Wood's Prairie Travels

You know sometimes  you just have "those  days"! We haven't had really any of "those" yet on our journey, but today was one for turning around. That is most likely because most of the towns we have traveled in through British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska are relatively small. The "large" ones are maybe eight blocks square. Today we traveled into Anchorage seeking the magic fluid for diesel trucks, DEF. Our Costco ALWAYS carries it, so we thought that would be the case in Anchorage too. Missed our turn into the parking lot, so at the next interesection Pat made a U-turn in our crew cab, long bed truck... no easy feat! However, did Costco have DEF? Nope. Our next stores of choice for DEF are Fred Meyer or Walmart, but where are they? The last time I had wifi I looked up Costco's address. In this day and age of instant "google" access are there even phone books to actually look up addresses anymore? So, we drove through Anchorage,

We are pretty sure those are claw marks, a black bear and cub had been in the area. Another stop on the Kenai Peninsula was the Seward area. First off we stopped in to see the Exit Glacier. Lots of bear evidence on the nicely groomed trail. This glacier currently is advancing a foot a day - VERY fast for geologic things! Signs warn that if you get too close you could get trapped under it. The seaport of Seward is the original "Mile 0" for the Iditarod trail. Now known for the dogsled race, the original trail was for supplies and mail. This little town is nestled literally at the base of the surrounding mountains! One thing we found interesting is that the highway connecting Seward to the interior (Anchorage) wasn't completed until 1959. The port boat basin had pretty teal blue water.        The busy port had a number of fjord tours and charter fishing boats coming and going. One sea otter was enjoying a halibut carcass right alongside the fron

After our relaxing time on the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula, we drove up the peninsula to Soldatna to visit some friends who have a family cabin there. In addition to their excellent hospitality, we enjoyed having them share their experience regarding how to fish for Reds (Sockeye salmon)  on the  Kenai River! The Kenai River at this point in its course is fairly swift and approximately a few hundred feet wide. The teal blue color is opaque, hiding the rocks, logs, and of course the fish. During our time here there were times when the fishing was fast and other times when it was slow, but there were always people fishing! And there were always fish! Often jumping clear out of the water just feet from us, even if those picky beasts were refusing to bite our tempting lures! However, we did get enough salmon to fill half our camper fridge (which we then shipped home), had some delicious meals... fashionably late (which means AFTER we stopped fishing for the night),

We've travelled just short of 3,500 miles so far. Now that we are at the terminus of our travels, we thought Ninilchik would be a good place to rest a few days. (notice how I snuck in the glacier term?). And, we actually saw a sunset... at 10:55 PM, but it did go down in a glorious ball of flame over the top of Mt. Redoubt. We settled in to our campsite at Deep Creek Beach a couple days ago and it suits us to a "T". Our camper backs up to the dune grass and beach. The dunes here are only about 10 feet across, unlike those in Washington that are often a quarter mile or more.  We figured this would be a nice spot to rest with eagles and other sea birds flying overhead, beach cobbles that make an unusual clacking noise when the tide goes out, and a beach with agates and other nifty rocks to gather! Also, of interest is the launching of fishing boats off the beach. They use tractors to first back a boat into the water (people and gear are already on board), the boat

Chugach Mountains in the background Yikes! We are back in civilization again. In parts of Anchorage there were sections of 4-lane highway with overpasses, we hadn't seen those since crossing the border into Vancouver. However,  you come to a screeching halt due to a traffic light and pedestrian cross walks. Then on the Kenai peninsula in Soldatna, the grocery store was crazy busy. I didn't really mind that since there was cantaloupe for $2, as opposed to the $6 price in the Canadian stores. And then there is the Homer Spit... On a narrow spit of land at the southern end of the Kenai peninsula is a busy fishing-ferry landing-tourist center. A very full marina sits in a sheltered cove surrounded by tourist shops of all kinds. There is a funky old boardwalk by some of the shops and new boardwalk made to look old by other shops. Interspersed with the souvenir shops are charter boat offices and places to snack, drink, or eat. Jam packed gravel parking lots, the closest to th

Ninilchik is another tiny fishing village in Alaska. This one is located midway down the Kenai peninsula on the shore of Cook Inlet. Across the water there is a row of snowcapped volcanoes. I had heard of Mt. Redoubt because it erupted fairly recently, 2009.  The other two large peaks are Mt. Iliamna and Mt. Spurr. There is an interesting mix of cultures in this village. The first nations, Athbascans, live alongside practicing Russian Orthodox church members, and together they are swarmed with tourists from near and far. Russian Orthodox church, still active It is easy to see why this would be a good location for a fishing village. Salmon run up the little rivers as they return from the ocean. And Cook Inlet is a fairly calm large body of water. As a result, fishing for saltwater species like rockfish, lingcod, salmon, and halibut is rather easy when compared to some other locations. Eagles enjoy fishing here too, Adult eagle teaching a juvenile the art of patience.

