Perkinson Family Alaska Holiday

Saturday 6 July

Ross and Larry headed off to the hangar to organise some camping and fishing gear, while Chris and the kids went out to Cubby’s for food supplies. Ross and Josh then went and filled up 6 x 5 gallon fuel cans to take out to the cabin for the ATVs. By the time the food trip got back from Cubbys, the rest of the party were ready to head out to the cabin, complete with a .44 caliber handgun, just in case we had to convince a bear to find an alternative restaurant. Chris stayed back to organise food as it was going to take 2 trips anyway.

Made the dusty trip to the cabin OK, then Josh headed back into town to pick up Chris. While the girls organised things at the cabin, Larry and Ross headed out on an ATV to scope a good fishing spot. Clear Creek where Chris and Ross fished 23 years ago now has a few more cabins around, so headed a little further north. At one stage a reasonably sized Moose jumped out of the bush onto the track in front of us, and some signs of bears, but no close encounters! Although the track was once wide enough for cars to drive down (as evidenced by a number of rusty wrecks along the way), the trail was now significantly narrower, quite overgrown, and extremely rough in places. For the last half hour or so we were in low ratio, and progressing very carefully with deep ruts and rocks to navigate. We came to the end of a sidetrack terminating at Gallin’s Cabin, a cabin that was in an advanced state of disrepair, that was owned by a guy called Gallin, who is now deceased and the brother of one of Larry’s neighbours. Great fishing spot, really picturesque and private.

Headed back to the cabin (the trip was over an hour each way), and got back to find that we only just got back after Chris and Josh, as Josh had got ‘lost’ on the way back, trying a number of tracks before finally finding Larry’s driveway. 

Had a great night at the cabin, reminiscing, and Larry taught us how to play “Double Solitaire” – a favourite hunting camp card game. For dinner, we cooked sausages, roasted broccoli, and bread. We had a good night’s sleep, even though the temperatures were really warm (over 300C during the day). Josh decided to sleep downstairs as it was cooler.

Friday 5 July

Chris, Ross, and Josh went for a flight with Dave Hicks. Headed north from Talkeetna, flew over Larry’s cabin then headed out to Denali (Mt McKinley) where Dave flew up completely around the mountain.

He said that it was a perfect day – the weather was spectacular, not a cloud to be seen, McKinley was just spectacular.  We could see where base camp was – there was still one tent there. We could see the different trails that climbers had forged this summer.  Due to the long stretch of summer weather, climbing continued later, but the heat was now melting, exposing crevices that would have made it dangerous for walking. 

Unbelievable scenery, just hard to put into words.  We would highly recommend a flight with David Hicks N2 Alaska Floatplane Sightseeing Tours – it was amazing!  Both Chris and Josh felt a little unwell at times even though it was a smooth flight. You could feel the temperature drop as we flew around Denali where David pointed out different routes of varying difficulty for climbing Denali;

There are 4 main routes up McKinley;

1. Over 90% of the people who climb Denali these days ascend it by the standard route up the West Buttress.
2. For nearly 40 years the Muldrow Glacier on the northern side was the standard route.
3. For those who fancy something a little more challenging there’s the West Rib, first climbed in 1959.
4. Long regarded as Denali’s classic line, the Cassin Ridge is a bit more hardcore, and for elite climbers, first climbed in 1961.

92% climb Denali by the West Buttress

51% of climbers reach the summit

We flew right into Denali and it was hard to gauge distances as there were white sheer cliffs.  He pointed out a cabin that he had stayed in at one point at the base of the Mountain. We saw loads of Glaciers, the beautiful blue Glacier pools, and even a Moose further down in the tundra. 

We came home and had a lazy afternoon.  Once we were all awake Larry set us up with Kayaks and a Windsurfing Board.  We spent about 2 hours paddling around Christensen Lake (a lake that Ross and Chris swam in, in the summer of 1996 and then snowmobiled on, in the Christmas of 1996.   We had sprayed ourselves with bug spray before going into the lake, not as much for the bugs but to act as a repellent for the leeches. We had a lovely swim and it was really warm and thankfully no leeches.  

