August 8, To the Arctic Circle

August 8  We made it! We really made it!  Cross another item off of the bucket list, because we made it!

The van picked us up at our campground at 5:45 A.M. and drove us to the Northern Alaska Tour Company's office.  There we checked in, made our lunch order, and boarded our tour coach.  We were introduced to Kailey, our tour guide and driver.  We also met some of the 20 other members who were going to the Arctic Circle.  Of the group, 8 were from India and 8 were formerly from India who now live in the USA.  It was fun to listen to them talk in their native language, and I was very impressed with their command of the English language.

The bus departed Fairbanks around 6:30 a.m. We left town on the Steese Highway.  Our first stop was at a gold mine where Kailey talked about the methods used to extract gold from the pay dirt (gravel containing gold).  About 15 miles out of Fairbanks we turned off the Steese onto the famous Dalton Highway.

Formerly known as the Haul Road, the Dalton was constructed to allow for the building of the Alaska (Alyeska) Pipeline.  This highway has also been featured on the TV reality show, Ice Road Truckers.

We stopped for a photo op at the sign designating this highway.  It was apparent that truckers really do haul on this road as 3 semi trucks heading north passed by.  This highway goes all the way north to Prudhoe Bay where the oil fields are located.

A few miles up the highway we stopped and walked a short distance to the pipeline.  The pipeline is nearly 800 miles long and goes from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean all the way south to Valdez.  Kailey did a nice job of talking about the pipeline while we took photos.

From there we stopped at the little area of Joy, Alaska.  It is made up of a couple of families and a general store.  We were able to browse the store, but more importantly use restrooms which are limited along the Dalton.

We then rode 140 miles north to the Yukon River.  The highway is a combination of part asphalt and part hardpack gravel.  And like other roads in the north is uneven and potholed.  For this reason I chose to not drive my pickup on it.  And by looking at the tour coach's windshield I knew it was a good decision.  And it seemed that with each truck we met we could hear stone's bouncing off the front of the bus.  The cracked windshield of the bus was proof that vehicles do take a beating. Car rental companies forbid that their cars be driven on the Dalton.

At the Yukon River we picked up a box lunch which we ate enroute. Farther down the Dalton we stopped at Finger Mountain.  This area of stone outcroppings was used by the natives to create scarecrows which helped funnel the herds of caribou to places where they were easier to hunt. The unique rock shapes were also used by the early aviators as navigational aides. After pictures and a restroom break we were on the Dalton again.

At about 1:45 we arrived at 66º 33' North Latitude- the Arctic Circle!  The Arctic Circle is significant because it is the most southern point capable of receiving 24 hours of continuous, direct sunlight at sea level (the sun never sets below the horizon).  If you go any farther south, those areas would have a moment of time when the sun slips below the horizon at sea level.  We had truly crossed into "The Land of the Midnight Sun"!

We celebrated our arrival at the Arctic Circle by crossing a red carpet with a dotted line on it. Photos where taken and then chocolate cake with whipped cream was served.  We even received a certificate indicating our crossing upon our arrival back at the company office in Fairbanks. There were two volunteers in the parking lot who stamped passports for those who had one.  They told me with our group a total of 92 people had stopped at the Arctic Circle sign which was a bit over the daily average.

After turning around it was back on the road and heading south towards Fairbanks, a distance of 199 miles.  Several miles down the Dalton we made a stop in a transition area between the boreal forests and the tundra.  Kailey walked us out onto the tundra.  It was squishy soft when you walked on it.  With a trowel, Kailey dug a hole into the tundra and allowed those who wanted to put their hand down the hole to feel the coldness caused by the permafrost.

She had also mentioned that there were blueberries in the area so while she dug, I harvested and ate a couple of handfulls of the ripen berries.  I only wish we had more time and a container to collect more!

At about 4:45 we arrived back at the Yukon Trading Post where we ate a dinner that we had pre-ordered on the first leg of our trip coming out of Fairbanks.  Peggy and I each had a burger which was grilled and tasted very good.  The trading post also had homemade pie, so we couldn't resist. Peggy had cherry, and I had rhubarb.

