Kenai, Alaska

July 27 and we were heading south 50 miles to the mouth of the Kenai River on Cook’s Inlet. We picked the Beluga Look RV Park because it was located on a bluff over the mouth of the Kenai River. We had a spot right on the edge of the bluff that afforded us a view of all the “goings on” on the river. We had plenty of entertainment watching the Alaskans using their dip nets to catch the salmon as they entered the mouth of the river on their journey upstream to spawn. Locals are allowed to take 25 salmon for the head of the household and an additional 10 salmon for each additional family member. The best catching was at high tide and there would be hundreds of people out on both sides of the river dipping for salmon. They net them, club them, cut the heads off, gut them and leave all the heads and guts on the beach. The next high tide washes it out into the water for food for scavengers. We had 3 warm, sunny days and it made for some interesting smells.

All the fishing is controlled by Fish and Game and dip netting only occurs the last 2 weeks in July. If the numbers of fish are high, they can extend the time past 2 weeks.

All the salmon fishing is heavily regulated by F and G. They have a line strung across the river and they use sonar to count the fish on their migration upstream. During the month of July over 500,000 fish passed up the river from the ocean. On July 27, when we were here, 60,260 fish swam up the mouth of the river. The number of commercial boats that go out into the inlet are also regulated, depending upon the number of fish.

We are starting to appreciate the different kinds of salmon. Reds are running now but they also catch kings and silvers at different times.

We can see 3 large volcanoes just across Cook’s Inlet, about 25 mi from our campsite. The 3 volcanoes are: Mt. Spurr (11,100 ft that last erupted in 1992), Mt Illamna (10,016 ft) and Mt Redoubt (10,197 ft that erupted in 1989 with ash that forced the cancellation of airline flights). This state is indeed “the last frontier” with bears, volcanoes, etc.

Our RV park is located adjacent to old town Kenai, which was founded by Russian fur traders in 1791. There is still a strong Russian influence here. There is an ornate Russian Orthodox Church located with walking distance that was founded in 1846 and is the oldest Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska. It has been beautifully restored.

We have thoroughly enjoyed visiting and spending time with our neighbors. (an advantage of staying in a private RV park where you are VERY close). Norm from Fairbanks educated us on salmon fishing, and we enjoyed wine with Rob and Gerri from Camarillo, CA.

A side note: Pris’s grandparents would take their fishing boat from Astoria, Oregon up to Alaska to fish for salmon-a week’s trip to get here. Lots of “sisu” in those Finnish genes.

Upper Kenai Peninsula (Portage Valley, Kenai Lake)

July 22, we said goodbye to Anchorage, warm weather, shorts and tank tops. The drive south from Anchorage on the Seward Highway is some of the most scenic drives in Alaska. The road goes along the edge of Turnagain Arm (a large body of water that is an extension of Cook’s Inlet and was formed by glaciers). Both sides of the water have steep cliffs that still have glaciers that are visible. This is a great area for viewing Dall sheep and Beluga Whales (we didn’t see any this trip). Eight years ago we spent 5 days in this area and saw sheep and the bore tide among other local sites. The bore tide is a wave of water that rushes into the sound at the changing of the tides and can reach a height of six feet and travel at a speed of 10 knots or more. When we previously saw it, it only had a height of a foot or so.
Our destination was Williwaw National Forest CG. We had been told by many people that this was their favorite CG in Alaska. We could see why. The secluded sites had views of a large nearby glacier with waterfalls coming down the steep cliffs.
It was a wonderful, quiet, peaceful stay, except for one wildlife adventure. We were awaken one morning by the rocking back and forth of the motor home. We figured a raccoon, large bird, or some other animal must be on top of the motor home. We sleep with the blackout curtains down so as to keep out the light, so we didn’t even investigate as to what caused the rocking. Later we found out that a black bear had tried to break into the campground host’s RV. John checked the outside of our RV, and sure enough, there were paw prints on the side, right below the kitchen. (Pris had been lead to believe that bears don’t try to get into RVs. So much for that theory.) We do not have a firearm but we do have bear spray. We would only use it in a real emergency. Most of the Alaskans that we talked with, do carry a gun with them.
The one drawback to the CG was that it rained everyday. I guess it’s typical of the Portage Glacier Valley.
There was a salmon viewing platform over the nearby creek, to see salmon running on their way up stream to spawn. We checked it every day, but it was too early for the salmon to be this far up from the ocean yet.
We were a short distance from Portage Lake and Portage Glacier. The visitor’s center was built on the lake, just 1 mile from the glacier, but because of the melting of the glacier, it has retreated so much that it is no longer visible from the visitor’s center. (You really see evidence of global warming in the shrinking of all the glaciers.)
We spent 3 days at Williwaw and then drove 55 miles south on July 25 to Quartz Creek NF Campground located on the Kenai Lake.
People were a little excited when we arrived at our campsite. Come to find out a sow grizzle and her twin two-year old cubs tired to get into a camper when the occupants were inside. I guess they rocked the camper back and forth for quite awhile trying to get inside. They had cleaned fish near their camper and they were separated from other campers. Even the Alaskan campers were amazed at this happening. I guess it’s an uncommon occurrence. ( I hope)
We spent 2 days along the Kenai Lake and River. Salmon season is in full swing and this is THE PLACE to catch salmon on their way up the river to spawn. The world record salmon of 97 pounds was caught just down the road. They use the term combat fishing as people are lined up next to each other along the banks of the river. It was pretty busy, but we were told that the “reds” would be at their best next week and there would be many more people.
On our walk along the creek next to the CG we could see bright red salmon spawning. What a complicated life cycle they have. All that work and now they die.