As we've traveled through Canada and Alaska, we've seen so many glaciers and evidence of glaciers past. Some have been advancing and others retreating. We see them around every other corner. Some glaciers are relatively short and others wind for miles toward the mountain flanks of their birth. We have seen miles of U-shaped glacial valleys, hanging valleys, mountains of moraine gravel, and rushing rivers that are laden with glacial silt. We feel miniscule in their presence. Mother Nature does things on such a grand scale. Earth's huge plates constantly move crushing together to form mountain ranges or volcanoes. Sometimes those plates flip all the way over. We were wondering what that would show on the Richter Scale? Whole continents were covered with ice at times. Did you know that Olympia used to have a glacier over a mile high sitting on it? Other eras on Earth had most of North America covered with ocean. The deposition layers of the Grand Canyon of Arizo

Valdez too was a town that dramatically expanded during the gold rush of 1898.  Hopeful miners were lured to this place with tales of huge gold nuggets and the closest access to them.  They came to this bay which is almost completely surrounded by the gigantic Chugach Mountains and then had to climb over the Valdez glacier with all of their gear! Many were disappointed, many did not make it. A second dramatic event in Valdez history occurred in 1964 when a 9.2 earthquake hit. The town had been built by the miners who wanted the closest access to the glacier they had to climb. This happened to be on glacial morraine (layers of rounded gravel). During the quake the ground liquified and part of it rolled into the deep bay. This destroyed the waterfront and many of the buildings. They had to actually move the town to a new location that is on more stable ground. My parents and I visited the town six years after this quake. By that time they were prepping for the building of the Aly

Purse Seiners heading out for an opener tomorrow We cruised up to the Columbia Glacier today on the 75' Lu Lu Belle. I kid you not, the skipper talked for 90% of the 9 hour trip! Information ranged from types of fishing boats, peculiarities of the water mammals, early explorers, types of glaciers, glacier characteristics, and oil pipeline contruction, implementation, and affects. The temperature in Valdez when we left was about 66 degrees, but when we got to within a few miles of the glacier it dropped to 36 degrees. We FINALLY used the cold weather clothes we had packed for the trip :-) Columbia Glacier with Chugach Mountains in the back The skipper has been running this tour for the last 40+ years. He had a lot of history about what has happened to this glacier (receding) and several other glaciers (advancing) over the course of those years. He knows the waters and animals well, but he is rather crazy at times. He puts the bow of the boat into caves along the way l

When I was ten, my parents and I drove up the Alcan. Along with miles and miles of washboard gravel road, I have two strong memories. One memory is from Denali National Park (It was Mt McKinley then). We saw a herd of cariboo that covered much of the wide valley floor. There was  a mass of movement as the cariboo herd forded the river. The second memory is of Valdez. I remembered a highway with rugged mountains that encircled a pretty bay with a tiny town along its shore. We saw stacks and stacks of huge pipes along the back side of the town. Those were for the Alaska pipeline. I have always wanted to return to see if those memories were accurate. We drove through the Chugach Mountain range today to reach Valdez. The pass through the mountains was similar to our Snoqualmie Pass, however the Keyhole canyon on the south side was narrow and winding. We didn't find the vantage point I remember seeing the town from, and it is much bigger than I remember (50 years will do that!), ho

The smoke had thckened again overnight, but there was a light drizzle as we headed on north. The drive was a strange and erie one . We could see the road for maybe a mile ahead of us and trees off to either side. However, according to the maps there should be giant mountains too! By the time we got to Delta Junction, the smoke was thick in the air. Some bicyclists were wearing dust masks, we didn't envy them. We headed south at the junction on the Richardson Highway toward Valdez. Several "viewpoint" turnouts were just widespots along the road for us. After an hour or so, there began to be hints of hills. Mountains must be lurking out there, but they were still hidden from view. Another hour of driving and some of the giant snowcovered peaks began to materialize. As we got further into the mountain range, we could finally begin to distinquish large mountains. Those to the north were across a wide valley with a muddy braided river running through it. The mountain

