Quote by snoop
I'm here now, so its time for you to move along. The END OF THE LINE is clearly MINE!!
SEE...!! Its been a week and the End of The Line is still mine. Guess Rebs is not gonna challenge me for it
Find your next favourite story now
Login
snoop
Over 90 days ago
United States
Forum
Active Ink Slinger
EDIT: Nov.2, '17 : I just realized that some of the links are not doing what I had hoped when clicking on the "highlight" portion. You may have to do a copy/paste thing to include the entire link and not just the highlighted portion. Sorry for that.. And thanks for reading.
August 16 … day six
Today began with “luggage out at 7:30AM” followed by breakfast and aboard the coach by 8:45 for a short drive and visit at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. The DK Guide to Alaska says this about the museum: “Packed with natural history, cultural and geological displays, the old wing is worth a visit. The architecturally inspiring new wing is designed to represent mountain ridges, ice, the aurora, and the tail flukes of a sounding whale. Exhibits include a mummified Ice Age bison, Inuit carvings, and native costumes.”
I’m disappointed that I’m unable to find a website that really shows much of anything inside this building. It IS a unique structure and has many different displays on the inside as you would expect in most any museum. When you get to this web site of photos, scroll past the first block of pictures and you’ll begin to see some of the displays inside … just wish there were more. It really was a good place to “visit and see” : https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=university+alaska+museum+of+the+north&id=6BD0C8DC6B15087A09B4DFD4A056C0D3BE5F7A06&FORM=IARRTH
Merry Christmas!! … from North Pole, Alaska. This stop on our drive is “pure touristy” but it was a good rest stop and place to stretch our legs. I barely got inside and turned around to go back outside … way too many people crowded in this place for me. It did provide an opportunity for a “group picture” made by Wanda’s husband, Ron. Visit this website and learn more about the North Pole and the Santa Clause House: http://www.santaclaushouse.com/about.asp
It was a long day of riding on the Alaskan Highway. This road was built in 1942 as part of the wartime actions to connect the Territory of Alaska with the lower 48 states. There have been some additional sections added since the original was built and the current official mileage today is 1422 miles. We even experienced some unpaved miles and ever present “orange barrels and road construction”. Wikipedia gives us almost too much info about the history and construction of this famed road: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Highway and here you’ll find plenty of modern day pictures of this famed highway: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=alaska+highway&qpvt=alaskan+highway . If you’ll take the time to read this, its someone’s accounting (realistic) of a modern day trip on the famed highway in a rental RV: http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-alcan-highway-road-trip-20150702-htmlstory.html
Remember our seeing and learning about the Alaskan Pipeline? We saw it again when it crossed the Tanana River. This is just a portion of a website I copied that applies most directly to this subject: “
Long Description:
The span between the tower is 1,200 feet and this bridge is the second longest of the 13 major bridges along the 800 mile pipeline length. A suspension bridge was used at this site due to the cost and danger of other crossing techniques. A more traditional truss bridge would have required footings to be place directly in the river with a strong current and would have been more costly to construct and maintain. Due to the strong current it was determined that burying the pipeline under the river as used for other river crossings would not be safe as the scouring action of the river could uncover the pipe and expose it to the rocks moved by the river when in flood stage.
The bridge employs for 2-3/4 inch cables in each of its main cables and wind cables of 2 5/8 inch diameter on each side. The bridge employs nearly 25,000 feet of cable in its construction.
Due to the soil conditions along the Tanana River the towers and anchors are set on pilings driver 68 feet in depth into the ground. The towers each rest on 32 piles and the main cable anchors rest on 81 piles. More than 18,000 feet of pilings were used in the construction.
The bridge is designed to withstand a magnitude 7.5 scale earthquake and also to withstand a wind speed in excess of 100 mph.
About 155 pipeline miles south another suspension bridge spanning the Tazlina River is about 600 feet longer and is the longest bridge on the pipeline.
“ In this collection of pictures you only really need to see the first block of photos. The very first photo has the highway bridge (we were on that highway) and the pipeline bridge off to the left: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tanana+river+pipeline+bridge&qpvt=tanana+river+pipeline+bridge
Further down the road, we stopped at the Visitor Center for Delta Junction, Alaska for a short rest stop. It was very windy and therefore cool, but Carol and I had an ice cream cone from an adjoining shop. Scroll down and see if you can find a pic of the life size “juvenile” Alaskan mosquitoes: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=visitor+center+delta+junction+alaska&qpvt=visitor+center+delta+junction+alaska
A few miles further down the road was our destination for the night … The Golden Bear Motel in the town of Tok. It was by far our most humble lodging of the trip, but was very clean and comfortable. We got there ahead of the “yellow group” and this place was able to accommodate both tour buses in a very efficient manner. Our dinner this evening was not fancy but was served buffet style and really quite tasty and filling. Holiday tours had arranged for an evening program by a local dog musher … Hugh Neff … who educated us more on the day to day lifestyle he lives. He even had a couple or his retirees with him who wandered the assembly room looking for friendly pats, ear rubs, and back scratches. He had a dog sled with him and showed us the construction of it. As he spoke, images of dogs and sleds played on the screen. Meet Hugh Neff : http://iditarod.com/race/2014/mushers/102-Hugh-Neff/ and read here how fortunate he is to even be alive: https://www.adn.com/iditarod/article/iditarod-rescuer-recounts-finding-frozen-emotional-hugh-neff/2014/03/21/ The yellow group heard the program while we ate dinner and then we “switched”.
Its been a lot of driving today along the Alaskan Highway. Carol was able to mail home some heavy stuff so our carry-on luggage would still be light enough to carry. Good nite!!
August 16 … day six
Today began with “luggage out at 7:30AM” followed by breakfast and aboard the coach by 8:45 for a short drive and visit at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. The DK Guide to Alaska says this about the museum: “Packed with natural history, cultural and geological displays, the old wing is worth a visit. The architecturally inspiring new wing is designed to represent mountain ridges, ice, the aurora, and the tail flukes of a sounding whale. Exhibits include a mummified Ice Age bison, Inuit carvings, and native costumes.”
I’m disappointed that I’m unable to find a website that really shows much of anything inside this building. It IS a unique structure and has many different displays on the inside as you would expect in most any museum. When you get to this web site of photos, scroll past the first block of pictures and you’ll begin to see some of the displays inside … just wish there were more. It really was a good place to “visit and see” : https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=university+alaska+museum+of+the+north&id=6BD0C8DC6B15087A09B4DFD4A056C0D3BE5F7A06&FORM=IARRTH
Merry Christmas!! … from North Pole, Alaska. This stop on our drive is “pure touristy” but it was a good rest stop and place to stretch our legs. I barely got inside and turned around to go back outside … way too many people crowded in this place for me. It did provide an opportunity for a “group picture” made by Wanda’s husband, Ron. Visit this website and learn more about the North Pole and the Santa Clause House: http://www.santaclaushouse.com/about.asp
It was a long day of riding on the Alaskan Highway. This road was built in 1942 as part of the wartime actions to connect the Territory of Alaska with the lower 48 states. There have been some additional sections added since the original was built and the current official mileage today is 1422 miles. We even experienced some unpaved miles and ever present “orange barrels and road construction”. Wikipedia gives us almost too much info about the history and construction of this famed road: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Highway and here you’ll find plenty of modern day pictures of this famed highway: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=alaska+highway&qpvt=alaskan+highway . If you’ll take the time to read this, its someone’s accounting (realistic) of a modern day trip on the famed highway in a rental RV: http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-alcan-highway-road-trip-20150702-htmlstory.html
Remember our seeing and learning about the Alaskan Pipeline? We saw it again when it crossed the Tanana River. This is just a portion of a website I copied that applies most directly to this subject: “
Long Description:
The span between the tower is 1,200 feet and this bridge is the second longest of the 13 major bridges along the 800 mile pipeline length. A suspension bridge was used at this site due to the cost and danger of other crossing techniques. A more traditional truss bridge would have required footings to be place directly in the river with a strong current and would have been more costly to construct and maintain. Due to the strong current it was determined that burying the pipeline under the river as used for other river crossings would not be safe as the scouring action of the river could uncover the pipe and expose it to the rocks moved by the river when in flood stage.