Denali National Park, Second visit

July 13, we reluctantly gave up our campsite at Savage River and headed south to Anchorage to pick up our son John who was flying in for a visit. The Parks Highway from Denali to Anchorage passed through spectacular scenery of rapidly flowing rivers, tall mountains (some with glaciers visible), colorful wildflowers, and spruce and birch forests.
Our plan was to leave the motorhome in Talkeetna (150 mi south of Denali) and drive the car to Anchorage. All the CG in Talkeetna were full because of the Moose Dropping Festival, so we picked one of the CG outside of town-Mat-Su CG. They let us store the rig there while we were in Anchorage, and we made a reservation for our first night back in the area.
On to Anchorage, check into the hotel and do some shopping. One minor problem, however, we heard strange clunking sounds coming out of the engine. A quick call was made to the Honda dealer (the only one in the state), and we were fixed and on our way in an hour. Talk about lucky. We had visions of renting a car and delaying our trip to Denali with our son John. We have now learned another valuable lesson about driving on gravel roads; rocks collect in the suspension and cause clunking sounds.
We had a wonderful seafood dinner at Simon and Seaforts with a table that had a view of Cook’s Inlet. John had king crab legs and Pris had halibut. The dinner was just as delicious as 8 yrs ago. (Thanks Debbie K. for the rec., then and now).
We picked John up at the airport at midnight, had an early morning breakfast, and then to the hotel for some much needed sleep. The restaurant was busy at 1:00 AM when we left. When do these people sleep? They are certainly taking advantage of all this light.
We slept in and then headed north 113 mi to Talkeetna.. We moved the motorhome to a full hookup site, and we were off to the Moose Dropping Festival. What a kick-a real small town (pop-900) happening. This 2-3 block town consisted of log cabin stores and restaurants with a funky Alaska ambience to it. It has been described as the model for the TV program “Northern Exposure”. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen so much tye dye.
We moved from one extreme to the other and celebrated Pris’s birthday at the posh Alaskan Resort a few miles outside Talkeetna. No expense was spared in the construction of this rock and wood beamed resort with large glass windows facing a view of Mt McKinley.
Early the next morning, Pris celebrated the best birthday EVER with a flight and glacier landing on Mt. McKinley. It was approximately an hour’s flight to the mountain, where we flew in and out of glacier covered valleys and snow caped peaks. But the most spectacular part was that we landed on a glacier close to the mountain climber’s base camp (7,500 ft elevation). The 4th photo here is on approach to the landing, about 2 miles up the glacier. Denali is in the background. It was a sunny, clear day and we were surrounded on all sides by jagged, snow covered peaks. The cool crisp air (28 degrees) and ankle deep snow was a long ways from the 115 degree temperature that son John left in Phoenix.
We flew back to Talkeetna and headed 150 mi north to Denali. This time we stayed in the Riley Creek CG because it was closer to all the facilities. Since John only had several days to spend here, we didn’t waste a moment and headed to the park headquarters and the dog sled demonstration. (John and Sandra have 2 Siberian Huskies.)
Denali NP is the only park that has working dog sled teams. They are used in the winter for patrolling the park.
The next day, we were up at 5:30 AM so as to catch an early bus tour of the park. The animals are usually more active in the morning and evenings. The bus trip took 7 hrs, and we saw a blond grizzle bear with her cub, a wolf, caribou, and birds such as ptarmigans, eagles, and a falcon.
The rest of the day was some kickback time, and that evening Johnny built a “one match fire”. It was nice to have some relaxing time for visiting.
Tuesday, June 16, we enjoyed a blueberry pancake breakfast and then off to Anchorage again, for a hotel stay and to drop Johnny off at the airport for a flight home.
During our earlier stay at Denali, John noticed abnormal tire wear on the front tires and scheduled an alignment at an RV service place in Anchorage on the Wednesday that son John flew out. The RV was in early at the shop on Wednesday. At 9:30AM we got a call from them. The reason for the tire wear was not alignment, but the ball joints in the front suspension were worn. This allows the tires “flop” around. They could fix it, but it was an all day job and we were scheduled for only 1 hour. We only had to wait two days and they were able to complete the front end repair by late Friday afternoon. The spare time allowed us to clean up everything; RV, clothes and our towed CRV.

