Day 56 (7-26-12 - Squirrel Creek)

The weather forecast last night was for the temps to be in the 30’s.  Ferny usually crawls in the bed when it is cold and warms us.  She didn’t.  I usually have hot flashes that warm us. I didn’t.  I had to get up and find jackets and robes to cover us up. It was Cold on the Thompson Pass. 

We turned on the heater for a few minutes and warmed up the camper this morning when we got up.  We were able to wear shorts today for the first time in about a week.  Lauren cooked breakfast by the lake.  Ferny came out and hid in the brush.  Everybody loved it, but it was time to move on. 

We decided to go to Chitina.  We had a beautiful drive on the Richardson Highway and the Edgerton Road to Wrangell St. Elias National Park.  We had gorgeous views of the Chugach Mountain and the Wrangell Mountains.  We knew that the ride through the Chugach Mountains would be pretty but we were surprised that the view of the Wrangell Mountains was so pretty.  We saw 2 baby wolves or coyotes on the way.

Lauren wanted to check out the fish wheels in Chitina. The locals have a special permit allowing them to use these contraptions and catch hundreds of fish.  It was worth the drive to see this unique fishing technique.

We are camped at Squirrel Creek SRA near Glennallen.  We traveled about 130 miles today.  When we got here around 2:30 pm the temp was in the mid 70’s.  We have a fantastic campsite on the creek.  The water is so clear and pretty.  I just had to wade in the creek.  It took a while to get the purple out of my toes.  It was very Cold, but worth it. 

We have no electric or water hook ups, no cell phone service, no internet service, no TV stations, and no radio stations.  The only sound that we hear is the wonderful sound of water rushing over the rocks in the creek.  Ferny has made her tour outside and rolled around in the dirt.  This is our kind of place.

Row of Fish Wheels in Operation in Copper River

Pictures  https://goo.gl/photos/KnJb9jRZw2dRaRSs7

Day 55 (7-25-12 - Thompson Pass)

We woke up to partly cloudy skies and the sound of crows pecking on our roof top, which is better than rain drops.  Lauren looked like a witch chasing the crows off the roof with a broom at 6 a.m.

Lauren decided that he wanted to try to catch a Pink Salmon, (AKA Humpy).  We walked a little ways to a fishing access point. The fish were churning the water.  Lauren fished for about 15 minutes and lost his bait.  We went back to the camper and got more baits, and yes I had my bear spray in my holster on my side.

We watched a sea lion in the water. You could hear him roar when he came up for air.  It might have been laughter instead of roaring because the sea lion caught more fish than Lauren.

Lauren managed to snag a fish and clean it in less than an hour.  He could have caught more but we don’t have freezer room.  We figured that we will have 2 meals off this fish and that is enough.  We need to have fridge room in case he catches another species of fish.

We traveled 40 miles to Thompson Pass and are staying at Blueberry SRA.  We are camping here for the night.  It is a beautiful campground.  It is absolutely gorgeous weather with the high today in the mid 60’s.   We are camped on the lake.  We have great views of the green and snow tops of the Chugach Mountains.

We took a short drive and found an off the beaten path road to a better view of the area.  A better description of the road is a beaten path road.  The road was very rough.  After a rough ride and a short hike we saw a spectacular view.

We took a short hike in the campground and found pretty much the same view as we had in the truck.  Putting the truck in 4 wheel drive to see the first view was a lot more fun and more like the Alaskan Adventure we dreamed of.

You must know by now, that the sun is shinning and we have been cooped up for a couple of days.  Yes, all the windows are open, the back door is open, and every rug, blanket, jacket, and comforter we have are airing out in the Alaska sunshine.  I bet the other campers are driving by and thinking, they must live in that camper. 

Ferny meowed and looked at the other bed until I lowered the bed for her to plunder.  She finally decided to come outside.  She ate a lot of grass and went deep in the thick brush.  She likes to explore and have her own personal space. She made the most of her quiet, secluded camping spot. 

Lauren cast a few times in the lake in the hopes of catching a rainbow trout or grayling.  No success.  We grilled some of the pink salmon.  It was okay. 

Pictures  https://goo.gl/photos/bLVsFkHGi1k48Jez8

Day 54 (7-24-12 - Close Encounters of the Bear Kind)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JR !!!!!!!!!!!!!

We actually saw more of the landscape this morning than we  had seen since we got here.  We decided to stay around the campground and charge up the camper battery with the generator.  We had hopes that the weather would clear up later today.

Lauren found out that there was a bear sighting in the campground.  The bear was eating fish at one of the fishing areas.  He took off with the camera to find the bear.  I refused to go.  He came back to camp after he couldn't find the bear. 

