North To Alaska (and back)               

 Summer 2008

 

We are home in Fort Worth

 

"Check out the new web site:         www.drivingusa.us "

Week 6

  •                      07/21/2008           
                   Glennallen, Alaska

  •              The Glenn Highway

    The road out of Anchorage was smooth and fast. The Glenn Highway heading northeast to Glennallen has some of the best scenery we have seen. There is one section; about 5 miles long, where we were delayed for a while where  new road work was being done. After a stop,for about 5 minutes waiting for the pilot vehicle to escort us through the one lane open, we were on our way.  From then on it was beautiful scenery all the way to Glennallen.




    Waitting for the pilot vehicle. There were about fifteen vehicles in this line.

    It was about 15 mph through the construction zone.

                     This is where it gets good.



    The Tazlina River runs along the Glenn High- way almost all the way to Glennallen.


                                   Juliet takes a look.

    If we ever allowed Key to be off a leash or chain, the way he loves to chase squirrels, we would never see him again.

     

  •                          7/22/2008
                          Valdez, Alaska

  •                         "The Hub"

    Our Campsite at Glennallen (Wilderness) was actually about 20 miles from the junction of the Glenn Highway and the Richardson Highway. That junction is called "The Hub". We got gas , shopped at a grocery store and got something for breakfast before turning south toward Valdez. The beginning was pretty smooth and although rain was forecasted none was seen for the first 30 miles or so. As we approached the  Tsaina Valley (mountains on both side) we came up on the Worthington Glacier. What a site! The photos just don't do it justice. The streach through the Thompson Pass...the last streach of high altitude driving (about 2700') and started the long decent to Valdez we saw many waterfalls, and fabulous streams of clear mountain water. Our campsite here in Valdez is pretty close to the harbor. In fact that's where we are going to eat tonight.




  •                  The Worthington Glacier

     

                               The Thompson Pass

       2700 feet above sea level through the pass.


                         We saw many waterfalls.


                   The Lowe River just before Valdez.

     

    7/24/2008

    More photos of the Bay Side RV Camp

    The camp looks crowded, but actually there is just enough room between sites so that it really isn't a problem.


    We were hoping there would be a break in the weather, so we could get a better shot of the mountains around us.


    Foggy day every day.

     

    Driving around Valdez......


    This is a very nice Bed and Breakfast.

    This is a hard town to get lost.

    There's only one way out of town and mountains on 3 sides.

    This neighborhood is only 6 blocks from the center of town.

    This kinda looks like the road out of town.

     


     

     

  •                              7/26/2008
                                               Tok, Alaska
                  Click on this link for live Tok weather:
    http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=tok,+ak

    As we rolled into Tok, Alaska we stopped at the Visitor's Center to get a heads' up on the best place to get two new tires for our trailer before we tackle the streach of road coming up next. We went to Northern Energy, mile 1314.8 on the Alaskan Hwy to have two new Good Years put on and balanced. The cost was not out of line but each tire was $22 more than the ones we replaced in Fairbanks. After all...this is TOK.

    We were spoiled with the fantastic scenery we had in Valdez and the drive through The Thompson Pass....a climb from sea level to about 2700 feet passing one waterfall after another and passing two unbelievable glaciers. After saying that....the trip throughout Alaska has some great scenery at almost every turn and today's was no differant. Here are a couple shots of the Salina River Valley that we stopped at for a few minutes on the way to Tok.

    The Salina Valley

    The Salina River

     

     

     

     

              The Matanuska Glacier

  About halfway to Glennallen we saw the Matanuska Glacier. Here are a few shots as we passed by that area.

From a distance it just looks like snow, until you realize that it hasn't snowed any where else.

Glaciers are slow moving rivers of ice caused by gravity and pressure of compacted snow. Icebergs are chunks of ice that have broken off of glaciers.

 

          The Tolsona Wilderness Campground

From close quarters in Anchorage to a wilderness paradise here in the Tolsona Camp....owned strangely enough by a Texan.

The only close quarters here was positioning the trailer so that the slide-out would clear a tree.

            Plenty of room to spare.....about 3".

   The distance between camp sites is over 100 yds.


          There is a fast moving stream close by.

    This is one of the best campsites we've been.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                      

                                             7/22/2008

                                         Road to Valdez. 

            From the "Wilderness" to the "Hub".

               The Hub has a good grocery store.

                                            Tonsina Lake.

                    Heading south towards Valdez.


                           Getting closer to the rain.



                    Closer to the Thompson Pass.

 

 

                     Bay Side, Valdez, Alaska

   We are at Bay Side RV Campground and here are some shots from our site. It has been raining for the 2 days we have been here and rain is still in the forcast.

 

It's 93 % humidity and the dewpoint is 45 degrees and the current temp is 46 degrees.

Because of the humidity these clouds are right down on the deck... or is that fog?

The RV Camp is on the beach...if there was a beach. Actually, we're a part of the harbor. This area is separate from "old" Valdez...the old downtown  before the last big earthquake. Now everything is pretty much close to the harbor.

 

                     Taken about 10 AM- 7/24/2008


These mountains are just on the other side of the bay.

 

 

                       Driving around Valdez

Visitor's Center

Shopping at the Safeway

Inside the Valdez Safeway


Comunity College Campus

Hanging around the Harbor:

 

 Getting setup at Tok RV Campground

Not my idea of a very good shot.

This isn't too good either.

About 3 PM each day motorhomes and trailers start rolling in. We got here just before the afternoon rush.


Fast Eddie's ......a popular eating place here in Tok.

Folks...these are the first blue skies we have seen in almost 2 weeks.

Inside Fast Eddie's....this is where we ate tonight.

This is a screen shot of "SPOT", our satellite personal tracker showing this week's travels.

In the lower left corner is Valdez, AK, next is Glennallen and finally where we are now                 (Jul 26-27) in Tok, AK.

Tomorow begins week 7 and the hardest part of the trip to Whitehorse with a stop in Beaver Creek. Whitehorse is in the lower right corner of the map.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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