Fairbanks

Fairbanks Gold & Riverboat Fairbanks isn't known for its scenery but they've found a way to tap the tourism industry regardless. This morning we headed to an abandoned gold mine where we could(attempt to) pan for gold. At one time, the operation used state of the art technology to reclaim the precious metal out of the local gravel. Quite a feat for the times, the process required thawing the permafrost, moving thousands of tons of material and millions of gallons of water through the equipment to capture the treasure.  Steady output of gold continued from the 1920 through 1959. Most of the bricks ended up in Ft Knox.  We each got a small bag of material and our guides tutored us in the technique. I let our helper Alex swirl mine for fear I would lose it all. Combined, Rick and I had $33 worth of flakes.  I have a gold charm bracelet that I add to when we travel.  I wasn't sure what kind of charm to get because I already have an Alaska state charm. This was perfect!  I bought a gold  locket which holds the bling.  The Alaska Pipeline Snakes down the hillside and we parked near it at the gold mine.  We walked under it to get to the mine. In the 1970's the pipeline created its own 'gold rush' with workers earning maybe $1000 per week. The money fed the local economy but also raised the cost of living in itself, which is already higher from utilities to groceries.  Not a small portion of those wages landed in the hands of "women of negotiable affection'.  Interestingly, the crude oil ends up on the west coast of the Lower 48 with little or no oil refining here in Alaska. Not sure why but I'm guessing it has to do with the cold weather 9 months of the year.  The weather for us so far has been very mild, highs in the low 70s and lows in the high 40s. Our guides all comment that winter is on its way.  It was beautiful today with clear skies and decent temps. From the gold mine we headed back to the Chena River, this time on a paddle wheel boat. Lunch at the facility, again, very efficient, tasty and hearty. They shuffled us into a huge dining room with long tables and benches.  Cast iron kettles held Beef stew and potato peek soup, served with biscuits, iced tea and blueberry muffins.  From there we loaded onto the paddle boat and down the river.  This family-owned tour company has  operated for 100 years. Our captain was the great grandson of the founder.  This river tour could've been much like our raft tour (sigh) but it stops along the way were fascinating. The first stop was at the dog training facility of the late Susan Butcher, a multiple winner of the Iditarod cross country dog sled race.  Born into privilege in Massachusetts, she was dyslexic and longed to live in the wilderness.  In her short life she made a big impact on her sport. She died in 2006 of Leukemia and her husband, who met our boat at the riverbank, still trains here and gives demonstrations to tourists (us).  Our second stop at an Native fish camp was hosted by two lovely young women natives. They explained the culture and how their ancestors lived for 12,000 years until recently. They lived off the land, catching salmon, smoking it for preservation, trapping and hunting. We're so spoiled. Rick had me take a picture of him and our guide, a young woman who can clean fish!  (Just like Rachel Creech!  Hi guys!!) We had no plan for dinner but heard raves about the "Alaska Salmon Bake".  A converted school bus driven by Bobbie(another colorful character) took us to the compound which includes a theater and indoor-outdoor buffet. ALL YOU CAN EAT Crablegs = O! We tried our hardest to reduce their profit margin.  Fire-grilled salmon, prime rib and cod, salads, beans, corn... Oh my. Behind us sat a group of military men who were there when we came and still there when we left.  Bellies full, back to the hotel and....ZZZZZ.

Copper Center- Fairbanks

Ricks Birthday! I hate that we are leaving the Copper River valley. It's sooo beautiful and peaceful...sigh.  Back on the Bus with Stan for a 8 hour bus ride to Fairbanks.  This far into the wild there are few stopping places. Thank heaven for the on-board restroom. One of our stops, Paxon, is a run-down little road house with a mom and pop diner, rooms for rent and closed gas pumps. I bought a book about two sisters from California who relocated to this area in the 1920s which I read on the bus trip.  Fascinating.  On the road again... Several hours later we stopped at another roadhouse, Rika's.  Already two tour busses were parked in the parking lot. How can they serve all of us?  Easy peasy...cafeteria style: soups, salads, subs and homemade baked goods. Stan raved about the Strawberry rhubarb pie so we HAD to try it.  Pretty good stuff!  The rest of the afternoon we were bus captive until we reached Fairbanks: a bigger city with a military base and Univ of Alaska. It's more flat than where we've been so far.  We were BEAT. Buuut we'd scheduled a dinner tour and raft trip this evening-what were we thinking?  Larry, our guide, picked us up at the door, then we headed to the other side of Fairbanks to get another couple, Kathy and Dallas.  The real star of the evening was Larry. Larry looked like a STONER: long stringy hair, hand-repaired sandals, big goofy looking guy. We soon found out that Larry's no goof.  He's a PhD who's lived in Alaska over 20 years, mostly summers. On our way to the restaurant, he told us of his adventures.  Turns out he spends winters in Asia, mostly Nepal hiking. HUH??  He's also hiked Kilimanjaro   He spent three years surveying in Siberia ("I don't do math, I only held the stick") and he currently lives near the University in a 16' x 8' cabin with no electricity and no indoor plumbing.  Well crap that's half he size of our CAMPER not including slide outs.  Larry's not had plumbing his entire time in Alaska. He says many college students live in unimproved cabins. Can you imagine anyone in Indiana roughing it at college ?? I think not.  We arrived at the restaurant for dinner: very rustic yet good food. Our friends arranged for cake for Rick, then off to the Chena River for our raft float trip with Larry. We still have not seen a moose so we hoped Larry would change our luck. NOPE. We did see several beaver, an eagle and other birds. Mostly it was nice to have a quiet and relaxing trip.  The raft trip scenery was about as exciting as Grassy Creek,though. Luckily, Larry was worth the price of admission.  We docked at 'Joe's house' a cabin on the River. Apparently Joe owns the tour company as well as hunting camps at various locations. Joe's wife met us as we left, to tell us their story.  They too only have generated electricity, wood for heat and an outhouse. We headed back to the lodge, grateful for our comfortable homes back in Indiana

