Four Legged Friends

Day 23 -- Baked Alaska

Put a fork in 'er.  She's done.  And what a sweet delight she was!   I departed Anchorage this morning en route to the Canadian border.  By day's end, I can honestly count the great state of Alaska as one of the 49 I have visited.  North Dakota remains as the final notch to be carved.  If all goes as planned, that will take place in a few days.  It was sprinkling outside as I headed east out of Anchorage.

But the mist layer lifted in an hour and it became the 23rd straight day of sunshine for this trip.  I'll be backtracking on the Alaska Highway (the Alcan) for the next few days.  Hopefully there will be some new or different things to share.  Like the colors of the trees.  The birch and poplar trees have turned a vibrant yellow in the past couple of weeks.

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and the red fireweed offers a nice contrast

 Day 24 -- Back to the Yukon

Spent my last night in Alaska, and I just have a few errands to do in Tok before heading back into Canada.  Lucille could use some fresh oil.  This looks like a good place to get that done.

Guess I'll stand.  It shouldn't be long. 

The owner, Bill, said he'd be right back, as he left on a four wheeler to go to the grocery store to buy 8 quarts of 5-20 Penzoil for the job.  Guess it's more profitable if you don't have a lot of your funds tied up in inventory.  While he was gone, I got a chance to check out his wall mural, which I'm sure was quite nice before the paint started to peel.

It was a good choice.  Bill did a nice job, and it was only $79.00.  That was $4.00 cheaper than Midas Muffler wanted in Anchorage, and there was over an hour wait there.  Just across the border into Canada, I started to see familiar stops and signs.  You remember Buckshot Betty...

I waived at her as I passed by.  It was too early in the day to stop in for another piece of pie.  It's interesting how the angle of the sun shows you things on the return leg that were not visible before.  Such as this definite line in the water.  Can you see where it becomes much lighter in color.

Look hard.  You can definitely see the line snaking thorough the lake.

Well, it's getting late in the day and I have a few miles to go before I'm back at Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory.  What's that?  The Aurora Borealis?

Guess not.  But it was a pretty cloud.  In another hour, there's a parking space at Wallmart with my name on it.

Day 25 -- Animal Instincts

My destination tonight is Muncho Lake, BC, which is where Urs took me on that unforgettable flyin fly fishing trip.  It's a 9 hour drive or better, so I guess I'll drive around Whitehorse on the Harley, snap a few quick photos and be on the way.

You meet very few vehicles on the drive through the Canadian wilderness, especially on a Sunday when the only trucks on the road are the fuel trucks.  It is definitely the anticipation of seeing bears, moose, caribou, bison, deer and sheep along the route that keeps one's interest peaked.  And the little critters did not disappoint.  The most dramatic encounter of the day occurred when I had to stop for a herd of buffalo on the road.  That's not so unusual.  I had to stop six such times for them on the way to Alaska.   However, this time a couple of approaching vehicles and I had to wait for nature to take its course.  I don't know if it was just a quick impulse or if it was a desire to be the source of a few paragraphs in an internet blog, but at the precise moment of our arrival, a particular bull decided it was time for he and a pretty, young bisonnette to put on a public display of affection.  It was a show that would have made Klondike Kate blush.  Yes, I did get a picture.  (Fortunately, you don't have to take them into the drugstore to get developed any more).  But, out of respect for the young lady and her extended buffalo family, I shall refrain from uploading it.  I'm sure she would not want this compromising photo plastered all over the internet.  Here's one snapped a minute or two later that I can show.

 

The curse of the moose is officially broken...

Day 26 -- As good as Denali

On today's drive from Muncho Lake to Ft. Nelson, in British Columbia, the animals came out to greet me.  They put on quite a show.  First, was a couple of deer and their two fawns.

Then, there was a group of teenage caribou out frolicking on the highway.  That's exactly what their parents have advised them not to do, but you know how teenagers are...

I parked along the road and watched them play for a few minutes.  One came up close to have a better look at Lucille.  Guess she had never seen a Born Free before.

"Hey, guys.  Come check out this BAD rig", she yelled out to the others in slang Carribouneese.

Hey, why so sheepish?  Stick around.  Don't let me scare you.

Others didn't

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A fellow could work up an appetite seeing all of these animals.  There's a pretty little brook with a place to turn around.  Looks like a nice place for another cookout.  I'm getting good at this.

