We broke camp in Denali (actually Cantwell) in the rain and traveled from there to Anchorage (about 210 miles) in a pretty heavy rainy/foggy day so the photos on the way were few. We had a couple of look out opportunities to see Denali (our last chance) but the weather was so poor we could just see the road ahead of us.
On this route we traveled through Wasilla, Alaska and as we neared there it cleared enough that we began to see through breaks in the clouds some snow capped mountains in the distance.....the Alaska Range. We needed fuel there so we also decided to stop for lunch in Wasilla at a local diner called the Mat Su diner.
Scenery near Wasilla
(from moving vehicle)
4th of July Anchorage Style
We spent the entire day celebrating the 4th of July at the downtown festivities that were a nice change for us and a great event. They had a parade at 11:00, music on two different stages beginning at noon, reading of the Declaration of independence at 1:00 and food and rides over the entire park area called Delaney Park.
Young Parade Spectator
Parade Participants
Parade
The reading of the Declaration of Independence was at the Veterans Memorial just across the street from the park and was a quite a show. They did a flag ceremony where they demonstrated the different flags of the nation including the one where Alaska became a state and added the 49th star to the flag in 1959. After singing the national anthem they invited all the children to come up front for the reading of the Declaration where they were given flags to wave. At the conclusion of the reading they sang the Alaska state song.....I was amazed at how many folks knew and enthusiastically sang the state song. We left there feeling that Alaskans were a very proud and patriotic bunch.
Flag Ceremony
Not exactly a health food fair but hey, it's the fourth of July! Ed and Kay had some reindeer sausage, funnel cake and ice cream while Kathy and I split a few differnt things, Thai spring rolls and chicken wings, a Greek Gyro, and a funnel cake too. We walked around the fair atmosphere and enjoyed the live entertainment at both venues.
Kids having fun
They had a baseball game (double header) scheduled for 7:00 and 9:00 P.M. followed by some fireworks and I really wanted to go but the temp was dropping and we were all pretty tired after that day. Instead we opted for a couple cool drinks back at camp and visited for awhile before turning in.
Happy 4th of July!
5 July - Turnagain Arm & Whittier
Another rainy day but we were determined not to let that stop us from touring. But first, I took my truck in for an oil change and lube....all systems good. After that we struck out for a ride south from Anchorage to do some exploring without the trailers in tow. It was raining and foggy so what would have been a beautiful ride was hampered by low visibility.....but still nice.
The route, Seward Highway, travels along the Turnagain Arm with incredible mountains on both sides of the water...at least water at high tide. Another amazing area with huge tide swings (33 feet) that leaves the bay with large areas of mud flats that come with warnings that they are like quick sand and not to walk out on them.
Early on we saw a couple dall sheep (we think that is what they were) on a rocky mountain side....a little far away but still managed a few decent photos. We also ended up seeing a couple of eagles today but no opportunity to photograph them.
Dall Sheep
We rode to our first stop which is the town of Girdwood and the Alyeska Resort (ski resort)...they had a tram to the top of the mountain but visibility was too poor for that to be worthwhile. The original town of Girdwood is known for dropping 8 feet during the 1964 earthquake after which time they relocated the town to the current location. Very small town.
Next was the harbor town of Whittier....interesting to say the least and our first look at the Prince William Sound. Whittier is a town of 200 residents that all live in the same six story building. The town was built by the US Army, who have since abandoned it, and it is accessed via a 2.6 mile tunnel through a mountain. The one lane tunnel is shared by automobiles and the Alaska Railroad.
Tunnel entrance
The harbor/docks in Whittier was a pretty scene with a lot of boats and mountains (we couldn't really see well) as a backdrop. Many folks (private boats) put in here for fishing and they also have tours departing for viewing glaciers and charter fishing. We enjoyed a salmon burger for lunch at a dockside restaurant, took a few photos in between raindrops, had a walk around town and looked through their small museum. Then back through the tunnel.
Whittier harbor
We were all interested in what we learned about the severe tidal changes...called a bore tide. We found out that while we were out today the tide had gone out and was turning to an incoming tide as we were driving back to Anchorage. We'd read/heard that the tide was so significant that at times it looked like a 3 foot wave coming into the Turnagain Arm so we made our way to a look out point to try to witness this.....not to be, the tide did change and was swift but did not see an incoming wave.
Back to camp to wrap up some chores to get ready for tomorrow's departure to the Kenai Peninsula.