Yesterday we enjoyed our trip over the Top of the World Highway, although the persistant smoke in the distance probably hid some far distant mountains. Guess that means we will make this another place to revisit when we return. A teensy bit of gold was found in my pan at the teensy town of Chicken. I suppose that is appropriate, but I am still looking for that gold nugget in my pan! Today we woke up to loud cracks of thunder quickly followed by pounding rain.  It was nice to hear the rain on the roof, albeit brief. We thought that it might help clear the smoke, unfortunately the smoke had thickened overnight. We drove on to the town of Tok which is kind of a crossroads. We can head north toward Fairbanks (our original plan), head west toward the Kenai peninsula, or head back south and east toward Jasper (our plan B).  The smoke was so thick that we could only see the next hill...  Decisions, decisions. Surprise! We got a text from some friends we hadn't seen in a while te

Some of the land they would have  traveledby dogsled Imagine... you live in the rowdy Dawson City of the Klondike era. The year is 1906, you are 8 months pregnant, and your husband is emphatic that his child is born in the United States. So the dogsled is loaded and you both take off for Fairbanks, Alaska. The trip is about 387 miles. It is January... this is the story that Pat was told by his father whose parents lived to tell about the journey, waiting out a couple blizzards, but their baby girl was born in Fairbanks. As we drove along the Top of the World Highway, we kept thinking about these hardy people who knew the land and climate well enough to survive. Nowadays that drive is still an adventure... Will that oncoming gigantic RV bus move over enough to not push us into the soft shoulder? Will the dust get in the cab before the electric window rolls up? Will we get a good look at some cariboo? Will that speeding driver pass us on this curve? We too survived, smoke an

Main Street This little community on the edge of nowhere is a quirky throwback in time. Many of the tourist shops are designed to look like  the original klondike goldrush buildings. However, they are next to the real deal with tin siding, moss covered roofs, and floors that slope every which way! Street Repairs There are so many idiosyncracies in Dawson. For example, you see dance hall girls, paddlewheel boats, and biplanes.  Also common are rusted out pickups parked next to enormous RV's,  and city streets that are dirt with repair piles left in the center of the street. There is a main highway that has a tiny ferry rather Examples of Han clothing than a bridge. Such a variety of people too. There are visitors from every continent, so many different languages are heard whereever you go. Many of the locals live off-grid year round, including one famous man who lives in a cave across the Yukon River from Dawson. There are local First Nations Han

Waiting to get loaded on the ferry. The only way across the Yukon River here at Dawson is by ferry. It runs 24/7 and is free. Our camp is across the river, so we have crossed a few times now. The first time was a teeny bit unnerving. The river is a about a quarter mile wide here, muddy brown, and is flowing at a pretty good clip (we have some video, but haven't downloaded it yet). Now this is not a Washington State Ferry! It is open bow and stern and is the width of two vehicles. The giant motorhomes fit, but only two can go on the ferry at one time along with a few cars. When the ferry first takes off from either Here comes our ride! side, it is immediately pulled downstream. Then they angle across the river and have to power back upstream to get to the landing point. That too is not a Washington ferry dock! It is a gravel bank with two little flags that mark the point they want to drop the loading ramp.  They run the ferry up on the gravel, drop the loading ramp, fi

The smoke had cleared overnight so we were able to see the territory that we were going through. The vegetation changed between stunted spruce and aspen groves. We passed the forest fires west of the Klondike Highway on our way to Dawson City. John Wood, standing in the doorway of his restaurant. The building is still standing, but is called Klondike Kate's. We arrived at our primary destination for the trip, Dawson City! One of our first stops was Klondike Kate's. This restaurant  was owned by Pat's grandpa, John Wood. The family story is that Mary Mitchell met him here and they were later married in Dawson.  So, of course we took some photos.        They knew some of the famous characters from Dawson's goldrush days - Klondike Kate, Diamond Gertie,  (Wood family... do you know of others?) Pat Wood standing in the doorway of what is now  called Klondike Kate's. The building is remarkably unchanged! Great old building - note the sloping floor in the