Copper Center - Valdez

ALASKA TRIP 3 Breakfast at the Lodge, the we boarded the bus (again).   The Copper Princess Lodge is located in the middle of nowhere but the view are still worth the trip  Today we'll go to Valdez from Copper Center, about 100 miles. On good roads it would take a couple of hours but the crew were resurfacing patches about 20 different places along the way where we had to slow to a crawl.  The fabulous scenery made the drive pleasant even through the rain. At one point along the trip we went though Thompson Pass which averages 690 inches of snow in the winter!  And to think we hate Indiana winters...YIKES! We embarked on the tour boat Glacier Spirit with our group of 47 plus another large group of Korean tourists.  The boat had inside and outside observation seating.  The 65 degree temp felt cooler, especially in the rain. Though we dressed in layers, wimpy me stayed inside while our more adventurous friends chose seats in the covered yet open upper deck.  We boarded the boat about 11 AM and were not scheduled to return to dock until 7PM.  Our cruise took us through from Valdez, through the straits and out to the Columbia Glacier. Along the way we saw Sea Otters (puppy-dog cuteness), gulls and assorted birds, majestic Bald Eagles, Stellar Seals and Puffins! The Port of Valdez never freezes, making it the ideal site for the Alaska Pipeline terminus.  It's sad to imagine how damaging the Exxon Valdez wreck would be to this pristine area.  Our boat captain related the circumstances of the spill and its aftermath.  Now, twenty-three years later, its effects are still unknown but luckily unseen to our naked eye.  Since then, many more safety measures are in place to protect both the environment and the town.  Long before we reached the Columbia Glacier by boat, icebergs appeared along our route.  The beautiful blue-green color of the ice shed from the glacier is a surprise. The weight of the centuries-old snow compresses into dense, crystal clear ice that light waves struggle to pierce. The aqua color comes from penetration of only the blue light waves. Our crew members fished out a few nature-sculpted ice chunks for us to see and even taste.  Knowing that we wouldn't return to the Lodge in time for dinner, we bought sack dinners to eat on the way back. Lunch on the boat included a pretty good chowder, a bagel and cookies. The efficient crew distributed trays for our laps and then all the food. The Korean travelers mostly ate their cup-of-ramen noodles that they brought aboard. I'm thinking they've done this before.  The 100 mile trip back to the lodge made this an exceptionally long day. We're told that our choice of land travel the first week and cruising and recovering the second is more relaxing.  Wow.  I hope so.  Rick reminded me to tell about the people here and their interesting stories. Our bus driverStan winters in Arizona where he retired from his truck-driving career. For 16 years he worked for RR Donnelly (Warsaw company-small world).  He's also an amateur photographer when he's not driving bus and had good suggestions for capturing the scenery.   One young man on the crew of the Glacier Spirit was born here and is working on his Captain's license. He went to college in Hawaii, but returned here because he missed the snow.  Michael, our chatty waiter, landed here by way of Utah and Arizona. Hey, he gets to live in Alaska in summer and then winters in Arizona, with a month off on between gigs.  I don't know if we could do that but it sure would be fun to stay for a longer time. We see lots of RVs and campgrounds so there are other people who feel that way too!