Afterwards, we all walked to the bank of the Yukon River.  In my imagination I could see the paddlewheelers going upstream to Dawson City and the gold fields there to deliver supplies and stampeders who could afford to travel by boat.  What a significant river to the settlement of Alaska by the influx of non-natives.

In between stops we were entertained and educated on the bus by the presentation of videos on the subjects of gold mining, the building of the pipeline, the tundra and permafrost, and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  I have to admit that many, including myself, used these opportunities to take a quick nap.

From the Yukon River we were back on the bus with the next stop the Joy Trading Post for restrooms.  While waiting to board the bus for the last leg of the return trip I gained a new friend. For some reason (I can think of several reasons! heehee) I was befriended by the year and a half year old granddaughter of the trading post proprietors.  She had singled me out from the group and held her arms out to be picked up!  So the grandpa in me took over, and we played rapid lift and toss/catch.  The best part was her toothy giggle! This went on for some time as I would put her down when my arms tired, and she would come right back to me to be lifted up again. Hmmm??  Maybe I miss my own granddaughters more than I thought!

We arrived back in Fairbanks around 9:30 P.M. where we said our goodbyes to our tour mates and Kailey, and received our certificates.  We were then given a ride back to our campground where we wearily but happily were back home. What a fantastic day!!

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August 7, Fairbanks and the Discovery III

August 7  Please, don't pinch me!  I don't want to wake up from this most enjoyable dream! What another spectacular day Peggy and I have had in Fairbanks.  Let me start by saying that the temperature today was 78º.  When I think of Fairbanks, Alaska, I am reminded of snow drifts and -50º temperatures.  Not this summer!

Our day began with the Discovery III Paddlewheel boat tour on the Chena River.  Now this isn't some little puddle-about boat.  This is a 4 deck, bring on your tour buses by the dozens boat.  I'll refer to the tour bus persons as "The Hoard".  Peggy and I sat in the parking lot after getting our tickets and counted at least 15 tour buses of people who were all destined to ride the same boat we were.  Wow!  (Yes, I know I've just slighted some of you who have done the bus tour thing. And, good for you for having done so.  But, I can not see me doing a bus tour thing unless I really get desperate to wear a name tag badge around my neck.  For this I apologize!)

I'm guessing there were nearly 1000 people who rammed, jammed, and thank you ma'am (-ed), on board the boat.  However, Peggy and I were fortunate in that we happened to be in the right place at the right time.  After about the 10th bus rolled in we decided we better get out of the pickup and go to the side of the building where the gang planks for boarding were.  Holy cow...what a hoard of people already lined up!  But where we stood was a chained off walkway.  About 5 minutes before boarding began the nicest gal walks up, sets up her ticket taking materials and says, "You can start a new line right here."  Right where we were standing!  So, we were moved to the front of this new line of boarders!

Peggy and I made a beeline to the top deck towards the stern.  Our only mistake is that we sat on the right side of the boat.  As we found out after we were underway some of the demonstrations on the river were on the left side.  No big deal, however.

The tour was on the Chena River and we headed upstream away from Fairbanks.  One of the first demonstrations was a bush pilot who took off from the Chena River.  Peggy and I have watched countless float planes take off at Anderson Lake.  And, the announcer, who really did a good job, made the pilot sound like some aviation hero.  Heck, Grant is at least his equal, if not better!!

Farther down stream we went past the home of Susan Butcher, who was an Iditarod race winner. She has since died, but her husband still raises and races sled dogs.  He had a team of dogs hooked up to a 4 wheel ATV.  And at his signal, those dogs took off pulling that ATV at a high rate of speed.  They circled a small lake on the property and on his command came to a stop.

Further on we passed a rebuilt native village with a demo version of a fish wheel.  It was announced that we would be coming back as we would off-load and be able to attend various explanations of native life.

