North to Alaska 2010

Girdwood to Portage, AK

We left Crow Creek Mine and our plans were to continue on to Hope but as plans sometimes do, they were changed. We didn't get very far today though, only 21 miles. We stayed the night at the turnout at Ingram Creek.

Let me tell you a little story about Ken and Ingram Creek. Back in 2004 Ken found a dead Ocotello Cactus and made himself a walking stick. He has used this many times over the years and is very fond of it. Of course, it is a conversation starter and he loves telling people what it is and how it came to be. Well, he went for a walk down to the creek and was standing there watching the water rush under the bridge when he noticed he had dropped his walking stick and it was taking a trip under the bridge. He rushed across the highway and was just in time to retrieve it before it was lost forever. Of course, he had to wade into the water get the stick, so by the time he came back and related what happened, he was soaked up to his knees. But he was happy - he still had his walking stick.

The next morning as we were getting ready to leave, we decided we needed to go to Portage and see the Portage Glacier. There is a nice little boat excursion and Fran had given us a coupon so we paid for one and got one for free. As we were waiting for the boarding call, someone spotted a bear through the window up on the hill foraging in the grass. After a while, a smaller bear was spotted foraging with her - her cub. It was fun to watch them as they filled up their bellies.

The lake is beautiful and again, the pretty blue from the glacial run off. We got pretty close to the Portage Glacier and were lucky enough to see a couple of small pieces calve off and also to see a couple of bigger pieces - now icebergs - floating in the lake. Of some amusement were the shoes one of the passengers were wearing. This must be a fashion for those that like to go barefoot, but still need some protection.

After the boat trip we headed back towards Hope and were lucky enough to see several glaciers along the way. It is hard to imagine they are twenty feet - some of them - in depth and that they just hang there in the mountains and don't just slide off. We found out on the boat ride that it takes approximately 10 years to make a glacier. I thought they were left over from the ice age - and some of them are - but as the snow falls, then melts, it compacts into ice crystals which over time and having the weight of snow and ice pack every year, eventually become glaciers in their own right. We also learned that a valley shaped in a V shape was formed by rivers over hundreds of years and a valley shaped in a U shape was formed by glaciers. All very interesting.

We didn't camp in Hope as the campground there was full so we traveled back down the Hope Highway and found a beautiful pull off that was perfect for viewing the bore tide again on the Turnagain Arm. Now we were on the opposite side of the arm and both of us were looking forward to watching the tide come in again.

Tomorrow we will head toward Seward and hopefully stay a couple of days to see everything in that area.

North to Alaska 2010

Crow Creek Mine and Girdwood, AK

Today was scary! We followed the Crow Creek Mine Road to the top of the mountain. Only Crow Creek Mine Road turned and we didn't. Imagine this - one way traffic because the road narrowed pulling a 30 feet trailer behind you - over wooden bridges and no guard rails. Whoo-ee. I was sitting on the edge of the seat and at one point yelling at Ken not to stop in the middle of the bridge we were crossing. If he wanted a better view he could park on the other side, get out and walk to the middle of the bridge. I was not a happy camper with this road trip we were taking. Finally we get to the end and thank goodness there is a parking lot large enough for us to turn this unit around. It was beautiful, but harrowing.

Finally we get turned around, get out to take a few pictures and head back down the hill to where we should have turned. The camping area at Crow Creek Mine is not marked in any way - pick a spot and set up is the thing to do. No hook ups, no place to get water, but there were Jiffy Jons on the mining property. They do have modern washrooms, but they aren't hooked up yet.

Crow Creek Mine, established in 1896, was at one time the most productive gold mine in Alaska. The gold started to lessen in frequency and the mine closed down - as did most of the gold mines. It is now a historic site with most of the buildings still standing and for $15 a day, you can rent all of the equipment you need to do some recreational gold panning - and instructions come with that. If you are paying $5 a night to camp and have your own gold pan and equipment, the fee for camping covers the panning, too. John, Ken and I went for a walk through the mining camp and then down to the stream to watch them pan for gold. Later that day all four of us went down to try our hand at it. Gold panning is fun, but it is hard work and after 3 hours I was done. No gold just sore arms from all the swirling, shaking and moving.