Denali National Park, Alaska

July 6, we left sunny, bright Fairbanks to drive SW 124 miles to Denali NP. This highway is one of the newest highways in Alaska and is well paved and made for fast, easy traveling. The highway passed through Spruce forests that ran along the Tanana River.

We passed through Nenana, one of the few towns on the road to Denali (pop-550). What was interesting about Nenana, is that they have a contest each year to see who can predict when the ice will break up on the Tanana River. They set up a tripod in the middle of the river that trips a line, and then stops a clock the moment the ice starts moving. Anyone can register a guess (even tourists) and a cash prize is awarded for the winner ($300,000 in 1996)

We pulled into Denali NP, picked up our camping reservation, and headed 13 miles into the park to Savage River CG. This is the only reservation that we made in advance, because it is such a popular place and difficult to get into. Riley Creek campground is located close to the entrance of the park and has 146 sites. The campground has sites in the trees and is quite nice, but we preferred to be away from the crowds and noise and more in tune with nature.

Savage River CG has only 33 sites and we picked a site on the edge of the Spruce forest with a view of the Alaska Range to the south and Mt. McKinley to the west. Mt. McKinley is usually covered in clouds, but we were able to see it most days, but usually for only a few hours. It’s 20,320 ft high and covered in snow and glaciers all year long. It is a majestic mountain. The mountain was approximately 50 miles to the west from the CG. The park does not offer the best viewing of the mountain, you actually get better views from the south as you approach Denali.

Denali is VERY popular, and there are the lots of tourists, campers, and tours (especially add ons from the cruise lines). Cars are only allowed to drive 15 miles into the park and then the rest of the park can only be seen on NP buses that require a reservation. The buses (school bus variety) leave every 30 min. and offer a variety of tours ranging from 4-11 hrs. We took one of the tours 8 yrs. ago, and we look forward to doing it again when we return to Denali later in this trip.

The park offers shuttle buses to every destination that run every 30 min., and there is limited parking available for personal cars. It’s too bad that more national parks don’t use this system, because it has really cut down on the traffic. Once you leave the visitor’s center area there is very little traffic (you are truly one with nature).

We spent our time hiking (it did take one of us a day or so to work up the courage after all the bear warnings, the photo shows us hiking the Savage River), attending park ranger programs, checking out the visitor’s center and sled dog kennels (only National Park with sled dogs), reading, etc.

They have a massive warning and awareness program about the dangers of the wildlife. Wolves frequent the area (one was seen in our CG and one CG was closed because of wolf activity), as do moose. Moose are very protective of their young and will charge and can kick. We saw a moose sow and babies along side of the road. No grizzlies yet, but most of them are deeper into the park.

The warnings say: don’t run from a grizzle or a wolf (they will think you are prey) but run from a moose. If a grizzle charges and makes contact with you, play dead, and if it eats on you too much, fight back. DUH.

Denali NP is very large and covers over 9,000 sq. miles. It has a variety of terrain with mountains, rivers, lakes, tundra, and taiga (spruce forests with dwarf birch and willow shrubs). Much of the ground has permafrost (permanently frozen ground under a layer of top soil).

The weather was very changeable- sunny during the day with off and on showers (usually in the afternoon and evenings) and highs in the 60’s and lows in the 40’s-50’s. We still got about 20 hrs of sunlight, but being in the forest and having some cloudy skies made for darker sleeping.

Fairbanks, Alaska

June 29 we moved on to Fairbanks, Alaska. The 4^th of July was coming up and we wanted to have a place to stay. Bill and Jan Moeller in their book RVing Alaska by Land and Sea had a great suggestion that you stay in the city during holidays because the locals leave. We picked the Chena Marina RV Park and Resort because Bob F and travelers had stayed there and liked it. We loved it. We were right on a float plane pond and we watch the planes take off and land. It was our daily entertainment.

