Day 58 (7-28-12 - Tok)

We started out with a light shower today.  The weather cleared and it turned out to be a warm pretty day.    We decided to drive until we had cell phone and internet service.  We drove 70 miles to Tok.

We are staying at Tok River SRA.  It is another pretty campground that is on the Tok River.  Again, we have no hookups. 

When we got here, we had neighbors park next to us.  We left and went to the big , exciting, town of Tok.   When we got back, no neighbors.  We watched quite a few campers leave the  site next to us. I wondered if Lauren had forgot to plug the septic tank a few days ago, because quite a few campers left the site next to us. 

Then I heard the campers two sites away tell a potential camper  that was going to park between  us, there are bees in those trees, as they pointed to two holes in the tree.  They told then that they got stung and had moved.

We had a lot of campers ride in and ride out of this spot.  The last camper that we saw pull in as we sat by our campfire were considering  burning out the bees. They must have seen the look in our eyes and reconsidered.

I am not sure if was my look of please, don't do that, or the rugged look of my honey who has not had a hair cut in over two months and has not shaved in quite a few days. They went to another part of the campground. We really appreciate their consideration.

This place feels like home.  We have the muddy, swift  Tok River.  We have a sand bar, (the first sand bar that we have seen in a while).  If it weren't for the glacier look of the water, I would swear we were at the Pearl River Swamp. 

We are planning on staying in this area for a few days.   This is a good place to rest, clean up, wash up, and stock up, before we head back into Canada.  And hopefully, Lauren will shave.

Pictures   https://goo.gl/photos/rDgTVNryN3U2PE2JA

Day 57 (7-27-12 - Porcupine Creek SRA)

We woke up to a beautiful warm day.  We were well rested listening to the creek rustle over the rocks all night while we slept.  Lauren cooked a great breakfast and we hit the road. We had no planned destination. 

The Tok Cutoff Highway was a rough but pretty ride.   After 129 miles and checking out 4 campgrounds, we decided to stay at Porcupine Creek SRS.  The campground has 12 sites.  The sites are isolated and are in the thick woods with no hook ups.  There are a few sites that are on the creek.  We had our choice of camp site being we were the only ones here.  We chose a nice creek site.

As I have typed before, Ferny has adjusted to the climate in Alaska really well.  With the temperatures in the 70's, she has began shedding her artic coat of hair that she needed for warmth.  She meowed for miles today when it warmed up.  I was hot, she was hot, but Lauren refused to turn on the A/C being we have been cold for weeks.  Lauren tried lowering the back window a little bit to give her some air.  This made her meow even louder.  Lauren  finally rolled the window up and turned on the A/C.  Ferny curled up in her dog bed on top of the ice chest and went to sleep.  She knows how to work him.

This is the first campground that we have ever stayed in that has porcupine warnings, only in Alaska.

Lauren fished a little bit.  I took my usual wade in the cold creek.  I love wading in this freezing cold water when it is warm.  It must be the country girl in me. 

We have the IPod playing and my bear spray close at my side as we are cooking our salmon patties on the fire pit.  Dang, life is good!

Pictures   https://goo.gl/photos/JqEbNmHhJisUKGRz7

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