Denali Highway and Valdez with Mitch

August 13, 2022 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

We love it when we have visitors on the road, and in this post, we’re excited to share our adventures with my cousin Mitch. He flew into Fairbanks just a day before Sam left us. Together we shared a great dinner and show at the Salmon Bake at Pioneer Park. We were sad to see Sam head south but so grateful for our time with him.

With Mitch our first stop was the North Pole! It’s actually a big gift shop in a suburb of Fairbanks, and it was a great place to stock up on gifts and put in a few requests with Santa.

After our visit with Santa and time to restock our provisions, we set out back towards Denali with a quick stop at the Magic Bus at the Denali Brewing Company and the National Park visitors center.

Mitch photo bombs at the Denali Brewing Company

From there we began our trek across the Denali Highway, the 135-mile, mostly gravel route that was the original path to the park. Along the way we camped at two primitive campgrounds, took in the amazing views, and got in a little fishing. Mitch even caught his first fish with his new fly rod!

Our next stop was back to one of our favorite places from our time here in June. We stayed at the Salmon Grove Fish Camp, along the banks of the Klutina River. From here the guys went on a rafting trip down the river to catch the big ones: King Salmon. It was a long day but both were successful, and we’ve enjoyed some incredible dinners since! This was the first time for both guys to catch Kings so it was pretty exciting!

Copper Center is quiet little town, which we explored on foot in about 30 minutes!

Valdez was our next stop and the drive itself was spectacular! The road winds through Keystone Canyon, with waterfalls on both sides.

We were lucky to arrive in Valdez on a sunny day so that we could take in the snow-capped peaks. We had just enough time to fit in a quick bike ride and check out the town.

The next day Steve and Mitch went on another fishing charter, this time for Silver Salmon. They had sunny skies most of the day and each caught their limits. What a haul! For those who are keeping track, we’ve now sent nearly 50 pounds of fish home, some of which has been shared with Mitch and Sam.

After the successful fishing venture, the skies turned dark and the town was socked in with clouds for the remainder of our stay. They say it rains a lot in Valdez, and they aren’t kidding. But it wasn’t too cold and we were prepared, so the weather didn’t slow us down much. We unknowingly timed our visit to Valdez to coincide with the annual Gold Rush Days, a four day celebration of Valdez’s history. As part of the celebration, we participated in the Wine (and more) Walk through town, which gave us an opportunity to mingle with the locals, support local charities, and sample Valdez-brewed beer. Even in the rain it was fun!

A highlight of any trip to Valdez is going on one of the local tour boats to see wildlife and the nearby glaciers. We opted to go on the Lulubelle, and we weren’t disappointed. Granted, it was a L O N G day on a boat…almost 11 hours with a captain that did not stop talking the entire time!

However, we saw things we couldn’t have seen on other tours. The highlights of our day included humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, and puffin.

The most unique part of the excursion was slowly plowing through the thick ice field at the Columbia Glacier. Along the way we met nice people and enjoyed unbelievable views.

Valdez is a beautiful place. We were lucky to snag a campsite at the Bear Paw II RV Park, right alongside the boat harbor. We spent hours just watching boats of all sizes come in and out of the port. Surrounded by at least five glaciers, the port area is where the action is at in Valdez.

Across the harbor we visited the Solomon Gulch fish hatchery. Here, hundreds of thousands of silver salmon return to the hatchery each year. The mass of fish attract all kinds of other creatures including sea lions and bears. Watching this fat sea lion chow down on salmon was a highlight of our visit there.

Mitch returned home safely, after a cancelled fight and quick change of travel plans. We loved having him with us and hope he has memories to last a lifetime.

We’re now beginning our very slow trek south but still have some fun stops ahead.

Spectacular Denali National Park

August 2, 2022 / marniesteve / 2 Comments

After our exploration of the Kenai Peninsula we traveled north with our sights set on Denali National Park. Home to North America’s tallest peak, Mt. Denali, this park is on every Alaska tourist’s checklist. Views, mountains, animals…Within our first 10 miles in the park we had to stop for a moose to cross the road.

On our way to Denali we stopped in the cute towns of Trapper Creek and Talkeetna for an overnight. Talkeetna is a common launch location for Denali climbs and flight seeing trips. We tried to get on one of those flight see planes to see the mountain up close, but unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate. Instead we hit both sites of the local brewery and got some fun shots around town.

In Denali National Park we were lucky to score a three night stay at the Teklanika campground. This campground is as far into the park as we could get with our RV, at about 29 miles down the Park Road. Being here gave us an intimate look at the landscape and access to the “end of the road,” which is at mile 43.

Normally the Park Road goes on much further, but in 2021 a large portion of the road collapsed under a rock glacier. There is no time estimate on when the road will be repaired. So, we went as far as we could, first on a bus and then by foot, to see the rockslide and the magnificent valley below. Along our two mile walk we watched two grizzly bears traversing the riverbed below. It was quite a show.