We heard that killer whales come up to this area to eat salmon.  We stood at the camper and watched for whales. All we saw were seals eating fish.

I was finally tired of staying around the camp.  I told Lauren that I was going to walk back and forth a short distance on the road in front of the camper to get in some exercise.  The road was wide open, there were a lot of people around, and I thought the bear was gone. 

Lauren didn't want to leave with the generator running so he stood out in front of the camper and watched me walk.  As I was walking, I wondered where the bear lived and what path he took to get to the fishing hole.  I also hoped that he was full of fish.

After my first loop, I felt pretty confident that the bear was no where around.  I walked back where Lauren was standing.  Lauren told me to look.  I looked around expecting a whale in the water.  It was not a whale it was a Bear.  The bear was just a few feet away.  I heard Lauren say, "be still," as I jumped behind him, grabbed his shirt, and croutched behind him.   I went into panic mode, I had just made eye contact with a bear and my bear spray was in the camper.

I was so relieved to hear Lauren tell me to walk slowly to the camper.  He stood there as I walked slowly to the camper.

Lauren said that I did not walk slowly to the camper, that I was in high gear. He said I looked like Ferny Kat when she gets scared and croutches down and runs in the camper.   On the other hand, I felt like it was an eternity before I made the few steps to the camper.  I can't imagine meeting up with a bear this close in the woods.

I was not suppose to make eye contact with the bear, I was supposed to be still, I was supposed to slowly back away, and I was supposed to have my bear spray easily accessible. I had just flunked Bears 101.

I got to the camper and made a bee line to grab my bear spray.  I watched from the slightly opened camper door with my heart racing and my knees knocking.  I reread the step by step directions on the can of how to use the bear spray.  Lauren finally came back to the camper and I asked where the bear went.

Lauren said that the bear had the same look of fright in his eyes as he saw in mine.  He said that when we started backing  away from the bear, the bear started backing away from us.  The bear must have made an A+ in Humans 101.   I am glad the bear is a better scholar than me.

And by the way, Lauren didn't have enough time to turn on the camera and get a picture of the bear.

The fog and rain finally lifted today.  We still saw clouds but we saw a lot more land than we have seen in the last couple of days.  We decided to wait until in the morning to leave in the hopes that the forecast is  correct for a sunny day tomorrow.  We plan to move to Thompson Pass tomorrow.  We will not have cell phone or Mifi coverage there, so it will be a few days before we post again.

Pictures   https://goo.gl/photos/achkKdhtekB8cFfbA

Day 53 (7-23-12 - Another Nasty Day in Valdez)

Fish Ladder

We made the best of this rainy day.  We stopped on our way to Valdez at the fish hatchery again. We were going to walk the walkway at the fishery but it was closed because of a the bear activity in this area.

We looked around at the harbor and the gift shops in Valdez.

We rode to the Valdez Glacier area.  We saw a lot of fog and a couple of icebergs.

We stopped on the way back to camp and watch a few people fishing near the hatchery.

We cooked the other half of the King Salmon.  The locals recommended slathering it with a mayonaise and mustard mixture.  We added Tony's.  It was good, but we like the way we grilled it last night better.

It is still rainy but it is not freezing cold.  I never thought being in the 50's and rainy would be tolerable.  I think we are adapting to this climate.

Valdez Small Boat Harbor

Pictures    https://goo.gl/photos/udUY4iqEvkLuP4nu5

Day 52 (7-22-12 - To Valdez)

We went 101 miles south today to Valdez.  We are staying at Allison Point Campground next to the fish hatchery.  It is rainy and foggy here today, a better word for the weather is, Nasty.

The views on the drive here were beautiful, even in the nasty weather.  The views must be fantastic when it is not raining and foggy.

We are camped on a bluff overlooking the water.  We saw seals and sea lions from our campsite.  We took a ride to downtown Valdez.  It is a small town and didn't take much time.

We stopped at the fish hatchery and saw hundreds of pink salmon in the water.  The sea lions were enjoying their feast of salmon.  The seagulls were trying to steal the sea lions catch from their mouth.  The salmon are as popular to animals as they are to humans.  A momma bear and 4 cubs have been sighted at the fish hatchery over the last few days.  We will be watching for them. 

We rode around town and came back to camp.   There is a big flashing sign that warns of the bears and to stay in your vehicle.  No one, (including us), are obeying.  But we are on the lookout for them and won't be outside close to them if we can help it.

Lauren grilled half of the King Salmon filet that Aldon gave him.  Another great meal. 

