July 16, 2012                       Day 38/60                            Anchorage to Kenny Lake, AK

Today is Luca’s 11^th birthday. I hope when he looks back at this birthday he remembers the wonderful opportunity he had to travel with two of his grandparents and Rick, Dominic, and I and that he appreciates this special gift. I never had that opportunity with my grandparents and never felt the bond I see developing between my boys and their grandparents. The closest I think I came was baking with my Grandma Fern (paternal). Luca got to talk by cell to Grandpa Dick and Nana and got an email from Rick’s parents. Isn’t technology wonderful?

Today I had to call USAA Insurance to start the accident claim for Rick’s car so we got a late start. It was not a fun way to start my day. The adjuster hinted that the car may be totaled (it is after all a 1998 and the air bags deployed – not cheap to replace).

It rained all night so we had a bit of a lake outside the trailer this morning and clouds and rain/drizzle accompanied us on the Glenn Highway and a little bit onto the Richardson Highway. We stopped to see the Matanuska Glacier. It is huge! It is 27 miles long and averages 2 miles across. It is 4 miles wide at its terminus. It is fully visible from the road and a little rest stop so we decided against the interpretive trail.

Had it been a clear day we would have been treated to fantastic views of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains. They are part of the largest unit in the National Park system. It is 13.2 acres of wild lands and 9.7 million acres of designated wilderness.  It includes the Chugach, Wrangell, St. Elias, and Alaska mountain ranges. It is the greatest collection of peaks over 16,000 feet but we will never know for sure because we couldn’t see the peaks most of the time. They hid behind clouds or barely peeked out here and there. The park also contains the largest collection of glaciers on the continent. Yep, couldn’t see most of these either. We did get a glimpse at the Matanuska (see above) and the Nelchina Glacier (from a pull out where we stopped for lunch).

We left the Richardson Highway to check out a possible camping/fishing stop for our return from Valdez along the Klutina River. The woman there said people are catching salmon so we might stop there on our way back. What I saw of the camp wasn’t very well maintained. The people who camp there are more interested in the fishing and the river than in amenities.

Not far down the highway, we turned onto the Edgerton Highway. It isn’t really much of a highway by California standards. It is really more of a sometimes maintained, sometimes gravel, mostly two-lane road. About 7 miles down the road, we reach our destination. We are staying at the Kenny Lake Mercantile and RV Park. For the record, there is no sign of a lake here. I think there is one on the map.  When asked about fishing, the lady in registration told us about lakes and rivers about 20 miles away. I’m not complaining. There are only two RV parks on this road and this one is full so I am glad to have a spot. I just wonder what happened to the lake in Kenny Lake.

When Mike and I registered we were told that someone who hadn’t paid for today hadn’t left yet so they only had one spot with electricity for us. Mike let us have it since they have a generator. The people who were supposed to have left didn’t return until 9:30 PM, dumped trash on the ground and left without paying for the extra day. That is really not cool.

After we dropped our trailers, we jumped in the Suburban and drove several miles down the road to Chitina (pronounced “chit na”).  Chitina was a supply town in the early 1900s for the copper industry here. It supplied both the copper mine and the railroad. It had 100s of residents when Anchorage still had only a few tents. Then the mine closed in 1938. Chitina became a ghost town. A few people are trying to preserve the town but it is really struggling.

Our first stop was really down a gravel road beyond Chitina – the Copper River dip-net fishery. In this area, Alaska residents use fish wheels and dip nets to bring in large amounts (they hope) of salmon. This area is only open to state residents. We drove out onto the river flats to see the fish wheels. These are mostly home-made contraptions that float on the river. They have large metal baskets that turn on a wheel in the river current. Salmon are scooped up by these wheels and put into a side catch area. Locals remove the salmon and fillet them right on the beach tossing the skeletons with heads and tails aside. The place smelled awful. There were only two bald eagles hanging around and a few gulls. We saw one couple working their wheel. The woman was using an ulu to clean the fish.

Back in Chitina, we stopped at the hotel so the other adults could have a beer. We meant to have snacks and eat back at the trailers but the menu was inviting (and pricey).I had the potato bacon soup and split the lasagna and fries with Mike. Rick had a yak burger. It tastes like slightly-gamey beef. Luca’s birthday dinner was fries and some very garlicky garlic bread. Mike started talking to the owner about the Blintzes on the menu and he comped us a blueberry blintz for Luca’s birthday. We were all too stuffed to eat it there and took it to go.

We stopped at a few possible fishing locations on the way back to the trailer. One Mile Lake (so named because it is 1 mile from Chitina) was too shallow. Two Mile Lake was ok, but Three Mile Lake was perfect. The rock cliffs go straight down into the water on one side. There is a good size turn out to park and the water was clear. Small trout were jumping out of the water to get the bugs just above the water surface. The guys decided they might come back here tomorrow.

