North to Alaska pg3

Seward across from Resurrection Bay

Exit Glacier from roadway into the Kenai Fjords National Park main entrance. This is the only road that actually goes into the park. This glacier is one of 32 glaciers produced by the Harding ice field, which itself, covers most of the interior of the Kenai peninsula with a few thousand feet thick of ice. There are more Tidewater glaciers in this park (glaciers that still go right down to the waters edge) than anywhere else in the world from one ice field... even though they are all receding. The picture above shows the Exit glacier at about 1.3 miles away. It was just below the picture in the mid 1800's! The picture to the right is of two park rangers surveying a new walking path as the one we are now using is too far away... and it was built just 12 years ago!

Exit Glacier from hiking trail.

Another view from SeaLife Center. Enjoyed petting all the live stuff there.

The down town has mountains around it. It's such a pretty view.

We met some really nice people from Switzerland and they went Halibut fishing. They gave us some of their fish and I made a Halibut Stew. It was really good. Thank you.

This was a very affectionate Sea Lion and a bit of a ham.

There were painted murals on a lot of building downtown.

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WHITTIER

Can you believe we are still looking at Glaciers (a big piece of ICE). We went for a cruise at Whittier. It rained the whole time but we made the best of it. It helped that the cruise included a buffet of Salmon and Prime Rib.

What is a Glacier?

A glacier is a large body of ice that forms on land, remains year-round, and is moving. Often referred to as "Rivers of Ice," glaciers exhibit many of the same characteristics of rivers. Like rivers, glaciers begin at the top of the mountain and, taking the path of least resistance, gradually make their way down the mountain under the pull of gravity.

Although all glacial ice is moving down slope, not all glaciers are advancing. Advancing glaciers and retreating glaciers result from a net gain or a net loss. If more ice flows down slope than is lost at the toe of the glacier by melting and calving (the process of ice breaking from the face of a glacier), the glacier would be an advancing glacier. The opposite conditions would signal a retreat.

During this trip I learned there are Ice Worms in the Glaciers. They resemble a piece of dark thread and is 2.5 centimetre (one Inch) and .5 mills. in diameter. These ice worms eat red algae, which grows on glacial snow packs and possibly pollen grains blown onto the glacier. Heat is the ice worm's enemy. If the surrounding temperature increases much above 4 C (40 F), they become lethargic and begin to disintegrate. If a human finger touches an ice worm it may instantly die from the heat.

To get to Whittier we went through a 2.5 mile toll tunnel through Chugach Mountain, the longest tunnel in North America. This tunnel is scheduled so that the trains go through and then vehicle traffic.

Whittier is suppose to have a mild maritime climate with a maximum of 84 degrees & a minimum of -29. Mean snowfalls is 260 inches annually and winter winds can reach 60 miles per hour. It rained the whole time we were there.

Whittier is surrounded by the Chugach National Forest, the second largest National Forest in the US, and three of North America's major ice fields. The city itself is a historical landmark, established by the U.S. Army during World War 11 as "the secret port". After the war, the Army built two large buildings which are now landmarks. The 14-story Begich Towers is now a condominium that houses over half of Whittier's population along with its post office, city hall and medical clinic. There are quite a few restaurants here and just a couple of gift shops.

ICEBERG!!! ICEBERG!!! Denis was so excited to see a floating iceberg that he pulled over and took a picture just before entering a tunnel. This iceberg is in Portage Lake and Portage Lake was made from Portage Glacier. From our trailer park we can see Portage Glacier.

There are streams flowing down all the mountains from the melting snow.

On my right a glacier, on my left waterfalls and in my hand a warm Keni Kicker.

Why is the Ice Blue?

Glacial ice is formed under pressure, creating ice with few cracks or air bubbles, unlike the ice cubes in your refrigerator. The visible light from the sun is made up of the spectrum of colors that you see in a rainbow. When the sunlight strikes glacial ice, most of the colors of the spectrum are absorbed - only the blue wavelengths are reflected to your eye. On an overcast day, clouds filter colors such as reds, oranges, and yellows, making glacial ice appear a more intense blue.

