Glaciers and Gondola - Girdwood Alaska

Portage Alaska (68 degrees, blue skies)

Sometimes Living Large

Means Feeling Small

Viewing glaciers always makes me feel so small. The Portage Glacier was no exception.  We took a quick one hour boat ride out to find this one. It's a beauty.

John told me when he left his first tour of duty in Alaska he stopped here for a few days and hiked out on this glacier. At one time it was at the Visitor Center and easy to access. Now you have to take a boat ride out to it. 

We stayed for a few days in the Portage area and there is a lot to see. It's near a tunnel which takes you to Whittier, a  small coastal town. The road ends in Whittier and you can only continue by boat or plane once you reach this town. There is very little land for houses so almost everyone lives in one 14 story apartment building. They get a huge amount of rainfall - over 200 inches. However, once again the weather was perfect for us and the locals were all smiling. It's a rare event. 

Tunnel entrance

Note railroad track in the middle

You get to Whittier from Portage by a  tunnel which is 13,200 feet long and is the longest highway and combined railway tunnel in North America. What that means is you share the tunnel with a train. We waited in line to enter and on the half hour everyone is escorted in - no stopping allowed. The cost is $13 and free to return on the hour. 

Apartment building for residents in background

It's a very picturesque town surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. Fishing and cruise line tourists are the big industry. We had the best halibut and chips "in the world" according to the owner. We agreed! TIP:  Be sure to stop at Swiftwater Restaurant. Best place to eat your fish is on the back patio overlooking the marina

Halibut catch

The following day we went with Bob and Patsy to Alyeska Resort in Girdwood to ride the gondola. We used one of our Alaska Tour Saver coupons for a two for one deal. The views after the quick ride up were beautiful. There are some nice hiking trails up there too.

Can you find Patsy?

I love the colors in this photo - no retouch

Last but not least was a fun visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. This special place rescues wild animals and gives them a great place to hang out. Get ready to see some cute close ups.

Black Bear resting in his favorite tree

This little black-tailed fawn was born just two days ago. What a cutie

These weird, almost prehistoric looking animals are called Musk Ox. The guide told us they can be very dangerous and oftentimes do not get along. At one time they were thought to be extinct. One lone herd was found and slowly their numbers have increased.

This is only a sampling of what we saw. You can wander or drive around the grounds on your own or take a 1 1/2 hour tour. TIP:  We'd recommend the tour. It was very informative. 

Campground Review:  Portage Valley Cabins and RV Park, 3 star, 30 amp water and electric site on gravel, parking lot style, easy to level, dump on site, no "it"factor, friendly owner, No Verizon signal, WiFi was poor except by office, free DVD movies to borrow. They had problems with black bears getting into the trash. The trash can were not bear proof.

Unfortunate Motorhome Accident - Hope Alaska

Hope, Alaska (58 degrees, blue skies)

In a blink of an eye when you least expect it an accident can happen. We have been fulltiming in our motorhome for eight years without an accident. Our luck ran out when John drove the motorhome into this National Forest campground in Hope Alaska. The wooden guard rail at the entrance seemed to reach out and scraped four panels on the back part of the motorhome. Dang it! John was so devastated.

We assessed the damage and called our insurance agent. She was so nice and said "I haven't written a policy for a motorhome which did not scrape something and I haven't written one for a fifth wheel which hasn't had a tire explode and cause damage". She was very sympathetic and walked us through what needed to be done. Hope Alaska is very remote and our insurance company (Progressive)  said since our motorhome can be safely driven we could wait until we got back to New Mexico this fall to get the repairs completed. 

John and our friend Bob put their heads together and came up with a plan to secure the bins and make it safe to drive. The bent trim around the tire was removed and stored.

Duck tape was used to put the pieces back together as much as possible. John then had a welder cut a piece of sheet metal and secured this with screws to the main panel. He then spray painted it to make it look a little less unsightly. I was really proud of their efforts. 

The contents from the two bins were relocated and we are now good to go. Photos were taken and sent to Progressive. The agent asked if anyone was hurt and I replied "only my husbands pride". The agent laughed and said there wasn't any compensation for this injury.

We were fortunate no one was hurt and that the motorhome can be driven. Trying to get repairs done here would be difficult and delay our trip considerably. We consider ourselves very fortunate.

Our campground is lovely and we did enjoy our stay in the tiny town of Hope. Salmon fishing was in full tilt and we saw lots of happy people lined up along the shores trying to "floss" them. Salmon are not interested in bait at this time of year. They are only interested in spawning. So, the only way to catch one is to snag it in the mouth with your hook. Three salmon/day is the limit per day and most people were doing very well.

Combat fishing

We did enjoy some nice hikes in the area. The vegetation here is intense and tall and lush green. Our friend Becky says it's like hiking in a salad bowl.

Kingfisher

The views and scenic drives here along the Turnagain Arm are beautiful. It's a lovely area.

Little town of Hope in the distance

Campground Reviews:  Porcupine National Forest Campground, 5 stars, had the "it" factor, no hookups or dump on site, beautiful sites with fire ring and well spaced on asphalt. Our site #20 was difficult to level on and very shady. #18 would be perfect for solar panels. Make reservation way in advance especially when salmon are running. It's popular for locals from nearby Anchorage.  Very reasonable $18/night including reservations fee, 50% off senior or access, good Verizon signal, nice hiking trail, close to town.

Celebrating Bob and Jann's birthday

We also stayed prior to this stay in Cooper Landing. We did not take many pictures but enjoyed our stay very much. There was some great hiking in the area and our friends Bob and Patsy enjoyed a drift boat fishing trip. We celebrated Jann and Bob C. birthday too with a lasagna dinner and delicious birthday cake.

Porcupine

Campground Review: Kenai Princess RV Park, 3 stars, full hook up with 30 amp service, level, gravel sites close together with no landscaping, you can use facilities at Princess Resort, nice restaurant, gift shop  and rocking chairs overlooking river. WiFi did not work, poor Verizon signal, hot tub out of order