Month: July 2019

Sunday 21 July

We got up and went into Fred Myer to get some supplies to take to lunch.  We went to Harvest Church where Tom and Suzie Brock visit. The message was great and talked about how just as we all have unique fingerprints, nobody has the same voice as you – it was really interesting. 

We then drove to have lunch with Darrell and Deb Bourne.  Darrell’s son Jason did two YWAM’s (Youth with a Mission that Danika is doing in Mexico) in NZ and on his second one, stayed at the Baptist Tab Hostel and the managers were Faye and John Ainsley.  Kayla was also on a YWAM and staying at the hostel and they came up to Mangawhai and spent the evening with us. We got on really well with him and talked a lot about Alaska. He played the piano while Kayla and I had a spa.  He died in 2014, and at the time I messaged his Dad Darrell and said that when we got back to Alaska we would come and visit him. Darrell is a builder and has built the most gorgeous home – an awesome mix of rustic and contemporary.  We really loved getting to know Darrell, his wife Deb and their dog, Bonsai, and really connected with them and as hard as it was, talking about Jason who was an amazing young man who gave to so many. We hope to see them again before we leave the Fairbanks area but also hope to see them in NZ as they would love to come and meet more people who knew Jason and see one of the places Jason loved.

We then went to the visitor’s centre in Fairbanks which was awesome and they had a lovely man called Bob who was so helpful and recommended things to do.  We wanted to find the campground that we stayed in, in 1996 and caught Salmon and fed the people around us so stayed at Riverview RV Park hoping it was it, but we enjoyed the showers and had our staple of chicken and salad on croissants for dinner.

Saturday 20 July

We got up in the morning and wanted to give Larry and Robin a hand with jobs that needed to be done, so Tayla, Ross, and Chris went out to the hangar and cleared the grassy area of rocks so that it could be mowed – Robin said every time the mower hits a rock she will send it to us!  Josh worked with Larry on the truck and camper while Danika edited photos. We stopped for lunch and then Danika and Josh helped us finish the rest of the rocks. Larry, Robin, and Robbie left for Osh Kosh and we got ready and left for Fairbanks. Chris and Ross cycled this road in 1996 so we had to make some stops reminiscing along the way.  We pulled into Byers Lake campground to show the kids where we camped and swum in the lake to wash off as there had been a sighting of a bear in the campground that day. We stopped at Denali and had subway for dinner. We don’t remember there being a big tourist town in Denali in 1996 but there sure was now, with the flash hotels for the tour groups – Princess Lodge etc and the tourist shops that go with the tourist stops.  We had a walk around and found the cheapest option for dinner – Subway, so got our food and hit the road again. Chris was driving and saw a brown bear cross the road but by the time we got to it, it had gone into the bush. 

We stopped at Nenana and drove around the campground, reminiscing as the little log cabin which was 100 years old back then was still there, and the log shelters were also still there.  The visitor’s centre log building, which is years old, with grass growing on its roof was still there too! We got to Fred Myer at 11.45 pm in time to use their bathrooms and stayed in the Fred Myer car park.

Friday 19 July

Ross, Tayla, and Chris worked on Maths-Whizz work most of the day and sent out an email to our teachers with Term 2 reports while Danika edited photos and Josh went and mowed Carol Perrin’s lawn.  Ross went and helped Larry with the Super Cub maintenance. We cooked up Sausages and mixed with leftover veggie medley and had a salad for dinner with Larry and Robin and had Brownie and Angel Food Cake for dessert (Dani said it tasted like chalkboard cake but still ate it).  We played Double solitaire with Larry, Ross and Josh (the losers) playing on one team, Robin and Chris another, and Tayla and Danika (the winners). Lots of laughs!

Thursday 18 July 

Got up in the morning and went up to Independence (Gold) Mine and spoke to the guy at the kiosk by the gate who “loved our accent” which we get often, and allowed us in for $5 instead of $20. He recommended a hike to Gold Cord Lake. This was the prettiest walk we have done and one of the most picturesque spots we’ve seen throughout our whole journey. We walked up past a cute cabin and then on to some alpine lakes where the water is emerald green surrounded by huge rock faces. There was still a little snow on the ground in patches which resulted in a snowball fight between Dani and Josh, and some really nice photo opportunities.  We couldn’t believe in the peek of summer, often being the only ones there to enjoy it. We stayed at the lake for a while and then headed back to walk around the Independence Mine site (self-guided tours), again getting an insight into life in Alaska during the Goldrush. Apparently, Independence Mine was the second-largest gold producing operation behind another that was based just out of Juneau.

