State Fair Weather Friends

We planted ourselves for two nights in Palmer, Alaska, just north of Anchorage. This is where they hold the Alaska State Fair.  After we parked the RV, I noticed a large, fenced off area filled with tents.  It reminded me of Joe Arapaio's tent city, only muckier, colder and no prisoners!

Yep, it was a another overcast day with 60% chance of showers.  None of us were fazed by the weather at this point and we bundled up, prepared for rain.  We are adapting!  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?  We have become quite proficient at layering!

Here we are!

Right after we got through the gates, a Native Alaskan came past me in traditional ceremonial dress.

His name was Walter and he agreed to have his picture taken with me, even though he was on his way to the tent area where a group of his people were performing.

Along the way, Sherry and I got sidetracked by the beautiful flowers in the garden.  Our hubbies, disinterested, kept on walking.  If it had been a Home Depot full of tools, I'm sure they would have stopped!

Here is a stand that offered Beet Raspberry Juice, among other items.  That sure didn't sound appealing to me.  Maybe you have to be an Alaskan to like that sort of drink.

Wish I could have taken this cute fella home with us, but I know he wouldn't have fit into our suitcase, even if I emptied the whole thing out.

Onward to the farm section, where these huge zucchinis were priced at $3.00 each.  That's enough zucchini  to feed a large family!

I had no idea whether the top knot on this duck was dyed, or it was natural.  Maybe it was a Clairol job gone bad, but the duck wasn't telling.

This is the land of gigantic, enormous vegetables!  The pumpkin weighed over 1200 pounds.  Even cabbages have to be at least 78 lbs. before they can even be entered in the state fair.  I just wonder how you get those veggies out of the garden and over to the fair?

Jerry and Sandy watched the pig races where the competition heated up between Bacon Bits and Miss Piggy.  Those little porkers were fast.

This is something you won't see at any other state fair: reindeer raised by 4 H kids!

Sandy found a new friend as she wandered around.  I think he was a "chocolate mousse".....and now that I think of it, it's time to eat my chocolate bar!  

All Out for Allison

Just across the inlet of Port Valdez is Allison Point.  One of the ladies in the campground told us it was her favorite place to fish, and bears had been sighted there also.  We headed here after we strolled around Old Valdez, thankful for the blue skies and sun.

Below is one of our stops along the way.  There are a lot of cars, trucks and campers out along this stretch, so the fishermen (and women) can fish offshore close to their vehicles.

Just down the road is the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery. The sea was filled with squirming, writhing salmon trying to get to their spawning grounds and with gulls bobbing on the water above them.  These gulls sure didn't have to worry about where they got their next meal.

Honestly, I don't know how the salmon can even manage to swim with so many other fish around them.  The area around here definitely had a fish odor going!

As the tide came in, so did the Harbor Seals.  We could see them in the distance, first appearing as small black dots in the chalky gray water.  I was surprised when I downloaded the picture and saw I had caught two seals swimming close together.

One seal decided to be funny and just waved his back flippers at me.

I wonder if this one knew there was a salmon right in front of him?  He probably did, but ignored it because he was already full at that time.

We had a treat when one of the seals decided to be playful and twirled around in the water, making waves and splashes along the way.

I got several pictures of the mouth and nose of one who swam backwards towards me.  Since the water was so chalky, I couldn't see the rest of his head or any part of his body.

When we got back from the afternoon of sightseeing we had a great meal of freshly caught salmon.  One of the campground hosts gave us this whole filet for free!  Some of the people who camp here to go fishing will leave salmon for others.  Besides the free fish, Sherry had gotten a free sprig of dill at the local Safeway when we went to buy cucumbers.  For $1.37 we had a big cucumber, dill and one nice piece of fish!

Here are the before and after grilling pics: 

We also had huge Alaskan shrimp which we purchased at the local cannery.  It was a seafood lover's meal!

Norm handed Landi another shrimp to peel and then dip in the cocktail sauce.

Gary didn't seem to care how cool it was outside as he drank his Coors.  Cheers!  Prost! (which is really saying "cheers" in a German salutation related to beer).  It was a great day!

Old Timers in Old Valdez

It was sunny for the second day in a row!  Wow, that was truly amazing.  So, us "old timers" decided to drive to the town of Old Valdez, which is located about 4 miles from the current Valdez.  The old town of Valdez was decimated by the 1964 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.  Some of the remaining buildings were salvaged and re-located to their current locations.  Now the land has turned back into forest and sloughs.

Here's part of our group reading the signs near the entrance to the area.

Sherry and I were at the head of the pack, so to speak.  She was making herself look big and tough to ward off any bears.  It worked!  No bears were spotted during our walk.

This was the site of the original Valdez post office.  Built in 1962, it was relatively new when it was destroyed by the earthquake.  Back in the early 60's, it handled the mail for the 600 to 700 residents.

