July 19, 2012                       Day 41/60                            Valdez, AK

Today was our bonus day in Valdez. We got to sleep in and see whatever we didn’t see. Mike wanted to work on his blog so he stayed behind while the rest of us went to see a lake fed by the Valdez Glacier. Our first clue should have been that it wasn’t even mentioned in the Milepost. However, it was in the Valdez Visitors’ Guide. The “lake” was not very big and milky brown. The “icebergs in the lake” were not very big and lacked the gorgeous blue hues associated with icebergs. The guide was correct that you can’t see the Valdez Glacier from the accessible part of the lake, you can see two other glaciers, and there was someone leading kayak trips. We didn’t stay long and if you are ever in Valdez, you can feel comfortable skipping this attraction.

Our next stop was the “Second Time Around” thrift store benefiting local people in need. Rick found a pair of Cabela’s shoes for fishing when Dominic borrows his galoshes. Luca found a book he had already read but wanted to reread. And we got a cardboard scratching post for our kitties. Probably could have skipped this too.

I wanted to see if we could drive to the entry of the port/arm. No you can’t but we saw the more affluent neighborhood with some lovely homes.

We picked up Mike for lunch at The Fat Mermaid. The boys and I split a pizza, Mom and Mike each had a burger and Rick had fish and chips. It was ok. From here, Mike and Rick went to arrange for the salmon to be shipped to Millbrae. The boys got on the computer or read. Mom and I read. When the guys returned, Mike wanted to catch some fish to send to Dina, my stepsister. Rick agreed to help and off they went. The rest of us agreed to meet them out there later in hopes of seeing the bear again.

When we arrived in the fishing area, there was a large electronic sign warning of bears in the area and telling you to stay in your car when they are present. There were a handful of cars and some people fishing. People were not taking the sign seriously. Rick and Mike had caught 10 fish. We left them to get cleaned and arrange for processing. We drove to the end of the road to see what we could see. Primitive, dry camping locations lined the road. People were cooking and camping in tents not overly concerned about being in bear territory.

We did see some interesting behavior by the Stellar Sea Lions. A group of about 12-16 (hard to say because some kept diving) were gathered in a circle in the water just off shore. They were perpendicular with their heads out of the water. Every few minutes a large male would vocalize. Sometimes two would get face to face and vocalize. At one point the group split in two, but then they regrouped. As the tide went out, they moved the group twice. We looked to see if there was a killer whale but didn’t see any. We Googled but couldn’t find out anything about this behavior.

We parked toward what we thought was the beginning of the parking area near the fishery. Rick didn’t go with Mike so he set up the spotting scope. We sat forever watching for the bear, enjoying the sea mammals, looking for lost lures, and people watching. It was becoming quite a circus with families and photographers standing along the shore. As it got closer to 6:30 more cars started arriving and some parked in front of us but moved on when nothing was happening. However, a rented RV came and parked blocking our view of the road. Mom and Mike decided to go back to the trailer to start dinner. Rick and I eventually got tired of swatting away mosquitoes and biting flies and listening to a vapid young lady from the Coast Guard holding court for the tourists while wearing a strapless sundress and sipping a beer.

The one highlight for me was a river otter that made and appearance on the small jetty near the fishery. It climbed up on the rocks and rolled around in the bushes before returning to the water and swimming away. I love otters and I was so happy to see a river otter and sea otters in the same day.

The boys and I ate leftovers as we were not interested in fish. After a late dinner, Mike took the boys for soft serve ice cream. I think they will really miss the convenience of having ice cream across the street.

July 20, 2012                       Day 42/60                            Valdez to Slana, AK

We hated to say good-bye to the beauty of Valdez but we had to move on. We made the drive out much faster than the drive in. We stopped briefly at the railroad tunnel dug by hand but never used. We didn’t make any stops for the view on the steep climb out of the Keystone Canyon. The right lane was more like 2/3 of a lane so Rick had to really pay attention.

We stopped at Mirror Lake for a view of the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains. We could see most of them but the peaks were in clouds. The lake did not provide a mirror image as weather conditions while beautiful were not right.

We had lunch at a new place in Copper Center. Copper Center is really just a few houses clustered in what used to be a bigger town. There are many falling down cabins and abandoned properties in the area. The Klutina River runs through here and people were catching red/sockeye salmon. Mike seemed tempted but our freezers are full. The original lodge burned down earlier this year so they built the new restaurant quickly to fill the void. Mom and I split an excellent pulled pork sandwich. From here Mom, the boys and I took a walk toward where she thought there was an ice cream place. Mike and Rick went for the trailers and met us on the loop road. No ice cream to be found. Almost back to the highway, Dominic remembered that he left his retainer on the table in a plastic glass. We went back for it and it was near the top of the trash bin. Lucky for us a little rinse is all it needed.

We saw a few trumpeter swans on an otherwise uneventful drive to Slana. Our campground is run by a lady who is also a sculptor (but I don’t see any of her work) and used to raise Affenpinscher dogs (don’t see any of the dogs either). We are her only guests. It is quiet and buggy here. It is also hot. As this is only a one night stop, we didn’t want to unhitch the car. All of this discouraged us from exploring the area.

July 21, 2012                       Day 43/60                            Slana, AK to Destruction Bay, YT

Remember the Seinfeld episode where George wanted to pitch the television executives a show about nothing? That was our day. We got up. Rick unhooked us while covered head to toe to avoid being eaten alive by mosquitoes and biting flies. I still wish I had gotten a picture of that. He looked a little like a bee keeper.

