Thursday, July 5: Another cloudy, cool day. As we head for Tok the sky breaks and the sun comes shining through; it makes the Matanuska Valley, so green and lush, even more beautiful. Soon we’re climbing through the mountains again with their snowy peaks; we round a bend and there’s the huge Matanuska Glacier, source of the mighty Matanuska River! We’re stunned! We make another stop at Sheep Mountain; the Dall sheep come here to lick the gypsum, deposited by hot springs that also oxidize the iron in the rocks and color the mountain orange. It reminds me of those beautiful Panorama Mountains in Denali Park. People have been writing here in the banks with light colored rocks; we leave our mark, “SISU!” We reach a high, flat area between the ranges; there are airstrips here and four-wheeler trails. As we pass the halfway point between Anchorage and Tok, we can see the snow-capped peaks of the Wangell Mountains. We will skirt them on the North side as we head to Tok. We passed the 5000-mile mark on our trip today! Not much for wildlife, just a suicidal black mink and a young fox. As we near Tok, the Mentasta Mountains crowd in along the road, all 6000’ of them, great Dall sheep habitat. Then they drop back and we are following the Tok River through the Alaska Range; we are in its permafrost valley, with the stunted black spruce. Some of them have bunches of short sticks and needles called witches’ brooms, caused by a fungus that attacks trees in poor drainage areas. Ron spots a beautiful trumpeter swan in a little bog pond there. We arrive at Sourdough Campground (famous for their pancakes), set up our tent and head to town for a few groceries. Ron picks up the yummy spring rolls we had last time in Tok to have with the soup I made—great supper. We take a drive down to investigate the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, take a flier with some suggestions for stops for tomorrow, then take a walk. We get back just as the rain starts. It’s a good sound to doze off to—the rain on the tent when we’re cozy and dry inside.

Wednesday, July 4: Happy Independence Day! Ron and I head for the Alaska Cultural Center after the best continental breakfast we’ve had this trip—hash browns, scrambled egg and sausage! The Center is amazing; the staff is so cordial and accommodating. There is an amphitheatre below the main entrance where we watch some young costumed natives dancing and drumming; traditionally, they did it mostly in the winter--it helped them keep warm. (We meet Roberta Lein’s grand-niece Caroline who is a dancer there!) The families lived in large groups in winter too for the heat! The amphitheatre is also the site of storytelling (Raven is a common mythical character) and demonstration of native sports. Then we go on a tour and see models of the houses of the five groups represented at the Center: the Inupiaq of the northern coast and the Yupik of near-by St Lawrence Island, the Yup’ik and Cup’ik of the western coast, the Sugpiaq of the Aleutian Islands and the southern coast, the Eyak/Tlingit/Haida/Tsimshian of the extreme southeast, and the Athabascan. The groups are divided by the languages that they speak. The coastal groups traditionally had houses that were earthsheltered because there was little building materials; the entrances were small to conserve heat and keep predators out. The reason they ate whale (and other meats) raw is because there often was no fuel to burn to cook. Driftwood was too valuable as building and tool material to burn up. The Athabascans closely resemble our plains natives in dress and had winter lodges of wood; it was plentiful and available. Most the groups moved around to gather food, and built temporary shelters at food-gathering camps. I was fascinated by each groups’ art, how items were of materials available to them and how they made the things they used everyday beautiful. My favorite is the Haida art—colorful and graphic, and they use buttons to decorate their robes. (Apparently the missionaries were unhappy with the way their clothes hung open, so they sent buttons—but with no instructions how to use them. The natives used them for decorations!) We have a tasty reindeer sausage on a bun, then head for Emmons. Sue and I go to the Anchorage Museum. There are exhibits of contemporary Alaskan art—very cutting edge, a huge exhibit about climbing Denali, a hands-on lab for kids, and extensive Smithsonian traveling exhibit about native cultures of Alaska, and an exhibit of historical items of Alaska’s past—wonderful! I knew that the Alaskan flag was designed by a 13-year-ole in a contest; but I didn't know his name was Benny Benson, he was a First Nation orphan sent to Seward to be raised, his house is still there, and he did it in 1928! The Emmons treat us to a barbeque rib dinner topped off with red velvet cake; then we say our final goodbyes. We head for Tok tomorrow. A little washing, a little cards and I’m pooped!

Tuesday, July 3: Up at 7:30am; promised John I’d bake up some cinnamon rolls (in a can) for breakfast. John has prepared more raw fries and salmon bacon (yum!), then the guys go fishing while I blog a little. Then I pack up so we are ready when Ron comes up from the river. No luck with the fish (the Kenai is too high, fast and cold) but I take a walk down the flowered path to see the fishing spot, so lovely. We head for Anchorage AK and we are thrilled to see a moose in the boggy flat land along the coast. As we near Anchorage, the beautiful wooded mountains and perched lakes appear and then the rock craigs at our right and the waters of the Turnagain Arm on our left. The tide is very low and there are huge sandy flats exposed. We have a little struggle finding a place to stay. We thought we’d be camping next to Chuck and Sue but there’s no tenting in Anchorage proper. At last we find a room, have a nice bowl of homemade soup then go over to Golden Nuggget RV and spend a couple hours with Emmons; we are anxious to hear about their time in Seward (beautiful aquarium there and they took the tunnel to Whittier and saw the glacier) and they want to hear about our boat trip to Gull Island and Ron’s fishing experience. (I’m glad Ron got to wet a line; there’s not much we brought that we haven’t used.) We take a nice, brisk walk (Anchorage weather reminds us of Superior), then hit the hay. We’re awakened at midnight by fireworks, but we can’t see them through the trees outside our window. Goodnight again!