Tuesday....Copper River

When we got up Tuesday AM we all compared notes on how we slept.  Mostly like rocks...though our bodies woke early, still on Indiana time. At 10:30pm  local time, the skies are still light. We're grateful for nice lined draperies.  Ellen hoped to see the Northern Lights while we're here. The locals informed her that probably won't happen because it doesn't get dark enough in August. Bummer. On the bus from Anchorage for a full day trip of about 200 miles, our first stop was in Palmer, a small town which hosts the Alaska State Fair. The fairgrounds appeared to be the size of a county fair. Palmer is sort of an agricultural area, a fertile valley with beautiful flowers and mega veggies (127 lb record cabbage last year!). Back on the bus for a few more hours then we stopped at a glacier area for photo ops. The scenery is breathtaking: mountains, rivers, vegetation but hardly any wildlife. I'm thinking they are here somewhere, judging by the moose crossing signs  and reports of a double-fatal motorcycle-moose collision last night.  Terry and Ellen did see a dead moose along the two-lane highway!  The second best part of the day was the sunny and warm weather. We are inland enough that there are vey few houses and even fewer towns. We stopped for lunch at a diner in Eureka that caters to the tour busses. We shuffled in, ordered and were quickly served so they could get ready for the next bus. The food was mediocre at best but, hey, out here there are few options. The diner mostly specializes in pie and it was the best part of the stop (cherry...mmm)  Back on the bus, the scenery flattened, then wound us around toward our lodge. Seeing many RVers on this road today might give us the fever to come here. That would be a serious commitment and would involve a generator and probably firearms. I'm thinking that up here it's everyman for himself. The Lodge...oh my.  Not special at first glance: wood framed with red wood siding and green trim. The staff greeted us at the door, waving. I'm guessing there isn't much foot traffic here. The lodge is owned and built by Princess just for the purpose. Inside the lobby we catch a glimpse of the view through the perfectly-placed windows. Good job, Architect!  Our lovely rooms share the same view over the lawn. Were very happy that this is the one place we stay for two nights. Cocktails by the lobby fireplace and dinner of local salmon and caribou filet  (their version of Surf and Turf) topped off a LONG day.

Monday August 6: Anchorage

ALASKA TRIP 1 Monday August 6 In February, our friends the Weases & the Schlotterbacks told us they were going on a cruise and tour in Alaska. We first said the we couldn't go but then decided that it would be a chance of a lifetime. We were so excited to leave and happy that we changed our minds.  The itinerary has us starting in Anchorage, then traveling on land for about a week, then boarding a Princess Cruise ship for a week along the coast.  Monday,  up at 4:45 am, Schlotterbacks picked us up at 5:30 so we could make it to Chicago for our flight out of OHare at 11am   We loaded our luggage into their SUV Sunday night to make sure we had plenty of room. We each packed one large case and a carry on (well, one person needed two cases but I won't say who!) The suitcase pile obstructed the rear view, a sign of good packing. Breakfast at the airport Macaroni's Grill (Italian for breakfast?) then on to our gate.   We flew to Seattle and had a fairly smooth 3 1/2 hour flight except Rick got stuck by a young woman with the sniffles.  Immediately when we got off the plane we bought some Airborne to help fight off any germs.  Lunch in Seattle was at the Bigfoot Cafe then Cary and I had to get Starbucks because, well, this is their Motherland.  Our bodies were still on Eastern Time so my empty belly alarm said we were way past lunch. Two hours later we board Alaska Airways to Anchorage.  This flight, though the same length seemed shorter because each couple sat beside an Alaska resident who were all friendly and full of information for us.  Weases sat beside a resident of Kodiak island who's lived here most of her life with her husband, a physician.  We sat beside a friendly guy who grew up in the Midwest but now lives in Alaska with his native wife, a former State Senator.  He practiced law  and formerly was a judge.  He was familiar with Indiana because he bought Larry Bird's house in French Lick as an investment property!   We arrived in Anchorage, 11pm according to our body clocks, 7pm Alaska time. Anchorage is a clean city of 250,000, about the size of Ft. Wayne.  After a small delay at the airport, a bus took us downtown to the Captain Cook Hotel, lovely but dated, probably 70's vintage, one of the tallest buildings in downtown Anchorage.  When we opened the door to our room...holey moley it smelled like PEE. I knew it was bad when Rick immediately left to exchange our room key!  Our second room smelled much better and had a better view. UPGRADE!  Rick told our friends that they put us in a two-level suite. We WERE on the Suite floor but the room was the same except the smell! Our luggage appeared at our room then we headed to the Hotel restaurant for a small "dinner" although it was 1 AM Indiana time.    I think we all fell asleep before our heads hit the pillow.   This morning, Rick was awake by 5 am, as well as almost every hour before that. No doubt it will take a few days for our bodies to catch up.  When we packed our suitcases at home it seemed logical to have one for each of us with everything needed for two weeks.  The tour company told us that we could check one bag through to the ship. Huh. Good idea. So I spent the morning repacking into stuff for now and stuff for later. Ah much better. Now we're only dealing with half the stuff every night.  Breakfast at the hotel before heading to Copper River. 