It’s Kay and Joyce’s last night before they head to Anchorage and they bought Pizza from the well-reputed Mountain High Pizza Pie in Talkeetna.  We had Bennetts Chocolates, Brownie and Chocolate Biscuits for Dessert. We had a lovely time with them and hope to see them again sometime, maybe in NZ.

   

Thursday 4th July

We had a slow start to the day, as everyone prepared for the 4th of July Parade.  Larry is somewhat of a celebrity in Talkeetna and he dressed in his annual gear that we have seen pictures of for years!  Tayla got to ride to the parade on the back of his bike, and we walked into town. First up we came to the Bunny Petting table and stayed there for some time while we enjoyed cuddling these gorgeous bunny’s. As she handed the bunny to Danika she said “here have a Bunny Burrito” and handed her a bunny wrapped in a cloth so they didn’t scratch.   It was 30 degrees so they had bottles of frozen water to keep them cool.  

Then we made our way along the street ready for the parade at noon.  It started with a guy playing the National Anthem on an electric guitar standing in the middle of the road.   Then the parade started and it was awesome to see Robbie dressed up on her Cushman bike, dressed as “Rosie” from the war.  Then Robin who was riding a Honda ….. and then Larry came through – and you will have to look at the photos to see him as he rode up and down the road giving women rides on the back.   He also picked up Danika for a ride. The parade consisted of floats throwing out ‘candy’, with people dressed in red, white and blue. There were old cars, quads, and all sorts of vehicles – some doing burnouts – it was awesome to be a part of it!  Apparently, many of the guys carried guns.  

Afterward people came back for an awesome lunch – “Gold Rush Beans”, Meatballs, Ham, Greek Salad, Watermelon, Pecan Pie made by Carol Perrin, Oaty Slice made by Peggy, with red white and blue M&Ms, chocolate chip cookies and Reese’s Peanut Butter cups made by Rose which were yummy and Chocolate Brownie made by Tayla.  There were 38 people there over the day. We sat outside underneath the trees in the shade for hours talking, as it was 31 degrees. It was great hearing stories of aviation adventures, various plane crashes and fun they had meeting each other.  

It was a relaxing afternoon and a cruisy evening.  Robin is recovering from a horrible fluey bug and Larry is in the middle of it.

Wednesday 3 July

Tayla and Danika went on a float plane ride at 9:30am with David Hicks around Denali National Park. The views were unreal and we couldn’t believe how big everything was. We flew over base camp which only a few dots in the snow below, and also saw the Mountain House which would cost $20,000 to stay in for one night including the accommodation cost and the flight out there. Julia Roberts came out and stayed there with her family last year – Larry got a hug and a photo with her during her visit!

We offered to cook dinner so drove up to the Y and went grocery shopping at Cubby’s.  It was fun to look at all the brands etc and Danika cooked her coconut creamed chicken pasta with spinach, cherry tomatoes and roasted yams. It was yummy!  Tayla cooked brownie which we had with strawberries and cream. Rose (Robin’s Mum) came for dinner and cooked a Strawberry and Rhubarb pie which was so yummy! Carol Perrin (Larry’s Mum) who we spent Christmas with in 1996 came also. She now lives at Larry’s property Chris and Ross had previously stayed in.  Leroy and Gail Rotgers from Florida arrived with their daughter and two grandchildren. Larry and Robin had been stranded in bad weather in Florida and he took them in. Leroy is also a pilot.

Before dinner we heard that a fire had started in Montana Creek Road where we had gone for the quad bike and peonies tour yesterday and was within a mile of Cindy and Marks house.  Over the course of the evening the fire spread to 300 acres but the fire service laid retardant around 90% of the fire to contain it. Because of the damage the Spruce Beetle, there were lots of dead trees which were just like matchsticks. 

Rose, had been mowing her lawn but it was too hot so after dinner, we went with her and Josh mowed the rest of her lawn and Danika came to take photos of her amazing home with so many treasures.  They both rode quad bikes over there on the main road (without helmets) as that’s what you do at around 60km/hr. Rose, her husband and Robin lived in Platinum, which was a Platinum Placer Mine near the Native community of Y’pik Eskimos.   Rose had a collection of baskets that she had brought from the native’s. They were made of grass and dyed Seal Gut and were beautiful – Rose said one of the smaller pots would be worth about US$1000. They are a real treasure, and they are no longer being made.   She had ones twice the size and had so many pots. She also painted and did mosaics. Her work was gorgeous and her garden was too. We then drove home with Danika and Josh on the quads.

