by mgrandusky | Sep 6, 2014 | 20th Century
So, on Saturday, some hours after leaving Anchorage, we lost the drive train and moved into a room at Golden Bear Motel. At $100/day, even with the free coffee and cable TV, we did not want to stay very long. About 2pm, the son of Mr. James, the tow truck driver, came by the room and offered us a lift to our new temporary home. He had gone back those 65 miles, picked up the trailer and parked it in his junk yard.
A few hours later, the son came to the trailer with a bag of meat. A gift from Mr James, just butchered boneless moose steak. I marinated it with salt, pepper, oregano, olive oil and lemon juice. It was all I had since the trailer does not have accommodations for a full kitchen. I think Mr James sent it over because I had asked him if moose tastes like venison and he had emphatically answered no. And, as we found out for ourselves, it does not. It tastes more like beef with a sweetish backtaste. I don't know of anyone else who can say that they spent part of their honeymoon parked in a junk yard in the wilds of Alaska cooking newly killed moose!
On Monday, the James family ran an extention cord out to the trailer so we could have electric. I guess they did not like the noise of the generator. But there is no source of water except the 30 gallon reserve under the trailer. And the waste water is being held until we can move the trailer to the sani-dump.
Meanwhile, life went on despite the lack of travel. On Sunday, I found that the church was only 400 yards or so up the state highway from the motel. Actually, everything is up or down the state highway in a town this size. I went to Mass while Dear Hubby stayed behind since we did not know when the trailer would get here. There was no Mass, just a Eucharistic Service. There were an older man and woman, dressed in unmatched albs. He acted as master of ceremonies and read the Gospel and a commentary on the Gospel from a book. She dispensed Communion and then asked all the visitors (it was obvious who were visitors since there were only about a dozen people there!) to introduce themselves. After service, I discovered that I had been sitting between a woman from Utica, a man from Syracuse and a woman from Danville. Another woman was from NYC but went to Oswego and used to have a camp in Indian Lake. And a fifth woman had gone to Sylvan Beach in her youth. So, half the attendees were from New York! Since Tok is so small, everyone knows everyone. When I went to the gift shop the next day, the cashier told me she heard all about it because she walks in the morning with one of the ladies who was at church.
For entertainment, Dear Hubby is addicted to Solitaire. He taught me the computer rules, which are somewhat different from physical card rules. And I am quickly getting hooked. There is the afore-mentioned gift shop where you can go into their loft and sit at a table for an hour and get the use of their wifi. And there are the books. Since the beginning of the trip, I have been reading half a chapter a day to Hubby of a book entitled "The Whole Truth About Fatima: Science and the Facts" by Brother Michel de la Sainte Trinite. It is part one of four. It is a fascinating read and we discuss each part after. I will have to buy the other volumes. I was surprised that Hubby was interested. We have also started reading "This is the Faith", more or less a conservative version of the new catechism. There is much to learn in this book.
Currently I am hooked on Maeve Binchy, an Irish author. I can read one of her 400 page books in two days.
It also seems that we need to run to the grocery store or post office daily. It is a mile round trip because the junk yard is several blocks off the state road. Max loves it because he does not have to be on a lead. He has met other dogs and they run off to play together. He is very much a home body and does not leave the yard often. So this is an adventure! He has to be called back if we are going to cross the state highway. Then we put on the lead.
The typical Alaska town has a paved main road, with the pavement extending one block off to both sides. After that, the roads are just packed stones. The roads are soft, the edges are steep and loose. There may be a walkway extending several blocks. The roads are planned and named. First St is the first street off the main street and First Ave intersects First St. Not very original but certainly hard to get lost. And it is this way throughout Alaska and BC. This made navigating through Fairbanks and Anchorage fairly easy.
On Tuesday, Mr James' son drove up to Fairbanks to get a part our Suburban needed. No mean feat: it is a 400+ mile round trip. As of Wednesday, we are getting it installed. We can only hope that the part fits and all is well.
by mgrandusky | Sep 1, 2014 | 20th Century
We got to Anchorage on Wednesday and started looking for a place to stay for a few days. We tend to
use "Mileposts", a reference book, for all our decisions on where to go and what to see. The first place we
looked for was right in the center of town. Great location. Until we saw it. All the trailers and RVs were
jammed up against one another, with laundry draped over any horizontal surface. It looked like a place for
poor itinerants to stay. So we left. The next spot, right off a busy four-laner, was named Creekwood Inn
and RV Park. The whole was surrounded by trees and had a number of spots available. This turned out to
be a very accommodating spot. It's name comes from the creek that runs along the property. As a matter
of fact, there is a chain link fence with a gate for those who which to walk down the somewhat slimey,
wooden stairs to the path along the creek. But we needed to be careful because the path was narrow
and the creek was swift.