Behind the Pink Fireweed flowers and tall grass, a large ship was sitting peacefully in Prince William Sound.

The sign here indicated this is where the Valdez Dock Company stood 49 years ago.

A rusted out fork lift's final resting place is at the edge of the grassy slough.  At least it's surrounded by gorgeous mountains and has a beautiful view to look at!

Norm, Landi and Sherry head back to the our RV that we used to transport all 8 of us here.  Don had gone back to the original parking place and had driven the camper out here so the rest of us didn't have so far to walk.  Don said he sang all the way back since he was alone and prime "aged" meat for the local bears!

Sandy seems to be doing her "find Jerry" dance.  All the rest of us were accounted for and he was still out wandering around.

I think she spots him!

Yep, that's him alright, stopping to take a picture of us!  Time to join the rest of us, Jerry!

Bad News (Campground) Bear

After we arrived in Valdez, we had some time before starting supper.  Sandy and I wandered on down to the beautiful harbor just blocks from the campground.

There was a fishing derby going on and here is the board listing the current leaders for halibut.  There was also one for the salmon competition.  I noticed that the third place person was a female. Can you imagine how many meals you could get from a 325 lb. Halibut?  At the current market value, it would be a lot of money.

It was a sunny day, but Sandy and I still had on long pants and long sleeved shirts.  I could hardly believe it when two joggers passed by us in shorts and halter tops.  This must have been balmy weather for them.  From the looks of their white, white skin, you know they don't get a chance to do this very often!

By supper time, the clouds had rolled in and the wind picked up.  We had to bundle up to eat outside.  Sherry was showing off her new Alaska kitchen towel.

We had made cornbread, so Jerry took advantage of it and made one of his favorite concoctions: broken cornbread in a glass of milk.  Guess that must have come from growing up in Tennessee! The rest of us watched as he chowed down.

The next morning, one of the other campers came and  knocked on the door. She asked if we wanted to see some pictures she had taken the night before.  The bear completely circled our camper and we didn't even know about it!  The cub had already been caught but the bad news mama bear was still roaming around.  Glad we weren't in tents!

EVERYTHING is Bigger in Alaska!

Everything is bigger in Alaska, or at least that is how it seems at times.  Scenery, vegetables, even a bike that we saw in Valdez.  Don stopped to take a second look at the bike labeled as Crusher.  I guess this would be the bike for the muddy or icy roads here.

 

I think the guys from New Belgium Brewery must have named their Fat Tire beer after this bike!  It is so much wider than the skinny tires we're used to seeing on the road racing bikes that Bret (son) and Ken (son-in-law) have.  I wonder if these tires work well in the snow and ice covered roads here.  Guess I'll never know since there is NO way we would ever visit Alaska in the winter!

Veering Towards Valdez

On Monday, August 26th, we headed south to Valdez.  On this portion of the road we saw more wildlife than the rest of the trip combined.  Before I got this picture, there was another cow moose that popped up right in front of us.  Unfortunately, at that time, I had the Milepost book in my lap and the camera was on the floor with the lens cap on.  By the time I got the camera ready, that lady moose had disappeared in the bushes.

Boy, the road to Valdez was bumpy and contained lots of frost heaves. In addition, there were portions that were gravel or chip seal.  At this portion we had a good view of Mt. Drum in the distance.

Further on down the road I was able to get some good pictures of Mt. Sanford, partially covered by clouds.  Sandy took pictures from the cab and then handed the camera to me to take pictures from the side of the camper!  Don would open up the window and I would begin shooting photos.  It worked out well, especially when the good views didn't coincide with pullouts on the side of the road.  You could say, where there's a will, there's a way.  

It was caribou hunting season and we were passed by many trucks like this, carrying 4 wheel all terrain vehicles and little carts.  All along the highway, guys were parked so they could take their ATV's further off the road and stake out their territory.  One group of hunters that were at the Sourdough campground wanted to arrive 4 days before the season even opened.  Caribou hunting is strictly regulated and hunters must call in their kill within 24 hours.  The season may close within a few days, or even the next day, depending on how many bulls were taken!

We had one picture perfect after another, snow capped mountain ranges and glaciers that almost reach the highway road.

We now were on the downhill portion of Thompson pass, elevation of 2678 feet.  Almost to Valdez!

At the bottom of the hill is the Lowe River.  Sandy was in the front, taking pictures through the windshield and I just had to add this in because her daughter's last name is Lowe.  This is for you, Stacy and Dan!

We arrived, safe and sound, at Eagle's Rest, where they have a fish cleaning station right behind the RV office.  That is a first for us!  Lots of fish were in the process of being cleaned and filleted.

This is the Alaskan version of a camper.  Unique, to say the least.

Don sat down to check out the campground map.  There are 800 spots here for campers, plus tent sites and little cabins to rent.  At $40 (or more) per day, that is a lot of $$$ going into the kitty each day.

Sandy heads back to our camper after we took a short walk to the harbor.