Hope, Alaska And Ressurection creek

Tuesday: (07/12) It's brighter today. That may be partly because we all slept in very late today. After 9:00am. Granola with yogurt and honey for breakfast. We headed off toward Hope about noon.


We explored a campground and stopped by to look at the Six Mile river viewpoint on the way (above). They're all very nice. note the water color caused by glacial melt.



Hope is a tiny old village. Like many seaside villages here, they suffered a lot of damage in the 1964 earthquake. The original village location sunk into Turnagain Arm. Some of the old buildings were relocated, some that were on the backside of the village are now on the bay side and had to be raised. Above left are a few of the original buildings in their original locations and, on the right, some old buildings from a nearby ghost town that were moved to Hope's museum.


They have nice museum there. Above is a horse shoe with ice spikes seen at the museum. We also visited the library where I was able to use their Wifi for a while.

Sandwiches for lunch.

On our return we drove out to the Resurrection trailhead where we had our late lunch then hiked out the Resurrection trail a mile or so.


This area was damaged by the hydraulic gold mining so they are restoring the stream bed and eliminating the gravel piles. It looks pretty good but should be better in the future. Above left is Resurrection Creek after some restoration and the Resurrection Creek Trail (on the right).


Some nice yellow flowers by the trail.


Lou made some sausage and kale soup (zuppa tuscana). We had a little rain in Hope and the sun didn't shine much today.

Bertha Creek Campground

Monday: (07/11) Lou fixed ham, eggs and home fried potatoes for breakfast. After topping off the RV gas and filling the LPG tank we were off toward the Kenai Peninsula.


The first part of our trip today was over ground we already covered when we tried to see the bore tide. We stopped to look at the Potter March boardwalk. We also stopped along the way to watch some dall sheep of or mountain goats on the cliffs along the road. We didn't go too far today stopping about mm68 at Bertha campground. Nice place in a nice green valley by a nice river and waterfall. It comes with it's own moose and bears (so the host says).


Our campsite and a waterfall at Bertha Creek Campground. We relaxed the rest of the day in camp. For lunch we had stir-fry vegetables and tofu. We decided to set up our screen tent for the first time. Not long after we got the screen room setup it started to rain. Fortunately it's roof is solid, not screen. We bought it just before we left and haven't had the ideal place and time to use it yet. Lou was busy baking much of the evening. When they filled the LPG tank, they overfilled it so she was busy getting ride of some of it. So we now have brownies and her famous Mexican cornbread. We had chicken pot pies for dinner. Today was the first time we've fully charged our batteries. since we arrived in Anchorage. Our campsite there was burried in the trees with only a few minutes of direct sun early in the morning. Not much help with the batteries. Being out on the road on a sunny day fixed all that. We chose our campsite here because it was the sunniest site. Now if it just has some sunny days we'll be fine.




Flowers at Bertha Creek Campground.
(GPS: 60.7503827, -149.72279)

Anchorage Port Tour

Sunday: (07/10) For some reason we all sleep late this morning, not that we've been early risers recently anyway. Granola with yogurt and honey for breakfast. We headed out to the Alaska Railroad Station. Today was the first tour of the port this season. It's known as the Alaska Port rather than the Anchorage Port because it handles more than 80% of all the goods shipped to and from Alaska, other than oil.


The cranes loading a ship at the Anchorage port.

There are two shippers that each have a ship that arrives in port on Sunday (today) and Wednesday's each week. Evidently they arrive early because they were both being loaded when we saw them.  Also there were a lot of military vehicles being loaded for shipment to Afghanistan. The tour was very good and even better because it was free. They took us out to the port on a classy tour bus. After the tour they took us to the port administration building where we got a free lunch of hotdogs. Our tour guide was the media director. The cooks were other administrators. Even the port director spoke to the guests telling us all about the improvements and expansion they are undertaking. After the tour we visited the Marketplace just up the hill from the railroad terminal. One of the photographer vendors even remembered Dawn from our visit to the Bear Paw Festival a couple of days ago. Nice photos and even some good advise.


Dawn has been wanting to have some local beer so we stopped at the Sleeping Lady Brew Pub. We had our second lunch on the roof overlooking the port. We started with a shared berry crisp desert. then shared a salmon pot pie with a salad and fish and chips.

Then we stopped at the airport and got Dawn's return ticket. The Anchorage airport is interesting because in addition to the runway there is a lake for seaplanes. Tomorrow we depart Anchorage. We had fried fish with kale and Spanish rice for dinner.