The bridge employs for 2-3/4 inch cables in each of its main cables and wind cables of 2 5/8 inch diameter on each side. The bridge employs nearly 25,000 feet of cable in its construction.
Due to the soil conditions along the Tanana River the towers and anchors are set on pilings driver 68 feet in depth into the ground. The towers each rest on 32 piles and the main cable anchors rest on 81 piles. More than 18,000 feet of pilings were used in the construction.
The bridge is designed to withstand a magnitude 7.5 scale earthquake and also to withstand a wind speed in excess of 100 mph.
About 155 pipeline miles south another suspension bridge spanning the Tazlina River is about 600 feet longer and is the longest bridge on the pipeline.
“ In this collection of pictures you only really need to see the first block of photos. The very first photo has the highway bridge (we were on that highway) and the pipeline bridge off to the left: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tanana+river+pipeline+bridge&qpvt=tanana+river+pipeline+bridge
Further down the road, we stopped at the Visitor Center for Delta Junction, Alaska for a short rest stop. It was very windy and therefore cool, but Carol and I had an ice cream cone from an adjoining shop. Scroll down and see if you can find a pic of the life size “juvenile” Alaskan mosquitoes: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=visitor+center+delta+junction+alaska&qpvt=visitor+center+delta+junction+alaska
A few miles further down the road was our destination for the night … The Golden Bear Motel in the town of Tok. It was by far our most humble lodging of the trip, but was very clean and comfortable. We got there ahead of the “yellow group” and this place was able to accommodate both tour buses in a very efficient manner. Our dinner this evening was not fancy but was served buffet style and really quite tasty and filling. Holiday tours had arranged for an evening program by a local dog musher … Hugh Neff … who educated us more on the day to day lifestyle he lives. He even had a couple or his retirees with him who wandered the assembly room looking for friendly pats, ear rubs, and back scratches. He had a dog sled with him and showed us the construction of it. As he spoke, images of dogs and sleds played on the screen. Meet Hugh Neff : http://iditarod.com/race/2014/mushers/102-Hugh-Neff/ and read here how fortunate he is to even be alive: https://www.adn.com/iditarod/article/iditarod-rescuer-recounts-finding-frozen-emotional-hugh-neff/2014/03/21/ The yellow group heard the program while we ate dinner and then we “switched”.
Its been a lot of driving today along the Alaskan Highway. Carol was able to mail home some heavy stuff so our carry-on luggage would still be light enough to carry. Good nite!!
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by elizabethblackQuote by snoop
August 15 … Day five
“The glass is inverted – to symbolize their inability to share a toast.
Rick this is beautiful and moving. Appreciate you taking the time to copy the card and describe it in such detail. Your writing and description is so good I feel like I am with you on this trip.
This was so moving and beautiful. I appreciate you taking the time to copy what it said. You do such a wonderful job of making me feel I was along with you.
“The chairs are empty – they are missing. “
(I’ve searched for a web based photo of this, but am unable to locate one.)
Elizabeth ... I searched high and low for a pic of this and like you ... could not find one. Its really a shame as it was a quiet, moving, and dignified setting. Thank you for your comment ... wish you could have been along. I appreciate your making the effort to read this narrative series.
Active Ink Slinger
EDIT: Nov.2, '17 : I just realized that some of the links are not doing what I had hoped when clicking on the "highlight" portion. You may have to do a copy/paste thing to include the entire link and not just the highlighted portion. Sorry for that.. And thanks for reading.
August 15 … Day five
We actually got to sleep in a bit late this morning and had breakfast at 8:00AM in the hotel dining room.
As we were leaving the dining room, we noticed a small table beside the dining entrance that was formally set up and had a single chair tipped forward in a “reserved position”. Across the plate was an American Flag in the triangular folded manner designated for a deceased military person. Also on the table was a Bible, a single red rose in a bud vase with a red ribbon, and a card with the following explanation.
“The table is round – to show our everlasting concern.
“The cloth is white – symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to service.
“The single red rose reminds us of the lives of these Americans, and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, while seeking answers.
“The red ribbon symbolizes our continued determination to account for them.
“A slice of lemon reminds us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.
“A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears of our missing and their families who long for answers after decades of uncertainty.
“The lighted candle reflects our hope for their return – alive or dead.
“The Bible represents the strength gained through faith in our country, founded as one nation under God, to sustain those lost from our midst.
“The glass is inverted – to symbolize their inability to share a toast.
“The chairs are empty – they are missing. “
(I’ve searched for a web based photo of this, but am unable to locate one.)
We boarded the coach at 9:50 to go see an informative display and presentation about the Alyesko (Alaskan) Pipe Line … The Gold Dredge #8 … and a cruise on a riverboat on the Chena River.
At the pipeline, we were able to see a cut out cross section of the pipeline and a couple of the “pigs” used in the movement of the petroleum through the line. One pig is used to separate the products being transferred by the line and then there was a “smart pig” that is periodically used to detect and clean out any impurities. This is done about every 12 – 14 days or sooner if needed.
The narrator of the pipeline presentation then took us on an open car train ride that wound through a small tract of land. There were several stops along the way where we could see different facets of the history of “gold dredging” and he got off at several of the stops to demonstrate the equipment. At one of the stops, several folk stepped up to the cars and demonstrated the process of “panning for gold”. Also, we would have the opportunity to actually do some gold panning for ourselves. “… the RUSH is on!! “. Here you’ll learn a bit more about our day: https://www.travelalaska.com/Partners/GoldDredge8/Displays/17DO30_Fairbanks.aspx As we got off the little train, we were each handed a small leather bag of soil / dirt and shown to an area that had rows of benches facing a water trough where we could start our panning. This will give you a few more photos : https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=gold+dredge+%238+fairbanks+alaska&qpvt=gold+dredge+%238+fairbanks+alaska
So, we did do some panning for gold and between us we had just pennies less than $25.00 worth of gold flecks collected. We combined our treasure and Carol had a pair of earrings made showcasing the gold flecks. That cost us $30.00 !! I got amused at the guide when we boarded the train for a ride back to the parking lot. He asked: “Do any of you gents actually have the gold you panned? Show of hands please. I see three hands up, so you guys are ‘single’.” Yes … the rush is on!! It turned out to be a fun experience. LOL!!
After the “rigorous” task of panning for gold we re-boarded the coach and Larry drove us to Steamboat Landing for an ‘included’ lunch before we were to board the Riverboat Discovery. Lunch was miner’s stew, roasted veggies, rolls, and dessert and it was all served family style. The wait staff kept our tea glasses full and brought any needed extras like rolls, etc. I have a gut feeling that there were probably in excess of 1000 folk in that dining room at one time and the staff made pleasant quick work of serving such a large crowd. This may explain a bit more about what kind of fun experience we had on this riverboat even though it was misty raining part of the time. BTW, plastic ponchos were passed out to help keep folk dry. Be SURE to see the short video in this site. You dog lovers be prepared for a big dose of puppy love and cuteness:
http://riverboatdiscovery.com/
Shortly after boarding the paddle-wheeler for the river cruise … and getting started … we were surprised that a small float plane “buzzed” the boat a couple times and then landed alongside us on the river. It was after this that the announcer aboard the boat began a two way conversation with the pilot of the plane. They talked about the weather, etc. and then the pilot did a couple takeoffs and landings along each side of the boat to demonstrate the aircraft capabilities. Here are several videos of float plane in action … take your pick: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=float+plane+chena+river+fairbanks+alaska&qpvt=float+plane+chena+river+fairbanks+alaska&FORM=VDRE and enjoy the ride.
Continuing our sedate cruise we stopped along side a home with a bunch of barking dogs! This was the TRAIL BREAKER KENNELS that was started by a woman named Susan Butcher and her husband David Monson. These folks were dog mushers / racers. Susan passed away at age 51 in 2006 and this kennel is continued by her husband and two daughters. When we stopped,Tekla (one of her daughters) told us a bit about her remarkable mom and the kennel. She explained how the dogs are raised with love and affection, and that they begin learning skills very early. While she was talking to us, one of her assistants was playing with some 6 – 8 puppies that she said were 5 weeks old.