The Discovery III went a short distance farther to the place where the Chena River runs into the Tanana River.  The Tanana is the major drainage for the Fairbanks area.  The amazing thing was to see where the 2 rivers merged.  The Chena's waters are clear while the Tanana's are milky gray as it contains glacial silt.  It looked like cream slowly mixing with coffee.

The captain reversed our direction to head upstream and docked us at the native village.  There were three demonstrations given:  native clothing, native subsistence- hunting and growing food, and fishing with fish preparation.  All were done and done well by high school and college age students.  I was really blown away at the native clothing demo when a woman's ornate parka was estimated to have a value of $15,000 because of the furs, beadwork, and large amount of time it took to make it!

They also had a recently caught salmon that a girl filleted and prepped for smoking.  Only these salmon were not for human consumption, but for the sled dogs.  Because the dogs are vital to the survival of the natives during the harsh winter, there needs to be plenty of food stored for the dogs' winter survival.

After about 45 minutes at the native village the boat's whistle blew signalling The Hoards to reboard for the ride back to the docks.  Along the way the announcer talked about living in Fairbanks.  Like anywhere, Alaskans are proud of where they live, and rightfully so!

Once back on land, Peggy and I drove back to our camper for lunch.  I took a nap while Peggy got confirmation about our tour to the Arctic Circle tomorrow.  (Yes, for 1 day, we will be a part of A Hoard.)  Found out that we get picked up at our campground at 5:45 a.m. YAWN!

We then drove to downtown Fairbanks to the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center.  The focus of this center is on the native cultures that lived around Fairbanks and also the influx of Anglo-saxons settling the area.

From the Visitors Center we then strolled along the Fairbanks river walk.  We snapped some photos of things along the route.  After we finished, we went to the Hot Licks ice cream shop out by the University of Alaska.  YUM!  Homemade Rocky Road ice cream was especially good on a warm day.

We then went to Pioneer Park where a variety of different effects of pioneering were on display.  We saw a train car used by Warren G Harding, a huge old paddlewheel boat the Nenana, a number of older planes and aviation instrumental to the settling of Alaska, and old buildings and cabins from Fairbanks at the turn of the century.

By now we were getting a bit tired and hot, so we retreated to the camper.  Ahhh...AC!  After we collected ourselves and I loaded pics into iPhoto we went to dinner at the Pump House.  The Pump House is the building that was used in the 1930s when gold was discovered just west of the Chena River.  The pump house moved water from the river up to a nearby ridge where hydro-mining was used to wash the gold containing gravels down for extraction.

The meal was awesome!  Peggy had the grilled salmon, and I the grilled halibut.  OMG was it ever good!  And of course, when the desserts were presented we just couldn't say no.  Yes, we came back to the camper overstuffed!

What a day!  We are weary, but we have no regrets.  We look forward to tomorrow and crossing the 66° 33ʹ latitude.  Please, don't pinch me!!

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Today's Video Uploaded to YouTube

August 6, Wasilla to Fairbanks

August 6  Whew!  We made it to Fairbanks.  We were on the road at 7:30 and had smooth driving nearly to the turnoff to Denali NP.  However, from there on it was drive 10 miles and then stop for any amount of time waiting for the pilot car to escort us through the construction areas. Peggy and I are estimating that we sat waiting about 45 minutes total for all the flaggers to let us go on with the pilot car in all of the construction areas.  Ugh!

We passed Denali NP but as many come to expect, Mt. McKinley was cloud shrouded.  North of the park entrance we were in new territory despite the construction.  Once out of the Alaska Range mountains we were in the midst of boreal forests and muskeg.  This must be what is also referred to as taiga as it was hard to tell what was forests and what was swamp as they both seemed to be blended much of the time.

We drove across the Tanana River which drains much of the central Alaskan area around Fairbanks.  This river runs in a westerly direction and eventually empties into the renowned Yukon River of gold mining fame.

