A Full-time Life

Category: Alaska

  • GOT AN AX TO GRIND?

     

     Another edition of Whimsical Alaska — maybe the last one — for this Throwback Thursday post from last summer.

     

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    (I really think that is supposed to be a bull and a cow moose, not a two-headed one. The sign was very weathered.)    Moose Pass is on the highway somewhere between Anchorage and Homer.   It was founded in 1909 and served as a supply station for the Klondike gold rush and other pioneers.

    At one time, you could have ground your ax (literally) at the water wheel below — it's a restoration of the original built in 1928 (according to another sign at the site).

     

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     The original provided hydroelectric power to the village for decades.  It has been restored as a tribute to the town father who built the original.  

     

     

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    LINKING TO:  SIGNS SIGNS (thank you Lesley); to GOOD FENCES (maybe not so good in this case) with thanks to Theresa; and to next week's RUBBISH TUESDAY  (thank you Roan).  

     

     

     

  • HOMER! SCENERY SIGNS and ADVENTURE

    A look-back to last summer combining SIGNS and SCENERY  – two memes that don't often  go together.   But both beautiful scenery and fun signs were plentiful all around Alaska and especially in Homer, where all of these pictures were taken.   

     

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    One day during our stay Bill took a  halibut fishing charter out of this beautiful  harbor.   This picture was taken a couple days before the fishing excursion, from the deck of a restaurant.   We walked all over exploring.  

      

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    P1040219-001 It was a successful day of fishing (only two of these are his — that is the limit).    This is Captain Mike's where we took the halibut he caught to be frozen, packed in dry ice and shipped (back to our daughter and son-in-law's in Oregon.)

    They were delicious!  There were quite a few meals worth waiting in their freezer when we got back to Oregon this fall.   (I wish I'd remembered to take a picture of all of us enjoying it at a family dinner.)

      

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     While Bill was out on the charter somewhere in the middle of the ocean, I spent a lovely day catching my own brand of beach treasures:

     

     

      Homer RV Park and Beach

    Prettier than the halibut — but the fish tasted better!   

     

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    I saw this sign near one end of the beach where our camper van was parked.

     Not having the slightest idea what snagging was,  I could only hope I wasn't doing it!    

    Of course, when the fisherman returned, he knew the answer.   It's a method of catching a fish by using hooks without the fish having to take it with their mouth.  It's usually illegal, but Fish and Game Departments allow it when there's a surplus of fish.  

    Here are a few more harbor shots.  Gotta' get the boats!

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     Linking to:  SIGNS SIGNS (thanks to Lesley) and to SCENIC WEEKENDS (thanks to Gemma).

     

     

  • WHIMSICAL ALASKA — INSTALLMENT 2

     

     

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    Way early last century, my high school journalism teacher said "Don't write the article unless you can answer the 5 Ws:  Who? What?  Where? When? and Why?".

    So it's yet another failing grade for me today because the only thing I know for sure is that these pictures were taken along the Highway somewhere in Alaska (near Haines actually). 

    And about the rest?  Seriously, especially when it comes to WHY,  I have absolutely no clue whatsoever.  

     

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    Although I think the mannekin in the phone booth is supposed to be Superman changing clothes, so maybe that could count for 'Who', if we stretch it.  Maybe I can get a "D" grade.  

     

    Sharing the silliness with RUBBISH BY ROAN and with Lesley's SIGNS SIGNS and with anyone else who thinks old or broken-down things are cool or that signs can be funny or interesting or all of the above.    (Visit the links or leave your own.)  Thank you to both the hosts!!

  • In Alaska EAGLES ARE EVERYWHERE

     (Like many of our neighbors here  in Fort Myers Florida I've been a little obsessed  over the past couple of seasons with following the adventures of  Ozzie and Harriet, our local eagle pair.  This lovely couple  have their own nest-cam and have become local, if not worldwide, celebrities as a result.   They were the first bald eagles I'd ever been able to photograph and so they'll always have a special place in my birding heart!  On Christmas Day they hatched their second egg  of this season.  I'm sure I'll still check on the family's progress occasionally, but I won't take as many pictures   — because my files are really full of eagles from our summer's trip.  Here are some of them.)

    This past summer in Alaska, we saw more bald eagles than I ever imagined we would see in our whole lifetime.   They are simply everywhere in that beautiful State.   Here are just a few  of our summer sightings (along with the stunning scenery in the places these Eagles call home). 

     

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    COOK'S INLET

    Most of the people fishing at this beach weren't very excited about the birds,  so I wondered if seeing them would become so routine to us too that they'd soon be "just another bird."  But that didn't happen.   It was still just as much fun to spot them at the end of our trip as  it had been at the beginning.   

     

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    Above is more scenery from the Cook's Inlet beach, in South-Central Alaska.  

     

    Yakutat

    YAKATAK BEACH NEAR FERRY DOCK

     

    The picture above is a little out-of-sequence.  We actually saw these mature and young eagles early in June while we were still on the ferry ride from Washington.  We got off the boat and walked during a brief loading and unloading stop in tiny Yakatak.  So these were our first Alaska Eagles. 