Speaking of entertainment, there are many things to do in Fairbanks. We took a paddlewheel boat ride down the winding Chena River that goes right through the heart of Fairbanks. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride on the Discovery III. The narration was very informative about living in Alaska (the houses, clothes, life-style, and the weather). We went by the kennels of Susan Butcher (4 time winner of the Iditarod Race) and learned about raising, training, and racing mushers. The boat also stopped at a replica of an Athabascan village where we got demonstrations by Athabascans about salmon fishing, making clothes, food storage, etc. The entire tour was very well done and certainly informative. We would highly recommend this trip.

The University of Alaska is located in Fairbanks and we visited the highly recommended Museum of the North that was located on the campus. This is also a very worthwhile stop. We attended 2 presentations-one on the aurora borealis and another one on living in Fairbanks in the winter. My, what these people put up with when it’s 30, 40, or 50 below zero. (It’s very hard to imagine that when we are sitting in 70 and 80 degree weather with bright sunny skies.)

The museum had wonderful displays about the geology of the area (with a large gold collection), the natives and how they lived, the native birds and animals, etc. Again, it was very well done and we would highly recommend this as well.

We attended the local farmer’s market and picked up some vegetables and locally made items. We’re still looking for those giant sized vegetables that we hear about (it’s probably still too early in the season).

We continue to read about grizzlies that have been killed in the Fairbanks and surrounding areas. So far in Fairbanks and environs, they have killed 9 grizzlies in the past month or so. The local wildlife biologist said that’s an unusually high number. Most have been attracted to garbage and pet food left out.

A man was kicked by a moose and killed near Anchorage and south of here, some kids ran into a moose on the highway. (The moose and 2 kids died.) We drive slowly through moose country and haven’t hiked in the woods. (whimps)

We had ANOTHER water pump break, but they shipped us ANOTHER one (# 5) and we had it replaced in Fairbanks. No comment.

We celebrated the 4^th of July in the campground with our fellow travelers. We had grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and all the fixings that were supplied by the campground. We continue to enjoy meeting and conversing with other RVers. We hear lots of interesting tales and stories.

The days are getting shorter. Only 20 hours of sunlight now. (No stars and no fireworks-can’t see them) Although, it never gets dark, we are adjusting and able to sleep.

Delta Junction, AK (End of Alaska Highway)

We stayed in Tok for 3 days for R and R and then left on June 24 for our destination of Delta Junction (the end of the Alaska Highway).

We had pleasurable 100 mile drive north along a well paved, gravel free road. The snow peaked Alaska Range came into view to the northwest. It was a warm (low 70’s), sunny, crisp, clean air day. We did make one stop so that John could put on the cover over the CRV windshield. We’ve seen many devices that people have used on their windshields to stop the flying gravel from making chips or breaks on their windshields. John chose the cheapie route and bought a plastic carpet runner at WalMart that wraps around the windshield and is secured in the closed doors. It’s worked great, so far. We’ve seen lots of broken windshield-mainly the locals.

Up to this point most of the trees have been spruce, but we are now seeing lots of different deciduous trees-aspen, birch, poplar, etc.

We decided to stop short of Fairbanks and picked the Green Acres RV Park where we stayed under some trees. We did laundry, caught up on e mail (they had WiFi), bought groceries, and tried some of the local cuisine. (black bean buffalo chili, it was good). The town was very small, but had a grocery store (one), some restaurants and several restored roadhouses. In the past, there was a series of roadhouses along the trails about 20 miles apart (a good day’s walk). The miners and trappers would stop here for food and lodging. Local volunteers have restored and the roadhouses. It was interesting to see how they lived back then.

We had our picture taken at the end of the Alaska Highway. (Although, Fairbanks contests this and says they are the end of it.) We gathered more material at the visitor’s center (we have lots of reading material).

We stayed at the RV Park for 2 nights (June 24/25) and then decided to move out 10 miles to a local state park that we had been told was “one of the nicest parks in Alaska.”

They weren’t kidding. We had a site overlooking the water. Quartz Lake State Recreational Area has camping, fishing, swimming, and LOTS of MOOSE in the area. We could see moose everyday coming down to the water’s edge to eat the grass.

We were watching a moose through our binoculars and a local pulled up in his boat and asked us if we wanted a ride in order to get closer. Another couple, who have a vacation cabin on the lake, talked our ears off about things to see and do in Fairbanks. What friendly people.

We spent our time watching wildlife, reading, and enjoying the warm, sunny weather.

There are no roads to the cabins around the lake, so people have to use small fishing boats to ferry supplies in We were told that during the winter when it gets 30, 40, or 50 below that the lake freezes to a depth of 5 feet. We found that they wait until winter, when the lake freezes over, and they can drive on it to deliver larger items to their cabins.