As we neared Fairbanks the highway climbed up into some low mountains which provided a good look from above at these taigas.  Far off to the west we could just make out some of the mountains making up the Alaska Range.  It was good to have them behind us for now as that's where the highway was torn up for repair.

We are now at the River's Edge RV Park in Fairbanks having arrived around 3:00. The campground seems pretty good as we have Internet and cable tv!  We are located on the Chena River in Fairbanks, the same river that tomorrow we'll be taking a riverboat cruise on.

Peggy was nice and fixed a meal indoors so that I didn't have to grill.  I think she realized I was a little beat from the drive.  After we ate we walked to the campground office to find out where we catch the shuttle provided to take us to tomorrow's boat tour.  But we found out they charge $4 per person, so we will drive the 2 miles to the boat landing. We also walked the grounds to the river.

And, the Fairbanks airport is very active!  We've had fighter jets, helicopters, cargo and passenger planes flying overhead at what seems a low level based on the noise they generate.

We are excited to be in Fairbanks!  Tomorrow the river boat tour, Thursday we go to the Arctic Circle which is about 200 miles north on the Dalton Hwy, and Friday we take a train ride out to an old gold dredge for a tour.  We will have a busy, fun 3 days here.  Saturday we make the drive back to Wasilla.

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August 2-5, Wasilla

August 2  It was a leisurely day!  We visited with Grant and Debby after breakfast.  Jim came by so had coffee with him and Grant.  It's fun to listen to their stories about pilots, flying, and hunting.  Today's major topic was on the production and usage of energy.  Alaska is a state rich in natural resources, especially oil, natural gas, coal, and water.  A new power plant is being built that will run on natural gas which Grant and Jim are against.  They contend that there are enough canyons in the mountains that could be dammed and used for hydroelectricity.  They say that natural gas costs enough already without a new competitor for it, and that it is inefficient to convert natural gas to electricity and then have the consumer buy electricity and have to convert it to heat.  Have the natural gas go directly to the consumer for winter times heating needs.

Peggy took me along to get photos printed out to send to my dad and to buy some groceries.  We stopped on the way back to get the pickup fueled up only to find out they did not have any power.  Same with many businesses along that street.  Luckily we weren't desperate.

After lunch we went for a walk.  I don't think today's temperature got much over 70º so it was comfortable walking during the day.  And, I've noticed in the middle of the night that it is now totally dark.  Summer is noticeably waning here in Wasilla.

Peggy made a butterfinger pie!  The candy bars were on sale at the store.  She shared it with Grant and Debby.  Will be interesting to see how they like it.  Debby said that she'll make a peanut butter pie and share it with us.  YUM!

That pretty well sums up the day.  Like I said it was leisurely...and very enjoyable!

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August 3  Another leisurely day, but a breezy one!  Grant was expecting 2 planes to come today, but the wind prevented them from making the attempt.  Peggy cleaned the inside of our camper while I rotated the tires on the pickup.  We visited with Debby and Grant throughout the day. Grant was in the hangar working doing regular maintenance on his pickup, lawn mower, and skid loader.  I worked on the pavement just outside the hangar.  The place looked like Gasoline Alley!

Peggy and I went and got fuel for the pickup this afternoon and also drove along Charley St. that goes along the north side of Anderson Lake.  It's a street that we have walked a short portion of so we were curious as to where else it might go.  And, I got my ears lowered as the barbershop was open for business.  Fortunately the barber only had 1 client!

It has been sprinkling this evening.  Forecast is for more steady rains after midnight.  I hope the weather prognosticators are correct as many areas of southern Alaska are very dry.  I talked to a client of Grant's today who had just gotten back from several days in Sitka.  He said the smaller streams there are so low on water that salmon were unable to swim up them to spawn.


August 4  It was laundry day for us this morning.  So, while I stayed at the camper watching the NASCAR race at Pocono on the TV, Peggy went to do the wash and also get some groceries. The race started at 9:00 a.m. Alaska time so was over around 12:20 p.m., about the same time that Peggy got back.  I don't know if she was trying to put me on a guilt trip or not, but she said for a time she was the only female in the laundromat.  But, maybe she was the only person in the laundromat??