Monday, July 2: Sunny and cool. Up early to breakfast, pack up and make a lunch. The lake looks like a mirror; should be a good day for the boat trip to Gull Island-- then we’ll head to Kenai for a night. The mountains seem so close as we head down to the harbor on the Spit. Ron gets a little nervous when there’s no yellow-hulled boot at Ramp #3, but as soon as he leaves to check the cell phone in the car, the Torega noses in to the pier. We take a picture of a huge seastar on one of the underwater cables, then head out past the breakwater into the ocean. Captain Karl takes us to what’s called Sixty-foot Rock; there are lots of sea otters there floating on their backs with their babies on their bellies; they wrap themselves in the kelp to keep from floating away with the strong currents. We see big glaucous gulls and herring gulls, and the smaller, but similar kittywakes. As we head for Cohn Island, one of over thirty owned by the same settler, we see a raft of sea otters and rafts of murre gulls. The murres make a murmuring sound; they look mostly black, but actually it’s dark brown. When they take off they fly in a line most evenly spaced! Cormorants are mixed in with the gulls in most spots, and we even see some with the reddish-orange face!; and on one rock we see an eagle among the gulls, with a zone of nothing around him—wonder why?! Captain Karl also points out merlets, surf birds and a gilmont. We see a salmon boat fishing the beach just off the mouth of the Wosnesenki River, which drains six glaciers; it’s fresh, silty water floats on top of the seawater for miles; I didn’t realize the salmon follow the shoreline. But it’s when we get to Gull Island that we really hit the jackpot--harlequin ducks, one even in his full colorful plumage (most are molting now) and what we have been searching for—puffins! The boat is rocking so it’s hard to get a good picture, but we’ll see! Captain Karl says it’s time to go back; the wind has come up and what was swells before is now white caps. What a great trip! It was so good to be on the sea again! We stop back at Captain Patty’s for a bowl of hot, razor clam chowder then pick up a couple chunks of fresh salmon for supper and head up to Kenai. One last picture of the Homer Spit and beautiful Katchemak Bay with the mountains all round, and it’s follow the boggy, flats up the Sterling Highway. We are rewarded with a great moose sighting, then it isn’t long before we pull into Buckland B&B, a cabin in the forest along the Kenai River. (Did I tell you we met the guy who runs it when we were in Kenai getting groceries on the way to Homer? He was ahead of us in line and we got to talking; he said he had a B&B on the river and I told him we were looking for a place for the night of July 2. He gave me his card and here we are!) After we unpack, Ron and John go down to do a little fishing (a few bites, but no fish) and I start some raw fried potatoes and prepare the salmon for the oven. John does his in crackers, then foil; I do mine with mayo, onions and lemon in foil—the great salmon cook-off! A great meal, then we retire to watch The Crew (Richard Dreyfus and Burt Reynolds) and z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z.

Saturday, June 30: Sun’s out today—yeah! Coolish, but a beautiful day on Beluga Lake. (It connects to Cook Inlet, a huge arm of the Pacific that extends along the Kenai Peninsula all the way up to Anchorage. The lake was damned up during WWII to make a floatplane runway for military planes. There is a small stream and marshland between the lake and the inlet now. The Aleutians, which curve out from Alaska across the inlet from Homer are the south demarcation of the Bering Sea/Pacific.) Spent a nice quiet morning blogging while Ron took a run to the grocery and out to Emmons out on the end of the Spit arranging for them to come to supper. The lodge we are at has space for entertaining and Ron wants to make stir-fry. A quick lunch and we’re off to the Island and Oceans Museum to meet the Emmons; Sue and I want to do the museum, and the guys and Airen have an rv appointment and then will check out the Farmer’s Market. The museum is new and very informative about the land and the animals and plants here and how humans have affected them. We attended a workshop on the effect of trash on the oceans (the Japanese tsunami garbage is on the way!), how it moves and how it harms the birds by mimicking food. There’s a nice walk down to Bishop’s Beach (named after a local settler); we see sandhill cranes and lots of gulls. People are not allowed to feed them here though. While the rest go back to our place to start supper and hang out, Sue and I go to the Pratt Museum in Homer. It has artifacts and stories that tell the history of the people here, several aquariums of marine invertebrates and exhibits of local artists. We especially enjoy the gardens of local biomes, (photo is a shooting star) and a settler’s cabin that includes stories of how the family that built it helped out newcomers and those down on their luck. Ron’s dinner turns out great; there is much laughing and story-telling, and the Emmons especially enjoy watching the float planes taking off and landing. The Emmons are heading for Seward tomorrow so we won’t see them till July 3 in Anchorage. Such a nice day with friends—and to bed.