The next day Ken and I went on a sightseeing ride up to Girdwood and the Alyeska Resort. There is a 60 person tram car that you can take to the top of Alyeska Mountain but we opted to stay on firm ground. There are 7 glaciers that surround this area and we did see some but not all of them. Girdwood has a population of 1,794 and is a typical tourist town and there are several hiking trails in the area - two of which we did. One was the Athabascan Environmental Physics trail that winds behind the high school. This little trail was about 3/4 mile long, up little hills, over tree roots, streams and rocks and although it was short, it tired me out as I'm not used to climbing over stuff to get anywhere. Then the next day the four of us decide to take the trail to the hand tram which travels in part along the Iditarod Trail that runs from Seward to Nome. This used to be the mail route but now is just a hiking trail until you get to Anchorage where it becomes a race route. This trail was much more strenuous than the one the day before. When we got to the hand tram, I took one look at that small basket swinging over the gorge and decided I would wait for the 3 of them to go over and come back. It was a nice day, sunny and just a little bit on the chilly side and it was a chance to enjoy the peace and quiet of the wilderness. They were gone about a half hour as they hiked another 1/4 mile to the gorge overlook. Thankfully there were no bears in the area so I didn't become bear bait while I waited. Then there was the mile and a quarter hike back to the campground. Most of which was uphill - should have known that what we traveled down while we were on the way to the tram was going to be going up.

The best part of being in this camping area was the night they had a reception for 260 people. The day before they set up huge tents and the next day they set up the tables, chairs, bar and food. Then the buses started coming in. Now this area isn't hardly big enough for RV's to turn around in let alone big tour buses, but they did it. They let the passengers depart then went about the task of turning around so they were all backed in and ready to leave once they boarded. There was a great band that played for about 3 hours, so although we didn't get to partake of the refreshments we did get to enjoy the entertainment - and the bus maneuvers.

We plan on heading to Hope when we leave here which is another little mining town on the Turnagain Arm. From there we will most likely make our way to Soldotna.

Here are a few pictures of the flowers at the mine - mostly wildflowers with a few "tame" flowers - all beautiful.

We went back to see the "Big" bore tide - with the low tide below sea level, the bore tide is supposed to be at its biggest. The first night we went to look, it wasn't any better than the first time, in fact, it wasn't spectacular at all. But the second time it was again very fascinating and awesome.

North to Alaska 2010

Anchorage to Girdwood, AK

After being in Eagle River and Anchorage for a few days, we are ready to be in the wilderness again - less traffic and less people. Although I like big cities and big city atmosphere, after driving the many miles through mostly wilderness, I am craving the quietness with only the sounds of wildlife.

We found a beautiful pull off along the Turnagain Arm 41 miles south of Anchorage to spend some time at. We had thought we would just park there until the Bore Tide came through but as it happened, no one told us we couldn't stay there and it was so beautiful we decided to spend the night.

An easterly extension of Cook Inlet, Turnagain Arm was called Return by the Russians. Captain Hook seeking the fabled Northwest Passage in 1778, called it Turnagain River, and Captain Vancouver, doing a more thorough job of surveying in 1794 gave it the present name of Turnagain Arm. Turnagain Arm is known for having one of the world's remarkably high tides, with a range of more than 33 feet. The Bay of Fundy is the only body of water that surpassed this with tides of up to 54 feet. A bore tide is an abrupt rise of tidal water just after low tide, moving rapidly landward, formed by a flood tide surging into a constricted inlet such as Turnagain Arm. This foaming wall of water may reach a height of 6 feet and is dangerous to small craft. There are signs all over about not going out on the tidal flats because the bottom of the fjord is composed of silt and glacial deposits that are like quicksand in many places. If a person is there stuck and the tide comes in it spells disaster. When the water mixes with the bottom in those places, the silt deposits become like concrete.

Not knowing when the bore tide was expected we were just sitting around - Ken outside, me inside as it was windy and a little chilly - when Ken came to the door and told me to look at the water. And sure enough, there was the bore coming in and it was amazing. It wasn't very tall, maybe about 2 feet in places, but amazing nonetheless. The pull off we were at gave us a really good view as the water came in. The force of the tide caused waves and many whirlpools as it proceeded further into the fjord.

The pull off was also just above the Alaska Railroad tracks so we got to see the passenger trains between Anchorage and Seward up close. Not only did we experience the tide and the trains, in the distance we could finally see Mt. McKinley (Denali) in all its splendor along with the Alaskan Range. What a sight!

Denali is 75 miles north of Anchorage and we are now 40 miles south for a total of 115 miles distance for this picture - still a magnificent view!

All in all, it was a great spot to stay but we will move on tomorrow to meet up with John and Fran at the Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood to try our hand at gold panning.