Monday July 19

Still raining. Sometimes In Alaska all you need to do is drive somewhere else and the weather is different. Parts of Alaska, mainly near the ocean to the south it rains very often. There are some interior locations where it barely ever rains at all. The high mountains are very capable of trapping the moisture in a specific area and keeping it there for weeks on end.

Decided to leave the rain head for the Kenai Peninsula. On the way out of Seward I stopped at Exit Glacier National Park. They had these neat little walking paths leading up to the glacier. Depending on one’s ambition, you could get a view of it from afar or if you were up for it, hike an hour or so and walk right up on it. I’d seen a bunch of ice already so I opted for the view from afar. It was good enough and, really, just like all the other glaciers I’d seen so far on the trip.

Heading south to the Kenai, Soldotna area I stopped at a fly shop and asked if it was safe to float the Upper Kenai River. They said that it would be a great idea. Ideally, if I tried it, I’d be floating down the Kenai River through Kenai National Park. That might be pretty cool…..we’ll see, I might give it a go.

Next stop was the fabled confluence of the Kenai River and the Russian River. This spot is probably the most fished area in the entire state of Alaska. When the salmon are running the banks of the river are literally lined from shoulder to shoulder (not 5ft apart, actually people’s elbows are almost touching each other) with people fishing. The river is too fast to cross on foot so they even have this shuttle that ferries people across the river. This is what’s called combat fishing in Alaska. It gets nuts. People fighting over who caught a fish, people cutting each other’s lines, 17 beers, fistfights, you name it. It’s quite a sight. It’s fun to just watch the madness of it all.

Thought it would be a good idea to have more than one key to the camper so I stopped at this locksmith place and had a copy made. When I tested the copy in the lock it wouldn’t work…..and strangely enough suddenly my original wouldn’t work either…..nice. Will I be sleeping outside tonight? The locksmith lady spoke about zero words of English and just handed me some lubricant spray which didn’t work. I was getting scared, 20 minutes went by and I still couldn’t open it. She gave me skinny little tools to fish around inside the lock with. I tried, she tried…..more time passes. Now I’m thinking…. which window in the camper would be the easiest to replace if I needed to break in. Finally after much coaxing I manage to get the key working again….mini heart attack there. Works fine now….with both keys.

Down in the actual city of Kenai another unusual phenomenon takes place. This thing they call dip netting. There are so many fish entering the river from the ocean that people can actually stand at the edge of the river and net the fish as they swim upriver. They use these 5ft wide nets attached to long handles. They wait for the fish to swim in the net, they drag it ashore, bonk it senseless on the head, and toss it in the cooler. If a family has a really good system, one person’s job is to fillet the fish right on the beach before its tossed into the cooler. Families are allowed to catch 25 plus an additional 10 for every family member present. Some families rope anyone with their same last name into coming so they can get more salmon. (Hey Gram, you wanna go to the beach?”). Some families walk out of there with 100 salmon, that’s 2 fillets for each fish. At $12 a fillet at the grocery store, that is quite a valuable cooler(s) of fish. The neatest thing about it all is that you need to be a resident of the state of Alaska to participate. So, more or less everyone you see at the beach in the photo is a hardy Alaskan. Non-residents may not participate. The beach in covered in total fish carnage, piles of fish heads as high as your knees. Entrails, blood and guts everywhere, seagulls going crazy……again, it’s pretty funny to watch. See the video on tomorrows blog.

Wal-Mart for sleeps.

Sunday July 18

Shoulder is still pretty sore. The other day the doctor suggested I get a massage so I got one. She worked my shoulder pretty good and it felt totally loose when I walked out.

In general, I took it easy today.

Got some gas and groceries, listened to the satellite radio for a while, and messed around on the Internet a little. Late in the day I took another walk around Seward.

It rained all day. Went to bed early……again, kind of boring, but I felt like I needed the rest.

Saturday July 17

Took some drugs the doctor prescribed and slept like a rock. Woke up and was still pretty stiff. With the medication I'm ok. Without it, it hurts pretty bad.

I basically lied around all day with the exception of another short walk. By the end of the day I was feeling pretty good. I scheduled a massage for tomorrow on the doctors advice.