The pups were playing / learning to follow a leader and to overcome obstacles. In this case, they were climbing over logs. This would be a “dream job” if you loved playing with that many squirming, climbing, kissing puppies!! Please take a few minutes to meet Susan Butcher and discover what a persevering woman she was: http://www.themarkofaleader.com/susan-butcher-champion-musher/ You’ll find several videos here, but the second one “playing with the puppies” is perhaps my favorite: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=trail+breaker+kennel+videos&qpvt=trail+breaker+kennel+videos&FORM=VDRE
I was thoroughly (and very favorably) impressed with the way the river tour attractions were presented. Our guide on the boat was able to easily carry on a conversation with the folk on shore via radio headsets when we stopped at each attraction. The thing that really impressed us was this steamboat excursion wasn’t just “touristy” but was actually well presented and quite educational. We passed a herd of reindeer or caribou and marveled at their impressive racks. We did learn the difference between reindeer and caribou. Are you ready ?? … wait for it !! … “only reindeer can fly!” lol!
The boat paused at the confluence of the Tenana and Chena rivers while our announcer pointed out that the Tenana River was a “glacier sourced” river and that the Chena was not. The Tenana water was cloudy from silt from the glacier. (It may also be spelled correctly as “Tanana”) What you are seeing here is the glacial silt suspended in the water (appears white in the video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG15aib0gzQ
At another stop along the river, we disembarked at the Athabascan Indian Cultural display. This stop proved to be very informative and the young people at the display were especially delightful and both were very well spoken and knowledgeable about their material. This site explains about the Athabascans and some of the efforts being used today to retain their heritage and culture: http://www.explorenorth.com/library/aktravel/bl-atha.htm The young man was a rising junior in high school and the young lady will be a freshman in Arizona this fall. The boy is full blood Athabascan and the girl is half Athabascan and half Navaho. We were able to speak to them individually and they were both friendly kids. Let me share this site with you:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60826-d255215-i160347601-Riverboat_Discovery-Fairbanks_Alaska.html. This day’s experiences will be highlights in our memories.
After we returned to the hotel … tired but very happy with the day’s activities … Carol and our friends walked some nine blocks to the Golden Heart Plaza. There she found a Malcolm Alexander statue of “the Unknown First Family” … “a monument to the unwavering spirit of the families past, present, and future who endure in this great land with pride and dignity.” http://www.explorenorth.com/alaska/images/unknown_first_family-4486.html
I’ll see you tomorrow … I’m tired!!
August 15 … Day five
We actually got to sleep in a bit late this morning and had breakfast at 8:00AM in the hotel dining room.
As we were leaving the dining room, we noticed a small table beside the dining entrance that was formally set up and had a single chair tipped forward in a “reserved position”. Across the plate was an American Flag in the triangular folded manner designated for a deceased military person. Also on the table was a Bible, a single red rose in a bud vase with a red ribbon, and a card with the following explanation.
“The table is round – to show our everlasting concern.
“The cloth is white – symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to service.
“The single red rose reminds us of the lives of these Americans, and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, while seeking answers.
“The red ribbon symbolizes our continued determination to account for them.
“A slice of lemon reminds us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.
“A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears of our missing and their families who long for answers after decades of uncertainty.
“The lighted candle reflects our hope for their return – alive or dead.
“The Bible represents the strength gained through faith in our country, founded as one nation under God, to sustain those lost from our midst.
“The glass is inverted – to symbolize their inability to share a toast.
“The chairs are empty – they are missing. “
(I’ve searched for a web based photo of this, but am unable to locate one.)
We boarded the coach at 9:50 to go see an informative display and presentation about the Alyesko (Alaskan) Pipe Line … The Gold Dredge #8 … and a cruise on a riverboat on the Chena River.
At the pipeline, we were able to see a cut out cross section of the pipeline and a couple of the “pigs” used in the movement of the petroleum through the line. One pig is used to separate the products being transferred by the line and then there was a “smart pig” that is periodically used to detect and clean out any impurities. This is done about every 12 – 14 days or sooner if needed.
The narrator of the pipeline presentation then took us on an open car train ride that wound through a small tract of land. There were several stops along the way where we could see different facets of the history of “gold dredging” and he got off at several of the stops to demonstrate the equipment. At one of the stops, several folk stepped up to the cars and demonstrated the process of “panning for gold”. Also, we would have the opportunity to actually do some gold panning for ourselves. “… the RUSH is on!! “. Here you’ll learn a bit more about our day: https://www.travelalaska.com/Partners/GoldDredge8/Displays/17DO30_Fairbanks.aspx As we got off the little train, we were each handed a small leather bag of soil / dirt and shown to an area that had rows of benches facing a water trough where we could start our panning. This will give you a few more photos : https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=gold+dredge+%238+fairbanks+alaska&qpvt=gold+dredge+%238+fairbanks+alaska
So, we did do some panning for gold and between us we had just pennies less than $25.00 worth of gold flecks collected. We combined our treasure and Carol had a pair of earrings made showcasing the gold flecks. That cost us $30.00 !! I got amused at the guide when we boarded the train for a ride back to the parking lot. He asked: “Do any of you gents actually have the gold you panned? Show of hands please. I see three hands up, so you guys are ‘single’.” Yes … the rush is on!! It turned out to be a fun experience. LOL!!
After the “rigorous” task of panning for gold we re-boarded the coach and Larry drove us to Steamboat Landing for an ‘included’ lunch before we were to board the Riverboat Discovery. Lunch was miner’s stew, roasted veggies, rolls, and dessert and it was all served family style. The wait staff kept our tea glasses full and brought any needed extras like rolls, etc. I have a gut feeling that there were probably in excess of 1000 folk in that dining room at one time and the staff made pleasant quick work of serving such a large crowd. This may explain a bit more about what kind of fun experience we had on this riverboat even though it was misty raining part of the time. BTW, plastic ponchos were passed out to help keep folk dry. Be SURE to see the short video in this site. You dog lovers be prepared for a big dose of puppy love and cuteness:
http://riverboatdiscovery.com/
Shortly after boarding the paddle-wheeler for the river cruise … and getting started … we were surprised that a small float plane “buzzed” the boat a couple times and then landed alongside us on the river. It was after this that the announcer aboard the boat began a two way conversation with the pilot of the plane. They talked about the weather, etc. and then the pilot did a couple takeoffs and landings along each side of the boat to demonstrate the aircraft capabilities. Here are several videos of float plane in action … take your pick: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=float+plane+chena+river+fairbanks+alaska&qpvt=float+plane+chena+river+fairbanks+alaska&FORM=VDRE and enjoy the ride.
Continuing our sedate cruise we stopped along side a home with a bunch of barking dogs! This was the TRAIL BREAKER KENNELS that was started by a woman named Susan Butcher and her husband David Monson. These folks were dog mushers / racers. Susan passed away at age 51 in 2006 and this kennel is continued by her husband and two daughters. When we stopped,Tekla (one of her daughters) told us a bit about her remarkable mom and the kennel. She explained how the dogs are raised with love and affection, and that they begin learning skills very early. While she was talking to us, one of her assistants was playing with some 6 – 8 puppies that she said were 5 weeks old.
The pups were playing / learning to follow a leader and to overcome obstacles. In this case, they were climbing over logs. This would be a “dream job” if you loved playing with that many squirming, climbing, kissing puppies!! Please take a few minutes to meet Susan Butcher and discover what a persevering woman she was: http://www.themarkofaleader.com/susan-butcher-champion-musher/ You’ll find several videos here, but the second one “playing with the puppies” is perhaps my favorite: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=trail+breaker+kennel+videos&qpvt=trail+breaker+kennel+videos&FORM=VDRE
I was thoroughly (and very favorably) impressed with the way the river tour attractions were presented. Our guide on the boat was able to easily carry on a conversation with the folk on shore via radio headsets when we stopped at each attraction. The thing that really impressed us was this steamboat excursion wasn’t just “touristy” but was actually well presented and quite educational. We passed a herd of reindeer or caribou and marveled at their impressive racks. We did learn the difference between reindeer and caribou. Are you ready ?? … wait for it !! … “only reindeer can fly!” lol!