Had some yummy filled croissants (thanks Danika and Josh) before heading back home to Talkeetna.  Robin, Larry, and Robbie are getting ready to go to Osh Kosh, so we picked up a couple of slabs of pork ribs and Ross did his ‘World Famous (with our friends) BBQ’ and they didn’t disappoint.  Tayla made some yummy veggies, homemade garlic bread, and a yummy chocolate brownie! We had angel food cake with cream, strawberries, and blueberries for dessert. The after-dinner entertainment saw an ultra-competitive 3-way double solitaire challenge – Ross/Chris v Tayla/Danika v Larry/Robin/Josh.   None of us expected Larry not to win, but I’m sure this will not be the last challenge!

   

Wednesday 17 July

Woke up this morning and realised that we would have to revise our itinerary and go the long way round to Dawson City (Canada), travelling back to Talkeetna before heading to Dawson as although the girls had their passports, the rest were safely back at the hangar We decided it would be a good opportunity to go through Hatchers Pass which we were going to do later, so that is now where we are heading tonight.   

On the way, we stopped off at the visitor centre in Sutton to find some toilets, and ended up spending some time looking around the site of an old ‘coal washing’ plant, that after construction requiring sizeable capital investment, was decommissioned 6 months after starting, when the army changed from coal fired to oil fired.

It was awesome to look around at the machinery and buildings but the most memorable part has to be the 3 kids playing on a playground – with some memorable quotes, one being from Danika – “I can reach the monkey bars now”.

Many of the properties, probably due to the harsh winter, do not have manicured lawns and gardens, so Danika was pleasantly surprised to see these paddocks and said “Look at all the mowed lawns, it’s the first mowed lawns I’ve seen here”, only to realise there were wrapped round hay bales and it was only mowed due to the hay, not to manicure.

Stopped to refuel and stock up at Palmer and tried for the second time to find their information centre, without success so continued to read the milepost and headed to Hatchers Pass.  The scenery was gorgeous and we stopped at rivers.

Independence Mine was shut so we headed up to the summit for a walk before dinner.   The drive to the summit was fairly hair-raising, and not something Chris enjoyed. It is a very steep unsealed road, that was quite narrow in places. Once we made the summit road (3886ft) we walked up to the summit and the views were amazing, looking both ways.

On our way up we scoped some possible overnight camping spots. There were a number of Parks controlled camping pullouts, where there were long drops, and overnight fees of $15. Found a really picturesque one beside a river, but it was a little too picturesque for a number of members of our party, as just after we entered, a guy hiking was getting changed, and when we saw him he was fully naked, thankfully facing in the other direction.  At that point we decided to move on to the next campground closer to the summit and set up for the night.

Other great quotes from the day;

For dinner we had sausages and salad – “Blue cheese dressing doesn’t taste like blue cheese. Blue cheese tastes like feet. And I know what feet tastes like” – Josh

Earlier Mum had said “That’s a nice sign” and was continually mocked for that.  Tayla then pointed out another ‘nice sign’ and when we started to mock her she said – “I was trying to be genuine” – mmmm  if you were genuine would you have to try???

Tuesday 16 July

Ross and Chris did business work and scheduled a Skype with Gemma for Maths-Whizz, while Danika edited photos and Tayla and Josh stained Carla’s front deck.  Carla got a call mid-afternoon from a friend who has an Air BnB on Pippin Lake (5 min away), where she also has kayaks and paddle boat so we re-scheduled with Gemma and headed out to the lake and met up with Gail, and then later her husband Scott, and spent a couple of hours kayaking around on the lake. Such a beautiful spot, can really see why people love it here in the summer. Don’t think we would cope in the winter when the lake freezes completely, temperatures are well below freezing, and there is a little daylight at all during waking hours. Scott commented that in winter, schools would shut when temperatures dropped to 50 below (F), (-450C). Apparently at this temperature your breath instantly freezes when breathing out. As temperatures drop further, Larry said that tires on your car freeze, and will shatter if you slam your door, then at around 60 below, cars are left running 24 hours a day. Different world!