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VALDEZ

The picture to the left is at the top of Thompson Pass looking down towards Keystone Canyon and is one of the most beautiful stretches of highway in Alaskan. Mind you the hill behind us is no slouch either as it descends 8% grade for about 5 miles.

Major Historic Events:

1898 Gold Rush Stampede

In 1964 the Alaskan (9.2 measured) earthquake totally destroyed the town of Valdez as it was built over a gravel alluvial fan created by the Valdez Glaciers. The town was rebuilt 3 miles further upstream. The worst concentration of deaths from the earthquake occurred here when the main dock which had 30 people standing on it suddenly dropped 30 feet into the water. (on Good Friday)

In 1970's, the port of Valdez is the southern terminus of the Alyeska (Alaska) pipeline and Marine Terminal.
In 1989, everyone remembers the Exxon Valdez and the near total contamination of Prince William Sound which has to be one of the most beautiful area's in the world. (also on Good Friday)

This is a view from our trailer window. Denis is enjoying this so much that he is sitting outside and pretending to read but he is really enjoying the view.	All around is signs of spring. Western Columbine	Valdez has a big harbour, many charters and transportation over to Juneau, the capitol of Alaska.
Even with all the snow in the mountain the lawns in town need to be mowed.	A partial view of Valdez. It is surround by mountains and very picturesque, friendly city of 41 years old. I think hardship has a way of melding the people closer together.	They even have fur fish here.
I am in need of a hair cut but when I found out it would cost me $35.00 US, I said I would let my hair grow. Things are pricy in Alaska areas.

A little tidbit about Valdez, Alaska:

Average annual rainfall = 64.04 inches
Average snowfall = 325.6 inches
Record snowfall = 560.7 inches (1989/90)
Record sun = 33 days above 70 degrees (2004)
Summer Average= 53.5, High = 60.8, Low = 46.1
Winter Average = 22.5, High = 27.9, Low = 17.9
June = Average Tamp) = 55.5, Day Light = 19.5 hrs.

= I would have to say this applies to a lot of places in southern Alaska. I could be wrong. Some places less and some more.

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COPPER RIVER

The Copper River

This is the Copper River. Here you get the best Salmon in the world. You have to be a native Alaskan resident of to fish for the red, silver, and king salmon with dip nets and fish-wheels with limits of up to 500 salmon in possession.
The mountains visible is volcanic Mount Drum (12,010), part of the Wrangell Mountains.

Anyone can dry-camp here and we choose to stay and watch the action and what an interesting event it was. This was also our staging area for visiting Kennecott 60 miles away.

Here we have people fishing with dip-nets. Scraping bottom with them and hoping to scoop up a bundle.

A fish-wheel. The wheel turns like a wind mill being pushed by the current and hopefully scoops up the fish then dumps them into a the holding cage.

Spring has sprung and the wild flowers are in bloom.

This are is a view of the confluence of the Copper and Chitina Rivers. The Copper is the only waterway that cuts through the Chugach Mountains. The Copper is about 1/2 mile wide, while the Chitina is over one mile. The rivers look dirty...but they are not polluted. These waters begin as flowing "rivers of ice." Millions of tons of rock dust are scoured off of distant mountains by glaciers and carried downriver each year. The silty waters hide salmon swimming up these rivers to spawn. Copper River "Reds," (sockeye salmon) are world renowned.

We met Brenda, Katherine and James at Copper River. They are from Homer. The river that you see them rafting on in the pictures. There was an auction and Brenda had bid and won this trip for her friend only to find out the friend did not want to do this rafting trip on the copper river from Chitina to Cordova so now the good sport that she is has taken her family on an adventure that they will never forget. By the way Brenda is a Canadian and seems to be living life to her fullest. Keep it up Brenda. Life is way too short.

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Chitina, Kennicott And McCarthy Towns and the old Mine

This part of Alaska is special. Here you first reach the historic town of Chitina (pronounced Chit-na) where two civilizations live. First the original native settlements found to the south of town which date back to pre-explorer times are still occupied, and the town itself, which is currently mostly inhabited by "Outsiders" who moved to Alaska in the late 60's early 70's, many from the Vietnam war era. But this town really came to being in the early 1900's when it was a major supply centre for the Kennecott mine. Just a mile past town is the copper river where we are camped out.