I don't really have much to say. I was either in the front seat of the truck or up in the bed in the camper. Not a whole lot going on in either place. Sorry blog fans.

Friday July 16

I could barely climb out of bed this morning my neck was in so much pain. I was at the point where I could no longer find a body position where my shoulder and neck would not hurt. I had to get some help so I checked into the ER at the hospital in Seward. I was hurting so bad I could barely function.

The doctor gave me a shot of Novicane type stuff like you’d get at the dentist, right into my shoulder. Instant relief. He also wrote me a couple of prescriptions, which I picked up at the local supermarket. I have to chill out for a few days. Besides a short walk around the waterfront, I basically spent the rest of the day in bed with a heating pad on my shoulder watching movies. It was frustrating.

Don't worry mom.....I'll live. It's just a little bump in the road.

Thursday July 15

Woke again with a seriously stiff neck. Worse than yesterday. It was becoming a problem. It seriously killed.

Fly shop right next to the laundry mat? Perfect. Chewed the fat with the fly shop owner while my laundry spun its way to cleanliness.

Visited the largest mall in Alaska. It was pretty cool. It had a skating rink in it. There was some fruitcake skating around in a red tank top with his headphones on thinking he was Brian Boitano. He looked like a silly freak.

It was now time to head south to Seward. On the way the radio station broadcasted an actual fishing report that covered most areas of Alaska. I thought that was pretty cool. Drove for a few hours and slept at a rest area.

By then end of the day I was scared. My neck and shoulder were killing me. If it doesn’t feel better in the morning I may have to do something about it.

Wednesday July 14

When I woke this morning I had a pretty stiff neck. The kind you get when you sleep wrong or something. I hope it goes away.

I had a few sourdough pancakes for breakfast and resupplied the stock of ginger cookies before continuing on down to Anchorage.

Hit the Wal-Mart in Anchorage and bought a bunch of stuff including snacks and milk. Then I washed the truck and camper

Watched the rest of the series “Into The West” with the generator running then fell asleep in bed in the Fred Meyers parking lot.

Guess I didn’t do much today.

Tuesday July 13

I hear reports from home that Central Mass is experiencing a king sized heat wave, maybe even the hottest July on record. Here the temp rarely moves out of the 50’s, and I must say, I’m loving it.

By some fluke, I had satellite radio reception for about an hour today. Managed some live Howard, which was an unexpected treat.

Wanted to drive back down the Denali Highway to the spot where I first noticed the flat tire on my truck and fish a stream that looked really good. Fish Creek was good. The grayling were rising to dry flies and you could pretty much catch one on every cast. It was cold out and by the time I’d arrived back at the truck my hands were frozen. They got that itchy feeling as I thawed them out on the trucks heating vents. I had the entire stream to myself and it was a blast.

After fishing in the morning, I headed back towards Anchorage for some supplies.

I need to tell you about “The Milepost”. The Milepost is a book that describes every detail of the Alaskan road system. Using the book, one gets a narrated tour of what’s alongside the road pretty much everywhere you go. Using actual mileposts, literally every roadside occurrence is described to the reader, from gas stations, restaurants, descriptions of abandoned shacks, scenic views, where to see specific types of wildlife…even useless stuff like this: “MP 336 Couch on bluff to the west has giant stuffed animals.” (sure enough, there it was). Armed with “The Milepost”, the reader gains a familiarity with Alaska greater than one they currently possess of their own home town. I can’t imagine the amount of hours spent gathering info to put this type of book together. The volume of info it contains is staggering.

Stopped back in Talkeetna to take a shower and spend the night…..bought one of those rotisserie chickens for dinner … it was divine. I recall that the first person to tell me how good those whole, cooked, chickens tasted was my grandmother.

Monday July 12

Denali National Park. I’ve been waiting a long time to visit Denali

and today was the day. It’s a strange set up they have going on, where the only way one can actually enter the park is by tour bus. Private vehicles are not allowed. This made choosing one of about 15 different tour options a little tricky. I’d say I chose one of the furthest destinations, with the least amount of comfort (school bus). This combo seemed to be the most popular so I went with it.