Robbie took Joyce Kinter for a flight and said the fire had died down.  

Tuesday 2 July

Today we had a later start, and it was a super warm day.  The Beringer Family came over and it was ‘Gun Day’! We started with a lesson on safety and guns and the importance of not treating them like toys.  The amateurs started first and shooting at clay targets which was so much fun! We started with a .22 rifle, then Tayla and Josh moved onto a .257 AR15 Semi-Automatic, then Larry asked Tayla if she wanted to shoot a .375 caliber pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 Rifle and she accepted the challenge.  He was impressed with her braveness! Then Tom Berringer shot a .460 caliber Rifle. The same caliber that Fern shot her bear with when she was 10. It was such a buzz as Tayla and Josh had never shot a gun before and Chris’s only other shooting was in Alaska previously.

When we went to Church on Sunday we met Cindy Peterson who had previously been to NZ offered to take us to see her Peony Farm and give us a tour on quad bikes around their 800-acre property.  We met up with Peggy in the afternoon and set out to the farm on Montana Creek Road. It was hot (30 Degrees) and dusty. We met the family who showed us the Peonies and then took us around the farm, showed us his crops, roads he was building and dreams for development of their farm and then Mark Peterson showed us his metal work which was awesome.  We were covered in dust (even worse than the day we went out to the cabin). We came home and showered and then we all went around to the Hicks for Dinner. Peggy, David, Katelyn, and John Hicks came to New Zealand on 1st January this year and stayed with us for a week before traveling around NZ. We had a lovely night with them and David organised to take Tayla and Danika for a flight around Denali (Mt McKinley) in his float plane in the morning.  

While the girls and Josh went on ATVs to the peonies, Larry and Ross went up in the cub.

Landed on a ridge, a little bit of a bumpy landing … we sort of hit a rock. Larry didn’t seem phased, “it’s what Cubs are designed for!”

Then we followed the river back to town. Some amazing scenery, but with the temperatures hitting record highs, no sign of wildlife, I expect they would have been all in some shade somewhere.

Talkeetna even got a mention in the paper back home;

“Alaska climatologist Rick Thoman tweeted Anchorage, Kotzbue, Talkeetna, and Yakutat all posted their warmest June on record while Nome, King Salmon, and McGrath logged their second warmest June.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/114010402/alaska-set-for-record-heat

Monday 1 July

This morning, Robbie took Josh out for a flight around the mountains and the river, and they saw a sunken boat in the Talkeetna River.

Today we headed out to the log cabin that Larry and Naomi started building the cabin 1971 when the Government was giving out lots of land for people to develop and settle in Alaska.   In those days they would walk for 3 hours into town to get supplies and it would take them 5 hours to get back along the railway lines. Then Chris and Ross stayed in it for 5 days in 1996, fished for trout and learned how to shoot a 44 Magnum in case they encountered a bear.  

We took 3 quad bikes out to the cabin and it was an 8-mile drive so took around 30 mins to ride out there. The cabin looks out onto Wiggle Creek which flows into Kelly Lake which Larry named after his son, and is surrounded by Birch and Spruce trees. 

We set about cleaning the cabin – while Larry fixed the furnace so we can come and stay for a few nights later on in our trip.

While preparing lunch, Danika and Larry managed to get themselves into a water fight and there was water all through the kitchen. We eventually sat down to marmite and chip sandwiches, but Larry stuck with his honey and peanut butter – and he thought we were weird! We then got stuck into some more cleaning, as he has been continuing the renovations and building of it in his ‘spare time’.  We saw the chain that he had mounted in the cabin recently that he had retrieved from Stern-wheeler “Whitehorse” ship that floated up “Five Finger Rapids” on the Yukon River back in the days of the Klondike Gold Rush. It was used to tie on barges. Shortly after he retrieved the chain the historic ship burned to the ground.

Once we had cleaned up, Larry pulled out the canoe and taught Josh how to be a Steerer and how to do the J- stroke, and C-stroke. Mum, Tayla, Dani and Josh then went out on the lake without Larry, which was interesting to try and keep straight… He said “It looked like you were in a maze out there” on the open lake.  We saw Beaver lodges and a couple of other cabins on the lake.