     

    Homer RV Park and Beach

    HERITAGE RV PARK, HOMER

    This was the prettiest RV Park ever in the prettiest little coastal city.  There was a pair of eagles who loved that light post.  The recreation room/office for the park had an observation deck perfectly positioned to watch them.

      

    Beluga Slough

    BELUGA SLOUGH, KENAI PENINSULA

     It was a lovely easy walk around the slough — we saw several eagles, some   cranes and as always the amazing scenery.  

     

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    HAINES

    The guide on one of our nature tours told us that Bald Eagles were never endangered in Alaska, the way they were in the lower 48.  

    He said they have always thrived in the State because DDT was never used there.  

    This is how nature is supposed to be!

     

     

    ———-

     

    Sharing these Alaska memories with NATURE NOTES,  WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY, and the next SCENIC WEEKENDS and SATURDAY CRITTERS.

     

     Thank you to Michelle, Stewart, Gemma, and Eileen for hosting these wonderful sharing opportunities!

     

     

     

  • CHRISTMAS LAST SUMMER

     

     We visited the Aurora Ice Museum at Cheena Hot Springs during our trip to Alaska.  Even though it was July and fairly warm and sort of sunny outside, once we were inside the museum we experienced our  coldest Winter weather in recent years.    The temperature and especially the festive Christmas room almost made us forget what month it really was.

     

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    There were several rooms carved out of ice in addition to the Christmas one– a bedroom, a music room, a sitting area…    These pictures are just a tiny sampling.    

    The most elaborate carvings were along the hallways between rooms… these were for the most part too large to photograph as there wasn't room to get far enough away. 

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     Cheena Hot Springs is near Fairbanks and HERE is an earlier post about the rest of our experience there.  We loved it all!

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     The bottom left and right photos are in the carving workshop in the Museum.  Everyone on the tour gathers in the anteroom, picks up heavy parkas, and enter the Museum quickly and all at once.  After you enter the Museum itself, pretty much everything that isn't special lighting (or human) is made of ice.

         

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    Below is the Ice Bar — (all ice except for the comfy barstool covers).   Someone you may recognize is drinking a very icy appletini (in a martini glass made of ice).  The tour guide also served as bartender and he only served this one drink.  I don't think anyone would have wanted to hang around long enough to choose from a menu — or to drink more than one. 

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    Cheers!  

    And Happy Holidays from Florida, where Christmas is a little bit warmer!

     

    SHARING with MOSAIC MONDAY and OUR WORLD TUESDAY.

     

    Thank you Judith (MM) and Lady Fi, Sandy, Sylvia, Gattina, Arija, and Jenn for Our World.   

     

  • WORTH THE TROUBLE

     

    We saw this sign as we pulled into Northern Lights Campground, Glenallen Alaska (but we stayed there anyway.)   

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    There definitely ARE mosquitos in Alaska and the campground hosts here had the right idea — you might as well laugh about it!   It was a very nice well-run place to stay.)   And (like pretty much everywhere else in the State) the scenery in the area was  well worth a little inconvenience — and a little bug spray.

    Here is some of what we saw just before and after we stayed at this particular campground:

     

    near Glenallen

     

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     Linking to Lesley's SIGNS SIGNS and Gemma's SCENIC WEEKENDS.  Thank you both for hosting.

     

  • FAIRBANKS and CHEENA HOT SPRINGS

    Hope everyone isn't sick and tired of Alaska flowers;  they did so amazingly well up there that I just couldn't stop taking pictures.   The one directly below is from River's Edge RV Resort where we stayed in Fairbanks.  This Park was on the Cheena River and besides having excellent RV facilities, and a  lovely river path to walk, it also had rental cottages, each of which had its own hanging basket.  This is one of them. There was also an excellent restaurant on the grounds.   

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    We actually stayed at this RV Park two different times.  There aren't a lot of highways in the State and so it was almost impossible to do circle trips — there was a lot of out-and-back driving.  Which was always fine because there was too much to see on one (or even two) trips.  And of course, when your day ends at a nice stop like this one, it is even better.  

    When we left Fairbanks after one of our stays we were headed to the Dalton Highway — up to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean.   We knew that would be kind of a roughing-it trip, without nice RV Parks, so we took advantage of the city facilities at the RV Park and in Fairbanks. 

    While we were there we read about a resort called Cheena Hot Springs that had RV spaces.  Even though it was only about 70 miles from Fairbanks, it sounded intriguing, and it was sort-of on our way toward the Dalton so we decided to stop there for a night.

     

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     We found the resort and the attached RV Park, which had spaces out in a woodsy area.   Above is what our "carpet" underfoot looked like after we settled our little camper van into its spot.    

    Then we walked over to check out the resort grounds.  There were beautiful flower gardens.  And we checked out the Hot Springs — there were several spring-fed pools and hot tubs that were absolutely beautiful.  And another wonderful restaurant.  And more.