Highlights included getting a clear view of Mt McKinley, also called Denali, the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet. Apparently getting this clear view was pretty lucky as the summit of Denali is only visible 62 days of the year. The rest of the year it’s covered in clouds.

Other highlights included seeing my first caribou (also called reindeer), and my first dall sheep (sort of like a mountain ram type sheep with curly horns). Another highlight included hearing the bus driver tell a story about how he and a friend were charged by a grizzly and lived to tell the tale.

However, overall I thought the Denali Park experience stunk. I knew coming in that there was a pretty good possibility that I’d be disappointed. I’d seen so many animals, so close up on my trip already. You’ll remember that I saw my first grizzly coming out of the bathroom back in Banff in Canada at about 30 yards. I didn’t think the park tour could top it…and it couldn’t. The tour felt like it was designed for the Princess Cruise crowd as the “nature” portion of their itinerary. The masses paid top dollar and were herded on these school buses with high hopes to see anything. Glimpses of bears and other animals were from incredible distances. It was pretty disappointing. It was also a struggle to sit for 8 hours on a school bus. For those of you who don’t regularly ride a school bus, they are a lot more comfortable when you’re in second grade as opposed to being an adult. For 8 hours I sat captive in the world of Princess Cruise Lines.

I think those cruise line tours are a sham. People are shuttled from one pristine location to the next. The stops that are made on the tour provide this idyllic view of Alaska that is not realistic. What’s real is that Alaskan’s pay $7 for a bag of chips and need to supplement their food with animals or fish that they kill and eat. I have yet to encounter a fisherman who catches a fish and lets it go. It’s all about gathering food. Casting a bare treble hook into a giant school of salmon is not about fishing for sport, it’s about food on the table. If you think of the crappiest house in your town, the one with all the old cars and junk just piled everywhere, that is what is down the back roads all across Alaska. People are rugged here, hard core, and hard working. I’d say most cruise ship tours never get to fully experience this. In most cases the shiny clean hotel is physically separated and isolated from what I’d call, real Alaska.

The reason I keep harping on the cruise tours is because they are simply everywhere here. It is by far the most common way people choose to see Alaska. Hundreds of Princess buses crisscross the state every day. Towns and areas are empty until the busses show up and people go nutty spending their money on every little trinket that says Alaska on it. When the busses pull away the areas become empty and feel a bit deserted.

Had pizza for dinner tonight and called it a day.

Sunday July 11

Pouring rain.

Got caught up in a TV series on DVD called “Into the West” and watched it until the generator ran out of gas.

Decided to cut across the state and travel the Denali Highway, 132-mile dirt road through the tundra. It’s terminus being the fabled Denali National Park. Saw a couple of moose dunking their heads under water eating grass. Tried to identify some birds and the only tricky one I could pin down was the white crowned sparrow. The road was smooth enough, but long. I could only go about 40 miles an hour max. The views were spectacular. Towards the end, I needed a break. When I got back in I started driving and instantly noticed something was wrong with the truck. I was moving along ok, but not without some kind of strange resistance. After stopping to look at a river, I scanned the truck and noticed that my right front tire was half full of air. The first flat tire of the trip.

With five miles to go to civilization, I decided to just keep driving rather than monkey around finding the jack and dealing with a spare tire. I was about five miles from help. I reached this cruddy looking service station, but at 9:30 pm on a Sunday night, I had my doubts. I pulled in and I met a guy who was a gold panner, cleaning the back of his “log cabin mobile”. The only thing the gold panner and I spoke about were gold and weed, both of which I know nothing about. There was much discussion about ounces, grams and prices, but he was tough to follow. He made a phone call for me and within five minutes, arriving by bicycle, with all necessary tools in one pocket, comes the owner of the shop. He does his thing, I fill it up with air. Before I leave, Gold panner guy offers me a few joints, which I decline. (See photo above of gold panner, actually gold panning)

I made a note to get my own patch kit so I won’t have to pay anyone to repair a flat tire again.

Had halibut tacos at a restaurant for dinner and worked on the blog for quite a while.