We walked a trail to the fishing area.  We were warned last night that the rocks around the water are slippier.  We saw a family of 4 going to fish.  It was a nice couple with a 2 year old and 6 year old.  When Daddy was almost to the water, he slipped.  Mom wouldn't let the girls go any further.  The 2 year old started wailing.  The 6 year old looked at us and said "she is kinda whiny today."  Too funny.

They found out we were from Mississippi and said that the 6 year old needed that license tag for her game.  They came over and let her looked at our tag so she could label Mississippi  on her game board.  This is the second kid that we know that has used our Mississippi tag for their game. 

We are going to stay in tonight and hope the weather clears tomorrow.  The weather forecast is not in our favor.

Pictures   https://goo.gl/photos/QzLxe9c9kapauzAw9

Day 51 (7-21-12 - Lazing around at Grove's Campground)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDI !!!

We woke up to a familiar sound this morning.  Rain peppering on the roof top.  It was not the sound that we wanted to hear. We  had an off and on shower until lunch time.  The sun came out about 3 pm.  It turned out to be a pretty day.

We fried our first red salmon today for lunch, it was very good.  You know at home we cook catfish, bass, or white perch.  In Alaska, you cook  silver, red, king, pink, or chum salmon.   They have a few other fish, but nobody ever talks about them except the halibut.  And there is an obvious  dispute whether chum salmon (dog food fish ) is good.  I think we can put Zatarain's Fish Fry, (with Lauren's special seasoning added),  on any fish, deep fry it and make it taste good.

Lauren took the day off from fishing.  All that fishing must have wore out Ferny Kat.  She has been asleep most of the day.  The only time she was awake was to eat and to stare at the next door camper's dog that was sitting on the picnic table.  She was sitting on boxes looking looking out the back window of the camper.  They were eye level with each other.  Every now and then she would pattycake the window with her paws.  He would paw back at her.  She is such a tease.

The CG owners had a pot luck supper tonight.  The owners grilled red salmon.  They actually put barbeque sauce on it.  Delicous.  The rest of us campers brought a dish.  We had every thing from oreo cookies (my favorite) to baked beans.  I cooked Jambalaya.  It must have been good, there is none left.  I have to say it was nice to have some barbeque sauce and creole rice.   Not a thing that you find very often in the frontier state.

We are rested up and are planning on furthering our journey to Valdez tomorrow. The weather may change our minds.

 pictures   https://goo.gl/photos/G6jHy3rmHgyUT64M7

Day 50 (7-20-12 - Another Day of Fishing at Grove's Klutina Campground)

Got the Limit

It was another beautiful day in The Last Frontier. 

Lauren caught his first fish really fast this morning.  He lost a bunch before he caught his second fish.  He lost a bunch more before catching his 3rd fish.  He finally limited out.  He is wore out.

The first fish Lauren caught today is a "fish story."  There was a father and son fishing next to Lauren.  The  father was reeling in a fish when his son hooked a fish.  The son's fish jumped about the time Lauren's hook hit the water.  The son's line broke.  Lauren told the son when he was reeling in the fish that he thought it was his fish.  And he was right.  The son's hook and Lauren's hook were both in the mouth of the fish when he landed him.  Lauren gave the  guy his hook back. These two, (father and son), limited out early.  They thought this would be a great story to tell when we got back to Mississippi.  The story will make it home before we do.

We got a guy to vacuum seal our fish so that we might get the fish in our freezer.  We barely got 9 of the 10 filets in the freezer. We had to pull out frozen sausage and hash browns to make room. We will be eating hash browns and sausage patties along with the other filets for the next few days.

The guy that vacuum sealed our fish invited Lauren to join him for a walk to the mouth of the river to catch a King. Lauren declined.  The guy came back with a 38 pound King Salmon. I know now why he had a big gun at his side.  When he came up the path by the river, all you could see was a big fish tail sticking up out of his back pack.  He looked like bear bait to me. 

He gave us a peice of fillet from his King.  Now we have 2 filets to eat. Not a problem, Omega 3 is good for the heart and good for the belly.


After he cleaned his fish, he used his ulu knife to cut the ivory out of the head of the fish.  He is going to make earrings for Christmas presents for his family next year.  Cool.

The guy that caught the King moved here from North Carolina.  His wife is a nurse.  Lauren is trying hard to get me to check out the jobs around here.

After seeing the temperature reach 79 degrees today, we feel that we are in a heat wave.  Thank goodness for warmer, dryer weather.

Pictures are here:https://goo.gl/photos/2UVco9QDYgMxzehr9