We noticed that ever since we got the tires rotated in Fairbanks (plus oil change and overall review of the
undercarriage of the Suburban) the trailer had not been driving smoothly. So we went to American Tire
Wholesale to get it looked at. It turns out that, industry-wide, trailers are somewhat underbuilt. Axles are
rated at 3500lbs each. Two axles, 7000 lbs. But the chassis is 7500 lbs, before you fill the tanks and put
in supplies. So the axles are carrying 1000 lbs too much. This is considered a minor problem for those
who drive on smooth roads, like four laners. We haven't seen much like that the past few thousand miles.
Building a hybrid axle takes weeks. So all we can do is be careful!
On our Thursday haunts, we have visited the biggest used bookstore in Alaska, Title Wave, where I found
a few books I just had to have. All that book hunting made us hungry. So we spoted a place across the
street named Pizza Olympia. So we decided to try Alaskan pizza. The minute we walked in, we realized
this was no ordinary pizza place. The decor and music was definitely Greek. Ah! Yes! The Olympia part!
An elderly woman came up to us and took us to our table. We were the only ones there! She introduced
herself as Athena, shook hands, asked our names, where we were from. All in a distinctive Greek accent.
She left us for a while as we perused the menu: Dolomata (stuffed grape leaves) and other wonderful
items made me forget the pizza. We ended up with dolomata, a giant cold sandwich of thinly cut beef in a
thick version of pita with cucumber-yogurt dressing. And a gigantic calzone for Dear Hubby. We could
only eat half! So we waddled out with our take-out boxes and stored them for another day.
We saw the cathedral on Friday. Dear Hubby asked me, is this where the bishop stays? Yes, I
responded. But it is so small! he answered back. Yup. Big mountains, small buildings. Anyhow, we went to
the gift shop, where more books were purchased, this time by Dear Hubby. I wanted a little history lesson,
so we drove out to the bay where we could take pictures of Anchorage from across the water, and read
about the earthquake of 1964, which did so much damage. Anchorage was torn up, but only 4 people
died. Other places, like Valdez, the harbors disintegrated. Where we were standing, the houses
disintegrated, the land was torn out from underneath people and the landscape changed. Today, no
houses are build there because of the instability of the land. This is a continuing saga in Alaska, that the
land is unstable. Roads heave easily, walking in places is odd since the ground gives. Coming back to Anchorage, we
We discovered that ice cream shops are not all that frequent in Alaska. We had to look for one. I wanted
to find the one I read about that had a flavor: pecan Palin. We ended up at Baskin Robbins instead.
Jamocha almond fudge is good, too!
We also learned facts about Alaska: The state capital of Juneau is the only capital in the 50 states that
can not be accessed by car. That whole area needs ferry service to get around. And...the state of Alaska
is as big as all of the midwest!
Saturday morning we were up and at it again, on our way to Tok, where we planned to spend the night.
Tok is the only way in or out of Alaska. So, everyone has to go down to, or up to, Tok to get out. It was
about a six hour drive, if all went well. We were out of Anchorage at 9. Including stops, we figured 5pm we
would be there. We took our time, stopping on the side of the road to cook bratwurst for lunch, and
stopping for photos every so often. About 4pm, there was a big bang followed by metal hitting metal.
Hubby pulled into a convenient turnout (numerous out here) where we stopped. The drive train was
dragging on the road. A number of phone calls to OnStar and AAA made our afternoon flustered, since
they all wanted us to get towed to Fairbanks or back to Anchorage, but a 300 mile tow is expensive and
frustrating. We finally found a tow truck in Tok. The man said he would come get us, 65 miles away. Less
than an hour later, a young man with a king cab truck hauling a flat bed trailer pulled up. Boy that was
quick! He said he thought we needed help. He had two little boys with him. While I plied them with cookies
and chips, he and Hubby figured out the problem, took the drive shaft off and examined it and
contemplated the solutions. An older man came along, offered us a safe place to park the trailer.
So, being able to drive the Suburban in 4WDlow at 20-25mph, we took the older man's suggestion and
drove the two miles to a hunting camp. This is the epitome of Alaskan hunting camps. It was on a lake,
airplanes buzzing in and out returning weary men, hunters coming in for the night after bagging a moose,
to relax while someone dressed the animal. A downed moose is worth 300-400lbs for the freezer. The
manager of the camp, a 60ish woman who could probably hold her own with any of the men, buzzed
around on an ATV, shouting orders. She was very accommodating and found us a place to park the thing
for the night. Finally able to get the truck up on the flatbed, we realized it was a few inches too short, so
the young man proceeded to take apart the front guard rail to get it safely on. A few of the hunters had to
drop what they were doing to push the truck up the last few feet. Finally the truck was up in place on top
of this trailer and the young man got out the chains to latch it. That's when the OnStar phone rang and
the man on the other end said he couldn't find us. It turns out the young man was not the tow truck driver
we ordered, but just a Christian man who thought he should help! I am glad he didn't have to go all the
way into Tok with those two little boys! But he was willing to! Hubby offered the young man money, which
he was unwilling to take, but he was persuaded to take a lower amount! We never got his name, but I
hope the father of Arthur and his brother will know we thank him!