We went for a walk during the afternoon as there was again the chance for rain during the evening.  It was cooler today with temps in the upper 60s. We grilled pork chops for dinner. About the time we finished eating and had settled down the raindrops fell...all 10 of them.  We just are not able to get a sustained rain to fall.  The temperature dropped enough that we closed the camper's windows as we watched TV.

Tomorrow we make the necessary preparations to get on the road Tuesday as we're heading to Fairbanks for the rest of the week.  Preps include checking out the pickup's fluid levels and tire pressure, and dumping the camper's holding tanks and checking its tires.

We're excited to go to Fairbanks and have a boat tour, an Arctic Circle tour, and a gold dredge tour planned.  This will also be a good area to see the Alaska Pipeline up close and personal.


August 5  I'm thinking summer is beginning to transition here.  The past mornings we have awakened to low 50ºs and daytime highs are in the 60s.  And, we still haven't had that good soaking rain yet.  We got a few sprinkles overnight- just enough to waterspot my clean pickup.

Peggy and I did our chores right after breakfast.  I checked tire pressures, and then we relieved our holding tanks of their contents.  I told Peggy she didn't need to help with this.  But I think she enjoys watching my facial expressions as the "contents" are disposed of.

Even though today is one of our "on duty" days, Grant and Debby did not go anywhere and said we could if we chose.  So, we decided at my suggestion to drive the Hatcher Pass Road again. The last time we did so was on a weekend and there were hoards of people up in the pass. Actually, I had an ulterior motive...to get another excellent chili dog on the way back!

There were very few people up in the mountains and after we got out of the pickup to walk around we found out why- it was very cold and a breeze was blowing.  We were not equipped with clothing nor our hiking boots.  While outside Macy called her grandma to tell her she had gone school shopping.  But the mountains soon blocked the signal, and their conversations had to wait until stronger signals allowed.

We did see marmots scampering among a rock pile.  They were the first we had seen in the Talkeetna Mts.  Peggy got a nice photo of one.  However, there was a huge marmot that was not willing to be viewed long enough for a picture.  At first Peggy did not know what it was as it was much larger than the others.

Later when the road was following Willow Creek, we came around a curve and out of the ditch in front of us bounded a cow moose.  But this moose, like others we've seen crossing a road, did not pose for a picture and ran into the opposite ditch and was gone.  Camera shy!!

A bit farther down the road I saw a large head sticking out of some bushes on the shoulder.  I quickly stopped and told Peggy, "There's a wolf!!"  Holy cow, take its picture!.  About that time the wolf walked out onto the road towards us!  Peggy snapped a photo of it before it disappeared back into the overgrowth along the road.  WOW!

Much to my disappointment when I later looked at the photo of it in iPhoto I realized that the ears did not match up to what a wolf would have, and its muzzle was not elongated.  My imagination had duped me...it was a dog!  :o(

We connected back up with the Parks Highway and drove to the little drive-in diner.  This time Peggy also got the chili dog and their good fries!  It tasted as good as I remember it!  We then stopped at Walmart for a few items before getting back to the Chapman's.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we go to Fairbanks with a Saturday return.  We will be exploring new territory again, and we're excited to see sights and have experiences that we've not been exposed to.

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August 1, Chitina to Wasilla

August 1  We slept in this morning.  Our bodies needed to recover from hiking around the Kennecott Mine and McCarthy yesterday.

We left our Chitina, AK, campground around 10:00.  We fueled up again at Kenny Lake.  This allowed us to drive all the way back to Wasilla.  Once we turned from the Edgerton Hwy northward onto the Richardson Hwy we stopped at a pull off and got some photos of mountains making up the western side of the Wrangell Mountains.  I hope I have them named correctly!  We survived the construction on the Glenn Hwy just outside Glenallen.  And, yes, we got more mud!