Carla took us for the “grand tour” around Kenny Lake (which took about 5 minutes) before heading home where we saw main attractions like Kenny Lake Mercantile (general store), Kenny Lake School, Community Hall,  Pick and Post – the most unique store you have ever seen – if you are in need of hubcaps or an old washing machine, it really is the place to go. There is even a boat that is being converted into accommodation. So much character – so unique, and so Kenny Lake

Back at Carla’s, we had yummy fried pork chops and vegetable medley with ice cream and coffee (affogato) for dessert and after our Skype we played “Double Solitaire” again, this time Danika and Tayla being the winning combination with so many laughs!

Monday 15 July

We got picked up by Kennicott Shuttles to do a day trip to the Kennicott Mine near McCarthy.  Got picked up by the shuttle at around 8:15 – was supposed to be 8 but got a call to say that the shuttle would be late as the driver had to wake up some campers (4 Germans) as they were not ready for pick up when he arrived. Don’t think the driver was too impressed by his ‘eye rolling’ and body language when he picked us up.

It was a 3 hour drive out to McCarthy, great scenery, saw a bull moose and lots of beautiful rivers, lakes and mountains. The road very quickly deteriorated, and although the shuttle was $100 each, was so glad not to be driving the road. Jason, the driver, knew how fast to go, and ended up driving a bit faster than we probably would have, especially in Larry’s camper. 

Got to McCarthy just before 11 (we skipped a toilet stop to make up time), walked over the footbridge and got the 11am shuttle up to Kennicott mine. We signed up for the 2 hour 11:30 Mill Tour, which culminated in us entering the top floor of the mine building, and moving down floor by floor (14 floors in total), looking at all the processes involved in the extraction of high grade copper ore ready to send off to be smelted at Cordova.

After the tour we had a bit of lunch before walking around the rest of the mine site, and taking a shuttle back down to McCarthy where we walked around the old buildings and again got a bit of a feel for what life must have been like for the miners, especially during Alaskan Winters.

The shuttle departed for home around 4:30.  Jason stopped so we could walk across the Kuskulana River Canyon Bridge.  The Kuskulana bridge was a single-lane railroad bridge 238 feet above the raging Kuskulana River built during the winter of 1910  to service the Kennicott Mine. When it was converted to a car bridge, people had to drive across on 2 boards (one for each wheel) with no side barriers – it was the most nerve-racking part of their drive down McCarthy Road. 

We got back to Kenny Lake around 7:30pm and Carla was out at the local community hall where a visiting musical group from Fairbanks was playing so Danika did a great job of frying up the last of the cooked chicken with leftovers, before catching up againwith Carla. 

Sunday 14 July

Got up early and headed down to the dock to catch up with Sarah (Peggy’s daughter) and catch the ‘Lu Lu Belle’, a boat chartered by the First Baptist Church in Valdez, where every Sunday they head out of Valdez, and into Prince William Sound for a brief service, before their main church service back at their church at 11am. Great experience, awesome to sit in God’s creation, just looking at the scenery, singing some (old) worship songs/hymns, and then a short message on Integrity.  They stopped the message to point out the Otters and Sea Lions.

We had a wander around Valdez with Sarah.  The town had all been rebuilt following a 9.2 earthquake on Good Friday in 1964, 15 miles below Prince William Sound, halfway between Anchorage and Valdez.  The initial quake caused landslides killing 32 people and collapsing the town and the docks. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was also reported from Florida and Texas. 

We went to the information centre where we did some research and booked our trip to Kennicott Mine for tomorrow, and then went to the supermarket to get dinner.  We drove past the ‘old town’ as we headed out of town.