We drove in the crowded old, well beat cab with the tow truck driver, Kenny James. He was a talkative old
man who knows a lot about Alaska, having lived here since age 8. We talked mostly about his childhood
and moose hunting. It made the hour plus go by quickly. He drove us up to the first motel in Tok and we
were able to get a room. Then he promised to go back and get the trailer in the morning, because, by
now it was 8pm. Those sandwiches from Pizza Olympia sure hit the spot for dinner!
by mgrandusky | Aug 28, 2014 | 20th Century
We got about 2/3 of the way towards Anchorage and realized it was a bit too much to continue. So we stopped at an RV park which was really bare ones. No TV or sewer. But, like I have said, being self contained, we don’t really care for just one night.
On Tuesday morning we woke in Trader Creek, Alaska. It was our one month anniversary. We are doing well. I think it will work just fine. The trip odometer read 5806. A lot of time in the truck together. We set out again on the Parks Highway, going south, for the first time.
The Parks Highway runs through Denali National Park and Denali State Park. In the park is the highest mountain in North America, Mt. McKinley. Going south out of the parks, the indications of civilization increase. Towns are closer together, buildings are more substantial. The Iditarod is big business in this area. It is a four season business, too. There are places to meet the dogs, play with the dogs, even sign up to go as a guest on the Iditarod in late February!
Although the official start of the Iditarod is in Anchorage, the unofficial start is the next day in the tiny village of Willow. And, as if to accent this fact, we were driving just outside Willow and spotted a musher on the bike trail along the side of the road, training his dogs by having the team pull an ATV with two people on board. What a sight!
Going through the up and coming city of Wasilla was a thrill, mostly because it is the home of Sarah Palin. Wasilla may be known for some odd things, besides her: it’s Walmart is the largest in the state. And, according to Anchorage News, this particular Walmart has sold more duct tape than any other Walmart in the world. Wonder what that means for construction.
One of the most fascinating parts of the trip, so far, is a visit we made to Klutna National Park. Half a mile off Parks Highway is another world. There is a small Russian Orthodox church, St Nicholas, in an Athabascan (native Indian) village. Why? How? My sense of history was too hazy to remember. Russia owned Alaska for a few hundred years. By the late 1700s, Russian Orthodox missionaries had come to this area and began to teach the Athabascans, and other natives, that Christianity was the culmination of the pagan beliefs. The teaching of the Russian Orthodox faith is that all is part of God’s plan and must be incorporated into the life of the believers. So, these brave missionaries used the Athabascans’ lifestyle to help them incorporate Christianity into their own lives.
Ah, I digress once more. Anyhow, we spent almost an hour talking to the young lady who was manning the information desk. She showed us the beautiful little chapel, the old chapel which is over 150 years old.
I decided to make myself a Rosary with souvenirs from the trip. I had bought blue agate and lapis beads from Fairbanks. Then I found a small crucifix at the gift shop here. I will put it together this week. It will be a beautiful work, however, I better never lose it!
by mgrandusky | Aug 26, 2014 | 20th Century
The part of the Alcan Highway in Alaska was somewhat better maintained than the part in the Yukon. This is not to demean the Yukon Highway Department, but more a realization of how different areas’ roadways can deteriorate at different rates. So, the roads in Alaska were somewhat more passable than the roads we had previously driven.
I was surprised at the tundra. My Alaskan education led me to picture the tundra as a cold desert. I was not prepared to see a forest of very slender conifers and various colors of flowers in the fields. Although inviting, I must remember that two months from now, the colors will be gone and the snow will be covering all. I read that the spruce trees are deceptively small. A 100 year old spruce can be as narrow as two inches in diameter. The permafrost prohibits deep roots, therefore the trees grow very slowly.
Always on the lookout for odd places to see, we missed a chance to go to the Delta Meat Market, where you have your choice of meats: elk, bison, reindeer. So we went to the IGA in the town to see if there was some of their meat. I was so very surprised at the selection of meats and jars in Russian. Well, after all, they were here first. I guess they didn’t all leave!