The Kennecott mine built a railway line from the mine site all the way down to Cordova on Prince William sound (Pacific ocean), a distance of 196 miles, to ship its ore to Washington state for smelting and refining. Chitina is at a midpoint, about 60 miles from the mine site. The Copper river crossing, where we are, had a wooden trestle which was wiped out every Spring by the river ice break-up. This trestle was about 1/4 mile long and had to be rebuilt every Spring! You can see a picture of the river up above as we took from the concrete bridge. The road into Kennicott is over the old railway line and sometimes, you still see the railway ties or the odd spike coming out of the roadbed!

At Kennicott, the mine mill is the attraction and is now part of the Elias National Park. The town itself was small with all workers except management, living in bunk houses. The next town 5 miles over, McCarthy existed mostly because it provided services Kennecott mines would not allow in Kennicott, such as competing general stores, saloons and establishments with "loose ladies"! Ah, the good old days.

View of the Chitina downtown. Hotel has recently been renovated, next one is partly done and the far one is an original 2 storey log structure. This is a really nice small town with very friendly folks, many of whom have been here for 35 odd years.

This is downtown McCarthy which is celebrating its 100th! . Pop about 50 in the summertime, a few less in Winter. Again, great folks, and as always, renovating buildings, which is a major feat since they are 60 miles down a narrow gravel road which used to be a railway bed and another 100 miles to the nearest building centre!

View of downtown Kennicott from atop the mill. You see the watchman's shack below, the general store being refitted with a new foundation and one of the many bunkhouses for the workers next to it plus a partial view of the school house beyond. The bunkhouses, by the way, were occupied by 2 shifts of men who had to give way to the next shift when they went to work! The gravel piles past these structures are not tailings. They are the remains of the Kennicott glacier. Under the rubble is solid ice which is still melting away and which 100 yrs ago was at least 200 feet higher.

This is the famous Kennecott mill... the mine itself is about 2,000 feet higher up in the mountain behind it. This mine made the owners...JP Morgan and Guggenheim brothers, richer still as it was the richest copper find ever. Reported overall grade of the copper ore milled was 17%, some of which was 70% straight from the mine. Visiting this place is going back in time like nowhere else because when they shut this mine down, they basically took everyone out of town and said, this is the last train... get on or walk out! Supposedly, some homes still hade meals left on the tables, years later!

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EAGLE

The road was really winding but some really nice view.	This view reminded me so much of the "Blue Ridge Mountains".	Miles of burnt forests.
	Forest fires had happen in the last couple of summers. It is so sad to see miles and miles of burnout. You look at it and think of what happen to all the animals that lived in that forest. The soil contains a Caribou moss in which a fire grabs onto. It's feared that the Caribou may not come back this year. It may take 50 years or more for this forest to come back.
Part of the view of the Yukon River in Eagles.	Eagle is originally an Athapaskan settlement, the discovery of Klondike gold brought an influx of prospectors into the Eagle area. The city of Eagle was started by a group of miners in 1897, and incorporated in January 1901, making it the first chartered city in Alaska's interior. The military built and maintained "WAMCATS" (Washington-Alaska Cable & Telegraph System) linking Eagle and Valdez. The fort was abandoned in 1911 except for a small Signal Corps detachment which remained to operate the wireless. The City of Eagle was named to the National Register of Historic places in 1970, and became the headquarter of the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve 1981.	They have restored "Fort Egbert" and offer a really good tour "of the history of Eagles and the how it was to live there then and now, at 9:00 a.m. starting at the Court House. The tour offers to much to put on the web-site. It's a must see.
		Modes of transportation.
Animal Teeth Dentures Nimrod had scurvy in 1905 and lost all his teeth. He made his own false teeth from sheep, caribou and bear teeth, set in aluminium. Wore them nearly 25 years.		Furs trapped for clothing for the 70 below weather. There is so much more to see here.

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