Anchorage Zoo

Saturday: (07/09) I fixed my Don Mcmuffins for breakfast. this time, in addition to the Italian sausage, eggs and pepperjack cheese, I added a slice of potato. A complete meal in a muffin.


We went to the Alaska Zoo. According to a news article posted in their welcome center the Alaska Zoo is one of six must see zoos in the United States. I've been to three of those. San Diego Zoo, Bush Gardens in Tampa, and now the Alaska Zoo. I don't remember the other three but I'm sure I'll add them to the bucket list. Above are some wonderful blooms on a succulent at the zoo.


A nice porcupine and a pair of polar bears at thew Anchorage Zoo. The Alaska Zoo isn't big but the animals are nicely displayed and the grounds are nice as well. Paths meander through the trees to get to the various displays. We had lunch at the coffee shop there. Soup, tea and cookies.


A snow leopard.

After the zoo visit we stopped at the Diamond Mall. We picked up a couple of things at Wallmart then drove out the Earthquake Park. You can get a nice view of Cook Inlet and of the Anchorage skyline. The we made it home for cheeseburgers for dinner.

Anchorage Arboretum And the Bear Paw Festival

Friday: (07/08) Oatmeal for breakfast. We started with a visit to the Anchorage Arboretum. It's nice with several gardens hidden in the woods. We also hike the Lowenfel's Family Nature Trail there.


The arboretum has several isolated gardens in the forest.


Poppies wer abundant in blue and red. the red poppy is just popping out.




Some nice flowers.


Mushrooms at the arboretum.


We then headed up to Eagle River to the Bear Paw Festival. It was sort of a cross between a rural fair and a street fair. We had lunch at the local Subway sandwich shop sharing an avocado bacon and turkey sandwich. They had a nice acrobatic act called the Aerial Angels (above).

We finished the day with a visit to Costco for  few things.

Alaska Museum In Anchorage

Thursday: (07/07) Oatmeal for breakfast. We stopped by Mobil RV repair to get a new reigniter module for the refrigerator. It's been working fine but probably is defective and the reigniter would be difficult to get most anywhere else in Alaska or Northern Canada.

Then we were off to the Alaska Museum downtown. There isn't too much there but it took us all day to see it.


We attended a presentation by the expert in bent wood hunting hats and learned how to make them. Above is the jig used to form the wooden hats. On right are some of the hats that were made.


Above is the artist that is the current wooden hat expert that gave a demonstration on making wooden hats. In addition we got a close look at a fine example from the Smithsonian's exhibit. We also enjoyed chatting with the museum director and he took us back out to their exhibit to see some items of interest. We learned of a reception for one of the artists in residence later in the evening. The artist is trying to create the art (sculpture, video, sound, drawing, and photography) that Mathew Henson, the first person to the reach the North Pole might have created. Henson went with Admiral Robert Peary and until 1944 was not recognized as the first. Interesting meeting but the art seemed confused though it was only a preview of what was to be.

We had lunch at the 5th Avenue mall next door. To each their own. I had Chinese, Lou had Thai, and Dawn had Greek.

Anchorage, Alaska

Saturday: (07/02) Lou made open faced breakfast sandwiches with onion rolls, olive loaf, jalapeno cheese and eggs. We continued on down the road a ways to Eagle River stopping at Fred Meyer's for gas and a few other necessities. We had a piece of baked chicken as part of our lunch there and finished it with a green salad at home. I also got a haircut in the same area. We then continued over the hill to Centennial Park and moved in to their campground.

We had a near disaster which was one third Lou's making and two thirds mine. When we got gas, Lou checked the gas gauge in the jeep. In doing so she locked the steering wheel. We were going merrily down the road and the RV steering seemed to be pulling to the right. I should have immediately stopped to check it but we were only going a couple of miles and there wasn't an easy place to pull over. As we were rolling through the Eagle River campground a very nice fellow camper caught up to us and mentioned that the right front tire seemed to be scrubbing. I checked and found the steering locked. Easy fix, just unlock it and all was well. Fortunately, it was only a few miles. The tires were locked about 15 degrees to the left so they must have been mostly dragging along but no noticeable wear to the tires but they were warm. My two thirds of the problem were that I didn't make a turn to see if the tires followed correctly. I usually do check them by making a turn and looking in the mirror to see if all is well. The other thing I did was to not stop immediately when something seemed different. The RV was pulling to the right because the jeep was trying to go left. I sometimes get lazy and this was one of those times. All is well now but hopefully lessons learned.
(GPS:61.22697, -149.72279)