On the way home, we stopped into Larry’s friend Dennis and Dana DeVore’s’ log cabin where they invited us in for some watermelon and to show us around their cabin. Dennis and Larry spent their earlier years in Talkeetna together, helping each other out with building cabins surviving in the Alaska climate and lifestyle. We continued our trip home on the four wheelers and arrived home covered in so much dust that we even had dust lines from where our clothing and sunglasses had been.

We enjoyed another of Robin’s meals which were rice and sloppy joe made from the night before leftovers with Kay and Joyce Kinter. Kay is Larry’s first cousin who is from Kansas who has taken a month to travel up from Colorado, is traveling around Alaska for a month and will take a month to travel home. 

 

Sunday 30 June

Had a bit of a sleep in and then a leisurely breakfast before heading off to church at a nice 11am. So awesome to head back into a church we first visited 23 years ago, Montana Creek Baptist. They asked for a show of hands for first-time visitors and we encouraged Tayla, Dani, and Josh to put their hands up and they got a gift, but Larry called us out and said we were here 23 years ago.

We caught up with Carol Perrin (Larry’s mum) which was very special. I think we all had tears in our eyes getting to catch up again after so long. Also caught up with Peggy Hicks (David and the kids were working), although Larry was struggling a bit with our accent. Thought we were calling her ‘Piggy’.

Larry alerted us to the fact that a number of the men in the congregation had handguns under their shirts (printing), just a normal part of life in Alaska.

We made some marmite and chip sandwiches for everyone to try a ‘taste of New Zealand’. We then went out to the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge to a bear that Fern shot when she was 10 years old.  We met up with their Aussie/UK friends, the Beringer family, or ‘Brossies’ as Larry liked to call them. Larry also met some people who he helped organise a flight to Brooks Falls.

Larry took Josh for his first flight and the rest of us walked with Max around town looking in the gift shops, seeing caribou, wolves and other creatures skins and furs in the shops.  We then met up with Doulie and Darrel from Colorado (who had flown up) at Fairview Inn. Then Larry and Josh came back from their flight and met us at the Inn. Larry took Tayla for a ride on his bike around town and then Danika for a ride on his bike (Honda …)  She didn’t have a helmet and he went 177km/hr (110mph). It took her a while to stop shaking but she loved it. Chris then went for a short ride but he knew better and only went 100km/hr (60mph).   

We had a big American potluck dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers with Doulie, Darryl, and the Beringer family – David, Carol, Tom, Max, and Ed.

 

Saturday 29 June

Docked in Whittier around midnight Friday. Apparently, during WWII, the Japanese had occupied the Aleutian Islands, and this then brought Seward within bombing range of the Japanese. Seward was a naval port so the US needed a second option. Whittier was chosen, it was just over the hill but covered in cloud 320 days a year. The thought was that if the Japanese couldn’t see it, then they wouldn’t find it. Needless to say after the best weather in College Fjord the day before, Whittier was bright sunshine as well. 

There is a rail tunnel into Whittier, the only way in or out. Trains have right of way at all times, and as the tunnel is only 1 train/car wide, there are control lights at each end. Cars can only enter the tunnel to come to Whittier on the half hour, and only enter the tunnel to leave Whittier on the hour. We were supposed to assemble for disembarkation at 7:40am, not sure what time we would be leaving so we just walked off early (around 7:15am) and found Larry waiting for us in the terminal building. So great to finally catch up face to face after 23 years.

After loading our gear we went sightseeing in Whittier which went something like “See the high rise building over there? …” (the only multi-story building in Whittier), “… that’s the grocery store, the post office,  the Government Building, in fact, all of the shops and accommodation in town”. This ended the scenic tour of Whittier, and we made the queue for the 8am release to leave Whittier.

2.5 mi/4 km later, we exited the tunnel and commenced the drive to Anchorage. Quite a lot of haze in the air as apparently there are large out of control bushfires at Kenai that apparently are unlikely to be brought under control for another 4-6 weeks minimum.