The boat paused at the confluence of the Tenana and Chena rivers while our announcer pointed out that the Tenana River was a “glacier sourced” river and that the Chena was not. The Tenana water was cloudy from silt from the glacier. (It may also be spelled correctly as “Tanana”) What you are seeing here is the glacial silt suspended in the water (appears white in the video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG15aib0gzQ
At another stop along the river, we disembarked at the Athabascan Indian Cultural display. This stop proved to be very informative and the young people at the display were especially delightful and both were very well spoken and knowledgeable about their material. This site explains about the Athabascans and some of the efforts being used today to retain their heritage and culture: http://www.explorenorth.com/library/aktravel/bl-atha.htm The young man was a rising junior in high school and the young lady will be a freshman in Arizona this fall. The boy is full blood Athabascan and the girl is half Athabascan and half Navaho. We were able to speak to them individually and they were both friendly kids. Let me share this site with you:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60826-d255215-i160347601-Riverboat_Discovery-Fairbanks_Alaska.html. This day’s experiences will be highlights in our memories.
After we returned to the hotel … tired but very happy with the day’s activities … Carol and our friends walked some nine blocks to the Golden Heart Plaza. There she found a Malcolm Alexander statue of “the Unknown First Family” … “a monument to the unwavering spirit of the families past, present, and future who endure in this great land with pride and dignity.” http://www.explorenorth.com/alaska/images/unknown_first_family-4486.html
I’ll see you tomorrow … I’m tired!!
Active Ink Slinger
EDIT: Nov.2, '17 : I just realized that some of the links are not doing what I had hoped when clicking on the "highlight" portion. You may have to do a copy/paste thing to include the entire link and not just the highlighted portion. Sorry for that.. And thanks for reading.
August 14 … day four
Carol writes: Our LONG day began with breakfast in the theater from 4:30 to 5:15AM, and we had to have our bags outside our door before that for Larry to oad onto our coach. The coach opened at 5:15 for any incidental carry-ons. Dana D. , the Park Ranger who would drive us through Denali National Park today, met us outside the hotel with an old (converted) school bus. We left at 5:50 for our all day Tundra Tour on the only road in the park. It is closed to private cars and large motor coaches in summer.”
“Alaska’s ATHABASCAN indians called the mountain my several names, but they all mean essentially the same thing: “The Great One”. Denali was the most common and popular of these names. However, the mountain was named (by the hubristic white invaders) “Mt, McKinley in 1896 in honor of the US President. The name stood until 2015 when President Obama officially renamed the mountain DENALI, It is north America’s highest peak at 20,320 ft.” (as of 2015, 20,310 ft….??). This taken from Insight Guides Alaska.
Now … this is MY feelings about the day. The park was rugged and wild and we did see some few animals off in the distance partly due to Dana’s keen eyes spotting them.
I don’t like school buses … they ride too hard and the seats are too cramped for my long legs. The ONLY savings grace … in my humble opinion … is that there were drop down video screens. Dana had a good video camera with a telescopic lense that was connected to the videos screens. She would periodically stop the bus and show us something via the video system. What I did NOT like about the day (other than being on a school bus) is that this woman started talking when she picked us up at the lodge and did not really cease until we returned to the lodge over 8 hours later. The road we were on is a narrow gravel road and had no guard rails and she was all over the road while driving … talking … and looking for some tiny, tiny speck of something she said was a bear, or wild sheep, or maybe a deer. I felt the bus slip a few times when she got close to the edge of the roadway. In other words … SHE SCARED ME TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG!! They really need two people on these buses … one to do nothing but drive and the other to look for wildlife and do the talking etc.
We stopped at a “rest area” in the park for a break before proceeding to our turn around area. We had gone maybe a mile when Dana stopped for some wildlife observation and somebody on the bus let us all know that there was “smoke” coming up near their window. The bus was on fire and we had to all quickly get off. Fortunately it was an electrical issue with no flames, but we couldn’t go anymore in that bus. After several two-way radio calls, there was another bus sent up from the rest area that took us back to the rest area to wait for a replacement vehicle. It was another “tour bus” and that driver just came to our rescue before collecting his group and proceeding. We had about a 90 minute wait before the replacement bus arrived and we were all ready to return to the lodge. NO!! Dana continued on (over our protests) to make sure we got the whole package tour before returning to the lodge. We were NOT happy.
Explore this website for some pics or the park and some animals: https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm You’ll see some spectacular scenery here … and it WAS spectacular when the clouds or fog lifted briefly: https://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/denali-national-park-and-preserve
After the wild experience on the Tundra Tour, we were all pleased to see Larry and that beautiful, luxurious, motor coach. It felt almost like a castle on wheels. We still had 135 miles to go to Fairbanks. Included in out itinerary for the day was a stop off at the “Salmon Bake”. The food was grilled outside but due to a light rain / mist we ate inside. The entry to this was made like a mine tunnel. The food was good and especially the desserts. We didn’t see the theater program, but the little video on this site shows a bit of what this place does. Filling meal: http://www.alaska.org/detail/alaska-salmon-bake
After our filling meal, Larry took us to the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel that would be our home for two nights.
When we arrived at the Westmark, one of our Vietnam vets looked ghastly as he and his wife got off of the coach. He sat on a bench near the door and two of the other vets who had EMT training assessed Jim. After the rest of us went to our rooms on the third floor, Jim and Jean came up with the two vets to the room next to ours and found that someone else (not with our group) already had their room. They came to our room where RC called the desk to ask for another room for Jim and was told they could have room 736. Jean was very apprehensive about being four floors away from friends, so Carol went to the desk with RC and Diane. Carol asked if we could give Jim and Jean our room and that we would take 736.. This turned out to be a good solution. It seemed even more so to our benefit as the new room was a mini-suite. We were also able to do a bit of laundry in the sink of the kitchen portion of the suite.
(The next morning, Jean would tell us that Jim has PTSD and having to get off of the smoking bus made him think he was going to die. He was able to sleep and felt much better the next day. Also, Jean soon found out that there were several sets of eyes watching over Jim for the balance of the trip. After that, I found several excuses to sit and visit with Jim … he talked about his military service and I was “watching” him.)
This was a tiring day and fortunately we could sleep in as we were told to be ready to board the coach at 9:50 the next morning.
ZZZZzzzz!!
August 14 … day four
Carol writes: Our LONG day began with breakfast in the theater from 4:30 to 5:15AM, and we had to have our bags outside our door before that for Larry to oad onto our coach. The coach opened at 5:15 for any incidental carry-ons. Dana D. , the Park Ranger who would drive us through Denali National Park today, met us outside the hotel with an old (converted) school bus. We left at 5:50 for our all day Tundra Tour on the only road in the park. It is closed to private cars and large motor coaches in summer.”
“Alaska’s ATHABASCAN indians called the mountain my several names, but they all mean essentially the same thing: “The Great One”. Denali was the most common and popular of these names. However, the mountain was named (by the hubristic white invaders) “Mt, McKinley in 1896 in honor of the US President. The name stood until 2015 when President Obama officially renamed the mountain DENALI, It is north America’s highest peak at 20,320 ft.” (as of 2015, 20,310 ft….??). This taken from Insight Guides Alaska.
Now … this is MY feelings about the day. The park was rugged and wild and we did see some few animals off in the distance partly due to Dana’s keen eyes spotting them.
I don’t like school buses … they ride too hard and the seats are too cramped for my long legs. The ONLY savings grace … in my humble opinion … is that there were drop down video screens. Dana had a good video camera with a telescopic lense that was connected to the videos screens. She would periodically stop the bus and show us something via the video system. What I did NOT like about the day (other than being on a school bus) is that this woman started talking when she picked us up at the lodge and did not really cease until we returned to the lodge over 8 hours later. The road we were on is a narrow gravel road and had no guard rails and she was all over the road while driving … talking … and looking for some tiny, tiny speck of something she said was a bear, or wild sheep, or maybe a deer. I felt the bus slip a few times when she got close to the edge of the roadway. In other words … SHE SCARED ME TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG!! They really need two people on these buses … one to do nothing but drive and the other to look for wildlife and do the talking etc.