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Friday, June 29: Sunny and beautiful! Hot shower and a quick breakfast before we pack up and head head for Homer. We decide to stop at the visitor's center here in Kenai first and find that the area has a very interesting history. First the Russians came; they were interested in trading for furs with the natives, and eventually built a fort here with a church and a school. The European influence began with Captain Cook's visit in 1778 and then the US, once the government purchased Alaska in 1867 (Seward's Folly) and the traders and miners came. We decide to take a walking tour of their historic buildings, starting with an enjoyable stop at Veronica's Coffeeshop in a historic cabin. We come upon yummy frybread at a church garage sale, and then I buy a leather coat for $5 at a rummage sale along the road. I put it on--b-r-r-r! We walk through a lovely art gallery in a 50s fire hall/city jail; the cell, doors and all, is still there housing the gallery office. Ron got a tip on a great spot to shore-fish from a teen on the beach last night, so we head there for a picnic lunch. We turn on Kalifornsky Road (a native went to California and loved it so much he changed his name!) in Sodoltna, heading for their city park, Centennial Park. We watch the fishing (not much luck; they say maybe the reds will be running next week) while we eat, then, after I wash out the dishes in the Kenai River, we get serious about heading for Homer. It's a beautiful drive along the Cook Inlet, with the mountains that make up the Aleutian Islands across the inlet. We stop to photograph the recently active volcanoes, Iliamna and Mount Redoubt, over 10,000' high and see eagles soaring over the beaches. Then we see the broad expanse of Kachemak Bay with Homer Spit ( formed as a glacial moraine) curving off toward the Aleutian Chain. We check into our beautful cabin on Beluga Lake (a landing area for float planes) in Homer, then meet Sue and Chuck at the local hangout down on the Spit, the Salty Dawg, for a couple beers; there are dollar bills tacked all over the walls and ceilings there! We find out the cabin the tavern is in is one of very few buildings on the Spit that survived a fire in 1930. ( I also find out that my favorite beer, MGD, is the #1 selling beer in Alaska--I've fund my people!) The waitress recommends Captain Patty's for great seafood. Ron has sable cod and I have razor clam chowder and watch the harbour seals out the window; I can also see the cone of the old volcano, Augustine. Lovely evening, then we head for our cabin and a good night's sleep.

Thursday, June 28: Rainy and cool. Up and download photos by 8am. Ron decides to go back toward Wasila and tour an old mine site. I'll pick away at the photos, do my yoga and pack up. Ron's back about noon; Ron reports: "Armed with my raincoat, I left the cabin heading for the Independence Gold Mine in a drizzly downpour. My first adventure exposed itself as a detour. A bit of foul advice by a flagperson put me off track and back in town! A better piece of advice by a different flagperson and 45 minutes later I was winding my way up a 30-mile s-curve. The weather cleared a little, exposing lush green junglesque hillsides bordering a churning glacial-green creek. Road crew members were out fixing some rock slide areas. Passed through a public gold-panning area; no claim needed, just go and find it. Finally arrived at the site where time has stood still for about 80 years. This old gold mine site housed over 200 workers, mostly single. The mine created employment for over 20 years; in the early days the wives got to town only twice a year for personal shopping. Many of the old buildings were open to walk through. You could almost hear the echoes of laughing and cussing spewed forth by the hard-working young men of the day. Man's ability to create place to work and live in the most remote and difficult conditions rocks me every time I see it!" A quick bowl of soup and we're on the Seward Highway to Anchorage; we see the first mall in Anchorage--Sears, then it's 4-lanes with the Chugach Mountains on our left and the Cook Inlet on our right. We stop and read about the beluga whales which come up the Cook Inlet (yes, Captain Cook was here too!) to what's called the Turnagain Arm--a place of extremely high tides--33'! We remember this route from our bus ride to Seward to board for our inner passage cruise. We stop to take photos of a female Dall sheep and her lambs, then we see there are a lot of dead trees here because the 1964 earthquake caused this area to sink and the trees were immersed in salt water. There's a view of a big glacier ahead (Spencer) as we turn south for Kenai on the Kenai Penninsula, then a beautiful drive through the densely forested mountains with beautiful perched lakes. Things flatten out a bit as we get into the floodplain of the Kenai River and pass through Soldotna and finally Kenai; we arrive at the Beluga Lookout on the beach where the Kenai River meets the Cook Inlet about suppertime. Beautiful spot. Sue and Chuck suggest a great seafood spot for dinner--Louis'--and they are right! Then we take a long walk across the bluffs and down along the beach. We go to investigate a quaint old Russian Orthodox Church and "bookmark" a cute little coffeehouse for tomorrow! Pretty chilly by the time we get back. I'm ready for bed and a movie, but nothing's on so I play my computer game till lights out.