ALASKA ITINERARY

1 Anchorage Monday, August 6 Arrive in Anchorage for the night. 2 Anchorage/Copper River Tuesday, August 7 3 Copper River Wednesday, August 8 4 Copper River/Fairbanks Thursday, August 9 5 Fairbanks Friday, August 10 6 Fairbanks/Denali Saturday, August 11 7 Denali/Mt. McKinley Sunday, August 12 8 Mt. McKinley/Whittier Monday, August 13 8 Anchorage (Whittier), Alaska Monday, August 13 8:30 PM 9 Hubbard Glacier, Alaska (Scenic Cruising) Tuesday, August 14 3:00 PM 8:00 PM 10 Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (Scenic Cruising) Wednesday, August 15 10:30 AM 8:30 PM 11 Skagway, Alaska Thursday, August 16 7:00 AM 8:30 PM 12 Juneau, Alaska Friday, August 17 6:30 AM 4:00 PM 13 Ketchikan, Alaska Saturday, August 18 10:00 AM 6:00 PM 14 At Sea Sunday, August 19 15 Vancouver, British Columbia Monday, August 20 7:30 AM 15 Arrive Vancouver, B.C. Monday, August 20

Three weeks at Fort Myers Beach

I only blogged about the first part of our trip, mostly Disney World. In Ft. Myers Beach we only had Internet access at mom's house where we visited occasionally. I'll try to summarize our time in Ft. Myers. "Unseasonably cold" describes the weather forecast. The normal high for this time of year is 10-15 degrees higher than what we experienced. We only had three or four days above 70 degrees. We couldn't go boating at all because of the cold, wind and rough water. I know the snow and cold in Indiana was much worse that what we had in Florida, so I'm trying not to complain!

The first week or so, Grandma Creech spent a few days at my mom's house, playing games and hanging out. Mom took her to play cards and Mah Jongg with her friends, shopping at Beall's and eating out. Grandma slept in a real bed instead of the blow-up mattress in the camper and she had more room to stretch out. Rick and I didn't do much, just walked with the dogs on the beach if weather allowed and tried to eat as much shrimp as possible. Maggie and Millie LOVED the beach, especially chasing the gulls and sandpipers and the head rubs from other beach goers. The doggies have grown attached to Grandma, snuggling with her on the couch when we watch TV. Millie even sleeps in the chair next to her every night.
We missed seeing Miss Mary, in whose yard we were parked. She is so gracious to let us camp out and use her water and electricity. We so love being there. We got to spend time with her sons, neighbor Stan and wife Colleen and Randy and wife Janie, visiting from Indiana. We also got to see Mary's daughter Stephanie who came from Orlando area to visit her brothers. Besides the beach, we were visited regularly by a family of ibis eating bugs in the yard./>

We visited Indiana friends Terry & Cary at their rented house near Marco. We saw their family including Jill and family, brother Mark & wife Ellen and mom Lila. It was so nice to see them all in Florida. Of course we ATE every time we met. Come to think of it, we ate out LOTS. Terry, Rick, friends Steve and Bruce played golf at Quail West one rainy day while the women went shopping at Waterside shops in Naples. We took Maggie and Millie to Bruce and wife Janet's house to visit their dog relatives one day. Their dogs, Maggie is a full sister to our Maggie and their Molly is their half sister! They had great fun playing in the fenced yard.

The second week of our visit, my sister Janet & Ted, niece Jayme & Tony, McKenna & Delaney arrived at Granny's for a week's stay. Great fun! They drove to our home away from home at the beach to spend a day. Of course that was the day the red algae washed up on the beach making our sunning time quite smelly. McKenna played in the sand while we sunned. Delaney didn't care much for the beach.

Grandma Creech and I got to shop some. Rick told us we had to stop or we would run out of room in the camper! We collected souvenirs from Disney, Miromar Outlets, Beall's and the tourist shops near the beach. We also enjoyed ice cream from Kilwins! YUM!

Grandma Creech's brother, Jack lives in Ft. Myers so she wanted to see him before we head North. We made arrangements to stop by his house. She had not seen him in a while and it had been even longer since she had seen his wife, Alice. I thought this picture of the three of them was really precious.

Now we are on our way home after a being gone five weeks. We're all ready to be home but not ready to be back in the cold. It's a hard three-day trip with the camper. To top it off, Maggie had developed a fear of TRUCKS! That's pretty rough since we're riding in a truck, pass trucks all day long and even see trucks when we stop! I have tried several strategies to help calm her but nothing seems to work except jogging around during fuel and potty breaks and the Benedryl I gave her to help relax. Not sure what else to do. It might be time to call Cesar Millan!