We stopped at a “rest area” in the park for a break before proceeding to our turn around area. We had gone maybe a mile when Dana stopped for some wildlife observation and somebody on the bus let us all know that there was “smoke” coming up near their window. The bus was on fire and we had to all quickly get off. Fortunately it was an electrical issue with no flames, but we couldn’t go anymore in that bus. After several two-way radio calls, there was another bus sent up from the rest area that took us back to the rest area to wait for a replacement vehicle. It was another “tour bus” and that driver just came to our rescue before collecting his group and proceeding. We had about a 90 minute wait before the replacement bus arrived and we were all ready to return to the lodge. NO!! Dana continued on (over our protests) to make sure we got the whole package tour before returning to the lodge. We were NOT happy.
Explore this website for some pics or the park and some animals: https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm You’ll see some spectacular scenery here … and it WAS spectacular when the clouds or fog lifted briefly: https://www.nationalparks.org/explore-parks/denali-national-park-and-preserve
After the wild experience on the Tundra Tour, we were all pleased to see Larry and that beautiful, luxurious, motor coach. It felt almost like a castle on wheels. We still had 135 miles to go to Fairbanks. Included in out itinerary for the day was a stop off at the “Salmon Bake”. The food was grilled outside but due to a light rain / mist we ate inside. The entry to this was made like a mine tunnel. The food was good and especially the desserts. We didn’t see the theater program, but the little video on this site shows a bit of what this place does. Filling meal: http://www.alaska.org/detail/alaska-salmon-bake
After our filling meal, Larry took us to the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel that would be our home for two nights.
When we arrived at the Westmark, one of our Vietnam vets looked ghastly as he and his wife got off of the coach. He sat on a bench near the door and two of the other vets who had EMT training assessed Jim. After the rest of us went to our rooms on the third floor, Jim and Jean came up with the two vets to the room next to ours and found that someone else (not with our group) already had their room. They came to our room where RC called the desk to ask for another room for Jim and was told they could have room 736. Jean was very apprehensive about being four floors away from friends, so Carol went to the desk with RC and Diane. Carol asked if we could give Jim and Jean our room and that we would take 736.. This turned out to be a good solution. It seemed even more so to our benefit as the new room was a mini-suite. We were also able to do a bit of laundry in the sink of the kitchen portion of the suite.
(The next morning, Jean would tell us that Jim has PTSD and having to get off of the smoking bus made him think he was going to die. He was able to sleep and felt much better the next day. Also, Jean soon found out that there were several sets of eyes watching over Jim for the balance of the trip. After that, I found several excuses to sit and visit with Jim … he talked about his military service and I was “watching” him.)
This was a tiring day and fortunately we could sleep in as we were told to be ready to board the coach at 9:50 the next morning.
ZZZZzzzz!!
Active Ink Slinger
EDIT: Nov.2, '17 : I just realized that some of the links are not doing what I had hoped when clicking on the "highlight" portion. You may have to do a copy/paste thing to include the entire link and not just the highlighted portion. Sorry for that.. And thanks for reading.
August 13 … Day three
Today started off sunny with temperatures in the 60 – 65F range. We had our “luggage” (two carry-on sized pieces) ready to be picked up outside our hotel room door. We also had time to eat and enjoy the cinnamon rolls purchased yesterday. And we boarded the coach at 8:30AM and met yet another new coach driver … Larry. He was to be with us for the rest of the trip until we got to Skagway for the cruise portion of the tour. Larry was kind enough to play the song, “North to Alaska”as we headed toward Wasilla and the Iditarod Headquarters.
I think all in our group were genuinely impressed with the Iditarod Headquarters and the story behind this famous race. Carol writes in her scrapbook / journal about the significance of the race and its famous dog, Balto: “Balto and the serum run” … IN 1925, SEVERAL Inuit children in Nome, Alaska were very sick with diphtheria and an epidemic was feared. The only anti-toxin was in a hospital in Anchorage, 1000 miles away. Pack ice closed the port of Nome to ships, and a train could only take the serum to Nenana where the tracks ended. A relay of dog sled teams carried it the remaining 674 miles. Balto led his team the final 53 miles through a heavy blizzard and temperatures of -50F to deliver the serum.
“Beginning in 1973, the Iditarod Sled Dog race has been run yearly to commemorate this serum run and the role of sled dogs in Alaska’s settlement. The grueling race now covers the full 1000 miles from Anchorage to Nome.
“The heroic story of Balto touched the whole nation. The people of New York City raised funds to have a statue of Balto erected in Central Park … it is still there.”
One thing we all learned is that these dogs are not forced to run … its in their blood to want to run. They are well cared for and much loved by the mushers. During this race … and other races also … there are vets stationed about ever 10 miles or so and each dog is thoroughly examined for foot / paw issues as well as sore muscles. All dogs wear boots for protection and a team may go through a 1000 boots per race!! These dogs are well cared for … petted and babied and loved by their owners and trainers. We were supposed to be given an opportunity to pet the puppies, but Mother Nature had other wet ideas. I’ll have more to say about dogs later on.
Other than a stop for a meal, our next point of interest was the ALASKA VETERANS MEMORIAL . It is a quiet place dedicated to the rememberance of the veterans of Alaska who served their country throughout the world. There were six veterans in our tour group and we proudly recognized their contributions as we made a picture of them in front of this memorial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Veterans_Memorial This memorial was inside the boundaries of Denali Park.
Our destination was the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/denali-lodge/photo-gallery/ As you can see in the photos, its NOT too terribly shabby!! I do believe all of us would have enjoyed a second night here, but the costs would have been prohibitive. The grounds were lovely and well cared for and the rooms were quite comfortable. After settling in our rooms, we went to the Grizzly Bar and Grill. My burger and Carol’s fish and chips came to $43.00. Did I say already that everything is expensive in Alaska?
August 13 … Day three
Today started off sunny with temperatures in the 60 – 65F range. We had our “luggage” (two carry-on sized pieces) ready to be picked up outside our hotel room door. We also had time to eat and enjoy the cinnamon rolls purchased yesterday. And we boarded the coach at 8:30AM and met yet another new coach driver … Larry. He was to be with us for the rest of the trip until we got to Skagway for the cruise portion of the tour. Larry was kind enough to play the song, “North to Alaska”as we headed toward Wasilla and the Iditarod Headquarters.
I think all in our group were genuinely impressed with the Iditarod Headquarters and the story behind this famous race. Carol writes in her scrapbook / journal about the significance of the race and its famous dog, Balto: “Balto and the serum run” … IN 1925, SEVERAL Inuit children in Nome, Alaska were very sick with diphtheria and an epidemic was feared. The only anti-toxin was in a hospital in Anchorage, 1000 miles away. Pack ice closed the port of Nome to ships, and a train could only take the serum to Nenana where the tracks ended. A relay of dog sled teams carried it the remaining 674 miles. Balto led his team the final 53 miles through a heavy blizzard and temperatures of -50F to deliver the serum.
“Beginning in 1973, the Iditarod Sled Dog race has been run yearly to commemorate this serum run and the role of sled dogs in Alaska’s settlement. The grueling race now covers the full 1000 miles from Anchorage to Nome.
“The heroic story of Balto touched the whole nation. The people of New York City raised funds to have a statue of Balto erected in Central Park … it is still there.”
One thing we all learned is that these dogs are not forced to run … its in their blood to want to run. They are well cared for and much loved by the mushers. During this race … and other races also … there are vets stationed about ever 10 miles or so and each dog is thoroughly examined for foot / paw issues as well as sore muscles. All dogs wear boots for protection and a team may go through a 1000 boots per race!! These dogs are well cared for … petted and babied and loved by their owners and trainers. We were supposed to be given an opportunity to pet the puppies, but Mother Nature had other wet ideas. I’ll have more to say about dogs later on.