They say only about 30% of visitors ever see Mt. Denali. To increase our chances we stayed in the area for a longer time than most. We caught a glimpse of the majestic peak several times during our stay, between cloudy and rainy days. We considered ourselves very lucky!

After a three night stay in Teklanika Campground we ventured out of the park to empty our tanks and re-provision. A night in Healy, Alaska led us to the 49th State Brewery for dinner and a little tasting.

A big attraction here is a replica of the bus that is featured in the book/movie, “Into the Wild.” We both read the book, about a guy who enters the Denali wilderness with little preparation, only to perish. The story is outlined inside the bus with actual photos from the ordeal. If you know the story, this bus is very cool.

Properly refreshed we re-entered the park for another four night stay at the Savage River Campground. Situated along the Savage River, this area has been a tourist camp since the park’s founding. From here we could hike along the river, into the tundra, and up in the hills overlooking the valley.

Almost daily we had wildlife sightings…from caribou to moose to eagles, this area is rich with fauna. We had one rainy day but otherwise were able to get out and really enjoy.

Denali National Park is unique in that they have the only sled dog rangers in the national park system. Established 100 years ago, the Denali sled dogs help human rangers reach the backcountry during the winter. The large kennel is open to the public so we checked it out. Luckily we met the newest five members to the team…five week old puppies that are already in training!

Denali is a special place and we only scratched the surface. One day, if the road is ever rebuilt, we’d love to venture deeper into the park to see even more of its wonders.

Animals and Views on the Kenai Penninsula

July 22, 2022May 31, 2023 / marniesteve / 3 Comments

We’ve been on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula for almost two weeks, so there’s a lot of catching up to do.

We began our exploration of the peninsula in Soldotna. Based at the Klondike RV Park, we could walk to the famed Kenai River. We had a week in this area, and the guys spent two days fishing with a guide. First they went out on the Kasilof River and then out on the Kenai. Unfortunately, the salmon run is late and light this year, and the guys were shut out (except for a too-small trout and a great moose sighting). We’re hoping the fishing improves as the summer moves along.

While in Soldotna, we enjoyed the local farmer’s market, hiked to the nearby Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, and saw several moose. We checked out the town of Kenai and its Russian roots.

On another day we drove up to the Russian River and hiked to the falls to see the salmon. Of course, salmon fishing was not allowed in that area but there were a lot of those suckers trying to get up stream!

After a week we moved to the eastern side of the peninsula to the town of Seward. Kenai Fjords National Park is based here and is accessible mostly by boat. On our first full day we set out on a six-hour cruise to see what the park was all about. One word: whales!

Within 20 minutes of setting sail, a gigantic Humpback surfaced right in front of the boat. Within 30 minutes we were watching a rare and exciting Humpback whale behavior: bubble-net feeding. Bubble-net feeding is a cooperative, learned feeding method where the whales circle a school of fish and together disorient and corral the fish into a “net” of bubbles. Once one whale sounds the feeding call, which we could hear with an underwater microphone, the whales swim to the surface at once. It’s quite spectacular, and we watched it happen about a half dozen times.

After this incredibly lucky start, we rounded out the day with Orcas, Stellar Sea Lions, a few Sea Otters, and the spectacular Aialik Glacier. If you ever find yourself in Seward and can do just one thing, we recommend the Major Marine cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park.

You know we like to hike, and the Tonsina Point hike to the beach at Resurrection Bay was a good choice. Over about four miles we passed through lush rainforests, all the while watching for bears (we didn’t see any).

The trail ends at a vast black sand/gravel beach on Resurrection Bay, at right about the point where we saw the whales the day before. Ringed by snow-capped mountains, this view is about as good as it gets. Plus, Bob enjoyed the adventure, and it was pretty good exercise!

Kenai Fjords National Park is actually accessible by car in one place. Exit Glacier is rapidly receding, as indicate by the year markers along the road and trail.

We walked to the overlook, which at one time was bordered by ice. Now it’s a bit of a distance to the icefield, but the landscape illustrates the power the ice has in carving canyons and rivers. We had a beautiful day for a photoshoot.

The town of Seward offers a lot of fun and we are checking it all out. One day we hit the Alaska Sealife Center to learn more about ocean creatures and efforts to preserve our environment. The boat harbor in Seward is very scenic and is ringed with shops, hotels, and restaurants, which we enjoyed. We also found a fun, hole-in-the-wall bar, called the Pit Bar, that is open until 5AM. Don’t worry… we were there for just a little bit one afternoon.

As you can see, Sam has easily settled into RV life. Everyone is so happy he’s here!

Today the guys are out on an all-day halibut fishing trip. We’re hoping today will be a big payday. Tune in next week when we’ll give you the results and a summary of Seward’s Fourth of July festivities. It’s supposed to be big!

Marnie and Steve Travel

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National Parks

Denali Highway and Valdez with Mitch

Spectacular Denali National Park

Animals and Views on the Kenai Penninsula