    It did not take us long to decide that we needed to stay a few more nights.  I guess I had hot-tub brain because I totally forgot to get a picture of the wonderful pools, but really they were amazing!  I did get flower pictures.

      

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     And (before we developed that hot-tub brain from soaking in the mineral springs) we learned that the owners of the resort are working toward becoming a self-sustaining community.   Vegetables are already grown in year-round greenhouses that are heated entirely by geothermal sources.     

     

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     We signed up for the very informative tour of the greenhouses and geothermal facilities.  We learned that Cheena, in conjunction with the Department of Energy, is funding a project to use the geothermal reservoir which underlies the area.  They are also working with the University of Alaska on several environmental projects. 

    When there is more produce than the restaurant can use, the resort sells it at the Visitor Center —   we bought some wonderful tomatoes and lettuce to take with us when we left.   

     

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    The Resort also boasts an amazing Ice Museum which we toured.  But that's a whole other post someday.    We really enjoyed our stay at Cheena Hot Springs.   (Here is a link to their website.)  

     

    LINKING this post to TODAY'S FLOWERS; I HEART MACRO; MOSAIC MONDAY; and NF BLO-MA.   

    Thank you to Denise (TF); Laura (Macro); Judith (MM) and Monica (Nature Fotos).    Each of these lovely hosts have  amazing blogs and it is great of them to take time to host these fun sharing opportunities.  

     

  • INDEPENDENCE MINE

     

    Independence Mine is an Alaska State Historical Park.   There is more  information about the gold-mine's history in an  earlier post from while we were on the road (HERE).   This  is more about the structures on the old mine site. 

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    This pretty chain-link fence bordered the walkway to the Visitor Center, which is in what was the Mine Supervisor's home when this was an active gold mine.  

     

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    As we walked toward the Center, some of the other mine buildings were visible. … housing and offices for the various occupations and professions that it took to run this kind of operation.

     

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     This is a view from the Visitor Center window…  It would have been the Supervisor's living room window … he and his family could have sat in comfort and seen quite a bit of the site. 

    (From all accounts, he was a good supervisor well-liked by the people who worked there.)

     A few more of the buildings are open to the public and there are great informational posters in the Center and along the pathways.  We also walked up the hill to where the actual mining operations took place.

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    The fencing here really didn't seem quite adequate to protect visitors.  Notice the people on the left of the picture — no fence at all between them and the mine-shaft ruins. 

     

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    Poignant and almost elegant in decay, not to mention hazardous.  We were surprised (but pleased)  that the State has left these ruins standing for the public to see.   

     

    LINKING TO OUR WORLD on TUESDAY (thank you to Lady Fi, Arija, Gattina, Sylvia and Sandy) to Roan's RUBBISH TUESDAY and Tex's GOOD FENCES.  Thank you all.

     

  • A FOREST OF SIGNS

    Signpost Forest is a (free) roadside attraction in the town of Watson Lake BC.  In 1942, when the Alaska Highway was being built, the US Army Engineers put up a directional post at their camp at this location.  The signs pointed to camp facilities and the nearest communities.    A homesick private named Carl Lindley added a sign pointing to his home town of Danville Illinois.  That started a tradition that is now known as the World Famous Signpost Forest.

     

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     According to Watson Lake's website there are now over 72,000 signs.  Anyone can add one — and  obviously many tourists do.

     

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     The tradition is to bring your own home-town sign,  but a few other kinds of signs seem to have snuck in there as well.

     

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    We stayed in Watson Lake on our way back to the lower 48.  And (only partly) because we'd never heard of this tradition we didn't add a sign — we just took the ones that were already there (pictures only).  

    So if  you visit Watson Lake, don't forget your sign.  

     

    Linking to SIGNS SIGNS (obviously) and GOOD FENCES (stretching a bit, but the meme is about gates too and the top pictures does show the gateway into the Forest.)

     

    Thank you to Lesley for Signs and Theresa (TexWis Girl) at the RunAroundRanch for Good Fences.  Visit and link up!!

     

  • AMAZING ALASKA QUICK-STOPS/PHOTO OPS

    There is hardly anyplace in Alaska that isn't a photo-op.   Even when we were just driving from one place to another, we usually had to stop every few yards to take a picture.  These are a few of those quick stops as we drove between Valdez (where we'd stayed for over a week) and our next (several-night) stop in Mt St Elias National Park.  

     

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    We got out to stretch our legs along the Gilahena River. 

     

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    An elegant pair of Trumpeter Swans.  We saw them  just after we left Valdez.  

     

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     More scenery as we walked along the lovely Gilahena River.

     

     

     

        LINKING TO:  SCENIC WEEKENDS,  SKYWATCH FRIDAY,  SATURDAY CRITTERS, I'D RATHER B'BIRDING and MOSAIC MONDAY.  

    Thank you to the hosts  for making these sharing opportunities possible. Each of them has a beautiful blog of their own in addition to managing these memes.   

     THANK YOU to Gemma for SW; to Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy for SWF;  to Eileen for SC;  to Ani of the Bird D'Pot; and to Judith for MM.    

    Your generosity is appreciated!