Mar 9, 2020 - Glen Haven to Anchorage, AK

Glen Haven to Anchorage 3-9-20 All good times must come to an end. Time to head back to Alaska, I hear it’s snowing in Anchorage. Kate and I got up early so we could have breakfast at the Notch Top before catching the Estes Park Shuttle to Denver International Airport. We were at the table and eating around 8:30 AM. After a leisurely breakfast it was over to the Estes Park visitor center at 9:30 for the 10:00 AM pick up. We said our good byes and it was down the hill at !0:00AM to DIA. The shuttle got me to DIA by around noon. The flight to...

Mar 5, 2020 - Cold Weather Vacation Prep

When you’re getting your gear together for a cold weather winter vacation, there are some must-have items that you’d be sorry to forget. To have a fun and exciting trip, you need to dress for the occasion. There are a few key items that you’ll need to wear and have with you to feel warm and comfortable throughout your trip. Here’s a checklist of what you need to bring for a perfect winter getaway. Lip Balm In cold and dry weather, your lips dry out much more quickly than usual. Licking dry lips in the cold can make them crack. You’ll want...

Feb 22, 2020 - August 2019 thru February 2020

August 2019 thru Febuary 2020 Have not posted anything to this trip journal Since June of 2019. What follows is a quick review of what has been going on with Bob and Julie. In Late August / early September, we took a quick trip to visit our daughter Kate in Colorado. Other than that, we have stayed close to home. Had a pretty good summer but there were a lot of fires in Alaska this year. The fall was lovely but the winter has been harder than in years past, cold weather a some impressive snowfalls. We were spoiled by the last few mild...

Sep 10, 2019 - Status Report

I have finally (with some help!) managed to figure out how to get online. However, managing pictures still eludes us both. I will continue to make notes about what sort of information should go in this journal, and take photos. When we get home (will be on Sunday, September 15), we'll get busy downloading all the photos we have taken and posting the notes for the journal. Meanwhile, we're reallly enjoying what we are seeing. Glacier Bay is proving the highlight of the trip for us as Sam is just not up to doing enough walking to go ashore....

Sep 9, 2019 - Exploring the Ship and its Offerings

Sunday, September 8 This first day, we did not stop at all. So there was plenty of time to explore the ship and find what sort of things there were to do. There are two stage areas. Lincoln Center Stage seems to specialize in music. There was a string quartet performance of Shubert’s music. Sam especially liked this one. Monday, September 9 Juneau. We decided not to try any of the on-shore opportunities because they all require more walking that Sam is comfortable doing. There is a great deal of walking necessary on board the ship. One of...

Sep 4, 2019 - Arrival in Sitka

Monday 9/2 Moving day! We did all of our necessary chores, hooked up and headed out right at “boot out time” – 11:00. We parked on the street in town and visited several shops, talking with owners and buying a few items. Apparently visitation here in Haines has been down this summer. No one seems to know why. We had lunch at Alpenglow Wood-fired Pizza with George and Lynn. Very good (albeit thin crust) pizza. While we were sitting there a gentleman rushed in, sat down quickly across from me and stared at me. Peculiar I thought! But then I...

Sep 1, 2019 - Tok to Haines

Internet OK right now - here's another! Tuesday Time to hit the road. It was mid to upper 20s overnight again. Heavy frost these past several mornings. We hooked up, spent some time with Dave before leaving, then fueled up and dumped at Chevron (free with fill-up) and headed east on the Alaska Highway. It was a beautiful day to travel. Repairs (shoddy but mostly adequate) have been made on the Alaska side and, the Yukon side, which was actually better in May, is now the worst section of road. I think that not all of the frost was out when...

Aug 24, 2019 - Our return north to Tok

Tuesday Travel prep day. Ginger did laundry and I did . . . what I do. We had dinner with the “Klutina Crew” – pizza at The Fat Mermaid. It was very good pizza but very expensive. Not so expensive for us because Randy and Kathy bought. Definitely leaves us on the owing end! We said our goodbyes and headed home. At 9:00 we headed over to the hatchery on Allison Pt – thousands of dead salmon and gulls but no bears. We left Wednesday AM. There was heavy smoke for some distance north. There are serious fires burning now as a result of the...

Aug 17, 2019 - Silver On!!

We have been to Klutina Salmon Charters 3 times now. The owners, Glenn and Jay, are great. You won't find better hosts. They go out of their way to make sure you have the best fishing experience on the Klutina and Gulkana Rivers. You can do 1/2 or full day charters for reds or kings with one of their experienced and knowledgeable guides or fish for those famous Copper River reds right from the bank in the campground. Only folks staying in the campground can do that so it is not crowded - totally unlike that crazy combat fishing on the...

Aug 11, 2019 - Skagway

Made it to Skagway this morning. The trip that would have taken us into Canada again and then back to Alaska in 9 hours of driving only took one hour. We put our Motorhomes on the Alaska Marine Highway and sailed to our next destination. I thought it was going to be too expensive to use the Marine HWY but checked into it anyway. The cost was about the same as I would have used in fuel and I saved the mileage, Fuel, Time and wear and tear on the coach and my nerves. It was really a no brainer, we enjoyed the trip to Skagway. Today we went on...

Aug 9, 2019 - Exit through Tok

Back to Tok. We left at 8:30 am and arrived 3:15 pm, traveling 5.75 hours to go 282.7 miles with a brief scenic stop. After all our distress from the breakdowns, the financial and emotional drain, we are done. We are in going home mode. The others will continue on their own. By 10:00 am we climbed to 3,300’ with spectacular views of the huge Wrangell-St. Elias Mountain Range and the Matanuska Glacier to the south and the Alaska Range to the north. Naturally we came across lots of road repairs and delays. We got to witness the building of...

Aug 8, 2019 - Anchorage to Wasilla

We went back to Palmer Elks traveling 3 hours over 168 miles. This will just be a one-nighter, we are now in "Going Home Mode". We noticed now as we travel that the fireweed is beginning to go to seed (white fluff is showing) which means winter is approaching. Time to leave before it gets cold. Of the several times we have passed by Kenai Lake we finally saw some swans. Not close enough for a good photo, but at least we got to see them.