Sarah recommended a visit to Alison Point where the salmon were running and there were lots of RV’s and people fishing.  We then carried on to Bridal Veil falls. While we got ready for our walk, Chris went to attach the bear spray to the day pack but pressed the wrong button and released some bear spray which sprayed out onto the ground and on her hand (thankfully not directly towards her or anyone else).  She then went to the cab of the truck to get the wipes to wipe it off her hands but as she did that Tayla got down out of the camper and walked around the side of the truck and into the bear spray and got it in her eyes and mouth. Meanwhile Josh and Danika also walked around that area and felt the pepper in their throats.  Ross was a way off and came over wondering why Tayla was on all fours choking. Once she had recovered, we started our walk but Ross had touched her water bottle and then rubbed his eyes, which meant that he was escorted back to the truck with his eyes too sore to open so we could bathe them in water – oh dear – only something you can laugh at later!   Everyone recovered but had a pepper taste and tingly lips for a while. We continued our walk up the side of the canyon for nearly an hour, to a really nice stream where a previous flood had washed out a footbridge. This track was originally cut by explorers to gain an alternative access route into Valdez, rather than going over the Valdez Glacier. We ate Salmon Berries on the track.  Then back to the car and up and over Thompson Pass again where we briefly stopped at Worthington Glacier. 

We got back to Carla’s at Kenny Lake and Danika cooked roast potatoes and yams to go with the roast chicken and broccoli.  She kicked us out of the kitchen so we wouldn’t get bear spray on the chicken We sat down and played “Double Solitaire” and had pop tarts for the first time, for dessert.

 

Saturday 13 July

Headed out of Anchorage late morning then took the ‘Old Glenn Highway’ through to Palmer. It’s when you get off the beaten track that you see some of the real gems;  Chris loved making us stop to take photos of old cars in paddocks – and there were plenty. We often drove past lots of little cabins and lodges that the miners used in the Gold, Copper and Silver Rush Days, now abandoned.  It seemed so sad that these little buildings with so much history were now just deteriorating.  

Stocked up with some supplies at Palmer and followed the Matanuska River eastward through Chickaloon and onto Glennallen. Turned south onto the Richardson highway and headed to Kenny Lake where we caught up with Carla, a good friend of Peggy Hicks. Spent some time planning with her before continuing onto Valdez. Went up and over Thompson Pass, just stunning, with great views up into Worthington Glacier. Once over the pass we descended passing the stunning Bridal Veil falls, and Horse Tail falls. Had to endure plenty of roadworks and with subsequent delays, got into Valdez around 9:30pm. Decided not to try and book into a campground, save ourselves $50, and after getting some odds and ends at Safeway, camped overnight in their carpark … only to find the following morning that overnight camping was prohibited in their carpark (small sign on the Safeway door!).

 

Friday 12 July

There were only 2 spaces for the Brooks Falls Trip yesterday, and I (Chris) wanted to go so went up this morning.  Had an incredible time and saw a sow nursing her 3 cubs – today there were more fish running so also saw fish jumping into the falls and many bears catching the eating the salmon.  It was incredible to see the bears in their natural environment. After arriving back at the dock, as I was getting out, I dropped my phone into the water! Had assumed that after retrieval due to the cracked screen, the waterproof phone would no longer be waterproof, however, due to the photos on the phone, we thought it was worth trying to find it so Josh, the most willing of us all, jumped into the brown water to find it was pretty shallow and fished around the muddy bottom to retrieve my phone and claim the NZ$50 as his reward money.  We dried the phone out on the dashboard of the truck as we headed towards Anchorage. Surprisingly it switched on and we got the photos off first, and the phone has continued to work which was a relief.

Today, I (Ross), learned a great lesson in humility! It started yesterday when I went to buy a bottle of wine to have with dinner with Kay and Joyce. I got asked for ID!!!!!!! We called into Kenai to see what it was like, not really worth visiting unless you were there for the fishing. Decided to try ‘Arby’s’ for dinner …. I got asked if I wanted a ‘Seniors Discount’!!!!!!

Of course, I said yes – then thought about what I said!! Then I found out the reason EVERYONE gets asked for ID when purchasing alcohol in Alaska, is if you have a DUI conviction, then you have your licence re-issued with a red stripe through it, meaning that you are not allowed to purchase alcohol at all for the duration of your penalty duration.

We headed back to Anchorage, on the Sterling Highway. There was so much visible damage from the fires, with areas of burnt trees that went for miles. With the late getaway from Homer, we were not going to make it to Pam and Bruce’s while they were awake so we parked for the night.