Called into Value Village (op shop), a sports store (with lots of guns), and there we hit REI (where we did lots of damage 😊). Late lunch at Taco Bell, a few stops at some aviation stores and we were on our way north to Talkeetna. Arrived in town around 6 pm and got to meet Robin, Robbie and Fern for the first time. Such an awesome feeling to come back to our ‘Alaska home’. The girls had Fern’s room (she is now resident in Fairbanks), Josh had the spare room downstairs, and Chris and I had our own room/accommodation down at Larry’s hangar, again bringing back so many great memories, including where we were introduced to the internet for the first time.

Had ‘Sloppy Joes’ for dinner back at the Rivers, a great mince dish on burger buns. Still trying to get to grips with the fact that we’re getting tired, the sun is still up, and it’s 10:30 pm.

Thursday 27 June

We got up and had breakfast on the deck as we looked for whales (which some had seen before we got up).   With hardly a cloud in the sky and the most incredibly beautiful scenery, we sailed up into Glacier Bay National Park viewing Reid Glacier, Lamplugh Glacier and Marjorie Glacier and watched for the calving of the Glaciers.  There was less activity and significantly fewer icebergs in the water compared to 23 years ago which was a shame.  While still sitting viewing Marjorie Glacier, Tayla, Danika and Chris had a spa.  Then we moved to another area where we swam and lay in deck chairs as we all enjoyed the sun, finding it hard to believe that we were in Alaska, however just had to look around to be reminded by the incredible scenery of this most incredible jewel of God’s creation!   It was lovely to have a lazy day, soaking in as much of the view as possible, knowing that the weather we have experienced, yet again is God’s gift!

Wednesday 26 June

We got up early and Ross and Chris went and picked up the Jeep we hired for the day for Danika’s birthday.  Downtown Skagway is very cool and it seemed that all the cruise people went on tours as the streets were nice and ‘tourist free’.  Off we went with our audio commentary tour in the Jeep and headed out of town to drive on roads we had cycled on our honeymoon and visit places we camped.  The scenery was spectacular, and we stopped and took plenty of photos as Ross drove in North America for the first time this trip.  When you cycle a road, you remember it, and it was so special to experience this again.  The day was planned around Danika’s birthday and the first main stop was to pat the husky puppies at the Tutshi Dog Kennels where Michelle Williams who has competed in several Iditarod Trail runs over the years, and still competes, breeds and trains their puppies.  While Dani was sitting with the puppies, we brought out a beautiful carrot cake that Ruth-Ann had made Dani and the staff joined with us to sing Happy Birthday and shared the cake with us.  We met Joy, a retired Husky Iditarod Competitor and got a photo with Michelle – we will be able to follow her progress with interest.  After 2 hours we managed to drag Danika away from the puppies with the hope we would have time to revisit on our way back to Skagway if we had time (unfortunately we didn’t).  We kept driving towards Carcross (Caribou Crossing) a place where we stayed a few days on our honeymoon as Ross was feeling sick and managed to cycle 8km to the Carcross Medical Centre and they gave him 3 litres of fluid as his BP was 50/20.  We only recognised a few of the buildings and the rest of the town seemed unfamiliar, and when we spoke to a lady in the information centre she pointed out the original buildings – the rest of the ‘historical town’ has been built since.  We saw the campground where we stayed and then went on to have lunch at Spirit Lake Lodge and Resort which was the old campground we stayed before Ross’s 8km ride into Carcross, 23 years ago.  It was so run down and the food, well, it was not good!  It was still good to show our kids and to reminisce.  We then drove to Emerald Lake, which was beautiful (apparently the most photographed lake in the Yukon).  We turned around and headed back to Skagway, and detoured to the town of Dyea, a tiny settlement that was the alternative route to the Klondike in Goldrush days and saw the head of the Chilkoot Trail.  We also saw a cemetery where an avalanche (slide) killed around 65 people from all over the world who were chasing Gold in 1898.  There were some stunning views over Skagway.  We returned the Jeep right on closing time and highly recommend it to anyone visiting Skagway on a cruise ship.  It was US$250 plus tax for the 5 of us for 10 hours.  Most of the shore excursions cost that for 1 person and we had our independence and had the best day by ourselves.   We were so tired but went to dinner where the waiters sung Happy Birthday to Dani as she hid under the table 😊   Another earlyish night was had so we could get up and enjoy the Glaciers in the morning.