Other than a stop for a meal, our next point of interest was the ALASKA VETERANS MEMORIAL . It is a quiet place dedicated to the rememberance of the veterans of Alaska who served their country throughout the world. There were six veterans in our tour group and we proudly recognized their contributions as we made a picture of them in front of this memorial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Veterans_Memorial This memorial was inside the boundaries of Denali Park.
Our destination was the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. https://www.princesslodges.com/princess-alaska-lodges/denali-lodge/photo-gallery/ As you can see in the photos, its NOT too terribly shabby!! I do believe all of us would have enjoyed a second night here, but the costs would have been prohibitive. The grounds were lovely and well cared for and the rooms were quite comfortable. After settling in our rooms, we went to the Grizzly Bar and Grill. My burger and Carol’s fish and chips came to $43.00. Did I say already that everything is expensive in Alaska?
Active Ink Slinger
EDIT: Nov.2, '17 : I just realized that some of the links are not doing what I had hoped when clicking on the "highlight" portion. You may have to do a copy/paste thing to include the entire link and not just the highlighted portion. Sorry for that.. And thanks for reading.
August 12 … Day two
After a quick breakfast, we all met and boarded our coach at 8:30AM. We were on the second coach parked on the street as there was another Holiday Vacation tour group there also. We quickly became the “red tour” and the other group was the “yellow tour”. (Both tour guides knew each other well and there were a lot of humorous quips back and forth between the guides.) Our driver for the day was Kevin. He is a high school science teacher and was able to share a lot of good information about the history and geology of the area and he was FUNNY!! He was also a darn good driver of that coach. (Even though I never drove a coach, I’m a retired commercial truck driver …. 18 wheeler … with nearly 1.75 million miles. I have a special admiration and appreciation for a “good driver” and I let Kevin know that at the end of the day.)
Our sightseeing highlights today included (1) Bird Point on the Turnagain Arm, (2) Girdwood Bakery, (3) Mt. Alyeska Tram, (4) an “included lunch”, (5) the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center. (6) an unplanned roadside stop to see salmon on their trip upstream to spawn.
Unfortunately, we were pestered all day with light rain on and off and fog and a heavy atmosphere of varying density but we traveled on and just accepted that not all days could be bright and sunny,
The 50 mile fjord was given the unusual name of TURNAGAIN ARM by the explorer Capt. James Cook in 1778. He had been trying to find a sea route to the Northwest Passage and had to “turn again” when he found there was no outlet. The view from the top of Mt. Alyeska includes the fjord, the Kenai and Chugach Mountains as well as the forrests of Chugach State Park. This has some typical views that we saw as well as a bit of info. Note … we did NOT see the hotel, but it obviously was somewhere along that stretch of the Seward Highway. https://onelongdrive.net/turnagain-arm/ An interesting factoid from our science teacher, Kevin was that the tide there would rise / fall nearly 20 ft. and the big Alaskan earthquake of 1964 affected the topography.
Always interested in something sweet to eat, I was happy when we stopped at The Bake Shop (est. 1973), Girdwood, Alaska. Since our breakfast at the Hilton tomorrow morning was NOT included, Diane encouraged us to make our sweets purchase for breakfast here. Most of the group bought huge cinnamon rolls to take with us (complete with a huge slab of butter!!). While Carol did the deed on purchasing goodies to eat, I stayed outside and marveled at ALL the colorful flowers hanging around the place. Personally, I don’t ever remember seeing any orange flowers before. See if you can find some orange flowers (or YOUR favorite color … maybe blue) while thinking about some of the baked creations inside.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g31000-d532491-r471513045-The_Bake_Shop-Girdwood_Anchorage_Alaska.html
Here is a wikipedia listing that tells more about Girdwood and how the entire town was moved after the 1964 earthquake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girdwood,_Anchorage
There is a resort hotel in Girdwood and also a tram lift up the mountainside for skiers. At the top facility of the tram is a nice restaurant and that is where we had an included lunch. We weren’t rushed in eating a nice meal, but were reminded that the “yellow tour group” was right behind us and waiting for us to finish. We were all served the same dish … a nice cut of steak along with fish (not salmon) and finished with a delicious fruit tart for dessert. There maybe more pictures here than you want to see, but look at the first few for the restaurant and the tram.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tram+lift+and+restaurant+girdwood+alaska&qpvt=tram+lift+and+restaurant+girdwood+alaska
Our visit at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was informative and impressive about the needs of the varied wildlife living there. “The mission of the 200 acre AWCC is to provide refuge for orphaned, injured, and ill animals that can not survivr in the wilderness. If an animal can not be returned to the wild, it is given a permanent home here.” AWCC website. People that want to go to Alaska, generally want to see a lot of varied wildlife. That doesn’t happen always as sometimes it is just the luck of the draw. So, in its own way, this Conservation Center was an opportunity to see a great many different animals in a reasonably natural setting. Of course, there were some that were caged, but in humane conditions … especially birds such as Adonis, the Bald Eagle (that had been shot and only had one wing), Snappy, the great horned owl that was also a gunshot victim in 1999, and Chena, the lynx who faces a daily struggle to survive after being kept in a very small cage for a long time (many years..??).
From a more cheerful standpoint, there is a growing herd of Woods Bison and some will be reintroduced to the wild. These are slightly larger than the Plains Bison ( isn’t everything LARGER in Alaska..?? lol!!) of the “lower 48”. This herd is the only herd of Woods Bison in the US and started in 2003 with 13 animals and now has approx. 135. They were on the extinction list for 17 years.
We also saw some elk, both grizzly and brown bear, and Snickers the porcupine. We were on an elevated viewing walkway and watched the bears playing in the water and using a tree for a good old back scratching. Be prepared for a big chuckle watching this Snickers video. He is absolutely adorable !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5I5H7EeC8k
We’ve probably all heard of the howling of wolves … and maybe have heard our own canines tip their head back and howl. There were three Gray wolves there and in response to the sound of a siren out on the highway the male started howling and soon had the two females howling also. It was a mournful, eerie sound to my ears.
Here is the website you’ll find interesting: https://www.alaskawildlife.org/animals/ Very near the top, you’ll find a dark brown strip with “visit” being the first choice. Click on this for a drop down menu, choose “animals” and then scroll down to a grid of animal pictures. You can then click on each animal and it will tell you that animal’s “story” including a bit about Snickers.
On the return trip to the Hilton, Kevin took us on his version of a downtown tour of Anchorage. My “sense of direction” was seriously flawed as I had no idea which direction was north. This was because of the cloudy and semi-foggy conditions all day long.!! I rested while Carol and our friends went out to find a whale mural on the side of a building that was visible from our hotel room. She then found … “5 blocks away”... a large, three story tall … sculpture of “The Last Blue Whale” that was made in 1973. It depicted the blue whale diving and its flukes (tail) upsetting a couple of boats with three whalers on the surface of the water. The whale’s expression seems to say it is pleased with itself. Here you’ll find a “whale” of a lot of pictures of the mural: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=whale+mural+on+side+of+building+anchorage+alaska&qpvt=whale+mural+on+side+of+building+anchorage+alaska Also, you will find more whale pictures here, but the first few are of the statue: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=statue+the+last+blue+whale+anchorage+alaska&id=F0C35E575AFF95F7D6C3616D6320A216A6B2B188&FORM=IQFRBA
Dinner was at the Hard Rock Cafe, Anchorage and gave us another lesson in how expensive it is to eat in Alaska.
Its been a long, full day today and we are to board the bus at 8:30AM. Good nite !!
August 12 … Day two
After a quick breakfast, we all met and boarded our coach at 8:30AM. We were on the second coach parked on the street as there was another Holiday Vacation tour group there also. We quickly became the “red tour” and the other group was the “yellow tour”. (Both tour guides knew each other well and there were a lot of humorous quips back and forth between the guides.) Our driver for the day was Kevin. He is a high school science teacher and was able to share a lot of good information about the history and geology of the area and he was FUNNY!! He was also a darn good driver of that coach. (Even though I never drove a coach, I’m a retired commercial truck driver …. 18 wheeler … with nearly 1.75 million miles. I have a special admiration and appreciation for a “good driver” and I let Kevin know that at the end of the day.)