We also stopped at Liberty Falls. These were not big but very picturesque falls. They cascade down from a slightly wide top with small trees on rock outcroppings. The initial fall is hidden behind a large rock in the center of the river. The water falls behind the rock and splits into two forks that cascade to either side of the large rock. The water is beautifully clear. There are tent platforms, two small back in sites and two pit restrooms. There is a well but quality is not guaranteed. Beautiful little spot.

We didn’t wee many animals today. Luca thinks he saw a couple of Dall sheep near Sheep Mountain (they like the rock to replenish their calcium, yuck). Some of the others saw a moose cow and calf near Chitina but by the time I back up they were gone. We saw the bald eagles too full to fly at the fish wheels. We spied a trumpeter swan on the river nearly hidden by the reeds and down a private drive.

Grandma bought the boys milkshakes from the diner at the campground. We all ate chocolate cake for Luca’s birthday.

July 17, 2012                       Day 39/60                            Kenny Lake to Valdez, AK

Mike, Rick, and Luca left at 8 AM to go fishing at Three Mile Lake. They caught 18 trout but had to throw them all back since they were so small. Still they all had a good time.

Today’s drive was absolutely the most beautiful. It didn’t rain so we were able to see the gorgeous St. Elias, Wrangell, and Chugach Mountains. The rugged peaks contrasted with the bright white of unmelted snow. Snow that does not melt during the year but is not a glacier is called firn. You can use that in your next Scrabble game. For once the sky was mostly blue creating a wonderful backdrop for the black and white drama of the mountains. Even the glacial rivers and lakes looked bluer today.

I am not a wordsmith and feel unequal to the task of describing the fantastic beauty of the mountains and scenery.  Each turn in the highway revealed an even greater beauty than the one we just saw.

We stopped at Worthington Glacier. Sadly, it had receded a lot since my parents’ last visit when it was just outside the Visitors’ Center, now closed perhaps due to budget cuts. Mom walked out to the viewing platform and the rest of us headed to the base/terminus of the glacier (clearly visible from the platform) along the unmaintained, use at your own risk trail. The trail was clearly worn until it reached the braided creeks that led from the glacier. Here it was clear that everyone crossed the small creeks wherever they liked/were able. Once on the other side, Mike and I wandered up the steeper cliff of sedimentary rock to the glacier. Rick and the boys opted to stay on the opposite side and scramble along a shale hillside. We all met up at the glacier. Rick and the boys stepped onto the slick glacier for a picture as did Mike. I was far too afraid of falling on my bad wrist and stayed on terra firma.

On the way back to the parking area, we took a different path that led past some cairns (rock piles placed by other travelers intended to mark their presence there as well as hope for a safe journey). Dominic built one that looked like the mascot from the last Winter Olympics. We took pictures. Then we took pictures in front of the milky waterfall leading off the side of the glacier. It was a nice stop.

From here, the highway winds up through Thompson Pass (2,771 feet), one of the snowiest places in the world. One season they got over 900 feet of snow! The mountains are gorgeous. We came around a corner and found ourselves surrounded by mountains with snowy peaks. They stretched as far as we could see in every direction, seemingly without end, like a fun house mirror. We wound down through Keystone Canyon. We stopped for a quick picture at Bridal Veil Falls and its neighbor Horsetail Falls.

Once through the canyon, more glaciated mountains surrounded the valley that ended at the water at Port Valdez which leads to Prince William Sound. We were delighted to see that our campground was right across from the small boat harbor and walking distance to many other shops.

It is hard to believe that the 93-mile trip took us a little more than four hours. Our stop at the glacier accounted for maybe an hour. The rest of the time were little stops here and there to admire and appreciate the views (and record them for all time on multiple cameras and cell phones).

After a quick dinner, we headed over to Dayville Road.  This road leads to a fish hatchery and wonderful fishing and wildlife viewing in the 13-mile-long estuary at the head of Valdez Arm. We saw several bald eagles and finally some water mammals. We watched sea otters on their backs eating heartily from freshly caught salmon while fending off the annoying sea gulls eager to steal a treat. We saw huge Stellar sea lions rise up out of the water nearly breaching triumphantly with big salmon which they shook violently before swallowing in a single gulp. The fish were so thick at the shoreline it seemed as if you could walk on them or at the very least reach out and grab them (not allowed, by the way).

Mike and Rick were eager to get some fishing so they took the Suburban and went to get gear and the truck in case some of us wanted to leave. No way, the wildlife was more interesting to watch than anything else we could be doing.

