Alaska 2022

Larry and I left Seward after Betsy this morning. She was feeling well enough to drive out for a few geocaches on the way to Seldotna where we would stop for gas and connect the Jeep. Our destination was to be Clam Gulch State Recreation Area where we could camp and have views of the Cook Inlet and Redoubt volcano. Turned out that the views were from the beach and the campground spaces were more like parking spaces at Walmart - long rows of close together numbered parking blocks. My awning occupied the space allotted for another RV, as did the Jeep. Fortunately there weren’t many campers. Most people drove through and decided this wasn’t their kind of spot. However, the bathrooms were spotless and the picnic tables and fire rings in good repair. The grass could have been cut some, but I’m sure they’ll get around to it.  There was a “four wheel drive only” road to the beach where we watched fishermen and beachcombers as the tide came in. One couple fishing for small, 20 pounds or so...

Today was partly spent  waiting for FedEx to deliver paperwork for Betsy’s new Jeep. The expected delivery yesterday fell through because the driver would not deliver to the campground. However, he would leave the package at Safeway, the local FedEx drop off point. So a lazy morning was spent watching the sport fishermen speed out of Resurrection Bay towards imagined sofa sized halibut.  A constant stream of small to medium sized boats left early at breakneck speeds to get there before the next guy   Later in the morning I picked up the package, brought it back to the campground, and Betsy and I signed in the appropriate places. No electronic documents for Mr. Click. No siree! Only paper will do! Then another trip back to Safeway to mail the package back.  In the afternoon we took a drive south to Miller’s Landing , a campground, cafe, and sports rental business. Betsy picked up a few geocaches on the way there and back. To finish out the day I walked with Larry and ...

 Ok, I sort of forgot what we did Monday, but it’s coming back to me.  Brewery. Farm, it doesn’t open until 3:00. Better kill some time. Walk the shore path. Oh great! There’s a geocache nearby, and since Betsy is still passed out in bed with Covid Larry and I can get it! Done! Betsy will be happy! She’s asleep. Walk with Larry and Trey north to the stream and watch fishermen try to snag salmon. Success! The young guys can do it. They watch until they see one then throw the treble hook over it and tug fast! If they are lucky, and today they are, they’ll snag a salmon hoping to enter the stream where they’ll spawn.  Return to the brewery for a couple of beers and pizza. The waitress is cute and just about the only resident of Seward on the entire staff. She fills us in on the area and best prospects for good times.  Betsy is asleep.  A call to Jim Click Jeep gets the ball moving on sending paperwork to Seward before we leave for Homer. They have to overnight the ...

Betsy had Covid.  A home test confirmed it. Minor symptoms: sniffly nose, headache, mild fever.  So far Larry and I are okay, but she could have picked it up from either of us or on our glacier cruise. If on the cruise it would mirror our 2019 trip on which we were exposed to something from passengers on a quarantined cruis ship from which she got really sick and needed to visit a hospital and I got somewhat sick. We were both treated for pneumonia. I recovered quickly, but three years later she still experiences some after effects. Long Covid? No way to know. We were treated short months before the pandemic was announced to the world.  So, I drove all day and did the shopping with Larry. Betsy slept. We arrived in Seward later than we would have liked. Betsy was exhausted to tears even though she hadn’t hardly been out of bed all day. Traveling is hard when you’re sick! She sent me for a thermometer, not something easily found in small-town Alaska. Safeway Pharmacy had o...

Betsy isn’t feeling well. Snotty nose and headache. Good opportunity to take a down day and let her rest.  I caught up on my todo list: Rotate tires on the Jeep.  Change the oil in the coach.  Add air to the coach tires.  Larry was great help, anticipating my needs for tools and that all important third hand! What could have taken all day took half that time. He even used our new bug wands to kill the mosquitoes tormenting me as I worked.  That afternoon Larry and I  took off to get a couple of geocaches for Betsy as she slept and to check out a backroad that Larry had spotted on the Rand McNally Atlas leading to a small village.  The first geocache at Liberty Falls recreation area was easy, just under a bridge. The second one was a strenuous hike along a ridge with views of the creek and big rivers in the distance. 45 minutes later I returned to the Jeep to find Larry asleep in the back seat and Trey asleep in the front drivers seat. Such bums!  ...

It’s raining. It’s really raining! We are the blue dot in the picture  it’s been this way since yesterday evening and doesn’t appear to be moving  Forecast calls for 100% through the next few days   I worked on fixing the facia on the slide, which I broke when opening the slide, something I usually leave to more careful Betsy   Betsy went geocaching in the rain. Returned as a wet rat after three hours. Went to bed to warm up.  Larry and I drove around to check out some of the places Betsy mentioned, nice homes in Valdez, the mineral creek one lane bridge (scary), the city campground out by the Valdez glacier. We also visited the Silver Salmon Hatchery, but didn’t see anything new in the rain. We also went to Peter Pan Seafood to check out the offerings. I bought a piece of smoked king salmon and some small scallops. We were disappointed that they didn’t appear to have any good thick pieces of halibut. Then it was off to the brewery for beer and fried halibut and...

We moved today from Valdez to Kenny Lake, about 100 miles north east and on the road to Wrangel/St. Elias National Park. The drive up took us over Richardson Pass, past the Worthington Glacier, which was visible today, and down into the Copper Valley. The weather improved considerably as we entered the valley. So much so as to entice us to drive out to McCarthy for lunch, a little jaunt of 65 miles, mostly on a dirt road.  The road took us through Chitina, a small native community just uphill from the enormous Copper River. The river is known for its Copper River Sockeye Salmon that we all see in Costco. Yes, it’s a real thing and not just a marketing gimmick. Of course, most of the salmon is caught by commercial fishermen at the mouth of the river as it enters the ocean. At Chitina the river is open only to Alaskans, native or not, and limits are strictly controlled. The preferred method of fishing is by dip net, a large round net on the end of a pole that can be 6 to 30 feet long...

Captain Fred picked us up at the Eagles Nest RV Park at precisely late 10:13 for our tour of Alaskan wildlife and the Columbia Glacier on his 45 foot Lu-lu Belle yacht. Known as the Limousine of Prince William Sound, the Lu-Lu Belle is a well appointed cruiser with Persian carpets and teak and leather seating. The crew bakes muffins and, later in the tour, brownies to help clients deal with cool temperatures and the rigors of wildlife and glacier watching. While the tour starts on time at 10:45 the end time is ‘before dark, or at least before the restaurants close.‘ of course it’s Alaska where it doesn’t get dark until after 11:00 this time of year, but the restaurants close at 9:00. So we were in for a full day!   First stop was a fishing boat where we watched the catch of hundreds of pink salmon spill on board. The workers were rewarded for allowing us to watch with warm muffins.  Next was a cruise of the rugged coastline where Captain Fred took us into caves and under overh...