We were greeted by Grant and Debby as we pulled into their premises.  There first reaction was boy, you guys are dirty!  Fortunately they were talking about our pickup and camper...I think!  :o)

Debby grabbed her car wash materials, got a hose, and immediately set to work trying to get the dried, packed mud off.  Peggy and I assisted by using a variety of brushes and elbow grease to rid the mess.  After much spraying the goo finally relented and washed off.  Thank you Debby!

I had Grant do a couple of things to help me.  My car scrub brush's handle had broken off and the threaded head was still in the brush.  Grant had an extractor that worked to back the broken end out.  And we have had a bent foot plate on the front landing gear on our trailer.  Since Grant has quite a well equipped shop, he used his machine press to re-flatten the foot plate.  Thank you, Grant!

We set up our camper and although we had a great time traveling to and seeing the Kennecott Mine, it was still nice to have such nice creature comforts here: cable TV and Internet, full utility hookups, and a level spot to set up on!

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July 31, Chitina to McCarthy and the Kennicott Mine

July 31  We left for McCarthy and the old Kennecott Mine right at 7:00 this morning.  The drive from Chitina to McCarthy is 60 miles of gravel road which follows the old railroad bed.  Many parts of the road are in gravel road condition while other parts are very rough.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours to make the drive.

About 30 miles along the road we entered the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.  We were surprised to find that the park entrance has a rather nondescript sign.  Especially surprising was to find out that this national park is six times larger than is Yellowstone NP, making it the largest national park in the US!

We pulled into the parking lot on the west side of the Kennicott River and were intercepted by Jim, the parking lot attendant.  He was very friendly and gave us good suggestions like: go to the mine first and eat lunch at the Kennicott Glacier Lodge on the balcony, don't be sorry for the fools back at Chitina who left their RVs on the sandbar 'cuz the river's flooding- DUH!  We took him up on both suggestions regarding the Kennicott.

However, our first need was to walk the footbridge across the Kennicott River to McCarthy.  The river was flowing fast and high.  The warm weather is taking its toll on the area glaciers, and they are melting at a rapid rate.  The same was true of the Copper River where yesterday we saw several RVs parked on a large sand bar and now in water due to the raising levels of the river.

Once over the footbridge we caught up with the shuttle service.  A shuttle was leaving immediately to go up to the mine.  We paid our $10 total round trip fare.  From the footbridge the shuttle drove to and stopped in McCarthy.

McCarthy has a colorful history.  Since the mine was declared “dry” by the owners, McCarthy grew to take advantage of 2 things most men want- liquor and women.  And McCarthy provided both and more!

The shuttle was approached by quite a number of persons.  There was already 5 on the 11 passenger van.  But by squeezing tighter and tighter, we were able to take on about  9 more people many of whom were from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.  The van then left for the 5 mile drive up to the Kennecott Mine having to leave 2 behind to wait the hour for the next shuttle or walk.

The Kennicott Mine opened in the early 1900’s in thanks to the development of a railroad from Cordova on the coast up through various river valleys to the mine.  Here ore rich with a high concentration of copper was shipped to Tacoma, WA, for smelting.  The mine produced the most copper and with it, the largest profit of any copper mine up to that time.

The Kennecott, now a national historic site, has many of its old buildings being restored.  If you look closely at our photos, you can see workmen and scaffolding.  As a result of the construction, most buildings were closed to the public.  

We walked around the mine’s grounds taking photographs and reading about the function of the various buildings.  The largest attraction is the concentrator mill where the copper was extracted from the limestone in which the copper was contained.  Because this mill was on the side of the mountain, much of the process relied on gravity to move the ore from one stage down to the next stage.

When the ore had been concentrated as much as possible, it was loaded onto railroad train cars, shipped to the coast, and then loaded onto ships and taken to the smelter plant in Tacoma.

We walked a trail which took us up and behind the mine.  There we could see the old tram lines which were used to move the ore from the actual mines high on the mountain down to the mill.