While they were gone, Luca needed a restroom and we were told there was one in the far parking lot. I sent the boys off as buddies to find it. Only a few minutes later, Luca came running toward me along the shore path yelling, “Grizzly, Mom, Grizzly!” So much went through my mind in a short time – where is Dominic, why are you running, you aren’t supposed to run, grizzlies see that as prey, can I still get a picture….Dominic was fine. The grizzlies were gone. I didn’t get a picture. The boys saw the sow bear with three of her four cubs. She was crossing the road with a fish in her mouth and scrambled up a cliff out of view.

The guys returned and fished for a few hours until about 9 PM when the fish stopped running in great numbers.  Together they caught 10 pink salmon. Luca and Rick each caught 2. Dominic worked on his technique but doesn’t seem to enjoy fishing as much, didn’t catch any, and soon stopped to enjoy the wildlife. The guys were all excited. They took their catch to a local business to get it cut, sealed, frozen and held for later shipment. The ten fish together weighed 47 lbs.!

We celebrated a wonderful day with soft serve ice cream from the place across the street from our trailers and the rest of the chocolate cake.

July 18, 2012                       Day 40/60                            Valdez, AK

Today was about fishing. While Mike and Rick prepared to go fishing, Mom and I took the boys to an everything shop to look around. It was part thrift/consignment store, part general store with new items from shoes to baby homemade baby blankets to Alaska souvenirs. Mom bought a hat to keep warm at the fishing spot and Luca found a book.

By the time we were done, the men were eager to get a good fishing spot for high tide. High tide wasn’t for 3 hours but they were excited. Mike, Rick, and Luca headed out Dayville Road while Mom, Dominic and I explored the small boat harbor and adjacent shops. This didn’t take long. I fed Dominic a good lunch so he would be all set to fish. He hadn’t had much luck with the salmon yesterday and Rick really wanted him to catch one.

There were only about 3 other cars in the fishing area when we arrived. I guess everyone comes in the evening in hopes of seeing the bears. Mom and I went for a walk down by the fishery to see the fish weir. The weir is put in place during the spawning season to limit the number of fish who get into the fish ladder to return to the fishery/hatchery to spawn. They produce so many fish here that it would be impossible to keep up with the numbers if they were all allowed in to spawn. Mom wondered if some of them spawn on the rocks along the shoreline anyway once they don’t make it through the weir.

The concrete path to the viewing area had bear prints in it. Some bear must have walked through the not-quite-dry concrete.

Mom and I watched the wildlife in the estuary. However, the seals, sea lions and otters stayed farther out this time since the salmon were not running in great numbers yet. Even so, the guys quickly caught their limit. Luca got fish-slapped while helping to net them. The men decided to fillet these themselves to save a little money. The small boat harbor has a public fish table area where anyone can clean fish. I went back to the trailer to get grocery bags for the fillets and a Ziploc for tonight’s dinner. Rick said several tourists stopped by to watch and talk. 

We had an early dinner so that we could get back over to Dayville Drive at low tide to look for some lures that got lost on snags earlier. Once we arrived at the fishing spot, the guys set about looking for lures. They had lost 3 but found 5! Mom, the boys and I headed over to the fishery to see if the grizzly had come by yet. We got what we thought would be good viewing seats near a concrete k-rail. A couple who had been here all week said the grizzly usually crossed the road near the k-rail to fish in the area nearer the weir.  Tonight she actually crossed much farther down the road and we almost missed her. She and her 4 cubs we feeding on a section we couldn’t see from the bridge. We didn’t want to get to close in case she decided to head back to the road. We saw a large group of people on the rocky shore taking pictures. The couple we talked to described the crowds on previous days. They cheered when the sow caught a fish, approached the area where she was fishing with a small dog, blocked her way with their cars to get a picture….That is not cool! We waited on the sidewalk near the hatchery buildings but not near an opening so that she would not come out where we were. Law and common sense says to stay 300 yards away from bears. We were rewarded for our patience when the sow and her cubs crossed right in front of us. It wasn’t quite 300 yards but she didn’t seem bothered by our small group. It was very exciting to see the bears.

The guys had left the cooler at the processing plant and Mike having caught his limit again headed back to get it. Rick worked with Dominic and Luca to help them catch some fish. Dominic ended up catching 3 salmon and felt pretty good about fishing again. Luca also caught 3 but one was small so they threw it back. By this time, Mike returned and snagged another for our limit. This time the guys dropped all the fish off to be processed. We now have 3 orders in their freezer and will split them in two for shipment home.

I headed out to Safeway for milk and supplies. We also had to exchange the fish shipping box that Mike bought earlier. The boats had just come in for the night so the place was pretty busy. I returned the small box and while I shopped the lines died down so there was no waiting once I was ready.

We decided to stay another day in Valdez. It is so beautiful here. We won’t fish but just hike, enjoy the scenery, and maybe even see the bears again.

Yay!