Sunday: (07/03) French toast and sausage for breakfast. We did our laundry. Shared a Quizno's sandwich for lunch. After lunch we washed the RV and jeep. What a difference. We picked up Dawn at the Airport. For dinner we stopped by the Golden Corral buffet. The days are long here. After relaxing much of the evening we drove to where they were supposed to have their 4th of July fireworks. They were supposed to be at midnight on the 4th. that should have been 00:00 the morning of the 4th. It wasn't. We weren't the only ones expecting it. We have to consider it a practice run. They do have a problem doing fireworks here in the summer. At midnight it was still bright  outside.

Monday: (07/04) Pancakes and bacon for breakfast. We headed downtown just in tiome to watch the July 4ht parade. After that we stopped by the visitor center to learn what to see. We explored around downtown then had lunch at the Downtown Deli and Cafe. Dawn had reindeer stew. Lou had a reindeer sausage roll and I had a Reuben sandwich. All very good. We heard of the bore tides on the Turnabout Arm. The tides are quite large. Today was only -2.6 feet so the bore tide wasn't going to be the best. It's best with very low tides and they were a couple of months ago. We waited at one of the supposed to be best locations and it never occurred. The river did reverse but there was no wave. Since the tide moves only at 10-15 mph, we drove further up the arm and waited for another chance to see it. Still no better but we did get to see four bald eagles standing in the dry sand in the arm. Missed the tide, saw the eagles. Nice trip. About 11pm we headed back down to see the fireworks. This time we were lucky. it was a nice show even though it wasn't dark at midnight when it started. It had to start some time and it was dimmer than at 11pm. The sun had gone down about 11:30 but it doesn't get dark.

Tuesday: (07/05) Lou fixed spam hash and eggs for breakfast. Dawn got a hair cut and we did a little shopping before going to the Indian Heritage Center. We learned all about the various cultures that have existed in Alaska for centuries. We shared some reindeer stew, reindeer chili and a salmon sandwich for lunch. For dinner Lou fixed corn on the cob, BBQ ribs and mashed potatoes.

Wednesday: (07/06) The refrigerator got sick last night and the "check" light was on. The first thing this morning I looked at it. Yep, it was still on. It appeared like the flame wasn't igniting and the safety timed out and turned on the check lamp. I checked the fuses, both OK. Checked the voltage to the igniter, not OK. I resigned myself to the fact something needed to be replaced. The park manager came by and wanted to know more about our tow vehicle and how it was setup. In talking to him I learned of a good parts and repair shop nearby. I reassembled everything and did one final check and it started working. I think I'll still stop by and get a replacement control module. Probably better supplied here in Anchorage. Today is a bookstore, thrift shop and otherwise relaxing day away from the museums and normal attractions. Breakfast was leftovers from the refrigerator. Dawn  had mushroom onion soup. Lou had tofu soup. I had spam hash and an English muffin. Dawn got to spend some time at Title Wave used Book Store. I visited REI and found some pot handles. We started our trip wit h tweo and before we got to Whitehorse had none. We take of the permanent handles on our frying pans and use these clamp on handles when needed. The missing handles are nowhere to be found. We assume then jumped in the trash can. I've seen them elsewhere along our travels for as little as 8 dollars each. At REI they were $3.25, more like they should be. However REI just gave them to me, three handles for nothing. or Effectively nothing. I've shopped at our local REI a couple of times and it must have been often enough. I had a "dividend" and they used the credit to pay for the handles. then my remaining credit was less than $10 so I walked out with three handles and $8.25. Surprised me. I think I could learn to like that. We had lunch at Fred Meyers. I had an Italian cold cuts panini. Lou and Dawn shared a pastrami on rye. About 8pm we stopped in at a Carr's, the local name for Safeway store. We had a Chinese feast dinner. Chow mein, pork fried rice, sesame chicken and egg rolls.


After dinner we drove out to Kincaid Park and hiked out to the beach on Cook Inlet. The park closes so we didn't have much time at the beach before we had to hike back out or get locked in.


On the way back we saw a huge bull moose with a huge rack. He's the first bull we've seen. There are supposed to be about 1000 moose within the city limits of Anchorage. We've now seen on of them, 999 to go.