Cindy caught a nasty cold the first day in Anchorage and fought it throughout the entire week she was with me.  As suspected, she gave it to me prior to her departure.  "Thanks, Honey, it's the gift that just keeps on giving."   We went to Safeway in Anchorage before her flight (okay, so I was there and didn't let her off along the side of the road) and she bought me two boxes of Kleenex.  She agonized for some time over the color selections, and chose the one that best complimented Lucille's interior.  I'm so glad, Cindy, as each box lasted about one-half of a day.  Still got the crud, but it's not putting a damper on things.  I'm just sneezing my way through it.

Should I take the quicker way back tomorrow, which is to continue backtracking, or to take a new, longer route by heading south to Vancouver?  En route to Vancouver is the Whistler ski area that was the site of the skiing events at the last winter Olympics.  What to do?  Well, you only live once.  Or as Emily Dickinson phrased it much more eloquently, "That it will never come again / Is what makes life so sweet."

I'm going to settle in here at Ft. Nelson, BC.  Tomorrow, when I get to the turnoff, I'm heading south toward Vancouver.

Holy Titanic

Day 21 --  The Cruise


Lucille's all tucked in, and we're ready to take the ferry across the Prince William Sound from Valdez to Whittier.

You know what they say about the food onboard cruise ships.  MMMmmm.  Well, maybe this isn't the Princess, but for $11.00, we'll take a couple of eggs, sausages, toast and two forks, please.

Just as we had hoped, there was beautiful scenery to be seen from the deck.

But after awhile, even that grows on you.

If only something out of the ordinary would happen.   "Bill. Wake up. Come out here and see this. And it's just the tip of the iceberg."

Most are white, but some have a dazzling blue hue.  Not to be a smarty pants, but the reason they appear blue is because ice absorbs all colors except blue, which it reflects.

A few are crystal clear.

This one apparently had some Alaskan Eskimo children playing on it and, as they were making a Frosty Snowman, it broke off and became an iceberg.  Hope the kids made it back to solid ice. 

The skipper slowed the boat significantly and weaved in and out of them for about an hour.  We did hit a few, but they were small ones.

We were told that we would be able to see whales in the distance.  I was sure that I spotted a blue whale, but Cindy said she thought my eyes were playing tricks on me

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After an enjoyable six hour cruise, we reached our destination, Whittier, AK.   It's a small port town where just about everyone is employed receiving transport containers or passengers from the ferry boats or cruise ships.  Every single citizen in the town lives in one of two buildings.  (Both are in the lower right sides of the pictures.)  And by the way, how would you like to live right below a massive glacier?

Once off the boat, you must make it through the longest tunnel in North America.  It's a single laner.  Plus, you need to share it with trains.  So, don't get in a hurry. 

It's worth the wait, though, as Alaska's beauty awaits your arrival on the other side.

We decided to head two hours south to Seward, a port town of 2,500.   The town has a nice system where RV'ers can put $15.00 in an envelope, self-park and spend the night along the shore.

With Lucille settled in for the night, we mounted up on the Harley and took a nice ride around the town. The economy obviously is driven by charter fishing, fish processing and Kenai fjord cruise ships.

But there's also some quaint shops for tourists.

This little guy was pointing out the exact ones that he had caught.

Day 22 -- Goodbye, Cindy


Perfect french toast, again.  We'll maybe just a tad on the done side of perfect.  Nonetheless, a great way to start the day.

Today is essentially a bag drag back to Anchorage to get Cindy to the airport for a 7:30 departure back to the real world.  We hoped we would see some wildlife along the way.  What's that?  Not sure, but it might be one of those dark-eyed, hairy, upright walking creatures that some swear they have seen in the woods, while others shrug off as folklore.

The scenery on the drive back to Anchorage was not up to the spectacular standards to which we had grown accustomed in the past few days.

 

That, coupled with the fact that I was thinking seriously about coming right back here tomorrow to go fishing in the Kenai River. So, I asked Cindy if she would mind terribly if I just let her out here so that I wouldn't have to make a two-hour backtrack tomorrow morning. At first, she was hesitant. But she eventually became empathetic to my situation and agreed.  I gave her a kiss goodbye and waved to her as I turned around and drove back southbound.     

So that I wouldn't worry, I had asked her to have someone take a picture of her at the airport and text it to me.  That way, I would know for sure that she made her flight on time.  To my great relief, just after 6:00 pm, my cell phone beeped and I received the following three pictures.  Looks like she made it with plenty of time to spare.

It was fun having Cindy join me for the past week.  She was reluctant to sign on for six days in a small RV, but in the end, she had a great time seeing Alaska and I really enjoyed her company.  The blogging may slow a bit now as some travel is retraced back to Canada.  If anything new or interesting appears through the windshield, I'll be sure and let you know.