Our sightseeing highlights today included (1) Bird Point on the Turnagain Arm, (2) Girdwood Bakery, (3) Mt. Alyeska Tram, (4) an “included lunch”, (5) the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center. (6) an unplanned roadside stop to see salmon on their trip upstream to spawn.
Unfortunately, we were pestered all day with light rain on and off and fog and a heavy atmosphere of varying density but we traveled on and just accepted that not all days could be bright and sunny,
The 50 mile fjord was given the unusual name of TURNAGAIN ARM by the explorer Capt. James Cook in 1778. He had been trying to find a sea route to the Northwest Passage and had to “turn again” when he found there was no outlet. The view from the top of Mt. Alyeska includes the fjord, the Kenai and Chugach Mountains as well as the forrests of Chugach State Park. This has some typical views that we saw as well as a bit of info. Note … we did NOT see the hotel, but it obviously was somewhere along that stretch of the Seward Highway. https://onelongdrive.net/turnagain-arm/ An interesting factoid from our science teacher, Kevin was that the tide there would rise / fall nearly 20 ft. and the big Alaskan earthquake of 1964 affected the topography.
Always interested in something sweet to eat, I was happy when we stopped at The Bake Shop (est. 1973), Girdwood, Alaska. Since our breakfast at the Hilton tomorrow morning was NOT included, Diane encouraged us to make our sweets purchase for breakfast here. Most of the group bought huge cinnamon rolls to take with us (complete with a huge slab of butter!!). While Carol did the deed on purchasing goodies to eat, I stayed outside and marveled at ALL the colorful flowers hanging around the place. Personally, I don’t ever remember seeing any orange flowers before. See if you can find some orange flowers (or YOUR favorite color … maybe blue) while thinking about some of the baked creations inside.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g31000-d532491-r471513045-The_Bake_Shop-Girdwood_Anchorage_Alaska.html
Here is a wikipedia listing that tells more about Girdwood and how the entire town was moved after the 1964 earthquake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girdwood,_Anchorage
There is a resort hotel in Girdwood and also a tram lift up the mountainside for skiers. At the top facility of the tram is a nice restaurant and that is where we had an included lunch. We weren’t rushed in eating a nice meal, but were reminded that the “yellow tour group” was right behind us and waiting for us to finish. We were all served the same dish … a nice cut of steak along with fish (not salmon) and finished with a delicious fruit tart for dessert. There maybe more pictures here than you want to see, but look at the first few for the restaurant and the tram.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tram+lift+and+restaurant+girdwood+alaska&qpvt=tram+lift+and+restaurant+girdwood+alaska
Our visit at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was informative and impressive about the needs of the varied wildlife living there. “The mission of the 200 acre AWCC is to provide refuge for orphaned, injured, and ill animals that can not survivr in the wilderness. If an animal can not be returned to the wild, it is given a permanent home here.” AWCC website. People that want to go to Alaska, generally want to see a lot of varied wildlife. That doesn’t happen always as sometimes it is just the luck of the draw. So, in its own way, this Conservation Center was an opportunity to see a great many different animals in a reasonably natural setting. Of course, there were some that were caged, but in humane conditions … especially birds such as Adonis, the Bald Eagle (that had been shot and only had one wing), Snappy, the great horned owl that was also a gunshot victim in 1999, and Chena, the lynx who faces a daily struggle to survive after being kept in a very small cage for a long time (many years..??).
From a more cheerful standpoint, there is a growing herd of Woods Bison and some will be reintroduced to the wild. These are slightly larger than the Plains Bison ( isn’t everything LARGER in Alaska..?? lol!!) of the “lower 48”. This herd is the only herd of Woods Bison in the US and started in 2003 with 13 animals and now has approx. 135. They were on the extinction list for 17 years.
We also saw some elk, both grizzly and brown bear, and Snickers the porcupine. We were on an elevated viewing walkway and watched the bears playing in the water and using a tree for a good old back scratching. Be prepared for a big chuckle watching this Snickers video. He is absolutely adorable !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5I5H7EeC8k
We’ve probably all heard of the howling of wolves … and maybe have heard our own canines tip their head back and howl. There were three Gray wolves there and in response to the sound of a siren out on the highway the male started howling and soon had the two females howling also. It was a mournful, eerie sound to my ears.
Here is the website you’ll find interesting: https://www.alaskawildlife.org/animals/ Very near the top, you’ll find a dark brown strip with “visit” being the first choice. Click on this for a drop down menu, choose “animals” and then scroll down to a grid of animal pictures. You can then click on each animal and it will tell you that animal’s “story” including a bit about Snickers.
On the return trip to the Hilton, Kevin took us on his version of a downtown tour of Anchorage. My “sense of direction” was seriously flawed as I had no idea which direction was north. This was because of the cloudy and semi-foggy conditions all day long.!! I rested while Carol and our friends went out to find a whale mural on the side of a building that was visible from our hotel room. She then found … “5 blocks away”... a large, three story tall … sculpture of “The Last Blue Whale” that was made in 1973. It depicted the blue whale diving and its flukes (tail) upsetting a couple of boats with three whalers on the surface of the water. The whale’s expression seems to say it is pleased with itself. Here you’ll find a “whale” of a lot of pictures of the mural: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=whale+mural+on+side+of+building+anchorage+alaska&qpvt=whale+mural+on+side+of+building+anchorage+alaska Also, you will find more whale pictures here, but the first few are of the statue: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=statue+the+last+blue+whale+anchorage+alaska&id=F0C35E575AFF95F7D6C3616D6320A216A6B2B188&FORM=IQFRBA
Dinner was at the Hard Rock Cafe, Anchorage and gave us another lesson in how expensive it is to eat in Alaska.
Its been a long, full day today and we are to board the bus at 8:30AM. Good nite !!
Active Ink Slinger
Aug. 11, 2017 … Day one (Friday)
Our daughter Charlotte and her service dog, Kima were here at the house around 7:30AM to take us on the 45 minute drive to the airport. We were there around 9:45AM for our 11:35AM boarding time. The first leg of this journey was south to Atlanta!! There’s nothing quite like being early for an adventure to start. We each had our Holiday Vacation name badges around our neck!!
As other folk came in, we were able to recognize them by their name tags and quickly became friends with the common bond of excitement and the adventure ahead of us. Our trip also included Wanda Starke and her husband Ron Fisher. Wanda is a well known TV personality for WXII and was in the promotional ads for the trip. We all found Wanda to have a warm and friendly personality. Her husband Ron … well … he’s a great guy too and very funny and quick with a quip.
Our flight to Atlanta was about an hour and 15 minutes … then we had a long layover and boarded at 2:35PM for the long flight (nonstop) to Anchorage. That was about a nine hour flight. We flew Delta Airlines to and from Alaska.
We arrived at 7:00PM Alaska Time (4 hours behind NC) and were met by Jesse, our bus driver just for the day. He loaded our luggage under the coach and then took us on a mini motor tour of Anchorage and pointed out restaurants, gift shops, and places of historical interest. We even had our first moose sighting. It was a mother and her baby.
We arrived at the Hilton and then waited on the coach while Diane, our guide, checked us in and then came out with our room assignments and keys. After telling us what time to assemble in the morning, we were set free to find dinner on our own. Most folk went out, but the four of us ate in the hotel.
The big cafe in the lobby was closed but we were able to get seats in the Bruin Sports Bar on the other side of the lobby. Even though we had been warned about the cost of everything in Alaska being expensive, it was shocking to pay $34.50 for a burger and fries for me and chowder for Carol … and two ice teas !!
Our room was very nicely appointed and we felt quite comfortable. This will give you a little bit of info about the Hilton, but keep clicking until you find a picture of who was watching us while we ate … those cuddly bears are BIG and tall … easily 8ft. Plus tall!! https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60880-d124692-i17480503-Hilton_Anchorage-Anchorage_Alaska.html
Its been a long, tiring day and our bed sure felt comfortable. We will see you around 8:00 in the lobby. ZZZzzzzz!!
