog at The Birding Traveler!
Always at home, no matter where we are!!
We skipped Seward on the way down but will definitely spend some time on the way out. (Which is back thru Anchorage or by boat!)
We visited Soldotna first and spent the 4th of July at an RV park in the town of Kenai on a high bluff overlooking the mouth of the Kenai River where it enters Cook Inlet. We arrived in time to watch the town's 4th of July Parade - what a great experience BJ and I have enjoyed nearly every year in a different place since we started full timing!
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| Everybody loves a parade! |
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| The Color Guard leads the way! |
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| The American Legion and VFW always at the forefront |
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| And the big fire trucks |
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| of all kinds! |
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| Notice the snow capped mountains across Cook Inlet! |
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| Not like a FL beach, for sure! |
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| The mouth of the Kenai River! |
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| The RV park on the bluff above the beach! |
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| The family portrait 4 July 2014, Kenai, AK |
Check out BJ's blog at The Birding Traveler!
Always at home, no matter where we are!!
09 July 2014
Arctic Circle
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| Much of AK is above the Arctic Circle! |
Main part of the trip was on the Dalton Highway which goes all the way to Prudhoe Bay which is 300 miles further down the road then the Arctic Circle. Dalton Highway was mostly a gravel road, but not nearly as rough as the one to Dawson City several weeks earlier.
And, much of the Alaska Pipeline runs along the Dalton Highway. We crossed the Yukon River along the way.
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| Dalton Highway, nearly 500 mi long! |
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| The Alaska Pipeline and the Dalton Highway |
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| Sometimes it is closer then other places! |
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| "The Finger" A natural landmark used by Native Americans over the centuries as well as pilots moving aircraft to Russia as part of the WW II Lend-Lease program and brush pilots in more modern time. |
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| Miles and miles of miles and miles of beautiful country! |
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| The Yukon River |
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| The bridge over the Yukon River! |
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| Getting closer. This is THE rest stop we had! |
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| Those "bends" in the pipeline are part of the system to make it less vulnerable to earthquake damage. They provide some give in the line so it can move without breaking! |
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| This is a cut-away of the pipe showing a "pig" inside the pipe. They send the pigs thru periodically to clean the pipe and make the oil move easier. The crude is about 100 degrees in the pipeline! |
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| 5 hours and at last we are there. BJ & Floy toast the trip! |
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| It was worth the trip; however, the native bird of AK, the mosquito, prevented us from having a picnic. We ate lunch in the vehicles! |
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| Oh no, not another 195 miles! |
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