We continued to follow the trail, but must have missed a turn and ended up in a creek bed with a fairly good amount of water flowing down it.  Fortunately, my long legs allowed me to rock step across fairly easily.  However, Peggy had to work at finding a route across the creek.  And she did so without getting wet or falling!  We found where the trail picked up and continued on our way down towards the mine’s main road. 

We came to a chute that must have been used to move high quality ore down a level skipping some of the concentration processing steps.  At the bottom of this chute was what appeared to be a crusher that broke the large pieces of ore into smaller ones.  I hiked up a steep incline to this crusher and there in a hopper was copper ore!  I couldn’t resist the temptation to grab a handful of this ore and put it in my pocket.  I’m assuming that this would be some of the last ore to go through the Kennecott Mine right before it closed forever.

By now it was lunch time so we found the Kennicott Glacier Lodge which is an old boarding house of the mine.  It has been remodeled to accommodate guests.  The lodge has a balcony with tables and chairs on the second story.  So up the steps we climbed to find a great view of the river valley, the terminus end of the glacier, and the mountains across the valley.

And the food was superb.  We each had the salmon Caesar salad with carrot cake for dessert.  And of course we found the scenery much to our liking, too.

From there we roamed the mine area until the shuttle came.  We rode it down from the mine to the town of McCarthy.  Sonny was our driver and is originally from Texas.  All you needed to do was ask him a question and he would talk in his drawl.  

He told us if we were enjoying the history and scenery of the area, that we should cross the McCarthy creek and follow a road about a mile up a hill.  There you will get very nice  looks up the Kennicott River valley towards the glacier and the mine.  And, if you go a bit farther you can see “Mudhole” Smith’s cabin.  “Mudhole” was a famous area bush pilot back in the early days of the mine.  You can see photos we took of this walk by following the link below.

Once we were back in town we had to look up an ice cream shop because we were hot and tired.  Peggy estimated that we had been on our feet for nearly 5 hours not counting  lunch.  Whew!  Fortunately McCarthy does have an ice cream shop which satisfied our needs!

We then went to the McCarthy museum which has many items from the towns early history on display.  The raciest item I saw was a whale bone corset!  But there were many items and photographs from the early 1900’s to 1938 when the mine stopped producing copper.

From the museum we walked back to the footbridge over the river, took a few last photographs, climbed into the pickup, and bounced our way back down the McCarthy Road to Chitina.  Enroute we finally encountered rain while on the McCarthy.  In fact we were in a 5 minute downpour and had to have the wipers on high to be able to see.  And like a construction zone, the McCarthy turned momentarily into a muddy mess.  

We we pulled into our campsite and wearily got into our RV around 7:00 after 12 fun hours of exploring, learning, walking, eating, photography, and just plain fun!  I’m sure we will sleep well tonight!

Today's Photos Uploaded to Picasa

Video of Kennicott Glacier's meltwater

Video of the Kennicott River at McCarthy, AK

July 30, Wasilla to Chitina, AK

July 30  We visited with Grant and Debby and gave them our travel itinerary for the Kennecott Mines at McCarthy this week, then Fairbanks the following week, and finally halibut fishing the 3rd week .  They can then plan any other trips they want to take.  We left Wasilla around 8:00.  

We drove the Glenn Highway to Glennallen.  Just outside of Glennallen we hit major road construction.  We were stopped for a while before the pilot car arrived to escort us to the other end.  However, Alaska is big on dust abatement, so a semi water truck preceded us and flooded the dirt.  And yes, it made instant mud.  Our 5th wheel trailer again bears the badge of construction- two caked mud streaks on its lower front.

At Glennallen we fueled up and turned south onto the Richardson Highway.  We have traveled both the Glenn and Richardson (to Valdez) before.  However, after about 15 miles on the Richardson we made a left onto the Edgerton Highway and headed easterly.  At Kenny Lake we filled up with fuel again as this is the last diesel station for us until our return trip on the same highway.  