Other Random Decent or Wacky Photos

Saturday July 10

Got a phone message from Gerry. He said he was headed back to Anchorage but that he’d caught his limit of silvers and also seen a few king salmon in the Klutina River. So, of course, I had to check it out.

Sweated bullets on the 80 degree 2 mile walk out to the mouth where the Klutina enters the Copper River. 5 hours later shivered on the rainy 54 degree walk back to the truck. After what seemed to be a thousand casts, I managed to sort of semi hook about 6, fight one hard and lose it, and yes, land one monster 7 pounder. Being a complete salmon rookie, I think it was a silver.

Went into this shop that housed a guide service to buy some split shot before I left for fishing and listened to a guide talk to a guy and his kid who he was about to shuttle upstream in his jet boat and take fishing. On the way back from my fishing I noticed the kid and his dad standing by at the filet table as the guide was cleaning more than a few fish. $225 for a half day trip……it gets me wondering......but I’ve always been more of a DIY guy.

Back to the riverside parking lot I slept in last night to blog the last few days. Writing the blog is not a big deal, but with no internet connection I can’t post it……hence the gaps in blog postings. After blogging I actually turned on the generator and watched a few DVD’s I brought with me…..a nice change of pace.

There were 2 dumpsters in the rest area…..empty when I got there, full when I left. The locals piled them high. Not sure if that’s what they were meant for.

Remember, click on the pics for a larger view.

Friday July 9

Back to Silver Lake. It was too good last night. Floating in the tube for over 5 hours, I managed to catch many large rainbows 3 over 20 inches…… and one, the biggest rainbow trout of my life, taped out at a whopping 25 inches. It was insane. I’d troll this full sinking line and about half of my backing and dredge these monsters from the depths. One time I had so much line out that I needed binoculars to see the fish jumping on the other end of the line.

I also had an unusual encounter with a loon, the thing swam about 5 circles around me underwater, surfaced, made the call of the wild like you’d hear in the movies (you know the one), go back underwater, and circle 5 more times. Like, I could see the thing flapping it’s wings blasting around me. It was, well, kinda weird. It was a spectacular day of fishing. Huge trout, nice sunshine, snow capped giants all around…..and zero other people. Another trip highlight for sure.

Paid the all time trip high for gas, $3.95/gal, ouch, but only $4 for a shower....it’s been 6 days since my last.

I was pretty tired and decided to call it a day around 7pm, gourmet pasta with butter and cheese by the river and bed early.

Thursday July 8

Rained like crazy in Valdez. Filled up with gas and propane and headed out.

Checked out the Klutina River near Copper City again to see if the fishing action was heating up at all. It looked dead.

Drove up the road a bit more and stopped at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. What’s unique about Wrangell-St Elias you ask? Well, for starters it’s America’s largest National Park. It also has nine of the tallest peaks in North America. Most of the park is totally inaccessible. It has 4 mountain ranges within its boundaries. 90% of all Alaska’s wildlife species can be found within it. And…25% of it is glacier.

It also had first class bathrooms…..a welcome change.

Total nerd ball ranger kid gave a convincing talk about how the park represented freedom. By the end he had me convinced that I could preserve the park while living in Massachusetts…… by installing energy saving lights at home etc, etc.

Sometimes the job of park ranger appeals to me. They ride around, give talks, and answer questions. They don’t ever seem stressed about anything. It’s the isolation that would get to me. I think I’d feel trapped in the park. Sometimes I’d like to hit the Northwork’s, go to the movies, catch a sporting event…all things not readily available to the average ranger. It’s all give and take I suppose.

Checked out the only place in Alaska where a non-Native can operate a fish wheel. A fish wheel is this crazy mechanism that spins in the river and, when the fish are in the river, literally scoops up fish by the bucket load. Some interesting cats down there.

Got a few tips from a ranger on some great lakes to fish so I drove to Silver Lake near Chitina, pumped up the float tube and caught some monster rainbows, biggest around 20 inches. Fished ‘til after midnight…..because I could.

During the night, well the dusky night around 3am, I went out to water the daisies and was startled to find a moose and her baby strolling past the truck and on down Main Street in Chitina.