Our daughter Charlotte and her service dog, Kima were here at the house around 7:30AM to take us on the 45 minute drive to the airport. We were there around 9:45AM for our 11:35AM boarding time. The first leg of this journey was south to Atlanta!! There’s nothing quite like being early for an adventure to start. We each had our Holiday Vacation name badges around our neck!!
As other folk came in, we were able to recognize them by their name tags and quickly became friends with the common bond of excitement and the adventure ahead of us. Our trip also included Wanda Starke and her husband Ron Fisher. Wanda is a well known TV personality for WXII and was in the promotional ads for the trip. We all found Wanda to have a warm and friendly personality. Her husband Ron … well … he’s a great guy too and very funny and quick with a quip.
Our flight to Atlanta was about an hour and 15 minutes … then we had a long layover and boarded at 2:35PM for the long flight (nonstop) to Anchorage. That was about a nine hour flight. We flew Delta Airlines to and from Alaska.
We arrived at 7:00PM Alaska Time (4 hours behind NC) and were met by Jesse, our bus driver just for the day. He loaded our luggage under the coach and then took us on a mini motor tour of Anchorage and pointed out restaurants, gift shops, and places of historical interest. We even had our first moose sighting. It was a mother and her baby.
We arrived at the Hilton and then waited on the coach while Diane, our guide, checked us in and then came out with our room assignments and keys. After telling us what time to assemble in the morning, we were set free to find dinner on our own. Most folk went out, but the four of us ate in the hotel.
The big cafe in the lobby was closed but we were able to get seats in the Bruin Sports Bar on the other side of the lobby. Even though we had been warned about the cost of everything in Alaska being expensive, it was shocking to pay $34.50 for a burger and fries for me and chowder for Carol … and two ice teas !!
Our room was very nicely appointed and we felt quite comfortable. This will give you a little bit of info about the Hilton, but keep clicking until you find a picture of who was watching us while we ate … those cuddly bears are BIG and tall … easily 8ft. Plus tall!! https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60880-d124692-i17480503-Hilton_Anchorage-Anchorage_Alaska.html
Its been a long, tiring day and our bed sure felt comfortable. We will see you around 8:00 in the lobby. ZZZzzzzz!!
Active Ink Slinger
I will be adding / posting daily narratives every few days to this thread, until complete. I hope you can enjoy this. ... Rick / Snoop!!
EDIT: Nov.2, '17 : I just realized that some of the links are not doing what I had hoped when clicking on the "highlight" portion. You may have to do a copy/paste thing to include the entire link and not just the highlighted portion. Sorry for that.. And thanks for reading.
NORTH to ALASKA !!
Preview … the rush is on!
Join us as we recount our 13 day adventure in August, 2017 when we went to Alaska. As many of you already know, Carol does a wonderful job with her scrapbook documenting our holiday adventures. Me …?? … I just use her scrapbook as a guide for my written narrative.
She has written: “2017 was going to be the year with no vacation because of the expense involved with redoing our driveway last summer. However, a good friend and scrapbook buddy and I had been talking for months about going to Alaska. I thought we might plan for 2018 until she saw an ad on TV for a trip promoted by our local Winston-Salem NC TV station WXII, to begin on August 11. The tour included our flights and many activities and sights in Alaska (my last state) AND part of the Yukon Territory of Canada. This was followed by a 4-night cruise along the inside passage. The cost seemed high until we checked with other sources which came in higher than WXII’s all-inclusive rate. Thus, we bit the financial bullet and placed our reservations on March 4. This will probably be my only trip to Alaska, so I wanted to include as much as possible.”
And thus the “rush” began with preparations and research about what we were about to see. The tour company … Holiday Vacation … started sending us brochures and other information about the planned itinerary and Carol started her “research” about what we were going to see. The excitement level in the house steadily increased with each passing week. We had done a couple other commercial tours in the past and remembered the good and the bad parts of being in a group. I will say this … Holiday Vacations did an outstanding job with this one.
Our tour was to begin and end in Greensboro, NC and we were met at the airport by our tour guide, Diane, who flew in from Wisconsin to meet us and conduct the tour. She stayed with us until we returned home to Greensboro at the end. Diane was always smiling and really looked after the 46 other people on this tour. One could NOT have asked for a better guide!!
Carol has done a fantastic job over the years in her preparations for our various vacation trips. She has accumulated a bare minimum of a travel wardrobe for the both of us AND got everything needed condensed down to a single “carry on” piece of luggage for each of us. We don’t have to worry about checked luggage getting lost and its much lighter in weight!! Our bags were packed and sitting by the door on July 30 !! THANK YOU, CAROL!!
Tomorrow starts our trip North to Alaska, the rush is on!!
EDIT: Nov.2, '17 : I just realized that some of the links are not doing what I had hoped when clicking on the "highlight" portion. You may have to do a copy/paste thing to include the entire link and not just the highlighted portion. Sorry for that.. And thanks for reading.
NORTH to ALASKA !!
Preview … the rush is on!
Join us as we recount our 13 day adventure in August, 2017 when we went to Alaska. As many of you already know, Carol does a wonderful job with her scrapbook documenting our holiday adventures. Me …?? … I just use her scrapbook as a guide for my written narrative.
She has written: “2017 was going to be the year with no vacation because of the expense involved with redoing our driveway last summer. However, a good friend and scrapbook buddy and I had been talking for months about going to Alaska. I thought we might plan for 2018 until she saw an ad on TV for a trip promoted by our local Winston-Salem NC TV station WXII, to begin on August 11. The tour included our flights and many activities and sights in Alaska (my last state) AND part of the Yukon Territory of Canada. This was followed by a 4-night cruise along the inside passage. The cost seemed high until we checked with other sources which came in higher than WXII’s all-inclusive rate. Thus, we bit the financial bullet and placed our reservations on March 4. This will probably be my only trip to Alaska, so I wanted to include as much as possible.”
And thus the “rush” began with preparations and research about what we were about to see. The tour company … Holiday Vacation … started sending us brochures and other information about the planned itinerary and Carol started her “research” about what we were going to see. The excitement level in the house steadily increased with each passing week. We had done a couple other commercial tours in the past and remembered the good and the bad parts of being in a group. I will say this … Holiday Vacations did an outstanding job with this one.
Our tour was to begin and end in Greensboro, NC and we were met at the airport by our tour guide, Diane, who flew in from Wisconsin to meet us and conduct the tour. She stayed with us until we returned home to Greensboro at the end. Diane was always smiling and really looked after the 46 other people on this tour. One could NOT have asked for a better guide!!
Carol has done a fantastic job over the years in her preparations for our various vacation trips. She has accumulated a bare minimum of a travel wardrobe for the both of us AND got everything needed condensed down to a single “carry on” piece of luggage for each of us. We don’t have to worry about checked luggage getting lost and its much lighter in weight!! Our bags were packed and sitting by the door on July 30 !! THANK YOU, CAROL!!
Tomorrow starts our trip North to Alaska, the rush is on!!
Active Ink Slinger
Thank you for your kind comment, Dani. I really appreciate your reading the thread ... and I'm sure Mom does also. She was a very smart woman ... some would say "educated" (but just a HS graduate) ... and I've really come to appreciate her work more each time I read something she wrote.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by Rebellious_Soul
I know I'm poor about communication with my friends here, but YOU ... Ms. REBS ... have been a friend for about as long as Ive been on StoriesSpace. I sure would be distraught if I lost that connection with one of the nicest folk here.
Now ... BE GONE cause the END OF THE LINE is mine, Mine, MINE
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by DancingAngel
I am absolutely exhausted here at the end of the line! You people stay away from me, you're ALL brutal!!
Amy ... while Anna and Meredith are playing around, you are free to go. I'm here NOW at the end of the line.PBmBOPvVauIK2RDX
EDIT: THIS is DAILY DOUBLE ... I'm fully in charge here now!!