We followed the Edgerton to the Wrangell View RV Park 5 miles from Chitina.  It has electric and water hookups but is on the side of a shallow hill.  With a small amount of effort Peggy directed me into a site and we were reasonably able to get level.  Thankfully we had AC as the air is quite humid and the temp was near 80º.

Debby, our hostess in Wasilla, is going to be jealous as she is trying to grow a crop of raspberries.  However, this year they are creating all canes but very few blossoms and fewer yet berries.  Right next to our campsite is an area that is full of wild raspberries which are ripe!  

After setting up and having had our lunch we drove to Liberty Falls.  It is on a small creek and looks to have a nice waterfall.  However it is hard to get a good vantage point for a picture unless you chose to hike to the very top which these two travelers decided not to do as we only had our tennis shoes on.  At some point in time a large rectangular boulder broke away from the canyon wall and positioned itself directly in front of the falls making a photo difficult.

While at the falls, we met a lady who was wearing a Nebraska t-shirt.  Peggy had hers on, also.  When I mentioned to the lady that we were from Nebraska she said she was an Alaskan, but that her daughter had moved to Whiteclay, NE!  The daughter and granddaughter were visiting the Alaskan, and the granddaughter was having her high school graduation pictures taken at the falls.  Small world!  When I mentioned that Whiteclay had been in the news again recently they said that they ran the grocery store. (Whiteclay sells alcohol directly to the Native Americans who live on a reservation right across the state line in S.D..  The SD reservation is dry so the Native Americans drive or walk the short distance to Whiteclay to get their booze.  SD is trying to convince NE that Whiteclay should not be able to sell alcohol!)

From the falls we drove into the very small town of Chitina.  Chitina grew up in the early 1900s when copper was discovered in the Copper and Chitina River areas.  It became a railroad center for the ore trains that took the copper to Cordova on the coast.

However, trains at that time needed coal.  The US government enacted legislation that prevented Alaska from utilizing its own coal fields to provide for the railroad as the syndicated (Guggenheim and Morgan) railroad was considered a monopoly.  Because coal had to be shipped in for the railroad it was very costly for the railroad to continue.

Once the copper ore was gone and the mines closed, the railroad also left, so towns like Chitina and McCarthy, where the Kennicott Mine is at became virtual ghost towns.  Slowly with the development of roads the old mining areas became tourist attractions.  In 1980 Wrangell-St Elias National Park was formed.  Tourism to the old mine at McCarthy increased.  The old railroad bed from Chitina to McCarthy was covered with gravel to convert it to a road.

I was fortunate in that Grant had a book that he loaned me, “The Copper Spike”, on the history of the establishment and decline of the railroad in this area. 

Chitina is little more than a couple of B & Bs, a hotel, and a few private residences.  Salmon fishing on the Chitina River is big and there are several fish wheels being used to catch them. There is usually a large sand bar on the east side of the Copper River at Chitina.  However, because of the very warm temperatures the Copper is running high and the sand bar is pretty much under water.  There were at least 3 RVs who got caught by the rising water and either are in water or surrounded by water.  And, the fish wheels on this side of the river are about 50-100 yards away from the new shoreline.

We grilled our supper after which I put photos on the computer and edited them.  I then started writing today’s blog.  At about 8:45 p.m. Peggy and I went for a walk.  Was this a mistake?  I’m sure if you asked the mosquitoes they’d say it was a perfect time for a walk.  All I can say is that we kept up a pretty lively pace while swinging our arms wildly trying to keep the suckers (figuratively and literally) away.  I’m sure anyone who might have seen us would think, “Those crazy Nebraskans!”

Regarding our walk- when we self-registered for our campsite there was a sign that a bear had been seen in the campground on July 27.  So, Peggy armed herself with bear spray before we left on our walk.  I armed myself with a camera.  

Tomorrow we drive the 60 miles from Chitina to McCarthy and the old mines on a gravel road created on the old railway bed.  We’re very excited to do this!

Good night, Gracie!!

Today's Photos Uploaded to Picasa

Fish Wheel on the Copper River at Chitina, AK