At the store, we met a man who had recently wrecked his truck on a moose. The man said four Russian men came up to the moose, asked if he wanted it (he didn’t) and proceeded to gut and cut the moose before the tow truck had arrived to take the truck away. He regaled us with his adventures and warned us that something was up because he knew there were too many planes at the air force bases practicing.
Driving into Fairbanks from the west, we passed by Eielson AFB where there is a fighter squadron.
And then we passed by a series of roads with names like “Snow White”, “Bullwinkle” and “Flying Squirrel”. The developer had a sense of humor.
There is a town just outside of Fairbanks named North Pole. It has delightful street names like St. Nicholas Way. And the church? St. Nicholas, of course. By that point the trip odometer read 5480 miles.
In Fairbanks, we found a lovely RV park on the Chena River. It had treed lots, a pristine Laundromat and shower area. The office was a store, also, and a mini post office. This place had acreage along the river for a while, and on the opposite side of a high fence were probably close to 100 little cottages, each the size of a standard hotel room and bath, only each had a tiny patio in front of the door. In addition to that the RV park owners also have a lovely restaurant on the premises. We went there for dinner because Dear Hubby had read the menu online. And he was not disappointed. The seating was both indoors and out on the veranda overlooking the river. Just excellent!
In our weekend, we found a tiny church in downtown Fairbanks, Immaculate Conception. Built in 1904, it was deemed by 1911 to have been built in an inconvenient place. So, the priest, a Jesuit, of course, figured out the logistics of moving the whole structure, intact, across the frozen river, 400 yards. The church sits overlooking the river, surrounded by flower gardens.
Talking about flowers, the summer in the great north is full of flowers. They may as well get as much color out of their brief growing season as they can. Most houses and businesses have lovely hanging baskets and flowers along the walks. The flowers are, for the most part, annuals, like marigolds, petunias and impatience. All colors.
by mgrandusky | Aug 24, 2014 | 20th Century
This has been a week of amazing scenery, culminating in an evening of impressive northern lights, albeit in movie form.
We zigzagged our way across the Continental Divide several times early in the week, following the major roads north and west. After Jasper, we got into a rustic environment. Most buildings are log cabin or modular. All along the way from Dawson Creek on, for over 1000 miles are small communities with populations from 29 to 1500.
We stayed two days in Dawson Creek, catching up on grocery shopping and laundry. There are some real deals in groceries if you look! One place had full salmon, cleaned, with gills and head still intact, several pounds worth, for $6.75! Another place had a box of meat, 8 sausages, 16 hotdogs, 4 boneless pork chops, 4 chicken quarters and four boneless steaks. All for $25! Then we found a twelve-pack of Arizona half and half (lemonade and iced tea) for $4. I thought it was going to be mini bottles. Nope. The $.99 can!
So far I have learned that I didn’t pack well for this trip. My three year old Crock slip-ons were more worn than I realized. Had to throw them out early on. Guess I didn’t notice the wear since I walk on flat ground most of the time. Then, in Dawson Creek, it was the Feast of the Assumption and we went to 12:10 Mass at Notre Dame, the ultra modern church in town. I wore my new sandals and a dress. But barely had I gotten to the church when I slipped getting out of the truck and broke the whole side of the shoe to the point where I couldn’t keep it on. Not to e perturbed, I walked into church with one shoe on and one shoe off. Of course, one can’t walk long that way. Too uncomfortable. So I took both off. I think I was the only one going to Communion barefoot. It takes all kinds!
We found that our requirements for an RV park got more distinct with time. We need 30/50 amp service, water, sanidump service, laundry, showers, WiFi. Some places we have stopped by did not have one or another of the services. Provincial campsites do not have these services, or maybe just one or two. Some private sites shut off the electric at 9pm, or charge $8.00 for a shower. Grief! This is especially hard for dear hubby who finds a 2’x4’x6’ high shower a little too claustrophobic for his comfort. I can not see spending $20-35 for a night’s parking without the accommodations we want.
One night, in an especially deserted section of the Alaskan Highway, we got tired of looking for a place to park for the night. Fort Nelson was not to hubby’s liking, so we kept driving. Looking at the map, there was not another settlement for a while. The roads were under construction in a number of places and it was taking just forever to get from one place to another. At 7:30 at night, I suggested, and he agreed, that we simply pull over to the next turnout, a maintained area, cut into the side of the road, typically two lanes wide, flat, with garbage cans or outhouses , sometimes both. Being more wilderness than we are used to, while I prepared dinner (it’s amazing how well one can cook on a three burner propane stove), hubby got out the shotgun and loaded it. We slept all night, very well, with a shotgun sitting upright on his bedside table.
The only problem there is that it was Saturday night and we were in the middle of nowhere for Sunday Mass. I am sure God understa
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