We drove the Tok Cutoff to Tok where we got gas. We saw nothing because there was a mysterious haze over everything. We found out much farther down the road from a construction worker that there is a fire in Russia or Scandinavia and the Artic wind patterns caused the smoke to collect here. If you believe him, it must be one heck of a fire. We have no connection to outside news so I have no idea.

We did see a few Trumpeter swans but not well. We connected up with the Al Can highway again outside Tok and took it past the Canadian border. There were no issues at the border and no interesting people watching.

We stopped for gas at a little place at the side of the highway. The couple has been selling gas and collectibles here since 1969. They are pretty old now and so are most of the collectibles. They were very nice but their place looked like it belonged on “Hoarders.” I couldn’t even see the kitchen counter. Mike took a leap of faith and bought a cinnamon bun she claimed to have made that morning. She looked like she was having trouble standing. Her husband could hardly walk but insisted on pumping the gas. They looked happy to have someone to talk to. We didn’t buy any of the rock and mineral collectibles.

He did give us one good piece of advice about not stopping to camp up the highway where we were thinking of stopping to dry camp. He said it is the weekend and many of the local First nation people like to get drunk and steal things like gas cans from campers. So even though we were very tired of the ups and downs of the frost heaves in the road (picture a kiddie roller coaster at the fair) and dodging the potholes and sitting so long our tail bones ached, we drove on. Just when we couldn’t take it anymore, we stopped for gas at Destruction Bay on Kluane Lake. The gas station had electrical hook ups for only $12 Canadian. They also have a restaurant that lets adults order off the Kids Menu. Sold! We’ve stayed at funkier places.

July 22, 2012                       Day 44/60                            Destruction Bay to Johnson’s Crossing, YT

There was much to do in the morning to get ready to leave. The bugs were not as bad, I think, because there was a strong breeze. Once we unplugged and raised the stabilizers, we set off to drive around Kluane Lake. The frost heaves weren’t as bad as yesterday but the breeze was causing white caps on the lake. The views were pleasant but not as spectacular as previous days. We didn’t stop in Haines Junction but headed back toward Whitehorse and the Alcan Highway. The road was better through here.

We saw a grizzly/brown bear cross the road in front of Mom and Mike. Mike said the bear seemed to be “road aware.” When they had stopped the trailer about 300 yards away, the bear crossed to the other side and began browsing and foraging for food there. I tried to get a few pictures but we were too far away when it crossed the road and then it was in the bushes. Also, I had to fight off mosquitoes while trying to take the pictures through the open window.  Still, it was nice to see some wild life.

Even though the road was better, there were still gravel sections here and there. It was in one of these gravel sections that a car passing in the opposite direction was going too fast. Over 6500 miles into the trip and we finally got not 1 but 2 windshield dings. They aren’t big but we want to have them repaired so they don’t spread. We didn’t find anyone open in Whitehorse today (Sunday) so we will have to wait for another big town.

We stopped for lunch near the Wal-Mart and hoped to get some groceries. Alas, it was not a Super Wal-Mart so we only got part of our lists. No fruits or veggies for us.

From Whitehorse, we headed to Carcross. We had visited here last year when our cruise ship docked in Skagway. The boys were looking forward to seeing it again. The road here was way better than the road to Destruction Bay. We stopped at an overlook to admire Emerald Lake. It is also called Rainbow Lake. This was our turnaround point on last year’s tour. It is not a big lake but a nice size. What is impressive is its gorgeous green colors. The blue-green light waves reflect off the white sediment, marl, of the lake bottom. The marl is made up of tiny fragments of decomposed shell mixed with clay. Whatever the cause, it was beautiful on this bright sunny day.

Just down the road, we stopped at the Carcross Desert. Yes, you read that right. The world’s smallest desert is right here in the Yukon. Here the boys climbed on the dunes of sandy lake-bottom material left behind by a large glacial lake. We had stopped here briefly a year ago, but this time they headed up to the top of one of the highest dunes. It was a good work out. I think they took one step forward and slipped back two. I don’t know how they made it up to the top. Rick and I waited near the bottom of the huge dune.

We were thinking of camping at a small campground near the town of Carcross but a sign on the door said, “Closed until further notice.” There were a few people dry camping here anyway, but we had just dry camped last night and it was only 4:30 so we headed to the Visitors’ Center in Carcross to get our Yukon Passport stamped and see what they could tell us about camping. They didn’t have any local recommendations but said we could get water from the town supply. Instead, we decided to get ice cream and shop at the General Store. Mom met a young lady from Veracruz, Mexico who had set up a table of jewelry made from rocks and crystals she found. She also draws/makes her own silver wire. She is trying to earn enough money to go to the Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson, AZ next February. She sure is a long way from Mexico.

We took Tagish Road back to the Alcan Highway. It was a good road with some pretty lakes (not mentioned in this section of the Milepost). We crossed a bridge with a fishing platform and got some curious looks from the First Nations people that bordered on unfriendly.

We got to Johnson’s Crossing just as the campground office was closing. We seemed to be the only campers. However, the small rooms attached to the café seemed to be occupied. She cautioned us not to stray too far as brown bears have been seen in the area. A man came in to warn the owners that some men in a van were driving around stealing anything of value left out at local properties. We secured all our belongings before having dinner together in the big trailer. I thought a couple of motorcyclists came in to tent camp, but maybe they didn’t stay. I didn’t see them when we came back to our trailer.

Mom and the boys are looking forward to some “world famous” cinnamon buns for breakfast from the café.